Rambling Notes from Japan
Here are some blog posts that we hope will make you feel a part of things, and help you understand how to pray better for us and Japan. Please see our external blog in Blogger, if this page does not display correctly.
Why I Needed to be Back in Japan in August
September 5, 2008 10:31
| Church Planting, Funeral, Heaven
| Permalink
I needed to be back in time to remember how God works. And why our being missionaries is worth the sacrifice. This past week was a reminder. Let me rewind the clock to set this up.Last Sunday as Mr. Ubukata entered church, I asked how his father's (Kenzo) surgery went. Cancer had forced the doctors to remove a portion of Kenzo's colon. Mr. U replied that things went very well, thanked me for my prayer,
Readjustment
August 20, 2008 08:24
| Culture, Earthquake, Jetlag, Ministry
| Permalink
We've grown to expect and understand the adjustments and readjustments needed when traveling between countries and cultures, but that only makes the process slightly easier. We are a week into our readjustment to life and ministry in Kawasaki, Japan. What a week it has been!1) The jetlag (14 hrs. difference from Chicago time) is one of the first and largest obstacles. For the first several days no
Laverman Atlantic Adventure
Sounds like a movie title or a waterpark ride, but it is just the three Lavermans in the Atlantic ocean near Ocean City, NJ. We've swam in the Pacific (hard not to if you live on an island in the middle of that ocean like ourselves), but the Atlantic was a first experience for all of us. Impressions: saltier than expected, big and powerful wave action, clean beach but foot-scalding hot sand, many too
How's it Growing?
July 9, 2008 10:08
| Culture, Devotional, Japan, Melon
| Permalink
I had heard about these. The famous square melons of Japan. But I laughed off the idea as nothing more than a funny rumor. Until I saw them myself, that is. Yes, Virginia, there is a square melon! And they are very expensive (around $100 each). Japanese farmers form these by placing them in glass cases while the melon is still young on the vine. Click the picture for a bigger view.But other than being
More Powerful than Bombs: the Power of God's Word
July 5, 2008 06:53
| Inspirational, Testimony, WWII
| Permalink
A friend recently related this story to me. I was only vaguely familiar with it. It illustrates the power of God's Word, and His work to change the hardest of hearts: Mitsuo Fuchida & Jacob DeShazer. The two are reading the Bible together at right. I've copied the article intact from a 1997 issue of "Christianity Today."Fuchida grew up loving his native Japan and hating the United States, which treated
Niagara Falls, or does it?
The "road trip" is perhaps the way of life for a missionary on furlough. To keep the driving from driving one crazy, it helps to have a few things to look forward to along the way. Know of a great place to stop enroute from Chicago to New York? How about Niagara Falls!On our way to a month of visiting with supporting churches on the east coast, we took a little time out to see one of Canada's natural
Thinking Green
June 24, 2008 02:57
| Culture, Environment, Humor
| Permalink
The cost of gas these days seems to be on everyone's minds. It puts a pinch in our home assignment budget as well as the miles we travel cost more. People are talking about the need to invent new environmentally-conscious sources of energy to power our vehicles. It seems the Japanese have already discovered that ultimate "green" machine!I came across this car in our Kawasaki neighborhood some time
Last Day of School
June 6, 2008 11:52
| Family, Home Assignment
| Permalink
Remember that last day of school feeling? The day finally came that you knew your debt to school was fully paid...at least for the summer. The last report was turned in. The final test was written. Books were returned. Your locker cleaned out for the last time. It took my dad an extra 40 years, but he's finally reached that point in his life as well. His retirement party after a long ministry of teaching
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We serve with WorldVenture, an evangelical faith mission. Our sending/home church is Cornerstone Church of Lansing, Illinois.