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.
Bathing Your Way to Purity
Much of the way that Japanese religion merges with everyday life in Japan is in areas of physical cleanliness. The relationship between the gods and man in the Japanese worldview comes down to the matter of personal purity. If one is to be on good terms with the gods, it is believed that one must avoid things which would cause physical pollution. If it occurs by some accidental way, it must be taken
Yamagata Family
October 30, 2008 06:18
| Culture, Family, Japan
| Permalink
This past week we took a short break to visit with Kaori's home church and family. Here's a picture of the whole Fukase (and three Lavermans) family. Can you find the foreigner? Nothing can make you feel like a foreigner more than being amongst family and realizing you are wholly different. Thankfully, as the Apostle Paul wrote, we are one in Christ: "Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,
How to decide just about anything in Japan
October 22, 2008 05:37
| Church, Culture, Picnic
| Permalink
Here is a game we played together at our church picnic last week. Q: What in the world is this group of adults doing? A: Playing the rock, paper, scissors game of course! In Japan any child from 3 years on up knows rock, paper, scissors, called "jan-ken-pon" in Japanese. It is the classic way of deciding just about anything. Observe Japan carefully and you will see kids and adults doing this everywhere.
Putting a dollar to good use?
October 12, 2008 08:44
| Currency, Japan, Yen
| Permalink
The dollar has fallen and it can't get up. Such is life of any worldwide missionary these days. What does an deflated dollar mean? First the technical definition: it means that the purchasing power of a currency is falling so that a given unit will buy less of a product or service in the future than it does today. Now for the modern definition: it means that artists in Tokyo are feeling much better
Harvester's Scholarship Foundation
I have great news to share with you. I (Kevin) received notice that I am the recipient of a generous scholarship award. I have been wanting to finish the MDiv program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, but challenged by the financial end of paying for the tuition costs on a missionary salary. This is of great encouragement and enablement to us in finishing the last part of the program. We are
New School is Cool!
September 9, 2008 06:11
| Family, Justen, School
| Permalink
There's nothing quite as intimidating as the first day at a new school when you're 12 years old. What a week of adjusting it's been for Justen.Justen's old church school closed its doors this past summer after 6 years because of personnel and financial struggles. Now Justen is attending "Fountain of Life International School." It is a tiny church-based school (all church-based schools are tiny in Japan)
Why I Needed to be Back in Japan in August
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
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