Home away from home

When Pastor Jabez organised the first youth mission trip to Japan way back in 2005, he contacted Louis, our resident missionary over there, to see if it was possible to get housing at a low cost. And as anyone who knows Louis and his family can readily attest to, their hospitality knows no bounds and they opened up their house to us.

We stayed initially in the tatami room, which was their guest room, and it was pretty good there, since it was warm, especially for us suaku Singaporeans who had never been to temperate countries prior to that and found the spring temperature of about 20 degrees at night somewhat cold.

 The tatami room. Of course, in summer, the place gets ridiculously warm. But if not, it's always a nice place to hang out at.

And since then, unit number 303 of Tokorozawa Century has been for me, the home away from home.

The entrance to Tokorozawa century. 

It didn't matter how many times I went to Japan. This place has always been warm and open, whether it was Louis or Steve who was staying there. Even when I had my own apartment just a few blocks away, I knew that if I wanted to drop by, I didn't even need to call ahead (though I usually did) and I would be welcomed in the place.

There would be food. And both Auntie Chris and Kathi are excellent cooks.

Place where you can get good food.

Place where good food is made.

There was also free Internet, which was extremely helpful if you're there just for a short trip, or when your own Internet has not been set up yet.

Place to get free Internet. Incidentally, this was where I ended up sleeping on that first trip in 2005 after some of the team members said it was too cold and they took over the tatami room.

But most importantly, it was like family; the Laus and the Weemes never excluded you, even if you did feel like you were an 居候 in the place.

Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, it appears that the house will now have to be returned to the landlord, since there will be no one staying there for the next couple of years. Louis has always been proud of the fact that he managed to get a really good deal on the house, getting a rather large unit at a relatively cheap rate, but I guess it is time to move on from the place they've called home for more than 10 years.

And I, for one, will also be sad to see it let go. There's always this sense of nostalgia each time I've keyed in the security code and walked in through the sliding doors and smelt the air inside the building; I'm always brought back to that 2005 trip, when everything was new and exciting (not that it isn't any more, but the first time is always the most impactful anyway).


So thanks for all the happy memories, for all the fun and all the joy. And just perhaps, maybe in the future, the home may come into the possession of a friend again.

答え

Ever since I got back to Singapore, I've been sort of bumming around. The first month, it was to kind of take a holiday after another year in Japan (this time, with the added workload of doing full-time stuff with CRASH).

Part of the second month was a continuation of said relaxation, but partially also to play tourguide to an important person who came down to Singapore (and she's coming again soon!!)

The third month, it was starting to get a bit sian. And I felt like I had gotten enough rest (too much actually), and was looking to find a job. Part of it was that I still owe a bond to the Singapore government for my university tuition grant, but another part was also so that I could get some money, which is always useful (and being a missions worker isn't exactly the most lucrative of jobs).

So I went to look for some jobs. And I tried applying to some, but no answers. And I found out that one of my friends works for a recruitment agency, and she took my CV and I went down to talk with them.

And yet, I still heard nothing much for them. So I prayed, and asked God to show me something about my work. And that day, I got an email from one of the recruitment agency ladies (it's called JAC) letting me know about a possible job opening.

When I first heard about it over the phone, I was thinking, "Er, that doesn't sound like something I would do." Actually, I was more like, "What exactly does she mean?" because she was talking in Japanese, and it was not that great to begin with. But that was the gist of it.

But as I took a look at the company website and slowly worked my way through the mission statement and stuff (it's in Japanese too see), I started to think, "hey.. this sounds pretty interesting". So I wrote back and said, "Sure, I'll be interested in hearing more".

Then there was silence for a few more days. And I felt, "oh, I guess that's it". So once again, I prayed that God will show me something again, and I got another call from JAC about that job offer, asking for more information.

And now I'm beginning to go a bit like, "Huh?!" because it's not like I've been praying non-stop for a job. I don't even pray non-stop (which is not something I'm proud of, to be honest), but I thought, "Okaay..."

And then there was silence. And today, my brother starts work at his new job, and I'm still very unemployed, so I prayed again. And you can see where this is heading right? I got an email saying that the company may be interested in arranging an interview.

And I may not get this job. I mean, I've never been good at interviews, and maybe I'm not cut out for this job, and maybe I was never meant to take a job in Singapore now.

But everytime God answers my prayers this way, when I wonder why something's happening, or nothing's happening, and He prompts me, "Did you pray?" And I guess I'm a bit of a cynical Christian, because I do believe in prayer, but to pray to get something for myself? That's not quite gonna happen right? And I think like that, but then I'll think, "What's the harm in praying?" and I pray like a short 5-second prayer along the lines of:

"God, I'm not sure about my job, and I'm not sure what you want me to do, but I commit it to Your hands."

And I'm done and I continue along like nothing much happened, and then God answers the prayer.

And each time, I feel touched and amazed and happy and I think of how God has this sly smile on His face when He looks at me and tells me, "I told you so, you should have prayed" even if the prayer seems so small and flippant. And it makes me want to laugh and cry and shout and give thanks at the same time.

And this is what is important, to know that whatever happens, God does answer my prayers, and He sometimes takes pleasure in poking a bit of fun at me, and it makes Him so much more real.

Date

I just spent 4 hours on skype talking with Marie because she was going on a walk, and I was accompanying her. We (she) walked from the CRASH house to Oizumi-Gakuen station, and I was with her looking at the camera feed, and when we realized that was taking up too much battery, following her progress on google maps. And it was fun.

Who said you had to be physically near each other to have a date?

Whoa almost missed another month there.

Here's a recap of November in pictures!

Marie came!

Marie left :(

I ate some apple pie.

We made Alvin Yap go diving.

We also made him go flying. We also made him go trekking about (actually, he ended up dragging our asses around cos he's a ranger and we're not) and had a campfire and cooked some stuff and ate it, but no pictures sorry.

Alvin got married. Photo credit (copyright?) to TouchStudios and Moving Pictures.

I got older. Alvin also got older, which was coincidentally (or maybe NOT!) one day after his wedding.

That's about it.

引っ越し

I touched down in Tokyo 5 days ago. I started to clear out my house 4 days ago. I finished packing most of my stuff 3 days ago. And 2 days ago, I moved out of my house.

Now, generally speaking, I would say moving isn't exactly a very emotional event. Especially when you move to a place less than 200 metres away. And in the heat of Tokyo, it's a little hard to think when all your mind focuses on is that bottled drink you put in the fridge.

At the same time though, this was the place that I lived in, mostly by myself, for 2 years. It was the place I called home when I first came to Tokyo at the beginning of my initial year, and it remained home to me all the way till the end of last week. It was where I suffered through the heat of 2 summers, and the frigidness of 2 winters. It was where I learnt to cook food by myself (not just cup ramen and ochazuke), and where I could allow all my little foibles (ironing my clothes immediately after washing, not making my bed etc) to just come out.

Naturally, it also doesn't help when you have your special bowl, knife and spoon.

Yes, I had a special bowl. I used this bowl for rice. And noodles. And cereal too. This was actually my 2nd special bowl. I accidentally broke my original special bowl.

Yes, I also had a special knife and spoon. I always used that knife for breakfast (except when I was eating cereal), and I always used that spoon for my other meals. Strangely enough, I never had a special fork.

Staying with the Laus is a nice thing. They are pretty much the epitome of hospitality. It brings back a lot of memories, because this was where I stayed when I first came to Japan in 2005. And my room here is a lot cooler, because it's on the 3rd floor.

However, having to give up a place I called my own, that is not something I found easy.

So here's to my home at Kita-Akitsu Century, for all the memories I had, while I was living there.

Where I spent most of my time hiding.

CRASH

So having been working helping out at the volunteer organization that is Crash for the past 2-and-a-half months, it would be really remiss not to talk about what I had been up to, especially since I haven't updated this blog in a while. So here goes.


First things first, let's talk about what Crash is. CRASH is actually an acronym that stands for Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope. It was started by a missionary (I think. But he's been in Japan for a long time, and his wife is Japanese) called Jonathan Wilson, who was thinking of how to help Christians coordinate their efforts in order to help people who have been hit by a natural disaster. And they helped out in Haiti and the Sichuan earthquake and a few other things.

So, I originally went down on the Monday immediately after the 'quake. I had watched the livestream of the meeting they had on Sunday, and I thought, 'hmm, people are gonna be wanting to help, and I can't do much, but I *can* buy coffee and donate that!', so I bought some coffee (and other things) at Seiyu (the queues were really long that day), and lugged it over to the Crash office. And I thought, 'hmm, maybe I can help out a bit, because they probably need volunteers, and I can help out this week maybe, and then I'll be done.' And so I asked an OMF missionary there if there was anything I could do to help out just for a bit. And now I'm still there, so obviously, the part where I said, "Just for a bit" didn't really get transferred across.

Initially, I was under this guy called Corey, and we started off with a sort of Registration/Reception hybrid, that slowly morphed to include office management, which was what we were called for about a month or so. It should be noted, of course, that most of the volunteers did not have much experience in the category of "Setting-up-relief-work-company-quickly-and-with-mostly-volunteers-for-staff", so it was really messy. It kinda still is, but we're slowly getting more organized.

So this was the old Reception/Registration/Office Management/Placement/Screening/Registration+Reception in that order I think. Incidentally, all three of these people are no longer working at the CRASH HQ (maternity leave, gone to Aomori, gone on Home Assignment)

So my first job was to call up volunteers to ask them when they could be free to come in and what they could do to help out. And that would explain my astronomical phone bill for the month of March. And then we had to grab all the new people and get them to register. And we sometimes went out to buy stuff for the office, like ink for the printers, paper, pens, post-its, more ink for the printers, scissors, tape, even more ink for the printers, and nametag holders.

I ended up making nametags too. In my personal 'room'.

No it's not a closet! It's a room I tell you! A room! *controls sobs* It's a room!

And then they started to do some restructuring. This was about the time some people who had experience in the category of "Setting-up-company-from-scratch" came in, and they started to reorganize. And that was when I, because I was making nametags, ended up in the Logistics unit.

And now I know why I was posted to do Log work while I was in the army, because now I have some idea as to what working in Logistics will require. (Yes, you may have to move big boxes of heavy stuff around. No, you cannot eat the food that people are donating).

And people do donate food. But these ones are for staff to eat, so we can eat these ones. Thanks Bola!

I have also developed a slight amount of IT ability, because of my proximity to the resident IT expert, who incidentally also goes by the given name of Daniel. While I'm sure some of said ability is due to the IT aura which surrounds him, most of it is the result of the following scenario:

Person A: Hey, I need help with my computer.
Person B: What's up with it?
A: It's this problem.
B: Oh, hmm I don't know. Go and ask Daniel for help *waves vaguely in the direction of the room where both Daniels reside*

And because they don't specify which Daniel to ask, they end up asking the one nearer to the door, which is me.

The worst part of course, is that sometimes, I actually do solve their problems, which makes me look like an expert in things IT, which I am not, but which continues to feed the myth that Daniel-Logistics can do IT.

No, I'm telling you, I just make nametags. I don't really know how to solve your IT problems! You've got the wrong Daniel, I tell you! The wrong one!!

One of the really nice things about working in such a community is that you get to meet friends. Now, in my normal work with OMF and housechurches and stuff, I do get to meet quite a few people, but it was quite...limited, I would say, in that all the people I meet are somehow connected through OMF. Which is not a bad thing, just that it's a very specific group.

Now however, with so many people volunteering at CRASH, I not only meet the OMF friends, but people from other places, whether it's from other agencies, or they are Christians who have time and just want to help serve, or even some who may not be Christian, but have come down to help out in whatever way they can.

Some friends.

But the greater thing is being able to see how God is using some of us to help serve the people in Japan. And I don't really see much because I'm in the back room of the HQ, but we do get reports of how people have been helped through our ministry, and even more than that, that people are able to see God through the work that we do.

So perhaps I'm not getting paid very much (read: none) for this, but it would be hard to deny that it is fulfilling.

Prayer Points:

1. Pray for the work of CRASH, that though chaos may reign within the office, we will be able to get relief and aid to the people who need it.
2. Pray for some of the workers who go through a lot of stress. Whether it's the base personnel who work out in the field, or the people at HQ who just can't seem to pull themselves away from work *koffmariekoff*, pray that God will sustain them, and will help them find rest and renewal in Him.
3. Pray that we will not lose sight of our objectives, which is to be able to help people in need (and not be a smooth running company), but also to tell them of the God who loves them.
4. For myself, I guess I've also been immersing myself too much into work, and have somewhat neglected my own QT. I hope I can slow down enough to do it regularly.

Ok, that's about it.

CNY in Japan, year 2

This is what you do to celebrate Chinese New Year in Japan when you're alone.

First, you start in early December, when your friend brings you stuff that is meant for eating before Chinese New Year, but you hoard it until CNY.

Thanks Hui and Auntie June!

Next, when CNY comes around, eat some of the hoarded stuff.

No Picture Available, but as you can see above, most of the hoarded stuff has been eaten.

Talk with your pastor about how you celebrate CNY, and listen to his confessions as he tells you of the number of pineapple tarts he's eaten.

Re-enactment:
Pastor S: Did you celebrate CNY?
Me: No, not really. I ate a few things I hoarded though. Did you eat a lot of pineapple tarts?
Pastor S: Yes. I ate a lot.
Me: Oh. I see.
Pastor S: I'm also training for marathon, but at my age, it's hard to burn off the fat.
Me: Nah, I'm pretty sure it's the tarts.

Wait for your parents to post you some stuff.

A present!

Open and examine the contents.

Wow!

Be happy about the stuff you got.

Thanks for the bubble wrap mom! All these years and you still remember how much I like the stuff!

Not that you fool.

Oh. Right. Wow! Thanks for all the stuff mom and dad! And brother and sister too!

The End.

Pack

SuperBowl XLV Champions. 'Nuff said.

Amplexor

Yesterday, at Shinjuku HC, I was blessed to witness a conversion. Nothing major happened, just that she said she prayed the prayer at the end of one of the Alpha Course sessions. In fact, she said it so matter-of-factly that the rest of us weren't quite sure whether she understood what she just said. So Karen asked again to clarify. And she replied in the affirmative.

I guess she thought it was more elaborate than that, because we as we all sat and were thinking 'is this for real?', she asked, 'How do I become Christian?' We all laughed at that and said, 'Well, that was it. There's nothing you have to do, no ceremony you have to perform, no magical manifestations, and you probably won't feel any different.' To which she replied, 'Oh.'

It seems all the more improbable, since most of us only got to really know her recently. She started coming after Sylvia invited her to join us on the Alpha Retreat in the middle of December, and although we watched the Alpha videos together, we didn't do very much 'evangelizing'. At least, I didn't. But God was at work, in ways I could not see. He used the videos, and I think, also the friendships that she had with the rest of the HC members.

And so we welcome Yixin to our family of Christ. And though nothing major might have happened in the world as we see it, we can know that the angels in heaven were rejoicing that a soul was saved (which made her feel a lot happier that there was so much celebration for her).

2010

In Japan, there is a custom of sending out Nengajo, which are a sort of New Year's card to tell people you know that you are still in existence, and to let them know how you are doing. I won't be following this custom, since it costs too much money (and I'm too lazy), but still, the idea of having an update on what's been up is a good idea, so here are 10 things in 2010 that are 'new' or which I find either important or interesting.

1. I decided to do a 2nd term with OMF in Japan. I was pretty much contemplating this before the end of last year, but it was only truly finalized when I got back into Japan on the 14th of July (or was it 15th?)
2. I started taking up two martial arts classes while here in Japan. I started learning how to use a naginata in February and I started Kyudo classes in September. I am still not good at either one.
   
3. I have started to teach English classes to two 5-year-old kids. Chisaki and Yuichiro are nice kids whom I rather like, but that doesn't mean I find it easy to teach English to them, with the emphasis on this phrase being on the 'teach' rather than the 'them'.
4. I went to seminary! For two weeks, for a short course on missions work, and I made quite a few new friends. This makes me legit here in Japan (nah just kidding).
   
5. My long unused and dormant Chinese speaking ability has been recalled to service while here in Japan. While it's not surprising to have to use it in the Shinjuku HC (where 2/4 core members speak Chinese with regularity), I have also used it while at Shinagawa Kai and when with several new friends I met at my Japanese language class.
   
6. I started playing basketball at CAJ. Obviously, I'm not very good at basketball in general, but at least I have a better idea of how to play within a 5-man team on a full court. And the one thing I *have* become good at is setting screens.
   
7. I am now allowed to go to the izakaya and drink a bit under OMF rules. And I have gone there with Shinagawa Kai, whenever they have their Shinagawa Nomikai. As long as you don't get drunk...
   
8. I set up a Christmas tree in my house! It's only a foot high, but whatever. Thanks Vernon, for bringing it up haha.
   
9. I made chicken rice for the first time in my life. I had a Prima Taste mix to help me, and it was fun making it and seeing people enjoy it. The cleaning up after that... not so fun.
   
10. I guess one of the most important things I've started to learn (and am still in the process of learning) is about God's grace. Before this, it's always been a lot of head knowledge, and I've always lived under a sort of shadow of guilt and apprehension about sin (or about God's anger because of my sin), but I think now, I'm starting to understand the basics about God's grace, and how much love He has for us. It's no longer about trying to keep myself pure (an exercise in futility if there ever was one), but in just looking at God, no matter what happens in life.
    

So that's about it for me this year. Happy New Year everyone!

Spatior

Today I went to 'teach' English to the two 5-year-olds that I got to know through my naginata instructor. I use 'teach' because as always, I'm not really sure if I am really helping them develop their English. In fact, today's lesson was almost half science, since I was talking about colours and was using this to show them how to form secondary colours when you mix primary colours:

You won't believe how excited they get over being able to see the colours being held up to the light. Then again, I'm still excited over holding these things up to the light and looking at them.

But as fun as today's lesson with Yuichiro-kun and Chi-chan was, that is not the point of today's post.

See, somewhere around last winter, I had this sudden urge to go walking about. It's a rather cheap way of being able to explore parts of Japan that you normally wouldn't be able to take a look at. And it saves on train fare. Plus, it's fun, as Gracia (who is probably a distant clanmember since we share the same surname) can attest to.

The thing is, two Tuesdays ago, after the English class, I decided to try walking back. And while I initially decided to follow the route I took in February (since I'm familiar with the path), halfway through, I suddenly decided to take a different path along the way, that was still heading in the general direction of home, but with which I had absolutely no experience with.

And I don't know why, but that was one of the most enjoyable times I had, just walking along, looking at all the 'new' places, while trying to follow my internal compass.

So today, I started to walk back, somewhat along the same route. I had wanted to follow the same path I took, when once again, my random leanings kicked in, and I decided to follow a different path.

And the same feeling of fun came back.

It's looking around, and realizing that you've never actually seen the place before. It's the slight thrill you get that you don't know exactly where you are (since I choose to go without a map, a singularly bad idea according to my JCC instructors). It's how your eyes play tricks on you, making you see shades of a Singapore from my childhood in the buildings and streets of a suburban Japan in the present, mixed with memories of Taiwan, while at the same time toying with the illusion that this is similar to what it would be like in Bangkok, all the while connected to an idealized, Age of Exploration-esque fantasy.

And I guess, for me, it fulfills a sort of psychological need to go on an adventure. Admittedly, in the unlikely (yes I do have that much faith, as well as residual arrogance, in my navigational training) chance that I do get lost, it won't be that hard to find my way to a train station. But I guess it is that possibility, the fact that I'm not exactly certain of where I am, but that wherever I am is a wonderful new place to explore, that makes such long rambles fun.

And I must also confess that whenever I come to a place where I recognize where I am, I actually do feel a pang of disappointment, that I know how to get back, that I've returned to the 'normal and mundane'.

But until that happens, I guess I'll continue to walk around, trying to find different ways to go on adventures (without having to spend ¥¥!), just me, my iPod, and the joy that God in His wisdom and generosity allows me to enjoy in my odd little endeavours.

45

So several years ago, a certain Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues decided it was in Singapore's best interest to forge a path separate from their bigger neighbour on the Malayan peninsula. And I, for one, am not gonna complain about that move, since quite obviously, we have had a pretty decent existence since then, even though all the naysayers then predicted that Singapore would (choose one):

1. Be a weak, weak country
   
2. Fall to a communist insurrection
3. Have no economic powers
4. Quickly go running back under Malaysian hegemony
   
5. All of the above

And so today, like any true-blue Singaporean (yes yes, I know, stop laughing), I went to celebrate the nation's independence.

First of, there was a KHCN meeting, where all 4 of us (Steve is away in America right now) remembered Singapore in our prayers. And then we went out to eat (how very Singaporean) at a Singaporean restaurant in Akasaka.

See my lunch? So Singaporean. Such Singaporean...er... Hainan Chicken Rice.

The food was really quite good. The chicken rice tasted like chicken rice, the chicken tasted like how chicken rice chicken should taste, and the shop-owner even gave us a free sambal kangkong because we told him we were there to celebrate NDP.

You can tell how Singaporean a shop is by the size of the merlion it has. This merlion is fairly big, therefore it's quite Singaporean.

And then I had to rush up to Urawa for English conversation group there. But on the way back, I went to settle some other NDP thing.

See, it's pretty much de rigueur for my family to watch the NDP parade while eating pizza. Specifically, pizza from Pizza Hut. And as I know the location of a nearby Pizza Hut in Shin-Tokorozawa, I was able to get my hands on another pizza in remembrance of the family tradition.

In true Singaporean fashion, this pizza was on sale, so I only had to pay about $14 for it. Whee!

Incidentally, something unfortunate happened last year, in that my family was unable to get pizza, since the telephone lines were overworked. So here's the contingency, as per last year:

Just in case!

Yup, so Happy National Day everyone! Hope you had a great long weekend!

[UPDATE!] Hmm, I guess it appears my fears this year were unfounded.

Conatum

A sudden hush had descended over the throne room when the powerfully built warrior had strode proudly in, and now that he had finished giving an account of his task, there was utter silence. The task given to him had seemed both impossible and humiliating to do, but against all odds, the warrior had returned in triumph.

Several of the youths in the room, young men who would one day be mighty fighters in their own rights, looked up at him in hero worship. The maids, hiding behind the pillars and under the doorways, admired his physique and rugged good looks. But for every person in the room who looked in awe, there were three who stared with hatred, and among them was the king.

There was no mistaking the loathing in King Eurystheus' eyes as he glared at the man standing in front of him. He slowly took a deep breath, and tried to calm the roiling anger that was threatening to boil over.

How can it be, he thought to himself, that no matter what I make this fool do, he comes back victorious? Why is it that this man is always successful? Surely there must be something he cannot do!

He had already taken down that vicious lion with the impenetrable skin, by managing to find a way to strangle it.

Then he had gone to Lerna, and had killed the seven-headed beast that resided there and was terrorizing the nearby villages. Nine-headed, he reminded himself, since the cretin had charged in and cut off two of the creatures heads, not knowing that each stump would sprout two new heads... in fact, if it had not been for that other idiot Iolaus who helped him burn the stumps...

Acquiring the golden-antlered hind of the goddess also hadn't proved a problem. How he managed to bargain with the deity he did not know, but the huntress maiden had agreed to lend him the last of her swift-footed does instead of killing him the way she had all others who had attempted to even touch one of her favoured deer.

And when he had brought that man-eating boar into this very room! The king still remembered how he had recoiled in horror when the evil creature, with it's blood-stained tusks, had been led in by the warrior, and how the warrior had pretended to let it loose on the king... oh the horror of it all.

And now this. King Eurystheus silently cursed the heavens. He had sent the warrior to the great stables of Augeas, who had sailed with the legendary ship Argo. Since returning from that voyage, Augeas had been dealing in cattle, and he had huge herds of cattle that had been blessed by the gods themselves. But the blessing had been a double-edged sword, for they produced a great deal of waste, and after 30 years, no one had been able to go within 2 miles of the stables due to the stench that emanated.

The warrior had been told to clean up the place in a day, a humiliating assignment for any warrior, much less the son of the chief god of the Olympians. And yet, he had managed to do it, and even the son of Augeas was giving an eyewitness account of the feat.

"It's true my lord. He diverted the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stalls and in less than half a day the place was as clean as the temple of Zeus!" claimed the youth.

The king felt his self-control losing it's grip on his anger. Oh how he wanted to beat his hands against the wall, to scream out the fury that had been building up inside of him, to smash something, but most of all, to wipe that smirk off the face of the warrior standing easily in front of him! Surely there had to be something he could not do, something that no matter how muscle-bound or cunning or intelligent he was, he would never be able to accomplish... something...

And with a start, the king set up. In the quiet and stillness of the room, that movement seemed as loud as the shouts of the phalanxes as they charged into battle. And a disconcerting change came over the king. His eyes, which had been wide with rage, had suddenly narrowed into cold, cold slits, and a cruel smile slowly spread its way across his narrow face. And even the warrior, who had up till then been standing tall and proud, suddenly felt a chill wash over him as the king addressed him:

"Heracles, I have now decided what your six task is." King Eurystheus allowed the deadly silence to hang in the air for a moment.

"Heracles, I want you to lick your elbow."

* * *

I had been watching a history channel program on the 12 Labours of Hercules (Heracles is his actual Greek name. Hercules is the Latin pronunciation) with brother the other day, and this is what he would have made Hercules do if he had been king. For me, I would have loved to see Hercules' reaction if the king had ever given him such an assignment.

Anyway, just a short update on what's been going on, I've finished my 2-week course at TTC (it was really good, learnt a lot of stuff and met new friends there) and have gone for YA retreat (kinda short but it was nice, though I wish they provided golf buggys/buggies for us) and church retreat, which was really awesome, since the Holiday Inn Melaka is really nice, and the bar was showing the world cup matches. Plus it was fun getting to play with the kids, and to get to know the German friend.

I am still aiming to return to Japan as soon as possible, and it seems that most things are falling in place. Most of my medical and psychological tests are clear (which simply means they haven't discovered my mental imbalances yet heh), as are the admin issues. I still don't like taking jabs though, and it didn't help that I've had to get more in the past month than in the past 5 years combined. I've got one tomorrow in fact gah.

I also have an interview with the home council on the 5th of July, so if I do get to leave, it'll definitely have to be after that.

Alright, have fun everyone. Looks like England's gonna be out, but at least for now, Japan's still in. 日本頑張れ！

Cheerio

Back in

So before I forget to make a post for the month of May and regret it for the next several years, now would be a good time to make a post.

In case some of you don't know, I have been back in Singapore for close to a month now. And Singapore is as hot as I remember it to be (though according to my dad and other reliable sources, it's even warmer and more humid than normal). And the weather, unlike in Japan, is apt to change several times over the course of a day. But it still is good to be home and to do the things that I did in Singapore before I left for Japan.

As hot and sunny as I can remember. Still better than ice and snow though.

My friend Chuya was visiting Singapore from Osaka during the first week of May. Chuya used to be at the Kotesashi campus of Waseda University, and was in charge of the E-Crew (English Conversation Club) when we visited in 2008. Now he works for a railway company in Osaka. So a few of us met up with him and brought him around one Saturday...and then his kidneys started to act up and we had to bring him to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Fortunately, he recovered pretty quickly from that, and since he is from Kansai*, he laughed the whole incident off as a wonderful experience in Singapore that most of his friends could never boast of having. During the stay in the hospital, he did ask me what I, as a Christian missionary, would say to people in a hospital if I was in Japan. So I mentioned to him that I would talk about how God knows everything that the future is in his hands, so I do not need to worry and could just be at peace. And I wasn't the only one to talk with him about Christianity. Leah (from the 2008 team) also talked with him about the Bible and God, so hopefully, this will lead to him getting to know God better.

Chuya (far left) and some of us before he left for Japan

I also started attending a 2-week course at Trinity Theological College last week. I must admit, I was really rather apprehensive about attending the course at first (it's my whole aversion to commitment thing, plus it was stay-in, bringing back memories of BMT), but after the first week, I'm really glad I had gone for it. Not only are the other students really friendly and nice people (which means I also got to meet new friends), but I have been able to learn quite a lot from the classes, like the morning worships (both worship and analysis rolled into one) and the interpretation of Bible texts (very useful, and it appears to me I have been reading quite a few passages out of context).

So now I'm glad to be back at TTC, having just returned from supper with some of the classmates, and I really ought to be going off to sleep soon, but I shall chill out a bit more in my room first.

Cheerio

P.S. Gah it appears my tagbox has been deleted nefariously by the flooble admin.. bother it all.


*In Japan, the stereotype of the Kansai person is that he (or she) is generally more laid back and has a better sense of humour than someone from the Kanto region. Or anywhere else in Japan really.

The Sakura/Good Friday/Easter Edition

So the Holy Weekend went by just like any other normal weekend, since here in Japan, we don't get a holiday on Friday like those of you in Singapore... so I just had to read the Bible passage myself on Good Friday, and console myself with going to see sakura. At any rate, I shall recount my weekend over the next few paragraphs.

On Friday, as I mentioned, we had nothing much except for the hanami near Yasukuni Shrine that Koji had organized. It wasn't at the shrine per se, but there was a matsuri-style pasar malam there, and one of Koji's friends had set up a stall there, so we went there to eat some food first, then walked over to where the night hanami was, at the Kita-no-Maru park.

My first hanami ever in Japan

It really was quite pretty, since most of the trees were in full bloom, and they had set up lights to highlight the trees at night, which is why one was able to get shots like the above. Unfortunately, since I was also trying to co-ordinate with a friend of mine, that was the only shot I got of the Kita-no-Maru walkway area place that I got. Still, it was pretty good, and my friend, Yuki did turn up later. He had just started work the day before, and he rushed over as soon as he was allowed to leave.

It really was the Shinjuku HC that remained for dinner. (L-R): Liu Wen, Esther, Tim, Karen, Yuki

We went to eat after that, since those of us in the picture hadn't really eaten dinner and all, and we left at around 11 and reached home exceedingly late, but it was still cool, since Yuki was able to join us.

Saturday was kinda busy because we had quite a lot of things going on. It didn't help, of course, that since we had been out late the night before and all that, we woke up at 11. Anyway, we went to Rekiji's place for Bible study, and then after that we started to watch the SuperBowl, which Rekiji had taped, with another of Steve's friends, Kaz. I wanted to watch the whole thing, but even before the first quarter had ended, Tim and I had to leave for Shinjuku HC. The game reminded me of Madden '09 at Farand's place.

Shinjuku HC was er, kinda odd, since Karen had wanted us all to watch the Passion of the Christ, but unfortunately, 1) the DVD code for the DVD was different from her computer, and 2) the DVD must have really liked the computer despite the different codes, as it refused to come out. I had to leave for Watanabe's baptism, so I'm not sure what really happened, but last I heard, the DVD was still stuck inside Karen's Mac.

Now for those of you who don't know, Watanabe, or Wattsu, as he is called, is one of the regular guys at the Shinagawa HC. He's Catholic and so a few of us (Koji, Koji's fiancee Misaki, Shion and I) went to St. Ignatius Church to see his baptism. It was the first time most of us had attended a Catholic Mass, and I must admit that it was pretty impressive. They had a pipe organ, and a choir, and all the people knew what they were to sing, a bit like a Gregorian chant I guess.

As impressive as it looked and sounded, I must say that the one thing that really made me feel God's presence was from a deaf person that was seated in the section to my left. In the sanctuary, the left-most section had a person up front doing sign language for the people, and when we were singing the hymns/chants, there was this lady in the front row who was also worshiping using sign language. And I don't know why, but I thought that was way more thought-provoking than all the grandeur of the Catholic church.

The baptism was a bit different than what I was used to, since they do sprinkling, and not dunking. It didn't help that we weren't even able to spot Watanabe because he was being blocked by the other baptismal candidates. So, well, no pictures. But it was great that we could go there and join Wattsu in his baptism. Incidentally, he chose the baptismal name of John, and we were joking that with a name like John Watts, he could pass off as an Englishman.

After that, we went to a nearby Thai restaurant, which was cool because, 1) they had Chayen. 2) they had basil leaf minced meat and rice, and 3) they had Mango Sticky Rice. We didn't order number 3 (it cost ¥1200!) but the fact that they had it was pretty cool.

Sunday morning we had Tokorozawa HC as usual, but Miyako and Kenji had invited us to go to Koganei Park for hanami in the afternoon. It really was quite a beautiful place, just a pity that it was cloudy and so the pictures weren't that great...

Hanami at Hanakoganei!

Still, it was a really pleasant time. The weather was cool, there was lots of good food and drinks, and really good company, as besides Kenji and Miyako and the kids, there were Steve and Kathi and the Matsumoto family. Steve organized a short egg hunt for the Komai kids, and then told the Easter story using the eggs.

It really was stuff that was in the eggs, kinda like what my dad used to do for us as kids with Advent at Christmas time.

So each of the eggs had an item that represented one part of the Easter story, like a nail, a cross, a rock etc. The last one of course, was an empty egg, since Jesus did not remain dead in His tomb, but was raised back to life.

And sometimes, I know so much and have heard so much about the Easter story, but feel no emotional connection... like all head knowledge and stuff but not feeling it in my heart. But in the end, it doesn't really matter what I feel, as long as I believe in the Resurrection, and trust Jesus.

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter!

Extendo

I just got notification from the Immigrations Bureau of Saitama, telling me that my application for a visa extension for my stay here in Japan has been approved, I guess. I'll have to go there to get it done early next month.

Thank you God!

散歩

I never realized how gray it had been, until today I guess. The past week (weeks?) had been cloudy/overcast I guess, but I never really noticed it... or at least, I never really noticed the lack of sunlight until today.

See, what happened was that I had to wake up early this morning for E-Moms. It didn't help that last night was Shinagawa Kai, since that usually means I only get home around 11 (no nomikai this time, if not it'll be 2 am when I get home). So when my alarm rang, I dragged myself out of bed, which is even harder to do when you realize it's freezing outside the confines of your blanket. And yes, I meant that literally: it was snowing this morning.

So I stumbled about and finally found myself at Hana-Koganei, where I had breakfast at Mr. Donut, before meeting Steve to go for E-Moms. And after E-Moms, Steve had another appointment at Akitsu, so I took a lift from him over to Akitsu station.

Now usually, I would take the train back one stop to Tokorozawa station. But I was feeling kinda bored, and since it had stopped snowing, I decided to try to walk back to Tokorozawa. So I started walking, and found a bakery along the way.

Some stuff I found there at bakery.

It was kinda nice I guess, since it was still cold, and the air was dry, but it was still somewhat cloudy, until I had walked about halfway back, when the sun started to come out. And I don't know why, but as I told Sul, it made me almost psychotically happy.

In fact, it made me so unstable that I decided to spend the rest of my afternoon walking. So after eating lunch and doing some other stuff on the 'net, I went out to buy a map and compass (since as we all know, only the map and compass are correct; you're always wrong) and just started walking.

So I guess it's a little different than in Singapore, since in Singapore, it's kinda hot and humid and after about 3 minutes you get all icky, but here, it was really quite pleasant to walk about. Especially with the sun out and helping you keep a little warm (it is winter here after all).

And for my first checkpoint, I decided an easy course: to walk from Tokorozawa station to Nishi-Tokorozawa station. The easiest way would be to follow the tracks, but with my map and compass (which are always right, though I may be wrong), I cut through central Tokorozawa City and reached CP1 pretty easily.

And that's where I felt I hadn't gone far enough. So after consulting my map (which is right) on where to go to next, I decided to walk down towards the Seibu Dome area. And walking there kinda reminded me of walking about in Taiwan with my army buds. Halfway to my CP2 though, I saw an interesting road branching out to my right. It was actually pretty large, since it was the bypass that led to route 463 out towards Hanno. So since the theme of the walk was whimsicality (is that even a real word?), I changed CP2 from Shimo-Yamaguchi to Kotesashi station, and started walking that way.

Pretty decent view from the top of the bypass.

When I got to the crossing that would bring me to Kotesashi, I felt like I could go a little further, so I set up CP3, which was the next station: Sayamagaoka. And continued walking there. By the time I reached there, almost 2 hours had passed, so I ended my trip. Also, cos my map was for Tokorozawa City only, and details did not extend beyond Sayamagaoka station.

I'm not too sure why, but I found the whole trip rather relaxing and fun. I guess, it's all about going to somewhere new, which is really quite like having an adventure. I guess I felt the same way when I went to Hanno, or even the first time I went out to Ibaraki for housechurch. I also had that same feeling when we were in Taiwan, when we were left to our own devices to muck about in the hills. Just being able to explore somewhere new, to walk there and just see the place, was really nice. It helped too, that I was able to sense God walking with me, even though the trip wasn't really meant to be a retreat or anything.

And like I said before, sometimes, we do need to go out on a whim, just without any cares (ok, you need some care. And a map and compass, since they are righter than you are), and just to walk about as far as you feel like, stopping whenever you want to.

Hmm... 5 posts in one month.. what's with the sudden overflow of words? Maybe it's something I ate...

P.S. Sorry if you don't know where the locations are and all that. If you really want to, you can check up Google Maps or something.

Fish and Cat

(May require understanding of Japanese)

So last week at Shinagawa Kai, we were all sitting around at the free space in Shinagawa Grand Commons, and Koji led a short study on prayer. And he used a rather interesting acronym to help us remember.

Most of us in the English speaking groups, may have heard of the ACTS style: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Which if I'm not wrong, came from a general breakdown of the Lord's Prayer.

But to help us remember the different forms of prayer in Japanese, Koji came up with the 'Fish and Cat' idea. Now, it sounds kinda odd in English, which is why if you are able to speak Japanese, this will make you go "...ohhhhhh..."

Anyway, in Japanese, 'Fish and Cat' is 'Sakana to Neko'. In hiragana, that would be さかなとねこ. And here's the breakdown:

さんび（賛美）[praise]
かんしゃ（感謝）[thanksgiving]
なんでも（何でも）[anything]
とりなし（取りなし）[intercession]
ねがい（願い）[requests]
こくはく（告白）[confessions]

...which I found pretty cool, even though we really do need to point out that the confessions here listed in Japanese is not really quite the same idea that we have in Christian confession. But ok.

After which some of us went for nomikai (飲み会) where we all loosened up a bit and laughed at each other.

Shinagawa Nomikai: Shion, me, Watanabe, Simon, Taira, Koji.

Just fyi, nomikai is a drinking meeting. And I wanted to get the full experience:

Mmmm... nom(u) nom(u) nom(u)

Of course, I had to do this without breaking my vows of ServeAsia (no alcohol being one of the 5 great commandments), so if you look closely enough, this is Kirin Free, no alcohol. But it was fun.

Revelation(s)

So I was at the Urawa English Corner earlier today, and we were discussing some questions, which were based on the Bible passage where a paralyzed man was lowered through the roof of a house by his friends so that he could meet Jesus.

At any rate, the group was split up into three smaller groups, and I ended up with one of the ladies, called Izumi. Now, Izumi is really quite a sharp-minded lady, and she's also not afraid to voice out her opinions regarding the Bible stories. But in case you're thinking she's a loud, nasty person, you're wrong. All the ladies at the Urawa English Corner are nice people, and Izumi is no exception. She's quiet and soft-spoken, just that she does share her opinions.

And her English is pretty good, which is kinda awesome.

So anyway, we were discussing some questions, and one of the questions went: "Do you think it is easier to heal the physical body, or to forgive sins?"

The following is a summarized transcript of what happened. Please take into account, that this is really just a common conversation. In no way am I implying or attempting to start a cult or anything of that sort:

Izumi: Hmm... I think both are really difficult to do.
Me: Yeah, I agree... but I think it's harder to forgive sins because I can say it, but I can't really, you know, forgive sins, since only God can really do that, and I don't think I'm God. (of course, I was saying this in an understated sort of way, since quite obviously, I'm clearly not God.)
I: Well, who knows, maybe you are?
Me: ??!! (Thinking ahhh noooo I'm a heretic) No no, I'm quite sure I'm not God...
I: But didn't Jesus just appear suddenly and start doing his work? And since the Jews are still waiting for their Messiah...
Me: Eh.. yeah, but see, before Jesus was born, He knew He was God. Before I was born, I, er, didn't know anything!
I: I see... (looks thoughtful) Is Jesus coming again?
Me: Oh yes He is, but He'll come in a slightly different way... In these stories, Jesus is a gentle, nice person, but when He comes again, He'll come as a conquering king.
I: Is that in the Bible?
Me: Oh yeah. It's in Revelations, the last book of the New Testament..

And so apparently, just by mentioning the 2nd Coming, I have managed to pique Izumi's interests enough to go and read through the book of Revelations.

So here's hoping and praying that this will be a step for her on the way to knowing Christ.

Cheerio!

Incognitus

I received a letter a few days ago, sent by my dad, from someone who had given me some stuff, but chose to remain anonymous.

So to anonymous-person-who-gave-me-some-stuff, I'm not sure if you know I have a blog, or even if you'll be able to see this, but thank you.

Cheerio!