Prayer Stuff #17

Please pray for the Eby family, as their son, Ethan passed away yesterday morning. He was about 18 I think.

The Ebys were instrumental in helping set CRASH up in the days immediately after the quake, and Ethan served faithfully by clearing the rubbish out every morning and helping us get the supplies we needed in the office.

It was upsetting enough for me as I worked with him and know him, can't imagine what the family is going through, so please pray for them, especially for their mother.

Thank you.

NTBI #9

Number 9: Tap

I moved into the Laus' place on Sunday (10th) afternoon.

On Thursday (14th), I tried to help Louis put a water filter onto the tap.

(Re-enactment)
L: You know how to attach this filter?
Me: Hmm. I think you have to see what type of tap you have and screw on the filter using the correct piece.
L: Ok. Oh, you must take out this other thing from the tap first. *unscrews thing from tap*
Me: Then we must put this part on.
L: Ok. *Tightens water filter onto tap.* *Turns on tap, and water starts coming out from above the ffilter*
Me: Oh, I know I know, you need to add this washer. *Tries removing filter, but it's been screwed on too tight*
L: Can't take out ah?
Me: Yeah.. maybe need pliers.
*Both of us try to unscrew the filter with pliers, but not much success*
*Finally, Louis gets the filter to come off*
Me: Ah ok good. Now we just need to add the washer inside... *adds washer to filter*
L: Ok.
Me: And then screw it on... *attempts to fix it to tap, but it does not screw on easily*
Me: Hmm, not working. Let me try.. *tries again. Still no success*
Me: Ah I think I know why, must really put it in so that the washer is compressed enough so that the screw threads can catch... *pushes the filter harder onto the tap*
Me: A littler harder perhaps... *uses more strength*
*CRASH*
Me: Ack, I dropped the filter. *Looks up* And. Er. Oh.

Oops.

Me: Oh dear.

* * * UPDATE * * *

Louis got the tap fixed, and he didn't have to pay for it! (The landlord paid for it as it was getting old).

It looks brand new...er it *is* brand new!

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.

Directions

Now that I'm near the end of my 2nd year in Japan, I've been forced to think about what I want to do with my life.

That, personally, is no easy thing for me to do. After all, I did grow up in Singapore, where everything is more-or-less planned out for you, isn't it? Primary school, secondary school, JC or Poly, Army if you're a guy, then Uni.

And even deciding to come to Japan back in 2009, it was very clearly laid out for me, I believe, by God. He provided anything I needed to get up, so it was easy for me to simply 'float' along, to go with the ebbs and flows of life, wherever it guided me.

And then, I find myself where I am at now.

Recently, I spoke to Pastor Ivan (my church's missions pastor) to talk about the near future. I had been thinking about asking for another extension beyond the extra three months that I had already tagged onto my extra year. And it was actually for a good cause. We had a rather large earthquake back in March you see. You might have heard about it, and though it's no longer on the international news, the needs are still as great as before.

So I asked him whether it would be possible to extend longer again. And he told me, that I would not be allowed to, unless I know exactly what I want to do with my life.

And that is the quandary I find myself in.

I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life.

Of course, that is not quite correct. After all, it's not really my life. But my quandary still remains, for I have no idea what God wants to do with my life either.

So I spent a day trying to find out what God's will for me was. Still nothing, as far as I can tell. It's just that I've never been particularly sensitive to hearing His voice. Perhaps I should be, but at the moment, I am not.

And so I am still waiting to see what God's direction for me is going to be. I would think He has been closing a couple of doors (and some of them did hurt), but we'll see how things go on from here.

And just as a final thought, if you have about half an hour of time, please watch this video. I found it particularly enlightening, especially with regard to my priorities and my position in this world. But for you, dear reader, you'll have to come to your own conclusions and convictions.

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.

17 Days Later

Prologue:
Almost immediately after the 'quake happened, I wanted to go up to help out in some way. When I heard that Crash (which is where I'm volunteering at now) was going to organize teams to send relief, I wanted to be on one of them. However the teams were meant to assess the situation, and they needed people who were familiar with the region, and were fluent in Japanese, both of which I was not, so I had to wait.

Then they started to send up work teams. And I wanted on. I thought, since I don't have any familial responsibilities, and I'm fairly able-bodied, I can go up and do some stuff. Then OMF told me I couldn't because as a short-term worker, I was to be treated even more 'importantly' than a child of a missionary worker.

So of course I was upset, and chafed under my circumstances, bemoaning my being stuck in Tokyo, and berating the lack of logic (illogicy? illogicity? unlogicity?) that would put me, a grown adult (who learnt how to kill people in the army) on a plane out of the country earlier than a 5-yr-old child, if the situation was to deteriorate.

But after considering some things (and getting a talking to by a few friends), I resigned myself to work hard in the Crash office, and not think too much about going to Tohoku. I guess part of it was because I may not have been ready to go up, or that even if I went, there would not be much I could do. And I will confess that pride in being able to say: "I'm doing something!" would probably have been a pretty big stumbling block for me. So I stopped thinking of ways to sneak up, and focused on the tasks at hand (and hanging out with friends at the office).

And that was when Doug called me, saying he was going up on a short trip for the OMF workers there, and asked if I wanted in.

* * *

The trip was fairly normal I guess. I had to stay the night at Tim's place because Doug wanted to leave from there at 6 in the morning, and I didn't trust myself to wake up and get over in time. We packed what they had bought the day before (thanks to funds from Saitama Intl), and then we headed over to the HQ at Ichikawa to meet up with the Jaes, and pick up more supplies that the Chapel of Adoration at provided.

Not quite overflowing, but it was pretty full of food, hygiene products, and clothes. It's hard to see from here, but we were stuffing vegetables into every nook and cranny we could find.

Moving up to Sendai was uneventful. We stopped a couple of times for rest and for petrol, and we didn't feel any different when we passed closest to the damaged reactors in Fukushima (about 80km away I think), but we opted not to hang around in that area too long anyway.

When we got into Sendai itself, the city looked very normal. There were some rather long lines at the petrol stations, but if not, you would not have thought anything was out of the ordinary...until we started to get nearer to the beach areas, and then we started to see some damage.

Just some of the evidence that this place was wrecked...and it wasn't the worse.

The roads were clear; it was more than two weeks since the earthquake and tsunami, but all the stuff was just piled up to the sides. Cars, trash, rubble, debris, there was just piles and piles of the stuff. Some of the buildings showed the aftereffects of the quake, but most of the damage was done by the tsunami I guess (and also when they just shoved everything out of the way for the relief convoys to get through).

We linked up with one of the OMF missionaries, Rod, who was actually next to the sea when the tsunami came in; his house was on high ground so him, his wife, and a few neighbours were safe, but his car got swept away. He brought us to one of the distribution centres, where we dropped off most of our supplies (it was good to finally be able to sit normally in the car), and then we went to pay a visit to his house. Along the way, he brought us through Shichigahama, which was one of the worst-hit areas.

There used to be houses here. Now it's just flat.

Think this was farmland. It got inundated with seawater, and they'll have to desalinate the fields before anything grows again I reckon.

This scene came out in several newspapers and stuff I think.

There used to be about 2 more meters of land beyond where Tim is standing. It fell off during the quake.

The next day, we helped to transport some stuff around, and then went to help Rod and his wife start doing some work near his place. We cleared a bit of trash, helped set a couple of fences back in place, and picked up some recyclable materiel that washed ashore. I realize now that my 'able-bodiedness' was not quite enough to do some of the heavy lifting there; I had to carry a 12-foot plank, and boy did I suffer carrying it.

We managed to get the fence in the picture to stand again.

While we were there doing repair work, Tim found an envelope with some photographs showing a childrens' play. The photos were dated 1988, and they were probably washed out from one of the houses. I also saw things on the beach that were clearly personal belongings; a shoe, a stuffed animal, a CD.. and you realize that this is not just 'stuff that was washed up', but that these things actually belonged to living people, who were in all likelihood killed during the disaster, and that's when the weight of it all starts to sink in on you.

Looks like some scene out of a disaster movie...except this is no movie set, and people did die here.

In the evening, we helped to move more supplies in one of the warehouses, and while we were doing it, some relief workers from Malaysia came by with a couple of trucks to deliver water. There was quite a bit of water, and my arms kept on feeling like they were about to drop out. It was kinda nice to hear people speaking English with the Malaysian accent, reminded me of Singapore. We went for dinner with another of the OMF missionaries, Jim, and his family. (Another odd facet of our trip there was that quite a few of the restaurants were open for business. The conbinis could be out of food like bentos and onigiri, while the restaurants were able to give you steak. Odd.)

Our third day was pretty much just packing up and going back, though we were able to meet up with the third missionary, Joel, and his family. Somehow, I ended up being the caretaker of his younger child, a boy named Leo (I think), who was about 3 (if I'm not wrong). Doug and Issac also got to experience waiting in line for fuel, as we were skittish about going on to the highway without enough petrol in the tanks, and though it took Doug two hours, and Isaac close to four, we were able to leave Sendai around noon, and head back to Tokyo.

* * *

Overall, it was a rather eye-opening trip. There was lots of physical damage everywhere, and the army was there helping to clear things up, but it seemed so atypical of a disaster zone; everyone was calm, you didn't sense there were any shortages, there was no screaming or crying. Maybe it was because it was two weeks old, but it still seemed too placid, too utterly 'normal' for a place that had such violence visited on it.

I guess it was eye-opening for me in the sense that I now know how little I can do to help. I don't have medical training, I can't do construction, I'm not able to help counsel people, and even if I did, my Japanese is not good enough to do so. Even removing debris, I realize is not as easy as I thought it would be (I didn't think it would be easy, but I didn't imagine it would be quite that hard either).

And while the people were going about as if this was all in a day's work, there's no telling how much damage they have inside them, that they are hiding and that we can't see. So I guess right now, we should pray for the people, that Jesus may be able to send His peace to them. Because in the end, food and clothing will not fill them, and will not be able to heal their hearts. Please pray that in this time of pain and suffering, the people may be able to find the One who loves them so much that He is hurting with them.

Seems so peaceful now...

Restore our fortunes, Lord,
Like streams in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears,
Will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
Carrying seed to sow,
Will return with songs of joy,
Carrying sheaves with them.
- Psalm 126:4-6

Earthquake relief support.

Listed below is a message and links from CRASH Japan, a non-profit, Christian organization that does relief work for disasters. If you're interested in helping financially, please feel free to donate.

DONATIONS FOR JAPAN
Many of us are wondering how we can best respond to the devastating news of the earthquakes and tsunami that have hurt especially Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate ken. As the computer and television screens pour out images, we can pour out our hearts to the Creator of the Universe to take care of the great nation of Japan.

CRASH Japan, a non-profit established for just a time as this, exists to help victims of disasters. We have experienced people who know the culture and language on the ground ready to assess the situation and then take appropriate action. Please consider how YOU might be able to help right now by giving a donation that will “kick start” our Tokyo based disaster relief initiative.

CRASH Japan is strongly endorsed by JEMA (Japan Evangelical Missionary Association) and comes highly recommended by Dale Little, JEMA President. http://crashjapan.com/

24 HOUR FUNDING GOAL: $100,000 (send a donation using one of the following options)

Donate via Horizon Christian Fellowship web site (tax deductible receipt provided):

https://www.horizonsd.org/donate/index.asp?purpose=japan_earthquake_relief

Donate via PayPal (no tax deductible receipt): http://www.jema.org/joomla15/index.php/component/content/article/57-feature-article/500-japan-tohoku-quake-relief-donations

Donate in Japan via the JEMA postal furikae account:

Account#00130-4-180466 (Please specify "earthquake relief" in the message box.)

Earthquake

When the earthquake first struck, just before 3, I felt nothing. I was sleeping, you see. It didn't take long for me to wake up, because even through my unconscious state, I knew that the train had stopped some place it shouldn't be stopping at, so I woke up.

That's when I noticed the whole train was swaying left and right (meaning I was rocking forward and backward). It didn't bother me too much, since earthquakes had happened before. But as the shaking continued, and started to get worse, I started to feel just a tinge of concern...which became a lot more than a tinge when I noticed that the lamppost just next to the tracks was also swaying pretty drastically. And the tremors went on for much longer than normal.

The train managed to move into Nerima station after the initial round of tremors ceased, but while we were waiting there to see if it was safe to continue the journey, a second round of shocks hit, rocking the train, shaking the electric cables, and rattling the zinc roofing of the platform. An announcement was repeated over the station's PA system, and even though I'm not particularly good at understanding such announcements, it doesn't take much to realize that they were shutting down the trains because of the possibility of aftershocks.

All this was a bit of an inconvenience for me, but owing to the fact that it was a pretty serious earthquake, I wasn't too upset. So I started walking to Ikebukuro. Then I caught a bit of news in a shop window, and saw the fire at the Chiba plant.

Then, later on, I saw the full news reports, and while Tokyo had gotten tremors, it was nothing compared to what was happening in the north part of Honshu, closer to where the earthquake struck. I saw the pictures that everyone who has seen the news would have seen, of waves of muddy water sweeping over farmland, carrying boats into places boats should never be, houses floating past the roofs of other submerged structures, cars stacked carelessly on top of other cars, and the death toll, 60 when I first saw the news, 300 by the time I got home, over a thousand this morning. And I realized just how terrible this was.

And I want to rail at God sometimes, ask Him why this sort of thing has to happen, but I also know that what I really have to do is to come before Him in prayer, and give it all to Him.

So please pray for those who have been affected. Pray that rescue work can go on unimpeded. Pray that the weather will be good for finding people/dealing with emergencies. Pray for those who have lost family and friends. Pray for the Lord's mercy and healing.

Please.

Prayer Stuff #16

Today, at OMF prayer, I had a somewhat odd conversation.

Mrs. T: Hello.
Me: Hello.
Mrs. T: Um.. you are...?
Me: Er.. Daniel..
Mrs. T: Oh, Daniel... Wong?
Me: *nods* yeah
Mrs. T: OH! You cut your hair!
Me: Er... yeaahh...

Anyway, on to prayer stuff.

• Today, at Urawa English Group, I was talking with Miki about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. And I couldn't help but feel that she is seeking to really learn about God, and that she is almost at a kind of tipping point. Would appreciate prayers for her in that regard (also the other ladies there).
• There has been some changes with regard to the future of the Shinjuku HC on Saturday. No concrete ideas yet, but some of the people who have been expected to leave are not really leaving, and there are some people who are suddenly appearing. Stay tuned for more updates.
• Paul, the short-termer staying with me, will be leaving for Aomori on the 14th. Pray that he'll have a safe journey up, and that he'll have a good time of ministry and stuff up there.
• There's E-moms next Thursday (17th) too. Pray once again, for a good time of discussion and understanding there.
• Pray also for Mr. Tsujimoto, from Steve's Hana-Koganei HC. He has been reassigned by his company to the Miami office, and will have to move there with his family in May. While it's not too bad for him, it will be a bit harder on his wife and kids.
  

Ok that's about it.

NTBI #8

Number 8: Curry

Now usually, when I make curry here in Japan, it's the Japanese style curry. It's pretty simple to make, and you can't really go wrong with it. Water, ingredients, blocks of curry thingy, and after you boil it for a bit, it's done.

However, my Dutch room-mate, Paul, saw that I had some packets of curry from Singapore. They weren't expired (at least, I think they weren't expired), and so he suggested trying to have some. And I thought I really ought to use them up before they expire (or quickly use them up so that it's not too far past the expiry date).

So I tried to make some curry. Now, the instructions at the back said to fry the paste first, but I must have over-heated the pot, because the stuff started to burn a bit and stick to the bottom, even though I had put in the oil. As it is, my clothes still smell of curry spice.

But the big thing was what the instructions did not say I should add, namely, one-and-a-half cups of water. They just said put in the milk and it'll be ok. But in a moment of impulse, I poured in a cup of water to stop the spices from sizzling and sticking to my pot. It stopped sizzling, of course, and I thought to add some more, just for good measure...

...which of course left my curry looking less like curry and more like soup.

It was still edible of course, and you know what they say, "waste not, want not". So I got dinner, though I am waiting somewhat apprehensively for the stomach ache to hit.

#notthebrightestidea

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.

NTBI #7

Krispy Kreme: May cause gastric if you eat only this for dinner.

Was down at Shinjuku today, and I was thinking maybe I shouldn't eat such a heavy meal for dinner, since I might need to move around a bit.. I know! I should eat Krispy Kreme!

So off I went to Krispy Kreme, and my goodness, were those donuts nice to eat!

Then I hung around there for a bit reading books, then decided to go back home. On the way back to the station, I met a couple of Australian tourists who got lost, so I helped them out.

And then, on the way back to the station, I realized that my light meal had been too light, and I got gastric.

So, Krispy Kreme: Good for snack, not so good for dinner.

#notthebrightestidea

Prayer Stuff #15

Hi! It snowed this morning! Snow!

Prayer Stuff:

1. According to an anonymous poster on one of the Japanese forums (I think it was 2channel), he will go to Shinjuku and do random acts of violence at 9 pm tonight (11th Feb). I'm not sure whether it's a hoax or it's real, but we can all pray can't we?
2. Have a short-term worker staying with me now, his name is Paul, and he's from the Netherlands. He'll be with me for 6 weeks (almost 2 weeks have passed) before heading north to Aomori. Which reminds me that the last time I had short-term workers stay with me was almost a year ago (Tim and Jeremy)
   
3. Shinjuku HC: Japanese Alpha has finished, and now we're intending to start a series on cults. We do need wisdom to understand the difference between what is a cult and what is Christianity, not just for preparation, but also after that. So pray for wisdom for us. Chinese Alpha continues as usual.
   
4. Also Shinjuku HC's leader Karen has been had by her university. Apparently, they want her to pay ¥50,000 for them to review her Ph.D thesis. This cost was not reflected in her initial contract(?) and needless to say, she doesn't quite have that much money on her. Pray for God to provide a way out, whether it's through the waiving of the fee, the provision of money, or some other divine intervention that I have no idea about.
   
5. Some thanksgiving, Taira (Tokorozawa HC, Shinagawa Kai) has been much better recently. After taking 3 months of no-pay leave, he's back at work now. But he says that although he still hates work, he's found a lot more energy and joy while there. In the past, he had to struggle to get just enough energy to get through the day. So praise God for that.
   
6. Urawa Bible Study: Miki, one of the ladies there, seems to be getting more and more interested in the Christian faith. She brought a bible with her last week (she says it's so she can check the reading of the kanji, but that's still a good step right?) and she also asked where she could find a CD on hymns. I'm guessing right now it's still just a secular interest in these things, but let's pray something develops from here.
7. Coco's English Corner is having a New Year's Party on Tuesday. Yes, I know it's really long ago, but we weren't able to find a common time till now.
   
8. E-moms on Thursday and Kid's Club on Friday, pray for God's provision there.

Ok that's about it. Really long one this time but well, that's good for you (also cos I keep on forgetting to update. Sorry). Also, it's good for me to remember what God has done and what we need to depend on him to do. Thank you!

Pack

SuperBowl XLV Champions. 'Nuff said.

Green Egg

It's a little hard to see, but the egg was actually a pale green-ish in colour. Perhaps I should have taken a photo of a normal egg as a control picture.

You should not eat green eggs and ham,
You should not eat them, not a gram
You should not eat them if you can
You shouldn't touch them with your hands.

You shouldn't stick them on your fork
Or try to boil 'em in a pot.
Green eggs will make you feel unclean,
Green ham is probably Soylent Green

So don't tell me it is nice to eat
Don't tell me it will make me fit
Don't lie to me, Sam-I-Am.
I will not eat green eggs and ham!

But really, if your egg is green, it's probably rotten. So please don't eat it.

Contagion

It appears that the email account I use to do most of my communicating with has either been hit by a virus or a spambot. And it sends out spam mail to my contact list. So far, hopefully, those of you who have gotten such spam mails from me haven't been too affected by it, other than by having to delete said spam mails.

But it is leaving me in a particularly foul mood.

Stupid spam s***. #alliteration

Prayer Stuff #14

Yikes I've really missed quite a few weeks of late.

Prayer stuff!:

1. Thanksgiving that Yixin (Shinjuku HC) has accepted Christ.
   
2. Urawa English group will be starting up again on Monday, followed by Coco's English corner on Tuesday morning. The Coco's group actually already met once on the 4th, but we had to take a hiatus again cos Steve was busy.
3. E-moms on Thursday, followed by Kids' Club on Friday and the E-moms/Kids' Club people's New Year's Party. Kinda late, that, but well, hope everything goes ok.
   
4. Shinjuku HC looks like it may be losing it's core members in a hurry by March, so pray for guidance as to what we should do, whether it would be better to continue to try to hold it together, or to find other places for the other members after March.
   

Ok, that's about it!

NTBI #6

Certainly didn't take too long for me to do something odd again.

#6: Cutting my hair

Now, quite obviously, my father would be extremely pleased to see this. He was never fond of me having long hair, and the only reason he tolerated it at all when I had a ponytail was 1) he had pretty much given up on convincing me to cut it off, and 2) I was in Japan, so he didn't have to see the ponytail everyday.

While my hair hadn't grown to quite that same length since I cut my hair way back in June before church retreat (yes, Jebra, that's why you didn't know I had a ponytail), it was getting to be at a length that would be frowned upon in most schools in Singapore. Most of the time, my hair doesn't bother me too much, even when playing basketball. But there was one event that made me really desire to have a high slope cut just like when I was in the army: my hair kept blocking my view when I was cleaning my house.

Stop laughing, please. I *do* clean my house every now and then. Whenever the piles of paper start to make me upset, or when the dust balls start becoming sentient, whichever comes first.

So I decided to go cut my hair. However, I did not quite realize how much my hair protected my ears from the cold. I was thinking, 'seriously, how much warmth does my hair give my ears?'

Well, I found out that it actually does provide quite a lot of warmth, because the moment I stepped out of the barber shop, my ears felt like little icicles of cold were doing their best to make my ears get frostbite. And this is in Tokyo, where the temperature tends to hover between 5 and 10 degrees.

So now children, remember that if it's winter, and your hair is long, wait a little longer till when it's warmer to get a haircut.

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!