Finding time to breathe...!

Since we last blogged there have been many adventures, possibly too numerous to record; nevertheless I'll try to put you in the picture with just a taster of what God has been doing in Sendai.

Last Friday and Saturday saw our British-themed International cafes; one at the dorm where we're staying and one at the church we're currently attending. The team put together a programme of quizzes, games and even a little Irish dancing to entertain the masses. We also had a recital on the ukelele by our very own Peter Churcher which was extremely well received. All those who ever mocked Peter in the UK will have to eat your words because here, he's well on his way to becoming a local icon! For the Biblical message element of the cafe we chose to perform a short mime depicting a sinner finding new life in Christ. The team members are all immensely talented actors and Hannah, Sere and Philip did an excellent job tempting me as the sinner with all manner of things from chocolate to money and success. In the end though the only thing that sustained the sinner was Jesus, and we were able to have some good conversations spinning off from the drama afterwards. On Saturday I also gave my testimony in Japanese. It was somewhat unnerving, especially with one lady kindly translating for her friends in my left ear! Still, it helped to emphasise the drama and was good practice for me. We had excellent numbers on both occasions and the Saturday night especially was a real family affair with kids enjoying the 'dress up like a toff and eat chocolate' game.

On Sunday we went to church once again and had two moving and open testimonies from Phil and Peter. We hung around for a long time after church, talking to people and picking up some 'tokubetsu' Japanese (special, e.g. the colloquialisms for girlfriend and the correct words to say when making a promise). After church we took a bus into Sendai and went for kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi. I was immensely proud of my teammates as those who had never been to Japan before jumped in feet first, eating gyutan (cow tongue, a Sendai speciality), nato (fermented beans) with raw eggs and all sorts of brave sushi. Then it was time for the long-awaited karaoke extravaganza with the Grace kai members. We had no problems representing the UK side and doing our home countries proud as we launched into renditions of such classics as Bohemian Rhapsody and 99 Red Ballooons. There were a few requests for some of my old classics from earlier days; of course my arm had to be twisted almost clean off but finally I consented to a short recital, after which my friends announced that they want to enter me in a competition sponsored by a local TV station. Hmm... watch out, Japan! After karaoke we all went out for dinner and there were plenty of opportunities to continue chatting and build up friendships. I was absolutely thrilled to have this time to be with all the dear friends I had to leave behind.

Monday was our day off and we headed to the coast to Matsushima, hailed as one of the top three beauty spots in Japan. I can now confidently assert that Matsushima boasts the best unagi (fresh water eel) I have ever eaten. We had a wonderful day exploring the islands and enjoying the sun. It was good to unwind in preparation for the incoming week, which started with a whoosh and continues apace!

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with my former student. She had expressed some interest in my faith and background when I was teaching her, and I was delighted when she brought up the subject again over lunch. It culminated in me sharing my testimony with her and agreeing to meet with her again before I leave to talk more. After our meeting I went to Izumi Park town and from 5pm until 6pm we had a small get together at Myagi University. There were about five students there, and we invited them all to the At Home event from 7 until 9 that evening. Three of them came and we were thrilled that they felt comfortable enough to make such spontaneous decisions; Japanese students don't often find such snap decisions easy. The whole night was incredible as we had an amazing forty people squeezed into the Taylors' home. The house is very comfortable and quite spacious, but even with that forty people meant up close and personal conversations were the order of the night! And of course that's what it's all about.

Today we had another At Home, this time for ladies in the home of one of the church members. This is the first meeting of its kind, run by a church member in her own home. It's a significant step towards both evangelism by the churhc members and the feeling that the OMF team is something the church as a whole can not just support but also be invloved in. We had an encouraging turn-out and afterwards some students from Myagi women's college stopped by the apartment, as the hostess teaches them piano. They chatted with us and we played games for about an hour then headed home.

Praise the Lord for the encouraging numbers so far and the conversations we've been able to have! We are sorry for not blogging more but things really are so crazy here that we don't have as much time as we'd like... but I think it's a good thing!

Please pray for strength and for a continuation of God's blessing on our time here. Thanks for keeping up to date!