Oh the Things...

Do you think if I sing a song, autumn will come? I have never wanted winter this badly before; in fact, I've never ever wanted winter. But, right now, it's after 9pm, according to the web feels like it's 90 (inside my home too, windows are open!) and there's a humidity of... 79%. (Kaori-chan and I)

Yesterday's FUSE was pretty good. We had more preparation this week, because we hung sheets on the mirrors to cover them so we couldn't watch each other the whole time. I know it sounds like fun, but... Anyway, we are doing a series on leadership this month, and Mark kicked it off with- Everyone's a Leader. Everyone seemed to have a lot to think about and talk about afterward. Next week, I will be speaking on Servant Leadership. I've been putting together notes for the last week and tomorrow will finish everything up. Please pray for me!

At dinner after FUSE, I was able to talk a lot in Japanese with Kaori-chan especially, who I haven't seen since we went to Ochanomizu. She was super excited, which I thought was cute, and I was actually really impressed at the amount that I could talk to her in Japanese! I know it wasn't all correct, but I felt like I jumped over that dumb speedbump.

Yesterday, there was a discussion about my name. It's apparently a pretty difficult name, though once they figure it out, there's no problem. So, they were working on coming up with new nicknames (mostly these were guys having this talk), in the typical guy fashion. So, here is my name in Katakana: ジャニーン (Janine) They came up with:　ジャニコ (Janiko, since a lot of girls names here end in -ko, but I think there's another reason why they say this, and I'm not sure why...), ジャニンジャ (Janinja- or Ja-ninja), ジャニーさん (Jani-san, apparently a famous producer)... and drum roll please... ジャケルマイクソン (Jakeru-Maikuson)... say it fast, you'll get it... Michael Jackson, just a bit mixed up. That got a big laugh.

They nixed my US-reigning J9 nickname, and eventually some decided to endow me with a producing legacy. I'm not quite sure why the last "n" sound in Jani- makes a difference, but, hey, as the only country where my name is always pronounced correctly is in France, I'm not too picky.

Shortened

So, this is my new attempt to shorten things up. I've been realising lately that my blogs always look longer than I think they are when writing them... And I assume that like me, you probably don't read long things either!

This week has been interesting in school especially... everything from a classmate calling the teacher a vegetable instead of kind (see what happens when you leave out a syllable!) to classmates doing push-ups (out of fun!) when messing up on verbs, and finishing the next level of kanji (this level has 181 kanji). Next week I study them and then the week after, test over them.

One of the highlights this week was spending an evening with Mark and Yuiko (and their 2yr old daughter) and Tatsu. Tatsu came up with an idea to make a video about FUSE, and so he's interviewed on camera a few different missionaries who came, those who are here, and a few of the Japanese Christians as well. It talks about what's done in FUSE, why it's important, why it's needed in Japan, and of course, please come to Japan!! That's the purpose.

So, Yuiko made us dinner, we ate and did our interviews. It was fun, though a bit intimidating. Afterward, we made Tatsu do one too, and hearing and seeing in his expressions why he came to FUSE, and what Jesus means to him, and why he wants to make this video so that more missionaries will come work in Japan was really cool!

Well, my friends, that's my story for today! Will be keeping things shorter in the future for your convenience, and hey, for mine too! :)

A Popping Weekend!

I met Mark on Friday in Machida to see about getting my camera fixed. When we had all gone to the beach, I managed to get sand in my shutter, which is not condusive to making functionable a camera.

At the service desk, Mark explained to the customer service guy that the shutter was not working properly. He asked if I had dropped it, and I answered no. The camera itself answered for that: it was still in perfect condition. I prepared to surrender it for a week or less to have it fixed, and then return to receive it. I've heard how amazing customer service is here in Japan. (Mark preaches here and Yuiko, his wife, translates on Sunday, August 22!)

Well, I was very, very wrong. The guy walked out with a camera box, opened it, took out a brand new camera, stuck my battery in it, turned it on and handed it over to me.

That's right, folks. I got a brand new camera. It appears they will fix my camera and then resell it, because like I said, it still looked brand new with not a scratch on it.

Sunday, we had the FUSE service in the new location and with the new time (Sunday instead of Saturday)!! (Here, Kengo and our friend Akio joins us. Akio hasn't been able to come because of work for about six months, but with the change to Sundays, it looks like he be coming again! Praise God!)

Praise God we had very few problems. Things went incredibly smooth, and there was no rushing and trying to figure it out at this new place. Our biggest concern was the sound levels, and whether we would be disturbing the department store beneath us. But, praise God, there were no problems. And it seems like management liked us too!! We prayed for favor, and God showed it to us!!!

Anyway, I'm really excited, because with 3 of the 4 new people Sunday, I made a good connection with. One, I had talked to beforehand when we met at street band, and she teaches Japanese to some people and can also speak some English. The other two were friends she brought. Those two girls, Philipina/Japanese are sisters and speak English very well. With all three of them, I will be meeting this week/next week to follow up. So, I'm super stoked about that!!! (Here the girls at our table pose for a picture, Keiko, Yuiko, Maki, Naomi and I at cafe time!)

Five Months Today!

It's been sweaty ones lately. Sheesh. Anyway, last weekend ended on an interesting note. Kengo and I had made plans to make some food for whoever from FUSE could come and hang out for an evening. Later, another girl, Kaori, got involved in helping make food, which was a lot of fun. (Here is Kaori, me and Kengo as we start the long process of making lasagna from scratch!)

But as it were, Kengo sent me a message last week for Thursday night-- are you free at 7? Yeah, I was. I knew it had something to do with dinner, I figured that we were going to go buy all the things. When he mentioned, let's meet at the church and "we think about what we buy", I realized, oh boy. He doesn't have a recipe.

He had told me we were going to make lasagna, and I was going to make a Mexican dessert. He had lasagna noodles, and I was really impressed that he was going to make lasagna.

Silly me, what was I thinking?

As it turned out, I looked for a recipe online, wrote it out, shopped and figured out how to make it work budget-ly (i.e. replacing half the meat with tofu still it came out expensive). (here Kaori and I work on the 3rd pan of lasagna layers)

But it was thoroughly enjoyable. Anyway, yeah, Kaori, Kengo and I got together to make food early Friday afternoon and then Yoshi, Joe and Tim joined us for dinner. Oh, and Tatsu too-- but he came late. Afterward, we played games and then went to an area by the river where we did fireworks. (my fireworks look lame next to Kaori-chan's)

It was fun, though by the end of the day, I was tired. That night, Kaori-chan stayed at my house, (Here Kengo snaps a shot of some of us at the table, Joe, me, Yoshi and Tim (L-R))

Yesterday, school began again, and yesterday evening, I met a girl from the Noborito church who speaks Japanese and English and guess what... Spanish. So, we talked for a while in Spanish, and Japanese words kept coming out of my mouth... and then when we switched to Japanese, turning the mental dial in my brain from one language to another just was like... it left my mind blank for a few minutes.

So a few things I haven't mentioned, or at least, I don't think I have.

First, my friends from school taught me a way to my train line from school via the "underground streets". For real, I walk a block up from school, cross the street and then walk below, and I can walk the whole 3 or 4 blocks it is to the station, maybe more, underground. There are exits to other train lines, stores, restaurants, and an entrance to a big department. It still astounds me that I can walk under streets, cars, sidewalks, etc. (Pictured here: Yoshi and I had a conversation about view and differences of what other countries look like-- and I really wanted to go to a park I could spot below...)

Now of course, I find that scary, but not scary enough to walk outside. But I do think about the possibility of earthquakes as I'm walking underground. Because they are common, I assume they know more about how to structure and building to avoid disaster. Please, no one debate with me on this issue.

OH- PS- Today's my 5 month anniversary in Japan!!

Summer Break!!! Fo' Real!

Sunday we all took a trip to the beach! The beach was crowded, but it was a lot of fun! We played volleyball in the Pacific, threw and smeared wet sand all over one another, and dunked each other in the salty water. Of course, being FUSE, we made new friends and invited them to play in the ocean with us and to play our watermelon smashing game. At the end of the day, most people came home a little [lot] pinker, and exhausted, but we had a lot of fun. (here, that mountain trying to hide in the backgroud is Mt. Fuji... it was my first time to see Fuji-san!)

Tuesday evening... well... interesting. I went to Sagamiono at 5 to meet my roommate and another girl from FUSE for what I thought was going to be coffee. I saw my roommate, sat down to talk with her, and then the other girl picked us up in her car. There, we found out we were going to the beach to a restaurant, which neither of us were aware of. The place where we were going, was of course, an hour away. (props go out to Mike, who looks like a sure cheerleader in this picture)

Surprise was a good word for it. But anyhow, we made it to the spot, right on the coast, at sundown. There, at a Mexican restaurant (loosely categorized), we sat at a table next to wooden and rustic looking open windows overlooking the ocean, and where you could see the lights on the other side of the island that stuck out. It was very dimly lit, and overall a very cool experience. We had the opportunity to talk about relationships, things God was doing, our families, etc. (at the end of the day, our group was 7 [plus one not pictured] bigger than when we started!)

Well, if you think of it, please pray for the exchange rate. The dollar is now the lowest it's been in 15 years, which means that I'm not getting a good exchange at all. So, for me, it's as if the prices are going up, up, up. So, with everything, it makes it a little difficult, but just pray for me, if you think of it. As it were, I've been working pretty hard at pinching pennies (is it too cheesy to say "yen-nies"?... maybe.)

Will catch ya'll later!! (this is Yuiko and I, and how we felt after a long day at the beach!!)