"Last week we went to the bonenkai party (I am told it means "forget about the year") for Akihiro's nursing home. All of the employees were invited, but yet I was the only spouse invited--I guess Akihiro pulled some strings for me! Most companies in Japan have these gatherings--perhaps instead of a Christmas party. (Christmas, by the way, seems to be an excuse to have sales and decorations, but no mention or celebration of the real meaning of Christmas--quite sad!) It was held at a nice restaurant and started with several speeches (most Japanese gatherings have lots of speeches--at least as far as I have experienced so far!). Akihiro had been warned about the custom of the employees showing honor to the boss or higher level positions (including the nursing home doc of course!) by pouring a drink for them! We were prepared to refused alcohol, but I was not prepared for the magnitude of this custom--I think I was poured oolong tea, water, or orange juice at least 40 times! It was interesting to see the people's reaction as they came prepared to pour some wine or beer for us and we handed them the Evian water bottle! As we watched the nursing home president handle his "honor", we learned that it is wise to keep your glass fairly full, so they can only pour a few milliliters in your glass! During the meal, they played bingo--guess which prize was chosen first?! A large bag of rice, of course--even over the bicycle! These people are crazy about rice! I was grateful that I didn't win! If two people got bingo at the same time, they did a funny jousting-like (no swords!) behavior that reminded me of "rock, paper scissors" except with numbers--interesting! At the end of the meal, a man stood up and said something which caused everyone to stand up. "What's going on?" I asked Akihiro. "Just watch and see--you'll get it," he said with a smirk. Soon everyone started clapping--about 6 claps and then they said a deep "yo!" and repeated this 3 or 4 times and sat down. "What was that?!" I whispered to Akihiro. "That's how they 'finish up'!" he replied. I think we will stick with our silent prayer as a way to 'finish up'! Anyway, when the president asked me how I liked the bonenkai, I could honestly tell him, "I have a lot to write about on my blog!"
We enjoyed having Vicki Ramseyer and Eiko (a Japanese sister) at our home overnight on Saturday. We tried a new dish--a big hot pot on a burner in the middle of the table with some miso-based soup. We added shrimp, salmon, white fish, mushrooms, noodles, tofu, and many veggies. It was quite yummy if I do say so myself! Sunday after church we went to the local hospital/nursing home to Christmas carol for the patients there. We took along a electronic keyboard, so I played and Akihiro directed (his directing was quite professional despite the unprofessional group we had!). We all enjoyed singing and the patients seemed to listen closely and appreciate the small gifts we had wrapped for them--soap, Kleenx, and wet wipes. Seems funny to hear the familiar carols in Japanese--I have to really pay attention--nothing like the 7 carolings I sometimes grumbled about attending in Young Group days! We were especially encouraged because a Chinese man and Japanese woman came to our church on Sunday and even joined us for the caroling! The woman had been in Willis' junior high class, so when her friend mentioned that he wanted to find a church, she remembered Willis and our church! They seemed to enjoy themselves. I was so excited, but Akihiro said not to get too excited--many people only come one time or a few times. Anyway, it is encouraging to see some possible "fruit" from Willis' efforts as a teacher in Yamanashi! We hope and pray they will continue to attend with us! We look forward to a special service next Sunday for Christmas--we have a potluck Christmas dinner. December 25th is not a recognized holiday in Japan and most people have to work, so we won't be having a service, but Akihiro and I are really looking forward to having Skype (web camera) Christmas with our family on Christmas morning and going out to eat with some of the believers on Christmas evening!
Last Thursday, Akihiro and I attended the lady's meeting at Tokyo. The theme of our discussion was about salvation being the reason that Christians celebrate Christmas. The ladies listened very intently and asked some very good questions. One very sweet lady mentioned to me that she is so refreshed when she comes to church (she only comes to our ladies meetings one time a month), but then when she goes home, she goes back to her ordinary life--it is hard for her to fully embrace Christianity. Please pray for these ladies! Jana said that many of them have been coming for years and years. I am reminded over and over how blessed I am to have been raised in a somewhat "Christian" nation in a Christian family!
Tonight I am on the train on the way to home from Isawa--I plan to spend the day with one of the friends from the Tokyo church--helping her pack to move. Thankfully, though, she and her family will be able to continue to attend Tokyo church! I am fairly certain that I am on the right train--I am assuming the announcement said something about it being late--it didn't leave on time--very rare for Japanese trains to be a minute off schedule! I wish I could understand everything they say over the loud speakers!!!!!!!!!! While on the topic of Japanese language--last week my Japanese class went much better--thanks for your prayers! I am realizing that I need to spend a lot of time to study--every day! Not only do I have to learn the words, I have to learn how to say them--they don't really have accent marks here, but changes in intonation can make a difference in the meaning of a word--for example hashi is both chopstick and bridge! Also--they don't put spaces between words! Last week I made a senence that was supposed to mean that one of my nephews was 11 years old (I need to double check their ages!). Instead, my sentence meant that he was stinky! Oh, dear! This week my word of the week is "muzukashi"--DIFFICULT! My teacher kept saying it when I would ask her "why do you do it that way?" I don't think I would like to answer the same questions regarding English either, though!
Sorry for the long blog--it's been a while since I wrote!!!