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Church, etc.

Tonight as I write my blog, I have a different feeling. I just got done reading a blog by Lisa Gerber, one of our church members who has leukemia and has just been given a short time to live. Her thoughts have a heavenly perspective that makes any thing down here on earth seem pretty pale. Those of you who are interested can find her blog at www.caringbridge.org/visit/lisajourney. Anyway, here's a few earthly things from this side of the world....

Church today was a little smaller than last week--just 9 adults and 2 children. 3 friends and 6 members. Akihiro had the morning bible lesson as well as assuming the role of sound man and song leader. He was the only brother there as Toru-san, the other brother was in Sunday School! Anyway, we had a blessed day. Akihiro does a little English afterwards, so I can get something out of the lesson. Otherwise, I read the scripture and write a few thoughts down about it. Sometimes I write down some words that I hear recurring and ask Akihiro later what they mean, but this requires listening very carefully to the Japanese. After two hours, my brain is so tired of listening to Japanese and filtering through the words I know and those I don'!. Finally, the Japanese letters are getting a little bit more familiar, so I can sing with a little more confidence--even though I don't know what I am singing! Thankfully, though, most of the songs are familiar to me! We have the Zion's Harp which has been translated and then two other songbooks that have many of the familiar hymns. For lunch, we usually have bread,cheese, fruit, green tea, and maybe some sweets or other things, too! I serve lunch one time a month! At lunch, I usually try out my Japanese on some of the elderly people there. It usually doesn't come out right and then they try to correct me in Japanese--oh, dear, it is a humbling and frustrating experience! I get so impatient to know this language! I know I like to talk, but I didn't realize how much "not talking" would affect me! Be careful when you pray you would be "slow to speak"--you might just end up in a foreign country! Everyone pitches in and cleans up the dishes and dining room. Oh, yeah, did you know that we wear slippers in church--truly Japanese!
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