|
Staff Reports
Reports of recent Trips and Work by Godspeed Missionary Care
|
|
|
Staff Missionary Reports
Reports and Experiences of the Godspeed Staff
"...as far as the east is from the west has He removed our
transgressions from us...""
Ps 103:12
It is a cool and crisp morning in the east, the sun shining in
refreshing contrast to earlier days of rain and strong winds
that here, at least, brought only that. Further west and north
there has been snow and such wind that large ships have been
blown aground. There are many people out walking today; it is a
national holiday, Coming of Age Day, when the rite of passage
of twenty-year-olds is celebrated. Tradition dictates that
those involved dress especially for the occasion; I see clusters
of young women hobbling along in the traditional furisode kimono
and clogs, with young men in suits or occasionally in the male
equivalent of kimono, heading toward a municipal facility where
the ceremony will take place. Still, the majority of people
walking are elderly, many with small dogs in tow, or vice
versa. I am at least a foot taller than most everyone yet even
with my long stride I am outpaced by men and women who appear to
be more than twenty years my senior. When a stooped old man
literally half my height overtakes me with his shuffling gait
I finally just sit down on a bench and observe. Five aged
couples are playing what looks like Croquet on a dirt field;
several of them can hit the appropriate wicket from thirty feet
away. It appears that age does not impair competitiveness,
enthusiasm, or precision.
I've flown so far west that I am now east, specifically, in
Japan, almost through a brief visit to a mission field near
Tokyo. Although I get a fleeting glimpse of Mt. Fuji looming
through the clouds, there is scant time to see the sights as
I am spending most of the time meeting with members of the
team. My only two outings thus far are the aforementioned walk
through a nearby park, and a church service Sunday. To a
newcomer, it seems that every action, every conversation has
potential complex cultural implications: at least three ways to
greet, express gratitude, and bid farewell, each only appropriate
in a specific context with the right person at the right time.
In a culture that places much emphasis on not giving offense or
causing someone to "lose face", casual conversation is not
always casual.
Cultural religious tradition here permits participation in
several faiths simultaneously, none necessarily indicating a
dedicated belief. Many marry in Shinto ceremonies; funerals
are typically Buddhist. For the 1% of the population that is
evangelical Christian, their decision to follow only the one
true God may bring personal challenge: some are disinherited,
shunned by their families for the choice they have made. Several
of the young students attending the seminary near where I am
staying reside in dormitories not because of convenience but
out of necessity; they no longer have homes. The visible
reward for their choice: the opportunity to arise in time for
daily prayer at 6 am, group exercise, then before class work
begins, custodial duties to clean and care for the seminary
building complex. Classroom work is intense, but there are
breaks: to go in small groups to do street evangelism, hospital
visits, other outreach. Weekends are full as each student
travels to an outlying church where he has been assigned to
help in whatever way may be indicated. Dating is not permitted
while enrolled; the commitment to the work at hand is total.
Humbled once again. Older folks outpace me. Younger folks'
dedication and commitment reveals mine to be anemic in
comparison. Nevertheless, I am blessed; blessed to be here,
blessed to see God working in and through these people, and
blessed to know that because of Christ's atoning work, we are
in the midst of God's grace, our transgressions removed as far
as the east is from the west...
I should be back in Columbia late Thursday. Thanks for your
prayers and support. I look forward to hearing from each of
you...
Godspeed,
Barney
|
|
