Thoughts from Jen on Kyoto

Over the course of our visits to the different temples in Kyoto, we had the opportunity to see a lot of people both worshiping at the temples as well as monks and nuns who work full-time at these sites.  I kept thinking, “I’m so sorry for you!” particularly whenever I saw the monks about their work.  The thought hit me that they have chosen to devote their lives to the worship of an idol.  “Did no one ever tell … Continue Reading →

Mike’s Christmas Tree

For the most part, opportunities to talk about God or share one’s faith are rare in the job of an ALT. The reason has less to do with religion in public schools (many students have Shinto charms on their bags or pencases) than it does with the fact that everyone is so busy and there are so few times to share your heart with anyone. But it’s Christmas, and Christmas is the best season for outreach in … Continue Reading →

You Are Special

Today was the day of the big Kindergarten Christmas program — and my acting debut. :0) Our team mimed the picture book story “You Are Special” by author Max Lucado.  Mike did the narration all in Japanese too.  It went really well — Yay!  Here are some pictures of our rehearsal and all the different characters we pulled together to tell the story.  Enjoy! –Jen

Tanabata

July 7th in Japan is a holiday called Tanabata. Most Americans have never heard of Tanabata, and after a lot of asking around at my school, I’ve come to find out that many Japanese know very little about the true history of the tradition, why certain things are done certain ways, and what the significance is. Like Setsubun, Tanabata is a quasi-religious festival with deeply religious roots and a lot of very cute trimmings and trappings, so it’s hard … Continue Reading →

Easter Program

Today we had our long-awaited Easter Program, and praise God, it was a smashing success!!! Thanks to all of you who prayed for this event; everything went smoother than we ever thought possible. There were no accidents, no major spills of Easter Egg dye, nobody got lost, nobody got hurt, etc.–everything went off without a hitch. We also got some major help from the members of Funehiki Evangelical Church, which was a huge blessing. The gospel went … Continue Reading →

Visitors from Mansfield and Mike’s First Translation Job

If there’s one thing that Wakakusa English teachers will tell you about this program, it’s that you never know what amazing opportunities will come your way, and this past week was a great example. This Tuesday, 30 delegates from the city of Mansfield , Ohio arrived in Tamura to sign the new sister-city agreement between Mansfield, USA and Tamura City, Japan. (The old agreement was just between Mansfield and Funehiki.) The delegation included the Mayor … Continue Reading →

END-OF-SCHOOL YEAR SPECIAL, PART II: Takine Jr. High Graduation Ceremony

As we mentioned in our last entry, April is the month of new beginnings, and March is the month of conclusions and endings. Well, it’s also the month for graduation ceremonies, and for us English teachers that means a lot of sad goodbyes. You see, in Japan, you don’t just drift into high school; you have to select the high school you want to go to, and then test into it. That means that everybody goes separate directions after … Continue Reading →

Heart-To-Heart In Tamura / The Algorythm Taisou

Last week we had one of the nicest surprises of our time here. Turns out that every year, the city of Tamura throws a big party to welcome all the foreigners from the surrounding areas. It’s called Heart-To-Heart, and it was a total blast. Besides all the fun games and activities, and lots of nice gifts, we got to meet all kinds of new friends, both English-speaking and otherwise. We even met a few wonderful Japanese friends … Continue Reading →

Setsubun

It’s hard to know what to do as Christian in Japan sometimes. Of course, it’s always hard to be a Christian in any culture, because that culture will be a mix of good and bad. Plus, even committed Christians will often disagree on what is the right thing to do because the lines between right and wrong are fuzzy sometimes. A good American example is Halloween: originally a thoroughly pagan celebration of spirits, now a … Continue Reading →

Takine School Festival

Last Sunday was Takine Jr. High’s school festival. Apparently, every Japanese school has one of these, and they’re big deals. So we were excited to be able to see what all the hype was about. Jen was allowed to come both days, and got to meet the principal and all the teachers, and was even commissioned to join in with Mike on two events: the slipper relay race (which is just as silly as it sounds) and the tug-of-war. Plus, … Continue Reading →