The Rising Son: May 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Playdate for Juhee

On May 30th, Juhee's Kindergarten was closed for the day (can't remember why) so I invited a few friends over for a playdate. One couldn't come 'cause her son was sick, but the other two girls came. One, Y-chan, has been a good friend of Juhee's from right before the start of Kindergarten as she's the daughter of one of the pastors that we're working with. The other girl, M-chan, is more like an acquaintance than a friend so my hope was that they would become friends after the playdate. The two girls are the same age as Juhee but all three are in different classes. However, all three are on the same bus, so they see each other every day. Y-chan's bus stop is one before Juhee's and M-chan's is the same as ours.

Y-chan and her mom arrived first at 10:30am and Juhee and her had fun playing together. They play well together so I was very happy that they could have some additional playtime. :) The dynamics changed though when M-chan arrived around 11:00am. M-chan is shy and so when she arrived, the playing temporarily stopped and the moms had to help a bit to try and get them to play together. Juhee was really excited about playing dress-up so she wanted to share her dress-up dresses, tiaras, crowns, etc but M-chan didn't want to play dress-up and refused to receive the things that Juhee was giving her. Y-chan watched and then copied M-chan. Juhee was already in her blue Ariel dress so was sad that they didn't want to play dress-up with her. She became even more sad when the two girls started running away from her. When she started to get upset, I explained that they didn't want to play dress-up and so that maybe if she took off her dress and played what they wanted to play, they would play with her. So she took off her dress and said, "let's play together!" again (in perfect Japanese). M-chan had brought a coloring book and colored pencils so they ended up coloring together.

Around noon the kids ate lunch together, a simple curry meal that I'd prepared the night before with Korean mixed grain rice. I wasn't sure the kids would eat the mixed grain rice, but they enjoyed "purple rice" (black grain rice makes the rice look purple). :) They don't have black grain rice in Japan so it was the first time for both the moms and kids.

Both moms had brought dessert so we had chocolate cake with strawberries and raisin pound cake for dessert. Juhee's not a big chocolate fan so I had to finish her chocolate cake but she ate her strawberry and loved the pound cake. Sungjae did too! :) Japanese women love making desserts and often bring desserts when they come over. They're usually very delicious too and not just a simple cake but things like strawberry mousse, jello with fruit inside, some sort of yogurt-type cake, etc. I think they're much more delicious than those sold in bakeries! :)

After lunch, the two Japanese kids and Juhee were having a hard time playing together again. While the moms were eating, I could hear Juhee getting upset again and so when I went to see what was going on, the two Japanese girls were coloring and it looked like they weren't letting her color with them this time. Juhee kept on saying "let's play" but they weren't budging. When I went to explain to Juhee that they don't want to play, they just want to color, she asked if she could watch a DVD with them. Normally, I wouldn't say yes, but as the playdate wasn't turning into much of a "play"date anyway, I said yes. She chose Peter Pan, a DVD she'd just received from the US, and excitedly asked them if they wanted to watch with her. With faces like stone, they shook their heads and just continued coloring. I set up our small DVD player for Juhee and told her she can just watch on her own and that maybe they'll join her later. They did for a bit and then they played with her toys while she watched Peter Pan. Sigh... It was a hard hard morning...

Sungjae had been throwing up 3-4 days and had thrown up that morning too so I wasn't sure if I should even have the playdate, but I was so excited for Juhee and Juhee was so super excited about her friends coming over that I didn't have the heart to cancel. It was an upsetting morning but Juhee still smiled when she was waving bye to her friends and gave M-chan a present. She also asked if her friends could come over again. Of course, I said yes, in the hopes that next time, things will be better...

One cool thing that happened during the playdate was that I got to show them the scrapbook album that my mommy friends from our home church gave me as a present the last time I met them. The moms were both very impressed and they made lots of comments on how different things were in America. The very last page is one that has SAYONARA in really pretty letters, sakura blossoms and a Bible verse. Y-chan's mom, the pastor's wife, tried reading it and she couldn't understand so I tried to explain to her in Japanese. She understood and said the verse in Japanese for M-chan's mom. During the morning, together with Y-chan's mom, we were able to explain a bit about our work here and about a mutual friend who is a member of one of the Japanese churches that we're helping with. It wasn't much, but I think M-chan's mom learned more about Christianity / Christians / churches that morning than she had her whole life.

Later that evening, while I was telling Peter about the playdate, I cried. I cried 'cause it was so hard, so disappointing, and I felt SO super bad for Juhee. She made such a huge effort to try and play with them and they just wouldn't. It didn't matter that she looks like them (she probably looks more Japanese than they do :)) and it didn't matter that she was speaking to them in Japanese or that it was her house. Ah... We tried. And we'll keep trying... It's so hard for Juhee though and my heart broke thinking that she might be going through situations like this everyday at school, situations that she doesn't understand, situations where she's excluded and left on the outside... :( The play culture is different here and she obviously can't speak or understand a whole lot of Japanese yet so it's, well, difficult.

This is the Bible verse, a verse that I need to remind myself of daily: I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philipians 4:13).

Saturday, May 28, 2011

"Make & Play"

Another new experience... At Juhee's kindergarten (and apparently at most kindergartens in Japan although I can't verify this), there is an annual event called "Make & Play (つくってあそぼう). We received information on it but as it was all in Japanese ㅡㅡ; we weren't quite sure what to expect, other than that it's a family event and that you make things and then play with them.

Starting from a few weeks prior to the event, the kindergarten started collecting tissue boxes, plastic bottles, yogurt containers, toilet roll & paper towel insides (what are they called?!), cookie boxes, etc to make things with. Pretty cool, eh? Kids would take plastic bags of these things with them to school and then their teacher would take them to the "Hall" where they were all being collected in big boxes and they would sort them. A teacher came in with a few students as we finished our mom's meeting for the moms of Juhee's class so I was able to take a few pics. Sungjae got into the action too (bottom right pic) and was actually freaking out one of the older girls 'cause he kept on taking things out of one box and then either throwing it on the floor or putting it in the wrong box. ;)

On the day, there were probably about 10 different activities that you could do spread out across the classrooms upstairs and down, the big hall, and outside too (under tents as it was raining). It was amazing! The amount of work that went into organizing this event... My goodness! You basically go into which ever room / area that has the activity that you want to, do your thing, and then move on to the next one. For example, there was a room where kids could paint on really big sheets of paper and an area where kids (and parents) could sit and mold things out of clay. The "Hall", which had TONS of people in it making lots of really cool stuff like cars, planes, robots, etc had a really cool "man" in front of it made out of cardboard. It was amazing to see the kind of stuff people were making!

We started upstairs in Juhee's classroom where they had set up tables for kids to make slime. It was an easy, albeit messy one and I got to chat with a couple of the other moms from her class who were there at the same time as us. Of course, most of the other moms had come prepared and had brought a cup or some sort of container to take the slime back home in whereas I didn't. :( I had to carry it around with me in the flimsy paper cup that it was created in and some of it later ended up getting all over my bag on our way home. :( Juhee played with it a bit at home and then I threw it away. In the sewing room where you could create scrunchies, finger puppets, etc, Juhee and I got to do a bit of sewing. She created a little bunny finger puppet and a house thing (see pic). It was hard though 'cause I didn't come prepared with a pencil or markers for drawing on cloth with so I had to borrow from other moms. It was also hard 'cause the room was packed and there were lots of sharp objects (scissors, needles, pencils, rulers...) so it was hard trying to keep Sungjae out of trouble while helping Juhee complete her projects. The teachers actually ended up having to help us, which is what they're there for, but I still felt bad, well, more like inadequate. There was a room for creating costumes upstairs too but we didn't go into that one. I wasn't up for the challenge.

Downstairs, they had the room with large sheets of paper for the kids to paint on, the clay area, the room to make things out of all of the things brought from homes, a woodwork area complete with saws and lots of random sizes of wood, and a paper craft area which is where we ended up last. I wish we'd gone here first 'cause they were easy, simple projects that Juhee and I would have both enjoyed and could easily do! Juhee liked the necklace and flowers but as we got there at the end, the teacher's very kindly showed us how to make them and gave us the supplies so we can make it at home as they had to finish up. Juhee had fun making the necklace later with me at home and we haven't made the flowers yet, but hopefully we will soon (before I forget how to do it!). :)

Alas, I guess it was meant to be as we ended up meeting the Japanese mom who is married to an English man and is perfectly bilingual, the only other completely fluent English speaking mom at the kindergarten. She then introduced me to another mom who is 3rd generation Korean so speaks a bit of Korean, some English, fluent Japanese and is part of the PTA type mom's group.

It was a hard, stressful morning, completely different to what I had expected in a good and bad way. Good 'cause there were just so many awesome activities and I was just blown away at the amount of work that had gone into it (the kids were let out of school early the previous day so the teachers could prepare) and the level of creativity that Japanese 3-5 year olds and their parents have. As it was a family event, I thought that Sungjae would be able to have fun, but I was wrong on that one. I had to constantly stop him from touching things so it was really hard on him and me. I also made it more stressful on myself 'cause I wanted to go to every room so Juhee could make an "informed decision" but I think I just ended up stressing her and myself out. I really wish I had spent some time looking through the information that had been sent home but there was just so much Japanese and it was handwritten by whichever teacher was in charge of the room, so it was hard to decipher. Next year, I'll know better and be better prepared!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

1st Japanese BBQ

We were so excited about attending our first ever BBQ in Japan! When we were first invited, we (and the others attending) were asked to bring vegetables to BBQ as the hosting family, the Okanos, was going to bring the meat for everyone. However, not knowing how to prepare vegetables for a BBQ Japanese-style, I later asked if we could bring some Korean-style spicy BBQ pork (돼지불고기) with lettuce leaves to wrap them in, garlic, and “sauce” (쌈장), ‘cause that was something I knew I could deliver. =D

So, on May 5th, "Boys' Day", a national holiday in Japan, the Murrays, the hosts, a Japanese couple that we’d met previously and a few other families that we hadn't met previously, BBQ-ed together at a national park in the mountains close to the hosts house. Most people spoke at least some English so it was a fun time of learning how to prepare vegetables for a Japanese BBQ, trying different types of meat (including Japanese-style kalbi), experiencing “dodgiball” for the first time, our first visit to a big national park, and being able to observe how the Japanese do BBQs.

We didn’t bring folding chairs like most everybody else, but we’ll know better next time! I also didn’t have time to go hat shopping beforehand, so we had to use whatever we had (my gardening hat and Juhee’s kindergarten hat), but we’ll be better prepared next time! Hopefully, by our next BBQ, Sungjae won’t be so interested in eating the sand/gravel/rocks off the ground either!

Picture is of Peter enjoying one of the HUGE onigiris (triangular shaped rice balls) that the Okanos prepared and Sungjae eyeing one of the Okano boys eating his Korean spicy pork wrap.

I get sunburned very easily so I covered up! Juhee was very happy that she got to drink strawberry milk that day. She also got to play dodgiball for the first time.

Koreans are very used to stuffing their mouths with big lettuce wraps full of meat and other veg, but it’s not very Japanese-y. After showing everyone how to prepare the wrap, I was challenged to show how it’s eaten too – to which I happily obliged! =D It was fun learning how to prep the veg Japanese-style and I think everyone enjoyed the Korean part of the meal too. It was cool to see lots of families there together at the park, enjoying Golden Week with friends and family. :)

Juhee had actually come down with a cold the previous evening and had a slight fever that morning, but she was so looking forward to it, that we decided to go. She missed school for the first time ever the following day. And then another 3 days during the month of May... :(

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Happy 1st Birthday Sungjae! :)

By the grace of God, our little Sungjae turned 1 on May 18th! We celebrated his birthday a bit early as we had a special guest visiting at the time and invited the Murrays and the Ogawas to join us on this very happy occasion. The special guest and I cooked up a storm with lots of side dishes including 3 different types of kimchi (배추김치, 오이김치, 무말랭이), sweet potato noodles with veg & meat aka japchae (잡채), stir fried kimchi & pork, traditional Korean birthday seaweed soup (미역국), and a few other side dishes including Korean seaweed (김). Our special guest brought many of the ingredients from Korea. :) During the meal, we spoke a mixture of Korean, Japanese, and English. One of the challenges when we have guests is that we eat on two low long tables on the floor of the tatami room so we're always trying to keep Sungjae away so it's always a bit stressful and crazy. This day was no exception! Thankfully, Uncle Scott eats fast... :)

One of my brothers sent the hanbok that my maternal grandmother made for him that he wore when he turned one for Sungjae to wear - except he only sent part of it... And four pairs of hanbok socks... @@ But he sent the important parts of the hanbok, so to most people, Sungjae's hanbok probably looks OK. :) He went from wearing comfy short sleeves & overalls to a multi-layered puffy garment, thick-ish socks, and a hat which he looked so cute in but unfortunately didn't want to keep on for very long. ;)

We didn't do the full Korean-style dohl-jab-ee (돌잡이) with the rice cake, etc food displayed in front and all of the traditional items, but we had some things for him to grab and "predict" his future with. The Murray twins and our special guest helped with the table set-up and we had rice, a nice fountain pen (instead of a calligraphy/paint brush), a children's Bible, a mouse, money, crayons, and a ball for Sungjae to grab. The Ogawas guessed he would go for the Bible and Peter thought he would go for the ball. When I put Sungjae down, I think he went for the fountain pen first, then the crayons, then the money. So according to what he grabbed, he's going to be a scholastic artist with much wealth. =D

A few things about Sungjae...
* He has a very tender heart so loves big hugs, cuddles, and kisses and is very sad when he gets into trouble.
* He "speaks" Korean and baby sign but understands English too.
* He has a sweet tooth - just like his daddy! - and loves his desserts.
* He's already a picky eater. He has to be in the mood for fruit (and unfortunately, usually he isn't anymore) and prefers meat to veg. Juhee didn't start being picky till sometime after she turned two and could eat everything, so trying to cater to his even more limited food options is stressing this mommy out just a little bit... ^^;
* He transitioned from crawling to almost exclusively walking at 11 months.
* Hopefully, he'll soon learn that crawling over big sister to get to the door after he wakes up while she's still sleeping is not a good idea!
* When he went for his 1 yr check-up, he was above average for height and weight. I think he'd be around average in the US though.
* He's starting to get into things like airplanes, cars, trucks and makes "vroom" noises when playing with them. :)
* When music's playing he used to bend his knees up and down when dancing, but now he sways gently from left to right - so cute!
* For a one-year-old, he's pretty good at throwing (and sometimes catching too).
* He hasn't had / doesn't have much stranger anxiety - praise God! - and will play well almost anywhere and everywhere as long as he has something to keep him preoccupied with.
* He has the cutest, biggest smile and is usually a happy, pleasant, and very loving baby. :)

We love you so much little Sungjae! May God bless you and keep you for all of your days. May you grow to know and love Him and may you never depart from His ways. And may God grant me, abba ("daddy" in Korean), and nuna ("big sis" in Korean) much wisdom so that we know what is best to feed you physically, emotionally, and spiritually so that you may grow to be a healthy and strong son of God. In Jesus' name, Amen! :)

Sunday, May 15, 2011

1st Childrens' Ministry PTA

As usual, I didn't understand everything that the Sunday School teacher was saying to me when she told me about the PTA, but I understood "enough" to be able to tell her that we would be attending the event and that I would bring food for Sungjae. I thought it was a Childrens' Ministry Spring Party so you can imagine my surprise when the parents were ushered into the meeting room while the kids played in another and there were no signs of a "party" or even lunch! :)

We started off by singing one of the praise songs that the kids had sung during the special song portion of the service that morning. R-san sat on the floor playing the keyboard (you can see the top of her head behind the desks) while one of the teachers held up the words to the song. They have lots of these book-type things that they write the lyrics on for the kids' worship songs. One teacher always has to hold it up and flip the pages during the song. In the small churches I attended while growing up, we always used flip charts. The lettering was bigger, you had more space to decorate it and make it more kid friendly too, and no one had to hold it up and flip pages. Maybe it's a storage issue, although I'm not sure that storing lots of those big books saves any more space than a big flip charts. I wonder why they don't use powerpoint? Anyway, I digress...

Pastor Haitaka then gave a message that was linked to his sermon that morning based on 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness". They were both for parents on godly parenting and I so wish we could have understood it! As a verse for dads, he shared Ephesians 6:4, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" and for moms, he shared Titus 2:4-5, "Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God". To emphasize the importance of love in the teamwork of parenting, he shared 1 Corinthians 16:14 "Do everything in love". He also spoke about what a blessing it was that 10 new children attended the special Children's Easter Party (link). One thing that I really appreciated was his emphasis on the parents being the primary teachers for their children in raising them up to be godly adults. God commanded parents to instruct their children in His ways at all times, not Sunday School teachers or Childrens' / Youth pastors. As Pastor Haitaka very rightly emphasized, Sunday School teachers and pastors are in a supporting role. The primary "Sunday School" is in the home and secondly at church.

Lunch did eventually come (I thought the heavily pregnant mom next to me was going to pass out!) and we all had one sandwich and one pastry each. I got a fried fish sandwich and I was surprised that the fish wasn't processed filet-o-fish type fish but actual fish that was battered and fried. Everyone else was surprised that I was surprised and that I'd never had it before. :) Japanese people seem to really like their toppings / sauces so this sandwich was very liberally spread with - I think - tartar sauce. I'm so glad it wasn't a bunch of mayonnaise! After the big meeting & lunch was over, we all split up into groups by class. In Juhee's class there are 3 3-year-old girls, which is nice for the girls and for the teachers too. :)

Please pray for the Sunday School staff as they put in so much effort in trying to make it fun for the kids so that they will continue to come and grow in the Word. Please pray that we will be able to build good, strong relationships with the other parents so that we can be mutually encouraged in a country where Christian parents and children are very very few in number. Please pray that we will be able to pray for each other both separately and together. Please pray that we peruse Scripture constantly to teach, rebuke, correct and train our kids in righteousness while at the same time exemplifying and pouring out God's love and patience to them as we strive to be godly parents.

I couldn't resist... A picture of my men as we were leaving that day. :)

Friday, May 6, 2011

4월 업데이트

Friday May 6, 2011

새로운 출발

안녕하세요!

십자가에 죽으시고 부활하신 주님, 귀한 아들을 저희에게 선물로 주신 하나님께 감사를 드립니다. 그리고 일본땅에 부활하신 주님에 대해 나눌 수 있도록 저희를 히로시마로 불러주시고 여기서 첫 부활절을 보내게 허락하신 하나님께 감사를 드립니다.

4월에는 많은 새 경험들과 도전들이 있었습니다. 오 선교사와 주희는 학교를 시작했고, 성제는 걷기 시작했고, 저는 아침에는 도시락 싸기, 저녁에는 주희 학교에서 오는 많은 서류들을 처리하느라 바쁨니다. 아주 짧았지만, 너무나도 아름다운 첫 벚꽃철도 경험했습니다.

이 새로운 단계를 시작하며 하나님께서 저희와 삶을 함께하게 하시는 분들과 좋은 관계를 맺을 수 있도록 계속적으로 많은 기도 부탁드립니다.

부족한 종,
Peter Oh 선교사 가정 드림

주희 유치원 준비

가방이 여덟개씩이나? 밖에서 논 후 가글용 컵? 고리가 있는 수건? 주희가 입학하기 전에 준비해야 할 것과 새로운 것들이 너무나도 많았고 설명은 다 일어로 되어있고... 디행히주희의 가방들등 필요한 것들을 손수 만들어 주신 요코산과 같은 분들을 하나님께서 준비해 주셔서 무사히 모든 준비를 다 끝낼 수 있었습니다. 그리고 계속해서 도움을 받아 주희 학교에서 거의 매일 오늘 편지등 서류작업들, 요금들을 잘 제출하고 있습니다. 블로그Juhee's Preschool Prep에 더 자세한 내용과 주희의 새 가방들, 주희의 등교 모습 등 사진들이 있습니다.

일어 공부

“My brain can't handle any more of this.” 첫 주가 끝나기도 전에 오 선교사가 수업 중 생각했던 것입니다. 히로시마 시내에 있는 YMCA에서 집중적인 일어 어학 프로그램을 시작한 오 선교사는 매일 새로운 단어 75개 정도, 한자 30개 정도, 그리고 새로운 문법 15개 정도를 외워야해서 요즘 머리가 복잡합니다. 수업은 9:30-3:00 까지인데 그 후 숙제, 예습, 복습, 외우는데 하루에 3-5시간 더 걸립니다. 입학하기 전에 반배정 시험을 봤는데 주님의 은혜로 Advanced Beginners 반으로 배정 받았습니다. 문제는 그 반의 전원이 중국과 한국계 학생들인데 오 선교사는 겉으로는 같은 동양인이지만 동양에서 공부를 한적도 없고 한국말조차 서툴러 선생님께서 한자를 가르칠때 오 선교사는 따라가기 힘든반면 다른 학생들은 이미 알기 때문에 지겨워해합니다. 문법 배우는 시간에도 그렇고요. 그래서 자습하는 시간이 다른 학생들 보다 많을 수 밖에 없습니다. 그런데 마누라에 애도 둘이고 두 현지인 교회 사역도 조금씩 하기 때문에 시간 활용을 지혜롭게 잘 해야합니다. 일어공부를 상당히 어려워하면서도 재미있어해 합니다.

지난 주에는 아주 좋은 기회가 있었습니다. 수업 시간때 각자의 직업에 대해서 소개하는 시간이 있었습니다. 목사라고 얘기했더니 거의 모든 학생들이 의아해했습니다. 학생들이 거의 다 중국인이기 때문에 선생님께서 한자로 "牧師"라고 썼더니 "아~", "오~"라고 반응했습니다. 급우들과 좋은 관계를 맺고 하나님의 사랑을 나눌 수 있도록 기도해주세요.

사역 업데이트

많은 준비 시간, 미국 플로리다주에 있는 머레이 선교사님 가정의 파송교회, 그리고 몇몇 현지인 크리스챤들의 도움으로 4월에 Kids' English Club(블로그 링크)을 코요채플과 카베채플에서 시작하게 되었습니다. 노래를 위주로 영어를 재밌게 배우는 프로그램이고 재미있는 게임도 많이 합니다. 중간에 일어로 간단한 성경이야기도 읽어주고 주 단어를 영어로 배운 후 수잔 사모님께서 연극을 통해 영어로 이야기를 다시 해주십니다. 수잔 사모님의 달란트에는 끝도 없습니다! 저희가 기도하옵기는 참석하는 아이들과 기다리고 계신 어머니들께서 계속해서 참석하고 친구들도 데려오고, 영어를 재미있게 배우고 성경이야기를 듣고 흘려 버리는 것이 아니라 마음으로 들어 기억하게 되는 것입니다. 함께 기도해주세요!

매주 금요일 아침에 있는 "제비꽃회"의 한달에 한 번 전도 이벤트인 "제비꽃 카페" Sumire Cafe(블로그 링크)에 참석했습니다. 알아 들은 것은 거의 없었지만 일본교회에서는 여성 모임을 어떻게 하는지에 대해서 배울 수 있는 좋은 기회였고, 일어도 좀 배우는 좋은 친교의 시간이었습니다. 적어도 한달에 한번 갈 계획입니다. 5월에는 저와 이수미-산(새로오신 현지인 목사님 사모님)을 위한 환영파티가 있어 참석하게 됩니다.

제가 (성제와 함께) 처음으로 신문배달을 갔습니다. 코요채플과 카베채플에서 약 3개월에 한번씩 발간하는 "Good News" (기도후원자 달력 부분의 사진)를 저희 동네 집들 우편함에 넣었습니다. 발걸음을 인도해주시기를 기도하며 저희 동네를 처음으로 탐험하고 기도하는 좋은 시간이었습니다. 이사 온지 6개월이나 되었는데 이 날 처음으로 shrine(일본 신당)에서 2분 거리에 살고 있다는 것을 알게 되었습니다.

코요 채플의 어린이 부활절 파티 (맨 위 큰 사진)의 설교가 올해에는 영어였습니다. 수잔 사모님과 쌍둥이 딸 둘이 부활절 이야기를 미국의 "부활절 달걀"과 flannel graph board를 사용해 아이들에게 이야기해 주었습니다. 그 후 부활절 이야기의 주 포인트들이 있는 그림들이 있는 달걀 모양의 종이를 순서대로 엮는 재미있는 만들기 시간을 인도했습니다. 앉아 있었던 아이들의 반 정도는 처음 온 학생들이었습니다. 그들 중 어떤 아이들은 전 날 KEC에 왔다가 어린이 부활절 파티 초대장이 들어있었던 플라스틱 Easter egg를 받아 오게된 아이들도 있었습니다. 이 이벤트가 있기 위해서 아주 많은 사람들이 함께 일했습니다. 저희의 후원교회 중 하나인 달라스의 Global Harvest Church의 Rising Son 가정교회에서 홍보용 초대장을 넣을 수 있는 플라스틱 Easter egg들을 보내주셨습니다. 머레이 선교사님 가정의 파송교회에서 만들기와 여러 종류의 작은 선물들이 들어 있는 선물 주머니를 준비해서 보내주셨습니다. 그리고 현지인 교인들이 찬양과 게임, 더 많은 선물들을 준비하고 머레이 선교사님 가정에서 설교를 준비해주셨습니다. 국제적인 팀워크를 통해 이루어진 행사였습니다! 저희는 주희가 부활절 이야기를 알아 들을 수 있는 언어로 들을 수 있는 기회가 있어서 더욱 더 좋았습니다.

부활절 예배 후 코요채플과 카베채플의 성도들이 불교 묘지에서 모여 부활절 추도식 예배를 가졌습니다 (사진). 이 묘지의 한 부분에 두 교회 교인들 중에서 돌아가신 분들의 묘지들이 큰 십자가 옆에 있습니다. 두 교회 교인들 중에서 돌아가신 분들을 기억하고 일본에서 풍습인 조상숭배를 대신하는 아주 뜻깊은 행사였습니다.

4월 29일에 오 선교사가 두 교회의 지도자들이 함께 "리더 미팅"에 참석했습니다. 23명의 리더들 중 22명이 참석한 모임에서 교회의 목적을 다시 회상하고 어떻게 하면 두 교회를 앞으로 더 강하게 할 수 있는지에 대해 생각하는 시간이었습니다. 십계명과 성경책의 순서, 그리고 교회의 주 구절(엡 5:8)을 함께 외우기도 했습니다. 참석인 모두 3분짜리 간증을 준비했었는데 몇몇 리더의 간증을 들을 수 있는 소중한 시간이었습니다. 그 날 몇몇 분들과 친분을 쌓기 시작했고 두 교회의 리더들과 함께 일하는 것을 기대하고 있습니다.

"리더 미팅" 직후 오 선교사는 1박 2일의 목사&선교사 수련회에 세분의 현지인 목사님, 그리고 머레이 선교사님과 함께 참석하게 되었습니다. 친분도 쌓고 아사미나미 개척교회의 여러 상활들을 의논하였습니다. 튼튼한 토대를 함께 쌓기 위한 중요한 시간이었습니다.

5월 기도후원자 달력

5월에는 UCSF의 Sonrise Christian Fellowship, 산호세 한인장로교회, 그리고 저희의 파송교회인 뉴비전교회 분들께서 기도해주심에 감사를 드립니다. 기도제목들은 항상 왼쪽 칼럼에 있습니다. 성함이 없더라도 저희를 위해 계속적으로 기도해주세요! 기도 없이는 아무것도 안됩니다!

1 Sorry! 17 이지행 권사님

2 Sorry! 18 이춘자 권사님

3 Jay Choi 19 이홍우 집사님

4 Jingyi Wan 20 임영곤 권사님

5 Johanna Chung 21 박성진/승희 집사님

6 Johannes Knueppel 22 강영숙 권사님

7 Mason Lee 23 김남시 권사님

8 James Kim 24 김필순 권사님

9 Sally Kim 25 옥순례 권사님

10 김순자 권사님 26 이경애 권사님

11 배자실 권사님 27 이요셉 목사님

12 변정희 권사님 28 전계숙 권사님

13 우덕희 권사님 29 조남희 권사님

14 우진호 집사님 30 조태숙 권사님

15 이강태 집사님 31 홍운자 권사님

16 이주희 권사님

더 많은 이야기들...

저희들의 삶, 사역, 드리고 자연재해들에 관한 내용들이 담긴 글들을 블로그에 올렸습니다. 나누고 싶은 이야기와 사진들이 더 많습니다. 다 영어로 되어 있지만 사진들만이라도 구경하러 가끔 들려주세요~ ^^ 아래에 간략하게 요약해 보았습니다.

Makoto Iwabuchi Charity Concert - "God Bless You"등으로 유명한 일본인 복음성가 가수와 히로시마의 EV Free 교회들, 그리고 일본 Food for the Hungry에서 센다이 지역의 3개의 초등학교와 2개의 중학교에 책들을 공급하기 위해 마련한 자선 콘서트에 참석했습니다.

Juhee-isms - 주희에 관한 재미있는 이야기와 사진들입니다. :)

Hiroshima Team Sendai Reflections - 머레이 선교사님의 3월 업데이트 소식지의 일부입니다. 센다이 구조 작업을 다녀오신 후 기록하신 경험들과 사진들입니다.

Kimchi Pancakes and Brownies - 수잔 사모님의 생일에 한국의 김치전, 미국의 brownies를 만들어 가 함께 축하했습니다. 김치, 김치전, 김치찌게 다 머레이 선교사님 가정 모두가 너무 좋아하십니다~ ^^

Hiroshima Team Relief Effort Update - 히로시마 구조팀이 센다이 지역에 있었던 동안의 업데이트.

Hiroshima Team Efforts in Sendai - 구조팀 소개와 일주인간의 계획.

Koyo Chapel Sunday School Entrance-Exit Ceremony - 주희가 이제 주일학교에 입학했습니다! 입학식에 참석한 후 생각들과 기도제목들.

Pioneers Relief Work in Hitachi City - 후쿠오카에 계신 저희 파이오니어즈 선교단체의 일본 전역 팀리더도 구조작업에 일본과 중국의 파이오니어즈 선교사님들을 이끌고 가셨습니다.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Triple Disaster Update

This posting comes courtesy of John Gibbs (website link), a missionary based in Tokyo with WorldVenture, who is also from the Bay Area. He's much closer to the affected areas and he speaks perfect Japanese (seriously, he passed the JLPT level 1 test, which even Japanese people find difficult) so he has a much better grasp of things than we do as he watches & reads Japanese + American news plus understands the updates given in Japanese by pastors. He's my age and has lived in Japan only for a couple of years. Amazing, huh? :)

Here's an excerpt from his April newsletter, sent out on May 5th.

Earthquake and Tsunami Updates

Your prayers for Japan are continuing to make a difference. Please continue to keep them up, even if it's only 10-15 seconds during your morning devotional.

Here's the latest of things I've noticed recently:

Christian books and books about how to read the Bible are selling like crazy in Japan.

Article (in Japanese - feel free to translate using Google): http://book.asahi.com/clip/TKY201102210096.html
The article describes Christian books as being a "quiet boom"

At a meeting of Japanese pastors a couple of weeks ago, we had a young man come from Canada, 24 years old, who was a missionary kid born and raised in Japan and fluent in Japanese. The Lord impressed upon him to return to the nation of his birth after the disaster. He came to Japan on his own, made his own gospel tracts in Japanese, and was getting ready to take them up north to the affected areas, pass them out, and do personal evangelism in the affected areas. This was very encouraging to see. I hope this kind of thing increases.
The level of cooperation between different churches and Christian organizations in light of the disaster is amazing and probably unprecedented.
Our mission has sent teams up north to the affected areas several times, but I have not gone (yet).
We heard that one of our churches in the affected areas was at overflow capacity for it's Easter service, for the first time in the church's history. The pastor came in at 9 AM and saw 20 people lined up outside for the 10:30 AM service. An additional 20 people came later, making it so crowded people had to stand in the back.
There has been an abundance of materials and money pouring in for churches in the affected areas. We don't need much more of either of those. What the Christians in the affected areas are asking for is "PLEASE SEND PEOPLE WHO CAN TEACH THE GOSPEL!" That is one thing neither the Japanese government nor the Red Cross could ever supply, and is in short supply. That is our responsibility, like our Canadian friend above.

An English version of the link John mentioned above can be found here (link), titled "Christianity a trendy topic for publishers".

Thank you for praying for Japan! I hope this blog posting encourages you to continue to pray for even greater news to come! :)

Monday, May 2, 2011

April Update

Monday May 2, 2011

A New Season

Dear co-laborer in the Lord,

We thank God for the gift of His Son, who died and rose again for our sins. We thank God for calling us to the Land of the Rising Sun to share of the Son that has risen, and we thank God for our first Easter here in Hiroshima, Japan.

April has brought us into a new season with new challenges and new experiences. Peter and Juhee started school, Sungjae is starting to walk, and Jenny is busy packing Peter's lunch every morning and trying to decipher the masses of paperwork from Juhee's preschool in the evenings. We also experienced our first Cherry Blossom season!

Please continue to pray for us as we enter this new phase and continue to build good relationship with those whom God brings into our lives.

Blessings,
Peter, Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae Oh

Juhee's Preschool

"The wheels on the bus go round and round~" and thank goodness it's yellow too! :) Juhee loves riding her preschool's school bus (complete with small cute seats) to and from school everyday. She loves her new teacher and is learning lots of new songs and new words too. She's also learning how to do things "right", like knowing where her name badge needs to be pinned, that she needs two badges everyday, her hat, her brown school bag, where to hang her towel, using her lunchmat for snack time, gargling after playing in the preschool's playground, taking off her shoes in the right area, putting them neatly in the space allocated for her shoes, and then putting on her indoor shoes as soon as she arrives at school, etc etc. Towards the end of her first week at preschool (which is called Kindergarten in Japan), Jenny asked Juhee if she had squatty-potties at school. She replied, "I haven't checked yet." Juhee might not have "checked", but mommy sure did! All of their toilets are seated toilets. Phew! Squatty potties at school would probably have been the most difficult adjustment and is hopefully one she won't have to make until Elementary School at the earliest.

Here's a picture of Juhee's school bus and the teacher bowing to greet the parents (and Sungjae). Praise God for Juhee loving school! Please continue to pray for her and our adjustment, and for the awesome relationships that we are building with the staff and parents of "Samuel Yochien".

Lots of Learning

EIGHT bags??? A cup for gargling after playing outside? A towel with a hook? The items Jenny needed to purchase to prepare Juhee for school was very different to what she's been used to. Trying to figure out all of the instructions, all in Japanese, was very stressful and a bit overwhelming! But thankfully, God sent helpers like Yoko-san who handmade Juhee's bags, lunchmat, smock... Read more and see pics on our blog posting, Juhee's Preschool Prep.

It's been a big learning curve for Jenny too as she learns how to use the little book to communicate with the teacher (picture), tries to decipher some of the massive amounts of paperwork, and works with another couple of moms to try to complete the paperwork and make sure things are handed in on time. There are also small ad hoc fees that need to be paid. The timing & location of her bus drop-off worked out perfectly, allowing Peter to take her in the mornings (and hand any necessary paperwork / money envelope to the teacher on the bus) on the way to the train station for him to get to the YMCA.

In May, Jenny has three preschool events that she needs to attend - a meeting for all of the moms with information about the "clubs" (very important!), Juhee's first school field trip to the zoo, and a time for the moms of Juhee's class to get to know one another. Please pray for all of the preparation that Jenny needs to do before each event, for a good time of connection with the other moms, and for her to be able to speak and understand at least just a little bit! :)

Studying Japanese

“My brain can't handle any more of this.” That's what I said to myself half way through the first week of school. I, Peter, am currently attending an intensive Japanese language program at the YMCA in downtown Hiroshima. We started covering one unit per day, but have now slowed down a bit to one unit every two days. Having to memorize about 75 new words, 30 new Kanji (Japanese words written in Chinese characters), and about 15 new grammatical rules this past week made my brain feels like it's filled to its maximum capacity. I come home every evening completely exhausted. I'm enjoying this experience of learning Japanese, but I'm finding it to be very challenging. One great opportunity to share about why we're here arose during class when we talked about our occupations in Japanese. I told them I was a "ぼくし", which most students didn't understand. The teacher wrote the word "牧師" in Kanji on the blackboard because most of my classmates are Chinese, and there were many ohhhh's and ahhhhh's as they came to understand that I’m a pastor. Please pray for good relationships to develop with my classmates, and that I would be able to share the love of God with them.

Ministry Update

After many many hours spent on prep, with help from folks at the Murray's home church in Florida and the local Japanese Christians, Kids' English Club (blog link), an English outreach to kids, started in April at both Koyo and Kabe Chapels. It's a fun and active curriculum based on lots of songs and Susan's created motions to go with them plus lots of games too! A Bible story is read in Japanese and Susan goes over the English vocabulary and then acts out the story in English. There is no end to her talents. :) The kids and moms had a great time and we're praying that they will continue to come and bring their friends too, that they will have fun learning lots of English, and that they will absorb the Bible stories with their hearts and not just their heads. Please pray with us!

Jenny attended Sumire Cafe (blog link), a ladies' Bible study at Koyo Chapel, in April and will be trying to go at least once a month. She couldn't understand most of it, but it was a good time of learning how they do things and of fellowship. In May, they're having a Welcome Party for Jenny and Izumi-san, the new pastor's wife, so she'll definitely be attending that one! :)

Jenny (and Sungjae) went on her first ever newspaper route, placing copies of Koyo and Kabe Chapel's newspaper, the "Good News" (picture in Prayer Calendar section below), into mailboxes (it's legal here) of neighboring homes. It was a great time of prayer as Jenny asked God to guide her footsteps and prayer walked around our neighborhood. It was her first time ever exploring our immediate area so it was during this walk, about 5 months after we moved here, that she found out that we live 2 minutes from a shrine!

Koyo Chapel's annual Children's Easter party (main pic at top of newsletter) had an English part to it this year. Susan and the twins told the Easter story using the resurrection eggs and a flannel graph board. They then lead the kids in a fun Easter craft which retold the Easter story in pictures for them to take home. About half of the kids there that morning were non-members, some of whom had come to KEC the day before and had received plastic Easter eggs with invitations inside. So many people worked togethe for this event to happen - Global Harvest Church's Rising Son House Church in Texas sent plastic Easter eggs for us to put fliers in to help advertise the event, the Murray's home church in Florida prepared the craft and Easter bags with goodies inside, the local Japanese Christians in Hiroshima prepared the praise and game times, and even more goodies, and of course, the Murray clan prepared the main message. A lot of international teamwork! It was so awesome that Juhee got to hear the Easter message in a language that she understands too! :)

After Easter Service, the members of Koyo and Kabe chapels joined together at a predominantly Buddhist cemetary for anEaster memorial service to honor those members of Koyo and Kabe Chapels who have passed away and their cremated ashes placed in a tomb purchased by the members of Koyo and Kabe Chapels. It was very interesting to see a Christian burial site with a big cross on one corner of the Buddhist cemetary (picture). The memorial service was a great way to remember and honor the former members of Koyo and Kabe Churches, and bridged the gap for those who used to worship their ancestors, which is the norm in Japan.

Peter attended a joint Leaders' Meeting for leaders of both Koyo and Kabe Chapels on April 29th. Twenty two of the twenty three lay leaders of Koyo and Kabe Chapels participated in the Leaders' Meeting where we were reminded of our purpose, and also encouraged to consider how we ought to move forward to make the chapels stronger. It was a great time of fellowship and Peter was especially blessed to hear the testimonies of several of these leaders. He felt a great connection with some of them that day, and is looking forward to working more closely with them in the future.

Right after the Leaders' Meeting, Peter went to an overnight Pastors / Missionaries Planning Retreat with the 3 local Japanese pastors and Scott, where they spent time in fellowship and discussed many aspects of the Asaminami church plant. Many details were discussed, and they had a great time laying the foundation for the ministry to take place in Asaminami.

Prayer Partner Calendar

May Prayer Calendar

We are joyful to have the members of UCSF's Sonrise Christian Fellowship, San Jose Korean Presbyterian Church and our home church, New Vision Church, support us in prayer this month. As always, our prayer requests are in the left hand column of our newsletter. Even if your name's not there, please continue to pray for us as we continue to strive to share the Good News with those around us! We covet your prayers.