Chapel speech: On God's "crazy" love.

Originally presented at Luther Junior and Senior High School morning chapel, October 10, 2014.

If you've ever taken an English class taught by one of the J-3s, you've probably learned phrases like "can't stand" or "crazy about." We teach that in English there are many ways you can talk about how you feel about something or someone. "I hate spiders," for example, or, "I really like ice cream."

My cat Ebenezer. Missed cuddling this li'l guy.

If you remember this lesson, you probably also remember that the strongest way to say that you like something in English is to say you "love" it. "I love pizza," you might say. "I love my cat." But what is love? For pizza and cats, it's not the same thing. We don't cuddle our pizza and we don't eat our cats. In English, the definition of love is very broad.

If you came to English Summer Camp this year, you learned the words to the English song, "Jesus Loves Me." We sing this song in church Sunday Schools all the time. It's one of the most basic tenets of Christianity. But what does Jesus' love mean?

Jesus himself says in the Gospel of John that "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." And the apostle Paul tells us that Jesus did this very thing in today's Scripture reading. "At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly," he says. Who are the powerless and ungodly? That's us! That's all of us.

We may not be murderers or thieves or terrorists, but we all do things that hurt each other and separate us from God. No matter how hard we try, we can't be completely good, sinless people—and that includes Christians. I try to love people, but if I'm in a bad mood, or if I'm hungry, or if I feel overwhelmed, all that love can disappear. In my life I've said and done many things that have hurt people, intentionally and unintentionally.

This is what Paul is talking about when he says that "we were still powerless." We can't make ourselves "good" even if we try. Humans are not perfect, and we are not worthy to stand before a perfect God.

But Paul writes, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The consequence of sin before a perfect God is death. But God sent his one and only Son Jesus to live with us and die for us so He could share our shame, and then Jesus was resurrected to conquer death and give us eternal life with God.

So what does Jesus' love mean for us in our daily life? It does not mean that nothing bad will happen to us, or that we won't ever experience some form of suffering. But it does mean that He will be with us always, and that we don't have to fear death as long as we believe in Him because He has opened the way for us to have eternal life with God. That's how much God is "crazy about" us.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your great love for us. Help us to know that love, believe that love, and share it with others today and every day.

In Jesus name I pray, amen.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

Chapel speech: On the joys of church.

Originally presented at Luther Junior and Senior High School morning chapel, July 11, 2014.

One of my favorite books of the Bible is the Acts of the Apostles. Have you ever read it? I highly recommend it. It tells the story of Jesus’ followers right after His death and resurrection, and the birth of the Christian church.

Life was not easy for the first Christians. Neither the Roman Empire nor the Jewish authorities were very fond of these people who claimed Jesus Christ was the Son of God and higher than the Roman Emperor. The Book of Acts contains many stories of believers in Christ who were killed for their faith. Elsewhere in Acts are stories of other believers who were shunned, put on trial, thrown in jail, or executed. It was dangerous to be a Christian at that time. And yet, strangely, there is an undercurrent of joy that runs through the whole book.

Today’s Scripture reading describes the fellowship of the early Christians. They prayed together, they ate together, they learned together, and they helped each other. It sounds like a wonderful life. And yet, all around them were people who wanted to kill them for their beliefs. How could they be so joyful?

The hope they had and the hope we have in Jesus is far beyond any threat or persecution the world can throw at us. In his first letter, the apostle Peter writes, "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:6-9).

Kuwamizu Church sanctuary, 2014.

It is that salvation, that forgiveness, that freedom that we have in Christ that enables us to live with joy despite our circumstances, because we know we are bound for eternal life with God. The kind of fellowship rooted in this hope that the early church enjoyed is the kind of fellowship Christians have with each other in churches even today.

I was raised in a Christian family, so I’ve gone to church every Sunday my whole life. When I was young, I didn’t like church. I didn’t like getting up early in the morning, the hymns were too slow, and I couldn’t understand the sermons. But as I grew older, I learned to value the time I had at church with other Christians, encouraging and learning from each other. If you are interested in Christianity, I encourage you to try to attend church at least once. Even if the songs are too slow and the sermon is incomprehensible, I pray you will grow to know God’s incredible love for you and will be able to experience that transcendent joy in fellowship yourself.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank you for the joy you give us through your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to know you more fully and live in the light of Your love.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

Chapel speech: On self-imposed burdens.

Originally presented at Luther Junior and Senior High School morning chapel, May 29, 2014.

"I can do it myself!" That's what I always told my mom in frustration when I was a kid. When I was little it was when she was helping me use a stapler or cutting my food with a knife. When I was older, it was when she was in the passenger seat teaching me how to drive a car. I wanted independence. I wanted to prove that I could do things by myself with no help from anyone else.

My mom, looking out for me since 1990. (2010 photo.)

When I was learning how to drive a car, I would fight with my mom at every turn. "Watch out for the car coming from the right," she'd say. I got angry when she said things like that, because I couldn't prove that I saw the oncoming car before she'd said anything. I think my frustration made me a worse driver than I already was.

Maybe some of you feel the same way. Maybe you're eager to show how well you can do things by yourself. Or maybe you just don't like asking for help. But there are certain things we can't do by ourselves.

The Bible tells us that God is perfect and righteous, and compared to Him, we're nothing. We can't do anything without the One who first gave us life. There were times when I was learning how to drive when I didn't actually see that oncoming car. If my mom hadn't said anything, I might have gotten into an accident.

Today's Bible verse tells us to "not be anxious about anything." Do you know what anxiety is? It's a burden we put on ourselves. When I was in high school, I burdened myself with proving to the world that I could be a responsible human being… but I didn't know how to be an adult at age 17. There was a lot more that I had to learn… and have to learn still.

Today's Bible verse also tells is to "by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present [our] requests to God." God wants to hear from us in prayer! He welcomes us to give our anxiety over to Him. That is something to truly be thankful for.

Finally, today's Bible verse says that we will receive "peace that transcends all understanding" to "guard [our] hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." When we are anxious, or when we worry, we doubt God's faithful provision in our lives. Jesus once asked, "How many of you can by worrying add a single hour to your life?" (Matthew 6:27). We don't gain anything by holding on to our anxieties, our worries, or our desires to do everything ourselves.

What do you burden yourself with? What are you anxious about? The best way to let go of that burden is to give it to God in prayer. He is always willing to answer those who call on Him in truth. May he fill your hearts with His peace.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank you that you take on our burdens when we call on you. Help us to not hold on to the things that trouble us and let us seek your peace that passes all understanding.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Chapel speech: On forgiveness.

Originally presented at Luther Junior and Senior High School morning chapel, February 4, 2014.

Forgiving is difficult! Have you ever been hurt by someone and decided to forgive them, only to find bitterness and resentment keep coming back?

The Bible tells us to forgive others their sins. In the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to forgive our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us. But this is much harder than it seems, isn't it?

The truth is, you and me, we're messed-up people. All of us need forgiveness for things we have said and done. Maybe you've never murdered anyone, but Jesus says elsewhere in Matthew that saying mean things in anger at someone means you could suffer the same judgment that you might get for murder. Seems harsh, right? Being mean to someone is not the same as murdering them.

But the truth is, murder and simple hatred have the same root. You don't murder without first hating. The Bible tells us that humans look at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 1:16b). Our hearts are not perfect. Have you ever envied? Have you ever lied? Have you ever spoken badly about someone? Have you ever had trouble forgiving?

Holding grudges fills us with bitterness and hatred. Revenge is even worse. Revenge puts the same guilt and shame of sin on us as well as on the person who hurt us. Even if we don't try and get revenge, being bitter at someone who hurt you is still bad for you and people around you. A famous proverb says "Not forgiving is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."

Forgiveness does not mean forgetting. Forgiveness does not mean that you have to try to be friends with someone who hurts you, or that it's okay that you've been hurt. Forgiveness means letting go of the bitterness. And often, you have to let go of the bitterness many times, maybe even seven times seventy times, because it tends to come back.

And why do we need to let go of the bitterness? Remember the imperfection of our hearts. We have all sinned. But here's the wonderful, amazing, good news: God forgives, and He forgives perfectly. That is why we forgive, as God has forgiven us. That is why every time we feel the bitterness bubbling up, we can ask God to take it from us. His love is more than enough to cover over our sins, seventy times over.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank you for your forgiveness. Help us to accept your forgiveness and forgive others, as you have forgiven us.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Amakusa. 25 years ago on a rural road here a J-3 was killed when a driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit his bike head-on. The J-3's parents came from the U.S. to his funeral and personally forgave the driver, which made a huge impact on not only her, but also the students he'd taught and even the Kumamoto community as a whole.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."
Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

They Followed Him Immediately.

Originally presented in Japanese at Japan Evangelical Lutheran Kuwamizu Church, January 26, 2014.

When I read the story of the calling of Jesus' first disciples, I wonder what those four fishermen were thinking. The Bible says that they left their nets, their boats, even their families, and followed Jesus. Was Jesus already well-known by then? Did the fishermen know anything about what they were getting into? I don't really know.

Even now I know Jesus' true identity as the Son of God, salvation through the Cross, and God's love, but if Jesus were to call me today, would I go? In general, I don't do impulsive things. Before I do something major or make an important decision, to be prepared and avoid looking like a fool, I thoroughly check up on, research, and learn about that thing.

In Kyoto, April 2007.

Seven years ago, before I came to Japan for the first time, I studied Japanese culture, language, history, and traditions. My friends were really interested in Japan, and they were the ones to convince me to go on my high school's Japan trip. At first I thought it seemed like such a long journey, and I hadn't had any overseas experience, so I thought I wouldn't go. To tell the truth, I was scared. Those studies seemed to erase my fear.

Now I've been living in Japan for over a year. Of course, in this time my knowledge of Japan has become greater than it was before I became a J-3. But at the same time, my anxieties and worries seem to also be increasing. That spring break Japan trip seven years ago was fun, but I was just a tourist. I was always with my American friends, and we just visited various sightseeing spots. Now, there are no tour buses or hotels, and I'm living here.

Even so, now that I'm no longer a tourist, my love for Japan is also deepening. Working as a missionary in Japan is like a dream come true. Every day through the kindness of my fellow teachers, pastors, students, and friends, I feel the love of God. Every day in this wonderful country, God grants me new blessings and teaches me more about His deep love. For this I am thankful to Him.

Those four fishermen didn't seem to have time to study or prepare. They may have at least heard of the prophets' messages, or the signs of the Messiah, but they probably didn't have time to really think about that when they saw Jesus. Maybe... maybe when Jesus is near, study or preparation time isn't necessary.

Recently, in morning chapel at school, I heard Psalm 34. Verse 10 particularly struck me. "Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing," it says. In the Bible, Jesus calls people over and over to follow Him. But at the same time, he also says over and over, "Do not be afraid."

God promises to grant us everything we need. Like the disciples, we have troubles, we wander, and we sin, but if we trust in Jesus, we will stay in God's love, and be filled with Jesus' joy. From the beginning, the disciples sought Jesus more than anything. Today we can't see Jesus, but let us leave behind the worries and burdens of daily life, and earnestly seek Jesus, too.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your love. Forgive us for forgetting your promises. Grant that we may follow you faithfully.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-22 (NIV)

Chapel speech: On self-worth.

Originally presented at Luther Junior and Senior High School morning chapel, November 11, 2013.

High school graduation, 2007.

My high school seemed like it only wanted its graduates to go to college and nowhere else. The message was repeated over and over. Motivational speakers came to school and told us why we should go to college. Daily we were given information about different colleges all around the state and country. Students' families paid large amounts of money to companies and tutors that claimed to help students get high scores on the SAT, the test that almost all U.S. colleges require.

I felt the pressure, too. As the last year of high school drew closer, I worried more and more about getting into college. What if I didn't get in to a good college? What if all the colleges I applied to rejected me? What if I chose the wrong college for me? My second-to-last year of high school I took classes and joined clubs I wasn't even interested in, just to make my college applications look better. I had to go to college. College was the only way to make yourself worth anything to anyone. That's what the books and the websites and the teachers and the counselors told me, anyway.

I spent the last two years of high school trying to make myself into someone worth being accepted into college, and at the same time, my own sense of worth fell through the floor. I wasn't enjoying my advanced classes; in fact, I was getting the lowest grades of my life and had almost no motivation to try to improve them (except for college applications, of course). I hated doing college applications because I'd have to write essays about how great a student I was while I felt like the most inept human on Earth.

When we try to make our own worth, or when we make our worth dependent on someone else's approval, we will always come up lacking. That's what happened to me when I focused so hard on my college applications. I was so worried about whether a certain college would accept me that I nearly forgot about my Creator's acceptance of me that has always stood.

In the psalm you just heard, the author praises God for having known him from the beginning. God knows all of us more deeply than we know ourselves. He planned your existence, and mine. He thought creating you and me would be a good idea long before we were born. We don't have to prove our worth to God. We don't have to write essays or pass examinations. How could we? God is greater than any of us.

The truth is: we're not even worthy of God's love. We can never earn it, not by obeying all Ten Commandments or by spending all our time volunteering. God is perfect and demands perfection. We're not capable of perfection. How many times have you said something unkind, or ignored someone, or did something you knew you shouldn't?

But this is the depth of God's love for us: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." That's from the book of Romans in Bible (Romans 5:8b). Jesus Christ, who is God, took the shame of our imperfection and sin on the Cross so we could be saved and become part of God's family. That is a crazy deep love, from Someone who demands perfection.

So if you feel worthless to your family, your teachers, your peers, a college, or even society, please remember: you're worth everything to God. God knew you and loved you before anyone else did.

Let us pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your love. Help us to remember this love and share it with others.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

Chapel speech: On busyness.

Originally presented at Luther Junior and Senior High School morning chapel, June 4, 2013.

Two years ago, I was a senior in college. I was in two clubs and had two jobs as a tutor and a homework grader. I was always very busy, but one Thursday, I was having an especially busy day. I had class in the morning, homework to grade and a tutoring session to run in the afternoon, and a club meeting and a play to attend in the evening. I also had lots of homework to do that day. As on most of my busy days, I probably prayed to God that He would help me get through my busy schedule.

The tutoring session that afternoon was held in a tiny room in a building that had just been completely remodeled. The room could only hold three or four people. When the session ended, my tutees got up and turned the door handle. But the door did not open. There was something wrong with the new door latch, and my tutees and I were the first ones to discover it.

At least we had dry erase markers.
(Photo by one of my tutee's friends.)

Fortunately we had our cell phones, and there were windows to the hallway outside, so we could get others' attention. People outside tried to use credit cards and pocketknives to open the door, but nothing worked. Finally, an hour later, a locksmith came carrying an electric saw. He told us to stand back, and then cut out the door handle with the saw and kicked the rest of the door open in a cloud of sawdust, freeing us.

I couldn't stop laughing as I watched the locksmith cut the door down. This was the silliest thing that had ever happened to me. Something as tiny as a door latch was keeping me from all my "perfect" plans. By the time we got out, the club meeting had ended, and the play had already started half an hour ago. I couldn't do anything except walk back to my dorm room.

I'd thought I had my day under control. I'd thought that God would have helped me get things done. But my thinking was wrong. God isn't a good-luck charm, and I think he used a defective door latch to demonstrate that to me.

When we have a mountain of work to do, God can seem pretty small in comparison. But God is bigger than your to-do list, and He's not going to let us just use Him to accomplish our tasks. He loves us too much to let us do that. We don't always know what God has planned for us, but He can definitely think of better things than we can. So next time you feel overwhelmed by work, or even life, remember that God is bigger and sees further beyond our schedules and deadlines, and He guides us the whole way.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you meet us even in the middle of our busy lives. Guide us and help us to see your love clearly, even in times when it seems like we have too much work to do. Help us to focus on you most of all. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

Good times with Kyaro-chan.

I'm surprised to find how strongly I associate Christmas with Japan. I guess that's what happens when you spend three of them there. Also, I attended a total of six separate Christmas Eve services in that time, which probably cemented it all the harder. Missionary work, what can you do?

I tended to not write in detail about anyone else while I was in Japan, mostly for concerns about privacy and putting words into other people's mouths, but I find myself missing the people I knew in Japan pretty often--my students, the people at my church, my fellow J-3s and missionaries. They so profoundly affected my life and who I am, and being separated from people that came to mean so much to me has been one of the more difficult aspects of returning to the United States. Kumamoto, Japan, and my hometown in California are such separate worlds that sometimes I wonder if this is how Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy felt after tumbling out of the wardrobe back into England after spending a lifetime in Narnia.

J-3s in January 2014. Brent, Patrick, and Katie (15-year J-3) in the back; Morgan, me, and Caroline in the front.

Happily, in May, these worlds were able to meet when Caroline and I were able to visit each other's respective stomping grounds. I visited her first in Omaha, where her family graciously hosted me for a few days. I've had a soft spot for the Midwest ever since going to college in Minnesota, and it was wonderful to be immersed in that culture once more. It was also good to hang out with someone who understood the emotional journey of returning "home." Caroline definitely qualifies as one of the people in Japan who "profoundly affected my life and who I am." We went to Japan not sure if we'd ever be close friends, and now she's pretty much the sister I never had. In Japan she was for me a listening ear, advocate, sounding board, traveling companion, giver of timely (metaphorical) slaps upside the head when necessary, and voice of reason. It was really nice to meet her family (who took such good care of me!) and attend her church, as well as go to the Henry Doorly Zoo, which is legitimately one of the coolest zoos I've ever been to. (Somehow I don't have any photos from there, but trust me when I say it's worth a visit if you're ever in Omaha.)

Nebraska! The center of America, or in Japanese, Amerika no man'naka.

Sculpture at Pioneer Courage Park.

Caroline has Pioneer Courage, too.

Looking toward urban Omaha.

Then, a couple weeks later, Caroline came to visit me in California, where we hit all the necessary Bay Area/Northern California stops--Sacramento, San Francisco, the Napa valley, and the coastal redwoods. I was just entering the "everything about America is terrible in comparison to Japan" phase of reverse culture shock, but our day trips helped me remember the nice things about living here.

Ocean view near the ruins of the Sutro Baths in San Francisco.

Golden Gate Bridge from the Lands End Coastal Trail.

In Chinatown.

At the Castello di Amorosa winery in Calistoga.

Redwood trees at my old summer camp. Can you spot the Caroline?

Almost as soon as these trips had finished it was time for both of us to start looking toward our respective futures--Caroline to prepare to enter seminary in the fall and me to actually find a job. We haven't been able to keep in touch as much as we'd like--it's harder when you don't live just one flight of stairs away from each other--but we still Skype, call, text, and email each other regularly. What a blessing to have such a friend with whom to share an experience like the J-3 program.

Waiting for lunch in Aso during our first-ever Golden Week, May 2013.

Summer vacation 2013. The wait to get in to Tokyo Skytree was three hours, so we took this photo outside instead.

At Freshness Burger in Kumamoto, January 2014. Check out the license plates on the wall behind us!
It was destiny. As soon as we saw them we knew we had to sit at this table.

In kimono for the Girls' Festival, March 2014.

In front of the Sapporo TV tower, Ōdori Park, August 2014.

Reunited in San Francisco, May 2015.

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Porverbs 18:24b

Seven months out.

Yesterday, November 1, was the three-year anniversary of my arrival in Japan, and the seven-month anniversary of my return to the States. I wanted to do something to commemorate it (I wasn't planning to abandon this blog forever!), but instead I spent the evening Skyping with Caroline, which honestly was probably better for me.

These seven months back in America have been all right. Since April I've gained a car, an apartment, and a job close to my hometown, which are all great blessings. I've also had the opportunity to speak about my J-3 experiences at a couple of churches, as well as visit friends and family I haven't seen since before I left for Japan. In May Caroline and I had the opportunity to visit each other in our respective hometowns, something we've been talking about since we lived in Tokyo. God's been taking care of me, as always.

There are a few reasons I stopped writing. A big one is that I just plain no longer live in Japan, of course. But another one, one that I didn't expect, was that reverse culture shock hit me harder than I thought. At first it was kind of amusing. The first week back I found myself bewildered by things like fire hydrants and USPS trucks, and it took me a while to re-learn which side of the car has the steering wheel. I had to resist the instinct to eavesdrop on every English conversation in earshot. Sometimes I felt like I'd been in a coma for two-and-a-half years, but other times everything felt so familiar and comfortable that it seemed to only have been a few months before that I was last at my aunt's house, not three years.

Downtown Kumamoto after the last
International English Service I attended.

I remember being surprised to hear a missionary pastor in Kumamoto refer to finishing the J-3 program as a "grieving process" last fall. Back then I felt pretty strongly that I was ready for my J-3 journey to end, that my calling was back in the States. But the "honeymoon phase" of returning wore off soon after I got back. It's been rough, knowing that I can never return to the Kumamoto I knew as a J-3. I'm still working through it.

But I felt it unfair to leave this blog unfinished; I still have stories and photos to share. Back at the end of March, after packing up, shipping out boxes, and sending our suitcases ahead of us to Tokyo, Caroline and I hopped aboard a train to Aso for three days of melting the stress of international moving away in the Kurokawa hot springs.

Taking a break between soaks.

Kurokawa is a town that is almost entirely made up of ryokan, traditional Japanese inns. Each ryokan has its own hot spring, and for only about fifteen dollars you can buy a pass good for a dip in any three ryokan hot springs. We stayed at one of the more affordable ryokan, and during the day ventured out in our ryokan-issued yukata robes to hit the baths. My favorites were one in the middle of a Japanese garden and one that was literally in a cave. The hot spring at our own ryokan we dubbed "rustic beauty"... mostly because we discovered upon exiting that the iron-rich water left rust stains all over our skin. The mountain air was still chilly but the hot water was perfect.

Then it was on to Okinawa, which is almost like the Japanese equivalent of Hawaii--it's a tropical island chain, a popular vacation destination, was formerly a sovereign kingdom, and has its own unique culture. We'd been wanting to visit since even before we arrived in Japan. Okinawa is just beautiful, with bright sunshine, colorful flowers, friendly people, and delicious food. We spent most of our time in and around Ocean Expo Park on the northern part of the main island. The biggest attraction is the Churaumi Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the world, which houses some of the few whale sharks in captivity. We also found time to explore a reconstructed historical Okinawan village and the Tropical Dream Center botanical gardens, as well as just hang out on the beach.

View from our hotel room balcony.

At Ocean Expo Park, gorgeous Okinawa ocean in the background.

Exploring Motobu. This bench is a local landmark (really).

At Churaumi Aquarium. It's hard to tell exactly from this photo, but whale sharks are MASSIVE.

Historical Okinawan village.

The Tropical Dream Center.

Fun fact: we decided to head to the beach right after seeing a terrifying exhibit at the aquarium about all the deadly camouflaged animals that live on beaches such as the one we're goofing off at here.

We finished up our J-3 adventures where they'd started: Tokyo. The pastors at Tokyo Lutheran generously let us stay in the guest room behind the kitchen for a couple days while we reconnected one last time with some of the first friends we'd made in Japan. We also stopped for one other thing...

Can't go through the Ōkubo district without getting hotteok!

The Japanese Lutheran missionary association very kindly let Caroline and I book the same flight out of Tokyo (and sit next to each other!), so on April 1 we boarded a flight bound for Vancouver, where we met a friendly Japanese gentleman who gave up his seat so he could sit with his fishing buddies and we could have an entire row to ourselves. It made the flight much more comfortable than it could have been. In Vancouver we went through U.S. customs and said our goodbyes as I found the gate for my connecting flight to San Francisco. Just a few hours later, I was in a car on my way home with my father and brother, eating a turkey sandwich my mother had made for me that morning, and my 30 months in Japan were over.

When I look back on those 30 months, I can see that God was with me the whole time, even when I didn't feel like it. Nowadays it's strangely hard to believe God's with me now, in unexciting old America, with a secular job and relatively mundane responsibilities. But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, in Japan and in the United States, and I know He'll keep guiding me, even if it's harder to tell.

More to come.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:9-10 (NIV)

Tea lessons with O-sensei.

I've been back in the United States for about a week now, and am still in the middle of adjusting back to life in my home country and processing the past two-and-a-half years. I'll post more later about this stage of my journey in the coming weeks, but first, I wanted to share this article I wrote in January for the official blog of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association, originally published here in Japanese.

As a J-3, in Japan I'm often called sensei, "teacher." I teach English five days a week at Luther Junior and Senior High School, I teach an English Bible study about once a month at Kuwamizu Lutheran Church, and I teach English Sunday School twice a month at Kumamoto Lutheran Church. But even with all this teaching, I feel that throughout my time here in Japan I've learned a lot more than I've taught.

First gifts from O-sensei: a fan (required
equipment for a guest) and a vocabulary list.

The Japanese church particularly inspires me. Every day I learn something new about hospitality, kindness, and patience that I want to take with me back to America. Many of these lessons have been learned in the tea room of Ms. O—, a member of Kuwamizu Church.

For the past year-and-a-half or so, Ms. O— has been teaching me the art of the Japanese tea ceremony. She'd heard that I was interested in Japanese culture and one day in July 2013 invited me to her house for an o-keiko, "practice session."

Page from an instructional photo
album O-sensei assembled for me
from my final lesson.

I'd only ever experienced the tea ceremony once before, as a guest, and although I'd enjoyed it, I'd had no idea what to do. I didn't understand the meaning of a lot of the steps—why turn the chawan (tea cup) before you drink from it? But I held my questions and just followed Ms. O—'s instructions as best I could. A few weeks later she invited me again to her house, and then again, and before long I found myself at her house two or three times a month, her pupil in the Omotesenke school of the Way of Tea.

Once at the end of an o-keiko, I made Ms. O— a cup of tea. After she drank it, she asked, "You didn't wipe the chawan in the shape of the letter ゆ (yu), did you?" I was surprised that she knew that—I didn't think she'd been watching me that closely—but then she showed me the little bits of matcha stuck to the bottom of the chawan. "If you don't wipe it," she explained, "the matcha will clump and won't dissolve."

Wearing kimono for a moon-viewing
party in O-sensei's garden last fall.

Under Ms. O—'s patient teaching over the next several months, I slowly began to realize the deep thought that goes into each step of the ceremony. You put the chawan over here with your right hand so your left kimono sleeve won't drag through the dirty water in the mizusashi. You put the fukusa cloth here after you finish ceremonially cleaning the instruments with it so your hand can immediately move to the shaku to scoop hot water from the kettle (though after you take the shaku you take the fukusa and use it as a potholder to take the lid off the kettle and put it on the futaoki you just freed up). There is a depth to everything in the tea ceremony, even though it might seem arbitrary to an untrained American eye, and it all is rooted in mindfulness for the guest. The tea ceremony is a marvelous exercise in generosity.

I'm getting better at the tea ceremony, though I still bumble and fumble, and evening o-keiko with Ms. O— have become a highlight of my week. I'm so grateful to her and to all the generous people here in Japan that have taught me so much about the depth of God's love and graciousness. You will all be in my heart as I journey back across the Pacific this spring.

Practice hospitality.
Romans 12:13b (NIV)