Guts & Dolls
We have been unusually busy these past couple of weeks with more of the usual – Japanese study and ministry center renovations. We are excited to say that the apartment is nearing completion as we have put up most of the tile in the kitchen, done pretty much all the painting, and only have a couple more doors to cover with Japanese-style paper. It has been neat to see it and the church on the first floor take shape these past few months and now it’s hard to remember what they looked like beforehand. We hope to be ready to finally move in and get settled in another couple of weeks.
Mrs. Tamura shows Colby (and me) how to clean a freshly caught fish.
Last night our friends, the Tamuras, came again for our weekly Japanese/English conversation time. We usually have fun comparing Japan and America with them and this time was no different. Partway through the evening, one of Mrs. Tamura’s friends came to drop off a box of freshly caught fish (yes, heads and all) for Mrs. Tamura. As would be typical in Japan, she offered us some. When Colby told her we didn’t know what to do with them in that state, she asked for one of our knives and promptly started to show us how to cut and clean a whole fish. Until now, we had just seen the many types of whole fish available to buy at the store, but we didn’t ever want to buy them since we weren’t sure how to cook them. Now that we know, I think we may try it out again! We ate our fish for lunch today and (although the bones were kind of a pain) it was some of the tastiest fish we’ve ever had.
Our completed Japanese "paper doll" - kind of redefines the term doesn't it?
Some of you may know that every week we have been attending a craft class where we learn to make Japanese-style decorations out of paper. While we are by far the youngest people in the group (and Colby is the only guy), it has proved to be good listening practice and an enjoyable experience. We have become very familiar with words such as ‘bend’, ‘fold’, ‘attach’, and ‘tear’, all the while making some very creative pieces. This morning in our class, we finished making our doll (above) which we have been working on for a number of weeks. Carefully following very precise directions, we made her, fingers and toes and all, almost entirely from paper, cotton stuffing, and lots and lots of bondo (the Japanese term for craft glue). Often we had to measure pieces down to the millimeter (yes, the good old metric system) in order to accurately create a geisha on a miniature scale. While it was a lot of fun, often Colby and I were glad there were two of us – one to hold the doll and the other to put the bondo or paper on. I’m not sure how the little, old grandmothers did it all by themselves!
This Saturday morning we head back to the US for Colby’s sister’s wedding. While we’ll only be there for a short time, it will be nice to spend some time relaxing with family. When we return, we’ll have a busy week as we readjust to Japan time, put in our 30 hours of study for the week, and hopefully get ready to move into our apartment!
Please pray for safety as we travel this next week. Pray for smooth adjustment when we come back as well and that we would have adequate energy to do all that needs to be done. Praise the Lord for all that has been done on the apartment and for what little there is left to do!