The southern gospel music choir that practices here at the church is preparing for a performance in August. The event is being advertised under the title “This is The Gospel.” Having just returned from a conference where the true nature of the gospel message (a topic I think is quite important) was discussed at length, I have to admit that every time I see the poster for this event, I cringe. In their defense, I think their intended meaning was “This is Gospel” (as in the music); but because Japanese doesn’t have articles (a, an, & the), it is difficult for them to understand the different nuance.

On the heels of those musings, was a ladies’ event we had this past Tuesday. A trio call “Grace Gospel Singers” came up from the island south of us to do a ladies’ concert. While they share the same southern gospel style, this group is markedly different from the one in Ube in that the members of the trio are all strong Christians and wholeheartedly believe the message they are singing. One of the implications of this is that our local group performs most of their songs in English – simply imitating the performances of American groups they see on the internet – this trio performed most of their songs in Japanese – singing out of deep conviction. I don’t know how many of the non-Christian women that attended the concert appreciated having the message of the songs communicated clearly and how many would have rather the message obscured by English so they could just enjoy the music, but the message was clear nonetheless.

One of the members of "Grace Gospel Singers" share some thoughts on the meaning of a song.

The contrast between these two gospel performances got me thinking about how the gospel is communicated here in Japan. Both singing groups were verbally communicating the essence of the gospel message in their songs. The one, however, did so in a way that made that message much clearer to their audience. As westerners that are constantly bumping into aspects of how Japanese people process life differently from us, we need to be conscious that we are communicating the gospel message in a way that enhances its understandability rather than obscures it.

Unfortunately, sometimes when the gospel message is communicated, it is done without concern for how easily is can be received and understood. The promise from Isaiah 55, that God’s Word will accomplish all that he intends, is true. The Scripture and the message of the gospel that it conveys are active and powerful. But that fact does not give us license to simply “put the Word of God out there,” taking no responsibility for how it is heard. Making sure we get the message right is no more important than making sure we communicate the message in a way that it is able to be received and understood.

Pray for Theresa and me, as we continue to learn about Japanese culture and continue to become proficient in how to express deep concepts in Japanese. Pray that the relationships we make will enable us to understand the Japanese and be able to connect with them on a deep level.

This past Friday morning, Colby and I had a very Japanese experience.  One of our English students had recommended a local fish market in another part of the city that sold fish direct from the fishermen at very reasonable prices.  We decided we would meet up with her there, see all of the interesting types of seafood being sold, and get something fresh fish for dinner.

We made sure to get there promptly at 8:30am, just as she recommended.  Bustling with activity already, the market was filled with people selling all kinds of seafood and produce.  We tried to look for our friend, but since we stick out much more obviously than a Japanese person does  in a crowd, we decided it would probably be easier to just let her find us.

Finally we met up and were amazed as she told us the names of all the many kinds of fish.  People who had only ever shopped at a US grocery store would never know there were so many different types!  In addition to the variety, you couldn’t beat the freshness. Each vendor had their baskets of seafood on the floor and many of the bins were filled with water as the fish were still alive.  One poor vendor selling a small breed of octopus continually had to wrangle them back into the basket as they tried to escape!

An octopus trying to make a run for it.

The center of the market was the vendor auction.  One person from each vendor stood around the platform as crates and baskets of all kinds of sea creatures were passed around. For those of you who are interested in auctions, the filler in the auctioneers chant includes the word “kaou, kaou” or “Let’s buy! Let’s buy!”

Colby and I ended up buying a whole “chinu” (black porgy in English) that we brought home and had for dinner the next night.  We cleaned it ourselves by scraping off the scales and taking out the insides.  Half an hour in the oven and it was ready to eat – delicious!

We praise the Lord that we are able to enjoy most Japanese food, including the wide variety of seafood they eat.  Please pray for our English friend we met up with as she does not know the Lord as her savior.

This past Saturday, Theresa and I spent the morning tending to our garden. The plot we have available to use here on the Nohara property has soil with a fairly high percentage of clay and sand (i.e. bad for most things). Not being much of an expert on gardening and not having had much time last year to attend to it, last year’s yield was pretty pitiful. This year we have been trying to be more intentional and so spent the morning tilling the dirt into mounds (in what may prove to be a futile attempt) to overcome the hardness. We’ll see…

Our garden with the mounds, ready for rainy season.

Japanese people love to garden, and most houses have some sort of small vegetable patch or bunches of potted plants. Because of the cramped space, there are very few lawns; and potted plants and/or miniaturized gardens seem to be the preferable methods for filling the space around one’s house with greenery.

Speaking of greenery, the word for green in Japanese is an interesting foray into linguistics. Japanese (like some other languages) did not historically differentiate between blue and green. Although the word for green (midori) has been around for a while, it was only after WWII that it began to be taught to children as a separate color and not a shade of blue. (If you want to read more about the linguistic phenomenon, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-green_across_cultures). In modern usage, the word traditionally translated as blue – ao – is associated with vibrancy. Whereas things colored green are often labeled as such, some natural things such as plants (and subsequently landscapes) and unripe fruits and vegetables are described with ao. Youth is also designated by this color. Interestingly, stoplights also use this designation, which, at first, can make discussions about driving a little confusing.

Pray for Theresa and me as we continue to be a little “green” in our understanding of the Japanese language and culture. Pray that we would navigate situations as gracefully as possible, that we would learn well from our blunders, and that overall the love of Christ would shine through us.

Some of you may have noticed that it has been a few weeks since our last post.  Two weeks ago, we had the opportunity to fly to the US for a week-long conference for young, up and coming cross-cultural workers.  One of the contrasts that caught my attention was how imposing some things in America are.

As soon as we landed at the airport, we rented a car to head off to our destination.  Because I’m not so good with a map, I ended up doing the driving.  I was a bit nervous about driving on the other side of the road after a year and a half away, but what I came to find more nerve-racking was how fast cars go in America!   Because the roads in Japan are narrow, the speed limit is much lower, even on highways.  Around town, the speed is usually 30 or 40 kph (that’s around 20 mph); while on the expressways anything over 90 kph (55 mph) can be considered speeding.  I know, it’s slow, but you get used to it.

The second marvel was the huge trees in America.  Of course not all trees in America are huge, but the ones that are huge are HUGE!  Many of the trees in built-up areas in Japan are trimmed to be no taller than a two story building, but even the ones in the forest of species that don’t get nearly as tall or thick as the big deciduous these in the US.  Unfortunately, the same conditions that make these Japanese species of trees thrive also prevent a real significant change of colors in the fall and winter.

A garden with some typical Japanese trees.

As I ponder this, I am again reminded how small and finite I am as a human being.  As I craned my neck to look at the tops of the trees towering over me, it was a great reminder of how God’s presence overshadows me.  And now, though we are back in Japan where the trees are shorter, it is good to know that God is still infinite and present everywhere.  Although we don’t necessarily need trees to tell us that, they are good reminders.

We are grateful for a safe, good trip.  Please pray for us that we would continue to seek and experience God’s presence over us each day.