Saturday 17-11-07

Well, disaster has struck and we have no internet. Well we do now (when I’m posting this) but right now – when I’m typing this – no internet. *Sigh* this is slightly frustrating, but such is life.

Today is Saturday. The long long long plane flight of Thursday and Friday are over (yay!) and we are almost officially settled in our apartments. Flight one left at 2:45 from Brisbane and I arrived at 8:30 Singapore time (10:30pm in Bris) in Singapore. Then I waited about an hour and a half (used the free internet at the airport) until Wai Ling, Cecilia and Shiho turned up from Melbourne. Then we waited another half hour for the Sydney crew, Andy, George and Esther, to arrive. Then all of us waited (Andy and I had a sleep (about half an hrs worth)) for our 1:05 (Singapore time, 3:05am Australia time) flight to Nagoya. We arrived in Nagoya at 8:30 Japan time (9:30am Aus time). And on the flight I probably had about 2.5 hrs of dozing sleep.

Needless to say everyone else had about the same. We were all very tired and not talkative. Except maybe Andy, who was over the moon to be in Japan again for the first time in 6 years.

I sorta wish people had heeded my warnings about flying badly and not functioning on less than 6 hours sleep. It was a struggle to be polite and interested in the new people we met on that first day. I feel like there must have been a better way of doing it – all of us meeting in a Australian city seemed to be the obvious solution (would have provided at least much shorter plane flights and wait over times) but that was the way we did it.

Jody picked us up from the airport and took us to our apartments, we loaded our stuff into the one which was open (Cecilia’s and mine) and then went for a drive and lunch with Pastor Wayne, Lois (Jody’s wife), Pamela (a staff worker), Seiji (Nagoya staff leader) and his wife. After lunch, which was some delicious katsu don, we headed back to our apartments and opened the other two. Then Jody ran us through some things, discovered the internet didn’t work, realised part of the bike pump was missing, and noticed that we needed extra beds for the night (the guys apartment isn’t available until Sunday, so the girls are all jammed in together and the boys are in Wai-Ling’s apartment until then).

After a harrowing experience, we finally sorted out shopping and came back to our places for some sleep and rest before dinner.


Monday 19-11-07

Yay! Internet!! You’ve no idea how much I’ve been hanging out for it! Also, I think the chance to sit down and type and generally catch up has been fantastic. A lot of the things we are supposed to do have been pushed back continually because of things running over time and sleepiness etc. it’s awful. It means that we don’t have personal time at all – everything is just go go go and then sleep. And then when you wake up it’s go go go again. *sigh* thankfully today we have done a bit more catch up! Hooray!

Where was i? Saturday we sorted out bikes and took a ride to Nishin Church – which is just across the road from Gaidai – our main university. The bikes we have are all borrowed from people, some have gears, some don’t, some have baskets, some don’t. I chose a black one and when we got the tires pumped we were good to go. Andy took the lead and I followed up with the girls and George bringing up the rear. It took us about 40 mins to get there that first day – there is an up hill (very slight gradient) the whole way with a few big ones in the middle.

When we got to Nishin, Pamela (a Staff worker) and the Christian students from Gaidai and Aichiu Medical School were also there. It was great to meet them and share with each other. From the church we walked to Gaidai and spent a bit of time walking through the campus and praying for the buildings and what happens in each one. 3 of them have nicknames – the Atrium is known as “Jody’s Office” because that’s where he does a lot of his CE’s and bible studies. It’s a cafeteria like place that a lot of guys hang out at.

The next building was “Haori’s office”. Haori is a student leader who became Christian in Canada. She is fairly new at sharing her faith but is a great encouragement because she is always bringing new friends to meet the Christian ones. We stopped and prayed at “the Benches” which are right in front of the Admin (who we are not thinking of as the enemy but as people with a job to do) which is where Student Impact (as they are known here) have a fun communal lunch on Fridays where you can bring any friends.

The last building we couldn’t go near because the grade 12 students were taking entrance exams for next year in them. (All the mothers and fathers were waiting around outside looking worried – it was scary! We prayed for them too). That building was called “Pamela’s Office” because it’s where Pamela does a lot of her bible studies and CE’s with the girls.

After this we split up and the guys rode bikes to Aichiu Medical School and Ibuki (the only known Christian on campus there) drove the girls in 2 lots in her car. When we got there we prayed for the campus and the students who study there. About half are studying to be doctors and half nurses.

We rode back home in the freezing Nagoya wind and dark sky. 4 of the 7 bikes had working lights – one didn’t have one and the other 2 had blown bulbs. We got back alright, but Ester and George got lost. Because Esther had the key to the girls apartment, Cecilia and I couldn’t get in to get the food to cook, so we played cards and wasted time waiting for George and Esther to be found. Andy waited at the Pharmacy for them, just in case they found their way back there and Wailing and Shiho walked around the local streets.

Esther and George had the only phone and ended up calling Jody to get them back home. They were back at 8:40pm. We were starving. Cecilia and I made a mixed up dinner of beef, capsicum and onion stir fired with udon noodles and soy sauce and while eating it at 9:15pm Wai Ling asked if I still wanted to run the hour and a half of prayer that we had planned. I clued her in on a little policy that keeps me sane during uni: “If it’s not done by bed time, it doesn’t’ really need to be done.”

10:00 is bed time and I just don’t function after that. Especially after a lot of long days with little sleep. (The first morning we used Cecilia’s phone for an alarm which was still on Aus time. Brisbane is only and hour behind, but what I failed to realise when I set the alarm for 8:00 intending for it to go off at 7:00 here, was that Melbourne is 2 hours behind, so when the alarm went off – it was 6:00am. And I didn’t realise until 20 to 7 :P)

Got to go cook dinner now, hopefully will get a chance to type more tonight – other wise I might get up early tomorrow morning :D


BACK!

I’ve got as long as it takes Esther and Andy to wash up to type some more! Yay!!

On Sunday, We did the church split and I went with Esther and George to Parkside Church which is where Jody usually goes. We also had Andy with us this Sunday because after Church we had a soccer match and he wanted to play. It was a bike ride to the station, a train and then a bus to the church. We thought the bus was 9:50 but it was 9:10 so we had a rush departure at around 8:20am. When we got off the bus it turned out that the directions to the church Jody gave us were… wrong. So we walked around for a while and then eventually asked some local guy a few times and got there! Hooray!

Church was an experience and a half. Everything in Japanese – including songs. V. cool, but also not so filling. The sermon was in Japanese, but the English speakers (there are a few Americans and Canadians at the church) sat at the back and Jody translated for us. It was fairly cool, I sat on the side with Jody’s 4 children who were pretty much not interested in the sermon on keeping the Sabbath and the 10 commandments. I made them an origami emu (spreading the knowledge of Australian animals :D) but then they got even more distracted by making it dance and do the cancan and jump and flap… it was interesting.

I also made friends with a small girl called Rhianna and saved another small child from running on the road outside. It was fun. :D Ibuki, our Aichiu Med, School Student was there and it was funky to see her again.

The day was cloudy and started raining at one point and all of that combinded with the wind made for some very cold soccer playing. I went and kept warm in the office with Esther while the boys played (george in soccer shorts and a t-shirt). We had a good time playing cards with the kids and just talking.

It turns out Esther didn’t know about Student Life’s “relationship policey” about girlfriends and boyfriends not going on the same project and was pretty shocked when I told her. She’s really unsure about why she’s in Japan – she dosen’t have a storng interest in the place and can’t speak the language, so she really feels like she’s wondering how she fits and if God will use her. It was good to talk through that with her, and encourage her that God will use whatever he has!

A bit after that, the mums and wives of the soccer stars came in a bought us donuts which were yum yum yum! The Mister Donught people still have a piece of sticky tape closing each bag that says “Thanks, you beautiful people.” :D:D weee!!

When we got home that afternoon, jody moved the boys into their apartment, so that meant Wai Ling could move out of the girls and everyone got a lot more settled in. After dinner we had our first Team time (where Andy gave us the rules about not making Purple) which was great. It consisted of a bit of fairly bad guitar playing (on a guitar that had gone out of tune) and everyone having some good prayer time with God. Then we talked through some questions about how we are all feeling about project and where we are with God. Things we expect God or want God to do on the project was also discussed. Everyone is asking for guidance for the future (Andy even shared that he told Jody to pressure him about coming back full time) and I was one of those too. The final question was how do we want to be different after the project, and I miss read the question and thought it said “how do you want to be different on the project” and when it came to answering I still didn't have an answer.

I think that I just want God to work in me. I can’t imagine how he’s going to change me, and I don’t know what I want changed, but however God changes me, or doesn't change me will be good because it’s of God. So that’s what I’m hoping for. :D if that made sense.

And that was pretty much Sunday. So the trip until then is about that much. It’s been really fun, lots of crying and laughing, and learning. I feel like I’ve gotten very much into just listing the things we did instead of reflecting, but oh well, I don’t have time. I guess I’ll talk about Monday and other things later. :D I hope you are liking the updates!