Missionary Life

"You don't get mail!"

 I recently said these words to one of my best friends, Sarah, who is a YAGM (Young Adults in Global Mission) Coordinator alongside her husband in Cambodia.  (Read about them here).

We often exchange emails and try to find time to Skype to discuss our lives as missionaries.  We were roommates in Seminary and have perfected the art of having two different conversations at the same time.  I was super excited when she and her husband moved closer to me.  (Cambodia is in Asia and only two hours behind!!)

Recently we discussed the challenges and benefits of being a missionary and expat.  I had just been to the library and was feeling down because I was in a room full of books that I could not read.  I really missed my local library and being able to communicate in my language 24/7.  So I gave Sarah a call to vent and cheer myself up.

But then she took me back to reality when she explained the way of getting mail in Cambodia. They've been there almost a year and never received mail.  We get mail two times a day, everyday and can have a package redelivered the same day within the two hour time frame of our preference.

Really, neither of us lack anything in our lives.  It's hard to be homesick when Shake Shack and Taco
Bell both opened in Tokyo this year.  This also makes it hard to explain to people why we are here in Japan.  People often think of missionaries in impoverished remote places.  But just because we have drinkable running tap water and trains that are never late, doesn't mean we can't bring God's love here.

Japan has many things, but religion is does not.

The people here are very spiritual poor.  Japan has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world. People are lonely. Fewer people are marrying and having children.  The birthrate is declining and the economy is not doing well.

Sarah and I at Luther Seminary Graduation.

We've worked really hard to let the Holy Spirit work here.  We have invited people into our lives and home with the message that ALL are welcome and accepted without condition.  It's a blessing and a daily challenge to be able to see God work in people's lives. The Holy Spirit comes in many different forms, and here in Japan it comes in friendship and acceptance.

People back "home" may not understand or "get it," but we are in the right place doing God's work with our hands and it's a blessing to have friends to share our journey.

Giving Thanks

Pastor Erik reads a Psalm before we start.

Each week during worship, we celebrate a meal.  We gather around the table, break bread and drink wine while we remember and celebrate Christ's presence in our lives and world.  Meals are important to the Christian faith.  Jesus's first miracle takes place at a wedding feast.  Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors.  Jesus feeds 5,000 hungry people on a grassy hill side.  Jesus himself was born in Bethlehem, Hebrew for House of Bread. And Erik often reminds me that they word 'companion' literally means "one you break bread with." Jesus always shows up when there is food.

So it should be no surprise that, for our family, sharing meals with others has become the heart of how we do God's mission in Tokyo.  From women's group, to dinners, and afternoon lunches on Sunday, we love to enjoy a meal with people.

This weekend we got to share our love of eating together by breaking bread with over 60 people.  We hosted the annual Tokyo Lutheran Thanksgiving Party.  Erik and I have been planning for over a month.  We invited people from Tokyo Lutheran, Hongo Church & Student Center, Nozomi's friends from playgroup, and other friends.  We really enjoyed having all the children there.  After dinner they ran around the tables filling the air with the sounds of their laughter and joy.  It really made it feel like a holiday.

After we feasted, everyone introduced themselves and said what they were thankful for.  Many were thankful for the opportunity to have Thanksgiving away from home.  Some were thankful for new friends and community. Many were thankful for their family and spouse.  It was very humbling to hear all the people that thanked us personally for inviting them not just to our party, but into our lives somehow.  I was near tears after everyone had finished talking.

The two delicious turkeys Pastor Erik roasted.
The key is butter and an oven bag.

An abundance of bread.

This year's Thanksgiving Spread.

Over 60 guest gathered at Tokyo Lutheran Church to
give thanks to God and celebrate life with each other.