Tokyo: Opening Week

Welcome to my blog. I’ve never done one of these before and I haven’t ever spent more than a couple of moments looking at one either, so my familiarity is limited to say the least. Nonetheless, I figured these blogs are a good tool for publicizing my thoughts and experiences as I go about them. I assume any individual remotely interested in reading this already knows me and what I’m doing, but for the sake of formality, here’s a brief introduction: I was fortunate enough to feel a tug on my heart to dedicate at least a year of my life to “full time” ministry, specifically to do so oversees. So after many hours of prayer and consideration, I committed to spending a year interning with Campus Crusade for Christ, doing college ministry in Tokyo. The time came to honor that commitment, so here I am in Tokyo. Granted, there are plenty more details that went into my getting here, like the $45,000 God provided for me to live off, but I’m anxious to talk about the here and now. So that’s what this blog is all about: My year in Tokyo. Hopefully, it will give you a little taste of what an amazing year I know it’s going to be. I am excited to share Japan with you; I am excited to share the lives of Japanese students with you; I am excited to share this year of my life with you; but most importantly, I am stoked to share my God with you and how I trust Him to significantly impact all of the above this year.
So here I am, in my new hometown of Mitaka, smack dab in the center of Tokyo, Japan. I have been here a week now and what a busy week it has been. This is only my second time being oversees, so the immersion into a new and very foreign culture has proven to be both challenging and rewarding. I think my initial fatigued impression as I stepped off of the train into this ultra-urban setting of flashing lights, high-rise buildings, and massive hoards of people was, “What have I gotten myself into?” All of the excitement and anticipation leading up to this wonderful adventure had accumulated into this overwhelming sense of doubtfulness and discomfort. As I looked around, I saw signs I couldn’t read, heard conversations I couldn’t follow, and received greetings I couldn’t respond to. I had anticipated all of this, but by the time my team and I arrived at the Student Impact center (the Japan Campus Crusade for Christ headquarters) I couldn’t help but feel the humbling discomfort of inadequacy. I was a square peg in a world of round holes; there was certainly no place for me here. As I continued to process the reality of my circumstances, I began to pray, “Tell me again God, why is it You called me here?” It wasn’t long before God encouraged me with a valuable lesson through all of this.The next day, four of my five teammates and I were riding on the train on our way to visit some local tourist spots. Getting a good nights rest helped ease some of the tension of my first impressions, but I still felt uneasy and out of place. I am leading the team of six along with my Co-leader, Jessica, so to better equip myself I am reading a book on Christian leadership entitled In the Name of Jesus by Henri J.M. Nouwen. There was one significant passage which really ministered to me as I read on the train. He writes:I am deeply convinced that the Christian Leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God’s love. The great message that we have to carry, as ministers of God’s Word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen us to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life. (P. 30)Amen Henri, amen. At this moment, I could feel the burden of my circumstances lift off my shoulders as I underlined each word of this paragraph. All summer long, as I prepared for Japan, I knew God was challenging me to be vulnerable and uncomfortable to the point where I would learn what it means to truly rely on Him. I even looked forward to this point. Well, I tell you my friends, I have arrived; and it feels really good. Not the vulnerability and inadequacy so much, but the understanding that I serve a God who knows what is best for me, so much that He will lead me out of my comfort zone and cause me to push my limits, all so as to reveal the depth of His love for me and the goodness of His character. I sit here humbled by the reality that God’s grace is sufficient for me and I couldn’t tell you the last time I truly experienced that. I’m less than a week into this excursion and God has already been rocking my world. Needless to say, with the burden lifted, I was able to enjoy the rest of the day and the many cool spots we visited. A few of the cooler things we saw was an old temple in Asakusa, the electronic Mecca of the world- Akihabara, and a 360 degree view of the entire Tokyo skyline at night from atop the Tokyo Tower. It turned out to be a memorable day.

What I find myself appreciating this week- The Smiles of the Japanese. The Japanese, while a highly hospitable and accommodating culture, place a high value on privacy. When I say privacy, I mean it’s rare to even establish eye contact with someone on the street. Sometimes on the train, I will prolong my gaze in the direction of other passengers until they acknowledge my presence so I can flash them a smile. This doesn’t happen very often. The JCCC staff members however, have been a huge encouragement. In a culture where casual friendliness seems lacking, the staff demonstrate their great appreciation for my team’s presence here with sincere and heart warming smiles and thank-you’s. My fondest memory though, occurred while I was walking down the main boulevard towards my apartment one afternoon when someone shouted, “Excuse me.” I must have been thinking about something significant because it wasn’t until the third “excuse me” (in English, mind you) that I realized someone was trying to get my attention. When I finally turned to see who it was, I saw an elderly gentleman on the other side of the street with a fisherman’s hat and cane. He had the most delighted expression on his face as he shouted a simple, “Hi!” I was so caught off guard that I was barely able to mutter a “hello” back before he turned to continue on towards his destination. This may seem petty, but it was a triumphant moment. It lifted my spirits. My heart felt the joy in that fellow’s aged face. These moments have been highlights of my week. While not the world leader in orthodontics, the Japanese smile is a beautiful thing.

Finally, a cultural tidbit from my week- The Japanese are the epitome of efficiency. This can be seen in everything from the water conserving sink/toilet combos to the escalator stand/walk etiquette. Nowhere is this more evident than in the waste management department. There is a trash pick-up virtually every day of the week and they always pick up different items. My kitchen has bins for burnable items, non-burnable items, plastics, PET bottles, cans, a combined miscellaneous section of items such as recycled clothes and glass waste. I just scratch my head when its time to discard something as simple as floss or my gum wrapper.