Yesterday we had an excellent baptism explanation meeting. Keiko’s Alpha Course group is nearing completion of the course and several people were asking about baptism. Even though I am on sabbatical, I had stopped by the church office for some other things when Keiko saw me and asked if we could have a baptism explanation […]
On a lighter note, I laughed when I saw this truck today. It was way too warm out today to be eating hot sweet potatoes off the truck; that is winter food! Of course, in the USA, you don’t often see a truck with an open charcoal oven in the back, but here they are […]
The weather was warmer today in Osaka and we got a little rain, so it feels like spring is coming soon! In between proof-reading a sermon translation with Yuko and reading some Good News, I took a bicycle ride to Osaka Castle Park. In Japanese history, there is a Christian woman called Lady Gracia whose […]
Japanese people often insist they are not religious, but shrines and temples are everywhere and they do a booming business. Here is a photo of the Tenmangu shrine and also a photo of the place where prayers are hung on wooden tablets. At this shrine and at this time of year, the prayers are almost […]
During our sabbatical from OIC, Karen and I plan to visit various Osaka churches and deepen relationships with the wider Christian community in our area. Yesterday, we visited Hope Chapel Osaka and heard an encouraging message from a young Japanese man named Ryo. Pastor Jeff also shared a few words and I made a plan […]
At OIC, we have a church artist – a Japanese woman named Noelle who paints and often donates art for use as birthday gifts, Christmas presents, and sermon illustrations. On the average, Japanese people are more visually-oriented that Westerners and art is a powerful way to share the gospel. I was reminded of this yesterday […]
Japanese study is a more or less permanent part of life. Of course, as your level goes up, the type of things you study change – in the beginning you are just learning greetings and polite words, later (15 years later in my case), you are trying to find the best ways to phrase things […]
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This is the 15th day of the first month of our four month sabbatical from Osaka International Church. The first two days of the sabbatical were great. I got up early, went to the gym, had a good swim and accomplished lots of things. Then came the colds, which lasted for about ten days. I […]
“Like a cool drink of water when you’re worn out and weary is a letter from a long-lost friend.” (Proverbs 25:25, The Message) “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” (Proverbs25:25, NIV, 1984) As I begin this new blog, my thoughts are on you, the reader. I pray that […]
