Japan 2010 – McCown Survey
Church in Japan is an all day thing! The Japanese don’t take a break in between services. The Japanese also have a very strong work ethic and are very detail oriented. When they serve the Lord they serve long and they serve hard. They do not come to church to be entertained; they come to [...]
Today we were finally able get some much needed rest and get caught up on our blog posts. In the morning we wrote several blogs while over at George and Ellen’s house. They have Internet connection there; we don’t have it in the church building we are staying in. I was also able to talk [...]
Today our exhaustion caught up with us. George King took us into Kyoto to see some cultural sites, ministry sites, and the Christian cemetery he built. Kyoto is a large city in Japan and is considered the cultural soul of Japan. It is a very religious city and is one of the main hubs of [...]
Everything here is so different. Half of the time I’m just trying to figure out what in the world is going on. Yesterday I had to use a traditional Japanese bathroom at the Buddhist cemetery and it was beyond bizarre for me. Today the “western” bathroom at the hotel kept confusing me with its automated [...]
Today we took the Shinkansen and an express train to Niihama. Ruth King went along with us to help as a translator. Niihama is a city located on a coastal plain on Shikoku Island. To get there we had to take the train over the bay between Shikoku and Honshu. It was very beautiful to [...]
Tuesday was our day reserved for traveling from Wakaba (outside Tokyo) where Jim and Amy Smith live to Takatsuki (outside Osaka) where George and Ellen King live. While we were getting ready to leave Jim’s house there was a small earthquake. Jenelle didn’t feel it at all. I was in a small room and I [...]
Today we woke up early to go to some cultural sites to try and better understand the Japanese way of life and spiritual influences of Shinto and Buddhism. We started out our day by getting on the train with Jim Smith and going to the other side Tokyo to the largest fish market in the [...]
Continue reading about A Monday of Culture and Good Fellowship
Church in Japan is an all day thing! It was the second day of VBS at the Wakaba mission. VBS was during the Sunday school hour. Tim was able to serve by playing the guitar again and I was able to do face painting for the children. Amy gave the lesson this morning about how [...]
After we had a full morning of VBS, our exchange daughter’s mother, Ritsuko, met us at Wakaba mission. We were so excited for her to be willing to take a two hour train ride from Tokyo just to meet with us. She had a long conversation in Japanese with Amy Smith when she first arrived. [...]
Today was the first day of VBS in Wakaba. They’ve never had VBS at the mission in Wakaba. They’ve also never had a morning event here. Nobody knew how many people to expect to show up. Six children showed up including the three Smith children. The other three children are regular attendees. Church attendance is [...]
Continue reading about Vacation Bible School at Wakaba Mission!