Things That Make You Go Hmmmm.....

Living in a foreign country makes you very observant because you want to learn as much as you can about the culture. As much as we've learned in the short time we've been in Japan, some things just don't make sense to us Americans. Take for instance the bicycle...

* It's no secret that throughout Asia the bicycle is very popular as a means for transportation, not recreation. They've got all kinds of gadgets for the bicycle; bells so they don't run into people on the sidewalks, lights that generate electricity from pedaling, big baskets on the front to hold they're daily groceries. In Japan they even have rules for riding a bicycle posted in their testing booklet for getting a drivers license. One of those rules is to NOT ride your bicycle while holding an umbrella. Although, we've seen people riding a bike, holding an umbrella, and texting on their cell phone! As important as the bicycle is we just can't figure out why almost all of them in Japan look like they're from the 1950's! Hmmm....

* No central heating or air conditioning in most homes in Japan. Instead, electric rugs and blankets seem to be popular in the winter. Almost every home has at least one or two electric air conditioning units that can also be used as a heater, depending on how many rooms there are. Yet, it's still cold or hot between the rooms. A kind of Kerosene heat is also popular in the winter, if the smell doesn't kill you. And what really makes you stop and think is the fact that building insulation is almost non-existent, at least in the south part of Japan. We just aren't sure they're saving the money and energy that they think they are by not using central heating/air and insulation. Hmmm...

* Dish washing machines are NOT a hot item in Japan, but dish dryers ARE! Here's a counter top dish dryer.

* Most Americans think "green tea" when they are thinking about Japan. Even though having "tea time" is a social event after some kind of gathering, coffee is often served more than tea. But the name "tea time" hasn't changed. So don't be confused when visiting Japan and join in on a "tea time" without tea. In fact, we've become quite the coffee drinkers living here. FYI there's no decaf coffee to be found! Hmmm...

* In the kitchen of our church someone brought some big glasses that have been labeled "American size." One of the first Sundays we were in Japan Nick reached for one of them to drink out of. A church member made a strange face and said that she thought that the glass was actually a flower vase! The phenomenon is that you can never go thirsty in Japan because there is a vending machine on every corner. However, when you sit down to a meal everyone has to keep refilling their glass because it's so small! Hmmm...

* Speaking of vending machines. There are all kinds of them here. You can everything from hot/cold drinks to ice cream to cooked food to cigarettes to beer. I'd never heard of a public beer or cigarette vending machines before. The age for drinking and smoking is 18+ in Japan. Of course, there is a warning sign posting the age for buying them. I'm thinking...whose gonna stop them! We have heard that there are new ones coming out that check ID. Here's some pictures of just a few kinds of vending machines in Japan. I've heard there is now a human vending machine. I wondering what the purpose of this one is? Hmmm....

Beer Vending Machine

Cigarette Vending Machine

Fresh Egg Vending Machine

Fortune Vending Machine

Tennis Shoe Vending Machine

* The speed limit for side roads here is set at 40-50kilometers/hour or (25-30miles/hour). But, it seems that no follows it b/c if you speed the cops don't chase you down. Instead they set up certain spots that everyone can see then wave your car over and write you a ticket. Sometimes they clock your speed and other times they don't. I guess they just assume you're speeding b/c the speed limit is so slow. Another interesting driving tip to know about is the "red light." When the light turns red it's more like a suggestion. Almost every time we've seen 3+ cars continue driving through the obviously red light! You just have to keep a good watch and make sure everyone is finished driving through before you drive into traffic! Hmmm...

This list of things could go on and on... We just wanted to share a few things that we wonder about in the culture here!

Going To Church In Japan!

Going to church in Japan has been quite different for us. The two biggest challenges that we've had is the small number of people and the language barrier. It's quite something to come from a church that is 10,000+ people and then become a part of a church that has about 30 people! Let us tell you that the accountability is very strong! When we first came to Japan and didn't go to church one Sunday. Everyone was so worried that something bad had happened to us....needless to say that we got a few phone calls that day!

This picture is what the average attendance of Sunday worship looks like, at least one side of the room. If you will notice, there are quite a number of men in this picture. Our church has a relatively large number of men. The typical Japanese church is made up of mainly women. Much of this stems from the Japanese culture being a very matriarchal society. A large percent of women that get married quit their jobs and stay home to be a wife/mother. Therefore there are a lot of housewives that have more time available to try new things, like learning English and attending Bible studies, and becoming Christians.

The style of worship in Japanese churches vary as much as any place. However, I would venture to say that there are more "contemporary" style churches in Tokyo than in any other place in Japan. Where we live, on the the island of Kyushu, is considered the country side. So, most churches in our area are more traditional in the sense that using Hymnals are widely used instead of songs projected on a screen. The Kitakyushu church has transitioned from Hymnals to a projector just since we've been here. People dress up more and there are definitely "official ways" of doing things. The best advice that we got early on was to learn the two easiest Japanese alphabets called Hiragana and Katakana. If we did this, then we could at least follow along with the songs and even sing some of them! Since then, we can sing almost every song during the service. Although, we don't always know what it is we're saying! We are blessed to be in a church that sings both Japanese and English songs. So, we're not totally lost all the time!

Listening to the message is another story. Our church has a rotation of men that give the message each Sunday. Most of the time it is given by the Japanese men. But, sometimes it is given in English by Nick or some of the other Americans. This picture is of Nick giving a message in English and it is being translated into Japanese by our good friend Rocky Ayatsuka. Thank goodness we have others in our church that usually translate the Japanese messages into English for us. It's pretty normal for us to sit in the back on any given Sunday and have someone whispering translation in our ears from the seat behind.

And probably you've never seen this barefoot sight in a church worship service before! As you probably know, shoes are usually taken off when entering a home in Japan. Sometimes this custom includes hospitals and other kinds of buildings. Some churches in Japan practice this custom and so you worship with your shoes off....many times slippers are provided! Our church happens to be a shoe wearing facility. Boy, I'm glad of that!

Another unfamiliar sight in a Japanese church is the baptistery. There is a lack of space in Japan for anything. So, it takes a lot of creativity for a church members to decide where to place the baptistery. Some churches place it in a kind of closet, others simply don't have one and go to the ocean or a river, our church placed in the floor of the building. The picture above shows the one that is on our building underneath two platforms that serve as the stage.

And then there is tea time! We learned quickly that if you live in Japan you HAVE to learn to drink tea or coffee. After every Sunday worship we have tea time and snacks and fellowship. This is not only the case at church, but at almost any social gathering there is a time afterwards for tea time. Again, the lack of space is an issue. We just rearrange the chairs from service and add a few tables and vwala! Basically that's what we do for our Cafe on Fridays too.

The Kitakyushu Bible Church is a growing international church. Including us there are three other Americans. We also have two Korean families and a Taiwanese. Often there are Chinese college students that visit. It's atmosphere is friendly and open. But, like any church there are challenges and growing pains. We have loved being a part of this church for the past two years and will miss all of our friends terribly! This church and all the Christians in Japan need our prayers!

PRAY for this church's first Japanese pastor that was recently chosen by our church members.

PRAY for them as it will be the first time there will not be TEAM missionaries present after we go back to the states.

PRAY that these Christians will feel empowered as strong leaders and motivated to continue their outreach to nonbelievers.

PRAY that an improved children's program will be put into place as the number of them are growing.

PRAY for more missionaries to come to Japan and share God's love with these wonderful people.

PRAY that more Japanese Christians will evangelize their own people.

What To Expect When You're Expecting In Japan!

Upon request, we thought we'd give you a little update on the pregnancy and share a few of the challenges of being pregnant in a foreign country! Angie is 17 weeks now. For those of you that get confused with the counting of weeks, then it roughly translates to the end of 4 months. It's due the end of June. We hope to find out it's gender next month!

A Few Challenges of Being Pregnant In A Foreign Country:

• Japanese women that can't ask me how the baby is doing because of a language barier resort to patting my belly or sometimes other inappropriate areas! They've been doing this since we found out we were pregnent....belly or no belly! To tell you the truth I have mixed feelings about this. All I can do is nod my head and smile:)
• Shopping for maternity clothes in Japanese sizes! The expecting women here don't get very big! Although, I haven't bought any new pants yet I look at the size of them and wonder if I can even fit my arms in the places for my legs!
• Just smiling at the nurses when they are taking my blood and any other test b/c I don't really know that they are doing to me at the time.
• Asian countries have a very different perspective on what a woman should and shouldn't do throughout a pregnancy. I've been told NOT to do a great many things for example...ride the trains, drive a car, do any exercise besides housework, basically don't reach for anything and the list can go on! Some women go to live with their mother's or vice versa during this time and right after the birth. Some women quit their jobs when they find out they are going to have a baby! It surprises the Japanese that I have continued doing ministry work and other things that I did before.
• The list of foods that the Japanese recommend for a pregnant women is not to my liking. Basically, I should stock up on dried crunchy fish and seaweed! Eating raw meat isn't really frowned upon either.

Oh, what an adventure it has been to have this kind of experience in Japan!

It has been a blessing to have a Dr. that speaks English. However, I can't make an appointment with her very easily because no one else at the hospital speaks English. Basically, I just show up and hope that she's working that day. If she is, then they usually rush me into a room in less than 30minutes of waiting! So, there are some perks not being able to speak the language.

I must say that the Dr, Surugi Sensei, goes out of her way to explain things the best she can in English and translate some of the paperwork. I do the best I can to make a list of simple questions before each visit and we make it work somehow. However, it will be nice to get more explicit explanations when I get back to the states. I do get to have an English/Japanese book that I take to every visit and Surugi Sensei records all tests and pregnancy information. Actually, this book has a place for ALL medical records until the child is 6 years old....including a birth certificate!

Each visit is pretty much the same as in America, I assume. Except that they give Ultrasounds (Sonograms) each appointment from the first month of pregnancy and it's virtually free. Yes, you read that correctly! I've recently have been learning about the prices of having a baby in the states and I have to say that I don't understand why Sonograms are given so few times at such a high cost! Anyways, tonikoku...... Also, you probably don't have to take off your shoes when you get onto the examination table or sometimes when you enter the hospital for that matter:)

If you've been to Japan, then you've recognized their concern for efficiency! Although some of their hospital equipment and facilities look like they're from the 1950's, they're patient care can't compete with anyone. I've been told that after delivery the mother and baby stay in the hospital for about 10 days. Which is fairly common in Japan in almost any case! The reasoning behind this is so the mother can get some rest and doesn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning or anything else housework related. I think it's great! Many times you get you're own private room. Many countries can learn something from this! Now, the Japanese don't worry about the cost of the stay or other medical costs because they have Socialized Care. In fact, the Japanese are now paying people when they have children because statistics show that the population is decreasing.

In some of these ways we regret not having the baby here in Japan. However, we wouldn't want to miss out on this special time with our loved ones like you!

A Typical Saturday

As you have read in our newsletters and also these blogs...we've had some very exciting adventures in Japan! However, daily life is not so exciting all the time. Take Saturdays for instance. In the summer time there are many outdoor hobbies and places to visit. But, when the weather gets cold our Saturdays are filled with a lot less activity!

On most Saturdays we do the norm of sleeping late and doing a few chores around the house. If we're feeling really adventuresome, then we take a 40min. drive to the big store of Costco! Costco is a warehouse shopping place that is similar to SamsClub, if you didn't know that already. Costco is the place that we can find a few American items that we can't get anywhere else. But, you'd be surprised at the amount of Japanese items that are sold compared to American items. It's very interesting that the Japanese enjoy shopping here b/c most families prefer to make a stop at the grocery store daily as opposed to stocking up on a lot of goods at once. But.....I digress. It's here that we can always count on eating American style pizza!! The Japanese style pizza includes everything from seafood to getting salad and corn on your pizza for toppings! So, it's a real treat for us to find it in Costco. The really interesting thing about this little outing is that we consider it going on a date! Oh how your perspective changes when living in a foreign country!

One activity we do about every other month on a Saturday is eat at our favorite American restaurant in Kitakyushu, Wendy's. It's the only one that we've found in Japan, so far. Sometimes we just need a change from McDonald's which you can find ANYWHERE in Japan!!Near Wendy's is the place that we get our haircut. Sure we have a little trouble explaining how we want our hair to be cut, but more importantly it's a place to find a little therapy for the soul. It's the only place that we've ever gotten our hair cut that was washed and massaged by a wicked looking machine, got a shoulder massage while sitting in the chair, played with the owners dog, and sat in the best massage chair known to man! All for the reasonable price of 36.00 each. Some of you might call this a spa....but don't be mistaken. It's just a regular barber shop with really good service! I almost forgot to mention that when we leave the two shop workers come out and bow to us until we've driven out of sight.

Angie sitting in the massage chair holding the owner's dog named Lucky! This is great therapy for Angie as she misses her pets a lot!

Nick getting a shave with a straight razor! There's nothing like lying there with a 3inch straight razor at your throat. Oddly, Nick says that this is very relaxing. Especially when they put the steamy hot towels on later.

Nick's hair getting washed with a head massage!


Here's the full picture of this fantastic hair washing machine!

Who knew that what we consider a very ordinary activities in America is considered such a treat while living in a foreign country!

Thanksgiving....a little late!

Like everyone else, Christmas season has snuck up on us! We've been so busy with preparations for Christmas that I forgot to post anything about Thanksgiving. Celebrating American Holidays is a bit strange in a foreign country. Most of the holidays fall on typical working days and so our celebrations are usually held on whatever day fits into our schedules. Thank goodness we have other Americans around us that we can get together with.

Our Thanksgiving crew consisted of (left to right) our good friends (Marla, Rocky, and their daughter Hana). Marla and Rocky spread the gospel through their music ministry and about a dozen other venues. Marla's cousin (Robyn), beside Angie on the first row, has been looking for a job here. She will be moving to Japan this spring. Our friends (Anne, Riz, and their children Mia and Abby). Anne and Riz live and work in Japan teaching English at a local university. (Dan, Yukiko, and their little one George). Dan met his Japanese wife in the states and and they've been living in Japan for the past few years. The guy standing in the back is a foreign exchange student from the states. Although we don't know him well, all the foreigners seem to stick together and if you speak English then we've got something in common!

I think we celebrated Thanksgiving on a Monday. We cooked as much traditional food as we could find ingredients for. Including a turkey that we bought at Costco. Nick and I cooked the turkey and did a fantastic job if I do say so myself! Mostly we fellowshiped together, played games, and watched a movie. The only thing that was missing,that probably makes or breaks the Holiday for some of you, was American football. Oh, well we'll have it again soon enough!

After Thanksgiving came out the Christmas tree! We actually have one this year because the Gateleys are in the states. So, we just borrowed theirs. It wasn't quite the same "Christmas feeling" last year when we didn't have one. We just stacked our gifts on top of our TV. So, I'm quite thankful for one this year. I'll send out some pictures of our Holiday events in our newsletter later this month. Until then, here are a few events that you can be praying for:

Dec.16-Nakatsu English Christmas Party
Dec. 19-Cafe Children's English Christmas Party and Cafe Christmas Live Music Night
Dec. 21-Christmas Worship Service and Potluck
Dec. 23-Candlelight Service at Kitakyushu Church

PRAY that many people are attracted to these events and are touched by the word of God!

Daily Life In Japan

We wanted to give you a little glimpse into our day to day lives in Japan. Ministry work is all about relationships! So, our work never really ends even though our day does.

Mondays are usually office work days for us and we spend time preparing for our English lessons throughout the week. However, Angie meets with these three ladies for an English Bible lesson once a month. Mrs. Komori, in the purple, lives right across the street from the Gateleys. We got to know her when we lived with them last year. She's very interested in learning English using the Bible and asked these other two ladies to join our group. All of them live near us in Okagaki.
PRAY for their continued interest in the Bible and they are able to attend our church or cafe some time.
Tuesday is the day that we take a 2 hour drive to a city called Nakatsu. There is a small church there that has always struggled in outreach ministry. The church has a history or missionaries and pastors that have worked there. However, there has always been a struggle to attract knew people in that area. Only God knows the reason. Our purpose is to attract unbelievers to the church through teaching English. Along with every class there is a Bible time. Although our classes have gradually gotten smaller there is still ministry to be done amongst the remaining students. PRAY that our current students keep coming until we leave this Spring. PRAY that the Nakatsu church has success in a different kind of outreach ministry when we leave.


Wednesdays are always busy! Nick meets with our friend Taiki, the one on the left, for a Bible study each week. He is truly seeking the truth about God. Although he is a very busy college student, he loves making time to study the bible with Nick at Star Bucks. PRAY that he continues his search for God and finds Him along the way.

On Wed. we also meet with our good friend Reiko for a Japanese lesson. She has been a long time friend of the Gateleys and has been very helpful to us while we've been here. PRAY that she makes a full commitment to Christ and decides to follow Him no matter what anyone else thinks.

Angie also teaches a class of elementary students each Wed.. Our friend Reiko runs an after school tutoring program. Angie meets with about 18 of these students and gets to share the Bible with them as well. PRAY for these kids to have open hearts and minds as they hear the gospel for the first time.
Thursday is another English teaching day. This day Nick teaches four conversational English classes at the church we attend in Kitakyushu. Angie makes cheesecake and gets ready for cafe on Fridays.
Friday is cafe day at Kitakyushu Bible Church. We open up the church and serve coffee and desserts. We offer a variety of activities that always draw a crowd. One of which...you guessed it...is English.
The top picture is of Nick's Friday morning English class that has been meeting for several years. The bottom picture is of Angie's children's English class that is taught in the evening. We also teach 30 minute English conversations during the time that the Cafe is open.

Many church members help at the Cafe. Surprisingly, it takes a lot of work! Many people are drawn to this place each week. Believers fellowship with one another while unbelievers learn what it's like to be in a Christian atmosphere. PRAY that the church's decision on whether or not to continue doing it. The Cafe is a great outreach ministry, but it may be a little more than this little church can handle.

Saturdays are usually our day off. But, it doesn't always work out that way! We take a break from English classes but not from relationships! Sunday is church day and it takes most of the day! So, that's our weekly schedule in a nutshell. PRAY that we can keep up this momentum until we leave.

Japanese Gardens

Japan wouldn't be Japan without it's bonzai trees and traditional Japanese style gardens. We've had the opportunity to visit many public gardens and private ones to get a glimpse of this kind of beauty. However, you can't find these gardens just anywhere. You can find some in your neighborhood amonst older...more tradtional style homes. Like this one...

Or....you can visit a world heritage like an old Samurai Village. We got to do this last January with Angie's family. Each home in the village had it's own garden with a theme. The Samurai garden below is designed after mountains and streams. Can you see it?

Another way to see these gardens is to pay money to see them. We've done this too! In our case the landscape was not so interesting b/c this garden mainly featured rocks and mounds of dirt! We remember seeing signs posted for the oldest mound of dirt in the park. This particular park also was famous for growning ground moss. We saw them sweeping the moss to make it more beautiful.

This man is trimming a bonsai tree. Underneath the tree is a blanket to catch the trimmings so as not to disturb the moss.



For those of you that don't know....not everyone in Japan knows how to trim bonsai trees! It's quite an artform, really. In fact, I always thought that bonsai trees were those very small trees that Mr. Miage trimmed in Karate Kid. But, it turns out that there are several kinds of these trees. The Japanese can't even recognize all the different kinds. AND there are more trees in Japan than just these! Japan has trees from evergreens to Palm trees!


And what is a Japanese garden without Coy Fish. They let these fish get sooo huge!! I've never seen anything like it!

The Japanese love any kind of gardening. Most gardens that you see are vegetable gardens. Once they start planting in June, after rainy season, you don't see them stop planting until February! Although most people don't have room in front or behind their house to have a garden. So, there is usually a plot of land in the neighborhood or any small space that is shared amongst neighbors. I assume there is rent paid to use the land. So...it's common to see many different small veggie gardens altogether. They're favorite things to plant in the local gardens is dikon(a huge radish), egg plant, lettuce, and sweet potatoes. I never see anyone growing greenbeans or tomatoes! Anyhow, I'd show you a picture but who hasn't seen a picture of a garden?

Another kind of garden that is popular in Japan are rose gardens. Once I went to someones house for lunch to see their rose garden and we ended up walking all over the neighborhood seeing quite a few! One house imparticular even had a small green house of roses! It was impressive.

It's always fun to see how the Japanese can turn any small space into a garden paradise!

A Great Time To Take An Onsen...a hotspring bath!

This time of year is great for going to a Japanese Onsen! There's nothing quite like sitting in a hot spring bath with nothing but your birthday suit on and feeling the cool breeze on your face! Most of the hot springs in Japan are located outside in a somewhat secluded area. Most of the locations have beautiful scenic views if you can get past sitting naked in a pool of hot water with strangers. It's great!

I recently was reminded of an onsen trip that we took this time last year with our friends Morrio and Yukiko Shiraishi. This is the same couple that we've had many adventures with including tromping around grape vineyards and visiting fire stations! Our onsen adventure was more traditional Japanese style! The picture below is a huge traditional style house that has been transformed into a beautiful "bed and breakfast."

Our room was outfitted with tatami mat floors and the ever to popular Japanese sliding doors!

We also got to wear a kind of Japanese Kimono called a Yukata. People wear these when visiting an onsen so that they can walk from their room to the springs. Sometimes there is more than one spring and you can wear this to walk from one to another. Yes, they are always to short for Nick!

Near the place we stayed is the same onsen that I mentioned earlier in my Interesting Signs post! The one that is described the water being so hot that it was like entering into Hell itself! Well, here are a few other amenities that they offered. As you can see there is mixed bathing...but of course we didn't participate in that one! Most onsens are separated male and female or you can share a private one as a family. There are not many left that offer mixed bathing.

When you visit an onsen town you can always see steam rising up from different places. Some people in the town actually use the steam in their houses.

I think this is a very traditional kind of steam sauna. But then again, I could be wrong!

We never miss the chance to cook some food with the steam from a hot spring. You'd be surprised how quickly some eggs and a few vegetables will cook!

Ahhhh! Japanese Onsens are just one of many things that we'll miss about Japan!

Interesting Things In Japan!

Today we wanted to give you a glimpse of a few things in Japan that we find most interesting!

Have you ever parked your car this way? Parking is always difficult in Japan because there is just no space. This is called a parking carousel! It's more space conscious to build the parking garage up and stack the cars than to have a wide parking garage that we're used to. It seems efficient enough. However, it can be a pain if you forget something in the car.

Only in Japan have I seen places for you to store your umbrellas individually outside of a public place. You place your umbrella in the locking mechanism and take the small key that is inserted thus locking it securely and then replace the key when you return. Of course, this is free. It's also popular to see special plastic wraps for your umbrella just as you enter a store so as not to drop water all over the floor. We could use those in the states.

Can you imagine what this is? In the rice fields that surround us in Okagaki we see a lot of these human like scare crows. They are a little strange because there is a manikin head placed on top of this pole with some sort of clothes. These heads on stakes scare us...I'm not sure about the birds!

If you love Crispy Cream Donuts, then you love the fact that there is one in Tokyo. It's the only store in Japan, so far. People will line up for hours to get these doughnuts. We've seen people walk away with 5 or 6 boxes! The Japanese always say that they don't like sweet American deserts, but Crispy Cream is as sweet as you can get!

It's all about presentation in Japan! The presentation of gifts and food is especially important. Here is a perfect example of a beautifully display of desert. The only problem is that you're left wanting to order another one because there's not much to it.

Yes, this is a tree with paper bags in it! Much of the fruit in Japan is handpicked. So, they don't mind covering each piece of fruit with a paper bag to protect it from insects, weather, and coloring. If you remember when we helped with grape harvest here, the grape clusters were also covered with bags.

One thing that we've found common amongst all the Asian countries we've visited is bicycles! It's very convenient to have a bicycle in Japan. We just can't get used to seeing them lined up all the time. Some have locks and some don't. Also, most of them look like there straight out of the 1950's with a big wire basket on the front. When we were getting our drivers license in Japan there was a section in the book for riding your bike! There was a funny rule that said you must not hold an umbrella and ride your bike at the same time. Now, they should change it to texting on your cell phone while riding a bike. Sometimes we see people doing both! Nick and I are not that talented.

It's seeing strange signs in English or interesting things like these that often remind us that we definitely live in a foreign country.