A Busy School Festival

At this year's "Bunka-sai" (Culture Festival), two of the clubs related to the chaplaincy at KGU had booths. The Sigma Society, which is a volunteering club, put up an exhibition advertized in this flyer.

The flyer says, "Lots of Thai Children! Pictures! Video! We've been doing volunteer work among the minority people groups in the mountains of Thailand... Riding elephants, working out in the forests! We've seen lots of smiling faces--come take a look!"

The booth was a great success, with many students and a number of teachers getting a good introduction to the work these students have been doing in cooperation with Akha Churches in Thailand and International Soroptomists.

The Fellowship group also put up a booth in front of the chapel--a long standing tradition. This year, we made "Tonjiru" - Pork Soup, a fall time favorite in Japan.

To make this soup, students first had to prepare the "konyaku"--a strange rubbery food made from a root vegetable (like a potato) we usually don't grow or eat in America. I've always thought konyaku was a little bizarre, but the tonjiru sure tasted good when all was said and done!

Good job, everybody!

Obama & Pooh sighted in Japan...

The Fellowship group had their annual Halloween party lately and we had lots of interesting entries for "best dressed." Pooh showed up, as well as Sen. Obama--both very popular here in the land of the rising sun!

We have about four Korean students coming to the group now, and they have been helping out with the music end of things, as well as teaching Korean language at lunchtime on Fridays. These Korean volunteers have been a real blessing to us--they are all Christian young adults who are in Japan for ministry or for study purposes. I sure do appreciate their willingness to try to communicate in Japanese to build friendships and share their love of people and of Jesus.

This week, one of the young ladies in the fellowship group decided to become a Christian. This was a big decision for her, and we wish her the best in her spiritual journey!

New Friends from the USA

Kanto Gakuin has been inviting international exchange students to participate in our campus life for many, many years. One of our oldest partnerships is with Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon--another institution historically related to the American Baptist Churches, USA.

This year, we had 11 students from three different American universities (Linfield, University of Arkansas, and University of Minnesota) come to share the fall semester with us. These students study Japanese, learn about Japanese culture and religion, and get to make friends through a "buddy program."

This is a picture of this year's group, with some of their buddies. Let's pray that they have a great semester, full of new and enriching experiences.

Funny Lucky Charm

This caught my eye in a knick-knack store in Kyoto. It's the shape and size of a traditional o-mamori.

An o-mamori is a small (usually) fabric good luck amulet sold at temples and shrines in Japan. The name of the temple is usually written on one side, and the "wish" written on the other. Sometimes, o-mamori have a piece of paper in the middle for you to write a specific wish on. O-mamori are usually for safety, good luck in business, for passing a test, to ensure love in marriage, etc., and they're often attached to backpacks, cell phones or rear view mirrors.

But this caught my eye. First of all, it was not sold at a temple, but at a knick-knack store. Second it says, "Good luck in Soccer!" and, where the name of the shrine is usually written, it says, "Club Activity Shrine!"

This is obviously not a real shrine--it's just being marketed as a good luck charm by some businesspeople. A little confused by this, I asked one of my students, "Are you offended that this religious item is being copied by businesses so they can make money?" She laughed and said, "Of course not--it's just cool looking."

I thought, "Hmmm... Another good example of the difference between the Japanese notion of Shinto as a 'religion' and the western idea of Christianity as a 'religion.'" Can you imagine going to your neighborhood 7-Eleven and buying a single-serving "Holy Communion packet?" Think about that for a minute!

Beautiful Kyoto!

In early September, the Fellowship group took a three-day trip to Kyoto, the capitol of Japan back in the olden days. Look at this picture! This is the biggest group we've had at a Fellowship summer trip for about 5 years!

We tried something new this year--a suggestion from our dedicated planning team: to take an overnight bus back and forth to Kyoto. Wow--a SEVEN hour drive! Do you think anybody slept on the way down there? If your answer was "yes," you've obviously not worked with college students for a while...

We did the Kyoto thing--going around to get a taste of the rich history of this city, visiting a number of temples, shrines and gardens. But we also had a fun time doing everyday things--riding the buses, chatting in restaurants, relaxing in the public baths at the end of a long day. Lots of friendships were strengthened, a few new ones were made.

For more pictures of our trip, see http://www.davidsonjapan.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=593

"O-hisashiburi"

"O-hisashiburi!" means something like, "Wow, it's been a long time!" in Japanese. Standing in front of the Kanto Gakuin Mission House here are the current residents of apartment B (the Davidson family), and the Miyake family, who lived in this apartment up until 2000. The Miyakes were in ministry in Japan for eight years. Ron served as a missionary teacher at the Miharudai high school campus of Kanto Gakuin, and Carol assisted at the Mutsuura Preschool, among other ministry activities. What a joy to be able to visit with them and to hear their stories of "days gone by" here at the Mission House.

The current Mission House was built about 35 years ago, and has four apartments--two for families and two for single missionaries. Though only two of those apartments are being used as residences at this time, one of the other apartments is being put to good use as a weekly meeting place for both the Sigma Society (a college volunteer club), and the Fellowship group. We also use it to house guests coming to volunteer in Japan through the ABC/USA.

Ron and Carol are now active in Evergreen Church in Southern California, and are enjoying their ministry in the US. God's blessings be with them!

"The Amenables" hit Japan!

Lawrence, Woun, Sun, and Jeremy--a praise band called, "The Amenables." They took Japan by storm! Well, anyway, they were very well received at Soshin Jr. High and High School and at Kanto Gakuin University, where they led worship and got to share their gifts with students one-on-one.

Here at KGU, they did two chapel services--on two different campuses--and rocked the house with an tripped out version of "As the Deer" as well as a number of original compositions. "Wow--those guys can play!" said one student. Another wrote, "超～良かった！{heart}" ("Totally fabulous!")--Maybe she had a little crush???

Anyway, after a long day, I figured the guys needed a break, so we went to Miura no Yu, a cool public bath right underneath a suspended train track close by. YES, that sounds like a strange place for a spa, and it is. But anyway, once you get inside Miura no Yu, there are plenty of ways to relax. Everybody especially liked going into the hot sauna until they were beet red, then plopping into the freezing cold "mizu-ba" (cold water bath). Yikes!

The Amenables joined us in a Fellowship group meeting and got to spend time jammin' out with a group of 12 Korean Campus Crusade for Christ summer volunteers, too. Everybody in Asia seems to know the song "Kimi Wa Ai Sareru Tame Umareta!" So we had a "Kimi Wa" songfest in Japanese and Korean...

Thanks for all your energy and tireless ministry here in Yokohama, guys! We love ya! Come back soon!

The Amenables are related to Japanese First Baptist Church of Seattle, WA, though a few are members of other churches, as well. For a complete report of The Amenables' trip, or to find out more about them, check out their website at:

http://www.jbcseattle.org/amenables/home.html

"Pray for me!"

...was probably what Bob was thinking when he was eating this "sazae"--Japanese conch--during a recent visit to the Tokyo bay area (Barb looks like she could have handled it though, huh). Bob is a volunteer with American Baptist Churches Board of International Ministries who travels the globe to provide pastoral care to missionaries and their families. He also trains in prayer ministry.

He and his wife, Barb, were on their way back from Thailand and were able to spend a few days with us in Japan. While here, he got to meet a few other mission colleagues and to lead a seminar in prayer ministry with pastors in the Japan Baptist Union. Lots of hard work, mixed in with all this fun!

He also did a great job entertaining our kids with his crazy Italian, NEW JERSEY accent--"Woada--can I get a glass a woada please!"

Take a moment to lift up a prayer for the Santillis as they continue to serve in ministry around the world!

Back to the Beginnings...

We often get the chance to host visitors to Kanto Gakuin, but recently, we had a rather special opportunity. Three guests from the US were able to join Tokyo-based colleague, Roberta Stephens and me on a tour focusing on the history of Baptist missionary work in Japan. Much of that history is centered right here in Yokohama.

Rev. Ebistubo (the stately looking fella' in front) is a Baptist history guru, and (among many other places) he led us to this hard to find monument in Yokohama--it was the original site of the Yokohama Baptist Seminary. The seminary, founded in 1884 by American Baptist missionary, A.A. Bennett, would eventually become Kanto Gakuin, a school system which now serves over 16,000 students annually.

Missionaries have had a long and rich history here in Yokohama. To find out more about Baptist work in Yokohama, take a quick look at my gallery at:

http://www.davidsonjapan.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=389

ABC/IM East Asia Area Director, Stan Murray is standing here with Rev. Oya of Yokohama First Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church in Japan (est. 1876). Rev. Nathan Brown, the first pastor of this church, is a famous man! He completed the first translation of the New Testament into common Japanese with the help of a Japanese partner, T. Kawakatsu, back in the 1880s. A very rich legacy!

Read more about Nathan Brown at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Brown_(missionary)

"Strike!"

The Fellowship student group at Kanto Gakuin University has gotten off to a good start this year. Having begun the year with just a little over 10 students coming regularly, we now have nearly 20 coming to each meeting.

We decided to begin the year with a party to welcome new students--a bowling party. Wow, I had forgotten how bad I was at bowling. Bowled a 141 in my first game, but a whoppin' 69 in the second. How's that for consistency!?!

A big blessing is that many of the incoming students are women. For almost 4 years now, the Fellowship has been composed of 90% men! So it was good to balance things out a bit with this incoming group of students.

Each meeting, students lead a discussion based on a topic they've chosen. In each session, we've done a short devotion using Henri Nouwen's book "Bread for the Journey," in Japanese translation. We've got a few musicians who've entered the group this year, so maybe we can convince some of them to do the music for our opening praise time as the year goes on...

We're looking forward to a fun and fruitful year!

A Homecoming

Dr. Raymond Jennings served as a chaplain and missionary teacher here at Kanto Gakuin from 1948 to 1960. He and his wife, Irene, came to Japan with two children, and another was born here--she's standing on the left in this photo.

A memorial service was held in Dr. Jennings' honor at Kanto Gakuin Church on April 6, 2008. We had the opportunity to remember a wonderful family who contributed much to KGU and to the wider Christian church in Japan.

While Dr. Jennings was in Japan, he worked both at the University and at the fledgling Baptist seminary--at that time located right here at Kanto Gakuin. Though he was surely no stranger to debate, he seemed to have been loved by a great number of folks here, as his memorial service was atttended by well over 100. He was a broad-minded Baptist, and left a legacy of building bridges.

For more information on Dr. Jennings' life and work, see:

http://www.rayjennings.com/index.html

I was very interested to talk with two of his children who were able to attend the ceremony (along with their mother, Irene). They were raised right here on Kanto Gakuin's Mutsuura campus, and it appears that things were different back then! Yanagicho--a housing development near us--was a swamp; the large, busy road in front of the campus was unpaved; and Americans were getting 350 yen to the US dollar (over 3 times the current rate!). Ah, the good old days!

Volunteer Trip to Thailand, Spring 2008

Though Kanto Gakuin's overseas development and volunteer work began with an association with the Karen minority group in Thailand, for the last four years, we have also worked among the Akhas living close to Chiang Rai. In this trip, members of the Sigma Society and Olive Branch--two college volunteer organizations, helped build a multi-purpose building in Doi Chang, along with our partner organization, The Akha Churches in Thailand. The building will be used as a community center and as a disaster shelter, as well as a place for a church to meet. We went to Chiang Mai to learn about work being done for AIDS orphans and in the area of AIDS prevention, as well. It was a good trip, exposing us to the reality of life for people without full citizenship rights in Thailand. A real chance to reflect on our call to be the "salt of the earth."

Mr. Kanda, a graduate student and member of Soshin Baptist Church is the leader of these two student groups. From this year, I've become their faculty advisor.

Check out the picture gallery for a virtual tour of the tour!

http://www.davidsonjapan.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=476

"Anyong haseyo"

...is the way to say "Hello!" in Korean. A couple of times a year, the students in the Fellowship group at Kanto Gakuin University get the chance to meet up with some Korean counterparts. This January, for about two weeks, a group of 10 came from South Korea--all volunteers with the South Korean Campus Crusade for Christ.

These students are always a pleasure to be with--lively, joyful, and truly good-natured. This group was particularly strong and we had a good time getting to know them. But just imagine the communication hurdles. Times like these make everybody realize how useful English really is!

A moving moment in this group's visit occurred at the beginning of our last Fellowship meeting together, when we all sang the well-known song, "Give Thanks." With one of the Korean students at the piano, everyone sang the first verse in English, and the second in their native language--English, Japanese or Korean! A beautiful cacophany of gratitude for our many blessings!

It occurred to me again that the good news we have in Jesus knows no boundaries.