Accident!

Bikes are all over Japan.  They aren't toys and they aren't used to stay fit, they are for transportation.  Our team has enjoyed riding them and we feel like kids again.  Unfortunately with all the bikes and vehicles on the road accidents happen.  Our boy "Mango" aka Josh Van Lindenberg got hit by a taxi.  He was knocked off the bike onto his wrist but wasn't seriously hurt because he's so tough (or at least that's how he explains it).  The taxi driver and the taxi driver's boss took him to the hospital the next day to get his wrist x-rayed.  The bike took the brunt of the damage and the taxi driver has to take a leave of absence (Japanese policy).  It was a reminder to be careful and how fragile life is.  Any one of us at any moment can be hurt or killed doing everyday things and its so important to be in the grip of God's grace and know Christ as our savior.  Thanks for the lesson Josh!

Here's some crazy pics of Japan and their bikes off the web and then a pic of Josh's broken bike.

They have bike parking lots & bicycle parking garages.

Japan's version of the running of the bulls.

Josh had some angels around him for sure...

 

Obon Festival

There are two major holidays in Japan, Obon and New Years.  We got a chance to experience the Obon festival last weekend.  Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors. It is believed that each year during obon, the ancestors' spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives.  It's similar to Mexico's day of the dead.  Although we find it fruitless to worship our ancestors instead of an all powerful God, we still were able to find some similarities with the practice and share how we pay our respects to our ancestors in our culture.  It never benefits to alienate people but instead find ways to align with them.  We both clean the graves of our relatives and leave flowers.  

Traditionally in Japan, lanterns are hung in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, obon dances (bon odori) are performed, graves are visited and food offerings are made at house altars and temples.  At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in order to guide the spirits back into their world.  We didn't see any floating lanterns so I hope the spirits made it back ok.

Here's some pics from the festival:

Traditional Obon Kimono

We snagged a great spot on the pier and had a picnic dinner.  It was a great spot to watch the fireworks show after dark.

A couple of happy kids!

Eating noodles in humid 103 degree heat is almost impossible but little David shows it can be done.

Chris & Yuka share a laugh.

They had a dance competition the kids enjoyed.

This was a pic off the web that shows part of the parade honoring the ancestors.

I highly recommend the chilli cheese fries.

The fireworks show was great, just long, it lasted about 50 minutes.

Round One & DY's Birthday!

After a successful Aloha cafe and Ben's arrival, we wanted to celebrate a little bit so we went to a place called Round 1.  Round 1 is awesome and I've never seen anything like it.  Round 1 has locations throughout Japan and recently opened up in LA.  This is a five story building that has something for everyone.  One floor is gaming, the next floor is bowling, the next floor has roller blading, arcade, golf simulators, automatic tennis machines, scooters, ball pits, obstacle courses, automatic soccer games, darts, etc.  The next floor has a restaurant, relaxation room, pool tables, mechanical bull, etc.  The fifth floor has 3 basketball courts, soccer field, tennis courts, batting cages, badminton, archery, driving range, and even a real fishing pond.

You pay about $20 for 3 hours and you can play anything in the building for no charge.  The arcade games don't require coins or even cards.  Everything is covered in the entrance cost including all the equipment you needed for the sports.  It was so much fun we didn't get many pics but a few are below.  We also got the chance to celebrate one of our great staff member's b-day.  DY turned 29 and our the gals in charge of meals (Jess & Tina K.) were able to find a chocolate cake for the b-day boy.

Batting cages

Roller blading and scooter track

DY is a great sport but gosh he looks ridiculous!

And so does his wife Tina!

Happy B-day DY...Dave looks like he was scared by the cake surprise doesn't he?

It takes talent to find a cake this good in Japan!

DY made a wish that he'd never have to play me in badminton again.  I beat him badly...

Ben's Visit

Ben flew into Japan for a visit and to spend some time with each of us.  Ben's got such a father's heart and he brought his smile and love for each of us as we shared time with him during our one on ones.  Ben led our devotion before he left and encouraged us to finish strong over the last couple of weeks.  He shared on Galatians 6:1-10.  He told us not to forget the work we've been given to do and told us to sink ourselves into it.  He challenged us to not get tired of doing good and reminded us we're promised a good harvest if we don't quit and if we share God's love everytime we get the chance.

It was a great message and a great time with Ben during his visit:

It was great to worship with Ben...

to see his big Samoan grin...

to share a few laughs...

and feel his love for all of us.  Thanks for the visit Ben!

Aloha Cafe

Way back in Kona, Dave had a vision of creating an Aloha Cafe.  Amazingly in the middle of Takamatsu, Japan there is a coffee house called the Aloha Cafe.  We took it as confirmation that God had spoke to us and wanted us to put on an event for the people in the neighborhood and bring a little "aloha" to their lives.  Here's some pics of our event:

Ryan & Jess get the coffee ready.



The welcome pamphlet.



Ruth & Tina getting ready for the show.



Ruth welcomed everyone with the hula.




DY was awesome as our emcee for the evening and performed a great rendition of "somewhere over the rainbow".




Jaidan sung "God is so good" in 3 languages.

  

The kids performed their hip-hop dance for the crowd.



The food was amazing!

Darian (Mary) rides alongside Joseph (David) duing the kids Christmas play.

The kids' play explained the real story of Christmas and how our Savior was born.

t'

Ruth's passion came out during the prayer dance and God's love stole the show.

Ruth led the ladies and girls in the huki-lau.

Jonni and Jess show their Hawaiian side.



The crowd was excited to learn the huki-lau from Ruth.



Jackie Ray shows how it's done.

The local chief and his family pose for a picture after the cafe.



Kyoto Trip

Catching up on a few overdue blogs the next couple of days so you can know what we've been up to.  Our team took a trip to Kyoto a couple weekends ago.  We marked the halfway point of outreach visiting one of the largest and most historical cities in Japan.  Kyoto used to be the imperial capital and today it's one of the cultural and education centers of Japan.  About 1.5 million people live in Kyoto and it's home to lots of temples and shrines as well as Nintendo's headquarters.  Here's some pictures from our 2 days in Kyoto:

We got to take the bullet train.

It's really fast and has a smooth ride.  Bullet trains can travel up to 217 MPH.

The newleyweds.

Having clean hands on the bullet train is really important.

We visited Nijo castle, one of the largest shrines in Kyoto.

The Japanese shrines are nice but if you've seen one shrine in Japan, you've seen them all.

The hotel in Kyoto was nice and had great pajamas.

Dr. Chee showed up at the hotel.

The kids enjoyed the time at the hotel.

We went to the Kyoto Studio Park where they shoot the samurai movies.

We got the crap scared out of us in the Samurai haunted house.

 

Kyoto space needle.

We took the longest suspension bridge in the world to Kyoto.

Ryan offered to drive on the way back but it wasn't necessary.