Where are Bob & Chris in Japan? February 22

Bob and Chris were in Shizuoka City on February 22nd, to share Transfiguration Sunday and preach in the life of Shimzu and Oshika Lutheran Churches. These are the two congregations under the diligent pastoral care and guidance of Akehi sensei, a faithful pastor of many years with more energy than people half his age. Worship begins bright and early every Sunday at Shimizu Lutheran Church with Matins at 7:00 am. The faithful come to be fed in the Word of God. Singing is led acapella by Akehi sensei as is the liturgy. Today his sermon for Matins was from Genesis. Akehi sensei is animated and engaging as he preaches. Worship ended before the beginning of the second Lutheran English Hour of the day at 8:00 am. The first was at 6:00 am. Bob & Chris were excited to again be part of the Lutheran English Hour led by Kusaka san former General Secretary of The Gideon’s International in Japan. The class was enthusiastic in there acquisition of English through the stories of the Bible. The day moved quickly on at 9:00 am. The service of Word and Sacrament was led by Pastor Akehi and preached by Pastor Bob. Pastor Akehi translated the sermon from the text of Mark 9:2-9. A quick ride after worship from Shimizu Lutheran Church to Oshika Lutheran Church followed the 9:00 am worship service so that both pastors could take a deep breath and lead the 11:00 am Service of the Word At this service Pastor Bob preached and Akehi sensei lead the liturgy and translated again. Worship ended in time for the 12:30 pm Bible study led by Pastor Akehi on a chapter in Leviticus. It was about 1:30pm when Pastor Akehi, Bob, Chris and a few members of Oshika Lutheran Church loaded themselves into Pastor Akehi’s van and shared lunch together. Later in the afternoon two tired folks returned to the parsonage; Bob and Chris. They were tired but thankful for a wonderful Sabbath of worship that would now be a time of rest. This was not the case of Pastor Akehi. The day would not end for this faithful servant of the Gospel until the 7:00 pm a Vespers service back at Oshika Lutheran Church was completed. This Sunday February 22, 2009 Bob & Chris celebrated the Transfiguration perhaps as never before thanks to the wonderful people of Shimizu and Oshika Lutheran Churches and the energetic and dynamic leadership of Pastor Akehi.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan? February 21

Bob and Chris were at Shimizu Lutheran Church on February 21st doing something that they could never have imagined before coming to Japan last October. They were attending a concert that included fine musical renditions of popular music played on a saw, a trio of Omni Chords and a Mandolin Septet. The concert was performed by members of Shimizu Lutheran Church including Akehi sensei and the Mandolin Club of Shizuoka University. They enjoyed the concert with fine music from instruments they had either never experienced before or certainly did not expect to hear in Japan. The saw and mandolins are often part of “mountain” music back in the United States. Mandolins especially have significant roles in Bluegrass Music. Bob and Chris however are originally from the state of Ohio where such musical forms are not popular. They have not heard either instrument very often. The Omni Chords were something they had never seen before coming to Shimizu Lutheran Church. The best part was the concert did more than convey music; it conveyed the Gospel. The concert was free like God’s grace. And more; through the stewardship of a member of Shimizu Lutheran Church, Kusaka sensei New Testaments were offered free of any charge to each person in attendance at the concert. They are distributed in Japan through the good work of The Gideon’s International in Japan. Kusaka sensei is the National Secretary Emeritus of this fine organization. The New Testaments that were given out are a side by side translation from Greek into both English in the New King James Translation and into Japanese. They are an excellent resource for Japanese; especially youth to learn English and the Gospel. So on a Saturday afternoon Bob and Chris heard new music that was performed at a very high level and saw evangelism in a creative and effective way at the same time. At the end of the concert Bob was asked to bring greetings and did so from the people of the South Carolina Synod of the ELCA. It was a wonderful afternoon for all.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan? February 17

Bob and Chris were in Fukuroi on February 17 where they relearned an old and hard lesson for all of us. They learned that sometimes God has a better idea. In God’s time God’s idea is what may bear fruit in ministry even when in our fallen nature we think we have the best ideas. What am I talking about? I am talking about the visit of Bob & Chris with Akehi sensei to the Diakonia Institute in Fukuroi, Japan. The Diakonia Institute at Fukuroi, Japan was begun as a project or mission of the Southeast Scandinavian Missionary Society in 1964. This group came to the area and bought a large tract of land; a beautiful valley area between two ridges in the mountains. They did not start a church. They had an interesting idea. They tried to begin by starting a dairy farm; a way of living familiar in Scandinavia. The idea was to introduce this way of living and nutrition and the faith that they have at the same time. So the idea was through living out the life style they would convey the faith. After a few years they then built a church. Interestingly it was the first Lutheran church Bob and Chris have seen built in Japanese style architecture; looking not very different from a small temple. The concept of course is to be inviting by sharing the Gospel in the context of the people to whom it is shared. Though it all sounds like a good idea by the 1980’s the experiment in mission was failing such that the group turned it all over to an inter religious group called Dokai in 1983. The Scandinavian Missionaries left. Apparently and now in retrospect God had a better idea. It has come to bear fruit in God’s time. The land was given to the Dokai; headed up by but not limited to Christians. On this basis the project became a social ministry project. It’s focus was to meet the needs of people in the area. Sometime later the project which had been restarted by helping and having a working farm for children became part of the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church. The JELC provides leadership and pastors. It has again taken on a Christian dominance; but the title to the property etc is not with JELC. It remains legally separate. It sounds something like the Lutheran Homes of South Carolina with which Bob is familiar; but not quite. There is more to God’s better idea. In 2003 a new Senior Citizens Center was built. It provides services at all care levels for 80 residents. The project was funded 50 % from direct Government grants, 30 % Government loans and 20% from JELC fundraising. The residents monthly expenses are supported by government funding. They are routinely evaluated by a government official who gives a standard test to determine the level of care required. This test also determines the level of government funding for each resident. The Senior Citizens center is open to all regardless of religion. God has a better idea. God’s love extends to all God’s children. Today the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church provides the chaplain who is also the pastor for the Shinraizon Lutheran Church on the grounds. In addition to the Senior Citizen Center the pastor provides chaplain support for the Children’s home; an orphanage for babies through age 18. The home may house a total of 30 at capacity. There is also a home for youth and adults with psychological problems that may have up to about 12. Finally a prominent psychiatrist in the area has established a clinic in on the grounds. The clinic is open to the public and supports the needs of the other parts of the Diakonia Institute. What began as ministry through a dairy farm that failed in the 60’s is flourishing as the Diakonia Institute of today. This ministry has changed a great deal according to God’s idea. And in God’s time fruit has been and will continue to be born. Those in need from infancy to senior citizens today receive the living Gospel in Social Ministry. God had a better idea!

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where in Japan are Bob & Chris February 16

Bob and Chris were in Shizuoka City remembering their trip from the Kyushu District to the West District of the JELC. Before arriving in the West District and locating in Kamagasaki and the ministry of Kibo-no-Ie they made a stop on January 12th in Hiroshima, Japan. They were blessed to be met at the train station and spend an afternoon in the company of Hitoshi and Mioko Miyazaki. The Miyazakis are survivors from the dropping of the atomic bomb on the morning of August 6, 1945. They were junior high school students at the time. Part of the afternoon was spent at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and walking among the monuments of the Peace Memorial Park. At the museum Bob and Chris saw historic and graphic displays of the history and horror of the nuclear bomb. They also saw a display that told the story of 1000 cranes. According to the story Sadako Saski was a little girl two years old the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Living one mile from ground zero saved her life the day of the bombing but did not save her from developing leukemia in 1955 as a result of the exposure to radiation and other effects. In August of 1955 a friend, Chizuko Hamamoto visited her in the hospital and while there cut out and folded a crane from a piece of gold paper. When Chizuko told her friend Sadako that she was doing this because of the Japanese saying that anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes is granted a wish, Sadako was inspired to begin folding the paper cranes. Her goal was to fold 1000 and make her wish for recovery. She did complete her 1000 cranes before she became another victim of the atomic bomb when leukemia claimed her life. Her friends finished the 1000 cranes and placed them with her body in death. Her death and the story of the cranes started a movement that built a monument to all the children who were victims of the bomb at the Peace Memorial Park. About 10 million folded cranes are received and hung as part of the monument each year. The cranes have become the symbol of a world that prays for peace. Bob and Chris were moved by the day spent in this place with victims and survivors of the atomic bomb. A few days after they were moved again when word came from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Aiken South Carolina where they are members and Bob is Pastor. The word that came was that the youth and members of St. Paul had folded 1000 cranes and wished to send them to Hiroshima along with their prayers for peace. Since Bob and Chris were now in Kamagasaki, Osaka, Japan they would not be able to take the cranes to the monument. God had a better idea. Bob contacted Mioko Miyazaki and asked if the cranes could be sent to Hiroshima and for the youth of her church to take them to the Children’s monument at the Peace Memorial Park. The youth and members of Hiroshima Lutheran Church embraced the idea. The cranes were sent to Hiroshima Lutheran Church. On February 15th they were dedicated during Sunday worship with prayers as they were placed before the altar in Hiroshima. They will remain in the church until February 22nd. They will then are taken to the Children’s monument at the Peace Memorial Park, registered at the same monument and take their place as a symbol of our continuing petitions before God for peace in this world. Both the youth and members of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Aiken South Carolina, and Hiroshima Lutheran Church, Hiroshima Japan will be in prayer together on that day. Because of the Holy Spirit working in and through members of both churches a special relationship of praying for peace has begun. Only God knows where it might lead in the future.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan February 15

Bob and Chris were in worship, fellowship and meetings on February 15th beginning bright and early with Matins at Shimizu Lutheran Church in Shimizu-ku Shizuoka City at 7:00 am. It was almost literally just out their back door because they are living in the parsonage behind the church for the next couple of weeks. Matins was followed by English Bible Study at 8:00 am. A group of highly dedicated and motivated students at Shimizu Lutheran Church led by gifted and dedicated teacher Kusaka san read translated and repeated the story of the Raising of Jarius’ Daughter in English. Bob & Chris participated wondering how such rigor might help them if the reading was in Japanese. There was little time to ponder because the second church under the leadership of Akehi sensei had worship services later in the morning. Today the worship at 10:30 am at Oshika Lutheran Church in Shizuoka City included both the congregations of Shimizu and Oshika in a joint celebratory worship. Pastor Akehi preached with attention holding power in his sermon from Mark 2:13-17. This was his second message of the morning, the first at Matins coming from Genesis 19. The 10:30 am sermon was sandwiched between a prelude and postlude of glorious organ music offered by guest organist Mari Oki. Oki san is a student at the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts in Ueno Park pursuing a Masters Degree in Organ performance. She is a daughter of Oshika Lutheran Church who in April leaves for two years of advanced training in Germany. Her music was concert quality that lifted the spirits of all in worship. Pastor Bob made a point of telling her about the wonderful opportunities to perform on quality instruments in the Lutheran Churches and Schools of South Carolina in the event that God might one day bring her to the United States. He was very impressed by her talent. After worship a fellowship meal combining both church’s members fed bodies that were ready spirit fed from worship. The day was not yet over for Bob and Chris. The cluster of churches in this area invited both to attend their meeting; one of three held each year. After a meeting where the ministry events of the past three months and the upcoming ones of the next three months for the five churches in the area were shared along with good fellowship the day drew to a close for Bob and Chris. Akehi sensei drove them home to Shimizu Lutheran Church parsonage in time for dinner and the end of a wonderful day. Pastor Akehi however would finish his day with one more service back at Oshika Lutheran Church. For Akehi Sense, a hard working faithful pastor of the JELC the day that began with Matins at 7:00 am at Shimizu Lutheran Church would not end until the conclusion of Vespers at 7:00 pm at Oshika Lutheran Church. Then another day of ministry was concluded.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan February 11

Bob and Chris are in Shizuoka City, Japan and living in Shimizu-ku in the parsonage of Shimizu Lutheran Church. Since the church is today part of a two point Call that includes Shimizu Lutheran Church and Oshika Lutheran Church in Shizuoka-ku the parsonage is now vacant. Bob and Chris moved in and learned the details of the appliances at the direction of Pastor Akehi on February 8th. That included a refresher course on how to run the kerosene room heaters safely. There is no whole house heating in the parsonage. Most of the rooms are not heated. The ones that are have room heaters that are either electric or kerosene. In the case of Shimizu the two rooms that are heated are done so by use of the kerosene heaters. The Japanese system in this part of the country; heating only individual rooms makes for a brisk morning for Bob & Chris each day when they wake up. Since the kerosene may not be safely run for more than a few hours it must be turned off before they retire for the day. That means a cold room when they wake up. The other room that is heated is the kitchen and eating area. That means every day the shower starts our very cold until the hot water heats up the room and the body. Like other places in Japan in Shimizu parsonage there is a tank less hot water system. After a fine orientation by Pastor Akehi Bob and Chris began the task of unpacking and getting acclimated to new surroundings. Shimizu-ku is a small place by Japanese standards; only about 750,000 inhabitants. It is a port city that has facilities for containerized shipping, receipt of grain from the Far East and a water side aluminum plant. Because it sits in the distant shadow of Mt. Fuji it is also a calling port for cruise ships. Public transportation consists of some limited bus schedules and taxi. This means that Bob & Chris will be using the greenest form of public transportation for the next three weeks; walking.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan February 8

Bob and Chris were at Kyoto Lutheran Church in the beautiful cultural city of Kyoto Japan. They arrived in Kyoto after a month in Kamagasaki in the city of Osaka, Japan. They stayed in one of the rooms that the church has available for guests. Arrival early on Saturday left time to visit a museum run by a Franciscan brother that displays many items of interest in the history of Christianity in Japan. It chronicles the first missionary Francis Xavier who landed in Kagoshima in 1549, the banning of Christianity in 1587, the martyrdom by crucifixion of 6 foreign missionaries and 20 converts on February 5, 1597 at Nagasaki, and the hidden Christians discovered when the country reopened and rescinded the outlawing of the Christian faith after the Meiji Restoration. They saw many artifacts depicting how Christians kept the faith alive during the 200 years that Christianity was banned. They also visited other Christian sites in Kyoto. One of these was the Koryu-ji Temple that belongs to the Shingon sect of Buddhism. This sect some have speculated may have brought Christianity to Japan long before Francis Xavier through contact with Nestorian Christians in China and Korea. The idea is intriguing; but to this date in history it remains speculation and is not accepted as historical fact. On Sunday Bob preached his last sermon in the West District. On Sunday Frbruary 8 the congregation of Kyoto Lutheran Church heard the good news of forgiveness that healed the man let down through the roof by his friends in Mark 2:1-12. In his last opportunity to preach in the West District Pastor Bob encouraged the members of Kyoto Lutheran Church to receive the healing power of forgiveness in Jesus Christ in order to move their ministries ahead in confident faith. After a warm worship service in Kyoto and a comfortable ride on the Shinkansen the exchange of the South Carolina Synod and JELC now shifts to the Tokai District where Bob and Chris will be for the next month. There first stop is three weeks in the town of Shimizu. They will be living in the parsonage of Shimizu Lutheran Church.

Keep praying,

Zen Ben

Where are Bob & Chris in Japan January 30?

Rev Dr. Tony Everett is one of many fine professors whose classes Bob attended while a student at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina USA. Rev. Dr. Everett created an acronym from his reflections on Exodus 3:1 ff, the story of the “Burning Bush” It is WIGIAT. It stands for “Where is God in all this?” Dr. Everett teaches his students to turn aside like Moses and ask that question repeatedly as they deal with the challenges of ministry. Chris and Bob have done that repeatedly during a meaningful month in the West District of the JELC. Most of their time has been living and working at Kibo-no Ie in the area of Osaka called Kamagasaki. The slum of Kamagasaki is a startling place and Kibo-no Ie is a deep spiritual ministry in its midst. It is a ministry they wish everyone could experience. If distance were not prohibitive volunteering at Kibo-no Ie for “Night Patrol” or for another program would bring the call of servant service and the reality of the consequence o f human sin into a person’s mind like never before. Just sitting through the orientation of Akiyama Sensei and his staff is a moving experience. You may not understand the words perfectly but somehow you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in the passion of his delivery. Orientation is just the beginning of a “Night Patrol”. The first “Night Patrol” for Bob and Chris was an experience of the misery of the cold inflicted upon men whose sentence to this life is handed down by a economic and political system that uses them up, exploits them and then views them when their bodies can no longer produce as a collective problem. Their second night patrol on January 30 was the experience of misery in a driving rain that turned even covered shopping areas of Kamagasaki into breeding grounds of sickness for the same collective problem. As they returned to Kibo-no Ie after the second night patrol , peeled off soaked clothing and water logged shoes they huddled around the heaters of a room where volunteers tried to process the experience. With the leader Akiyama Sensei facilitating, each person tried to reflect on their experience. Bob sensed that without knowing the model they were trying to answer the WIGIAT question of Rev. Dr. Tony Everett. While they were warming up and reflecting however the misery that was experienced continued out in the streets of a broken and sinful world. It continued in Kamagasaki and in slums that have different names in various parts of the world. Their experience for a night, or for the second time on "Night Patrol" was over; but what of the ones they left on the streets? There is no good way to resolve that question anymore than there is a good way to resolve the result of corporate human sin. Bob reflected that perhaps some men were comforted for a brief moment by night patrol volunteers in Kamagasaki just as their counterparts are in some other forsaken slum in this world. Yet after Bob and Chris and their fellow volunteers are warm and their night patrols are over the masses of poor and homeless remain until? Bob and Chris turned aside after "Night Patrol" January 30 as they have done many times during their month in the West District. Sometimes turning aside repeatedly however can begin to feel like turning in circles. Peace from Kamagasaki and Kibo-no Ie

Keep praying,

Zen Ben