geoffandheather.net

It’s around lunchtime, and I am sitting in a burger cafe adjacent to the Big Egg, otherwise known as the Tokyo Dome. It’s been quite a day already!

I awoke, and figured out the daily routine at the hostel. So there is a shared shower/bath. It’s really not too bad, it has personal stalls, and a shared changing area. It’s a lot like the gym actually, so that felt completely normal. If that’s the trade off for 3860 yen per night then bring it!

I got changed and got all my stuff locked up, after going downstairs to post pictures and the blog I wrote last night. Then it was on to my first stop of the day, the Yasukuni Shrine.

So there’s this huge gate, the biggest gate in Japan. Check the pictures. This shrine is dedicated mainly to World War 2 veterans… then it is adjacent to a temple, Nippon Budokan. This is a rather large temple area with a beautiful park and garden around it. I have some amazing pictures of the waterfall and garden area.

I brought my Bible, and I prayed all around the temple area. I found a special quiet place in the garden and just prayed psalms over the temple and the Japanese people. It’s an amazing place, and an amazing people, and I know that God loves them and has special plans for revival here. I prayed for the teams coming this summer. It was a very sweet experience, and I hope to return to this temple and garden with others, hopefully in the midst of a great harvet in Japan.

So then I got lost. :-) Yeah but the signs are great here, so I got back on track within a few minutes, and headed back to the hotel area. I stopped for a quick map check and a little emailing off the only free wifi in Japan, LOL, and then headed to Tokyo Dome.

So Tokyo Dome is like its own little city. There’s a roller coaster, right in downtown, and the Japanese Baseball Hall Of Fame, and then the stadium. I am a sucker for foreign sports jerseys, so I went in the gift shop and got me a Yomiuri Giants replica jersey. I’ll put it right next to my Honduras National Soccer Jersey. My baseball jersey was a touch more expensive though! And then I stopped at this burger joint, which by the way, perhaps just served me the best burger I have ever had. The bun was so awesome, I need to figure out how to ask what they made that with! It was a Teriyaki Burger. Mmmmmmm! I’ll be back to sushi probably tomorrow, LOL.

And just a funny note, the Beatles are playing in here. They are still very huge here. So the other night at karaoke, Yamada, one of our hosts, hadn’t said 5 words to me in English the entire time we had been here. So I queued up Yesterday by the Beatles, and dude grabs a microphone and sings every word. I was laughing so stinkin hard. I miss Yamada and Dario and my friends!!! But I feel like an explorer now for sure, carrying my goofy little phrase book, navigating as best I can.

The weather is beautiful, perfect temperature, bright sunshine!

So I will probably go exploring for a few more minutes, and then get ready for the train ride to meet my missionary friend in West Tokyo. Hoping to talk about what the progress is like in Tokyo, how I can help over the next 72 hours, and how I can potentially continue to help, whether it means prayer, support for the missionaries, or building a team to come next year. I hadn’t thought much of that, but having the experience of learning some Japanese culture first hand, and the experience of the traveling and the navigating of the city, probably helps me in terms of my ability to do that. I’m sure Buddy also has a lot to pour into me and tell me about that will help immensely with that, so I’m really excited about tonight.

Ok, more updates later. Sayonara!

Wow, where do I even begin with today? In general, the day started in the care of my friends from Maebashi, with amenities, some luxury, and definitely hand holding. It ended here in a bunk bed in a hostel squeezed on the 18th floor of a building in the largest city in the world, along with a backpacker from Oregon, a guy from the States who has a thing for closed Middle East countries, and a half Iranian/half Japanese guy with a huge job interview tomorrow. My blanket feels like a burlap sack, I stole internet from a coffee shop, and I am definitely in culture shock. I love it!

So first.. we got to meet the mayor of Maebashi this morning. What a great experience! He loaded us all down with gifts, and we got to sit and talk and exchange presents. We checked out of the hotel, got all of our stuff together, and headed for Tokyo.

First stop was the Tokyo Government Building, and an elevator trip to the 45th floor, where much of the city was visible. You could even see most of the mountain ranges off in the distance. It was a great learning experience about Tokyo. We ate lunch there and then moved on.

Next was a temple in Tokyo. It was very beautiful. For a nonreligious people, it’s amazing how religious Japanese people are. Or at the very least superstitious! I think these trips to the temples have given me some perspective on the Japanese mindset and culture and hopefully that will help me in the days to come!

So once we were finished there, we began to separate the group. I thought I was going to be last, but it turned out I was first! Doh! So I thought I had a little more time, and then the next thing you know, they’re getting ready to drop me off. And suddenly, after being hand held for 4 days, I’m alone on the streets of Tokyo dragging all my bags with me, looking for the hostel.

First, I got a little lost. Not bad lost. Just a little. I was within a block the whole time but just couldn’t locate the right place. So once I finally found a police officer who knew where the hostel was, I made my way over and checked in.

The place I am staying is a hostel. Up to 10 can sleep in the same room, on bunk beds. It’s my first experience like this. There are a lot of rules. There’s a curfew. There’s mandatory breakfast this week because of holidays. It’s a little smelly and creepy. I love it. Very cool so far. Already made a friend to talk to about the trip. And it’s 3860 yen per night, which rocks. And I found a cool Japanese phrase book in the lobby that I’m going to study before I go to sleep.

Next was internet. I needed to plan out the train for tomorrow’s journeys and the maps weren’t helping me very much. But no wifi to be found. Like anywhere. I checked every place I could think of, nothing open, nothing open with a pay portal. Grrrrr!! The hostel has 3 crappy Win2K kiosks with 100 yen per 15 minute access. Terrible. So I did use that to plan my train for tomorrow afternoon to meet Buddy from the IMB, but I needed wireless… so I searched, and pretty much gave up, until I was about to come back upstairs, and I sat down at a table and cranked up the laptop. And what do you know, the little restaurant right across the square had an open access point! I bought a (crappy) latte and went to work, emailing and talking to Heather.

So here I am. Lights go off in 20 minutes. I am in Tokyo. I have 3 more full days. I don’t really know what God is going to bring for me. But I am excited to be here. I have a phrase book, I have a Bible. I have a map of the trains. What else could a boy ask for?

And I have lots of stuff I’d like to do. My hostel is less than a mile from Tokyo Dome so I am hoping to catch a game. There are many great sights within walking distance. And I know already there are plenty of places to pray over in this city, that the teams of kids that come this summer will have a great harvest, and that I might make some friends and lay the groundwork for bringing more people with me next time I come to Tokyo.

Until then!

geoff

The sun rises here at like 4:30 am. The land of the rising sun. :) So I’m typically wide awake by 5:30. I’m thinking this could seriously help with my morning Bible study at home, so I think I’m going to petition to get this sun at home! Seriously, it was a good opportunity this morning to write a little, because I’ve been so busy having fun that I haven’t really had the chance.

First, I ran a half marathon in Japan yesterday. Sweet! Many things were very much the same about the experiences, but I will highlight some of the high points. First of all, we are guests of honor of the City of Maebashi. This means that we had the reception on Saturday night, which was quite an experience! I got to speak to many people there, and give some gifts from the BTC, and eat perhaps the yummiest rice balls ever! Oh yeah! And then I played the Japanese drums which was very awesome! I thought I kept the beat very well.. :) We only completely lost it maybe once or twice, we had very good teachers.

Sunday morning I awoke, and Dario and Yamada, our guides, picked us up and carried us to the race. First time I’ve ever had a personal bus carry me straight to the race. I liked it. :) Built in place to keep your race bag. Then there was an opening ceremony and we were introduced on stage as special guests of honor. Then at the start line, we were put right at the front, which was hilarious. :) The elite runners were looking at us with what I can only describe as a mix of curiosity, disdain, and respect. Great mix!

Then the mayor, in his awesome yellow suit, fired the gun and we were off. Ok, so starting with the elites meant I ran entirely too fast for entirely too long at the beginning of the race. I haven’t taken the time to look at my splits, but I was probably on a 1:40 pace at the halfway point, which would have been outstanding for not training. 1:49 is outstanding I think considering what I know to be my physical condition right now compared to years past. But the race was more than that for sure. The Tone river, I think it was Tone, and the cherry blossoms coming from the trees and falling along the road as we ran. There was a traditional Japanese group singing with drums and the big umbrellas, with the ancient attire. And the mountain always in view, and so beautiful!

It rained all day Saturday, and then Sunday morning when we awoke, it was still raining. But almost on cue, at about 9am, the sun broke through the clouds, the rain stopped, and the run was beautiful, if not a touch on the warm side. It also felt uphill in all directions. But I think this is a function of training. When you train well, the race feels all downhill. When you don’t, all uphill :)

Ok some really sweet things. First, when you finish, you walk right over to a tent and show them your number, and they give you a full results sheet. I mean I hadn’t gotten my heart rate down yet and I had my results. Now, perhaps I should come here and study the way they do race management, because I’ve never seen anything close to that in the States. We pay people a lot of money to have results by maybe Tuesday. No offense to our local races and the companies that do this stuff, but you might need to go visit Japan for some tips. And I’m a race timer myself. :) We’ll see if I can do my race in two weeks anywhere close to that!

And pork soup! Yes, first time with pork soup after a race. It was really tasty! Pork, vegetables, some I’m familiar with, some I have only become familiar with since arriving, like devil’s tounge.. think consistency of tofu maybe, taste somewhere between potato and … potato, maybe. :) And when served hot, tastes very very good.. dumplings, and some really random pieces of squid.

No medals. So medal whores who will be upset with that need not apply. But between the awesome tech shirt, the sweet jacket, and the results sheet along with numbers made of bonded enough paper to not get wrinkled and folded up, I have a framing job to do when I get home. I’ll never miss having a medal for the race. No gatorade either during, so if that bothers you learn to take some gu. They do have sponges, which not many races in the US have. I squeezed it over my head a few times and it was very enjoyable!

I already know that we are having some Japanese athletes here for Vulcan this year, and I’m very excited about that. I’d encourage the running community to get involved in this as best they can, as hosts, or receiving party, or volunteers. I know I plan to be there that weekend, and hope to host them as well as they have hosted us..

After the race, we came back to the hotel, and ate what I guess was a 5 course meal, though it felt more like 7 or 8. It was my second half marathon of the day. An eating marathon! Then back to the hotel to sleep a bit and catch up with family.

Then unfortunately I started to feel a little sick in the head and tummy. I made it out to the place for dinner, but the smell of the food made it worse, so I walked back to the hotel and laid down for about an hour and a half. I had begun lobbying Dario, our host from the city, to take us out for karaoke early on Saturday, and quickly won him over. Not everyone in the party was completely enthusiastic at first, but once we got there, they were won over quickly as well!

I was feeling well enough to join everyone and we walked to the karaoke bar. Ok, so karaoke in Japan.. where it started. You rent a room. The room has couches and a table and a TV with the sound system. You have a couple of remote controls to pick the songs and queue them up. You can rent this room by the hour, and you can also do an all-you-can-drink thing during that time as well.. which we did. :) I think this way of doing it is so much cooler than having karaoke at a bar in the United States. I wish we had more of these places. It’s a great thing for a big group to get together and do, and you don’t have to wait an hour to sing the next song. Even the most skeptical among us had a blast! I was so glad I came back to the hotel and recovered a little. We also got to see Yamada open up a lot, as he had been quiet most of the trip. And Dario is just a wonderful host and trip leader and for him to come out with us, along with Timo, one of the great friends we have made this weekend, meant a lot. A girl who came with him sang the most beautiful Japanese song, I had no idea what it was saying. Then we sang a song with Dario and then Yamada broke out his (flamenco) dancing shoes, which was AWESOME!

Man it’s been a wonderful time. Of course my trip is only half over. Now, on to Tokyo, to experience the largest city in the world, to stay in a bunk bed room with 9 strangers, to walk the streets of Tokyo in prayer for their knowledge of Christ, to talk to missionaries about their experiences and life in Japan, and to eat some potentially sketchy stuff. :) I hope God will use me to scout a potential larger trip to Tokyo or Maebashi in the future, and to seed the ground for the college students that are coming this summer to bring the gospel to Tokyo.

Before leaving however, we will be meeting the mayor today, and spending some more time getting the sights and sounds with our guides. It starts in about an hour, so I’m out. Thanks everyone for reading and commenting on my statuses and updates, it means a lot to know that people are following my trip. I love you all!!

Wow! That’s all I can say about the trip so far. I really need to get to sleep, but I wanted to write just a few things while they are still fresh.

1. We visited a Buddhist Temple this morning. It was a little strange for me. The architecture and art was beautiful. But I am a Christian, and hopefully one who actually believes all the words in the Bible, as best I can.. I teach Bible studies and when we talk about the Old Testament, and God warning against the worship of sticks and rocks, I have to relate that to things Americans understand, like money or women or food. But here, yeah… actual sticks and rocks. And so though I enjoy the change in culture and the perspective, if I believe the words of the Bible I feel a little sadness about those in Japan who are caught in Buddhism.

I didn’t participate in any of the ritual type stuff.. but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong for a Christian, especially if it’s to be polite to a host and not offend, though the heart is still with Yahweh.. I just chose not to and it didn’t seem to make much difference to them. It’s a tough learning experience, to be somewhere where there is little concept of Jesus. I think many come and it makes them more relativistic. Not for me. But it felt somoverwhelming, because it’s everyone. It’s very cultural. Kind of like how we’ve gotten in the south about Christ. Very cultural. Can’t stay that way…

2. Great lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant.. rock the sushi!! Man I dug that. I also tried Pocari Sweat, a sports drink, and some onion chips. :) And a few other things I don’t know what they were! And I bought enough souvenirs I may have to ship some of them back. LOL I still have 4 days coming in a hostel, carrying around my load of souvenirs

3. I’ll never forget presenting the gifts to two of my Japanese friends. It was a running shirt, and they put them on and one of them started running around the reception room. Classic! I need to be so excited about receiving gifts from people.

4. There is a Christian church near my hotel. I have to go check this out, maybe during my break tomorrow after the race. And then, I hope, karaoke!!! Dario is a great host, and he’s been really good to us and made us feel very welcome. I would suggest this trip to anyone, seriously, it’s been a whirlwind but just a blast!

Ok, I guess that is all for now. I hope I will get the chance to write the whole list of experiences from the day. The temple, the Kokeshi doll factory, lunch, the 100 Yen store (yeah!), the reception and dinner.

But alas, 13.1 miles awaits my jetlagged mind. Here’s the plan. I’m wearing my RaceReady shorts, and I am taking my camera. I will run a comfortable pace, stop when I want to take pictures, and have a great time. Then I will talk to everyone on the other side of the finish line.

BTW I got a Maebashi Runners t-shirt. It’s yellow, and has some English and Japanese on the back. OH YEAH. I’ll be wearing that bad boy all summer. It will be my favorite training shirt, I am sure! And I got some totally sweet chopsticks!!

Ok.. that’s a night. Love you all, see you soon, good night from Maebashi!

Hello all!

I planned to blog more before, but my hosting provider picked a perfect time to unreasonably suspend my account. So after fighting with them from my hotel in Japan for a day, I am back online.

I am safe, and I have had a great time so far! I can’t wait to write more about it. Heading to the reception in the runners’ honor here in the hotel. Talk to you all soon!!

This one got to me and I had to repost. http://www.desiringgod.org

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We should seek to stigmatize abortion by associating it with racism as closely as the truth warrants.

People today don’t oppose the enslavement of blacks merely because they think it’s wrong. They oppose it because otherwise they would be viewed as Neanderthals. It’s easy to oppose it because to do so is fashionable.

That’s a good thing. It always helps when the right thing happens to be P.C.

So let’s be wise in showing the way abortion is closer to racism and slavery than people see.

The Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case of 1857 held that black slaves were property without rights as persons, yet today we view that as unthinkable. So the Supreme Court in the case of Roe v. Wade (1973) held that the unborn did not have rights as persons, yet we should hope and work that the day may come when that too is viewed as unthinkable.

So here’s one connection for starters:

Racism might—and often did—result in the killing of innocent humans. In our history, it often did. But there is no “might” about abortion. It always results in the killing of innocent humans.

Between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 black people were lynched in America. Today more black babies are killed by white abortionists every three days than all who were lynched in those years (L.E.A.R.N.).

I love hymns. I didn’t grow up in a churched background so I don’t have a lot of perspective, but I have begun to really love them. But I also like my music kinda loud ya know. So when I found this today on John Piper’s blog it was really nice. And this band rocks pretty hard for singing hymns!

Page CXVI

And don’t forget our local hymn folks, at Red Mountain Church. I love all their CDs as well..

The greatest honour that ever was put upon this world, which is so mean and inconsiderable a part of the universe, was that the Son of God was once in the world; and, as it should engage our affections to things above that there Christ is, so it should reconcile us to our present abode in this world that once Christ was here. He was in the world for awhile, but it is spoken of as a thing past; and so it will be said of us shortly, We were in the world. O that when we are here no more we may be where Christ is!

Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody : Hendrickson, 1996, c1991, S. Jn 1:6

I don’t have all the details yet.. just posts from my friends on Facebook.. but Joe Lent passed away today. He passed from the body of death, the body of sickness, the body of cancer, into a resurrection body of life with Christ.

Many knew Joe and I’m pretty sure they all loved Joe. I bet people have a million awesome stories about him. I have one in particular. Maybe a year ago, maybe not quite that long, my boss and I went out for lunch, and we stopped by Bob’s Bikes in Vestavia. The first person I saw when I walked in was Joe. He gave me a huge hug. We then talked about his condition, which wasn’t horrible at the time, but he obviously wasn’t feeling too great.

As we got to talk more, it turns out that he was at the bike shop sharing the gospel with one of the guys that worked there. Joe in his worst moments of fear was centered on Christ.

I’ll never forget how I wondered at that moment whether his sure and impending death gave him the freedom to truly live. I even asked him that. He agreed wholeheartedly.

So with that thought in mind, this one is for you Joe.

We are all facing sure and impending death. It may be by cancer. It may be by car crash. It may be by random bullet. Or heart attack. It may come slowly and steadily or it may come before I can finish this sentence. In a flash, it can be over.

We were created. Created by a good God. A very good God. We have all turned our back on Him and saw fit to try and live our lives and make our way on our own. The Bible calls this sin. We are hopeless in that sin. There’s no chance for us to make our way, to fix things, to affect our own meaning and purpose. God is totally holy. We are totally not. We can’t even stand in God’s presence. And the consequence of that is eternal death, hell, separation from God, separation from the joy in God, forever and ever, with no quenching and no relief. For-ever.

But while God is just, and totally within His right to send everyone there, He also loved us so stinkin much, that He had a plan from the beginning of the world. He sent His son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, while tempted, lived a sinless life, thus being able to identify with us and be a proper substitute, and He was also God, thus being able to take the punishment for sin for all. God put Christ in our place, taking our punishment for sin upon Himself, and giving us His righteousness that He earned by His life. This happened at the cross.

Then, three days later, Christ rose again and ascended to the very right hand of God. With a new resurrection body. The body that Joe Lent has in heaven right now was given to him by Christ when He rose from the grave. Joe is alive with Christ because Christ died and IS alive. Joe is in Christ and Christ in Joe, and Joe will feel no more pain, and no more tears, and no more cancer, and no more sadness and no more sin, and no more failure, forever and ever and ever and ever Joe will be in heaven, worshiping around the throne of Christ, drinking in the cup of redemption, praising his Savior and His God all the day long, forever and ever and ever.

Day one billion will be no less sweet than day one, and day one billion will be no closer to eternity than day one. This is the meaning and the purpose of our lives. This was the meaning and purpose of Joe Lent’s life. He ate, lived, breathed Christ.

What must we do to see this day, when disease or bullet or car causes this fragile, fragile life to pass away???

Have faith in Christ. See your sin for what it is. Repent and believe that Christ came and took your sin and gave you His righteousness. Trust in Him alone as your Father, as your Savior, as your King. Trust nothing and nobody ahead of Him. And you will learn to love His commands and obey them willingly, just as I saw Joe do since the first day I met him.

Dangit what I would do to be able to communicate the seriousness of eternity. We’re so churched we cannot see! Open your eyes! Wake up! Tomorrow may not come! Have you really thought about what happens next? Think about it! Please!

If you met Joe, God had something to say to you. If you knew Him, God was working on you. Don’t ignore the call. It’s eternity. I’m so glad that on a day like this I know exactly where my friend is. At the banquet table. With the Lord. With a new body. Rejoice!

My prayers are with Crystal and Matt and Josie. Despite this wonderful news, it hurts very much and prayers and support are so needed for them now.

To live is Christ, and to die is gain. -Philippians 1

You want to know who Joe Lent was? That’s who Joe Lent was.

I pray it will be me, and I pray even more that it will be you.