Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time. -Band Aid "Do They Know Its Christmas?"

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. This has easily been the strangest Christmas season of my life and that's saying a lot since last year's snow/ice storm pretty much shut Tulsa down for Christmas. While the Japanese have somewhat embraced the commercial aspect of Christmas, the religious significance is simply not a big part of their culture, which isn't surprising since less than 1% of the Japanese population is Christian.

December has literally flown by, and despite attending numerous Christmas activities, it still doesn't FEEL like Christmas. The past few weeks have definitely been the hardest to get through in terms of homesickness. I can't really describe the feeling it gives you to see how easily and normally things go on without you being there. It's bizarre to say the least. But just as a wise friend predicted (if you're reading this, I'm talking about you Mr. Linden,) being this far away from home/family/friends and the normal hustle and bustle of Christmas really gives you a chance to focus on what Christmas is ACTUALLY about.

Last night was easily the coldest night we've had this winter and as I was walking to church, shivering and kicking myself for not having worn warmer clothing and grumbling because I wanted to be at home with my family instead of going to church alone on the other side of the world, I noticed another white person walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. My church is right next to a big university in Tokyo so I tend to see more Caucasian people near my church than other places around town. We exchanged what I have come to refer to as the “foreigner nod” (there seems to be an unspoken rule that foreigners will give each other a nod of recognition on the streets off Japan) and I continued on my way. Just as we were about to pass each other, he paused briefly and said “Merry Christmas.” It's a phrase you hear a thousand times this time of year, even in Japan, but he said it with more kindness, understanding, and sincerity than any other time I can recall hearing anyone say it. And it completely turned my night around. My entire frame of mind changed. I stopped moping, went to church and enjoyed a beautiful service (which I understood far more of than I expected!)

While Christmas was strange this year, it ended up being much better than I originally expected.  It included skyping with the family on Christmas Eve, yummy brunch Christmas morning, some time for personal reflection, skyping with Laramie, watching The Holiday with Ally and Christine, and then playing a few rousing games of Farkel. All in all, lots of fun!

Here are some pictures from various activities that have happened since my last blog:

 Advent/Wine and Cheese/Birthday Party

For a wonderful video of Carol Sack playing the harp during out party check out my youtube account here.  Carol has developed an amazing ministry playing for patients of the Home of Hope hospice.  To read more about it, click here.

Cooking with the McKenzies - Omurice, Japanese hotcakes, and apple pancakes.

Tokyo Disneyland!

Candlelight Service at Church

Christmas party with the youth group at church

Christmas morning brunch with Ally and Christine

For more pictures of most of these events, check out my flickr account.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

I've come to beg for forgiveness...and I'll take all that I'm given...and try to teach by my doing. -Yeasayer “Forgiveness”

This is part 2 of a 3 part update that I started last week.  I've been putting off writing this blog since getting back to Tokyo, partially because its uncomfortable to write and partially because sometimes written words just aren't good enough.  It's a little lengthy, but hopefully worth the read!

I spent November 20^th and 21^st in Hiroshima for this year's J-3 retreat. The Tokyo J-3s (Ally, Christine, Dana, Matt and myself) traveled south and met up with the Kumamoto J-3s (Carolyn, Jen, Doug, Sue, and John) to have our annual get-together and to explore the history of Hiroshima. There were more than a few concerns about being a group of Americans in a city that was utterly decimated by Americans (and others) within the lifetime of many of the city's residents. For me personally, it was awkward and uncomfortable and while I knew the visit was a necessary experience to have, I was not looking forward to going to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The first section of the museum gave an interesting history of Hiroshima up to the dropping of the A-Bomb on August 6, 1945. There were several models showing before and after views of the city, as well as first hand accounts of things people had been doing the day of. 

The second part of the museum was the most difficult to get through. Case after case displayed the remains of clothing and personal effects collected from people who survived the initial blast but died shortly thereafter from the resulting injuries. The plaques under each case told the story of the artifact's owner and all but one that I looked at ended with “he/she died several hours later” or “the body was never recovered.” Still more told of people who somehow managed to make their way home, only to die in the arms of loved ones. Far too many of the cases contained tattered bits of childrens' uniforms, book bags, etc. One case told the story of an eight-year-old boy who had been horribly injured while walking to school. His father found him and carried him home and while many people tried to help him, he died the next day. After reading the plaque I looked down to see a little boy who was visiting the museum with his family. He was no older than the boy I had just read about and it was truly chilling to realize that the remains of the uniform in the case would have fit him perfectly.

The third section of the museum focused on the history of nuclear weapons. Here are a few interesting facts I learned (and keep in mind that most of the information presented hasn't been updated since before the fall of the Soviet Union) :

• At its peak, the total destructive force of the five nuclear weapon states (U.S., Soviet Union, U.K., France and China) is thought to have been 22,000 megatons, or 1.38 million times the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Of these weapons 93% belonged to the United States and the Soviet Union.

• Other times the use of nuclear weapons has been considered:
  • 1946 - Deployment of Soviet Army in Iran
  • 1946 - Shooting down of a U.S. plane by Yugoslavia
  • 1948 - Sealing off of West Berlin by Soviet Union
  • 1950 - Breakout of the Korean War
  • 1953 - Deterioration of the Korean War
  • 1954 - Offer to supply French army with A-Bomb on the Vietnam front
  • 1954 - Guatemala's selection of pro-Soviet Policy
  • 1954 - China's liberation of Taiwan
  • 1956 - The Suez Crisis
  • 1958 - Coup d'ètat by Iraq's military and the Taiwan Strait crisis
  • 1959 - Berlin issue
  • 1961 - More Berlin issues
  • 1962 - Cuban missile crisis
  • 1968 - Seizure of USS Pueblo by North Korea
  • 1968 - Vietnam War (Battle of Quesan)
  • 1969 - Intensification of Vietnam War
  • 1970 - Invasion of Jordan by Syria
  • 1973 - Desire to end Fourth Middle East War
  • 1980 - Desire to halt Iran crisis
  • 1991 - Anticipation of the use of chemical weapons by Iraq in Persian Gulf War

Obviously the list could be updated from there, but this was the information the museum provided.

The most impressive aspect of the museum and Hiroshima in general is that, while the Japanese will never forget their history and the horrible devastation their city and country suffered, the emphasis of the museum and park is on PEACE. The Japanese have an amazing capacity to forgive and Americans could stand to learn a thing or two from it.

To end on a lighter note, after going to the Peace Museum and Park, Ally, Matt, Matt's sister Janet, and I took a ferry out to Miyajima Island to see the famous Floating Torii. (The gate itself doesn't actually float, as you can see in some of my pictures, but when the tide is high enough it definitely looks like it does.) 

Deer roam freely around the island and happily let tourists pet/feed them. 

Occasionally they will nibble on your jacket or souvenir bag and if you aren't paying attention while eating lunch, they may decide to help you out. It was fairly late in the afternoon by the time we made it to Miyajima, so we hung around long enough to see the full moon come out.

All in all, the trip to Hiroshima was a very educational one. I'm going to forgo the “Lessons Learned” section of the blog this time because if you've read this far then you already know what I learned. :-) The final chapter of this 3 part update should be posted in the next few days. For more pictures from Hiroshima, check out 

flickr.