But as for me it is good to be near God" Ps. 73:10: The summer has begun

The view at one of the rest stops.

Tokyo Academy of Communication (TAC)
My time of studying Japanese at TAC has come to a close at least for the time being and it has been a great 5 months. I started in February and I just finished in June. When I first went to TAC my kanji knowledge was very rudimentary and was probably around 100 kanji. My understanding of adjectives and verbs was also very poor. As for speaking, I didn't feel confident in carrying a conversation in Japanese but kept to basic survival Japanese for the most part.

Now having completed TAC I can write about 500 kanji and can recognize roughly 750 kanji. I know about 190 adjectives and 280 verbs and the more I talk with Japanese friends the more I am picking up. Please pray that I will continue to be purposeful in my use of Japanese next year since I will need to be using English in the workplace at CAJ from 8:30-3:30 every day.

An unexpected blessing was to be able to teach English for TAC as well. I had about 5 different students and would usually go to Kamata in downtown Tokyo after my lesson. Kamata is a city with personality. It has quite a diversity of people and it is a thriving city with a deep history of commerce. Nearby the TAC building in Kamata there was a ところてん(tokoroten) shop and since I had never had it before I decided to try some. It is made out of seaweed and you dip it into a combination of しょうゆ、からし、and　す。(soy sauce, Japanese mustard and vinegar). It apparently is a common dieting food but it tastes amazing! I've attached some photos of it below (compliments of Google)

It comes as a block first and then is sliced into noodle like pieces using this device.

The noodles themselves look like this and are very clear. They have no taste by themselves.

After my English teaching I went to a mama/papa shop called はなまる (hana maru) and ate らめん. I ended up talking with the owners and they were very friendly. Their name is Suzuki and they both are around their 70s in age.

For a class trip our TAC class went to Kamakura where one of my teachers, Yamamoto-san, lives. Kamakura has a tremendous amount of history and is a tourist hot spot for Japanese and foreigners alike. While there I was able to try some green tea and sweet potato ice cream (not a very distinct flavor though) Apparently Obama visited this area and didn't have much time to sight see but he bought an ice cream cone from the area and it is famous for being called Obamacha. We saw the ocean, the daibutsu, a shrine, and visited Yamamoto-san's house where we had a potluck-style dinner. It was there that I also gave my concluding 20 minute presentation in Japanese. I chose to give my testimony at that time.

Waving the incense towards her to get blessing/healing.

An employee selling charms, incense and prayer cards.

Ringing the bell and praying.

This is ぜにあらいべんてん(zeniaraibenten) where you can put your money in a basket, wash it with water from the shrine and supposedly your money will multiply.

Baskets

An example of an えま or prayer palette

"I want to become a soccer athlete"

Guardian lion.

えま prayer palettes

Gifu Trip
I am so glad to be with Caleb here in Gifu for about 3 weeks. Just in the little time I've been here it has been a very full schedule. On Saturday I arrived and Caleb and I had Mexican haystacks and then went to the sento. On Sunday we went to church and Grace Chapel, went to eat a sushi lunch with some friends from Caleb's Coffee Talk and then spent the afternoon and evening with two college guys playing games (Bohnanza, Settlers of Catan and card games). We also invited them to stay for dinner and I was able to make spaghetti for all of us.

A rest stop. The Willer bus which I took is the pink one in the picture.

Almost there.

The view from Caleb and Amy's apartment

The neighborhood around their apartment.

The soda pop that Caleb got from some Brazilian friends

Some of my reading this morning!

Moving Apartments
We are still in the process of downsizing but for the most part I was able to help my mom and dad move from apartment 202 in Matsukawa Place to 301. We are downsizing for a variety of reasons but it will definitely take some time to get used to. I am so thankful that I am able to spend some time with my parents this next year and also to be so near to my workplace and the station. Its a 2 minute walk to the school and 2 minute walk to the eki. Amazing!!

All of our legos over the years. I figure if they were brand new it would amount to over $2000 easily.

UTSS
Though my teaching at UTSS was finished I was actually able to attend a goodbye and welcoming party in April. They were saying goodbye to a few teachers (like me) and welcoming a few new ones like the new ALT. I thought we were going to a restaurant but apparently we ended up going to an いざかやor drinking place where most people usually get beers or wine and have finger foods. I ended up having jasmine tea and tried raw horse meat for the first time. I also had an amazing 30 minute conversation with Ozawa-san about Christianity and what I believe in. Praise the Lord!

CAJ
It's official. I am working at Christian Academy in Japan next year as a high school Bible teacher (9-12) and a junior high resource teacher (6-8). I am very excited and am looking forward to what the Lord has in store.

Some of my reading for professional development includes:

Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, M.D.
Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

An extra benefit to working at CAJ is that I received a new work computer which, if I desire, I can purchase from the school later so that it is my own.

A Macbook Pro. His name is Kazuya!

JBC
Though I wasn't able to be on staff at JBC this summer because of my language studies with TAC I was able to do the staff training which was a tremendous blessing. My goal was also to send letters to every staff member. I got about as far as counselors and kitchen staff and that was more than 20 letters but it was a lot of fun to take on the challenge!

Keimei Gakuen
A blessing that came out of the blue was that I received a subbing position for a Japanese school on a Saturday. I taught 2 block classes. The first class was 9 students at a high English level and the second was 17 students at a low English level. They paid ¥4000 per hour which really helped with my transportation costs to TAC for language studies.

Interesting Tidbits

Ikebukuro: in 1 day 2.6 million people pass through it (I'm one among many that use it)
24 km in 35 min from Higashi Kurume to Ochanomizu by train

Miscellaneous

Recently I was able to attend the baptism of a classmate of mine, Stephen Yosypiw held in Ochiaigawa with the Cornerstone Church which meets in Ikebukuro. I was also able to attend Mari Hicks Memorial Service at Kurume Christ Church. Since Ethan's death funerals have taken on a different meaning as well. I wanted to go because I know that the Hicks have been through a lot just as our family has.

ICCS

I have been very thankful to be able to help out with music at ICCS on Sundays and also to occasionally lead the Bible Study group on their study in Genesis. I never thought I would help lead music with a guitar because I learned to play by myself and really no very little music theory. It is a tremendous amount of fun though.

Tutoring

My tutoring is done but I thought you might want to see Minoru and I reading through a book at the end of our tutoring session. Please pray for him and his family and that I would be able to maintain a close relationship with them as a family.

Here is a short video of the reading portion of our lessons.

Meal Creations