It’s really something (oh dear, what a way to start a blog) how kind the Japanese can be. In the four months that we’ve been here, we have been virtually (and physically) overwhelmed with the amount of kindness that we’ve been shown by our Japanese Church family, our neighbors, and absolute strangers.
It was the middle of the day (about the 9th hour if you read the KJV) when i was outside cleaning the yard and playing with Augustus. An old man, who was bald by choice, puttered up to our driveway with a grocery sack full of crackers, candy, and juice. He sort of smiled, referenced living in the area and handed me the bag, motioning up and down while pointing at his neck. I think he was saying that the contents of the bag would be good for a sore throat, which made me think that he hears Augustus screaming in bedtime-protest and feels sorry for the fellow. It may just be that the contents were in fact, food items… that you just eat. :) i bowed as deeply as i could without falling over and tried to say something in Japanese which probably sounded more like (insert hilarious illustration/metaphor here). About a week later, in the second watch, he showed up again bearing gifts… and this time there was chocolate!
. . .
Another day Augustus and i were sweeping the sidewalk trying to make it less obvious that we are the only ones in the neighborhood that don’t have have an immaculate, well kept zen garden for a yard. Another neighbor walked by and started talking to us. Before she walked on, she said ringo o taberu? (do you eat apples?). I did what any parent would do in a situation of uncertainty, i looked at Augustus and said “Well boy, answer the lady!” :) We walked with her to her home about a block away and left with three large apples that make the one on Snow White look like a crab apple. That similie was a little weak, i'd say. The next time we passed by her house she loaded us down with HaagenDaaz individuals. A few days after that the four of us, along with my brother John went to her house and enjoyed coffee and conversation with her and her husband.
Just two examples of how kind we’ve been treated, and i’m only talking about neighbors! We were walking and someone gave us a bag of sweet potatoes from their yard, on another occasion the same thing happened. Shoot, we don’t even go to the grocery store anymore, if we’re hungry we just go for a walk. :)
There’s a verse that i don’t really understand in Matthew 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. However that plays out, i’m praying that the Lord will show Himself generously to those that have done so much to make us outsiders feel welcomed. Please pray with us for Uekobo San and her husband, and for the kind man on the mo-ped, and for so many others, that as they have extended their care to us, that the Lord would allow them to receive Him, and receive His shinsetsu (kindness).
Off to go eat some of that chocolate!
-joseph
Pro-Tip: How jc&w. remember the word for Kindness: Shinsetsu
Always show shinsetsu (kindness) and shinshaku (consideration) to your shinseki (relatives) so they don’t become your teki (adversaries) and then you can go to your shinshitsu (bedroom).
a taste of Japan
Fall has begun and colors are starting to change.
a hands-on (or on-hands) approach to learning the language
