First Days in Japan

Earlier this week, my journey began. Wednesday afternoon, I flew from Tucson to LA. The disappointing thing was that my carry on had to be checked because they had run out of space for carry on luggage. In a way this was a blessing because it was one less item for me to have to lug around for both layovers I had. The layover in LA was pretty easy, it was straight from one plane to the waiting area for the next.

Then I had the 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. There is quite a bit to complain about taking a 15 hour flight in economy class, but one of the nice things was watching out the window to see the lights of Japan as we flew over. Although it was a little thing, it was a reminder of what I was on this plane for. As I sat cramped in economy, I thought about the rough travels Paul had on his missionary journeys, and even the smooth travels in that day, and first realized how blessed I was to be traveling like I was but also the work that God had called me to do was far more important then my comfort at that moment... or how ever many moments are in a 15 hour flight.

I arrived in Hong Kong and had another long layover. During this layover I learned a few things. 1: a Chinese Pepsi Costs $15. 2: 1 US$ = 7.1 HK$ 3: Chinese Pepsi is terrible, buy Coka-cola instead. The hours passed and I was on my last flight, which would take me to the Kansai International Airport in Japan. As I was sitting on the plane waiting for boarding to complete, a lovely young Japanese woman walked up to me, looked at the row number above me, and took the seat next to me. I'll go into what happened between us in the next post, but this was a significantly shorter and more pleasant flight.

We landed and I went through customs, which was a bit of a stressful cap to this part of the adventure. But as soon as I exited customs inspection, Pastor Taniguchi was waiting for me. I was glad to finally meet him in person and we were soon on the road from the airport to Kobe. He treated me to my first meal in Japan... McDonalds. We figured it would be a good way to bridge the cultural gap, but it was actually at that moment when I first felt in over my head. It was the startling realization that the guy taking my order and I did not speak the same language. Thankfully, “Cheeseburger” is “Cheeseburger” in Japanese. But Pastor Taniguchi has been helpful in getting me started and easing some of these initial challenges of living in a foreign country.

When we got to the apartment, I met Pastor Taniguchi's Wife and eldest son. I settled in and took a much needed rest. The next morning I got the apartment a little more settled, unpacking some clothes and figuring out how to use the Japanese Microwave. That afternoon, I went over to the school/church and helped with the afternoon class they had, in which we were tutoring two middle school students. This is where my native English came into play, it was helpful for them to hear and respond to a native speaker. That evening I had dinner with the Pastor and his Family at a sushi restaurant, while it was not my first time having sushi, it was a bit different having something a bit more authentic and less formal, as the American sushi was served in a semi-formal restaurant.

I am finishing this up Sunday before services. We will be having services this afternoon and evening and I am looking forward services, although I know there will be some challenges along the way.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

God Bless,

Carl 

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