What I miss in America but found in Japan

There is something that I was missing in America that I found in Japan, Youth Ministry. It maybe odd that I haven't brought this up sooner but I am starting to become more acclimated to Japan and more familiar with the students.

So this past Sunday we had the 6^th grade students graduate from the Children's service and moved up to the Teenager's service later in the evening. At this point I am starting to know who can speak some English, who are learning, and those who can't (or won't) speak English. We played several games, Pastor Taniguchi gave a Bible lesson, and we ate Pizza. It was a good night and a lot of fun but it got better Wednesday.

Wednesday was a national holiday, so we celebrated by having a (Japanese-style) BBQ. Unfortunately, the forecast called for rain and we had to adjust our plans from going to a park to staying at the Church. So we set up some griddles inside and grilled up various noodles, meats, and vegetables, served with various Japanese BBQ sauces. We had fun cooking and eating. After we finished eating, we went over to another space and play some Nerf gun games. It had been a while since I last played Nerf/Airsoft/Paintball/Lasertag but it was fun to get back into it that type of game, especially since there was a sense of comradery in that game that made me feel even closer to the teens than I had before. And even a few of the teens seemed to be more open and friendly with me during and after the games. After the games, the other adults returned to the church and finished cleaning up from the meal. We then got to have some social time, to sit, chat, and enjoy each other's company. It was good to be back in an active Youth Ministry, even with the language barrier.

An update for the duration of the trip. The plan at this moment is that I will be staying in Kobe through June. I will then be going to Osaka through the month of July. The details have not been finalized and there is still a possibility they could change again, and not necessarily a bad change either.

Once again, Thank you for your prayer and support.

Carl

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