you wouldn't think that one would have so much culture shock in Hawaii. i mean, it's a part of the US...but even though it's technically a state, it's got its own culture, language, and people. in fact, Hawaii is probably the most unique state in the US due to its diverse population and mix of cultures. it would be a culture shock coming from any other state, but coming from a year and a half in Tokyo, Japan, life couldn't have been more different. as i compared in a previous post, Tokyo and Hilo have almost nothing in common. not only is the size of Hilo miniscule compared to Tokyo, but the pace and way of life are about 50x slower.
some culture shocks/surprises of Hilo/The Big Island:
- it usually rains around 5-6 times a day
- people greet you with a hug and a kiss, even if they're just meeting you for the first time
- people don't wear shoes, they wear "rubba slippas" (rubber flip flops)
- people rarely get dressed up, wear jeans or heels
- it is not uncommon to see cockroaches chillin' in your car
- spiders are ginormous
- people are SUPER friendly
- peanut butter is just as expensive as in Japan
- stores open around 10 am and close around 4:30 or 5 pm
- there are no highways
- all the beaches on this side of the island are volcanic rock
- if you're "kama'aina" (live on the island) you get special discounts
- it's ALL about connections, and everyone pretty much knows everyone
- people actually do the shaka (Hawaiian hand sign) - ALL the time
- sometimes locals speak so much pidgin it's difficult to understand them
- hula is a lot more intense than in looks
- you can drive to the other side of the island in less than 2 hours, and we're on the BIG Island
- beaches are either green sand or black sand (though there are a few small yellow sand beaches on the other side of the island)
- The Big Island is the ghetto of Hawaii, and Hilo is the ghetto of The Big Island
- Panda Express closes at 8 pm
- while driving around the island, you can see all types of "____ Crossing" signs, including mongoose crossing and donkey crossing
- there are no squirrels in Hawaii
- frogs are the loudest creatures on the island
- you can actually see stars! in fact, the island is the world's best stargazing site
- while driving around the island, you can find almost every location from Lord of the Rings
- The Big Island is the world's largest active volcano
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
E komo mai o Hawaii
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| my first glimpse of The Big Island |
i arrived back in America, aka the Honolulu Airport, around 10 am HST (Hawaii Standard Time). after about an hour layover, we were off to Hilo. ironically, there was a group of Japanese high school students sitting behind me on the plane, so as if the transition from Japan to America wasn't difficult enough, hearing spoken Japanese on my way to my new home made it all the more challenging. about 40 minutes later, we arrived in Hilo, my new home. the airport was super tiny, my first culture shock after spending time in the Tokyo International Airport, Bangkok International Airport and Seoul International Airport. we were picked up by Kent Matsui, the UH Hilo Cru campus director and driven to our new house, only about a 15 minute drive from the airport. because you see, to get anywhere in Hilo only takes about 15 minutes. drive any farther and you are no longer in Hilo. in fact, if you drive longer than 2 hours, you're in the ocean. and we're on the BIG island. like i said in a previous post, Hilo's population is only about 43,000 people. stores open around 10 am and close around 5 pm. we have a Walmart and Target...and technically two Starbucks, if you count the one in Target.
anyway, when i got to my new house, i was blown away by how big it was. we have 5 bedrooms, a gigantic kitchen with breakfast nook, a living room, dining room, sun room, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, garage...and a backyard and front yard! i could hardly believe how much space we had after being in a tiny Tokyo apartment for 1 1/2 years. my room is twice as big as big as my room in Japan. my housemates had made a sign for my door that said "E komo mai o Hawaii!" which means "Welcome to Hawaii!" and had bought me a few little Hawaiian things. after i'd gotten all my stuff in my room, we headed to Walmart and Target to buy food and things for our new home. it was a bit of a bummer buying futons and tables and chairs and things, knowing that we'd be leaving in just a few months. it was good to have something to do though, because we needed to stay away for the rest of the day so we wouldn't throw off our sleep schedules too much with jet lag. we gained almost an entire day coming from Korea.
the next week i wasn't allowed on campus. my team leaders made me take a mandatory week off to rest, recover and adjust to my new culture, environment, team and ministry. the problem was, i didn't want to process leaving Japan. it was too hard. i busied myself focusing on organizing my room, settling in and figuring out life in Hawaii, but it was too painful to think about how i was no longer in Japan and didn't know when i'd be back. i was thankful for a few days of rest and recovery though- i definitely needed it after such a long and stressful semester by myself in Japan. and Thursday of that week i was actually allowed to go to a joint worship night with the two other Christian groups on campus, BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries) and InterVarsity. it was exciting to walk onto UH Hilo's campus for the first time and meet students, and of course, pray and worship with brothers and sisters. the next day i went to the beach for the first time- Hilo beaches are pretty much all volcanic rock, but still pretty and relaxing to chill on the rocks and watch the waves. that night we all went to dinner with some of the guys from BCM at Lucy's Taqueria- a really wonderful Mexican food place downtown.
saturday our whole team got together and for 7 hours, we planned our "SPP" or "Strategic Planning Process." our SPP was basically exactly what it sounds like- deciding our vision for ministry and then planning out action steps to make our vision a reality. it was a long day, but we got a lot accomplished!
and there ends my first week in Hawaii! more to come...
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| one last Asian peace sign picture, plus a shaka |
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| my new room! |
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| my first time onto the UH Hilo Campus |
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| Joint Worship Night with BCM and Intervarsity |
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| At Lucy's with the BCM men |
Monday, April 2, 2012
One Year Later, Part 2...
one year ago today, my STINT team and i returned to Tokyo after spending two weeks evacuated in Kyoto. those two weeks evacuated were almost as stressful as being in Tokyo, because even though we had time to relax and didn't have too much going on, we never knew when we would be able to go back to Tokyo, if at all. we constantly scoured the internet for news, not only to hear what the Japanese government was broadcasting but also America and Britain, because we wanted to know what the rest of the world was saying. the Japanese government doesn't have the best reputation for keeping their people fully informed, but also CNN and BBC were blowing things a little too over the top, so we needed to know what our friends and families were seeing and hearing. our days were filled with skyping and emailing to worried loved ones back home, updating our supporters, and attempting to plan ministry events we weren't even sure we'd be in the country to actually host. we did get some fun moments- we found a great cafe pretty close to the house we were staying at, and a few of us would go there regularly to sit, drink a latte, read and journal. we got to do some sightseeing, and even some ministry on campuses in Kyoto such as Kyoto University and Doshisha. i spent a day by myself wandering around the Kyoto Imperial Palace. i even got to take a couple capoeira classes. and of course, with 7 of us (the KCCC STINTers had been evacuated to Korea) cooped up in one small Japanese house, we had many bonding moments, such as cooking together, watching movies under the kotatsu, and plucking Mike's eyebrows.
it's weird to look back on those two weeks now. it's hard to believe that was a year ago. those weeks seemed like the longest two weeks of my life, never knowing when we'd be able to go back to Tokyo or if Cru would send us back to America. and now, ironically enough, even though there was no natural disaster this year, Cru DID send me back to America, but to be in Hawaii working with Cru at UH Hilo. it's still hard not to miss Japan. every time i think about my friends, about JCCC, about Waseda University and Odori Samurai and Paddy and Diente FC, my heart aches.
i know i haven't really written much at all about life here in Hawaii (and i will soon, i promise), but as nice as it's been to be back in America with Target and no exchange rate and people who speak English, i still really miss Japan, and in many ways i still feel like i'm starting my STINT year all over again, still getting to know my team, still getting a feel for the campus and ministry...it's hard to not look back and realize that even though at this time last year, things were so uncertain and unstable; however, i wish with all my heart i could be back there right now.
it's weird to look back on those two weeks now. it's hard to believe that was a year ago. those weeks seemed like the longest two weeks of my life, never knowing when we'd be able to go back to Tokyo or if Cru would send us back to America. and now, ironically enough, even though there was no natural disaster this year, Cru DID send me back to America, but to be in Hawaii working with Cru at UH Hilo. it's still hard not to miss Japan. every time i think about my friends, about JCCC, about Waseda University and Odori Samurai and Paddy and Diente FC, my heart aches.
i know i haven't really written much at all about life here in Hawaii (and i will soon, i promise), but as nice as it's been to be back in America with Target and no exchange rate and people who speak English, i still really miss Japan, and in many ways i still feel like i'm starting my STINT year all over again, still getting to know my team, still getting a feel for the campus and ministry...it's hard to not look back and realize that even though at this time last year, things were so uncertain and unstable; however, i wish with all my heart i could be back there right now.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
One Year Later...
One year ago today, at 2:46 pm Japan Standard Time, a 9.0 earthquake struck of the coast of Japan, instigating a 130 ft tsunami that devastated the coast. Over 20,000 people lost their lives, and over 110,000 lost their homes. I will never forget the feeling of a 5 minute earthquake, and thinking I might not live. I will never forget desperately praying to God to make it stop. I will never forget seeing image after image of the tsunami destruction. I will never forget driving through Tohoku one month later and seeing the devastation without end. Mile after mile, hour after hour, never-ending debris, twisted cars and toppled ships. I will never forget staying at the evacuation center and playing with children who lost their families, and cleaning out homes filled with mud. And I will never forget standing alongside Japanese believers at church that Sunday, singing "Everlasting God," "How Great is Our God," and "You are God" and crying...Here is an excerpt from my blog after that church service:
"I looked around and saw and saw a room filled with Japanese Christians, singing of hope, love, and of a God greater than earthquakes, greater than tsunamis, and greater than our fears. Needless to say, it was a moving moment, and I cried all during worship. Our pastor reminded us that while we are such frail beings, the Truth tells us we have no need to fear, because we are held in the hands of the Almighty God of the Universe. Hebrews 12:25-29 reminds us that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and to that hope and truth we must cling to during times such as this."
I want to thank you for all of your love and support during that time of fear and uncertainty immediately after the earthquake and during the nuclear crisis. Those were dark days, filled with huge aftershocks and fear that we may be sent home due to nuclear meltdowns. Your prayers and words of hope and encouragement were such blessings to all of us. While we may never understand why the disaster happened, I know that the Lord continues to work in Japan. Last week, Franklin Graham spoke to over 12,000 people in Tohoku, and over 400 people accepted Christ. Join with me in celebrating our new brothers and sisters, and continuing to pray for the millions of Japanese still without hope. I ask you to never forget the Tohoku Triple Disaster of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant. Please take some time to pray for Japan today as they remember all that was lost.
Here is some footage I took in Tohoku about a month after the earthquake. While thankfully it no longer looks so bad, it will take many, many years to rebuild. Please feel free to share this with others- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71jy-kTVzWQ
May the Lord bless you today and remind you that He "is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling...The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46:1-3, 7
がんばろう、日本。私たちはあなたの為に祈りを。"わすれないで、we fight together."
"I looked around and saw and saw a room filled with Japanese Christians, singing of hope, love, and of a God greater than earthquakes, greater than tsunamis, and greater than our fears. Needless to say, it was a moving moment, and I cried all during worship. Our pastor reminded us that while we are such frail beings, the Truth tells us we have no need to fear, because we are held in the hands of the Almighty God of the Universe. Hebrews 12:25-29 reminds us that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and to that hope and truth we must cling to during times such as this."
I want to thank you for all of your love and support during that time of fear and uncertainty immediately after the earthquake and during the nuclear crisis. Those were dark days, filled with huge aftershocks and fear that we may be sent home due to nuclear meltdowns. Your prayers and words of hope and encouragement were such blessings to all of us. While we may never understand why the disaster happened, I know that the Lord continues to work in Japan. Last week, Franklin Graham spoke to over 12,000 people in Tohoku, and over 400 people accepted Christ. Join with me in celebrating our new brothers and sisters, and continuing to pray for the millions of Japanese still without hope. I ask you to never forget the Tohoku Triple Disaster of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant. Please take some time to pray for Japan today as they remember all that was lost.
Here is some footage I took in Tohoku about a month after the earthquake. While thankfully it no longer looks so bad, it will take many, many years to rebuild. Please feel free to share this with others- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71jy-kTVzWQ
May the Lord bless you today and remind you that He "is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling...The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." - Psalm 46:1-3, 7
がんばろう、日本。私たちはあなたの為に祈りを。"わすれないで、we fight together."
Sunday, February 26, 2012
A 14-Hour Korea Adventure
in commemoration of this blog post, i'm listening to BigBang, a Korean pop boy band that has a lot of songs in Japanese. they're pretty catchy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkwPTz67sgI)
anyway.
our flight from Thailand to Hawaii had a 14-hour layover in Korea. we left Thailand at midnight and arrived in Korea around 7:30 am. we went through customs and exchanged our money, and it was about 8:30 am by that point. something a little difficult was that Japan was freezing cold, then Thailand was super warm and humid, and Korea was even colder than Japan. it was in the 20s when arrived. oof. anyway.
when i went on my 2nd Summer Project with Cru, kylan and amy were also on my team. there were also 2 people named kyle pash and jessica jury, who ended up getting married and moving to Korea to teach english. so they met us at the airport and we got to spend the whole day with them! we had breakfast together, then they took us sightseeing around Seoul- we went to a temple, the Imperial Palace, and ate bibimbap- a traditional Korean dish. then we got to get coffee with my old teammate from last year, Dave, who is now interning at a church in Seoul. it was SO GOOD seeing him! it's the first time i've seen him since leaving Japan last year in June. when i saw him walking toward us in the train station, i just took off running to him, movie-style. seeing him and introducing him to my new team was one of those "wow, you're not on my team anymore" moments. it was weird. but so good to see him. it was such a short time of catching up, but so fun too. after that we took the train back to the airport, got some souvenirs, made a Korean box (seriously- there was this Korean Culture place in the airport where you could make a box for free), got Burger King and got on our flight to Hawaii.
hurray! i'm finally caught up to Hawaii...blog posts about my first few weeks in Hawaii coming soon!
for now, some pictures from Korea:
Imperial Palace 
traditional handstand picture 
lunch! 
DAVE!!!! ahhh it was so good to see him! 
last picture with the Pashes in the train station
anyway.
our flight from Thailand to Hawaii had a 14-hour layover in Korea. we left Thailand at midnight and arrived in Korea around 7:30 am. we went through customs and exchanged our money, and it was about 8:30 am by that point. something a little difficult was that Japan was freezing cold, then Thailand was super warm and humid, and Korea was even colder than Japan. it was in the 20s when arrived. oof. anyway.
when i went on my 2nd Summer Project with Cru, kylan and amy were also on my team. there were also 2 people named kyle pash and jessica jury, who ended up getting married and moving to Korea to teach english. so they met us at the airport and we got to spend the whole day with them! we had breakfast together, then they took us sightseeing around Seoul- we went to a temple, the Imperial Palace, and ate bibimbap- a traditional Korean dish. then we got to get coffee with my old teammate from last year, Dave, who is now interning at a church in Seoul. it was SO GOOD seeing him! it's the first time i've seen him since leaving Japan last year in June. when i saw him walking toward us in the train station, i just took off running to him, movie-style. seeing him and introducing him to my new team was one of those "wow, you're not on my team anymore" moments. it was weird. but so good to see him. it was such a short time of catching up, but so fun too. after that we took the train back to the airport, got some souvenirs, made a Korean box (seriously- there was this Korean Culture place in the airport where you could make a box for free), got Burger King and got on our flight to Hawaii.
hurray! i'm finally caught up to Hawaii...blog posts about my first few weeks in Hawaii coming soon!
for now, some pictures from Korea:
Imperial Palace 
traditional handstand picture 
lunch! 
DAVE!!!! ahhh it was so good to see him! 
last picture with the Pashes in the train station
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Tuk Tuk Drift 2- The Return to Thailand
i left Japan on January 15th, 2011 at 11:15 am for Cru's annual STINT Midyear Conference in Thailand. i arrived in Thailand about 6:30 pm after sleeping almost the entire flight. if leaving for Thailand was stressful, arriving was just as stressful- i was supposed to be on a shuttle to our hotel at 5:30 pm, but our plane was late and customs took forever. then i had no idea where to meet the shuttle, and wandered all over the airport before talking to some people who were super not helpful, then finally talking to some other people who gave me the number for the Holiday Inn in Cha'am and they told me where to go. i definitely thought the shuttle had left without me by this point. but i finally found the meeting point and even had time to get some Subway before we left. on the bus, i ended up sitting next to a couple guys i'd met at the DFW airport on the way to Briefing in August- they were a part of a 4 guy Epic team in East Asia. we had fun catching up all the way to Cha'am. they were all super sweet and ended up "adopting me" until my team arrived at the hotel. from left- brandon, simon, (me) chris, andrew 
after checking in and showering, i went back to the lobby to wait for my team until they arrived- got to see some friends from last year while i was waiting, like my friend Joel and a couple other teams i'd met last year. i ended up dozing off on the couch and was awakened about 1 am to see Katie and the rest of my team around me. it was such a sweet reunion- i could hardly believe i was finally seeing them again for the first time since AUGUST. it was pretty exciting to say the least, but we didn't catch up too much since we were all exhausted. the next morning we all had breakfast together and we got to see sam, a KCCC STINTer who was STINTing in Osaka. he's so fun- it was great seeing him. after breakfast i gave everyone Japanese headbands that said "Fighting Spirit" in kanji. we all wore them to the first meeting and made a grand entrance. it was kind of awesome. after the meeting we got our first team picture since briefing. matt mikalatos, one of our speakers Midyear, joined in our picture because he secretly wishes he were on our team. 
at the main session i got to see cassie, a girl from USC STINTing in EA, and jared, a guy from USC STINTing in north africa. it was so fun seeing them after so long. 
after every main session, we got to have quiet time on the beach. after 4 extremely busy, stressful, emotional, tense months, it was kind of awesome to just be able to sit and chill with God on the beach. after quiet time, we had "men's and women's time," where we talked about resting (definitely what i needed to hear) after that we had lunch and free time. we had a team meeting as well. then we had a meeting about finances where i almost fell asleep, then main session with candice, one of my favorite Cru speakers. she's so wise but also entertaining. after main meeting we had dinner with our region- PSW (Pacific Southwest). i sat with michelle (my old teammate from last year now STINTing in EA) and a couple guys from Cal Poly SLO named zach and james - it was fun catching up with michelle and also meeting new people.
tuesday our morning meeting speaker was krista mikalatos (matt mikalatos' wife) who talked about Ephesians 2 and 4 and unity in the Spirit. during my quiet time, i realized that even though my goal for 2012 was to rest more, i really had no idea how to rest at all. after quiet time we had another speaker named dan higgins who talked about religion vs. the gospel message. then i had a one-on-one lunch time with our coach, laura, where i got to vent out everything from this past year and she gave me some practical ways to process the past few months, learn how to rest and move forward so i could start well in hawaii. i then went and had some alone time on the beach until snack time. then we had our main session meeting and team dinner, where i got to share my life story with the team. wednesday was our day off, so we got to sleep in some and hang out on the beach. a bunch of us got together and played boys vs. girls "flamingo football" - where the boys tie their feet together so they have to hop around. in theory it would be a handicap, but since we were playing on the beach, and it wasn't a ton of running room anyway, and most of the boys had played football at some point before, the girls still lost. which was a bummer, but it was still fun playing and i got to meet a lot of people.
thursday we had our main session meeting with krista mikalatos, who talked about how every person is worth sharing the gospel with and how Jesus promises us that we will do even greater works that He did. after that we had quiet time, and i wrote this down, not hearing it audibly from God, but the words just flowed through my pen:
"look to the ocean and see its vast expanse. I AM greater. look at the sand, too innumerable to count. I AM greater. now look how the waves cover the sand and crash over them and change their shape. so I AM for your sins, your mistakes, your cares and worries. but I AM even more powerful than the waves. now look to the sky. it is the same wherever you go in the world. so I AM. wherever I call you, I AM with you. surely I AM with you always, even to the end of the ages. you must always be ready to go where I call you. but do not fear, for I have great plans for you. rest now in My presence, and learn to wait. put down your yoke, and pick up mine. I love you with an everlasting love, and you are Mine. My greatest gift to you is rest. cease from striving and be with Me. I AM greater than your schedule, greater than your plans; seek My peace, and you shall be glorified. seek My heart, and you shall be sanctified. seek My presence, and you shall be satisfied. seek ye first My kingdom, and My righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. surrender and receive."
after quiet time, matt mikalatos talked about Matthew 13 and what does the soil look like in your culture. that afternoon, we had our second team time where we talked about what it looks like to have a safe STINT environment. then i had a counseling appointment with one of the counselors just to process more of this past year. after that was our main session meeting, where we got to share about Japan/Hawaii on stage, then there was a talk from andy, the national director in EA. afterwards, they had fancy buffet dinner for us at the hotel, and a bunch of us tried to have a dance party for the 2nd year in a row that ended up failing b/c the hotel worker turned the music off on us. sigh. thai people just don't like dance parties apparently. friday's morning session was led by matt mikalatos who went through the book of John and how much God loves us. then we had regional time with the PSW region. that afternoon i played beach volleyball with some of the EA people for the afternoon, and then katie, david, james and i played cards until it was time for meeting. our last evening meeting was mostly worship and prayer, super sweet. then my team, michelle's team and another guy named chris (who is from dallas and STINTing with Athletes in Action in EA) went to the night market for a bit. 
afterward katie, david, james, albert, kylan and i went to the beach to see if we could see the phosphorescent algae like last year. it definitely wasn't as bright as last year but we could still see it.
saturday morning i woke up early to see the sunrise on the beach and see off the East Asia teams- michelle's team, jared's team, cassie's team and the SLO team were leaving early, so i said goodbye to them. it was really sad to realize that i didn't know the next time i would see michelle again, unless we both join staff. sam was also there seeing off the other KCCC STINTers, so afterward we went and had breakfast together (twice- in two different locations...we were hungry). then we went and finished packing, then got massages on the beach. it was amazing. then headed back to the hotel and took shuttles to the Bangkok Airport, where we had about a 6 hour wait...definitely reminiscent of last year, where our team spent 12 hours in the airport before our flight.
Midyear was kind of bittersweet- not as restful as i had wished, but a good start for learning how to rest. it was great to finally be reunited with my team, and really fun to see people again from last year and meet new people, but there was definitely a heaviness knowing that it was probably my last Midyear Conference, and after i left Thailand, i would be entering into a completely new phase of life, a new phase of ministry in a completely new location- i wasn't going back to Japan. but before we would go to Hawaii, we would have a 14 hour layover in Korea...that adventure, next!
in order to combine Japan and Hawaii, we started calling ourselves Pacific Islands STINT
after checking in and showering, i went back to the lobby to wait for my team until they arrived- got to see some friends from last year while i was waiting, like my friend Joel and a couple other teams i'd met last year. i ended up dozing off on the couch and was awakened about 1 am to see Katie and the rest of my team around me. it was such a sweet reunion- i could hardly believe i was finally seeing them again for the first time since AUGUST. it was pretty exciting to say the least, but we didn't catch up too much since we were all exhausted. the next morning we all had breakfast together and we got to see sam, a KCCC STINTer who was STINTing in Osaka. he's so fun- it was great seeing him. after breakfast i gave everyone Japanese headbands that said "Fighting Spirit" in kanji. we all wore them to the first meeting and made a grand entrance. it was kind of awesome. after the meeting we got our first team picture since briefing. matt mikalatos, one of our speakers Midyear, joined in our picture because he secretly wishes he were on our team. 
at the main session i got to see cassie, a girl from USC STINTing in EA, and jared, a guy from USC STINTing in north africa. it was so fun seeing them after so long. 
after every main session, we got to have quiet time on the beach. after 4 extremely busy, stressful, emotional, tense months, it was kind of awesome to just be able to sit and chill with God on the beach. after quiet time, we had "men's and women's time," where we talked about resting (definitely what i needed to hear) after that we had lunch and free time. we had a team meeting as well. then we had a meeting about finances where i almost fell asleep, then main session with candice, one of my favorite Cru speakers. she's so wise but also entertaining. after main meeting we had dinner with our region- PSW (Pacific Southwest). i sat with michelle (my old teammate from last year now STINTing in EA) and a couple guys from Cal Poly SLO named zach and james - it was fun catching up with michelle and also meeting new people. tuesday our morning meeting speaker was krista mikalatos (matt mikalatos' wife) who talked about Ephesians 2 and 4 and unity in the Spirit. during my quiet time, i realized that even though my goal for 2012 was to rest more, i really had no idea how to rest at all. after quiet time we had another speaker named dan higgins who talked about religion vs. the gospel message. then i had a one-on-one lunch time with our coach, laura, where i got to vent out everything from this past year and she gave me some practical ways to process the past few months, learn how to rest and move forward so i could start well in hawaii. i then went and had some alone time on the beach until snack time. then we had our main session meeting and team dinner, where i got to share my life story with the team. wednesday was our day off, so we got to sleep in some and hang out on the beach. a bunch of us got together and played boys vs. girls "flamingo football" - where the boys tie their feet together so they have to hop around. in theory it would be a handicap, but since we were playing on the beach, and it wasn't a ton of running room anyway, and most of the boys had played football at some point before, the girls still lost. which was a bummer, but it was still fun playing and i got to meet a lot of people.
thursday we had our main session meeting with krista mikalatos, who talked about how every person is worth sharing the gospel with and how Jesus promises us that we will do even greater works that He did. after that we had quiet time, and i wrote this down, not hearing it audibly from God, but the words just flowed through my pen:
"look to the ocean and see its vast expanse. I AM greater. look at the sand, too innumerable to count. I AM greater. now look how the waves cover the sand and crash over them and change their shape. so I AM for your sins, your mistakes, your cares and worries. but I AM even more powerful than the waves. now look to the sky. it is the same wherever you go in the world. so I AM. wherever I call you, I AM with you. surely I AM with you always, even to the end of the ages. you must always be ready to go where I call you. but do not fear, for I have great plans for you. rest now in My presence, and learn to wait. put down your yoke, and pick up mine. I love you with an everlasting love, and you are Mine. My greatest gift to you is rest. cease from striving and be with Me. I AM greater than your schedule, greater than your plans; seek My peace, and you shall be glorified. seek My heart, and you shall be sanctified. seek My presence, and you shall be satisfied. seek ye first My kingdom, and My righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. surrender and receive."
after quiet time, matt mikalatos talked about Matthew 13 and what does the soil look like in your culture. that afternoon, we had our second team time where we talked about what it looks like to have a safe STINT environment. then i had a counseling appointment with one of the counselors just to process more of this past year. after that was our main session meeting, where we got to share about Japan/Hawaii on stage, then there was a talk from andy, the national director in EA. afterwards, they had fancy buffet dinner for us at the hotel, and a bunch of us tried to have a dance party for the 2nd year in a row that ended up failing b/c the hotel worker turned the music off on us. sigh. thai people just don't like dance parties apparently. friday's morning session was led by matt mikalatos who went through the book of John and how much God loves us. then we had regional time with the PSW region. that afternoon i played beach volleyball with some of the EA people for the afternoon, and then katie, david, james and i played cards until it was time for meeting. our last evening meeting was mostly worship and prayer, super sweet. then my team, michelle's team and another guy named chris (who is from dallas and STINTing with Athletes in Action in EA) went to the night market for a bit. 
afterward katie, david, james, albert, kylan and i went to the beach to see if we could see the phosphorescent algae like last year. it definitely wasn't as bright as last year but we could still see it. saturday morning i woke up early to see the sunrise on the beach and see off the East Asia teams- michelle's team, jared's team, cassie's team and the SLO team were leaving early, so i said goodbye to them. it was really sad to realize that i didn't know the next time i would see michelle again, unless we both join staff. sam was also there seeing off the other KCCC STINTers, so afterward we went and had breakfast together (twice- in two different locations...we were hungry). then we went and finished packing, then got massages on the beach. it was amazing. then headed back to the hotel and took shuttles to the Bangkok Airport, where we had about a 6 hour wait...definitely reminiscent of last year, where our team spent 12 hours in the airport before our flight.
Midyear was kind of bittersweet- not as restful as i had wished, but a good start for learning how to rest. it was great to finally be reunited with my team, and really fun to see people again from last year and meet new people, but there was definitely a heaviness knowing that it was probably my last Midyear Conference, and after i left Thailand, i would be entering into a completely new phase of life, a new phase of ministry in a completely new location- i wasn't going back to Japan. but before we would go to Hawaii, we would have a 14 hour layover in Korea...that adventure, next!
in order to combine Japan and Hawaii, we started calling ourselves Pacific Islands STINT
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Missing and Not Missing...Japan that is.
THINGS I MISS ABOUT JAPAN:
- all my friends
- Japanese food
- how safe it is in Japan
- Odori Samurai/ yosakoi dancing
- the cleanliness
- futsal
- Paddy English Club
- Paddy FC
- Student Impact
- Change Conference
- sakura
- Waseda University
- choco pan (chocolate bread)
- JCCC
- Sweets Paradise (all you can eat sweets buffet)
- seeing Mt. Fuji at sunset every day
- Jpop (i really do)
- karaoke
- adorable coffee shops
- stores stay open a lot later
- how cute/pretty everything is
- being cool because i'm american
THINGS I DON'T MISS ABOUT JAPAN:
- sorting trash
- the exchange rate/ how expensive everything is
- being illiterate
- understanding only 1/2 of conversations
- wearing 5 layers of clothing to bed because of the cold
- constantly feeling the need to dress cute
- my tiny room/ apartment
- paper thin walls
- never being sure if people were saying what they really meant
- allergies that come with sakura season
- Japanese phones
- feeling like a stupid foreigner
- all my friends
- Japanese food
- how safe it is in Japan
- Odori Samurai/ yosakoi dancing
- the cleanliness
- futsal
- Paddy English Club
- Paddy FC
- Student Impact
- Change Conference
- sakura
- Waseda University
- choco pan (chocolate bread)
- JCCC
- Sweets Paradise (all you can eat sweets buffet)
- seeing Mt. Fuji at sunset every day
- Jpop (i really do)
- karaoke
- adorable coffee shops
- stores stay open a lot later
- how cute/pretty everything is
- being cool because i'm american
THINGS I DON'T MISS ABOUT JAPAN:
- sorting trash
- the exchange rate/ how expensive everything is
- being illiterate
- understanding only 1/2 of conversations
- wearing 5 layers of clothing to bed because of the cold
- constantly feeling the need to dress cute
- my tiny room/ apartment
- paper thin walls
- never being sure if people were saying what they really meant
- allergies that come with sakura season
- Japanese phones
- feeling like a stupid foreigner
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