Saturday 30 July 2011

Vertebraille: Choke that thief called dependence

So I have been in Japan for just over a week and have completed two of the three camps. The first camp was for primary school children and the second for families. My duties for the family camp primarily involved cleaning the toilets and making sure there was enough boiled drinking water. However other duties included lifeguard, carpenter and sound engineer! On Friday evening we built a makeshift stage and Catherine gave a wonderful Harp performance. We built a camp fire and had hand held fireworks that the children played with. Not at the same time as Catherine's concert of course! With the rhythm of the waves caressing the shore and the Harp's therapeutic melodies it was the perfect way to relax after what was a long and busy day.

I also met some of the other missionaries and learnt that Japanese social groups are extremely partisan; the Japanese are a very cliquey set of people. As such the society is very fractured and many Japanese are apparently very lonely. Most of the newcomers to the Church have been people who do not conform to a social clique such as housewives, the retired or young mothers. Social groups are very important to the Japanese and are usually based on standards of education or employment. On the one hand it is good the Church can facilitate the longing by some Japanese for acceptance and fellowship, but on the other it is sad that the Japanese in general are so discriminatory towards their own people.

Well I am blistered, sunburnt and aching after 5 days of camping and ground working and tomorrow we go to Tohoku for six days to help clear houses and aiding in other cleaning operations going on in this region. But what gives me strength is reflecting on what Jesus said to His disciples at the Last Supper that He came not to be served but to serve and washed His disciples feet as proof. I worship a servant King and Jesus' example inspires me to carry on; I hope that these experiences help me to become more Christ-like.

Earlier today I took the train (with instructions from Peter and Edi for which I was most grateful) to a nearby town called Heizan Sakamoto to the church there to give my testimony. I decided to use another new phrase that I've acquired: "Koko ni iru koto ga deki ureshii desu" - I am very happy to be here. The people there seemed to receive my token gesture of Japanese graciously. Afterwards there was a time for the 'peace' to be shared and I spoke to an American named John who was encouraged by my testimony. After the service had finished we ate lunch together. It was good to fellowship with some of the members of the church in Sakamoto and I spoke to an older gentleman about the similarities and differences in Japanese and British history as well as the two countries views on nationalism. Despite having many differences as I learn and reflect upon Japanese society the more I realise there are many similarities. These similarities are not always positive and it has helped me to see the reasons why it is also so hard to evangelise in Britain. Conversely I was encouraged by a testimony brought by one of the Korean missionaries at the church of a non-Christian woman who came to the family camp. She had text messaged the missionary saying how much she enjoyed the camp and how different it was to Buddhist camps she had gone to previously. She explained how much warmer, friendlier and brighter our camp was compared to her experiences of Buddhist camps. People here in Japan are desperately in need of God's love.

I have also been challenged by the WEC missionaries lifestyle of faith. They do not have a salary and trust God for all their needs; Ben was able to share some amazing testimonies of how God has provided when they had practically no money. It is a step of faith I am still uncertain I could take, but certainly it is inspirational how faithful God is.

We must get up early tomorrow morning, for around 5 am in order to travel to Osaka to collect the van we have been allocated to drive up to Tohoku - the journey itself to Tohoku will take roughly twelve hours so it will be a long day! Please continue to pray for the following:

1) physical strength for the work in Tohoku
2) for a thawing in Japanese social groups so that people are more embracing of each other and more open to the Gospel. The splintered nature of Japanese society makes evangelism very difficult as people are suspicious of others outside their social sphere.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

The Latter Rain

Well the first of three camps is over. I am back for a short respite tonight and a return to modernity before going back bright and early tomorrow morning for the start of the next camp. We drove up to the site Tuesday morning and to my surprise the facilities were very basic! The camp is situated on the other side of the lake to where I am staying, it is quite small with only a few buildings. There are two communal shower rooms that only have cold water, one for boys and the other for girls; there are also two sets of port-a-loos too (and not Western style - Japanese style, which are let's say... on second thought I'll let you google traditional Japanese toilets). For all three camps I am a 'ground worker', which basically means an odd jobs man. Our primary job and purpose is to ensure there is clean drinking water on site. The water is collected from a spring nearby the site that comes down from the hill. However the water must first be boiled to make it clean to drink. So several times a day we have to fill two cisterns with water that is pumped from the spring, boil it then fill kettles and place them in the stream to cool off ready to drink. In order to make the water more palatable tea is added. So for the past three days I've been drinking nothing but cold tea with the occasional fruit juice at meal times. There's nothing quite like camping old skool!

But despite the nature of the camps it has been rewarding to serve. I have been reflecting on Paul's metaphor for the Church as the body and how we all have different, but equally important roles to play. Naturally due to the language barrier I cannot teach, but I can boil water and build camp fires and lug tables about. I am here to serve and I am grateful to God for this opportunity to be able to serve in this way. Without clean, drinkable water they wouldn't be able to run the camp, so it is an incredibly important job in order to enable the leaders to teach.

I also met Ben who I originally contacted about joining WEC Japan for a short term mission. It has been very insightful again discussing the particular needs and issues that arise when evangelising in Japan. He was able to confirm some of my first impressions and I was also able to learn more from him about just how difficult it is to reach the Japanese people with the Gospel. Religion and culture have amalgamated into one in Japan, so even though people think of themselves as irreligious, their actions and traditions are in fact steeped in the religions of Buddhism and Shintoism. For example every house when it is first built has a Shinto dedication ceremony and there are Shinto shrines in the rice fields to try and produce a good crop. The teacher/student hierarchical relationship is also very ingrained into the Japanese culture, which effects the dynamic of the Japanese Church. Bible studies are difficult as most Japanese Christians just expect the leader of the study to teach them the interpretation rather than exploring the meaning together. This has even greater ramifications for witnessing and evangelising - there is still a great dependence from the average Japanese Christian on the pastor or missionary doing the evangelism.

But I have also observed that it doesn't matter which part of the world you are in some things stay the same - children like to play, women wear makeup, people have a sense of humour and everyone likes to eat! Though there are many things that are distinctly Japanese, some basic things are inherent in every human being. I am growing far more accustomed to the look and feel of the country now. I was thankful to one of the other short term workers staying with us that he was able to show me around Katata, a nearby town to where we are staying. I sampled a Japanese nectarine, which was larger than the ones found in England and was very juicy and sweet. He also took me to a Sushi restaurant, where I ate several types of Sushi, some for the first time. I have liked everything I have eaten here in Japan, most of it involving rice to a greater or lesser degree. The food appears simple yet very refined. I have also acquired a few new phrases in Japanese that I have been using but they will take much more practice before they are embedded in my memory and I can pronounce them correctly. "Oishii des" means this is delicious (a very handy phrase to know) and just yesterday I was taught how to say how old I am: "watashi wa niju gos si des".

The second camp is slightly shorter and runs from Friday to Saturday and then on Sunday I am giving my testimony in one of the WEC churches before Monday morning we go to Tohoku to help with the earthquake relief work. Thank you those of you who are praying for me; please continue to pray for the following:

1. That I am able to handle any further culture shock that may arise from the Tohoku trip.
2. For my personal safety while in Tohoku
3. That God would raise up Japanese Christians filled with the Holy Spirit to go out and plant new churches across the country. I believe this is vital for the future of Christianity in Japan.

I hope to be able to write one more blog before we go off to Tohoku as we will be away for a week without internet access.

"A blanket of deception is layered on sacred writings which contain the thoughts of the One who is Almighty God. A sword unsheathed is drawn bringing legions of demons to their knees by the covenant prepared before the earth itself. Still so many choose to warm themselves beneath deception. As the end draws near and history closes I pray that the winds and the rain of that which is latter, will bring clarity and understanding to Your infallible Word. Let the lack of knowledge that destroys us be lifted in Your name." Zao 'The Latter Rain'

Sunday 24 July 2011

Breathing in a new Mentality

So my first blog from the land of the rising sun, it's a little earlier than I was anticipating due to the fact that I am going to be pretty busy for the rest of the week helping out at two camps. Well first impressions - I left Osaka airport and bought myself a bus ticket for Kyoto station, thankfully the ticket machine had an English option so that I understood what I was buying. The journey from the airport to Kyoto station took roughly 70 minutes, the bus travelled along some highway that cut straight through the middle of Osaka and into Kyoto. On one side were harbours, fishing vessels and warehouses and on the other houses and offices at the foot of tree covered hills (they looked mountainous to me but then I am from Essex!). The geography of the cities was a little confusing to me, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason, just a random assortment of houses, office blocks, factories, warehouses and sky scrapers. The houses were small and the streets very narrow, some looked old and others looked new all in the same vicinity. I was later informed that it is traditional for generations of families to build on the same plot of land thus having the old and new living next door to each other.

I was picked up by Peter Wilson and another missionary, a Chinese man also called Peter. We drove out of Kyoto and into Shiga where they live. By this point I had spent well over a day travelling by some means or another and was looking forward to seeing where they lived. Eventually after running some errands we finally got back to the Wilson's house, where I met the rest of his family. Japanese towns are quite different to British ones. Firstly Japanese towns don't use road names, only numbers which just seems to make all roads look the same. This was particularly disorienting to me as any of you who know me well, know that spatial awareness is not my strong suit. I spent the rest of the day feeling very disoriented. That evening we went to a firework display by the shore of the lake. The firework display was very impressive, although I was told it wasn't the biggest one they put on in the Summer. Nevertheless it was a nice way to say welcome to the country! The fireworks reminded me of the Soul Survivor song 'Light the Sky' and I couldn't help but reflect on the lyrics as I watched combinations of different coloured fireworks illuminate the night. My prayer that evening was that Japan would know the light of the world.

While I was very happy to finally be in Japan my first day was a little overwhelming. I guess that's what they mean by culture shock and I knew that I was bound to experience it, even if only minimally. Some of the shops look quite garish by British standards with their flamboyant, bright colours and cartoon mascots. Kanji too is impossible to decypher without studying it first. That was probably the most powerful feeling of culture shock, not being able to interpret or understand anything. Peter and Edi have three children all of whom are learning Kanji as well as English and I realised that I didn't even have a child's level of knowledge or understanding about the culture - it was truly infantile! However yesterday I felt much better as I adjusted to my new surroundings.

I went along to the Wilson's church yesterday, an outdoor service held by the shore of the lake. It was a beautiful backdrop of cloud covered hilltops and reminded me very much of the lake district. At least that is the closest comparison I can make with England. We sat under a home made canopy and Edi kindly translated the words of the songs from Kanji into Romanji so at least I could pronounce the words even if I didn't understand them; she then translated Peter's sermon for me. Afterwards we had a BBQ which was a mixture of Asian and Western food. Needless to say I enjoyed it. So far I am only able to use a handful of phrases such as good morning 'ohio gozaimas', thank you 'arigato' and I am English 'Watashi wa igirisujin des'. As learning fluent Japanese in three weeks is nigh on impossible the best I can expect is to learn some polite phrases to get me by, unfortunately this limits conversation and dialogue is very difficult unless I want to have the most one sided conversations in the world where I just regurgitate every single bit of Japanese I've picked up LOL! This was no better illustrated then after the the BBQ when I had to wait behind as there was not enough room in the car for all of us; the couple whose garden we were using by the lake invited me into their house to wait, but they spoke practically no English. There was a lot of awkwardness and confusion (in a humorous way) as they spoke to me in Japanese desparately wanting me to understand only to be met by a blank expression on my face and a reluctant shrug of the shoulders as I conceded I didn't have a clue what they were saying. Thankfully Peter turned up after not too long and he was able to translate my apology to them for not knowing enough Japanese and my gratitude for their hospitality.

Japanese homes are very different to British ones and mostly for very practical reasons. Traditional Japanese homes do not have a lot of furniture but this is a good thing if ever the event of an earthquake. It makes sense. Traditional homes also have a low table where they sit and relax as well as eat. It suddenly put my sitting kata in Aiki JuJutsu into perspective as I realised just how practical the self defence tecniques from our knees would have been historically in Japan. The Japanese also have a very strict etiquette in their homes - shoes are not to be worn indoors as the space is considered 'clean'. Toilets also include 'toilet slippers' to be worn as the space is 'unclean'. They are very particular about these codes of polity. But as the old saying goes manners cost nothing and it's no skin off my nose to be polite.

My initial impression of Japan is mixed - on the one hand I am delighted to be in this distant country, full of beautiful scenary, slowly learning their language and customs and embracing their culture; but on the other hand I am experiencing all of this with a tinge of sadness that the people of the country are so closed to the Gospel. Having spoken to Peter about his experiences in his twenty plus years as a missionary here I was sad to learn there has been no dramatic rise in numbers of converts in the Japanese churches. The Japanese are growing increasingly secular and individualistic and there is a lot of indifference to religion in general of which Christianity seems to be suffering inadvertently the most. This is compounded by the fact that Christianity is still viewed with suspicion as a 'Western religion'. This seems particularly sad when China and Korea have experienced tremendous revivals. As I've been reflecting on these things I have been seeking guidance through scripture as well as wisdom from the Holy Spirit, whom the Bible calls the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Please pray for the following things:

1. That I would overcome any further culture shock
2. That I would be kept safe when we go up to Tohoku next week to help with the earthquake relief work
3. That I would keep on keeping on - for ways to recharge my spiritual batteries and to stay close to God and sensitive to His Holy Spirit
4. Lastly that more Chinese and Korean missionaries would feel the call to Japan - I really think this is important to break the stereotype that Christianity is distinctly and uniquely Western.

I will try to post another blog Sunday afternoon before we go up to Tohoku next Monday, I am thinking about you all and keep you in my prayers.

Thursday 21 July 2011

March

This time tomorrow this Essex made punk is going to be on a plane half way across the world! I thought I would start my travel journal tonight - it seemed only appropriate, after all every journey has a beginning... every march starts with just one small step. Today has been a hectic and very productive day: this morning I took a trip up to Colchester to get my hair cut and buy some last minute essentials such as workboots, dust mask and goggles for my trip to Tohoku to help with the earthquake relief work. It was only confirmed yesterday that I would be able to join a team to the area. We are expecting to be there for 5 days in the first week in August. With my hair feeling refreshingly shorter and my equipment I headed back to Clacton only to go straight to the bank and then onto the post office to exchange my precious pound sterling for Japanese Yen. Not travelling abroad a lot this was an amusing little escapade, it felt strange walking home with 120,000 Yen in my pocket!

With my money and my eticket printed off all that was left to do was pack - into my suitcase went a strange combination of summer wear including shorts and t-shirts and certain supplies that every good builder worth his salt should have! Anyone would think I am bipolar looking at its content...either that or a very chilled out bricky! Lastly the final task that no self respecting twenty something holiday maker should forget...putting music on my ipod classic (old skool I know!).

So with my ipod suitably loaded with my favourite worship artists (who knows what sort of music I'll encounter in Japanese churches or at their missions!!!) all that's left to do is wait. That and watch hollyoaks! It's one of the only times I get to spend quality bonding time with my sister LOL. I will try my best to post an update at the end of every week.

"emptied of myself I fell to the ground. Slowly through the destruction came a single quiet voice and the breath of His words consumed the night and brought strength I have never felt on my own and He held me up until I could walk again and promised to stay by my side forever." - Zao 'March'

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Wrestling Matters in 2011

TNA Impact Wrestling




In its 9 years of existence TNA may still have yet to reach its potential, but over the past couple of months there have been some very positive signs of improvement. One of TNA’s problems has been that at times it has suffered from an inferiority complex – inferiority both towards the WWE and (I would argue) the former WCW. One only need to look at the Main Event Mafia faction and more recently Immortal to know that emulating the success of the NWO has been high on TNA’s agenda. Since Hogan and Bischoff joined the company in January 2010 the promotion has failed to fire on all cylinders and arguably the company took a backwards step in entertaining both men’s narcissistic egos. This is no better epitomised than when TNA’s failed attempt to compete with Raw on Monday evenings resulted in them moving back to Thursday nights on Spike TV. However, TNA have a new look, a new name ‘Impact Wrestling’ and a new mantra – “wrestling matters”. This may only be the most superficial change the company has made just recently, but it is an extremely effective one. The intro graphics have been changed, the titentron and the ring cables. Blue has become the new colour of choice and I must say that it is a very welcome change. The look and feel of the show is far more professional and very eye catching. However it is the emphasis on wrestling – both in the name of the show and in the tag line that has created some sort of psychological shift. It is not a new paradigm – TNA is a wrestling company; but with the WWE’s focus now shifting towards entertainment (a very obvious shift given the semantics of the company’s marketing and self promotion) it finally feels as if TNA know who and what they are.

Impact Wrestling is definitely not a PG show. The storylines are edgier, the promos are more adult in their language and most importantly the wrestling is less restricted. TNA certainly aren’t trying to corner the family demographic that WWE seem so intent on conquering. For me this is the direction TNA needed to take. I can only hope these are the true convictions of the company and not just a trend to try and attract higher ratings. However my scepticism has been assuaged by the revival of the X-Division and the new Bound for Glory series. Once again wrestling is taking centre stage of the company. TNA’s most recent PPV Destination X was a celebration of everything X-Division. Brian Kendrick became the new X-Division champion – the first legitimately X-Division wrestler to hold the title in a while; there was an Ultimate X match to decide the No.1 contender, a match that defines the high risk, high reward nature of the style as well as a main event between two of the greatest ever X-Division champions AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. If that wasn’t enough Austin Aries a former X2 ROH world champion, an extremely gifted wrestler won a contract and is now officially on the TNA roster. With his presence within the company I can only see good things for the future of the X-Division.

The Bound for Glory series is a new concept and one that I think TNA have done well to introduce. Bound for Glory is the company’s flagship PPV; it is for all intents and purposes their answer to WrestleMania. The PPV takes place in October but its importance and prestige has needed to be emphasised more in the company’s past. WWE have successfully done this for decades now with the Royal Rumble PPV. The Bound for Glory series is a tournament to determine the No.1 contender for the TNA world heavyweight title at BFG. The tournament takes place as a league table with each participant earning 7 points for a pinfall victory or 10 points for a submission victory. This system encourages progressive as well as traditional wrestling styles and adds an important element of realism into an industry that has been categorically overshadowed by the rise of the UFC, both in popularity and marketing. Currently the two top ranking wrestlers on the leader board are two new recruits to the TNA roster. Over the past few years the world title scene has been monopolised by either former WCW or WWE champions. Now it seems as if the company are building the champions of tomorrow; an extremely wise and important investment for the future of the company.


Lastly I have been impressed with the new gimmick of Sting. Sting has always been one of my all time favourite wrestlers, however for the last couple of years I have felt that his character has grown stale and I had begun to doubt whether he had anything left to offer the business. Sting was a huge marquee signing for TNA back in 2005, the ‘biggest star never to have worked in the WWE’. Sting’s new persona has morphed from the dark Crow gimmick to an entertaining yet disturbing Joker gimmick, inspired by the performance of Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. Sting seems somewhat of a method actor as he has totally embraced the new role, changing his mannerisms as well as his face paint. For a wrestler who is in the twilight of his career he has proven it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. His current storyline with Hogan, while nothing original at the moment has been made so compelling because of his new character. Sting has managed to breathe new life not only into his character but also into his very tired and well worn rivalry with Hogan.


WWE

The WWE are without a doubt the capitalist giant of the wrestling industry. Even TNA are still only the David to WWE’s Goliath. CEO Vince McMahon’s onscreen ruthless corporate boss character I suspect is just a caricature of his real life ambitious entrepreneurialism. The WWE juggernaut is a truly global, multi-media company but unfortunately it seems the fans are taken for granted. The quality of Raw and SmackDown has been mediocre for most of 2011, with the exception of the return of the Undertaker and HHH at WrestleMania 27 and Christian and Orton’s feud post Extreme Rules. However, one wrestler stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of charisma and talent: CM Punk.
If there were only one reason to watch WWE it is CM Punk. CM Punk has proven without shadow of a doubt he is one of the greatest performers of this generation. His promo a couple of weeks ago, described as a ‘worked shoot’ voiced a lot of the discontent that not only CM Punk has surely felt but also fans too. CM Punk has become the anti-hero that many wrestling fans needed with a PG, family friendly and tame product. CM Punk’s main event against John Cena for the WWE world title at the Money in the Bank PPV later this month is probably the most eagerly anticipated match this year. WWE do deserve credit for allowing Punk the creative freedom and artistic licence to really show his potential and no matter what the outcome at the MITB PPV the aftermath will be the most talked about event in WWE this year. The WWE are on the verge of a historic angle here, depending on whether or not CM Punk stays with the company contractually and wins the WWE title. Many fans are hoping for another Summer of Punk, a storyline reminiscent of his departure from ROH. Whether this transpires is up to the graces of Vince McMahon. Speculation is rife as to whether CM Punk is going to take a break from wrestling, whether he will go to ROH or possibly Japan or whether he will stay in the WWE. The many variables of this angle make it the most compelling feud and storyline of the WWE this year.

There have been signs post-Mania that WWE has been relaxing its PG status. The emotional victory for Christian to win his first ever WWE world heavyweight title and his subsequent wrenching loss the same week to Randy Orton has proven to be the rivalry of 2011 and produced some of the best wrestling both on SmackDown and at PPV. However their rivalry could potentially be eclipsed if CM Punk wins at MITB and leaves the WWE as champion. A John Cena heel turn from butter wouldn’t melt poster boy to corporate champion would perhaps be the biggest character change in WWE in recent memory and has the potential to be as controversial and successful as Hulk Hogan joining the NWO in WCW and becoming Hollywood Hogan. Time will tell how far WWE are prepared to take this current rivalry with CM Punk.

Overall the second half of 2011 could turn out to be a great period in 21st century professional wrestling. Both TNA and the WWE have struggled throughout the first decade of the 21st century to really recapture the brilliance that was the Monday Night Wars of the 1990s. Much of the decline in the popularity of professional wrestling has come from the success of the UFC and the innovative combat sport of MMA (mixed martial arts). But the decline of wrestling is also partially due to poor match making (booking) and a lack of creativity and originality. However 2011 could turn out to be a very significant year in the fortunes of wrestling and if both TNA and WWE continue this creative ascent then 2012 could see a return to the glory days of the 80s and 90s. TNA are doing enough innovative things that as long as there is consistency will continue to grow and prosper. WWE likewise could pull the trigger anytime they like on many great wrestlers they have on their roster. Time will tell but for now the future is looking bright.