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Greetings from snowy Sapporo Japan 😊

The Japanese love seasons. Every season holds a special place and comes with its own unique food and activities. Winter is the time for festivals, snow sport, hot springs, and hot food. For those who live in the northern areas of Japan, it also means snow shovelling! Winters, where we live, are long (about 4 months of snow) with temperatures never going over 1 or 2 degrees. It’s a whole new experience for us. The seasonal change gives new opportunities to learn and reach out. For this newsletter, I thought we could introduce you to some Japanese New Year traditions, then share about our own hopes for 2019.
New Year’s Cultural Lessons
New Year’s is one of the main holidays in Japan. It is a time where people return to their home town and spend time with family. During this time, a number of traditions take place, some of which we have been able to experience and learn about.
New Year’s Foods
Our new term at the language centre started with an orientation on Japanese New Year’s foods. These special foods each represent some good wish. Prawn, for example, is eaten to wish for a long life as a prawn has an arched back similar to someone of ripe old age. Kurikinton is mashed sweet potato and chestnut. The Japanese characters for the dish mean: ‘group of gold’ and the colour of the dish is gold. It is supposed to represent a wish for wealth and financial success in the new year. We were able to try out some of these foods, some were outside of the comfort zone of our western palates but it was a good experience.

 
Some New Year's food we were able to try.
Coming of Age Day
In Japan, turning 20 is considered the time of entering adulthood. On the second Monday of the year, every town/district hosts a coming of age ceremony where new adults gather together to celebrate this milestone. Young ladies get dressed in beautiful traditional dresses while young men step out in stylish western suits. We were able to observe the ceremony and learn more through conversations with some of the students we know who attended. Although it is meant to guide young people towards a sense of responsibility as adults, most see it as an opportunity to meet with old friends.
Mochi Making Gathering
Another New Year’s tradition is to gather together and make pounded rice balls (mochi). It’s a fun time and people of all ages join in. Traditionally it was believed that a certain kind of mochi contained the spirit ‘toshikami’. We saw this kind of mochi sold at supermarkets and some Japanese buy it as it is believed that it will bring them good luck in the new year.
New Year’s Cards
New Year’s postcards ‘nengajoare sent to friends, co-workers and family. Millions of these postcards are delivered every New Year. It is a way of expressing gratitude to people who have given help in the year, and a means of keeping in touch with contacts. My Japanese teacher has kept in touch with her school friends for over 30 years by means of sending and receiving postcards. One important rule is to never send postcards to someone who has had a death in the family within the last year. Usually, postcards include a lottery number and a photo of that year’s zodiac animal.
Postcard given to us by a teacher
What’s the point?
OMF International values incarnational ministry and all of these cultural experiences help us in a number of ways.

1. They help us to feel more at home in the host culture. Cultural practices begin to make sense, and even if we don’t have the same belief, we at least have an understanding of what it means.

2. It helps us to understand the Japanese worldview better. Instead of assuming we know what questions Japanese people are asking, we get an insider’s perspective which leads to better Gospel communication.

3. It opens up discussion. People are much more open to listening to your beliefs and values if you respect theirs. The Biblical example of Daniel is a model for us. He studied Babylonian culture, he lived
incarnationally, yet he never ceased to worship the true God. Two quick examples might help you understand.

We went to the coming of age ceremony and did not know that some of the students who attend OMF’s student ministry were also there. The following Saturday we had a student event where the topic was about the future 
being unknown. During the discussion time, our attendance at the ceremony was revealed and it demonstrated that we are invested in helping Japanese young people come to believe in the one true God. The one God who knows the future and has a purpose for this world and its people. This added a level of depth to the discussion, providing a way to communicate better.

The second example is from our trip to the dentist. Our Japanese is still pretty terrible and we were stumbling through a conversation with the dentist’s assistant, trying to explain the details of Aven’s toothache. In the conversation, it came out that we ate sweet New Year’s food (
kurikinton) and as soon as she heard that her demeanour suddenly changed. The simple act of eating Japanese New Year’s food helped us get through a painful conversation and it is in these moments where cultural walls are lowered. This is why we don’t only study the language, we also study the culture.
Language Progress
Although our level of Japanese is still poor, we are definitely moving forward bit by bit. Conversations are gradually becoming less awkward, self-introductions are less nerve-wracking, and we can get by with most things without the help of our supervisors. Aven has made a new Japanese friend who is willing to be a kind of language helper. She is a young lady from Osaka who came to study in Sapporo. She is not a Christian so you can please pray for her. Please also pray for me to find a regular language helper. I tend to talk to lots of people, being keen to try out my Japanese, but it will be good to have a more regular helper. We are both only a few chapters away from finishing the beginners’ course and will start the intermediate courses in the middle of next month. Please continue to pray for progress in the language.
Ministry
 Although we are still Daniel learners, we have been actively seeking ways to share our faith with non-believers. You know of our involvement with English and Bible study classes on campus and with OMF’s student ministry, FMZero. This has brought us many opportunities to build relationships with students and we plan to have them over to our house as often as we can. Please pray that many students will come to know Jesus through the ministry of FMZero. We have also told you about our involvement with our church’s youth ministry. There are very few young people, please pray that God will guide more teens to come and hear God’s Word. One of the big needs in Japanese churches is for more young people who at the moment seem to have little interest in coming to church.
Looking forward
Looking forward to the new year, we are trusting God for 3 things.
1. Reaching JLPT level 3 in our Japanese.
2. Opportunities for Bible study with Japanese university students.
3. Clear direction from God as to our ministry designation after we graduate from the language school.
Prayer & Praise
Prayer
1. Conversion of many non-Christian students
2. For the spiritual health and growth of the church, we are designated to (Ooasa Fukuin Kyoukai)
3. Good habits and rhythm of life, balancing time with the Lord, each other, language studies, ministry, and daily life.
4. For courage in sharing the Gospel whenever God opens an opportunity.
5. To grow in our knowledge and desire for God.

Praise
1. Seeing progress in our language ability.
2. Aven’s eye continues to be healthy.
3. Aven was able to make some new friends and is feeling more encouraged.
4. AJ has befriended some male students who are happy to keep meeting up.
5. Our financial and prayer supporters who enable us to live, study, and minister in Japan.
 

 
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"Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will". AW Tozer

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