Today was nice... relaxing. One short English class in the morning.
Went to Hiroshima Castle this afternoon. Taking a step back in time in Japanese history and culture. The castle is on few acres of land which is surrounded by water, close to the centre of Hiroshima city centre. Inside the castle, there was much to see. Historical accounts of the settling of Hiroshima beginning about 8th century AD. Many old writings, armour, living items, samurai swords, photos and other fascinating objects and writings. Even got to try on some of the traditional fighting clothes :-) The view from the top of the castle (about 12 metres up) was nice!
Yesterday I preached for the first time in Japan. The normal Japanese worship program operated as usual, but we had an English service which about 15 to 20 people came to. We sang, prayed, gave thanks to God and then I spoke.
I shared my story of why I believe in God, how I know He is real and how I know the Bible is true. It formed an introductory talk to the 10-part "uncover! Seminar" which will be run at the English school. We'll be looking at some foundational teachings contained within the Bible. There was a summary sheet from the talk I gave. I've also uploaded the full transcript of the talk on the seminar website (bilingual): http://bwis.net/uncover
Also, it was Mum's birthday! Happy Birthday Mum! (yes, I did call her)
Tomorrow is a Sport's Day in Japan (which is a public holiday). The Kindergarten is having some games at the school and I'll be there helping out, running around, having fun!
Next week we hope to go to the Hiroshima SDA Academy (boarding highschool). It's located well out of the city up in the mountains. It's the only Adventist high school in Japan. I'm sure it'll be a nice time... catch up with some of the other foreign English teachers there, meet some of the high school students.
Weather is nicely cooling off! It reminds me of the month of March in Toowoomba a little bit, but here it's more moist and the sky not so clear blue.
07 October 2007
03 October 2007
Lost forever?... really?
Yesterday was a very quiet day at school. The gr 6 boys weren't kicking around the soccer ball... no-one was playing baseball... the gr 2 kids weren't running up and down the stairs... no white and navy uniforms... no teachers... no laughing and sounds of play like usual... school was closed... there was a funeral.
One of the gr 3 girls passed away last Sunday.
Another girl, sister of one of the gr 2 boys, also passed away.
Boating accident...
Why? Why does it happen. Why can't you talk to them anymore? Why was it these two girls? Why so young. Why does death have to be a part of life? We know we will all die, but why can't we accept it when it happens?
The girls died on Sunday. I didn't know. I arrived a school Monday. Almost everyone was at school, but it was strangely quiet. Then I found out the news. Monday night, there was a service in a nearby city we went to. Well over 500 people attended. Many year 3 classmates were hit hard. I expressed my sympathy to the father, shook hands, bowed for a few moments...
She was resting in the box at the front... she looked peaceful and calm, unaware of the sorrow around her. Does she, will she ever have knowledge of life again? Where is she now?
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted." You can depend on this promise. The One who gave life, can give life again. An enemy has taken life. Another will give life again.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
One of the gr 3 girls passed away last Sunday.
Another girl, sister of one of the gr 2 boys, also passed away.
Boating accident...
Why? Why does it happen. Why can't you talk to them anymore? Why was it these two girls? Why so young. Why does death have to be a part of life? We know we will all die, but why can't we accept it when it happens?
The girls died on Sunday. I didn't know. I arrived a school Monday. Almost everyone was at school, but it was strangely quiet. Then I found out the news. Monday night, there was a service in a nearby city we went to. Well over 500 people attended. Many year 3 classmates were hit hard. I expressed my sympathy to the father, shook hands, bowed for a few moments...
She was resting in the box at the front... she looked peaceful and calm, unaware of the sorrow around her. Does she, will she ever have knowledge of life again? Where is she now?
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted." You can depend on this promise. The One who gave life, can give life again. An enemy has taken life. Another will give life again.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
30 September 2007
New Phone & Bike Ride Pics
Yawn... should be in bed, but got carried away tinkering on my new phone. These new fangled devices have many bells and whistles these days. I chose a phone which costs 1 yen on a two year plan and 3 months of compusory sign up to extra services at 1500yen/month (which I'll cancel as soon as I can). It's a P903i signed up with NTT DoCoMo. It has a GPS (yes, that's right!), you can swipe your phone to purchase items at shops or train stations etc, it has a barcode reader, text reader, email, web, and all the usual guff (camera, video, music, calender, txt, phone). Some phones had your regular TV (free-to-air) but I wasn't bothered with paying extra money for that. My new Japanese mobile phone number is here: bradwarden.com/contact
The Japanese phone system here is quite different... but one thing remains the same... complicated! There's the three companies (NTT DoCoMo, AU KDDI, Softbank Vodafone). Docomo = Telstra (big, semi-government style operation). AU = Optus. SMS is "old hat" (not really used that much here). Almost everyone uses mobile email addresses (which emails to and from normal email addresses... very well integrated). i-mode is used for this email service. Costs are charged per data packet (per kilobyte). In my opinion, I think mobile costs here are still quite expensive, which was different to my expectations. But, one thing that did meet my expectation, was the "advanced-ness" of the mobile networks here.
And, the 100 or so pics from our bike trip are uploaded (thanks to fast internet here): http://picasaweb.google.com.au/bradwarden/JapanHamadaBikeRide
The Japanese phone system here is quite different... but one thing remains the same... complicated! There's the three companies (NTT DoCoMo, AU KDDI, Softbank Vodafone). Docomo = Telstra (big, semi-government style operation). AU = Optus. SMS is "old hat" (not really used that much here). Almost everyone uses mobile email addresses (which emails to and from normal email addresses... very well integrated). i-mode is used for this email service. Costs are charged per data packet (per kilobyte). In my opinion, I think mobile costs here are still quite expensive, which was different to my expectations. But, one thing that did meet my expectation, was the "advanced-ness" of the mobile networks here.
And, the 100 or so pics from our bike trip are uploaded (thanks to fast internet here): http://picasaweb.google.com.au/bradwarden/JapanHamadaBikeRide
27 September 2007
Hamada Bike Ride Videos
Yes, YouTube.com strikes again...
View downhill and tunnel bike ride videos, and also traditional Japanese Autumn festival clips from our last bike bike ride (4 new videos):
http://www.youtube.com/user/bradwardencom
We cycled about 150 km over last long weekend. Sunburnt, bit sore, but definitely not sorry... it was a blast! (read previous blog posts)
View downhill and tunnel bike ride videos, and also traditional Japanese Autumn festival clips from our last bike bike ride (4 new videos):
http://www.youtube.com/user/bradwardencom
We cycled about 150 km over last long weekend. Sunburnt, bit sore, but definitely not sorry... it was a blast! (read previous blog posts)
24 September 2007
No injuries... not dead
George and I arrived home safe and sound just an hour or two ago! Thankfully, we're not dead. Thoroughly enjoyed the 4 day trip! May attempt a few more bike rides in Japan.
This morning, we checked out, went to a nearby beach. It was quite a nice beach! So, we swam in the Sea of Japan. Not really good waves, although there were quite a number of surfers trying to have some fun. Waves quite small and irregular.
Tried to find the onsen close by, but ended up being over 12km away! Rode bike back to centre of Hamada in the rain. Looking like drowned rats, we tried to get our bikes on the bus. One lady said we can't. Then another man said we can. We got both bikes on, then they said there was no room for us to be passengers on the bus. Language barrier again... they were kind to let George go on the bus, but they said I had to catch the next bus, which I was happy with. It gave me time to eat lunch, and the next bus left about 1 hour later... that's ok.
Found Georage at Hiroshima Bus Centre, packed up and rode home in the rain (again). Now, time for shower, unpack, dinner, relax, bed, and then back to work tomorrow!
Don't worry, photos will come :-)
This morning, we checked out, went to a nearby beach. It was quite a nice beach! So, we swam in the Sea of Japan. Not really good waves, although there were quite a number of surfers trying to have some fun. Waves quite small and irregular.
Tried to find the onsen close by, but ended up being over 12km away! Rode bike back to centre of Hamada in the rain. Looking like drowned rats, we tried to get our bikes on the bus. One lady said we can't. Then another man said we can. We got both bikes on, then they said there was no room for us to be passengers on the bus. Language barrier again... they were kind to let George go on the bus, but they said I had to catch the next bus, which I was happy with. It gave me time to eat lunch, and the next bus left about 1 hour later... that's ok.
Found Georage at Hiroshima Bus Centre, packed up and rode home in the rain (again). Now, time for shower, unpack, dinner, relax, bed, and then back to work tomorrow!
Don't worry, photos will come :-)
23 September 2007
Definitely NOT routine...
... that is, going for a 120 km bike ride across Japan without training... but, that's what having a long, long weekend gives the opportunity for.
Just in an Internet cafe in Hamada now. Tried a bit of super-broken Japanese (like: "intarnetto" etc) to ask if I could use one of the computers. There are not many English speaking people this part of the country. Have been using 'one-word' Japanese most of the trip. Let me share a few brief experieces before I write the more detailed one at home.
Low down: Friday AM 9:00 left Hiroshima, headed north to get out of Hiroshima. Followed Route 191 along some beautiful rivers out of the city. Magnificent mountains, much steeper than the Aussie variety. Lunch by the river after a swim (hoping the locals wouldn't mind). Easy riding until this point (about 40km out of town).
Tough up hill, ascending about 800m, not really knowing where we would stay. Had sleeping bags, but no tent, no real idea what accommodation lay ahead. Just an our before Sabbath, we finally got to an onsen (hot spring) place, and it did have accommodation!
Long story short, one of the kind Japanese men who worked there gave us twin for price of single, then offered us his home for the second night! Friday night and Saturday relaxed... sooo nice. Spent some good time reading "End Time Living" by Mark Finely. Good spiritual, devotional book. Perfect opportunity to think about life and direction, etc.
At the Geihoku Oak Garden (where we stayed), there we went to the hot spring, and did the whole Japanese onsen style (read about it somewhere else). Beautiful surrounds, trees, grass, moon, stars, air con, kimono, tatami, futon... very nicely Japanese. The people are very polite and accommodating. You can't really repay them.
Saturday night... traditional culture. The kind man took us there and showed us the Autumn festival (end of harvest, Sep 22). Many cultural dances, rituals, shinto icons, priests, and very authentic. I left the sake alone, but enjoyed trying to talk with the locals. Amazing!
Bike ride almost all down hill today! So much fun. Clocked 61km/h. Rode through road tunnels. Arrived Hamada. Booked bus (ensuring our bikes could go on as well). Found accommodation and relaxed.
Tomorrow, bus back to Hiroshima. Hope to not stay so sunburnt. Legs ached yesterday when I woke up, but, hot spring, relaxing, light stroll, good food and Sabbath rest helped revive us for the last 30 km today.
In the morning, George and I will see some sights around Hamada. I hear there a beach, a hot spring, some ice skating, and some cultural things, so we'll see what happens. After a hot, sweaty bike ride, it's nice to be clean, cool and calm.
Just in an Internet cafe in Hamada now. Tried a bit of super-broken Japanese (like: "intarnetto" etc) to ask if I could use one of the computers. There are not many English speaking people this part of the country. Have been using 'one-word' Japanese most of the trip. Let me share a few brief experieces before I write the more detailed one at home.
Low down: Friday AM 9:00 left Hiroshima, headed north to get out of Hiroshima. Followed Route 191 along some beautiful rivers out of the city. Magnificent mountains, much steeper than the Aussie variety. Lunch by the river after a swim (hoping the locals wouldn't mind). Easy riding until this point (about 40km out of town).
Tough up hill, ascending about 800m, not really knowing where we would stay. Had sleeping bags, but no tent, no real idea what accommodation lay ahead. Just an our before Sabbath, we finally got to an onsen (hot spring) place, and it did have accommodation!
Long story short, one of the kind Japanese men who worked there gave us twin for price of single, then offered us his home for the second night! Friday night and Saturday relaxed... sooo nice. Spent some good time reading "End Time Living" by Mark Finely. Good spiritual, devotional book. Perfect opportunity to think about life and direction, etc.
At the Geihoku Oak Garden (where we stayed), there we went to the hot spring, and did the whole Japanese onsen style (read about it somewhere else). Beautiful surrounds, trees, grass, moon, stars, air con, kimono, tatami, futon... very nicely Japanese. The people are very polite and accommodating. You can't really repay them.
Saturday night... traditional culture. The kind man took us there and showed us the Autumn festival (end of harvest, Sep 22). Many cultural dances, rituals, shinto icons, priests, and very authentic. I left the sake alone, but enjoyed trying to talk with the locals. Amazing!
Bike ride almost all down hill today! So much fun. Clocked 61km/h. Rode through road tunnels. Arrived Hamada. Booked bus (ensuring our bikes could go on as well). Found accommodation and relaxed.
Tomorrow, bus back to Hiroshima. Hope to not stay so sunburnt. Legs ached yesterday when I woke up, but, hot spring, relaxing, light stroll, good food and Sabbath rest helped revive us for the last 30 km today.
In the morning, George and I will see some sights around Hamada. I hear there a beach, a hot spring, some ice skating, and some cultural things, so we'll see what happens. After a hot, sweaty bike ride, it's nice to be clean, cool and calm.
21 September 2007
Big Bike Trip
George and I are just about to leave... for a bike ride across Japan!
Being such a narrow country, it's less than 100km (as the crow flies) across, but it's very mountainous, windy roads, tunnels and hilly. We have from Friday morning to Monday night to pedal hard and make it to the Sea of Japan.
We're aiming for either Hamada or Masuda. Hope to try an onsen (hot spring) along the way, see some 1200m mountains, some waterfalls and whatever else there is. Here's the rough outline of our trip:
Hiroshima
Routh 54 north
Routh 191 west
Routh 186 north to Hamada OR Route 191 west to Masuda
Return to Hiroshima by Monday night
Google Mapｓ (we won't be going off this map): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=34.608345,132.19574&spn=0.809286,1.439209&z=10&om=1
We've got a map... we've prayed... we hope it will not rain too much! I have a camera... you'll see the results. Ja mata!
Being such a narrow country, it's less than 100km (as the crow flies) across, but it's very mountainous, windy roads, tunnels and hilly. We have from Friday morning to Monday night to pedal hard and make it to the Sea of Japan.
We're aiming for either Hamada or Masuda. Hope to try an onsen (hot spring) along the way, see some 1200m mountains, some waterfalls and whatever else there is. Here's the rough outline of our trip:
Hiroshima
Routh 54 north
Routh 191 west
Routh 186 north to Hamada OR Route 191 west to Masuda
Return to Hiroshima by Monday night
Google Mapｓ (we won't be going off this map): http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=34.608345,132.19574&spn=0.809286,1.439209&z=10&om=1
We've got a map... we've prayed... we hope it will not rain too much! I have a camera... you'll see the results. Ja mata!
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