Day 5

I've been really enjoying these past few days. It's been great being on campus at Toyo University and meeting students. There are only 4 Christians on a university of 30,000. Although this sounds like such a daunting task, it's been very encouraging meeting the Christian students on campus like Daichi and Yuki. They are so excited that we are here and they have such a heart for their campus. It's so encouraging seeing their love for God despite their small numbers. It must be so hard to be one of the few Christians in a place of hard soil. I've also been blessed by the partnership we have with Japanese Campus Crusade for Christ. Today Erin and I went out meeting students with one of the JCCC staff, Fumi, and it was cool seeing how we could tag team it, as students wanted to talk to us since we're foreigners, but then she could go deeper into spiritual things. She was able to share the Gospel to one of the girls we met, and it was so uplifting to see the Gospel shared in a different language. Even though we speak different languages, the Gospel is the same.

(Photo Caption: Erin, Fumi, and I, and yes, I am wearing suspenders with culottes. I figured I could totally get away with wearing this in Japan, since their style is so different, haha, and if it's not fashionable here, I could always use the excuse that I'm a foreigner.)

We also met this other guy named Satoshi who is really excited that we're here and he's introduced us to alot of his friends. A highlight for me was finding out that he listened to Rilo Kiley. If you don't know Rilo Kiley, they're an indie band from Echo Park, so it was just really surprising that a Japanese student knew who they are, since they're not super popular in America. I've seen them live twice, and although I haven't listened to their music for awhile, I still think Jenny Lewis has a beautiful voice and was excited to hear that he knew who they were.

<--Team Dinner at Big Momma's. I also have really enjoyed being with my team and learning about the culture in Japan. It's only Day 5, and I already feel really comfortable with my team. (I mean, really comfortable. I've already revealed my crazy emo/hardcore/headbanging days with them, and I've worn suspenders with culottes, who does that? I've definitely exposed my weird/crazy side that usually takes awhile to come out). It's really interesting seeing how comfortable I am with my team. Even though I know it's really different, I feel like I compare my experience in East Asia to my experience here often. It took me awhile to feel really comfortable in East Asia, and I'm not sure if I even felt this comfortable with everybody on my team. I know that alot of it is due to the different natures of the projects, like how here our whole team can actually be together alot, and in East Asia, we couldn't really be together as a team as much for security purposes. Another reason why I probably feel more comfortable this time around is because I knew some of the people coming into the project, like Brittany, Josh, and Kris. I didn't think that ethnicity really mattered to me that much, but it really does affect me, and I think because this is an Epic project with all Asian-Americans, I've felt like I can connect with people better. I actually feel more outgoing and outspoken, which is quite strange, since people usually think I'm quiet and reserved.

On that note, it's been a good thing having alot of people time, but at the same time, I feel like I haven't been spending as much quality time with God. Please pray that I would really take the time to spend time with God and really get my fuel and feeding from Him, because without relying on Him, I know I will burn out really fast. Thanks for all your prayers. I love you all! (Me in my Yukata, modeling a map of Japan)