Weekend, Part 1

This weekend has been one of those weekends that you look at and wonder if its really your life?

I looked forward to Saturday all week. The morning began with the SEND Annual Business meeting. Because I live just upstairs, I was able to meander down a bit early and help with a few last-minute items. I ended up slicing pickles, which left my hands sufficiently yellow for the rest of the day! But I also got to talk to the Suzuki's, retired missionaries living in Hawaii. Their son, Paul, runs HiBA, so I get to work with him a bit. But seeing their joy and their servant's hearts was a blessing so early in the morning. If everyone was able to begin their day encountering such joy, the world would be a better place.

I sat in the meeting for about an hour. It was great to see the entire SEND Japan conference together in one place and to get a chance to worship together--in English and Japanese! It was also good for me to see a little of how SEND is organized and run. This missionary business is a whole new world to me and it's fascinating!

A little before eleven, the fiasco started.
I ducked out of the meeting (which went until 3, I believe) and headed for the train station, only to find that when I had looked up train times, I found the weekday times, not the weekend times. So I missed my train from Higashi-Tokorozawa. And then when I got on the train, I inadvertantly got off at the wrong stop because the train systems run just a smidge differently on the weekends. I was a bit anxious, but at the same time, excited because I knew that I'm capable of figuring out how to get where I need to go. And I did! I was able to ask one of the ticket gaurds (in an odd English-Japanese blend) for direction to the train line I needed and then got to Shibuya and Hachiko from there! I was really excited when I exited the station and saw the bronze Hachiko statue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hachiko).

Unfortunately, I was about 20 minutes late and that area is one of the busiest in Tokyo. You might recognize it if you saw pictures because it's the most filmed area in the city. To make matters worse, I have a pay-as-you-go phone and I had run out of minutes. So I'm standing in the middle of thousands of people, can't find my friends, and have no idea where to go from here. Only idea is to head to the Kōban--the Police Box. My best friend has been the word "Eigo"--English? I have to laugh because more often than not, every person makes the same face--tilting their head to the side, squinting their eyes, and sort of sucking in breath through their teeth like they're about to say "Oooh, no...." which is what this man did. So I resort to hand motions, holding up my phone, saying "Yen, Yen" and "Family Mart?" Luckily, a gentleman in line behind me knew a little bit of English and when he understood what I was looking for, he asked the policeman for me, and I was sent on my way.

Found the Family Mart. Check. Now to add time time. But I've never done it before. I know that you use a machine that resembles an ATM and you print something out, but for the life of me I don't know what to do from there. I worked my way through the all-Japanese system by following pictures, printed out what I needed and went up to the guy at the counter, who gave me the same face that I got from the policeman when I asked "Eigo?" But he ended up understanding more than he let on and showed me what to do.

So I'm in the right place. Wrong time, but right place. I have a working phone. Now to find my people. At this point, it's about 12:45--keep in mind, I was supposed to meet them at 12. I've been en route since before 11. I call Hege who transfers me to Ryan who tells me to take a bus. You can safely say that Saturday, I was innundated with new experiences. Luckily, the buses were incredibly easy to find and easy to use and they accept Passmo! I would be up the creek without a paddle if I didn't have my Passmo--it gets me through all of my transportation needs without a hitch. Unfortunately, there was a slight miscommunication for where to get off the bus and when I get off, I'm still about 30 minutes away from where my friends are. But they are very gracious and came to meet me where I was! Haha.

Phew. Crazy morning, but I wouldn't have traded it! Because I found my way on the train by myself, I got directions by myself, I reloaded my phone by myself, and I rode the bus by myself! Granted, I know God placed some amazing help in there along the way; but I didn't have a guide holding my hand. No one from SEND who's lived here, no one from HiBA who's lived here their whole lives. But it shows the comfortability level is rising. And I'm so excited about that!!

For the next several hours, I walked around with Katya, Hope, and Ryan. We had a blast! Ryan wanted to take some photos so Katya, who is an excellent guide!, walked us all over Tokyo for four hours. We stopped for lunch at an Italian restaurant, went to some beautiful parks, found a statue that looks like Chicago's Bean, went past the Imperial Palace. It was so fun to spend such a huge chunk of time with them and get to talk more.

Then, came Passion. And that deserves it's own post.