a day in Kyoto

The other day, Liz (a new Journeyman in Japan) and I decided to venture out on our own and go to Kyoto :) It was her first time and my first time as a "guide." Needless to say it was an exciting adventure and we ended up in two of the places we had "planned" to go and others that we simply came across.

This is a Japanese cemetary that Liz came upon. People come here and burn incense at their ancestors graves.

Here is Yasuka temple. People come to this temple and pull on the rope to ring a bell which awakens the gods. They then clap their hands and pray. There are hundreds of these temples in Kyoto.



Yojiya cafe! We started our adventure looking for this coffee shop and after asking directions of everyone, looking many times at our map and going to the wrong shop, we found it, at the end of our travels, near the station where we started. It was a good end to the day.

Yojiya is actually famous for its makeup products here in Japan. This face is their product theme. So, when you go to one of their cafes and order a cappucino you get one with this image artistically created on top! Cool huh. It was sad when I had to add sugar and stir the face around with my spoon :(

What a lovely adventure!

On the third day

"Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet, I want your will, not mine."

One of the criminals hanging beside Jesus scoffed, "So, you are the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself-and us, too, while you're at it!" But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong.." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise."

This morning I read both of these verses. Today is Easter Sunday. A day we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In these two verses I see the humanity and divinity of Jesus. Just before He died, he was in anguish and pain. The sufferering was real. It was not taken away because He was God. He chose to feel it so He could relate to us. And then, just hours later, hanging from a cross next to two criminals, in His divinity, Jesus forgives one. This is our God. One who loves us so much that He would step down from heaven to become human and live among us, so that He could die for us and forgive us all of our sins, even while, like the criminals who hung next to Him, we were still sinners.

...and on the third day he rose again.

Lord, help the message of the cross never become an old story to me. I pray it would always bring me to my knees in thanks and humility.

Ensoku

One of the cool things about being a teacher in Japan is that you get to go on school trips every year with the students. I actually see more of Japan this way than on my own. Well, today I got to accompany 400 or so 8th graders to Nara. Nara is famous for it's Buddist temples and Buddas. The place we went to had an ENORMOUS one. When I entered the temple it was amazing to see. But it was sad at the same time. Sad that people put their faith in something man made. No matter how long it took, or how beautiful it is to see, it is still made by human hands. The same time that I thought, "wow, look at that" I thought, "that's it? That's their god." I want them to know a God that's bigger than that.

Another famous thing at this park is the deer or are the deer I should say. They are everywhere. And they will just come up to you and steal your lunch, snacks or whatever food you might be holding. Needless to say, it was an interesting trip and here are some pictures

Hanami party

Sunday was a BeAuTiFuL day! I day especially great for a hanami party, which means finding a place where there are lots of cherry blossom trees, laying your tarp down, breaking out the food and hanging out with your friends for the day. And that is just what about 13 of us did yesterday. We had TONS of food and played Quiddler, Phase 10, tried to do some Karaoke with an i-pod, stood in line forEVER to go to the bathroom and had a wonderful time. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

the LaSt leg...

The second part of my time home involved going to my "real" hometown of Spokane and seeing all of my friends!





Here is Deana and Sharon



We had to stop off at Coldstone. This is Ayano, Kaori and I eating the best ice cream in town



I also stopped off at MFWI to see my former students. This was fun and I tried to speak ONLY ENGLISH, which proved to be hard.

And then, there was of course time to see my suger-booger (as Katie calls him)








Me and Grayden :)

It was a good trip. Busy, but good. It is wierd being back in Japan. I ate noodles for breakfast which highly contrasts the doughnut I ate the morning before in America. Today is April first and marks the last leg of my journey in Japan. It is strange to think of that, but a reality that God has been preparing me for. My only hope-that I would finish strong.