Easter weekend

     Walking in the brilliant sunshine, Nick and I enjoyed going from Easter service to our international church’s Easter picnic. While Easter is not as emphasized in Japan as I am used to, it still is celebrated by the Christians living here.

     Since coming to Japan, I’ve realized more and more that spiritual health requires investing in Christian community. Easter weekend reminded me of that again.

     Saturday evening, Nick and I had the gift of being able to eat dinner with the Godfrey family. Thank you all so much for encouraging us and treating us to dinner! It was such a blessing to talk and hear about your travels. We’re praying for your continued safe travels.

     The Godfrey family was also able to join us on Sunday for the Easter morning service! Surrounded by a cacophony of English and Japanese, I was reminded of how universal the body of Christ is and reminded that we are risen with him. It seems to me, that our church covers the four corners of the earth, from Japan to China to Korea to Croatia to the United States and so on.

     Nick and I walked to a local park to enjoy a picnic lunch after the service. One of my favorite parts of our church is how many cute children there are in it! They were all so excited about the egg hunt; kids are the same the world over.

     This picture shows the moment of excitement as an egg was discovered under my chair.

     This church has shown me the overwhelming welcome of the church, both to myself and others. One of the members bumped into a man from Germany in the grocery store and brought him to the picnic. In talking, he told me that he had just come from Mass and shared some of his story. It was fascinating! He has been to more countries than I can even imagine. Now, he lives in Asia making German sausage.

     As you may notice, this post also contains many, many pictures of Nick and I enjoying ourselves. Part of our church’s welcome has been to shower endless compliments and love onto us, including taking lots of pictures of us. While I struggle to understand and speak Japanese still (and I’m very grateful for both the patience and exceptional English ability of those around me), I love struggling through conversations at church, singing worship songs in Japanese, and listening to the advice and compliments of the older women of the church.

     Nick and I were also able to share some of our picnic traditions. I had a good time laughing with my new friends about the picnic we brought—the onigiri representing a classic Japanese picnic choice, but the apples betraying how American I am. We made flower crowns, my favorite tradition, and I especially loved teaching a mother and son how to waltz.