In what is one of the first of a likely long line of firsts, I got to experience my first Easter in Japan on Sunday.
Despite a forecast for a 90% chance of rain on Easter morning, the day began with sunny skies that quickly erased the memory of Saturday’s rain. I was up shortly after sunrise at six. With plenty of time before the outdoor worship service at 10:30 I decided to try out the skates for the first time since arriving in Japan. The pavement was still damp in some spots, but since all of the roads are paved with asphalt in Japan I had good traction nearly everywhere. Matt Shipp, a fellow new arrival in Okayama, has a longboard, and apparently one of the regular attenders at the church has skates, so there’s a good chance we can get a small skating circle started.
The day’s special worship service was held at a park about 15 minutes to the northeast of the church. A light breeze was blowing from the south as we all sat on blankets laid out underneath a grove of cherry trees in the last week of their blooming period. Pastor Goto led worship and delivered a message on the resurrection. To my surprise I was able to understand most of the sermon—-the first time I was here it was very difficult for me to follow along.
After the service we enjoyed a picnic lunch and then tossed around a frisbee until 1:30 or so, when we gathered at the riverbank for the baptism of Yukiko. Pastor Goto stood with Yukiko in the center of a shallow part of the river where large stones had been set up for crossing. In her confession of faith before the actual baptism Yukiko described how she used to feel that there was no reason to keep living and experience all of the pain in life. She then spoke about how God changed her heart after she talked with friends about how life has a purpose with Jesus. I didn’t understand every sentence, but I understood enough to get a good picture of Yukiko’s journey towards becoming a Christian.
The wind picked up a bit and drew in some clouds as the baptism concluded. At one point it looked as though it would rain, but fortunately it held off as we left. I went with Jeremy, Ashleigh, and several of their friends who were at the service (and whose names I am still trying to memorize). To commemorate Ashleigh’s final Sunday in Japan we held an extended party of sorts, going first to karaoke, then purikura (a sort of high-tech, Asianized version of a photo booth), and ending up at the church to cook yakisoba (stir fry with noodles) and watch War of the Worlds on the church’s DVD player. For most of us the day ended at around 11:00.
I can tell that one of the things I will have the most difficulty with (besides improving with the language) will be keeping everyone’s names straight. I have never been very good with remembering names, and the last couple of days have been filled with introduction after introduction. Add the mentally hindering effects of jet lag to the mix and you end up with a difficult situation. So if I could only list one prayer request right now, being able to remember everyone’s name would be at the top of the list. After all, the main focus of the church is building relationships, and it certainly helps if you can remember the names of those with whom you are building those relationships.