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Golden Week Update
May 2024
April started with cherry blossoms blooming around Tokyo and ended with a week off from language school, so it was a pretty good month for me!
I love the spring here in Japan because nature's beauty is really on display in a way I haven't seen anywhere else. It's very common for families, friends, and coworkers to gather and eat together among the blooming flowers, especially the cherry blossoms. There's even a word for it in Japanese, 花見 (hanami), which literally translates to flower viewing. This year it was really special to celebrate Jesus' resurrection on Easter and then that same week see all the new live popping up on the trees around us.
As a team we usually do a team dinner once a month, so for April we did hanami together in a nearby park. Another fun thing we did together as a team last month was to go on a team retreat to a mountain town outside of Tokyo. I love the mountains so it was a real blessing for me to get away for a bit and enjoy more fellowship with my whole team. Our time together was facilitated by Andy and Lorna who were missionaries in Japan and now serve as member care for our team as well as Howard and Marilynn who serve with our team in Tokyo part time and were also member care for our team for many years previously and before that were also missionaries in Tokyo. In our sessions we did some team building activities, talked about our spiritual gifts, soul care, and grief, and celebrated communion together.
While it was refreshing to be away for a bit and spend more time with the team, the majority of my month was spent in language class. My Japanese ability continues to improve and I can really see the benefits of it as I am to understand and participate more in church. Although it was small, another language win last month was being able to go up to the front desk at the hotel we were staying at for the retreat and ask the staff in Japanese if there were any walking trails nearby. Not only was I able to ask, but I was able to understand their answer as well!
Probably the biggest test of my Japanese recently was when I attended a Pathways meeting. Pathways is a training to help attendees learn how to study the Bible better. My team leader John has been facilitating the meetings for a while now. I had attended a Pathways training in the states so I was excited to join again, but what I didn't realize was that it was primarily in Japanese. There were a few comments made in English, but for the most part the devotion, lesson, and discussions were all in Japanese. To my surprise I was able to understand quite a lot of it! The content itself was very encouraging, but it was also affirming to feel like I am one more step closer to being able to do ministry fully in Japanese.
Beginning next week I am starting my last month of intensive Japanese classes at my current school COTO Academy. One thing I've noticed with my learning recently is although I can understand a lot, my speaking ability is much lower, so I'm hoping to switch to more conversation heavy learning opportunities such as private lessons. Having full time classes every day has been exhausting so I'm excited to switch to a new format. Thankfully though this week before I start my next class I've had off from school.
The week is called Golden Week in Japan. Golden Week is a group of national holidays at the end of every April and beginning of May. Many people have this week off from work and school and it is common to travel. I decided not to travel because I knew everyone else would be. Instead it's been nice to stay at home, read a lot more, connect with friends, and just relax and get ready for class to start again next week. Please be praying that I would enjoy the rest of my time off and be ready to jump into the next season of busyness!
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Cherry blossoms along the river by my apartment
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Prayer Requests
- Pray for my Japanese learning. With my time at my current language school wrapping up at the end of this month, pray that I can finish out well and continue to be a good witness to my teachers and classmates. Some of the same classmates that were with my last month will be continuing on this month so pray that I can continue to develop relationships with them and be bold in sharing the gospel. Please pray for my Japanese and more opportunities to use it so that I can not just know the grammar or vocab but be able to speak well and communicate effectively.
- Pray for my church. My teammate Michiyo went on sabbatical last month and this month my teammate Melanie is going on home assignment back to the states for the rest of the year. They wee both part of my church and have been helping lead for the last couple years. We are really sad for them to not be with us even if it is only temporary. Pray for them and pray for use as a church to be able to step up and take on some of their previous responsibilities especially as Kevin and Jane who are now leading the church are having a baby next month. Pray that I would have the ability and capacity to help more and continue to improve my Japanese so I can participate more.
- Pray for our team. With Michiyo on sabbatical and Melanie going on home assignment this month, we also have the Nakazawas going back to the states for the summer and the Lees going on home assignment for the rest of the year starting in July. There's a number of transitions coming up for the team so please pray for us to navigate them well and care for each other well. We are only just getting established as a full (and large) team so it is hard to have these changes. So pray for unity and for us all to continue to grow in our relationships with the Lord.
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Thanks for reading!
I appreciate you all! As always, feel free to email me at adam.bailey@efca.org or text me at 802-505-7676. You can also go to my website at adamintokyo.com. Thanks! - Adam Bailey
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