The Sweet Dropper

Sunday, July 26: We’ve had a good Lord’s Day today. Cooked breakfast here (bacon, eggs and toast). Japanese worship service at 10:30 am. Matt Cummins preached from Romans 6:11-14 on being ‘not under law but under grace’ in Japanese, but the preachers always provide English manuscripts for anyone who would like one. I was welcomed as an honored guest and spoke to the congregation at the end of the service on 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20. About 50 or so in attendance–surprising number of young families. Met most of them after the service. So many women expressed thankfulness for FPC Kosciusko’s support of Linda Wixon. She is very dear to them.

Mrs. Ishikawa brought her sister, Mrs. Kondo, by the church to visit me. Mrs. Kondo was the 2nd homestay family I had here 20 years ago. She is older now and in bad health and was on her way to dialysis treatment. We had a nice visit though, with some translation help. I gave both ladies a set of oven mitt/hot pads that Ruth Anne made. This visit was unexpected and very emotional for me.
 
Nelson went off with some teenagers to a convenience store to get their lunch, and I took Linda Wixon and Darlene Johnson to lunch. We had a leisurely lunch at popular ‘famiry restaurant’ (that’s what the signs actually read) Bronco Billy’s. An English-speaking church meets at the Nisshin Christ Church building at 4:00 pm. All Nations Fellowship had a crowd of about 45 people (Japan, U.S., Indonesia, Korea, Brazil, Uruguay, India, and Ukraine represented–appropriately named, huh?). Very good service. A young Korean-born pastor from a church in southern California preached on Lot’s departure from Abraham in Genesis 13, and it was very good. Most of the members and attendees have some connection with the nearby university as faculty or students. I was welcomed and given the opportunity to speak briefly to them in the early portion of the service.
 
In just a bit Linda will take JNP and me for a final meal at the kaitenzushi restaurant (click on the link) down the road. That’s the kind of place where you sit at the counter and the little plates of sushi come around on a conveyor belt in front of you and you take whatever looks good. It’s 105 yen per plate ($1.25). When you’re done, the waitress comes around and counts your stack of plates and hands you a bill. It’s the cheap way to eat sushi here.
 
We’re heading pretty early tomorrow, getting on subway around 6:15 so we can be at the Japan Rail office at Nagoya station around 6:45. I will purchase our train tickets to Narita airport, and we’ll be on our final train ride. Train trip is 2 hours to Tokyo, then 45-90 minutes to Narita, depending on which train we ride (direct, non-stop express is less than 45 minutes. Flight leaves Narita at 3:30 pm for Los Angeles. Keep praying for us.