Now, there have been times in life where I have been pretty busy...you know, finals in college, or wedding season, or before I moved to Japan...but this past week goes down in the book as being one of the craziest/busiest/most full weeks ever. Luckily for me, every single thing I did this week was FUN hahaa so I am praising the Lord for that since I know "being busy" means different things to different people. Anyway, welcome to my world and the busiest week ever...
*a few of these things will get their own post later on where I'll expand upon things...but this is just a post about the events in succession.
Let's kick it off with a fun hang out in Tokyo...
- SATURDAY -
My good friend Naomi introduced me to a few new homies in Japan (if you know Naomi, you know that she knows everyone) and on Saturday we all met up in Tokyo. I had never met these guys before but when I met them on the train, it felt like seeing old friends again! The Torrance connection is strong, and knowing these guys went to West and Mira Costa bonded us immediately. We cruised around Shibuya (they all speak fluent Japanese), ate sushi (I know, crazy), went to a game center, played pool, they taught me Japanese slang, and we had the best time!
- SUNDAY -
THE KANESHIROS IN JAPAN!!! I grew up with this family...or more like...I watched this family grow up! Mr. Kaneshiro was my volleyball coach in high school and my mom has been babysitting the kids since they were tiny tiny little ones, which is how I will always remember them except NOW THEY ARE SO BIG and mature and old and it is so weird!! haha. They came to church with me on Sunday and I was so happy to have them and their grandma there. After church, we headed into Tokyo and went to the Tokyo skytree together to eat lunch and do some shopping. It was so fun to be with them and just be around family again. I loved it and was so thankful for the time with them.
- MONDAY -
Monday was crazy! I went to school in the morning to get prepared for our ENGLISH CLUB TRIP TO ASAKUSA! We had been planning this for a while now so the fact that the day had finally arrived was a thrill. The kids all met up in one of the classrooms at 11am and we took the bus, and the train together and arrived in Asakusa to eat lunch and talk to foreigners. *this day will have its own post later*
After a fun and HOT day in Asakusa, Steph and I hopped on over to Tokyo station to meet the GVBC team who were here on a missions trip...and it just so happened one of my oldest and best friend KDRESS was on the team so we got to hang outtttttt!!!! *also more on this later*
- TUESDAY -
So Tuesday I declared BASEBALL DAY. This will also have it's own post. But basically my high school team had a game AND I went to a professional game ON THE SAME DAY...haha.
- WEDNESDAY -
Wednesday was a somewhat normal day at work, but for dinner Steph and I headed to our friends house! These ladies are incredible and are SO SO kind and hospitable to everyone. The Kanekos host a lot of students from the states so we met two of them (Colorado and Taipei) and we all enjoyed a backyard bbq together. It was such a fun evening and I definitely felt right at home.
- THURSDAY -
Thursday was an exciting day! The TSCA (Torrance Sister City Association) group came to Ichikashi!!! This group of students from Torrance (West and Bishop) are here in Japan for three weeks and they kicked off their trip visiting our school. I always love seeing Torrance students in Japan so this was a fun day forsure.
We gave the group a school tour and then they were invited to a special performance by the brass band which is ALWAYS a hit. Our band is seriously SO SO GOOD. I've seen them perform many times now and they still blow me away every. single. time. After a powerful show, the Torrance students and a few our our kids headed to the Yoshida House...which is a historical house a few minutes from school. This house was owned by the Yoshida family who were samurai, farmers, and soy sauce producers. The house is the quintessential Japanese home full of 165 years of history. I am definitely going back there!!
Also, fun story, Jennifer is the adult leader of the TSCA group this year and I actually met her last year before I moved to Japan...at church!! One Sunday my dad was like "Amie come meet Jen and her husband, they lived in Japan" so we chatted for a few minutes and she gave me her contact in case I ever needed anything. I didn't think I would see her anytime soon...but it turns out she was selected as the adult leader so seeing her in Japan was such a trip! I love the connections via church, Torrance, and Japan!!
- FRIDAY -
Now the only proper way to end a busy week is with a...you guessed it....NOMIKAI! hahaa no kidding. I was invited to the second year Nomikai (with all the 2nd year teachers) and happily accepted. But, the night of, I was so exhausted and tired I found myself wanting to sleep more than I wanted to socialize. But, as I was sitting in my apartment complaining, the Lord spoke to me and told me that the purpose in me going was greater than my own desires to stay at home. whoa. OKAY. So I went knowing God wanted me to love these people and just be open to what He would do.
I ended up sitting with 4 lady teachers and we chatted about a bunch of stuff...and then one of the ladies turned to me and said "Amie, you're Christian right?" WHOA where did that come from! To be honest I was eating my food and they were chatting in Japanese so I wasn't really following the convo...but I answered "YES!" and we then talked for a good 30 minutes about my church, why I go, what we do there...and I even pulled up the church website and invited all of them to come ANYTIME!! One of the ladies is a history teacher so she had so many questions about my denomination and the things we do at church. When I told them "yeah I go every week- it is so fun!" they had this shocked look on their face and couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that church=fun...I think most Japanese think church=boring! HAHA.
Oh man...it was such a cool conversation and when I left the party that night I just laughed...because God is just that good you have to laugh sometimes. Here I was, all wrapped up in my own desires and tiredness...when God had plans for me to invite these women to church and share with them a bit of the Father's love. DANG!!!! How good is He??
Alright well that wraps up my crazy week. It is Saturday now, and I am writing this outside at a nearby shopping mall. The breeze is so nice and I am just so thankful for all the adventures God has taken me on here in Japan...and all that is to come. He is such a good good father, so full of grace, wisdom, patience, joy, understanding, peace, and so. much. love.