When we came to Japan, it was to experience the culture by living and working here.  We want to see the tourist sights and enjoy the rich history, of course, but that can be done in a much shorter time.   Though we still have a list of places we want to see and things that must be experienced before we leave this fascinating land, in many ways, life has settled into the routines of going to work and keeping house much like it would anywhere else.

One of the pluses of living in a place for awhile is making friends.  Friends help one another and so it was that we got up early today and spent the morning with several others from our church unloading two truckloads of building materials at the site where our pastor’s new home will soon stand.

The call from the pulpit yesterday asked for men who were willing and able to lift and carry.  Though I knew that it might be difficult to put together a sizable crew on a Monday, I wasn’t sure how the Japanese men would respond if I volunteered to help.  When you’re living in a foreign culture, it’s very important to be sensitive to such things.  I talked to Pastor Steve’s wife, Shelley, who told me that she’d be helping and that I’d be welcome to join her.   It was no different from working with the men of my church at home.  At first, they were inclined to treat Shelley and I like china teacups that might break but they soon discovered that I’m stronger than I look and stubborn too!   The job was done much quicker than any of us would have anticipated and even though it was raining and we got thoroughly drenched, we all had fun.  Rich and I had to teach this afternoon so we weren’t able to wait around for the trucks to return with their second loads but we’ll likely be back out to help another day.

Pastor Steve and Shelley Kaylor