The weather!

The weather is quite a topic of conversation here. It is normal to mention it in greetings when writing a letter. People usually have something to say about it when they meet. And there is usually some coverage on the news about rain, snow, wind or heat - it can often be the headline. Japan is a country where it can get very hot (like this summer) and very cold (in certain areas); some parts have rainy seasons; others experience typhoons. The daily evening weather forecast is usually quite fun as there is always a little chat about some obscure aspect of weather before moving on to what tomorrow will bring. Tonight we had little pictures of sheep-shaped clouds to tell us that the weather is to be changing - there is actually a word 'sheep cloud'. The change of seasons is marked well. We were interested to learn that according to the Japanese calendar autumn started on 7th August (while most places, even where we are in the north, were baking in one long stretch of summer heat). In the traditional calendar there are actually 24 days which divide the year into 24 sections, each day marking a different point in the year. The other day we hit the day which marks the limit of summer heat - well, it's still pretty hot! But it will not be long now till we come upon the days marking the descent of frost, the beginning of winter, the start of small snow and the start of big snow! Climate change is affecting everywhere but one of the wonderful things about Japan is to see and experience the rhythms of the changing seasons. It's said a hot summer can lead on to a bad winter though - we'll see.

Planning an event

As we have lived in Hiragishi for the last 17 months or so, it has been encouraging gradually to get to know people and to build up relationships with people in the area. A number of friends and colleagues have also put us in touch with people they know who live round about. There is a lot of potential in Hiragishi. So far we have built things up slowly, partly because we have not had the time or resources to devote to things which require a large investment of time or people. However, we are now planning one event and one special worship service next month, and we have other ideas to build on those over the coming months. A few folks from one of our colleague's home church are coming to Hokkaido for a holiday next month and would like to spend a few days helping us in Hiragishi. The main event we will have is what we are calling a Singapore Cultural Day, a low-key, 'easy to come along to' event with a taste of Singaporean culture, music, dance, games and food, and a simple testimony by one of the visitors. We have designed fliers and are sending these to people we know and distributing them more widely in the area. We have no idea how many might come. But hopefully it will be a chance just to get to know people in an informal and relaxed setting, and perhaps be a first step for some in a journey of faith.

Shut in

The problem of hikikomori is well known as an issue affecting a significant number of younger people in Japan. Those people withdraw from society, retreat into their rooms and often remain there for months, if not years. The term 'hikikomori' has been used to describe this phenomenon which seems particularly to affect Japan. The word 'hikikomori' has now become a new entry in the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English. The definition reads '(in Japan) the abnormal avoidance of social contact, typically by adolescent males'. Most people you speak to will know of or have heard of someone who is or whose family member is to some extent 'hikikomori'. Figures are hard to come by but it seems clear the issue affects a significant number of Japanese from their mid-late teens into their 20s or even older. How to deal with it is even more of a challenge. We know one missionary who has been receiving training in this area from a specialist but it takes a long time to be able to understand enough to be able to be of help to someone who is hikikomori. Is this a challenge and an opportunity for the church? Jesus came to reach and rescue people who were lost and without hope. It is a complex phenomenon but so many need help to find hope and direction for their lives.

Back to school

Today all of boys went back to school, two in India and two in Japan. Daniel begins studies for A Levels; Matthew begins studies for GCSEs; Calum continues in Grade 4 and Alistair in Grade 1 at our local elementary school. While the older two could enjoy an 8 week holiday, the younger two had a Japanese-style holiday of 3 and a half weeks! And even then there was work to be done during the holidays. Each boy came home at the end of term with a sheaf of papers - homework sheets for Japanese and maths; Alistair had to do a couple of drawings of things he did during the holiday with a sentence or two about them; Calum had to interview dad about his school days; there was a chart to be filled in each day saying what they had done. And they also each had to make something to take back to school and show to their classmates at the beginning of term. Some of the creations by some of the kids are really amazing. This year Calum produced a firing cannon made largely of disposable chopsticks; Alistair created a spider and butterfly out of wax doodles (a timely birthday present from the UK). They managed to get everything done (just!) and went back to school today laden with bags of stuff! Alistair also had to look after a morning glory which all of the 1st Grade students had planted earlier in the year. That is now so big it is left for Mum and Dad to take back at some point this week. The kids were eased back in gently this morning - an opening ceremony and a half day. But from now till Christmas Eve there is no break apart from a few public holidays here and there. It will be a long term.

Arrested on holiday!

Somehow there are always adventures on a Ferguson holiday to the beach. Usually these involve some kind of injury and a visit to the local hospital. This time we went one better and spent some time in the local police station. The place we go to is an OMF holiday home right on the beach in a tiny village in a fairly remote part of Hokkaido. There is a small town nearby and Daniel was walking in to town one morning. As if from nowhere, out pops a policeman and asks to see Daniel's passport. He is not carrying it (as we don't usually need to). The only ID he has is his Hebron school card. So he is driven back to the holiday home and Dad is summoned from the beach to deal with the friendly local police officer. After protracted communication with the local police station and David showing his ID, we were then asked to go the station and were duly driven there. After an hour or so, we were told it would take another two hours to sort it all out. Anyway, the 'crime' was that as Daniel had just turned 16 he should have been carrying his passport until his ID card (which all foreigners must carry at all times and which we had applied for) was issued. He was due to get it the following week. Daniel had to sign a letter expressing his remorse and asking the police to be tolerant (it sounded much better in Japanese). It really was amazing how such a little thing could take such a long time to sort out. But we had some good chats with the various police officers. It probably made their day to have such an 'incident' - there is unlikely to be much exciting criminal activity in such a sleepy little town. Life on a Ferguson holiday is never dull.

Farewells - again!

Sometimes missionary life is a bit like one of the songs from The Sound of Music - 'So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye'. Today was another farewell day as we took Daniel and Matthew to the airport to begin their journey back to India - three planes, five trains and a seven hour taxi ride up the mountain. The first leg took them as far as Tokyo and unfortunately they had to fly on the busiest day of the year on the busiest air route in the world. After negotiating the crowds at the airport, they were off and we all adjust again to life as four in Sapporo and two in India. Daniel and Matthew are very much third culture kids - Scottish boys living in Japan and at school in India. The last few days we have packed a lot in and there are always last-minute things to be bought, forms to be completed and the usual challenge of fitting everything in to the cases while keeping them within the weight limit. The boys should arrive at the school early on Tuesday morning, unpack, get things sorted in the dorm and be ready for the start of the new school year on the Wednesday. As it happens, the younger two boys go back then too so by the middle of this week we will all be back in routine again - until the next homecoming in December.

The spirits return

We live right opposite one of the largest graveyards in Sapporo. It really is huge with thousands upon thousands of graves. Actually the setting is quite pleasant - the mature trees make it seem like a park. In fact in Japanese it is called a 'spirit garden'. These last two or three days have seen much activity. The roadsides have been full of parked cars; people are always milling around; Buddhist priests hang about ringing their bells and chanting a sutra upon request (for a nice fee of course); the graves are cleaned (buckets and scoops are helpfully provided); and each grave is decorated with flowers and perhaps some fruit, and incense sticks are burned. Why? It's the time of 'obon' when family members return to the family grave to pay their respects to the spirits of deceased relatives who are said to return temporarily at this time. It's fascinating to wander round the spirit garden and just observe. Whole families turn up, all dressed very casually and the atmosphere is certainly far from sombre, although everyone will quietly stand in front of the grave when the priest does his chant. One of the relatives passes him an envelope in gratitude for services rendered. Many of those who visit the grave at this time of year probably do so purely out of tradition, though some will believe that the spirits do indeed return and they certainly want to make sure that the grave is visited and rites performed. It is fascinatinｇ to observe - but at the same time it is sad and the thought occurs as to where the contact points are with the gospel. So many need to hear of the living God who promises life both now and forever.

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Time with friends

A couple of months or so after we arrived in Sapporo for language study in July 1998, Lorna was in a park with our two (at that time little) boys and met a mother with her two girls. A conversation turned into a friendship with the Watanabe family which has lasted twelve years. Today they came to visit us and we all enjoyed spending time together. Yuji (the father) is an English teacher (which was very helpful for us in our early days here), Rei (the mother) also likes English and they have two girls of similar age to our two older boys. It has been great to have friends with whom we can go camping, skiing and just spend time together with. Apart from our first two years we have not lived near each other but still make time to meet up at least two or three times a year. We can talk about all sorts of things and have learned so much from them. It is a joy that we have had this family as friends through all our time here. And it all started with a 'chance' meeting in the park.