Kombini and The Boy Who Lived

Like in U.S. convenience stores, at a Japanese kombini one can purchase snacks, drinks, meals, magazines, and all sorts of last-minute needs such as hosiery, medicines, etc. (The only thing one can't purchase at a kombini is gas, as apparently gas stations and kombini can't play nicely together over here. One can't buy kombini items at a gas station either.) But I don't know of any convenience store in the U.S. where one can pay utility bills as one can at a kombini. And this weekend, I discovered the most remarkable thing about kombini -- I can reserve purchases at online retailers such as Amazon Japan and indicate that I will pay for the purchase at the kombini of my choosing rather than enter my credit card information online. Then, once the online retailer receives notification from the kombini that I've made my payment, my order can be shipped to the kombini for me to pick up so that I don't have to play the failure-to-deliver game with the delivery company / postal service.

Having had limited baggage allowances for my move here in April, I was able to pack only three books, two of which are Bible study books rather than fiction novels. And as an avid reader, I've been feeling very bereft without something to read at night. So perhaps you can imagine what my first Amazon Japan purchase was. And for those who know me well, maybe you know exactly which books I ordered -- the complete works of Harry Potter. My apartment started to feel a little more homey tonight once the boxed set of The Boy Who Lived was sitting on my bookshelf. Sadly, there's not enough time to get them all read before I see movie 7a with friends in two weekends. But I will certainly do my best (ganbatte)!

Until next time...

Being a Christian in Japan

At the spring retreat for the foreigner population at my church, our minister shared with us that Japan is a nation of approximately 127 million people. Of that 127 million people, only one million people are considered to be Christian, with Catholicism and Protestantism evenly represented at around 500,000 followers each. Doing the math, you can see that fewer than 1% of the country's population is Christian. And of that one million person Christian population, only 1,000 or so are on the same branch of the church tree as I. And those 1,000 people are distributed over approximately 60 churches served by 30 to 40 ministers. So when I had the opportunity to go last week with some members of my church to a small church about 90 minutes away from where I live, I was eager to go, as I wanted to see what it is like for these Christians to worship together on Sundays.

During the drive to this small church, I learned that it has three members - a husband and wife and another man. During the drive back from the church, I asked the minister and missionary how these three people receive teaching on Sunday mornings. Do they take turns sharing something they've learned from Scripture? I was told that different churches from our prefecture will take turns visiting this church once a month to encourage them. However, often it is only the minister from these other churches who visits. During the other Sundays of the month, the members will gather to sing together, take communion together, and listen to sermons on tape. It was fear of this very thing that caused me to not come to Japan all those years ago. I was afraid I would find myself living in a town with either no church or such a small church and that my faith would be negatively effected. And so I was struck by how blessed I am now to be in the city where I live, for I worship at the second largest church of my denomination in Japan.

To be a Japanese Christian is not an easy path to follow. Often a Japanese Christian is the only member of his or her family who is Christian. So sometimes family members are hostile toward him or her because of his or her faith that isn't keeping in line with the family values. And Japanese Christians may get blamed for any calamity that befalls the family, whether a logical connection can be made or not. So many Japanese Christians are secret Christians,  from their friends and neighbors and sometimes even their own family members.

I was amazed that the three Japanese members of this church have been able to remain faithful in a country where so many people have no faith or have lost faith. While I don't know how large their church was at its peak, as recently as last year it had five members. So their church is dying, which also is the norm in Japan. It astonishes me that the married couple goes to a church building on Sundays when they could just as easily worship together at home. I can only imagine that the Japanese collectivist tendency (focus on the group rather than on the individual) and/or compassion for the one man are what prompt them to leave their home each Sunday. And I imagine that for the one man, the time he spends with this couple each week is crucial to helping him maintain his faith, for if he has a family, it doesn't appear that they are believers.

I've tried to end this post a few different ways; but I'm having difficulty writing exactly what I want to say. So I'll just say this. Whether you are a Christian in a small or large church, please give thanks to God for the physical and spiritual blessings present in your church, lean on Him to help you strengthen your faith, and pursue meaningful relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Until next time...