An interesting experience

No work tomorrow for Coming of Age Day. It's the day that all of the people who turned 20 in the last year and their families celebrate the fact that they're 20 which is the age here where you officially become an adult. We rode past the Rose Theatre today and there were a lot of guys in suits and girls in kimonos. Very nice looking. We would have stopped to look longer but we were headed to eat ramen for lunch and some dressed up 20 year olds are only interesting for so long when you're hungry. :) So maybe we'll see some more of them tomorrow.

Had an interesting church service this morning. The preacher typed and printed up an English guide to the sermon which was very generous. This is the guy who Jeff saw get baptized 25-30 or so (?) years ago and wrote in his Bible. He speaks very good English and is always good at including English in his sermons, prayers, scripture readings and everything. We have a guy that sits with us every week and translates for us which is extremely nice. We feel bad because he doesn't get to sit with his wife and his little son who is like 2 starts running all over the church during the service. But we are definitely grateful for his help. So anyway, the sermon today was about baptism. There was a lady there who is very sick (maybe cancer - I never really heard what the illness was) and she got baptized last week. At the end of the service, the preacher asked that everyone gather around her and lay hands on her and pray for her. This was the first time I've been a part of something like this in Japan. I was always very stand-offish with things like this at home even though this was a regular occurrence at Sugar Grove. I sometimes knew the people who were being prayed over at Sugar Grove more than I knew this lady. All I knew about her was her last name. But when people stood to gather and pray for her, I found myself right in the mix with my hand on her back. I don't know what the difference was. I guess I just found myself in a situation where I felt like I had no reason not to do it. This was a new Christian and she was in need and there was a genuine feeling in the congregation that we needed to pray for her to help her in any way. It was the first time I have really felt a part of this church. It was a good feeling. We didn't come here for a spiritual experience. We didn't come here to be missionaries disguised as English teachers. We came here to be English teachers and to get a cultural experience. That is what our time here has been and will continue to be dedicated to. But if every once in a while we learn something about ourselves and grow spiritually, then there is certainly nothing wrong with that. So I just wanted to share that experience.

So anyway, tomorrow I will be celebrating the fact that I turned 20 8 1/2 years ago by sleeping in and then watching NFL highlights online followed shortly by watching the premiere of 24 season 7. Everybody watch it, it's going to be amazing! Go Jack Bauer!