We cleaned up the church from 7:30-8:30 and then had breakfast at 8:30 with a devotional led by Mimi. We were packed and ready to walk to the bus at 9:30, said our final goodbyes at the bus. We were looking at about a 5 hour bus ride to Osaka. The first leg of the trip was quite lively as the team had its first hanyack session. A "hanyack" is usually a cultural faux pas or mistake someone made. It was very lively with lots of laughter, but are the things that just stay with the team. When the tour is over the team will eventually be given a copy of the sessions, but they wont be published for awhile. The busses are required to stop on a regular basis. Our first stop was quick pit/snack stop. In between the two stops plenty of the team found time to get some rest. At the second stop we had lunch. You order from a machine which simultaneously gives you a receipt and puts your order in. You wait for you number to appear and then pick up your food. After lunch, we made the final leg to Osaka. Again the bus was too big to stop in front of the church, so it parked where we have always had busses park. It was about a 5 minute walk but with no vans we had to lug all the bags. The ground floor of the church is parking and where we eat breakfast. The 2nd floor is where the ladies sleep, but it is also the sanctuary. Sunday will be quite the job to pick it all up to get it ready and then put it together. Our welcome session included some brief instructions on how things work around the church, and meeting two of the people helping us for the week (Carrie & Daniel). The team also met Shizuko, a very lovely and extremely generous lady who comes to see the Seahorses every time and is always bringing gifts. She and her husband are not believers, but their daughter Emi did become a believer through the Seahorse ministry. Emi played in the US for a couple years for the MAI Charlotte team Since we had some extra time, we took a quick 10-minute walk to the local temple. Very interesting, but sad at the same time. Then it was a short 10-minute walk to mall/food court/shopping/groceries location. On the way to dinner, we passed by a Pachinko parlor. These parlors are all over Japan and it is quite a problem as people spend ours in there. Very mesmerizing and noisy. After dinner, it was a walk to the sento for a long leisurely time and then back to church for orientation. (As a side note here, it says in the video montage title page that there was going to be a small mini-camp with Masa, with just 4 of the team members, but we got here too late for that to happen.) Pastor BJ and his wife Mary run the church. Pastor BJ had just returned from 5 hours south teaching at a Bible Camp and after we leave next week, BJ and Carrie & Daniel will travel north for another Bible Camp. So this week will be good for them to have our help. BJ gave his orientation about what to expect the next few days. He also updated us on Mr. Mizuno, who has hung around our ministry every time we are here. We have seen signs of him gradually getting closer and closer to God. BJ explained that after the funeral for Mr Mizuno's mother, Mr. Mizuno told BJ that he wants to be a Christian. 20 years we have been waiting for this. It had Paul & I in tears. After BJ spoke, we then heard from the other helpers. Ayaka has been around for many years. She has been to a seminary and spent 3 years as a missionary in Thailand. She has even traveled with the Seahorses and been a part of at least 1 tour. Then the other missionaries here that we are here to serve, Masa & Chie Yokota, introduced themselves and told about their ministry, the Seahorse Soccer International Club (SSIC). It was great to see all of them again. Well, it will be a challenging week. Logistics is one. This year the team is sleeping on air mattresses instead of just the futons (foo-tones). While air mattresses may be softer, they are extremely noisy and awkward trying to walk across, as they are packed in like sardines. It was meant for Carrie and Ayaka to room with them, but there is literally no room for anything else down there. But ministry WILL happen, as it has already begun to with the news of Mr. Mizuno. He is sooo close now. Please pray for him that he might make that decision while we are here. Mr Mizuno coming to Christ would be such a wonderful way to close out the Seahorse ministry visits here in Osaka.
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