With less than two months left of my first term in Japan, and a lot to keep me busy these days, it feels like time is getting away from me.

Yesterday I visited the Immanuel Church in Toyota (about an hour’s journey by train) to do some ministry. The next two Sundays I’ll be away too, in Hikone and then Gifu, again on ministry. In the meantime I’ve got messages to prepare for those two Sundays. I’m trying to decide what message(s) to use. Probably I will be doing an edited version of something I’ve already written, simply because of the time factor; I need to send a manuscript to my interpreters ASAP.

At any rate, I love having these ministry opportunities. But I kind of wish they weren’t happening all at once. I don’t like being away from my own church for so many consecutive weeks, especially with so few Sundays left between now and December 14th, the day of my flight home.

So I’ve got a lot to keep me busy these next few weeks, between ministry preparation, actual ministry, language studies, and home ministry planning. Somewhere in there I need to squeeze in time for spending with all the fine people I’ll be leaving behind in December. And drawing, too, of course.

I just want to finish strong: in studies, ministry and relationships. “Seize the day” and all that… I pray time won’t get away from me.

I haven’t written much here lately, so I thought a personal update was in order. This will be completely random, though, so list-form it is…

1. Studying Japanese is interesting and even fun, but at the same time really, really draining. Some days, four hours of class feels like a full 8-hour work day. But I soldier on.

2. If you’ve been following this blog, this won’t surprise you, but in the last year I’ve really re-discovered my love of comics. I’ve got a couple of solid ideas in development, and hope to launch one soon, but I basically only have time on my one day off each week to work on it. Of course, if I was better at managing my time, I might be more able to squeeze it in, but that’s a topic for another time…

3. My new English class for youth starts this Sunday at my church. We’ve got about 5 or 6 kids planning to join us, which is a good-sized group to start with, I think. Should be fun. But I’m not sure what level their English is at, so the first two or three weeks will be pretty experimental. I found some good curriculum, though, so once I get into the swing of things the prep time should be minimal.

4. Apparently I’m supposed to pay taxes in Japan this year, if I understand the law correctly. But fortunately (again, if I understand things correctly) I don’t have to pay taxes in Canada if I’m paying them abroad. I really have to look into this and get some clarity, though. It’s on my to-do list…

5. Speaking of clarity, since I’m now in the second year of a two-year term in Japan, I’m praying for clarity about what happens next. I have no doubts about continuing on in Japan, but where and in exactly what capacity I’m not sure. I have some crazy ideas, and believe a vision is forming. But how this should play out is not year clear. I have 11 months left, but I’m sure that will fly by quickly, and I’ll need to plan at least a few months ahead. So year, I’m praying…

Brain dumped.

Today was a full and tiring but really good day.

This morning I had an almost two-hour conference call on Skype sharing dreams with a couple of fellow-ministry-minded creative-types. It was inspiring and gets me excited about the future when I think about it. I left home immediately after that and met up with my fellow-Canadian, Hooch (whose blog is so out of date I’m not sure why I bother linking to it — hint, hint, Hooch), and went to Gifu Castle (as seen in the photos above and below). Great view. Good times.

I got back from Gifu with about a half hour to spare before our young adults’ prayer and planning meeting. After being out all afternoon sight-seeing, I was feeling rather tired, and honestly kind of wishing I didn’t have a meeting to go to. But I went, and of course I was glad I did. Not only was there some great food to be shared, but some great people to share it with. Have I mentioned how much I love these people? They’re a pretty amazing bunch.

All in all, a refreshing and fun day off. And I’m thankful.

I recently lost a friend.

Eddie was one of the men I prayed together with on a semi-regular basis when I lived in Osaka. I found out about his death last week, and have been putting off blogging about it because I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t super close to Ed, but he was a brother in Christ and a really great guy.

The photo above was taken back in early October when I visited Osaka. Ed was one of us grown-ups who tagged along with our friends’ kindergarten class when they went sweet potato picking. I saw him again that night when we had a concert/dinner at the school. I had no idea that would be the last time.

Ed had been under a lot of stress and concerned about many things. He went missing one day, and it was almost two weeks later that his body was found. This has left everyone with a lot of questions. But more importantly, he leaves behind a wife and son here in Japan who could really use our prayers at this time.

Other than my latest Newsletter, I’ve been pretty quiet on here since coming back from my August Adventures. So I thought I’d take a few minutes and tell you what’s going on and what’s on my mind. So here, in point form, it is:

1. I don’t know if it’s my connection, my computer, my browser or the files themselves — or myself for that matter — but there seems to be something wrong with my Newsletters. Someone told me there were having trouble viewing it, so I checked it out, and I can’t seem to view or download it either. Anyone else having this problem? Let me know if you are. Maybe I need to re-think how I post them.

2. It’s the end of the semester for me, meaning this week and next are heavy on studies and tests. My interview / speaking test is on Friday, and “the big one” (the final exam) is next Thursday, the 18th. If you’re a pray-er, please pray.

3. I’m still planning to post some photos and stuff from the summer. So do check back soon.

4. I have a huge new desk in my room (actually it’s not new, I just swapped my small wooden desks — yes 2 — for this one big one that was being stored elsewhere in the church). It’s one of those big metal kind that are so common here in Japan. I read somewhere that these things first came to Japan with the Allied forces at the end of the World War Two. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I could certainly believe they are of military origin. This thing’s built like tank!

5. Because of the new desk, there’s been lots of re-arranging going on. I moved the desk in on the weekend, and my apartment’s still a mess now. Actually my room looks quite a bit different now, between this and several other little changes over the past several months. I’ll have to post a new video sometime.

6. I’m pretty excited about a few potential opportunities coming my way: First, there are a couple of possible short-term missions teams coming here next year. I’m really hoping at least one of them works out. And, I may have a new cartooning gig coming my way. But that’s about all I can say about either of these things right now. Still, pretty cool. Trust me.

7. I’m planning a dinner party. Hmmm… “Dinner party” makes it sound fancier than it will be, so let’s call it “having some guys over to eat and hang out.” I want to introduce my non-Christian English/Bible student to some of my Japanese Christian friends. It should be a fun time of making connections and planting spiritual seeds.

8. I’m reading the Biography of Hudson Taylor… Wow. I’m pretty early into it but I’m sure I’ll get a lot out of it. He was a man of prayer and a man of action, and I could stand to be a lot more of a man of both.

Eight is enough.

Good night.