This fun photo of a young street musician was shot in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park on a hot afternoon in July ‘08. I love her facial expression; she just seems to be enjoying herself so much.

I’m posting this photo in response to the recent onslaught of awful, cold, wet Canadian February weather we’ve been experiencing here in New Brunswick. It reminds me of much warmer times. It was taken one hot August afternoon in 2008, during a retreat we were at with some churches from our area. I’m looking forward to getting back to Japan… and hoping it’s before this summer is over. And not just so that I can avoid another Canadian winter — but for the friends, the ministry, the place I’ve come to call home…

This week’s photo is a little more recent — and Canadian, for a change. This was shot from my back door early in the morning on December 17. I’d only been back in Canada for a few days, so all this ice and snow was still novel and nostalgic — rather than just plain cold and annoying, as it becomes after a couple of months of winter.

A young girl chillin’ out, reading manga (comics) at the back of my church in Nagoya, Japan, one Sunday morning in early 2008.

This week’s photo was shot in the early part of 2008 in Nagoya’s Osu Kannon. I’ve posted this before, but at a smaller size, and not as a featured Photo of the Week. I did some light balance correction before posting it this time, but other than that it’s the same.

My friend Ryoko draws in the sand. Lake Biwa, Japan. June 2009. This is another shot I was really happy with but never got around to posting till now.

I can’t believe I hadn’t posted this here before. It’s about two years old, shot shortly after I’d first arrived in Nagoya, and is one of my personal favorites. Since I’m not in Japan anymore, I’ll have to dig into the archives more often for “new” Japan-related pics to post… though I may occasionally post some non-Japan photos too.

This photo was shot recently in front of Nagoya Station. I thought something Christmasy would be a nice last Photo of the Week for the year. I’ll probably not be very active in my blogging over the holidays, but that’s OK because most of you probably won’t be very active in your blog reading either. I hope you’ll be busy spending time with family and friends, celebrating Jesus this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

This past weekend I finished my first two-year term as a GP missionary in Japan. I had a good weekend spending time with friends:

Saturday morning, I went out for breakfast with a former classmate from Japanese school and then ran some errands. Then it was back to the church to hang out with some other friends. I had them help me move boxes, and then we did some preparation for Sunday, buying supplies and making some dessert for Sunday’s party. Really great excuse to hang out with 3 good friends. We ended the day with supper together at local Yoshinoya (Japanese fast food chain, and one of the things I’ll miss about Japan).

My last Sunday at the Nagoya church was, of course, bitter-sweet. I got to give some short farewell greetings in the AM service, but as I said to them, it’s “see you later”, not “goodbye”, because I do plan to be back. I had no ministry responsibilities this week, and it was nice to just hang out, chat, and eat together with my Church Family. The day ended with a young adults party; we ate nabe, followed by some great desserts.

Here are some photos from the weekend; click on any one of them for a close up and/or to flip through the gallery.

Monday morning, my pastor and one other friend drove me to the airport. We were early enough to have lunch together and spend some time chatting before I flew out in the afternoon. It was a good ending to my last weekend in Nagoya for the year.

Now I’m back in Canada, relaxing and waiting for the jet lag to wear off. Prayers for this period of transition are greatly appreciated. I’ll try to update you all soon on what’s next.

In the meantime, enjoy the holidays while you can!

Well, I’ve safely arrived back in Canada after a really long day of traveling yesterday. Since I was up super early due to jetlag, I had the time to do some photo sorting and editing. So this and the next post will bring you up-to-date on some recent events, in words and pictures…

On December 6 I had the opportunity to lead/host a Christmas outreach event at my church in Nagoya. It was a bi-lingual Christmas party we called “Christmas Around the World” (that’s the event flyer on the left). The event was well-attended and a lot of fun. There were almost 60 people who showed up, a good handful of whom were not regular attenders at the church. After some games and music (but before the sweets) I shared a short message about how Jesus came so that we could find peace with God.

Below are some photos from the party; you can click on any of them for a close-up and to flip through the whole gallery.

It was a great “bridge-building” event — thanks for praying!

Osu Kannon temple, Nagoya. Yesterday.

Shot a few weeks back, when I had a friend visiting — which means me visiting Nagoya Castle yet again. Got a good shot from a different angle, and thought it looked good in black and white. So here it is.

This was shot near Hikone the weekend before this past one. I don’t know what these things are called — in English or Japanese. Anyone?