I miss The Daily Yomiuri

The extended family's Thanksgiving celebration gave me an opportunity to spend some time with my cousin's son, an adult TCK* from Japan.

[*TCK = third culture kid = a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture(s)]

Not only was it fun to reconnect with him, I also enjoyed spending time with someone who knows (and misses) my other world.

My newspaper reading of the past five months basically consists of skimming a few USA Todays in motel lobbies while eating a continental breakfast. I appear to be very uninterested in the news.

But reading The Daily Yomiuri in Japan was a daily highlight! And my cousin's son gets it! He misses TDY, too! And reading it online is not the same.

Another loss to identify, acknowledge, and grieve.

Narita Airport, Home Away From Home

While I have made reference more than once on this blog to Narita Airport being my home away from home, I have never actually lived there.

BBC tells the story of a passenger who has been living there for more than thirty days! You can read about him here.

Welcome to my home for the holidays

~ or "How to decorate for Christmas when most of your worldly goods are in storage in another hemisphere"

The stocking is hung on the stovepipe with care.

The tree I picked up on clearance after Christmas '04 is in my use for the first time ever, and decorated with

a few flat, lightweight ornaments that I brought with me across the ocean for this year (mostly purchased at the 100 yen store).

A basket I must have used five years ago and found in my boxes in my parents' attic, now holds Christmas cards, of friends from far and near.


The washstand displays:

a towel from my sister's "dozo"* pile, when she moved,
(*"Dozo" means please, go ahead, and has come to be known as the giveaway pile when an expat is leaving Japan.)

a special bell from a friend,

a tea light lantern from the interior design consignment store,

and one of my favorite miniature Nativities from my collection; this one from Shaker Village.


The Shaker nativity


My other favorite nativity, from Niger


The centerpiece is from a ladies' meeting last week, and was given to me to take home afterwards.


My mom loaned me a red tablecloth.

And Walgreen's 99 cent Christmas mugs add a lot of festivity for a little bit of money!



If you were here, we could have some hot tea in my new festive mugs and enjoy a slice of pumpkin bread!

Pumpkin Bread


1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) pumpkin purée or canned pumpkin
1/2 cup (1 dL) olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.

3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.


My home decorated for Christmas '08

At the airport

Narita Airport, my home away from home, has been the site of many meetings over the years... some planned and some not.

Twice I have met my missionaries-in-Japan cousin and his family there to say "good-bye" to one of their sons who was going to the States for school.

I have met an itinerant counselor for missionaries there, since it was a convenient spot for an appointment.

I had an encouraging conversation there one day with a colleague from the States as he was waiting for a flight out.

Once, upon entering from the parking garage to pick up a visitor from NYC, I heard someone call out, "Hello, J- N-!" It was a missionary from several hours away, there to pick up his brother-in-law who had a layover on an Asian business trip.

Another time, while picking up a co-worker returning from the U.S.A., I ran into a European friend I rarely see, but had just seen a few days previously. She was there to pick up a visitor from the States.

This fall, I continued my airport meeting habit, but this time NOT at Narita, rather at the local tiny airport, the type of airport where you don't need to set up a meeting point, because you can see the whole place from wherever you are. :-)

I checked in very early for my flight, but did not go through security. Teammates from Japan, who were driving down the interstate, pulled off at the exit, drove three miles, and came into the lobby, where we spent an hour catching up on the last year of our lives.

I love airports! and the people I meet there!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 3, #5

41. electric heating pad
42. electricity
43. free Verizon-to-Verizon phone calls
44. an entertaining niece
45. who likes to talk on the phone
46. Christmas playlist on iPod
47. sabbath rest
48. those who encourage me to take it
49. wise counsel
50. good memories

'Tis the season

Yum!!

Straight from Germany.

Thankful for a brother-in-law with German roots!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 3, #4

31. the calm after the storm (both the windstorm and the post-op emotional storm)
32. the power of God's word
33. the delight of a young child who has just learned to count to five in Japanese
34. knees wrapped in the hugs of young children, saying "goodbye" after a church visit
35. being added to my mom's list of daily visits to the "infirm"
36. Thermacare heat wraps!
37. a variety of 99c Christmas mugs
38. candy cane Oreos
39. social secretaries planning my next few weeks
40. the ability to "reach out and touch" around the world via phone and Skype

I miss the 100 yen store!

After-dinner tea and coffee at my sister and brother-in-law's reminded me that I miss the 100 yen store! This mug is from the 100 yen store and was a birthday gift I sent a few years ago.

The dollar store just seems ... not the same.

One more loss to allow myself to grieve during this Home Ministry Assignment. The list of losses in an international move is long. The sense of loss can feel overwhelming. Even the changes that bring so many positive things by definition include loss of what once was.

A couple seminars I attended by Ruth Van Reken (global transition guru) two years ago in Malaysia have been really helpful in helping me notice and acknowledge the many losses, so that I am able to more readily accept the changes and keep moving forward.

Marking time by seven Saturdays, #2

::To follow up on my October 17th post:: Today I am three days post-op, recovering from surgery. Last Saturday I was recovering from 3.5 months of a non-stop schedule, as well as a week that held three days of medical checkups and a two-day trip with a family reunion and Thanksgiving celebration. Two Saturdays ago, I spent the day with my mom, shopping, eating and talking. When a friend asked if we have a restaurant we always go to, I had to admit that it had probably been five years since my mom and I had gone out to lunch. Three Saturdays ago, I was in the middle of a missions conference, sharing the needs in Japan, eating a lot, and meeting many people, including the conference preacher, who is the president of RTS-Charlotte, and whom God moved to write this article. Four Saturdays ago, I was on vacation, visiting friends. Five Saturdays ago, I was home, struggling to breathe. Six Saturdays ago, I was in the middle of a missions conference, sharing the needs in Japan, eating a lot, and meeting many people. Six Saturdays from now, both Christmas and my birthday will be past, and the first month of a new year will be half over.

So teach me to number my days that I may get a heart of wisdom. Satisfy me in the morning with your steadfast love, that I may rejoice and be glad all my days. Let the favor of the Lord my God be upon me, and establish the work of my hands upon me; yes, establish the work of my hands!

(adapted from Psalm 90.12-17)

Another book on introverts

For a link to two reviews of the new book, Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture, see Justin Taylor's blog post.

My earlier blog post on a different book is here.