So I went to McDonald's

And I asked if they have a cheeseburger set.

Now, perhaps there was a miscommunication because someone later told me that they're not called "sets" in the U.S.A.; they're called value meals or something like that.

Anyway, I asked if they have a cheeseburger set, and was told, "We have a two cheeseburger meal."

Only in America!



I ordered a cheeseburger ... tanpinde ... by itself.

So I went to the doctor

It's all so very different here. I had a 2.55 appointment thirty minutes away, and a 5 PM family event, so I told my mom, "I'll probably be late." Then I thought a minute, and said, "Well, in Japan, I wouldn't get there by 5, but I don't know how it works in America."

I arrived early, there was no one else in the waiting room, and by 3.15 I was on my way to the pharmacy.

Can we say, "Culture shock?"

Also, apparently it's standard practice here to take the patient's vitals each time they visit (temperature, pulse, blood pressure, oxygen level, weight), unlike in Japan where the only thing that is standard is taking your temperature - under your arm - and while sitting in the lobby at the nurse's desk.

Then, I was asked what antibiotic has worked for me in the past. It felt too good to be true! I remember a colleague, after several doctor's visits in her town, traveling to ours, so she could attempt to get the antibiotic she really wanted and which would hopefully work for her.

I even had a choice of pharmacies-! It was the strangest experience for the doctor to ask me which pharmacy I wanted to use. I sat there stunned, first, that he was asking, and then, because I had to come up with an answer. Instead of being handed a printed Rx to carry as I walked to the pharmacy next door (as always is the case in Japan), I said, "Well, I passed a pharmacy on the way here. I don't know the address. It's across from such-and-such a grocery store." Thankfully he could put two and two together. (Afterward I realized that even my description was very Japanese, since I used no street names.)

If all of that were not different enough, the reading selection in the exam room included some John Piper books, and even Noel Piper's children's book. On the wall free for the taking were several one page articles the doctor had written about how to study the Bible, etc. There was a sign on the wall stating that if you'd like the doctor to pray with you, just ask.

To say I was in culture shock would be an understatement.

This world is not my home

Last month I arrived early for a burial at the family cemetery and had time to look at the old, sometimes crumbling gravestones, and time to look at the newer, more modern ones, and time to ponder the lives of faith of those whose tombstones have Scripture references on them, and time to be a little unsettled looking at the gravestones of relatives who are still living.

Afterward one man asked my dad if he will be buried in that cemetery. Dad pointed to his tombstone, already installed, with his name and birth date and Job 19.25 already engraved on it.

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

A Day in the Country

1000 Gifts, Vol. 2, #98

971. bright blue skies!

972. brilliant fall leaves!

973. a delicious Japanese lunch! (natto, gohan, miso soup, salad, sauteed vegetables, gyoza, and anko with chestnuts)
974. Alexander Graham Bell and his successors
975. children's smiles & snuggles
976. a 4th grader's bottomless pit of great questions about Japan
977. sharing a simple lunch with new friends
978. being in one place for more than a week
979. attending the same weekly Bible study more than once
980. manual labor of raking a few leaves on a gorgeous day

Planting Seeds

Teaching the children in my home church about church planting, I compared it to planting seeds. Later I realized that even as I taught, I was planting seeds of a different sort ... seeds of ideas about God being the God of the nations, His deserving the praise of all the peoples, and the fact that He uses us, His people, to go and tell His Word to those who've never heard.

May those seeds be watered and grow up into godly men and women who share God's heart for the nations and who desire to worship Him and see Him worshiped by all the peoples!

Marking time by seven Saturdays

Today I am resting in Blacksburg in between two weeks of meeting new friends and reunions with old.

Last Saturday I went to PresWIC and saw dozens of ladies I hadn't seen in 4-5 years, ate lunch with a close family friend visiting from Florida, and set off on this trip.

Two Saturdays ago, I had currant crescents in Mom's kitchen, and my college roommate came to visit for 24 hours.

Three Saturdays ago, I was fogged in in the Cincinnati airport.

Four Saturdays ago, I was in Mississippi and drove up to Memphis for dinner with friends.

Five Saturdays ago, a friend went with me to a Ladies' Brunch as part of a Missions Conference in a neighboring city.

Six Saturdays ago, I went on a long walk with a cousin in Grand Rapids, and then flew back to Kingsport.

Six Saturdays from now, Thanksgiving will be past, and Christmas will be coming.

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)