Mission Japan

[thelostsindar]

In less than a month, I'll be leaving with six other people from my church to go to Japan! This will be my first Missions Trip, so I was wondering if anyone whose been on one before could give me some advice. Also, feel free to share stories of trips you've been on! I'd love to hear about them ^_^

So, a little about our trip. On July 24th we'll be flying into Nagoya, Japan, then driving to a place called Seki. One of my church's missionaries runs a Christian camp for Japanese children there, along with his family. Our team will be helping them finish construction on the camp the first week we are there, and then working at the camp while it is in session the next week. We will also be helping with a couple church services and youth groups, and hopefully we'll have a little time for sight-seeing. We'll be returning on August 5th. From what I understand, it will be very hot and humid while we are there, so prayers for us working on construction, as well as adjusting to everything else, would be much appreciated ^_^

[Mr. SmartyPants]

In my prayers! Goodluck there!

[Esoteric]

Wow, I'd like to do that. Have fun and stay cool! Two good things for working in hot humid weather: big ventilated straw hat, bottled water. Have both.

[Yahshua]

May the Lord our God with you on this mission trip.

[oro!]

I am sure that missions in Japan is different from any of the few missions I have done in the states or in Mexico, so there's not much I can tell you. One thing:be prepared for culture shock. It hit some people hard on the trip I went to the first couple of days. After that, I am sure you will get a different perspective on your home country.

One other thing I can do for you is pray, so:

Lord, my God, I pray that you would bless thelostsindar and her group as they go to Japan. Lord, may you touch the people they see, meet and help with your love. I pray that many people may come to you from their short stay.
In Jesus' name
Amen

[Warrior4Christ]

In less than a month, I'll be leaving with six other people from my church to go to Japan! This will be my first Missions Trip, so I was wondering if anyone whose been on one before could give me some advice. Also, feel free to share stories of trips you've been on! I'd love to hear about them ^_^

So, a little about our trip. On July 24th we'll be flying into Nagoya, Japan, then driving to a place called Seki. One of my church's missionaries runs a Christian camp for Japanese children there, along with his family. Our team will be helping them finish construction on the camp the first week we are there, and then working at the camp while it is in session the next week. We will also be helping with a couple church services and youth groups, and hopefully we'll have a little time for sight-seeing. We'll be returning on August 5th. From what I understand, it will be very hot and humid while we are there, so prayers for us working on construction, as well as adjusting to everything else, would be much appreciated ^_^

Ironically, I too am going to Japan, but I'm leaving tomorrow and going with 15 other people. We too are helping with construction/renovation at a campsite, and helping with church services and youth groups. I would share advice and stories of my trip, but I'll only be back on the 22rd... Maybe that's enough time to share some wisdom?

Apparently August is the peak of humidity, so we'll be there just before the peak, and you'll be there during it...
So, good luck!

[Neko Niisan]

I've never been to Japan but I am a Missionary Kid that gew up in Asia (the philippines to be procise) so I can only offer general advice.

That advice being to back up what oro! said. Be prepared to take things with a pinch of salt and remember that your a foreigner and that people think differently than you in certain respects. Also remeber that people know this and will take it into consideration. Be prepared to go with the flow of a situation when nesecary.
Also, have fun.I can tell you from experince that worrying about being in a foriegn country will ruin the whole experience so just be yourself and all that good stuff.

God be with you!

[thelostsindar]

Thanks for the prayers and advice everyone!

oro!/OtakuX - Our team has discussed "cultural sensitivity," and along with what you've said, I know it'll take a lot of adjusting. It's going to be hard to remember some of the things that have to be done differently. I am pretty nervous about the whole thing, but I'm just as excited, so I'm sure I'll have a good time. Thanks for your input!

Esoteric - Yes, I'll be sure to have lots of water ^^ I'm not used to wearing hats, but that's definitely a good idea.

Warrior4Christ - That's great that you're going to Japan too! If you get a chance to tell me before I leave (or even after I'm back), I'd love to hear all about it! I hope you have a great time ^_^

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Don't forget that you are going to stand out XD You're not asian. They are, their culture is different. That means they are not the weirdos, you are the weirdos.

I wish I could go to Japan XD I'd feel right at home... being... Korean.. and all (har har har)

[thelostsindar]

Don't forget that you are going to stand out XD You're not asian. They are, their culture is different. That means they are not the weirdos, you are the weirdos.

I wish I could go to Japan XD I'd feel right at home... being... Korean.. and all (har har har)

I'm tall with blonde hair...yes, I'm definitely going to stand out
No worries, though. I'm used to being a weirdo

[Warrior4Christ]

I hope this isn't too late for you to read this...

To summarise, our mission team held chapel services at two schools, make a new sign for the church, helped prepare crafts for VBS, helped with church services and youth group/sunday school, testimonies, evangelism in the local park, helped with several tasks at the Japan Bible Home (campsite), and sightseeing. I think you'll really enjoy it; it is lots of fun. Good times.

Don't worry too much about the language barrier - provided you have Japanese/English speaking person helping your mission team!
The three key phrases are:
arigatou gozaimasu - thankyou (more formal - say it when you pay for things at the checkout)
sumimasen - excuse me (excuse me, I'm about to be rude - future)
gomen nasai - sorry (sorry for just being rude - past)

I've done some Japanese, so I know more than the basic stuff, but I found it useful to keep a notebook of new phrases/words I had learned or ones I had forgotten. Here's some of the more useful ones from there (I didn't write in a whole lot of useful ones I already knew, so you should probably read these along with a list of useful phrases.):
dou itashimashite - you're welcome
hajimemashite - nice to meet you
irasshaimase - I'm available to help you if you need it (said by shop assistant as you walk into a shop)
onegai shimasu - please do this...
~te kurete arigatou gozaimasu - thankyou for ~
yaki - grilled
niku - meat
gaijin - foreigner (that's you)
mondai - problem (mondai ga arimasen - not a problem)
shitsureisuru desu ga ~ - sorry for being rude, but ~
tomare - stop
shiru - to know
omoidasu - to remember
wasureru - to forget (wasuretta - I've forgotten)
tsukuru (作る )- to make
tsukau (使う )- to use
oshieru (教える )- to teach
rikaisu - to understand
mizu - water
shashin o totte moiidesuka? - may I take a photo?
otearai - toilet
atteimasu ka? - is that correct? (as in "[your attempt at asking something/replying in Japanese, and not sure if you said it correctly]. atteimasu ka?" Then they will say "hai" or correct you.)
otoko (男 )- man
onna (女 ) - woman
jujika - cross
denwa o kakeru - call on phone
tsukaireta - tired
isokashii - busy
shizukanishite - be quite
kyokai - church
saisho - first
subete - all
subarashii - wonderful
suteki - nice
~ ka ~ - ~ or ~
sasagemasu - to give (to higher)
agemasu - to give (to peer)

Don't worry too much about the Japanese toilets; I was never in a situation where there wasn't a Western toilet around, and if all else fails, the disabled toilet is always Western.

Also, don't blow your nose in public. If you do, use a tissue and throw it away. And keep a spare handkerchief in your pocket for drying your hands after using public toilets because many don't have electric driers or paper towels.

It is hot and humid, and you find people giving away cardboard fans with advertising and band aids and tissues and stuff; do take these as you'll find them useful. And people don't really eat or drink "on the go" or at all much in public, so just discreetly drink from your water bottle!

Transport - the train system is very efficient. If you plan to do a lot of travelling, get a Suica card (pronounced Swee-ka) so you don't need to work out the ticket price (the price is determined only by the distance travelled from point A to B). They cost 2000 yen (probably about $17-18 USD) and come with 600 yen credit on it. Then you charge it up when it runs out. But it become a more cost effective the more you travel. If you are only planning to do a bit of train travelling, you might want to just buy tickets as you need them. And if unsure, buy the smallest ticket and you can pay the difference at the 'ticket adjustment' places as you exit the station.

Shopping - look out for Seiyu (owned by Walmart). That's where you'll probably do the majority of your shopping. Also look out for 100 yen shops. Also second hand shops are great and the majority the things there are unopened or not used much (the one near us was called Second Street). And Aquarius will become your new favourite drink.

Japan has many things that are closer to the US way (eg. churches are usually run by Americans, power points are like US ones, but are mostly two pin, .... there's more, but I can't think of it), so you'll have less adjusting than we did. But they do drive on "the wrong side" in Japan. And everything is in km/hr.

So.. yeah... this is long and you'll probably want to print it off and read it on the plane. Have fun and God bless!!

EDIT: Oh, and Christian churches are a rarity, so take a photo when you see them while walking (we did!).
Also, Google Earth is fun to play with to work out where you've been.

[thelostsindar]

Thanks so much Warrior4Christ! I feel bad I didn't get to read that before I left, but it was fun to read now! You had some great advice ^_^

I got back from Japan last night, and I'll just say it was an amazing experience. Very hot, and the bugs were huge, but it was more than worth it. The construction was fun because I got to work with some awesome people, and being with the Japanese children during camp was something I'll never forget. Even with the language barriers, I got pretty attached to them. Thanks so much to everyone that was praying for me and the Missions team! The trip was great, and your support was a big help. Thanks again!

[thelostsindar]

I was asked to put some photos up, so here are a few pictures from my trip.