Manna

This is a box of Manna. It is a very popular baby snack in Japan.

It is an interesting name, manna. It is from the bible. God provided Israel in the desert with Manna, a kind of bread from heaven.


Taichiro Morinaga was a Japanese Christian.
He was also a confectioner, or candy maker.
Morinaga chocolate is the 2nd largest chocolate maker in Japan. If you notice the trademark on the upper left corner of the box, you will see that it is an angel.

On the back of the box it tells the story of manna from the bible. Cool, huh? You rarely see a company that puts God above profits.

Makudonarudo

So this morning we decided to eat breakfast out. In Japan, they generally don't serve breakfast at restaurants. If they do, the restaurant doesn't open until like 10:00. Even Mr. Donuts and Starbucks follow this rule. It can be frustrating for breakfast lovers like ourselves. There is one place that opens early -- McDonalds (or as they say it in Japanese, Makudonarudo).



This particular McDonalds is in Urasoe (town) and was the first one in Okinawa.



Emi enjoyed the fire engine and the Dog (toy with the "happy set").

Happy Children's Day

So it is children's day here in Japan.



As part of "Golden Week", it is the last of three consecutive national holidays. Many people take advantage of the time off and travel.

We went on a small (close by) trip in our city (Naha). We actually went first to a shrine to see a monument to Bettelheim (see next entry).



Then we went to Kokusai Dori (International Street). They have some interesting things for sale:

In Okinawa they don't waste ANY part of the pig.



These charbroiled snakes (center) are for medicinal purposes. I don't ever want to be THAT sick!

Bettelheim

Bettelheim is an interesting figure in Okinawan Christian History.
A Christian Jew born in Hungary, he came to Okinawa as a Medical Missionary in 1846. He was the first missionary to come to Okinawa. He was also forced to live on Shinto shrine grounds, where a monument to his work can be seen:



Bettelheim took the book of James seriously: he met people's physical as well as their spiritual needs. He helped to control cholera and was the one to introduce the smallpox vaccine to Japan.

Jesus is the Rock

It looks pretty intimidating, yes?


Actually it was not too bad. Maybe a 20 minute walk to the top.

This was on Ie Jima, an island off of Okinawa. It is a nice, little island of about 5000 people. There are just one or two churches on the whole island, but they don't seem to be very effective. Please pray for Okinawa, especially the outer islands.












By the way, we did make it to the top!

Bible College

Wanted to pass this on:

This is a cool new video for the Bible College here.



If anyone is interested in possibly coming out here long or short term, please do not hesitate to contact us. There are many opportunities for ministry, to take classes, and just meet some great people, while having a good time.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter Everyone!

We had a good weekend:
On Good Friday we were at the Koinonia Cafe where there was a viewing of "The Passion". There were over 40 people present many non-Christians. Tim gave a great message afterwards.

These are some pictures from church. After Church, there was a picnic and some games for the kids. Emi had fun at her first "Egg Hunt."