Today, Boston graduated from kindergarten! While his kindergarten career didn’t look at all like we had hoped it would look, we are so thankful for the almost-three months he has been able to spend getting acquainted and comfortable with the Japanese culture. Kindergarten teachers are something special, and especially at a Christian kindergarten, we knew he was in good hands as he embarked on this new adventure without us by his side. One special aspect of the Christian kindergartens in Japan is that they have a resident-minister of sorts who comes once a week to hold a worship service with all of the kids. Today, he delivered a short message…
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Welcome to the Neighborhood
One thing you should know about Japan: They take their garbage seriously. It makes sense; given that they’re an island nation, they don’t exactly have the space to dump millions of tons of garbage into a hole and bury it. We separate our garbage into at least 8 different categories just for day-to-day trash, and then you can add in “special” categories. When we moved into our new house, the realtor gave a huge flier explaining all the different categories and on which day each is thrown away. (I’m gonna add pictures of this in the comments.) (And I promptly threw away the right trash on the right day in…
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Life Doesn’t Always Fit Nicely Into A Box
Over the last week, we packed our life into 26 boxes. (Okay, that’s not entirely true. We still have about 8,000 Legos, plus our clothes.) Eight days ago we got our supplies from the shipping company. Seven days ago we found out that the only time they had available to pick up our shipment before we leave is today at 8:15 a.m. Okay! I work great with a deadline, I can do that! I canceled school for the week (homeschooling perks), shipped the kids to my mother-in-law’s for eight hours every day, and called upon my inborn strength and hardiness, passed down from my ancestors who came over on the…
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Japanese Sermon Preparation
With our move to Japan only weeks away now (Lord willing!), I (Leslie) have been doing a lot of preparation work for sermons that I will preach when we arrive. Getting to Japan is only part of the process of moving. Once we arrive, there is a lot of extra paperwork to do, plus things that need to be set up like utilities, etc., not to mention the issue of getting over jet lag. I’ve been trying to prepare a buffer of sermons so the transition will be a bit easier for everyone, and allow me to focus on helping with those tedious odds and ends that need to be…
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What We Are Thankful For
With this likely being our last Thanksgiving in the U.S. for at least several years, we’ve been trying to make the most of this year’s special day by tuning our hearts to the many things we have to be thankful for. There are so many blessings we have experienced this year and have much reason for gratitude, but there are a few special blessings connected to our Japan mission for which we would like to take a moment to give thanks. We’re Thankful For Our Partners We started raising funds for our Japan mission sometime around July or August. In less than half a year, we have already secured 83%…
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Learning Grace From The Japanese People
Often times, when you’re focused on a mission, it can be easy to forget how that mission is perceived by others. What seems obviously true and objectively important to you may appear as questionable and only of subjective value to those around you. For those of us who are saved, we see the gospel through spiritually illuminated eyes as “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:18-25). But for many, our faith is but another viewpoint in a sea of religions. In Japan, there is an old adage that goes something like: “many different roads lead to the top of Mt. Fuji.” As a religiously syncretistic…
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Strength In Weakness – An Article For The Fukuinshi Gospel Magazine
About a month or two ago my good friend and fellow disciple Tadayoshi Aikawa asked me if I would be willing to contribute to the Fukuinshi. The Fukuinshi (福音誌) is a small magazine/booklet circulated throughout the Churches of Christ in Japan. Aikawa-san (or Tad as many of us foreigners call him) asked me to write an article that would appear as the preface to the June 2019 issue. Since I know most people who see this website won’t ever see that edition of the Fukuinshi (or any edition, for that matter), I wanted to share an English translation, which I hope will be an encouragement to you. Strength In Weakness:…
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Why We Are Going Back
In 2016, after about three and a half years on the mission field in Japan, our family faced a decision: should we return to the U.S. or stay in Japan and continue the work? At this point, we were well over halfway through our initial 5 year commitment. We had spent over three consecutive years in the country, and that was after an earlier year doing vocational missions. We loved the people and we loved the work, but we weren’t sure what to do. We had only visited the United States once during this these three years, and that visit had not made the answer any clearer. We spent a…
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Welcome To Taylors In Japan
Welcome to Taylors in Japan! This is the website for the mission work of the Taylor family in Japan. Here you can find information about our work, our family, and how to support us, among other things. On this blog (or journal, as I like to call it) you will find updates from us on the work and the various activities we have been involved with. Occasionally we will also share various personal thoughts and reflections from the field. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. – The Taylor Family
