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Bump. “Oops.” Swoosh. Sploosh! “Uh…CAITLYN, HELP! Bring towels! QUICK!” I (Michael) yelled down the hallway of our apartment to Caitlyn as I gawked at the water quickly spreading across the floor.
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Part of the fun of living in a new country is getting used to all the small things that native-born residents do and understand instinctively, but foreigners may or may not be clueless about. For instance, in Japan, everyone stands on the left side of the escalator when going up so that those in a rush can use the right side—except in Osaka, where it’s the opposite. Trash cans are rare when out and about, so you need to remember to bring something with you to carry trash home. Reusable bags are important to bring with you everywhere you go if you make any purchases so that you don’t need to pay for plastic bags at every store. If you’re paying in cash, you’ll want something to carry around the excessive amount of leftover coins you’ll receive after payment—and wisely use your coins every day so as to not accumulate too many, as banks may charge you for large coin deposits, and stores limit the amount of coins you can use each purchase. (Or be left with a 2/3rds-full quart-sized Ziploc bag of 1’s and 5’s that takes months to use! Yes, we’re speaking from experience.) Chopsticks are used pervasively for almost every meal, and you will probably have a rather fun time eating if you don’t know how to use them. The list goes on and changes for every country you’re in.
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Here are some beautiful orchids grown by a local church member.
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Ah, and the water pressure is really great in Japan, too. This is particularly noticeable when it’s streaming out of the top of the toilet onto the surrounding walls and floor.
In Japan, the toilet is often in a separate space—or even room—from the other stereotypical parts of the bathroom with your bath/shower, sink and mirror, and so on. One way to make this sanitary, so you don’t have to cross rooms to another room without washing hands, is to have a faucet on the top of the toilet so you can wash your hands with the water going into the main toilet tank. As long as you have some soap, this works great! One can easily see the water pipe from the wall into the tank and the faucet coming out the top. However, I naively assumed that the connections inside the tank would be, well, well-secured.
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I was wrong. One small bump! of the toilet tank lid, and I inadvertently disconnected the inner connection between the inner pipe, which turned out to be rubber, and the faucet coming out of the top. The water pressure was great enough, and there was juuuust enough of a gap between the lid and the tank that water instantly began gushing out all over the walls and onto the floor of the bathroom. I yelled for Caitlyn. I looked over for the expected turn-off-the-water handle on the pipe to my left—it required a screwdriver, which, of course, I did not have in the bathroom. There was no hope of turning off the water before the toilet tank was once again full.
To make a long story short, Caitlyn came quickly, and we used almost every large towel we owned to mop up the huge, watery mess on the floor. Thanks again to the high water pressure, the tank filled with water quickly, so the gush of water coming out the top soon abated. After cleaning up the bathroom, I went downstairs to the church to check for water damage. Thankfully, there was none. After removing the lid of the tank, we quickly saw how the loose connections could come undone with a small bump, and we learned what most locals probably already knew: keep a screwdriver in the bathroom, and don’t bump the toilet lid!
Beyond the escapades of inadvertently flooding the bathroom and similar stories, we are doing well. God continues to provide for our daily needs, and we are eager to see how He will work here in the little corner of Japan that we live in.
In the middle of February, we were able to take a day trip to Hiroshima as a team to meet Kerigma D, a career missionary candidate from AFM Europe who was on her two-week vision trip to Japan. We had a lovely time together, walking, talking and enjoying good food. Kerigma is still preparing to go to training, and she doesn’t know where in Japan she will be working yet. There are also two other families from AFM also preparing to come to as-of-yet-unknown parts of Japan. Soon, we’ll get to see how God uses all of our various talents and time in this country to reach as many Japanese people as possible for Him.
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The AFM Japan team with Kerigma, a career missionary candidate.
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Thank you for continuing to be a part of our team in prayers and support! We’re so thankful for each of you. 😄
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Praises & Prayer Requests
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- Please continue to pray for our language and friendship/community acquisition process. At the end of February, Caitlyn and Hiroko took part in a cake-baking and decorating class on the east side of town in an attempt to not only have some fun but, more importantly, try and meet more members of the community. They did meet some locals and even exchanged contact info, but they haven’t turned into ongoing friendships yet. They will attend another similar event here at the beginning of April.
- Caitlyn preached her first sermon ever—in Japanese—in the middle of March. It went very well!
- A young man stopped by the church quite randomly several weeks ago and requested prayer. Michael was able to get to know him a little bit and exchange contact info, but so far, he has not accepted a further invitation to come to the church. Please be praying for him and his friends.
- Our field director is coming for a visit on April 23. Please be praying for safe travels and our meetings.
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We would love to hear back from you. You can email us at adventure@shoesatthedoor.net. We are happy to pray for any prayer requests you might have, so please feel free to send them our way.
Thank you so much for your support!
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