November SHARE

In the U.S., Thanksgiving is a holiday families often share together. It’s a reminder to be grateful for what we have and to share our time and blessings with the people close to us. This year I am thankful that I was able to share this tradition with my Sendai family. This year’s feast featured Pad Thai, meatloaf, 2 types of gratin, Caesar salad, hijiki, Japanese style meat and potatoes, tofu niimono, and completed by fruit custard tarts. The menu included many different flavors from various countries and each person shared one thing that they are grateful for. And, just like at the end of American Thanksgiving celebrations, we had eaten so much we could hardly move and there were still leftovers to take home. This was truly a celebration of our many blessings including a plentiful meal and the company in which to share it.

アメリカの収穫感謝祭は家族みんなで過ごす休日です。与えられている恵みに感謝し、最も身近な人たちと分かち合う日です。今年、私はこの伝統を仙台のファミリーと分かち合うことができて嬉しいです。先日、テーブルに並んだ料理はパッタイ（タイ料理）、グラタン、サラダ、ひじき、肉じゃが、豆腐の煮物、そしてデザートにはタルト！メニューはいろんな国の料理。参加者は皆自分が感謝している事柄をそれぞれ分かち合いました。それで、いつものアメリカの収穫感謝祭同様、食べ終わったときは皆お腹が一杯で、食べきれない物を皆が持ち帰るぐらいでした。これは本当の祝いの時でした。豊かな食卓は恵みを分かち合うとき。いただいた食べ物も一緒にいただいた仲間たちもこの食卓を豊にしてくれました。　

November Emmaus Newsletter (エマオ通信)

Every year around the Advent season I am always overwhelmed by the concept of peace. When I try to envision in my mind what peace is I feel discouraged by all the obstacles we would need to overcome in order to achieve it. Since this year was also an election year in the U.S. and I’ve been living in Japan, the idea of world peace has been on my mind a lot because the results of this historic election impacts the entire world.

On Election Day, I had been asked to share some of my experiences from the Student Center’s spring Study Tour to Okinawa with the Tohoku Kyouku Okinawa Committee. In March, while visiting Henoko looking over into Camp Schwabb, the US Marine base there, we were told that these soldiers were most likely on their way to Iraq. Because of Okinawa’s strategic location in Asia and the fact that Japanese government has continued to support U.S. military bases financially since WWII, Okinawa provides the ideal base for soldiers before their deployment to Iraq and the Middle East.

The Ryukyu Islands have a rich and beautiful culture and I was fortunate to be able to visit them this spring. I’ve also been blessed to be able to meet community leaders in Okinawa that are working to heal from the destruction caused by WWII and continues today from the presence of U.S. military.

This spring I realized that few Japanese and even fewer Americans have seen the impacts of the war in Iraq on countries like Japan that have no direct military interest in the Middle East. If we all were a little more educated on how war affects not just our enemies but our allies as well we might see the urgency in finding a more peaceful solution.

So, as Advent is approaching and I try to envision a world full of hope, peace, joy, and love, I’m starting to feel less overwhelmed and a little more hopeful because there are other people in this world who are thinking about how achieve peace too.



毎年アドベント（待降節）になると、私は平和という概念について考えます。まず、平和という現実を考えたときに、そこにいたるまで乗り越えなければならない様々な障壁があることに気付き、落胆してしまいます。今年は特に、この日本からアメリカの選挙を見つめていました。歴史に残るこの選挙が世界平和にどのように影響を与えるか思わずにはいられませんでした。

丁度、アメリカの選挙当日に東北教区の沖縄委員会の席で話しを頼まれ、青年学生センターの沖縄スタディツアーを通して感じたことをお話しする機会がありました。３月に辺野古を訪れた際、金網の向こう側にキャンプ・シュワブを見ることができました。案内の方によると、キャンプ・シュワブの海兵隊員はイラクに向かうだろうとのことでした。沖縄はアジア地域において戦略的に優れていること、また日本が第２次世界大戦以降継続して米軍を経済的に支えてきたことなど、米国にとって沖縄はイラクや中近東に米軍を派遣する基地として理想的な場所なのです。

私は今年の沖縄への旅で琉球の美しく豊かな文化に触れる機会を与えられました。また、地元で活動されているリーダーたちとお会いし、彼らが第２次大戦から来る破壊、現在も駐留する米軍の存在から来る破壊の傷跡を癒そうとしている姿を見ることができました。

私にとって衝撃的だったことは、イラクでの戦争がどれほど日本をも巻き込んでいるかについて、多くの人が意識していない（日本人もアメリカ人も）現実があることです。日本は直接的に中近東に軍事的関わりがないのにです。戦争は相手国のみならず、同盟国をも影響する。このことを私たちがより深く考えるなら、より平和的な方法を求める必然性が私たちの内に明確にされるのではと思うのです。
アドベントの時は迫ってきていて私は希望、平和、喜び、愛が満ちあふれる世界を想像します。前より少し希望を感じるようになっている自分があります。それは、この日本で平和をもたらすために働いているいろんな人と出会ったから。この世界で平和を作ろうとして一緒に働く人たちに励まされます。

November Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

Life in Sendai is starting to settle down a little bit now that I’ve had time to calm down from my visit home. I had so much fun catching up with friends, meeting new people, and visiting all of my favorite hang out spots. Since returning to Japan, I’ve been unpacking all the new culture shock I experienced going back to the bay area. I thought back to when I first arrived in Sendai and all of the expectations I had and how they changed the longer I spent here.

Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions I had was that Japanese culture and thinking was very homogeneous. I had always thought that Japan lacked cultural diversity because it hasn’t experienced as much immigration or colonization as the US. However, from travels to places like Kyoto, Okinawa, and the Sendai area I found I couldn’t have been more wrong. One government official in Japan has recently received a lot of criticism for stating publicly that Japan is a monoculture, angering several groups including representatives of Ainu communities in Hokkaido and Ryukyu in Okinawa. Only recently has the Japanese government recognized the existence of these indigenous peoples and their struggle for recognition has been a very long, hard process. So, for a high-level government official to say this in a public statement means they still have a long way to go in terms of raising awareness.

This is only one example of culture shock that ranged from the cleanliness of public transportation to sleeping on a spring mattress instead of a Japanese futon. I’m sure many more experiences will continue to surprise me and some realizations may take years. But, the experience has been an incredible one and I hope that I can make you all proud.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the Sycamore family who is in the hospital, feeling ill, or recovering from the loss of a loved one. The longer I’m away from home the more I realize how much I miss it and my mind often wanders back to all of you.

With Love,
SKLT
Global Missions Intern and
Assistant Director
Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan

October SHARE

Last month, I made a short visit to California to visit friends and family back home. I think that when visiting home after a long absence, no amount of time will ever feel long enough. What amazed me about this visit was how comfortable it felt. Most of my time was spent sitting around kitchen tables and on living room couches catching up with old friends. It was nice to be able to talk in person again instead of through letters, e-mails, and chat windows.
One of my main purposes for going home this September was to help with the Sycamore Church Bazaar. After WWII there was a lot of resentment towards Japanese and Japanese-Americans in the U.S. In that time churches and temples became important community centers in the Japanese-American community and bazaars became an annual tradition as a way to bring members from different churches and different faiths together.
This year, as usual, the women of the Japanese congregation’s Fujinkai rolled maki-zushi, shaped triangular onigiri, and packaged small cups of tsukemono. The youth helped set up tables and hang signs before they worked their shifts in the game corner. This year I worked with my parents selling cold drinks after passing on my usual task of clearing tables and serving hot tea to another young person in our English congregation.
What makes Sycamore’s Bazaar special to me is that so many people return on that one day even after they’ve moved away or are no longer able to come to church every Sunday. So this is just one of the traditions that Sycamore celebrates as a family and it made me happy to be able to participate again this year. – SKLT

先月、カリフォルニアに一時帰国しました。ずっと離れていて、一時的に帰ると、どんなに時間があっても足りない気持ちになります。でも、今回は自分でもびっくりするぐらい落ち着いてゆっくりと友達や家族と過ごすことができて、やっぱり手紙やメールやチャット・ウインドウとは違う直接人と向き合える時間がいいなあと思いました。
今回帰った目的の一つは自分の教会のバザーを手伝うためでした。第２次世界大戦が終わったころ、アメリカでは日系人に対する複雑な思いがありました。そんな中で教会やお寺は日系人の精神的拠り所となり、バザーは宗教の違いを越えて日系人を一つに集める大事なときでした。
婦人会の人はいつものように巻きずし、三角おにぎり、漬け物を用意しました。若い人はそれぞれのブースに行く前にテーブルを出したり、看板を出したりして手伝いました。今年、私は自分のいつもの役割を後輩に伝授した後、飲み物を売って回るお手伝いをしました。私にとってシカモア教会のバザーが大切な理由があります。それはあの日にいろんな人が戻って来るからです。遠くに引っ越した人も、最近日曜日に礼拝に来ていない人も、この日には戻って来て一つの大きな家族になるのです。私もそういう意味では今年のバザーに参加できたことが本当に嬉しかったです。　サンディー

October Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

I was so happy I was able to come ho me for the Bazaar this year. It meant a lot to me to be able to share in this annual tradition with family and friends. Like bazaars in the past there were a lot of familiar faces but this year there were also a lot of new ones. Seeing those faces and introducing new friends was a wonderful reminder of the strength in the Sycamore community and the family I represent in Japan.

Thank you all so much!

SKLT
Global Missions Intern and
Assistant Director of the Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan

September Emmaus Newsletter (エマオ通信)

Recently, I returned from Hawaii where I attended the biennial PAAM Convocation. PAAM stands for Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries and is sub-group of the United Church of Christ representing the perspectives of churches in this community. My family's church, Sycamore Congregational Church, was actually the birthplace of PAAM over 30 years ago when the United Church of Christ (UCC) leadership realized there was a need for minority groups within it to have a voice.

As a young Asian American growing up in the US, I sometimes found it difficult to identify with other young people around me, especially other Christians. From watching television and listening to the radio as a child I learned that there were many different expressions of the Christian faith that were nothing like my own experiences with God. I wasn't baptized until I was 21 years old but I had been involved with the Sycamore Church youth group from elementary school through college even taking leadership roles in the adult activities as well.

I got involved with PAAM when I was in college by attending my first Convocation. I learned from some of the elders that they had also had their struggles with faith and the idea of mission. In most instances, missionaries had been very damaging to the culture and communities in their native countries or the countries of their parents. But as I continued to participate in PAAM activities I realized that a belief in God didn't have to mean sacrificing a rich cultural heritage. Today PAAM supports the work of organizations aiding survivors of hydrogen bomb testing on the Marshall Islands in 1954 by the US military. They also have a strong voice in the national UCC supporting mission work in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

While I was taking part in youth activities as a chaperone for youth ages 14-18, I realize that they were also learning the same lessons I did when I attended my first PAAM Convocation. They were becoming aware of work being done outside their communities and were able to find shared experience with other Asian American youths even though their ancestors didn't come from the same Asian country. It was a special chance for me to be able to share my work with young people in Japan and visiting small churches in Tohoku with young people from the U.S. At this year's Convocation, the youth and young adults outnumbered the adults for the first time in over 8 years. It was a sign that youths were still interested in exploring their faith but simply needed a space to do so.

最近、私はハワイから戻ってきました。ハワイでPAAMという、２年に１度開催される教会の協議会に参加してきました。「PAAM」とは太平洋諸島とアジア系アメリカ人の協議会という意味で、（Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministriesの頭文字）UCC教会（United Church of Christ：アメリカ合同教会）の中でアジア系の人達の視点を代表しています。私が育った教会である、シカモア組合教会は、実は３０年以上前にPAAMが発足した所であり、UCC教会で少数者たちの声を取り上げていく場が必要だということで作られたのです。

私はアメリカ人の若者として育ちましたが、私と同じ年頃の若い人たちと共通点を見出したり、他のクリスチャンの青年と意気投合できないと感じることがよくありました。テレビやラジオを通して子どもの頃からキリスト教信仰には多様な表現があることを知っていましたし、私自身もそう感じていました。私は２１歳の時に洗礼を受けましたが、私は小学校から大学までずっとシカモア教会の青年をリードし、大人になっても同じようにやってきました。

大学生になって初めて、このPAAMの集まりに出席しました。私は先輩たちから、信仰においていろんな葛藤があったことを伺いました。多くの場合、宣教師は祖父母や両親の出身地の文化やコミュニティを否定するものでした。でも私はPAAMの活動に加わるうち、神様を信頼することは、自分の中の豊かな文化遺産を犠牲にすることではないことがわかりました。現在、PAAMはマーシャル諸島で１９５４年に米軍が行った水爆実験の生存者を救済する団体を支援しています。また、UCC教会がアジアと太平洋諸島における世界宣教の業について強い発言力を持っています。

今回、私は１４歳から１８歳ぐらいの青年部の人たちのカウンセラーとして働きました。この若者たちが、私が感じていたことと同じ教訓を学んでいたことに気づきました。彼らは自分のコミュニティの外の現実を学ぶ機会にも恵まれています。また多様なアジア系アメリカ人の若者たちと、共有する事柄や経験を発見できていました。今回私は日本の若者と活動している内容や、東北の小さな教会を訪ねたことなどを話せてとても良かったです。協議会では、青年（３０歳まで）の参加が大人よりも上回りました。これは８年ぶりのことです。それは青年たちが今もなお自分たちの信仰を模索する場を求めていることの表れだったと思います。　　　

　　（翻訳：ジェフリー・メンセンディーク）

September Sycamore Tree

Dear Sycamore Family,

I’m sad that summer is almost over and somewhat relieved as well because I don’t think I have the energy to keep going on the same pace all year. This August I’ve traveled all over Japan including Hiroshima on the anniversary of the bombing, 2 summer work camps in Northern Japan, and Hawaii for the Pacific Asian American Ministries Convocation.

Jeffrey said that he and his wife, Kako were grateful that their children Hana and Tomo were able to make so many new friends at Bible Day Camp this year even though they started late. They also said they were singing A-la-la-la-la in the car all the way back to Claremont. Even though I couldn’t be at Bible Day Camp this year, Jeffrey was equally missed at the summer work camps here in Japan. Every year the student center sponsors a work camp to Okunakayama, a local small farming community in Northern Iwate Prefecture (about 3 hours north of Sendai by car).

After the war, the Japanese government encouraged people to set out on pioneer work in the rural areas of northern Japan because much of the farmland around the urban areas had been destroyed. Two of the sheep and lettuce farmers that organized to found Okunakayama in the 1950s just happened to be Christian and that had a profound effect on the development of this community. Our group were fortunate to have an evening with one of the women that was part of this group and learn a little bit about the history from her and looking through old photo albums.

Today the community is also home to the Canaan Bakery is a non-profit organization which sells handmade bread to the surrounding areas to help support the Okunakayama church and an assisted living facility for the mentally and physically disabled. One of the things that make this particular facility so amazing is the way its residents and staff members participate in every aspect of daily life. The residents help with work on the farm that grows their food, to bake bread in the Canaan Bakery, and to process wool from the sheep. After the wool is processed, some of the residents use the wool to make tapestries as part of their therapy, some of which are sold later to help support the facility. Finally, all the members of this integrated community attend church worship services on Sunday.

The name Okunakayama literally translated means “deep mountain” and one of the students pointed out that this name is a pretty accurate description both of the history, the people who live there, and the steep mountains that make up the surrounding landscape. The student center had been leading this work camp for over 10 years and everyone who has participated in the past has made a lot of fun and wonderful memories there, myself included. I have written more and posted pictures on my blog at http://skltstravels.blogspot.com

I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to see you at Bazaar!

With Love,
SKLT
Global Missions Intern and
Assistant Director of the Sendai Student/Youth Center in Sendai, Japan.