“If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.” — Modern Japanese Proverb
Fall Update 2024 (Part 02) — Riding Trains
Tokyo Trains
A couple of months ago I decided it was time for us to learn how to use the train system around here. So, we went big. The four of us headed downtown. We drove most of the way there, then took a train to Shibuya crossing—the most foot-travelled metropolitan intersection in the world. We arrived at noon at the appointed station, walked around to our pre-determined sights, and made it back to the station in time to head home just before rush hour traffic. Then trouble found us. It wasn’t a big deal at first. When we got on our train to head back to where we parked, I realized quickly I had made a relatively minor mistake. We were heading the wrong way. But no big deal, right? So, at the very next station, we switched trains and went back to where we had just left—Shibuya station. This is where we made a second mistake. One of us (I won’t say who) left her backpack/diaper-bag on that wrong train. Remember? The one that was going the wrong direction? Skipping many of the ensuing details… We were able to locate the bag via Find-my-iPhone. We chased it halfway across Tokyo and discovered some kind soul turned it in many stations down the line, made it all the way back to the car, and headed home safe and sound. And stressed out. We’d missed the worst of the traffic by that point. What an exhausting and educational experience! But on the plus side…my confidence in navigating the trains around here has increased ten-fold!
The past few years for us have been a little bit like this story. Nothing life-threatening or truly insurmountable. But challenging, a little bit scary, and a lot of unknown. It’s kind of been a figure-it-out-as-you-go sort of road for us—or…railway, I guess. But at the end of each challenge or “oops” has been the grace of God getting us to the right station with everything we need. I believe that with all these experiences, we are learning and growing. Perhaps we will be of some use out here after all? I can only hope and pray so. Speaking of being out here. Let me tell the rest of what we’ve been up to.
What have we been up to?
Our Fall began with visitors from our home church. We had just gotten settled into our house, so we were ready to host our first guests! We had a great experience showing them around on the trains—on which we did not get lost! So I’m two for three at this point. The only other time I’ve taken the train since we’ve been here was with our fellow missionary to a pastors fellowship downtown. I’ve now been to three pastors fellowships in different parts of the greater Tokyo area with another one scheduled this March. And let me tell you something. Despite the immense amount of work needed here in Japan to expose people to the gospel, I am greatly encouraged in what I have seen. The churches here are desperately trying to find ways to meet the unique challenges of their day. The Lord is at work!
Our Church
Our church had two special services this past quarter. The Thanksgiving service concluded with a large meal and hours of singing and testimony times from members. Some who gave thanks have been Christians for less than a year and one less than a month! A couple weeks ago our church hosted their annual, community Christmas service. The gospel was proclaimed in message and song to the non-Christians who came. To facilitate the larger group of people every year, our church rents out the local town hall where there is plenty of space for the service and food afterwards. This is actually really important. Many Japanese people would never step foot inside of an actual church. But they’ll go the town hall for a “Christian thing” no problem.
I’ve also had the chance to preach now two times at our church, both times through a translator. (Here’s the link if you’d like to watch my first sermon). Lord-willing, I’ll be preaching again two Sundays from now. It’s a blessing to have each opportunity to serve and give our co-workers a break every now and then. Sierah’s been serving on Sundays as well by providing homemade snacks and baked goods for everyone, especially Sophie, to enjoy. (Turns out the Japanese are quite the social snackers!)
I’m writing this to you on a Saturday afternoon. This morning I met with an American man in our church as well as a young-bilingual man who is not a Christian. We’ve been working through the book of Mark at Denny’s every Saturday. Jesus is pictured as the hero to the needy and the judge to the self-righteous. What a blessing it has been to share Jesus for the last couple of months with this young man who speaks perfect English! Pray for him.
Language Learning
That leads me to my next point. Language school has been going well for us so far. On the days we have class, we drop Sophie off at her Japanese preschool in the morning then head to class ourselves. For Sophie, it is a fully immersive experience. Her school has nearly one-hundred kids. Zero of them speak a lick of English. Neither do the teachers! Our track in language school will be shifting this spring. We’ve more or less been in private tutoring lessons at the school to get us up to speed. We will now be joining an actual class with other students. They are a fun group! I’ll have to share more about them soon.
Conclusion
The trains system around Tokyo is the highest-rated in the world. It is on time, fast, clean, safe, and utterly dependable. (See an explanation of the genius of Tokyo railways HERE: (Tokyo Trains). It’s worth your time!) But it wasn’t built in a day. And it wasn’t one single person’s idea and effort. Similarly, we’re a small part of something our great God is doing here in Japan. But we still face a huge learning curve in order to be effective and learn where we fit best into the kingdom work. And the more we ride the trains around here, I hope, the more we learn about what that might look like.
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Grace and peace,
The Pliskas
