Today was an adventure. One of the things that Jeremy said he wanted to do on this trip was to see some of the Japanese country side. Since we didn’t have much time I decided to take him to the mountains of Tokyo where I used to live. We left around 7am and rode a few packed trains out towards the mountains in the west. We arrived at Okutama station at 9am and decided to hike to a temple on top of one of the mountains.
We basically ran up the mountain due to the limited window of time that we had. But, Jeremy said it was worth it because it was one of the most beautiful places he’d ever been too. At the top of the mountain we were able to see a great view of the town below and take a moment to pray together for Japan as we explored to temple grounds at the top.
At the bottom we headed back towards Tokyo with a brief stop along the way to eat lunch and drop in on a few old friends. After lunch we caught up with Steve and Yoshito and headed to the airport to pick up Jeff Vanderstelt and Todd Morr from SOMA. On the way I had a great conversation with Steve. We shared our stories of how God saved us and called us to mission in Japan. We talked about our gifts and what they might look like together as we seek to plant Jesus’s church in Tokyo. Once Jeff and Todd arrived we spent the train ride back to Tokyo educating them on the culture of Japan and the unique challenges that church faces in Japan. Once we arrived in Tokyo, Jeremy and I parted ways and caught up with a few of my old friends for dinner. After dinner it was back on the trains until we finally arrived back at our place around 11pm, making it a very long day.
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