how not

...to talk to a child...meet reito...

...a spunky, somewhat spazzy but super-sweet six-yr old boy who speaks not a lick of english...that spelled trouble for me at the outset!...today, as i spent the afternoon entertaining reito, i realized that all the japanese claire and i have learned up to this point has in the "polite" form...the japanese language uses three forms: super polite (use this next time you're face to face with the emperor), polite (textbook japanese), and informal (used among friends and foes, as well as to kids)...

...you can imagine where this is going, right?...

...this afternoon, speaking to reito in a form that would be used for a japanese elder or boss -- the polite form -- was bizarre, both for him and for me...half the time, he turned around, thinking that i was talking to an adult behind him...the other half, reito didn't even recognize the words i was saying...was it my poor japanese or was it the fact that he's never been on the receiving end of the polite form?...probably a combination of the two...anyway, this afternoon provided good entertainment for our church members as they watched me tell reito to stop throwing food, to throw away his mikan (mandarin orange) skins, and so forth, all using the polite form...oh well, i guess i'll be ready to speak to emperor akihito some day : )

...when we do meet the emperor, knowing some kanji would help...so here is reito teaching claire some basic kanji (chinese characters)...

...while reito was keeping us busy, we were thrilled to see his dad -- pastor fuji -- spend time explaining the gospel to a woman who has been visiting our church for a couple months...our initial surprise when she joined us earlier in the afternoon for our outreach time (here we are getting ready to pass out flyers in the neighborhood)...

...turned to joy when she stayed for tea and frank conversation with our church family...God is doing something in her heart!...kotomi (left) prayed for this seeker...there was real kindness and genuineness in her voice...tears flowed down this seeker's face...she was moved that we as a church family listened and cared about her issues...

::: we are all broken people...simple acts of listening and loving are sooooo powerful for many who are longing for grace-filled friendships :::