belly button

::: so you're at a company mixer and you want to impress your boss (in front of your cubicle mates) about your knowledge of the world...let me help you out...try throwing this one into your conversation...

boss: i was reading the WSJ this morning on my private jet after finalizing the merger papers and i was encouraged by numbers coming out of the nikkei 225 average...

you: uh-huh...(pause as you scratch your chin)...guess what city promotes itself as the belly button of japan?

boss: (pause, puzzled)

you: takino (walk away confidently, get another finger eggroll)

...nestled among flat rice fields and rolling hills, takino is a quiet city that loudly designates its place as the belly button of japan (residents of the adjacent city dispute that claim)...

...takino is also the place to which God has called and cultivated one of our closest colleagues, fellow californian, and a dear friend -- kari (middle below)...

...with a passionate heart for japan, kari hopes big-time for the belly button (thriving congregations, church-planting movements coming out of takino)...

...hanging out with kari in one of her favorite spots -- a big regional park -- was a blast...

...our turn!?!...



..."i promise," says kari as we walk over to this area with lots of kids, "this playground will be the best one you've seen in your entire life!"...high praise but true...

...a giant obstacle course fit for both kids and the japanese military...

...a jungle bridge fit for rambo...

...as we were going through the playground, small kids zipped by us...just one look on their faces and you could see that they were having tons of fun, climbing up and down with no fear...their parents were nowhere in sight...in fact, most of the parents were assembled far away in shaded patios...i kept thinking: an over-litigious society really takes the fun out of childhood...i couldn't imagine any southern california neighborhood creating a giant, sprain-prone playground as risky and dangerous as this one...well maybe, if each child and parent signed a 30-page waiver before entering the playground and there were liability disclaimers posted on everything...

...thanks kari for showing us takino...now i gotta go and put ice on my ankle...

:::