Friday morning, Cindy drove me over to the Time Home Center where I bought what I needed for my garden. I spent the rest of the morning working on the garden. I have a tomato plant, an eggplant, some sort of squash plant (I was hoping it was cucumber, but now I fear it is some kind of bitter thing), some flowers, a couple of strawberry plants (I know it is probably too late for strawberries, but maybe they'll be nice greenery to look at), some okra seeds, and some sunflower seeds.
Ministry for me is similar to how I perceive my garden. I feel more confident when I'm watering plants that someone else planted the seeds and my job is to help them grow and nurture them. But when I have to plant seeds, I get discouraged that they'll never come up.
On Friday evening and Saturday morning I worked on lesson plans for the next week. Then, Saturday evening, Cindy and I went for an hour walk over the rail road tracks (no that is not a bad part of town here) and looked at some of the scenery over in that area. We came back down this windy road through houses. You never know where those roads will take you when you start down them.
Sunday, after church, Cindy and I went to help plant rice. Okay, basically our friend, Aya, had worked it out so that they would be finished by the time we showed up and they just let us piddle so we felt like we were planting rice. But, being in the mud was fun, and it is amazing how the little rice plants stay up! Then, Aya's family took us to an indoor Japanese BBQ restaurant. That was a very fun experience! Basically the grill was in the middle of the table and a flame came up under it. The meat and veggies were put on the grill and you grilled them yourself! It was so good!
Sunday evening we celebrated Ken (my neighbor's) 39th birthday! Aya had made decorations, Sachiko brought the cake and sodas, I made stir fry, Sachiko cooked rice and made sandwiches and cut up oranges, Aya made Yaki Soba (a delicious dish of soba noodles, pork, cabbage and special sauce), Atsuko brought ice cream and more drinks. We had SO much food! After we had eaten cake, Cindy read Psalms 139:13-16,
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained
for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
We showed them the passage in the Japanese Bible so they could read it and comprehend it for themselves.
Monday morning I observed Tim's SORA class and one of his other classes. I observed one of Cindy's afternoon classes that I will be teaching next week. Monday night I taught my first class on my own. Her name is Yoshiko (there are many women named Yoshiko, it's as popular as the name Megan back home). She is in her twenties and is a kindergarten teacher. She's in the beginner level books, but she knows a lot. I really enjoyed teaching!
On Friday, June 11, I began a little garden on my back . . . patio?
So, this would have been a cool way to plant rice.
Or this. But both ways were completed before I got there.
So, Cindy and I planted by hand. I'm in the back there.
And Aya let us walk up and down the rows looking for places the machines missed. I was so muddy!
This is Aya. Her family owns the rice field we worked in. I was so afraid I was not planting the rice right. But when I asked how I was doing, she always insisted, "It's perfect!" I'm sure she was just being nice, but I suppose that means that maybe the crop will still grow despite anything I did.
Afterwards (which was like only an hour later, from 12-1, a short time to plant rice considering Aya had been out there since 5am), Aya's family treated us to Japanese BBQ. As you can see from the photos, it's not quite like our BBQ. Of course, I always thought "Barbeque" meant pork or chicken with BBQ sauce and "grilling" refered to choice meats and veggies, and "cooking out" meant hot dogs and hamburgers, but I've been wrong before and perhaps am so again, because Cindy says BBQ refers to all the above.
