We are often asked on home assignment if we are fluent in Japanese. I smile shyly and say, "Tim is and I am working on it".
People are surprised to hear that we started taking Japanese lessons online this past term during Covid. This was for 2 reasons. With Covid we were seeing less Japanese and talking much less in Japanese. And these last 4 years our main ministry roles have been in English with English speakers. We are often reminded that we are "Life Long Learners" and want to set an example to others that language learning is important and we want to always keep plugging away at understanding not only the words of Japanese, but how Japanese think; in order to better connect and share Christ.
So you will often find me looking up the complex Chinese characters (Kanji) on my language app. As my brain is getting older it seems harder to recollect and it would be easy to feel overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge and just give up. But not today!! I will write out a few more of these elegant and complex scribbles that paint pictures and give meaning to the beautiful people around us; those who wait to hear, in their own heart language, about our precious Savior.
