Exploring our region
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Reiko’s Bakery –
We have befriended Reiko, the owner of our local bakery close to our house. Stephanie visits with on a regular basis and drew her a picture as a thank you for her kindness. She has amazing fresh baked cheese pizzas and other wonderful baked goods which are among some of our favorites. She hung Stephanie’s thank you picture and pipe cleaner flowers on her bakery wall as you can see in the picture below.
The last time we stopped to buy bread, Reiko informed us she would be the kids’ “Japan Grandma” since they do not have grandparents in Japan. On the way home from school yesterday she stopped Alex to give him Grandchildren gift bags for him and Stephanie. The bags contained an assortment of Japanese candies and treats. She has been so warm and friendly to our family and really has been a bright spot on my way to work each day when she comes out to greet me and say hello.
 |
| Reiko's Bakery |
 |
| Reiko and Stephanie |
We continue to visit new churches each weekend looking for a home church. Last week we traveled with a KCS teacher and her son to New Hope Osaka. It was a really nice church, with the service in English and translated into Japanese. They also had youth group after the Sunday service. We spent the rest of the day in downtown Osaka seeing the sights.
Downtown Osaka –
The sea of people in downtown Osaka made it feel like a city of almost 9 million. You can see from the pictures the roads were totally full of pedestrians and I think we only saw a handful of cars on the roads until we were on the outskirts of town.
 |
| Downtown Osaka, Japan |
 |
| Popular photo spot in Osaka. This is an ad for an ice cream company. |
I tried my first Ika (deep fried squid) at a local Osaka restaurant. It reminded me of deep fried clams and honestly, it was really good. I ate more than just the obligatory piece, I ate a few because I genuinely liked it to my surprise.
 |
| Deep Fried Ika...Yum! |
We went on a hike over the Silver Week holiday with the Clark’s and some of their grandchildren to a local national park. The park reminded me of the Olympic National Forest with a lot of ferns, moss and lots of hiking trails. There was a huge climbing wall at the trailhead near the concession stand. The climbing wall is the largest I have ever seen, maybe three times as tall as the Valley YMCA.
 |
| Climbing wall in the national park |
There was a really cool suspension bridge about 60 meters over the valley floor. I was a little unnerved as I surveyed the bridge. This was especially true when it started to sway from all the pranksters who thought it oh so funny to rock it back and forth.
 |
| Alex and Stephanie on the suspension bridge |
 |
| So cool to look over the trees in the valley. |
 |
| Suspension bridge over the valley from the top of the mountain. |
You can see Kyoto and Hirakata in the distance from the top of the hiking trail. This is quite a ways North from where we live. We had a picnic at the top of the mountain after enjoying the amazing view.
 |
| Kyoto and KIirakata in the distance |
When we arrived, a fellow missionary gave me some great advice. She told me to just try stuff. She said, “You will make mistakes, but don’t be afraid to try.” The adventures to the post office, to buy groceries, to converse with the crosswalk guard on my way to work and even answer my front door, are not for the faint of heart. Each week I find I am more comfortable in the grocery store, I have successfully mailed a few packages now and am learning some key Japanese phrases to get by.
Some days I am more courageous than others. Some days to be honest, I prefer not to venture out because I cannot read the street signs, labels in the grocery stores or understand what they are saying on the train much less have a conversation off the KCS campus.
All that considered, we are growing in ways we can see and in many ways we can not yet see I am sure. We are grateful to be here and see God at work in the larger "church". We have been blessed to fellowship with others who are strong in their faith and passionate about Jesus. The students at KCS are such an encouragement to me when I see their zeal and fire to serve the Lord.
We really appreciate the generosity and kindness the KCS families, staff, students and the larger faith community have extended to us. Thanks be to God for His faithfulness and wisdom for putting us just where we needed to be in Japan. What an amazing God we serve.
In Christ,
The Chadducks