4. SPECIAL ASSEMBLY DAY

Saturday October 19, 2013

Back home our congregation is attending the Circuit Assembly this weekend but for us, it's the English circuit's GOD'S WORD EXERTS POWER Special Assembly Day.

The Ebina Assembly Hall right next door to Bethel.

The foyer

Where ever we go in the world we meet old friend. Cindy has recently moved to Japan with her husband and daughter. We used to be together in Villawood congregation.

The auditorium. 840 in attendance with 7 baptised.

Peter and Raelynn from Brisbane are here in Bethel gathering information in preparation for the project we are working on.

Though Japan is generally mono-cultural, the English circuit is very multicultural. We met Australians, Brits, Americans, Philippinos, Ghanaians and many more...

A newly married couple from Ivory Coast

A little chap from New Jersey

Even a Bible student from Mount Hagen, PNG

A Filipina Bible student and Kim from the Ebina English congregation.

And even a Japanese couple. In fact many Japanese who have learned English to reach the foreign field.

Like our dear friends from Bethel, Yasushi and Maki.

 

All of the talks were excellent but we particularly enjoyed Brother Ron's talks. Ron and Sally were the ones who took us to Fujiyama in March.

http://lloydandalex.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/6-hakone-mount-fuji-and-lakes-district.html

And today, Sunday field service with Toru and Mariko.

Having a great time

Lloydnalex

 

 

3. DAY TRIP TO KAWAGOE

In case you didn't pick up on a theme in our past blogs, we officially love Old Japan. Last weekend we took a train trip up to Kawagoe, an Edo period heritage town north of Tokyo.

Our guides, Yuki (who worked with us in Australia Bethel some years back) and his wife, Naoko. It's great to be working with Yuki nice again but this time, we are in the Japan branch.

Along the way we met up a faithful couple street witnessing at the station. The guy in the middle doing his best to look as Japanese as a Kiwi can, is our traveling companion, Blair.

And a fellow Bethelite doing some train witnessing enroute to the group.

Thankfully it was not too crowded.

Naoko, Yuki, Blair and me....

Honmaru Goten of Kawagoe Castle. Turns out the castle was lost, probably one of those traditional Japanese fires... But what is a Goten I hear you ask? This beautiful wooden structure with its tatami mats and shoji screens was rebuilt 1848 (fire) as the entrance and the main hall used as waiting rooms for feudal lords who came on missions to the palace.

It's 36 degrees Celsius outside in the sun but there is a cool natural breeze wafting through the halls that tells you that this building not only looks good, it works well.

Tatami mats and shoji screens (sliding paper doors).

The gang

And the photographer

Courtyard

Sun falling on cedar

In the center of town, the old white merchant house storehouse.

And Toki-no-kane (Bell Tower) that rings 4 times a day to tell the time before mr Seiko invented the digital watch. Originally built 1624 and rebuilt in 1894 after a not so "great fire".

A tourist

The locals

Ice creams in the shade.

Blair poses for a photo opportunity.

But he is not the only one posing for a shot.

 

"Obi 2"

The Obi is the sash worn around the kimono.

More merchant houses

Very solid plaster window shutters

Shinjuku train station is the worlds busiest handling 2 million commuters per day.

Shinjuku's "Memory Lane" in Tokyo, a narrow ally crammed with even narrower little Japanese street food restaurants. A relic from post WWII.

Relaxed locals

Ramen noodles and beer, what could be better!

Notice our classy chef on the left.

A great day out. Thank you Yuko and Naoko.

Lloydnalex