The kids make their way down the steps at the Church Street shopping center. It is a fairly new addition to the quaint downtown shopping district in Karuizawa. It is on the old road from Tokyo that served as a stopping point for many travelers back in the day. This is considered the "old" part of town, while the more urban section is west of here. Karuizawa grew out of tourism over 100 years ago when foreigners began to frequent this area, missionaries in particular, wanting to escape the heat of the summer months down south. It is in that tradition that the Church Street gallery of shops grew up.

Labels: history, photos

It is amazing what you can see in such a short distance from our house in Japan. From new friends at Karuizawa Union Church to the creek behind our house and along the path to the top of the mountain, our neighborhood is about as close to nature as you can get.

Labels: photos

Team Expansion hosted a 4-day homecoming event for all of their missionaries who are in the US. We were treated to a great time of food and fellowship, including hanging out with our team leaders from Japan - the Kornegays. This slideshow shows only a snapshot of the fun.

Labels: photos, praises

There are more than 34 million residents in the greater Tokyo metro area. I have always found timelapse and stop motion photography to be mesmerizing and this compilation by Samuel Cockedey is no exception. The music is old school cool in a timeless way as well. Recoil is what's missing from Depeche Mode these days and this song is from 1986. [source:static : pulse via vimeo.

Labels: Japan, photos

Space shuttle Discovery crew member Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, center, makes a few comments upon his arrival with pilot Tony Antonelli, back left, and commander Lee Archambault at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fl for the launch we attended. Visit my photography site to check out photos and videos of the event.
[photo credit: JOHN RAOUX, ASSOCIATED PRESS / March 8, 2009]

Labels: photos

With his camera, Michael John Grist captures the overgrowth of a shrine that has fallen into disrepair. Buddhists have temples, Shinto believers practice their rites in Shrines. This is an intriguing look into the Ashiodozan ghost town in the Tochigi region of Japan.

Labels: history, Japan, photos

One of my passions is photography, so I'm always challenging myself to try new things. Here is a 360 degree panorama of the graduation ceremony of Hope International that took place in the chapel at Cross Roads. Many of the folks in the back of the room are fellow classmates.

Labels: photos, webtech

A growing collection of photos and soon to be videos taken during the 2009 Londen Institute residency at CrossRoads Church in Corona, CA. These are available to all the students and staff who participated. Feel free to use them in any ministry context as you see fit.

Labels: photos

Having spent this past semester working with the elementary kids of First Christian during Wednesday night Bible study, I enjoyed the chance to tell them a bit more about our mission to Japan. I shared the experience I had during CPI to tell missionary kids in Japan about putting on the Full Armor of God and I got to show them the special samurai training swords given to me by Shimanuke sensei. I also taught them the most important word in Japanese - the name for Jesus. Can you guess what it is?
The children enjoyed getting to taste authentic Japanese candies - including strawberry Pocky. Yatta!

Labels: photos, praises

Despite overwhelming obstacles faced by our children's choir, they performed God is Love in any Language to much fanfare. The electricity had cut out to the entire neighborhood 30 minutes prior to their performance, but it didn't sway them. No lights, no mics, no music - they sang in unison. Julina is our youngest daughter waving the American flag in back.

Labels: photos