Pre-field Training
Okay, let's ready for your upcoming service in Japan. The content is divided into Ministry, Culture & Language Study. There is also a "bonus section" for those of you who are hungry for more.* Starred content is required prep for SIJ.
Ministry
* Mark Rood:
This is a
lecture led by one of our staff, Mark Rood on Psalm 67. In it
he sought to ask and answer the question of, "Why
minister in the 10/40 window?" It looks at the
connections between blessing, worship and the
nations. Click here for the wma audio
file. (there is a slight delay before
the message starts) Here is the accompanying powerpoint
file.
"The Dreams of God: Blessing, Worship & Nations"
This is a
lecture led by one of our staff, Mark Rood on Psalm 67. In it
he sought to ask and answer the question of, "Why
minister in the 10/40 window?" It looks at the
connections between blessing, worship and the
nations. Click here for the wma audio
file. (there is a slight delay before
the message starts) Here is the accompanying powerpoint
file.
* Bob Boardman:
This talk was given to a group of
fresh Navigator staff upon arriving in the country for
their new ministry. Bob Boardman who was the Japan
director for 30 years shares with them the most
essential qualities of one who would seek to serve in
this land. (For those wondering, before pioneering the
ministry here, Bob was shot through the neck by a
Japanese sniper on Okinawa during WW2, and thus speaks
here, as always, in a raspy whisper.) Click here for the wma audio file.
"Essential qualities for ministry in Japan"
This talk was given to a group of
fresh Navigator staff upon arriving in the country for
their new ministry. Bob Boardman who was the Japan
director for 30 years shares with them the most
essential qualities of one who would seek to serve in
this land. (For those wondering, before pioneering the
ministry here, Bob was shot through the neck by a
Japanese sniper on Okinawa during WW2, and thus speaks
here, as always, in a raspy whisper.) Click here for the wma audio file.
A conversation with Ed
Schupbach:
During a recent trip, the father of one of our Japan Navigator
Staff Joanna Schupbach, Ed, who teaches world religion
among other things at a college in Illinois, spend much
time with students and our staff alike and we spent an
hour together talking about the origin of the Japanese
world view and the exciting findings of the 'original
monotheism'.
Click here to watch the video of the
coffee shop conversation.
"World Religions, Japan & Original Monotheism"
During a recent trip, the father of one of our Japan Navigator
Staff Joanna Schupbach, Ed, who teaches world religion
among other things at a college in Illinois, spend much
time with students and our staff alike and we spent an
hour together talking about the origin of the Japanese
world view and the exciting findings of the 'original
monotheism'.
Click here to watch the video of the
coffee shop conversation. Culture
* Encyclopedia
To begin with take some time to read through this wikipedia description of Japan. Follow the links to wherever takes your interest. Click here for the article.
* 7 Distinctive Marks of Japanese Culture
Next, spends some time reading through these seven significant points on Japanese culture, gathered from various sources. Click here.
* Japanese Etiquette
Bowing, Hygiene, Shoes and Slippers, Eating & Everyday Living; what to do so that you are not such a "henna gaijin", that is, strange foreigner. How to avoid being the typical "ugly American".Click here.
* The Stages of Adjusting to a New Culture
Living in another land you will experience a plethora of emotions from elation to confusion and discouragement. Being aware of the tendency of these changes in us doesn't make them go away, but may help us to weather them better. Click here.
Ellis Potter:
Listening to the following message
on the Buddhist world view by ex-Buddhist priest, Ellis
Potter. The title of the talk is "The Real Problem of
Buddhism", but I don't think this describes well his
message. Really, it's an intro to the Buddhist
world view and the doorways it provides to the
Gospel. Click here for the Audio.
Buddhism
Listening to the following message
on the Buddhist world view by ex-Buddhist priest, Ellis
Potter. The title of the talk is "The Real Problem of
Buddhism", but I don't think this describes well his
message. Really, it's an intro to the Buddhist
world view and the doorways it provides to the
Gospel. Click here for the Audio.
Language
* Start your Japanese language study!
Even if your
ministry is going to be primarily in English, learning
some Japanese communicates interest to your Japanese
friends. Also it will surely come in handy in a
pinch.A decent resource I've seen for language acquisition is Japanese Pod 101. It is a daily podcast that posts it's past programs on their web site (along with the accompanying text files for a fee--the audio is still free though.) Click here to go to Japanese Pod and start with the survival phrases. If you get a feel of these, go on and start with the beginner lessons If you work at this even 15 minutes a day, you will make incredible progress I promise!
Learn the basic Alphabet of Japanese:
Hiragana and Katakana: (this site provides some helpful
mnemonics for faster memorization.) Click here for the Hiragana
MnemonicsBonus
John Lee Letters
John Lee, a long-term personal friend and colaboer in the Gospel helped to lead local teams to Japan for the SIJ program in 1997, 2005 and 2006. He had an incredible impact on both Japanese students and on the teams that he helped to lead. John finished his life work last summer during the last days of the SIJ program John drowned while swimming in the ocean. This bizarre accident, has deeply shocked and troubled many of us, but John himself has passed out of this world and is now with his Savior. To remember John's wisdom and wit we put together a web site of his letters, mostly updates from his time here in Japan. Check out johnleeletters and be blessed and challenged by John's words.
