Many Adventures in Tokyo

Yesterday was an unstructured day for all of us on the tour so we each went out and did different things. John and I went to Kozo, General Assembly, rode the trains, visited with others in this hotel and walked around the area.

Grady and Paul waked the entire area, street by street and saw many things. Vera and Judy went to the CPWM convention and went on a mission tour with them. I have not yet heard how that went. Sandy and Shirley set out to find the Hard Rock Cafe. Kevin and Gay went to General Assembly and listened to the proceedings the whole day. Martha hung out at the hotel.

The following is from Randy and Vicki's newsletter for their adventures yesterday. We did not see this part of Tokyo.

Update 5

It’s Wednesday morning in Tokyo . Today we will take a tour of the city of Tokyo . Yesterday, Vicki and I toured the neighborhood around our luxury hotel and discovered that Tokyo is a day (and a night) in the park for some of the residents here. While visiting Shinjuku Chuo Park —just a block from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and two blocks from our full-service hotel—we noticed a blue tarp village in a rather unkempt part of the otherwise beautiful park. Naively, I first thought that it was a family campground. Soon, however, I realized that the people who camped there had all their possessions in the world bundled up and strapped together beneath the same blue tarps they used for shelter. Just a stone’s throw from high rise government and business buildings where almost all the men and women wear nicely tailored black suits and exude a sophisticated air, men are sleeping on the sidewalk, park benches and grass. Beneficiaries of poverty and opulence are found breathing the same air, viewing the same sky, and sharing the same space. Yards away from our hotel where uniformed bell hops anticipate our every need, lay people for whom no one cares. Well, that’s not entirely true. I know of at least One who cares.

Love,

Pastor Randy