Randy and Vicki's Letter

This is Randy and Vicki Shannon's letter to their church on Thursday morning. We will be leaving on the same early flight Friday morning, along with Judy and Vera. Grady and Peggy are on a later flight.

We were awakened by our alarm clock for the first time this morning. Not that the alarm clock isn’t reliable—we just haven’t needed it so far. We have usually been unable to make ourselves stay in bed past 5 am, no matter how late our scheduled start time has been. We apparently are becoming accustomed to Japanese time just as we are going to be leaving to head for Beijing , China . Vicki and I will leave on an early flight tomorrow morning with a group of 19 of the 72 tour participants.

Yesterday the General Assembly recessed and it was a day of Japanese culture. We visited the site of the Imperial Palace where hand cut stones almost the size of a small house have formed a wall around the grounds for over 400 years. The Japanese style garden was a beautiful arrangement of colorful flowers, lily ponds, waterfalls and manicured trees. Every pine tree on the Imperial Palace grounds is trimmed so that only the branches that turn upwards are left.

Lunch took us to a restaurant next to the national stadium and training area for the Sumo wrestlers—some of whom ambled by us on the sidewalks outside the restaurant having finished their morning workout. The lunchtime fare was traditional Japanese food as fed to a Sumo wrestler. It was a very healthy meal—according to our guide—and I’ll have to take her word for it since I’m not sure what some of it was. Part of the meal involved cooking something like a stew in our own individual pot and fire. Yes, Milton, they served raw fish. I confess that I cooked mine in the stew pot before eating it, however.

Our tour ended by visiting the Buddhist temple in Asukusa where a major shopping district has evolved similar to the shops near Bagnell Dam. (My reflections on that experience will require a devotion or sermon at a later time).

Overall, the day was useful as it is important that we understand the people with whom we wish to share the Good News. We’re off to the final day of the General Assembly. Since we’ll be leaving for China very early tomorrow and don’t know if they will have internet access there, don’t be alarmed if you don’t hear from us for awhile.

Blessings to all,

Pastor Randy and Vicki