Christian Pilgrim

[InLove]

Hi Guys--

Hmmmm....well....

Truthfully, I see the brotherhood there between you, Q and jm. but more in shared experience and spirit than anything. Is that what you mean?

Ummm...there is, however, another poster here in CR, Q, that I suspect you know fairly well... ? Just guessing.

I have a friend here, also, and we have fun dropping hints here and there.

Anyway, jm, the reason I asked about your background is because I grew up with a very close friend whose family was both in the military and in the ministry--and the family had indeed spent a lot of time in Japan. I have lost touch with that family over the years, so I guess I was kind of curious. Did you say your family had done mission work in or around Tokyo? I thought you said that, but I can't find it right now.

I've got to get back to work--this forum is beautifully distracting at times! (Oh, and I do apologize--I am terrible about derailing threads--nudges Q.)

InPeace,
InLove

[Quahom1]

In the spirit of Hogan's Heroes..." I know nothing, nothing, nothing!"




v/r

Q

[JonMarc]

Originally Posted by InLove

Hi Guys--
...Truthfully, I see the brotherhood there between you, Q and jm. but more in shared experience and spirit than anything. Is that what you mean?...

it's amazing not only the connections, but also the evidence of those connections present in something as seemingly impersonal as forum posts, isn't it? although these aren't your typical forum threads...

...Anyway, jm, the reason I asked about your background is because I grew up with a very close friend whose family was both in the military and in the ministry--and the family had indeed spent a lot of time in Japan. I have lost touch with that family over the years, so I guess I was kind of curious. Did you say your family had done mission work in or around Tokyo?...

the church that my parents started was in west tokyo, where i spent most of my years, but much of their ministry outside of the church has been focused more in the downtown tokyo area. so yes, they have done mission work in and around tokyo. haha. in fact i would not be surprised if my parents have at least heard of the friends you speak of. the mission world in tokyo, and japan as a whole, is a small world indeed. something about being a minority as a foreigner, or as they say in japanese, gaijin, and an even greater minority as a christian foreigner, draws people together a good deal. so does being a minority (do you think?) on the internet, apparently.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

JonMarc, I was really struck by the fact that your parents were both missionary kids in Japan - obviously it made such a huge impression on them that they both decided to continue their parents' work. I only know one person who was a missionary kid, in Africa (I forget where specifically), and partly as a result of what she saw there, she left the church as an adult. I'm curious as to whether your parents met in Japan, or whether they both returned to the States (?) and then met and said, "Hey, whaddya know..." Absolutely none of my business, really, I know, but I find it an interesting thought.

Anyway, to get back to the OP, I haven't made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but six years ago I went to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and visited the supposed tomb of St. James the Greater. I'm not a Christian, and wasn't then, and when I was Christian I wasn't Catholic, but it was still a hugely intense religious experience. Not least because of all the tiny villages I passed through on the way, with tiny churches, which were just gorgeous. No matter how poor these villagers were, having a beautiful church was still important to them because their faith was so intense, and that could really be felt there.

Compostela really wasn't too bad as far as commercialism went. There was an official souvenir shop where you also got your certification, but they only sold sweatshirts and small religious medallions, and a few things for children. For the rest it was just two or three postcard-and-rosary carts. And that was in a jubilee year. The cathedral was huge and had gold everywhere. I'd always disapproved of that, thinking the money could better be used to feed and clothe poor parishioners, but after spending two and a half months in deprivation (by Western standards), walking six to eight hours a day and carrying all my posessions on my back, I was more than ready for some pomp and glamour - it made it worth the walk, in a way.

However, I had stopped for a side trip to Lourdes, and that was disappointing. It was horrendously commercial - there is even a little tourist train that takes you around to see the sights. There are souvenir shops all over the place, each with a screaming proprietor. You can buy plastic five-gallon jugs imprinted with drawings of Bernadette and the Lady, which you can fill up with water from the spring, and giant glow-in-the-dark rosaries with beads as big as my two fists, and ball-point pens that when you tilt them send a line of tourists into the grotto. The whole thing looked like DisneyLourdes. The underground church was beautiful - it had about twenty giant banners hung from the ceiling, with the Lord's Prayer printed in as many different languages, and the grotto itself was very moving. I wished they hadn't put a statue of the Lady there where she'd appeared - I would rather have been able to imagine it for myself - but I know some people like things to be more concrete.

In any case, all in all the whole experience was incredibly moving and spiritually enriching, and I hope I get the chance to do it again. I haven't really thought about whether I would want to go to the Holy Land.

[JonMarc]

Originally Posted by Scarlet Pimpernel

...JonMarc, I was really struck by the fact that your parents were both missionary kids in Japan...

SP.... do you mind if i call you that? haha... growing up with a name like JonMarc i was often reduced to a JM instead... now it's sort of a habit for me. moving on...my parents met in japan. they both moved there when they were 3 or 4. my grandparents had cabins very near each other up in the mountains. there is a community up there called the Nojiri Lake Association made up of mostly non-japanese christian families. well it used to be almost all christian missionaries of one denomination or another, that has changed a lot since i was a child though. anyway. they became good friends up there. like i said, the christian mission field in japan is a small world. everybody knows everybody. one of the things i respect most about my parents, especially my father, being a pastor and a paid missionary, was the way that they never shoved their faith down my throat. until around middle school i went to church with them. then they said any christian church you would like to go to you can, so long as you go to church on sunday. then it was more of a "we'd like you to go, but won't force you" kind of deal. i admire them greatly for being able to treat me an my sister as children, vice part of the congregation. something i've seen many people have trouble with.
relating to the rest of your post, that was a very interesting story! i had a similar experience when i was living in costa rica. one day a year everyone (as far as i could tell) walks up into the mountains to a specific church. i cannot for the life of me remember the significance of the church now, but i will not forget the walk. i was heading back to my costa rican family's house after playing some pool downtown, when i noticed hundreds of people walking up a central street carying torches and carrying on quite a bit. not having been told about the tradition, i was a bit scared at first. then someone walking by me took my hand and started pulling me toward the street. i did not know them, but followed just the same. and then i walked...
that night was crazy. the people i met, the atmosphere, the togetherness that the crowd exuded was incredible. for me it wasn't about making a religious pilgrimage, it was about the people. it was amazing just the same though.

[Bandit]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

In the spirit of Hogan's Heroes..." I know nothing, nothing, nothing!"




v/r

Q

I liked them even better than MASH. I thought it was more comical anyway "I see nothing nothing nothing"
Scultz was great.

Gomer Pile was another one I really liked. Sargent Carter. What a Hoot
They were some of the best shows ever.

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by Bandit

I liked them even better than MASH. I thought it was more comical anyway "I see nothing nothing nothing"
Scultz was great.

Gomer Pile was another one I really liked. Sargent Carter. What a Hoot
They were some of the best shows ever.

Yeah, but I loved the last episode of MASH. Even Hawkeye proved to be human, and the psychiatrist a saint...

v/r

Q