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Introducing Felicity 明(Mei) Robison!

At 1PM on September 16, 2014 God blessed us with the safe delivery of our daughter, Felicity 明(Mei) Robison! Felicity weighed 7 lbs. 13oz, and as is the norm here, was delivered naturally without epidural. Tomo went into labor at about 3AM that morning, and though the delivery was painful she’s recovering very well. Felicity seems to be a natural at nursing and loves to sleep… so far.

Tomo and the baby are staying at the hospital until Saturday (standard procedure here in Japan) which means me and Titus are fending for ourselves (ie. eating at McDonalds). Titus really loves his little sister and can’t stop talking about how cute she is.

Felicity’s middle name, Mei (pronounced “May”) is written with this kanji, 明, which means bright. Even at just a day and a half old she certainly has brought felicity and brightness into our lives, and we are constantly praising God for her.

Please be praying for a speedy recovery for Tomo, and that things won’t get too hectic for her after she comes home from the hospital. Titus is doing really well at preschool, so that will make things a little easier, as in the mornings while I’m at school Titus will also be in preschool, and Tomo won’t have to contend with a newborn and an extremely energetic two year old. My normal schedule is to stay at school in the afternoons to study, but for a while I’ll be coming home right after class gets out to help out. Please also be praying for me that I can keep up with learning Japanese, I have some big term finals next week.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for our family as we serve here in Japan. Since we arrived a year and a half ago we’ve seen God answer many prayers, direct us each step of the way. In July I passed the N3 level Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and I’ll take the N2 Test in November. One of my main language goals was to be able to pass the N2 test by the time I graduate language school in March of next year. After language school is over we’re scheduled to take a brief home service in the US in the Summer of 2015, and upon returning to Japan I’ll be starting an internship at our church here in Morioka under Pastor Kondo, where I’ll be able to get some first hand experience in church ministry in Japan, while also putting into practice the Japanese that I’ve been learning. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we work alongside the believers here to reach out to the millions of Japanese who have never heard the gospel. 

Check out more Baby photos!

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So what is Shinto?

Japan’s two dominant religions, Buddhism and Shinto, have coexisted, and intermingled in Japan for nearly 2,000 years, but Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion tracing it’s roots back to before the time of Christ. It is a polytheistic belief system that honors millions of gods, which are worshiped in shrines, some of which are elaborate buildings on sprawling grounds, others as small as a shack tucked in the middle of a neighborhood.

Small shrine located near our church.
Small shrine located near our church.

It’s extremely difficult to understand coming from a Christian worldview.  Virtually everything that we as Christians hold as foundational — forgiveness of sins, relationship with God, eternal life, holy living, studying the scriptures,  all of this is almost wholly absent in Shinto. There is no moral code to study and its holy books are largely a collection of folktales about the various gods that are revered. Very few people here would be able to actually give a working definition of what Shinto followers believe, because belief itself is not important. What is far more important is that you participate in the rituals, holidays and rites which connect you with nature, the community, the nation, and the gods.

The largest shrine in our city, Morioka Hachimangu Shrine.
The largest shrine in our city, Morioka Hachimangu Shrine.

The outward result is that virtually the entire population of Japan participates in Shinto rituals, but to them it’s as natural as celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving. Most of the time don’t think of it as a religious experience, it’s just tradition. Shrines are everywhere, and each shrine revers it’s own god. Some gods are good at helping you find a girl friend. Others can help you pass a school exam. If you need your back healed, then you have to find the right god who can help and pay a visit to his shrine. But each local community also has it’s own shrine, and it’s own local festivals. The shrines and the events surrounding them become a center of community life, and the residents feel a responsibility to their own shrine, and the god worshiped there.

There is also a national component, as a key teaching in Shinto is that the emperors of Japan are descended from the gods. Shinto thus fosters a national loyalty to Japan’s emperor, and a connection to the nation as a whole. Local gods are revered, but there is a hierarchy, and larger national shrines have greater prominence. This nationalism, which was exploited in the lead up to World War II, and nearly shattered in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat and the emperor’s admission that he was not divine, remains influential to this day.

Shrines themselves always seek to have a strong connection with nature. They are often found in difficult to reach, rugged and beautiful places. When they are in a town, they can usually be spotted first by the clump of trees that often surround them. It can be a little jarring walking from a busy city street into a quiet seemingly untamed plot of land, which is exactly the intended effect.

Unlike Christianity and most other religions, Shinto places very little on emphasis on doctrines or dogmas. There is almost no component of teaching, preaching. It does not really seek to explain what happens after death, but instead is concerned chiefly with the present life of it’s practitioners. Shinto is not characterized so much by what you believe, but by performing and participating in rituals and festivities that have been handed down for thousands of years to honor various gods. By continuing these rituals one is in continuity with Japan’s past.

However it is almost taken for granted that all who practice Shinto are also practitioners of another religion, which in Japan overwhelmingly means Buddhism, but from a Shinto perspective there’s no problem being Shinto and Muslim, or Hindu, or Christian. This obviously poses a serious challenge for Christians seeking to witness to Japanese, as in calling Japanese to repent and turn only to worshiping the One True God, to many this means a break with their communities, families, and even their identity as Japanese.

However as painful as such a loss may be many Japanese have indeed found that the joy of knowing God, and the community found with Him and His church makes it well worthwhile. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal this to the other 99% of Japanese who remain in darkness.

If you’d like to learn more about Buddhism in Japan, you can read this post: So what is Buddhism all about?

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New baby arriving any day!

Tomo’s due date is just 11 days away, so we’re into that time period where the baby could come at any time. Any time she’s out of my sight I’m keeping a close eye on my phone in case I need to rush home and get her to the hospital. We’ve heard that labor often goes quicker with the second child, which just makes me more nervous. It’s a very exciting time. We’ve got the house all ready, new car seat installed, and a bunch of frozen meals to keep me and Titus alive during the week Tomo will be in the hospital (standard procedure here in Japan). Tomo just had a check up today, and as has been the case throughout the pregnancy, everything is going smoothly, both Tomo and the baby are great. Please pray for a smooth delivery in God’s timing!

Tomorrow will a showing of Japanese film that our church is helping to promote. It tells the story of a former Yakuza member (Japanese mafia) who comes to Christ. It is not a Christian film per-se, but the director is a Christian. The cast is filled with very famous Japanese actors, but due to some strange circumstances has been unable to secure a wide release. One of the major backers of the film died while it was in production, which led to a large loss of funding. They were able to finish the film, but had no money left for distribution and marketing. To try to get things rolling they are scheduling private screenings throughout Japan, relying on the help of churches to get the word out. I’ll be helping drive people to the showingtomorrow. Many Christians are inviting non-Christian family members and friends, and so far seeing a lot of interest due to the notoriety of the cast. Pray that this film touches hearts and sparks conversations about the life changing power of the gospel. The film is called Fukemon. You can check out the trailer here if you’re interested.

Thank you for your prayers for Titus entering Yochien, and for my test this past July. Titus has been doing really well at his preschool, and really seems to be enjoying it there playing with all the other kids. After two weeks he’s already starting to pick up Japanese phrases. My goal is to stay ahead of him. Speaking of which, I also found out that I passed the N3 Japanese language Proficiency test. This means that I’m still roughly on track for meeting the language goals I set when starting language school. I hope to take the N2 test at the end of the year, and graduate from language school next March. Thank you for your prayers!