8/4/98 Tuesday – This day, Mari-san and I drove to Adatara Bible Camp in order to attend middle school camp week. Another girl named Akemi was planning to come, but she couldn’t after all. Her brother had gone to elementary school camp, and we think he got saved.
After lunch, I played some of my usual games: ping-pong, badminton, and Skip-Bo.
This afternoon, the campers participated in a praise concert. Several church groups had prepared songs, and Grandpa Bishop played a few numbers on the banjo. I played "This Is My Father’s World" on the keyboard. Grandma Bishop later told me, she had been enjoyed the concert music from the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see it was Sharon Rose playing so well. I have practiced on the piano in her home in the past, so it's nice to know she thought my playing improved.
8/5/98 Wednesday – The exciting times at camp started at lunchtime this day. Out on the slope behind the lodge, a set-up for flowing noodles was put in place. The noodles came sliding down a chute, pushed along by water running from a hose and down the chute from the top of the hill. Everybody lined up beside the chute, which was made of a hollow bamboo stick sliced down its length. We fished out the noodles with our chopsticks and dipped them into bowls of brown sauce. The process was really funny to watch, and I liked eating my meal.
After lunch, everybody gathered towels and squirt guns and headed for a river about half an hour away. I felt so good, wading in the water, splashing people and squirting them, and getting splashed and squirted myself! Then, when everyone was dripping wet, we ate sliced watermelon. Ooh, that was so much fun!
This evening, the campfire session was held. We played a few games and sang songs in the dark before the message. One of the games I won without even trying. It went like this: Each bench of people had to guess what was “long” about a person, and then send to the front whoever on their bench had that thing the longest. My bench group guessed hair, and so I was sent to the front as the one with the longest hair.
The other benchgroups guessed things like fingers, legs, face, or life. Nobody guessed the real answer, though, which was the longest number of letters in one’s name. Out of all the kids at the front, I won hands down. Most of them had about seven letters in their names. I counted up 13! “Sha-ro-n Ro-~-zu E-n-ta-~-ra-i-n.” N counts as its own syllable in Japanes, while all other syllable are composed of a consonant sound with a vowel added on.
8/8/98 Saturday – This day, when Mama and I went downtown to shop, we ran into a festival. A street was blocked off and lined with booths selling balloons, toys, jewelry, candy, ice cream, and French fries. Colorful streamers, paper flowers, and origami cranes swayed in the breeze. Periodically, a group of men or women in cotton kimonos would march past, clanking or thumping on percussion instruments. The parade was a glorious example of Japanese culture at its most colorful.
8/13/98 Thursday – We’re back at camp again. This time, adults and children are attending together for family camp, so the accommodations are a bit stretched. Once again, Papa & Mama are in charge of educating and entertaining the kids in grades 1-6. Papa is teaching them some stories from Judges, and Mrs. Tajima was enlisted to tell the story of Ruth. I’m glad I get to listen to those stories, too, instead of sitting in on the adults’ message.
A fine surprise it was for me to discover two little blonde English-speaking girls at camp! Not only that, but they’re American and missionary kids! I sure enjoyed talking with the older girl, Jannah (age 10). She liked me a lot, too.
This afternoon, the bazaar was held to raise money for the camp’s chapel project. Mama thought it was funny that Jannah and her sister Juliana kept buying the things that used to be mine. I guess Americans are attracted to the same styles. As for me, I purchased a pretty purple vest, a pink shirt, and a mug with Paddington the Bear on it.
After the bazaar, a bunch of people gathered outside for some games. The one I liked best was a three-legged relay race with one person in each pair being blindfolded. In my pair, I was blindfolded, and Mana from the Koriyama church led me along the course. We did pretty well, and our team won!
Everybody played volleyball, too. At one point, I kept serving the ball over and over. I served six times before my team missed hitting the ball. But however good I am at serving, I’m not so great at hitting the ball when it comes near me.
During campfire time, when we shared testimonies and blessings, I translated from Japanese into English for Jannah. I actually surprised myself with how much I understood - more than Jannah did at least. When it was time to say good-bye, Jannah declared that I was her best friend. Knowing we would probably never see each other again, I felt so sorry for her. I know what it's like to be lonely in a world where you can't communicate.
8/15/98 Saturday – Now I’m 15 years old. Camp is over, but we stayed an extra night at Grandma and Grandpa Bishops’. I opened some presents this morning. Mama got me a pretty lavender wallet. Also, I got a new tape recorder, on which I listened to a new Patch the Pirate tape from Mimi. I know there are a few more present in the mail, but these that I mentioned are my favorites so far.
We left to go home at about 12:00, and Papa suggested that we stop at a fishing pond close by for lunch. At the fishing pond, you catch your own fish, and then the employees of the restaurant cook your own fish for you to eat. It seemed that none of the fish were hungry. We had to wait an hour to catch two fish, and we gave up on nabbing a third one. The fish certainly tasted good, when we finally got to eat them.
On the way home, we stopped off at Abukuma Cave. Even though it was my third time through the cave, I enjoyed it just as much as ever. The stalactites, stalagmites, tree-shaped formations, and underground streams are simply fascinating. I even found a rock that, when you look at it sideways, is shaped just like the face of the cartoon character the Road Runner.
8/17/98 Monday – This day, I went over to Kanako’s house. She has visited Australia for a few days, and she wanted to tell me about it. She had a very nice time. She showed me some pictures of the school, zoo, and aquarium she had visited. She also gave me a souvenir key ring, with a boomerang replica attached to it. I will always treasure it. I had tutored Kanako for her English speech that won the contest that sent Kanako to Australia.
I ate lunch with Kanako and her mother. I also told Kanako about Bible camp, and we played some games. She is such a nice young lady, and I’m glad I met her.
8/20/98 Thursday – Last night, the two Melton families arrived in Iwaki. The group includes Pat & Wanda Melton (Uncle Phil’s parents), their daughter Megumi (8), Uncle Phil, Aunt Debbie, Stephanie (14), Danielle (12), Sharon (10), Nathan (7), Natalie, (7), and Andrew (6). They stopped by on a camping trip which will take them all the way to Hokkaido (Japan’s northern-most island). I’m sure glad we happened to be on their way! We hadn’t seen them in over three years.
Today, we all went to the lighthouse at the beach. We climbed around and up on the stairs inside the lighthouse. At the top, the weather was cool and breezy, and we could look out over the ocean. The colors were lovely – deep blue and purple and aquamarine.
After climbing down from the lighthouse, most of us kids went with Mama across the beach. We shuffled through the sand, waded in the water, and clambered up a great lump of rock.
Nathan stayed behind in the van. When my mom tried to coax him to come with us, he buried his head in his lap, covered his ears, and said, “It’s too noisy!”
My mom was puzzled. “You don’t like the sound of the crashing waves, Nathan?”
“No! The GIRLS!”
Undaunted by Nathan’s sensitive ears, we rode over to another beach where the Meltons could set up camp. (They had stayed at our house the night before.) Mama & Papa left then, but I stayed to eat lunch and later swim. None of us had a plate or silverware. I felt funny drinking from a can while I had a sandwich in one hand and a cucumber in the other. In any case, we had a great day for eating outside – not too windy, but not too hot.
The best part of this day was swimming in the ocean. Actually, we were floating, rather than swimming. Stephanie and I sat or leaned on a raft that we had blown up. Danielle joined us in riding the waves for part of the time. We rode that raft astride, like it was a bucking bronco, and the waves were tall! What a great feeling to see a threatening wave hover in the distance, screaming and then closing your mouth just in time as you bob upwards. Then you sink back down and prepare to shriek again!
8/24/98 Monday – Jack and the Beanstalk: An Operetta will be performed this coming Sunday. This day was another four-hour rehearsal at the Iwaki City Cultural Center. In Act Two, I play a fairy who tells Jack about how the giant stole treasures from Jack’s family and killed his father. Then I sing a song telling Jack that, if he has courage, he can do anything. He should follow the road to the giant’s palace in the sky, and I will be protecting him.
My costume is fancy – a cream-colored dress with lavender embroidered flowers, wings, a crown, and a wand. I also have to take off my glasses, to be more angelic – and more blind!
8/28/98 Friday – I’d better not forget to mention that Mr. Takenaka got baptized last Sunday! He trusted Christ two or three years ago, having had contact with the church people for six years before that. Mrs. Takenaka came and watched her husband get baptized, looking like she wished she were somewhere else. If only she’d get saved, too! However, at least she didn’t keep her husband from baptism, like Mr. Yamaguchi's wife did. Mr. Yamaguchi had planned to be baptized on the same day as Mr. Takenaka, but . . .
While I’m on the subject of baptism – Mr. Sugawara has finally said he’ll let his wife (who is sister-in-law to a Japanese Baptist pastor) be baptized. God is doing wonderful things for our church.
While I’m still on the subject of baptism – two more people will be baptized this coming Sunday! They are engaged to be married and have taken discipleship courses with my dad privately. This young couple came over for supper this evening. I made blueberry cobbler for dessert. Mmm-mm.
8/30/98 Sunday – This afternoon was the production of Jack and the Beanstalk. I went to the Cultural Center after church, just in time for the final rehearsal. During the actual play, with an audience, there was one mentionable mistake that involved me. In Act One, where Wakana and I are Jack’s neighbors, Wakana forgot to call to me after she went off-stage. I just stood on the stage, looking, I daresay, like I had forgotten my lines, until the pianist started to play the next part. So I left, forgetting to tip my hat to Jack’s mother.
That was too bad, because I took a lot of trouble with that hat. It was rather small when I had to get all my waist-long, wavy hair under the hat. I made sure it didn’t fall off by skewering it on the sides of my head.
The rest of the play went swimmingly. The finale was the hardest part. I had to march in, playing the recorder. Some of the music was just too fast for my fingers! But three other girls were playing recorders at the same time, so my ineptness didn’t matter much.
For the finale, we all sang two verses of a song about Jack, with a lot of motions. We each had to take a garland from around our own necks and place them over Jack’s (Tomoko’s) and Mary’s (Shiori’s) necks. That was a bit tricky for me, since I was wearing a crown and Mary was wearing a big hat!
I feel glad to be in another operetta, and once again, the first thing I thought when the play ended was: “I can’t wait to see the video!”
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