Kobe Quarter Marathon

Stephanie's Birthday -
We celebrated Stephanie's golden birthday this past week by going to her favorite "conveyor belt" restaurant in Oji . She ate seafood to her hearts content and enjoyed chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream when we returned home. KCS makes a big deal of birthdays so she has been sung to, gifted and wished happy birthday for the better part of the month.

Reiko, the kids' adopted Japanese grandmother, remembered Stephanie's birthday and gave her a Totoro puzzle and frame to mount it in once she puts the puzzle together. She also received e-mail, phone and Skype messages from friends in the states wishing her a happy birthday which let her know she was not forgotten.

Stephanie's golden birthday in Japan

Birthday cake and presents

Michiro and Yoko Nakashima -
We traveled to Kobe on Saturday and stayed with Michiro and Yoko Nakashima. They are long time family friends whom Bob had not seen since he was last in Japan about 25 years ago. We learned the story of how Yoko and Priscilla, Bob's late mother met in Virginia when they were both in married student hosing at the University of Virginia. Bob's father William and Michiro were both in medical school when Priscilla noticed the Nakashima's were new on campus and knocked on Yoko's door to introduce herself.

Yoko shared how she cared for the Chadduck children a couple days a week and how she and Priscilla shared a life long love of music and singing. Yoko still sings with her Kobe Women's University choral group and has done so for 50 years. We were treated to a brief choral performance when some of the women from Yoko's choral group showed up to talk with her.

Yoko Nakashima and some of her choral group members

I have corresponded with the Nakashima's for over fifteen years and last weekend was the first time meeting them face to face. We went to dinner and heard amazing stories of Michiro's experiences in mountain medicine and their travels abroad to the US and Nepal as well as many climbing adventures.

What and inspiration this couple is. They are in their early 80's and so full of life, adventure and have incredible stories of travels, achievements and life experiences. We had a delightful visit. Our children were amazed at the stories and adventures the couple has experienced and really enjoyed their time with them. What a great visit and we so appreciate their hospitality and good company.

Visit with Yoko and Michiro Nakashima and their son in-law in Kobe, Japan

Kobe Quarter Marathon -
We ran the Kobe quarter marathon this past weekend and had a great time. We did not train enough but managed to run the entire race. Fun to take part in a huge marathon and run through the streets of Kobe. This was my first time in Kobe and it was a very fun city to visit. Wish we had the whole weekend to take in the sights and visit more. We hope to return in the near future to see Yoko in one of her holiday choral performances.

Fun finishers towel, medal and sport shirt even for the quarter marathon finishers! Lucky us, woohoooo!

Kobe quarter marathon - Kobe, Japan

Even quarter marathon finishers received the cool towel, medal and shirt. Wooohooo!

Fun family trip to run the Kobe quarter marathon

Dinner with Haruka and Miko -
While in Kobe near Mukogawa Women's University, we caught up with Haruka and Miko. They were MFWI students in the states about eighteen months ago and this was the first time we have seen them in Japan.

Our visit was short but dinner and together was great.

Dinner and a brief  visit with Haruka and Miko in Kobe, Japan

Thank you to our friends, family and supporters who continue to pray for us and send us note and e-mails of encouragement. Your kind words let us know we are in your thoughts and missed. Receiving these communications has been wonderful around special days like birthdays when one might tend to get a little homesick. Your prayers and notes are really appreciated and mean a lot to us. So, thank you again for your kind gestures and messages.

In Christ,

K. Chadduck

The Pilgrim's Progress

Destruction Daily News Assignment -
This past week I gave the 11th and 12th grade English class an assignment regarding "The Pilgrim's Progress". I told my students they were newspaper reporters assigned to follow Christian's pilgrimage from the City of Destruction and report back to the citizens of his community.

I provided eight elements for them to include on the front page of the "Daily Destruction News":

• Interesting article(s) a minimum of 200 words
• Headlines for their articles
• Maps of Christian's journey
• Pictures of characters he met
• Captions for all pictures and/or maps
• Interview with Christian's wife, children and/or friends
• Advertisements
• Opinion article from current Destruction resident

What I received from the students for this assignment not only impressed me but was way beyond what I envisioned. I thought it would be a fun change from our weekly literary circles, vocabulary and grammar studies but they really go into this assignment. Each pair of students also had to present the front page "proof'" to their editor as part of their assignment.

The bottom right photo slides to display a before and after photo of Christian's family when he left Destruction

This newspaper is discolored by coffee to make it look weathered and aged

Some students pretended they were newscasters and radio hosts with reporters on location in the city of Destruction and acted out interviews with citizens of Destruction. They did an amazing job and I am so proud of them. I plan to hang their front page news in our classroom since they are works art. This turned out to be a really fun assignment and I wanted you to see their projects as well.

Visit with Marina -

We met with a former MFWI student this past weekend in Takatsuki. Marina was one of the very first students we hosted in the states and it has been almost exactly two years since we last saw her. We got to hangout with her for a while on Saturday, go to dinner and then attended the Clark's International night. It was great to see her and we made plans to have her and Kazuyo stay the with us in the near future.

She is studying to be an elementary school teacher and was amazed at how much the kids have grown since she last saw them. Alex is now taller than she is and was much shorter than her when she returned to Japan.

Dinner with Marina in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture Japan

Picture at the Clark's International Night November 2015

Hope Chapel Group Picture -
A couple in our church got engaged on Sunday and we all celebrated with a group photo and watched them exchange their engagement rings. The picture is of our congregation and represents a large church by Japanese standards. Presently Christians represent only about 1% of the population, so congregations of around forty are considered a large church.

We are glad to be a part of this group of believers and are blessed to have been welcomed into the group with open arms and kindness. Praise be to God for the "Church" wherever in the world she may be.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Please continue to pray God will open the hearts of those He brings across our paths so we may share His good news. In Christ.

The Chadducks

Making Okonomiyaki

Hiking Mount Ikoma -

We met up with a few families, friends and students last Saturday to hike Mount Ikoma. We set out at 10:15 and did not return home until shortly after 5:00 pm. It was a difficult hike taking about an hour to get half way up the front side of the mountain. We stopped at a small café for ice cream and water before we started for the summit.

Break at the little cafe about half way up Mount Ikoma, Japan

Boarder of Osaka Prefecture headed up Mt. Ikoma. Don't know this guy, he just really wanted a picture with us.

There is a large amusement park at the top of the mountain where we ate sack lunches, drank some hot ocha (tea) and the kids rode a few rides before we headed down the mountain again.

Pikacho at the amusement park

Log ride at the amusement park

This was a really steep hike in the country side overlooking well-manicured gardens, loaded kaki trees and bamboo forests. The view from the top was incredible. Looking back over our trek up the mountain we could see Ikoma and Heguri. The other direction was Osaka, Namba and eventually we could see the ocean beyond the sprawling city below. Incredible to actually see the shore since most of the time it does not feel like we live on an island. A great time and beautiful day hiking in the mountains.

Manicured garden on the way up Mount Ikoma

Trying my hand at Japanese cooking -

So we went to dinner last Thursday at some friend’s house and had Okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancake). It was incredible and so tasty I am going to try to make it myself tonight. This dish looks like fried zucchini, but tastes WAY better. It consists of grated cabbage, fish broth, soy sauce, green onions, Nagaimo (long yam), Bonita flakes (dried fish flakes), Aonori (dried green seaweed), sliced bacon, mayo and Okonomiyaki sauce.

A fellow missionary here at KCS turned me on to Japanese cooking 101.com and I am studying this website for tips, tricks, recipes and oh yes, how to find ingredients to cook this dish here in Japan. Armed with my ingredients list in hand, (including the Japanese names of my ingredients) I set out last Friday to buy groceries. No kidding, I had to ask four different people where the flour, dashi, Okonomiyaki sauce and Nagaimo was. I generally think I am pretty outgoing but after asking the fourth person in the store where these items were I was frustrated and honestly annoyed.

Aonori (dried green seaweed), Okonomiyaki sauce, Dashi (fish broth),Nagaimo (long yam) in that order

This experience has given me a new appreciation of being able to walk into a grocery store and find what I need to make dinner.  It is one thing to be responsible for feeding your family and another completely different issue to not be able to find the items you need to make a meal. It is humbling I tell you, humbling. I am grateful the Japanese are so kind, gracious and willing to help. Every person I asked took me right to the correct aisle and showed me the item I needed.

Someone asked me recently what has been the hardest part of adjusting to Japan. I thought for a minute and said, "Not having my American oven and grocery shopping without a doubt." I guess maybe it is because I expected to miss friends, family and to struggle with the language. I expected to be stared at as a gaijen, (foreigner), I anticipated missing seasonal traditions our family enjoys like Greenbluff and watching Riverfront Park change in the fall. I had not anticipated the regular struggle to navigate the grocery store and to cook meals my family would both enjoy and I know how to cook.

The flip side of that is, I am sometimes shocked at how normal life feels in Japan. What I mean is, I still do laundry, still do dishes, make lunches in the morning, clean the house, parent and our humanness has followed us. We still get too busy, still have homework, struggles and victories daily. I think I knew it would be this way but doing life in a foreign country brings surprises when and where you do not expect them. Not good or bad, just different and it takes time to adjust.

I digress though, back to my cooking experience. It is Wednesday here and I am feeling adventurous again and ready to attempt cooking this amazing dish. I do not like Bonita or Aonori personally so my Okonomiyaki will be served without the fish flakes and dried seaweed. I will post a picture of it tonight after I make it and let you all know if it was a success or a flop. It is hard to say, sometimes I think it will be a hit and it flops.

Headed out for a fun now but thanks for listening to my ramblings of success and failures in Japan.

In Christ,

K. Chadduck

Checking back in with pictures of tonights Okonomiyaki (cabbage savory pancake).

Cabbage, onions, Dashi sauce 

Fried cabbage pancake with bacon! (Okonomiyaki)

Smells so good in our kitchen

Oishii! (Delicious) my first attempt at authentic Japanese cuisine. Success!

Glad all my effort was a success tonight and not a flop.

In Christ,

K. Chadduck