Reflections/Devotionals
Life at RTS–So Far, So Good!
It's been a very full month for me (Mike), but yesterday was officially my last day of summer classes at RTS this semester!!! Whoohooo!!! I still have some schoolwork that I have to do (rather a lot, actually), but it still feels good to be "done" with classes. I have...
Landscapes from Harvey Cedars
The first morning, Jen and I walked down to the beach at around 6am. The sun was already up, but the beach was so still and calm that it was like another world: Later that week, we noticed the huge amount of beach erosion that had (apparently) just taken place. Where...
Mike’s New “Party” Video
For those of you who appreciated " Bring It On Down To The Downtown ," here's a new music/dance video that'll get your toes tappin' and your hands clappin'! Everyone, it's time, so... " Let's Get This Party Started Right-A!!! " Filmed almost entirely on location in...
Mike’s Best Day
This past Friday, I (Mike) had my best day ever since coming to Japan. It was my last day of teaching at Takine Elementary School. Now pretty much every time I teach at an Elementary School, I have what I call an "Edward Bloom" day—a day where you get to be the hero...
handzoCostanzo is Here!!!
Those of you who aren't on our email list have probably been wondering, "What on earth happened to Mike and Jen? Where did they go?" Well, we're leaving Funehiki and retuning home to the States in April so that Mike can start graduate school. As you can imagine, we've...
Our Winter Break, Part II: Sendai and the Uomotos
The day after we got back from Kyoto, we embarked on the second stage of our winter adventures. This time, we went to Sendai to stay with an OPC missionary family, Murray and Tsuruko Uomoto. We had met them briefly in May when we visited the Cummings, but we wanted to...
Thoughts from Jen on Kyoto
Over the course of our visits to the different temples in Kyoto, we had the opportunity to see a lot of people both worshiping at the temples as well as monks and nuns who work full-time at these sites. I kept thinking, "I'm so sorry for you!" particularly whenever I...
Our Winter Break, Part I: Kyoto
For months now, Pastor Tajima (our pastor from Koriyama Baptist Church) has been encouraging us to visit his sister, who lives in the historic city of Kyoto . Apparently, she loves to host folks from out of town, especially if they have never seen the city and its...
Mike’s New Song/Video–Though Dwelling With Strangers Around
Back in November, I discovered a poem in my daily devotional by William Jay (published in 1828) called "Though Dwelling With Strangers Around" . The words were so powerful, I decided to see if anyone had ever put it to music. To my surprise, I found nothing; this...
Mike’s Christmas Tree
For the most part, opportunities to talk about God or share one's faith are rare in the job of an ALT. The reason has less to do with religion in public schools (many students have Shinto charms on their bags or pencases) than it does with the fact that everyone is so...
You Are Special
Today was the day of the big Kindergarten Christmas program -- and my acting debut. :0) Our team mimed the picture book story "You Are Special" by author Max Lucado. Mike did the narration all in Japanese too. It went really well -- Yay! Here are some pictures of...
The Pea Little Thrigs
Yesterday evening was our first annual team talent show! We saw everything from handstands, to opera, to interpretive dance! There was even an impressive recitation of the entire periodic table of the elements by memory! One of Mike's & my contributions to the...
Mike’s School Festival & Video
Last year, Jen and I attended Takine Junior High School's school festival . Even though it was on a Sunday, we decided to go, partially because that was the expectation, and partially because we kept hearing about how important this event is to the students. But in...
Sabbath and Japan
This is such a controversial issue among Christians today. I don't want to get embroiled in the controversy, but I can't help but talk about some of the areas of contemplation my brain has stumbled across after living in Japan for a year. I think there's a...
Japan’s spiritual darkness and an opportunity to be light
Yesterday was Shuubun no Hi (the Autumnal Equinox, one of the two days in the year when the day and night are equal in length). These two days, together with Obon (the day when the spirits of departed ancestors supposedly return to earth) mark the three biggest days...
Of New Fruit & Heaven
Yesterday, I discovered a new piece of fruit at the grocery store. It has a beautiful periwinkle, lavender smooth skin. It has no smell. It tastes a little like watermelon -- full of little seeds. But rather than being crisp and juicy, it's slightly sweet and...
Mike’s New “Liquid Chicken” Video
When you've given everything you have, and there's nothing left inside, you need to replenish, recouperate, revitalize, and reinvigorate with the proven power of pureed chicken. That's why we created new LIQUID CHICKEN brand chicken drink . It's the chickeny blast...
To Tokyo & Back
We're back from our whirlwind trip to Tokyo! It was a very full trip, and a lot of fun! We tried something new this time around and bought a special seasonal train pass called the "Seishun Jyuhachi Kippu." It gave us 5 full-day passes to travel anywhere we wanted in...
Mike’s Karaoke Director’s Cut Video (Available in Three Speeds)
One of the hardest things about making your own movies is having to chop out good material, either because it doesn't fit for some reason, or because it's just plain too long. But one of the best things about maing your own videos is that you can go back and make a...
The Further Exploits of Mike’s Culinary Adventures
Hontou ni hisashiburi desu ne! It's been a long time since my last Culinary Adventures (TM) blog--six months, in fact. You might even have been fooled into thinking that maybe I settled down and decided to give up trying all the interesting new foods that Japan has to...