Since coming to Japan I have been going to a church in Roppongi called “Jesus Life House.” The church’s pastors are originally from Australia and services are in English and Japanese simultaneously. There are a lot of people from all around the world that go to this church, however I heard that around 80% is Japanese. This is kind of exciting because only 1% of Japan is Christian. This church is different from the majority of churches in Japan too, because it is really focused on a younger community. (In my experience churches are usually really traditional in Japan.) Many of my Japanese friends say that it reminds them of a club cause of the lights and live music. All in all though it is a lot of fun and a great community. Since coming to Japan I feel like I have really gained a family through my church.
One thing that I have been apart of every week since I started coming is “Street Live.” Street Live is Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday in Shibuya. I usually go to Monday Night Street Live. At Street Live we just set up an amp and have singing and guitar, we dance around, and meet different people who pass by. We also give “free English lessons” to those who pass wanting to practice their English. It is crazy fun. I have met so many amazing people in the streets of Shibuya from it. I met a girl named Ayumi who is studying to be a beautician and was able to let her practice the next week with a foreigner’s hair (mine). I have met a girl from Thailand who is studying in Fukouka right now and was traveling around Japan on her vacation. She was shocked that I had watched Thai films, and we became friends very quickly!
Also last week we met a girl from Canada who is living in Spain, she has invited all of us to visit her. She taught us Flamenco. Some of the people we meet do come to church to hang out with us too. Also my church has free English classes offered for a half hour on Sundays and Mondays. It is really exciting to be apart of a community that is so much fun and so active in reaching out to people. This is not a fire and brimstone kind of thing, but instead like a party… all the time. And so many have really changed there lives from finding the church. There are so many amazing stories of coming from broken families or just bad situations and finding the love they were looking for. Literally not only God but so many people are getting married in my church!
I also have become really close to the people from my church that are apart of Monday Night Street Lives.
One girl that I have become really close to is Alisa. She was planning on going to Temple before, but plans fell through. Right now she works for an idol agency from Okinawa (where she was born). So she is apart of a small girls group and is just starting to do promotions in Tokyo. Her group is called Lucky Color. This last weekend another girl and I went to see her perform at a shopping center. It was so much fun! She was so adorable! They were promoting a farm/ice cream shop. It was kind of disturbing to see all the old men though that were there as fans. I felt really protective of Alisa. The men though were looking at my friend and I (we had made fans and were going crazy for Alisa) like we had come from another world. Which considering we were both Americans and the only girls present as fans… we were. Anyway it was a lot of fun and another crazy adventure in Japan.
