daily rambliniscings

Someone called Bill while i was there and told him to go to the NEST booth and see their animations of the Bible. I thot they were pretty good, and faithful, but i do understand the concern that children will think they are “just cartoons”, and put them in the same category as other cartoons. Using illustrations is fine tho according to what God said thru Ellen White, so i just cannot believe that there could be anything wrong with putting pictures together to make a “moving” picture.

There were several good talks with people regarding the 1858gc book, and i passed out maybe 20 – 25 copies again today. The “goose bump” moment which i’ve had every day here, happened today when i talked with someone from Oklahoma Academy, and he seemed to understand immediately some of the deeper reasons for the need for this book. Thank you Lord for leading me to these people, and help me not to pass by anybody just because they “look” like they wouldn’t be interested.

The man at the E.G. White center was talking to others about the Great Controversy book. There is a little exhibit in a glass case with some letters supposedly from Ellen White showing how she corrected the manuscripts, how others tracked down references for quotes, and how she was so pleased with the new 1911 edition. hmmmm. Of course to most people passing thru, this is all “yes yes”, but to someone studying what is going on, it looks like an attempt to put down fires or prevent future fires. He did say that this 1858 Great Controversy started to be known by the name “Spiritual Gifts Volume 1” in 1860, as that is when “Volume II” came out.

With my 1858 Great Controversy books in hand, i went around the exhibition hall at the General Conference Session in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center to see how to spread them. There are “Marketplace” tables along one wall which cost 30$ each/day. The main table space (booths) cost 800$ for the entire duration of the session. Anyway, i could not buy a booth last year, and the marketplace tables are all taken too, so i just went around trying to find people who looked like they might be interested, and gave them out. Most all of them took the books, and many of them seemed very glad to have them. Of course most of them have read “Spiritual Gifts Volume I”, but almost none of them had studied the differences, so i was able to inform them. A few people turned them down, like the dentist who checked my teeth and said i need to clean them and have 2 fillings re-filled, but there were 3 or 4 who seemed deeply touched with what i’m trying to do by travelling around getting this book translated, and i even teared up when a Review and Herald man said that he was glad i was doing this work, as a large organization sometimes cannot move so nimbly in small countries etc. One other man said he used to be a literature evangelist, and in talking to me, got more inspiration to think again about working full-time for God 🙂

A man told my Korean friend in the afternoon that he could display his books at his table, so the friend invited me to join him, but something happened and it didn’t work out. That’s OK.

I approached Doug Batchelor, and told him i appreciated his secretary’s humble answer to my email several years ago about his using too much joking in his sermons. He said nicely that he had dictated that email, and somehow it got sent out under his secretary’s name, and he appreciated it. What another nice shock at his humblesness 🙂 John Lomacang seemed quite happy with my giving him this book too. Oh yes, the man at the Biblical Research Institute (didn’t find out his name) talked very nicely, and told me that if he wasn’t Adventist, he would be Catholic. Goose bumps went up and down my arms, as i have told this to a few people in my life, and it seemed like no one could understand me, but here was a man who was telling me the same thing i have thot – either keep the Bible first, and or else put man (RCC) first. The other Protestant denominations don’t have a leg to stand on.

Some of the music at the Session is good, and some is quite bad, but i haven’t heard outright “rock” music yet. The food at the restaurants in the GWCC has been all vegetarianized, but i have gotten 2 meals now at the red and white tent outside for 3$. Rice and beans with collard greens and corn bread is good without any lard in it 🙂

Here are some pics from Sabbath, 26, 2010.

After a nice breakfast with the lady of the house i’m staying in, i hopped on the bicycle and rode a bit over 2 hours over to a mountain road in Kyoto prefecture. This is my 2nd time to go that direction, and last time i remember getting off and pushing several places, including most all of the last 3km. But this time i didn’t get off at all until right up to the mountain, and even on the mountain road i only need to get down around 3 times, making me wonder what all my body fuss was about the time before, and a little proud that my muscles are slowing improving 🙂 But my knees are telling me that i better chill out a bit!

On the way there was a big boulder with a rope around it, showing it to be something that people worship, so i went to look at what it was – a carving of a horse onto a rock, about 3feet long. It is said to have been carved there around 800 years ago, and ladies who wish to get more proficient in sewing go there and pray – what a waste! I was the only one there, and seeing the beautiful new green on the trees, with a cherry blossom fluttering once in a while in the wind, and the bright shining sunshine all combined for a great feeling.

When i got to the house that i had stayed at for a week before, i emptied their trash and fed the dogs, and then an other friend came with her father to go together with the father of this house to hunt bamboo shoots again – yea! During the week i had stayed here, we went hunting 3 times, and i even had a dream about scouting the ground carefully to look for the little critters 🙂 Of course the pro looks for the cracks in the ground, showing where a potential baby is coming out. But sometimes the ones underground are bigger than the ones that have poked their heads out already! The ones underground are white and soft and delicious, while the ones already above-ground are black and sometimes hard and not quite as delicious. Anyway, thanks to him keeping 2 of his dogs out in the bamboo forest, the wild boar avoid the place, leaving us with around 30 shoots. I’m pretty good at finding the ones already poking their heads out, but still it is embarrassing to have someone point out one right in front of you that you overlooked – ha!

Then we went back to the house and got the bamboo shoots ready to boil, looked at the bees that were very active, helped around a bit, and then had a wonderful lunch – all Kyoto veggies – which is a very big treat in Japan. While there i got a letter from a SDA Sister, and in opening it found enough funds to put me over-the-top in getting an airplane ticket to America so i can go to the General Conference Session in Atlanta in June – thank you Lord!

My friend and her father took me in a car with my suitcase back to the house where i’m staying now, and then soon i went to teach English. But before reaching the place, i stopped in at a former English student’s house and she wants me to start teaching her kids next Tuesday. Then i actually earned 2,000yen for one hour of teaching to a 6-grade boy. We studied geography mostly, and then played Uno having each one say an English phrase using “have been” before playing.

On the 20-minute walk back to the house i heard a voice behind me saying “Danny”. I turned to look and there was a former English student, 16y.o. now. We talked about many things on the way back, and it was kinda fun being with a group of teenage boys for a few minutes. When i got back i fixed up the bicycle that has been sitting for almost 5 years, and was surprised to see that the battery-powered tail light still works fine! There is a lot of rust and the vinyl seat and rubber hand grips are no good, but putting a plastic bag over the seat fixed that, and black tape on the grips fixed that, so now, other than no front light (need a new bulb i’m afraid), i’m set to go – and go i hope to go – like maybe 20some km tomorrow to church in Nara.

The lady of the house fixed a good supper of white stew without using meat, and with a side of rice (mandatory at every meal in Japan), and a salad, made an excellent meal. Oh yes, i shared a little chestnut sweet thing for dessert.

Then to finish off the nice day, i was able to get my computer hooked up to the internet here, and found out that a different former student wants me to start teaching her English next week too – yea!

So i got to thinking, how many different places did i sleep in, in 2009? This is what i came up with:
year— 10 nites on a bus, 4 on an airplane, 1 on a train, 1 in a paid-for place (dormitory 9euro), and the rest in 41 different people’s places.

Php 4:12 I know both [how] to be living in humble circumstances, and I know [how] to be living in abundance; in every [place] and in all [circumstances] I have learned the secret of being filled and [of] being hungry, both to be living in abundance and to be having need.
Php 4:13 I am capable of [doing] all [things] through Christ, the [One] strengthening me.

It is noteworthy that of the top ten worst persecuting countries, 7 are Muslim, 1or2 is Communist, and 1or2 is a dictatorship.

I’ve been in country #8, and have seen country #1. It is true that those who hate Jesus, love death.