5 Short Days in Okinawa

It was five full days. During that time, we did little touring and a lot of reminiscing, going to see used-to-be places. The first house we lived in has been torn down; the second one we spent most of our years in Okinawa--well, the lot where the house and yard/driveway used to be--has been replaced by three houses; the third home Mommy transformed into a beautiful garden...is now a run-down garbage-dump-like place. The first place my sister and a co-worker lived in is now a cafe; and our first school has moved and been replaced by high-risers. Landfills have created highways we have never seen before, and modernization/monorails have come to Okinawa.


Grave's Still Here

But two things have not changed. Okinawa is still a land of graves, ancestor worship being at the core of its lifestyle. There are two huge tombs at the entrance of the road leading to the house we were in for our elementary years, and although it was pretty apparent that the caretaker of one of them had found need for a tomb himself, it was still there (although the house was gone!).

Sunday (Nov. 6, 2011), Matt Starin, present pastor of Gushikawa Baptist, let our family have 15-20 mins. of the worship service. We filled it with music and testimony--perhaps the last time for us to do so as a family.

And one afternoon when my sisters were occupied with other things, I got to sit down and have questions answered/blanks filled in for "Daddy's book".

Maybe I'll write more about it later.  I need to go nap now.  Could it be I am getting old too or just feel that way?  After all, so are my Dad, my Dad's cousin, and all the ladies at church that chose my Japanese name for me.