Hope for Japan

Speaking at our old Youth Group

Visiting Bethany Church in NH

BBQ in Maine with Evergreen Church

Allie with a freshly laid egg

With a minimal chance of recovery from jetlag, we spoke on Friday at Highrock Church with the young adults and just afterwards at our old youth group. Though tired and a bit frazzled, we somehow were able to share our story of God’s direction in our lives, as well as teaching the teens. Being away from speaking each week, it felt great to get back in the flow of preparing a message and teaching. We enjoyed seeing old friends but also encouraged to see so many new faces in the youth group.

The following day, we headed up to New Hampshire to stay with a family before speaking at the service on Sunday morning. Their home was built in 1776 and had a chicken coup and garden, which allowed Miho to pick her first pepper and freshly laid egg. This was our first chance to spend time with this congregation, but already felt a strong bond and partnership we hope will last for many years to come.

Just after that service and lunch with the pastor and a few members, we drove over to Maine for a BBQ with Evergreen Church. We spoke there last summer and enjoyed getting to know them even better through a relaxed afternoon together. They are a young church plant, which has allowed us to be their first mission partners. A great honor for us! Allie did great that whole day, sleeping and being very calm (except for a brief moment on the drive home).

This week has also been filled with visits to old friends and meeting with our core support team. We have felt overwhelmingly loved and cared for during our return here. We’ve been able to spend time with our old youth leaders and many close families already. Allie even had the chance to become friends with Jaden (our friends the Parks’ son who was born 5 days after Allie) and Noa (the Myungs’ 1-year old girl).

This has been a fantastic week. We are looking forward to visiting Highrock Brookline this Sunday and hosting a dinner next Wednesday for our supporters and friends at Highrock. We will continue to share how everything is coming along in the days to come….

Miho and Allie at the Castle

Day Out in the Sun

Allie's First Flight

First Meal in Boston

This past month has been quite intense. From the major adjustments to parenthood to finishing up my dissertation to getting Allie’s Japanese and American passports, we experienced a steep learning curve in handling our new lifestage. Yet, God has granted us sufficient peace and rest to make it through, albeit with many (nearly) sleepless nights.

On June 27th, we left Edinburgh. As our home for this past year, we grew very fond of this place and will look back with joy for this memory (especially as the birthplace of Allie). While Allie won’t remember it, we were able to take her around for photos while running various errands (Miho has taken nearly 1,000 photos in her first month!). We were blessed by our church (P’s and G’s) who provided us with meals.

Allie did surprisingly well on her first flight. Managing 4 big suitcases, 1 check-in for Allie, 2 carry-on bags, 2 laptop bags, 2 diaper bags, and a carseat was perhaps the most challenging aspect of the move. But, we made it and weren’t charged for overweight or extra bags!

Upon our first day in Boston, we felt overwhelmingly welcomed by our support team from Highrock Church who are hosting us in their home, providing us a car to use, picked us up, helped with groceries and homemade meals, and even picked up sushi for us (Miho’s first time to eat it since having the baby).

Life has been busy since arriving. Allie has now traveled to three countries and three states within the past week. With so much to update, we will share more about our time here in Boston and the churches and people we have visited very soon…..

Grant, Allie, and Miho on our first outing

My dad, Rick, with Allie

Allie sleeping in Miho's arms

Leaving hospital

After 11 days past due, Miho finally gave birth to Allie Mika on Monday, June 28th, around 8:37am. She weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and came out with a full head of hair. With the help of an epidural, Miho was able to deliver the baby without screaming, crying, or other typical behavior generally associated with labor; she even was smiling afterwards!

Whereas Japanese hospitals keep women for an entire week and the US has women stay around 48 hours, we were able to leave the hospital by 3:30pm the same day! We sense this is partly due to the national healthcare plan that wants to cycle people through as quickly as possible, but also that Scottish women expressed how they are more comfortable in their own homes than a sterile hospital room. With the work culture of Japanese society, I imagine that women would not have the luxury of being pampered and waited on by their husbands right after delivery, since they tend to work up to 80 hours a week.

We were fortunate to have my dad here for the first few crucial days. He just went back to Des Moines, Iowa today after spending two weeks with us.

After spending so much money on our seminary education, we figured we might as well get some use out of our Greek and Hebrew by using it for our little girl’s name 🙂 In reality, we wanted to incorporate aspects of our faith and Miho’s family tradition into the name. Mi in Japanese means beautiful and has been used in all the girl’s name of her family (Mieko-mother, Miku-niece, Miwa-niece, Emiko-sister-in-law, and Minako-sister-in-law).

So, her name is: Allie (from the Greek word αληΘεια, aletheia, = truth)

Mika (from the Japanese/Chinese character 美香, Mika, = beautiful aroma [cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15]; and from the Hebrew name מִיכָה, Micah, = who is like; ex. Michael- who is like God)

Four major missions conferences are being held this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the historic Edinburgh 1910 Conference: in Tokyo, Edinburgh, Cape Town, and Boston. Edinburgh 1910 brought Protestants of various backgrounds together with the goal of: “The Evangelization of the World in This Generation” (their slogan).

With Doug Birdsall, Chair of Lausanne, Prof in NYC, and Intervarsity Leader in Ghana

African Choir

So much has changed over the past 100 years, where only one African and twenty Asians were part of the former event out of about 1,200 delegates. This present conference brought 250 leaders from over sixty countries, with a shift in attendance with more Africans, Asians, and women to better represent global Christianity.

We had the privilege to attend part of this event. A Sunday service at St. Giles Cathedral where John Knox, a Scottish religious reformer and the founder of Presbyterianism, preached in the 1500’s hosted a Korean preacher from Young Nak Presbyterian Church in Seoul, which is the largest Presbyterian church in the world with 50,000 members. Nobody could have predicted this 100 years ago, with South Korea becoming the 2nd largest missionary sending country in the world and home to some of the largest churches in the world. Also, the Celebration event on Sunday afternoon allowed us worship with all the delegates from the world. We sang songs from four continents, heard an African choir, watched an Indian dance, and listened to a message from the Archbishop of York (2nd most important position in the Anglican Church) who is from Uganda.

The atmosphere seemed different from what the event might have been 100 years ago. This conference brought Christians from all backgrounds, including Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox. There unfortunately didn’t seem like a strong emphasis on evangelism like the past, but a stronger emphasis on unity in the mission regarding social justice and the environment. Also, the last one predates the World Wars and showed confidence in what man could achieve by reaching the world for Christ. Sobered by pain and wars on behalf of men in the previous century, the focus this time was God’s Mission: a stronger reliance on God and His Spirit to accomplish His mission in the world.

Celebration at the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall, the historic site of Edinburgh 1910

While great to rally together on common issues all Christians can collectively strive towards, a de-emphasis on reaching the lost and spreading the Gospel was somewhat disappointing. We are all for the whole mission that brings reconciliation in various forms to lives, societies, and nations, but it must also incorporate
aspects of transforming lives for eternity through the hope of Christ and His work on the cross.

For more, read: Christian Post article or Wikipedia.

5 Years Ago- Start of Marriage

Grant's first Afternoon Tea- May 2010

Five years ago today, Miho and I got legally married in Japan (though our official anniversary is July 23rd, as this was for Visa issues). With so many memories, how do you describe these past few years together? These two pictures capture how much (or little) we’ve changed physically. We both probably gained a few pounds (though Miho has a legitimate excuse!).

In these five years, we have been incredibly blessed to….

1. Return home to Japan three times

2. Visit a dozen countries and nearly twenty states across America together

3. Speak at over twenty churches

4. Pursue our master’s degrees at seminary

5. Serve together on staff at Highrock Church

6. Have zero fights (OK, not exactly true, but we lost count long ago 🙂 ).

7. Have a church body walk beside through our miscarriage and be blessed with another child that will be born in just a month.

8. Become the closest of friends and more deeply rooted in love!

An online giving option for our financial support is now available. Through a secure site, donors can make one-time or regular gifts with credit/debit cards, PayPal, or an online check which are all tax-deductible. This is a convenient option, though with a small transaction fee. Other options are to mail in a pledge card or an electronic funds transfer form found here.

To give online, visit http://covchurch.kintera.org/give/buchholtz.

12 weeks

23 weeks

28 weeks

Baby Girl at 20 weeks - rubbing her eye

Baby Girl at 20 weeks - sucking her thumb

Yesterday marked the beginning of the third trimester! The best time in pregnancy, which is said to be the second trimester, is ending as fatigue is slowly returning to me.

I still manage to walk for an hour or longer everyday, partly as a destiny of a car-less life in Edinburgh. I feel very heavy but am still fit enough to stay active. Perhaps because of this, there isn’t much back pain or swelling in the legs. And fortunately, there is no sign of stretch marks yet, though the belly skin is becoming increasingly shiny as it’s been stretched like never before. My belly button still remains as an innie. 🙂

The baby has been pretty active, kicking and hiccuping and causing waves in my belly. With her better eyesight and hearing, she seems to respond more to light when I reveal my tummy under direct sunlight, and to sound when we talk to her or play music.

A few days ago, we began reading children’s books to her. So far we’ve read The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Grimm’s Fairy Tales. If you are wondering about the Gospel, oh yes, Grant shared that already as long as three months ago! He’s also been telling the story of how her mama and papa met and how she came into being, under the title of “Scoot Scoot Scoot.” It’s very heartwarming to see Grant interact with the baby. We really feel like a family of three already. The only difference is that the third member of the family is still very manageable – no crying or no poopy diapers!

With less than three months until the arrival of the baby, we continue to look forward to the Big Day and prepare for parenthood. Thank God for blessing us with this new precious life!

Warming up for the marathon

Right before the race begins. Still smiling.

Preparing for the finish

Dying at 28km point

Regaining a smile at 36km point in front of Arc de Triomphe

Forced smile after the race

Cost of marathon - blisters!

Joy and pain sum up this wonderful experience. After a strong start and completing the first half under my target time, the second half proved extremely challenging for me, partly due to a number of blisters on my toes. I ended up crossing the finish line at 4:10:59, though I hoped to complete it just under four hours. Barcelona was the most challenging course so far, with many inclines and slight hills. However, it might be the most beautiful architectural course to run. Starting just below the Palace and Magic Fountain (with the Olympic stadiums just behind), we passed the football stadium, the many amazing Gaudi buildings, the Sagrada Familia (cathedral), the Olympic Park with a Frank Gehry structure, the Arc de Triomphe, Cathedral, Columbus statue, the beach, and much more. Various groups performed throughout the course, with drumlines, rock bands, spanish guitarists, etc. There was a solid crowd along the way cheering for us, even a Japanese groups yelling “Gambatte” (Do your best!). Music playing on speakers was interesting, as certain stations blared Hannah Montana, The Killers, techno, “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus, Nelly, and more. More than 12,000 people ran the race with me.

Now completing my third race, each marathon has been unique and meaningful. Chicago allowed me to see new parts of a familiar city, as I passed Mexican, Greek, Chinese, and gay neighborhoods. I had my Moody friends there to cheer me on and meet me at the finish line. Paris is one of my favorite cities, which meant I loved running with fellow missionaries through this charming city. This time it was my parents welcoming me at the finish line. Now, Barcelona allowed me to share this experience with Miho.

Running reinforces so many spiritual principles for me. It has forced me to train and exercise discipline and perseverance. While I may not have “won” the race or met my set time goal, I kept the course and finished well, which is what I hope to accomplish in my spiritual walk.

Many people in Haiti are been helped through this effort. I am encouraged by the generosity of people in supporting my race to aid victims of the earthquake. One particular case has been with my sister’s special ed students in Des Moines. While primarily poor urban Bosnian or African-American junior highers (yes, Iowa is multi-ethnic and has cities 🙂 ), they contributed to this cause by raising $200 for Haiti. I was moved by how my sister used this opportunity to teach them about giving and caring for others. (Those still interested in contributing can visit http://www.onedayswages.org/donate/org/running-haiti

Lunch with the pastoral couple

Boeuf Bourguignon (or Beef Burgundy)

Dinner with a family before prayer meeting

Pierrade (BBQ stone grill)

Raclette lunch with the youth leader's family

Regional dish of Clermont-Ferrand (Tartuffe = cheesy potatoes)

Dinner with the pastor's children's families

Lunch with two leaders of the church

A Chinese student leader

Ministry is not ministry without good fellowship with people. Likewise, a France trip is not a France trip without good French food. In between our daily ministry engagements, we had many opportunities to fellowship with the people of the church over wonderful French meals. Starting with the pastoral couple, everybody was super warm, hospitable, and helpful. French hospitality seems to have a lot of overlap with Japanese hospitality in that they welcome their guests with special foods and don’t allow the guests to help the host in the kitchen. It’s often the Sunday lunch that people enjoy a long lunch of about 2 hours, yet we were treated to a two-hour lunch and two-hour dinner every day while we were there. You can imagine how much our stomachs grew during our stay in Clermont-Ferrand. : )

The pastoral couple is wonderful people who are both very relational and people persons. They enjoy talking to and praying with people. Pastor Jean is a funny man with a deep reservoir of jokes that he is ready to pull out almost any time. His wife, Lucette, is a very gentle woman who is a fantastic cook. Everyday she labored to make beef burgundy, roasted chicken with ratatouille, stuffed tomatoes, and pierrade. They started the church about 30 years ago, and now particularly the kid’s ministry and youth ministry are growing rapidly.

We had a chance to fellowship with their daughter Natalie’s family and their son Samuel and his girlfriend from Greece. While a lot of French people speak softly, Samuel has an unusually amusing and animated personality. We all laughed so hard and so loud even though the kids were asleep upstairs. Natalie served a fantastic potato tart that night, followed by three kinds of desserts: fruit salad, strawberry tart, and tarte tatin (upside down apple pie).

Craig is the youth leader of the church, who has been faithfully ministering to the youth as long as we have known him. He was very helpful, particularly to Miho, interpreting her testimony as well as her Sunday sermon. And he did a fantastic job! He is blessed with 6 kids, and two of them lead worship in the youth group. The family had us over for a special Sunday lunch and served us raclette with a huge plate full of cold cut meats and potatoes. Raclette refers to this cheese dish that you place a sheet of a special cheese on a hot grill to melt it. You scrape the cheese onto cooked potatoes and eat it with meats. Mmmmm, yummo!

Two of the church leaders also took us out for a regional cuisine of Clermont-Ferrand. One of them, Vincent, once came to Boston for a conference and we had dinner together. The other one, Yannick, loves Japan. He has recently been there and may have an opportunity to return later this year. (His daughter is such a sweetheart. She learned some Japanese words to make conversation with Miho.) Grant had some special ham and Miho had veal, both served with cheesy potatoes called tartuffe. The baby seemed to be very satisfied as she was dancing in Miho’s belly after the meal.

The last but not least is Fred, a Chinese student group leader who has been very instrumental in bringing other Asian students to the church and growing the youth group. He welcomed us even before we arrived in Clermont-Ferrand through email and helped us run everything smoothly, from shopping for Japanese groceries, helping cook a Japanese meal, to interpreting for Miho. As he is full of excitement to serve Christ, we were encouraged by his spirit.

Great ministry, great fellowship, and great food. What more can we ask for?

Cooking a Japanese meal with the youth group

Playing Japanese trivia during youth group

Grant's preaching at youth group

Praise time during Sunday service

Miho's preaching at Sunday service

Sunday worship

Men's group

College prayer meeting

College prayer group

We just came home yesterday from our wonderful trip to France. We had a couple of days in Paris to spend with our old missions friends and do some sightseeing before we headed down to Clermont-Ferrand, the birthplace of our relationship. We met during a missions campaign which took place in this city. The church we served at then invited us back to speak. Since this was our third visit at Les Eaux Vives Church, we were able to build on top on the relationship that we already had.

Our schedule was pretty intense. As soon as we arrived on Wednesday, Grant had a Bible study to lead. He taught in French on God’s work in the midst of our problems, while Miho shared her testimony at the college group where a lot of Chinese students who are seekers attend. There was also a Japanese girl that came to hear Miho speak that night who went to Christian schools in Japan but is not a Christian.

We had another prayer meeting to attend the next night. Due to the unusual snow, there was a small turn out but we had a very intimate time of prayer with one family.

On Saturday, we hosted a once a month youth group under the theme of Japan. The meeting is evangelistic in nature where teens, college students, and young adults can invite their non-Christian friends to this event. We made a Japanese course meal: salad with wasabi dressing, nikujaga (beef, onions, and potatoes cooked in fish broth, soy sauce and sugar) and rice, and green tea ice cream. You cannot satisfy the French with an incomplete course menu. : ) We played Japanese trivia and other games related to Japan. They were surprised to find out little things they never knew about Japan. Grant preached that night, sharing the gospel with the group. All in all, it was a fantastic night with lively music, much laughter, good food, and the gospel. It so much reminded us of the old youth group we had back in Boston. We had so much joy serving and relating to all the young people. The Japanese girl Miho met the night before again came out that night, which really delighted us.

Come Sunday was Miho’s first time preaching in France. As requested, she first shared her salvation testimony with the congregation, which spoke to some students who are under the same kind of academic pressure Miho once felt in Japan. She preached from Gen. 15 and tied it into the sacrificial love of God. Thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, many people expressed their appreciation for her message after service. We pondered upon the love of God as we took communion together. And knowing that we are going to be missionaries in Japan, the pastor collected love offerings for us at the end of service which blessed us greatly financially.

Time had flown by so fast by then. Monday was already our last full day in Clermont-Ferrand. We concluded our stay with the men’s group. Men of various age groups attended and sang, heard Grant’s message on utilizing our gifts, discussed, and ate together. Of course, a course meal, starting with a salad and bread, chicken and pasta, cheeses, and three kinds of fruit tarts! We were surprised but also encouraged by how vulnerable they were during discussion and how each participant was eager to share, correct, and advise to other members with minimum initiation from the pastor’s side.

With daily ministry and fellowship, we were physically very tired. But our spirit was so alive. This trip gave us further internal confirmation as to how we are called to ministry. We love what we do, and can’t wait till we start full time ministry in Japan! Although God has called us to Japan, not France, we believe that God will utilize this wonderful relationship and network we have in France in our future ministry. We don’t know exactly what form yet, but we are hopeful and excited as to what God may have in store for us with them.

Many praises to God and thanks to all of you who have prayed for this trip. It was a success!!!