Street Parade

Gay and lesbian pride parade has been held on the 5th Avenue of Manhattan today.

If the traffic was blocked on the 5th Avenue, there would be less parking spaces.

Since our church is located along Madison Avenue ahead of the 5th Avenue, we left for the church earlier than usual.

In Manhattan, we came across some people of such kind headed for the parade and every time my eyes rolled wide open.

Also, I was totally amazed with a large size of the prade.

As we had expected, the streets were occupied and we couldn’t find a parking space.

We drove around and around to find one. I prayed with thanksgiving.

My husband said to me, “Let’s pray.” I answered and said, “I’m already praying.”

Right after that, a parking space was found. I gave thanks to God.

The next challenge is to cross the 5th Avenue where the parade was proceeding.
The avenue was packed with onlookers.

I asked a policeman where to cross the avenue, and he told me we should go all the way up to the 42nd street.

Oh, no, there will be no time to walk up there. I gave thanks God for this situation, and prayed that we could make it for the worship service.

Soon after that, a lady showed us the way to cross the avenue detouring a fence.

We made it, arriving at the church 10 minutes before.

Anyway, it was such a shocking, bustling day today.

However, the church is filled with joy, peace and hope. I definitely love to be here.

Stevie Wonder

It’s Friday night.
Ａ concert of Stevie Wonder was aired on TV.

I recognized many songs.

The lyrics were shown on the screen, so I understood what each song was sung about for the first time!

I was hooked on the screen and songs. They were the gospel songs.

He as a Christian sang love for each other, called for a response from the huge audience and they were together.

The concert really came to life.

It’s needless to say that his song and performance far outshone others.

By the way, sixty pianos are placed in NYC now, in parks, pedestrian streets.
It’s the plan of artists called “Sing for Hope” and the pianos are for anybody to pray freely.

Actually it's a piece of NY news from a friend of mine in Japan.

Twenty-nine pianos are set in Manhattan.

Why don't I go and play the gospel song made in Japan? I can do it if only with one hand.

Piano Accompaniment

Our church has a worship service on the 2nd Fl. of a building near Empire State Bldg. in Manhattan.

We rent this place from Korean Church.

Furnished with a piano and an organ, we had been singing praises a cappella, having each one keeping their own tunes.

Here comes a person who plays the piano!

With the piano for accompaniment, our singing praises has grown livelier!! Hallelujah.

That pianist’s strongest musical instrument is a saxophone and his wife plays the flute.

Now we are finally making a praising band in our church.

Sole Graters

There are graters for the soles in the U.S.

Most of Japanese radish graters are made of plastic now,

but these sole-graters are metallic, as Japanese graters were used to be long time ago.

Guess what will happen to grated sole grounds. They will be caught in a lid of the egg-shaped grater kit.

Can you imagine how surprised I was when I saw my husband grating his heels?

This grater kit is sold in drug stores, taking up a pretty good space.

This kit will never be imported to Japan where it is so muggy.

Different people have different customs.

To tell you the truth, I've debuted with it. I’m just a novice.

However, there are things that don’t change in different countries:

people’s hearts and the Words of the Bible.

Destiny

My husband was born in the mountain town in Shimane-prefecture.

When he was scolded by his father in his childhood, he used to run away to the mountain behind his home.

He is the second child among three brothers,

and his father thought that this child, my husband would go far away in the future.

His two brothers now live in their hometown, but my husband is gone far to the U.S.

I was born and raised in Tokyo. I have a younger brother.

My parents told me that I was gone somewhere whenever I was taken to the department store with them when I was a little child.

In contrast, my brother as a little boy held on tight to the edge of his father’s coat and never left him.

Thankfully, my brother and his family live right next to my parents’ house.

Hearing our parents telling us about our childhood,

two of us might be destined to go far away across the sea. It is a wonder.

"your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them! " Psalm 139:16,17