During the second year of our pilgrimage we were in Japan. We arrived from Los Angeles at Narita airport outside of Tokio. We were so tired and jet-lagged. During our trip through the US from October to December 2006 we had slept outside a lot. So when we arrived in Tokyo, we figured we should try to find a place to sleep somewhere outside as the money some kind folks had given us in L.A. before our departure was already used up for a bit of food and the train ride from the airport into the heart of Tokyo.
Very funny, trying to find a place to sleep outside in the heart of Tokyo! The parks are closed at night, and there is not an unused corner anywhere that is not fenced off. We finally did manage to find a little forest passing by a Buddhist temple and some medieval looking houses. I remember it so vividly still. I was thinking: "Wow, we are in Japan, on the other side of the World. God just transported us by so many miracles!"
We had sleeping bags then and laid down to sleep. In the US people had been quite outgoing and kind of like: "Hey man, what’s going down?" --- comparatively easy to communicate with... but Japan was so different. The people were shy, quiet, reserved, avoiding eye contact, never coming close to you, but they also had a mystical fascinating side to them.
We were quite an unusual sight for the Japanese. Most Japanese people are fairly small, and both Shekinah and I are quite tall. We are dressed in robes and sheep skins, so we really stood out to say the least.
Also few Japanese speak English, and the ones who do are often afraid of making mistakes, therefore many try to avoid speaking to strangers. The odds were stacked against us quite bit, ha!
We also did not know a word of Japanese, we were hungry and later got caught in the rain as well, and ended up getting soaking wet. What a scene!
We found refuge in a tiny laundromat and a lady that passed by gave us some coins for the dryers.
A little while later we came to a small foreign exchange office. We did not have any money, ha, but the girl in the office spoke some English. We asked her to translate some phrases for us into Japanese, so we could communicate with people.
First phrase: "We are pilgrims."
"What is a Pilgrim?” she asked.
“It is someone who walks with God, just trusting him to supply his needs, like the Buddha did.”
She began to understand. "Junrey shteimas", I began to write down transliterating what she was saying.
Next Phrase: "We do not work for money". "You do not work for money?" she was stunned. "No, I said. Wherever we are God supplies our needs in the situation we are in, because we speak what we know to be the truth wherever we go." Tears began to drop from her eyes and she said: "So you are free."
Later we met a young fellow, Yutaka, who sold necklaces, rings, and bracelets in the street and he invited us to stay in his apartment.
Many Japanese people do not even invite close friends into their house, and we ended up staying with Yutaka for one month. His apartment, like so many others was tiny, something like 3 meters by not more than 4 or 5 meters, which included a kitchenette, and a tiny bathroom. He did not earn much money, when we went into the street people sometimes helped us with food or some money which we took home to share with everybody. Sometimes we stayed in that apartment with 6 people. We had become a really sweet family with Yutaka and his friends. It was so amazing because just a few days earlier we had come to Japan not knowing anyone.
One morning when I woke up in the midst of all these loving people, this song came almost in an instant like a dictation.
(Written by David)
Very funny, trying to find a place to sleep outside in the heart of Tokyo! The parks are closed at night, and there is not an unused corner anywhere that is not fenced off. We finally did manage to find a little forest passing by a Buddhist temple and some medieval looking houses. I remember it so vividly still. I was thinking: "Wow, we are in Japan, on the other side of the World. God just transported us by so many miracles!"
We had sleeping bags then and laid down to sleep. In the US people had been quite outgoing and kind of like: "Hey man, what’s going down?" --- comparatively easy to communicate with... but Japan was so different. The people were shy, quiet, reserved, avoiding eye contact, never coming close to you, but they also had a mystical fascinating side to them.
We were quite an unusual sight for the Japanese. Most Japanese people are fairly small, and both Shekinah and I are quite tall. We are dressed in robes and sheep skins, so we really stood out to say the least.
Also few Japanese speak English, and the ones who do are often afraid of making mistakes, therefore many try to avoid speaking to strangers. The odds were stacked against us quite bit, ha!
We also did not know a word of Japanese, we were hungry and later got caught in the rain as well, and ended up getting soaking wet. What a scene!
We found refuge in a tiny laundromat and a lady that passed by gave us some coins for the dryers.
A little while later we came to a small foreign exchange office. We did not have any money, ha, but the girl in the office spoke some English. We asked her to translate some phrases for us into Japanese, so we could communicate with people.
First phrase: "We are pilgrims."
"What is a Pilgrim?” she asked.
“It is someone who walks with God, just trusting him to supply his needs, like the Buddha did.”
She began to understand. "Junrey shteimas", I began to write down transliterating what she was saying.
Next Phrase: "We do not work for money". "You do not work for money?" she was stunned. "No, I said. Wherever we are God supplies our needs in the situation we are in, because we speak what we know to be the truth wherever we go." Tears began to drop from her eyes and she said: "So you are free."
Later we met a young fellow, Yutaka, who sold necklaces, rings, and bracelets in the street and he invited us to stay in his apartment.
Many Japanese people do not even invite close friends into their house, and we ended up staying with Yutaka for one month. His apartment, like so many others was tiny, something like 3 meters by not more than 4 or 5 meters, which included a kitchenette, and a tiny bathroom. He did not earn much money, when we went into the street people sometimes helped us with food or some money which we took home to share with everybody. Sometimes we stayed in that apartment with 6 people. We had become a really sweet family with Yutaka and his friends. It was so amazing because just a few days earlier we had come to Japan not knowing anyone.
One morning when I woke up in the midst of all these loving people, this song came almost in an instant like a dictation.
(Written by David)
Drawing by Shekinah
My Heart Beats For You / MP3 Audio