Marsha's Blog

 To All my Wonderful Followers,   We survived the holidays! Now we are making it through what the English call “Boxing Day”, which has nothing to pugilistic activities but rather to “boxing up” all the things from Christmas. Quite appropriate in our case, since we’re also packing up the house in preparation for the Big Trip.   And to make things even more interesting, our whole family is beginning a 5-day stayover in a resort not far from the house. It’s rather tired, but it has a pool, a pond and a creek, and the grandkids love it.   I know Christmas is over, but I’d like to share just one more story, in case you haven’t heard it already. It’s about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow … remember him from high school literature class? He did most of his writing in the mid to late1800s, but did you know…...   …that his second wife burned to death in 1861 when her dress caught on fire as she melted wax to seal Christmas letters?  Henry was so injured trying to save he...

  Well, are we all getting excited yet?  It’s almost Christmas!! I’m glad so many of you enjoyed the “Cockroach Christmas” story.  Fortunately, all our ‘goofs’ in the Japanese language weren’t so eventful In fact, soon after we arrived, Tony came across a simple story in my grandmother’s Guidepost magazine that she’d so kindly tucked into our luggage for the ‘hard days'.  It was simple enough that Tony felt he could tell it in Japanese, and the story was a great success.  So much so that besides being “Santa” for numerous Church kindergartens every year, he began to have a reputation for the simple “Tommy’s Christmas” sermon.  Always a hit on the cold and dark winter nights of Christmas in Japan. So here’s the story.  I can almost repeat it in both languages: "It was Christmas Eve, and I was trying to write my Christmas sermon for the Children's home where our family lived and worked.  Even though my heart was happy and filled with love, the words...

We’d been in Japan several years when we got some new missionaries.  This couple and their two boys were unstoppable. In particular, the wife clearly had a musical ear, leading her to have a real gift for the languages. I tried not to be jealous of her prowess. And then one day she dispelled any jealousy I’d had by telling this story on herself. It was the Christmas season. That’s when we missionaries would crank into gear and take every opportunity imaginable to show Christ to Japan. After all, materialism had appeared soon after the war was over and most Japanese understand that Christmas is coming, even going so far to seek out churches and other venues in the hope of some ‘holiday cheer’. Mind you, most have very little idea to this day of WHAT Christmas means, apart from gift giving to children  and eating Kentucky Fried Chicken with your boyfriend on Christmas Eve. I’m not making this up, you can google what an incredible marketing ploy the Colonel pulled off some 60 yea...

 Hello all   Welcome to December!  By now you in the Northern Hemisphere should be snugged down and anticipating Christmas. I can imagine you looking thru frosty windows out at glistening lights, humming Christmas carols and sipping hot chocolate. (sigh!)   And yet, here Down Under, I have never quite “gotten” the Hot Christmas idea, but I have to admit that it’s fun to hear the grandkids frolicking in the pool and wondering what cool quick dry ‘frock’ I can come up with for the Christmas Eve carols. And then is the 8:00AM Christmas day service that is also so much a part of Australian tradition.    We love being with family then, and seeing the gleam in the children’s eyes. I was almost moved to tears when I asked my middle grandson, Ezekiel, what his favorite Christmas memory was. I expected to hear something involving food and/or presents, but he thought a moment, then said, “Oh, that’ll be THIS Christmas, because we have a ‘newcomer’! He was talking abo...

 Last week a friend recommended a PBS video about someone I thought I knew a lot about.  But as it turns out, there’s more to this fellow than I knew. I’m going to call him a “Hero of the Faith”, but with a different perspective. If you have access to PBS, take the hour to watch “The Secrets of the Dead, A Samurai in the Vatican”, Season 19, episode 5."   His name was Hasekura Tsunenaga, the year was 1613, and he was the first Japanese to travel more than half way around the world looking for Christianity. Well … If only it were that simple.   Actually, he was a disgraced Samurai.  His father had brought shame on his family for some technical error and was ordered to commit ‘seppuku’ or ritual suicide for his carelessness.  Now the son, Hasekura, with really no future as the whole family was shamed, was ordered by the Daimyo (think Governor) Masamune to go to Spain and check things out.  Masamune himself, many years prior, had been sent to No...

 A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of baptizing a new friend.   Hearing her testimony gave me goosebumps all over. And honestly speaking, we can’t claim much of the process in her journey to Christ; but the “goosebump event” came about more because of the reminder that God is at work all around us even when all around us seems to be tumbling down. Our friend is Japanese, but we were moved to hear of her family’s involvement in the local Buddhist temple. Because of that, she was naturally taught to be “good”, moral and hard-working. In addition to that, her family focused on the exterior, “visible” aspects of living circumspect. As she got older, those characteristics took her a long way, through a somewhat privileged life, traveling and learning languages, and becoming well educated.  She married and had kids, but there was still a God-shaped vacuum in her heart.In 2010, she came across a church, found it inviting and started taking one of her children there....

 We’ve been a bit ‘off subject’ lately, so today I’ll return to the ‘Known heroes of the faith’ via Canon J. John.    Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a name you may or may not have heard in your life, but if you’re like me, you’ve just cringed back in your ignorance, silently thinking ‘Let’s see; was he a good guy or a bad guy?” So here’s what I’m reading about him. He was born to an aristocratic German family living in Poland in 1906.  Obviously gifted, he chose to study Theology and had his PhD by age 21.  He then began to contribute to what were many international links including Germany and then the USA.   Returning to Germany in 1931 he was horrified by the rise of the Nazis and because of either his bravery or his naivety, wasn’t afraid to speak out against Hitler.  His was not a popular point of view because many German Christians, encouraged by Hitler’s manipulative use of Christian language, saw Hitler as the nation’s savior.  The lines becam...

 I’ve been thinking about heroes lately, but another thought came into my mind as I was reading the 12th chapter of Romans.   You’ll remember last week I talked about men who lived with sacrifice and hard work, a product of their dedication to God.  Those efforts impacted so many people we can’t even imagine.   And that started me thinking about ‘those people’ who were impacted.  Not the Heroes, but let's say the “Hero-ees”: the people on the receiving end of the heroism…….. Tony remembered one sweet but frank church lady in our first church in Japan, back in 1979.  Here we were, all puffed up about ourselves and planning to bring God to these shores and save the whole Japanese Nation. Over tea and rice crackers, this sweet lady asked simply, “Are you planning to bury your bones here?” What a question! We didn’t know how to answer, and in fact, didn’t answer it very well. Who started talking about burying bones?  We were planning to be HEROES...

 A few weeks ago I mentioned Eric Lidell in a blog.  He was the “Flying Scotsman” of 1924 Olympic fame.  The movie in1981 that launched his story into world news was “Chariots of Fire”.  Who can hear the theme song and not want to go jogging?   The other day, while surfing through the Christian movie channel online, we found “On Wings of Eagles”.  It’s a more modern version of Eric Lidell’s life story, taking up where “Chariots of Fire” left off. It was well done and stayed true to the man, but it lacked the beautiful music of the former movie, and since it focused on his death was not near as much fun to watch. I was left, however with the thought that I had gotten a glimpse of the “real” hero of the faith.  And while I’m at it, here’s another “hero”, but this one is a fictional character. His name comes up in the book “Hawaii”, by James Michner, and goes by Abner Hale. In the story, which was loosely based on truth, he was a Congregationalist mission...

 For some time now, I’ve been talking about “Heroes of the Faith”: those remarkable men, women and children who by their trust in the Lord left a legacy that blesses us all to this day. While looking for more “faith giants” to report on, I came across one of Tony’s Creation magazines and found an article about Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, he was not what we would call a “hero of the faith”, since he seems to have abandoned God as he grew older. But I was surprised to find that Einstein had heroes of his own, three of them, in fact. Each was known for his advances in science and each merited a picture on Albert’s study wall. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is best-known for his discoveries about gravity and the subsequent motions of the planets and stars. Michael Farady (1791-1867) had a lot to do with our understanding of electricity, and, James Maxwell (1831-1879) is responsible for a unified theory of electricity, magnetism and light. The things these three accomplished in their life...

 Good morning all,   Last week I was talking about something I came across in the 17th chapter of Luke.  Today I’d like to talk about a little ‘hero’ that I may have mentioned in this blog years ago. The story following last week’s passage is what brought her back to my mind.   First a little refresher, from Luke 17:11-19,   “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ When He saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he sai...

 Today I found an interesting passage in the Bible, a verse that really caught my attention as we soldier on through this series of  “Heroes of the Faith”. It’s in Luke 17, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject. To begin with, let’s talk about the generation that we see growing up around us. For myself, that would be two generations away from mine, as I look at the lives of our grandchildren.  Let me be fair: if you have any distinguishing trait, such as the color of your skin, or the heritage that defines you, or if there’s anything about you that has resulted in your being set apart by someone’s definition of cruel ways, then you might possibly be singled out as someone in need of a special exemption from normal living. Please hear what I’m saying -  I’m generalizing here - but there may be a case for special treatment and an extra measure of mercy and grace.    Now, let me get to the thing that caused me to pause and consider this morning. It...

 Tony and I took a few days off this last week to “chill out” up in Far North Queensland. I use the term loosely, since the temperatures are nearly ten degrees warmer in Cairns than back home on the Gold Coast. We’re officially in Springtime here Down Under, and ten degrees can make a big difference in the swimming pool!  But our main reason for going north is the sad fact that, with all the CoVid restrictions, we’re pretty much limited to travel within the State. Now I won’t mention to “some” of you out there, but since Queensland is two and half times bigger than Texas, we do have lots of options. Oops, I mentioned it; sorry about that!    It’s called the Tropical North up there for a reason … it’s HOT and WET, but also beautiful, with abundant flora and fauna everywhere you look. The night of our arrival in our Cairns hotel, I was graced by the presence of an Africa Sized Cockroach who, even with the room lights on, just wandered into our room to say boo.   T...

 One day this last week, I was sitting with the grandkids looking through an old photo album. Soon we came across a picture of their parents (son Nathan and wife Kylie) sitting and smiling, at what appeared to be a Japanese Restaurant.  When they asked about it, I laughed and told them the story that goes with it.. It began when Nathan was about six years old. Along with his older brother, Trevor, we were vacationing in the beautiful mountains west of Tokyo.  We came across a particularly lovely hotel/restaurant about 5 miles across the lake from where we spent many a memorable summer, and even much later, two whole years leading up to and during the 1998 Winter Olympics. But back to the story.  We ordered breakfast and I said with a sigh of contentment, “Ah, boys, someday you’ll bring your brides here!” That’s when I realised the underlying stress my little Nathan was under.  He was the only foreigner in the Japanese school near our home, and I realize now that...

 Last week I talked about three great men who impacted our lives for the good: Steve Metcalf, Eric Liddell and David Hayman. This morning, just for a break, I’d like to tell you, as that late great news commentator Paul Harvey used to say, ‘The Rest of the Story’ about Steve. Tony and I had heard this story a number of times back when we knew and often worked together with the Metcalfs, but we still shake our heads in wonder. After being released from the POW camp in China and being reunited briefly with his family, Steve went to Japan in 1952 to be a missionary.  This was to the people he had hated so much from his wartime internment camp, but thanks to his friend and fellow prisoner Eric Liddell, had learned how to forgive.  He was single, and so attacked Japanese language school with a fervor given to those who were not encumbered with family.  I look back on my own language school experience, and it still makes me tired!  We had a family, and we found that l...

 With all that's been going on the last few weeks, it’s amazing that I’ve had the time to read a book, but I think it’s been therapeutic. Especially the one I just finished; it’s called, “In Japan, the Crickets Cry”, and it was written by a friend and fellow missionary, Stephen Metcalf. If I could pull out the “takeaway” from the book in one sentence, it would simply be this: “Stuff happens to us all, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t there”.  “Crickets Cry” is the story of three men. Two of them we had the privilege of working with in Japan, and all three are very definitely “Heroes of the Faith”.  Their names were Steve Metcalf (the author), Eric Liddell and David Hayman.  Steve and Eric were incarcerated together in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in China. David came along much later in Japan as a friend and collaborator. All three of these men are now in Glory. Steve was a school boy of missionary parents, living and working in the remote town of Taku, deep in the...

 Good morning Everyone, My Australian calendar says so; it must be true: Spring has officially begun. While you folks in the Northern Hemisphere are think about packing away the BBQ, putting the swimming pool into hibernation, and in those extreme places, installing the storm windows and stacking an extra cord of firewood, Down Under, we’re changing our long-sleeved shirts for sleeveless slip overs to go with our board shorts. I think I actually saw a hint of frost last month in the back yard, so I’m still recovering from that bit of trauma. And so with the signs of spring come signs of hope. It’s also Fathers Day here, so the home stores are sold out of power tools and everyone’s doing their best to get together.      Some days, it feels like winter is still lingering, and I’m not just talking about the air outside. The sadness of Dawn’s “graduation” last week, while most of the family remained isolated and unable to be near, remains in our hearts. And then as if to...

 This morning it’s with a sad heart to tell you that my nephew’s wife, Dawn, succumbed to COVID last night as her husband Lyle sat by her bedside. I want to say a big thank you to all who have remembered us over here in Australia, unable to travel, during this emotional roller coaster. Dawn was a much-loved wife, mother and friend, and I know that we are all better people for having known her.  I know most of you are no strangers to such painful partings, and you know as well as I do that it never gets any easier, even when all those around are brothers and sisters in the Lord. It’s hard to accept sometimes that our plans and God’s plans are not always the same. But accept it we must, and rejoice in the knowledge that He loves Dawn and knows why He let her be healed only in Heaven.  We also know He loves us and feels our pain as well.     With a recent newborn in the family, I can’t help but remember the comment made in Tony’s “Letters to Schnicklefritz” (w...

 Good Morning Praying Friends, I have good news this week.   The last few days have been particularly hard for us, wondering each day if my nephew’s wife would live or die.  I’m happy to report that, and with thanks for your many prayers, there is some cautious optimism on the part of her doctors. Underscoring that, here’s a little vignette my nephew sent me about something that happened this week. These are Lyle’s words:  “A couple of weeks ago, when Dawn was so sick with Covid that she had to be airlifted to Casper, I tried to call the hospital but dialed a different number by mistake. It went to voicemail. I started talking, explaining that I was trying to reach my wife in the hospital.  Before I finished, a lady picked up the phone, explained that I had dialed the wrong number, and told me straight away that she would be praying for my wife. I apologized for misdialing and hung up. This morning, I felt led to call her number again to apologize and to th...

 Good Morning Friends, Today I’d like to talk to you about a guy named David.  He was definitely a ‘Hero of the Faith”.  In fact he’s featured in a lot of the Bible and personally wrote several of the Psalms himself. There’s one particular story that really hits me every time I read it. If you’re not familiar with it, let me fill you in.  It’s in 2nd Samuel as well as a couple of other places.   David, again, had jumped in front of God’s will and carried out a census, even though his prophet Joel, cautioned him against it.  One reason I like David is that he so often jumps ahead of God in his enthusiasm, and then pays the price, much like some of us.   When he confessed his error to God, he was given three choices of ‘discipline’.  He picked the option of a three-day plague over Israel. When it was over, David was fully repented. Then on a Divine command from the prophet Gad, he set out to build an altar on a nearby threshing floor, and ...

 Good morning all,  I hope you’re all coping with the continued conditions. We’ve had a long week’s worth of lockdown and are hoping to see the light soon. My sister’s son and family have Covid, so that’s been keeping our prayer life alive. The latest word is that perhaps they’re on the mend.   Today lets talk today about the Japanese.  As most of you know, they’re a very sensitive and spiritual people.  When I say ‘spiritual’ I don’t mean Christian, but they are deep thinking and artistic.  They especially like poetry and have several styles from Haiku (short) to longer Tanka.  I’m going to tell you about someone who wrote a lot of Tanka, but first I must share a Haiku that my son wrote in the third grade.  He was in Japanese school and I feel that he gave it his best shot, clearly showing the sensitivity and sophistication of the mind of an 8 yr old.  Here it is: I like the smell Of the big orange pumpkin Rotting And so on that note, I...

 Good morning all! Our admin department just found a mailing list that somehow got replaced by the present one something like 6 years ago. Several of the folks on the list have gone on to Glory, but some are good friends who I thought were getting my weekly offerings all along. If you’re one of those, you don’t need to do anything; just look forward to a new blog every Sunday. If by chance you’re one of those who thought you’d gotten rid of me, you can (1) write and tell me to leave you alone, or, (2) mark the email as junk and direct it into your trash bin. I for one am super excited at the prospect of catching up with old friends from my past. If you have a chance, please push “return” and tell me what’s going on in your life since we last had contact. In the past seven years, we’ve retired to Australia, beaten Cancer, had a couple more grandkids, you know, the usual stuff.  If you want to read ad nauseum, you can catch up, so to speak, on either mywoods.net or marshawoods.b...

 Good morning friends,    Hope you’re all well and happy. Tony and I have had a great week, taking our government’s suggestion that we discover the sights close to home until travel restrictions are lifted. In an effort to comply, we took a little 3-day wander up into northern Queensland.  Even though it’s winter, the tropical nature leaves it chilly but beautiful and we’ve returned happy and refreshed. Up there in the middle of the north, you can find the stomping grounds of the late Steve Irwin, otherwise known as “the Crocodile Hunter”.  He had a T.V. show back in the 90’s that attracted quite a following.     Steve was known for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his daring encounters with them.  While filming “Worlds Most Dangerous Animals” in 2006, he closed in on a giant stingray for one of his classic shots; nose to nose so to speak.  I’m sure he was explaining with his trademark enthusiasm about how they are misunderstood…or endang...

 Another week down with Covid.  I admit I’m a little bit discouraged today because it seems that we, as a people, just can’t come to peace with the thing. I hear from others in the world that there is a rising trend to just “move on” and let it run its course. But here in Australia, the government is determined to stop it with increasing restrictions and lockdowns. I don’t know what the best course should be, but it’s not hard to see the effect it’s having. Even our churches are finding it harder to be cheerful in the face of such restrictions. We want to do the right thing, obey those in authority and all that, but it’s frustrating.  I think it’s by God’s grace this week that we came across an excellent film while we are waiting out yet another “stay at home” order. If you have a Christian network or maybe PBS, check out “I AM PATRICK”. It’s a recent “doco” (as they say here), or documentary-movie about the life of the boy who became known as the Irish “St Patrick”, in s...