My time in J-CARP has been an eye opening experience as a European 2nd gen. When I first arrived at the J-CARP Sousei centre, I was made very welcome by all the J-CARP members. The centre was packed full of Tokyo and Waseda university students, first and second gens, all crammed into this small centre in downtown Tokyo. I noticed a strong sense of family atmosphere within the centre, where they would all do pretty much everything together, including studying, eating and sleeping. I hardly saw anyone doing their own thing unless they had classes or part time jobs to go to.
It was interesting and different to find that almost everything was divided for brothers and sisters, from cutlery to areas where you could sit. There were even signs to put up in the shower room when a brother or a sister was inside, even though the door had a lock. Although I found it all very different from my western perspective, I understood that it stems from a more conservative oriental culture. I also recognised that the discipline at the centre made it easier for everyone living there as it drew clear boundaries.
As I have never participated in programs like STF or SAWS, witnessing has been a big challenge for me but something I do not regret doing. My first thought about witnessing in Japan was, “How hard could it be to approach a harmless Japanese student on the street to tell the good news about Rev. Sun Myung Moon?” How wrong I was. The closer I got to the witnessing area the more anxious I became. During my period I struggled, but I overcame many hurdles and fought many battles within myself, and as result, learnt lot about myself and gained understanding of JCARP life. Also, the leader and other J-CARP members were very supportive about anything and everything during our time in Japan.
The J-CARP experience also involved meeting with important Japanese leaders to discuss about the Japanese church culture and structure. The discussions allowed interesting ideas to be exchanged between the two different cultures and I personally found it very insightful. I am very grateful for their enormous hospitality and the precious time they set aside to give us a meaningful and rich J-Carp experience.
Last but not the least, sight-seeing around Japan has been absolutely amazing, and I only regret not being there long enough. Japan has so much rich culture to see and experience – not just the old long history, but also the emergence of bizarre and wonderful little things only Japanese people could have thought of.
I would highly recommend anyone to go if they get the opportunity, because if you don’t, then you’re seriously missing out on what the world has to offer.
It was interesting and different to find that almost everything was divided for brothers and sisters, from cutlery to areas where you could sit. There were even signs to put up in the shower room when a brother or a sister was inside, even though the door had a lock. Although I found it all very different from my western perspective, I understood that it stems from a more conservative oriental culture. I also recognised that the discipline at the centre made it easier for everyone living there as it drew clear boundaries.
As I have never participated in programs like STF or SAWS, witnessing has been a big challenge for me but something I do not regret doing. My first thought about witnessing in Japan was, “How hard could it be to approach a harmless Japanese student on the street to tell the good news about Rev. Sun Myung Moon?” How wrong I was. The closer I got to the witnessing area the more anxious I became. During my period I struggled, but I overcame many hurdles and fought many battles within myself, and as result, learnt lot about myself and gained understanding of JCARP life. Also, the leader and other J-CARP members were very supportive about anything and everything during our time in Japan.
The J-CARP experience also involved meeting with important Japanese leaders to discuss about the Japanese church culture and structure. The discussions allowed interesting ideas to be exchanged between the two different cultures and I personally found it very insightful. I am very grateful for their enormous hospitality and the precious time they set aside to give us a meaningful and rich J-Carp experience.
Last but not the least, sight-seeing around Japan has been absolutely amazing, and I only regret not being there long enough. Japan has so much rich culture to see and experience – not just the old long history, but also the emergence of bizarre and wonderful little things only Japanese people could have thought of.
I would highly recommend anyone to go if they get the opportunity, because if you don’t, then you’re seriously missing out on what the world has to offer.