By Laura Foushee
For over six hours, we sat on picnic blankets and wandered around a large park outside of the city as our children hunted for insects and frogs, fed koi in the pond and rode their bikes through the winding paths of the park. It was the second time this group had gathered on a national holiday in the last half year, and this time close to 40 of us from 11 families spent their day off together as we spoke a mixture of English and Japanese with each other. Most of the families are international or a mix of Japanese and international, and they all serve with or attend churches somewhere in the city. A few participate in the English services we lead, but others are connections through our daughter Ada’s school which draws many of the Christian families in our region.
Every now and then, someone will ask me the question, “Do you have friends in Kanazawa?” The obvious answer is of course yes, but the intention of the question is different: do you have friends who understand your experience? Or, do you have friends that are separate from people
you serve alongside in ministry? Those questions have been more difficult to answer over the years.
When much of our time as field personnel is spent intentionally in ministry with a focus on being present and building relationships with our neighbors, it’s tricky to make clear distinctions about what is ministry and what is personal becomes when many friends cross over between two worlds. But over the last year and a half, I have been blessed with two friends who are international Christian women who understand life as a foreigner here, but who are also happily connected at other churches in our city. We send frantic text messages when we realize we misunderstood something about the school schedule or to commiserate about what we forgot to pack for our kids that day. The three of us began thinking about how to connect the various families we each knew who were living life in Kanazawa with similar experiences. Second language Japanese speakers. Raising our children within multiple cultures. Raising children in church when few others around us are.
After our day at the park a few weeks ago, it seemed many of us were looking for this same kind of community. The three of us texted later that night about how full our hearts were after the long afternoon together–and shared how they heard similar sentiments from other families. Knowing we have kindred spirits here in our city has made a difference in feeling more rooted here with our family and given balance to rhythms where we are often the ones initiating and inviting and connecting. God’s grace has been abundant whether our making friends is ministry or personal, and for the communities we’ve been given, I give thanks.