A Rowdon Adventure

Sound of Silence

Written by: Mark R.

Laura and I are enjoying our time here in Japan so far. We’ve met with some old friends of hers, and we’ve also been able to meet some fellow Christians who are already serving here in Japan.

One common thread these believers all have mentioned is a need for the Church here. There are very few people here who represent the Lord and can present the gospel.

Just to give you a reference of the need here in Japan— The Agency for Cultural Affairs, which is a Japanese government agency that essentially tracks cultural development in Japan, reported that there were 1.9 million Christians in Japan as of December 31, 2017. That’s about 1.5% of the Japanese population.

Christianity isn’t necessarily new to Japan. The history of it is actually quite interesting. Christianity first arrived to Japan in 1549, but was banned for some 250 years during the Edo period (1603–1868).

If you’re into historical dramas I’d recommend the movie, “Silence”. It tells the story of two catholic men looking for a fellow believer in Japan during this time. It shows the intense persecution they faced as the ruling body tried to expel Catholicism from Japan. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver who plays Kylo Ren in the newest Star Wars saga, and Liam Neeson.

A brief disclaimer, this movie is really sad. Laura and I watched it right before a toddler’s birthday party last year and, needless to say, not an easy transition.

I’m by no means a well versed expert in Japanese history, but from what I’ve uncovered this trying time of persecution ended in 1858 when the US and Japan signed the Harris Treaty. This essentially opened Japan to the west and allowed US protestant missionaries into Japan. These missionaries were surprised to discover the remnant of the faith which was brought here 300 years earlier.

Ending our brief run through Japanese Christian history, the country adopted a freedom of religion stance in 1947 with the signing of their new constitution in post WWII Japan. This was obviously modeled after our constitution in America.

We are eager to see what happens moving forward as we come here to represent Truth and present the gospel. There are many hurdles for the Japanese people to accept the the gospel, but that is a blog for another day.

Thanks for continuing to support us, and if you’re in the mood for a good cry, check out the movie “Silence”.

Mark & Laura

Week 1 Update

Written by: Laura R.

Our first week here has been a blur of getting over jet lag, seeing old friends and making new friends, and traveling around Japan. Here’s a day-by-day update of this week 😊

February 13/14

We arrived at the Seattle airport in the morning to try to take the direct flight to Tokyo using buddy passes. Our friend who gave us them told us not to expect to get on the plane. It was already full and we were 10th in line on standby.

With this in my mind, I was shocked when they called us up to the desk and handed us tickets (with seats right next to each other!). Not expecting to get on the flight, and then getting on the plane and ending up halfway around the world is a strange feeling!

We arrived in Tokyo Narita to discover the card I use when I am abroad to pull out money (this card covers all ATM and international fees, so it’s my favorite!) had been blocked a week ago in America. 🤦🏼‍♀️ On top of this, the backup card I brought was expired. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ What is this, our first time traveling??

With some help from a nice metro employee and our friends, Tim and Julie, we finally made it to our friends’ apartment. Luckily Tim has an app that lets you make calls to America, so I used this to get the credit card unblocked— crises adverted.

Tim and Julie hosted us for our weekend in Tokyo and were a huge blessing! They have worked with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Tokyo for 4.5 years now, and are preparing to help start a YWAM base in western Japan. You can check out their story here.

February 15

We got a SIM card for data (thanks Tim and Julie for your help!) and went to Shibuya to meet with Ritsuko. Ritsuko (or, Ritz) was our exchange student for a year when I was in high school. I am so grateful we’ve stayed in touch all this time.

Picture with Ritz from all the way back in 2010.

We didn’t get a picture with Ritz
(guess we have to see each other again, Ritz 😉),
but I did get one of Mark with his first Ramen in Japan.

February 16

We spent most of this day at Tim and Julie’s church. It was encouraging to meet each person and to hear their stories. My favorite part was the hip hop lesson after the church service. 🙃

Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of hip hop.
But here’s the next best thing- worship practice before church.

February 17-19

Mark’s birthday!! Although he said it didn’t feel like a birthday, more like a travel day. We went to a YWAM worship service in the morning, and had the chance to meet many people there (including five Minnesotans 😮).

Afterwards, we travelled to Shinjuku, the nightlife and entertainment district of Tokyo. From there we took a bus to Kawaguchiko Station, just north of Mount Fuji. There we met my friend from my Japanese high school, Atsuka, and her husband, Kenya.

It was also Atsuka’s birthday, so we went to their favorite Italian restaurant.

Also almost 10 years ago.. this was Atsuka and me
going on a class trip while I studied abroad.

They graciously hosted us for a few nights, and Atsuka gave us the tour of her favorite places around Mount Fuji. It was truly beautiful!

When you try to take a selfie with a giant gate. 😂
Also, Mark was cold.

On Wednesday the 26th we headed back from Mount Fuji to Shinjuku Station to take an overnight bus to Osaka. Of all the overnight buses we’ve taken (which is too many…) this was by far the most comfortable! Compare this to times we’ve taken the Megabus, and felt like we were hit by the Megabus. Also, the overnight bus is a much cheaper option than the shinkansen or flying if you need to get across Japan.

February 20

We arrived in Osaka and got on the train with our backpacks to go to our Airbnb right during rush hour. Pretty much after the whole week of traveling around, we were exhausted. We spent the rest of the day settling into our Airbnb, catching up on emails, getting groceries at the supermarket, and resting.

Next week we’ll give you another update about our time in Osaka along with this coming week.

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, let us know 🙂

Laura & Mark

A 2020 Rowdon Adventure

Photo Credit: Ritsuko I.; Written by: Laura R.

“My favorite state: Japan”

These are the words in my first diary, a purple Winnie the Pooh journal complete with a lock and key.

Ever since my aunt came home from a business trip in Tokyo, I have loved Japan. As I pursued this interest through studying Japanese and studying abroad, I fell more in love. The culture, the people, the language. But most of all, I resonated with the shame-honor culture of Japan, and the freedom grace brings to this.

We’ll write more on that another day.

When we first got married, Mark and I dreamed of living in Japan, but wanted to take some time to just be married in America.

At last the time has come for us to pursue this dream! 😊

We spent our last weekend in Minnesota at our favorite place- a snowy cabin in the woods.

Currently we are in Florida visiting Mark’s parents and sister. This has been such a sweet time of connecting with them after living so far apart.

Tomorrow we leave for Pennsylvania for a week to visit Mark’s twin (yup, identical), wife, and kids.

Finally, February 11th we are flying to Seattle to catch a direct flight to Tokyo using buddy passes. This is where it gets sticky since we’re not guaranteed a flight. Hoping for the best!

From February to May we’ll be in Japan working with a few different organizations. Our hope is to move there long-term, so we wanted to first-hand experience some potential opportunities. Also, Mark’s never been to Japan, so I’m pretty excited to share it with him. 😄

After the three months… we’ll see. We’ve heard the visa process can take a while. Plus we have to be back in Minnesota for a wedding in October. We’ll keep you updated as we know more.

But that’s the excitement of this year- figuring things out. Seeing what the Lord has for us, and following that path.

With love,

Mark & Laura

“Oh, hey der.”

Or “Howdy”, as Mark used to say before becoming an honorary Minnesotan.

We enjoy running, cabins in woods, and cooperative board games (mostly because Laura hates losing to Mark- which is often).

We both have a heart for bringing freedom to shame, sharing Truth, and caring for people.

Mark is passionate about teaching. Whether that’s teaching English, the Bible, politics, board game strategies, or mentoring in general; he loves it. He’s the kind of guy who can have a deep philosophical conversation with you one second, then shake his hips on the dance floor the next.

His dream job is to be an English teacher. Or a civic teacher. Or be an investor on Shark Tank 🙃

Laura loves hospitality and encouraging others in emotional health. Her dream home would be big enough for multiple friends to stay the night, but cozy enough for everyone to sit close around a fire drinking coffee and chatting all morning.

She doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up, but has toyed with the idea of being a counselor. Or a private chef.

Thank you for stopping by our blog and keeping up with our adventures! Or as Mark says, “life.”

We hope you enjoy these pieces of our heart.

With love,

Mark & Laura