Reviews and Reflections

Greetings, friends!

It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon here at ARI and autumn seems to be in full swing. The mornings are chilly, the days sunny and mostly warm, and the evenings are cool and crisp. We have even begun to close our screen door at night! And our participant friends from warmer/tropical climates are bundling up!

Because of HTC and our substitute “weekend,” it has been a short work week. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday came and went without much ado. But Saturday, well Saturday was very special. ARI hosted a charity concert event...

Charity Concert Event

Leonard Elschenbroich is a German cello player who currently lives in London. His mother, Donata, has been at ARI for 3 weeks now volunteering. You can see her here serving food at HTC. Leonard has been touring around Japan playing concerts and agreed to perform at ARI! His repertoire included:

Suite for Cello Solo No. 2 in D Minor, Johann Sebastian Bach

Suite for Cello Solo Op. 25, Paul Hindemith (Leonard's grandfather was one of Hindemith's student!)

Four Serious Songs Op. 121, Johannes Brahms

and last but certainly not least, for the encore:

Vocalise Op. 34 No. 14, Sergei Rachmaninoff

Vocalise is one of my (Jenny's) all-time favorite pieces. I am not as well-versed in classical music as one can be, but it is one of those pieces that is beautiful and lovely in every way. We were not allowed to take photo or video during the performance, so please enjoy this youtube-sourced rendition of Vocalise. Oh, I did sneak a photo at the beginning and end. Oopsies. :)

Knight Field

Doug and I finally secured ourselves a plot on campus for our personal field! Many community members at ARI, in addition to maintaining group fields, also manage their own personal field where they can grow whatever crops and vegetables they like. Knight Field was established Saturday, October 20, 2012, we have yet to break ground, but the sign is up and the plot roped off! We hope to keep you updated on the adventures of Knight Field as they unfold...

Rice Update

Before

Remember our big community rice harvest day? Well we are now beginning to take down the rice and process it for eating! My foodlife work Saturday morning was going out to Group 4 field and taking down the rice to feed to the machine. I'm not sure what the machine is called, but you feed the stalks through with the rice on them and it spits them back out with no rice. There were five of us taking down rice and one of us feeding into the machine, we accomplished a lot in 30 minutes...

Sakura hidden behind rice!

Teamwork!

After 

Emma, from Uganda (bundled up!), biking back to campus

ARI Sunday

Wilson doing his thing

About once a month, the local United Church of Christ in Japan, Nishinasuno, hosts “ARI Sunday.” You might recall us posting about this before. Well it came around again today so many of us bused/biked/walked to church to support our friend Wilson who was giving the sermon. Wilson shared his story with everyone and talked about the importance of not only believing in God, but trusting God also. After the service, we all shared in quite a feast to celebrate the ministry of ARI and Nishinasuno Church. Our friend, Kathy (an american on staff at ARI in “graduate admissions”), had guided us to church on bikes so that afterwards she could continue to show us around the town.

Fellowship!

Bike Tour

The first stop we made was at a liquor store/international foods store. It was here that we bought peanut butter. Kathy's cousin, Ralph, visited for HTC and brought with him a jar of Peter Pan creamy peanut butter especially for Doug. Needless to say, after one week, there isn't a whole lot left. So we restocked.

On our way to the hardware store, Doug caught site of a familiar-looking raccoon figure. “Okonomiyaki?” we thought, perhaps! So I fished out the Okonomiyaki points card given to us by Leo, and lo and behold! OKONOMIYAKI! In case you haven't heard yet, this is our favorite Japanese food (so far) and we were under the impression we could only get okonomiyaki at the next train stop down from Nishinasuno (train=money) so to find it in town is most certainly a dream come true. We plan on taking full advantage of this discovery in the coming week, as we will have a “substitute day-off” for working the charity concert.

Kathy showed us various other points of interest (she used to be a tour-bus guide!) so now Doug and I feel much more aware of our surroundings.

Some Reflections

With HTC behind us, we've been able to slow down and reflect on our time here at ARI so far. Even after only two and half months, this place has changed our lives in many ways. We are getting to know people from all over the world and hearing their stories of joy and struggle. We are working every day, rain or shine, to ensure we have food to eat, and not just any food, but healthy, organic, and loved food.

We know that when the time comes for us to leave this place, we will not return to the states and resume life per usual. Those communities we hear about in the news whose governments can't be trusted, who don't have access to clean and healthy water, who don't have the political pull to fight against industry, who are severely misunderstood and stereotyped, those communities won't just be news stories, they will be the homes of our friends. And we'll take more time to listen to those stories and provide what help and comfort we can. 

And when we return home, we won't continue to overlook the chemicals and additives that are used in the production of our food. Ideally, we'd like to see a systematic change in food production in the U.S., but all we can plan and hope for ourselves is an improvement in our own food intake quality. Doug and I are discussing every-day ways in which we can improve our own health, as well as the health of the environment around us, all the while enjoying this gift of life. 

So there's just a peak at a few of the things we've been thinking about. There's of course a lot more to be said about our experience so far and what is still to come, but we thought you might enjoy a little reflection. 

We hope everyone enjoys the week ahead! We'd like to give a special shout-out to Katie (my sister) for the Cadbury's SCREME EGGS, they were a nice (trick-or) treat and got us in the Halloween spirit (which doesn't so much exist here). But anywho, good luck with the costume hunting and don't look under the bed!!

Fellow servants in Christ,

Doug and Jenny

Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration

The Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC) is a 2-day festival that ARI hosts every year to celebrate and give thanks for the year's harvest. This theme for this year was "Harvest for Love, Sustain for Tomorrow," an especially appropriate theme considering the sensitivity of ARI's food production in response to the 2011 earthquake and subsequent radiation contamination. So in all our preparations, we meditated on this theme to inform our efforts.

The event is also a part of the participants' training course--an exercise in event planning and implementation. People from all around come to visit the ARI campus and enjoy food from other countries. There was a worship service Saturday and Sunday to begin the festivities for the day. And each afternoon there was a performance show where community members sang songs and shared dances from their unique cultures. This year we had about 1,500 people come visit!

serious planning sessions

Preparation

We spent all of our time last week working with our committees to prepare for HTC. The only farm work we did was during foodlife time, the hour before breakfast and dinner.

Doug worked with the logistics and worship committee (Great Angels). They prepared signs, set up tents, and transported and placed chairs and tables for everyone to use. They made bookmarks to hand out to everyone and they prepared the orders of worship for the two services.

Jenny worked with the food committee (Cordon Bleu). They were in charge of taking inventory of all food we had on the farm, harvesting what we needed, shopping for all the rest of the food, and making sure all was in the right place when the time came for everyone to cook their dishes.

Wilson preparing the game area for the kids

There was also a fun and games committee (Manigo) that organized activities and demonstrations for the children. Also there was a stage and performance committee (Sparkling Moon Flower) that constructed the stage, put up decorations, and organized the cultural performances.

By the end of the week our campus was ready to receive our guests. The stage was up. Signs were set. Eating places were in place. Food was organized and ready to be cooked. And our cultural performances were rehearsed (for the most part). :)

Friday night, people began to prepare the food. Many of us woke up early on Saturday to begin cooking. All the dishes had to be prepared before 8:00am. We were also cooking to feed ourselves breakfast at the same time. The kitchen was a crazy place to be.

Joe cooking eggs for our breakfast Saturday morning.

At the worship service on Saturday, everyone was encouraged to wear their cultural clothes. Jenny was gifted a Liberian dress by Comfort. Comfort was also one of the chief organizers for HTC. She worked with the Japanese participant, Yuta to organize and direct the efforts of all the committees. 

Jenny and Comfort in Liberian dress

During the worship service Doug was working with the other Liberian participant, Alex. They were ushers, handing out the orders of service and bookmarks that they had prepared during the week. At the point in the service where an offering is brought forward and placed on the altar, participants brought forward lots of vegetables which they had harvested from their fields.





The Food 

food organized and ready to be cooked

cooking cookies

The food at HTC was probably where the most time and energy was spent. Participants and volunteers prepared food from their cultures. There were noodles from the Philippines, sweet potato fries from America, fish from Japan, nsima (corn paste) from Malawi, fish bread from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Comfort, from Liberia, made peanut stew. We had three different curries from Sri Lanka, India, and Indonesia. Jenny and I helped make chocolate chip cookies for another American contribution. I drank plenty of Masala tea from India. Nishanta and Niro of Sri Lanka made milk rice and some kind of amazingly delicious pancake with carrots inside. Needless to say, our taste buds did some traveling!

our second kitchen full on busy

Late night preping sweet potatoes for baking the next morning with rosemary 

Kitchen chaos smells great 

Fish bread, just bread in the shape of fish!

Most of the cooking was done late at night and early in the morning. So some people went to bed near midnight and woke up to start cooking at 3 in the morning. On Sunday, Jenny and I were sitting around a big pot of honey pork when the sun came up. All of the food for the day had to be ready by 8 o'clock. This way, we could focus on selling and enjoying it with our guests when lunch came around. 

Late-night making fish bread from the Congo

The logistics committee set up a food court around the outside of the New Koinonia House. Take a stroll around the food court:

Adarsh from India and Donata form Germany dressed in their traditional garb. 

  

Fish bread for sale!

One of the food committee tasks was to wash all the dishes of the 1,500 people eating.  Thanks to their work our  garbage was significantly reduced by 1,500 plates, cups, and chopsticks.

 The Cultural Performances 

Minngo's gospel choir performing

Since we've started the planning for HTC we've been working on our cultural performances. Many of the participants taught dances from their home countries

Bahtak dance

Doug and Tommi reading their organic poetry and translations

Samba!

Creole song!

Korean song

Minngos choir 

Monday morning we worked a half day to clean up after the celebration. After lunch we rested, and all day Tuesday we rested as well. Everyone received a “weekend” assignment so that we could keep the farm running and the food cooking. Jenny and I cooked lunch on Tuesday. Now we are resting, reflecting on a job well done.  

The Calm Before the Storm

It has been a quiet week at ARI. The days passed without too much excitement and here we are at the weekend once again! We have been at ARI for exactly 2 months now and we are beginning to lose track of weeks! Even though we are moving passed the so-called "honeymoon stage" of our journey here, there are still many things to get excited about each week! So first thing is first:

Jenny's Morning Gathering

For those of you keeping up with us, you know that last week, Doug lead his first morning gathering, so this week, it was my turn! I decided to share with the community about my "home." This began with a simple introduction of Arkansas, my family (mom, dad, Katie, Max [dog], Doug, and "everybody else"). I then shared a few similarities between home back in Arkansas, and home here at ARI. So three things: 

1) Serving through cooking: Back in college, Doug, Katie, and I (along with other friends) cooked a dinner once a week for college students through the college ministry program at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Conway. We would get together for about 4 hours to shop, cook, serve, and clean up after a dinner where anywhere between 40-70 college students would share in meal and fellowship together. Here at ARI, I also cook for the community. I work with 4 other women in the kitchen to cook lunch every weekday. We serve anywhere from 12-90 people. 

Olivia, Katie, Doug, Jenny

Sena, Jenny, Nishi, Veny, Megumi

2) Fellowship with God's people: Every summer, Doug and I like to work at the Robert R. Brown sessions at Camp Mitchell. This camp is specially designed for adults with mental and physical disabilities. We spend all week singing songs, playing games, dancing, and celebrating each other. The campers look forward to this week of camp all year long, as do the people who work at these camps! So Doug and I were very excited for the opportunity to share fellowship with both children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. On two occasions since we have been here in Japan, we have sang, played games, danced, and celebrated with people. 

Our friend, Brooks Cato, dancing with happy campers

Doug dancing with adults at an assisted living facility in Japan

3) Johnny Appleseed prayer: Many of us who have spent any time at Camp Mitchell know the Johnny Apple seed prayer, it goes like this:

When we arrived at ARI, we saw that this prayer is one of 10 that we use before eating here. However, the "Amen! Dig in! Yeehaw!" from Arkansas becomes a more modest and calm "Amen. Amen, Amen, Amen. AMEN" in Japan :)

I shared these similarities with the community to first explain that Doug and I feel at home in ARI, and second to show that home is where you make it (please google "home is where you make it, Joe Dirt" and watch clip, hehe). Doug read Psalm 139: 7-12 and I shared an Emily Dickinson quote: "Where Thou art, that is home." God is everywhere, in the light and in the dark, and in all and both of those places, where God is, we are home. To end my morning gathering, I shared one last quote from Billy Sunday: "Home is the place [where] we love best and grumble the most." Being here for 2 months, we have experienced and witnessed the positives and negatives of intentional community living. Emotions can run high and it's hard to be polite and pleasant all the time. But we are family here, at home, and if we can't grumble here, where can we grumble? All in all, I wanted to share that we can make home anywhere because God is in our midst, and by his grace we can love and forgive each other.

Otawara Chili Festival

On Saturday, Doug visited the Otawara Chili Pepper Festival with a few other ARI community members. Besides all the booths with chilies and sauces, there was a spicy taco eating contest to see who could eat one taco the fastest. With the offer of a free spicy taco on the table, most of the ARI attendees joined in the contest. And who won the contest, mine truly, Douglas "spicy taco eater" Knight! He won a free bottle of chili sauce. :)

Bokashi

On Saturday, Doug spend the afternoon with Joe, from Cameroon, learning how to make bokashi. Doug was eager to learn and Joe was eager to teach. Bokashi is an organic fertilizer that is applied to the soil. It uses micro-organisms to break down the nitrogen in chicken manure so that the plants can use it. If we applied chicken manure directly to the field, the nitrogen would be un-fixed. There are not so many micro-organisms in the field so it would take a long time for the nutrients in the chicken manure to be made usable by the plants.

So to make bokashi, we gather micro-organisms from the forest. We call this indigenous micro-organisms (IMO). To make IMO, we fill a section of bamboo with cooked rice and bury it under leaves in the forest. In two weeks the IMO should have found it and be living a life of luxury within the rice. We use this as a starter to breed a whole bag of IMO.

To start the bokashi we mix a couple handfuls of IMO in with 16 milk-crates of chicken manure, 6 crates of forest soil, two large bags of rice bran, two large bags of rice husk charcoal, and one bag of rice husk. We pile it all on a concrete floor and cover with blankets, then we leave the IMO to do their job.

This is totally different from chemical farming, which tends to burn life form the soil with chemical pesticides and herbicides. With no microbes left to fix organic nutrients in the soil, chemical fertilizers must be used. 

This method of organic fertilizer seeks to create life and leaves room for nature to do what it naturally does. The rice bran is food for the IMO that gets them started breeding. The charcoal is nice because it is porous, allowing them space to live and breed. Once the rice bran is devoured and the IMO population has exploded, they begin to feed on the chicken manure thus fixing the nutrients in it so that plants can use it. The rice husk allows for aeration of the fermenting heap. The soil acts as a medium for the whole operation. Bokashi can be stored for up to three years successfully.

This kind of fertilizer is much better than any chemical compounds: it costs only labor; it is made by using resources found here on the farm; the process does not produce dangerous bi-products; it fosters life and bio-diversity; the quality of the soil improves for the long-term.

Tochigi Community Field-Day, "Sports Festival"

Today, Sunday, we went to Nasushiobara Church (the same church that had the Yukata worship festival). And afterwards, a few of us went straight to a sports festival where members from the local community were putting on a giant field day! There were organized team games such as tug-o-war, jump-rope, ball-toss, etc., so we joined in the fun!

Jump-rope!

Tug-O-War!

Tito (Malawi), Chongli (India), Doug, and Jenny!

The Calm...

So this week we have been mentally preparing ourselves for HTC and HTC preparation. Starting tomorrow (Monday), instead of our regular morning and afternoon activities, we will be working on HTC preparation. For the food group (Jenny's group), that means harvesting crops and vegetables, shopping, peeling onions, making signboards for menus, etc. And for the worship and logistics group (Doug's group), that means making signboards, handling parking, setting up tents, and planning two worship services. We are also practicing for the cultural performances we are involved in: 1) Line Dance: America, 2) Batak Dance: Indonesia, and 3) American/Japanese poetry reading.

Basically, organized chaos will ensue beginning tomorrow and come Friday night, many of us will stay up into the wee hours of the morning making sure all is well for Saturday. The weekend will be non-stop show-time and finally, come Monday afternoon, we rest (which in all likelihood means we will not post next week's blog 'til Tuesday). 

We'll see you on the other side...

Jenny and Doug