Splat! Thunk! Splat! 

I was having a great time throwing balls of sticky bean mixture into a container. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a grownup telling me to stop playing and giggling like a goof . . . or that this much fun could be had in getting beans ready to be transformed into miso.

How did I get started with miso making? In early 2022, a friend from church invited me to join her and a few other women to make miso. Miso is squashed fermented soybeans and used in a lot of Japanese cooking—most commonly miso soup, but it’s also used in marinades, stir fries, and vegetable dips. I usually cook with the stuff sold in a plastic tub at our neighborhood drugstore, and I hadn’t before considered myself to be fancy enough to make my own.

One of my first words in Japanese 4+ years ago literally translates as “carp banner.” I didn’t realize at the time that Children’s Day is a big deal here and that these banners are flown from schools, public buildings, and many homes. But I was a bit crabby that I could say “carp banner” before I could say...

“When we do mission, we need one heart. So we can do it together.”

These two sentences best sum up our commitment to live and work in community. Pastor Yukimasa Otomo shared this with me to describe his partnership with A2 missionaries Robert and Roberta Adair. The partnership between Japanese pastors and A2 missionaries is deep. As Yukimasa Sensei added, “Having Robert [here] is good for me, because I can share my heart.” Robert was excited to partner with this pastor, too...

In process, indeed.

A couple of weeks after B was born, our landlord let us know about a possible new home. The fact that she is looking for us is really touching as she has told us that she really wants us to stay. Yet, despite not yet being a follower of Christ, she seems to understand and accept that when we come back for our...

I used to love “planned spontaneity” in hosting. I liked to make more food than we needed, hoping that there would be one to ten people we could invite over for dinner. I liked to have brownies or something in the freezer so I could say, “hey, I don’t have much, but come over for tea and whatever I have in the...

Okay, I don’t like my subject line, but having 2 boys sleeping at the same time isn’t going to last much longer, and I want to get this out so… 

When we were at our mission agency’s retreat several weeks ago, we closed the time with communion. Then one of our missionaries had us stand in two circles facing one another. We then were to look into the face of the person in front of us and repeat the blessing from Numbers 6:

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you...

Robert & Roberta Adair are contributors to go2japan and are serving as Missional Partners at Shiogama Bible Baptist Church in Miyagi. Robert also serves as Missionary Director for Asian Access/Japan. Their desire is to come alongside the church in Japan and be an encouragement to it in sharing the love of Christ. Together, they write about life in Japan and missionary work there with Asian Access/SIM USA and their stories generally appear on their own blog, Adair Update...