Church in Japan

Before I came here, I asked Liz (the girl who was already here) about church. She told me that she had found a church here that she loved. Also, there were 2 other churches that she would show us when we got here, so we could choose where we wanted to go. So far we have gone to 2 different churches. The first one was the one Liz attends. The past 2 weeks, we've gone to another church called New Hope. I like it a lot there because there are some younger people, unlike Liz's church. Also, we were at the beach with New Hope church, so I already feel more of a connection with this group. There is still one other church that we'll visit, but right now I'm leaning towards New Hope.
Of course the service is in Japanese, but there is always English translation for us. At New Hope this week, Megan and I were the only English speakers, but Yuya interpreted for us, so it was great. After church here, it is a little different than in America. You know, at home we would go out to eat with people from church. Here's everyone goes out and gets lunch, then brings it back to the church and eats together. (Luckily I went with Yuya to get lunch today, so he could tell me what things were and keep me from buying something too strange...although he keeps trying to make me get fermented bean paste--YUCK!) This makes church really last around 3 hours...which sometimes seems draining, but the fellowship during lunch is always a lot of fun. Usually there are people around that want to practice their English. There are also always lots of cute babies to play with. These kids are so dang adorable, they make my heart melt every time I see them.
I thought being at church in Japan would be strange, but it has been so incredible. It is such an amazing feeling when you realize that you may not understand a word they are saying, but you know they're worshiping the same God. I love singing in Japanese. A lot of the songs they sing at New Hope are worship songs we do at home, so it's easy to catch on.
It is such a relief to find a place here where I can worship...Thank you Jesus.