wakarimasuka? wakarimasen.

I used to live in Japan. Dad was in the US Air Force, and that was his last duty station. I had the privilege of receiving my HS diploma from the DOD school there on the base (Yokota High School). I've always thought that was pretty cool -- how many people can say their diploma is an official government document?

Anyway, since I transferred into the school midway through my Junior year, they only required me to take one year of a foreign language. (Which is a good thing, as I'm a linguistic flop.) Since I was in Japan, I decided Japanese would be a cool language to know. It is an interesting language. It's also somewhat difficult. I still remember a few words and phrases, "Tabemasho!" was always a personal favorite ("Let's eat!). Another was, "Wakarimasu." ("I understand.")

One of several interesting things about Japanese is how a question is asked. If "-ka" is added to the end of the word it becomes a question. So, "Wakarimasuka" is, "Do you understand?" Another interesting ending is "-en." When it's added to the word it denotes a negative. So, "Wakarimasen" means "I don't understand." It always seemed neat to me just how easy it was to know if someone was really asking a question, or making a statement.

Just this week my mind went back to a few Japanese words I did learn. Since our pastor has gotten sick, I've been filling in preaching on Sunday nights. While I did get an Education minor with my BS in Bus Admin, and I've been teaching Sunday School or some type of kids' club continuously since 1988, I'm no preacher. In fact, it's very difficult for me to put together a sermon; it's even harder for me to deliver it.

Let me sing, play a harmonica or a trumpet, and I don't mind getting in front of small (1-9), medium (10~100), large (100~1,000), or even huge (1,000~5,000+) crowds.

Let me teach a Bible story to kids, and you can rest assured the kids will be interested and learn something.

Schedule a time for me to preach to mostly adults, and you can pretty much guarantee I'll be nervous... oh yes... and at least one person in the audience will be sleeping (sometimes several) regardless of the amount of time I have to prepare. So, for me to "volunteer" to preach once a week is a pretty big deal.

Everyone at our church knows this, so when the other guy that fills in had our Pastor ask me to take last Sunday morning's service (in addition to that Sunday night I was already scheduled to preach), at 9.30 pm Saturday night, it was a big deal.

Then when he informed me after that Sunday night message that I would be preaching this coming Sunday, because "He'd been planning to go out of town for several months" -- it was an even bigger deal. (Especially since he didn't tell me he would be gone all those months in advance -- as I try to do for him.) Then I received an email from him Wednesday afternoon... informing me he'd be out of town the following Wednesday as well (right after this full Sunday that's coming up). Really -- not only is he in my cell plan -- my name is on the account! When he or his wife call my house MY name is on the caller ID! Yet he didn't hit speed dial and give me a call??? Instead I got an email: "Oh, by the way," and "Why don't you have XXXX fill in for your Wednesday night kids' club?"

The icing on the cake was actually the fact that he planned the coming Wednesday night trip that Wednesday -- yes, a last minute "business" trip. I talked to his boss -- the trip isn't something "necessary" to complete on Wednesday -- it could be scheduled any day of the week, or done completely by phone. It's a sales call to "talk" to a lead -- on a Wednesday.

The first word that came to my mind -- you guessed it: "WAKARIMASEN!" I really don't understand. If my responsibility is to fill a position, I make every attempt to fill it, and plan a contingency as far in advance as possible.

Every possible motive for this type behavior that comes to my mind is repugnant. I sincerely hope that it's only an oversight. Something that can be attributed to inexperience rather than deliberate intent.

OK, I vented.
Feeling better.
Now I need to attempt to finish 2 of 3 messages -- none of which is "flowing" as I'd hoped.