Japan

• From 2004 to 2009, as a participant in the JET Programme, I lived and worked in Chinzei town, part of Karatsu City in Saga Prefecture in southern Japan.

• I studied Japanese pottery, Japanese calligraphy, and Japanese aesthetics.

• I learned to speak standard Japanese and the local Saga dialect.

• I practiced Japanese archery for several years.

• I met my wife in Fukuoka in 2005 (She’s Japanese; Her name is Satoko).

• From 2009 to 2010, I lived with my wife’s family in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture.

• I drove all over Kyushu during my first 6 years in Japan.

• I got married in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture in 2009.

• I was a volunteer interpreter and member of Fukuoka International Church.

• I taught at 7 schools in Chinzei town, including schools on Kakara Island, Matsu Island, and Madara Island (these are the islands in the photograph below).

• Chinzei is my home in Japan. I love the people of Chinzei, and I care for them deeply.