Forced to Improve my Japanese!

Every Saturday, I attend church.  Once or twice a quarter, I am assigned to be the MC for the worship service.  As MC, I have to read the designated Bible verse, introduce the different parts of the service and pray for the tithes and offerings (offering is like donations from the people who attend the service for church management, tithe is 10% of church members income).  Every time I am MC for the past 12 years, I prepare a script.  Every word I say is typed out in Japanese with furigana on the Chinese characters I cannot read.  Introducing the opening songs and things like that is easy, but two things I need to practice and prepare beforehand. 

First, the reading of the Bible verse.  The Bible that everyone uses up front on stage is tradition Japanese style printed vertically.  I just can't read vertically.  So, I type out the whole verse horizontally left to right.  Sometimes, it is just one or two verses.  But usually it is much longer.  And if you have ever read the Japanese Bible, it is not colloquial Japanese but very... Very difficult to read for me.  So I practice... a lot! 

Second is the prayer.  I felt that prayers are special and need to be perfect.  So I always asked my wife to prepare a prayer for me.  I felt that my Japanese was inadequate to use in prayer.  So I typed those out big enough to read.

It was bound to happen.  Just last month, I totally forgot to look at the MC schedule.  When I arrived at church Saturday morning on October 1, I was feeling good.  I was excited to go into the Bible study class and hear the sermon.  I got the program and all those good happy feelings disappeared.  My name was listed as MC.  I felt like a truck had crushed me.  Panic started to set in as I considered my options.  I couldn't go back home and type everything out.  I couldn't use any computer at church.  In a daze, I went to class.  I got a Japanese Bible and started to practice the verse. Luckily it was only about 3 verses long and there weren't many tongue twister phrases that could mess me up.  But it was vertical type. PANIC.  But, I was most worried about the prayer.  I had never prayed my own words in Japanese as MC for the worship service before.  That in itself made me panic the most. 

Moments later, my wife came into my class with her Bible.  Her Bible is horizontal!  She has highlighted the verses and helped with the difficult Chinese characters.  It is so great to have a loving, and supportive wife!  I thank God for her everyday.

The time came and I was on stage without a script.  After a brief prayer, I started to service.

Thank God, everything went well.  I truly was blessed that day.  Not only through the music, the sermon, and the praying, but God allowed me to gain a ton of confidence in my Japanese I never had before.  I am nowhere near perfect, but now, I am not afraid to make mistakes and I am ready for the next step in my Japanese journey.  I wonder what it will be.