Have you ever heard of a Shinkansen? It is a bullet train that goes about 175 miles per hour. Some go up to 200 mph. The ride is exciting because it is so fast. Some things I see out the window pass me like a blur. But riding the Shinkansen feels very smooth, like you are not moving at all and we get to places really quickly. As I look around, I see seats, small windows and an electric sign telling us the next stop. Sometimes we buy lunch at the big train station; the food tastes really good. We always have a fun time when my family rides the Shinkansen.

I also like riding buses because they can be bouncy, and we can see a lot of people. As we ride, we can look at the city of Kyoto through the big bus windows. Waiting for our stop is like a game because there is a screen that tells us every stop. So we wait for the name of our stop to appear onscreen, then get ready to get off.

Sometimes when we go to the big city of Osaka, we also ride the local trains. The interesting ones are those we ride underground. It is dark and kind of scary, but fun at the same time. We see lots of people on these trains, and sometimes we make friends and play with them until either of us gets off at our stop. Then we say goodbye and wave. Sometimes older people will even give us candy or Japanese sweets. Never knowing who we will meet at the next stop makes riding trains fun.

When I think about my family and friends back home, I sometimes miss them. But we never rode buses, trains or the Shinkansen in Texas, so Japan is a fun new experience for us. These are the things I like about being a missionary. We get to do fun new things all the time. Please pray for our family as we share about Jesus with the Japanese.

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