-a L--L.J ...•••J

news of TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM in northern Honshu Japan

January I958

P^Ld "nldlv f T' T! time hasL toL tod onJv a / ei ? December and until todaynLto laS n w J'""®' Sendai, It began snowing in thewofld that we^look oit^orLday!'"'' beautiful white

to en'i'oy^it ^You^folk"rt°b''̂ ^^ri '̂ "® "®te too busyyLr^Tdfand ?ettoia \fT Christmas spirit byyour cards and letters. Study and worship with our Japanese brethren and friends

w fuL'd'Lltotot to earth. The ccmmfroialorld used the Christmas and New Year season for their own gains, as usual. Aeood1 e crop made possible a free spending of money. Added to the throngs of people

"sales", there was a noticeable increase in big salesbit volfof — Commercially it was a big seasonP 1. ^ . spiritual meaning. It can be best euniTied up in what I read in oura Lr ln TlllT "Th' ^ "^^^/eporter overheard the following conversation in. Tokyo, The barkeeper heard 2 drinking patrons say something about Christmasttot^^B^rv . ? end said, »Do Christians observe Christmas tooi I thoughty , 1™®^°'' big sales in the stores, for getting drunk and for wild "parties "Yes^ur task of presenting Christ is great. ® parties.

but wherwe r T!" evangelistic part of our work seems far too slowhave been b MH- S''®dual development we rejoice the more. The folk in Furukawapay the renrr^ Ia ®i"®e fall and have decided toSy of toke^hf L'st'T finished theirtinue throuffh IQ'dfl v b"v^ ^"iw ^ study of Acts has begun now and will con-iuTan Imeftaft^ «ill help the folk see that Christianity is notsprearthro^n f T Christianityanracted thfros^^ wb ™\° Christian spokeacted the Gospel wherever he went to win others to Christ.

wp-r^ wedding in November, Neither of the young peoplethe Vth '̂Dav'̂ Adv +' I I ^ Christian wedding. The young m^n had attendedrefolert bP^n ri minister to rp^rry them but waswanteftn neither of the young couple were members of the SDA church and theyminister -n? against SDA policy. Anyway theminister introduced the young man to me and I took him over to see Mr. Takafuji. Thewedding was a very colorful occQsion. The mixing of Oriental and western customs

interesting. The bride and groom wore traditional Samurai type (100 yearsback) wedding kimono's" but the attendants wore western style suits. At theeeeption following the wedding, there was a western type wedding cake. The bride

« i! would nBke a mess of cutting such a large coke so asked Mrs. Takafujill+ +t °+ it but she persuaded her that Marcia should do it. Marcia tried to|et the bride to cut the first piece but all she would do was make a mark in the

-aafihr P J apologizin^^ for being so unskilfulevoL+- couldn t cut her cake. There were JO guests at the wedding and with theexception of one or two it was their first time to witness a Christian weddingce emony. Agood testimony was given. We trust we can keep contact with this new

coSaL* complete families incaL onl^lL is thecase only the smaller children of the family,

reoaiveTftoanoia? a+ato'" ^ ahouldand ilLrm tT I Please check it for accuracyteve tor+n e discrepnciee. We want to give credit whore credit ia due. Wepravern f r , "u"" according to funds received. Please continue yourgivL US in d "v d Iw "f Sod hasgiven us to do. We do thank you for your support in every way.

news of TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM in northern Honshu Japan

DO YOU LIKE NEW YE/iRS TIME? H/iVE TWO OF THEM III

March 195^

• /' 7r>•' j

It was New Years time up in Furukawa again the last half of February, The peoplethere follow the Lunar calendar in some things, perhaps mostly so they can haveanother holiday. The farmers seem to be keeping this old custom alive in that area.It is the last real holiday they will have until the middle of the summer just beforerice harvest. All the shops and stores are closed and the streets are decorated evenmore elaborately than for January New Years# February rains and snows have made itmore like winter but they have also played havoc with roads. After a particularlyrough trip getting there one week, Takafuji san and I waited a half hour past thestarting time before anyone came and then our faithful Takahaahi san came hurring in#He was very busy getting ready to leave on a vacation trip at 5 o'clock the nextmorning but had not forgotten to come to Bible class, Hatakeyama san, who has bedtiv;lth the class from the beginning, has been in the hospital since January new yearstime# These folk need our continued prayers and encouragement,

HOW DO YOU CHANGE CUSTOM?

There was added encouragement recently in the Sendai church when a house wife, wholives in the vicinity of the church, came to a service. One of the problems we arestudying is why it is difficult to get people in the immediate vicinity of a churchto attend services;—- even special serviceb. All groups feel this problem-,-—We used—to think it might be caused by the fact they were asked to come to a foreign lookingchurch building# But with services held in the Takafuji home there is still theproblem of folk not feeling free to come into some ones home who is not an intimatefriend. How long it takes to break down these barriers is anyone's gueso,

WHICH WILL YOU HiiVE. BREAD. RICE, OR LIFE?

There are also amusing moments, Mrs, Takafuji wag teaching in Sunday School aboutOosus, the Bread of Life, She came to the phrase, "Ye can not live by bread alone."She asked, "What is more important to us than bread?" There was an immediate answer,"Rice," These boys and girls now know in a little better way the meaning of "The'Rice' of Life,"

CAN YOU HELP PAY FOR IT?

We feel more at ease now that the Jeep is a registered and officially inspected caragain. All vehicles must be inspected by a designated date, every ^ months to 1 yr,,according to the age of the car, by a government officer who "scientifically" checkssprings, shock absorbers, wheel alignment, brakes, lights, turn signals and horn, andwhether or not the yearly road tax is paid. The Jeep received a specially stiff inspection since it was over due and because it is "Nippon iichi" (the first in Japanand can mean also the best) cab-over station wagon. To our knowledge it is the firstcab-over station wagon but we doubt that it will be the best at least for very long.The Japanese like the short vrheel base with 10 passenger capacity too. We hope theservice of ours will be long in helping do the work of Tohoku Rural Evangelism. Thecomplete cost of the conversion was The old Jr.ep body was sold for $75* Thisleaves an unpaid loan of §290, How about helping liquidate this? Mark it "Jeep",

HOW DO YOU SAY THANKYOU IN A NEW MEANINGFUL WAY?

There doesn't seem to be a better way to write our thanks for your gifts and prayersthan to say "Thankyou", Your faithful support to the work here strengthens our faithand helps us accomplish our purpose for being here# We thank God for each of you.Wo often feel the pinch of our deficit but know that God provides our real needs thruyouv For example, the Adult Bible class in Yoncalla, Oregon, when they saw the'.icx'icit in the last financial statement, sent a special offering to help get rid ofit# If each of you could help, even just a little, we could get rid of it#

news oj TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM in northern Honshu Japan

April 1958 "frvr• ma

The firsi Wedneeday night in April, at Sondai church Bible study, Natsura sanrernarked that he had been attending services for 1 year but that he must study morebefore making any decision. While a mile-stone has been reached in the length of timeof his study and he seems very sincere and is faithful in his study, we can not butwonder what more we can do — what better methods can we use — to aid him towarddeciding for Christ, Please continue praying for Matsura san, Saito san and Takedasan, Takeda san has just graduated from high school and has failed the entrance examto Tohoku University, Japanese Universities are ovcrcrowdod so entrance exams arevery stiff. Only a few of those who take the exams can pass them, Takeda san mustnow decide what to do at least until next year when he can take the entrance examagain. Pray that his interest in Christianity will continue and that if it be God'swill he may give his life to Christian service.

Koganezawa san, our first convert, seems to have been a "thorn in the flesh" tothe work here. He also graduated from high school in March, He is from a very poorfamily and needed help for school expenses so Mr, Takafuji and I gave him tuitionmoney 2 or 5 times. It seems he spent at least some of.it in "riotous living". Nowthat he is gone to Tokyo to work, Ogata san, our Christian young lady, tells us thatsome who knew he was a Christian say that if that is Christianity they don't want tobe Christians, V/e pray that Koganezawa san will one day become a strong Christianleader and use his fine leadership abilities for Christ.

Plans sometimes change quickly. We planned to go to our all Japan convention-InKyushu, We had ordered train reservations and had enough money for the trip if we"scimped" for awhile after w© returned. Missionaries from Okinawa, Phillipines, Koreaand Thailand planned to join with us this year. But an opportunity to buy land madeus cancel our convention plans. However we will not miss out entirely on the convention since the V/esley Walkers and Ernest Fabor plan to visit us on their way backto Hokkaido, This way we will get some of the fellowship and a roport of what tookplace at the convention. We feel it is best to use this opportunity to build now because we must give up our present rented house when we go home on furlough. Our ownmission home will give us a place to store mission and household goods while home.

In February we made arrangements to buy an army *pre-cut" 6 room house for $500,'"he roof tile, plumbing dnd electric fixtures are worth the price but we will alsoiiave the windows, flooring, plywood walls and skeleton structure materials. It will3ost about $50 to take it down and move it to the new location. The house must be•:oved from its present location as soon after April I5 as possible^ After we boughtuhe house we began looking for land. We hoped to rent land but it seems that justisn't done in Sendai, A new housing area has opened up in north Sendai that will bea suburb area of about 5OO homes in a few years. There are about 25 houses erectednow, some ICQ of 250 lots have been purchased, and work crews are busy leveling offthe rest of the lots. We bought a lot in the center of this housing area. It is a50 X 60 foot lot and cost $988,11, less than half the cost of lots in the establishedpart of Sendai, We borrov^ed $1588,89 from Tokyo Bible Seminary which will be paidback lake rent after we move. In Juno we will have the final $500 payment on oursummer house which we sold last summer. We plan to put up the house with this money,-to the place where we can live in it, by the middle of July, Being in a new housingarea will be a new experience for evangelism here in Sendai, At home we learn it isgood for a church to grov; with the community, V/e are planning a special room in thehouse for church activities. We pray the work can become an important part of thisnew community.

We are beginning to feel the "recession" at home in financial gifts for the workhere. However, we believe investing in a mission hone at this time is wise, and wecan save the $50 or more monthly rent money. There is 6% interest on the money loanfrom Tokyo Seminary, Japan bank rates are from 12% to 15^, We believe you want tosee the work of TCHODU RURAL EVANGELISM established firmly, Pleasg help us as theLord leads you in this time of need.

We do thank each of you for your gifts and your prayers. They are an investmentin the cause of Christ in Japan, They pay dividends in Christ's eternal Kingdom,

'j'i ,••• •! -.1

news of TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM in northern Horwihu Japan

way 31June 1958

Time — and what have done with it? We have been busy to say the least* Paul gaveup trying to get letters written a month ago* Since then I (Marcia) havo been tryingto get them done but I haven't succeeded very well either# I lend a hand with thebuilding program and still hear lessons recited. One day when Paul stayed in town towork I drove the men out to the Funakka house to work and brought back a trailer loadof materials. This is a job on tho rough roads with the many pedestrians and byciclecand "road hog" trucks. We are having to send your receipts with this mimeographedletter again. As we have said before, wo do not intend to make this a habit but justnow we have to double up on time somewhere. Canning season will be here in another

-Couple of weeks and ilso there is always sewing to do for growing children. And thechildren are growing. CXir youngest has just attained the ripe ago of 8, She had aslumber party for the first and second grades of her school to celebrate the occasion.Now let your breath out, there was a total of 4, l^rtha was in the heighth of herglory, Russell lacks an inch of being as tall as his Daddy and Paula lacks 2 inches^They are both taller than I am and are proving to be real helpers in the buildingprogram, We have about half the blocks madp and most of the Funaoka house is torndown. It must be all moved by the first of June when the camp is returned to theJapanese, I have taken out so many nails I coiint nails instead of sheep in my sleep.We shall all feel better v;hen we see progress in tho new house going up instead ofthis one going down.

The special effort we made at Furukawa has seemed to renew the interest of the 4 whohave been attending the class. They ere asking some questions that show developmentin their study. Please pray this interest will lead to some results. The buildingwhere the class meets is a 2 story building. One night 2 men, who were pretty welldrunk, were up on the second floor and heard us singing downstairs. One of them camedown and interupted long enough to ask if he could attend the class. He sat quietlylistening until the other man came down and tried to get him to leave. This caused areal interuption but in it we learned something interesting. People in Furiokawathink the Sendai SENSSI'S (teachers) must be good persons to come from Sendai everyweek to teach so few people. There are times when only 1 of our 4 are present. Mr,Takafuji invited the 2 drunks to come back to class when they weren't drunk so theycan leorn about Christianity more thoroughly. Some of our faithfuls in tho Sendaicnurch have been absent for several weeks now, V/e are quite concerned about one ofthem. From his actions I believe he has severe headaches, I feel sorry for him because each Sunday after Service he would hurry home. Why? He had to do the familylaundry. It is most unusual for a man or boy to do that kind of work in Japan,

On Juno 10 I will begin an English conversation class for a group of doctors in theUniversity hospital here in Sendai, They went to learn English so they can readEnglish medical books and also treat foreign patients. Previous experience has made.,us very slow to teach English because of so few results for Christ, Most people inSendai associate foreigners with the arny. Now that the army is gone and some of usare still here thaey ask what we are doing here, I hope I can interest some of these

-doctors in Christianity, Some of then will go out to surrounding villages to begintheir practice. We pray they may be a means of contact for new areqs of work.

Here is another example of probleHa in the work here. When I was shopping one day aBhop lady asked if her daughter could attend our Sunday night English Bible class.She did not come so Yoshiko san invited hereto come again. She asked Yoshiko san ifBhe mst bring a gift the first time she comes. Here is an example of one who wants+ something that is new to her but she thinks in terms of Japanese customs andtraditions. Wo can only be patient and use these opportunities for Christ,

We do thank you for your faithful gifts and prayers. Pray that we may have strengthand wisdom to use these busy day wisely. By the way, if you are a stamp collector,you will be interested in the stamp on this letter. It commemorates the Third AsianGames tounameut. now in progress in Tokyo,

news of TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM in nortfiem Honshu Japan

July 1958 AUG 13 ]m

We surely do appreciate this rainy day. It is almost the end of the rainy season butJapan has had little rain this year. Water supply reservoirs have become so low waterIS rationed or cut off parts of each day. Recently IvJrs. Takafuji saw a city tanktruck parked on the main shopping street of Sendai with womon lined up behind itge ing^their rationed bucket of water. Farmers have been having rain ceremonies atthe shrines. Newspapers have been saying electricity soon will be cut off parts ofeach day to conserve water. Today we thank God for rain.

Swmmr vacations are beginning in Japanese schools so there have been many schoolactivities to interfere with our 5 groups who meet each week for worship and Biblestudy. We are using all our energy just now to get the house up. We have finiighedmking the blocks and have the trenches dug for the foundation. We still hope to haveit completed enough so we can move in next month.

According to a recent police report, superstitions seem to be most rampant hero inthe TCHOKU area. These superstitions are being encouraged by the local "mediums" orfortune tellers who are often times the village Buddhist priests. We usually thlink ofsuperstitions as being a hindrance to Christian progress but here they are a problemto police as well. Prom a mountainous area it was reported the medium told familiesto burn their own home when there was sickness or an accident in the family. Anothersuperstition is that when a house has been robbed, if the family drives a nail intothe fuuLpiiijl uf Lhe roWur-Tr^nt^putrify the thiefs foot and kill him. Yet thisact destroys the footprint which is an important clue in police investigation. Some-times people show more confidence in the village medium than they do in the police.While a young woman was visiting in a hospital her purse was stolen from her overcoatpocket. Upon her return home she told her mother and was urged to go see the villagemedium, ^whon the mother felt sure could tell who the thief was. After due formlities,the meaium said the thief was a I-^iss Yamazaki who lived on the other side of theriver. The next day the mother and daughter returned to the hospital and by coincidence found a young woman by the name of Yamazaki from the other side of the riverwno had been at the hospital the previous day when the robbery took place. There wasa fierce quarrel^between the innocent party and the superstitious mother^ The nextany Miss Yamazaki visited the mother, demanded a formal apology and advised them togo to the police about the robbery. This they did 2 full days after the incident. Thepolice told^tho people of the village thru the newspapers that it was their liberty.•o °®iieye in mediums if they wished but community order was in charge of the police,-n the^midst of such superstitions we have dedicated ourselves to show and teach the'vhristian way of life. These superstitions cane closer to us the other day when the2 men helping^us build the house asked if we were going to have a "house blessing"ceremony. It is customary to have some sort of ceremony to drive out the evil spiritsfrom the new house location. If a person has enough money the local Buddhist priestperforms the ceremony. Sometimes the house owner buys rice wine and he and theworkmen drink wine and sing chants for the ceremony. The other day we saw a newversion of driving the evil spirits away. \Vhon they started building one of thehouses near ours the men all had a piece of new red cloth about the size of a largehandkerchief, ^Some of the men wore the cloth around their heads and others put itover the belt in their trousers, V/e are considering having "open house" when ourhouse is done and invite in all the neighbors to show there are no "spirits", exceptthe Holy Spirit, in our house.

V/e thank God for each of you who help the work here by your prayers and gifts. Youwho have sent gifts during the past 6 months arc receiving a financial statement withthis letter. Frankly it is a discouraging statement. From January thru June of thisyear the total receipts wore $2549.28. This is more than $100 less per month thanprevious reports. Expenses for the 6 months wore about the sane, $5277.84. Thismkes our present operating deficit $1729.44. Wo do not know whore to cut our budp'et

without dreping some of the work we have started. We have scraped the bottomot the piggy again and must now do our buying as money cones from you brethren. V/elive by our faith in God who, thru you, provides our daily needs. Please increaseyour prayers and help provide ®ur needs as the Lord leads you.

RECEIPTS

Coea Grande^ Ariz*, BarnesPhoenix Ariz., ToothakerOovina, Calif., West Covina Ch,Elsinore, Calif.Newhall, Calif.Pomona, Calif., North Towne Ch.

Friendship ClassBetty and Dale HolmLyle Holm

Rosemead, Calif., Can^Tinley Park, 111., Dorcas CircleLadoga, Ind.

20th Century ClassPaekersburg Church

Hom^builders ClassRoseland, Ind., Northway Jr. Cl.Hill City, Kan., Gleaners ClassLiberal Kan., Pershing Ave.Jr.Cl.Norton, Kan.Galesbxirg, Kan.Louisville, Ky',, MaxeyForest Ri^|, MichVesiaburg, jttcti., Ferris Center AidMinneapolis', Minn., Univ. Ch.

Womep's FellowshipSt. Paul, Minn., PetersonTruman, Minn,, Horicon Church

-frtrr~^44^ Wn ^ iftvO'Neill, Nebr., 1st ChurchWymore, Nebjr.Clemens, N.Car., ^^^ddy Creek Ch.King, N.Car,, Pop. Spr. I<{i8s. Soc.

Downing, Mo.

TCHOKU RURAL EVANGELISMFmNCIAL STATEMENT

January 1 June ^0, 1958

$ 5.0010.0065.00

250.0050.00

585.2142.0010.0059.6020.0054.00

240.0020.0050.0050.0020.0050.0010.00

109.0625.005.00

10.0010.00

165.2016.00

100.6050.0090.00

—

150.0020.0020.00

50.00

Canton, Ohio,Elyria, Ohio.Montpelier, OhioPortland, Ore., BatesTurner, Ore., ReasonerYoncall^. Ore.

Adult Bible Class

Jr. Girls ClassBristol, Tenn., Central ChurchBeloit, Wise., Bible SchoolReadstown, Wise.

NettingMaple & friend

TOTALaRECEIPTS

EXPENDITURES

Postage £} EnvelopesTracts

Jeep Reparis, Ins., InspectionGasolineBank Charge on Yen ExchangeRent (2 houses)Native Salaries

Family Living Link

EXPENSES

•I)e£icit Dec. 3K I957TOTAL EXPENDITU^ "Receipts

$ 10,0015.0082.9610.001.00

105.0012.0020.00

12.7551.5030.00

$ S549,28

55.105.61

^.5566.125.94

515.72450.00

2100,00

$ 5277.84

1000.88~$-^4276i7^

2549.28

DEFICIT June 50, 1958 $ 1729.44

This is the most discouraging financial statement we have had to report. Perhaps dueto the recession at home, our financial receipts are on the decline. Our livingcosts can noli devrease here so it means some of the money we have been putting intoactual evangelism will have to decrease. The work is already slow and this "recess"will not help it any. Do you want the work here to go slower? Please pray about itand thep give as the Lord leads you. Can you give some of your time and talents toask others to givSHihat TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM may give the unsearcheable riches ofChrist to people of northern Honshu. Write us for further information.

Please address any corrospondenae about this financial statement to:

Paul NielsenBox 97dondai|, Japan

w

iiews oj TOHOKU RURAL EVANGELISM in northern Honshu Japan

October 195® OCT

In the past 2 years we have traveled as far as Paris and have spent lA—8 hour daysin Fuinkawa teaching the Gospel of Luke," This was the way Brother Takafuji openedhis remarks on the final night of study in Luke in the Furukawa Bible class. Heestimated that the 6l bumpy miles traveled to and from Furukav/a almost every v/eek forbhe past 2 years equals the distance to Paris, While the class study and prayer timeis about 1 hour each week, the teaching time represents only half the time spent withthe folk. An equal amount of time has been spent after class sessions in visitingwith them and answering questions about Christianity. There have been 5 subjectscommon in many of their questions — questions about God, about sin, and about theHoly Spirit, We Imve now begun studying the book of Acts in this class. Let us bepraying that from these studies this group may catch the vision of those Christiansin the first century and make possible establishing a church in Furukawa.

Nov; that school is started again services at the Sendoi church have become mush morestable. We are happy for a new University young man v7ho has started attending. Wetrust his interest in studying Christianity may ripen into full fruits of obedientfaith in Christ. Takeda san, one of our high school boys whom we have mentioned inprevious news letters, has not returned to services since vacation time. As yet wehave not been able to learn why. To add a little comfort and convenience to therooms where the church meets in the Takafuji home, the folk have had some tables made.We still sit on the straw mat covered floor Japanese style and the tables (about theheighth of a coffee table) provide a convenient place for note book, song book_and-Bible during services, (Each one brings his own song book and Bible to church in JapnrThe tables also provide comfort for we foreigners who need something to lean againstwhile we sit on the floor.

We are very grateful to the North Town Avenue Church in Pomona, Calif, for increasingtheir living link support from ^plO to $2^ per month. This increase in regular pledgedsupport from these co-laborers in Christ will be a great help to us in these dayswhen our activities are regulated by whether or not we have any money on hand. Wertill need $100 monthly pledged support to mke our budget balance and develp thework that has been started, V/e do thank God for all of you v7ho through your gifts andprayers make possible our efforts to win souls to Christ here in northern Honshu.

The children are in school again, Russell is in Christian Academy in Tokyo, Althou.glhe didn't like the idea at first, he now thinks it is better than studying at home.We agree but we won't get to see much of him ex-cept at vacation times until next Juir:Because Paula is half yth grader and half 8th grader, she is studying at home thisyear so she can be a regular student when she begins high school next year", Jferthais continuing happily in the missionary grade school here in Sendai,,

Now last but not least of importance in this letter. BRETHREN WE ARE IN THE WORSTFINANCIAL CRISIS OF OUR kilSSIONARY EZPERIEI'JGE. Besides our current deficit, thatcpntinues to get larger each month in spite of our efforts to "cut back", we have two''essing bills:

1) HOUSE RENT $250, We pay rent every J months ($150), When we paid the $150last spring we felt this would carry us through the summer months whenreceipts always drop off. But September has come and gone and receiptshave not increased. On October 10, $250 is due on rent,

2) SCHOOL TUITIONS, Russell's first term tuition and room is $115« Martha'stuition is $4o for 1 term. School tuitions are paid out of our living linksupport but becouse there have been only 2 months in 195® when we receivedfull mission budget support, we are not able to meet these tuition fees, V/ehave been able to pay for Paula's correspondence course. It is interestingto note that Russell's tuition and room in Tokyo this year costs the same ashis last year's correspondence course* $155 is need now for school tuitions.

Friends, we can only trust God that, through you, our supporters, this time of crisiscan be met so we can "owe no men anything save love," Please mark your special gift:CRISIS FUND" and send them soon. Among our many blessings v;e thank God that we are

here in His service through your gifts and your prayers.

(A)

Amerkan Couple Builds NewMission House By Themselves

m-SENDAI, Nov. 27.—This is

just like a film story of anItalian motion picture inwhich a young Italian couplebuilt a new house for themselves to live in.

The difference is that whilethe hero and heroine in thefilm story were Italians, in thiscase they are Americans andthe. new house is for missionarypurposes.

On a high land, in SendaiCity, near the famous "Meditation Pine Tree" under whichChogyu Takayama, a well-known, Japanese philosopherwriter, used to sit alone in deep

c

thought some 60 years ago,Paul Nielsen, an American'minister, and his wife, MarciaNielsen, are working almostevery fine day to build a houseof stone block.

"This will be a church formissionary services and a homefor my family," the 44-year-oldminister said.

Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen havebeen at work on the two-storybuilding since July. The framewalls have been nearly completed.

"We have many visitors hereand they are surprised to seeus building the house for ourselves," Mrs. Nielsen said.

Her husband added, "It isnot too difficult because I likeit though I never studiedarchitecture in school."

They have been living inSendai for three years with twodaughters. A son- is studyingnow at a high school in Tokyo.

The missionary couple starttogether from their presenthome at Hasekura-cho, Sendai,in a private car about 8 -in themorning on week days to workat the building site until siround5 in the evening.

"We like this place very, verymuch,'' said Mrs. Nielsen at theworking site from which pinetrees, blue sky and whiteclouds can be seen.

The new mission-house forChristianity will be completedearly next year on the hillwhich Mrs. Nielsen says is anice place to take a walk.

(Photo shows Mr. and Mrs.Nielsen looking out of awindow on the second floorof the house under construction.)