sims harold lois 1993 japan

8/12/2019 Sims Harold Lois 1993 Japan

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To k y o C h r i s t i a n Co y e i nt o al l th e world an d preach t h e gospe l to every creature Mark 16:15

Vo l u m e 2 J a n u a r y 1 9 3 um er 1

= S I M S N E W S =C H R I S T M A S A T M E J I R O D A I

Most of y o u h av e heard of The Twelve Days of Chris tmas. Well, this y ea r o ur s e as o n m ig h t b e d e sc r ib e d ass t a r t ing on Dec. 12. (If you c o u n t f rom th e t ime Lois s tar tedshopping a n d P e n ny and I s ta rt ed ta lk ing about ideas fo r aprogram a n d t hi nk in g about writ ing an d then actuallyp r in t in g a n d m a i li n g t h e Chr i s tmas letter, Chr i s tmas wouldbe much more than a month around here.) But anyway, onthat day t h e y o u ng people came to decorate a n d m a k e finalpreparat ions for the i r Chris tmas Party which was 3 :30 -7:00 p.m. the nex t day. We got down our man-made,reusable tree, lights, decorat ions a n d m a n ge r scenes from

th e at t ic above the church ent rance hall. Th e youth addeds o m e greene ry f rom o u r y a r d for t h e windows a n d a l i t t lebright red r ibbon Lois ha d to pve accent. Jus t tha t da y wereceived a package from our daughter, Sylvia, in Iowawhich included some transparencies of th e manger scenet h a t w e r e i d e a l fo r t h e w i n d o w b e t w e e n t h e e n tr an c e a n da u d it o ri u m , s o t h a t w a s i n c l u d e d .

Th e 8 or 10 young people had done al l th e planningandpreparation for t hi s a nd paid al l th e expenses of printing3,000 handbills invitingyoung people in the neighborhood,programs fo r those wh o a t t ended ( includ ing themus ic to beused), a tract and invi ta t ionsto t h e r e g ul a r church services,etc. Theywere also planning to serve a light meal to al lwhocame, an d spent a lo t of t ime discussingwhat they would doif 100 people showed up, etc. They a lso d id al l t he p ar ts o nth e program - music l eading and accompaniment , candleservice, prayers, speeches, etc. - by themselves . They wereso nervous aboutthis that they pract iced on Saturday nightbefore go ing home .

I shared in their disappointment when only 3 or 4people came in response to th e handbills, but joy an dencouragementcame when eve ry th ingworked ou ta l l right,and t he fact that most of th e young people were able to ge t2 or 3 of their friends in church fo r th e first t ime , fo r a totalof over 30 at th e meeting an d t h e r e fr e sh m e nt an d fellowship time. It wa s a good experience, with plenty of food,programs an d g o o d f e el i ng left over.

During th e next 2 weeks we had (almost daity) pr ograms and meetings fo r our various English classes andBible s tudy groups. At 11 p.m. Friday night, Dec. 18, th efront door bell r a n g a s we werege t t ingready fo rbed . I t wasour son, Danny, who h ad b ee n in Japan fo r a day o r soprevious on company bus iness and was here to s p e n d t h ew e e k e n d o f t h e c h ur ch C h r is tm a s w i th u s fo r t h e f irat t i m ein 13 years. All th e folks were surprised and happy to se eh im w h en t he y arrived on Sunday, and asked how i t i s thatI arrange something dramatic for Christmas every year. Idon t plan it at all These t hi ng s j us t s ee m to happenbecause it s Christmas, but I admit I enjoy i t a lot.

We had 52 adults and 25 children h e re o n Sunday, Dec.20, for ou r worship service and the lunch an d programwhich followed. We have had more adults in past years, bu tthi s was a record number of children. We al l ha d a goodt i me t o g et h e r d u r in g the a f t ernoon program.

T he t h em e t h is y e a r w as G od s o l o ve d the World. F o rdecorations we ha d a beachball-size globe suspended fromth e ceiling by invisible thread. On th e wall we pu t up 13f lags o f v a ri o us n a ti o n s, w i th J o h n 3:16 w r i tt e n i n 11 differen t languages. (We go t th e l an g ua ge s o u t of a GideonBible.) Not very t radi t iona l, but w e h ad a s m a ll t r ee withblinking lights to serve that purpose. In line with th etheme, th e special offering was sen t to fo rmer miss ionariesin Japan, Do n an d Norma Bumey, who ar e starting a ne wevangel is t ic effort in I rkutsk , Russia . Also, w e c o ll e ct e d alarge b o x o f used win te rc lo th ing to send to them, but s o f arhave n o t b e en able to find a rel iable way to send it.

The Sunday School chi ldren began th e program bys inging, J esus Loves th e Little Chi ld ren - All th e Childrenof th e World. Then I wrote a simpleverse inJapanese to besung by each child to that tune. I picked nations they couldrelate to in some way, an d mostly ones chos en by thechildren themselves. The mothers cooperated verywell indressing them in costumes that s om ew h at p ic tu re d t hedifferent countries - Somalia, France, Brazil, Philippines,Taiwan, etc. Th e c hi ld re n d id p re tt y well in singing ou tsolo, because the first little bo y from Somalia, with on ly aloin cloth on, se t a good example. The young people sang Amazing Grace in English a nd J ap an es e a nd a no th er


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song; t h e n w e h a d v a r i o u s a d u l t n u m b e r s . O ne of o u r l ad i e ssang in I ta l ian (she h ad s t ud i ed m u s ic t h er e briefly s o m eyea r s ago) a n d a n o th e r l ady f rom Ta iwan s a n g i n Chines e .The 3 S i m se s s a ng , There s a Song in th e Air in Engl ish .T he re w e re 2 ta lks b y p eo pl e w ho o cc as io na ll y c om e t ochurch o n c us to ms i n E ng la nd a nd Germany, a n d seve ra lfami ly m u s i ca l n u m be r s. E v e ry o n e, o ld a n d young , w asasked to te l l i n one s e n te n c e w h a t t he y w e r e t hankfu l for.A s t h e progra-m prog re s sed , t h e Kumes , w h o w e r e l e a di n gthe program, asked i f anyone cou ld read the var ious la ng u ag e s. E v e ry o n e w a s s u r p r i s e d t h e r e w as s o m e o ne i n t h ea u di e nc e w h o c o ul d r ead every l anguage (1 0 in all) excep tArabic. T h e p ro g ra m w as over a b o u t 4 p.m. T he y o un gpeop le s t ayed a n d fixed a favor i te w i n t e r d i s h of t h e J a p an e s e peop le - mizutaki . T h e m i x tu r e o f c h i c ke n , pork a n dfish cu t in sm all p ie ce s is boi led a lo n g w it h cabbage,m u s h r o o m s , tofu a nd o th er t h ings i n a l a rge po t in t h ecen te r of th e table . Everyone t akes ou t of th e pot wi thchopst icks an d dips i t in a soy sauce an d g r at e d r a d is hseason ing an d e a ts i t with rice. This w as a g r e a t t r e at a n dth e en d of perfect day fo r Danie l an d a l l w ho s tayed. The dayw a s p l a n n e d b y t h e K i s h i m o t o s .

Chr i s tmas Eve n i g h t w a s very cold , an d Lois w as i n b edwith a cold , b u t w e h a d 40 adu l t s a n d 8 ch i ld ren f i l l ing t h ec h u r c h for a v e ry n i ce c a ro l s i n g a n d cand le service . T h e r ea re seve ra lpeop le in th e communi ty w ho a r e n o t Chris t ians

bu t m a k e a p o i n t of a t t en d i n g t h i s o n e s e r vi c e e v e ry y e a r tog e t a l i t t le of t h e Chr i s tmas spi r i t .O n C h r is t m a s d a y w e w e n t fo r t h e 4 th y e a r to p u t o n a

program a t th e Keiyu Hosp i t a l in Ome City, where Mrs.Okada who is now 91) lives, along

w i t h s o m e w h e r e a r o u n d 8 0 0 o t h e r

fet aHI elderly people. We had about 30.-..sJi *UDh people in wheelchairs to attend our

l i t t le 4 5-minute prog ram by 13 peop le

iJm ^ from Mejirodai church. We had 2M l ad i e s p lay t h e Japanese - s t r i nged in -

s t r u m e n t (koto), a n d Mrs. I to a n d 2 of

1 \ played a number offa miliarJapanesefolksongsonrecord-H ers withthe old people happilysing

i n g along. W e t ook a long o u r m a n g e rj j s c e n e b a c k g r o u n d a nd h ad M r. a n dMrs. Okada, 91, an d __ . j t ** ,

Koh Kishimoto 3 months. Mrs. Kishimoto and th ei r little 3-m o n th o ld s o n K o h , s i t i n f r o n t o f

tha t a nd play th e par t s of J os ep h, M a iy an d baby Jesuswhile w e r ead th e C h r i st m a s s t or y a n d sang S i lent Night.I t b r o u gh t t e a r s to t h e e y es o f m a n y of t h e h o s p it a l p a t i e n tsa n d s t a f f .

Mo s t of o u r ch i ld ren w h o l ive i n t h e U.S. ga the red a tSylvia s h o m e i n I owa on t h e n i g h t of Dec. 27 , a f t e r f i n i sh ingthe i r sepa ra te C h r is t m a se s . H o p e a n d h e r f a m i ly cou ld n o tleave the farm a nd the pigs t h e y a r e r a is i ng . We c a l le d t heml a t e a t n ig h t ou r t ime (early a.m. there) an d t a lked a goodwhile - i n c l u d in g s o m e t a l k w i th D a n ie l w h o h a d b e e n h e r e

a w e e k before . O n Sa tu rday, Dec. 26 , w e t ook down a n d p uta w a y th e s tufT un t i l t h i s t im e n ex t year. I t w a s a n o t h e rg r e a t C h r is t m as .

W e received 93 C h ri st m as g r ee ti n g c a rd s an d le t tersf rom f r iends i n t h e U.S. a n d 58 from f r i ends i n J a p a n . Alsow e r ec ei ve d abou t 50 New Years greet ing cards , w hi ch i smore t he J a p a n e s e cus tom. T h a n k s to e ve ry on e w ho r emembered us i n t h is way. W e know a ne w a n d m o re deeplyGod i s wi th u s a nd l ove s t h e w o r ld e v e n t hough w e a r e a l ls inne r s in H i s r ig h t eo u s a n d ho ly eyes .

C H A P E L C O N C E R T

These days, m a n y J a pa n es e churches have admission-free concer ts dur ing the Fa l l m o n t h s to m ak e n ew

c o nt a ct s w i th the c o m m un i ty p e op l e and get people toventure in to th e church bui lding. Many people seem tohave a fear of g o in g i n to a church b u i ld i n g b e ca u se t h eydon t k n ow w h a t e x pe ri en c e awa i t s them t he re - m u c h asy o u w o u l d fee l if i n v i t e d i n to a B u d d h i s t M o r m o n , o r H i n d uTemple . This year w a s o u r 7 t h t i m e to have o ne a t Mejirodai.Each t ime w e have h a d different music ian(8) an d a somewhat d if fe re n t t y pe p r og r am , b u t all those who have performed h a v e b e e n C h r is t ia n s a n d h a ve g iv e n some kind oft e s ti m o n y r e g a r d i ng t h e i r fa i th d u r in g c o m m e n ts be tweens o n g s .

W e a lwa y s t i y to have t h e c o n ce r t s o m e ti m e n e a r t heanniversary of the found ing of t h e c h u rc h (Nov. 1). But w ealso m u s t c o n si d er w h e n th e person w e as k to give theconce r t h a s open d at es . T hi s y e a r t h e t ime w as Saturday,Nov. 7. T he per fo rmerswere Mr. a n d Mrs. Kaga, w h o b e lo n gto a n i n d e p e n d e n t congrega t ion i n downtown Tokyo. Theya r e b o t h p r o f e s s i o n a l s i n g e r s - b a r i t o n e a n d mezzo-soprano - a n d h a ve a p p e ar e d o n TV a t different t imes .

W e d i s tr i b ut e d o v e r 5,000 handbi l ls with the i r p ic tu re sa l l o v e r o u r l oc al a re a , a nd m a d e o th er p r e p ar a ti o n s, s ow e r e v e ry t hankfu l to have 42 adu l t s a n d c h i l d re n p r e s e n tf rom o u r l o c a l c o n g r e g a t i o n a n d 58 a d u lt s a n d c h il d re n a sv i s i t o r s . S o m e o f t h e v is it o r s w e r e m e m b e r s o f o t h e r

c h u r c h e s i n o u r city, b u t s o m e w e re i n c h u r c h fo r t he f i r s tt i m e . T he program w as a m ix of s o m e c l a s s i ca l music ,

f ami l i a r h y m n s a n d sp i r i t ua l s a n d songs fo r ch i ld ren whichha d b e e n u s e d o n TV show s . I t w a s v e r y w e l l rece ived. Also ,t h e i r s h or t s p ee c he s w e r e v e ry p r ac ti c al , imder s t andab lea n d full of gospe l joy.

O V E R N I G H T F E L L O W S H I P

M E E T I N G

Thi s y e a r t h e J a p a n e s e T h a n k s gi v i n g D ay h o l id a y w a sMonda y, Nov. 23 . W e d ec id ed t o g o s o m e w h e r e a n d s p e n ds om e t im e toge the r to g e t to know Chr i s t a n d e a c h o the rbet ter. W e h a d s o m e t ro ub le f i nd ing a p la ce b ec au se o ns u c h connec t ed hol idays al l o t h e r g r ou p s w a n t t o r e se r v et ime a n d s p ace . W e f ina l ly con tac t ed t h e p la ce b y LakeSaiko a t t h e foot of Mt . Fu j i w h e r e w e h a d o u r Vacat ion BibleS c h oo l s s e v e ra l t imes s om e y ea rs ago, an d were able tor e s e rv e t h a t . Twenty-one peop le m a d e reservat ions , whichw as a l i t t le l e s s t h a n w e h o p e d for. W e l e f t t h e c h u r c h af terea t ing l u n c h e a rl y S u n da y a f t e rnoon , Nov. 22 . I t w as abeaut i ful fall day. T he expres sway traffic on tha t hol idayw o u l d c e r t a in l y b e t i e d u p , s o w e d e ci d ed to g o u p b y a r o a dwind ing t h r o u g h t h e m o un ta in s. We w e nt i n 5 c a r s , followi n g t h e on e w ho k n e w th e way, a n d eve ryone b u t t h e dr iversrea l ly enjoyed t h e co lo red fo i lage a n d eve r- chang ing m o u nta in scenery. A c ou ple of ch i ld ren i n o u r c a r go t s i ckb e c a u s e of t h e w i n d i n g r oad , b u t w e a ll g o t to t h e p l a c e a f t e ra s k i n g direc t ions , b e ca u se i t g ot d a r k before w e g o t a ll th ew ay t he r e .

T h e c o m m i t t e e h a d w o r k e d o u t a d v an c e w h e r e e a cho ne w o u l d s tay, a n d soon a ft er w e go t se t t l ed w e h ad th e

Fe l lowsh ip a t Lake S c dk o L o d ge .


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Balko with Mt . Fuji in th e baokground.

O ld t a r m h o U B e n e a r L a k e S a i k o .

evening m e a l in th e l a rg e d o w n s ta i rs r o o m together. T h e nwe ha d a genera l t i m e of discuss ion a s a good n u m b e rexpressed t h e i r vision of w h a t t h e c h u rc h would b e l ike int h e fu tu re . We a ls o p la ye d s o m e g a m e s , etc . T h e fo l l owingm o r n i n g w e h a d p r a y e r s d o w n by t h e lake, t o o k a w a l k to a no l d f a r m h o u s e i n t h e a r e a a n d h a d a n o t h e r d i s c u s s i o n

m e e t i n g before t h e n o o n m e a l a n d t h e t r ip h o m e t h a taf ternoon. Everyone sa id they t h o u g h t w e o u g h t to dos o m e t h in g l i ke th i s eve ry yea r.

F I F T H S U N D A Y R A L L YO n N o v. 29 , t h e Mina to c h u r c h h o s t e d a n o th e rr a ll y. We

used to have t h e m r egu la r ly i n t h e Tokyo area, b u t fo rvar ious r e a s o n s , n o n e h a d b e en h e ld for a y e ar o r so . W eha d a n ic e g ro up of peop le g a t h e r f rom 7 o r 8 c h u r c h e s .Since th e Kamiochiai c h u r c h bui ld ing w as s ol d a bo ut 4years ago, t h e r e h a s b e e n a lo t of t ro uble . O ne g r o u p ofpeop le have b e en m e e ti ng i n a s m a l l a p a rt m e n t n e a r t h efo rmerchurch every Lord 'sDay with different people preaching. A young m an 35 years old, w ho t eaches Mathemat icsin a high school , h as b ee n a tte nd in g a nd w an te d to bebapt ized, so t h ey a s k ed to u s e t h e M i n a t o b a p t i st r y an d m eto do the bapt iz ing. So, jus t before t h e regu la r ra l ly p rog ra m , w e h ad a s h o r t bap t i smal service, w i th a ll th e peop lef rom t h a t local g ro u p m e e ti n g in t h e a p a r t m e n t a n d m a n yMina to m e m b e r s a t t end ing .

T h e M i n a t o p e o p l e planningthe program h ad a s ke d m eto s pe ak o n s om eth in g c on ne ct ed w i th o ur t r ip to theUnited Sta tes ea r l i e r in t h e year, an d w h a t I h a d obse rveda b o u t th e A m e r i ca n c h u r ch e s . I gave t h e m the sub jec t 3Man d le t eve ryone g ue ss w h at I w o u l d t a lk about . I t w asM u s i c M i s s i o n s a n d M i n i s t r i e s w h i c h a r e 3 a r e a s i n w h i c hI saw c h an g es i n o u r c h u rc h es a n d which I t h o u g h t wouldbe of interest to th e J a p a n e s e bre th ren .

On t h e w ay h o m e w i th s o m e of o u r m e m b e r s t h a t nigh t ,I l e a r n e d t h a t S h i n g o Tsuda , o n e of o u r y o u n g people , h a dtold the c h u r c h peop le t ha t m o rn in g h e h a s defini te lydecided to go to Osaka Bible Seminary on graduate level.

H e is to gradua te f r om O b e r li n College in M a r ch t h i s year.H e h o p e s to b e a t eacher-miss ionary i n s om e A s i a n c o u n tr y

such a s Indones ia o r China . T he church p e o p le w e r e veryhappy to hear about this dec is ion , of course.

L O A N T O C H I D A S F O R W O R K I N

S E N D A I

S o m e r e ad e rs m a y k n ow To sh ia k i C h id a an d his wife,Sachiko. They studied in Cinc inna t i Bible Seminary someyears ag o and have been self-supporting evangelists in hi s

h o m e city of Sendai fo r severa l years. H e e ar ns h is livingbyworking fo r a propane service stat ion run by a relative.They have Bible studies in the i r home to whichthey invitene ighbors an d the i r chi ldren. I t i s hard fo r h im to g e t awayfrom the job fo r c a m ps , r a ll ie s and other m e e ti n gs , s o wed o n t s e e t h em o f t e n .

In November I l ea rn ed th ro ug h a n ot he r missionarythey were having a prob lem a n d w e s h o u l d do w h a t wecould t o h e lp , so I g ot h is p h o n e n u m be r a n d cal led to as kh o w t h e y w e r e ge t t ing along. H e s a id t h ey ha d b e e n told byt h e l a n d l o r d f rom w h o m t h e y ren t t h e i r p r e s e n t l iving spacethey m u s t b e o ut b y t he e nd of December. They h ad a reale st at e a ge nt l oo ki ng fo r a n o t h e r place. There w as oneavai lable in a fairly g o o d l o ca t io n , b ut i t s ee me d with h iss a la i y t h e y cou ld n o t ge t a b a n k to l o a n t he m th e m o n e ynecessary to purchase th is place. They were pray ingabouti t earnest ly, a long w i t h the fe w people w ho h ad beena t tend ing t h e i r meet ings a n d were worried t h a t al l wouldchange i f they m o v e d v e ry f a r away.

Over 15 years ago, w h e n the place w h er e t he Buttraysh a d l iv e d f o r over 20 y e a r s u n t i l t h e i r re t i r ement w as soldfor t h e S h in s hu C a m p , w e k e p t p a r t of t h e m o n e y f rom t h a tsa le a s a l o a n fund to he lp g e t n ew c h u r c h e s s tar ted. It h a sb e e n used by a n u m b e r of o u r miss ionar ies an d Japanesec h ur ch e s t hr ou g h th e years , an d p a yb a ck r ec o rd s havegenera l ly b e e n good.

Heal e s t at e p r i ce s in J a p a n are real ly high . This is agreat i m p e d i m e n t to progress in evange li sm l ike the Chidasa re doing. I t wil l b e h ar d fo r s o m e to be l i eve t h e s e f igures ,

b u t I wil l give y o u t h e facts i n t h is case briefly. O n e m i l li o ny en a t th e p r e s e n t e x c ha n g e r a te i s a p p ro x i m a te l y $8,000.T he p ri ce of the s m al l h o u se a n d lot they w a n t to b uy isY30,000,000 = $240,000. T he r ea l e st at e a g en t says i t i s agood buy, b u t t h e m o s t they c a n g e t t o g et h e r is Y4,000,000.T he b a n k says t h e to p a m ou nt t he y c a n lo a n o n tha tp r o pe r ty i s Y13,000,000, so t h a t l eaves Y13,000,000. F u rt h e r m o r e , t h e b an k is very re luc tan t to l o a n to a sa la r i edm a n i n h i s posi t ion. T h e Yot su ya M is si on L oa n F u n dh a p p e n e d to b e i n a pos t ion to l o a n h im Y13,000,000. I sen ta l e t t e r t o t h a t e f f e c t . T h e nk r e a d t h e l e t t e r f r o m m e a n d

s ai d, ' Wel l, if y o u r ow n c h u r c h group t rus t s y ou to thise x te n t, w e will loan you th e rest. They w e re a bl e to m a k ea c o n t r a c t a n d b u y t h e place t h e f i rs t of January. O n e l ad yw h o h a d b e e n a t t e n d i n g t h e i r Bible s tud ies said , Now tha tI h a v e s e e n h o w G od h as w or k ed t h is o ut s o beau t i fu l l y, Iknow H e i s r ea l a n d I w a n t to be t h e f i rs t o n e bapt ized i n thenew church. Everybody's very happy. Praise th e Lord

L O I S S I S T E R A N D H U S B A N D

V I S I T J A P A N

F r o m Oct. 23 Nov. 6 Lois ' y o un g er s i st e r a nd h e rhusband , Dorothy an d Alex Havlicsek, w h o a re n ow ret i reda n d l i v ing i n C o t t o n w o o d , Arizona , fu l f i l led a l ong - t imedes i re to c o m e see u s a n d o u r m i s s i o n a r y work . W e h a d se tth e t i m e a nd m ad e s om e p la ns w h en visi t ing them fo r or

3 days dur ing o u r t r ip to t h e U.S. l a s t sp r ing .W e kept o u r u s u a l schedule of c lasses an d preaching.


4/20

mthyandêx^climate etc ândeno m e hours of p r e a c h i n ga n d J a p an e s e t a lk ing they couldn ' t imders t and .The a n n u a l Seed-Sowing Mee t ing a t Osaka Bib leSemi -n a i y w as Nov. 2,3. I h a d b e e n a s k e d to speak a t t h e o p e n i n gs e ss io n o n M o n da y nigh t o n t he sub jec t of T h e Essence ofFellowship. We d e ci de d t o d ri ve down in o ur c a r ( a l i tt l eover 50 0 km each way) so they cou ld se e som e typicalJ a p a n e s e s c e n e i y a t t h e t i m e l e aves a re colored . O n th eway, we a r ranged to s ta y a t a t yp ical Japanese - s ty l e in novernight , so they cou ld exper ience a ho t - spr ing ba th , e a tr a w f i s h an d o the r local foods, etc. O n th e morn ing of Nov.4, 1 h ad to a t t end a meet ing of Counc i ll o r s o f O.B.S., bu t o neof th e y ou ng Japanese preache r s in th e a rea took Lois,Dorothy an d Alex to the anc ien t cap i t a l of Nara for s o m es igh t see ing of s o m e of t h e o l d e st w o o d e n b u i l di n g s in t h eworld in a park where deer by t h e h u n dr e ds roam freely.We a ls o t oo k Tuesday a f t e rnoon of f a n d enjoyed a b u s a n dboa t t ou r of O s a k a City.

Alex brough t h i s video c a m e r a a n d t ook h o u r s w o r t h ofp i c tu re s of a l m o s t eve iy th ing t h e y expe r i enced . H e evenwa lked a r o u n d o n h is o w n f i lm i n g s o m e l oca l t e m p l e s a n do t h e r u n u s u a l s ights . A J a p a n e s e b u s i n e s s m a n h a d v i s i t edt he m d ur in g Thanksg iv ing s ea so n s om e yea r s ago w h e nt hey l ived in Mary land a n d t h ey w e r e i n v it e d t o t h a t h o m efo r d in ne r. T he y were also a t m e e t in g s i n 2 o t h e r c h u r c h e st h a n Mejirodai w h e r e t h e y were for 2 S u n d a y A M worsh ipt i m e s

Th e p r e a c h e r a t t h e i r l oca l c h u r c h i n Ar izona i s J imH a m m o n d , w h o w a s b o m in J ap an a s t h e so n of a miss ionary. They will have a lo t of pictures an d s tor ies to sha re

back h om e . T he y sa id it w a s t he t ri p of a l i f et ime fo r t hem,an d w e e nj oy ed hav ing them h er e. T his w as the f i rs t t i m ea ny of o u r b r o t h e r s o r s i s t e r s have b e e n a ble to v is it u s,

M I A

a ' > ' ^. w A H V O- r' fy- A

Seed-flowlng meet ing November 3, 1992 at Osaka Bible Seminary.

a l though Lois ' m o t h e r c a m e t w o t im e s.

N E W S N O T E S

* CarolynBarricklow,formermi8sionaryinHiro8hima,Japan was back fo r a visit d u ri n g t h e Chris tmas an d NewYear Season . S h e i s nowemployed in th e U.S. an d was hereto visit friends a n d m a k e a r ra n ge m en ts fo r shipping, storing o r disposing of h e r belongings which ha d been left inJapan. It was good to s ee h er aga in an d have h er i n o u rhome several t imes. H er former co-worker, Sachiko Osawa,now l ives an d works in Tokyo a n d i s t a k in g care of h er agedmothe r. S he is a m e m b e r o f M e j ir o da i church , an d alsol ibrar ian a n d a Sunday S c h o ol t e ac h e r.

* A Japanese month ly magaz ine ca l led Bible Faith isr u n n i n g a s e r i e s of s to r i e s a b o u t h o w m i s s i o n a r ie s dec idedto c om e to J ap a n. H ar ol d Sims ' story, writ ten in Japaneseby himself , w as in t he S e p t e m b e r i ssue .

* Two new b o o k s r e ce n tl y have been pub l i shed by 2 ofo u r preachers in Japan. 1) A 264-page book, by HideoFukuda , to h el p p eo pl e b ec om e in te res t ed in a nd u nd ers ta nd t he m a in ideas of th e Bible. It gives his o w n s i mp l ified t ranslat ion of excerpts from Genesis th rough Kings,an d explains k ey w or ds a n d recurr ing ideas. 2) A largec om m e nt ar y o n t h e Gospe l o f M at the w, by Aki ra Oda,

pro fe s so r of G r e e k a n d N ew Te s t a m e n t i n O s a k a BibleS em in ar y. I t i s h o pe d t h is wil l b e th e f i rs t of a set. Greekworks a r e p r in t ed i n t h e J ap an es e text, which has becomepossible these days by us ing computers .

* Mrs. Hara , who suffered a s t roke o n J a n ua r y 31 las ty e a r, w a s a b l e to r e t u r n t o h e r h o m e b e f o r e Chr i s t ma s . T h eh o u s e h a d t o h a v e s o m e a l te r a ti o n s d o n e s o s h e c o u l d l i v e

in a wheelchair. W e are all t h a n k fu l f o rt h i s m u c h progress.* The r igh t r ea r s ide of ou r c a r w as h it b y t he f ront left

s ide of a no th er w h en H ar ol d s to p pe d for a pedes t r i ancross ing. T h e o w n e r of th e o t h e r ca r pa id th e cost of r epa i ran d le t u s u se h is c a r while o u r s w a s in the shop fo r a week.(H e u s e d a re la t ive ' s car.)

* The outs ide of Mej i roda i church a n d S i m s ' h o u s e wasr e p a in t e d d u r in g Oc tobe r a n d e a r l y November.

* Mrs. Kume h as b een hav ing Bible s tud ies in h e rh o m e o n c e every tw o m o nt h s. T h e D e ce m be r m e e t in g wa sa t Sims' house, so h e r mother who l ives in Hach ioj i cou ldbring 3 of h er f r iends w ho w er e read ing th e Bible fo r thef ir st t i m e

G r a n d m a S l m a a n d K o h K l e hi m o to

Akiko TBuda o n becoming 2o-adult . She will graduate from Jr .College in March a n d s t a r t working Ina C h r is t i an K i n de rga r te n i n April.

Mr. an d Mrs. S tan l ey Bu t t i a y (retired). R.D. 2. Bo x 180. M e s dv i ll e . PA 6 3 3 5

Mr. an d Mrs. Andrew Fa t t en (retired), 6 Tanglewood, Carl Junct ion.M O 6 4 8 3 4

Mr. an d Mrs. H a r o ld S i m s, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioj i -ehi . Tokyo 19 3J a pa n . Fo rwa rd in g Agent- Fi re tChurchofChr i a t315E .OrangeAvenue ,E u s t i s FL 3272 4194.

Tw o yea r do na t i on8.5 0Donat ion AFlamingTorchSI .00

To k y o C h r i s t i a n ( U 8 P S 776-320)

P u b l is h e d ( o u r t i m e s a y e a r in J anua r y, Apri l , July, an d November fo rth e misBionar ies of t h e C h u r ch of Chris t . C unn ingham Mission, To lô ,Japan b y M i ss i on S e r vi c es Associat ion, 7525 H odges F e n y Road. Kn-oxvllle.TN 37020-0731. POSTMASTER; S e n d a d d r e s s changes t o To k y oC h r i s t i a n , c/ o M I S S I ON S E RV I C E S ASSOCIATION. PO B ox 2427. Kn -o x v i l l e T N 37901-2427.

Before yo u move, p lease send th e mail ing label with a copy of your ne w address toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION. PO Bo x 2427. Knoxvil le , TN 37901-2427.

F o r m 3579 Reques t ed , P O B o x 2427, K n o x v i l l e , T N 37901-2427.


5/20

To k y o C h r i s t i a n Go ye into all the world an d preach the gospel to every creature Mark

V o l u m e 9 2 A p r i l 1993 N u m b e r 2

S I M S N E W S S H I N G O T S U D A E N T E R S O S A K A S E M I N A R Y

S h in g o i s jus t c u e y e a r older^ Mejirodai Church of Christ

a n d h a s j u s t b e c o m e o u r f i r s t m e m -

W ^ - ber to dedicate hislife to the minTy istiyofthe Gospel. His father and^ r ^ 1 late grandfatherare membersofap Jl UnitedChurchofJapan congrega-

i t ion in Tokyo, a nd h is m ot he r isy ^ from Chiirch of God background. ^ The family moved into an apart-

BhingoTsuda m e n t b u il di ng a b ou t 5 minu te swalk f rom h ere n ot m a n y yea r s

af ter w e s tar ted , a n d whi l e Mr. T. con t inued to go to h i sh o m e c h u r c h M r s . a n d h e r 3 s m a l l c h i l d re n s t a rt e d a t t e n din g here w h e n Shingo w a s i n th e ear lyyears of elementaryschool . H e g r e w u p in o u r Sunday School, a n d began goingto o u r c a m p w h e n h e became hOddle-School age .

He w as a quiet an d ser ious boy, so we were surpr isedand happy w h e n h e said o ne day in ear ly 1984 t h a t h e wouldl ike to b e Ijaptized. B u t h e w a n t e d to b e bapt ized i n th e r ivern e a r th e c a mp , because h e w as moved to the dec i s i onby t hem e s s a ^ s a n d exper iences t he re . S o I found myse l f wadingin to very c o ld w a t e r a t th e e n d of t he s pr in g camp whensnow sti l l la y on t h e s u r ro u n d i ng billa an d bap t i zing h imwhile al l th e campers an d h is m o th e r a n d s is ters s tood

t he re s ing ing a n d watching.He w as pist ty good a t English, so was able t o p a rt ic ipate in a s t u d en t e x ch a n ge p r o gr a m while in th e secondyea r of High School . H e w as a bl e to go to Cinci imat i an ds ta y i n t he h o m e of on e of th e elders of C l o v e m o o k C h r i st ian Church, and even to p laysome basketball . The fellowship with th e yo img peop le at th e c h u rc h t h er e w a s v e rygood fo r him in eveiy way, making h i m m o r e out-going a ndgiving a n appetite fo r Skyline Chili a nd a good s en se o fhumor. H e had to take that year of High School ove r afterg e t ti n g h o m e , bu t d i d n t mind.

With t h e e n ha n ce d EngUsh ab il i ty he passed th e e nt r anceexamina t ion a t theJapanese Oberlin College in oura rea of wes te rn Tokyo, major ing in Engl ish l i terature. H ej o in ed t h e Ch r is t ian Studen t s Associa t ion soon af terenter ing the college, a n d t h e fellowship withvar ious otheryoimg Chris t ians in that a nd o th er colleges w as a greatbless ingto h i m a n d encouragement to growth in Christ . Inhis sen io r yea r h e w a s t he h e ad i n o u r a rea of t ha t nat ionwide organization, and very widely known and respected.H is graduat ion t he si s a t t he school w a s a b ou t the Greekwor d agape - i ts m e a n in g a n d t rans la t ions , a n d he b o rrowed some of my books and worked veiy h ard o n thatproject .

With his major, he was qpialified to become a n Englishlanguage t eache r in the pub l i c school s . H e w a n te d to dothat, and made appl icat ions at v a ri o us p l ac e s d u r in g h i ss e ni o ry e a r. B u t he was also thinking about going in to th eministry a nd t a lk ing wi th var ious friends, who gave ser i

o u s b u t conflicting opinions rela ted to call, etc. Final ly o n

November 29 h e m a de a tf t lk in o u r church s ta t ing t ha t h eh ad decided, af ter m u c h t h o u g h t an d prayer, to g o t o OsakaBible Semina ry fo r gradua te study. The church peoplew er e v ery ha p p y, a n d t hey h a d a s p on ta n eo u s p ra y erm e e t i n g f o r h i m. They wil l also b e s u pp o rt in g b im s om efinancially. H is des i re , as s t r e s s e d a t t h a t t im e , w a s tobecome a miss iona ry to o ne o f t he Asian na t i ons . I n fact ,af ter h is gradua t ion h e m a d e a 3-week t r ip to Indonesiawith some of his f r iends whose local church supports aJapanese missionary there , an d h a d s o m e i n t e re s t ing exper iences .

I n J a p a n i t i s q ui te r ar e fo r th e parents to permit theiroldes t a n d only so n to choose such a life course , bu t in th iscase i t i s w o rk in g out, an d we are al l very encouraged.Shingo left o n t he n ig ht of April 11 to begin h i s n e w life inO s a k a .

F I F T H S U N D A Y R A L L Y

January 31 was our turn t o h o st t h e Fifth-Sunday Rallyagain. Prof .Oda, of OsakaBib leSeminarywas just publ ishi n g h i s first commenta ry (on Mat thew). so w e asked bim to

Prof. A k i ra O d a spea ldng at th a Rally

come a s th e special speaker for the day and, of course,congratula ted him on the book a nd gave i t some publicity.I t w a s the first t ime h e h ad spoken here .

At th e Sunday AM worship he spoke to us on AllScripture is given byInspira t ion of God. Afterwe ordered20 or so lunches fo r those s tay inghere, we began preparartions fo r th e afternoon program. T he p la ce was packedwith 93 a d u lt s p l u s 7 or 8 smal l c h il d re n w h o s ta y ed w i ththeir mother s in ou r l iv ing room.

Therewere good delegations from 8 or more churches ,and after 45 minutes of g o o d s i ng i ng he spoke to u s a b ou th is s tudy of Matthew, center ing on some points from the18th chapter. I t w a s a n enjoyable t ime of fe l lowship for al lof u s a s w e vis i ted t o g e t h er o v e r s a n d w i c h es , coo ld e s an dmandar in oranges an d te a before al l s t a r t ed fo r t he i rh o m e s .


6/20

R H O D A

B o m August 8, 1928, sh e grewup in Tokyo d ur in g t he difficultyears of e c o no m i c d e p re s s io n an dw a r w i th C h i n a a n d t h e U . S . I n t h e

immediate post-war period she be -cameaChr i s t i an . andwasg iven theChristian name Bhoda, [Rose], (seeActs 12:13). Sheworkedasateacher Vin the k indergar ten of our SetagayaC h u r c h a n d w a s a c t i v e i n t h echurch work also . O n Aug^ust 1,1 9 4 9 s h e b e c am e t h e b ri d e o f t h e

youngpreacherStephenlijimain a Tsimple but beautiful ceremony at \t h e n ew b ui ld in g of t h e Mina toC h u r c h o f C h ri st n e a r E b i s u S t a r \t ion i n Tokyo.

They l ived in a sma l l 2-stoiyp a r so n age -apa r tmen t i n t h e r e a r o ftha t chape l bui lding fo r abou t 15 years, dur ingwhicht ime t h e p r e s e n t M i na to C h u r ch f o un d at io n w a s b e

in g laid. F o r m o s t d a y s o f th e w e e k sh e f ixed 2 l u n c h e sfo r h e r h u s b a n d a s h e left t h e h o u s e e a c h m o r n i ng fo rh i s r o un d s of teaching a t the Tokyo Bible Seminary,th e Setagaya church even ingE ng l i sh Schoo l a n d t h eYMCA downtown to he lp provide the family income.(Most o f t h e e ld er s o f t h e c hu rc h c a m e f rom t h a tYMCA s tudy of the g os pe l o f Luke and o the r Biblebooks.)

R h o d a b e c a m e p r e g n a n t once , b u t t h e t uba l p r e gn a n cy e n d ed in a r up tu re , w i th l os s of th e fe tus a n dm u c h blood, put t ing h e r life in danger. S om e t im el a t er they ar ranged t o a d op t a boy, whom they namedTomoji. H e w a s a s ickly child, b ut they loved andca red fo r h im , a n d n ow h e i s a Jr. H i g h S c h o o l t e a c h e ri n a Chris t ian s choo l , fa ther of 2 chi ldren, a n d adeacon in th e Minato chtirch, a n d present ly l iving int h e pa r sonage there .

I n t h e 1 9 6 0 s t h e M i n a t o C h u r c h r e l o c a t ed i n t o t h e

rapidly developing nor th sec t ionof Yokohama, ac rosst h e r iv e r f r om To k yo - keep ing t he s a m e n a m e fo r t h echurch [Harbor]. Again they l ived in a l i t t le larger 2-s to ry a p a r t m e n t i n th e r e a r of t h e c h u r c h b u il d in g . B yth is t ime the church h ad git3wn more able to pay himso h e d i d n t need to w o rk a t outs ide jobs. Rhoda wasalways there , a n sw e ri ng t h e phone , prepa r ing th emeals , keep ing i n t ouch wi th th e people a n d t he irfeelings an d needs , prepa r ing fo r and at tending a l lth e meetings; b u t s h e was n ot o ne to preach o r teachin public and ra ther avoided th e lime-light and havingpic t iu^s m a d e o f h e r.

In th e 1970s Stephen l i j ima s s is ter an d familybough t a s u m m e r h om e u p in Ya m a n a s h i p r e fe c tu r ein th e foothills of th e Japan Alps. The real es t a t edeveloper h ad on e proper ty left tha t h e wan ted veiym u c h to sell , giving a veiy good price, an d t h e s i st e rper suaded th e l ij im a s t o b u y i t fo r t h e i r vacat ion a n dr et ir em e nt h om e. B u t then they discovered t h at t h eJ a p an e s e t a x on second homes is extremely high,b u t if h e l ived u p t he re year- round a s a res ident , i tw o u ld s av e t h e m a l o t a n d w o u ld h av e s o m e a d v a n

tages: c lean environment , atmosphere fo r s tudy andwriting, n e a r enough t o c o mm u te t o th e church w h e nneeded, an d especi a l ly fo r Rhoda, a ll r o om s on one

floor an d n o t runn ing up an d downs ta i rs a l l day.

F o r a n u m b e r o f ye ars , s in cethey l ived at th e first place, Stephenl i j ima h a s published a month lyBible s tudy m a g a z i n e c a l l ed B o k k a[Pas to ra l Song] . I t b eg a n as a

/ method of keeping in touch withm e m b e r s w h o w e r e s i c k o r c o u l d

n o t a t te n d regular ly an d some per-s o n a l f r i e n d s w h o l i v e d i n d i s t a n t

places . Therehave b e e n t imes w h e nL \ i t w as n ot issu ed fo r one or moreF 1 m o n t h s b e c a u s e o f s i c k n e s s , t r a v e l

/ '- w or other reasons, bu t th e latest is-f j r su e is 413,which indicates that it

i s a lmos t 40 y ea rs s in ce th e firstone . S o o n a ft er i t began, I encoura g e d h im i n t h e project because h e

h as a t a l en t f or w r it in g , a n d advised tha t h e se t asubscr ipt ion pr ice a n d c h a r ^ everyone. I under

stand i t now has a subscriptionlist of over600monthly.H e h a s also pub l i shed a good n u m b e r of c o m m e n t a rie s and s imilar type books , m o s tl y r e vi s e d mate r i a lwhich first appea red i n Bokka. A Chris t ian friendt apes th e ar t ic les fo r th e bl ind. W h a t m a n y people didn o t rea l ize imt i l recent ly i s t h a t R h o d a d id m o s t of th etyping of t h es e t h ou s an d s of pages o n a Japanesetypewriter, and also t o o k c a r e of m o s t of the prepar ingfo r mai l ing i n a d d i ti o n t o b e i n g a full- t ime housewife .

Someyea r s ago Rhoda hadhepat i t i s , aud i t seemedi t took h e r a long t ime t o g e t over it . S t e p h e n s a i d t h ed o c t o r h a d t o l d h e r s h e w o u l d h a v e t o l i v e w i t h a ni n a c t i v e l i v e r t h e r e s t o f h e r l i f e . I t n o w h a s b e c o m e

c lea r tha t sh e chose del iberate lyto n o t t a ke t he l on g

t ime b e d r e s t t h e doctorprescr ibedbecause s h e wouldprefer to he lp h e r h u s b a n d wi th h i s w o r k a t t h e c h u r c ha n d o n B o k ka e ve n i f i t m e a n t h e r l i f e w o u l d b e

s h o r te n e d b y 5 o r 10 years .Forabou t 10 days in January, a n d again in Febru

ary, Stephen was in the hosp i t a l for ex tens ive t e s t s fo rh e a r t t r o u b l e . T h e c o n cl u s i o n w a s t h a t o n e s i d e o f h i s

h e ar t i s enlarged, bu t by-pass s ur ge ry i s n o t n ee de dyet. Dur ing t ha t t ime h i s f ^ t h f u l wife came from the i rhome to th e hospi ta l every day, bringing food, letters,e t c . - s o m e t i m e s i n b l i ^ a r d c o n d i t i o n s a n d n e a r z e r o

t em p e ra t ur e s. S o s he b ec am e s ic k s oo n af ter h e gotbackhome.anden te red the hosp i t a l o n M a r c h 14. Thedoctor told t hem o n t h e 3 r d d a y t h a t sh e h a d cance r ofth e l iver an d gave h e r 3 m o n t h s to live. W e hearda b o u t t h i s s o m e d a ys later, a n d were shocked. B ut i tw a s a n e v e n grea t e r s h o c k t o h e a r of h e r r a t h e rsudden d ea th o n S u nd a y morning, M a r c h 28 .

S he h ad s om e t im e to expres s h e r fee l ings andw i ll t o th e f ami^ , a n d a m o n g t h e t h in g s sh e des i r edw a s a p r i v a t e f une ra l a n d c r em a t ion , a n d n o m e m o r i a lservice except a n a n n o u n c e m e n t d u r i n g r e g u l a r S und a y m o r ni ng worship a t th e M i n at o C h ur c h. So, onApri l 4, they dis t r ibuted a br i e f s to ry of h e r l i fe , f inalhours , and will to those present , a long wi th the w orsh ip program. I t i nc luded beaut i fu l s t a t emen t s of lovef o r a n d t ru s t i n b o t h C h r i s t a n d h e r h u s b a n d a n d

satisfaction with th e life Go d h ad g iven her.


7/20

R E S U R R E C T I O N S U N D A Y

I N M E J I R O D A I

There was a l ight f ros tvis ib le on the fe w empty lots aswe walked down to the local park fo r ou r annua l SimriseService early in t h e m o r n in g of April 11 but t he s un wasbright warming th e air and abouthalf of the soft light pinkblossoms from th e c h e n y trees partiallycovered the groimd.Most of the 8 people c am e b ac k here after th e 30-minuteservice to enjoy a r a repancake breakfast prepared by Lois.Then w e had Simday School a n d 52 adul ts an d 15 chi ldrenfo r th e morn ing worship - bes t a t t endance s ince Chris tm a s F r o m 2 :30 i n t h e a f te r n oo n w e h a d t h e 8 t h a n n u a l

specia l service in th e city audi tor ium in which al l of theP r o te s ta n t C h u r c h e s o f the c i ty c o o p er a te wi th a n a t t endance of abou t 80 0 people. The 17 p e op l e w h o a t te n d edfrom our local churcha te a hastily-prepared sandwich an ds a la d l im c h before l e av ing he re .

S u n r i o a s a r v l o e i n t h a P a r k

S P R I N G C A M P

W e always p lan a y o u th c a m p a r o u n d t h e en d of Marchbecause in J a p a n t h a t i s t h e t ime be tweenschoo lyea r s an da ll s t u d e n t s a re f r e e o f h o m e w o r k a n d v a ri o u s s c h o o l

activities an d a n x io u s t o e x p er i en c e something differentaf ter t h e l o n g winter. The difference t h i s y e a r w as tha t th ec am p w as held a t a rented p lace a long th e u pp er Ta m aRivergoige. Therewere 3 mainreasons for this exper imenta l change: 1. Our Shinshu Camp i s sti l l qui te cold tha tear ly in the year 2. Some of the s tuden ts wan ted to saves o m e m o n e y in t ravelexpense; 3 .Manyof theyoungpeop leh ad said t hey could at tend only par t of the t ime a n dnearness to Tokyo m a d e par t ic ipat ion possible.

Th e first problem was finding a sui table place that wasavailable. T he re a re several b ut th at t ime of year is apriority fo r others too. I t e n d e d u p tha t the only openp lace- GospelHouse operated by th e Libenzeller J^ssion fromGermany - w as available only Friday March 26 - MondayM a r c h 29 w h i c h m e a n t t h a t s e v e r a l c h u r c h e s i n t h e a re a

Ik

v r

T h e C a m p

Youngpeople lead ing th e song eervioe.

h ad a m u c h s m al le r a t t e nd a n c e b e c a u se so m a n y of th eyoung p e o pl e w e r e a t camp .

T h e s e co n d p r ob l em w a s t h at t h e cost p e r student wa ssomewha t h ighe r t h a n Sh inshu . B ut t hose were o ve rcomeby alarge a t t endance of 69 people count ingteachers thosea t t end ing only p a r t o f t h e t ime a n d 2 p e o p le w h o c a m e togive a m u s ic a l c o n ce r t on Sa tu rday evening. T h ey c am ef r o m 6 o r 7 d i f f e r e n t c h u r c h e s I t w a s t h e l a s t t i m e f o r 2 o f

o ur Meji rodai y o u t h leaders w ho h av e a tte nd ed everysp r ing a n d s u m m e r c a m p f o r y e a r s . They gradua ted f romCollege in March an d a re now par t of th e working world.

P E N N Y B O G G S T A K E S J O B I N U S

Penny Hoggs first w r o te t o u s w h e n studying Missionsunder Prof. Gemeinhar t in Kentucky Chr is t ian College.She h ad chosen t owr i t e a paper abou t o u r Missionhis toryan d work an d developed a n i n t e re s t in it . S h e h ad alsodone some baby-sitt ing fo r a couple i n h er neighborhoodwhere th e husband was a Japanese an d t h ^ had contribu te d t o he r interest in things cormected with Japan. Wevisited KCC during ou r next furlough an d m et h e r personally.

P ei my w as f rom Firs t Chr i s t i an C hu rc h i n ChesterW.Va. w h ic h i s w h er e m y f a th e r w a s minister ing when Iwas b om . W h en sh e wrote la ter asking abou t the possibili ty o f doing a 6-month internship in Japan we agreed tohave h er live w it h u s p ar tl y because of tha t coimection.

S he arr ived in Japan in la te August of 1980 an d spen tabout 6 months in o ur home a n d c h u r ch a nd did Japanesel anguage s tudy 5 da j^ a week. S h e m a de o ne r at h er longtrip to s p e n d s o m e t im e w it h a l l of th e s ing le l adymiss ionaries then working in this field and some other people andplaces . T h e n s h e r e t ur n e d h o m e wi th t h e f ir m r e so l ve to

Penny Boggs farewell meeting In Sims KaU.


8/20


9/20

To k y o C h r i s t i a n Go y e i nt o a i l th e world an d -preach the gospel to every crea tu re Mark 16:15

Vo l u m e 9 2 J u l y 1 9 9 3 u m b e r 3

S I M S N E W SJ O N A T H A N S I M S A N D V E R L A S C H O E L K O P H

T O B E M A R R I E D I N A U G U S T

O n A ug us t 14 , 1993 i n N o r t hG r a nd C h u rc h o f C h r i s t , A m e s , I o w a( the h o m e c h u r c h of t h e bride) Jona-t h a n S i m s a n d Ver la S c h o e l k o p hwil l t ake t h e i r mar r i age vows, a n dthey will c o m e to J a p a n toge thersome weeks later this year. The Mr e c e n t a n n o i m c e m e n t o f

t h e i re ngagementandmarriageplansm e HT ^g

Jonathan s many frien te in Japan f^very happy, and they all look for- ./Sward to m e et in g h i s n e w wife soon .H a r o l d a n d L o i s S i m s w i l l m a k e a

t r ip to th e Uni ted S ta te s d u r i n g t h em o n t h of A u g u s t a t t h ei r ow n ex -pense to a t t end t h e wedd ing . Need-less t o s a y, w e a re m o st h a pp y a b o u ttheir decision and their obvious joy *a n d love fo r e a c h o the r, a n d a r e l o o kin g forward to t h e i r future i n t he w or k of Chr i s t here .

Not hav ing m e t Verla personal ly yet, we can onlygive a bare facts i n t roduc t ion a t th i s t ime . S h e w asb o m in Danube, Minneso ta a s t he l a s t of a family of 4ch i ld ren - 2 gir ls a n d 2 boys - a n d l ived t h e r e un t i l s h egradua ted from H i g h S c h o o l a s a m e m b e r of th e N at i ona l H o n o r Soc ie ty a n d a tt en d ed o n e y e ar a t a Vocart ional Inst i tute to become a secretary. I will n o t give h e rexac t age , o u t of old-fashioned p o l i te n e s s t o ladies , b u ts h e i s a b o u t t h e s am e a g e a s Jona than .

After o ne y e a r w o r k i n g for a c o m p a n y in Minneso ta ,a n d a n o t he r y e a r a t o n e in I l l inois , s h e w a s e m p lo y ed asa n office s e c r e ta r y b y t h e Iowa Sta te Unive r s i ty i n A m e sw h e r e s h e h a s w o r k e d fo r a n u m b e r o f y e a r s .

F r o m th e t im e sh e m o v e d t o A m e s s he h s b ee n n

act ive m e m b e r o f t h e N o r t h G r a n d C h u r c h . S h e s i n g sal to i n th e choir, h a s t a u g h t t h e n u r s e r y c las s for s o m eyears , a n d p lays t h e f lu te o n occas ions .

M a n y wil l a s k h o w t he y met , be ing s o d i s t an t frome a ch o th e r geograph ica l ly a n d f rom en t i r e ly differentbackgrounds . Again, I d o n o t h a v e m u c h exac t i n f o r m at i on , b u t s h e w a s t h e r o o m o r c a b i n m o t h e r fo r a C h r i st ia n c hu rc h c a m p i n t h e Sta te l as t s u mm e r a n d o u rg r a n d d a u g h t e r , Suz i - Sylvia s yo imges t ch i ld - w a s o n eof th e c a m p e r s in t h e r o o m a n d l i ked h e r v e ry m u ch .T h e r e w as a l i t t le c o r r e s p o n d e n c e be tween t h e two,which Sylvia k n e w about . W h e n s h e m et Verla personally somet ime la ter, t h e y b e g an t al ki ng a b ou t various

t h ings . Sylvia t o ld h e r t h a t s h e h a d ab r o t h er a b o u t h e r ag e w ho w as a lsou n m a r r i e d a n d look ing fo r a goodC hr is tia n m at e. T ha t b e g a n a veryten ta t ive c o r r e s p o n d e n c e b e t w e e nth e two, b u t af ter a whi le they discov-ered t h a t th e o th er o ne w as saying

j u s t t h e r i gh t t h in g s i n t h e r igh t w aya n d b e c a m e m o r e a n x io u s t o m e e t . I tw as a l i t t le diff icul t t o a rr an ge , be -c a u s e o f d is ta n ce , w o r k schedu le s ,etc. , b u t a f t e r s p en d in g s om e t imetoge the r a n d ge t t ing to k no w e ac ho t h e r be t t e r a n d per sona l ly, they be -g a n ta lk ing o n t h e p h o n e m o r e fre-quen t ly an d eventual ly J o n a t h a n prop o se d d u r in g the i r s e c o n d vteit with

each other an d sh e accepted.A m o n g th e first t h in g s t h e y dis

c u s s e d ser iously, w e i m d e r s ta n d , w a s t h e m a t t e r of h e rjo in ing h im i n h i s cal l ing as a miss ionary in Japan . Thiswas sure ly a difficult a n d big decis ion for h e r in m a n yways which we c a n imag ine easUy, b u t w e a re m o s tt h a n k f u l t o h e a r t h a t s h e s a i d s h e l o v e d J o n a t h a n a n d

w o u l d g o w h e r e h e went . This k i n d o f c o m m i t m e n t a n dwi l l ingness a n d mot iva t ion i s very bas ic a n d g^ood, a n dwe t h a n k God fo r th i s d e ci s io n b y Ve rl a a n d pray a n dbel ieve tha t G o d w i l l confirm a n d bless h e r in i t in dayst o c o m e .

As fo r Jona than , w e k n o w as paren t s a t l eas t to s o m eextent th e v a r io u s d i s c ou r a g e m en t s h e h as e n d u r e dover m a n y years i n h is r e l a ti o n s h i p s w i t h v a r i ou s g:irlsb oth in th e U.S. a n d Japan , a n d th e various hurtfulth ings t h a t h a v e b e e n s a i d to h i m b y v a ri o u s people , a n d

th e l one l iness h e h a s qu ie t ly su ffe red d u r in g h is yea r so f s e r v ic e i n J a p a n t h u s far. W e be l i eve t hi s i s a n ot h erd e m o n s t r a t i o n of t h e g ^ d a n c e a n d prov i s ion o f God,w h o over sees o u r l i ves w i t h a m a z i n g g r a c e a n d wisdom.T he o f t e n q u o t e d f a v o r i t e t e x t of M r. a n d M r s .C u nn in gh am w as R om a ns 8 :2 8, A ll thlng:s w o r k t og e t h e r for g o o d t o t h o s e w h o l o ve G o d a n d a r e t h e cal ledaccord ing t o H is p m p os e. T h e y often s h o r t e n e d i t b yj u s t saying, A ll th ings . . . because eve rybody k n e ww h a t t h e y meant . I n th i s case, th e t iming, th e smoothness , th e h a p p i n e s s a n d aU t h in g s s e e m j u s t r ight , a n dw e a re t hankfu l . P l ea s e p r a y a l o n g w i t h u s for t h is n e wcouple a n d t h e i r future l ife a n d work fo r Chris t together.


10/20

S U M M E R A C T I V I T I E S

Until t h e s u dd e n and unexpected decision to go tothe United States fo r the wedding, w e had e j e c t e d topart ic ipate i n m o s t of th e fol lowingact ivi t ies scheduledfo r la te Ju ly a n d August . Now w e w o u ld l ik e t o aek yout o j o in u s in prayer fo r God s blessings upon th e mostlyyoung a n d most ly J a p a n e s e w o rk e rs w h o will b e l ea ding, a n d th e people w ho will b e at tending, tha t God s

Wo r d m a y b e proc la imed a n d bel ieved a n d s o u l s s a v e da n d bui l t u p i n faith.

1.The 44th All-Japan Christ ian Convention. Ju ly 23-2 5 a t P o rt o p i aH o t e l in K o b e . F r o m t h e n u m b er o fr eg i s t ra t ions f rom Mejirodai (2 3 - a record exceptfo r th e 39th i n 1988 w h i c h w e hosted) a n d t h e areac h u r c h e s w e h av e h e a r d abou t , I t h i n k t h e a t t end a n c e m i g h t b e 40 0 o r over. We p l a n to at tend this .

2 .The S u m m e r Yo u t h C a m p a t S h i n s h u BibleCamp.Augus t 2-6. The Tokyo area y oi mg p eo p le arepract icing o n t he ir guitars an d prepar ing in allways for a n o t h e r g o o d camp. Tw o of th e m ainl eaders u p till l as t y ea r a re n ow employed a n du n a b l e to at tend, b u t w e a re e : ^ e c t i n g s o m ey o u n g e r peop le to t ak e t h ei r places i n l ead ingt e a m s , devo t ions , etc .

3.The Annual Missionary Convention. Augus t 10-12i n N i i g at a P r e fe c tu r e . Bil l Belew a n d h is co -workers a r e p l an n i ng t h e program, a n d a spec ia ls p e a k e r is c o m i n g f rom th e U.S., b u t t he faot is ,t h e r e a r e fewer miss ionar ies now l iving a n d workin g h e r e in Japan .

4.A spec ia l Re t rea t fo r Tra in ing in Christ ian l iv inga n d Leadersh ip for young people w h o h av e b e enChrist ians fo r some time. Augus t 12^14 a t Green

Lodge in I r u m a Cily.5.A camp fo r college yoimg people w ho are mostly

non-Chris t ians an d have a t tended claeses t a u ^ tb y Ti m Tu r n e r a n d David Cole i n Oberl in College.Augus t 23-26 a t Shinshu . (Also about 3 groupshave appl ied to ren t ou r Shinshu C a mp f or a fe wdays dur ing th is summer, including one group ofb l i n d p e o p l e w h o h a v e a l re a d y c o m e t o l o o k overth e place.)

6. The 5th Simday Rally on Augus t 29 a t MachidaC h m c h

There will b e o th er s ho rt c a m p s held by local

churches (usual ly a n out ing o f 2 days an d 1 night inbe tween) , b u t I d o n o t h a v e informat ion a b o u t d a t e san d places available as th i s is writ ten. Also, m a ny o ft h e c h u rc h e s will b e h a v i n g Vaca t ion Bible S c h o o l s o f3 o r 4-day dura t ion .

W O R K W E E K A T S H IN S H U

Most camps have t imes w h e n v o l im t ee r s g o to dovarious necessa iy w o r k for the upkeep a n d improvem e n t of th e camp bui ld ings a n d grounds . W e have h a dsuch projects every year in Ju ly jus t before the season

begins, and t h is yea r the s c hed ul edw eek i s Ju ly 12-16.But in recent years, i t seems tha t everyone is busier andw e h a v e not h a d m u c h response as w e hoped for. O n theotherhand, the attendance a t t h e Family Week d uringthe holidays in early May has been decl ining. S o thisy e a r w e d e c i d e d t o m a ke t h a t G o l de n We e k i n to a no t h e r w o r k w e e k T h e r e w e r e 3 a t t r a c t i o n s T h e s e v e r a l

holidays in succession make i t easier f o r p e op le to beaway from school and work in the cily. Spr ing has jus t

ar rived af te ra

long winter. A n d t h er e is no charge fo rt h os e w h o w o r kW e had a very g o od r e s po n se o f 21 different people

a t d ie camp fo r s o m e o f th e time, although fe w stayed fo rthe whole week, and w e g o t a lo t of c lean ingdone in th ebuilding a n d t h e grounds. Also w e all h ad a g o od t i m etogether a t meals and a devotional t ime every evening.W e had home-made pizzas, pancakes and other gooda n d plent i ful food m a d e most ly b y Mrs. Taninar i a n ds o m e o t h e r he lpers i n t h e ki t chen .

The high l igh tof th e w e e k w a s dia t a yoimg lady w asbaptized. She w as th e first personto become a Christianfrom th e fa rming communi ty nea r th e camp since i t w asstarted over 10 years ago. Duringthose earlyyears thisgirl had c o m e t o the Sunday School a t the c am p . A ft ergraduation from th e local school system, sh e w e nt t oTokyo a nd i s n o w s tudy ing to b e c o m e a nurse . S he h a dbeen a t tending a church in Tokyo fo r several years, b utthe preacher there sa id he t h o u ^ t i twould be good fo rh e r to b e bapt ized a t h er rea l home church, so sh easked fo r that. We w er e very pleased tha t he r grandmother came with h e r to see th e baptism. First fruitsin a sense, although some campers have been baptizedin a nearby r iver th rough th e years .

Mrs. Betty Turner, who retired to Atlanta, Georgiain March 1992 after her husband. Bill suffered a slightstroke earl iercame backto t heFa r East in April to speak

a t the year ly convention in th e Phil ippines where sheused to se rve a n d t h e n cameto J apan tovisi t h e r son andgrandchildren. She s tayedonat the campaf te r theworkw ee k to he lp with th e w o rk f or this s umm er season,s in ce w e h av e no missionary living there now. Exceptfo r a fe w shor t t r ips to Tokyo on business shehas stayeda t th e camp a n d worked a t var ious indoor a n d outdoort as k s, g iv i ng mu c h encouragement and help to theTaninari family as they ge t r eady fo r the camp season.She expects to stay through August, and we al l apprecia te he r volunteer and cheerful help.

E X CH AN GE R ATESome of th e readers and s up po rt er s w h o k ee p up

w i t h I n t e m a t i o n a l e c o n o m i c n e w s h a v e a s k e d u s h o w

w e a r e m a n ag i ng to g e t a lo ng in these d ay s o f fa ingrdoUarvalues and r isingyen va lues. Unt il th i sspr ingthedollarwasworth somewhere in th e ne ighborhood of 12 5yen, with s l igh t f luc tua t ions daily. B u t d u r i n g the pas t2 months o r s o i t h as g o n e a s low a s 105, a n all-time low.K y o u l o ok a t i t a n o t h e r way, th e dol la r h a s decl ined inva lue 10 to 12 . This m e a n s t h a t everything in Japan ish i g h e r pr iced i f c o u n t e d i n d o ll a rs . L o gi ca ll y i t wouldseem tha t gaeohne, grapefruit, beef and other thingsb o ug h t w i t h dollars should immediately get cheaper.


11/20

B ut thifl a lm o s t n e ve r h ap pe ns . T he J a p a n e s e have toinc rease th e pr ices of the i r au tomobi les sh ipped f romhere, b ut th ey ju st inc rease th e n u m b e r produced i nplants in t he U.S., which a re now relatively cheaper iff igured i n yen . B ut t he y c a n g e t t h e w h e at , s o yb e an s ,etc. , they b u y f rom A m e ri ca a t l e s s c o st a n d m a k e m o r emoney, s o t he y te U m e i t e v en s o u t a n d th e A m e r i c a n sa re th e r e al l os e rs fo r le t t ing th e dol l a r drif t down i nv a l u e .

l . We d o n o t c l a i m to b e e c o n o m i s t s a n d d o n o t

w a s t e o u r t i m e t ry ing t o f i g ur e o u t th e f ine poin t sof th e m a r k e t s o r ou t - smar t th e money-change r s .

2 W e use yen and q ui t t ry in g t o c h an ge everythingi nt o d ol la r values . If w e t h o u g h t a bo ut w h ateveiythingwe bu y costs in dollars w e would quicklygo crazy, because we w e re b ro ug h t u p b ac k therew h e n a dol l a r w a s r ea l m o n e y.

3 We h av e some y e n Income from th e local churcha n d a fe w Engl i sh classes , a n d w e malce good useo f t h a t .

4 W e l ive a n d ea t comfor t ab ly a n d m o d e s t l y a n d a r econ ten t a nd n ot a bo ut t o starve o r quit th e fieldo v e r th i s prob lem.

F R O M O U R P H O T O A L B U M

> I t

H l ro a h l S a ka se

gawa , 1993 g r a d u a t eo f O s a k a B i b l e

S e m in a ry, n o w l ivesw i th h i s b r o t h e r in a

Tokyo s u bu rb a nd i sw o r k i n g a n d s t u d yin g Counse l ing part-t i m e a t t h e L u t h e r a n

T h e o l o g i c a l S e m

inary in Tokyo, whichha s a w e l l k n o w n

d e p a r t m e n t in t h a tfield. Heishe lp inginth e work a t Mej i roda io n Sundays .

F a r e w e l l

meet ing fo rPenny Boggsa t Mejirodai .

F r e s h m a n c l a ss a t O s a k a

B i b le S e m i n ar y. L to R :K e n i o h i r o K i r a f r o m

H a ch i m an y am a C h u rc h

non- ins t . in To k y o ;Tosh iyuku Sakaguch i , fromK u sh ik in o C h u rc h i n

i t yushu ; Sh ingoTsuda . f romMej i roda i C h u r c h In Tokyo;Masa to Yosh i i , f rom KanoyaC h u r c h in K y u s h u ; a n dM i d o r i N a k a h a r a f r o m Yo s h

in o Church in Kagosh ima .T h e t h i r d a n d f o u r t h a r e

a l readygradua tes of regu la rcolleges.

T h e 8 y o u n g peop le a t Mej i roda i w ho ente red a n ew a n dhigher level of school n ot jus t th e next grade oremploymentfrom April this year.

Farewel l meet ingfor Fenny Boggs at Nakano.

////. . ft


12/20

E VA N G E L I S T I C M E E T I N G S

June 5 a n d 6 Bro. Kish imoto preached a 2-nightevangelis t icineet ingfortheSakurayama Church. SayuiiKume, from Mejirodai, le d the singing and s an g t hespec ia lmus ic . The a t tendancewas in t h e h i g h twent ies ,b u t t ha t w as higher t h a n the regular at tendance, a n dthere were a good n u m b e r ofnewcomers , so t werehappy.

O n Ju ly 30 - Augus t 1 Haro ld Sims will p r e a c h a 3-daymeet ingfor a n o t h e r smal l congrega t ion where Paula n d Fai th Axton h a v e b e e n minis te r ing i n Ts u c h i u r aci ty o n t he Tokyo s id e o f Ibarak i Prefecture .

M I S S T A K A K O S A K A I

On M ay 19 Miss Sa imiwas ca i ledhome t o b e with th eLord af te r about 2 years o f i l lness . E v e i y o n e w h o w a s i nan y w a y a c q u a i n t e d with th e Minato c h u r ch k n e w a n dloved her, a n d sh e loved everybody. S h e w as s ing le a n dworked a t a n ofhce for m a n y years , w i t h a n averagesalaiy, b u t s h e h a d a habi t ofg iv ing a s m a l l c a s h gift i na small enve lope in a n i nc o ns p ic u ou s w a y t o severalpeople w ho needed help o r e n co u ra g em e n t a lm o s teve iy t ime th er e w as a Fif th S i m d a y Rally o r o t h e rs p ec ia l m e e ti ng s . S h e w as t h e u n o ff i c i a l a n dimappointed o ne in th e church w h o remembered a llbir thdays, anniversar ies , etc., with a s h or t n o te full o fimders tand ing a n d disce rnment . I myself, a n d a l m o s teve iy on e o f o u r J a p a n e s e Chr i s t i ans i n a n y kind o frespons ib le o r l eadersh ippos i t ionhave b e e n rec ip ien t so f th e booster m a n y t imes . S h e careful ly avo idedl imel ight , awards a n d recogni t ion, speak ing i n publ ica n d s u c h th ings .

Several years ago h e r eyesight began failing, an dsh e ret i red from h e r job. A s sh e b e c a m e s ick an d unableto t a k e c ar e o f herself , o n e of t h e e lders i n t h e c h u r c ha n d h is wife ar ranged fo r h e r to g o i n to a m u s i n g home,took over t h e m a n a g e m e n t of h e r f inances (a t h e rrequest) , a n d visi ted h e r eve iy fe w days to t ak e t ap e s o fchiuch services , communion , n ew s o f var ious peoplea n d to s e e h o w sh e w as doing.

A t h e r fune ra l , Bro . F u k u d a t o l d t h e fo lks h ow s heh ad become area sp i r i tua lmother to h im-v a lue dmuchb e c a u s e h e h a d l o s t h i s o w n m o t h e r w h i l e s t i l l i n e l e m e n

t a ry schoo l . S h e h a d s en t a l e t t e r o f c o m m e n t a n d oftenan offering af te ra lmos teve iy i s sue of his month ly Biblestudy magazine fo r over 35 years , unti l she w as n o longerable. Such sisters in CSirist a re m is se d w he n th eydepar t from th i s earth, b u t t he re i s O ne up there w hoknows h o w t o r e w ar d H i s g o o d a n d fa l lhful servants .

N E W S N O T E S

O n S un da y J u n e 6 from 3 p.m. , th e KamiochiaiC h u r c h o f Chr i s t held a ce lebra t ion of 3 years ' mds tences ince th e c h u r c h bui ld ing w as so ld a n d th i s g ro up o ffo rmer m e m b e r s , m a n y o f w h o m st i l l live i n t h a t a r e a o ftown, h a d s ta r ted t h e i r o w n worsh ip services in a smal lr e n t e d a p a r t m e n t nea r the fo rmerchurch loca t ion . Theyd o n t have a regu la r preacher, b u t severa l p reachers ofa r e a churches g o once a m o n t h . Thqy u s e tapes, etc.,w he n n o o ne i s available. T h e y r e p o rt e d 23 members ,306 b o o k s a n d 11 0 t apes i n th e c h u r c h l ibrary, a n d theyh a v e e x p e r i e n c e d b l e s s i n g s a n d sp i r i tua l a n d n u m e r i c a lg rowth e n o ug h t o look forward to th e future w i t h g r e a th o p e a n d faitii.

Mr. a n d Mrs. D e n y Gray a n d the i r son , Jeff, visi tedMejirodai Church o n Ju ly 4. They u s e d to min is te r a t th eWe s t s i d e C h u r c h i n D e s M o i n e s , Iowa , a n d a r e f r ie n d s o fDav id a n d l ^ lv i a Smi th , w h o minis te r i n t h e s a m e area.Jeff i s m a r r i e d t o a J a p a n e s e gi r l w h o m h e m e t whi le s h ew a s s t ud y i ng in A m e r i c a s o m e y e a r s ago, a n d they n o wh a v e 3 c h il d re n . T h qy l ive b y h e r paren ts i n h er h o m etown o f Ogawa, i n Sai tama prefecture . Je ff suppor t s th efamily b y t each ing Engl i sh . H e k e e p s in touch with

s o m e of o u r missionaries w h o live in t h a t genera l area.Mr . Tony Richardson of Harding College in Searcy,

Arkansas , vis i t edMej i roda i fo r 3 days over th e weekendof J u n e 27 . H e i s interested in becoming a missionaryw h e n h e gradua tes from College, so is spending hissummervaca t ionv is i t ingvar iousmiss ionar ies a n d the i rw o r k h e r e

Mr . an d Mta. StanleyButt iay retirecO. KD . 2 Bo x 180, MeadvUle, PA 8 3 3 5

Mr . an d Mrs. Andrew Fatten (retired). #6 Tang le wood , C a r l Junc t ion ,M O 6 4 8 3 4

Mr . an d Mrs. Harold Sims , 3^3 -7 Mejirodai , Hachioji -ohi, Tobyo 193Japan. ForwardingAgent: FiretChurohofCli i is t ,315E.OiangeAvenue,E u s t i B , F L 3 2 7 2 3 4 1 9 4 .

Tw o yea r dona t i on8 .50D ona t i on St F l a m i n g Torch81 .00

Tok yo C h r i s t i a n (USP8 776-320)

Pub l i shed fou r t imes a year in Janueuy, April, July, an d November fo rth e missionaries o f th e C h u r ch o f Christ , Cunningham Mission, Toliyo,Japan by Miss ion Se rv ices Associ a t ion , 7825 Hodges Ferry Road, Kn -oxvllle,TN 37920-9731. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TobyoChris t ian, i ^o M ISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PC Bo x 2 4 27 , K n -o x v m e , T N 37901-2427.

Before yo u move , p lease send th e mai l ing l abe l wi th a c o p y o f y o u r ne w addres s toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, P C Bo x 2 4 2 7 , K n o x v U l e, TN 37901-2427.

F o r m 3 5 7 9 R e q u e s t e d , PO Box2427,KnoxvUle, T N 37801-2427.


13/20

)D/3

To k y o C h r i s t i a n Go ye into aUthe worid an d preadi the gospel to every creature Mark 16:15

Vo l u m e 9 2 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 3 N u m b e r 4

S I M S N E W SS i n c e T h e L a s t T i m e

F o r u s i t h as b e e n an eventful, memorab le , and joyfuls u m m e r a n d f all. Yes , t h e r e w a s to o m u c h r a i n i n m u c hof t h e n o r t h e m h e m l sp h e r e; t h e re were po l i ti ca l changesIn the world; problems, discouragements and evils pei>s i s t ; b u t i n t h is i ss u e I w o u l d l i k e to s h a r e w i th y o u s o m eof th e exper iences of the pas t 3 months in a sor t of diary>style like m y r e g ^ a r letters to th e family. I hope it willbe Interes t ing to r ead and informat ive abou t missionaiyl i fe a nd w or k i n Japan .

^ Jus t before we went ups tai r s to b ed o n Monday,July 12, th e TV began b r o a dc a s ti n g w a r n in g s of t idal

w aves a ll a r o u n d t h e n o rt h er n p a rt o f J a p a n fo l lowing amass ive ea r thquake t h a t h a d a p p e a r e d o n se i smographs .At t h at t im e t h ey h a d n o t r eceived communica t ions ind icat ing des t ruc t ion a i ^ w h e r e . The n e x t m o r n in g w e go tth e first reports of a m a jo r q u ak e and t idal wave whichh a d h it a s m a l l i s l a nd o f f t h e e a s t e r n c o a s t o f H o k k a i d oand pract ical ly wiped ou t a small town, a lo n g w i th allm e a n s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h t he r es t o f t h e w o r l d . I t

t ook days before t h e t o ta l loss of life and proper ty cou ldb e c a l cu l a te d .

^ July 18 was a n e lect ion dav i n J a p an and, fo r thefirst t ime in 38 years , th e Libera l -Democrat ic Par ty failedto w in a majority of sea t s in the House of Representatives.A c o a li ti o n o f 7 smal l e r par t i e s h as formed th e govern

m e nt w hi ch p re se nt ly r ul es J ap an . The i r first goal i spolitical reform. Many scandals in the past have h u r t t h eprevious rul ing party. Th e n ew Pr ime Minis ter i s Mr .H o s o k a w a , a d e s c e n d e n t o f a w e l l - k n o w n sami i ra i f a mi ly in Kumamoto Prefecture . Mrs. H o s ok a w a G a r ch i aw as one o f t h e ea r l i e s t Ca tho l i c conve r t s i n t h e d ay s o fintense persecut ion 40 0 years o r so ago, a nd his grandfat h e r w as a Pr ime Mini s t e r twice in th e pre-World W a r 11t i m e s . I t i s r u m o re d h e i s a C a t h o l i c C h r i s t i a n b u t Ihaven t seen any writ ten sta tement or proof of t h at y et . H eseems to be qu i t e ab le an d popiilar.

^ Also early o n J ul y 18 w e r ec ei ve d a phone callf ro m M rs . Yu b i I c hi jo say ing t ha t h e r husband , Tomoki .had died a t 4:20 t h a t m o rn i ng . I t w a s a r a the r sudden , b u t

quiet and victorious end to a 6-year-long b at tl e w it hcancer. I h ad vis i ted h im in t he hosp i t a l o n July 8 a nd h ewas si t t ing up in b e d d r in k in g coffee. He w as in goodvoice a nd mood . W e w ere t a lk ing abou t Jona than swedding a nd o u r plans to g o t o A m er ic a. H e w a s happyt o h e a r t h e n e w s . H i s l a s t w o r d s t o m e w e r e t h a t h e w o u l dd o h i s b e s t to b e h e r e w h en w e r e t u r n e d f rom t h a t t r i p .T h e d o c to r s w ho h a d d e a lt w i t h h i s c a s e t h r o u g h a b o u t 8operat ions , etc., a t th e National Cancer Center, and h adoften expressed amazement a t his wil l to live, positiveat t i tudes , and r ap id recover ies ve iy s tr o ng l y d e si re d t operform an autopsy. This took all day Simday. Since theautopsy e n d e d wi th c rema t ion , h i s a s h e s were r e tu rned tot h e fami ly S u n d a y night .

T h er e w a s n o n ee d f o r a n u n d e r t a k e r s o o u r c h ur chp lanned Etnd carr ied ou t t h e e nt ir e funeral. It w as veiy

Chr i s t i an an d le f t a deep impress ion o n eve ryone - h isfamily, co-workers and friends. The wake was held a tt h ei r h o m e o n M o n d a y e v e n in g in o n e of t h e apa r tmen t sof a 3-etory b u i l di n g o w n e d b y h e r fa ther. The l iv ing roomw a s v e r y smal l , but 12 people f rom o u r c h u r c h and peoplef rom bo th famil ies a n d h is adve r t i s ing c o m p a n y c rowdedin to th e ad jo in ing hal l , s ta i rs , etc. , to s ee an d h e a r whatwas said. H er famity w as s om e wh at overwhelmed, bec au se t he y ou ng er brother s wife h ad jus t c om e h om ewith a n ew baby t he s am e dayl

The next day some of ou r l ad ie s w e n t e ar ly t o c le an ,decorate , a n d prepa re a s imple l u n c h fo r p e o p le c o m i n gfrom a dis tance, etc. The te lephone rang cons tan t lywi th

people ask ing how to ge t to th e church , etc. Ourpreacherwas bus i ly pr in t ing th e p r og r am s u n ti l th e las t minute .About 60 people packed ou r small church on a ra inys u m m e r a f te r n oo n f o r a v e ry m e a ni n gf u l service us ingh is favorite h y m n s a nd bui l t a r o u n d th e text For m e tolive i s C h r i st an d t o d i e i s gain. Three different preache r sgave shor t messages; and t h e p r e si d en t of his companygave a very fine s p ee c h. A c co r di n g to J a p a n e s e cus tom,Yubi gave a f inal express ion of thanks for at tending,speaking r igh t f rom h e r hear t abou t the suffer ing andfa t igue al l the family h a d e n du re d a n d h i s u n sh a ka b lefaith i n t h e Lord . H is m o t h e r h a d b e e n a g r e a t e n c o u r a g ement and help to h e r in th e las t weeks of his s ickness , ands h e t ur n ed t o h is m o t he r a n d sa id to her, I h a ve g a i ne da mother, w h i c h d e e p ly m o v e d everyone.

^ July 23-25 w as o u r annual All-Janan Convent ion.held in th e Por top ia Hote l o n t he shore of th e I n l an d S e ain Kobe an d h o st ed b y th e O no Church o f C h r is t in tha tp re fe ct ur e. ( S am e h o s t an d locat ion 10 yea r s ago, also.)The Convent ion w as well -planned and advertised, andt h e a t t e n d a n c e o fove r400 w a s l a rge r t h a n average . Therewere 2 v e ry g oo d m aj or m es sa ge s o n F r id a y n i g h t andSunday morn ing .

On Sat\irday m or nin g t he y h ad t he 6 professors ofOsaka Bible Seminarypresen t 2 hours of a class in the i rfield. Tha t even ing we h ad a Chinese-style banque t witha n interest ing varie ty program of music, t e st imon ies,i n f o r m a t i o n a n d e v e n s o m e e x e r c i s e s t h a t c o u l d b e d o n es i t t i ng a t tab les .

O u r son , Danie l , i n J a p a n o n c o m pa n y b us in es s,walked in Saturday morn ing and s tayed overthat evening.


14/20

Mejirod&l Oroup a t Kobe CoDTention Hall .

On th e t rip home, we ran into heavy Typhoon-connectedra in a t Nagoya, s o d id n 't make i t home unti l a ft er m i dn igh t (safe a n d happy I).

Because 20 people from Mejirodai were at th e Convention, w e w e re d e li g ht e d to h e a r t h a t 22 h a d b ee n h e r efor church Simday morning to hear Bro. Hara (one of ou rm e n ) preach .

^ From th e afternoon of July 28th till th e afternoonof th e 29th, we had a camp fo r o u r S u nd a y School children. Si x children an d 4 teachers/helpers went to PicnicLand, about an hour's drive away. Tents, lanterns, cook-out facili t ies (tables an d toilets), and even fuel and somepans were provided. (Air-conditioners were not, a s o ne4t h grader and her fr iends found out.)

The 2 young men helpers proved to be capable cooksover open fires. We enjoyed a rice cuny supper, followedby a campfire an d games.

After breakfast t h e n ex t morning, we le t th e kids goon rides a t t h e nearby park before going back home.

^ The weekend ofJuly31-August 1,Lois an d Iwentto Tsuchiura (abou t 100km north of Tokyo in Ibaraki

Prefecture) where P a ul a n d F a it h Axton have been servin g a smal l non- ins t rumenta l Church of Christ. Th echurch h ad b e e n t h ro u g h some difficulties a n d t hi s wa sth e first attempt at a special evangelistic meeting in atleast 10years. A team ofyoung people from their groupof churches was i n J a p a n severalweeks t hi s s u m m e r andwere readyto help deliver hand-bills an d give other help,which served as an encouragement to the smaU church.The people had been praying for weeks, so everyone wasveryhappy to have 19peoplepresent on Saturdayevening.P a u l t o ld m e l at er that he had never seen more than 10people there before. On Sunday morning we again ha d19, although some were different people. We ate a po^luck lunch together after th e worship service, shared intheir joy, and got better acquainted. (By th e way, Loissang a special and I accompanied her o n t h e organ. Therewere n o objections )

7. At 9:30 a.m. on August 2, our Japanese preacherand 12 of ou r young people in Middle School, HighSchool and Collegeleft for RhiT^shii Bihia nayrip w e werenot able to par t ic ipate this year, but heard a total of about50 a ttended . They had a good camp except for too muchrainy weather an d the Camp Manager dropping a ping-pong table on his toe. The camp ended on Friday,August

Th e evening speaker for t h e w ee k wa s Bro. Ueyama,from th e Tanabe Church in Wakayama Pref. Althoughthat is over 600km from the camp, for th e past couple ofyears a good group has come to thisyoung people's camp.Theytravel on a local (cheaper) t r a in which takes over 12hours, but goes through some good mountain scenerya long the way.

8. The nextweek, August 12 14 a camp was held forabout 30 College an d Wnriring Young people, emphasizin g training in and deepening of their Christian lives.These yoxmg adults were already Christians, serving inth e 4 or 5 churches from which they came. To cu t travelcosts an d time, this Retreat was held in a rented facilityowned

by th ecity

ofIruma

- justoutside

Tokyo.Three

messages , Hear ing th e Word, Knowing th e Power ofth e Word, an d Putting th e Wo rd i nt o Practice, weregiven by 3 of ou r local yoimger Japanese preachers.Three Bible studies on Jeremiah were also given byBro.Saito from Osaka Bible Seminary.

9. OnAugust 3,while a typhoon was raging acrossItyushu, causing land-slides a nd o th er destruction, wew e re h a vi n g a s t eady ra in . T h is w a s th e d a te t o s tar t thetrip to th e U.S. O ne o f our neighbors came t o t a ke us ando u r luggage to t h e local Keio Electr ic RR s ta t io n. W emanaged to get th e luggage of f an d up the escalator at thedowntown terminal; then went to a nearby hotel, takingthe regular airport bus service out to Narita in plenty of

time for check-in at Del ta Air lines and changing ourremainingyen t o do ll a rs . The flight to Portland, OR wa sroutine, but with a TnlniTmim of sleep.

Mrs. Christine High (Helen s mother) was waitingthere to visitwith u s d ur in g t h e 2-hour lay-over. Then wewere on a n on -s to p f li gh t t o Cincinnati, arriving thereabout 7:20 l oc al t im e. ( Be ca us e of th e changes in timezones and date-line, it was only something over 1 hoursince our departure from Tokyo.) As we came into th eterminal, there stood Jeanne and ou r 2 California granddaughters and my brother Earl. (Jeanne and th e girlswere visiting her parents.) Earl took us to his home and,a f te r some happy t a lk a n d l igh t, good food, we had somew e l c o m e r e st

The U.S. trip will probably b e e as ie r to relate andunderstand if divided into sections by geography.


15/20

a C i n o i i m a t i O H o t h E a r l a n d W l l la h a d a l r e a d y

left for work w h e n w e woke up that first morning. AfterbreakfEist, J e an n e a n d t h e girls c a m e over an d took u s toseveral stores ^x>is f avor it e spor t ), l imch an d to o urbank. That evening, after a m o st p l ea sa n t d in ne r o nEarl 's back porch, we went fo r a walk i n thei r neighbor-hood. It is a different worldl Th e length of summer dasrswith DST is real ly nice. W e also had a nice phone visitwith Paul an d Kathleen Pratt, long-time f r iends an d co-workers who re t i red ear l ie r th i s year.

Thursday m o r n i n g E a r l took u s to Clovemook Chr i st ian Church w h er e w e enjoyed a breakfast with severalmembers of th e MissionsTeam,gpvingthem an update onour work. That evening, Ralph an d Donna arr ived fromTennessee a n d a good mini-re imion of th e 3 Sims brothers began r ight away.

Friday we spent qualitytime together walking alongth e Riverfront, driving through th e Mt. Adams area,stopping by th e Seminary campus, and visi t ing all th ew hi le . A f te r another delicious meal a t Earl 's, sons Scotta nd Andy a n d t he ir famil ies c a m e for brief vis i ts tha tevening.

Saturday evening Bo b and Helen stopped by and lefton e of their two cars fo r me to drive th e next morning.

S u n d a y w e were a t W h i te O a k Chr i s t i an Church for 3morning services a t which I gave th e Communion meditation. Bo b and Helen and family a nd J ea nn e a nd hergirls were there fo r one service a nd Bible Schoo l, a lso.Afterward we me t with th e Missionary Committee for anice lunch and another update. In mid-aftemoonwewentback to Earl and Willa s and loaded up theirvan with ourluggage. Bob left for northern Indiana on companybusiness an d Helen drove us to their home in Shelbyville,KY arriving there too late for evening worship.

b. Shelbyville. ky . We ha d several happy days herewith 3 of th e grandchildren; eating more f in e m ea ls ;feeding some swans, deer, etc. at FrankfortAnimal Park;taking walks throu^ ttie neig;hborhood etc. Bob returned home Monday n ight , s o w as with us most of th et i m e

Penny Boggs came over from Kentucky ChristianCollege to visit on Tuesday e ve ni ng . A ft er sh e left, wewatched some of th e video of th e recent wedding of th eCrown Prince which Lois had brought along.

Wednesday morning I t r immedsome bushes aroundth e house an d Bob bragged to th e people at ShelbyChristian Church that night about having a 200-poundJ apanese gardener working inhis jrard. I spokeabout ourwork to th e adult Bible study group there that night.

We rose at 5:15 a.m. and left at 6:45 a.m. fo r the longdrive to Iowa on Thursday. We made several stops so th ec h il dr en c o ul d e xe rc is e a li tt le; they w er e v er y g oo dtravelers. Wewere in Iowafor supper, arr iving at Sylvia's

just before d ark . T he clan was beginning to gather.o. Gumming and Ames. lA . Friday, August 13,

UncleBob was working on a mo-ped Joshhad bought, bu tcouldn ' t g;et to r un . A ft er a w h il e w e h e a rd t h e w e l c o m esound. Josh was very happy and urged everyone to takea tu rn r id ing it .

Af te r l u n c h L o i s a n d I l e f t i n Rache l ' s c a r fo r A m e san d ou r first meeting with Verla. We foimd th e park andher t ra il e r a l l right, bu t it wa s during the m id dl e o f athundershower, so we began communication by wavingto her in th e window. We were soon visiting about variousth ings and , before long, ha d to go to the rehearsa l a t thechurch. Later th e whole gproup of over 20 people went toa C h i n e s e R e s t a u r a n t fo r t h e t r a d i t io n a l d i n n e r

The otherswent backto Sylvia s house for th e night,bu t Ixsis an d I stayed at a motel near Verla s trailer park.

During this t ime we were able to g e t a cq u ai n te d withVerla's parents and other members of her family as wella s th e l oca l preache r.

O n th e w ed di ng d ay w e a te a nice breakfast thendrove to th e church. Lois went to a beauty parlor nearbyand I went into th e Dome t o help Mr. Shoelkoph makesandwiches fo r th e reception. In the mids t of tha t , therewas a c la p o f t h u n d e r a n d all th e electricity went off. Thedome had no windows, so wa s totally black. Fortunatelythe p o w e r came b ac k o n abou t 30 minutes before th e

wedding wa s to begin. By that time, all of th e 22 peoplew h o w e re s ta y in g a t Sylvia's house had arrived.We w er e surprised to see 4 f r iends from Markle, IN

walk in . They ha d come to Japan for th e 20thAnniversaryo f M ej ir od ai C h ur ch , a n d h a d t a k e n a n interest inJonathan's marriage, so ha d driven that long distance tosee it. Other oldf r iends a l so showed up. And, of course,m o s t o f Verla ' s f r i ends f rom t h e office w h e r e s h e workeda t the University, th e local church , and f rom Minneso taan d otherstates also came. It would be no exaggerationto say, They cmne f rom th e e n d s of th e earth Thepreacher estimated the attendance at around 300 people.

The wedding i t se l f wa s a very beautiful and happyevent for everyone. The most surpr i sing thing to u s a ndal l of our family wa s ourshyJonathan singing to Verla inth e middle of th e ceremony, I can t help fn-lUng in lovewith you. I t was not familiar to me, b ut I listened to thewords in amazement at how they seemed to fitly expresshis feelings. LaterI learned i t was an Elvis Presleysong.

The receiving line was long an d slow-moving^ but weappreciated th e comments by many about what a finedaughter-in-law we were g;etting. The reception alsolas ted quite a while. I was able t o t ak e 40 of o u r left-oversandwiches back to Sylvia s which evaporated quickly aswe al l gathered thereon Saturdayevening for a good timeofvisiting, joking and relaxing. Twenty-two people slepta ll over th e house that night and managed happily inspite of shortag;es of chairs, forks , pi llows, etc.

Sunday, Augûst 15 was th e 48th anniversaiy of th eend of World War U. I preached at Chriat'^ C hu mh i nWe s t D as Moinfta^ where Dave is th e minis ter. I t w aswonderful to se e over 2 rows of Sims family in th eaudience. They had managed somehow to g;et them al l tothe church on time in 5 or 6cars. The local church peoplehad prepared a g;ood covered dish lunch , which we allen joyed toge the r.

Hope and Tom a n d t h ei r 4 gprls left fo r TnHin.n< - fromthere . Af te r gpetting backto Silvia's, Dan and Jeanne andfEunily went to the airport fo r th e flight back to Californiaand Bo b and Helen and fEunily boarded their van fo rIndiana. Sylvia sdaughter, Rachel, was on a missiontripto Mexico an d missed th e wedding, bu t returned Sundaynight. Things were quickly getting back to normal.

Lois sister, Noima, left for Pittsburg on the planeMonday morning. Th e rest of tiiat da y and th e next, weha d a littletime to visit Sylvia sfmnily. On Tuesday we at ed i n n e r a t a Chinese r e s t au ran t i n D e s M o i n es a n d t h e nsupper that nightwith Jon and Verla in th e trailer. Theyha d returned from a short honejnnoon an d we ha d a verynice d in ne r a nd visit - t a lk ing about their plans forcomingto J a pa n a m on g o t h e r thingps.

Additional r ai n h ad brought more flooding to thatarec^ but al l th e roads were open. It wa s pitiful to se eponds in mostcorn fields and ruinedcropsalong th e way,bu t it seemed the people were copingvery well a nd n otdiscouragêd.

^ Kendallville. IN . Augûst18, we loaded up Sylvia scarwith our lug;g;age and he r daughter, Suzie, and startedthe 500-mile drive to H op e' s f tm n in Kendallville, IN.


16/20

M o s t o f th e d a y w a s h a rd , s t ea d y driviiig. We s t op p ed fo rl un ch a t a veiy nice place and ate with our good friend,Ve l m a H e l d , w h o w a s also a t th e wedding . W e pul led in toHope 's d r iveway exact ly 12 hours after leaving Sylvia's.

The next d a y w e were up early to se e Hope and Beckyof f to work in Auburn a n d t h en Sylvia an d Suz iewho leftto re tu rn to Iowa. Mindy w as in th e f inal s tages of ge t t ingready to leave f or B al l S ta te Universi ty in Muncie, IN.That night w e c e le b r at e d Mindy's birthday a little earlybecause s he h a d t o m ov e in to th e dormitory Augus t 21 .

At 1:00 p.m. o n Friday, Augus t 20th, w e b o rr ow edHope's c a r a n d started th e drive across Ohio to Norma'splace in I rwin, PA .

e. I rwin . PA. W e a r r ived i n I rwin a b o u t 9:30 p.m.We s p e n t S a tu r d ay vis i ting Norma, walk ing around h e rneighborhood, and visi t ing her only g r a nd d a u gh t e r. Wealso cal led t h e But t rays a n d visi ted b y p h on e .

Sunday morning w e v is it ed Lois' h om e c hu rc h inTur t le Creek an d enjoyed a fine fellowship meal w i th o l df r iends af te r th e service. Sunday evening we went to th ec h u r c h a t N e w S a l em . PA for th e first t ime. They h a d s e n tu s support over the years , b ut w e had never been able toget there. The attendance of about 50 was a pleasantsurprise; and the sandwich and flngexHsalad supper

afterward w as j us t r ig ht after th e big d in ne r a t Turt leC r e e k .

f. Kendallvi l le . IN . (again) O n Monday, Augus t 23 ,w e d ro ve back across OMo to Hope's. Tu e sd a y s c h oo lbegan in Ind iana , so we go t up early and walked the 2girls down to meet the school bus. We u se d th e quiet daya t h o m e t o w r i t e s o m e l e t t e r s .

While c o nt in u in g t o stay a t Hope's, we attendedWednesday and F r id a y n ig h t programs of th e yearlyFaith-Promise R a l ^ a t Markle. This church has been apar t of our living-link suppor t fo r 47 years, and we alwaysen joy visi t ing wi th th e g oo d f ri en ds t he re . W e s p e n tSunday, August 29 sharing in their jo y at surpassing theirg oa l o f 110,000 fo r Missions. W e left th e n e x t m o r n i n gfo r our flight to Cincinnat i and o n t o P h o en i x, AZ.

Dur ing th i s t ime , Lois a lmos t ra n o u t of th e medic inefo r h er blood-pressure and heart . S he h a d t he n a m e s ofth e medicine, b ut th e l oc al d r ug g is t w ou ld not sel l i twithout a doctor 's prescript ion. I t w as a weekend and, tomake a long s to ryshor t ,we m a n g ed t o ge t to a doc tor andg e t m e d i c i n e .

gi Sun City. AZ. W e spent a day visiting wi th goodf r iends f rom high school days and Lois' sister a nd h usb an d a nd the local church p r e ac h e r, w h o had been th em i ni st er w h e n J o na t ha n 's n e w wife w as a gir l back inR e d w oo d F a ll s , MN. I t is a s m a l l worldl

^ Orange County. CA . The last stop was withDaniel and his family in Orange Coimty, CA. They tooku s d o wn t o S a n D i eg o f o r o u r first vis i t there, t h en

sims harold lois 1993 japan

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