Christian

"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15
Number 1
Volume 76

First Quarter, 1977 past years and the dreams of seeing the church full of people once in a while always bring me around to the decision to make the most of this opportunity to tell the gospel story, make contacts with people who never come otherwise and enjoy myself. Christmas in Japan has never failed to leave me glowing with joy and encouragement, which is certainly a good way to start the new year. Christmas '76 was again a very good one here at Mejirodai. One of the best things was that a young lady who hadn't been to church yet last Christmas and who was baptized in September and who
works as a music teacher in a circuit of

CHRISTMAS AT MEJIRODAI
All Japanese love festivals. All festi
vals have some ancient connection with

partment program began. There were 25

children and 31 parents and older
brothers and sisters here for that. Each

religion. But to most of the celebrants that part of it is unknowrnor ignored and the "meaning is sought in the joyful mood, the busy preparations, the crovv^ds
and the 'cups'".

one had drawn pictures of what Christ mas meant, and these were displayed. They gave a very good musical program and quoted a number of verses of the Christmas story. Of course they all received a little red box of candy and
crackers which one of the older ladies of

To the Japanese Christmas is a festival which they can and do accept. The local Lion's Club, of which I am the only
Christian member, has an annual Christ

mas meeting with wives, children, gifts, candles, carols and alcohol all there in abundance. (I don't partake of the latter, of course.) Almost every secular-minded Japanese business-man rushes home early on Christmas Eve and buys one of the
hundreds of decoration cakes stacked in

kindergartens helped prepare the musical

part of our Sunday school programs -training the children in use of castanets, tambourines, bells, harmonicas, recorders and vocal singing and accompanying them
on her marimba. It was her first Chris

every bakery on the way home from the

station to eat with his family - part of

tian service.

After the last program was

the churhc had helped us prepare during most of Thursday before. At 7 Sunday evening we had the 1 - 6 graders' program. This is the time each year when we have the lai^est crowd -- a total of 106 people. The program con sisted of a "shadow play" of the Christ mas story planned and performed by the 4 - 6 grade class. They made cardboard figures of Joseph, Mary and all the characters and animals, putting in colored transparent paper to add some color. They held these up against a sheet with a

over Sunday night Dec. 26 this quiet and

reserved school-marm said, "This was my first real Christmas, and it was wonder ful". This year she will be helping regu

the year end ritual. If "Christmas" were

all there was to Christianity this nation would have come into the kingdom long
ago.

light in back and read the story. The 1 3 graders made a report of their studies
through the year of Old Testament characters, emphasizing four kings, four prophets and four statesmen. Also they
had a short drama about the three He

We all know that in our own Christ mas traditions and customs there is a

larly in our Sunday school classes. On Sunday Dec. 19 several of the young people stayed for an hour after
church to decorate the tree which we had

large mixture of pagan and commercial

elements both old and modem. And there have been not a few movements by Christians at different times and places in

history to stop all celebration of Christ

mas because of the obscuring of the true

dug out of our yard and the walls and windows of the building. We were able to borrow 3 large cloth panels made by the art department at Christian Academy
where Daniel attends school, and they

brew young men and the fiery furnace. All memorized their parts well. We also had the third graders play their recorders, which they are learning in school, and likewise the second graders their harmon icas. Each of these groups played a carol
on their instruments and then we com

significance by unbelieving man in his

endless search for happiness.

So at times I have thought about this and considered the possible teaching and testimony value of the church abstaining
from "Christmas". But a mixture of

added much {see accompanying pictures). On Wed. Dec. 22 we had parties for our various English classes. We have only one college student, and he dressed up as Santa Claus and performed some magic tricks which gave a thrill to the younger
children.

bined all the instruments in a rousing

rendition of Joy to the World. Following this all of the parents sang as the children furnished the orchestra accompaniment.
It was wonderful music.

At the two church meetings on Satur

memories of wonderful experiences in

Our church "shuku ga kai" - "blessing celebration meeting" was on Saturday night Dec. 25. There were three parts to
it: 1. Devotional, including a candle

day night and Sunday morning the special Christmas offering was about $300. This
entire amount will be given to various orphanages, old people's homes and other
such institutions in this area. Also about

service, 2.

vocal ^oups, from the four small children

Musical, including various

of two families to a chorus of about a

dozen ladies mainly from Lois' Friday morning English class and some instru mental numbers, and 3. a gift exchange. There were a total of 71 people present, including a few people who hadn't been

$200 was received at the two Sunday School programs from the non-Christian parents of the children who expressed in this way their appreciation for what we
are doing.

PHjc
Beginners at Christmas program.

to church before and a number of whole

families.

Sunday morning Dec. 26 we had 67

children in Sunday School, and spent the

We are full of joy and gratitude for everything, and in closing would like to specially mention the many Christmas cards received from you with words of encouragement and assurance of your prayers for us and the work. God has
blessed us and loved us in both distant

hour in final practice and preparation for the programs to be given later that day. For the worship service we had an un usually good attendance of 32. Sunday afternoon at 2 P.M. the Beginner's De-

and recent past and we know He will

continue to do so as we look to Him.
"Harold Sims

PATTON NEWS
MOTHER'S DEATH
After having been at the point of death for over a week, my mother passed
away on October 25, 1976. She was 87
years old and had had stomach trouble

them as presents to the children. We wanted the children to go caroling in the

neighborhood but they were not anxious

them stuffed with handbills advertizing

our meetings. We hope this does a great deal of good. As time permits Dale and I plan to prepare a slide program to be used in a home visitation program. This will
consume much time, but we believe it

to go and so the idea was given up. We missionaries in the Tokyo area met
at the Fleenor's new home and church-to-

during the latter part of her Hfe. The cause of her death was not clear, but the doctors surmised it was either a ruptured blood vessel caused by a bleeding ulcer
or cancer.

be, Dec. 28th, for our Christmas program and buffet supper. Each missionary family present brought their own part for
the program and it proved to be very interesting. As usual, we thoroughly en joyed all of it in our native tongue, Eng lish. Several visitors were present includ ing the Jones family and the Christianson family from Nagano Ken. Much progress has been made on the new building thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds from Oregon who are freely giving of their talents and time in this building program
for the Fleenors.

will be a valuable help in our evangelistic

program. Perhaps others will use it also.

THANK YOU
We wish to thank those of you who sent us cards and gifts at Christmas time. Your kindness and thoughtfulness are appreciated. These reminders of your
love and concern made Christmas a brighter time for all of us. We also are

Mother is survived by my father, now

94, 9 children, and numerous grand

children and great-grand-children. She had been very few places away from home, possessed practically none of this world's goods, and sought no fame, yet was loved by all who knew her. Being a doting son, I think the woman described by Solomon in Proverbs 31 describes her exactly. Deciding whether to return to North Carolina for the funeral was very diffi cult, but eventually I made the decision to go. I used money from the small in heritance Betty received from her par
ents and which we use for our emer

thankful for your prayers and support in our work for Christ here. May the Lord
make this New Year a fruitful one for all

NEW YEAR'S
At least a week before the end of the

of you.

gency fund. My brothers and sisters have helped us to repay part of this. No mission funds were used for my travel
for we felt that would be misuse of funds designated for missions.

My father is being wonderfully cared for by my brothers and sisters. His health
seems to be very good and he has been
very courageous.

year, there was plenty of evidence in Tokyo that the important New Year's holiday was at hand. Houses were given a thorough cleaning, prices of articles rose markedly, and loads of prepared food were bought for the holiday. Business transactions were completed as far as pos sible and business and industry came to a stand-still. On January 1 millions flocked to the shrines and temples to pray for good luck during the year. 1977 is the year of the snake in the Orient which is a revolting thought to a Westener. Perhaps most of the Japanese have
not considered that Satan is called the

Stephen Patton celebrated his 16th birthday January 5th.

"Andrew Patton

FELLOW - WORKERS
During my absence from home. Dale Wilkinson again assumed the leadership

Old Serpent in the Bible. By the way, the year of the snake rolls around every twelfth year and I was bom in the year of
the snake in 1917! We have used the New Year's slack in

of our work at Yachiyodai and taught all of my classes both there and at Higashinakano where we live. The Wilkinsons

are now settled temporarily in the apart

ment on the second floor of the Sakura-

activity to catch up on correspondence and do odd jobs. Some time too was con sumed in recuperating from a "bug" with
which we have been afflicted. At this

yama church and are our next door neigh bors. Dale is helping me in the work at

Yachiyodai and I am most grateful for his help. He and I will cooperate in the
teaching and Yachiyodai. the home visitation at

writing, however, we have all recovered from this affliction and are carrying on
our activities.

YACHIYODAI

CHRISTMAS
Soon after my arrival back in Japan we had to begin planning for our Christmas programs. Dale made a very effective slide program and showed it to various groups at their programs. At Yachiyodai
Dale's slides were shown and we had the

children participate in the songs, scripture reading and in the various other parts of the Christmas program. Peggy Wilkinson and Betty baked cookies and we added mandarin oranges, calendars and other items for their Christmas gifts. We also supervised the children as they made their own Christmas cards to be presented to their parents. Dale also made plaques with praying hands on the front and gave

Recently we met with a discouraging set-back in our efforts to win a junior high student to Christ. I have had several sessions with her when I have urged her to accept Christ as Savior. Finally, she sent me a letter saying that she was too busy with school work and exams to find time to come to church any more. I won der, though, if that was not an excuse so that she could escape the necessity of making this important decision. I know that she is under conviction, but she lacks courage to take a stand for Christ. Her case brings to mind the seed which fell on the footpath in the parable of the sower
and the birds came and devoured it.

Harold, Lois and Danny Sims in Nara.

Betty and Andrew Patton hosted the annual Thanksgiving get-together of the Missionary families and friends. It was an enjoyable occasion for all.
Kathleen and Paul Harder and Jim Mathers from Yokota Air Base were

guests as well as Charles Faber and Tom

Burney from the Christian Academy. Dave and Eleanor Reynolds who are help
ing the Fleenors in the construction of

Before Christmas we handed out 5,000 Christmas tracts at Yachiyodai, many of

their new church building in the Tokyo suburbs were also among the 45 - 50 per
sons that attended.

BUTTRAYS REPORT

provision! Sale of the Kamiochiai pro perty where we live is encumbered by multi-sided problems. And if the solu tion of these is not soon found, finances to begin construction during 1977 may not be available. . .that is, from the sale
of the land. But we must not limit God

by narrow thinking. Mounting frustration through 1976 climaxed by my "getting it in the lower back" which restricted my activities over
the New Year! We are now face to face with the won

ders of this God given New Year 1977! As I see it, this can be a great year for our Lord here in Japan, if a humble Spirit and a Unity of Purpose prevail! ! My faith that God will make this Evan gelistic Camp a reality is still based on the promise He gave me in Psalm 20:4 "May He. . .give you your hearts desire and grant success to all your plans!" Pray that this will be the year!
"Stanley Buttray

Stanley and Mabel Buttray standing on the finished foundation of their future home at the future camp.
If I were asked to describe the events

of 1976 in one word, with only slight hesitation, the reply would be: "Strug gle"! There is a Japanese New Years cus tom which so aptly describes this word, I must-tell you about it. Young men be tween the ages of 20-30, naked except for a loin cloth trying to climb a three-inch greased rope to the safety of the rafters where the rope is tied. Many with the advantage of a running jump might make it even to half way, only to come sliding back down. Then in a little while try again only to fail! 1976 was a year like that! Our hopes immediately were sent soaring when negotiation for the sale of the Kamiochiai property were finalized. Success at last. . But it only lasted a so we thought! month, and down we came! Then at mid year as we were about to return to Japan from visiting Mabel's mother, family and David's graduation and a few living-link churches our hopes began to soar again. We learned a number of companies were definitely interested in buying the land.
But negotiations became difficult because

had four baptisms during the year, it is barely holding its own. The Yokosuka Church through 1976 turned out to be its most crucial in ten years! One thing after another happened until it looked as if only one (a young man, senior in high school) out of an active membership of six would remain faithful. But by teach ing, tears, exhortations, and prayers, the year ended with three of the members supervising Christmas skits, games and presents for forty-three children! The church needs a Japanese preacher and an extensive remodeling of the building.

The five signs at the bottom right on the neighbor's gate beside the Kamiochiai Church, represents how the whole neigh borhood is protesting the sale of the land where the Buttrays live.

Tokyo Christian Published four times a year in Jan uary, April, July and November for
the missionaries of the Church of

Christ Cunningham Mission, Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services, Box 177, Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second Class postage paid at Kempton,
Indiana.

of complications. Even so, success seemed at last almost within our grasp... then the sunshine problem arose! Six months had now passed, the year was ending, once again apparent victory had
slipped through our fingers and down we
came!

Mabel Buttray's Women's English Bible Class. These ladies enjoyed the recent Christmas party in the Buttrays' home. Progress in building the Shinshu Bible Camp during 1976 was zero! But a base
ment foundation for our future home on

Even though the time was short, and under undue circumstances, yet our
seven weeks in the States was a time to

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-26-4 Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs. Homer Anderson, 622 Cullum Street, Meadville, PA 16335. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8 Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs. G. Wade Flet cher, R.6, Box 14 B, Rushville, IN
46173.

catch our breath. Mabel's mother, according to the doctor's recent state ment has proven to be his miracle patient. Thanks to the prayers of Christian friends and God's grace! She is almost com pletely recovered. Even though the church at Kamiochiai

the "Camp Land" became a reality in July. City water coming to the Camp is still a $4,000.00 future project. Thanks to special offerings and gifts from
churches and interested Christian friends

during the year the foundation of our home was made possible. Superstructure
for the house and construction of the

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent; First Church of Christ, Orange at Center St.,Eustis, FL 32726. Two-year subscription $.50 Subscription and Flaming Torch $1.00

camp buildings is dependent on God's

LOOK HERE A MINUTE

Part of the crowd on Sunday night December 26.

Children at candle service in Mejirodai church on Christmas night.

\\l

Ladies in Lois' English Conversation Class at Christmas Party.

POSTMASTER

MORE ABOUT THE SALE OF THE PROPERTY. . .

In the last issue we mentioned the

FORM 3579 REQUESTED

BOX 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049

possibility of selling the Mission property at Kamiochiai where Buttrays are living. The opposition of the neighbors to con struction of an apartment building there has been very strong. Signs are up all over the neighborhood, and petitions have been Hied against our plans with various local government organs etc. So the sale has not gone through as planned. But there is still a possibility and the final outcome is far from certain at this point. We certainly need your prayers as we seek
to know and do God's will in this matter.

The Lord^s Koaper % OBC

Box

'lU

71

Joplin^ 104 64b01

Christian
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15
Volume 76

Second Quarter, 1977

Number 2

MEJIRODAI CHURCH NEWS

ance, and every one of them stayed for the worship service. Seeing these girls who have grown up in our Sunday School now coming to the church services is a great encouragement to the Sunday
School teachers and all the members.

All of their homes are non-Christian, and we don't know what they are think ing but at least there is no objection so far to their attending. We need your con tinued prayers for these young people.

3. Resurrection Sunday
Last year we made a special effort to
have a record breaking attendance for this special day, and I wrote about that success in the Tokyo Christian a year ago. This year we made no special ef forts, but had 48 people present, which is a dozen over the best other Sunday so far this year, and more than double our membership. There were 2 baptisms.
Both of them were housewives who live

Mejirodai Church on January 2^ 1977

We are happy and thankful to see some growth in the local church, and are
mindful that some friends in the United

anxious to have such a ^oup in the

church because she has 2 children of that

States have prayed speciHcally for ^is

over a period of months. So we want to report some about it. But all glory to
Christ who is the head and the builder.

age group in her own family. The former class met on Sunday afternoons, and few
of them ever came to church. But she

in this neighborhood. One of them has been attending Lois' Friday morning English Conversation Class for about 3 years. She began attending church now and then and slowly became more reg
ular. Both of their husbands are Bud

suggested, partly for her own conven ience, that they meet at 10 AM on Sun day morning in our little pre-fab Sunday
School class-room just after the Begin ner's class finishes using it. Then after

dhists and were not too happy but did

not absolutely oppose their decisions. May the Lord give more increase.

1. Average Attendance
We keep attendance records for both

30 minutes of singing, discussion of a

Bible passage, etc., she would encourage
all of them to remain for the adult wor

AN ESSAY DN MISSIONS
The following composition was written by a 12 year old girl in Cincin nati, Ohio after a class on Missions.
IF I HAD A HUNDRED DOLLARS

Sunday School and the Sunday morning worship. For the past 3 years the Sunday School yearly average has stayed right
around 60 students and 6 teachers and

helpers. But this past year the attendance at worship increased noticeably. The

1974 average was 14.5, the 1975 average was 14.2, but when we totaled things up in January we discovered the average in
1976 was 23. This has been a red en

couragement to the small group here. So far this year I am sure we have kept up this average and a little better.

2. Junior High School Class

Last fall one of our Christian ladies

ship service beginning at 10:30 AM. A list of about 15 names was complied and letters of invitation were sent out, and slowly a small group began attending both the class and worship services as hoped for. The school year in Japan begins in April, so on March 27 we had our Pro motion Day. Six girls "graduated" from the 4-6 grade class and moved up into the Jr. High Class. One of those 6th graders had attended the very first day we opened our S.S. here. She was still in kindergarten at that time. These new members practically doubled the
attendance at the Jr. HUh Class, and on

agreed to try to restart the Junior High Class, which had been defunct for about a year because the other group quit coming when they got busy preparing for High
School entrance examinations. She was

If I had a hundred dollars I would fly somewhere in Africa, and I would go to the helpless place. If they were hungry I would go and buy lots of food. And if they were sick I would buy lots of kids kits. If they were poor I would give them some money. And I would have a church and invite everybody in the village to
hear about God. And I would even

Sunday, April 3, four oAhose girls were

in the church worship service for the first time. Then on Easter Sunday this class had a record breaking 14 in attend

supply all things needed. If I had a hun

dred dollars I would do all these things and even help the poor around here.

PATTON
SPRING
There are several thin^ which remind
us in Japan now that Spring is here. One thing is the fairly strong winds together with changeable weather conditions from
warm to cool and cool to warm. Another

indicator is the bursting into bloom of the cherry blossoms which are almost gone now. Another thing is the "Spring Labor Offensive", a concerted drive by labor's unions here to hike wages. Higher mces will demand higher wages and ligher wages higher prices and there is
no end to the rise.

of Philip and Stephen and began paint ing the interior walls of the buUding. We finished painting most of the upstairs walls and when time permits we will be gin work on the first floor walls. A few months ago a young man named Mr. Ishii accepted Christ as his Savior and was baptized at the Arakawa Church. He is now an earnest and growing Christ ian. He volunteered to paint the outside has already finished the work. This has remarkably improved the appearance of
that building too.

free anyhow! He is now teaching a children's English class of his own. We hope that this vrill give him a sense of responsibility and experience in teaching.
We make sure that he saves most of the

money realized from his class to help him

in the future.

Out of necessity Betty has had to be gin teaching English herself. My schedule
was so full that 1 had no time to start a

w^ of the Arakawa Church building and

dass for beginners.

Also Mrs. Julius

Fleenor has had to return to America for

UNFAVORABLE EXCHANGE RATE

In recent years there has been no official exchange rate for the Japanese yen, but the government has allowed it
to float in relation to other currencies.

SAKURAYAMA
Miss Namekata, a student in one of my English classes, has begun attending the services of the Sakurayama Church. She brought her friend with her too. Another of my English students. Miss Kondo, is also continuing to attend the services
there.

medical tests, leaving three small En^ish classes to Betty until her return. That makes a full schedule for Betty too. Besides she has entered Tops Club again to overcome a weight problem. She was immediately made president of her dub. That also will mean added responsibilities
for her.

YACHIYGDAI
We are continuing the same program of dasses and services at Yachiyodai, but during the winter there was a slump in
attendance. However there has been an

When we arrived back in Japan from fur lough in September last year the Ameri can dollar was in a favorable position as far as the exchange rate for our dollars
was concerned. At the time we were re

Last fall a young man named Mr. Arai, another of my English students, started to attend the Sakurayama Church services again. We taught him in Bible School
when he was a child. He had been work

ceiving over 290 yen per dollar. From the end of last year to now the rate has been declining rapidly until it is now around 270 yen. We are now receiving
one fourth less for our dollars than we

ing in Osaka but had a health problem

and had taken a leave of absence from his

were in 1971 (then 360 yen per dollar).

TCfkYn^HG RCH
F CHRIST
The April meeting of the Tokyo preachers and missionaries was held at the church formerly called Kamiuma Church of Christ. A word about the recent hap penings at this church might be in order. The former Shimo-Ochiai Church, estab lished by the Julius Fleenors and having had to sell their property, is now merging
with the Kamiuma Church to form the

work. We hear that he had developed a friendship with young people who had a bad influence on him. He began to drink heavily and no doubt his worldly way of life contributed to-his health problem.
He has now returned to his work.

increase lately. About four or five young people have been added to those who were coming to the Bible dasses there. A young couple, several ladies, a single man, and young people have been attend ing the adult classes. My travel to Yachiyodai has been affected by the train strikes recently. On

Sunday, ^ril 17, a strike was in-effect

PHILIP
Our second son, Philip, will graduate from the Christian Academy in Japan in
June. Soon afterward he intends to re

by the railway workers and I started to Yachiyodai by car. A drive which would have ordinarily taken an hour took al most 4 hours that morning. Those who
would have taken a train were on the

Tokyo Church of Christ. Brother Morohashi who had been ministering to the
Shimo-Ochiai Church is now the minister

of the merged church. I helped to estab lish the Kamiuma Church several years ago. In later years the church was led by a Japanese minister, but he has been studying in America for a few years. The membership of the church had decreased considerably and we hope that the merger
will add new vitality to the church. The Fleenor family has moved to Sayama City and they have established a

turn to the U.S.A. He plans to live with his brother, Noel, who has an apartment in Joplin, Missouri, and to search for a job after his arrival there. We hope that both Philip and Noel will find opportun ity to attend a technical school in the future to prepare themselves for a better job. Philip has had a rewarding senior year at the Academy. He made the Var sity Team in basketball which had only nine members. He rated the highest in his math class in a math achievement test, which surprised both his teacher and fel low students. Due to the expenses in volved in travel neither Betty nor I will accompany Philip back to the States. Our son and daughter, Noel and Sharon, will help him get settled in Joplin.

highway instead. I arrived almost two hoius late for Bible School, but the children were still waiting when I arrived and we had a fine meeting together.

After spen^ng the whole day in services

I had to face the heavy traffic again back into the city.

CONVENTION
Many of the preachers and members of the Churches of Christ throughout Japan are anticipating their annual convention on April 29 to May 1st near Osaka. They have tasted the blessed fellowship and friendship of brothers and sisters in Christ
and cherish this occasion to visit and

new work there. A new church building

with a home on second floor for the

Fleenors is being erected with the help of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Reynolds from Oregon.

FAMILY
Our youngest son, Stephen, is busy enjoying life and participating in extra
curricular activities at school. He is con

worship together. The Missionary Convention in English will follow the Japanese Convention. Our family will again be unable to attend this year due to our schedule and lack of
funds.

FORWARDING

PAINTING
Last year a new paint job was begun on the outside walls of the Sakurayama Church building. Cold weather and numerous duties have held up the work, but it is almost Hnished. During Spring Vacation at School we utilized the help

tinuing his music lessons, taking band and guitar this year. He failed in his efforts to make the Junior Varsity basket
ball team and the school baseball team.
He commented when he had discovered he had failed to make the baseball team

AGENT
Our forwarding agent, Mrs. George Wade Fletcher will undergo surgery on April 25th at a hospital in Indianapolis. We pray for a quick recovery for her. Her
daughter, Joetta, will be helping with our financial reports during this time.

that he wanted to have his Saturdays

YOKOSUKA CHURCH

SIMS FAMILY TD REMAIN IN lAPAN

THIS SUMMER
We announced in our newsletter that

LETTERS
We received the following letter from Indianapolis, Indiana written January 25, 1977. It is typical of the letters we would like to get from ordinary people across the land but receive all too rarely.
We are not the best in the worid at

we were planning a trip to the U.S. for

about 10 weeks this summer. We had be

answering mail, but it was impossible in

this case because there was no return
address!

gun preliminary travel plans and had

made a few contacts about speaking

appointments in the early weeks of this

"Greetings from Indiana.

We now
week's

year, and were looking forward to seeing

family and friends. But we couldn't find anyone suitable
and available to take over the work of the

have about 8" of snow here in Indiana

polis and it's still falling.

started back

The kids just

to school after a

ing the service. Jones family is on

the left and Wilkinson family on
the right.

A recent Sunday n oming service at Yokosuka. Suzuki San, a music major at the organ (front left). Ken Yokomizo (first year college) lead

Mejirodai church during our absence. In view of the good spirit prevailing and the growth that has been achieved during the past year or so (see article in this issue) we didn't want to leave open a possibility of any let-down because of our absence. So several weeks ago we decided to give up the plans for going to the U.S.
and stay here. We feel this is in accord

vacation due to weather and the gas shortage. The streets are getting bad
again, but we're accustomed to it nowwe leave for work sooner, drive slower and pray more. "Do you have snow in Japan? I won

der,

because over here the

Japanese

current warms Oregon and Washington

states quite a lot. "We hope you had a blessed Christ

mas. Ours was wonderful because my husband and I spent Christmas day with his sister for the first time in 53 years! That's a story in itself. Perhaps I can tell you about it later.

During two weeks in February

the attendance at the Yokosuka

with God's will, so we are happy and do not feel deprived or sad about it. Our children wrote in response to our letters that they were "disappointed but not crushed." Let us all be not weary in well

Church tripled!

This was due to

doing for in due season we shall reap if

we faint not.

the Milton Jones and Dale Wilkin

son families moving to Yohosuka to help the church, and use it as a base for evangelism. There are
twelve persons in their two families.

30 YEARS
Lois and Harold Sims were married on

So for the Easter morning service there were a total of twenty-six

persons present.
self.

This

included

two Japanese preachers and my

The number of Sunday School children are increasing and a Jap anese teacher of English brought his twelve-year-old Jr. High daugh ter to church recently. For the sake of their children,
Jones and Wilkinson have started an

March 21, 1947 in Turtle Creek, Penn sylvania. Ten days later they left from Pittsburg's Pennsylvania R.R. Station for Los Angeles. After attending Easter ser
vices at the First Christian Church in

"For this time though, I want to ask about your work-and your plans and needs. What can we do to help? Tell us how it is there in Japan so we can become more aware of what is going on so far from home. We know you are busy in so many areas that we haven't thought of. We will hold you up in prayer, for we know our Lord Is gracious and able to provide abundantly for all our needs. Let us hear from you when there is
time."

In Christian love,
Melba Tracy

Long Beach they flew overnight to Hawaii on April 6 and began assisting in the work started and still being carried on
by the Owen Still family there. So this

Tokyo Christian

spring we complete 30 years of marriage

and missionary work. Perhaps the best way to pass this

Published four times a year in Jan uary, April, July and November for
the missionaries of the Church of

evening English service. Already three young American women whose Navy husbands are stationed
at the Yokosuka Base have shown

milestone in life's journey is just to keep walking. And that is what we are doingin surprise at how fast the years have
gone by, in some disappointment that so

interest and are attending.

One

little has been accomplished, in thankful ness for the manifold blessings all along
the way, in joy that we are able to be

Christ Cunnungham Mission, Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services, Box 177, Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second Class postage paid at Kempton,
Indiana.

young woman and her husband had

studied at Ozark Bible College. I am planning during this transi tion period to continue attending
a few more weeks. Then I will

here doing what we feel is our calling, and in hope that we have some more good years to give ahead of us.

put all my efforts into raising money for the building of Shinshu Bible Camp and trying to make fur
ther progress on the tennis court

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-264 Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs. Homer Anderson, 622 Cullum Street, Meadville, PA 16335. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8 Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164 Japan. Forwarding
Agent:
46173.

Mr. and Mrs. G. Wade Flet

cher, R.6, Box 14 B, Rushville, IN

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7

and Softball bield usable for camp ing by the end of this year. Yoshida Sau, who was planning to be baptized Easter morning did not come due to a cold. He is just
now recovering from serious illness. This could be the main reason, but I suspect others also.

Pray for Yoshida Sau, and for

the Jones and Wilkinson families

Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent: First Church of Christ, Orange at Center
St., Eustis, FL 32726. Two-year subscription Subscription and Flaming Torch $.50
$1.00

as

they

minister

in

Yokosuka.

Stanley Buttray

SHINSHU BIBLE GAMP

Please excuse the poor photo graphy until next month where the

picWe at left will be sent out as

Because of a continuing

a poster.

stdemate in the sale of the Kam-

DBAUten
1. mmmgmamgmmmrn

iochiai property, I felt compelled to make the poster. Realizing the need for many of these posters as a means of raising finances for the promotion of the Shinshu Bible Camp, I am having a thousand printed. Anyone wishing to receive a copy of the poster write our For warding Agent, and send all gifts

marked "For Camp" to:

Mrs. Homer Andrews 622 Cullum Street

Meadville,PA 16335

Stanley Buttray

Stanley Buttray and the Shinshu Bible Camp poster and the goals
he has made for 1977.

MABEL BUTTRAY IN KAMAKUBA

Mabel Buttray made her first visit to Kamakura, one of the most famous remaining cultural centers in Japan. The day after Easter with Japan ese cherry blossoms at their peak (monkai), and beautiful weather continuing, this is one of the most popular annual pilgrimages. It is
For these reasons Mabel's Sun

day Afternoon Bible Class was planning to go on Monday and

asked her to go along. For the Jap anese, taking lunch (Osushi) and eating together underneath a cherry tree in full bloom is the height of
ecstasy! Needless to say, even for Mabel it

famous

for

its

naturd

beauty,

was quite a memorable experience.

Stanley Buttray

cherry blossoms, old shrines and temples and huge image of Buddha.
lATTINft CHUaCM

Mabel Buttray and her Sunday afternoon English Bible Class eating
Osuski at Kamakura.

REGtULARLY

POSTMASTER

Itmfrrfrri

FORM 3579 REQUESTED

BOX 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049

ll. APivlL 71

The Lord^s iioaper % OBC

Box 51b

Joplin^ i 0^ 64601
These are the two twin sisters

that Mabel Buttray teaches English

to once a week. This was at Christ

mas time when they assisted her in making Christmas cookies.

Tokyo m Christian
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15
Volume 76

Third Quarter, 1977

Number 3

PATTON NEWS
A few changes have taken place since the last issue of Tokyo Christian bringing changes to our lives and work.
We trust that all ofthem have been for the best.

again and am very thankful for my

health.

pictures. We have been able to preach to many

In spite of the numerous tests run at the hospital no cause was found for my sickness. After talking with another doctor friend I have begun to think that a
sinus infection was the source of my
trouble. From the infection bacteria

hundreds of young people using this method. We plan to utilize it both in the
mountains and after we return to Tokyo.

PHILIP TO JOPLIN
The graduation excercises of the Christian Academy were held on June 10 and our son Philip with his classmates filed by the Headmaster for their diplomas. This is our third child to graduate and each time we feel that the agony the child and we had to endure for him to pass that milepost in his life was well worth it. Though Philip graduated without honors or special mention we feel
that he did well in school and that he is

entered my blood causing the various symptoms which I experienced. I feel very well now but my sinus condition still remains and I expect my bronchial
trouble to reoccur at the onset of winter.

We are sure that many hundreds of youth can be reached with the gospel in this way. Instead of waiting for them to come to a church meeting which they will

generally not do they are introduced to the gospel before their school. And they
listen with rapt attention.

Many of these students will go to the regular church services, leam more of
Christ, and finally be saved.

YACHIYODAI
When I entered the hospital of course all of my work had to be dropped temporarily. Betty did continue teaching my English classes through the month of May. Tliere was nobody to take my place
in the work at Yachiyodai and I closed

now prepared to take his place in society.

On June 18 we said our farewells and

COFFEE HOUSE EVANGELISM

In case housing for us can be found in

put him on a plane for America. Betty's Aunt Gladys and her daughters met him at Los Angeles Airport and took him to
their home in Fontana for their usual

royal treatment. Then he caught another plane for Tulsa and was driven to Joplin, Mo. where Sharon and family and Noel reside. He will share an apartment with his brother Noel and hopes to find a job. We hope that he will be able to attend a technical school or college after he ha&
worked for a while.

that work permanently at the end of June. We regret that that action had to be taken but with my physical problem it was too much of a drain on my strength.
At least three hours of travel was

Karuizawa during most of the month of August, we have been invited to participate in "Coffee House Evangelism" there. Next week we plan to
clean the Fleenor camp, prepare tracts, and make all the other necessary preparations for this period of evangelism. When the actual evangelism begins a part of the team will go to the streets and invite the people to the came
for coffee and refreshments. Those who come will be seated at tables with a

necessary

each

trip

made to

Yachiyodai. So I have decided to help

strengthen the work of the Sakurayama
and Arakawa churches that are near our

home in Tokyo hereafter.

HOSPITALIZED
In recent years I have been prone to
bronchial trouble in the winter. In the

WORKING VACATION
In order to allow me an opportunity to regain my strength our family is spending the month of July in the
mountains at Karuizawa. While here we

counsellor at each table. Special music, testimonies, short Christian messages, and a time of fellowship will be provided.

spring I had another of these attacks caused by sinus infection which in turn is

Special emphasis will be placed on

counselling with individuals.
The names and addresses of those who come to the "Coffee House" will be taken

perhaps caused by industrial pollution in Tokyo and cold weather. During a period
of 4 weeks I consulted 2 doctors and took

medicine but there was not a complete recovery. In the last part of April I developed dizzy spells and an irregular heartbeat. Tests were run at one hospital and the medicine prescribed did not help.
After my condition worsened I was hospitalized and then released after my heartbeat became regular again. A few days later I entered the hospital again

have been engaged with others of our missionaries in school evangelism. Our aim is to present short messages to school
students in front of their school and then

encourage them to regularly attend the various church services held by Warren Christianson nearby in the town of
Asashina where he lives. This is also

and a follow-up program will be provided for them, especially those who have expressed an interest in the gospel. We expect many of those who will appear at the Coffee House meetings to be from Tokyo. Stephen Fleenor and I will follow up on these and see that they
attend one of our churches near their

due to the persistence of the dizzy spells and spent 10 days there undergoing innumerable tests. I developed a high
fever and severe chills. Antibiotics killed

near our camp ground. Our method is to prepare tracts and stamp the church address on them. We also prepare picture rolls which depict the message which we wish to bring to the
attention of the students. When the

home in Tokyo.
We know that this method is effective for we have used it with success in the

past. Besides it is not a so-called "hit and run" plan but the follow-up builds on the
foundation laid in the Coffee House work.

the infection and brought my fever down to normal after which I was permitted to
return home. Now I am back to normal

students leave the school gate for home we present the tracts to them and urge them to gather into groups and listen to one of the missionaries bring the short message in Japanese while showing the

We would appreciate your joining with us in prayer for the success of this program.

(Continued on page 2)

TWO CONVENTIONS
rpniAf

PATTOIM NEWS
(Continued from page 1)

SAIKO CAMP
Our summer camp will be held again this year at Lake Saiko. I have been invited to bring a message to the adult campers and another to the youth. Our Japanese co-worker, Hiroaki Sato, the minister of the Sakurayama church is the camp manager this year. The camp offers a fme opportunity for evangelism and for teaching the Christians who attend. Last year over 100 persons attended the camp at the same place and we expect about as many at the camp this year.

^'m

L ti

Japanese Convention

REQUEST
My illness and other expenses we have had recently have resulted in our funds

All regular readers know that every year in Japan we have family-type conventions during "golden week" in early May. Golden week happens because several national holidays come close together - Emperor's Birthday, April 29, Constitution Day, May 3 and Children's Day, May 5 - and many labor unions take off to celebrate May Day in addition. So it is rather easy for the ordinary church member to take a few days off from work at this time of year, and it is not that way at any other time. Also the weather is generally good. All means of transportation and resort hotels are cfowded,~ of" course, but we learn to live with that in this country. This year's all-Japan Convention (the 28th) was held at Miyagahama on the
shore of Lake Biwa some miles northeast

for a series of meetings, was one of the speakers. There were special meetings for the young people also.

being low. Besides my hospital bills we

have had to pay income and Social

NUMBER OF MISSIONARIES The relatively large size of our group of missionaries in Japan was brought to my attention during this meeting, and I think some of you may be surprised as I
was to learn that out of 144 different

Security tax to the IRS, Philip's travel

expense to Missouri had to be paid, school

boards and missionary societies having missionaries in Japan our Christian churches (so-called to distinguish us from the non-instrumental churches of Christ) place sixth in the number of
missionaries. Of course we are not an

tuition bills had to be paid, and a high dentist bill has to be paid soon. Since I had to temporarily discontinue teaching English the proceeds from my teaching were no longer coming in. The exchange rate for our American dollars is only 263 yen per dollar now. All of these things
combined have thrown us into a financial

bind.

A special love gift would be

appreciated at this time.

organized society, and each missionary

is independent of the others organizationally and directly supported by local churches in the U.S. but we are grouped together in the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association Directory for 1977. The figures are as
follows;

THANKS
We are grateful for your letters of
encouragement, for your continued

of Kyoto, and was planned by the people

from the Osaka area. About 250 different

people attended from 36 different churches, and as usual we had a good program of messages and good fellowship in the rooms and halls and
around the tables and in the hot baths.

interest in our work, for your prayers on our behalf, and for your continued support. May God multiply your seed for sowing and fill you with joy and spiritual
fruit.

Total

number

of

missionaries

Forty-eight of these were from the Tokyo area. The convention began on Friday afternoon April 29 and continued until after lunch on Sunday, May 1. The missionaries then all journeyed to Zion Lodge right in Osaka City and began our English speaking fellowship on Sunday evening. About 45 attended and had a profitable 2 days of meetings. Mrs. Margaret Terpstra, a professional counselor from Hawaii who was in Japan

(counting both men and women) Council of Cooperation, United

(Protestant) 2541 230 140

134

Church of Christ of Japan The Evangelical Alliance Mission Japan Mission, Southern Baptist
Convention

-Andrew Patton

Overseas Missionary Fellowship Far East Gospel Crusade

Christian Churches

84 79
61

human aspect of what is God's work. But I think it would be good for those of us on
both sides of the Pacific who are involved

American Lutheran Church, Japan Mission . 57

* Of our 61 missionaries in Japan about '/2 have been here over 25 years. We should not seek to emphasize or glory in mere numbers or any other

in this work to share a sense of joy and hope and responsibility for the opportunities that are given to us.
"Harold Sims

"i'lW'

Those attending the Missionary Convention

Hotel where Japanese Convention was held

LOIS SIMS AND

2. NAKANO BIBLE CLASS For most of the 16 years we lived at Nakano I had a ladies Bible Study, and even now I go by train into Nakano to meet for Bible Study with a group of 6 to 10 ladies every second and fourth Thursday of the month. We have studied many parts of the Bible, and are at present going through 1 and 2 Samuel. After the 1 hour study we eat a light lunch together and visit for a while. Then I usually do some shopping on the way home. Twice a year this group comes out to Mejirodai to visit with us. Here is a picture of the group that came in May. We have known many of these women for over 20 years.

HER LADIES GROUPS In addition to my regular duties as housewife and mother, and as organist at church for 1 Sunday each month in rotation with 3 Japanese ladies and as teacher in the Beginner's Department at Sunday School and helper in the Junior High School class I have several ladies meetings every week. This time I want to tell you a little about these different
groups.

1. LADIES CHORUS
Some weeks before last Christmas I

English Conversation Class on outing.

began practicing with some of the ladies from the church and some from my English Conversation Class on special music to sing for our Christmas program at church. We sang some in English and some in Japanese and really enjoyed working together. The most convenient
time for those who were interested to

more freely. Many ofthese are mothers of

children who come to our Wednesday afternoon classes. I really enjoy these
opportunities to get acquainted with these different ladies. For my birthday every year they always take us to some nice place to eat. Here is a picture of the group that went this spring. -By Lois Sims

come and practice was on Monday mornings from 10 A.M. until noon. After
Christmas some of us were reluctant to

quit, so we decided to start practicing some special music for Easter. Then I wanted to have something special for Mother's Day like we so often have in American churches, such as a MotherDaughter banquet or something. This Monday morning group listened to my ideas and then we worked happily and busily making invitations, refreshments, flower arrangements, music sheets, etc.

Nakano Bible Class visiting Mejirodai.

3. HOME BIBLE STUDIES We have meetings in the homes of 3 of our Mejirodai members regularly, and I attend as many of these as possible.
Some of those who attend are members of

for a Mother's Tea which was held at the

church on Monday morning. May 9. We were all very happy when a total of 31 people came, including perhaps half a
dozen who had never been to church

before.

The simple and sincere

of some of our

self-introductions

our church, but others can't come to church regularly because Sunday is the day their husbands and children are at home. These welcome the opportunity to come to a Bible study on a week day

Mrs. Stanley Buttray with a former member of

the Kamiochiai Church, Kimura San and her two
children. She came for the Easter service.

Christian ladies were impressive testimonies to the power and loye of Christ, and the meeting had a real impact
on. all who attended.

piorning. Here is a picture of the group

that met one Wednesday morning in April at the home of one of our ladies.

Tokyo Christian
Published four times a year in Jan uary, April, July and November for the
missionaries of the Church of Christ

Cunningham Mission, Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services, Box 177, Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second class Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second Class postage paid at Kempton, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-26-4 KamiochiaL Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161

Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs. Garydon Hessler, 760 Garden St.,

Meadville, PA 16335.

/M

Kr
Home Bible Study in Mejirodai.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8

Getting ready for Mother's Day Tea.

Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs. G. Wade Fletcher, R. 6, Box 14
B, Rushville, IN 46173.

By this time our group had become

well established. We now meet every Monday morning and begin with a 30 minute prayer meeting before practicing our songs. We have only 2 nonChristians in the group ofSincludingme. One of the ladies sings bass an octave higher and another sings the tenor part.

4.

ENGUSH CONVERSATION
CLASS

Every Friday morning I have 2 English Classes for neighborhood housewives.

From 9 until 10:30 I teach those at a

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent: First Church of Christ, Orange at Center St., Eustis, FL 32726. Two-year subscription Subscription and Flaming Torch $.50 $1.00

beginning level, and from 10:30 till noon I

talk with some who have lived in America with their husbands or have

The rest are divided between altos and

sopranos. It's too bad you can't hear us.

college education, etc. and can converse

BUTTRAY REPORT
Seasons come and Seasons go, just so, God has declared the sowing of seed and harvest time would never fail as long as the present world remains! Though weather patterns have become increasingly erratic in recent years, the

presented simply by specially prepared "picture rolls" and printed Gospel portions to almost every child in these
schools. This resulted in almost 100

children (of various ages) attending the Sunday school in the new Evangelistic
Effort in the town of Asashina. Warren and Eileen Christianson have been

I^
,'

present lush greenrice fields that covers

all the arable land in Japan, declares, as
God said: there will be a harvest! Even

entered the hospital immediately, and for a while there was some hope. But in a few days the doctors discovered the pancreas was totally diseased and then her kidneys stopped functioning and soon she was gone! It was twenty-five years ago that Sue took over our forwarding agent work
from Miss Eva Green who was the

so, Jesus describing God's plan for

entering the Kingdom used the same terms: sowing (the good) seed and watering! Surely during these thirty years since the War ended, at least ten percent of the Japanese people have in some way heard

living and working in this town now for just over a year. This small beginning I hope to see multiplied by more missionaries and Japanese cooperating together in the near future. Spreading out until we reach

Mission treasurer our first two years in

Japan. Through the years since Sue did

an excellent job for us. She faithfully

took care of all the State Side

the Gospel: God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice, that all people could be saved! And most likely, another twenty or thirty percent have had the Gospel indirectly or inadvertently cross their pathway! This being so, WHY has the harvest been few
and scattered? I believe the blame lies

hundreds of towns and villages. As the Shinshu Bible Camp facilities are built and become available, this kind of evangelism will work hand in hand with the Camp program, resulting (we hope) in the maximum conversions possible! Since we trust God to bring forth the harvest at the right Season, we shall
continue to sow The Good News of God's

correspondence, bookkeeping, and banking. She was all that an* independent Christian Church missionary could ask for! And besides
that, she and her husband for more than

forty years have been counted among our dearest friends. We are going to miss her!
And I'm sure that all who had correspondence with her, and have come

to know her through the years as our

agent, will also miss her. For she was

Salvation here in Japan, and in all

seasons.

squarely on the sh'^ulders of the servants of God! We Have Failed!

Sale of Land and Camp! . . .A new

dimension has been added in our effort to

In the desperation of this hour of

highly respected by all of our supporters. Sue is survived by her husband Homer, a daughter, Mrs. Earl Cole of Sheppherd Air Force Base at Wichita Falls, Texas,
and five grandchildren. The next few

History, our hearts cry out to God to fill in

the gaps wherein we have failed. And in mercy (not justice) send the Holy Spirit as a warm Southern wind upon the "Good

sell the Mission property at Kamiochiai.

In our latest seven months effort in

weeks Homer will be visiting with his

Seed" sown in this generation! Warming

the Sown Seed until it sprouts forth unto

trying to sell this property, chalk up another victory for the neighborhood! However, the new dimension is, the
neighbors have pressured the Local and

daughter Donna and family in Texas,

and tentative plans are to return to his home in Meadville, Pa. at the end of August.

Everlasting Life. This is our prayer!

In order to fulfill God's desire of

jreaching every person with_thejGospel,

four of our missionaries went to Grade

Tokyo governments to buy this property for a park and earthquake-firebreak! They are about to succeed! After a delay
caused by the-recentelections July 10th, final negotiations could get under way.
Today, political overtones affect almost

We are happy to announce that Mrs.

Graydon Hessler (Lois) has agreed to be

our new-forwarding^ agent We haveevery confidence in Lois, and know that you will too as soon as you get to know
her.

and

Jr.

High

schools

in

Nagano

Prefecture within three miles of our

future "Shinshu Bible Camp" during the first week in July. The Gospel was

everj^hing in one way or another. Since

the present prospective buyer is the Government, success is expected soon. If so, it will climax more than 5 years of
personal effort!

So, please address all future correspondence to: Mrs. Garydon Hessler
760 Garden St.

RECENT VISITORS AT MEJIRODAI

*June22 Wendell Cox and Edgar
Harris of Louisville and

Mrs. Homer Anderson (Sue) our forwarding agent died rather suddenly on July 1st. Sunday evening after
Church service on June 19th a severe

Meadville, Pa. 16335

Also, please notify your missionary secretaries and treasurers immediately of this new forwarding agent address.
Stanley and Mabel Buttray

*July 13

Latonia, Kentucky on the way to Korea. Dr. and Mrs. Lewis Foster and daughter Gayle of Cincinnati, Ohio on the way to Australia to lecture in a Bible College there.

intestinal problem suddenly arose. She

POSTMASTER

FORM 3579 REQUESTED

*July 21

Susan Stafford of Enid,

Oklahoma. A Lion's Club

80X 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049

Youth Exchange student

spending Japan. 6 weeks in

*July and August Elizabeth Kis singer of New Jersey is

spending the summer in the home of a High School girl who is a member ofour

church, and is attending services on the Sundays

when she is in town.

Young People's Camp will be held at Lake Saiko August 1-4.

Vacation Bible School will be held

again this year at the same place on

August 17-19.

Christian
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15
Volume 76

Fourth Quarter, 1977

Number 4

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS

a trip to the lake and the inn and walked over the hiking course to check on time, safety, etc. It seemed that we hit upon the right teacher for each class, although most of them taught different age levels than their usual Sunday classes, so everything went very smoothly. Each teacher ate, slept, bathed, played and
studied with his or her own class. For

example, a lady who has 2 sons but no daughters was with the 4th grade girls
and said it was the joy and experience ofa
life-time.

Everyone was supposed to write a post

card home. But there are some smart-

alecs in the group, so several addressed

theirs to God in heaven. The owner ofthe inn culled these out when he took them to the P.O. and returned them to us. Here

are translations of 2 of them: "God, this

V.B.S. group in front of Sims' house.

year's VBS was fun. I am going to believe in you and study with all my might. Please guard me. Sayonara." "God, are you all right? How about Jesus? Thank you for always hearing my selfish prayers. I made a very pretty basket.
Also I was able to make friends with

On August 17-19 the Mejirodai church

had another Vacation Bible School at the same inn on Lake Saiko where we had our

stomachs. One mother told the the next

Sunday that her boys came back home

and told their father that soldiers in the

various people and to see an old thatched

roof house. Also I learned how to lay

first and popular excursion-type one in 1976. After a couple of last minute can cellations because of sickness, 60 first through seventh grade children and 11 teachers and helpers left the church on Wednesday morning in 3 chartered micro-buses. Before we returned Friday afternoon we had completed a 5 lesson course prepared by the Japan Sunday
School Union on OUR GOD 1. The

Bible

had

"their

honorable

navels"

showing, and drew exact copies of what they had seen at VBS to prove it. Guess
who was Goliath?

down sleeping mats and many other things. Please guard me from now on.
Amen."

The weather this summer was very unusual. Beginning on the 5th of August we had some if not mostly rain every day for 22 straight days. We hoped and believed the rain would stop just in time for our VBS, but it was not to be. Because
of the continuous rain we had to cancel

All of us who participated in VBS are very thankful and happy, believing that God was with us, leading and blessing all the way.
We had decided to eliminate pre schoolers from the VBS, but Lois who helps in that department all the time thought there should be something for them during the summer weeks also. So she began planning for a small 3-day
VBS for the little folks here in the church

one God (Moses), 2. The living God (David and goliath), 3. The righteous God (Lot, Sodom and Gomorrah) 4. The

loving God (Naaman) 5. The saving God

(Noah), including all the answers in the workbooks. We also did supplementary handwork for each class, learned new songs (the most popular being a translation of"God is my Father, Jesus is my brother ..."), got to know each other better and had a lot of fun. Perhaps the highlight was an impromptu dramatiza tion of the story of David and Goliath by
the teachers. Our son Daniel drew

almost everything planned for outdoorshiking, barbecue, games. But Lois had prepared hand-work for each class firom
left-over Standard VBS materials which

pictures of warriors from the neck down

on large sheets of paper, so the lady teachers could hold them up and play the parts of Saul, David's older brothers, etc. The plumpish lady picked up the tall thin soldier, and the littlest thin one got the burly fat one, of course. For humor, Danny drew them with exposed

we had used several years ago, thinking something like this might happen. It really helped us to pass the time usefully. One father said to one of our teachers, "We can go sightseeing and picnicing as a family almost anytime, but this is the only opportunity for our children to be with others of the same age in this kind of activity and surroundings." Soin spiteof weather everyone was very happy. All of our Sunday School teachers and
one of the church ladies who had never

building the week following Saiko-Aug. 24-26. One lady who went to Saiko was free and willing to help, and 2 ladies who didn't go the previous week volunteered. Also 3 Junior High girls came at least 1 day.
At first it looked like there would be

only 10 or 12 students, but on Sunday, Aug. 21, there was a rush of registrations
and a total of 30 children attended. This

done anything like this before made up our staff, and they all put in a lot of good and hard work. We met about one night a week most of the summer planning everjrthing, and some of them even made

forced us into some busy hours during the next few days drawing and mimeo graphing pictures to color and gathering up other supplies. But we managed to have a very enjoyable school those 3 mornings from 9:30 AM until noon in spite of the continuing rain.
-Harold Sims

SAIKO CHRISTIAN CAMP

Contrary to the usual weather pattern, August in Japan this year was a fairly cool and very rainy month. Our annual Christian camp for the Kanto area
churches was held at Lake Saiko during

SPECIAL MEETINGS
A series of special meetings were held at Mejirodai church September 23-26. Sept. 23 is a holiday in Japan-a left-over custom of visiting the graves of the
ancestors to announce family news and

games and swimming and the evenings

to indoor games and Bible dramas. One afternoon most of the campers went

hiking. Some explored fi^gid, deep caves

in the area and climbed a small

changes, now called equinox day. We

showed the rather well-known film

the first four days of August which was the beginning of this wet season. However, we were fortunate in having very good camp weather, having rain only on two afternoons. Attendance this year was very good with slightly over 80 persons registered. However, this marked a decrease in the number of campers from last year.

mountain. Both were interesting and exhaustive experiences.

produced by Christians in Japan called "Yoneko." This is the story of a High School girl who in grief over her mother's death sought comfort and meaning in various things including worldly amusements and then finally attempted suicide by jumping in front of a train. She lost 1 arm and both legs, but lived to find
Christ, salvation and abundant Iife This

Lake Seiko campers preparing their meal of 'Teppan-yaki".

happened almost 18 years ago. We were able to get Yoneko to come in person and speak to us after the end of the film, and she left a very deep impression on many with her fine testimony. We were happy to see 76 in attendance, which was the best response we have ever had to our leaving handbills in every mail-box in
our area.

Camp group at Lake Saiko.

A small hotel on the shore of Lake

Saiko was rented for the camp.

Even

though it was not designed primarily for a camp, it serves our purposes very well.
The straw-mat floored rooms not only served as places to sleep at night, but doubled as classrooms during the day. Because the lake water is polluted and

The speakers and teachers who were present four days of camp were Hiroaki Sato, who served as camp manager, Mr. Takamura, Paul and Mark Pratt, Stephen Fleenor, Warren Christianson, and Andrew Patton. Mr. lijima and Mr. Morohashi served as guest chapel speakers, bringing one message each. Two ladies from the state of Iowa, one a teacher and the other a nurse, were visiting Japan and were our guests during the whole camp.
We are thankful that there were no

On the following 2 nights (Saturday and Sunday) we had Yukio Itagaki, the preacher at Nakano church come and give good messages. But the attendance those nights was only 17 and 12, which was discouraging. We had planned to gfive the invitation Sunday night, for instance, but there were only Christians
in the audience. So there were no

deep and the shore consists of huge, rough, volcanic stones, a nearby swimming pool was also rented. A ball park nearby served as the sport center for the camp. Excellent Japanese style meals were served at the hotel, with food both plentiful and delicious. The most enjoyable and memorable meal was cooked outside on Wednesday eveningby the campers. Large platters of pork and chicken and plenty of vegetables were cooked on large steel plates heated by red
hot charcoal underneath them. Classes were held soon after breakfast

serious illnesses nor injuries to the campers during the week. The wonderful fellowship and great opportunities to teach the gospel to such a large group of people during the camp made all the hard labor in making the week there possible
well worth while.

additions during the meeting, but we do not give up hope or effort. We also had a meeting for ladies on Monday from 10 AM. Many say they are interested but can't come at night because of husband getting home late from work or putting the children to bed, etc. This was for those people. Some
ladies from Lois' Bible Class at Nakano church came out for that meeting and

The "Echo Meeting" or post-camp rally, was held on September 15th at the
Sannobara Church in Isehara where

and followed by chapel and swimming.

The afternoons were devoted to out-door

Paul Pratt ministers. Songs of joy, a gospel message, a delicious lunch and interesting games characterized the meeting. Snapshots were exchanged by the campers and experiences recapitulated. Such remarks as "I have wonderful memories of camp", "Let us go again next year." were overheard. We hope that next year's camp too can be an avenue to bring the Gospel message to these and other new campers.
-Andrew Patton

altogether there were 25 present. Also during this meeting a distraught mother from the neighborhood came to talk. Her son had gone for a hike in the mountains in August and disappeared. She was seeking solace and guidance. Since that time she has attended every Sunday morning service.
-Harold Sims

Campers gathered in the dining room of hotel at

l^ke Saiko.

Bible

School

student*

and

teachers

at

the

Sakurayama Church.

SCHOOL AND TRACT EVANGELISM

In the last issue of Tokyo Christian we reported the plans of missionaries in Tokyo to cooperate in evangelizing the areas where our respective churches are located. This work actually began toward the end of September and is being done on two days a week basis. The missionaries cooperating in this work are: Stephen Fleenor, Julius Fleenor, Warren Christianson, Stanley Buttray, Paul Pratt, Milton Jones, Dale Wilkinson, and Andrew Patton. To date we have spent two days in this evangelistic work at Yokosuka, 2 days at Sakurayama and 4 days at Sayama. Plans are to spend 2 days each at Asashina and Isehara and one day at Kamiochiai and one more day at Sakurayama. Milton Jones and Dale
Wilkinson minister to the Yokosuka

railway stations while a speaker is used to preach to the people. As usual, public attitudes shown to the workers as they visit homes and mingle with people vary from cold to warm. Sometimes people politely refuse literature we offer them, but seldom do we meet a very rude or unkind person. Near the Sakurayama church we
distributed in booklets with 30 minutes inserts and over 500 handbills

BIBLE CAMP
Since we have now had six and a half

acres of Camp Land for more than three years, it is only reasonable to think that during this time Camp facilities would
have materialized. But due to

announcing our church services to the students of a nearby high school. If we

had had literature two or three times this

insufficient finances, it still remains within a beclouded future entity. Gifts and offerings received for the Camp during this past year have not yet totaled $2,000.00. And we still have been
unable to attain a definite time schedule

quantity, we could have easily distributed them too because of the large enrollment in the high school. Following our work at Sayama, a young person asked a missionary wife in the neighborhood where the church was. He
had received a tract from us and wanted to know the location of the church. While

in the sale of the Kamiochiai property. So another long year passes into history, with our goal of an evangelistic camp still in a hopeful future.
In view of the above information, we

continue to ask for your prayers and financial support for the construction of

permanent Camp buildings on

the

we were distributing tracts in Yokosuka

we met a mother who said her child had received tracts from us before the school

Shinshu Bible Camp grounds. Gifts and offerings are to be sent to our forwarding agent:
Mrs. Lois Hessler
P.O. Box 287

church, Julius and Stephen Fleenor to the Sayama church, Hiroaki Sato and
Andrew Patton to the Sakurayama
church and Warren Christianson to the

Asashina Gospel Center in Nagano Prefecture, Paul Pratt to the Sannobara

church and Fumio Sato to the Kamiochiai church. As a result of the work done at these

and that they were reading them together. Such evangelism is hard work but we are encouraged by the results. We believe we shall reap souls if we do not faint.
"Andrew Patton

Meadville, PA 16335

designating them (Shinshu Bible Camp).

Stanley Buttray

November 15, 1977 will mark 30 years

since Harold and Lois Sims first arrived

various places an increase in attendance, especially of the children at Bible School, has been realized. Sayama showed an increase of eleven in one week, the largest of any place so far. Generally in the mornings tracts are
distributed to homes. In the afternoons

in Japan. They are not thinking of retirement yet, butratheroftheprophet's prayer, "Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years." We are thankful to have been called and allowed to serve up
till now, and look forward to more years

and more fruit ahead. We just completed

the renewal of our visas and driver's

evangelism is done near schools, using a portable speaker and picture rolls to tell the gospel story. Beautifully colored booklets containing excerpts from the Gospels and inserts are distributed. In the evenings tracts are distributed at

licenses for the next 3 years; and plan to

Andrew Patton telling the Gospel story to children
on a street corner. (Julius Fleenor at left).

ride out the stormy waves of sinking dollars and rising yen and other such temporary changes.
Tokyo Christian

BUTTRAYS'REPORT
Now, thirty-two years after the Second World War ended in Japan the dollar has weakened and slid to ita lowest value yet. The daily newspaper headlines and the T.V. - Radio news broadcasts frantically vie with one another in trying to reach the public first with such devastating
news.

Published four times a year in Jan uary, April, July and November for the
missionaries of the Church of Christ

Missionary Boards are evidently (due to the Yen-dollar situation) constantly reviewing (in a relative way) the values of the missionary in Japan. Consequently, some missionaries are being called home with the idea of sending them to other less costly and more fertile fields of
endeavor.

Cunningham Mission, Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services, Box 177, Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second Class postage paid at Kempton, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-26-4 Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs. Garydon Hessler, 760 Garden St., Meadville, PA 16335. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8 Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs. G. Wade Fletcher, R. 6, Box 14 B, Rushville, IN 46173.
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7

More than any other foreigner in Japan the missionary is hardest hit by the falling dollar. The fact is, it is not so much that the dollar is weakening, as it is the true value of the Japanese Yen is being permitted freedom to surface. Regardless, either way you look at it, the missionary will increasingly find it more and more costly and difficult to accomplish the goal for which he came to Japan.
A definite retrenchment of

missionaries began as the dollar began to waver. And it appears the trend is continuing (according to reports) unabated. Major Denominational

Doubtless, the decreasing value of the dollar; the yearly ten to thirteen per cent increased cost of living; and increased taxes will eventually decimate the ranks of missionaries while causing all remaining to tighten their belts. Certainly the various advancements made by this world of humanity during the last fifty years, coupled with decreasing morality, increasing crime, a weakening, liberal, loveless church, and a multiplication of nature disruptions... declares to everyone who is looking for the return of Jesus Christ, that, "It won't be long now"! Stanley Buttray

Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent: First Church of Christ, Orange at Center St.,
Eustis, FL 32726.

Two-year subscription Subscription and FlamingTorch

$.50
$1.00

EXCHANGE RATE FALLS

Uncertainty seems to
economic conditions

PATTON NEWS
BIRTHDAYS
On October 4th Andrew observed his

characterize
and trends

worldwide today. The exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and theJapanese Yen has especially been affected by this circumstance. Six years ago we were receiving 360 Yen per dollar, but in January of this year we were receiving about 290 Yen per dollar at the banks in Japan. Now in the middle ofOctober the
worth ofthe dollar is down to 253 Yen and we do not know if the bottom has been struck or not.

encouraged to attend the worship service also. These classes should afford many opportunities for personal evangelism.

60th birthday. He passed the day quietly by plastering the walls of a room at the
Sakurayama church that will be used for

another classroom. He is grateftd &at

his health allows him to do such work at

FALL WORK SCHEDULE

Andrew and Betty are now working ^dusively with the Sakurayama and
Arakawa churches. Andrew tried to

that age and only a few months after a

serious illness. He and Mr. Sato have

One encouraging note is that the Bank of Japan has promised to intervene to prevent the dollar from falling below 250 Yen, but the pressure is exi)ected to continue on the dollar, at least temporarily.

painted most of the inside walls of &e church building recently. Noel, the oldest Patton son, will observe his 21st birthday on December 22nd. He and Philip continue to live and work in Joplin, Missouri Stephen Patton will celebrate his 17th birthday on
January 5th.

restart his English classes but had to close them again because they overtaxed his energy. He has found other avenues
of service in the two churches and in

coop^tion in evangelismwith the other

missionaries and is busy all the time. Now that he is no longer teaching English, the proceeds from those classes are no longer available for use in the work. This has caused a temporary strain to their fimds but they believe the Lord will continue to provide for these needs as He has in the past.

W^at does this 15percent application

of the Japanese Yen this year and 30 percent appreciation since 1971 mean to
the missionaries and their work? It is the

ANNIVERSARIES
Andrew and Bel^ willcelebrate their
25th wedding anniversary on December 20th. No great celebration is planned but naturally to them it is an occasion for joy and thanksgiving. Only 18 days later, on
January 7th, Andrew will celebrate his

equivalent of having their support cut 29.7 percent in six years, while at the same time commodity prices are constantly rising. Most missionaries are operating on a tight budget and they can ill afford such financial shocks. Only a
few whom we know have received

THANKSGIVING
As we approach the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, we become overwhelmed at the number of things that we can actually list and praise the Lord for. Even some sorrows, woes and worries were turned into joys and
blessings and thankfulness as God was allowed to workin His way. Histime and

Japan for on that date in 1948 he b^an

his work as a Christian evangelist in Japan. In the preceding year (1947) the

30th anniversary as a missionary to

additional fimds to compensate for

^change losses and inflation.

Rushsylvania church in Ohio began to

support him in his work and they have continued to do so until now. Theyarehis oldest supporter and he wishes to thank them for tiieir faithfulness during these
many years.

Again it seems that what is good for

America is bad for the work ofAmerican

missioirafteB inrJ^wT American goods can be sold more competitively now in Japan, while Japanese goods sold on the American market are priced higher. If
this trend does not lose force soon we fear

His place and through His chosen person

or persons. We know too, that God cares

and provides for us in many ways

unknown to each of us. Because of His

the American missionary will be gradually squeezed out of Japan for lack
of funds.

NEW CLASSES
Andrew has started two new English Bible classes for high school students,
one at the Sakurayama church on

If the price of all American goods

exported to Japan would be reduc^ on

the Japanese market it would be helpful.
But little or no reduction has been made

Sunday morning and the o^er at the

Arakawa church on Sunday afternoon. Prospects for members for these classes look good and each student who comes is

faithfulness in all things, may we enjoy a special time of praise and thanksgiving at this time of year. For you who have faithfully given of your tithes and offerings, taken time to pray with us and
for us, our many thanks to the Lord for

each one. We pray that God will give us

many more days to do His will in the land of Japan.

so far here and the prospective reductions

planned soon w^ be on selective

commodities like tobacco, automobOes, whiskey, and other goods which the missionary will not purchase. It seems that the more equitable course would be to reduce prices of all American goods, but this seems not to be contemplated. It would be good for the nervous system
and livelihood of the American

POSTMASTER

FORM 3579 REQUESTED

BOX 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049

missionary in Japan if this uncertainty

and pressure were removed.
-Andrew Patton

l U

Ajt'ulL 71

The Lord^s Heaper '/o OBC

NEWS NOTE
On Oct. 8, 9, and 10, Harold and Lois Sims helped Exie Fultz to move firom her apartment in Tokyo down to her small house on Awaji Island, near Kobe.

Box 51b

Joplin, io* 64fa01