Dear Friends, Rather than attempt a report on the entire year of 1974, much of which was in the previous newsletter, I think a somewhat detailed r ft tiirM, i . 191^ ^ ^^71;^," mj^sa^iyit i^^^^ would be more easy to recall and interesting for you to reaJT "^^^fplc'iafiy since we recieved greetings from many of you, wishing us a good Christmas. This might be counted as a kind of response to those much appre ciated Words of encouragement and love. Everyone has heard the old song about the 12 days of Christmas, though very few know all the verses. This is "12 Days of Christmas" at Mejirodai, with echos of the old song inserted here and there. 1. Sunday, December 15: The middle school students (7,8,9 grades) came in the afternoon to practice their play and help decorate the Christmas Tree, which Mrs. Nakagawa had given to u.s from her yard, and the Church windows. ".Parti cipants in a fair tree." . 2. Monday, 16: The Christmas program at the Christian Academy in Japan-- al ways an evening of inspirational music early in the season. Daniel played the snare drum and the chimes in the Jr. High Band. "Drummers Drumming." 3. Tuesday, 17: We went to Tachikawa and finished our shopping for Sunday School attendance prizes etc. at the Christian Book Store and for each other at the department store. Happy as " 2 turtle dove" to have most preparatio.ns completed this early. 4. Wednesday, 18: This was the day of Christmas parties for our English Con versation Classes-- 2:00 to 3:30 P.M. for kindergarten through third grade, 4:on to 5:30 P.M. for fourth through sixth grades, and 7:00 to 8:30 P.M. for middle and High school students . We. had a total of 97 in attendance., and gave each one an orange, a small box of candy and a small book in English. One of the.High School students weighs over 200 pounds and enjoys playing the guitar, and playing Santa Claus. He did both 3 times that Wednesday, wearing a nice red suit his mother (a member of Lois' class) made for the occasion. "3 English. Classes." 5. Thursday, .19: We drove in to Nakano for the Christmas meeting of the ladies Bible class, and enjoyed plenty of good talk, food, fun and a gift exchange. "10 Ladies Learning." 6. Friday, 20: Lois' local ladies English class had a big cooperatively cook ed reast beef dinner (a special treat for all) and a nice party all afternoon "11 cooks a-eating" not counting us. 7. Sunday, 22: An unusually large and noisy Sunday School of 88 children. A good attendance of 20 at morning worship, v/ith 3 first time visitors present. Two of these were teachers at the Buddhist kindergarten accross the street. The husband of one of our ladies came with her as a special kind of "present" to make her happy. Early in the afternoon a crisis arose vyhen one of the eighth graders' mother called saying the girl was sick in bed with a fever and would be unable to take her part in the play. After a number of phone calls a girl who had never been to Church consented to substitute, and the rest of the afternoon was spent in rehersal. At 7130 in the evening we had the annual candle-service and musical program and gift exchange. There were about 70 present, which taxed our facilities to the limit, but everybody had a good time. We were especially, happy to see our folks bringing their families and friends to church with them. Eight members of the Church practiced and sang 2 special numbers as a choir for the first time. Lois ai,s.o sang the song "Ring the Bells". I felt very much the need of some bell ringing to accompany the song, so on Saturday, Danny found a set of 8 bells tuned to play the scale in a toy store and we bought th^m and played while she sang. It went very well. "8 members sing ing, 8 bells a-ringing." A real good day. 8. Monday, 23: In the afternoon we had practice sessions for 2 of the plays for the Sunday School program. Both of them, as well as the middle school play on Sunday night., were about rabbits-- an unplanned coincidence with 1975 being the year of the rabbit in the oriental calender cycle. All morning sev eral people helped us fill candy bags and wrap attendance prizes in prepara tion for the Sunday School program. "6 people wrapping." SIMS NEWSLETTER, Pg. 2 January 1975 9. Tuesday, 24: During the day we had a phone call from a friend we hadn't seen for a long time and a visit from a former member of Lois' English class, who came to say she has now come to believe in Christ and is attending church near her home-- heart warming gestures on Christmas Eve. In the evening we planned to have our family Christmas for us three at home. Lois filled stockings for Danny and me, and then remarked that there was none for her. Danny ran upstairs and in an amazingly few minutes prepared one for here containing flakes from his soap carving at school and various other ori- gional things. Just as we were getting ready to sit down for supper we turned off the TV and thought we heard music on some neighbor's radio. Slowly we cg.me to realize tliat someone was outside. We opened the front door to find a family of four (Lois' German lady friend, her Japanese husband, their 6-year-old daughter and a 10 year old niece visiting from Germany) happily singing "0 Tennenbaum" in German. "4 Friends a-caroling." What a change 30 years since World War II had brought. 10. Wednesday, 25: Jonnie and Bobby called from Cincinnati in the morning to give their greetings. We had 2 Sunday School programs, and of course the parents had been invited to attend. Begining at 2 P.M. we had the large class of pre-schoolers.. There was a total of 62 or 63 present. Then from 6:30 PM we had the grade schoolers-- a busy program of 3 plays, and a standing-room- only attendance of over 90. During the 2 programs we gave out a total of 113 candy bags to the children and more than SO attendance prizes to those who had been here more than of the Sundays during the year. Meanwhile, in the evening, Saito-san, one of our young members, was havinjg his "fi^st attempt at a meeting in his apattment to explain Ch-ristmas to some of the Children living in the same building. He called to report happily that 6 came and heard the story for the first time and were so interested they didn't want to go home. A ver busy day for the 5 Sunday School teachers and helpers and us. "5 Teachers helping." 11. Friday, 27: Our missionary families in the Tokyo area spent the day at '""'"^"ivnrrTl-clcs enrtiTngr'a 2^ pound Turkey, "ItfTficTT all shared in ~Fu^ing, and trimmings and dessert which had been brought in by different ladies. We also talked a lot and played a little touch football. "7 families fellowshipping." 12. Sunday, 29: A group of middle-schoolers spent the afternoon and evening of a rainy-snowy day playing games, preparing and eating supper and talking as we sat on the floor in front of our fire-place about the passing and coming year. We ended at 9P.M. with 9 "players praying." -Harold Sims FINANCIAL REPORT YEAR ENDING 12-31-74 SIMS TOKYO MISSION TO JAPAN BALANCE ON HAND 1-1-74 $ 5,774.67 RECEIPTS GENERAL FUND $ 6/855.14 LIVING LINK 9,582.00 INTEREST 795,00 : FUNDS (DESIGNATED) 95.00 - 17.327.14 total $23,'i0i!81 DISBURSEMENTS HAROLD SIMS, GENERAL EXPENSE 3,000,00 HAROLD SIMS, LIVING LINK 9,000.00 MISSION SERVICES 812.15 ^ TUITION 722.50 OFFICE SUPPLIES 58.83 POSTAGE, NEWSLETTERS, ETC. 117.06 MISC.-DESIGNATED FUNDS DIRECTORY OF MINISTRY 102 . 00 13 .812 .54 BALANCE ON HAND 12-31-74 $ 9,289 .27 PLEASE NOTE: pU,j^,](,f^,G iq7 5nTAROLD AND LOIS WILL BE COMING TO THE U.S.A. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF THE BALANCE SHOWN Wft! "hAVE TO BE USED TO PAY THEIR EXPENSES Tokyo 03 Christian Volume 74 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15 February, 1975 Num ber 1 50TH ANNIVERSARIES - MIKAWASHIMA CHURCH On Nov. 3 the Mikawashima Church of Christ celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding with a special worship service at 11 AM, attended by a large crowd of about 170, and a program and reception in the afternoon. Speeches of congratulation and encouragement were given by a number of visiting preachers, and telegrams from Korea and other parts of Japan were read. As a gesture of their appreciation for our part in reviving and helping the church in the post-war period they gave us a nice man tel chime clock. The exact date of the first meeting has not been established, but there is general agreement among old timers that it was the year after the great Tokyo earthquake. Somezealous young Korean men who came into contact with W.D. Cunningham through English Bible Classes aske<rhim to help them organize a church . . The first meetings were held in a tent, but soon a church building was erected and a kindergarten es tablished. This area of small workshops, junk dealers' lots and warehouses, and crowded small homes about two miles north of central Tokyo has always had a large number of Koreans, and the church has continued to minister to this often poor and oppressed minority group in their own language for half a century. Christianity in Korea is stronger numer ically and in some other ways than in Japan, and because of its location in one of the ghettos and there being so few churches for Koreans in Japan, this church has generally had a larger atten dance than many of our Japanese churches. HISTORY The story of this church's life might be divided into four periods. 1. Pre-war. There are very few people nowliving in Tokyo who can remember anything about the early years, and all records were lost in the war. But we know that the church was known even in Korea, and had influence on many who lived in Japan for various lengths of time. In those days the Cunningham Mission also had an extensive work in Korea IVfikawashima Church, Tokyo (which was under Japanese control at the time). 2. The war years. This was a time of suffering and trouble for everyone. Finally the church building was burned down in one of the air raids, and most of the members were scattered. The minister had been forced to leave before this happened. 3. The post-war period. On the first Sunday I was in Japan (November 1947) I attended a meeting at the small home of Wfr. and Mrs. Lee in the Mikawashima district. They had been members of the church, and she one of the kindergarten teachers, before and during the war; and now they were operating a small factory producing rubber shoes and boots in their back yard. I didn't understand anything that was being said, and just smiledwhen they looked at me, but it turned out that they were planning to begin the church again with meetings in their home, and I was being appointed to work with them. An arrangement was made that the Lees would build a four-room apartment for us to live in next door to their house in the second floor of a new building whose first floor would become their company office, a bathroom for use by both families, and a small enlargement of the factory to make space for a new machine. The Mission was to furnish the glass and cement for this new building, because these materials were rationed in those days and this was the only way a building permit could be obtained. In about four months thisplanwas effected, and we moved into that apartment and lived there for tlie following two and one- half years. Meetings then began in our living-room and after some months we were able to get more cement and glass and build a simple one-room church on a lot not far from there. Soon after the end of the war, a man had built a factory on the former church lot, and when Mr. Owen Still went to claim it he acknowledged what he had done and said he would buy us another lot equal value in the same area. That was finally accepted as the only solution, and that is where the church is located now. Because of this change, the church was no longer located precisely in the Mikawashima section of Arakawa ward, so they decided that effective from this 50th year the name of the church should be changed to Tokyo Korean Gospel Church of Christ. We enjoyed and learned much from our two years of living next door to the lively Lee family with their sbc growing children, and the work of the church went along well. We had morning ser vices where I preached through a Korean interpreter and evening services where I used a Japanese interpreter, so it was truly an international church. This was where we had our first Vacation Bible School and Sunday School teaching ex periences. AfterwemovedovertoNakano and started that church we still visited Mikawashima church on the first Sunday of every month for some years. There was almost constant trouble trying to find the right preacher for the group, and several different men served for different periods of time. During this time, through much struggle and sacrifice, a parsonage was built next door to the church building, with the local congregation paying one-half of the cost. 4. The present. This period really begins with the coming of Mr. Cho Ki Zen, a life-long friend of one of the leading members, to be the minister 17 years ago. He studied in the Presbyterian Seminary in Kobe and took several years of graduate (Continued on page 2) 50TH ANNIVERSARIES - MIKAWASHIMA CHURCH {Continued from page I) study in McGlll University in Canada. For several reasons he had been wanting to leave the denominational church he had been serving in the Osaka area. When he came to this church he had to change his views on baptism by immersion, but this seemed to he very little problemfor him, and he has been well-liked, a good spiritual leader and a stabilizinginfluence during this longest ministry in thehistory of the church sofar. Hespetiksvery good English as wellas Japanese and Korean and sincecoming toTokyohas completed his work and received a Ph.D. from one of the Universitiesin Tokyo. He is often invited to speak in various meetings and was on the program of the Lausanne World Congress on Evangelization last July in Switzerland. The present membership of the con gregation is 172, and there is an average attendance at the two morning services of about 150 people. The Sunday School is small, largely because just across the street from the church is a large school sponsored by the~Koreans in Japan sympathetic to North Korea and mey strongly discourage the students from attending church. In fact wehave heard of a people's court among the students for those who would attend. More than 10 years ago this church was incorporated and recognized by the government as an independent local church, and the Mission turned over to them the tide to the land and building as we have done with the other stronger churches. In 1970 they built a newbuild ing entirely with contributions from the members. At that time three of the main members-a banker, a tea-house owner and a sporting goods store owner-each gave about $5,000. Their Thanksgiving offerings every year are noteworthy, and have been mentioned previously in the Tokyo Christian. This past Thanks giving it was 2,650,000 yen, which is over $8000. Also in recent years they have built a mausoleum in one of the Tokyo cemeteries that will hold 100 urns of ashes. This is for the use of the members. In the picture is the new building, and the two ladies standing by the gate are Aiko Ueda, the daughter of Mrs. Lee mentioned above whom I baptized about 26 years ago, and her daughter Yasuko who graduatedfromHigh School last year and was one of 10 baptized during the evangelisticmeetinginNovem ber held in connection with die 50th Anniversary. 50TH ANNIVERSARIES - SETAGAYA CHURCH The Setagaya Church ofChrist began in 1925, and there wdl be several different celebrations during the 50th anniversary year. The first was a special organ con cert on January 15 by Peter Planiyovski, the organist at St. Stephen's Cathedered in Vienna, Austria. This was arranged by the present organist of thelocal church who has studied for a time in Europe and was personally acquainted with this famous musician who was visiting in Japan. HISTORY The land for the Setagaya church, a good-sized corner lot, was nought by Cunningham the year after the great Tokyo earthquake, and construcdon of the first church and kindergarten building was begun on Jan. 20, 1925. The first preacher was Bunzo Fujita, a former famous sculptor and educator who had becomea friend of theCunninghams after the death of his son who was a member of the Yotsuya church. He had preached at the Yotsuya church from 1919 until that time, but he felt the desire to start a new work in this area in his remaining years. When the budding was completed in the spring there was a very successful evangelistic meeting, and one of those baptized was a young student named Shin Hanyu. Seven years later, in 1932,thisyoung man married the youngest daughter of the Fujitas, and succeeds his father-in- law as minister of the church. He has continued in this job for 43 years until this day. In the early years of this ministry the nationalistic and mditaristic spirit was growing stronger in Japan and evangelism was increasingly difficult. Then in 1940 Mr. Hanyu was drafted into the Army and later sent to the front in China. During the five years he was absent his wife and mother-in-lawdid their best to keep the church meeting and to care for the three young children through those difficult times. Under intense government pressure the church finally joined the United Church, from which it withdrew soon after the end of the war. This was the only church building to survive the intense bombing during the final year of World War H, and Mr. Hanyu wastheonlypre-warpreacher who remained with the Mssion after the war. I still remember various meetings in that old church building during our first winter in Japan when there was no heat, often no electricity, but always a good crowd. In 1950 a new building was erected using some of the materials fromthe old one. Then in 1962 the Yotsuya Mission turned over the title of the land and build ing to the local church which had regis tered as a religious corporation. In 1971 the church contracted with a developer, and an eight-story building was erected on the lot in what is now a very crowded residential district. The first two floors are used by the kinder garten and church, and the rest is con- dominium apartments. The developer built the church part free of charge in return for the use of the land to erect the six stories of apartments for sale. The church has about 100 members and an average attendance of 30-40 for worship services. The Sunday School is larger. The kindergarten, which in some cases has taught three generations is well-known in that area. The Hanyus' daughter is married to a preacher of the United Church ofChrist in Japan, and the oldest son is a teacher of Bible in a collegein Niigata Prefecture. Why do I make special mention of these anniversaries? I recently passed the 50-year mark myself. Harold Sims. MEJIRODAI CHRISTMAS Our church program, consisting of a short worship service and a musical pro gram and then a gift exchange was atten ded by a standing-room-only crowd of 70 people-many of them first-time visitors. The Sunday School programs were held on Christmas day. In the afternoon from 2 PM we had the pre-schoolers. Counting both children and mothers the attendance was about 60. They put on a little play and sang some songs. In the evening from 6:30 we had the pro gram of tlie elementary school children, whch consisted of three different plays interspersed with songs. The attendance at this time was hard to count, but there were about 90 here. At this time each year we give attendance prizes to all children who attend one-half of the Sundays during the year or more, with better prizes going to the highest. The children take a great interest in this annual event, and this year we had to give out over 50 prizes, which gives an indication of our average attendance. Wegave out a total of 113 candy bags during the busy and happy day. A new year is upon us and in the East this is the year of the rabbit. I don't know whether that is supposed to bode good or ill. But as for us, we have committed this year also to God, for He can make a blessing out of any circum stance. From the standpoint of health, the Patton family has had recurring cases of illness or injury recently. First, I myself have been troubled for the past three months with a chronic cold con dition. I am convinced it is caused by sinusitis which in turn is caused by the awful pollution in Tokyo. As a result of this the outside activities must be cur tailed until warmer weather. Of course, this has given a setback to my calling program at Yachiyodai. In January our threesons have each had an accident. First, Stephen struck a couch leg and broke a toe on his right foot. He is now wearing a cast and on cruches. Next, Philip turned his ankle while playing basketball, slightly fractur ing the bone, and he is favoring it to some extent. But the most serious accident of all happened to Noel. He and his friend, Reagan Johnson, werehit by a car while they were riding Reagan's cycle. Besides several slight skin abrasions on both boys, Reagan suffered a broken collar "Ij^e^and Noel a very seriously injured right knee. Noel was riding on the rear of the cycle and received the burden of the impact. Thekneebonewasdislocated, fractured and broken. At the U.S. mil itary hospital at Tachikawa, manipu lation failed to put the knee back into place and surgery was resorted to. The doctor found that bone frc^ments and cartilage prevented successml manipu lation. Numbers of people have been Tokyo Christian Published four times a year in January, April, July and November for the missionaries of the Church of Christ Cijhningham Mission, Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services, Box 177, Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second class postage paid at Kempton, Indiarra. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-26-4 Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs. Homer Anderson, 622 Cullum Street, Meadviile, 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.R . 7, Rushville, Ind. 46173. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent: FirstChurch of Christ, Orange at Center St., Eustis, Fla. 32726. Two-year subscription S .50 Subscription and l-Tamtna Torch%1.00 PATTON NEWS praying for Noel and God has used this accident as a testimony to many people. This makes Noel's mird accident-two times while riding on the back of others' cycles and once when he was pushed into a ditch by a dump truck. None of the three accidents seems to have been his fault but he was iidured anyhow. We pray that he has finally been weaned from riding cycles. We thank God that he is alive and that he will be able to have some use of his leg in the future- as to what extent we as yet don't know. Your prayers for him will be gready appreciated. Our activities in doing our Mission work have not gready changed sincethe last issue of Tokyo Christian. Betty continues to serve as organist for the Shimoochiai church on Sundays. Philip and Stephen are in school and Nod and I have been teaching English part-time. I still preach on Sunday mornings at two different churches-attheKamiuma church on the second Sunday and at Yokosuka on the third and fourth Sun days. Then I rush to Yachiyodai on Sunday afternoons for the services there. At the Yokosuka church I h^ve been able to baptize one high school student. At Kamiuma I have a Bible Study dass on Saturday afternoon for a group of children. I hope to baptize some of them soon. I regret that my tight schedule will not allow me to spend more time at these two churches, but the Lord is blessing my efforts during the time I am able to spend with them. A group of children continues to attend the Sunday school at Yachiyodai. Adults, except for those accompanying me from Tokyo, are not attending the services. Onereason for this is that the meeting time is rather inconvenient for the people. Another is that colds have prevented mefromcalling on people. Perhaps the greatest reason is indifference of people. Prayer, faith, hard work, and boldness must overcome all of these things. Preacher Hiroaki Sato with whom we work is ministering to the Sakurayama and Arakawa churches. This has freed me for work elsewhere. We have been concerned about someone to lead in the work at Yachiyodai after we return to the States for furlough in June. Bro. Dale Wilkinson and a Christian student, Mr. An, have be6n asked to help in this program. We pray that God will use both of these men in this particular field of work. We were greatly encouraged by some very good news recently. Mr. Suzuki, a member of the Arakawa church, has decided to be a preacher and will enter Osaka Bible Seminary in April for train ing. That will make two young men from that church who are studying for the ministry. We wish to thank all of you who remembered us in a special way by send ing gifts at Christmas time. You helped to make our Christmas an enjoyableone. We know that a large number of our friends are praying for us daily. We thank you for that and for your financial assistance. May God enrich you all with bountiful physical and spiritual blessings. Andrew Patton FURLOUGH NEWS In previous issues of "Tokyo Chris tian" we announced our plans for a fur lough from June of this year. We now have some additional information to add to that. We have made a deposit on tickets for our family on a chartered plane leaving Tokyo on June 12. We will stop over in Hawaii for a day or so and then resume our journey to Ix>s Angeles where we willvisit Betty's aunt and family. Plans for the remainder of the trip have not yet crystallized. It will depend on what kind of transportation we can arrange in the States. A stop-over in Joplin will unite us with Sharon and her^ husband after a three-year separation. We will perhaps spend much of the summer at my parents' home in Hayes- ville. North Carolina. Then we will setde down a bit more permanently in Rushsylvania, Ohio for the remainder of our furlough. Philip and Stephen will attend high school for a year there and Noel hopes to enter a technical school. Betty will keep the home fires burning and I will become an itinerant mission ary again. Fares for the trip from Tokyo to Los Angeles will be about $250 per person. But we are not yet certain what it will cost us across the States. We estimate that we will need about $2500 for the whole trip. If you can help with our travel, please send your check to our for warding agents. Their address is: G. Wade Fletcher, Route 6, Box 80A, Rush ville, Indiana, 46173. Andrew Patton Harold, Lois and Daniel Sims plan a three month trip to the United States from June 6 to August 26 this summer. They will attend the North American Convention, visit someoftheir supporting churches and their family and friends. Because of responsibilities at Mejirodai church they feel they should not be absent from Japan longer than this three-month period. BUTTRAY REPORTS According to the writer of the book of Ecclesiastes there is a time for almost anything you can think of, e\'en sowing and harvesting. But who in his rigiit mind would have ever thought that Jan uary 3rd, the middle of winter, witli the temperature hovering around 25 degrees and the ground frozen to a depth of five inches, a time of sowing? Nevertheless, accepting as a lact that there is an "appropriate time"for every thing, I decided the above-time and con ditions were "just right" to drive to Na gano Prefecture and at least make pre liminary preparations for a garden! Most likely you wouldn't agree and neither would Solomon, and with him you'd ask the question, what gain could there be in such works? Kccl. 3:9. Well, I believed there was much to be gained! At first glance the idea seems quite foolish . . . until explained. Then understanding is accompanied by an agreeable nod of the head. Taking Bibles and apple-nut cakes which Mabel had made to the farmers from whom the New Camp Site Land had been purchased was a good idea. So it worked out that I was able to visit them during their New Year holidays on Jan uary 3rd just before they resumed their winter projects. Though it was late in the afternoon and the sun has been shining all day, it was cold. As I reached the first of the five farmhouses which I had planned to visit, the sun was sinking below the dis tant mountain range and in a half an hour it would be dark. I hurried, hoping the lateness of the hour would not be troublesome for their evening meal prep arations. But my fears werequickly dis pelled for they were quite gracious, even inviting me in. But due to circumstances I refused their kind invitations, and said maybe the next time. However, at the last farmhouse, at their insistance (tliird invitation) I re luctantly gave in . . . how could I do otherwise. The time was right. So, during the next four hours while sitting on the floor with feet and legs keeping warm in their charcoal heated kotatsu (hot charcoal beneath a lowtable covered witli blankets to hold theheatin), while sipping green tea and munching on the usual Japanese snack ( in the rural areas) of pickled greens and pickled thin slices of apples, I joined in conversation which ranged from the mundane to other worldly with the man of the house and his brother. It was a very interesting, pleasant, and informative time. I learned they not only were farmers but were in the con struction business, which accounted for the large earth moving eciuipinent sitting outside. Evidently they werejust wailing an opportunity to talk with meabout the access road to the Camp land. They told me I paid too much money and they would have done it for less, and to please consider them for the roads to be made on the Camp land as well as leveling sites for buildings and sports areas. These farmers as well as all others in the area are for varying reasons deep ly interested in when are we planning to build, when will we move there, and will we have a Church etc. Not knowing exactly when the Lord will provide these necessary finances, I usually reply, I don't know! But I hasten to add I hope it will be soon, and am expecting to have usable buildings by this summer. . . 1975!!! Needless to say, there is much to be done. . .but I have faith to believe that what God has promised. He Will Pro vide! I visualize that this Camp will be a tremendous tool in the hand of the Lord in reaching the multitudes, far beyond our present evangelistic capabilities. Of this I am convinced. Even if we are not living in the Last Days, the total awareness of multitudes listlessly wandering about without the Life-Giving Shepherd is an overwhelming burden one cannot escape if dedicated to serving Him! What would Jesus Do... if He were here today? I believe He would do the same as before. . .go every where teaching, making disciples, and sending them out to tell others. . . using many of tliese "Last Days" evangelism techniques (such as camps), that none be lost! Therefore, my goal this year is: to see usable camp buildings erected, God calling together missionaries and Japa nese preachers in a "bond of unity" for the single purpose of using the new camp facilities to the maximum(all-year-round) to tell the multitudes of Jesus who died to become their Savior. . .unto eternal life, and of His returning soon for His own!!! Will you share this goal with us? If your answer is yes, all I want you to do is to pray that God will be our "daily guide" in all things, and that Satan will be defeated at every turn! The historic occasion of signingtheagreement to buy the land for the new camp site. POSTMASTER FORM 3579 REQUESTED BOX 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049 Christian "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15 April, 1975 Number 2 THE BAPTISM OF YUKIKO INOKUCHI Sometime in December tlie teacher of the 4-6 grade class in our Sunday school told me that one of her students wanted to be baptized. This girl had beenattending the class faithfully evenafter becoming a seventh grader in April 1974, and had be come a sort of leader in the class-taking the roll, offeringprayers, etc.--sothe teach er thought she was ready. I asked her to talk furtherwiththegirl and also her parents who lived very near her house. So she came back some days later and said that shedefinitely wanted to be baptized, and on a certain date-Janu ary 28. The reason for this was that this would be her 13th birthday, and also the 10th anniversary of her first going to church. (They had lived next door to a church in another areaofTokyowhenshe was small, and she began going to the Sunday school there when she was 3 years old.) I assured the S.s. teacher that it was all right to be baptized on Tuesday, so we set the time for 5 PM, after school. A few days later, I made an appoint ment to visit in the home and talk to the parents about it. They arenominalBudd- hists, but willing to give their only daugh ter freedom to choose her own religion. They said theydioughtshewastooyoung, but had been surprised at her seriousness. The mother told of calling her for break fast and when she didn'tcomerightaway, she asked what took her so long. She re plied that she had beenpraying, and the mother was shocked into silence. The fa ther said he had known several Christians during his life, and all of them werewon derful people. One was a member of the basketball team in high school and a life long friend, and the others were people who hadworkedwithhimintheFuji bank. So hehadnoobiectiontoChristianity. Mr. Inokuchi's mother had lived withthefam- ily for some years, and she was a very zealous Buddhist. Evidently she had put pressure on her granddaughter not toBe come a Christian; but after she died last fall, that obstacle had been removed. I told theparents I thought they should not opposeher decision,and theysaid they did not. Then I said they should come to see her baptism, which was certainly as Important as a wedding. He claimed that he couldn't get off from his work; but I suggested that hejust say that his daugh ter was going to be baptized in the same tone of voice as ifaskingforawedding or funeral, and he said he might try it. Later on, the mother told the Sunday school teacher that they were planning to give somethingto everyonewho attended or serve refreshments. This would be in accordance with Japanese etiquette and customs, and very understandable; but she and another Christian neighbor wisely talked her out of this, because they were afraid that others might think they were obliged to do something like this when they were baptized. Finally the day arrived! After school, many of Yukiko's friends from the near by Junior high school began to arrive- many of them entering church for the first time, and most seeing a baptism for the first time. Then at thelast minute, Mr. Inokuchi arrived inachauffered black car provided by the bank. The officials were so surprised at the unprecendented re quest - mere was no trouble at all. It was Just exacdy 4 years since Yu- kiko first started attending our Sunday school here, and in a way, this could be described as "the first fruits". May many more follow! - Harold Sims MISSIONARY WOMEN'S RETREAT A retreat for missionary women was held January 2nd and 3rd at the Shlmo- Ochiai Church in Tokyo. The meeting was co-hosted by Leone Cole and Vir ginia Fleenor. The theme for the retreat was "Ambassadors For Christ". Char lotte Mings was in charge of the music and was accompanied by Betty Patton. Afternoon sessions were given to a shar ing time by each of the missionary women. Evening messages were brought by Ethel Beckman and Kathleen Pratt. Besides the Tokyo area missionaries, Karuizawa, Osaka and Hiroshima were represented. The retreat was a time of refreshing and sharing in the Lord and each one looks forward to the meeting in Hiroshima next year. SIMS' TRAVEL PLANS Harold, Lois and Danny Sims will make an 80 day trip to the U.S. this sum mer. We will give an outlineof our itinerary, and hope that some who read this will seeus during our stay at one of these places. June 6-8 . . June9. . . . June 10-17 June 18-22. June 26-29. July 2-7 . . July 8-11. . July 13 . . . July 15-22 luiy 23-30 . July 31-Aug. 2 Aug. 3 Aug. 5-7 .. . Aug. 10... . Aug.11-15 . . Aug. 17. . . . Aug. 18-20 . . Aug.21-23 . . Aug. 24... . Aug. 26 Napa, Cal. - First Christian Church . Denver, Col. Oklahoma City- Metropolitan Christian Church & daughter Hope Schmidt and family Cincinnati, Ohio-Clovernook &White Oak Churches sons Jonathan and Robert ,Eustis, Florida-First Church of Christ Cincinnati, Ohio-Eh-ice Ave. & Montgomery Road Churches Detroit, Mich.-North American Christian Convention Markle, Ind.-Church of Christ Bellville, Ohio-Church of Christ-daughter Sylvia Smith&family Turtle Creek, Pa.-First Christian &Norwin Churches-Lois'sister & family Baltimore, Md.-Lois' mother and other sister Charlottesville, Va.-Flrst Christian Church Richmond, Va.-V.E.F. Rally Newport News, Va.-Northslde Church of Christ Milligan College, Tenn.-Weekof Ministry Johnson City, Tenn.-First Christian Church-Harold's mother Cincinnati, Ohio Oklahoma City, Okla. Unconfirmed Leave Los Angeles for return to Japan I DANIEL SIMS SUFFERS BROKEN LEG On Sunday afternoon, March 16, Danny and some friends were at a play ground about a mile from the house. As Danny was going down die concrete slid ing board, he turned to missachildat the bottom and somehow his leg hit the ground the wrong way and he broke the large bone in his left leg about one-half way between the knee and the ankle. He didn't try to walk, and one of his friends came to the house to tell us he was hurt. Lois went in the car, made a makeshift splint with a board she found and some cloth a neighbor lady gave her, and then we took him to a neighborhood doctor who x-rayed it, confirmed the break and put his leg in a cast right away. He was in the hospital for 2 weeks and is now at home. He seems to be mending nor mally, and we hope he will be out of the cast by mid-May and walking by the time we leave for the U.S.A. The small group of Christians rallied to help in a heartwarming way. He had many visitors while inthehospital,aswell as giftsoffarmorethan hecouldeat, plen ty of reading matter, beautiful cut flowers, even private magic shows. The nurses named him after a popular cartoon char acter and enjoyed joking with him. The monthly preacher's meeting. Sitting around the lunch table at Pratt's house - March 3. RESURRECTION SUNDAY For the first time in this church, we set an attendance goal of30 for our morn ing worship service. This is twice our average attendance, but not impossible. As soon as we announced thegoal,2 or 3 people expressed their regrets that they couldn't be here because of travel plans. Wereally had doubts if we could make it; but we had 29, which was closeenough to give us all much encouragement and Joy. Seven of the middle school students at tended and sang 3 short special numbers, including "I Have the Joy, Joy, Joy" in English and a modern Japanese song about the story of the road to Emmaus. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Since the Simses will be away in the U.S.A. this summer, the Sunday school teachers decided in January to have a short Vacation Bible School this year during the spring vacation. Thejapanese school year begins in April, so all children have at least 2 weeks off between school terms. We selected the dates of March 26-28, and as usual used some old materials from Standard Publishing for handwork, etc. The children have learned what fun it is, and theyare our bestpublicityagents. We had a total of 71 enrolled, and had a very good time. Oneofthecollegestudents in our neighborhood works part-time ina company that makes various animal cos tumes and puts on plays featuring them, including T.V. appearances. He is not a Christian, but has come to our English classes and his sister had attendedchurch sometimes. So one morning, as a special attraction, he appeared at our V.B.S. in his panda suit and danced as we sang our theme song and then talked to the children. They were thrilled beyond New building ot Isehara ChurchofChrist which was OMicated on Nov. 24, 1974. This building was largely built by mis sionaries, using materials salvaged from housing at a former U.S. Air Base which was being turned back to Japan. Paul Pratt is the missionary here. Harold and Lois Sims served for one year during the Pratt's furlough in 1968-69. M-. Patton and his boys helped with the salvage work and some on the construction. Lois' Ladies English Conversation Class, They sponsored a luncheon at a local restaurant to celebrate Lois' birthday. BUTTRAYS' REPORT When going to Kaniizawa to either work at me Camp or do n^otiating, I have almost always gone on Tuesday mornings. But this time I was late! I had arranged to pick up Bob Warrick to go with me and look at an old school building. But he couldn't leave until afternoon, so, it was almost seven in the evening before we arrived in Kaniizawa. Providentially wewerelate! Andmade it possible to save a girl from committing suicide. After turning on the water systemand lighting a fire in the stove of the litde summer cabin, westartedoutthedriveway to go visit the Cole family across town and met Stephen Fleenor. As hexlimbed in the car he mentioned he had seen a girl (drunk) wandering all over theroad, and that maybe weshould try tohelpher. Sure enough, as westarted down the road there in the headlights about 100 yards ahead a person fell and lay still in the snow at the side of the road. I quickly stopped thecar,andwealljumped out of the car to see if wexould help. We found a very young woman, drunk, just barely able to get up. Staggering to her feet, she gathered her strength and slowly started up the xold, sno\\y lonely road, adamantly refusing our help! So on our way to theColeswestopped at the nearest phone and informed the police, hoping tney would do something for her. However, during the three hours we were at the Coles (and though we talked about many things) I couldn't get the young woman out of my mind. The hands of the clockwerereaching towards 10:30 as we left the Coles and started home. So as we drove back I determined to drive slowly beyond where we turned into the xabin to see if we.could find any Tokyo Christian Published four times a year in January, April, July and November for the missionaries of the Church of Christ Cgfiningham 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. 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 Fletcher, R.R. 7, Rushville, Ind. 46173. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent: FirstChurch of Christ, Orange at Center St., Eustis, Fla. 32726. Two-year subscription $ .50 Subscription and Flaming TorcASl.OO trace of her. hfy feelings and suspicions were that she didn't live around there and that she wanted to be left alone, to finally fall down in a stupor. And unable to help herself, and not feeling anything, would by morning freeze to death in the 20 degree temperature. Andthat's exactly whatHappened! Driving slowly and sort of dreading every moment what we might find, I realized my pulse had quickened and with mounting anticipation mybreathing had increased. Then suddenly I saw what I thought was a person lying in the snow about three meters off the road under some short, low hanging pine trees. Afy throat tightened, and for a brief second I was speechless! Then 1 heard mysdf excitedly saying, "thereshe isBob, there she is!". And under the excitement of the moment I heard his mumbling voice say, "what, what, where?" Slam- ing on the brakes I replied,"sheis lying there under the trees". Hurriedly, I backed up throwing the lights on high beam revealing a body lying in the snow. Fearing the worst, we both jumped out of the car and Bob reached down and felt for a pulse. She was alive! but not a sound escaped her lips! At that moment. Bob audibly said what was silendy running through my mind, "Lord Jesus, you know her needs, you can help her!" In just a few seconds werealized that if this young pregnant woman of about six months didn't soon have help, it would be too late! Telling Bob to wait there, I quickly jumped in the car, went to the cabin and callra the police. I told them we had found the drunk woman lying inthesnow and that she had been there for three hours. And if she remainied there all night, by morning she would be dead. So I said, please come immediately! They promised they would, though they had gone before and had been unable to find her. It took them about seven minutes to get there, though it seemedlike an hour. In this case, and in most incidents there custom is to get detailed information of your life's history before anything can be done. Fearing that this wouldhappen, I b^an to think of what I could do. Be cause all I could think at that moment was, letting a young woman and an un born child freeze to death while wasting time with formalities. At that moment, I remembered my name cards in my pocket, and hoping it would satisfy them, I qui^ly reached in my pocket and handed the policemanmy card. And I said, he could reach me at this address if they needed me for any thing. He informed the head officer, and he replied O.K. In those few minutes the formalities were over. And at a signal from the head officer twoother policemen reached down and picked up the young woman (like a sack of potatoes) and had carried her halfway to the car when a lowmoan came from her lips. As the police car turned around headed towards the hospital,mythoughts turned to God again and I prayed,"Lord, I pray that there will be a doctor on duty and mat he will beableto savetheir lives." Needless to say. Bob and I didn't get to sleep that night until long after midnight, and prayer for the young woman's life. Fully intending to go by the police station the next day to find out what happened, we were unable to do so for by noon a real blizzard had begun. So Bob and I decided to get down off the mountain while it was stm possible. The following Sunday, I received a letter from the young woman's husband thanking me for bravingsuchcold, snowy weather to save his wife's life. Then I began to plan to go and try to find the girl and her husband. Accord ing to the address they lived in Ueda, a city about one hour from Karuizawa. It was two weeks later that I picked up Harold Cole at Karuizawa and went first to find a missionary living in the city. We found him home, explained the situation and left immediatelypicking up a member of his church on me way in order to have a Japanese go between. It turned out mat this Christian was acquainted with the family. So when we finally found the right house, I was in vited in as well as my friends. We found the usual situation. The young woman living with her husband's parents, and as in most cases, living a slaves' life. The family was very kind to us and insisted that we eat with them. While all of us ate the girl served us. The boy's mother (60?) said she didn't know why the daughter-in-law wanted to commit suicide! But I knew why. We didn't leave the house until all four of us had spoken about God and His love! Left them some Christian tracts to read, and promised to send them a Bible. In February, I sent a Bible and literatiire to help understand the Bible. So far, I haven't heard any more and haven't found timeto return. I am anxious to knowhowthings aregoingand wonder ing about the baby. I know God has His hand in all of this, and I am trusting Him for the salvation of the family. Please pray for thewholeTsunachima family! -Stanlty Buttray to another Island. That leaves 3 ladies who meet regularly withus. We study the Gospel of John. The ladies of this class are interested in the Gospel, but duties at home prevent their attending our weekly worship services. PLANS FOR REACHING ADULTS Several weeks ago I decided to stop doing supply preaching on Sunday morn ings and spend all day every Sunday in addition to any time during the w^ I can spare in the work at Yachiyodai. I have begun having worship services and Bible study on Sunday morning instead of in the evening. No adults have met with us yet for these services but we have plans whicli wehope will help usreachtheadults. We plan to begin an English Bible class and English classes for high school and college students. Christian films will also be shown. This should draw some young people Plans are being made for printing advertisements for our various meetings. When we have these in hand we will start calling from door to door in the apartment complete near our meeting place. Fortyor fifty thousand people live in these apart ments and new units are being built. Both our advertisement and tracts will be handed to those homes that are called on. This work should help us discover many pros pects for the work. FURLOUGH Weare praying that Noel's leg, broken in January in a motorcycle accident, will be sufFiciendy healed by June to allow him to walk without injury to it. We are con tinuing to make plans for a furlough beginning on June 12. If there are any serious complications in the healing of his leg we might havetopostponeourfurlough for a few wedcs. If all goes well with the leg, wewill take a charter flight as planned from Tokyo on June 12, spend a short time in Hawaii whereAndrewusedtowork, then to visit Betty's relatives for a fewdays near Los Angeles. On the way East, we will visit Chris and Sharon Scheurich, our son-in-law and daughter, and Sandra Ann, our new granddaughter. Soon afterward we hope to begin our itinerary among the churches and to visit my parents in North Carolina. Funds are still needed to cover our travel expenses. If you can help on that please send your check to our forwarding agent. We will have to pay for our tickets soon. We hopeto seesomeofyouthissummer, and the rest before the end of our furlough. We thank God for you and pray that God will preserve and bless you. -Andrew Patton Stanley and Mabel Buttray April 27 isthetwen^-fifth anniversary of Stanley and Mabel Buttrays arrival in Japan. They are hoping to make this a special year by making the dream of a Christian Evangelistic Camp become a reality! PATTON NEWS We axe now busily engaged in prepara tions for furlough. It is surprising how much there is to be done in anticipation of a furlough. It does afford you a good opportunity, however, to rid your house and your files of a lot of useless things accumulated over the years. It consumes a great deal of time and energy to sort out and decide what is to be thrown away, what saved, what given away to friends, and what is to be sold at the Thrift Shop. But we hope to have things done before our departure. SAKURAYAMA AND ARAKAWA The Sakurayama church has planned an evangelistic meeting for April. The Gospel will be presented throughfilms and the spoken word. At the Arakawa church thereare 5 new persons attendingthe Wed nesday night prayer meeting. Mr. Suzuki of that church is now a ministerial student in Osaka Bible Seminary. Mr. Saito of the same church is a senior in the same school this year. We hope to work with them in evangelism after they finish their training. NEW ARRIVAL hfr. and Mrs. Hiroaki Sato, ministers of the Sakurayama and Arakawa churches, are the proud parents of a new daughter born on March 29. This is their second child, both daughters. CONVENTION The All-Japan Convention will be held at Tanabe inWakayamaPrefectureonMay 2-4 this year. The missionary convention will be held at Osaka immediately follow ing this. YACHIYODAI The children's work is making fine progress. We usually have about 30 in attendance, with the greater part of them attending every Sunday. Acollege student from the Shimoochiai church teaches the children each Sunday. Lessons from the Old Testament are now being taught. In at least onefamily, the children re count the Bible lessons to the parents after they return home. When I met the mother of some other children in our Bible School on the street the other day as I was hand ing out tracts, shethanks mefor teaching them and said they enjoyed it. So the knowledge ofCod is being planted in both the xhildren's hearts and that of their parents. HOME MEETINGS I still teach the Bible to a group of women meeting in a private home at Ya- chiyodai once a month. Oneofthemembers of the class, however, moved withher family POSTMASTER FORM 3579 REQUESTED BOX 177, KEMPTONJN 46049 Christian 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature' Mark 16:13 Volume 74 July, 1975 Number 3 CONVENTIONS HERE AND THERE W Japanese preachers and missionaries at monthly meeting. On May 2 - 4 the annual convention of our Japanese Christian brethren was held at Tanabe City in Wakayama pre fecture. The almost new Japanese inn is located on the seashore, and gave us a lovely view of several small pine- covered islands and small fishing boats coming and going. The members of the small congrega tion there did a fine job of preparing the program and otner arrangements. Everyone appreciated the ample time allowed for visiting with each other in the lobby and halls and rooms also. There was a good measure of unity and love manifest throughout the meeting, which left a deep impression on several from Tokyo who were attending for the first time. In the past few years this has become very much a family gathering, with some of our Christian families making sacri ficial efforts to attend every year. All seem to appreciate what it means to belong to the household of faith and share thejoy of a family reunion. This year there was an attendance of over 250, which was second only to the unusually large attendance at the 25th Convention in Tokyo last year. The missionaries met in Osaka for 2 days of fellowship just following the Japanese convention. July 8 - 11, we were privileged to attend the North American Christian Convention in Detroit, Michigan -- our first since 1968. Of course everything was on a scale far beyond the one men tioned above, and that in itself was an inspiration. We were somewhat frustrated by being physically unable to attend all of the sessions we would have liked to, or to talk with (or even see) all of the friends we had hoped to; but we did appreciate the unity and power manifest in a gathering of ^at many Christians, the content and tone of all the messages heard, and the exemplary planning and organization. We notice with joy the good number of small sessions devoted to missions-related subjects, and the number of missionaries present and par ticipating. Both conventions share the wholesome emphasis on whole families participating. The most interesting thing to us was "sightseeing" the colors and styles now being worn by the native preachers in the United States. The most soul-stirring experience of manywas thehearing oftheentire group singing "The Lord's Prayer" in the clos ing moments. -Harold Sims MAILING LIST This fall we plan a long-overdue revision of our mailing list, and we need your cooperation. If there are any changes of address, or any additions or deletions that you think should be made, please send a card to Mssion Services. We would especially like to hear from many whom wedo not knowpersonally. We were able to visit Nfission Services on Monday July 14, and see the various workers busy at their tasks in the quiet and beautiful rural setting. We were also privileged to share in a delighftil pot- luck supper provided by me Ladies Auxiliary out under the giant old trees when the day's work was done. After seeing the place, we appreciate all the more the work being done on each issue of this paper and the other services to the cause. -Harold Sims MID-SUMMER DAZE Today, July 16, is the mid-way point of our 3 month trip to the homeland, and in the midst of busy and happy hours in mid-America we greet all of you who know us Tokyo Christians by means of this periodical. Since June 5, we have traveled approximately 10,000 miles by airplane (Tokyo to Cincinnati) and 3,500 miles by rented car, spoken in 16 churches in 6 widely scattered states, and visited all of our children (and the^and- children) and some other ofour family and many brothers and sisters in Christ. We have had our souls restored by the good fellowship with you, and certainly thank God for you and receive with humility and thanksgiving the genuinely Christian hospitality, generosity, encour agement, inspiration and love you have shown to us. At several places(particu larly the Standard Publishing booth at the NACC) we have bought music, books, attendance awards and other materials for use in our work back in Japan; and wehave also picked up ideas and enthusiasm just by being in the various churches. After another 6 weeks of traveling and visiting, we expect to return toJapan on August 29 to continue our work with renewed vision and many happy mem ories, and with continuing trust that by God's Spirit's guidance and power,many souls will be hrought into the kingdom of Christ. -Harold Sims MEJIRODAI MEETINGS CONTINUE I -A jf,- ' 1 I a Congregation at M^irodai church on Nhty 25,1975. MEjirodai area. Church is in center at extreme left. (Not real clear.) Several people have asked us what is happening to our work during our absence this summer. We assure you that while our English Classes etc. are on vacation the regular Sunday services continue under the leadership of the members of the local church. MOTHER'S DAY At ^^irodai we made a special effort to get mothers and daughters to attend church together. The special attraction was Mrs. Domen, a blind but radiant Christian wife and mother, who sang 2 songs and gave her testimony. Some we had hoped for didn't come, but assist ed by the large Domen family of seven, we had a most encouraging 34 people present. This included 3 mother and daughter combinations and a few mothers who were in a church service for the first time in their lives. -Harold Sims During June, the preacher ofNakano church and 2 elders from the Minato church preached the Sunday sermons, and during July and August 2 students of the Osaka Bible Seminary will be living in our house and doing thepreach ing. They are Taninari-san, a third year student from a small town south ofKobe, and Suzuki-san, a first year student from the Arakawa church in Tokyo. The local church is paying them a small salary, and we think it will be a good experience for all concerned. -Harold Sims SPECIAL MEETINGS IN 1976 Oct. 1, 1976 will bfejhe 75th anjij- versary of the arrival of KIf~ahd Mrs. W. D. Cunningham in Tokyo, Japan. During the North American Christian Convention, we had a meeting with evangelist Jieggie Thomas and com pleted arrangements for him to be in Japan from mid-September to mid-Octo ber of next year for a series of short evangelistic meetings in several local churches in Tokyo area. We feel this will be the best way to commemorate the beginning of our work. We earnestly request that you begin now to pray with us for God's blessing upon these special meetings and all plans connected with them. -Harold Sims 7i II PATTQN^EWS HOME The scene is breathtaking and the air is just cool enough to make one feel good. Beautiful Lake Chatuge is before us and the gentle ridges of the scenic Blue Ridge mountains all around us - a perfect place for a leisurely vacation. That describes the old home place of Dad and Mom Patton in western North Carolina where we are visitingmy aged parents for a short while. It would be wonderful just to sit and visit, go fishing and swimming and pay visits to other relatives throughout the area. But each timewhen I return"home"! find so many things that need to be done that I feel compelled to get these things done rather than relaxing. This work, though, is a source of relaxation to me and the fact that I can be of help to my parents while visiting themis comforting. DAD AND MOM My father will be 93 years old in September and mother 86 in October. Both of them are in fairly good health in spite of their age and they themselves do much of the work on their small farm. They raised 9 children who are now scat tered from North Carolina to Georgia and from Alabama to Tokyo. Our daughter, Sharon and her husband, X^hris Scheurich of Joplin, Mo. have the honor of having my parents' fkst great -gpinddaughter, Sandra Ann. The rest\ mthe great grandchildren^aj.ejboy^ Sharon and Chris will join us here'ST the old home place for a week's visit beginning August 6th. On August 10th, we plan to have a Patton reunion for those of us whowill be able to gather back home. We are looking forward to that event with pleasure. VMio knows, Tokyo Christian Published four times a year In January, 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. 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 Fletcher, R.R . 7, Rushville, Ind. 46173. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. Forwarding Agent: FirstChurch of Christ, Orange at Center St., Eustis, Fla. 32726. Two-year subscription S .50 Subscription and I'Tammg Torch$l.00 the uncertainty of human circumstance and life may prevent another such re union. LEAVE-TAKING One who has never experienced it can hardly imagine the work and con cern involved in pulling up family roots for a family of 5 and transporting them to the other side of the world to a no madic life. It is never easy, but God has helped us to accomplish it. We congratu late ourselves that we were able to finish that task without too great difficulty. Those things needing to be stored were stored and the house cleaned for our departure. However, preparations for our departure from Japan required so much time that we were unable to make adequate preparations for an itinerary in the States. YACHIYODAI Our main concern before our fur lough began was the new church work we have started at Yachiyodai. The :insons will not arrive in Japan to care for the work and live in our home until the taid of August. I needed some one to take the leaoership in that work ^uring the summer. Brother Stephen vHegjaoJ-kindly agreed to carry on those" services during the summer. Some very encouraging things occured during my last few days at Yachiyodai. The children whom I had such a close fellowship with and had taught for 8 months, indicated in many ways their sadness at our separation even though it will be for only a year. They gave a little farewell party for me on my last Sunday when they gave me simple reminders of their love, all made wjth their own hands and very ingen iously designed. A little note accom panying each of these valued presents of absolutely no monetary value said, "don't forget me and hurry back to us". It breaks one's heart to part even for a few months from dear ones like those. I wo weeks prior to our departure, I arrived at 10:30 A.M at the little house we are renting for our services at Yachi yodai and was making ready for the morning worship. Soon a young man appeared at the door, was greeted, and sat on the cushions on the floor around the short-legged table. He was carrying a Bible andhymn book in his hand. He began our conversation by saying he was not a Christian but had come to believe that Jesus Christ really lived. He had attended a church near his home in Tokyo, had read much in the Bible, and now asked me many penetrating ques tions about the Bible. His life now, he said, was empty, meaningless, and unsatisfying and that was the reason he had come to consult with me. What a wonderful way for God to prepare him for the reception of Christ as his Saviour! And what a fine place from which to begin leading him to Christ. After open ing the Scriptures beginning from mere to preach Jesus unto him, which con tinued for nearly 2 hours, I asked him if he was not ready now to accept Christ as his Lord and Saviour. He enthusias tically answered that he was ready and happy to take that step. Since a place for oaptism was not at hand and also from our past experiences in missionary work in Japan has taught us to use a more cautious approach to make sure that a person is sufficiently taught before baptizing him, I took his name and Tokyo address so Brother Fleenor could exhort him further in the Scriptures. We pray that by this time this young man has completed his obedience to Christ. I thank God for this wonderful way of encouraging us before we began our furlough and for the sincerety of this young man in seeking salvation. There are thousands of others in thiis same area who would accept Christ if they had the opportunity and were challenged to do so. On Sunday evenings after the child ren's service is over, I have beenhaving an English class followed by an English Bible dass. Attendance at these dasses, especially by junior high students, has steadily increased and I am sure we can have a large crowd after we have had time to aovertise better. I feel very encouraged concerning this newwork in Chiba and I expect me Lord-to-save a- large group of souls there before long. HOTEL HILTON After taking leave of friends and do ing our final packing and storing, we left home for the airport in the afternoon on June 12th. Upon arrival at Haneda airport, we wereinformed that our plane had had maintenance problems in Hong Kong and would be delayeduntil Friday 13th. Therefore, we were bussed to Tokyo Hilton Hotel for dinner, a night of rest, breakfast and lunch the next day, bussed back to the airport for our flight to Honolulu. All this was at Air-Siams' expense. Noel, Philip and Stephen pulled the top mattresses off their beds at the hotel and bedded down their boyfriends for a night of talk. Such is the enthusi asm and craftiness of youth! HAWAII A 3 day stay was enjoyed while at the Nakamuira Hotel in Honolulu. An aunt of one of Stephen's school friends and her husband own the hotel. It is only a place to sleep but who wants more than this while on the scenic island. The proceeds from some English teaching were used to finance our stay there. Amy Luttrell, a daughter of mission aries to Hawaii and a student in Ozark Bible College, kindly consented to drive us in a rented car around the island of Oahu. Thanks to her, we had no diffi- (Continued on page 4) PAnON NEWS (Continuedfrom page 3) culty in getting around and finding people. First, we droped in on the Wes ley Walker family and renewed our friendship there. Then on to Hauula where I ministered in 1947. Mrs. Still, whom we have known for years, her two daughters, Eleanor and Ruth, all greeted us with opened arms. I worked with hfr. and Mrs. Owen Still in Hawaii and Japan and have found them to be a wholly dedicated and sac rificing family in the service of the Lord. CounUess souls have been reached and saved and numbers of churches started by them. M's. Still's health has been impaired, but she is far from retirement. Wiile sitting in bed she writes thousands of letters each year to her Christian friends to encourage them or to raise support for the work in Hawaii. On Sunday, we visited the Pololo Valley Church where the Luttrells work and enjoyed the Christian fellowship there. I spoke at the morning service. M:. and Mrs. Luttrell left immediately following the service to baptize an ear nest "se^er"who Mrs. LuttreU had taught on Saturday night at a special evan gelistic meeting in a less desirable section of the city. Our boys enjoyed speaking Japanese with some of the young teen agers of the church who were of Japa nese decent. LOS ANGELES June 16th, we boarded a plane for Los Angeles and were met by Betty's aunt and her cousins. We were royally entertained by them for a week. They always spoil us so much by their warm hospitality that we are very reluctant to leave them. Noel visited his friend in Modesto while the other boys received a freetrip to Disneyland. MISSOURI On June 23, we boarded a plane for Tulsa, Oklahoma where we were met and driven to Joplin, Mo. by Sharon, her husband, Chris, and our new grand daughter, Sandra Ann. It was good to see Sharon again after 3 years and to see our new son-in-law and grand daughter. We fell in love with Chris' family and feel that we have known themfor a long time. We had asked Chris and Sharon to find us a car to buyinJoplinto be used on our furlough. His aunt gave him a car for that purpose - a 1965 Buick station wagon big enough for our 6 foot boys - and we are nowmobile. We enjoyed a weeks stay there with our loved ones and enjoyed the fellowship at the Iron Gates church. INDIANA A day's drive took us to Rushville, Indiana to the home of George and Marge Fletcher, our forwarding agents. We spent 3days with them puttingtogeth er our display items, slides and doing some office work. On Sunday morning we worshipped with the Rushvillechurch, one of our supporting churches. This is a thriving young church with fine leader ship. OHIO On Sunday July 6th, we drove to Rushsylvania, Ohio to the church there for an evening program. This church has supported me since 1947. We will be living in this community again for a year, thanks to Louise Williamswho has donated her home for missionaries home on furlough. \Mth help from the sur rounding churches and individuals, she has greatly improved the interior of the mission house. We thank God for her and those who have contributed to this cause. The boys stayed with Peggy and Dale Wilkinson who are now occupying the house while Betty and I were quests of Mr. and Mrs. VMard Rollins. We renewed our acquaintances with the Christians there and with many of the neighbors. Philip celebrated his 17th birmday here, July 8. NORTH CAROLINA We reached Hayesville, North Caro lina on July 9 to be with my parents. This ended our journey from Tokyo! We are grateful for the safe^andenjoy ment along the way and the love and kind hospitality of relatives and friends throughout the journey. Now we are getting ready for a year's travel among our friends and supporters in our home land. We are looking forward to a fimit- ful, safe and enjoyable time of refreshing from God's presence as we travel among you. -Andrew Patton SPECIAL THANKS We want to thank all of you who have remembered Noel in your prayers for his recovery. On May 18, he was allowed to put aside his crutches after 4 months and try to walk. After a few days he was again able to walk without assistance. Two weeks later, the doctor examined the knee again and found that he had almost compl^ movement ofit. Possiblyin the futureone more operation will be needed. Also his chances for degenerative arthritis are great. But we thank the Lord again for His mercy and healing power. After another check up by a specialist in Cincinnati, he will know what kind of work he can start to do for his livelihood. -Andrew Patton POSTMASTER FORM 3579 REQUESTED BOX 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049 I. SIMS. NEWSLETTER . FALL 1975 Dear Friends; : . ^ . Now.ye are back at the regular duty station after a good trip through the United States this summer. It was a great joy and privilege^tg^have seen more than half o^ those who receive this letter during tho^e^^84 and although each visit seemed to be all too short, we consider the^f'fefl:, expeiise. $ fat igue of the journey to have been more than compensated for in the spiritually ,vitaliz;ing fellowship with you. ; X-^SUMMArY^^ dF THE iTRIP: We visited and spoke in 28 churches in 12 different st- V^ates^. Most of th,em have supported, our work for many years, and every place was a home-xoming for us. We also spent about 50 days visiting our 4 children, our mothers in Tennessee and Maryland, and our brothers and sisters. : In add ition ye attended and took part in the programs of the North American Christ ian Convention in Detroit; the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship Rally at Geth- semane Church; and the School of the Ministry at Milligan College. We bought over 200 dollars worth of S;unday~School teaching materials, vis- ual aids, books, music and records at the Standard booth (and others) at the NACC and at Kokomo, Ind. when we visited Mission Services: This was all pack ed and mailed to Japan during our travels, and is arriving' here now at' the rate of almost, a package a day. We also enjoyed a little ^s=ight-seeihg along the, way. Danny especially relished the day at Uisney World in Fdo'rida, and a day in Washington, D.C. During the month of September we are showing slides taken on our trip to the Mejirodai church and Sunday School, and our English classes, and we think they will help the people to get a better picture of the. real America than usually comes through on the TV screen. We traveled by air from Tokyo to Cincinnati, Ohio and return...a total of about .20,000 miles. Through the kindness of Mr. Ralph Passarello, a car deal er in Wiiliamsburg, Ky, we rented a 1973 Ford Torino very'reasonably and drove it 6,600 miles. By flying charter-fare our transportation, equal to the dis tance around the world, we felt was overall very reasonable. God in His good providence protected us from accident, injury and illness and we are grateful. We also want to thank the host of brothers and sisters both in Christ and in the flesh who fed and housed us along the way; and those who encouraged us in many ways. THE RETURN TRIP; Our oldest daughter, Hope, in Oklahoma City was expecting^ her second baby aiound Aug. 18, so Lois flew there a few days early to be with her. Danny and I had gone back to Cincinnati, and were just getting ready to leave for Oklahoma when Lois called to say that we had a new grandchild born that morning; another girL,.,^,ejLinda Joy.^ We arrived there later that day and I got special permission to ener fhe hursery and hold the baby before I had to leave for Yuma, Arizona for the weekend. I met Lois and Danny at Los An geles on^^^A^^^t,.,^ There we enjoyed great Christian hospitality from a fam ily (jones) that we did not even know, but their name and address had been given to us by another missionary. The next day we flew to Hawaii, where we visited. Mys. Owen Still and other friends at the Sunset Beach School, and do a little swimming, shopping and sightseeing while catching up on jet-lag for 48 hours. TwQp|iy eight years ago we,, were living and working y^p^^Hawaii while wait- ^ ing for permissi6n'"Td enter Japan. We enjoyed a reunion with "tlhe""did Japanese grocer who helped us buy our provisions when we left for Japan later that year. ARRIVAL IN TOKYO: After a long day, crossing the internatinnal date line, jjje^ .arrived in. Tokyo late in the afternoonCpf August 29. After a long time of st anding in line through immigration, baggage cTaim and customs inspection, we stepped out of the air conditioned area into the steaming, packed lobby of the arrival building and soon spotted our fellow missionaries Stanley and Aable Buttray and Suzuki-san, one of the Osaka Bible Seminary students who had been living in our house, and preaching during July and August. After getting our remaining dollars exchanged into yen, and our pile of luggage into Buttray*s station wagon, we pulled out into the traffic. This was the most crowded air- ^^port, the heaviest traffic, the most hot, humid pollutted air we had seen all (C^ummer. This had^to be Tp|,;^! We drove''"3ilfectly to Patton's yard where our little Toyoto Cdrbno had re mained parked all summer. It looked very small, but we managed to get all the baggage into it, and then drove the rest of the way home carefully keeping to the left side of the street. An hour and a half 1ater... three hours after leaving the airport and four since landing...we pulled up in front of our home again safe and sound. The house was spotlessly clean on the inside, and the yard was well kept. The other O.B.S. student, Taninari-san, had a big, delicious meal of tempura (deep fried vegetables, fish and shrimp) rice soup waiting ^or us, and although it was now about 1 AM according to the time we got up in Honolulu we sat down and enjoyed it fully. It was ^.yery thoughtful gesture on their part, and typical of the attitude and work all summer. Soon after eating we went to bed while the boys cleaned up the kitchen. The next day we unpacked. It was a great relief to put those well-woiTt suit cases away and the clothes in closets and drawers where they belonged. Also,, we sorted through the mail that had accumulated, and made final preparations for Sunday. MEJIRQDAI CHURCH: Sunday morning August 31 we had 74 for Sunday School. Sch ool was starting the next day and some children who had been away,were back, so attendance was up from what it had been during, vacation season. Then there were 33 for the morning worship service. This was one less than our record for the year (Mother's Day), It was most encouraging to see 100% of our mem bers and just about all of the other folk who had been attending regularly be fore we left. Moreover, they spoke highly of the Seminary students. Everyone was happy that God had given such good helpers during our. absence, and had brought us back safely. They felt that they had matured as individuals, and as a congregation by the experiences of the summer. They had arranged with a local Chinese restaurant to have lunch brought in, and we had a fine fellow ship around the tables as a farewell to the students and welcome to,us. It was a fine way to start the fall work...a spontaneous rally day. That evening Mark Maxey family came to spend 2 nights with us. They had brought their daughter up so she could fly back to her studies at C.B.S., and their other daughter here to live in the dormitory at Christian Academy for this school year. Mr and Mrs. Saito who had spent the weekends,in.our home during June to open the place for services and feed the visiting preachers stayed over and prepared a delicious sukiyaki supper for all of.us. THE OTHER WORK: On September 1 I att meeting at the Sakurayama church. Th camps and other activities, and seeme fall activities. The Dale Wilkinson Mark Pratts have arrived to begin the were the,re to add to our group. So, Sept. 2 Danny began the 9th grad English conversation classes at the n A hundred times or more we have traditional expression "Okaerinasai" ese is a simple "Just Now" but that i "Thank You, Everybody", and "Thanks b ended the regular first-Monday preachers e preachers reported a good summer of d ready in every way for a good round of family is back from furlough, and the ir missionary careers, and those 2 men it was a very happy fellowship, e at Christian Academy, and I began my eighborhood high school, and here at home been greeted by the people here with the (welcome back). The set reply in Japan- s too vague for our use. We want to say e to God". SIMS TOKYO MISSION First Church of Christ 315 Orange Avenue Eustis, Florida 32726 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Your's in His Service, HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS Non-Profit Orgn. U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 57 Eustis, PL 32726 OCT. 2 4.1975 Tokyo m Christian Volume 74 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gosp'iil$Jpavery creature" Mark 16:15 November, 1975 Number 4 MR. CHO RESIGNS RT MIKJIWRSHIMA CHURCH Mr. Cho, who has been the minister of the Mkawashima church for the past 17 years has accepted a very tempting offer to become the minister of a church for Korean people in the Seattle-Tacoma Washington area. The newworkseemsto be largely sponsored by the Southern Baptists. For the present, the assistant minister will take over the leadership of the Mikawashima church here, which is our only Korean church in Japan. We have appreciated very much Mr. Cho's good work with this church which we worked with during the first 3 years in Japan. He has built it up to the highest average attendance and most unifiedcon dition in the 50 year history of the con gregation. He is a man of much ability, speaking English, Japanese and Korean with equcdfluency; and he also has a lov ing and peaceful disposition that makes him highly respected by all. He came to us from a denominational background, and has always been what I would call "interdenominational" in his thinking, but hehas also beenunderstand ing of our position in regard to baptism by immersion and Biblical inspiration and authority and other such doctrinal matters. Last year he was one of the Asian delegates to the Congress on World Evan gelization at Lausanne Switzerland. I helped him put his speechon that occasion into English. It was through contacts made at that time and on a subsequent trip to America this past summer that he received the oflFer of the newjob to which he goes. The people here all hate very much to see him leave. -Harold Sims SIMS FAMILY BACK IN JAPAN Harold , Lois and Danny Sims re turned to Tokyo on August 29 after an 84 day trip to the United States. During that time they spoke in 28 different churches in 12 states and also took part in the programs of the North American Christian Convention, the Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship and the Soiool of the Ministry. They were able to spend some time with their 4 children who are living in the U.S. as well as with their 2 mothers and 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Before leaving for the return trip to Japan they were able to seetheir second grandchild"Melinda Joy Schmidt--who was born on August 21 in Oklahoma City. A sister for Becky who is now 4. The two students from Osaka Bible Seminary who had lived in the Sims house helped in the church work during July and August had done a good job in both thechurchworkandkeepinggood care of the house and yard, and it was a real joy to find everything in such good condition and such a happy spirit pre vailing among our "household of faith" here. -Harold Sims This is the translation of a letter received during the Sims' absence last summer at Mejirodai church. "To my Sunday school teacher: Teacher, today 1 am going to Shi- koku, and I think 1 will not be back for a long time. But since 1 willreturn about the end of August, please do not erase the place on the attendance roll book where it is written Kamoshita Nanae. 1 honorably request this. Yours, Nanae" NEW MISSIONARIES We are very happy to have Markand Lvnn Pratt here on the field now begin- "^^^ng their missionary careers. They are busy with language study every day and adding sparks of life and hope to our missionary get-togetherswith their youth ful enthusiasm. Also we are glad to have the Dale ^^SQSLiamily in the Tokyo area for "oneyear oflanguage study as they begin / their second term of missionary service./ They are living inthePattonhouseduring Pattons furlough year, and he is con tinuing the work in Yachiodai which was begun a year or so ago by AndrewPatton. EVANGELISTIC MEETING AT MEJIRODAI We had a special series of meetings at Mg'irodai church Sept. 24-28. Mr. Sato, ^e preacher at Kamiochiai church, made a trip to Israel, and especially to M. Sinaiwhere heclimbed upthesummit, in March of this year. As a special attraction he showed slides of his trip during the first part of the meetingsevery night, and also let everyone taste some water he had brought backfrom the Dead Sea and feel some of the rocks he had brought back in his suitcase. It was very interesting to all who attended, but we always wish there were more. The atten dance average 16 per night, with a total of about 35 difierent people attending. There were no responses to theinvitation, but we believe some good contacts were made. - Harold Sims MOTOSU CHRISTIAN CAMP Again during thefirst week of August ^ ] this summer a camp was held at Lake H Motosu. Since the Sims and Fatten fam- ? j ilies were both in the United States, the Bl onlymissionary therewasPaulPratt,who y K* served as manager. Much ofthe work of ^ planning as well as the actual teaching &IT ofclciases andother matters were handled ^ L' by the younger Japanese ministers. It " J?" was reported to have been a very good ^ 5i camp in every way. with over 100 in y H total attendance. There was one baptism ^ H during thecamp. People were there from 6 different churches in the Tokyo area. Ajjp This year there were many more elemen- . ;^.v tary school children than ever before, I but they also cooperated in the chores y and Bible dramas and other parts of the v program. First and second graders. Fifth and sixth graders. J PATTON NEWS The writer of Ecclesiastes said there is a time for all things. Our lives since July have more or less been agreeable to that philosophy. We visited (churches, attended Lake James School of Missions, preached at a Faith-Promise Rally, and worked hard on my parents' farm. We had a very enjoyable summer. LAKE JAMES While we were yet in Japan we were invited to attend and take part on the program of Lake James School of Missions. We gladly accepted the in vitation and were blessed with a wonder ful week of fellowship, inspiration, study and recreation. At the school we met many old friends and made new ones and were filled with many good things from the Lord. DOWN ON THE FARM After leaving Lake James weheaded south to North Carolina and myparents' farm again. Nearly all of August was spent there with them and during the month we were able to get a lot of the things done for them that we had wanted to do for a long time. We did plumbing work, built fences, hauled hay, painted, laid linoleum, canned and fished. Our daughter and son-in-law, Chris and Sharon Scheurich, and our grand daughter, Sandy, ofjoplin, Missourispent a few days with my parents and us at the old home place at Hayesville. On August 10 all 9 of the Patton children their spouses and decendants met there for a reunion. Everyone, including the Tokyo Chrtslian Published four times a year in January, April, July and November for the missionaries of the Church of Christ Cijriningham Mission. Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services, Box 177, Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second class postage paid at Kempton, Indiarra. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-26-4 KamIOChiai,Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 101 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 F letcher, R .R . 7 , Rushville, Ind. 46173. Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai. Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 193 Japan. ForwardingAgent: FirstChurch of Christ, Orange at Center St., E ustis, Fla. 32726. Two-year subscription S .50 Subscription and I-lammii 7or</>S1.00 great-grandchildren, was present except four. Nearly 50 peoplecameandenjoyed thefood and. fellowship. BACK HOME AGAIN Though we arrived in the U.S.A. from Japan in June, it was not until September that we finally got settled enough in our temporary home in Rush- sylvania, Ohio to get our suitcases un packed. Philip and Stephenhaveadapted themselves to school life and circum stances again in their homeland and seemto be enjoying it. Noel has applied for a job but has not been fortunate enough to find one yet. He perhaps will do sometraveling with me soon until he finds a job. On October 3, we took him to Cincinnati to have his knee which was injured ser iously in J anuary examined by a doctor. That doctor was of the same opinion about the knee as that of the doctor in the military hospital in Japan. The leg has healed remarkably well, he says, but there is a strong possibility tnat degenerative arthritis will be set in in the joint at some time in the future. Your continuing in prayer for Noel would be appreciated. TRAVELS On September 6, 7 the whole family participated in a Faith Promise Rally at the Utica Church of Christ. This is one of our supporting churches and we always enjoy our visits with them. Even though we did not reach the goal for faith promises that had been set for the rally we were abundantly blessed by the rally. We trust that thefolk of the Utica church were too. During the remainder ofSeptember, we were able to visit 3 more of our supporting churches. Since we nowlive fairly near them, we have been able to visit the folk at Piqua church 3 times recently. On August 31, we were able to enjoy their annual Bibleschool picnic and I was asked to speak on that occasion. Then on September 14, wespent thewhole day with the church there and shared with them the news of the spread of the Gospel in Japan. The last twoSundays in September were spent with the Rush- sylvania churchand the church at Rush ville, Indiana. These churches have supported us for many years and weare grateful for their love and friendship. Also Betty and I were able to attend the class meeting of the Ladies' Bible class of the Piqua church. These ladies too have been our helpers for many years. The folk of the Fort Recovery church in Ohio were our gracious hosts on October 5. Weworshipped with them, spoke to them, and enjoyed the carry- in dinner they provided. This church is small but very friendly and alert. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO I celebrated my 58th birthday on October 4th. We were invited to the home of the Leo Craigs of Rushsylvania. There was a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and a good time for all and birthday gifts for me. Such treatment firom fine friends like the Craigs takes away some of the shock of beinga year older. JAPAN HAPPENINGS Over the past few years wehave par ticipated each summer in an evangelistic campaign in Karuizawa, north ofTokyo. We were absent this summer, of course, but have received some good reports of this summer's campaign. We heard that over 500 people attended the coffee house evangelistic meetings in Karuizawa and that several young people were won to the Lord during that time. We praise the Lord for these victories. Dale and Peggy Wilkinson and their children are now settled in our house in Tokyo and Dale has taken over the leadership of the new work at Yachi- yodai. Besides the children that attend the Sunday school class, there are some high school girls, somemarried women, and a biochemist who is a professor in a pharmaceutical college now attending themeetings. We believethat theprofessor will accept the Lord as savior soon. We have heard from the Buttrays in Japan anencouragingjepoj^on the pos sibility of building^a^jagif^ere in the near future. We have owned a piece of land for that purpose there for over a year. But various obstacles havestood in the way of our selling a piece of land to finance the camp buildings. But now it seems that the obstacles are being removed. Prayers are being answered. Let us earnesdy pray that the camp buildings will be ready for use next summer. AND SO We are looking forward to a refresh- ing year of travels among the churches in the good old U.S.A. And we are especially grateful for the opportunity of meeting again the good folk who have helped hold up our hands in our mission work through the years. Thank all of you for your prayers and support. "Andrew Patton .My home church at .Meadville, Pa. has a custom when a husband and wife reach a combined age of fifty-five they automatically advance into the nextBibie class. But when missionaries in aforeign field reach a combined age of 55, or 80, or 100, or 120 it's simply a mathematical problem of advancing in age without promotion. Recently, I have been made more and more aware of the need of recruiting new missionaries to help reach the multi tudes of Japan today. And as I looked at the average of our missionaries that came to Japan soon after the war ended, I discovered the average age was almost 55. .As I began to think realistically about this problem, I decided that in ten years most of these missionaries could be gone! How much more time we have before the I.ord Jesus returns is a matter of speculation. . .Though we may not know the exact day norhour,Jesussaidwecould know the season as wesawhis prophecies being fulfilled. . .And many persons are thinking He will come soon. Even so, as I consider tiic educated multitudes of Japan (over one hundred million of them) who are completely ignorant of the living God and His plan of salvation for them, I am convinced the TIME IS NOW AT HAND to prepare to fill this inevitable gap in the missionary ranks. . .which most surely will soon take place III!! To my knowledge, God has never revoked the Great Commission! Nor has His Hearts Desire or Love for fallen man waned! /''VMio will accept this challenge? If you . . . hear the Lord of IlaiA'est sweetly calling, Who will go and replace these mission aries today? Who will go and tell the lost and dying in Japan? Wlio will point them to the Narrow Way? Wlio will make reply? . . .Here am I Lord, Send me!!! I m Peter Suzuki's wife, Shiziika was baptb.cd in this hot spring hotel the last Suiulav ol August. Peters name is no longer Suzuki. He has changed it to Kaneko, his wife's lamily name. Stanley and Midiel Buttray on the right, and Mrs. Cole and her son David on the left. By Peter taking his wife's name he someday will inherit the family business. Pray for this new Christian home. TheJapanese ])rcachers and missionaries heltl their monthly meeting at Karuiz'awa the first Monday of July. During the morning they visited the still future "Faitli-Land Bible Camp". The Japanese preacJiers jTeeing the land for the first time, were impressed. Because this was July, seven persons were absent. This picture shows some of the clear ing of brush which Mr. Buttray has beeti doing for the soft ball field. Stanley and Mablc Buttray in front of summer cabin in Karuizawa. They will continue to rent this cabin until next year, or until .sulTicienl finances are available for construction of their home on the "Faith-Land Bible Camp"grounds. laaflflBQflfiflBOOflagQflQQOQOOPOOflOQQOQOOQOOQQOQQQQQQQQOQQOQOOOOO POSTMASTER FORM 3579 REQUESTED BOX 177, KEMPTON, IN 46049 NOV. ^ 2 1975 HAROLD^^MS oec. oe 1975 3.33.7 MEJmODAI MACHIOJI SHI TOKYO, JAPAN T IW Christmas 1975 Dear Friends, Again this year we look forward to the coming of Christmas, because currently the Mejirodai Church is practising for our first Cantata. The choir is very limited in experience and numbers, but not in willingness to harmonize. V/e get a lot of joy from trying various new ways of contacting the people around us, as well as the regular Bible studies and conversational English classes which we offer for all ages. Earlier this year we became acquainted with a nice family from Nepal who are living in a nearby apartment for a couple of years while he makes various studies in preparation for a leading part in the economic development and modernization of his country. They speak English, and asked us to teach their cute little daughters. This led to a Bible study with Mr. and Mrs. every Saturday morningsomething that probably would not be permitted for them to do openly in their ovm country. We know that you will pray with us that God will use this unusual opportunity for the working out of His purposes in their lives and in that distant part of our increasingly smaller world. /V" Our 12 week summer trip to the United States was a cont-'nuous joyful / experience for each of us every day. V/e thank our loving heavenly Father / for traveling mercies, provision, guidance, fellowship in Christ, family // reunions and many other blessings; and also many of you for delightful // hospitality, encouraging words and continuing support. The Lord's promise // in Matt. 19:29 s most wonderfully true. V/e left our 2 homes and parents I I and 2 brothers and 3 sisters 28 years.ago for His .sake, and we have had I I hundreds of homes open to us and hundreds of brothers and sisters stand with us on both sides of the Pacific- We were also very happy on retujiLing^to Mejirodai August 29 to find the church work going along fine, with all the mei^ers ai^ the 2 Osaka Bible Seminary students doing their parts with responsibility and enthusiasm. The-'faiTfi;ly"is all doing fine. Hope (Mrs. Tom Schmidt) lives in Okla homa City. Tom works at the Federal Reserve Bank, and they are active in the Metropolitan Christian Church. Grand-daughter Becky is now ^ years old, ^ and she has a new sister, Melinda, born on Aug. 21 this year. Sylvia (Mrs. Dave Smith) lives in Bellville, Ohio and works with her husband as youth director at the local Church of Christ. Both couples are making monthly payments on the modest homes they are living in. Jonathan and Bobby live in an apartment in Cincinnati, Ohio and attend the Price Ave. church. Jonnie is a Senior in Cincinnati Bible College and supports himself vjith a full-time job. Bobby graduated in September from the 2-year electronics course at the Cincinnati Technical College and is now eirployed full-time at this school. He had an automobile accident this fall, but was unhurt. Daniel is i-r^th us here in Japan and a ninth grader at Christian Academy. I7e sincerely hope that each one of you will have a good T;>ralk with God throughout the new year. In His service, HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS May God's great Gift Of love Be very real to you at this Happy Season AJA/wyvvit/^ ^ 0(iPpy(^Mn nl , yiyy\A/r\. - ^^y{)i inA_^ /MjrVL yM/i^ -^i^iAAy i /ViyYvAM^ OCC. Ob t975 1975 Japan Sunday School Union 02:i95 f ip t SeAsoNs GReeriNGS