nBiM Ai

Amonthly report by the Mark G. Maxey family ^ ^ ^ i

vited the Kanoya pastor, Bro.Ikeniiya'and meto come down and hold some evangelisticmeetings. We agreed to come, but it was May Leaving the Miyaka church for home-visitation1o before we could get military permits,exit and re-entry permits from Japan, injections and innoculations and other seemingly "#194endless paper work completed. At Kagoshima .port we boarded the OKINAWA MARU and joined .75 more people in the 15 x 50 straw mat ^ V-y. *

we huddled below decks with even'more peopleMiyako Shima. Don and Fay Rickerson were on -'.hand to meet us. V/e loaded our generator, Xprojector, films, charts, picture rolls,book box, tracts, lights and cords into ^ i^Vtheir pick-up and we were on our way - happy '' ' ' t

Miyako is a coral island about half- ^way between Okinawa and Formosa. The climateis sub-tropical. The main crops seemed to be |Bsugar cane, goats,and small-size horses. Thehorse barns were made better than the houses,,Typhoons are frequent and destructive. Shipskare scheduled regularly but seldom make the \v Team, equipment and childrenschedule. The people have a happy disposition, \ at Izumi church, Okinawaare not too regular by the clocK,and usually > stretch the noon hour to two. They bury their dead in huge cement tombs dug in the side ofthe hills. The top of the tombs are in the shape of a turtle's back. Tobacco is a solace ofthe women as well as the men. Many a night of the meeting the front seats were full of oldcrones happily puffing away during the sermon and many of those who didn't smoke had a packof cigarettes in their blouse pocket. Over in Okinawa there is a brand of cigarettes putout in a bright red package called, "SMELL". At last, the right name for the right product!The genius who picked out that name ought to be supported by the tobacco people for life.

The Rickersons came here five years ago. Later their daughter and son-in-law, theMel Huckins family, came to Okinawa to work. Last year, another' daughter and son-in-law,the Claire Boulton family came to Miyako to help; Mp. & Mrs. Richardson gave up theirhouse, made an apartment out of an adjoining garage, and moved into it. To give you someidea of their isolation, I was the first missionary outside of their own family to comevisit them & these meetings were the 1st concerted evangelistic effort.Not that they haven'tbeen evangelizing. They have. Their is a strong church in Hirara City. Regular meetings inseveral villages. Vacation Bible Schools have been held in villages up and down the island.Wherever we went, people were waving at the Rickersons and the children often started singing one of the songs they had learned at Bible School as we passed.

Every day we met at nine for prayer and planning. Then.together we went out visitingthe homes and inviting the people for services. The sun bore down heavily on slightly wilt-

Leaving the Miyaka church for home-visitation

Team, equipment and childrenat Izumi church, Okinawa

i-.i

ing Bro. Ikemiya & me. But we were thankful for good weather when normally we could haveexpected heavy rains every day. At 4, Bro.Rickerson drove us out to the leper colony. Theentire group labout 350) filled the hall, pulled the curtains and happily sweated as theysaw the movies we had brought, "God of Creation","Voice of the Deep", "Dust or Destiny"and "Hidden Treasures". Afterwards, Bro. Ikemiya preached the gospel. These services plusfour the follov/ing week resulted in 8 baptisms to add to the fine church group that Bro.Rickerson and the leper pastor have built up through the years. Svery night Ogden Hall, thelargest building in town, was filled to capacity. vVe had a complete program for the childrenat 7 p.m. Then we tried to get them to leave for the adult meeting. After they left we closedthe doors. They came back in through the windows. We closed the windows. They climbed up thefire escape. Even above the hubbub, Bro.Ikemiya managed to make himself heard. 88 signed decision cards at these meetings. These 88 were invited personally and by postcard to come tothe church for four more nights of teaching. The first night, the church was filled to capacity. Bro. Ikemiya continued the teaching while I went on to Okinawa to begin v/ith Carl Fish.After he left, Bro. Sickerson continued the teaching. We do not yet know the number of decisions.

talk a boutthey found time to crank up a freezer or ice cream and to taKe me swimtningthe lovely coral beaches the day before I left. I left with the promise to come back longerand bring my family. Okinawa was another experience. The Americans are there - Army, Navy,Marines and Air-ForceNear Naha there seems to be a -bar or a dive-with t-heir female inhabitants for every ten men. (Sometimes it makes me a little sad to be an American) The highwaysnear the bases are four-lane, bumper to bumper during the rush hour, and lined with the sortof roadside businesses one sees around the cities of the United States. Koza is a town inthe middle of this hubbub. The church was small so we set up shop outside. vVe tacked a sheeton the church wall, put the projector in the middle of the street, canvassed the town (ourachin' feet) and preached and showed the gospel to hundreds. I preached with an interpreter.vVe stood on boxes and the people squated on the ground around us or stood up at the edge ofthe crowd, 13 signed decision cards and Carl is continuing weekly classes.

Saturday, Bro.Ikemiya joined us. We left Grace Fish's good cooking and drove northabout sixty miles. The scenery was beautiful and the garish Americans no longer in evidence.Gone too, we're the paved roads, electricity, and potable water. vVe made camp in Mel Huckinsgarage room.(They are on furlough). For food we ate bananas, and cooked canned beans over thesterno. We sponp;e-bathed in a little stream running down through the rice paddies and kepta wary eye for Ihe poisonous Habu snakes which infest the area. Sunday morning v/e stuck ourhead in every doorway in the town of IMADOMORI and invited then to the meetings the next twonights. That afternoon we went to the little mountain village of IZUMI. There we met in alovely little church that Carl had built a few years before. It sets up on a little hill a-mong the pineapple fields. As soon as v;e cranked up our generator, the people began to comeand we had a full house. About 20 signed decision cards and weekly classes continue. Back atImadomori that night, practically every man, woman and child was there to meet us. The townhall was packed and an equal number stood outside looking in for both childrens and adultservices. What a thrill to bring the good news to so many at the same time. Monday nightwas a repeat performance. Here there were 33 decision cards signed. Carl reported 25 youngpeople and 25 adults at the first weekly class session the next week.

Monday night we packed up. Bro. Ikemiya stayed on to preach for a few more days.Carl and I drove to Nago, had coffee and visited with Mrs. Harlan Woodruff for a few minutes(Harlan ib in L-he U.-S. for 6 months) and then on to'Caxl's house by 1 a.m. The next morningCarl and Grace saw me safely off on the Kagoshima bound ship. Bone-weary as I v;as, I sleptmost of the way.

By tuesday night, 17 days after I left I was home again with my family around me.Proving to my own satisfaction that the best part of any trip is the "Vyelcorae Home".

LINKLETTERMonthly Publication of

Kyushu Christian MissionBox 139

North Vernon, Indiana

Non-profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDNorth Vernon, Indiana

Permit No. 1

Harold ilcFarlandUissions ServicesBox 968

Illiaols%

Form 35^7 Requested

In His service,

i)EC 1

fTJmniStfEnlA monthly report by the Mark O. Maxey familyto the friends of the Kyushu Christian Mission

Kanoya, Kagoshima, Japan

Number 9S 26 November 1958

The weather is always news. We had the earliest Martin Clarkfrost and cold-snap in years and now it is summer again. q osaka Bible Seminary

Just right for getting out and preaching the gospel,though, and that is what we have been doing the past weeks. First, over in Kushira withBro. Diakusono. One night in the movie house, another night out in a rural community hallnear town; and the third night at the church. The next week, we worked together at Ko-yama, a neighboring town where he goes once a week. Here we rented the hall of a sewingschool and held forth for three nights. The crowds were good but visible results few. Onereason, perhaps, is that Bro. Diakusono has not had much experience at this sort of thingas yet and until the last night at Koyama really never got around to telling the peoplewhat they could do about wnat they had heard. He gained valuable experience though andnext time will do better.

The first week in November is set aside for evangelism by the students and faculty of Osaka Bible Seminary. Hideo Gasha, one of our own, came and helped Bro. Ikemiyafor three meetings in the Kanoya area held at the community halls of Tasaki, Midoriyamaand Shinsei, all parts of Kanoya city. Since I was working elsewhere, Markie was the movieoperator each night. He had his problems but everyone finally got to see the pictures.

Martin Clark, president of Osaka Bible Seminary, and I worked across the bay inSatsuma peninsula. First in Kagoshima City. Bro. limure had just come home from a goiteroperation and his voice was still weak. Paula worked with us two days before she wentback home to school. Bro. Clark preached each night and we were rewarded with excellentcrowds and interest. A month in the hospital seemed to have given Bro. limure a spiritualre-birth as well as physical health. He worked mightily and every night his voice gotstronger.

In the afternoons we were out visiting the homes, leaving a tract with a replypostcard included and inviting people to the services. One afternoon I crossed paths witha Shinto priest who was standing in front of every door, ringing a bell and begging forcoins. We passed wordlessly. No doubt each had his own thoughts of the other. It mayhave been hypocritical but I couldn't help feeling good at having the "good news" togive rather than coming as a beggar.

We ate a hurried supper at 5;00. The children's meeting began at six. Songs,teaching about Christ's life, movie, and a final invitation to S.S. and church servicesfollowed. The adult meeting began at 7jOO. We tried to teach them just one song, thesame one every night, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" - a hymn with much meaning tothe Japanese. Next the movie, a Christian one as a springboard for the sermon, thenMr. Clark's sermon. He ended with an appeal to buy a Testament of their own and searchit for the words of truth. (We had them on sale for 50 yen or cents and sold 3 dozen during the meetings.)

Bro. limure conducted the last part of the meeting. All people held in theirhands a song sheet and tract, with a detachable tag at one end on which to sign theirnames and addresses. Those interested in Christianity were asked to do so. The firstpart of the meeting was then ended. A second meeting followed for those who wantedfurther teaching and to ask questions. Using charts and blackboards this meeting con-

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tinued as long as there was interest. The evening ended with a prayer meeting withall the Christians* Postcards were sent to all those signing cards and follow up meetings are being held at each place.

The last meeting was held at Kushikino where Bro. Tanijiri preaches. Thisturned out to be the finest meeting of all. A large community hall alongside the churchwas filled every night. Gasha-san joined to help in the meetings. Just before supperwe toured the town with the truck, advertising with loud speakers. Big 3' x 5' signson the side gave the news so people could see as well as hear.

After the sermon and the after-meeting, the people remained to talk and askquestions of Bro. Clark and the Japanese pastors. Such as:

"What is the difference between Buddhism and Christianity?""Christians call other religions idol worship but Christians

themselves idolize the cross?""Who, what, and where is God?""I went to a Christian's house who was sick and took him a gift of

money. I told him the Bible can*t save you now while you are sickand can't earn any money but this money I bring you can save youso it is God. Couldn't this be so?"

"I fought in the war against the Americans and have a guilty conscience about figh-ting and killing. Another thing troubles me.The Americans say they want to have peace but they give the highestprizes to the soldiers who killed the most men. How is this? "

Needless to say, when you get exchanges like this going back and forth, youare reaching peoples' hearts and there is bound to be results. Paper is lacking to tellyou all that happened during these meetings. Countless hours of work and prayer preceded them. After the Kushikino meeting on Sunday night, we packed up, left there ateleven and drove three hours through the night back to Kanoya. We talked of many thingsand praised God for doors opened and victories won.

A few other items in closing. In October my friend Commander Prien across theway flew me to Osaka. I carried an ailing projector in my lap for repair in Tokyo. Whilethere I visited many of the Christian book concerns and made arrangements to handle theirbooks at Kanoya. Combining business with pleasure, I saw A1 and Eleanor Hammond nowhaving another seige of language in Tokyo, and many other missionaries and friends inTokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.

St'-"

Setsuki Shimago, a local girl who wen,^. to Osaka Bible Seminary several yearsago has come back and is running the Christian Center and Book Store. Since August 31ithe sales have totalled 57iOOO ($158.00). Nothing big by U. S. standards but to usan indication that a real need is being met. Our purpose is to provide Christian literature at a Christian place. Any profits buy more books and help pay Shimago-san.

Over in Kushira, our faithful carpenter, Bro. Shimoda finished a new two-roomhouse for the preacher. It is attached to the rear of the church. Just in time, too,for a baby daughter has just been born to the Diakusono's today.

LINKLETTSR Non-Profit OrganizationMonthly Publication of U. S. POSTAGE

Kyushu Christian Mission PAIDBox 139 North Vernon, Indiana

North Vernon, Indiana Permit No. 1

Mr. Harold McFarlandMissions ServicesBox 968Joliet, Illinois

Form 35^7 Requested

The wonder of life andthe joy of service remain.