sims harold lois 1968 japan

8/12/2019 Sims Harold Lois 1968 Japan

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M Newsletter January, 196JD e a r f r i ends

We gree t you a t the th reshho ld o f another year w ith s inc e r e an d ove r f lowing g ra ti tu de fo r a l l th e b l e s s i n g s tha t have cometo US from God the Father., through you during the p a s t year , andwith the req u est t h a t you pray fo r us r e g u l a r l y during this y ear of1968 as we f in ish o u r sch o o l work an d o t h e r act iv i t ies here in th eU S. and r e t u r n to Japan to take up a f o u r t h terra o f m issio n ar yse rv ice and probab ly a ne w work. As th e y e a r s r o l l o n we f e e l more.and more t h e need fo r an d th e r e a l i t y of D i v i n e P r o v i d e n c e and th epower o f p r a y e r .

The p a s t y ear has been a v er y .b u sy one, with too much moneys p e n t on t r ave l to su i t ray c o n s e r v a t i v e p r e f e r e n c e s and to o muchtime away frora home to su i t my wi fe s d o m e st i c inc l ina t ions . Nevertheless we have been ble sse d by th e t r ips we have been a ble to makeacross our b e a u t i f u l land, the good f el lo ws hi p w it h friends, thewords o f encouragement frora many bretliren af ter th e m eetin gs, thegenerous offer ings r e c e i v e d r th e evangel i s t ic vis ion and ac t iv i tyo f many co n g r eg atio n s an d p r e a c h e r s , an d th e sermons we have beenp r i v i l e g e d to hear in conventions, ra l l i es an d the r e g u l a r chapels e r v i c e s he re C.B .S .

I have jus t now counted up from memory more t h an n i n e t y;90 churches visited during 1967^ I also was able to vis i t foupo t h e r B i b l e C o lleg es, par t i c ipa te i n th e Lake James School o f Missi o n s , th e N or th me n s M ee tin g, th e Catsk i l l C h r i s t i a n Assembly and.ro Ye Chapel evangelism in New York, th e North American C h r i s t i a nConvention and, o f c ourse , th e Na tiona l Missionary Convention. Lol^;;j lso spoke more than 10 times to various l a d i e s groups. She andth e c h i l d r e n a r e ac t ive members o f th e Clovernook C h r i s t i a n Churchhere in Cincinnati; and they helped.in the Christian Summer Dayoohool which was held there two days a week during July and Augustand was featured in th e Winter issue of the Standard s KEY magazine-jois and Hope also helped in. the.DVBS a t F i r s t Chris t ian Church InColumbus, Ind iana .

A ll of our t r ips through August were reported In previousn e w s l e t t e r s , so I wil l g i v e a summsry o f o u r t r a v e l s th is fa l l .School g ot s t a r t e d fo r everyone early in Septerabero Hopeis a Sophomore a t C B S Sylvia is a Senior a t Western Hills HighSchool Jonathan is in the 9t h grade a t Roberts Junior High and

Bobby is in th e 7th grade a t the same school. Danny is in the f i rs tgrade at Whittier Elementary With such a household of scholars,Lois f e lt she wanted.to study alsOj so she is taking Hebrews andChurch History at the Seminary every Wednesday and Friday morningMy fa t h e r and mother came up from Tennessee to stay withthe children during the l as t vreek o f September while Lois and Idrove 925 miles out to Dodge City, Kansas for th e Missionary Convention, Having begun with a financial debt, being somewhat hinderedby a change of ministers in the First Church in Dodge City and withmany missionaries saying they would not go because Dodge City wastoo far away etc. we had some discouraging days But in answer totne prayers of many this was generally acknowledged to have beenthe gr eates t of th e 20 Conventions in many ways The registrationfigure of over ^900 th e attendance of over I6OO a t one night session, an average of almost 1000 during the day sessions, and thepresence of over I60 missionaries and recruits were all time highs.All the hotels and motels in th e city were filled, and more than 500people were housed in p r i v a t e homes The members of the two C h r i s tian Churches in the city and others from the area, and especiallyWalter Birney the young minister of the church at Copeland reallywent a l l out contributing long hours o f hard work to make i t a success. Most of the credit goes to these good Kansas people and Iconsider i t a re a l gain to have made friends among them The messag es were a l l o f high qual i ty an d I a p p r e c i a t e th e c o n t r i b u t i o n o f

each one I believe this Convention gave a real boost to our growing missionary work., and I will always remember being at the Convention where we achieved the goal of 1,000 missionaries.


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SIMS NEWSLETTER page 2 JANUARY, 1968My ^3rd birthday f e l l on the second day of the Convention,and I was honored by telegrams from our d augh te rs In Cincinna t i andmy brothe r In Tennessee and the Convention singing Happy Bir thdayto You . We were also thri l led to meet our Japanese fr iend, Stephen lijima, there and to see the audience give him a standing ovat ion a t the end of his devotional t a lk on the closing night . Thechurch he ministers to in Tokyo also sent a telegram of greet ingsto the Convention. Stephen rode back to Cincinnati with us, and i twas fun to ta lk in Japanese and hear the l a t e s t news from many of

ou r good f r i e nd s f rom him.We had exce l l en t news coverage, and Lois and I were interviewed on T.V. I bought a western hat and rode the l a s t coupleo f miles in the chuck wagon t h a t accompanied the t r a i l dr ive fromAshland (about 50 miles), which arrived a t t he aud itor ium short lybefore the opening sess ion . The pic ture was in the Chr is t ian

S t a n d a r d .On th e way ou t we spoke th e Chr i s t i an Church in Oran t -vll le on Sunday AM and renewed a friendship with the minister, Bil lClaycomb, whom we had not seen since 15 years ago as a clean-outSergent in the Air Force in Tokyo,, That evening we spoke a t Univers i ty Heights Church in Salina and stay ed w ith Sgt. and Mrs. DonSmith , who were a lso in Japan with thO A ir Force and so ld us theChevrolet Station Wagon that served us so faithfully during ourlast term. On the way back we spoke at Bethalto and Alton, 111.Early in_October I flew down to Daytona Beach, Florida toparticipate in their successful Faith-Promise Rally. On October 9,I spoke to a men s meeting in Wilkinson, Indiana and saw many old

friends. October I5 the family spent the day with the very missionary minded rural church in Palmyra, Ohio. On October 1?, a beautiful autumn day with leaves in fu l l color, Stephen l i j ima and I droveup to Toronto, Ohio for a Missionary Rally. We drove back home tha t_nlgh.t^Aftar-.Jfae..s.ervice.,-.-arriving here-^at-2 ;3CLAM so I could be-inclass at 7 AM I spent Sunday, October 22, with the Shenango Churchin Newcastle, Pennsylvania and October 2629 with the Wyoming AvenueChurch in Kingston, Pennsylvania.

November 5 8 I shared w ith four other speakers in a round-robin missionary emphasis week in eas tern Tennessee. Each of usspoke on an assigned subject in five different churches, so thateach church heard a ll five speakers in a different order. I enjoyedstaying with Ralph and Donna in Johnson City. November 10-12 the whole family was in Rookville, Indiana for their Faith-Promise Rally. November 19th we were a ll at West Walnut Street Church in Portland, Indiana for the i r harvest home fes t iva l ,Stephen l i j ima went with us to Pennsylvania to share inthe traditional Thanksgiving feast at Lois s is ter s home east ofPittsburg. The next day we took. Stephen dovjn to Bethany to seeAlexander Campbell s home, study, grave, etc. Sunday, he spoke atTittle Creek and Monroeville, and we visited the church in Fayette

C i t y . .

December .3rd, I was a t the Boulevard Church of Chris t inToledo for the day and went to St. Louis the next day for the meeting of the Continuation Committee for the next National MissionaryConvention. Deoember lOth, I was with the young church in NorthMadison, Ohio fo r the day.Seminary classes were out on Deoember 15, and the nightbepre, after the choir concert, a large number of the students cameand sang carols in our front yard which we deeply appreciated,

spent the Christmas week-end with ray mother and fatherin Claxton, Tennessee and I preached to the congregation there onChr i s tmas Eve ,

or. December 28, Hope had a troubjasome booth pulled, and Dec-ember 29, Danny had his tonsils and adenoids removed at St. Francis


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S l l i S i EWSLBTTSR p a g e 3 JANUARY, 1968On December 3 I S y l v i a Jonnie , and Bobby accorapanied meto Bedford , Indiana where I s p o k e a t two churches and a f i f t h Sundayr a l l y . I t was snowy and very cold, but we go t home 10 minutes bef o r e t h e end o f t h e y e a r t o s e e t h e o l d one o u t and t h e new one i ntogether . ,

I This year we w i l l con tinu e the r e g u l a r schedule u n t i lJune, And Hope and Sylv ia a re planning to attend summer school a tC.B.S. July 9-12 we hope to see many of you here a t the North American Christian Convention, which wil l be our send-of f meeting. Wehope to leave with our three boys from Cincinnat i about the end ofJuly and from San Francisco about the middle of August,Uhen we get back to Japan, we plan to occupy the PaulPrat t house in Isehara during their furlough and take care of theirwork. (They will be living here at 2801 Warsaw Avenue,) Duringthat year at Pratts, we hope to sell,J^7ba ck-part of the lo t atNakano where we used to live and^.-arê those filtTds-to iêlooate some

where else in the Tokyo area am begin a new work. -We feel that wehave been at Nakano long enough, and after two years away i t wouldbe bet ter a l l around for the loca l church there and the work as awhole, i f we break away a t t h i s time for a new s t a r t . We t r u s t thatCod will guide us in working out a l l of these things. need yourp r a y e r s and c o n t i n u e d s u p p o r t .

Yours in His s e r v i c eHAROLD SIMS

ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTSIMS TOKYO MISSION, JAPAN1967 , ,

R e c e i p t sB r i g h t C h r i s ti a n ChurchWyraore Church o f C l i r i s tTown Country Church of Chris tCarraichael, CALIF.F i r s t C h r i s t i a n ; NapaDaytona Chris t ian ; Daytona. Beach, FLA,

C h i l d r e n s Dept.F i r s t Church; E u s t i sEnglewood Christian;JacksonvilleLake Aurora Christian AssemblyMrs . A.W. Haines; MiamiMr. Fred Thomas; Ormond BeachCentral Christian Ladies; TampaN. Druid Hills Christian;A t l a n t a ; OAChristian Church; BainbrldgeJefferson Pk, Ciiristian; E,PointAuste ll Ch ri st ia n; Lithia Spgs.1 s t Christian; Alton, ILLINOISF i r s t Chris t ian ; BethaltoF i r s t Chris t ian ; FloraHeyworth Chris t ian; HeyworthF i r s t C h r i s t i a n ; J o l i e tMaple Lawn Christian; J o l i e tC h r i s t i a n Church; LincolnChurch Women s Council; Potomac

Southslde Christ ian; SpringfieldAngola Christ ian; Angola, INDIANABrowns town Chris t ian ; Browns town

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2 4 8 . 8 17 0 0 05 0 . 0 0 .1 4 . 8 5107.67


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S I M S NEWSLETTER page ^

Reoel tsLoy al Couple s C l a s s ; ColumbusGarden City Church; ColumbusP r i m a r y Junior VBS ^J o n es v il le C h r is ti an ; ColumbusF i r s t C h r i s t i a n ; Columbus

C h u r c h i n C r o t h e r s v i l l eKenneth Helen Eade; EnglishC h r i s t i a n Church; F r a n c e s v i l l eJerome C h r i s t i a n ; GreentownSouthside C h r i s t i a n ; HammondF i r s t Church; HighlandEnglewood Women*s C o u n c i l

I n d i a n a p o l i sBright Chris t ian, VBS; LawrenceburgMarkle Church; MarhleC h r i s t i a n Church; Medaryvil lev/hite Water Youth Rally; MilanCommunity C h r i s t i a n ; New P a l e s t i n eChris t ian Church; PortlandMaster s Men s Rally; S, BendS p r i n g v i l l e Missionary FundRockvil le Chris t ian ; Hockvil leWhite Water Ladies; V e r s a i l l e sC h u r c h i n W i l k i n s o n

M i ss io n ar y F e ll ow s h ipChris t ian Church; Canton, KANSASC h r i s t i a n Church; u r a n t v l l l eE l l e n Lawrence; HortonC h r i s t i a n Church; LaCross eBible Agency Fund; Manha tta nV i r g i n i a G. Templeton; WichitaU n i v e r s i t y Heights C h r i s t i a n-A-l-sxsTjdria~cnurc1l, - KENTUCKY Kentucky Chris t ian CollegeMaysvil le Church; Maysvil leOwensboro Chris t ian ; OwensboroTurkey Foo t Church Yo ung AdultsS a di ev ll le C h ri s ti a n; S a di ev il leCalvary Church; Baton Rouge; LA,Central Chris t ian; Batt le Creek,

MICHIGANChurch o f BuchananS. Lansing Church; LansingUniversity Church; LansingA u s t i n Church; MINNESOTAMinnesota Bible CollegeMissions Emphasis Week; Joplin,. MISSOURI.Loyal Women; Kansas City

S t r i n g t o T ^ Church; U n i o n v i l l eC a t s k i l l Chris t ian Assembly; N.Y.Chester Christian; Chester, NEB.F i r s t Christian; Alberquerque, N.M,F i r s t Church; Akron, OHIOKenmore Church; AkronChurch i n BeverlyGreenwood C h r i s t i a n ; CantonCincinnat i Bible Seminary

W o r l d Mission VolunteersW. M. V .P r e s i d e n t Drive Church; C i n c i n n a t iF a i r f i e l d Church l a d l e s ; C i n c l n n a t i

M a d i s o n v l l l e C h r i s t i a n ; C i n c i n n a t iClovernook C h r i s t i a n ; C i n c i n n a t iS u m m e r S c h o o l

N. H i l l s Church; C i n c i n n a t iC h u r c h ladiesMr, Mrs. E.V/. Sims; C i n c i n n a t i

L o v e gift L . L l n k1 5 0 . 0 0

5 0 . 0 0 5if0.00

2927.03

7 2 0 . 0 0

5 . 0 0

JANUARY 1968

S . 1 1 . l i m a G e n e r a l

3 5 . 0 0

1 0 . 0 08.4713.60

2 1 7 2 05 0 9 52 0 . 0 0

5 . 0 06 2 . 0 0117.691 5 . 0 04 5 . 0 091.678 8 . 1 52 1 . 0 97 3 . 0 0

1 2 5 . 2 05 0 . 0 05 0 0 0

175.00>3 7 . 7 53 5 0 01 5 . 0 02 5 . 0 02 5 . 0 01 0 . 0 06 0 0 0174.311 8 . 0 0_ 56.02

142.0 03 . 0 0

2 5 0 07 5 . 0 086.004 0 0 0

5 5 . 8 047.0042.3562.153 5 . 0 096.42

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526,002 2 . 0 07 0 . 0 042.831 0 . 0 02 5 . 0 05 0 . 0 05 0 . 0 05 0 . 0 03 5 . 0 0

2 5 . 0 03 0 . 0 013.603 1 . 0 01 0 . 0 06 1 . 0 03 5 . 7 968.051 0 . 0 0


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Chr i s t i anCo ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature Mark 16:15

Volume 67 April 1968 Number 2

Thoughts on EvangelismOne of the youngest of our churches in

Tokyo, th e Arakawa c hu rc h, ( it wa s restarted last year) had its Spring Evangelistic Meeting on March 21-24. The meetingwas well planned and executed by th eyoung minister, Bro . H iroaki Sato, and thec h u rc h m e m b er s T h e o ld a nd t r i ed me thodsof handing out handbills, putting up posters,sending out postcards, and verbal invitations were tried again.

Bro . Motoyuk i Nomura served as evangelist and he presented the Gospel to theaudience in a convincing and interestingmanner. This meeting was a success whenjudged from th e standpoint of th e spiritualbenefi t received by the hearers. But hardlyone new person pu t in hi s appearance duri ng the four-day meeting.We di d learn some things from thismeeting, though. Or rather, it underscoredsome of t he thought s we have been havingconcerning evangelist ic work in Tokyo.First, new ways must be explored in reaching those who have been untouched by theChurch s ministry, which includes thegreater part of the souls in this vast city.The people will not come to church due toth e cares of life, th e pleasures of society,

and th e satisfactions of prosperity. Thenwe must find other ways of bringing th eGospel to th e people. The marketplacesand the crowded s t ree t s would be th e mostlikely places to begin . But unfortunate lyin Tokyo the streets are so narrow andclogged with automobiles that it is almostimpossible to have street mee ti ng s anymor

So now we a re conside ri ng seriouslyhaving meetings for th e p eopl e who resortto th e minature parks scat tered about th ecity. In spite of the difficulties involved,perhaps frequent meetings in the homes oft he i nd iv id u al me mbe rs of th e c hu rc h w he nth e n eig hb ors and acquaintances ar e invited would be an effective approach toevangel ism. Thi s method wou ld have th ebenefit of overcoming the reluctance of somepeople in Japan to go to church or identifyw ith any th ing tha t is Christian.

S ec on d, th e r ole of th e individual Christian in evangelizing th e peopl e w it h whomthey come in contact must be strongly re -emphasized. In society th e Christian comesin contact with persons that th e preacher,missionary, evangelist , or ano th er Chr istian may never mee t. Besides, th e peculiar

Some Tokyo youth listening to the Gospel. The season of the year when they can mosteffectively be reached is here. Let us prepare to reap this young harvest.

circumstances of t ha t person contacted byt he o rd inary Christian in society are pe rhaps best known by that Christian, andtherefore he can be best ministered to byth e Christian mak ing t he contact.

Third, more emphasis must be placedon t he complemen ta ry nature of specialevangelistic efforts and th e daily witnessing of a Christian to f ri ends and acquaintances. It is no t a question of one or th eother, bu t both must be practiced for th eb e s t r es u lt s T he c hu rc h t he re fo re t ha t h a sevangelistic meetings periodically and forget s p er sona l witnessing is doomed to th es a m e old c row d a n d fe w a d d i t i o n s

Fourth, zeal is mote impor tant t hanmethods. Methods may be reused or abandoned at wil l a ft er they are once t ri ed . Infact, that is exactly what we must do untilwe can find a more effective method . Methoddevises, bu t Zealand t he human will backedup by faith in God that is not easily di scouraged executes. Evangelism is our task.We, h ow ev er, must devise more effectiveways of getting the job done.

n d r e w R a t i o n

t h ingsjApanese

The national anthem of Japan is calledthe Kimigayo ( Sovereign Reign ). Ofcourse, it is addressed to the ruling emperor, the symbol of supreme authority.Opinions may vary conce rn ing i t, bu t itseems to us to be one of t he mos t dignifiedand beaut i fu lna t iona lanchems of th e worldStrange to say, though, the anthem is notaltogether the product of the Japanese.Franz Eckert, a German bandleader whodirected the Marine Band of Japan from1879-98, used s ever al J apanes e melodiesin compiling the melody for the anthem. Thepoem was taken from t he f amou s Kokinshuand is about 1 ,000 years old, it is thought.As is to be expected in a country where thetrue God is little known God and thingsspiritual are given no place in the anthem.On the occasion of the birthday of EmperorMeiji in 1880 th e Kimigayo was playedfo r th e f i r s t t ime a t C o u r t

n d r e w R a t i o n


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Tokyo ChristianVol.67 April 1968 No. 2Published four times a year inJanuary, April, July and Novembe r forth e miss iona r ie s of the Church ofChrist Cunningham Mis sion, Tokyo ,Japan by Mission Services, 509 W.Jefferson, Joliet, Illinois. Secondclass postage paid at Joliet, Illinois.Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray, 2-26-4Kamiochiai , Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, JapanForwarding Agent: Mrs. Homer Anderson522 Cullum Street, Meadville, Pa . 16335.Mr. And Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo,Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. an d Mrs.G. Wade Fletcher, 621 E. 10th St.,Rushville, Ind. 46173Mr. an d Mrs. Harold Sims {FurloughAddress) , 2801 War saw Ave., Cincinnati. Ohio 45204 . Forwarding Agent:First Church of Christ, Orange at Center : St., Eustis, Fla. 32726. iTwo-year subscription S .5 0Subscription and Flaming Torch SI.00

Bits of NewsTh e Harold Sims and Stanley Buttray

families are now on furlough in the UnitedS tates , as yo u know. Both f am ili es ar escheduled to return to Japan by September.We have missed them during their absencefrom Tokyo and ar e l ooki ng forward to theirreturn to us. They will need your prayers,your encouragement, and your financialas s i s t ance fo r a sa fe re turn to the i r missionary labors in Tokyo-i -It- would begreatly appreciated, an d y ou wo uld ge t areal blessing ou t of i t, t oo , if yo u sat downright now an d wrote them a letter of encouragement. And please do no t forget toenclose a love gift to help defray the greatexpense of t rave li ng back to Japan.

Bro. Pau l Pra t t and the church in h ishouse at Isehara made the long trip toSakuiayama church to baptize a young manone Sunday evening in March. This wa s thesecond baptism to take place in th e newbaptistry at Sakurayama. This young manhad a t tended th e church a t Isehara fo rsome time and seemed very doubtful ofChristianity and hard to win. But finallyhe made his dec is ion to r ec ei ve Ch ri st asSav io r and be baptized. We ar e happy thatthe baptistry we worked so hard to buildcould be of gen eral use to our sisterchu r che s .

Bill and Betty Turner will arrive inYokohama on March 28 to c o nt in u e t he irmissionary work in Japan. They will bestationed in Osaka and will be workingwith th e Osaka B ib le S em in ary. The y p la nto live on th e Seminary campus where sui table housing will be provided for them. Billhas b ee n eng age d in g ra duate s tudy atMilligan College over the past year. We arehappy to be able to welcome th e Turnersback to Japan. May God abundantly blesst he m a nd the i r labors fo r Him in the Landof the Rising Sun.

(Continued on page 4)

THE CHURCH IN JAPANSince returning to the States on July

14, 1967, we have visited most of ourl ivingl ink and support ing churches, sharingwith each the living story of God as Heworked these last 18 years in Tokyo . . .and in a ll J ap an . And what a story it hasbeen

Under the domination of the OccupationForce, the first three year s s aw gre at gapping hol es appea r in it s guardian BambooFence as tens of thousands seeminglyturned to Christianity which was nothingmore t han a con t inua t ion of th e de f e a t a ttitude. These huge successes ha d th e stimulating effect of spurring the missionarieson to greater endeavor for th e Lord, as wellas presenting a s ti r ring chal lenge to manymore young ministers to present their livesto a truly unlimited an d untouched field ofservice in the Vineyard of Our Lord JesusChr i s t .

Then came the g re at awaken ing. ThePeace Treaty wa s signed Eight long yearsof the gall and bitterness of def ea t wasforgotten as once again freedom began.Long held underground, this w as the longawa i t ed momen t of the re tu rn of na t i ona lism. Ten yea rs l at er by 1963 . . .nationalism had returned to peak power,leaving in it s wake ruin and havoc Thechurch was dec ima ted and le f t in shamblesa s t hou sand s f led from i t s doors n eve r tore turn. . . . The true fa i th of the nativepreachers became manifest as anti-American feeling arose, and th e liberalism of th egovernment-recognized churches so influenced them unt i l fa i th waxed co ld . TheGospel was replaced with each pastor'spersonal philosophical ideas. Churchesbecame divided and separated. Jealousyr an r ampant. An i nd igenous church arose(called no church) t ha t preached ANOTHER

GOSPEL, which further decimated th echurches, creating extensive discord andapathy.To further counteract the earl y successes of Christianity in Japan, th e devilstarted a hundred or more new religions,an d so inspired th e followers of Nichrenthat it ha s grown from 245 thousand atthe c lo se of th e Second World W ar to afollowing of 17 mil lion today Their keypassword is Hate Americans . . . HateChristianity.The past five years have been no lessturbulent. Bu t even so , God is no t withouta fa i thful witness . T here a re a number ofsigns that indicate a stabilizing andstrengthening of the faithful few. Strategy,conference, and prayer meetings have multiplied in the last five years, all with thes ame g oal of arresting th e stalemated condition of th e churches . Pe r sona l let tersfrom missionaries and Japanese Christiansthat 1 have received since returning to theStates last year would indicate a gradualawakening of the church to it s responsibility to evangelize.

Today is ou r greatest opportunity toevangel ize Japan We ca n evangelize for afraction of what it costs in the U. S. A. Bycomparison, it is true t ha t annua ll y a lmos tnothing is spent for evangelizing the unreached millions of Japan Almos t one million Japanese l iv ing today will at this timenext year be beyond the hearing of theGospel They will be in eternity ButWHERE in etern ity depends on y ou an d me

Has God forgo tt en the unreached millions of Japan? NO The question is :HAVE YOU? Pray for us and these unreached mil lions. Pray

Stanley Butt rayI long accomplish great nd noble tasks, but it is my chief

duty nd joy to ccomplish humble tasks as though they weregreat and noble. -Helen eller

The Minalo Church of Christ at the Welcome Home meeting for their preacher Stephenlij ima on December 24, 1967.


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SIMS FAMILY SAILING AUGUST 15The Harold Sims family plans to sail

from San F r anc i s co aboard th e S. S. P r e sident Wilson on Augus t 15, 1968, outboundfor their fourth term of missionary work inTokyo, Japan. Yes, this is the same shipon which we returned to th e U.S. in June1 96 6. We expect to arrive in Yokohama onAugust 29-With us on the same ship will be theMark Nlaxey family, also beginning theirfourth term in Kanoya on Kyushu Island insouth Japan, and the Wayful Jew familyfrom San Jose, California, who will bestarting their missionary career. The tripwill certainly be made more enjoyable bythe company of these f ri ends. The crossingis during the typhoon s eas on , s o we askyou to pray that the winds may be favorable, and that God will gui de and guard usa s we g o .

Hope and Sylvia will r emain h ere inThe Cincinnati Bible Seminary. Sylvia, whograduates on June 12 from Western HillsHigh School, will enter the summer sessionat th e Seminary and move into th e d orm itory there so that she, al ong w it h Hope,wi l l be se t t l ed into the i r l i fe and w ork andhome a t th e s choo l before we l eave them.At present they are both looking for suitable par t- time jobs to help f inance the ireducation. The Seminary gives missionarychildren a reduction in t he ir tui tion costs ,and we apprec ia te that very much.We leave our daughters in the care ofGod and His people, knowing that theresources of love, trust and fe llowship thatar e promised and available to us who are inChrist is adequate to fill all needs. Ofcourse it is not easy to leave father andmother, brothers and sisters, hou se s andlands an d our own children ; but we do it

for th e sake of Christ and His Gospel, praying that He may accept and us e t hi s l it tl ea c t of ded i c a t i on and ob ed i en ce bo th toaccomplish His pur po se through us and toinc rease our f ai th a nd lo ve t ow ard H im .

When we ge t to Japan we will not bereturning to th e old f am il ia r h ou se inNakano ward where we have l ived fo r 15years . Instead,we will move into the housein Isehara (ee-seh-hah-rah) a town aboutan hour s ride out into th e neighboringKanagawa prefecture from Tokyo) whichwas bui lt several yea rs a go by Bill Walker.Since th e Walker s re turned to the U.S. in1964 th e Pa ul P ra tt s have lived in Isehara .They have started regular worship servicesan d Bible c l a s se s in the home an d in several schools and colleges around that area.Now t he y have asked us to keep their workgoing dur ing their fur lough, which beginsthis summer, and we have agreed to do this.

Our new address in J ap an w il l be Mr.an d Mrs. Harold Sims, 1210 Kamikasuya,Isehara-cho, Kanagawa-ken, Japan.

The Nakano church, which began in ourliving-room on Thanksgiving Sunday, 1950,has been get ting along very well under theleadership of Mr. and Mrs. liagaki who camethere in 1961. The congregation is self-supporting and growing in many ways.While we know and l ove these people dearly,and appreciate their desire that we continue to live among t hem, we ar e happy theyare not dependent on us . And we believeit would be better fo r that lo ca l c hu rc h a ndthe evangelistic work in Tokyo as a wholefo r us to move from th e r e to some o therlo ca tio n and launc h o ut in a new work. Wewil l cont inue to v i s i t Nakano an d sha re inthe work there, of course, but we f ee l t ha tth e best time to move away is after this

United Evangelistic CampaignSeveral months ago word was receivedfrom Evangelist Joe Garman of Missouri

that he i nte nded to make an evangelistictour of th e Far Eas t . He ind ica ted th at h ew ou ld be going to K or ea , to the Philippines,Taiwan, Okinawa, and Southern Japan andthat he wo ul d appreciate an opportunity topreach Chri st in Tokyo. Attendance at theAll-Japan Convent ion of th e Churches ofChrist was included in h is p la ns , and immediately a ft er t ha t, he could devote a fewdays to preaching in Tokyo.In t he r egular monthly minister s meeting following this, defin ite p lans were madefor an evangelist ic campaign sponsored byabout a dozen of our churches in Tokyo andfeaturing Bro . Garman a s e vangel is t. Bro.Stephen lijima was chosen interpreter , committees were formed, their duties outlined,and the work began. The campaign will beknown as Churches of Christ, TokyoCrusade. The mee ti ng will cover a four-n ight per iod, beg inn ing on April 9, an d allof th e s e s s i o n s wi l l be he ld a t th e Kamioch i a i c hu r c h .

Handbills have a lready been printed atthis writing and divided among th e churches

for distribution. A series of uni ted p raye rmeetings to prepare for th e Crusade overth e past severa l weeks hav e b een held, an dcho ir p ra ct ic e for the Crusade has beenheld each week. Already much good ha sbeen done as we have been preparing forthis joint effort in the name of th e Lord.Enthu si asm has grown, zeal has been imparted, an d concern for th e general causeof Ch r i s t r a th er tha n the s e l f i sh i n t e res t sof a particular congregation is more ev ident. We are praying for, preparing f or , andexpec ting g rea t seasons of refreshing fromthe presence of t he Lord.

Another very e nc ou ra gi ng t hing a boutthis Crusade is that the Tokyo preachershave a lready indica ted that they desire tomake this Crus ade an a nnu al a f fa i r. Pra iseth e Lord an d may our gracious God be withus in the undertaking. A report on th e resu l t s wi l l be made in th e nex t i s s ue ofthis paper. Will y ou jo in us in prayer thatth e Word of th e Lord may continue to growan d be glorified long after th e Crusadehas a lready ended .

Andrew Fa t t e n

two-year absence.During our year of ad interim work at

Isehara we hope to work out the details ofd iv id in g t he pr op ert y at Nakano transf er ri ng the church bui lding and the landaround it to th e local church,which will incorporate, and selling the part of the land{nearly /:) on which the Cunningham Mission house in which we formerly lived islocated. Then we hope to us e the moneyrealized from th e sale of th e second po rtion of th e lo t t o pur chas e another placefo r us to l i v e .Very i mp or ta nt decisions and responsibilities ar e ahead of us as we try tonegotiate and carry out these complicatedlegal mat ters . Also,we must decide whereto relocate, sorting through many problemsand possibilities. We feel very much theneed of God s guidance and earnestly request your prayers for us .

Our furlough has been a great blessingto all of us . We have been g reatly encouraged by the good ministers of Christand f a i th fu l Chr i s t i a n s in chu r ch e s a l l ove rthis land as we visited among them. Wehave- l ea rned more th an th e s t uden t s of ourclasses by the experience of teaching inThe Cincinnati Bible Seminary. And we havel ik ed t he balance of a rou tine l ife of studyand teaching dur ing the week and a varietyof places go and things to do as wetraveled out to speak on week-ends. TheNatio na l M is siona ry Co nven tion was anunforgettable experience and importantpart of this furlough also. The childrenhave grown in eve ry way and profited muchby this time in the homeland . We go backrefreshed and very thankful.

Harold Sims

Mr. and Mrs. Sugiyama, a recently converted couple. Mr. Sugiyama is an executive of the Taito Sugar Company in T okyo.


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Buttroys Plan Return to Japan nAugust

The Stanley Buttrays express their gratitude to all churches visited, and to allfriends for your patience, hospitality, and encouragement. Pray for them . . . anda great harvest of souls as they return.We, Stanley, Mabel , and Dav id Buttray,

a re p lann ing on returning to Tokyo, Japan,around th e firs t week in August of thi s yea r1968, the Lord willing. edo believe it isGod s will, and p la ns a re in the process ofbeing formed.

Our first concern is a Japanese visa .We do have the necessary requirements athand, and will be making application withinthe next few days. Our second concern isfor adequate finances to return. These include SI,700 plane fare, and S700 for heat-

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIPAND MANAGEMENT

Toyko Chri s ti an i s a quar ter ly publ ication of th e Church of Chris t CunninghamMission, Andrew Patton, 3-7-8 Higashin-akan o, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan, Editor.Church of Christ Cunningham Mission is amission s e t up for t he p ropaga ting of theGospel of Jesus Christ in Japan, andreceives it s support from gifts and offeringsfrom congregations an d indiv iduals a ff il i a tedwith th e C hu rc he s of C h r i s t and C h r i s t i a nChurches. Each missionary affiliated withthis Mission r ec ei ve s h is support di rec tlyor through hi s forwarding agent as listedin every issue of this paper. All subscript ions or donations for th e Tokyo Chris tianshould be sent to G. Wade Fletcher, 621E. 10th Street, Rushville, Ind iana 46173 ,who r e c e i v e s no r e m u n e r a t i o n fo r h i s s e rv i c e s .Ownership ana managemen t of TokyoChrist ian belongs to the Church of ChristCunningham Mission. Stateside editoria l,publishing, and mailing duties have beendelegated to Mission Services Association,Box 368, Joliet, Illinois 60434, Mrs. FayDressier , Editorial Manager. Subscriptionrate is 50 ^ for two y ea rs a pp li ed fromyear ly contr ibu t ions .

ing unit, ref rigerator, and freight. Theserepresent simply our bas ic needs .

Please designate all checks to TRAVELFUND, and send them to our forwardingagent, Mrs. Homer Anderson, 622 Cullum St.,Meadville, Pennsylvania.

As always, we are trusting in God tosupply al l our needs. Pray for us.Stanley Buttray

A D D R E S S C O R R EC T IO N R E Q U E ST E DB O X 3 6 6 J O L I E T I L L I N O I S 6 0 4 3 4

BITS OF NEWScontinued from page 2Spring is not only a time when natur e

comes back to life, but b il l c ol le ct or s a ls otake on a special en thus ia s ti c a ir in thatseason. Missionaries are especially vulnerable at that time of year, though they ar enot immune to th e b i ll c o ll e ct o r s wiles a to ther t imes of the yea r. For instance, inspring the school authori ties say , Pay upor ge t your child out. The tax people alsosay, P ay up or take the consequences.These tax people emanate from two countriesand their demands cover many areas, fromauto to la nd a nd house t o i nc om e. Summerwear must be provided for the s umme r,chants the clothing salesmen. And so on itgoes with no en d in sight . So now at thisseason of year wil l you please make an extra effort to give s ome ex tr a f in an ci al a ss i s t a n c e to us s o t ha t fi na nc ia l w o r r i e swill not be added to the many other burdensit is necessary to bear.

Andrew P a t t o n

One of five baptisms on March 3, 1968,at Minato church. The pu lp it , communiontable, and cloth-covered offering basketcan be seen to the l ef t of the small baptistery room in the little church building there.


9/26


10/26

There are -many t h ings t h a t would make us want to s t ay here in t h i s count ry .But we real ly feel tha t with the language abi l i ty ano the experience we have and inVIEW OF THE CoMMIiSSION OF ChR IST N THE NEEDS OF LL MEN FOR THE GOSPEL WE OWE IT TOTHE WORK OF ChRI ST ND H|S CHURCH TO RETURN NO T KE UP AGAIN THE WORK IN lOKYO INOTHER WORDS WE BELIEVE GoO IS CALLING US TO THIS JOB. P RTLY BEC USE OF A SERIES OFLETTERS FULL OF GOOD NEWS FROM SEVERAL OF OUR JAPANESE PREACHER FRIENDS ND MISSIONARIES WE GO BACK WITH MORE ENTHUSIASM AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE THAN AT ANY TIME SINCETHAT FIR ST TRIP OUT 2 YEARS AGO

Please remember to pray fo r Lois and me and the 3 boys as we t r a v e l ha l f wayAROUND THE WORLD AND BEGIN THIS NEW WORK AND FOR THE GIRLS AS THEY REMAIN HERE INCincinnat i . Your advice ass i s t ance and o th er ex pre ssio ns o f Chris t ian love towardTHEM W I L L BE GREATLY A P P RE CI A T E D .

May God s b l e s s i n g be upon all o f you.In His s e r v i c e

Haro ld and L o i s S imsI M I M M t I I I I I I M I I I IMr. and M r s . H a r o l d Si m s1210 Kam i- ka su yaISEHARA-CHOKa na ga wa ke n J a p a nI I I I I I I 11 I I II I I I I I I I I I I I I

SIMS TOKYO MISSIONF o rw a r di ng A g e n t:First Church o f C h r i s t315 Orange AvenueEust is Florida 32726

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Non Pro f IT O r g an iza t i o nU. S . P os t a geP I

Eus t i s Flor idaPermit No. 57


11/26

Tokyo Chr i s t i anGo ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature S\ark 16:15

Vol ume 6 7 July 1968 Number 3

According to th e way one looks at it ,Japan is either blessed or cursed by havin g two meth od s of counting years or eras.Both methods are used side by side today;th e o ld method being used for t hi ng s J ap anese and of necessity in conducting officialbu s i n e s s and the Occ id en t a l method i sused in the dealings of th e Japanese withforeign peoples. Naturally, this dual method of naming years is thoroughly confusingto a Westerner, just as the ord inary Japanese is confused when we use th e Chr i stian method in referring to any particularda te

One recurring question that the Japanese ask us missionaries in Japan whenthey first meet us is , How long have youbeen in Japan? If we answer, Twentyyears, they understand. But if th e answeris, l f ir st c ame to Japan In 1948,* thereis generally a blank look on their faces.Then if we add, I n Showa 23, their

expressions immediately indicate that theyunders tandIn other words , Japanese chronology isdivided in to eras with var iab le n umbe rs o fyears which correspond to the reigns oft he emperor s. E ach e ra is given a distinctive year name to designate the emperor s name, whi ch name is different fromhi s personal name. For instance, 1968 isShowa 43 th e 43rd year of th e reign ofEmperor Hirohlto.In 1868, Japan emerged from her longer a of seclusion and began her h is to ry asa modern nation. The nam es, meanings,and dates of the e ra s s ince tha t t ime are :Meiji { Enlightened Era ) 18681912,Taisho Way of Heaven or E ra of GreatEquity ) 19121926, and Showa ( Radian t Peace ) 1926 to th e present.

When o ne b ec om es a b it f am i li ar wi thit , it is not s ur pr is in g t ha t this method isof ten confus ing and difficult even for th e

Japanese. Consequently, most memorandumbooks in J ap an h av e conversion or reference tables printed in th e back to reducethe confusion. Another difficulty may beillustrated by th e following: The presentShowa E ra b eg an at 1:25 a.m. on December 25, 1926 when Emperor Taisho died.At that moment the first year of Showabegan. Then on January 1, 1927 th e secondyear of Showa began. There were three er ayears in one week, and one can imaginewha t con fus ion t h a t wil l c a u s e to fu turestudents of Japanese chronology.

Th e use of the Gregorian or Christiancalendar in dealing with foreign governments began on January 1, 1873. TheJapanese method of chronological reckoning, however, is so widely used and venerab le th a t i t is d ou bt fu l i f i t w il l e v e r becompletely supplanted by the former.

Andrew Pat ton

EVANGELISTIC MEETINGIn May another evangelistic meetingwas held at the Sakurayama Church, and

this time we met with a greater degree ofsuccess than was formerly th e case.Brother Akada of th e Kumegawa Churchserved a s evangel is t and hi s messageswer e we ll r e ce iv e d

T en th ou sa nd handb i l l s were d is t r ibuted by th e members of t he Chu rch, somebeing inserted in newspapers and deliveredand th e rest distributed by hand. Numerousposters and signs were posted and l ar gesigns pu t out in well-traveled places.Letters and cards were sent and spokeninvitations were given to friends andacquaintances by word of mouth. A portable speaker was used in th e communitye ach evening before t he mee ti ng .

These efforts and the p ra ye rs o f th eChurch r e s u l t ed in the b e s t a t te n de d m e eting we have had at Sak ur ayama in a longtime. The a ud ie nc e numbered about t hi rt yduring th e four-day meeting and in al labout twenty people visited th e Church forth e f i r s t t im e To A m er ic an s who a reaccustomed to much larger groups atchurch, this number s ou nd s sma ll in de ed ;but to us in Tokyo who ar e accustomed tosmall gatherings, it is considered a good-sized group at church. In most everythingelse we have to muster up courage tob rave the crowds to get any th ing done, bu tat church there is plenty of room for everyone

Evangelistic Meeting at Sakurayama ChurchTh e members of th e Church gaveexcellent cooperation during th e meeting.

They p lan ned th e program, presided at th emeetings, took th e n ames of new persons,gave their testimony, helped with th emusic and counseled new persons. Two

persons made decisions to s e rve Chri s t.Al l things considered, it was an excellent meeting. plan to follow it up witha no th er a t the end of th e h ot s umme r.

Andrew Pat ton


12/26

Tokyo ChristianVol. 67 July 1968 No. 3Published four times a year inJanuary, April, July and November forth e mis s i o n a r i e s of th e Church ofChrist Cunningham Mis si on , T ok yo ,Japan by Mission Services, 509 W.Jefferson, Joliet, Illinois. Secondclass postage paid at Jo li e t, I ll inoi s.Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Butt ray , 2 -26-4Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, JapanForwarding Agent: Mrs. Homer Anderson522 CuMum Street , Meadvi l le , Pa. 16335.Mr. And Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo,Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs.G. Wade Fletcher, 621 E. 10th St.,Rushvil le, Ind. 46173

Mr. and Mrs. Harol d S ims (FurloughAddress) , 2801 Warsaw Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45204. Forwarding Agent:First Church of Christ, Orange at CenterSt., Eustis, Fla. 32726.Two-year subscript ion .5 0Subscription and Flaming Torch SI.00

Bits o f NewsOn June 18 th e missionaries and Japanese friends met at Tokyo International

Airport to sa y farewell to th e Pau l P ra ttfamily, who was returning to the States fora year s fur lough. A fai rly large group ofwell-wishers gave them a warm send-offand urged them to return to Japan as soonas possible. The Pratts will be greatlymissed during their absence.

The Stanley But trays expect to arr iveback in Japan around the middle of August.They expect to go immediately to Karuizawato help in an evangelistic campaign TheHaro ld Simses are scheduled to arr ive inY okoham a aboa rd th e S.S. P re s i den tCleveland on August 29- While th e PaulPratts are on furlough, th e Simses willl ive in th e Pra t t home a t I se h ar a and di rec tt he c hu rc h work t he re . In th e mean t ime th eS imse s in tend to find a new l oca t ion sot ha t t he y can begin a n ew chu rc h wor k.

Plans are being made for holding theannual Christian Camp at Lake Motosu onAugust 512. A large group of campers isexpected to attend this year. A detailedreport of th e camp will be made at a laterda t e .

Leland Taylor, professor of t he Unive rsity of Hawaii and son of Harold and AdaTaylor of Seoul, Korea, visited th e Pattonsfor a short time in June. Leland came as atourist, though Japan is not new to him,for he spent some of hi s childhood yearsin Tokyo with hi s parents, who spent oneterm a s m i s si o na r ie s h e re .

The out si de wal ls of the SakurayamaChurch building have been redecoratedwith w hi te morta r . Some o f th e work oftrimming t he bui ld in g with pain t yet rem ains to be done .

ooking orward to a Fourth Term in JapanSo many people in r ec en t weeks haveasked me if we are looking forward to ge t

ting back to Japan. F ra nk ly , t he c ho re s ofpacking and the dreaded saying of goodbyes have been occupying most of ou rthoughts lately. But really th e answer tot ha t ques ti on must be yes for severa l r easo s

1. We feel, mainly because of lettersreceived from Japan wit hin the past si xmonths, that a spirit of evangelism and ofunity among th e ministers is in the ai r inTokyo now, that has been lacking at times.2. We ar e planning to re-locate andbegin a new work, and there is quite achallenge and adventure before us as weconsider various possibi l i t ies.3. We have many true friends amongthe peo ple there with whom we enj oy l iving and working.4. I feel t ha t thi s is my calling in life.

I can speak the language, and know atleast something of the customs of the people. Preaching the Gospel to these peopleis someth ing that I am able to do for theLord, and it gives me joy to offer it toHim.5. Hundreds of brethren, doing theirbest to serve Christ in their own calling,ar e fully backing us and ha ve confidencein us . This is a great stewardship entrusted to us , and may we be fai thful as requiredof s tewardsI sometimes feel something like apitcher who has walked some and a ll owedthe oppos it ion to ge t a few hits in th e firstthree innings but whose manager is sending him back in there for another inning. Iwil l try again with every pitch. May Christbe with us . We know He wi ll , for He promi s e d .

Harold Sims

Hints For Missionary HelpersIt is very encouraging to observe th eincreased interest in mission work amongChrist ian people in America. Missions arereceiving an emphas is a lmost unprecedented in th e recen t h is to ry of t he Chu rch.Large r groups of missionaries ate beingsent out, however inadequate that numbermay be . Miss ion s tudy group s are formedamong th e churches, an d the people arechallenged in var ious ways to support miss ions . As a resu l t , c on ce rn ed b re th re n a reconstantly asking th e missionaries in whatway they can best help them.In requesting information about themand their work, people ask missionarieswha t a re their major needs. Almost withoutexception missionaries place at th e veryhead of their list of needs, the prayers ofthe people on the home front . From experience we know just how comforting and encouraging it ca n be to a missionary to rece iv e a warm l e t t e r from a bro the r backhome saying that he is praying for him.Men of God have highly prized theintercessory prayers of their brethren evenfrom th e very beg inning of th e Chris tianreligion. Paul e xhor te d t he Thessalonianbrethren to pray for him for two reasons.He was no t just mouthing p ious words, bu thi s request was heartfelt an d earnest . Hefelt that the prayers of hi s brethren atThessalonica were neces sa ry tha t theword of th e Lord may run and be glorifiedand chat he may be delivered from unreasonable and evi l men . Both of those

The Andrew Pat tons spent th e monthof July in Karuizawa, which is situated inth e mountains north of Tokyo. Andrewcommuted to Tokyo on th e weekends to doh is c hu r c h wo r k .

The Ju li us F leenors a re the proud parents of another daughter , Laurie , who wasborn in May. This is th e Fleenors fifthchi ld .

Andrew Pa t t on

reasons for ea rnest int er ces so ry prayersfor missionaries are valid today as theywere in the infancy of the Church. It isknown to a l l t h at m i s s io n a ri e s o fte n f ac eproblems, circumstances, dangers, temptations, and pitfalls to a deg ree o ft en unknown to t he C h ri st ia n b ac k home . Bes i de she has th e ca res and burdens o f a ll th echurches under his leadership. How muchmore difficult it is and hampe re d he iswithout t he ai d of th e prayers of his brothers. This fact needs to be indelibly imprinted on th e hearts of all Chris tians,namely, chat a miss ionary cannot properlylive and carry on his ministry withoutprayer his own and that of his brothersfo r h im.But in praying for missionaries, it mustno t be forgotten that it is no t just rawprayer, just mouthed pious words and feelings that undergirds the missionary s lifeand work. Prayers for them must becoupled as much as possible with a deepknowledge and understanding of th e problems, c i rcums tances , needs , and field ofthe missionary. Incalculable r ewards wil laccrue both to the m is sio na ry , th e p er so nwho prays for him , and to th e home churchfrom such intelligent and enlightenedp r a y e r s .

As we have said before, so say wenow again, brethren pray for us , Andrew Pa t ton

^WEL OME31 MISSION RIES FRIENDSMissionary Convention at Tanabe


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ooking ock on This FurloughAs we prepare for th e r etur n trip toJapan a few days from now, our hearts ar efull of gratitude to God and His people for

th e many blessings and joys that havecome to us through th e past two years ofr e s i d e n c e in th e U n i t e d S t a t e s

T h e d e c i s i o n t o r e m ai n in t h e h o m ecountry for t hi s per iod of time was mainlypersonally motivated. We knew we wouldhave to leave ou r two daugh te rs beh indwhen we returned to Japan, and we wantedto be with Hope while s he s ta rt ed in college and Sylvia until she graduated fromhigh school and wa s ready for college. Wethought we should help them to adjust tolife in America. (One thing for sure Fromnow on t hey w ill be helping us old folksadjust ) I would not presume to claim thatthis decision was commanded by God, butI do feel that, all things considered, itwas the right and best thing to do at thetime. I also believe that in God's majesticand gracious providence it has worked ou tfor good and according to His will.

The Churches in AmericaIt has be en mos t refreshing spirituallyto have th e prolonged c lo se con ta ct withth e American churches again. The FirstChristian Church at Napa, California go t usoff to a wonderful start, as they led inraising $700 for a down payment on a newChevrol et s ta ti on wagon. This car nowregisters almost 50,000 miles, an d has aver y good service record.

Then we had good visits w ith o ur otherliving-link churches in Florida, Virginia,Pennsylvania an d Ohio on si x consecutiveSundays b ack in JulyAugust 1966, andh a v e b e e n b a c k to e a c h o n e a t l e a s t o n c e

since then. Besides these, we visited over1 5 0 o th e r c hu rc he s o f a ll s i z e s a n d inmany places.During the 70 nights between arrival in

th e U .S . an d moving into th e house we ha drented in Cincinnati, we spent only onenight in a motel. This speaks well of th eChristian grace of hospitality, which iss t i l l s o warm a n d a l i v e in C h r i s t i a nhomes across the land . We know, becausewe have partaken of it in great measure.Many thanks to all of you hosts.

In o u r c h u r c h e s a r e to b e fo u nd t h o s epeople so well described as th e salt of theearth. Who c an f ail to appreciate th e savorof th e faithfulness of many older fol k whohave continued to pray for us daily formore than twenty years; th e sacrificialgi vi ng and devoted leadership of many ofour age; and the great abilities and energies of th e young people? I hope that Ihave learned well the positive, hopefulapproach to problems and th e faith toattempt great things for Christ that Ineeded to learn and that seems so typicalof th e American churches an d mi n i s t e r sI know there are weaknesses in manyareas of our Christian and church lives,and as a group we are mostly small-town,middle-class whi te people f ai li ng to evangelize successfully the rich, th e intellectuals, th e ghettos and other areas . But 1chink we have stood for something worthconserving th e apostolic standards offaith, the free church polity and the evangelistic emphasis. I hope we will continuepressing forward to make up that which islacking.

One very popular activity in the fieldof miss ions recently is th e Faith-PromiseRally. It was a rich and educational experience to participate in several of these inIndiana, Florida and Ohio, as well as other types of missionary rallies in EastTennessee and many other places. It wa salso a privi lege to preach one evangelisticmeeting in Charlottesville, Virginia.During this furlough, Lois made quitea number of talks to various ladies groups.In May especially, she was much in demand for mother and daugh te r banquets.

The Bible CollegesAnother blessing of this furlough camefrom teaching in the Missions Departmentof th e Cincinnati Bible Seminary. We werethankful for t he oppor tuni ty of being intouch w i t h the s t u d e n t s in th e c l a s s r o o mand in outside activities, and for the menta l stimulation of preparing for th e subjects I was assigned to teach. It was alsoa constant joy to work with the faculty ofthis great school. We will surely missgoing to school when September comesthis year. Loi s took some classes at theSeminary both years, and read so muchchurch history that sh e had to get glasses.I was also able to visit th e campusesof five other Bible colleges during theirMission Emphasis weeks, and in eachcase it was an inspi ra tion to f ind youngpeople interested in the field of Japan.These schools are the strength of ourmovement at t hi s time , and prospects forthe future look good.

Convent ionsWe were able to attend th e t wo N orth

American Christ ian Conventions atTampa in 1967 and at Cincinnati in July1968. These were great inspi ra tional experiences. The preaching, the thrillingsong services, the great throngs, the spiritof fel lowship were def in ite gifts that wewill be able to t ak e b ac k to Japan withoutpaying for the shipping charges.Many other great meetings were enjoyed a lso. The whole family attendedLake James School of Missions last year,and the boys and I went to the Northmen smeeting in the woods of Michigan.Of course, the greatest personal honor,as well as a great encouragement, came tous at the National Missionary Conventionin Dodge City, Kansas. This was generallyacknowledged to have been the greatest ofthese conventions, and was a highlight ofthe furlough that lives in our memories.Go Ye ChapelDuring the summer of 1967, 1 spentnear ly a month working with about f if teen

miss ion interns from five or s i x B ib le c olleges who were helping and learning fromth e work of th e Go Ye Chapel in NewYork City. Because of what we have incommon with big c ity evange li sm , I wasgrateful for the opportunity to se e ElmerK i l e s work while he w a s s t i l l active in it .There ate many similarities among thebig cities of our world, and all of theseare desperately needy mission fields. Ihope that those of us who work in thesemetropolitan areas of the world will beable to learn from each other as we tr y tomake Christ known to th e late-risers, high-

r i s e r s a n d c r i m e r i s e r slijimo VisitAnother high point of this furlough forus was being able to arrange the visit toth e United States of our good friend andfaithful minister of Christ in Tokyo,Stephen lijima. Previous issues of theTokyo Christian have more fully explainedthis an d a ll t he se other things.The Family

Soon a f t e r we a r r i v e d b a c k in th e e a s tern United States, we had a Sims familyreunion down in T e n n e s s e e L a t e r on, wehad a Lutton family gathering in Pennsylvania. Only those who have been apart formany years can enjoy these t imes as mucha s w e d o

The last Sims family gathering was forth e marriage of ou r oldest daughter, HopeJoyce, on July 5 at the Clovernook Chr ist i a n C h u r c h h e r e in C i n c i n n a t i She married a young man named Thomas L.Schmidt from Hudson, I nd iana , who hascompleted his sophomore year at th e Seminary. They ar e living in a nice little apartment w ithin w alk in g distance of th eschool; he will continue his studies atth e school and work part-time. Hope has afull-time job at th e Cen tr al T ru st Co. her e,but will take as many classes as possible.

Through t he k indnes s of some of ourfriends among th e ladies at ClovernookChurch and the aunt of th e groom, we wereable to have a very lovely wedding reception following the ceremony. Hope receiveda great number of very fine gifts and cardsfrom f r i e n d s a l l o v e r the world a n d weappreciated the attendance of many friendsat t he wedding . We know that al l of youwill wish them th e best in life a nd p ra y forGod 's gu idance upon them.It was a great honor for us to be invited to the newly established home of Mr.a n d Mrs. Schmid t for a d e li c io u s c h ic k end inne r short ly before leaving the UnitedStates, and to se e that they are well settled and very happy.

a.5 j

Mr . and Mrs. Thomas L Schmidt


14/26

Sylvia Jean graduated from WesternHills High School with high scholastichonors. She received the PTA scholarshipof $200 and had a standing of number 10 inher class of 639 students. We ar e veryproud of her. She enrolled in th e summersession at th e Cincinnati Bible Seminaryand got a job in t he of fic e of the Mabley-Carew Department Store th e same week. Soshe is settled into her dormitory room anda routine of study and work that will keepher busy. We request your prayers for hera l so

The boys have also grown quite a bitin var ious ways during their American tourof duty. Jonnie learned to play the clarinetin the junior high school band. Mrs.Clayton Grimstad of Columbus, Ohio, whoused to be in the Eustis High School Bandwith me y ea rs a go , lo an ed him he r old oneon which to learn. She has now given it tohim, and also a violin to encourage Bobbyto start on . We ar e most grateful for suchfriends an d their interest in ou r children'swel fa re American SocietyAnother blessing of this long fur-lough {?) has been that we al l feelAmericanized again. We believe thereis a good meaning in that word.) Of course,we know there ar e many problems inAmerica, and we know that sharp questionswill be asked us when we get back toJap an about riots, hippies, assassinat ion s, r ac ism and other th ings in th e news.We feel enough involved with Americansociety now that we almost feel l ike pa rtof the problem And we carry this burdenof our own nation's godlessness and unrighteousness back with us . But I will tellthe people in Japan that the circles Imoved in were composed of law-abiding,sober, God-fearing people. I believe it isthese who carry this country on theirb a c k sSeveral weeks ago, the nationalconvention of the Society for t he Encou ragement and Preservation of BarbershopQuartet Singing in America held it s annualcon t e s t in Con ve nt io n H a ll We went tohear the finals, and really enjoyed theevening. Near the end of the program theaudience of 5,000 plus top-grade singersstood and sang God Bless America. We,of course, j oined in. And when we came tothose final ringing words my home sweethome, we al l made full-throated harmonious music that thrilled the depths of mys oul. This expresses my sentiments as Ibid farewell to my beloved land again.

Haro ld Sims

Fellowship hour Sakurayama Church

ndrew Patten and children at hite String Falls.

: H11Betty and SharonPatten at hite String Falls.

BOX 3 6 8 JOLI T I L L I NO I S 6 0 4 3 4


15/26

AS SWSLTT R ^ 1963Dear F r i e n d s

During t h e p a s t t h r e e v e r y busy months ll o f t h e i m p o r t a n te v e n t s amiounced i n o u r l a s t n e w s l e t t e r have been comple ted w i t h o u tmishap; and we g r e e t you from the town o f Isehara pronounced: e e -seh-hah-rah , Japan, From our front room windows we have a beaut if u l view o f the mountains, and around us in a l l d ir ec tio n s a re t h esmal l f i e l d s f u l l o f var io us v eg etable s and g r a i n s . The f r e s hear ly-autumn a i r makes it easy to s l e e p soundly a t n i g h t and wakeup ready t o go in the mornings. These, and many o t h e r t h i n g s maket h i s much d i f f e r e n t from any o t h e r place we have ever l i v e d and welook forward t o many good times during our s t a y here.

FAREWELLSI t seemed t h a t we had t o say good-bye t o somebody almostevery day i n J u l y b u t somehow we g o t through. Our l a s t Sunday i nCincinna ti Ju ly 28 was spent in soul- l i f t ing fellowship with thefolks a t Clovernook Christ ian Church, which has supported Hopef o r t h e p a s t 1^ years and has decided t o t r a n s fe r t h a t help t o Jenn ie f o r t h i s term. They gave us a r e a l send-off in every way, amost generous love g i f t and many deeply appreciated words o f en

c o u r a g e m e n t .Hope and Sylvia came on Monday, July 29, to help us witht h a t l a s t day o f packing, which we f i n a l l y f inished about 11 P.M.We s a i d a simple good-bye t o them t h e r e in f r o n t o f t h e darkened and

d e s e r t e d house t h a t had been home t o us f o r two good y e a r s and thenwent o u t t o my b r o t h e r E a r l s house t o s l e e p f o r a few .hours. Wepulled out the next morning about 10, with the car overloaded withs u i t c a s e s and o u r h e a r t s a little heavy w ith t h e sadness o f p a r t i n gfrom loved ones , f a m i l i a r s c e n e s and happy memorie s. But we r emarked s e v e r a l t imes a s we drove a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y about a d i s t i n c tf e e l i n g t h a t we were being borne along our way by t h e p r a y e r s andl o v e o f many b r e t h r e n and, o f c o u r s e u l t i m a t e l y by God h i m s e l f .

THE T R I P ACROSS THE UNITED STATESOur t r i p was a t a l e i s u r e l y pace by modern s t a n d a r d s a naverage o f 300 miles per day f o r 30 days from J u l y 30 t o August 29.

We s p e n t t h e f i r s t n i g h t i n a mote l on t h e West s i d e o f S t . Louis .The next night Wednesday, July 3I we were with the Howard Davisfamily, who used t o work i n Nagoya, Japan and a r e now a t MidwestC h r i s t i a n Col lege , and spoke a t t h e Metropoli tan C h r i s t i a n Churchi n Oklahoma C i t y . Thursday n i g h t we stopped i n Albuquerque. F r iday n i g h t was s p e n t i n F l a g s t a f f A r i z o n a where we had a terrifithunders torm. Saturday we s t a r t e d out a t 7,000 f t . a l t i t u d e i nv e r y c oo l w e at h er drove down t h r o u g h t h e b r e a t h - t a k i n g Oak CreekCanyon, s t o p p e d f o r a b r i e f v i s i t a t t h e C h r i s t i a n I n d i a n S c h o o lwound over t h e mountains t h r o u g h t h e o l d copper mining town o f J erome, c r o s s e d t h e d e s e rt i n to B l y t h e C a l i f o r n i a i n m i d - a f t e r n o o n


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17/26

SIMS NEWSLETTER September, 1968Page 3

In American s to re s and a Jo in t s erv ic e was held a t Pear l HarborChurch in the evening. This good fellowship with friend and co-workers old and new was a refreshing break in our routine t r ipARRIVAL IN JAPAN

After a nice, smooth sea a l l the way across we began to not ice increasingly heavy swells the day before arriving in Japan, andthe morning of August 29 as we came on schedule into Tokyo bay, wewere on a sea of whitecaps and a brisk wind whipped the f lags Westopped for a while waiting for the pi lo t boat to come out. Final lythe anchor was dropped and was aimounced th at th e-p ort wasd o s e dbecause of an approaching typhoon. I t wasn t a real bad one, buthad to delay our arrival for hours within sight of Yokohama asthe wind and rain passed over. This disappointed a good number offolks who had come down to welcome us back, but as the Japanese say,Shikataganai I t can t be helped,landed on August 30, and af te r going through customs, a l lof our baggage was put into the blue Japanese Toyopet s tat ion wagontha t belongs to Prat ts ; and our fam ily rode with Hammond direct lyfrom the pier out here to the house. We found the house and yard invery good condi t ion thanks to the hard work o f severa l men who hadworked on i t for a week to make our arr ival pleasant.

On the way back from Yokohama (a two hour drive through t ra ff ic l ike we hadn t seen since leaving Japan) the two Japanese youngmen driv in g the baggage car had stopped and bought r ice wrappedin seaweed, and we had stopped a t a roadside stand and bought someof those hard Juicy Japanese pears and grapes. So Lois soon put onsome water for tea and we had our f i r s t meal in a J iffy A Christian lady in the neighborhood sent over some sheets and blankets, sowe slept peacefully and well on our f i r s t night in our new home.Since then we have been slowly unpacking trunks and suitcases as wemake places to put the s tuf f and we are feeling more a t homeev e r y day

WELCOME MEETINGSOn Sunday, Sep tember 1, we had our f i r s t service with theIsehara group (seven present bes ides our family). That evening wevisi ted the home of Mr Kobayashi in Tokyo, where there was a speci a l welcome meeting by the members of Minato church. A t o t a l o f 50people were present ; and we had a blessed and happy time of feas t ingon many Japanese del icacies , renewing fr iendships, singing, praying,and t a lk ing The next day the preachers had a welcome meeting fo rStan ley B uttray and me, and Lois vis i t ed the o ther missionary wives .Sunday, September 8 we had a very wonderful day of f ell owsh ip w iththe members o f the Nakano Church, where we formerly l i ved About JOpeople were presen t and a l l had lunch toge ther These meetingshave been a r e a l Joy and encouragement .


18/26

SIMS NEWSLETTERPage September, 1968

e have en ro lle d cu r three, boys in the dependent s school a t2ama U.S. Army Base about 10 or 12 miles from here. They soon ad-Justed themselves to the new si tuat ion and are get t ing along verywell. Jonnie and Bobby leave the house to catch the 6:53 forthe t ra in s ta tio n every morning, Danny goes a l i t t l e l a te r and theycome home together about 3:^5 in th e a fte rn oon.

So we are in Japan again. Things tas te di f fe ren t than in theU.S.; people talk a different language and think different thoughtson many th ings . But we have already s l ipped back in to l i fe in Japan with surprisingly l i t t le trouble. ^Everybody says we haven tchanged a t a l l . Is that Just pol i te? W^ are glad that we have notaged too much, but we hope we have grown some spir i tually and willbe able to do a l i t t l e more for the Master, Our prayer is and weask you to Join us in th is) that od may help us find our place anduse us fo r His purposes here .

SIMS TOKYO MISSIONForwa rd ing Agen t: irstChurch o f Ch r i s t315 Orange AvenueEus t i s Flor ida 32726

a d d r e s s correctionrequested

Yours in His se rv ice

HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS

^^

Non-p ro f i t Organ iza t i onU.Sc PostageP IDEus t i s Flo r i da

Pe rmi t No 57

e i


19/26

Chr i s t i an'Co ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature Mark 16:13

Volume 67 November 1968 Number 4

Well, h e r e we are . Our a r r i v a l inYokohama harbor on August 29 happenedto coincide with the arrival of a typhoon.The ship and several hundred disgruntledpassengers, with the ir baggage al l packedup, had to ride 24 hours at anchor withinsight of the city where we knew a numberof disappoint ed peopl e were waiting togreet us. Until the storm had passed, wehad to face the waiters we had. alreadytipped, and learn again the meaning of thefamous Japanese phrase shikataganai(it can't be helped). No doubt there aresome who wi l l see s ome providential,mysterious or humorous significance in thefact of the Sims and a big wind coming inat the same tim e, bu t I am no t going tomake an y explanation.Anyway, we got off the ship and clearedthrough customs on August 30, and Ipreached in Japanese on Sunday, September I, down here a t Isehara.I know at least three questions mostof our friends wou ld l ik e to ask, so I willanswer those briefly.

1. Did you have a good t rip?Yes, we enjoyed every bi t of it . Weaveraged about three hundred miles per

day from July 30 August 30, even thoughduring some of the 11 days in Californiawe didn't travel very much. People al l

Family Back In Japanm

Lois and Harold Sims greeting Captain Cox on the President Wilson.a long the way gave us the finest Christianhospitality. Special mention should be madeof the folks in Napa, Cali fornia who gaveus a most encouraging send-off that l ingersin ou r memor ies .

We sai led on th e S.S. Presiden t Wilson,which is s omewha t f am i li ar to us. We rode

her home to th e U.S. in both 1954 a nd 1 96 6.The s a i l i ng date was August 15. (Forhistory students, this was exactly 23 yearsafter the end of World War II, and 419 yearsaf ter Franc is Xavie r f irst landed in feuda lJapan as a preacher of the Christ.)(Continued on page 2)

OmatsuRi C)enC)oThe strong inner, pressing des ir e to

return t o J apan in time to participate in theeight-day Omatsuri Dendo (festival evangelism), was well justified. Six personswere baptized as a result of a cooperativeendeavor by the Julius Fleenor family,including t he ir s on , Stephen, and his wifewho had returned to Japan for th e summercamps and f e s t i v a l evangelism; JohnKachelmyer; the Stanley Buttray family; andMiss Patti Likins and fiance Bob Pelfrywho also were here in Japan fo r th e summer.There were also seven or eight JapaneseChristians, including Morohashi San, theyoung p reache r a t t he Church in Yokosuka,and his wife. P raying , singing, and witnessing together in the name of Chris t Jesuswill always be accompanied by the working of the Holy Spi ri t and revealing of thetrue condi t ion of man ' s h rt . . . ands a l v a t i o n

This festival method of evangelism isthe only on e of it s kind that 1 know of inJapan. It is on e of th e f i n e s t means ofrea ch in g th e average person because itt ak es p la ce in the mountain, summer resorttown of Karu iz awa . He re , peopl e come fromevery walk of life for the weekend vac at ion, excursion, etc .

Summer Fes ti va l Evangel ian in th eresort town o f Karu izawa.

This is a time when r idged barriers ofculture, religion, class, and even s tr ongfamily ties melt and an ai r of relaxationprevails. It is in t his a tmospher e t ha t th esummer comes to a climax with the beginning of this eight-day festival.The working of God is r evea l ed int he fo ll ow ing illustrations. A full-grownman - one that might be called the towndrunk, who, th e last few years, occasionally while intoxicatcd attended the Omatsurievangelistic meeting - was converted andbap ti zed thi s summer. A widow woman inhe r fifties, owner of a small restaurant (bar)in the heart of Tokyo , was in Karuizawa

for a few days summer vacation. On he rway to the J apanes e f es ti va l she pas sedby and was attracted to our oper^air meetingthrough the pleasant Christ ian chorusesaccompanied by piano , gui ta r, and accordion. The second night sh e came underconvic t ion and wanted to become a Chr is tian. But even a ft er four nights sh e had notyielded because she had a Oki Mondai,whi ch means a bi g problem. She didn'tknow what to do about he r business (thatincluded selling whiskey). In her placewhat w ou ld you have done? You wouldn'thave paid the p r i c e either God's Wordanswers: What shall it profit a man if hegain the whole world, and lose his ownsou l1 still bel ieve tha t t he Gospe l preachedsimply, bu t earnest ly,(even here in Japan)is the power of God unto salvation toeveryone that believcth And becausethis is believed and done in this open-airevangelistic meeting, we ar e looked downupon and ridiculed by many that call themselves Chris tian. An average of ten werecounseled each night after t he mee ti ng wasover, resulting in s ix p er sons that desired,and wer e baptized. - Stanley Buttray


20/26


21/26

N e w s FromT h e Pa t t en s

S um me r for th e Pattons wa s a very busyand exciting one t hi s y ea r. June wa s spentin working on th e S aku r ay ama Church building an d in v ar io us o th er odd jobs that ha dto be done at home. In July, we took th efirst real vacation we have ha d since comingto J ap an . It wa s sp e n t in th e m o un ta in s a tK a r ui z aw a w h e re a su m m e r home w a s r en te dfrom a fri en d. The whole f ami ly ha d anenjoyable time an d returned r ef re sh ed a ndready for work.

Upon our return to Tokyo we began toprepare for our annual summer camp atLake M o c o s u . Andrew s e r v ed a s bus i ne s smanager of th e camp again th is year. T ha tmeant chat he had to do a lot of buying andhauling of supplies before th e other campersarrived. F ro m th e standpoint of atten d an ce,this year s camp f el l s ho rt of our expectations. Otherwise t he c am p w as an excellentone. T he pro gra m w as well planned an dt he c on ce nt w as good. Tw o persons weresaved as a result of the camp, for whichwe g r ea t ly r e j o ic e . Lake Motosu is becoming much more of a r es or t a re a with th eaccompanying evil influences an d annoyances an d si n c e t he r en ta l fe e is to o highfor th e facilities offered, we ar e investig at in g o th er potential camp g ro u nd s w h er ethe camp could be h el d n ex t year.

Andrew is now teaching a Sunday aftern o o n Bib le c l a s s a t th e A ra ka w a C h ur chThat Church is not doing as w ell as it wa sa few months ag o and we ar e trying toinject more en th u s ias m into the m emberso f th e Ch u r ch

We ar e p la nn ing a nd p ra yi ng for th es ucces s of an evangelistic meeting to beheld a t th e Saku r ay ama Church onOctober 24 - 27 . Brother Stephen lijimah as been i n v i t e d to be th e evangelist.Recently this Church also ha s had somes e tba cks A h us ba nd a nd w i f e h a v e w i t hdrawn temporarily from th e Church becauseth e husband is not s tisfie w ith th eprogress of th e Church due to t he ne ed fora Japanese preacher. In October a minister,who is employed in a school as an Englishteacher, w il l b eg in p ar t- ti me p re ac hi ng a tth e Church. We hope that he will be ableto t ak e o ve r th e full leadership of th e workof th i s C h u r c h in th e n e a r future Pl eas epray for this Church an d th e evangelisticme e t i ng. .

Th e Pa t t o n s were blessed with manyvisitors in Augus t First the StanleyB ut tr ay s r et ur ne d from furlough in earlyAugust and spent a few days in th e Pattonhome b ef or e g oi ng to th e mountains for anevangelistic m e et in g. T he n while we wereat Lake Motosu for summer c a mp , t he ErnestFabers spent a few days in our home inour a b se n c e . T he y res um ed th eir journeyto Hokkaido before we returned to Tokyo.After ou r return, tw o ol d s c h o o l m a t e sDorothy Schmale an d Betty Morgan, spenta few days with us on th e las t le g of theirworld tour, th e chief purpose of which wa sto vi s i t th e William Gulicks in India fo rwhom Dorothy s er ve s a s forwarding agent.On the da y they left, Ernes t Faber returned to Tokyo on business an d spent

C o n t i n u e d on p a g e 4 )

Jonior High and High School group at Motosu Christian Camp.

>1

Weekend Camp group at Motosu Christian Camp.

ft ^

1i ixy < VFront of the Sakurayama Church building after being redecorated by Andrew Patton.


22/26

NEWS FROM THE PATTONS(continued from page 3)a night with us . On th e following day, theButtrays returned from the mountains andspent a day or so with us until we couldprepare their house for them. While theywere still with us , two young men, formerstudents of Lincoln Christian College andthen on leave from Viet Nam, arrived tospend a few day s wit h us.

On August 29 we spent the whole dayat Yokohama waiting for the Harold Simsand Mark Maxey families to debark fromth e S.S. Pres iden t V/ i l s on , Becau se ofrough seas from a typhoon their landingwas del ayed a day. On the 30 we met th eship again and transported th e Maxeys toTokyo. In the evening 24 missionaries andchildren had supper with us and then theMaxeys departed for Nagoya to se e theirnew granddaughter. Larry Land, a memberof the Army Band at Zama, spent the nex tweekend with us . Next, Miss Judy Ward,the publicity agent for some of the brethrenin Korea , spent a night with us on her wayto Korea. We will be able to greet her againon her return trip. So , you ca n se e thatover about a month s t ime we entertainedone or more visitors a day in our homealmost all of the time. We enjoyed t he f ellowship and are glad that we can be ofservice in that way too.

We are very grateful to God for yourfellowship and encouragement in the Gospelof Christ. Please cont inue to pray for us ,and the churches an d Chris t ians we aret ry ing to serve. May the grace of our LordJesus Christ be with you all.

- Andrew Pat ton

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIPAND MANAGEMENTToyko Christian is a quarterly publication of the Church of Christ CunninghamMission, ndrew Patton, 3-7-8 Higashin-akano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan, Editor.Church of Christ Cunningham Mission is amission set up for the propagating of theGospel of Jesus Christ in Japan, andreceives its support from gifts and offeringsfrom congregations and individuals affiliated

with th e Churches of Christ and ChristianChurches. Each missionary affiliated withthis Mission receives his support directlyor through his forwarding agent as listedin every issue of this paper. All subscript ions or donat ions for the Tokyo Chri stianshould be sent to G. Wade Fletcher, 621E. 10th Street, Rushville, Indiana 46173,who receives no remuneration for hi s se rv i ce s .Ownership ana management of TokyoChristian belongs to the Church of ChristCunningham Mission Stateside editorial,publishing, and mailing duties have beendelegated to Mission Services Association,Box 368, J 0I i e t, Illinois 60434, EmmaMcCain, Editorial Manager. Subscriptionrate is 50(r for two years applied fromyearly contributions.

THINGS dAPANPSEIn seeking to understand th e Japaneseand t he ir way s one would indeed make a

mis take if he overlooked Bush ido . Th i sis the old s amura i (knight) spirit ofchivalry, meaning literally Military KnightWays. It was the ethical system in vogueamong the knights of Japan when knighthood was in f l ower .

This system fostered a spirit of ifairplay with an enemy and care for the feelingsa nd we lf ar e of others . The e s sence of th esystem lay in the imparting to the knightsa sense of justice, courage, loyalty, honor,veracity, fort i tude, benevolence, and self-con t r o l .

In olden days this spirit was confinedmostly to the sumurai, but gradually itspread to the whole of Japanese societyand it affected both men a nd w omen . Eventoday it is often called the soul of Japan.Many of the admirable traits of the Japanesetoday are a result of t hi s Bushido codeof con duc t.

It must be frankly admitted that thereare aspects of this system of conduct thatmust be condemned as wrong. Those wrongsconsist mostly of carry-overs from medievalmorality and an overemphasis of some ofthe virtues inculcated. Fo r instance, severalyears ago the wife of a Japanese^my officercommit ted su ic ide w hen her hu sband w entto war, in order that he r husband would nothave to th ink of her in giving the lastmeasure of hi s devotion to his country.

BOX 368 , JOL IET , ILLINOIS 60434

Another ev id ence of t h e s e exce sse smay be shown by citing th e case of the47 Ronin, who lived at the beginning ofthe 18th century. The f euda l lord of these47 retainers was forced by his super ior tocommit suicide due to hi s attempt on thelife of another super ior because of indignities to h imse lf . These 47 knights tookvengeance on their master s enemy andthen they in turn were forced to commitsuicide by disemboweling themselves.

S inc e th eir d e a t h in 1704 u ntil th epresent , incense has been kept burningin their honor at the ir g raves in Tokyo.Stripped of it s excesses, however, this

ancien t a nd u nw ri tt en c o de of conduc t h a smuch to commend it . Many of the basicvirtues of this system are identical withthe virtues whi ch must be possessed bythe Christian, though t hey a re most defici en t in con ten t . But withou t th e Word ofChrist this code lacks adequate motive,definition, and power to vi tal ize human life.When life is emptied of th e knowledge ofthe true God, it lacks motivation and power;but where any deg ree of goodness dwel lsin others, th e Christian must be th e firstto praise it . Possessing the Bushidospir it does not in the lea^t make a perspji_a Chris t i an or save h im . But those mos taffected by this code often make excellentChristians after they turn to Christ as Savior.

And r ew Pat ton

Ur-


23/26

r i w h s j

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lag to ll|c foorlb i| ^ rh Ijas come


24/26

LOIS SHAKES HANDS WITH CaPT. COX AT A RECEPTIONDURINQ OUR VOYAGE BACK TO JaPAN LAST AUQUST.T h i s was t h e t h i r d t i m e fo r u s to c r o s s th eP a c i f i c on t h e S S P r e s i d e n t W i l s o n a n d o u rS E V E N T H T I M E S I N E WE F I R S T WENT OUT IN

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_ijeT h i s is t h e h o u s e we a r e living i n this y e a rt w as suilt b y ill W a l k e r a n d is now owned b y

THE Paul Prat t s on fur lough . The congregat ion of 8 10 ZEALOUS CHRISTIANS mOSTLY COLLEGE students and always some non-ChristianFRIENDS, MEET IN THE LIVING ROOM.


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At home in I s eha r a Japan

Haro ld i s s t a nd i no in a r ice : paddy nea r th eHOUSE WITH Mr. OV M IN THE BACKGROUND WEARE THE ONLY AMERICANS LIVING |N THIS TOWN OP30 000 POPUL TION OUT 35 MILES SOUTHWEST OF

Jonathan Harold is 16 and in th e 10th grade .Robert Joe l is 13 and in the 8th grade. DanielJerome i s 7 and in th e 2nd grade The boysCOMMUTE to ZaM U S. rMY SE SCHOOL 10miles w y every d y


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Hope Joyce now Mrs. Tom Schmidt is livinq at 1729Grand Avenue^ Apt. 1 Cincinnati Ohio,She works at the Central Trust Company, downtown,AND TAKES NIQHT CLASSES AT C . B . S . HER HUSBANDIS A Jun i o r a t th e Cinc inna t i B ib le Seminary andWORKS PART TIME AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE BaNK. T|YARE VERY HAPPY IN TH EIR MARRIED L I F E .

Sylvia Jean is a Fresmman in the Cincinnati BibleSeminary and l ives in t i dormitory at 2700 GlenwayAvenue, Cincinnati Ohio 4520i>. She works af ternoons AT the Mabley - Carew Department Sto re . Web e l i e v e s h e STILL HAPPY IN HER SINGLE STATE ANDD O I N G W E L L .

Please be assured tha t although we may not reportMANY BAPTISMS WE HAVE A CONSTANT CHALLENGE ANDSTIMULATION TO STUDY BECAUSE OF THE SINCERE ANDSHARP QUESTIONS AND CRITICISMS ABOUT CHRISTIANITYTHAT THE STUDENTS BRING TO US AND ALSO A LOT OFJOY AND CONTENTMENT IN DOING WHAT WE CAN TM90UGH

ypONTAOTS WITH VARIOUS PEOPLE TO BE AMBASSADORS FORItHRlST.

We want to thank each one of you f r iends fo r your^^JiWPORT IN PR YERS ND FIN NCES TH T H S KEPT US^Ifeie^^TMY HAPPY N HERE. FiRST OF ALL LET OURLIVES BE DEDICATED TO GoO. ThEN FROM HiM WILL COMETHE LIFE GROWTH POWER, VICTORY, ND ALL GOOD NDPERFECT GIFTS. AgAIN WE WILL JOYFULLY LIFT UP TO

OUR GRATITUDE AND P R A I S E .

HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS1 21 0 K am i ka su yaI SE H A R A O H O

sims harold lois 1968 japan

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