FES 2 0 1231

I

A Monthly Report By The Mark G. Maxey Family

To The Friends Of The KYUSHU CHRISTIAN MISSION

Kanoya, Kagoshlma 893, Japan - Box 417, North Vernon, Indiana 47265

Linkletter No. 247 January, 1981

Dear Christian friends.

For you it's 1981. For us it's 56. The present Emperor has reigned thatlong. It's also the year of the Rooster. May he crow happily all 3Sbk days.

It seems like we never left.30 years ago we arrived as strangers in aforeign land. This time we returned to our own people and our own home town. Weare getting settled in. First we put down a new rug to replace the one the mothsate up completely while v/e were gone. Then a wood stove all the way from Oregon.With Japan having its coldest winter in 70 years, its feeling great already.Woodreplacing heating oil at $1.50 a gallon helps, too.

Getting used to shifting all five gears with my left hand on my usedNissan diesel car. It runs loud but it runs cheap - about half of what it wouldcost for gasoline. Rides nice, too. While I was getting a fill-up last week, anattendant opened the door, took out my floor mat: washed it and put it back in.Likewise for the one on the other side Then pressed the button on the car washmachine. Done for free with a smile. Maybe it's this kind of extra touch that isgiving Japan an edge on its competitors.

A typhoon wiped out our nicest tree, one I had planted myself, a weekbefore we got home. A week after we got here a second one did $2000 worth ofroof and property damage. That kind of welcome we can do without. But the welcomes we have received everyplace else are great. Haven't gotten my fill of Japanese foods yet. Almost, but not quite.

I spent one week-end in Fukuoka(northern end of Kyushu) with Ben andNobuko Hirotaka. Really encouraged by their improved personal situation and thefellowship at the Shime church. Sat in-the rain at the ball stadium that nightto hear Billy Graham. He was good. His interpreter was better. The "Love and Mercy" sect passed out literature to us as we left saying. "There is no God. Man isthe Supreme Being". Maybe that is why so few are finding the path that leads tolife - too many people like that standing in the way.

Pauline and I attended the fall convention at Osaka Bible Seminaryand the college trustees meeting afterwards. Good to stay with Martin & EvelynClark again. Pauline is not worse but not well. She sees too much to do and can'tresist doing it. She is having back pains. Cold weather is a real discomfort forher. Continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She goes with me to thechurches and taught the joint meeting of the women's groups in November.

I am preaching regularly on Sundays at Kushira in the a.m. and at Sue-yoshi in the afternoon. They are an hour apart by car. Mr. and Mrs. Tamaki arethe mainstays at Kushira. It was a joy to baptize Miss Nidome there. Also to conduct weddings for two of the young women of the church. One of them decided tohave simple country church wedding and cut out the customary extravagance. I encouraged her to do so. It was a delight in every way.

Keiko Hanada lives in the Sueyoshi church and works with it. The lastSunday in November a dozen of us painted the entire church from the roof on down

Rf I-!I

BAPTIZING SHINO NIDOME

SHELLEY & TRENT - DEC

OUR 30th YEAR REMEMBERED

m

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TEACHING AT WALTER'S WEEK-END EBC CAMP-NOV.8-9 ORPHANAGE CHRISTMAS DAY: PROGRAM-PARTY-PRESENTS

in one day. There was a paint brush for every hand and every hand laid on witha will- The closing service from 4-5 p.m. was one of praise and thanks. Inother days I would not have spent a Sunday that way but I have changed my mind.

It was a joy to give two lectures to Walter's EBC camp on the theme,"How to be a Beautiful Person." I had two points: l.You can try to be beautifulon the outside, or, 2. You can try to be beautiful on the inside. The outsidejob is expensive and won't last and the inside job cannot be completed withoutthe help of God. It was a great group to teach and share with.

It is not many people on this earth that have been guests of honorat a party given by lepers, but Pauline and I were on November 14. They invitedus to spend the day with them at the city park. We sat on the grass for a morn-ing meeting and had lunch together afterv>jards with plenty of time for visiting.They recalled our coming to them with the gospel and without fear. But I wasafraid. The first leper I baptized was Tokofumi Fuji (extreme right, front rowof picture) now over 70 years old. He had two wooden legs. His face was notpretty. I had to lift him into and out of the water in my arms. As I held himI said, "Lord, I am afraid. But I am going to fulfill my ministry no matterthe cost so take away my fear." He did.I have baptized 27 of them after Mr. Fujiand gone in and out among them on a basis of mutual love, faith and fellowship.I do believe that Pauline and I have been a bridge for their acceptance by theother Christians of our area so that we freely attend their meetings and theyin turn attend ours. We will never forget their testimonies and words of loveand gratitude on that day. It was a day to treasure forever.

Another great day was the annual area convention held in KagoshimaCity on November 24. Pauline and I were remembered in a special way for our 30years in Japan. We in turn remembered Mr. limure and Mr. Motoyoshi who were ourfirst co-workers when we came to Japan-. Mr. Motoyoshi was the one who wrote theletter of invitation that brought us to Kanoya rather than some place else inJapan. I showed 400 slides giving the beginnings of each church and the facesof all those who had been involved. I worked many hours and looked through over6000 slides to make the set but it was worth it. Later, Pauline and I had asukiyaki party for the men and their wives who were a part of our team in thebeginning years: Hideo Yoshii, my first interpreter and the first young man tochoose-the ministry, Takeo limure and Sadahiko Motoyoshi, mentioned above; Den-zo Shimoda who built or rebuilt 14 church buildings; Katsuo Shimoda who workedwith him on those projects and is still with me at the Christian Center andRyoko Seguchi, baptized by Paul Cook and a faithful Christian every since. Nogreat work is ever done single-handedly and this one was not either.

We were a part of 14 consecutive Christmas meetings and never lostour Christmas spirit. In fact it improved on Christmas day as we attended a.m.and p.m. meetings at the leper colony and were part of the annual Christmasparty at the orphanage. We were blessed by the presence of Walter and Mary,grandchildren,Shelley and Trent; phone calls from our children and the manyexpressions of your love. Be blessed in return. IN HIS SERVICE

IN HIS SERVICE,

Monthly PuDiicalion u'KYUSHU CHRISTIAN MISSIONBox 417North Vernon, Indiana 47265

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" ALL OF YOU OUT THERE WHO TOLDME YOU WANTED TO COME TO JAPAN:This is the time to do it-JapanConvention Tour;July 21 - Aug.4Cost estimate: $1800 per personAirmail your hotel reservation@$100 each to me: Box 14,KanoyaKagoshima 893 JAPAN. DO IT NOWl

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may 1 ^ 190jA Report By The Mark G. Maxey Family

UNKLerretvTo The Friends Of The KYUSHU CHRISTIAN MISSION

Kanoya, Kagoshima 893, Japan Box 417, North Vernon, Indiana 47265

LINKLETTER NO. 248 APRIL, 1981

Dear Christian friends.

We began the year in Taiwan which is not too far away butinconvenient to get to from here. Harlan Woodruff took care of us inOkinawa coming & going. He & I came from Manila to Japan on the sameC-54 thirty-five years ago and have been partners in the gospel eversince. Our objective was the Taiwan Adventist Hospital. They repairedmy front teeth in one week. The same would take many weeks of appointments in Japan. They also gave me a thorough physical. Verdict: tooheavy, too much chloresterol and too little exercise. So shape up andeat more vegetables and less meat. At Japan's prices that should beeasy for the latter.

We spent one week-end in Lo-Dung with Ted and Bev Skileswho have an orphange there. Preaching and teaching on Sunday. Paulinehad handwork to teach and share everywhere we went. She is always aloved and welcome visitor. She had two Chinese acupuncturctreatmentsin Lo-Dung with positive results.

A day at Haulien with Verney and Belva Unruh, former missionary neighbors in Japan. The next week-end in Taipei and preachedat the church there. Wonderful hospitality by the Taipei missionaries.A wonderful group who are getting and using the language as theyshare the faith. Chuck and Molly Johnston shared their time and energies generously in several projects I was trying to get done there.Taiwan itself is a hustling, bustling country. Maybe the only one inthe world where every piece of mail is delivered throughout the country on the day it is mailed. And they are making a profit on it. Asfor building projects, everything is almost done but not finished.

The visit of Pope John Paul II to Japan was a signifigantreligious event. He was warmly received as the wonderful human beingthat he is. When he spoke at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima insuccessive paragraphs he used Japanese, English, French, Spanish, Portugese, Polish, Chinese, German, Russian and ending in Japanese againwhich was completely intelligible. His coming was a plus for the Romanchurch without doubt (400,000 members) and possibly for the Protestant side as well (600,000 members). Certainly he set off a "Christianboom" by his visit - books, records, radio and TV programs for example.

At the same time of his visit we were welcoming Prof. LonnieMings of Osaka Bible Seminary for our 19th Training Course, Feb. 21 toMarch 3. His subject: Church History. His basic outline: The EarlyChurch, The Roman Church, The Reformation and our plea for a return tothe early church gave us a solid basis for understanding the thingswith which we agree and the things with which we disagree with theteachings of the church at Rome. Lonnie's lectures were treiiiendous,his preparation thorough and his Japanese both written and spoken sup-

CONVENTION IN JULY-COMING?

XAVIER MET SHIMAZU HERE

AXTONS TO JAPAN IN JULY"v

PROF.MINGS-CHURCH HISTORY

pTuUN^SSEniS^T AT SKILES HOME TAIPEI CHURCH OF CHRIST-JAN.4 WITH MARK &GREG SKILES

erb. Beginning with the four 2- hour sessions at Kanoya, he spoke 14 times in six area churches. I went with himto the island of Tanegashima where we enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of Mr. &Mrs. Ikeda of the church there.

We scheduled our monthly preacher's meeting so he could go with us to visit the sites connected with Xavier'sfirst missionary endeavors in Kagoshima. It started to snow early in the morning and was still snowing as we endedthe day tramping through the fields and woods to the top of a hill where Lord Takahisa Shimazu had his castle. Hereon September 29, 1549, Xavier received permission to preach from him. The permission was rescinded a year later .Xavier left Kagoshima for Hirado but he will always be honored as the first to open the door for the Christianfaith to enter Japan.

Those who attend the All-Japan Christian convention.ir: Kagoshima, July 24-26 and the English{missionary)conven-tion to follow on July 26-28 will get to visit some or all of the sites we visited. The 400 spaces for the Japaneseconvention are almost filled. Still plenty of space for the English convention. We must have your deposit of $100per person ($80 for children under 12) for each convention you want to attend by June 15. The $100 covers your roomand all meals. Join us for either one or both of these conventions. It will the experience of a lifetime.

We are happy to announce that Paul and Faith Axton will be coming to Japan for a full year beginning in JulyThey will be carrying out the preaching and teaching duties of Walter and Mary Maxey while they are on furlough.Faith is our second daughter and has been teaching school the last two years. Paul is finishing his work for theMasters and Master of Divinij^y degrees at Cincinnati Christian Seminary in June. They will leave for Japan soon after visiting his parents in Phoenix, Arizona on the way. They are in need of support on a monthly basis for thisterm of service. I hope you will find a way to assist them in this. Their address is PO Box 58128, Louisville, Ky.40258. Phone: (502) 987-1469.

The days fly by. Vistors are always a blessing. Makoto Motoyoshi, now of Yokohama, brought his family by andI got better acquainted with my namesake, Maruko. In preparation for the training course I went through every shelf,stack, pile and book in the Christian center and threw away a ton. Found lots of things I had been looking for.One or two nights a week I am out of town teaching a Bible class in Koyama or Sata or Tarumizu and one afternoonat the leper colony. These names mean nothing to you but I know every turn,twist and bump in all those roads andthe faithful groups waiting at the end of the journey. Friday night and Saturday afternoon are for English Bibleclasses in the classroom at the Christian Center.Mr. Shimoda keeps busy in the center. He sold 351 Bibles andTestaments in January and February along with other books and items.

Travels todcme to Fukuoka for paper work to enable Korean brethren to attend the summer convention; to Osakafor Osaka Bible Seminary board meeting; to Tokyo by train with Harold Sims on business. Got to visit the new building that Mark and Lynn Pratt are building in Machida and to go with Harold to welcome Warren and Eileen Christian-son back to Japan. Then back to Kagoshima by air. They are flying 747's on domestic flights now. The take-off andlanding is shown on a movie screen in the cabin for all to see. Will wonders never cease?

The mail brings good news and bad news. Many dear friends have left us in the past few weeks including PaulCook who was to be our featured speaker at the convention. He came to Kanoya as an Air Force chaplain after thewar and we wante-i to have him back again. He died within three weeks after an operation showed he had terminalcancer.He was a kind,sharing and faithful man of God. One more we shall meet in that great reunion up there.Paulinesends her greetings.She is disappointed that she is not able to do more but I am rejoicing at what she is able todo. Because of the wonderful home that she maintains I am able to function and to serve. Continue to pray forher complete recovery. God bless you all. IN HIS SERVICE, ^0 ri

TRAINING COURSE AT CHRISTIAN CENTER NAMESAKE: MARUKO SAT.ENGLISH BIBLE CLASS-CENTER CLASSROOM

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i^nA Report By Th Mark 6. Mxey FamHy

/LiNKLerrefi/To The Friends Of The KYUSHU CHRISTIAN MISSION

Kanoya, Kagoshima 893, Japan - Box 417, North Vernon, Indiana 47265

LINKLETTER NO. 249 JUNE 1981

Dear Christian friends.

Summer is already here and this is only the second letter you have receivedfrom us. One of the problems is that we put our address list into a computer lastyear. I have learned, as have many others, that a computer can be a fine servant butit is also a hard taskmaster. It can only do what it is told to do. Lasttime nobodytold it to spew out our labels (at 2C each) and I didn't find out about it till amonth later.

Another problem is that the Post Office has become very strict about addresses. Even though the carrier may be your best friend, .his instructions are to bringback all mail whose addresses are not exact. In addition the Post Office is continually in the process of consolidating rural routes and making addresses more precise.As a result we are getting back handfuls of returned labels for which the PC charges254 each. Presuming that all those who get the LINKLETTER want to receive it, we areasking you to send us a change of address card whenever your address changes eitherby your moving or by its being changed by the PO. If you do not send us a card, wemust discontinue the LINKLETTER. The computer people charge us 164 to delete a name.So the cash charge is 254 + 164 plus a lot of time consuming work to change addresses.

One other thing on this line. The Post office is not doing the publisher northe reader a special favor in handling 2nd and 3rd class mail. Most of the work atthe PO takes place in the morning and evening rush hours. 2nd and 3rd class mail ishandled in the time in between. Otherwise the PO would be a morgue most of the time.In short, I think this material deserves better handling and consideration than itis getting at the present time.

Did you read Time magazine's cover story for March 30, 1981: "How Japan DoesIt: The World"s Toughest Competitor." This was preceded by two books which sold tencopies in Japan to every one sold in the U.S. - Herman Kahn's Japan: Superpower andvery recently Ezra Vogel's Japan As No. 1: Lessons for America. These materialsneed to be read with some reservations. They are not written by Japanese. Nor are theywritten by permanent Japan residents. They are written by scholarswho come for alim-ited period of time- do their homework well , and return home to write their material.All the best coaches may not be in the stands, but it is a fact that all the best material about Japan is being written in the United States by Americans.{In the same waythat all the best writing about missions is being written in the United States far removed from the battlefield.}

I'll take a backseat to no one in appreciating the country of Japan and admiring its people. But the fact is this not Utopia. If it was. the writers would be living here instead of visiting here. Nor is the Japanese method of doing things readilyexportable to the U.S. and the western world. 120 million people living in an area thesize of California have worked out precise social rules for working and living together. People reared on individualism and wide-open spaces will be hard to fit into theJapanese mold. We can learn from them how to produce and sell a superb product.We alsoought to learn to quit selling our technology and produce the product that results fromthe technology. For example, Japan bought its first robot from the U.S. in 1956. It nowhas more robots working in its factories than all the rest of the world put together.That should tell us something.

I'm TRVIN6 TO WRITEPI6-PEN A NOTE, BUT IPONT KNOW WHAT TO 5AV

DON'T PO it; sir .'DON'TLET MIM KNOW YOU LIKEhim; force MIM tomake THE FIRST MOVE I

HOU) PIP YOU GETTO BE SUCH ANEXPERT /MARCIE?

+Iarry

NTRJ A A N

GOSPEL TEAM FROM SS LOGOS

iHEIDI, RUTH & PAULINE SING

BABY'S 1st TIME AT CHURCH

}

BUDDHIST PRIEST-MR.MATSUDA

^ALL THE BE5TC0ACHE5ARE INTHE 5TAW5,5\Ri

1980 tftiited Feature Syndicate, Irk.

Our hopes of having a group from the United States to attend the conventionhave faded. The last of the twelve prospects sent her regrets last week. Mostly itsthe money. The cost of getting here is not so bad. It's the $100 a day per personafter you arrive that throws a coldness on the meeting.

Visitors have continued to bless with their presence. Heidi Neeser and RuthLeuenberger, Christian girls from Switzerland spent a few days with us. Ruth was impressed with the fact that each person was allowed to take the communion cup in hisown hands and drink. Before they left th^ scrubbed the guest room and changed the lined. Ah, the Swiss! That's why their country looks so lovely. An unusual vistor wasGiko Matsuda, a Buddhist priest of the Tendai sect. He is spending a year walking ar-round Japan, sleeping under bridges and eating what is offered him. He enjoyed a colddrink of water at our roadside fountain and came inside to meet the one who providedit. We had a good visit and Pauline invited him for lunch. He was well-informed aboutChristianity and religion in general. When he said he would go to Okinawa next I askedhim how? He said, "By ship - since I can't walk on water." Nice point!

The good ship LOGOS,a ministry of Operation Mobilisation, Singapore, visitsthe ports of Asia as a floating book fair & asabase for evangelism for its crew members, all committed Christians. They spent 10 days in Kagoshima. Alan Derksen withhis wife Lois of Canada and Larry Meza of Memphis, Tenn. spent a week-end with us.They shared their faith and singing with my English Bible classes on Saturday night,at Kanoya church, the leper church and Sueyoshi church and got them back to theirship by 7. p.m. We almost ran out of steam beforehand by staying up till 3. a.m. Sunday discussing Calvin's TULIP theology (Total depravity. Unconditional election.Limited atonement, j_rresistible grace and the P^erserverance of the saints.) Calvinspent a lifetime extracting these doctrines from the book of Romans and his successors (Reform Theology) have improved upon it throuqh the centuries. It is the_ successstory of theology being the basic teaching of most of the evangelical community.Their way of teaching,preaching, evangelizing and converting all find their sourcein this theology. I'll stake my life on the assertion that the church at Rome understood Paul's letter when they read it; that Paul did not have the above points in hismind when he wrote it and that he would be surprised at what has been extracted fromhis letter today. The longer I am in the Orient the more I am convinced that systema-tizers do violence to the scriptures. Once the system is in place, then the scripturehas to bend to fit the system.

Two new babies have been born to Christian mothers in the Kushira church.We rejoice with them. Kushira church was also the place for the most unusual weddingservice I ever held. The entire wedding party and guests, properl> dressed for theoccasion came for the church service. After which the couple stood up for the wedding.A short reception and speeches followed. My sermon was, "Ten Things Christians Believe", for the benefit of a largely non-Christian audience.IN HIS SERVICE,

f!

Tetsuro KONO & Teruko ARISHIMA WEDDING KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN BRING FLOWERS TO PAULINE

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Kanoya, Kagoshima 893. Japan Box 417. North Vernon, Indiana 47265

LINKLETTER NO. 250 SEPT. 1981

Dear Christian friends.

We have enjoyed{?) the busiest summer of our lives. That is why you haven'theard from us recently and may not for awhile yet. Eventually.

The summer officially arrived with the "Kentucky SONshine" singers from Southeast Christian church, Louisville. They were led by Rick and Jena Houp and their indefatigable tour leader, Mark Pratt of Machida, Japan. One of their songs was, "I'm gonnaShine... Only they pronounced it "SHA-HINE". I've been trying to "sha-hine" ever sincebut the surrmer sun has done it better. The "Sonshine" "shined" at Walter's EBC camp, atKanoya church and tfie leper church. Ttiey enjoyed Pauline's hospitality and good cookin'plus a swim at the beach before continuing their tour.

For a year nine of us, including Walter and I, have been preparing for the annual convention of Japan Churches of Christ. It was Kagoshima's turn to host the convention. We held it in late July because that was the only time we could get hotel & meetingspace. It was a great convention, well worth our efforts. 310 registered and more attended. The biggest group was from Okinawa. Those Christians have a faith as rugged as thelives they have had to live on those islands through the centuries. Bless them.

I was asked to give the opening address. Ah, the work of preparation! Bro. Yo-shii helped me mightily with the Japanese. It was well received. It was a recollectionof things past and a challenge for the future. Later I gave it in English for the missionary convention. One of these days I'll get it printed for you to read if you wish.S.M. Chang of Korea brought the convention to a stirring close on Sunday morning.

The 26th convention of Japan Church of Christ missionaries began that nightin the same hotel, only a smaller hall. We had 46 present including three from Korea,^thr,ee from the U.S. and Ben Rees from Hong Kong. It was the best attended convention inmapy years. Four of us, Walter and Mary, Pauline and I, were responsible for the programand arrangements. We had a dicussion period on missionary interns; six devotions on the"oiie another" sentences in Paul's letters and four Bible studies from I and II Peter.Itwas first quality material. I was blessed by the depth, breadth and devotion of all thatwas presented. Paul Pratt, former missionary in Kagoshima, gave an inspiring review bymessage and slides of evangelism in Kagoshima. Hideo Yoshii, minister of the Kanoyachurch challenged us to look to the future, to a Japan that is looking for "good news"Evangelism has not ended in Japan, it is just beginning. Pauline ended the conventionfittingly with a message that left our hearts warm and our eyes wet.

During the Japanese convention we received news of the sudden death of TsueSakagami, 63, a wonderful leper Christian. Bro. Yoshii left the convention early topreach her funeral. Our family went a week later to a memorial service for her at whichI preached. Afterwards we had a meal with the Christians there and her relatives

The convention ended Tuesday afternoon. We got to Kanoya that night in time tobe guests at a party given in our honor by those who were young people when we firstcame to Kanoya. I showed slides from those days to the amazement and enjoyment of all.Ben Rees stayed all night with us before returning south. I spent a day showing our areato five Korean brethren who had attended the convention. Kanoya church welcomed themthat night.

A short breathing space and it was time for our 31st summer camp held August16-13. Bro. Yoshii and I cooperated in arranging for a bus to take us there and back.Kanoya church had 25, the largest group. There were ten from Kushira church, five frommy Bible classes and two from the orphange. Preparing for camp is hard work but

f

/^/y

KOREA :S.M. CHANG-R. HARTER

CLARINET DUET WITH SHELLEY

ON VACATION: GREG & BEV.

TSUE SAKAGAMI MEMORIAL

ADDRESSING ALL-JAPAN CONV.

26th MISSIONARY CONV. KAGOSHIMA-July 26-28,1981 32nd ALL-JAPAN CONVENTION-KAGOSHIMA-July 24-26

the joy of sharing your faith and being a part of the spiritual development of these young people makes it all worth-while. My class was 12middle school students, full of life and mischief but ready to listen &study, too. I had three 70 minute classes with them teaching them whatgreat characters of the Bible had said about God. The camp theme was,"Makoto no Kami" (The True God) I preached one chapel sermon from Mark12.27 on "Loving God With All the Heart."

This has been a family summer, too. We were hoping that theentire family could be here but that was not possible for Paula and Ki-yoto in Canada. Nor for Hope in suimier school at Indiana University,Bloomington. Second son, Gregory and his wife, Beverly, both schoolteachers in Greater Cincinnati saved and borrowed to spend two monthsof summer with us.Gret got to eat his fill of all the Japanese foodshe remembered from boyhood and Bev learned to like them, too. Gregkept the yard mowed and Bev lent a willing hand in the kitchen. They became so much a part of the family that the house has seemed empty sincethey left.

Paul and Faith Axton (second daughter) arrived in Japan justa week before convention time. Walter had just a week to teach them theroads he travels and the people and places he teaches. I expect theywill get lost a few times even yet. I guess we had the most family timeat the convention sitting together and talking after the convention sessions. Also at meal time. One night the convention ate a Chinese mealusing the traditional round tables v/ith the rotating center. We had atable for our family, all ten of us. We enjoyed the food h each other'scompany. It will be some time before that is repeated again. Walter &Mary with their children Shelley and Trent left for furlough just twodays after the convention ended. They v/ill be living In our home inPleasure Ridge Park, Ky (PO Box 58123, Louisville, KY 4025) till nextsuimier. Paul and Faith will carry on their work at Yoshino church andelsewhere till they return.

Pauline and Shelley had just began to enjoy playing the clarinet together. Their duet was one of the highlights of the convention.Pauline has been a tower of strength. Though often tired not complaining. Planning and preparing meals for many. Keeping a horie botfi attractive and peaceful. Imparting of her faith and wisdom to all who come.The family gathered around to give us a joint birthday party early inAugust. So we passed Into the next higher bracket happily, even painlessly.

August ended with a short visit to Korea to meet belovedfriend and missionary, Ralph Harter, 34 years in India. We were theguests of S.M.Chang and his lovely wife In the capital city of Seoul.Six months ago he was elected a member of the National Assembly for afour year term. He is the only ordained minister in the assembly so hisopportunities are great and his responsibilities are great as well. Wevisited the national assembly building and had our pictures taken there.He showed us the best of Korea In the best of style.Thank you Bro.Chang.

My column, "One Man's Opinion" has been back In Horizons mag-azine since January of this year. It appears once a month. I will havetwo articles on Korea In the October and November issues. Now would bea good time to subscribe. $8.00 per year from Sox 177, Kempton, IN 46049.It is a very attractive and informative magazine. Hopefully, my columnhelps make It so. That's all for now. God bless. IN HI^^^VICEj

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FIVE KOREAN MINISTERS VISIT KANOYA

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42 ON BUS FROM KANOYA TO SUMMER CAMP

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LINKLETTER NO. 251 DECEMBER 1981

(Ipiris-m ends rd5)ut someone th-inks

ormm Idarr

tmes

j 'mms THE CHRISTMAS STORY THROUGH JAPANESE EYES

Dear Christian friends,

That's right. This is the time of year when we ^ remember 'old days, old times and old friends.'Many of you who read this letter are in that category. We do thank God for each of you and what you have meantto us through the years. We also remember new days, new times and new friends. Some of you are like that to us iwe are grateful for you. We are also thankful for the times, the days &the friends the Lord has given us inJapan and that in the Christ, born in Bethlehem, we are all one family. That makes a blessed Christmas for us!Thank you again for your faithful, loving support of this mission work. Let us mutually encourage one another inthe good New Year ahead.

Our family will be scattered but we are expecting Hope to come home for Christmas and Faith and Paulwill be here. They are doing well and maintaining a full schedule of teaching & preaching.Pfe treasure their visitson Mondays. We cooperated in holding the fall EBC camp the last of October. David and Ruth Hinson came downfrom Tanabe (near Osaka) to be our camp speakers. It was a good camp. The ministers and missionaries share ourvarious duties, one of which is manager for our annual summer camp. This year it is my turn for that responsibility. We will be using our own campground for that for the first time. That means before summer we must buildoutside showers & a kitchen to serve food to alarger group than we have served before. We have some money setaside for that purpose.

Speaking of "old friends' reminds me that I should tell you we have a new Forwarding Secretary, Mrs.Rozanna Hartwell. Rozanna and her husband, Cecil, were a young married couple in the North Vernon church whenPauline and I were first married and serving there. She began her duties the last of September. The mission address remains the same as always. We sincerely thank Carol Couchman for her four years of faithful service. Thepress of her teaching duties plus taking extension work at the University of Indiana made it impossible for herto continue . Thank you,Carol! Welcome, Rozanna!

Recently I stopped at the storeof Japanese friend who had been long sick and inquired about his welfare. A clerk said, "He is here now.Upstairs! Please come in and see him." Since I had someone with me I said Iwould come the following week. I did go exactly one week later - to his wake. He had died quite suddenly- I wasremorseful at my neglect.lt reminded methat any good we plan to do, we must do now. Tomorrow is not guarantied.Many of God's good people have gone on this year. We expect to see them again in a better world than this one -still the heart longs.

Bro. Tamaki of the Kushira church was hospitalized with lung problems for several weeks. I preachedevery Sunday at Kushira while he was gone. Now he is well and back to his work and leading the Sunday servicesas before. Pauline continues to be both faithful companion and partner in our teaching and preaching. Exceptfor her blood pressure which does not seem to respond, she has been very active. She spent long hours preparingher message for the joint annual meeting of the Kanoya church women and the Christian women at the leper colony.She spoke on "cleansing" She noted that there are dozens of cleansers in the store to clean our bodies,homes and clothes but only the blood of Jesus Christ provides cleansing for the soul.Her message was a blessingto al1.

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On Sundays, I have started preaching through the Sermon on the Mount. It is something I have always wanted to do but,so far, have only done so 'hit and miss." Maybe it willtake two years, even longer, but I will be the chief beneficiary. Stott named his book onthe subject, Christian Counter Culture. That it is. In five different places I am goingthrough Sizemore's book, 13 Lessons in Christian Doctrine. It is good, concise materialand the lessons can not be hurried. I spoke recently to the PTA at Oneshime on "Influencesthat affect our children." The conments made were, "This is an entirely different viewpointthan we have here. We need to think about what you said.'' Family life & discipline is breaking down in Japan, though not as rapidly as in the U.S. Parents are concerned - concernedenough to seek for new ideas and solutions.

Visitors come to bless our home. Ora and Lee Townsend from Onawa Iowa arrivedOctober 17 for a three week stay. Mrs.Townsend had visited here 11 years ago not long aftershe was seriously injured in a plane accident that killed her daughter and husband. She waswarmly welcomed but found the country greatly changed. Ora flew 35 B-29 bombing missionsover Japan from China and Tinian during the war but this was his first time to see this country from the ground and meet its people, especially the Christians. He told some of his experiences at Rotary Club. Both there and at the church he met men who could have been shootingat him from the ground as he passed over. After 35 years they could talk about it withoutanger, even with humor, as a shared experience.

One day while they were here, Verney and Belva Unruh visited us enroute to a 30thanniversary meeting of their mission. We have been friends for 30 years so always have muchto talk about. By afternoon, Paul and Faith and the four Hinsons were here - twelve fillingthe front room. A modern restaurant called 'Groupe" has opened here recently. So we took our"groiip" to their--Group5" for supperthen-came-home-for dessert. A-very nice day!

Ora Townsend was with me when a young mother failed to stop when leaving a smallside lane and crashed into the driver's side of my car with full force. Had we not been ina sturdy well built car, I would have been writing this from a hospital bed. An ambulancecame to take me to the hospital but I declined the invitation. The housewife also was not injured but she was deathly sick from fright and worry that I had been injured. Her insurancecompany will pay the $1000 repair bill to replace the right side of the car.

We took the Townsends by car to the annual convention of Osaka Bible Seminaryon November 2 and 3. Also so I could attend the board meeting the following day. En routethey saw some of the sites of Hiroshima, Kyoto and Nara. We enjoyed the hospitality of theFtsuzo Kishis and the Lee Jones'in Hiroshima, Audrey West in Okayama and Lonnie and CoralMings in Osaka. On Thursday we bid the Townsencfe a regretful farewell at Osaka InternationalAirport as they returned home. Then Pauline and I drove the car on to an overnight ferry.We had a good rest till it docked the next morning: just 30 minutes from our house, Now weare at our tasks again full tilt. God bless! IN HIS SERVICE,

THE "GROUP" IN OUR FRONT ROOM - OCTOBER 26 PAULINE SPEAKS TO WOMEN"S GROUP AT LEPER COLONY

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