maxey mark pauline 1991 japan

8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan

1/8

LINKLETTER

#295

March 1991

Mr.

and

Mrs.

MarkG. Maxey

Kyushu ChristianMission

Kanoya, Kagoshima, Japan

Box

139,

North Venion» Indiana

*THIS

IS

THE

WAY

THE TOP

OF

OUR LETTER LOOKED

35 YEARS AGO*

Great Teaching Singing Plajring 40th Yr. in Japan:Mark-

by Bro.Nomura by Sims Maxey Pauline Maxey Honored

M.Nomura

Conducts 29th Leadership Training Course

37th Annual

Conv.

of

Kagoshima

Churches-Nov.

23,1990

Church Leadership is Interviewed by Hideo

Yoshii R

Dea r Ch ris ti an F ri en d s

Pardon our lon

s i lence. I t has taken a

lo ng tim e

to g

organized

and back

into th e swing of

things again. Lit t le by l i t t l e

as they

sa y in Japan.

By

any

calculat ion,

has been

a year to do down in his tory. The

Jap

anese have a way surmiing up

things

in

the ir own shorthand . So they have

named Dese r t Storm

th e

Wan-Gan-Sen-

so.

Wan=BAY; Gan=SHORE and Senso=WAR.

So i t

is

th e Bay-Shore-War in Japan.

Due

to

the time

difference,

the

end of each

day's

war was th e begining

of th e day here so we had full news

views

of

th e war

early

every

day.

Let

us

praise

God

i t

was over speedily and

le t us

pray

to God

that

such a war or

any war will not have to be repeated.

15

years

ago I took

my

wife and

2

daughters

to th e

historic

si tes in

I ran , t ravel ing

by bus. To th e

oil

loading

isle of Kharg thence

to

Khor-

ramsharr, a t

th e head

of the

Persian

gulf . There I

dickered

for a dinky

boat which took us up the Shat-Al-

Arab

to

Bosra. climbed up a mud

bank

there. Hired

an open-aired Mer

cedes cab which took us

across the

vast

expanse from

th e

Tigris

to the

Euphrates-a

day's

ride about which

I

could write

a book. Finally

to

Nasariyah where we climbed the zig-

gurat a t Ur and s tu ck our head in

th e

door marked home of Abraham.

He and Sarah weren't in having left

for

the

Holy Land 4000 years ago).

On

north to Karb alla, a sacred

spot

for Islam. We were denied entry

to

the

mosque). Thence to Bagdad while

th e

radio t o l l e d

th e

names o f the

Iraqi army men

shot

that day by th e

government.

A

day a t

th e Bagdad muse

um

ended

ou r stay in that troubled

land. This

has

three

sec t ions,

each

featuring one era /cul ture /ar t i fac ts

of

that country. Fabulous Someday

I d l ike to re tu rn

an d

look

fo r a week.


2/8

Well, let s see.

The

last time I wrote I left you in North Pole, AK- which, by the way is a

very nice place to be. Next stop was at the village of Millet, Alberta, Canada.(Get a map and look i t up.)

It

is

in the province of Alberta. Well-received at

King

Edward Park church in Edmonton on Sunday. Great

reunion with daughter, Paula, husband,

Kiyoto Yanagimoto

and four live-wire, handsome grandchildren. All

August birthdays in

the

family remembered there.

Finally, back in Pierre SD again we retrieved our

car

and enjoyed two days of preaching and fellowship

at

the Pierre

church. Pauline and I both have August

birthdays

so we enjoyed birthday parties in sever al

places.

Pierre had a beautiful cake showing a Japanese

bridge

connecting the USA to Japan. In Kirksville

MO Jan

Green had prepared a cake with 73

candles. When

I blew them

out,

the smoke rose

to the

ceiling

and

set off the fire alarm, turned out the

lights

and turned on small battery-powered

ceiling lights

all

at

the

same time. Things can be dramatic

a t

Kirksville. Another

birthday

cake and party

a t

Truman MN where I was

minister

50+

years

ago

le t

us

know that

friends

and memories

of

the past

live

on

into

the

future.

The drive north from

Pierre SD

on

th e

east bank of

the

Missouri

river

is

lonely

and

beautiful.

Happy

reunion

with

Bill

and Mary Lou Hoist in Yankton SD. A week

end

in Storm Lake lA with th e

church there

and

A

and

Mary

Giese (she

is

iny younger

sister) .

Reunion

at

Truman

Church

of Christ

where I was a young

preacher 50+ years ago. Lots of faces and memories of th e

past

there. South to Union lA. Hard to find bu t

lots of people found i t for a great time

of

fellowship.

Mitchell Maxted was there.

He

said,

Did you know that

th e

daughter of Charles E. Garst was s t i l l alive

and well? I did

not

know that. I knew about Charles E.

Garst, our f trs t

mlss,ionary

to

Japan;

of

hi s untime

death there at age 45 and of

his

family

returning

to Iowa,

their native state.

But I did not know of thei

having,

a baby^dau^hter.before her_father_Ls_deajth. The next day we.drove to Des Moines. I made th telephon

people happy by phoning all

th e Garsts living

in Carrol County.

Finally,

I

go t th e

information I was lookin

for.

Rachel Garst Merrill, age 93, was

living

in a condominium in Des Moines. Pauline and I went

to

see

her

immediately.We found her

to

be a

gracious lady,

keen

of

mind and

spir i t

faithful

to her

church and

ready_and willin g to to

talk

about all things Japanese. We were her guests fo r lunch and a couple of hours

of visiting before

we had

to continue our journey.(Our mission in

Japan

began

in

1883

-

108

years

ago

Here i f a brief

summary

of our travels as

we

turned eastward: Christian church. La Harpe IL,

Jerry

McCune minister-

a

hearty,

faithful people worshipping in a fine, new building. Members of th e Evening

missionary group from Ancona IL church filled the Charles and

Betty

Coe

home

to hear and

talk

about Japan.

A great day at Streator IL speaking to the women of

the

area and

at

Central church

of

Christ, filled with

people

iny

age from various persuasions -

but

interested in the faith and needing the fellowship

of o ther s.

Sti l l

in August, an

overnight visit with

Jim and Barbara Linder in Urbana; all

night with

Bruce and

McQuigg, Rankin

II.

, computers

determine

when and

how much

their

hogs will be

fed. Niece,

Roberta

Longawa

drove down from northern IL for a

short

vis i t with

us.

On August 16, Faith Church of Christ and Burlington

Church

of Christ joined

together

to

welcome us . Long-time

family friend,

Sarah Ward, made us

welcome

at

he r

home as we v is ted the church in Terra Haute IN. August 17 we spoke at th e church in.New Holland OH.

There were three people

there who

graduated with me from the New Holland grade school.Amazing1 The next

day we

a tt ended the 55th reunion of the

class

of 35

,

Circleville

OH

high

school. Half

of

us were

able to

attend. I gave a few words, more

or less

well spoken. Paul and Mary Turner hosted the

class

and us. Memo

ries

of the depression fade while the

meaning

of

life becomes more real.It was

good, real good, to meet again

Well, I am going to run out of space: In Michigan we visited

Pleasant

View church,

Cassopolis,

none

more

faithful;

Dr. and Mrs.

Joe Schaeffer,

way up

north. He

took

care of

Paula

when

she had

polio.

Also

saw long-time f riends: Bil l Plank aiid Allen Law.

He

was my

chaplain s

assistant in the Philippines.Now the

space

is

gone and so much to be

said.

Thanks and greetings

to

churches and friends

we haven t

the

room

jto-jneiition,who jLte,

nevertheless,

a

part

o.f this_work jthrough_thesfi

jnaDy_yea_rs.

We

saw them

Jbl the

churches

we

visited

in

Ohio

and Indiana. In a swing to the

east:

Pennsylvania (and Pauline s

home

town of Wind Ridg

Bakerton WVA Washington DC; Mechanicsville VA;

Jacksonville NC;

Asheville NC; Flag Pond

TN;

Pennington

G

VA; Mt.Sterling KY

Mt.Byrd church, Milton KY...and time has

failed

to tell by

name

all

who havethe

faith,

love,

hospitality

and

means

to help

this

mission

continue. God bless

you

all . IN

HIS

SERVICE.

Publ ica t ion

o f

Kyusliu Ciiristian

Mission

Box 417

t h Vernon, I nd iana 47265

Return Requested

C

E D I T O R

HORIZONS

BOX 2 4 2 7

KNOXVILLE TN 3 7 9 0 1

Non-Profit Orguiisat

U.

S

POSTAGE

PAID

Louisville. Kentuck

Permi t No. 537


3/8

A Report by Mark and Pauline Maxey

/UNKLer re f i /

To

the

friends

of the Kyushu Christian

Mission

Kanoya. KagosMma893 Japan - Box 417

N

Vernon IN

47285

LINKLETTER 296

JUNE

1991

Dear

Chris t ian f r iends,

I t s been a long time since you heard, from

us .

Too long

Either

events ar e

getting

more numerous

or

we

ar e getting slower.

At any

r at e, t hi s le t ter will le t

you

know

that

we

ar e s t i l l

engaged

in

mission.

We arrived back in Japan on October23. 1990, af ter a si x month furlough. Our

yard

was

full

of people to

welcome

us home .

I t

was a very good

feeling

indeed. In

our absence,Katsuo Shimoda,

my right

hand man, had

replaced

the living

room ceiling.

I t had done its best fo r 40 years but

now

its time was up. He had the mission house

and Christian Cente r and yard looking mighty fine.

Before

goi ng any fur ther , l e t s

take

note of

th e

pictures . In January

of

this year,

Bro.

Yoshii, min is te r o f the Kanoya church started

work on

the

40

y ear h is

tory

of

th e

Kanoya church. Severa l

months

of

research and

hard work

resulted in

a

f ine

history writ ten and published.

We

were

able

to

aid

hi s work through photos and a re

cord of the

people and

events contained

in almost 300

issues of

this Linkletter. His

book is

all

in

Japanese

so

don't

write fo r

a copy.

A few

miles out in the country

from

ou r

house

is

a a

hospital-housing

com

plex

buil t fo r victims

of

Hansen's disease

(leprosy) 45

years

ago.

We

have served th e

Christian community

t he re for

40

of

those

years.

Also Bro Yoshii.

Now they

have

called

a minister of

their own

- Hironofu

Ito.

I participated in hi s

installation.

Mr.

It o

was born in one

of

the

Okinawan

islands. He caught

this

disease as a child. By God's

grace he

is

one

of

the few who conquered the

disease

and has no visible marks

of th e

disease. Bro. Yoshii and I will

continue

to visi t the Keisei church fo r preaching and

teaching as

we

have

before.

Another

activity

which we have continued from the beginning

is

holding reg

ular

services

fo r

the children and young people living in the

Osumi

Gakkusha. This

institution

takes care

of those

who

have lost a parent or whose families ar e unable

to

take

care

of

them.

We

have also gone to t hi s inst itu tion since the very beginning .

Bro. Yoshii and I alternate in holding services

there.

Let's sum up some of our

acti-

ties

under

th e following

headings:

FAMILY NEWS:

Walter Maxey,

wife,

Mary, and family will be in the

USA

on a

yea r' s f ur

lough beginning August 3. They

will

make their home

in Murphysboro IL. Daughter,

Shel-

le

will

be in her second

year at

the University of Illinois. Son, Trent,

will

be in his

third year of high school.. Our third daughter, Hope,

will

come to Japan this summer.

She will be living in Walter and Mary's home and also be teachi'ng'fnglish in the Kago

shima area

schools.

Paul and

Faith

(2nd

daughter)

Axton

continue

to live in Tsukuba,

a couple of hours north of Tokyo. They s er ve t he Tsuchiura Church o f Chr is t in that

area and

also the

American Chrstian College which they started in Tokyo.

I t is

now in

i ts second year. Grandson, Tamon Leroy Yanagimoto,

wil l enrol l

in Lincoln (IL)

Christ

ia n college this fa l l .

MEDICAL

NEWS;

Paul ine continues

under

th e

care.of

Dr.Suzaki», head of t he l oc al branch

of the Kagoshima Prefectural

Hospital.

She sees him twice a month and he sees

that

sh e

gets th e medicine and

assistance

that she needs. He charges noth ing

fo r

hi s

services.

Her medicine is expensive but this cost is mostly taken care

of

by the Christian

Medi

cal Society to which the mission

belongs.

Pauline

continues

to take care of her home

and teaching responsibilties and is always with

me

as

we

are teaching and preaching

in th e churches. As

for

myse lf . P aul in e

went

witn

me on

th e

f ive hour drive

north

to

the Ideta Eye Hospit al. The v is ion in my

right

eye had been deteriorating

for

some

time. In a rather lengthy operation. Dr. Ideta removed a

cataract

from ny right eye

and in the same

operation

put in a

lense implant.

Because of the

eye's

condition,

the

lense

kept

slipping

out but the

operation

was completed

successfully.

On a

scale

of

5

this

eye now has a rating of 3. The eye is now flooded with wonderful

light

so

that

I can enjoy reading and drive safely.

Tam grateful.

Pauline spent.a

week

with me there.

CHURCH

NEWS:

The

f irst church

on

th e

western

peninsula of our state

was

built

on a

strategic corner

in

the prefectural capital ci ty-

Kagoshima. This was a

pro ject o f

Isabel

Di-ttfimore.

An

original pre-fab building was

replaced

by a second

similiar

build=

ing with

living

quarters above. This was

replaced

by a

three story,

ferro-concrete

building

in the fall

of

1971. Over the years, the grime of the

city

had le ft it s mark

on

the

building both

inside

and outside. I suggested to the church, through

i ts

minis

ter , Koichi Homori that the mission would pay half i f the church would pay

half

for a

the repainting of tne

interior

as well as new ceiling

lights.

This was agreed and the

result is delightful new place of worship . Now the church

will

launch a similar pro

ject for the

exterior. On June 2,

Pauline

and I a tt ended the

services there.

Bro.

Homori,

for

the chu rch, gave us

flowers,

a plaque and

restaurant dinner

in our honor

and to which the whole church was invited. Alsomatching tea cups made out of our area

pottery, known

as Satsuma Yaki All in

al l , i t

was a

really fine event.

Kanoya

Chdrch

o f Ch r is t

h f t d

— 4 0^ c } £» ; ^—

Awalkof 4 yeaija«Y^40 th Anniversa

*1950*

*1990*'

A 10

Year

History

-by

Minister,

Hideo

Yosh

4 * e * o * e * e * o * o « o * o * o * o * o * o « o « o * o i * o *

Pauline's Mother's Day-Bouque

I

Laying

on o f hands

for Hironof

I

to -new

min i s t e r

a t

Keise i

c h u r c

Sunday P M

Class at Or^ang


4/8

PREACHING - TEACHING - SHARING; We had

hardly got

back in Japan when I was due

to

speak

at

th e annual conference

of

the

Mennonite missionaries of Kyushu - mee ting in th e

next

prefecture - northeast. Some months before that I had

written a lengthy

article

under the t i t le : My Pilgrimage into Mission. . It was published

in

the Japan Christian

Quarterly in the Summer issue, 1989. I thought this would be

satisfactory

source material

for th e

messages I would

g ive. But halfway through the

series

of three messages I found

that

everyone present

already

had a copy of my paper

with

them. I was somewhat

nonplussed but none

of t he missionar ies present seemed

to

mind. So 1

proceeded.

We had a

mutually

satisfying

fellowship as well as a

sharing

of

insights,

experiences and faith. I

thank

missionary Anna Dyck

for arranging this meeting

together.

This was October 29-30

Hiroshi

Isobe.

minister

of the

Mennonite

church

in Miyakonojo, just

over the

line in

the next prefecture

asked me

to

speak Saturday night and Sunday on the subject , The Japanese Christianity That I See. I found i t dif

ficult

to come

to

grips

with

the topic.

The fellowship was great. I met

some whom

I had baptized and

several

who had

known

me

through

the

years.

It

is

true:

the

good

that

men

do

lives

after

them.

(Also

the

evil

The same month. High School principal, Mr. Kohtoku. asked

me

to give a lecture

a t

his school on

the subje

Japan: Inside and Out. I fol lowed the line from the an

ol d

operetta: Accent t he Pos it iv e:

Eliminate

the Negative.

November is one

of

the very busy

months

of

th e

eyar. There is t he annua l convention of Kagoshima churche

on November 23, a national

holiday.

Kanoya church, Bro.

Yoshii,

minister, was the hos t church. The preparatiom and

program was

outstanding,

Harold Sims

of

Tokyo

gave th e

convention address. Minister, Masatami Kikkawa held a revival

in

the Kanoya

church. Then at our

preacher s

meeting in Kagoshima,

November

21, he

told the story

of

the

outstanding

and great church he has developed in

the

city of Ono {near Osaka}

An extended

trip

north took me

th e city

of

Klta

Kyushu where I gave a

lecture at th e

Laymen's Bible Schoo

I have had a long-time connection with

the schoo l

but this

was

the f i rs t time

to get to

teach

there.

They were keen

listeners. This was March 19,

Friday. Saturday

I was

th e

guest

of

Makoto Yoshii as he took me to vist

the

college wh

he

is

teaching.

Early Sunday I spoke

at

a girls high school where Hideto Yoshii is professor. 1000 girls all with

bla

hair,

cut

the same way and wearing identical uniforms. An amazing sight. They were

attentive l isteners.

From there w

moved qui ck ly to Onga

Church

of

Christ where

Hideto

Yoshii is the dynamic preacher. Lots o f f ri ends ,

new

and old, to

ta lk;

to

a f t e r

church .

A very long

ride

on

t he Bul le t

train

brought

me

to

Tokyo

and

participation

in

th e

opening ceremony

of

American

Christian

College, founded by Paul Axton and now beginning

its

second year. A board meeting

followed.

With

Paul by train to see the rest

of

the family : wife and daughter, Faith and two

l ive-wire chi ldren:

Erin and Zachary.

By train to Motoyuki Nomura and wife in the i r mountain home. They have welcomed 1048 guests in 5 i y ea rs . By train on

south to Osaka. Received by Paul and Rickie Clark. An important visit with them

to

see his mother, EvelynClark,

suff

ering from a stroke. Now

removed

to the USA.(There is a

good possibility

of partial+ recovery.) Keep her in your pray

ers. Spoke for chapel at Osaka

Bible

Seminary, Thursday, March 25.

Finest

looking student body I have ever seen

at

the

seminary.

Very encouraged. Thence by a ir and bus

back home to

Pauline and

Home

Sweet Home.

VOLCANO NOTES: Our nearest volcano, Mt. Sakurajima, is only 20 miles away

(a s

th e crow fl ies) bu t a moun

tain

shields

us from

the

eruptlons-127

times by

the

end

of May.

Mt. Unzen,

now

In

the news is

a hard

day s d rive

to

the northwest corner

of

our

island.

I t 1s of no danger to us. ^t after a silence of 199 years I t Is raining death

and destruction on

the land

and

people of that area.

Pray

that

the

err tions

will

cease.

IN HIS

SERVICE.

(P.S.

There

are 1800 volcanoes in the world,

2^

of them In Japan,and

of

them

active Mizpah)

That's what the

Good Book Says

Lecture for the

Laymen's

Bible School in northern Kyushu

Pub l ica t ion

o f

Kyushu Christian Mission

B ox 417

r th Vernon , I nd ia na

47265

Return

Requested

EDITOR

HORIZONS

BOX

2 4 2 7

KNOXVILLE

C

TN 3 7 9 0 1

Non-Proflt OrganiMtl

U.S .POSTAGE

PAID

Louisville.

Kentucky

Permit No. 53 7


5/8

A 'Report

by Mark

and Pauline Maxey

u N K L e r re f i

To

the

friends o f th e Kyushu Chri st ian Mission

Kanoya, Kagoshima 893 Japan - Box 417,

N

Vernon IN 472fiS

LINKLETTER #297 SEPTEMBER

99

I

nc^ iAPaa_

Dear

Christian f r iends,

September has come and

with i t

a hint of

coolness.

The

cherry trees

in

front

of ou r house have shed

their

leaves letting us know that autumn will soon be here. The typhoons we've had on our

peninsula this

year have been wet

and windy,

bu t

have

no t

done

much

damage.

Japan is

one of the

smaller

nations o f the world

in

terms of

size but

consider

this:

th e Tokyo

city

govern

ment has 200,000 employees and an annuual budget of ¥16.65

tr illion

uen. ($1.00=¥135). Tokyo's annual budget is big

ge r than

th e

vast country of China and i t

equals

the

entire

budget of the

country

o f Aust ra li a.

Ever

stop

as you were driving to ge t something cool

to drink?

Japan has 100,000

roadside drink dispensers

scattered throughout Japan.

These

operate

24 hours a day using, i t

is said, the total electr icity output of

one power

plant. Anyone

of

any age can buy the

drinks

available,

including

alcoholic ones. The penal ti es for drunken driving,

however,

are

very severe.

For

family

news:

e

welcomed

home

our third

daugher, Hope

( in J ul y) . She will be teaching English in

the col

leges

and schools in th e Kagoshima

City

area, which

is

west and

across

the bay from

us . e spent

some time with

her

as

she

was finger-printed

(a

necessity

fo r foreigners

and

criminals);

was

registered

and was

supplied

with an

affidavit

of

support.

All was done

quietly,

efficiently and with

courtesy.

When the lady that was doing

he r

paper work asked

Hope

where

she

was

born,

she replied,

in

Kyoto,

Japan.

The

lady

looked up at

her

in

surprise

as

i f

to confi rm

that

this

was

no t

a

Japanese voice speaking

to

her.

Meanwhile, Walter and Mary

Maxey

and children, Shelley and Trent, have returned to the U.S. fo r

furlough.

Th

will

be living in Murphysboro,

I ll inois. Trent will at te nd

high school there and Shelley

will continue her

studies

at

th e

University

of

I l l inois

Every

July,

on

or near

the

4th,

the

Kanoya

Rotary

Club has

Pauline

3s a

special guest

and

asks

one

of

us to

give

a talk. This

year

I talked

about my

father, R. Tibbs Maxey, father

of nine children,

5 sons and 4

daughters.

Seve

lived

to maturity. 4 of the boys served during th e war. I t was father that

pu t

the faith in our hea rt s and

the

steel

our spines. Four

sons

and a

daughter

became missionaries and one

daughter

a

minister's

wife.

Health-wise, aging leaves

i ts mark on

all of us. Pauline continues

under a

doctor's care

and on

appropriate

daily

medication, I have enjoyed good

health

all

my life (except fo r severe

asthma in

my

youth) but several

weeks

ago

fainted

while teaching

a

class.

After I had

fainted nine time s

on

other occasions,

I went to

see

Dr.

Suzaki,

head of

th

Prefectural Hospital in our

area.

He

gave

me

all

the

tests ,

t ook X-rays

and

told

me I was in good

shape.

While he was

telling me

this,

I fainted and fell on him. So i t was back

to

square one. I have been diagnosed as having a Stokes-Adam

attack. Since then

I have been

taking

medication

daily.

So

far,

no more attacks. The possibility

of

a pacemaker

is

in

th e f u t u r e

Because

of

th e

above, Pauline

and I

did not attend

th e

annual missionary

convention

-

held this

year in

Koch

city, on the

i sl an d o f

Shikoku, one

of Japan's

four major

Islands.

Don and Norma Burney have

served there fo r

35

years

The

convention-goers

gathered around

the

phone

to

say

hello

and

to

wish us

well.

This was good medicine

fo r

our ears

The 1991 Christ ian serv ice camp was in th e campground of

ou r

area

churches. I t

had been decided that instead

of having

three consecutive

camps,

all

three would be

held

at the

same

time

but

in

different

places. To accomodate

the

groups,

a

large

tent was

furnished.

This and

the

porch and rooms

of

the camp's main

builidng

provided good settings

fo

all

the

campers and

staff.

This plan

will continue

in

the future.

y class. Great

Characters of the New

Testament was

held

outside,

under

the

trees. I chose five

men

to discuss:

Jesus,

John,

Peter,

Paul and Luke. Lives of

great men all

remind us

TO

iOME

SWEET HOME

from MARKtWULK

MAXEY

, TO THE

f-aT'CENTER - '' :

2 7

1991 Christian Camp-3

Age Groups-August

4,5,6

Adult Class Mark Maxey, Teacher

Grea t C h ar ac te rs o f

th e

New Tes t amen t


6/8

I enjoyed not only the prepara tion required for

t hi s c la ss ,

but a lso the cooperation of

my

students and

my

renewal of acquaintance with these great

men

of

old.

Jesus,himself, as well as the recorded

words

f these great

men

continue

to speak to us in

th e

pages of the New Testament.

We

enjoyed having two

students

from Osaka Bible Seminary

with

us

during

part

of July

and in August. These

were fourth year student, Hiroyuki Sakasegawa from the island of Tanegashims, south of us, and Katsuyuki Ueno a mem

be r of the

Kanoya

church and a

first yeat student

a t

Osaka

Bible Seminary. Sakaseqawa preached at the Kushira church

during the summer Also, Yuichi Tsurugaoka, at age 33, has entered Osaka Bible Seminary to

train

for the ministry.

Ever;

i f

you

don t

pronouce their

names

correctly,

keep these mm in your prayers as they prepare to

live

and

share

th e Good News of

th e

Gospel.

August is birthday month fo r

Pauline

and I. Thank you to al l of you who sent

to

us cards and l e t t e rs.

I t

makes growing

older

a

pleasure.

The week-end of August 24 was a memorable one. Pau line and I were

guests

of

th e

Hideo Yoshii family as

we

went with them by plane to

Osaka fo r the

wedding

of their

daughter, Noriko.The beginning of a

new Christian

family

is

significant event

anyplace, but

especially

in Japan where only one

percent

of

th e

people

ar e

Christians.

T hi rt y y ear s

ago I held the wedding ceremony fo r Mr and Mrs. Yoshii of the Kanoya church.

ow

i t

was my pleasure to hold the cere

mony fo r

their

daughter, Norikoto Tatsushi Sato of Osaka. The beginning of a new

Christian

family is a

significant eve

anyplace,

but

especially

in Japan where only one

percent

of the people

ar e

Christians.

The wedding

reception that fo l

lowed was

special no t

only

fo r th e

food that was

served

but

also for

th e hymns that were sung, words

of

praise

f or b rid

and groom as well as words

of

encouragement

offered

to them both.

The wedding was held on Saturday, August 24. On Sunday

morning,

Kenji Niro, faithful Christian friend and as

ciate

since

ou r

early

days in Kanoya,

came

to th e hotel with hi s wife. They took us to morning services in Horiguchi

church, Osaka. Seimin

Sugiyama

is minister

there. Again

a time of wonderful fel lowship and preaching.

We

had a

good vi

with

Paul

Clark

and

wife, Rickie,

in

Hirakata before

she took us to th e airport

fo r

a flight back to Kagoshima. Paul h

lost

both

parents recently.

Now as seminary

president,

the weight

of

leading th e school has

fallen

on him.

Keep

h

In your

thoughts

and

prayers

Le t me close with

this

story.

Five o r six miles from us

is

a

hospital

o f lepers (Hansen s Disease). I met

th e

leader

of the

small group

of

believers

soon

a ft e r

arriving

In Kanoya. I began

preaching

and

teaching

there

regularly.

This was in th e fall of 1950. Several monnths

l a t e r ,

in August 1951, I baptized 23

of

these

people. At

that

time fear o

this

disease was very strong. I determined, however,

that 1 t

was my sacred duty

to

baptize these

new believers

and to

pu t

my confidence

in God fo r

th e

outcome - both

theirs

and mine. Now

after

40 years,

four

of those who were baptized

st i l l alive. They

are:

Hiroshi

Morishita,

Etsue Sakaguchi, Fusako Toyoshima and

Kane

Kimura. The latter

recalled

that

was 40

years

ago

that

I had baptized she and th e

others. Now th e

remaining

four

wanted to give us a g ift in memory

o

their baptism long ago. It was a heart-warming

event

and an

assurance

that, indeed, The good that men do

lives af ter

them, Must

close.

Blessings

to

the readers of this

letter.

HIS SERVICE Mark

Maxey

HmGMDNG

w

A ugus t

B i rt hdays;

Pau l ine

and

M a r k

Auaust

2-Waiter

Maxey

f am il y- Fu rl ou gh t o U .S . Noriko

Yoshii We

^ Sato T a ts us hi- 24 A

^

fubKon

Kyushu Christian

Mission

Box

4 7

th V er no n, I nd ia na i|7265

. , R Permit No. 537

R e tu r n R e qu e st e d

EDITOR

:

H O R I Z O N S

B O X 2 4 2 7

KNOXVILLE TN

379


7/8

A Report by Mark and Pauline Maxey

/ L f N K L e r r e R /

To th e f r iends

of

th e K yu sh u C hristian Mission

Kanoya, Kagoshima 893 Japan - Box 417, N.Vernon IN 47265

L I N K L t T T E R

298

DECEMBER

1991

Dear Chr i s t i an f r iends

The ear th turns , the sun suLb, the

moon shines

and

present

ly the sun is on the horizon again. Everything is in motion and yet

nothing

seems

to change from day to day. But change is always with us

and all of a sudden It

reachcs

out and tuucht S us In stcirtlimj and

frightening ways.

roared up with the south s e as I t h it

and (Kyushu) full-force .

I t then

n archipelago

devastating fruits ,

ing as

i t went. Finally, th e storm

of here. Immediately afterwards,

tw o an d

so ld each h a l f a t th e

former

dst of

th e

sea,

we

ar e

always

aware

The weather

is fully

reported along

In

September

a typhoon

t he northern corne r

of

our huge

is l

continued up the center of the Japa

vegetables,

roads,

bridges

and hous

blew

out to

se a a

1000 mil es n or th

local

markets

cut

l e t tuce heads

in

price

of

one

head.

Living in th e

mi

of approaching storms and

dangers,

with

th e

news

on

both radio

and TV.

Special

visitors

have

come

our way. Dick Lash, long-time

missionary in Korea, spent a week with us

after

a renewa l of ties with

the churches and leaders there. Dr. S.M. Chang gave him a royal welcome

to the the

campus

and

it s

new buildings and facilites. Just

this

year,

the college has

become

a university under Bro. Chang s leadership.

Also visiting us was Ted and Beverly Skiles and son, Brad.

Theirs has been a ministry of

faith,

perserverance and outreach in Cent

ral Taiwan. They

have

provided a

haven

for orphans, the Christian wit

ness of a living church, a Christian bookstore and place of encourage

ment and st imulus to our other missionaries on the island,.

On October

9, I

had

a life-changing experience. I was

having

fainting spells of short but increasing frequency while taking

medica

tion three times a day.

But one

day I fell down and woke

up

with my

dog

licking

my

face. I

was

taken to the local hospital

where

I

prompt

ly fainted again.

The

hospital staff decided to send

me

to Kagoshima

City Hospital located on the western peninsula. Pauline had a hour to

gather the essentials. Then she went

with

me in th e ambulance

to

th e

hospital. Pauline stayed in Walter and

Mary s

(Maxey) house during my

20 days in the hospital . Daughter. Hope, is also staying in this house

during Walter and Mary's absence - and while she is teaching English in

the Kagoshima area high

schools,

colleges and universities.

Dr. Ishigami, a member of the Kagoshima church,has been a

staff member of

this

hospital for

many

years. He introduced me there.

Also,

he and his wife arranged a loan to

pay

my hospital bill until

payment of hospital Insurance came through.

express our thanks to

them.

38th

Annual Convention-Kagoshlma

Churches o f Chri st

I

I

I

I

i

I

I

I

f

\

LUXtz Baby in a. mangeA,

Nestled Zn a b d hky,

Do Vou knoio LOhcLt tiiL& ak^ad

J A you A.e, boA.n on

ChAX JCmcu

Vay?

Lit t tz Baby in a mangeji,

Having no

plac.t

in

tkz

inn,

Vo Vou knou the pAi.ce

you- tt

pay

To A.&dzejn mankind

6in?

Little

Baby,

in

a

mangeA,

Ve^tinzd ioA a cAaet

Giving up youJi to

o^^zA.

VoAdon, peace and iiboAty.

LiXtte Baby in a

manges,

I4e6tted

in

a bed

oi

hay,

Vo you

knou)

uihat

t ie6 ahead

Aa You're boAn on C.hxUitma Vay?

Oh,

love

beyond aZZ

othvi

tovzJi —

A

Love

we

cannot

undeutand

Vou fenow—and

•6titt

You come

To lay

dom YouJi

t i i e ioK man

Little Baby, in a mangen.,

Nestled in

a bed o^ hay,

We pAai^e You

the

tacnX-iice begu

Ai You'fie

boAn

on ChAi6tm6 Vay,

- Copied .

The Good Physician -Dr.

Ishigami


8/8

While waiting for surgery , I got word

that

Bro. Takeo Ilmure

had died.

He

was the f i r s t

man

I worked with after

our

arrival

in Kanoya,

now 41 years ago. He was active in teaching, preaching, wri ti ng l es sons ,

interpreting

and in p rep arin g the many documents needed to become a part

of the community in th e

city

of Kanoya. His funeral was

held

in the Ka

noya church by Bro. Hideo Yoshii. His ashes were placed in ou r

Christ

ia n mausoleum located in a nearby cemetery.

Tuesday , Oc tober 9, was

th e

day for a

pacemaker

implant by

Dr. Toda and assistant , Dr. Tominaga. Also present was Nurse Enokizono,

a member

of th e

Yoshino

church.

She

go t

h er duty

day changed

so

she

could

ass i s t during my

operation.

As they prepared to

begin

th e implant, she

leaned

over

and whispered, You don t

have to

be quiet . You can cry out

i f you want

to .

Hers was a

comforting

word and a comforting

presence.

Actually, I did not

experience

any pain dur ing

the

operation - bu t much

Jfr—thes

days

that followed.

When

the operation was finished some changes had taken place:

I was an American who had received a German-made pacemaker

implanted

by

a

Japanese doctor.

Jus t

ca l l

me

Mr. Internat ional .

I was amazed - and

also blessed

and comforted - bv th e many

people who came

to call

- each with a specially wrapped money gif t to

help on t he hospi ta l expenses. Also there were words of prayer and en

couragement.

Gifts

of f ood and f rui t . Always

fresh

flowers on th e win

dow-sill, Hospital l i fe does have i ts

pleasures

to

offset

i ts pains.

I

was

in

a

room

with

three

o the rs

so

there

were

lo t s o f

visi tors

coming and

goin g. M issionary

Ben Hirotaka spent a day on

th e

t ra in

to

pay a visi t . He came down from

northern

Kyushu and back again.

Second

daughter.

Faith, came

down

from north of Tokyo bringing

he r

child

ren: Erin

and Zachary. They

pu t

l i fe Into

that

hospital room . Bapt ist

missionary, Paul

Shook,

stopped

by fo r a vis i t

every night, bringing

some

thing

of in te res t each t im e. P au li ne was reading to me every day

and

seeing that I took my pi l l s - and whatever.

Finally,

i t was time

to

go home. I talked

th e

doctor

into

le t t ing

me go home a day early . So

finally,

on October

28,

we were on

th e way back home. November was upon us before we were finished with

October.

November 12 was a special day

as Pauline

gave he r annual mes

sage to the jo in t

women's meeting - Kanoya

church

and

th e women

of the

Keise i church (Hansen s

disease) -

held at their church

out in

the country.

A big event each year is the annual convention

of

Kagoshima

churches,

held

each. November

23,

a

national

holiday.

This

was

i ts 38th

year.

Bro. Naganorl Tanij i r l and the church

a t

Kushikino hosted.the

convention. I t was an Ideal day and the

building

was

full .

Bro. Makoto

Yuse from Nagoya brought morning and

afternoon

message. This is th e

church

far thest away from Kanoya so we lef t

early

and

got

home

af ter

dark - bu t fellowship

and

th e

inspirat ion

were worth I t .

According

to

t he zod iak, this year (1991) was t he y ea r of

th e

lamb. 1992

will

be the y ea r

of

th e monkey. Monkeys can do some smart

things and some dumb things. So let s not

le t

the Newy.^ar make a mon

key

out

of

us. B le ss ings

to al l .

IN HIS SERVICE

A Hospital

Visit

daughter - Faith M

}

I i »

And - jgi

g ra n

dch

i Id r e

Erin Zacharv^^^HnfllH

T ed Bev £

Brad

Ski les

Holding

the Missionary

F o r t

in

Ta iwan

Dick

Lash

- Revisiting His

Missionary

Service in

Korea

Kyushu

Ch?istiSn°Mission

®

Box

417

PAID

t h V er no n, I nd ia na

i»7265

, , — j

r«nn i t

No.

55 7

ess Return

Requested

E D I T O R

H O R I Z O N S

BOX 7

KNOXVILLE TN 3 7 9 0 1

maxey mark pauline 1991 japan

Documents