nielsen paul marcia 1954 japan

8/10/2019 Nielsen Paul Marcia 1954 Japan

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Th e Nielsen s: Paulo, Marcio, Russell, Paul and Martha center front .

The purpose of this pamphlet Is to tell about the need of takingthe Gospel of Christ to people of the rural areas of Japan. Ittells how and why the Nielsen s plan to help accomplish this taskand what you can do to share In this great work.



THE VILLAGES CALL

T he v i l l ag e s of J a p a n are re la t ive ly un touched by nonJ a p a n e s e

c i v i l i z a t i o n .T h e s e

ru ra l a r e a sc o n s i s t

o f farmingfishing mining and lumbering villages where Christianityi s u n k n o w n . T h e g r e a t m a s s o f v i l l a g e p e o p l e a b o v e 40y e a r s of age are s a t u r a t e d with hea then r e li g io u s i d eo l og i es .Many of t h o s e under 4 are wi thou t any r e l ig ious fa i th andf ind no h o p e fo r l i v i n g . C h a n g e d c o n d i t i o n s from World War

I I h a v e c a u s e d a s e v e r e b r e a k d o w n in m u c h o f t h e b a s i c r e

l igious thinking especial ly in the young people of the vi l lages .

T h e r e a r e 4 t y p e s o f r e l i g i o n s i n t h e s e r u r a l a r e a s .Shin to Buddh i sm Sorce ry an d Magic and a c o m b i n a t i o no f t h e s e w i t h s o m e C h r i s t i a n i d e a s a d d e d . M a n y o f t h e

youth a re fed up with t h e s e r e l ig ions t h a t h a v e fa i led t hem.

So m e no lo ng er h av e r e g a r d fo r r e l i g i o n o r mora l i t y.

T h e v i l l a g e s a r e r i p e f o r a c h a n g e a n d s o o n . T h e y a r e

b e h i n d t h e c i t i e s o f J a p a n b o t h s o c i a l l y a n d s p i r i t u a l l y .

T h e y h a v e had no c h a n c e to l e a rn o f C h r i s t i a n i t y. T h e p e o p lec ry f o r s p i r i t u a l bread an d are g iven c o l d s t o n e s o f h e a t h e ni s m . T h e v i l l a g e s c a l l u s to com e p l a n t th e s e e d s of th ee v e r l a s t i n g g o s p e l of C h r i s t . We b e l i e v e God i s c a l l i n g u s to

he lp t a k e the g o s p e l to th e v i l l a g e s of J a p a n .

M E E T I N G T H E C A L L O U R P R E PA R AT I O N

IN S C H O O L - - B o t h P a u l a n d M a r c ia a t t e n d e d M i n n e s o t a

B ib le C ol le g e M i n n e a p o l i s M i n n e s o t a and P a c i f i c B i b l eSeminary Long Be a c h Cal i fo rn ia . P a u l rece ived a B a c h e l o ro f Arts d e g r e e from MBC and did h is r e s i d e n t work for a

Maste r o f Arts degree in P B S . Marcia rece ived a B ac he lo r o fAr t s degree from P B S . We held pas to r a t e s for 6 yea r s a tC o l t o n a n d E l s i n o r e C a l i f o r n i a .

ON T H E F I E L D We w e n t t o To k y o J a p a n a s m i s s i o na r i e s i n J u n e 1 9 4 0 . War c l o u d s m a d e u s r e t u r n 7 m o n t h s



O U R P L A N S We w a n t to r e tu rn to J a p a n in A u g u s t 19 5 4We h a v e 3 l o c a t i o n s in mind t h a t are s t r a t e g i c c e n t e r s from

which to work During the w inte r o f 1954 we p lan to s tudyt h e s e l o c a t i o n s fu r the r be fo re d e c i d i n g a d e f i n i t e l o c a t i o n .

We wil l then open a new c e n t e r of ru ra l evange l i s t i c work

OUR METHOD O F WORK — N a t i v e C h ri s ti a n h e l p er s h a v eal ready e xp re sse d th eir d es ire to help us in th i s rura l evange l i s t i c work We will be a t eacher counc i lo r and guide ton a t i v e C h r i s t i a n s w h o w i l l d o t h e a c t u a l w o r k o f e v a n g e l i s m .

We wil l go ou t from the cen t e r s e l e c t ed to surrounding v i l l agesan d f i r s t m a k e o u r s e l v e s a c q u a i n t e d with the p e o p l e B y

pass ing out t rac t s and vis i t ing with the people we w ill showthem o u r p u r p o s e in b e i n g t h e r e . A s o p p o r t u n i t i e s o p e n w ewi l l begin Bib le c l a s s e s in th e v i l l age s La t e r B i b l e s tudyand t r a in ing c o u r s e s wi l l be s t a r t e d fo r C h r i s t i a n l e a d e r s ine a c h c o m m u n i t y A s c o n v e r t s a re a d d e d to th e L o r d

r egu la r s e r v i c e s wi l l be s t a r t ed e i t h e r by l o c a l C h r i s t i a nl e ade r s or by na t ive C h r i s t i a n he lpe rs who go o u t from th ec e n t e r . L o c a l c o n g r e g a t i o n s wi l l be e s t a b l i s h e d in t h i s w ay

accord ing to New Te s t a m e n t e x a m p l e s By t h e s e methodst h e m i s s i o n a r y w i l l be a c ir c u i t r i d e r s p e a r h e a d i n g th ework o f e v a n g e l i s m in a s m a n y v i l l a g e s a s p o s s i b l e . We don o t e x p e c t a r ap id g rowth b u t w e a re c o n f i d e n t w h a t e v e r

growth t he re i s wi l l be on th e only s u r e founda t ion C h r i s t

J e s u s . We b e l i e v e t h e c a l l o f t h e v i l l a g e s c a n b e m e t b yt h e s e m e t h o d s i n e s t a b l i s h i n g s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g c h u r c h e s o f

C h r i s t i n r u r a l a r e a s o f J a p a n .

H E L P T O M E E T T H E C A L L

P R A Y E R S E R V I C E M O H E Y

1 You can pray t ha t the Gospe l may be t aken to t he se unt ouched v i l l a g e s in J a p a n You c an pray for the 39 m i s s i o na r i e s l abo r ing in J a p a n . Y ou c an pray for th e nat ive m i n i s t e r s

and Christ ians that they with th e m i s s i o n a r i e s m ay be guided

w i s e l y in w i n n i n g m a n y o f t h e p e o p l e o f J a p a n to C h r i s t Y o u



Edenton Nor OarJanuary 6 95^

D e a r B r o t h e r H a r o l d :

Marc ia forwarded your l e t t e r o f Dec ^ to me yesterday and had j u s t received t t h e r e I heard yo u ta lk in g to Brother John about ge t t i ng mater ia l in r i gh t awayb u t I d i d n t r e a l i z e t h a t meant Japan to o u n t i l t h is l e t t e r came I f e a r t h i smater ia l i s too l a t e t o be o f use bu t am g e t t i n g t in anyway

compla in somet imes ab ou t p eo ple not coming to se rv ices up nor th becauseo f r a i n o r bad w e a t h e r . N e x t t i m e someone d o e s t h a t s e n d t hem down i n t h i s a r e a

to watch people s tay home This l a s t week has been bad wather — r a i n s l e e t an dsnow People j u s t don t know what to do with t They d o n t even bo the r tothrow out sand on th e i cy corners l i ke they do up north I guess they j u s t f igureeveryone w i l l s tay i n s i d e u n t i l t thaws anyway

Those who come o u t a re ve ry i nt er es te d i n t h e work th o an d we a re t h a n k f u lf o r t h a t . I f a missionary ever asks where to g e t o f f th e beaten pa ths o f o t h e r

m i s s i o n a r i e s send them down t h i s way Th e people need some educa t ion down hereand they a t l e a s t pa y f o r the t r i p .

Yours



THE OALL 0 F TH E VILLAGES

For long cen tur ies the people of Japan thought o f themselves as a Holy na t ion .

The i r e n t i r e h i s t o r y i s so engulfed i n r e l i g i o u s t r a d i t i o n s an d p r e a c t i c e s t h a t

t h e i r s p i t i t u a l c o n d i t i o n i s f a r behind o t h e r c i v i l i z e d n a t i o n s o f t h e wor ld .

The 8 mil l ions gods o f Shihto and th e numerous i d o l s o f Buddhism give the people

no concep t o f one d i v i n e God o f a prope r m oral co de o r o f s i n s a l v a t i o n

heaven o r h e l l There i s no s p i r i t u a l love i n t h e s e r e l i g i o n s

Th e d ef e a t o f World War I I l e f t a s p i r i t u a l void i n t h e minds o f th e Japanese .

They show a g r e a t i nc reased i n t e r e s t an d d e s i r e t o s tudy C h r i s t i a n i t y Th e c i t y

a r e a s a r e given t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y. A census taken i n 1952 r e v e a l s t h a t one f o u r t h

th e n a t i v e C h r i s t i a n s l i v e i n Tokyo and one h a l f t h e C h r i s t i a n s i n Japan l i v e i n

the c i t i e s There a re C hr is ti an churches in 95 of the 24^ c i t i e s and 27

of the I8I5 towns but in only 2 ^ of the 858I v i l l ages . There are numerous towns

an d even more v i l l a g e s where th e Gospel has never y e t been preached.

These vi l l ages i n Japan c a l l f o r something to f i l l th e s p i r i t u a l void i n t h e i r

l i v e s Shin to a nd B ud dh is m have f a i l e d to f i l l these s p i r i t u a l needs an d th e people

in the v i l l a ge s have ha d no chance to study Chr i s t i an i t y. These vi l lages are

t r u l y r ippened f i e l d s o f h arv es t fo r C h r i s t . They must be entered i f Japan i s

t o b e w on f o r C h r i s t We b e l i e v e t h e u n i t e d e f f o r t s o f o u r b re th re n h e r e a t home

an d t h o s e o u t i n Japan can make Japan a C h r i s t i a n n a t i o n even a s America-ds

h r i s t i an

Upbn re tu rn ing t o Japan th e N ie ls en s p la n to spend th e f i r s t win te r consen t ra t ing

on language s tudy an d loca t ing a s t r a t e g i c place. f rom which to open a new cen te r o f

ru r a l evangel i s t ic work. Native Chris t ian he lpers have already expressed t h e i r

d e s i r e t o he lp i n t h i s new work. w i l l be a t e a c h e r an d c o u n c i l o r t o n a t i v e

Chr i s t i ans who w i l l do th e a c t u a l work o f evangel ism. The plan i s to go o ut from

the cen te r selected to surrounding v i l l age s and f i r s t become acquainted by passing

ou t t r a c t s an d v i s i t i n g wi th th e peop le . As o p p o r t u n i t i e s open Bib le c l a s s e s w i l l

be s ta r te d in the v i l l a g e s Late r Bible study and t r a i n ing courses w i l l be s t a r t e d

f o r Chr i s t i an l eaders i n each community. As conver ts a r e added to th e Lord



TH G LL OF TH VILL G S — page

r eg u la r s er vi ce s w i l l be conducted e i t h e r by loca l Chr i s t i an leaders o r by

na t ive C h r is ti an h e lp e rs who go ou t from th e center y t h e s e methods th e missionary

will be a c i rcui t r ider spearheading the work of evangelism in as many vil lages

as poss ib le . We e l i e t e th e c l l o f th e v i l l a g e s ca n be met by t h e s e methods i n

es tab l i sh ing se l f - suppor t ing churches o f C h r i s t i n r u r a l areas of Japan.



STATEMENT OP FINANCIAL NEED

Living Link Pledged 12^4 ; eeded 186 um er in family 5

Service Link Pledged Needed | 4

Other Needs: | Travel Fund needed by Ju ly I5

II5OO fo r U ni ve rs al J ee p and spare par t s

g l i d e s and Fi lm t r i p s o f B i b l e s t o r i e s an d h r i s t i a n Educat ion

Flanograph lessons an d teaching pic tures

M im io gr ap h m a ch i ne an d supp l i e s



NIELSEN S H VE S ILING TE JULY ^0

are glad to announce t ha t we have a boat booking to re turn to Japan July ^0

t r u s t t ha t boat wi l l not be canceled o r d ela ye d to o many t imes Pray with us

t t necessary funds may be on hand by t h a t t ime



i

September I J 195^

Dear r o t h e r H a r o l d ;

It is past time that you shouldbe hearing frommeût until now therehas been nothing definite to v^rite as far as an address is concerned.

^hile at hor;ewe refered to our trip to Japan as being one of those slowtrips to the Orient. V. ewere jA days from Los Angeles to Yokohama. That s•a record for slownsaoj -I-guess.- -W« thet.^raing• r. latton I-'r, 3uttray, and I'x, d; ' :--the- 'shijJtmd- rougus to Tokyo. Luring the day other Bfisston-ariesdropped in to say helloI^guess you know the Fabers and us sailed on the ship together te stayedwith the Suttrays until the Sims arrived. Then we moved over . to SisterFarnhams. In between times we, and i^ y others here in Tokyoj have beensearching for a house. Shortly beforl'hife left the west coast we got aletter from Takafuji san saying he £iadfo nd a house in Kyoto-ôr us buthe had to tell us when we arrived in J^ân that there vêre complicationsbecause the owner didn t want foreigners in the house. I t has taken Zwcewsto find this l i t t le house that will be our homewhile heTe in Tokyo'There are lots of houses for rent but fhe cost is 60 to 200 per month.The ^ rooms, kitchen and bath that ;W^.have cost 5*^ month.

Please change our r a i l address to :Tokyo Japan . - 1 chome, Higashi Okubo, Shinjuku

Both Russell and Paula are attending^ .th§ JAl.llT EVANGELISTICOHRISTIAITSCHI t is about 2 hours by train from whbrer.we live so both the children arestaying in the dormitory during the This school is muchmore reasonin cost than the school down in Kob,4Aôwe are able to send both the childre

i7ell get another feather out for ,you;iflhat. Sister Grace and I have beencomparing notes on our recorders. She. i-ot hers from you for a l i t t le over,flOO less than what I got mine for. fear I ,was given a wrong impressionwhen I ordered mine. The only good .thing is that I have all mine and Graconly has her recorder but I expect tha.t- is not Jcour fault.

I wish you could get as cheap shipping pratesto the west coast as Chicagoexpediters get or do I have the wr<^g impression on this too.

be plan to start lanmage school next week.

Praying the Lord's blessing on your-Wofk, I am,• v

C h r i s t



DEC 1954 RURAL EVA JGLLISM IN JAPAN

— P a u l N i e l s e n

Rural evan2;clistD i s c l a s s i f i e d as th e most d i f f i c u l t type of Chr i s t i an work

i n J a p a n . Pro bab ly t h e c h i e f r e a son f o r t h i s i s b e c a u s e t h e r e h a s bee n s o l i t t l e

of i t done. Also i t i s di ff i cu l t because rural l i f e has been unchanged since

anc ien t t imes. True, th e farmer s daughter may have a permanent wave. Most rura l

homes have a radio. Often we se e th e people wearing v in yl r ai nc oa ts instead of

th e mushroomed shaped hats and th e straw coats. Yet the farmer s t i l l paddles

around in knee deep mud in th e r ic e f ie ld s and uses hadd too ls as did h is ancestors*

The f i sherman uses h is hand n e t and works the c lock around t o ca tch h i s f i s h

The society of th e rura l family i s void of indiv idual i ty. They l ive under a

bond of unbreakeable blood relationship and the h er ita ge o f the past. The people

ar e poor both in speaking and l istening. A proverb says V. hile you l isten you

expect a paradise, but when you see, you find a hel l . They have no confidence in

v-hat they hear until they see i t with their own eyes.. Ohristianity i s a religion

of words until the rural people can see i t being lived in indiv idual lives. Though

Ohristianity may appear good to many rural people i t becomes diff icul t to accept

because i t means breaking down age old barriers and changing much of the i r basic

society. t will take much pat ient teaching by both missionary and oonsecsated

nat ive Chr is ti ans as they live and work amongst th e rural people that they may

see Chr i s t i a n i t y and n o t j u s t hear about t

Thus r u r a l evangelism i s a pioneer ing ork. In one o f the areas where we

are considering opening a new work there ar e JO churches and preaching points

in y^c i t i e s and towns bu t only 4 preaching points in j l2 villages. Rural people

have never had a chance to se e Chris t ian i ty a t work.

This winter we are consentrat ing on language study in Tolrj -o. Marcia i s

teaching an l ii iglish Bible class in one of th e churches. Paul preaches when asked

by one of the minis ters .and also uses th e Jeep and ?«a system to announce special

serv ices . e look forward to the time when we can be out in the work of ru r a l

evangelism that Cod is leading us to do. Please pray that we may be guided wisely



Ktrnffl EV. il ^ELIaM — page 2

in se le ct in g a c e n t e r o f c t i v i t y by t h i s summer and then t h t we may be l oca ted

in t h i s new cen te r by t h i s f l l Send l l correspondence to Paul Nie l sen

7864 East Cypress Covina California



NOV 2 3 954Eacli Adult missionary should complete one of these forms and send by regular seamail to:

Miss ion Services - Box 968 - Joliet Illinois

N am e i n f u l l ^

Comple te address on f ield.

i n

P E R S O N A L F I L E

\

. V i ^ Sex

Complete home for forwarding address

Name and address of hometown newspaper

Names and addresses of other newspapers which migjit carry stories of your work...

P l a c e o f Bi r th Day. M o n t h

Where baptised?.

. U

Year«.L>li X

What age?On back of page please describe any special circumstances regarding conversion.

Marital status; Married Single — . . DivorcedWidowed—™ Married at what age

List children by full name giving place, day, month, and year of birdi;

N a m e

V y f •

i

^ j f

Schooling High School and on :N am e an d Locat ion of School

P l a c e Day Month Year

N u m b e r o f Y e a rs Major Degrees w it h d at e



Personal Fi le - Page 2 - Name

What things Influenced you to become a missionary? Your own story in some detail might beinfluential in leading others into fullt ime service u se a separate sheetdf^you need more space)?

D e sc ri be b ri ef ly i n o ut li ne form t he n at ur e of your daily duties.

Which of the fo llowing terms most nearly describes your missionary s t atus :

Evangelist Bible College teacher P u bl ic S c ho ol teacher Home maker. •

D o c t o r N u r s e _ S o c i a l w o r k e r O f f i c e w o r k e r O t h e r

Father snameandhomeaddress ifliving): - ^.His occuap tion . Is he a r:hriHi-iar>7

What positions of l eade rsh ip has he held in th e local rVmrrh?

M o t h e r s fu l l m a i d e n n a m e ' I s s h e j

Is sh e a Christian? f Her occupation if employed outside of immp - -

What leadership positions has s he h el d in the local church? • ^ ,

Name of forwarding ^ ^ ' -

Address, ' Tpipphnnp - j- - y ia

W h a t a re h i s or h e r d u t i e s

, -

Should money be sent to forwarding agent only? ^ , In what form?. l i i t can be mailed to

y o u p l ea s e ind ica te ho w in w h a t fo rm?

Does your forwarding agent serve without salary?

What problems do yo u need help with that Mission Services might provide?



nOV 231954

Each Adult missionary should complete one of these forms and send by regular seamail to:Mission Services - Box 968 - Joliet, Illinois

N am e i n fu l l .

Complete address on field.

P E R S O N A L F I L E

O a f - p -r- , j - r - J i y - c r y

S e x . :/}.••

Complete home for forwarding) address : /

Name and address of hometown newspaper

Names and addresses of other newspapers which migjit carry stories of your work...

P l a c e o f Bi r th , Day. M o n t h Ye a r.

Where baptised?. What age?.On back of page please describe any special circumstances regarding conversion.

Marital status: Married J Single. Divorced Widowed. Married at v4iat age

List children by full name giving place , day, month, and year of birth;

N a m e P l a c e Day Month Year

, > t

Schooling High School and on):

N am e an d L oc atio n o f School N u m b e r o f Y e a rs Major Degrees with date

y > , ^ y



Personal File - Page 2 - Name ^ —•—^^—-

What things influenced yo u to become a missionary? Your ow n story in s om e d e ta il might beinfluential in leading others into fulltime service (use a separate sheetdf^you need more space)?

- ^a^

Descr ibe br ief ly in outline form the nature o f your daily duties.

Which of the fol lowing terms most nearly describes your missionary status:

Evangelist . Bible Col lege t eacher Public School teacher Home maker,

o c t o r N u r s e S o c i a l w o r k e r ff ic e w o r k er nthe^r

Father s name and home address (if living): ^ - ;

His occuaption.1 Is he a Christian?

What positions of leadership has he held in the local church? - • d

Mother s full maiden name, ^ ^ i ^ la she i^Hng? ; ^

Is sh e a Christian? • Her occupation if e mp lo ye d o ut si de o f hnme

What leadership positions has she held in the local church?. / i_ — j / .•>

Name of forwarding agent , i

AddressL : - • ^ : Telephone .. d

h t re his or her duties , ^

I cfShould money be sent to forwarding agen t on ly? In what form?. If it can be mailed to

i yyou please indicate ho w in what form? • ^

Does your forward ing a ge nt s er ve without salary?

What problems do yo u n ee d h el p with, t ha t M i ss io n Serv ices might provide?

nielsen paul marcia 1954 japan

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