sims harold lois 1971 japan

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Tokyo Christian Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" fAark 16:15 Voiume 70 January 1971 Number 1 OIl|urcl| Jerftcatcs ^utlrfmg On Dec. 6, 1970, the Mikawash ima Church of Christ dedicated a fine new building, which was the result of several years of planning and a year of very sacri ficial and commendable financial contribu tions. There was an attendance of well over 100 people, including some prominent visitors from Korea. The sermon was brought by a Japanese minister from Yoko- hama who had been influential in Dro.Cho's (minister at Mikawashima) decision to enter the ministry, and I brought a short message. The old building will now be forgotten except by the old-timers. This is actually the third building in the 45-year history of this congregation. The first building was burned down during the Second World War. Then the building preceding this one was probably the second one erected by our mission in the post-war period, In those days building materials were scarce, and we had to purchase the glass and concrete that was used through Church World Service with American dollars. But that simple building erected more than 20 years ago was sturdy and served very well until the church just outgrew it. It was in that old building that I preached my first sermon in Japanese; and many other memories are associated with it from the time we lived in that part of town and centered our work there. One of the visitors from Korea, who was present at the dedication, was a young student in Tokyo in the days when the Mikawashima church was first being estab lished. He remembered the old building and Mrs. W. D. Cunningham well. He has been a minister (mostly with the Presby terian church, though) for a number of years in various churches in Korea, but was truly happy to see the large new church here. There are two things about this new building that I think are worthy of very special mention. The first thing is the generous giving of the members which made such a building possible. The total cost of the building (including some for the fence and shrubbery) was 21 million yen or $60,000. All but one tenth of this was received in contributions from the members of the church; so that the building was dedicated debt free. There are no really wealthy people in the congregation, but there are a few rather successful business men who really gave joyfully and sacri- fically. One of them told me, "I only expect to be involved in a building for the glory of God once in my life; so I am giving with that in mind." Two of the men contributed about $8,000 each, and several others gave Inside of Mikawashima Church $3,000. Even the poorest members gave as much as they could in order to do their share. One Sunday during the summer, 1 watched as one obviously poor old grand mother unfolded very slowly five one- thousand-yen bills into the hand of the building fund treasurer. You could tell it had been carefully saved up over a long time and meant that a lot of her sweat and blood and life was going into this project. God blessed that kind of giving with a fine building of which all of them can be justly proud. The other thing 1 wanted to mention specially Is a beautiful, stained-glass window in back of the pulpit, which cost exactly one million yen and was contri buted by a lady of some means in the con gregation. The window was entirely done by Japanese craftsmen, and is very well executed in color, proportion and artistic feeling. It is Jesus reaching down and pulling Peter up out of the water. The man who preached the sermon said that, to his knowledge, this is the only Protestant church in Japan with a stained glass window. The buildinj is of steel and concrete construction, and has 2,160 square feet downstairs and the same amount upstairs. The upstairs is the worship area, and has the stained glass window. Downstairs is a Mikawa^ima churdi building from the street. fellowship hall and Sunday School area. It is equipped with heating and air condi tioning also. We commend the Mikawashima brethren on a job well done, and pray that this building may be used for many years for proclaiming the Gospel. Almost 10 years ago this property was turned over from the Cunningham Mission to the local church. Since then they have been self-supporting. This is an illustra tion that self-support is possible and good for the church. ,, ,, Harold Sims MRS. SATO IMPROVED Mrs. Sato was permitted to celebrate Christmas at home this year instead of heaven. After a serious operation in June 1970 for cancer of the stomach, the doctors declined to give her more than two months to live. However, much prayer was made in her behalf. And I would like to believe that the prayers of the two American doctors before and after the operation, plus your prayers at home, those of the missionaries and Japanese Christians, changed the course of history for her life. Although she has been in the hospital three times since the operation, and even though her present condition is "just skin (Continued onpage 4)

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Page 1: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Tokyo ChristianGo ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" fAark 16:15

Voiume 70 January 1971 Number 1

OIl|urcl| Jerftcatcs ^utlrfmgOn Dec. 6, 1970, the Mikawash ima

Church of Christ dedicated a fine new

building, which was the result of severalyears of planning and a year of very sacrificial and commendable financial contribu

tions. There was an attendance of wellover 100 people, including some prominentvisitors from Korea. The sermon wasbrought by a Japanese minister from Yoko-hama who had been influential in Dro.Cho's(minister at Mikawashima) decision toenter the ministry, and I brought a shortmessage.

The old building will now be forgottenexcept by the old-timers. This is actuallythe third building in the 45-year history ofthis congregation. The first building wasburned down during the Second World War.Then the building preceding this one wasprobably the second one erected by ourmission in the post-war period, In thosedays building materials were scarce, andwe had to purchase the glass and concretethat was used through Church World Servicewith American dollars. But that simplebuilding erected more than 20 years agowas sturdy and served very well until thechurch just outgrew it. It was in that oldbuilding that I preached my first sermon inJapanese; and many other memories areassociated with it from the time we livedin that part of town and centered our workthere.

One of the visitors from Korea, whowas present at the dedication, was a youngstudent in Tokyo in the days when theMikawashima church was first being established. He remembered the old buildingand Mrs. W. D. Cunningham well. He hasbeen a minister (mostly with the Presbyterian church, though) for a number ofyears in various churches in Korea, butwas truly happy to see the large new churchhere.

There are two things about this newbuilding that I think are worthy of veryspecial mention. The first thing is thegenerous giving of the members which madesuch a building possible. The total costof the building (including some for thefence and shrubbery) was 21 million yenor $60,000. All but one tenth of this wasreceived in contributions from the members

of the church; so that the building wasdedicated debt free. There are no reallywealthy people in the congregation, butthere are a few rather successful businessmen who really gave joyfully and sacri-fically.

One of them told me, "I only expect tobe involved in a building for the glory ofGod once in my life; so I am giving withthat in mind." Two of the men contributedabout $8,000 each, and several others gave

Inside of Mikawashima Church

$3,000. Even the poorest members gaveas much as they could in order to do theirshare. One Sunday during the summer, 1watched as one obviously poor old grandmother unfolded very slowly five one-thousand-yen bills into the hand of thebuilding fund treasurer. You could tell ithad been carefully saved up over a longtime and meant that a lot of her sweat andblood and life was going into this project.God blessed that kind of giving with a finebuilding of which all of them can bejustly proud.

The other thing 1 wanted to mentionspecially Is a beautiful, stained-glasswindow in back of the pulpit, which costexactly one million yen and was contributed by a lady of some means in the congregation. The window was entirely doneby Japanese craftsmen, and is very wellexecuted in color, proportion and artisticfeeling. It is Jesus reaching down andpulling Peter up out of the water. The manwho preached the sermon said that, to hisknowledge, this is the only Protestantchurch in Japan with a stained glasswindow.

The buildinj is of steel and concreteconstruction, and has 2,160 square feetdownstairs and the same amount upstairs.The upstairs is the worship area, and hasthe stained glass window. Downstairs is a

Mikawa^ima churdi building fromthe street.

fellowship hall and Sunday School area. Itis equipped with heating and air conditioning also. We commend the Mikawashimabrethren on a job well done, and pray thatthis building may be used for many yearsfor proclaiming the Gospel.

Almost 10 years ago this property wasturned over from the Cunningham Missionto the local church. Since then they havebeen self-supporting. This is an illustration that self-support is possible and goodfor the church. ,, , ,

— Harold Sims

MRS. SATO IMPROVEDMrs. Sato was permitted to celebrate

Christmas at home this year instead ofheaven. After a serious operation in June1970 for cancer of the stomach, the doctorsdeclined to give her more than two monthsto live.

However, much prayer was made in herbehalf. And I would like to believe thatthe prayers of the two American doctorsbefore and after the operation, plus yourprayers at home, those of the missionariesand Japanese Christians, changed thecourse of history for her life.

Although she has been in the hospitalthree times since the operation, and eventhough her present condition is "just skin

(Continued onpage 4)

Page 2: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Tokyo Christian

Vol.70 January 1971 No. 1Published four times a year In

January, April, July and November forthe missionaries of the Church ofChrist Cunningham Mission, Tokyo,Japan by Mission Services, 509 W.Jefferson, Joliet, Illinois. Secondclass postage paid at Joliet, Illinois.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley BUttray, 2-26*4Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 161Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs. HomerAnderson, 622 Cuilum Street, Mead-viile, Pa. 16335.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. atid Mrs.G. Wade Fletcher, R.R. 1, Rushville,Ind. 46173.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi Tokyo 192,Japan. Forwarding Agent: First Churchof Christ, Orange at Center St., Eustis,Fia. 32726.Two-year subscription $ .50Subscription and Flaming Torch $1.00

Mabel Buttray and David, her youngestson, with two young Japancse men in frontof the Kamiochiai church. The Japaneseon the left came to church two months ago,.stating frankly that he is a Communist.Pray for him. Kato San, the young man onthe ri^t, became a Christian six yearsago at Kamiochiai while a high schoolstudent. The last two and a half years hebecame caught up in the "student unrest"and he has been away from Cod and thechurch. He has now been back since November. Thanks to God forbearing and answering prayer.

MRS. LUTTON BACK IN JAPAN

Lois' mother, Mrs. Ethel Lutton fromSt. Petersburg, Fla. and an active memberof Central Christian Church there, arrivedin Japan on December 21 for a six-monthvisit with her family in Japan. This is hersecond trip to Japan. She was with us forseveral months four years ago.

Two days after she arrived (on December 23), a big, combined welcome andChristmas meeting was held by the Ladies'Bible Class at the Nakano church. It wasremarkable that she remembered all theirnames and many of the Japanese words shehad learned on her previous visit. She saidthat this time the fish soup tasted real good,although four years ago it almost madeher sick!

piom the PaM(m6.Since September, Betty has stayed pretty

close to home to keep the children in schoolwhile I have continued traveling here andthere among the churches. Noel celebratedhis 14th birtnday on December 22nd andStephen his 10th on January 5th. Sharon'sl6th and Philip's 12th birthday occurredin July. Sharon is taking driver's trainingat school so that she can get her licensein the States, rather than In J apan. Learners'permits are not issued in Japan; one mustenroll in a driver's school which is run ona commercial basis and the fees are expensive. If one fails the test, he has to payanother fee and retake the training.

We have been able to visit most of our

regular supporting churches since wearrived in the States. We hope to visit therest before we return to Japan in August.

On September 18-20, I was able tovisit the Scottsville church near Louisvilleagain and preach during a weekend revivalwhich they had planned. Then, during thefollowing week, Bro. Wayne Jocelyn, theirminister, visited with me in the homes ofthe members of that church. We had a joyous week together. On Saturday of thatweek, I spoke to the First Church, Barber-ton, Ohio at their Faith-Promise Rally,returned home that night, and then thefamily accompanied me to Fort Recovery,Ohio the next day where I spoke both morning and evening.

The next Sunday October 4, was mybirthday; and I am happy that I could celebrate that occasion by visiting the goodfolk at the Medaryville, Ind. church andour dear friends, the Wendell Parmans,who minister to that church. The next Sunday the whole family spent the day atBetty's home church at Piqua, Ohio. Thischurch is our largest supporter and mostof the members are well known to us. Theyhad just moved into their new house ofworship, though it was not yet finished.They have a beautiful and very adequatebuilding now; and it was dedicated onNovember Srh. They are In debt for theirbuilding and could have used this as anexcuse for cutting back on their missionarygiving, but they have not. God is blessingthem and their ministers, the Fred Schrei-bers, whom we have known from collegedays.

After visiting the Huntsville, Ohiochurch on Wednesday, October I4th at theirprayer meeting hour, we spent the wholeday on the next Sunday, October 18th, withthe Utica church — another faithful supporter of ours. Communion with those folkand their ministers, the Kenneth Neals,and the families with which we spent thenight was indeed sweet. On the followingweekend, I traveled alone to Swartz Creek,Mich, to speak to the folk at Calvary churchand participate in their first Faith-PromiseRally. It gave us all great joy when theyexceeded the goal they had set. The congregation is only two years old and theirmissions goal for the following year was$6,000. Over $11,000 was promised to mission work during the rally. It Is thrillingto see such a good start in a young congregation. After a very pleasant visit with

the folk at the Duplain church, St. Johns,Mich, and the Justin Sheppards, their ministers, I returned home.

We were refreshed and encouraged bythe visit on the morning and afternoon withthe chxirch at New Holland, Ohio and theHoward McGinnises, their minister. Thenduring the following week, Betty and Iattended the Conference on Evangelismsponsored by the Cincinnati Bible Seminary.We enjoyed both the program and meetingmany old friends whom we had not met formany years. On the following weekend, wewere favored with a visit from the Bill

Millers of Dayton and on Sunday eveningwe spoke to the Middleburg church, whichis near us.

Sunday, November 22nd, was spentwith the Rushsylvania church, and I spoketo them in the evening of that day. Thischurch has helped support us since 1947and they have been very good helpers inthe Lord. We are fortunate to be able tolive in their town during our furlough.

Taking advantage of the Thanksgivingholidays, our family attended the NationalMissionary Convention on November 24-27.Mr. and Mrs. James Williams and Miss RuthFoster both of Fisher, III. were our gracioushosts. It was a great convention and wefelt that Martin Clark, president of OsakaBible Seminary, brought one of the bestmessages. We got a wonderful blessingfrom the visit with the congregation at NewCarlisle, Ohio, where the Ray Jonesesminister, on November 29. Then, on December 6th, we visited and spoke to thechurch at Mt. Victory, Ohio, where theRon Ringwalds are ministers. This churchis near us and is the home church of Mrs.Louise Williams, who has helped us sogreatly by lending us her home in Rushsylvania during our furlough. I spent mostof the following week inPittsburgh, speaking to the Norwin church at their midweekservice and to the Duquesne church duringtheir Faith-Promise Conference. Bothchurches are our good helpers In the Lord.Getting to know the folk of both churchesbetter gave me much joy.

On December 13th, I enjoyed visitingthe Marian and Garrett churches In northernIndiana. The Harlan church is especiallydear to me because I ministered some to it

while I was a student in Cincinnati BibleSeminary. Our friends, the LeRoy Haynies,now minister to the church. While in Garrett,I was the guest of the Frank Lillies, whohave been friends since our college days.The brethren at Garrett gave me a verywarm reception.

On our 18th wedding anniversary,December 20th, we again worshiped withthe Rushsylvania church, and then I spoketo the Area Mens' meeting on the followingnight. On December 22nd, we again visitedthe Bill Millers of Dayton to celebrate ourson Noel's and their daughter Martha Ann'sbirthdays. On Tuesday, Stephen and 1traveled to Hayesville, N.C. to visit myparents over the holidays while Betty andthe other children kept the home firesburning.

(Continued on page 4)

Page 3: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Tliis is ihe house and church, lookingal it from the west or front of the house.

Several months ago we showed the floorplan in the Tokyo Christian. The pictureis takm from the empty lot across the street.

And this is the view from the second

floor of our neighbor's house, showing thefront of the church. We already have someshrubbery planted here since this picturewas made.

As seems to be usual (everyone we havemet so far in Mejicodal had similar experiences), we moved into our new place beforethe work was finished. But we felt we had

to keep the October 29th date that hadbeen set well in advance, because theDale Wilkinson family were on their wayfrom the United States to begin their newmissionary careers and were planning tolive temporarily at Sayama, where we hadbeen. Also, we had announced in the paperthat services would begin on Sunday November 1. I visited the house two days beforemoving to see now the work was progressing.The place was swarming with about 20men; but it didn't seem possible that itwould be liveable very soon. 1 patted fromthe contractor that evening with the oldwords from the Hide and Seek instructions,'Ready or not, here I come."

The first two weeks were most hectic

and unsettled, but we were blessed withgenerally good weather and every day sawmuch progress. Now we are pretty wellsettled and used to living here. In all thistime we haven't found anything about thehouse that we feel is inconvenient or a

mistake or that we wish we could change.In other words, we are very happy andsatisfied with our new home.

W

This is on airplane view of ihe entire 2,500 lot development tak^ by theconstruction company during the early stages about two years ago. The Keioelectric railway runs through the middle of it; and the Mejirodai station canbe clearly seen. The main part of Hachioji city is off lo the upper ri^t side ofthe picture. Hiis development formerly looked like the faim land in the lowerright hand side. Our lot is marked a little below and left of the center.

This is the attendance at our firstworship service on November 1. We wereespecially honored to have Mr. and Mrs.Cliff Nelson visiting with us that day andrepresenting the Clovemook ChristianChurch of Cincianati, Ohio at the beginningof our new work. There were a total of 13present for the worship service, and fivechildren came for the first Sunday School./\11 of them are still coming. We had a hardday's work on Saturday getting the placeready for a worship service, but it was awonderful and encouraging start and wewere truly thankful.

Now wc are averaging over 10 childrenin Bible School every Sunday morning, aidaround 10 for the worship service. The firstbaptism was on December 20.

More than 80 good friends from eightdifferent churches in the Tokyo areaattended our dedication service on Sundayafternoon November 15. llereYukio Itagaki,minister of the Nakano church is preachingthe dedication sermon. The communion tablehas a carving of DaVinei's "The Lord'sSupper" built into it, as can be seen in thepicture. This work of art was given lo us

by some U.S. sailors several years ago,and wc believe we have found just theplace for it.

This d^ also marked the 23rd anniversary of our first arrival in Japan. Manyof the people gave us much-valued wordsof encouragement, and we appreciated mostof all their unoivying attitude of rejoicingwith us in the comforts of the nice new

house and the beauty of the little chapelbuilding. It was truly one of the memorabledays of our experii^ce in Japan.

Many people commented upon ihe goodconstruction work in this building. 1 am not

(Continued on page 4)

Page 4: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

PICTURE STORY(Continued from page 3)

an expert, but I do believe we got a goodfair deal from our contractor. During theprogram, we presented the company withan inscribed certificate of thanks and com-moidation of their work. Here I am readingthat and the contractor is standing tomy left.

This relocation project has taken along time; but in looking back, our heartsare just full of joy and thanksgiving becausewe truly believe that God has been leadingus all the way. It is by Disgrace and providence that we are here today, and weknow this is an answer to the prayers ofmany of you faithful Christian friends.

We feel that a great responsibility andprivilege has been given to us in beinghere. And while we look forward to servingas the evangelist in this new area, we alsofeel very much the need of prayer and thehelp that comes from the Holy ^irit.

— Harold Sims

NEWS FROM PATTONS

(Continued from page 2)

Upon our arrival, I found Dad ill withasthma — a disease that has bothered him

for many years. He is 88 years old andotherwise enjoys good health. On the following Monday we put him in the hospitalwhere he received some relief, but he stillneeds an oxygen tent to breathe freely.Your prayers for him would be appreciated.

Now we are back home again where wehave just welcomed the entrance of theNew Year. God only knows what it holds;but we face it with confidence and withthe realization that He cares for us. Thoughwe do not know the future, we do know ourGod! We pray that He will bless all of youabundantly through the New Year.

— Andrew Paiion

Shin Chan's Error

Sunday afternoon December 20th theKamiochiai church had their children's

program. There were about 60 childrenthat attended. This is about twice as manyas the yearly average. Many of the childrentook part in the program and everyoneenjoyed it and had a good time.

One interesting part of the program waswhen Uegaki San, a member of the Sakura-yama church, told about Christmas throughhis dummy, named Shin Chan. Uegaki Sanis presently a taxi driver and has only inthe last few years discovered this talent.Also, he has for more than a year beenmaking his own dummies and selling them.

While Uegaki San was explaining to hisdummy Shin Chan about the New Testamentbeing divided into many books such as,Mattai-Den, Marka-Den, Luka-Den, (Japanese pronunciation), he asked Shin Chanwhich book came next. Shin Chan answered,"Oden," and all the children laughed. Youwould have laughed too had you been thereand knew that oden is a very ordinaryJapanese food made from fish, and can bebought almost any time of the day fromvendors that cook it in small pushcarts.

— Stanley Buttray

PATTON FLIGHT

DATE SET

Over the holidays we received information from our travel agent that there willbe a Chartered Missionary Flight from SanFrancisco to Tokyo on August 31, 1971; andwe have made a S30 deposit on our ticketsfor that flight. About nine months from now,we expect to be back in Tokyo and inchurch-planting and evangelistic work again.

The total cost of our plane tickets willbe SI,140 — $190 for each fare with noreduction for children. This is not tooearly to start a fund to cover this travelexpense. If six churches or individualswould each kindly undergird the fare ofone of us ($190 each) the job would bedok.e. Of course, any amount — large orsmall — would be welcome and helpful.Those who can help us with this travelfund will please send their contributionsto our forwarding agent and designate them"Travel Fund."

It will be necessary for us to purchaseand transport to Tokyo various items ofequipment and supplies. Among these arean electric typewriter, an apartment-sizegas range, a washing machine, a slide setcovering the whole Bible and a tape recorderto be purchased in Tokyo.

— Andrew Patton

NEW MISSIONARY FAMILY ARRIVES

The Dale Wilkinson family from Gocin-naci, Ohio arrived in Japan to begin theirmissionary work on November 7, 1970. Wewere all very happy to greet them and welcome the encouragement of this new bloodand the addition to our crew working onthe building of Christ's Church here. Dalewas a research chemist; but, after his conversion, felt more and more that the Lordwas calling him into His service. Therewere some discouraging moments alongthe way, but he persisted until he finishedhis work at the Cincinnati Bible Seminaryand finally arrived in Japan. It was a privilege to get to know Dale and his wifePeggy and their two children during ourfurlough in 1966-*68, and we are glad tohave them here. For at least a year, mostof their time will be spent in languagestudy at a school in downtown Tokyo. Theyare living in a rented house not far fromwhere we were located most of this yearin Sayama-city of Saitama Prefecture.

BOX 368. JOLtET, ILLINOIS 60434

From left to right is Mabel Buttray; Mr.and Mrs. Sato; a friend; and Yoshiaki San.

MRS. SATO IMPROVED

(Continued from page 1)and bones," still the last two weeks ofDecember her condition has shown definiteimprovement. Even the dotcors were surprised at her last check-up, which was latein December.

God does work in mysterious ways"His wonders to perform." And I know thatGod will restore her to normal health again,if it is His Will. And as we begin and continue the New Year 1971, this is our prayer —that HIS WILL be done.

One aspect of such illnesses in ourChristian lives should not be overlooked.According to Romans 8:28 and other Scriptures, it is quite clear God uses of theseoccasions to reach others in the family andto teach lessons that cannot be learned anyother way. His ways often may be difficultto learn, but certainly not His wonderfullove and compassicn.

— Stanley Btitlray

This group from the church held a one-day "training" session early in Novemberat a German Christian Service Camp. Mrs.Shimizu, at the right, has not been baptized yet — pray for her.

Page 5: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

MAR 5

Sims ra^/SLETISR PIHSI QTJARTSR 1971

Rear Ibrlendsj . •• •

"The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup5 thou..maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant•places? yea, I have a goodly inlieritance«" Psalm 16s5--6. Thelines have certainly fallen in-good places for us during the goodyear of 1970. By the mysterious, powerful and gentle guidinghand of God's providence we were able to purchase a piece ofland in a locacion thar has been admired bj'" all who have seen itand build a solid and comfortable house and chapel building on

very happy relations with our contractor, and ¥;e arecontent ¥/ith his workmanshipo God has indeed answered many pray-

ours, delivering us from deceitful and evil men,and giving us the joy of dealing confidently with trustv\^orthy menan -o.ur__stewardship 0f $80,000 real i zed: -from- the- &ale-of-^fehe Rakano•property. We thank and praise God for.all of this,

v/e are happy to be in this new developing area, \¥ith its potential.'.or future growth, and. have never wished we had gone som.e¥7here el-

Last January, when we first saw the place where we now live,che^ lots had been laid, out and the streets had been paved in

•-he 40 blocks of our southwest quadrant of this development. There^"/c:,s just one house, and that not finished, Tod.ay there are thirty•eeven houses with people living in them, and 13 being built,

A; cnis writing it has been 12 Sundaj'"s since the first service in:he new Mejirodai chapel building on Nov, 1, We are averaging 15or 16 children in Sund.ay bohool, and about 15 adults in the worshipservices each week. The first baptism in- the ne\Y church was onLecember 20, This was a woman who had attended a Baptist'churchxor some time before moving into this neighborhood. She told' us•^ne had. been wai'cing for the new building to get done so she could.suart coming. Her husband, mother, and two young sons sat dovm at-Che front to see the baptism,, whioh added a lot of meaning to the3ej?vice for all of us,

Hext month we will begin a few English classes for different age'order to make contacts with some of the young people. In

ac-o.ition, Lois ¥/lll start a ladies Bible Class on V/ednesday morn-J.ngs« I am se^rving as the preacher for the church, so in additionGO uhese duties, I have to write and print bulletins in Japaneselanguage, Lois is the organist. Young Philip Goto, who was bap-'cised v/hen we were in Isehara almost two years ago, is now a freshman in college and is coming to help us in Sunday School teaching,

SYLVIA Am RAVE

night before our special Christmas program, Recember 20, I v/aswakened bjr the telexDhone at 12^20 AM, It was a taxi driver ask-

directions to our house. Lois and I got up and turned on thent door light ¥;ondering who could be coming to see us at this

outlandish hour of the night. It turned out to be the surprise ofa lifetime,, .there stood our daughter Sjrivia and her fiancee. RaveSmith, Rave is a sophomore at Cincinnati Bible Seminary, and. hishome^home is Ontario (near Mansfield), Ohio, They had sold Rave's'-••ar to pay for their tickets and had left Cincinnati on the same:ra.j the first semester of the school year ended. They are defin--\tly planning to be missionaries to Japan in the future, and Ravewanted to get a little acquainted \Yith the peonle and the work here,Sylvia j/anted to get married in her home church at Nakano where shelived from age six months to sixteen jrears. So, our Christmas v/asnot only extra joyful, but verjr busy, as we began making plans forthe ¥/edding.

On Christmas day we had the other six missionarj'- families and somesingle folk at our house for a turkey supper and a wonderful fellowship,,, 35 people in all. As each familjr cane in, shaking off thefirst snow of the winter, Sylvia and Rave met them in the entranceway and had a lot of fun watching the various expressions of totalsurprise,

They xvere married in the Fakano church at 2g30 PM January 15th,This is a holiday in Japan, in honor of all 3roung people"who be-

Page 6: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

-.v,ue 21 years of age and adults during the year, so it was a fi:ing day for o^xr 20-year-old couple to be ^ed. The ceremony was pciformed loj Paul Pratt, our fellow missioilary, with Stephen lijima,and Yulcio Itagaki having the Scripture reading and prayer in Japanese, About 80 people attended, including many Japanese friends,the missionary group, Sylvia's first and third grade teachers, andher closest friend from school who happened to be visiting her parents here at the time. The Pratt family most graciously arranged for Sylvia and Pave to use their home in Isehara for the nextfive months as their future home. They will return to the U.S.Ain the summer and complete their schooling in Cincinnati.

GRAKDMA LUTTON

On the night of Pecember 21, Lois's mother, lirs. Ethel Lutton fromSt. Petersburg, Florida arrived in Japan for a visit. She lived"With us for about 4 months in 1966, and liked Japan and its peopleso much she was anxious to come back for another visit. The ladies at Uakano church combined a welcome meeting for her with theirChristmas program on Pec. 23, and much to their delight she remembered almost all of their names. She expects to be with us untilsummer.

SHORT SUJffllBR FURLOUGH PLAFFEP

I've are planning to make a trip to the United States this summer,j:t has been 3 years since v^e were in the homeland. Until this termwe have stayed in Japan 5 to 6 years before taking a furlough. -Themain reasons v/e are coming now are personal, but we believe theyare reasonable and acceptable to our supporting brethren.

1, Jonathan will graduate from High School at the Christian Academy in June, and he plans to enter C.B.S. in the fall. We want to3,0company him to the U.S. and help him get settled, and make arrangements for his schooling,

2. Hope and Tom are expecting their first child, our first grandchild, this spring, and of course we want to see them and the bab^-:>. \'Je want to visit ourfaniily, frieM¥,~~and supporting congregat-ions and keep in touch v/ith people and developments.

The reasons we are planning a SHORT furlough ares1. We don't want to be away from the new work too long.2. We don't.need to stay in the U.S. a full year.3o The children will need to get back to Japan in time for the new

school year in Sep-t:0iji"'oer,

•The thing that really clinched our decision about the furlough isthe availability of charter flights for missionaries. We can travel to the V\fest Coast for approximately 5^200 per person where theregular economy.fare is '43S0, So, V7e have applied for space., leav-ing Japan Monday June 21, and from San Francisco for our return onAugust 31.

This will give us only about 10 weeks at home. If anjr of you havea special date duning Ji^y or August on which you would like for usbo visit you, please let us Icnow as soon as possible so v/e can arrange as good a schedule as possible for our travels this summer.

Yours in His sei*vice,

HAROLI) Am LOIS SIMS

Page 7: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Christian"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15

July 1971

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Page 8: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Tokyo ChristianVol. 70 July 1971 No. 3

Published four times a year inJanuary, April, July and November forthe missionaries of the Church ofChrist Cunningham Mission, Tokyo,Japan by Mission Services, Box 177,Kempton, Indiana 46049. Second classpostage paid at Kempton, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray,2-26-4 Kamiochiai, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo161 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs.Homer Anderson, 622 Culium Street,Meadviile, Pa. 16335.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8Higashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs.G. Wade Fletcher, R.R. 1, Rushville,Ind. 46173.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192Japan. Forwarding Agent: FirstChurchof Christ, Orange atCenterSt., Eustis,Fla. 32726.Two-year subscription $ .50Subscription and Flaming TorcASl.OO

NEWS

IN BRIEF

Shigeru Akada, minister of theKumegawa Church of Christ, and forseveral years our most eligible bachelor,was married in a quiet but very impressive ceremony on May 17 in the weddingchapel of Aoyama University. The bridewas Shiiko Abe, second daughter of theminister of the Hayashino Church ofChrist in Okayama Prefecture. After ashort honeymoon, they moved intoquarters in a part of the ICumegawachurch building — formerly the home ofthe A1 Hammond family. Akada-san hadhis first contact with Christianity about15 years ago while a high school student. He attended an English Bibleclass at the Nakano church. After twoyears in a secular university, he dedicated his life to service for Christ andwent to Osaka Bible Seminary and completed the course there.

A daughter, Rebecca Jane, was bornto Mr. and Mrs. Tom Schmidt (nee HopeSims) on April 6.

Jonathan Sims graduated from highschool at the Christian Academy inJapan on June 18. He plans to enterthe Cincinnati Bible Seminary in lateAugust of this year.

Mr. and Mrs. Warren Christiansonarrived in Japan on June 5, 1971. Theyare graduates of Pacific Bible Seminary,and Warren is now in the midst of graduate study at the Institute of ChurchGrowth in Fuller Seminary at Pasadena,Calif. They are going to live at theHarold Cole home in Ono City, southbf.Kobe, for a year while the Coles areon furlough in the U.S. During this timeWarren hopes to do a lot of research onthe church situation in Japan in connection with his thesis at Fuller. Warrenvisited most of our missionaries andhelped in summer camp and other vouth

ANNUAL MISSIONARY COVENTION

AT AMAGI

? . .JMi

W

Each year our missionaries in Japanmeet for a few days of fellowship. Thevarious "board" missionary friends find itvery difficult to understand how we can getanything done without a boss, committee,legislative body, etc. Some of them envyour freedom and joy. The alternative toorganizational machinery for us is thisconvention where we can all come as fre'agents and let each other know what weare thinking and doing and thus be edified.Most of us would not miss these opportunities if it is at all possible to go.

We not only have meetings for theadults, but for the children of differentages. And, of course, our talking (and evensinging) is not limited to the formal meetingtimes. It is like one big family reunion.

This year the planning was in chargeof the Tokyo missionaries, and we met onApril 5—7 at the Baptist Conference Grounds

activities while serving with the U.S.Navy some years ago.

Mejirodai church had a springVacation Bible School (the Japaneseschool year begins early in April, soall of the students have a break In earlyspring). It was the first experience forall of the children and most of theteachers; but we were grateful for someoutside help —particularly a young ladywho graduated from Osaka Bible Seminary this year and is working withShikoku Christian Mission. Up untilthis school, we had never had morethan 20 children in Sunday School. Wehad 33 register for the school, and hada new record attendance of 38 the Sunday following. Since that time theSunday School has made good progress.On Pentecost Sunday, we reached a newrecord of 42 in attendance. Also, thatsame Sunday, one of the sixth-gradeboys stayed for the worship service forthe third Sunday, and announced thathe had decided to stay for the adultmeeting every Sunday from now onthe first result or fruit. We pray manymore will do likewise as they get intothe upper grades.

Mejirodai church also had a four-daypre-Easter evangelistic meeting. Theattendance was very poor; but we arethankful that on April 4th we had oneaddition to the church by transfer froma Baptist church some distance away.

on Amagi mountain about 100 miles southof Tokyo. The cherry blossoms were in fullbloom at that time, and it was a greatmeeting in every way.

There were a total of 105 people there.This Included all but three of our missionaries in Japan, several military people,visitors from Okinawa, Taiwan and Australiaand two families of the noninstrumentalchurches of Christ. We had invited other ofthe noninstrumental people; and it is hopedthat others will come in future years. Thosewho were present this year were thrilledwith the fellowship and the freedom andthe spirit of our meeting.

More important than the number of peoplepresent was the very fine spiritual tone ofthe meeting. This was remarked upon, byvarious people. All of the messages helpedto develop this. We also dealt with practical problems. We had a very interestingdiscussion all Tuesday afternoon led bythree of the Japanese preachers on theirview of "The Role of the Missionary."

The teenagers entertained the rest ofus one night with a very well-done drama-t'zation of the story of Esther.

This picture above is somewliatinformal —I don't think we ever really gotready for the picture.

HIS WITNESS STILL LIVES

Mr. Lan, a Chinese Christian student,recently died of liver trouble. He was amember of Exie Fultz's English Bibleclass, and also attended Mabel Buttray'sclass until his hospitalization.

At the funeral on Sunday afternoon,Exie Fultz had the opportunity to talk totwo persons that came occasionally to theBible class. Both had been baptized bysprinkling. Mr. Yuen, a Chinese, had beensprinkled by his preacher-father on the Islandof Taiwan a number of years before. ButMiss Onuma, a J apanese, had been sprinkledonly about two years ago.

Due to the influence of Mr. Lan as animmersed Christian while living —and evennow in death — along with the ^propriatewords of Exie Fultz which were just enoughof a reminder, that same night they bothwere baptized! They were brought to theKamiochiai church and both were immersed(according to the Scriptures) by StanleyButtray.

Page 9: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Now that our children are out of school,we are spending the summer in our finalcineraries prior to our departure for Japan)n August 3Ist- The greater part of thenonth of June was spent away from home,defore that, 1 traveled alone most of thetime.

The first few days of April were spentn a missionary rally with the Cherry StreetZhurch of Charlottesville, Va. Wliile there

also visited our good friend. NobleFribble, and First Church, Charlottesville,where he ministers. On that trip, I also wasible to visit Roanoke Bible College, speakn chapel, and observe the good work there.

The following week I served as;vangelist in a revival at the Belle CenterIhurch of Christ, where Bro. Ivan LaValleeninisters. We had a wonderful time togetherluring the week. On April 18—22, I wasvith the Westlake (Ohio) Church of Christ,where Bro. Gerald Finnic ministers, tojpeak during their missionary rally. Bettyilso spent a day there and spoke especially:o the ladies of the church. Since it is in

;he area where our home is located, ourwhole family visited the East LibertyIhurch of Christ on April 25th.

On the following Sunday, May 2nd, Iworshiped again with the Rushville, Ind.rhurch and in the afternoon some of the

:olks of that church and I departed forsoutheastern Oklahoma and the Kiamichi21inic. We visited Ozark Bible College, aReini^al Fires rally, and the Cookson HillsChildren's School on the way. We rejoicedn the good work of all three of these Chris-ian institutions. At the Clinic we wereible to enjoy the fellowship and singing of)ver 6,000 men and the preaching was great.Fhe good folk of the Rushville church paidny travel and registration expenses to theClinic. For this I express my heartfelthanks. It resulted in a great personalilessing to me.

On May 9th, we spoke to the McGuffey,!)hio, church where Bro. Ted Cadwalladers minister. The church here at Rushsylvaniaisked us to speak to them again on Mayl6th; and we asked Bro. Hideto Yoshii of2^3an and the Cincinnati Bible Seminary to

FILM LIBRARY

DEVELOPING

Another film. Triumph and Defeat, waspurchased recently and added to our filmlibrary. It has already been used twice inevangelistic meetings — one a five-daymeeting at the Yokosuka church, and theother a three-day meeting at the Arakawachurch in Tokyo.

Mr. Fleenor and I together now have acombined total of 11 films. Seven are MoodyScience Films and four are the Li/e o/CArisfseries by Cathedral. These have been usedquite extensively. We are hoping to increase:he film library until a complete set of eachis attained.

- Stanley Buttray

visit in our home and speak to the churchat that time. 1 interpreted for him, since itit is a little early for him to speak directlyin English. We had a wonderful visit withHideto, talking in Japanese about Japanand our work for Christ there. On May 23rd,we visited Betty's aunt and the folk at theEaton, Ohio church which helps to supportus. Since May 30th was Memorial Day, wevisited the church at Ft. Recovery again andthen in the afternoon visited the two cemeteries where Betty's parents and otherrelatives are buried. Again the Ft. Recoverychurch had a covered-dish dinner in ourhonor and both the food and the fellowshipwere very enjoyable. On June 6th, the wholefamily visited the Rushville, Ind. churchagain, it was refreshing both in body andspirit to be able to again enjoy theircompany.

Upon our return home, we beganpreparations for the three-week trip whichfollowed. The trip took us to Wheeling,W. Va.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Meadville, Pa.;Chippawa, Ontario, Can.; Cedar Lake, Ind.;and to Floyds Knobs, Ind. Wherever wewent we were entertained royally and wereencouraged in our work for Christ in Japan.We spoke at and enjoyed the fellowship ofthe following churches during that trip:Warwood Church, Wheeling; Belmont RidgeChurch, Beallsville, Ohio; in the Pittsburgharea, Bryn Mawr Church, Homeville Church,Duquesne Church, and the Norwin Church;the Church at Meadville, Pa.; the NiagaraChurch of Chippawa, Can.; and then wedrove across Canada to Cedar Lake, Ind.

There we spent a week at the Lake RegionChristian Assembly participating in theBible and Missions Program. We receiveda great blessing from that camp.

Then on June 27th, we were able tomeet again with our dear friends and supporters of the Scottsville Church, FloydsKnobs, Ind. Our visit and their tenth anniversary coincided, and it was topped offwith a big picnic dinner at a park.

Now, at this time of writing, we are athome again for a week. This little breathingspace will be followed by two weeks ofcamp. The week following that will bespent at home, breaking up housekeepinghere and making preparations for setting uphousekeeping again in Tokyo in September.After leaving Rushsylvania, our next stopwill be at Maryville, Tenn., where we willparticipate in a missionary fair. The following two weeks will be spent with myparents in Hayesville, N. C. On the week-

(Continued on page 4)

GUESTS

AT BUTTRAY HOME

Monica Fish visited the Buttray familyfor a few days in May. Slie was on her wayto enter Cincinnati Bible Seminary. Shewas planning on visiting relatives in California, Iowa, Ohio and Meadville, Pa., vdiereshe hoped to find a job for the summer. Herparents are now missionaries in Indonesia.

Patti Wise, daughter of Danny and HazelWise of San Diego, Calif., visited with theButtray family during June. Her parents areNavy people and were formerly stationedat Yokosuka, Japan. Her grandparents havebeen sending Christmas boxes to theButtrays for 20 years.

nmm

On Sunday May 30th Kenji Nakamura and Kyoko Endo weremarried in a ceremony at th^ Kamiochiai church. This was one ofthe very few weddings where both the bride and groom were Christians. Nakamura became a Christian about nine years ago in theKamiochiai church. Miss Endo was the first to become a Christianat Kumegawa, where the At Hammonds started a church.

From left to right: Mr. and Mrs. Endo, Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura,the bride and the groom, and Mabel Buttray.

Page 10: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Though we have two months left beforereturning to Tokyo, this is the last timebefore that date that we will be able to

address you through the Tokyo Christian.

Our plane tickets to Tokyo are alreadypurchased. We are very grateful to all ofyou friends who have had a part in that.Our passport and visa are in hand; and wehave reservations at die Home of Peace ofOakland, Calif, for accommodations. Whilethere, we will do our purchasing and arrangefor shipping the supplies and equipment wewill take with us.

It has been a wonderful year that wehave spent with you fellow members of thehousehold of faith and fellow citizens ofour home land. Many friends and brothershave been pillars of strength and encouragement to us. We wish to thank all of youagain for your kindness to us wherever wewent among you. As we return to Japan, webelieve that you stand back of us and thatyour prayers and your support eiccompanyour way. We claim the promises and the helpof our God who is our refuge and the sourceof our strength. And now, we set our facestoward Tokyo, not knowing what awaits usthere. We have had enough experience inthat city to know that things willnot alwaysbe rosy for us. But we have also known thegoodness of God long enough to know thatHe will never forsake us as long as we keepour minds and hands set on the accomplishment of His will. We are idealistic enoughto have some plans for our lives and forthe spending of them in God's service. Butwe hope that we are practical enough torealize that pediaps some of these idealswill not be realized. Everything must besubmissive co die will of God. May Heaccomplish His purposes.

We are grateful for your hospitality,prayers, support, encouragement and interestduring the past year. Weshall always cherishthe many kind things you have done for usduring that time.

It is not easy to say farewell to youwho ate our fellow laborers in the Lord. Itwas not easy to say goodbye to our friendsin Japan last year- But now we will beabsent from you and be present with themfor a little while. We look forward to theeternal kingdom where lovers of God willsit down together as one big family at themarriage supper of the Lamb. MayGod save,guide and protect us for that hour! Farewellfor now!

— Andrew Patton

PATTON REPORT(continued from page 3)

ends, we hope co commute co Atlanta to paya final visit co some of our friends andsupporters there. Between August 16th andAugust 19th, we plan to drive across thesouthern part of the States to California.Then on the morning of August 31st, weare scheduled to board a plane for Tokyo,arriving there in the evening of September1st. So will end the year's furlough in ourhome land. It has been a good year indeed!

- Andrew Patton

ATT£/I/Dfnational Mis^v

^nto- AIL Uie ULoaIxI - A&w-!

MEMORIAL COLISEUM

PORTLAND, OREGONSEPTEMBER 21-24, 1971

SIMS TO MAKE SHORT VISIT TO UNITED STATES

As announced before, our family plansto make a lO-week trip to the homelandthis summer. I don't think we should callit a furlough, because we will be travelingalmost every day. We do look forward toseeing our family anJ many friends again,and to getting back here and into our newwork again. We will leave Japan on June21st on a missionary charter flight. We willreturn to Japan August 31st on anothercharter. This arrangement makes a big cutin the expenses of the trip. We will go firstto Cincinnati, Ohio, then down to Tennesseeand Florida and back up through Virginiaand Pennsylvania to Cincinnati again for afew days before departure. We know thereare many that we will be unable to visit;but we are thankful that people have cooperated and things have worked out so wecan be with most of our main, regular supporting churches in an order that will avoidneedless backtracking and long tripsbetween places.

BOX 177, KEMPTON, INDIANA 46049

Preparation for this trip to the UnitedStates has been the easiest of any that wehave made. We are just leaving our clotheshanging in the closets here and packingnothing away. Also we are not planning torent any place in the U.S. —this is just avisit. (We do plan to bring a few changeswith us, of course.)

During the 10 Sundays we will be awayfrom the pulpit of the new church here inMejirodai, I have arranged for four preachersand six laymen from different churches topreach one Sunday each. The members hereare excited about the opportunity to hear somany different speakers, and we hope itwill be an edifying time for all.

We do sincerely ask your prayers forGod's blessing upon us as we make thislong trip. Pray that we may have His protection and care, and that we may bemutually strengthened in the faith, bothyours and ours.

— Harold Sims

Page 11: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

SIMS NEWSLETTER '•."•/po..

October 1971

Lear Eriends;

It was a great encouragement and joy for us to fellowshijp with so many ofyou face to.,face this summer and to know better your Christian lives offaith and prayer, witnessing, and good works. We tried to absorb some ofthe zeal and vision for Christ that characterized so many of'the churches we were privileged to visit, and hope the trip will strengthen us inour work here.

As,we said all those goodbyes it always seemed that time had been all tooshort, but we are thankful that we kept every appointment on the schedulethat had been planned last spring in correspondence between Tokyo and thevarious places. Y/e praise G-od for His gift of safety over the 24,000miles, and our continual good health. Everyone cooperated in arrangingmeetings to fit our travel plans and showing us a good time. The hospitality of over 40 homee-Hwas indeed a wonderful experience.

THIS WAS^^TRIP^} '1. We left Tokyi3^:atri.rLO-- '&^ June 21, on a NWA-charter flight arranged bythe Japan Evangelical Missionary Association, and arrived in Oakland, Cal.at 6:40 AM the same day. At 9 that morning, with Japanese dust still onus, we were talking to the Vacation Bible School children in Napa, Cal.Sylvia and Lave went directly to his home in Ohio after arrival in Oakland, but Mrs. Button stayed a few days in Napa before going on home toSt. Petersburg. Thursday, June 24, we v/ent by plane to Cineing^bsa^Ohiowhere we were greeted by Hope and Tom, and our .gEaM-haujhfe^^^

Tamilv, and the Hubert McGuires frdm"'ClovernC"brother Earl and his family, and the Hubert McGuires ffom"'Cloveiffitrk Itis a great experience to meet one's grandchild for the first time. Ourparents enjoyed this back in 1953.

2. Y/e stayed in Cincinnati for a week, speaking at Y/estern Hills, ^dMontgomery Road churches on Sunday, and Bridgetown*and Westwood-Cheviot(VBS) during the week, between visiting our family, getting acquaintedwith Becky and introducing Jennie to C.B.S. Luring this week 1 rented a1970 green Pontiac which v/e used for our trip; a short swing north and along circuit south and east.

3. Leaving Cincinnati on July 2 we first went to Ontario, Ohio to meetLave's family and attend a reception for him and Sylvia. Then we spentJ\aly 4th v/ith the brethren in Markle and Bluffton, Indiana. July 7th wewere in Garden City, Ind. where the ch*urch was experiencing a continualspiritual blessing following a Paith-Promise Rally earlier. Y/e v/ere inCincinnati again for a delightful evening in McGuire 's back yard on July 8.

4. July 9 we arrived at my parents' home in Claxton, Tenn. V/hile therewe spoke at Claxton and Oak Ridge churches on July 11. YiTednesday 14thwe went up to speak at the Pirst Christian Church in Johnson City, andspent the next day with my brother Ralph and his family in their lovelynew home. We also visited the Appalachian Christian Tillage and MabelGriffin, my former Sunday School teacher who now lives there; we also amthe excavation for the new Pirst Christian Church building.

5. July 16 we were with the Christian Church in Bainbridge, Ga. We hada very nice crowd on a summer Priday evening for a barbequed chickenner and slides and talk about Japan. The next day, after a picnic limchwith the area ministers in a North Plorida park we drove across Ploridafor a covered dish supper with the ladies of the Englewood Church in Jacksonville. 1 preached for dual services there the next morning.

6. V/e were in Eustis, Plorida for that Sunday evening and the 3 nightsfollowing, and gave a special series of messages with illustrations fromo*ur Japan experiences. 1 was very happy with the interest and responsefrom young and old. We also had good times during the days visiting oldfriends, swimming, working on address list, etc.

7. Next, v/e spent a few days with Lois' mother in St,ing at Central Christian Chxarch there.' On Jxily 28 we were at Beth^Christian Church outside of Carrollton, Ga., enjoying the S.^chand talk with old friends under beautiful shade trees back of the church.

Page 12: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

The next day we saw Atlanta Christian College, Christian City, and SixFlags Over Georgiao July 30 we were in High Point, H.C. for a brief visit with the Northside Church where my father ministered a few years ago.

8. On August 1 we were in the rapidly growing Northside Church of Christin Hewport Hews, Virginia for all services, and then we stayed there forthe Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship Rally. This ,v/as. the only conventionwe were able to attend, and we got much from it. August 6 we spoke at"Bethany", the oldest Christian Church in Virginia, v/here my grandfatherwas an elder, and also visited my uncle ^d some cousins in that part ofthe state. V/e were in First Christian Church in Charlottesville for allservices on August 8.

9. Aug. 9 & 10 we visited Lois* sister and her husband in Jilaryland, andalso the Hyattstown Christian Church where. Lois* grandfather used to preach. Aug.- 11 we were with my sister in Y/ilmington, Lei., and spoke forLel-Bware Church of Christ in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania. Aug^.12 we~were in Fayette City, Pa. for the only Thursday evening of our entire trip. Aug. 15-16 we visited Lois* other sister Horma and her family east of Pittsburgh, and stayed with long time friends, the Bob Hel-becks. Sunday Aug. 15 we were with the Shenango Church in Newcastle, Pa.in the morning, and Monroeville in the evening. On Aug. 16 we visitedthe nearly completed new building of Lois* home church in Turtle'Greek.

10. Aug. v/e had a lovely evening v/ith the folk at Y/arwood Church inY/heellng, Yf. Va. and then the next night Mother good fellowship with anumber of friends in Chester, Y/. Va. v/here I was born.

11. Y/e returned to Cincinnati on Aug. 19, and the next day Jonathan movedinto the C.B.S. dormitory and began his freshman orientation. During thefirst v/eek away from home "we thought he grew up a lot. Since that timehe has gotten a part time job in the Seminary secretarial pool and seemsto be adjusting to and enjoying life there a lot. Lave and Sylvia movedinto a mobile home in Cincinnati during the summer, and both of them arecontinuing their studies at C.B.S. this year. V/e enjoyed a good day offellowship with the Clovernoofl Christian Church on Sunday Aug. 22.

'ileW oWiJU Ozark Bible^''Cu'l"'l'fcyge •lro' '-be--bhe^ fix a I i^hap^al speaker ofthe new school year on Tuesday morni^ Aug. 24. It was an inspiration tosee^the fine student body and the spirit of the school there, and theygave a substantial offering.

13, .On Aug. 27 we visited the Standard Publishing Company to greet manyfriends Who work there, and received a nice lot of out-of-date VBS andSunday School materials that will be of great help to us in the work here.

14. .\¥e spent Aug. 29 in Napa, Cal. (Sunday). These people always do sucha terrific job of welcoming us home, and sending us off to the ;field. Al-mo.st ICQ people were in Crane *s back yard for a fried chicken picnic onSunday afternoon.

The only difficulties and trying times we had on the entire trip were(1 getting to the airport; in Tokyo on time, and (2 missing the charter^flight returning to Japan.

(1 We were half way to Haneda airport early on a rainy morning whenjbe I ^ middle of an-expressway. The starter wouldnot even^^ke^s^^^ ITe tried- pushing, but could not move the heavilyloaded car. Finally, a cement-mixer stopped and the driver asked if hecould help. (I will never say another-word in criticism of these notoriously bad drivers). He offered to at least pull me off the expresswayand by that time the car was started again. We got to the -airport thruvery heavy traffic at the last minute.

(2 At the end of the trip I sent our passport to Washington L.C. tohave Jonathan's name removed since he was remaining in ^erica-^.>^.nal^to have it returned to Cincinnati special delivery, but^^me^body goofi^-'s

and it didn't come until the regular mail on Monday moriiliig^Axtgv-^f)';It was then mailed to me c/o Gen. Del. at San Francisco Airport P.O. Itwas in my hands mlnutea-aftar the charter flighttook off for TokyoT" bul~lha? too late. Y/e had to buy tickets on aregular Pan American flight the next day, which cost_feQO^.more than thecharter. Bobby and Danny had two wishes fulfillea, to spend, one nightin a motel and -hn a. 74T. The charter company refunded 90^ of ourunused tickets just 3 days ago. -

Page 13: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

BACK IN JAPAN:

We are very thankful to report that the Sunday School and church here atMejirodai held up very well in attendance during the summer. On the 3Simdays since our return we have had more than and .more than 10 in worship services. Best of allo^ne housewife^.^^ has i"been attending a long time made her decision haptised--jTfew days ^ago. We all had been praying for her, and we pr§DisK^i^ar--tnis.

We have had seve^ral visitors in our home recentlyl^Gr^pe^^rnham;i^ retired missionary back in ifapan for a visit from her home inHii^e^oh.Dawn^Peigj^s and^^m^ter Nancy returning from a visit to Korea and miss-

''she iiF^®^^^ffi^%gent for5 and V/alter andJM|^yJteey, new miss-tries to Japan —- — -' -•^

-Wft have boDgWe have gottenings, so that the fact of being in America a few weeks ago already seemssomething like a dream.

t-foyota Caronar)oream, with black upholstery, 2 years old.back into a routine of classes and meet-

Many are no doubt wondering about the effect of the dQj.lar-ven revaluat-ion on us. The yen has increased and the dollar declined in value, sowhen we go to the bank with dollars we don't get as much yen as before.Of course prices here haven't gone down, so •iV la-like, a salary^^^Gut-from

' However, v/e can live like this, aml^lii'keep oi& ^wages^fozeiTas long as yours are at least. We are willin^^^to n^ke necessary-

sacrifices to -and beliS'irJ^a-t if-jtoeric^"~wiil AiaciE-!S on v/ages and prices for a few years we will all benefit

Almost everyone in Japan talks about "Nixon shock". The surprise announcement of the Red China visit and then the import surcharge hit like abomb. It seems like the China visit is giving aid and comfort to leftists everywhere, but in God's providence it might be a breakthrough resulting in more stability in Asia and more opportunity for communicatingthe gospel. We pray for God's will to prevail in all matters great andsmall in our own lives first of all.

Your's in His service

SIMS TOKYO MISSIONForwarding Agent;First Church of Christ315 Orange AvenueBustis, Fla. 32726

HAROLD SIMS

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PaidBustis, Fla.Permit #57

Address CorrectionRequested

1 ' ' /•

0 • //

Page 14: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Tokyo Christian"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" Mark 16:15

November 1971Volume 70 Number 4

SETAGAYA CHURCH DEDICATES

NEW BUILDING

BETTY PATTON ILL

WITH HEPATITISThough we had only arrived back in

Japan on September 1, Betty was hospitalized for tests andobservationon September13. Her case was later diagnosed asinfectious hepatitis.

While we were yet in California, shehad swollen ankles and ageneral feeling ofbeing unwell. We attributed this to tiredness due to our travels and thought thatshe would recover soon. After our arrival

in Japan, her condition gradually worseneduntil she developed a painful headacheand became nauseated. When we consulteda doctor on September 13, he admitted herto the hospital immediately. After a coupleor three days, they were able to diagnoseher case partially through a mistake. Theytook blood tests on two successive daysinstead of one as they should have andwere able to discern a deteriorating livercondition by comparing the two tests. Shewas allowed to return home on September22 and is now recuperating there.

Already our medical bill, as a result ofthis illness, has amounted to about $530,including that for Gamma Globulin shotsfor me and our children. Needless to say,this is a pretty bitter dose of medicine forour weak finances!

Your prayers would especially bewelcome now for Betty's recovery and forthe rest of our family that we do not contract the disease. If Betty does not makeproper recovery, she will have permanentdamage to her liver. In spite of her illness,God has been very good to us all. We areenjoying His presence and His blessingswith us always. We pray that all of you alsoare enjoying God's blessings and grace.

- Andrew Patton

On September 19 at 3:00 p.m., theSetagaya Church of Christ dedicated a new

building. It is the first two stories of aneight-story, steel and concrete apartmentbuilding. It is of very solid constructionand well proportioned and designed. Thelarger part of the building will be rentedout and managedby the developer who builtthe whole building. All the church had todo was furnish the land, which is in a goodlocation for such a building and pay for thefurniture in the church. The first story willbe used mainly by the kindergarten, andthe second story by the church. Similaruses of valuable locations have been made

by various other churches of different denominations in downtown Tokyo; but this isthe first one of our group to do this cooperative venture with a housing developer.

This is the third building of the Setagayachurch, which was started in 1924 by Mr.Bunzo Fujita, a close friend and co-workerwith the Cunninghams. The first buildingwas erected at the beginning and wasenlarged and renovated several times

BACK TOSCHOOL!

Our children entered the Christian

Academy in Japan again on September 6and began another year of school work.Sharon is now a senior and if her credits

can be worked out properly, she will begraduating next spring. This causes us toremember our age more vividly and that shewill not be with the family much longer.

School tuition is higher this year. Oneof the first bills we received after our

arrival in Japan was one from the Academyfor 633,800 yen (about $1,920) for the year'stuition for the four children. That means

that we must pay around $65 a week, or$260 a month in order to pay that bill offby the end of the school year. That bill,Betty's doctor bill, a preacher's salary,our salary, and the general expenses of thework will require more money than we havebeen receiving. We would appreciate aspecial offering from you friends at thistime to help us climb this financial hill.

The general decline of the worth of thedollar in relation to the Japanese yen hasdeepened our difficulty. Instead of theformer official exchange rate of 360 yen tothe dollar, we now receive from the bank'hen we exchange dollars for yen onlyibout 334 yen to the dollar — a loss of

(Continued on page 4)

Portion of an eight-story apartmentbuilding which will be used by theSatagaya church. Picture taken duringfinal stages of construction.

through the years. It was the only buildingof the 12 Tokyo churches to survive thewar, and was the first church building inwhich I worshiped in Japan. The secondbuilding was erected in 1950, but it usedsome of the materials of the old building.

Mr. Hanyo, the son-in-law of the foundingminister has been the minister there for

about 40 years. His oldest son is now serving as the assistant minister.

- Harold Sims

This was the Yokosuka church camp at Karuizawa in August.In the left background are Mr. and Mrs. Fleenor. On the right areStanley and Mabel Buttray. The young man in the left centerbackground was baptized three weeks later.

Page 15: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

Tokyo ChristianVol. 70 November 1971 No. 4

Published four times a year inJanuary, April, July and November forthe missionaries of the Church ofChrist Cunningham Mission, Tokyo,Japan by Mission Services, Box 177,Kemplon, Indiana 46049. Second classpostage paid at Kempton, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray,2-26-4 Kamiochiai,Shinjuku-ku,Tokyo161 Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mrs.Homer Anderson, 622 Cullum Street,Meadville, Pa. 16335.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patton, 3-7-8H igashinakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164Japan. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs.G. Wade Fletcher, R.R. 1, Rushville,Ind. 46173.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7Mejirodai, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192Japan. Forwarding Agent: FirstChurchof Christ, Orange at Center St., Eustis,Fla. 32726.

Two-year subscription $ .50Subscription and Flaming 7orc/j$1.00 Tlie Sims family ai me airport as we prepared to leave from

Cincinnati for Tokyo. Front, left to right: Danny Sims, Becky and HopeSchmidt. Back: Sylvia Smith, Jonathan, Harold, Bobby and Lois Sims.

Sm FAMILY RETURNS FROM SHORT VISIT TO UNITED STATESWe arrived back home in Mejirodai at

about 8:30 p.m. September 2, Tokyo lime,from a 10-week, 25,000-mile trip to theUnited States this summer. The visits with

everyone were too short in lime but veryfull of joy, interest and inspiration; andwc return to pur work h^e feeling refreshedand strengthened in spirit in spite of theslight physical fatigue from that muchtraveling. Certainly, we are deeply gratefulto God for His guidance and care, bringingus safely over those many miles; and weare also filled with gratitude to the manyfriends who bedded us and fed us all alongthe way.

I will give you an outline of our trip.

June 21:June 21:

June 21-23:

June 23. p.m.:

June 24:

June 27. a.m.:

June 27. a.m.:

June 28—30:

June 30, p.m.:

July 2-3:

Left Tokyo at 10:00 a.m.Arrived in Oakland,Calif, at 6:40 a.m.Talked to children in VBSat First Christian Church

in Napa, Calif.Spoke at prayer meetingat First Christian Church

in Napa, Calif.Arrived by TWA at Cincinnati, Ohio airport. Metby Tom and Hope Schmidtandgranddaughter Becky,brother Earl and family,the Hubert McGuires and

other friends from Clover-nook Christian Church.

Preached at Western Hills

Church of Christ in Cincinnati.

Talked and showed slidesat Montgomery RoadChurch in Cincinnati.Spoke to all classes atVBS of West wood-Che violChurch of Christ in Cincinnati.

Showed slides at prayermeeting of BridgetownChurch of Christ Cincinnati.

Visited with Mr. and Mrs.Art Smith of Ontario,

July 4, a.m.:

July 4. p.m.:

July 5-6:

July 7, p.m.:

J uly 9—13:

July 11. a.m.:

July 11. p.m.:

July 14. p.m.:

July 15:

July 16, p.m.:

July 18, a.m.:

July 19-21, p.m.

July 22-27:

Ohio — Dave's parents.Here they held a belatedwedding reception forDave and Sylvia.Preached at Church ofChrist, Markle, Indiana.Preached at Christian

Church in Bluffton,Indiana.

Visited with Mr. and Mrs.Doyle SchmidtofHudson,Indiana —Tom's parents.Tom, Hope and Beckywere also with us forthis weekend at his home.Spoke and showed slidesat Garden City Church ofChrist, Columbus, Ind.Visited with Mr. and Mrs.A. E. Sims in Claxton,Tenn.Preached at ChristianChurch in Claxton, Tenn.Showed slides at VillageChristian Church, OakRidge, Tenn.Spoke and showed slidesat First Christian Church,Johnson City, Tenn.Visited with brotherRalph and family in Johnson City.Showed slides at Chris

tian Church, Bainbridge,Ga.

Preached at EnglewoodChristian Church, Jacksonville, Florida.Missionary - evangelisticmeetings in First Churchof Christ, Eustis, Florida. Spent the days inEustis working on ouraddress list and otherbusiness connected withour work.

Visited with Mrs. EthelLutton in St. Petersburg,Fla. — Lois' mother.

July 25, p.m.

July 28, p.m.

July 29:

July 30. p.m.

Aug. 1, a.m..

Aug. 3—5:

Aug. 6:

Aug. 8:

Aug. 9:

Aug. 10:

Aug. 11:

Aug. 11, p.m.

Aug. 12, p.m.

Aug. 13-14:

Preached in Central

Christian Church, St.Peierstxirg, Fla.

Spoke and showed slidesat Bethany ChristianChurch, Carroilton, Ga.Visited Atlanta ChristianCollege, Christian Cityand Six Flags overGeorgia.Showed Slides in North-side Church of Christ,High Point, N.C.Preached in Northside

Church of Christ, Newport News, Va.Attended and spoke onceat Virginia EvangelizingFellowship Rally inNorthhampton Church,Hampton, Va.Spoke and showed slidesin Bethany ChristianChurch, Bumpass, VaSpoke and showed pictures in First Christian

Church, Charlottesville,Va.

Visited with Mr. and Mrs.Alex Havelicsek of Lin-thi cum Heights, Md. —Lois' sister.Showed slides at Hyatts-town Christian Church,Clarksburg, Md.Visited with Mrs. Chas.Heckert of Wilmington,Del. — Harold's sister.Spoke to Delaware ValleyChurch of Christ meetingin the home of GroverAndrews in Brookhaven,Pa.

Spoke and showed slidesin Church of Christ,Fayelte Citty, Pa.Visited with Mr. and Mrs.Bob Helbeck of Monroe-

(Continued on page 4)

Page 16: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

patrons Arrivo Back m Japan giU oj J\ieiAM.We are now safely back in our home in

Tokyo and are about settled down andaccustomed to living in Japan again. Wearrived at Tokyo International Airport onschedule on the chartered flight on September 1. The missionaries and other friends

were there to welcome us.

We had a long trip which was cut upinto several different stages from our homein Ohio. We left Rushsylvania, Ohio onJuly 24 and stopped first for a missionaryrally at Maryville, Tenn. There we spentfour wonderful days with the First Christian Church, enjoying the great fellowshipwith the folk there. From there we drove

on to Hayesville, N. C. to visit my parents.We spent two weeks with them and wereable to help out with the work on theirlittle farm. Bidding them farewell, we setour faces toward California and Japan. Wespent the first night with my brother,Lawrence, his wife, Shirley, and their children in Montgomery, Ala. Being delayedfor a half day for Philip to see a doctor,we resumed our journey again in the afternoon of the following day.

The trip, of course, was long andtiresome and our old Plymouth wagon, whichhad served us pretty well, began to giveus trouble. A valve burned out for the third

lime and the transmission developed a leak.We continued to pour in gasoline, oil, andtransmission fluid and drove on. Finally,we limped into Fontana, Calif, at 3:30 a.m.on August 19. There we were royallyentertained for a week by Betty's aunt,

Gladys Stackhouse, and Betty's cousins,the Bitonties, and Perezes and theStackhouses. They helped us sell thePlymouth and aided in.other preparationsfor the remainder of our journey to Japan.

On August 26, we caught a plane toOakland, where we were the guests of ourfine friends of the Home of Peace until our

departure on August 31. At the Home ofPeace in Oakland we purchased supplieswhich the Home will ship to us. As usual,when we return to Japan, a big dock strikewas on and it is uncertain when we will

receive the shipment. We will just have tomake out with what we have until it does

arrive. Fortunately, we shipped a greatdeal of our winter clothes by parcel postand the greater part of that shipment hasalready arrived at our home.

This is almost the first time we have

returned back to Japan from furlough andhave not had to "pick up the pieces" asfar as our work here is concerned. This

time, however, we have found the Sakura-yama and Arakawa churches in fairly goodcondition. There are several new peoplein the audiences and the Christians have

shown fine growth over the year of ourabsence. God has blessed them and theyare rejoicing in Him. Even the mid-weekservices in both churches are enjoying anincreased attendance and interest. Theyare now studying with great interest the

Book of Job. Brother Hiroaki Sato, theminister, is doing a fine job of ministeringto the two churches. Bible School and wor-

^It?, i n

Some of the attendants at the SakurayamaChurch worship sendee on the first Sundayafter the Puttons' arrival in Japan.

ship are held on Sunday morning at theSakurayama church and then some of thefolk of that church commute to the Arakawa

church for Bible School and worship therein the afternoon. That plan is working outvery well and it enables the two dturchesto cooperate in the work.

Just as soon as Betty has recoveredher health which will allow me to have more

time available for evangelism, BrotherSato and I plan to open a new preachingand teaching point. We have prayed forGod's guidance in the matter and alreadyhave a place in mind for the site of thenew work. Please join us in prayer for theopening of this new work and that the people's hearts may be opened for the receptionof the salvation of the Lord.

It is good to be back in Japan andengaged directly in the work of the Lordhere. The difficulties and problems beforeus are great, but there are almost unlimitedopportunities and possibilities for missionary service here.

"The hanwst indeed is plenteous, butthe laborers are few. Pray ye therefore theLord of the harvest, thai he send forthlaborers into his harvest."

— Andrexo Patton

The first two converts of the OmatsuriDendo this year. Shimada San. a teacher inthe Osaka Bible Seminary, was the speakerthe first four nights of the "outdoor" evangelism, and was used by God in a wonderfulway in preaching and counseling. Seventeenwere brought to Christ during the eight-dayeffort.

• Walter and Mary Maxey (Walter is theoldest son of the Mark Maxeys of Kyushu

Mission) are the newest missionaries in

Japan. They will be living in Tokyo forone year while studying the intensiveJapanese language course at InternationalChristian University.

- Harold Sims

• Bro. Jim Banta of Forest Lake, Minn,again passed through Tokyo on busi

ness about the middle of September andthen continued on to Formosa. While in

Tokyo he visited the Buttrays and thePattons. He expects to pass through Tokyoagain in about a month on his way home.It is always a pleasure to be with Jim andto enjoy his fellowship.

• Mrs. Exie Fultz, a fellow-missionaryin Tokyo, returned to the United States

on September 16 for a short furlough.

• Two of the members of the Sakurayamachurch arc now studying at Pacific

Christian College, Long Beach, Calif. Onehigh school graduate who is a member ofthe Arakawa church intends to enter OsakaBible Seminary next spring.

- Andrew Patton

• At the age of 81 Miss Grace Farnham,a retired Church of Christ missionary,

after an absence of ten years, returned toTokyo, Japan on September 1st. Becauseof her many years of missionary service,both pre- and post-war, she is enjoyingrenewing old acquaintances. The land,church building, and a thriving congregationat Mabashi, Tokyo are a testimony todayof the work started by Miss Farnham yearsago.

At present. Miss Farnham is stayingwith the Stanley Buttray family at Kamio-chiai. Her present plans are to stay inTokyo until the spring of 1972. During thistime she hopes to visit other parts of Japanand also a missionary relative in Korea.

• After a long illness Mrs. Sato, thepreacher's wife at the Kamiochiai

church, died on August 25, at the age of51. Mrs. Sato had been sick with cancer

for more than a year and a half.When she was operated on in May 1970,

she was given not more than two or threemonths to live. But, during the year andthree months that followed, she neverseemed to give up hope of recovery. Surely,it was her faith and the prayers of many(thank you for praying) during this timethat sustained her.

Besides her husband, she leaves behindtwo sons. The eldest is the preacher attlie Sakurayama church, which is just ashort distance from his father at Kamiochi ai,Tokyo. The youngest son is still a university stirdent.

Pray for God's comfort and blessingsupon the family in the future that liesahead. Pray also for the relatives thatattended the funeral and their salvation.

-Stanley Buttray

Page 17: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

TRAGEDYMr. and Mrs. Homer Anderson, the

forwarding agents for the Stanley Buttrays,recently experienced the tragic death oftheir son, David.

David, their only son, was killedsuddenly on June 22nd when the light planein which he was flying developed troubleimmediately upon being airborne andcrashed, taking the life of the pilot also.

David's untimely death, at the age of32, leaves behind his wife l.ois, a dedicated Christian, and their two sons, DarinMark, five, and David Eric, four.

At the time of his death, David was inthe midst of a busy life, working for thetelephone company. However, he foundtime also to become a deacon and teacher

in the new Overlook Christian Church at

Mobile, Ala., and was enjoying the fellowship of God's people there.

Though Lois' home is Findlay, 111.,she is still living at their same address:613 Wesley Lane E., Mobile. AL 36609.

SIMS FAMILY RETURNS

(continued from page 2)

Auq. 15. a.m.:

Au(i. 15, p.m.:

Auq. 18, p.m.:

Aufi. 19:Auci. 20:

Aw. 22:

Aug. 24:

Aug. 25:

Aug. 29:

Sept. 1:

ville. Fa. — friends andMr. and Mrs. Ray Fowkcsof Irwin, Pa. — Lois'sister.

Preached at ShenangoChristian Church, Newcastle, Pa.Preached at Monroeville

Christian Church, Monroeville, Pa.

— Spoke at Warwood Christian Church, Wheeling,W. Va.Spoke at Fourth StreetChristian Church, Chester, W. Va.Returned to Cincinnati.Jonathan entered thedormitory at CincinnatiBible Seminary and beganFreshman orientation,

^oke and showed slidesat Clovemook ChristianChurch, Cincinnati, Ohio.Preached at first chapelservice of Ozark Bible

College.Attended Convocation at

Cincinnati Bible Semi

nary.

Preached for both services at First Christian

Church, Napa, Calif.Left for Japan.

Wc now have almost one-half of ourfamily living in Cincinnati, Ohio. TomSchmidt works at the Federal Reserve Bankthere. The Schmidts live in an apartment.Dave and Sylvia Smith are living in a mobilehome and botli of them are continuing theirstudies at CBS. Jonathan is beginning hisfreshman year there.

When we returned to Japan, we foundthat the house and church here had beenwell cared for during our absence. Theattendance had held up well during thesummer and there were no major problems.It felt good to get those suitcases unpackedand put away and to settle quickly into theroutine activities as if tlie summer had all

been a wonderful dream.

- Harold Sims

One of the most descriptive andendearing terms of our Savior, Jesus, is"The Lord is my shepherd;" and, certainly,it is one of the coTnerstones of out faith . . .and yet. He often sends Christians (Christlike people) to bring comfort and encour-ment when His children are in need.

So, if you happen to live near to Loisat Mobile or to David's parents, Homer andSue Anderson, at 622 Cullum St., Meadville,Pa. why not give them a visit. If unableto, even a letter or telephone call canbecome God's "Balm of Gilead" to heal

the broken heart. Pray for them.-Stanley Buttray

BACK TO SCHOOL(continued from page 1)

nearly eight percent. Furthermore, theexchange rate is expected to fall evenlower and we will receive less and lessyen for the dollar.

Stephen is continuing his piano lessonsat school and also hopes to learn to usethe trumpet in one of the school bands.Philip is now also taking trumpet lessonsat school. Noel hopes to start guitar lessons soon.

- Andrew Patton

Missionary Stanley Buttray inviting thepeople to come and enjoy the wonderfulmusic and messages during the eight-nightOmatsuri evangelism. Thousands of peoplemake their umy past the Union Church onthe left on their way to the Obon Odori(festival dancing) each night. The greatestopportunity for evangelism in Japan! Hundreds hear the Gospel for the first time.Pray that God uill bless and mutiply theefforts, and that many will yet discoverthe 'Truth.'

BOX 177, KEMPTON, INDIANA 46049

One of the 17 baptized at the Omatsunevangelism in Karuizawa. As you haveguessed, this young man was the leader offive hippies that came to Karuizawa to climbone of the mountains to 'find themselves"or God! In an unusual tray, they were broughtto the Omatsuri evangelism one night andthe leader found Christ! The other four weremoved, but did not yield. Pray for God'sblessing on the seed sown.

BRO. CHO'S DAUGHTER

On September 15, the eldest daughterof Mr. and Mrs. Cho (ministers of the Mika-washima Church of Christ) was married to

a young medical doctor from Osaka. Grace(meaning of the Korean name) Cho has beenthe organist at the church for some timenow, and last spring graduated from theTokyo Conservatory with distinction. Thewedding, in the beautiful new church building was attended by a large crowd of churchpeople and friends, and it was really anice ceremony.

There is a Korean school right acrossthe street from the diurch which was built

and continues to be operated by peoplesympathetic to the Communist NorthKorean regime. For a long time they haveopposed any students of that school attending the Mikawashima Sunday School. Butthat day hundreds of the students werecrowded on the fire escape and in the playground to get a glimpse of the bride. Andwhen they emerged after the ceremony thewhole neighborhood rang with cheers fromthe school children. All of the Communist

indoctrination cannot keep people frombeing human.

- Harold Sims

Page 18: Sims Harold Lois 1971 Japan

S E A S Ofrom

i i

IE TINGS

• -r 0

November 1971

Dear Friends,

At the end of October we completed our first year of work in Mejirodai. It hasbeen a good year for us, and for some of our new neighbors into whose lives Christ hascome. Mr. and Mrs. Mineo, former members of Minato Church and early residents inthis area, have been very faithful; and we have seen 3 housewives added to the little flock.Although our membership (not counting our family) increased only from 2 to 5 souls, thisis a growth rate of 150 percent. So we have set a goal of the same growth rate for nextyear. Of course the goal is just human planning, and we know it is God alone who hasgiven and will give the increase. We look unto Him in thanksgiving for the blessings whichHe has given so far, and in trust and expectation for the future. The Sunday School hasalso been doing well, averaging more than 30 children every Sunday. Lois and I togetherhave contact with almost 100 people every week through English conversation classes withdifferent age groups.

Family developments that brought much joy this year were:1. Sylvia and Dave's surprise homecoming and wedding at Nakano Church on Jan. 15.2. The birth of our first grand-child, Rebecca Jane Schmidt on April 6.3. Jonathan's High School Graduation at Christian Academy on June 18.4. The second visit to Japan by Lois' mother, Mrs. Ethel Lutton, of St. Petersburg.5. We were greatly blessed and encouraged by the 10 week trip to the United States thissummer, and happy that we were able to see so many of you who will receive this letter.Thanks again for your hospitality.

Cincinnati, Ohio has become our "home town" lately. More than half of the family(counting sons-in-law) lives there. Hope and Tom and little Becky are still in the GrandAve. apartment. Tom is employed at the Federal Reserve Bank, and they work inClovernook Christian Church. Sylvia and Dave are both studying at C.B.S. and workingpart-time, and they live in a mobile home out on Glenway Ave. They are still planningon coming to Japan after finishing school. Jonathan is a Freshman at the Seminary. Helives in Alumni Hall, and is working as utility man for the secretarial pool there.

Bobby and Danny (in the 11th and 5th grades at Christian Academy) are with us inJapan and enjoyii^ the luxury of each one having his own room.

In 1972 we are coming to the 25th anniversary of our wedding and our arrival inJapan. Oh, how God has faithfully led and kept us through these years and the changesthat have come]

Again at the end of this year we commend you to God and the Word of His Graceand to Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever. May you have a joyousChristmas season and a bright and beautiful new year with a minimum of inflation, frustration and temptation and a maximum of elation, relaxation and dedication.

Yours in His service, ^

Harold and Lois Sims