Tokyo Christian"Go ye into all the n'orkl and preach the gospel to every avatare" (Mark 16:15)

Volume 91 January 1992 Number 1

SIMS' NEWSNEW JAPANESE PREACHER COMING TO MEJIRODAI CHURCH

Before the end of January Mr. and Mrs. Daiki andMasumi Kishimoto (the family name should be pronounced Keyshemohtoe) will be moving from Osaka toHachioji. On February 2 he will be ordained into theChristian Ministry and installed as a preacher at Mejiro-dai Church of Christ, for what we all hope will be a long-term and fruitful ministry.

Mr. Kishimoto is originally from the cityofTanabe, inWakayama Prefecture south of Osaka, and was baptizedin the Kinan Church ofChrist there as a High School boy.This was the church where Ruth Schoonover and Vivian

Lemmon gave many years of service to Christ in pastyears, and is now well-established under capable Japanese leadership. He attended the 4-year course in English at the Ibaraki Christian College, established by thenon-instrument Churches ofChrist, and after graduatingthere, studied for over 2 years at OsakaBible Seminaiyatgraduate level, graduating in March of this year. He hasled in a number ofyoung people's camps at Shinshu, andis very popular among our young people. When he wasin Ibaraki he was also a leader in the nationwide Chris

tian students association, so has manyfriends in variousplaces.

When we took our last trip to the United States in1989, he lived in our house and preached for those 7 or 8Sundays as well as leading in the camps and VBS. Assoon as I returned to Japan some of the deacons in ourlocal church told me theywould likeveiymuch to be ableto have him as a preacher after we retired, and asked meifthatwould be agreeable with me. When itwas, theyalsoasked me to start talks with him about that.

Kishimotosan was happy about the prospect of cominghere, because he is very interested in our camp programand already knows all of our young people throughseveral years of being a helper in various capacitiesthere. But during his time in Osaka he has been workingin a new church planting project in the city ofTakarazuka,along with Mr. and Mrs. George Beckman and theirdaughter, Jenann; and he did not feel right about leavingthere without some suitable arrangements for the continuing of that work. Needless to say, the missionariesand the small group of people there did not want to partwith him, because the work has been growing steadilyand they all like his personality. We here at Mejirodaiunderstood this, and since I was here we were in positionto wait. During 1991 it was possible to call another Japarnese preacher who is presently studying in the UnitedStates to the ministry of Megumi (Grace) Church inTakarazuka, so the Kishimotos were able to make the

move to Tokyo without undue trouble or inconvenience

to the Osaka brethren.

Mrs. Masumi Kishimoto is the daughter of an oldmember ofYochi-machi church in Tokyo. He is a careeremployee of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (not as asoldier, but in the office business) so they have lived atvarious places in Japan through the years and attendedvarious churches. Her mother went to a rather well-

known all-girls Bible Training School, and is a zealousChristian. She is the oldest of 4 daughters. They weremarried in Tolqro on September 1,1990. She also went tothe above-mentioned Ibaraki Christian College. The family was living near there at the time. They became goodfriends while working together in the Christian Club atthe school.

The local church members have been planning forthe additional financial burden that this means, as wellas other adjustments, and also veiy much desire a smoothtransition from my leadership to his. The Kishimotoswill be living in and taking care of our house during ourupcoming trip to the U.S., and by the time we return wehope to have found a suitable and affordable apartmentfor them in this neighborhood. We have notset a definitetime for our retirement yet, and it depends on our healthas well as some other considerations about continuance

of the Mission work that are not yet settled, but we arelooking forward to at least 2 or 3 years of workingtogether atMejirodai churchwith them and living here atthe same place before returning to the homeland.

We believed God has been guiding and providing forus in this matter thus far, and thank Him and look to Him

to send other laborers into His harvest field. We ask all

of you to join with us in prayer about these matters.

HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS

TO VISIT U.S.

February 13 to April 6

The First Church of Christ in Eustis, Florida will be

celebrating its 100th anniversaryduring the latterpart ofFebruary. They have served well as our forwardingagents for over half our time in Japan, and asked if wecould come to share with them in this eventseveralyearsago, so we are now busy preparing for a winter tripinstead of a summer one to visit family and some of ourprayer partners scattered around the country some 31months since our last brief visits. My father started his

ministry at Eustis in October 1937, and I graduated fromHigh School there and was ordained by that church, so itwill be a meaningful homecoming for us.

We have 2 new grandchildren that we havent yetseen, and 10 others who are growing up quicklyand oftenin our minds, if not in our line of vision. Of course, mostof you know we have 4 children living in the U.S. and 2brothers and 3 sisters, and former co-workers Buttraysand Pattons, and some Japanese students in colleges thatneed to be visited.

Here is a brief itinerary:

Februari

Feb. 14-10:

Feb. 20-29:

March

Mar. 1:

Mar. 2-7:

Mar. 4:

Mar. 7-10:

Mar. 11:

Mar. 15:

Mar. 16-18:

Mar. 19:

Mar. 20-25

Mar. 25-28:

Mar. 29:

April

Mar. 30-Apr. 4

Apr. 5:Apr. 6:

Shelbyville, KY and Cincinnati, OHWhite Oak and Clovemook Churches,

CBS, E & W Sims, Bob SimsEustis, FL

Bnglewood Church, Jacksonville, FLTom and Hope Schmidt, Kendallville,

Markle, Indiana Church of Christ

First Christian Church, Turtle Creek,PA, Mrs. N. Fowkes, L's sister

First Christian Church, Johnson Cily,TN, Mr. Ralph Sims

First Christian Church, Charlottesville,VA

Northside Church of Christ, NewportNews, VA

Robert & Helen Sims, Shelbyville, KYMr. & Mrs. Andrew Patton, Carl Junc

tion, MO

Mr. & Mrs. Dave Smith, W. Des Moines,lA

Mr. & Mre. Alex Havelicsek, Cotton-wood, AZ, Lois' sister

First Christian Church, Yuma, AZ

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Sims, Lake Forest,CA

First Christian Church, Napa, CAReturn to Tokyo

September Senior Citizen's Camp.

1991 CHRISTMAS AT MEJIRODAI

Everyyear we write about the Christmas season, andsome may feel we over-emphasize it. But because it isstill fresh in our minds at this New Year season, it is a lotofjoy and alotofwork to prepare for, and we have the bestattendance of the year at that time, we want to share alittle of our joy with you who pray for us and may wonderhow we can stand to be so far away from home at suchtimes. We suddenly realized one afternoon during theholidays when all the rush was over that we had not spenta Christmas in the United States for the past 24 years, andmight actually feel we had missed something importantif we were away from here.

Firet of all, there are the cards. We sent over 400 of

our Christmas letters to the U.S. and about 200 to various

people in Japan thatwe don't see regularlyat church, etc.In return, we received at least 77 cards from friends in the

U.S. and most of them contained welcome personal newsnotes. (I just counted those in the basket on the living-room table.) Also we got39 Christmas cards and about 70New Year greetings (Japanese custom) from Japanesefriends. There is a lot of encouragement received fromthe postman's visits during this season.

Then there is the planning and preparation, in whichmany people are happy to take part. One of our SundaySchool teachers thought up the theme for this year: 'ThePromises of God," and wrote an original song of 4 verseswhich the children memorized and sang at the programon December 22. Penny Boggs developed the mainoutline of the program, which was 4 short dramas aboutNoah, Abraham, Isaiah, and the Birth at Bethlehem. Shewrote the outline for each section, and the SundaySchoolchildren developed the one on Noah, the adults on Abraham and Isaiah, and the young people could not resist alittle humorous change in the traditional story-the mostinteresting being picturing the wise men as doctors -even borrowing authentic white gowns, etc. As eachsection of the drama was finished, the children went upand stuck symbols on the large felt Christmas tree cui>tain (rainbows for Noah, stars, etc.) decorating the tree aswe went along.

I should mention that this year the Sunday Schoolattendance has been at an all-time low, so instead of aseparate program as always before, we included them asone segment of the whole church program on Sundayafternoon. This gave the children a bigger audience and

Children decorating the "Christmas tree" during theprogram.

many of our people their first chance to see the Sunday for the nurses to bring the patients in their wheelchairsSchool in action.

Then there is the attendance - usually the highest of Okada's room of 10 patients." So we prepared 15 bags ofthe year. This year we had 61 adults and 26 children treats and a short and simple program. One ladygets cai>crowding our small building. The children were in aseparate room during the worship. Then all ate a lunchofsandwiches, orange and cake and tea all over the place.After that was cleaned up, we all enjoyed a 2-hour program during the afternoon in which most of the peoplehad some part. In addition to the plays mentioned above,we had muicial numbers by two of the families in thechurch and several solos, including one by a 1st gradeboy. We also have a talented ventriloquist in the congregation who entertained everyone by playing a word game

down to the lobby. You can have a small meeting in Mrs.

Mr. Sakamoto, ventriloquist, and "Shin-Chan.'

with the doll. Lois' Ladies Chorus which has been inac

tive this yar, met several times to practice and presentedspecial music in both the worship service and afternoonprogram which was enjoyed very much by all. Thetraditional exchange came at the end of a full afternoon of good fun and fellowship.

At 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, we had our Carol

that time. This year we had 50 adults here for that.

Christmas Eve Worship.

For the pastSyears we have taken a group over to thehospital where Mrs. Okada is and presented a programon Christmas Day at 3 p.m. During an earllier visit Iasked the office ifwe could do the same this year, buttheysaid, "This year Christmas is on Wednesday, and we haveto change the sheets on 800 beds, so it will be impossible

People from Mejirodai Church visiting Mrs. Okada in thehospital on her 90th birthday.

sick, so she went ahead of us on the electric train. When

we arrived a little late on a miserably rainy afternoonafter 90 minutes in heavy traffic, we were greeted by thislady at the front door saying, "Mr. Sims, 50 patients anda lot of nurses, etc., are waiting in the lobbyl" So the 9 ofus quickly organized a sing^along and then opened thetreat bags and gave everyone a little something- shadesof feeding the 5,000 - and it all ended happily. Mr«.Okada, now over 90 and very alert mentally, had a merryChristmas because of that mix-up, and all's well thatend's well. In fact that could well be said as the final note

on this entire year here.Six male University students and 7 female students

(4 high school, 1 Jr. College, 1 University and 1 working)went on a skiing trip December 24-27. All of them werefrom our churches in the Tokyo area, and 4 were from

Singing program that is becoming something of a tradi- Mejirodai. They had a good time of fellowship and didtion. Some neighbors make that their one-time-a-year some skiing, but there was very little snow at the place,trip to church. More and more of our members use that Meanwhile we had about 3 inches of snow here, makingoccasion to invite their neighbors, friends and family to the trip back from the missionary fellowship meeting thechurch, and many non-Christians are open to coming at night of December 27 very long and tense. Mr. and Mrs.

Scott and Carmen LaHue, from Niigata, spent that nightwith us.

We also had small Christmas parties for our Englishclass students during the week before Christmas. Someof these were held in our living room with the fireplacegiving a warm glow. We received a number of gifts fromthese, as well as some of the church people and otherfriends. Outstandingwas a rather large basket of fruit, including such out of season things as grapes, pears, andout-of-Japan things like raw pineapple, avocados, etc.

w

Lois Sims with the Evening English Class.

SHORT NEWS NOTES

The son of Mr. Shinkichi Kobayashi, who is one ofthe elders of Minato Church, fell from a place where hewas working near the inside of the roof of their brassfoundiy (about 3 floors from ground level) onto theconcrete floor inearlyDecember. He hita cross-beamonthe way down that broke the speed of the fall, but waspicked up unconscious and rushed by ambulance to ahospital that would take him. He had multiple brokenbones, a fractured skull and probable internal injuries.For some dasns he was in a comatose condition, butprayer was made by the church for him, and aboutChristmas Day his father called to say that he had regained consciousness and was past the crisis. We allrejoiced with the parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Satoru Taninari, the Shinshu BibleCamp manager and his wife, became parents of theirfourth son on January 1.

Mr. and Mrs. Akada, ministering with the Onta ChurchofChrist, have been taking care ofherparents for over 10years now. Her father, who preached for some years inOkayamaPrefecture, died severalyears ago. The motherhas been an invalid with Parkinson's disease and other

complications and in and out of hospitals for severalyears. She passed from this life on December 23.

A total of 160 people attended the annual Conferenceat Osaka Bible Seminaiy November 3,4. The theme wasabout the connection and differences between Judaism

and Christianity and the O.T. and N.T., and very goodmessages were given. This year 3 young men fromMejirodai went with me, and they were very favorablyimpressed with the number of students (only 10 or 11,but more than for some years now) and the size of theaudience and the 45-minute song^services that are characteristic of the meetings every year.

The annual Chapel Concert this year at Mejirodaifeatured the Sugo Family Singers. This is the preacherof the Wesleyan Methodist Church in our city and hiswife and their son and daughter. The mother and fatherhave some musical training, and both children are nowstudents in the best conservatory in this area. Theymake a very good quartet, and all who attended deeplyappreciated the good music, but also the straightfrom-the-heart testimonies bythe singers atdifferentpoints in

the program.

Harold Sims attended the 33rd annual HasramaSeminar for missionaries from various Protestant groups,January6-8. Mark Maxeywas to give one ofthe papers onMotivating the Church in Evangelism and Nurture, butbecause of sickness, could not attend. Harold and someotherswho have served over 40years inJapan made shorttalks on the subject to fill up that time.

A LETTER

One of the letters we received in response to ourChristmas greeting this yearwas full of surprise and joy.It is written in very good English by the father of 2 boyswho used to attend our Sunday School very regularlyuntil they moved down to Shizuoka Prefecture, about ICQmiles or more south ofTokyo where he took a job managing a restaurant in a resort area near the sea coast.

Thank you for your kind letter. Whenever we readyour letters we are reminded of the da3^ in Mejirodai. Inthose days our two boys were 8 and 7 years old. Now theyare 18 and 17 years old. Yes, the time really past soquickly. And thanks to God we have two daughters, too.The youngest one reaches the same age as Makito whenhe attended Sunday School in Mejirodai. It is veiystrange that when our two boys went to church eveiySunday, at that time we were not so much interested inthe God's love. But now, here far from Mejirodai, we go tochurch and had baptism last month -1 and mywife, Miko,and also the youngest daughter. Alley. The other 3chUdren have to study and think about God a little more.The church here is a veiy small one, and was built fortourism, but the clergyman, Mr. Miyahira, is veiy earnestand he tries to make the church to the real heartfelt one.

The members are only 8 or 10, and most of them aredisabled people. We will have a small Christmas partynext week at our house. The sect is different, I'm afraid,but the heart to be good Christians is the same as yourmembers, I hope. And with bless of God we can spendpeaceful and quiet days here. Please drop in at our placewhen you have a chance to come around here. Andplease send our best regards to the Miyashige family.

Meriy Christmas,Hideo Oki"

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray (retired), R.D. 2, Box 180, Meadville,PA 16333.

Mr. and Mra Andrew Fatten (retired), #6 Tangelwood, Carl Junction, MO 64834. ForwardingAgent Mr. and Mra Ralph Morford, Rt2, Box 413, Knightstown, IN 46148.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodaio, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo193Japan. ForwardingAgent FirstChurchofChrist 313 E.OrangeAvenue, Eustis, FL 32726-4194.

Two year donation—S.30Donation & Flaming Torch—$1.00

Tokyo Christian (DSPS 776-320)

Published four times a year in January, April, July, and Novemberfor the missionaries of the Church of Christ Cunningham Mission,Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services Association, 7325 Hodges FerryRoad. Knoxville, TN 37920-9731. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Tokyo Christian, c/o MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PC Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

Before you move, please send the mailing label with a copy of your new address toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

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

Volume 91 AprU 1992 Number 2

SIMS' NEWS

HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS HOME FROM U.S. TRIP

It was cloudy and quite cool for cherry blossomseason when we arrived in Tokyo's Narita Airport late inthe afternoon of April 7. Bro. Kishiraoto, who had attended the opening ceremony of the school year at theUnion Seminary where he is taking some courses inChurch History that morning and then gone directly tothe airport, was there waiting for us, and we were soonloaded into the car for the trip home - talking all the wayabout various things that had happened since we had left53 days earlier. Our son, Robert, came on the same flightwith us on business. He spent that nightat ourhouse, andleft early the next morning for the Osaka area. There hadbeen no major problems during our absence, and afterspending most of the next day unpacking and sorting outthe mail that had accumulated, we are now settled backinto the work. It looks like this is going to be a busymonth, with special Easter meetings as well as the yearlycongregational meeting coming up.

I would say the trip was very satisfying in every way,but Lois would want to add that each ^dsit was too short.

We made all 19 flights inside the U.S. and the round tripacross the Pacific safely, on time and in good health andspirits, and are thankful for the loving care and guidanceof our heavenly father and the prayers of a host of friendson both sides of the Pacific who were thinking of us. Wevisited 16 different churches and with the missionarycommittees of4 ofthem to discuss business and report onprogress in the work. Eleven of these churches havesupported us monthly for many years, and 4 of the othershave sent support at different times. One was a first-timevisit. Harold also spoke at the Chapel in Cincinnati BibleSeminary and gave an interview that was recorded onvideo for Missions classes. We ate lunch in the cafeteria

with 3 students from Japan who are now studying there.We also visited 4 or 5 days in the homes of the four of

our children living in the U.S. and played with the 12grandchildren, two of whom we had not seen until thistrip: spent about 3 days in the homes ofour 2 brothers and2 sisters and saw 3 of the nephews and one niece. Wespent some time with our forwarding agent in Eustis,

Florida, and enjoyed our first visit to Mission Serviceswhere this paper is printed and mailed.

We were able to visit our former co-workers who are

now retired in the U.S. - Stanley and Mabel Buttray inMeadville, Pennsylvania, and Andrew and Betty Pattonin Joplin, Missouri, and found them in good health andactive in the work of their local churches and enjoyinglife in general. We also enjoyed brief visits with IsabelDittemoreandJohn Hill inJoplin, and CarolynBarricklowin Indiana and talked with other missionaries on the

phone.There were other good conversations with many old

friends that are too numerous to mention here, but ourdays were filled with a variety ofactivity and surprised byjoys like a visit with the lady who taught me Latin andpublic speaking in Eustis High School 52 years ago,staying in the home of former High School friends andband members - the Grimstads, breakfast with EthelBrockley, our neighbor on 21st Street in Newport News,Virginia, over 60 years ago, etc.

Not that all of our friends are real old. We made some

interesting new friendships in various places, includingyoung, active members of Missions Committees whogave us the hospitality of their homes and encouragement.

I should also mention that we visited various retire

ment homes and facilities in 4 or 5 places in the U.S. andinquired about costs and other matters of interest topeople in our age group. We are trusting that God willguide us in decisions about this and all other things.

The main purpose of the trip at this time was to sharein the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the FirstChurch of Christ in Eustis, Florida. The Minato andMejirodai churches in Tol^o sent substantial offerings tothe church, which is a Japanese custom and also areflection of the economic facts of our day. It was a greatsurprise to the large congregation present on the anniversary day, and a good gesture of fellowship in Christ.Tosave space we will just briefly go down memory lanelisting experiences not mentioned yet, asking forgive-

With Stanley and Mabel Buttray In Meadville, Pennaytvanla.(L. to R.): John Hill. Isabel Dittemore. Harold Sims, Andrew Patton, Lole Sims,

and Florence Douglas in Spring River, Joplin, Missouri.

Preaohen and wlvee at lOOtfaAnnlveraaiy: Mr. & Mrs. BUI TwadeU, Mr.Kenneth Bain. Mr. & Mrs. Harold Sima, and Mr. St Mtb. Jack Bllffen.

Harold Sims preeentlngmonetarygift fromJapanese ohurohea to Euetlschurch.

ness in advance ofpeoplewho are lookingfor somewordsabout a memoiy they have that we have left out.- Sharing in Joanna's first birthday, and seeing some of

her first steps.- Nephew, AndySims, inaction on a Wednesdayevening

at Rising Sun, Indiana.- Record attendance, a great pot-luck limch, tour of old

Pendleton house, seeing a good number of friendsfrom Indiana and other places, ladies wearing old-style dresses, congratulation sign on bank and DonRoth singing, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" in Eustis.Also warm weather daily.

- 2 days at Epcot Center and DisneyWorld with Bob andHelen and their 3 children.

- Terrific shower right after the fireworks at nightdrenched us all. A tornado was in the area that night,blowing windows out of nearby hotels, etc.

- Cake decorated like a Japanese flag at pot-luck lunchafter church at Englewood in Jacksonville.

- Lois' birthday party at Markle, Indiana church onMarch 4.

- Hope's 4 daughters making a birthday cake for Loiswith 1 candle for each year which was almost impossible to light or blow out.

- Several litters of pigs bom during our stay on Schmidtfarm. Total of 99.

- J.C.Penney store in Kendallville had a closing out sale- 25% off on eveiything. Great time for Lois and thegrandchildren shopping for dresses.

- ScottEwart,who oftenvisited us when onUSS Midwayin Yokosuka, coming to Ft. Wayne airport early in themorning to see us off.

- Driving by the houses in Turtle Creek where we livedwhen we met 46 years ago.

- 6 inches of snow on the ground and still falling whenwe went to the Pittsburg airport on March 11.

- Hearing a free dress rehearsal of the Johnson CitySymphony Orchestra, in which Ralph plays violin, atMilligan Chapel.

- Driving a red rental car up the beautiful Valley ofVirginia to Charlottesville.

People in Charlottesville and Newport Ne^ remembering our visits to those churches during our Marchhoneymoon 45 years ago.Supper with Bob and Helen in Claudia Sanders Restaurant, Shelbyville, Kentucky. Yes, she is the wife ofthe famous PYied Chicken Colonel.

Sharing in the first "sit-down dinner," taking the firstbaths and helpingto installthe newkitchen sinkin thehome that Dave and SylviaSmith are in the final stagesofbuilding (mostlywith theirown hands) in Gumming,Iowa. (3 of our children now live in different housesthan when we visited them in 1989.)A dinner party for 17 at the Nishimura home in DesMoines. Most of them sat on the floor Japanese-style.He works for Bridgestone Tire Co. and they attend thechurch regularly. They brought Japanese friends tomeet us at the church.

Dinner with Jnpanaae etudenta in Niehimum home, W. Dee Moinee, Iowa.

- An Oriental meal and Thursday p.m. meeting at VerdeValleyChristian Churchin Cottonwood, Arizona, wherewe met Jimmy Hammond, son of a former missionaiyhere and now the minister there where Lois' sister,Dorothy, and her husband, Alex, are active members.

- In the Phoenix airport, meeting Akifumi Hirota, aMejirodai member who is presently studying at Arizona State University, and Mr. and Mrs. Lester LeMaywho visited us in July, 1991 on the way to Korea to visitthe work for which they have been forwarding agentsfor some years.

- Children canying flags of many nations in a parade atthe start of the worship service in Yuma during theirmissionaiy rally. Hearing Walt Ridgely tell about hisplans to be a well-drilling missionary in Laos.

- Sitting in Danny's spa in the backyard under southernCalifornia stars.

- Over 800 present on Sunday morning for a specialworship service and chicken box lunch under a largetent in the parking lot at Napa, California.

It seems to us that the biggest change in ourchurchesduring the past few years is in the area of music style:more chorus singing, and many that we hadn't heardbefore, and less using of hjrmn books; more guitars,drums, etc., and less organ; more volume and less 4-partharmony. Some of these things are coming into Japan,but itwill be a long time before the people here singas fastas they do in the U.S.

Several things were very encouraging during thisbrief trip to the U.S., though the number of churches wasnot so many and they were widely scattered:

1. The size of the congregations. Five regularlyaverage above 600 for Sunday morning worship.

2. The large number of children and young peoplegives hope for the 2ist centuiy.

3. The Missionary Committees were generally well-informed about what is going on in the world,cultural differences, various problems connectedwith the work of mission, and business-like aboutfinancial matters.

One final and important thing is to express a word ofthanks for the great Christian hospitahiy we enjoyed.Before we left, some of the Japanese friends expressedconcern about howwe could afford such a longstayin theU.S. "You will bo spending a fortune in hotel billsl" Wehadn't thought of that, and didn't need to. We spent 22nights in the homes of our 4 children, 15 nights in thehomes of our brothers and sisters, 4 nights in the homesof Missionaiy Committee members, and 11 nights in thehomes of personal friends. One night was spent in ahotel, but that was paid for by a church that thought wemight like to have a night by ourselves to relax andprepare for the Lord's Day. This relaxed sitting in livingrooms and around the dining table and just talking andlistening was a greater blessing us than many may realize, because the life of a missionaiy in another culturedoes not include very much of that kind of time sharing.I am sure most of you were not aware that you wereentertaining angels when we with all of our baggagecame in, but Hebrews 13:2 says something like that.Thanks again to all who took lots of time and trouble tomeet us at airports, help carry the heavy bags, took us tomeals at various memorable places, planned programsand things for us to see and do. May God reward youabimdantly, as you have blessed our lives again.

-Harold and Lois

SPRING CAMP IN SHINSHU

At times itwas called a '^varm winter," but most ofthisspringhas been cooler than usual. Anothersnow fell justbefore the camp was scheduled on March 25, and therewas some doubt that peoplewould be able to get there, buta rain washed it away and the camp was held, with a totalattendance of near 50 people for 3 nights and 4 daysduring the middle of the spring break in all Japaneseschools, which begins the new academic year in April.

Paul Pratt, Tim Turner and Harold Sims, who usuallyparticipate, were all in the United States at that time thisyear, so the planning and leadership fell to the 3 yoimgerJapanese preachers in the Tokyo area - Daiki Kishimotowho recently came to Mejirodai church, HiroshiNishiyama of Sanobara church in Isehara, and KenseiYokomizo of Yokosuka. David Cole took an active part,and brought several yoimg people from his work inSaitama.

The Spring Camp

Bible Drama about the man bom blind In John 9.

Bro. Taninari, the camp manager, who would normally be doing all ofthe cooking, was not well at the time,so Yuka Nishiyama and Yoshie Yokomizso did a lot of thekitchen work. These 3 young couples are all good supporters of the camp, and have helped in various ways inprevious years.

Since our return to Japan, we watched a video thatwas taken of the Bible dramas performed by the variousgroups on the final night, and we recognized the faces ofmost of the campers and really enjoyed their dramatizations of the various Bible stories. Everyone who wentfrom Mejirodai whom we have talked to says they had agood time, and we are glad.

Pray for the family camp coming up May 1-3 (GoldenWeek), and the several planned during the summervacation and early fall.

THE DAY OP RESURRECTION

Thewords ofthe old hymn byJohn ofDamascus cometo mind as we sit here thinking over the events of a fully,happy and blessed day here in Mejirodai, on the eveningof the second Lord's Day following our return from theU.S. trip.

We got up a little before 6:00 a.m. and walked to thelocal park in time for the Sunrise Service at 6:30. Sevenpeople gathered there for a hjnnn, reading of Matthew 28and short prayers by each one in the circle. Paper boyswere going by on their motorcycles, and nurses walkedtoward their shift in the hospital nearby. The weatherwascloudy, and light rain began falling just as we finished.Most of the group came up to our house for scrambledeggs and to make the last minute preparations for theservices to follow.

There were 10 children forSimday School, which wasa little above the average for this month. They were verysurprised to find an egg or 2 hidden in the church and, ofcourse, we had a little hunt hastily organized by Pennywhen weather changed plans for the activity in the yardoutside. Most of them stayed for the church service,because their mothers would be coming.

By the time the worship service got into the secondsong, we had a total of 61 adults in the small chapel (overthe regular capacity- chairs in the aisles, and doors to theentrance-wayopened, but all Japanese are used to crowds)and 11 children in Penny's Jimior Church class as well as4 very small children in the auditorium with their mothers. For the first time in months, Lois' Ladies Chorus sangspecial music. Then after the sermon Minami kun (appellation for active teen-age boys) made the good confessionand was baptized into Christ. He had expressed thedesire to become a Christian at camp about 3 years ago,but his mother had strenuously objected that he was tooyoimg. (His father died several years ago very suddenlyof a heart attack.) He kept coming to church services,young people's meetings and camp faithfully, and shefinally said he could be baptized when he entered a good

High School. He accomplished that difficult feat earlierthis month; his older sister and mother were present inthe service to witness his baptism this morning, themother for the first time in her life. We had 5 yoimgpeople from the Sayama church visiting in church todayin order to see their friend's baptism, too.

Mrs. Kishimoto had made some preparation to serverice cuny to the young people for lunch because most ofthem had said they would stay and go with us to the city-wide Easter service in our city auditorium at 2:30 p.m.But some adults said theyalso wanted to stay and go withus, and meanwhile Ithad begun to rain steadily. Lois andPenny helped and they managed to feed 28 people forlunch - about twice the number she had planned for.Then we loaded up into 5 cars for the short trip to themeeting. This is the 17th year in which all the Protestantchurches in Hachioji city (about 20) have cooperated inthis event.

The preacher for today was a veiy capable speakerwho used no pulpit or notes. He is familiar to manybecause he preaches for a Christian Radio programregularly and has also appeared on TV at different times,buthe also is the pastorof a growing church in downtownTokyo.

A combined children's chorus and adult chorus from

several of the churches sang special music, and thenthere was a 15-minute mini-concert by Mrs. Domen fromour own Sayama Church of Christ. Her accompanist isalso a member of this same church. Mrs. Domen was led

to Christ 40 years ago by former Okinawa missionaryHarlan Woodruff. A severe case of measles at age 3 lefther totally blind, but she overcame that handicap andstudied music. We were present at her marriage manyyears ago to a fine Christian young man, and they nowhave 5 children, the oldest 2 of whom are now married,and she now has 2 grandchildren. But her voice is stillstrong and her testimony is moving. There was greatapplause when she finished singing a number of songsafter her testimony.

The Lord is Risen Indeed. We have seen his life and

power and work today.

NEWS NOTES

The third full year of classes at American ChristianCollege began onApril 15, with 4 full-time and 1 part-timenewstudents and 4 full-time and 2 pait-time moving up tothe second year level. Three ofthe newfull-time studentsare Christians, and the other is interested in learningmore about the Bible. Harold Sims is teaching thefreshman course Old Testament Survey during this termevery Friday morning.

Jonathan Sims will be taking a 1-year furlough fromhis work at the Joel Home beginning in mid-July. He willbe living in Cincinnati, Ohio and continuing his studiesat the Seminaiy there, working toward a Master of Divinity degree. He will be available for speaking appointments on weekends within reasonable driving distanceand happy to visit churches and classes to tell about thework he has been doing.

Paul and Kathleen Pratt returned to their work in

Isehara on March 9, after about 8 months of furlough inthe United States.

Bill and Betty Turner will be retiring to the UnitedStates later this year. Bill was preaching at the MachidaChurch while their son, Tim, and his family were onfurlough. Bill suddenlybecameill and thought it was bestto return to the United States for rest and medical treat

ment right away. A hastily-arranged farewell meetingwas held at the Machida church on Sunday afternoon,March 15, and he left Japan on March 18. Preachers andmissionaries in the area are filling the pulpit until Timreturns in September.

Part of the group attending the farewell meeting for Bill Turner inMachida church on March 15.

Daiki and Masumi Kishimoto were able to find a

suitably located and priced apartment in the section ofthe city adjoining Mejirodai, and the church helped themto rent it from April 1. After the Simses returned on April7, they began moving their belongings into the new placeand completed most of the move on Sunday afternoon,April 12, with several of the young men helping. A newdiscount store in our area opened on April 9, and theybought some essential household items at the specialsale there, which helped a lot.

Mr. Kishimoto and Mr. Sims are preaching on alternate Sundays at the Mejirodai church. Mr. Kishimoto hasbeen accepted as a part-time graduate student at Tol^roUnion Seminary in the field of Church Histoiy and goesthere several days a week.

Mr. ajtd Mrs. Stanley Buttray (retired), RD. 2, Box 180, Meadville,PA 16335.

Mr. and Mis. Andrew Pstton (retired), #6 Tanglewood, Carl Junction, MO 64834. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mra. Ralph Morford, RL2.Box4i3.Knlghtatown.IN 46148.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejlrodedo, Hachloli-ehl, Tokyo193Japan. Forwarding Agent: First Church of Christ, 315 E. OrangeAvenue, Eustis, FL 327264104.

Two year donation—$.50Donation A Flaming Torch—$1.00

Tokyo Christian (USPS 776-320)

Published four times a year in January. April, July, and Novemberfor the miseionarles of the Church of Christ, Cunningham Mission,Tokyo, Japan by Mission ServiceB Association, 7525 Hodges FerryRoad, Knoxville, TN 37020-0731. POSTMASTER Send addresschanges toTokyo Christian, c/o MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION,PO Box 2427, KnoxviUe, TN 37001-2427.

Before you move, please send the mailing label with a copy of your new address toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION. PO Box 2427, Knoxville. TN 37001-2427.

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

Volume 91 July 1992 Number 3

SIMS' NEWSA BUSY SUMMER

As this Is being written (July 9) it looks like it willcertainly be another busy summer for us here in Tokyo. Theschools in Japan only have about 40 days of vacation everysummer, beginning around July 20. This allows the missionaries, most of whom teach English at home and many inschools, some free time for travel and variety in activity thatgives some spiritual refreshment even though it could not becalled in any sense a vacation. Some of the missionariesmake short trips to the U.S. during this time, but not everyyear.

Already last Sunday evening, July 5, the Isehara Churchinvited other churches in the area to a musical program andwelcome for Paul and Kathleen Pratt's daughter, Lydia, and3 of the Pratt grandchildren who had come from Ohio for avisit. Sixty-three people were present, and we enjoyed eatingKentucky Fried Chicken box lunches in the yard during abreak in the rain, as well as many special musical numbersand some singing together.

The Dale Wilkinson family arrived in the Toljyo areaabout the same time. Prof. A1 Hammond and a small groupfrom San Jose (California) Christian College will get here onthe 20th, and a fellowship meeting with them is planned forSunday, July 12. Later in the month, Bobby Snyder, a Cincinnati Bible College student is due to arrive.

The All-Japan Convention of our Christians is to be heldthis year on the Island ofTanegashima, south of Kagoshima.The Ikeda family will be celebrating 35 years of ministry withthe local church down there. They have been very faithful inattendingconventions at various other places, and have beenworking hard to prepare for this Convention in the far southofJapan on July 20-22. Al Hammond and his family lived onthat island and helped to establish the church there around40 years ago, and part of the purpose of this trip to Japan forhim is to be one of the convention speakers there.

Immediatelyfollowing that, the missionaries will meet inOkayama Prefecture July 22-24. This convention is beingplanned byAudrey West, Keith Summers, Daynise Hollowayand co-workers in that area.

Our summer camp will be the week of August 10-15 at ourShinshu Camp.

Several of the churches are planning 3-day VacationBible Schools during August also.

We hope to attend part of the Evangelical MissionaryAssociation Summer Conference during the week followingJuly 26 in the mountainous summer resort of Karuizawa. Ihave been asked to do some publicity for the Japan Missionary Language Institute, of which I am presently Chairman ofthe Board.

Many of those events will have already happened by thetime this paper gets into your hands, but we do ask that youremember us in your prayers regularly. There is alwayssomething going on and a need for Divine guidance andstrength.

MEJIRODAI CHURCH NEWS

We have been very thankful to be here and takepart in some of the joyous events that have takenplace during the 3 months since our return from theU.S. trip, and we know it is God's gn^ace and power atwork in answer to the prayers of many friends.

1. On Sunday, June 21, Tomoko Kasai (23) wasbaptized into Christ. She has lived most of her life ina house on the comer one block north of the church,and came to Sunday School regularly. She askedquestions like, "How old are you, Mr. Sims? Why didyou come to Japan?" seriously and persistently andannounced the answers to her classmates at the local

elementary school the next day. But she quit comingafter elementary school for some yet unexplainedreason, and we didn't see her for years. She suddenlystarted attending now and then about 2 years ago, andgradually became more regular.

Our young people's group planned an overnightBible study retreat last September at the reasonablypriced and fairly nearby Fuchu city "Youth House"and urged her to go. She was hesitant, because shewas almost the only non-Christian, but finally decided to join them, and the practical message onliving as a Christian in modem Japanese society byMr. Saito, one of our Deacons who works at ToshibaElectric Company, as well as the whole atmospheredeeply impressed her. She said to Lois on the firstSunday ofJanuary that she would like to be baptizedsometime during this year.

She graduated from Tama Art University (one of19 colleges located in our city) in March, and shortlyafter that attended the spring camp in Shinshu. Dui>ing the invitation for decisions there she expressedthe desire to be baptized into Christ. But from April1 she began her new job with the Mitsukoshi Depart-

Tomoko Kasal and Harold Sims in Mejirodai ohuroh baptistiy.

merit Store, and like all Japanese department stores theygave her one day a week off, but never on Sunday, theirbusiest day. I suggested that she could be baptized anyday of the week, but she wanted to be baptized during aregular church service, as her older sister had doneseveral years ago.

One of our members suggested that she attend aHoliness church which she knew ofthat was located near

the store and had an evening service. Shewent there, andwas very happyto make friends with the minister's daughter who is the same age as she is and to find that they hada pre-baptism class for people like her that was meetingon Sunday evening. Just about the time they were beginning to persuade her that she might have to wait 10 yearsto get a Sunday off to be baptized here, she almostmiraculously got a Sunday off, and was baptized here onJune 21. At the moment she was making the goodconfession a strong bolt of lightning struck somewherenear, jarring the whole building and causing gaspsthroughout the audience, but the baptism was carried outsafely, and the heavy rain squall ceased and the skycleared by the time the service was overand all started forhome rejoicing.

Her mother and father are both artists who lived andstudied in Paris for some years before the family camealong. He teaches in one of the art schools, as well aspainting almost daily in his studio on the second floor.We often see them walking by the door, or in the store, butthey have never been to church. The older sister workedas an artist with anotherstore for severalyears, but is nowfree-lance and able to come to church more often.

2. On Sunday, M MJune 28, Emiko Ito (on mher 13th birthday) was mbaptized. She had re-quested this aroundEaster. She grew upin our church, and we /well remember goingto see the new-bom 11 iand congratulate her . 7mother just before Igetting on the localtrain and leaving for |. ' |the airport and a sum- vmer to the U.S. • )

that summer fafter Daniel Sgradu^ Emiko Ito and Daiki KlBhimoto JusttlOU from rxlgh before baptism.School. This is the

4th child of the Ito family to be baptized here. Her fathermade a contribution of 10 songbooks to the church toexpress his joy and thanks.

Both of these young ladies stayed at the church aftertheir baptisms and spent most of the afternoon talking,playing games, and cultivating closer fellowship withother members of our youth group.

3. Since the high of 61 adults for morning worshipon Resurrection Sunday, the best attendance has been 48on Pentecost, but we have been encouraged by consistently good average attendance during May and June,when it rained almost every Sunday and yet our lowestnumber was 37. The average for the year should showsome increase again.

4. On Pentecost we traditionally have a barbecue inthe yard between the church and ourhouse. Thisyear the

^ W

M

Barbecue in the Mejirodai church yard on Pentecost Sunday, June 7, i99S.

Kumes had charge of arranging the meal and program,and were here all day Saturday buying things at thewholesale market and makingvarious preparations. Theybought hats and aprons for the staff, and we all had a verygood time of fellowship. Most of the people stayed, fillingthe yard with people of all sizes and ages.

5. We do not have many coming to the Gospel Hourmeetings 6-7 p.m. on Sundays, but we are keeping on. Iam giving them a history of the Restoration Movementevery second Sunday evening at the request of 2 or 3 ofthe college boys who have made various denominationalfriends and want to know where we fit into the picture.

6. Since April we have been having 2 prayer meetings every Wednesday, because housewives find it easyto come about 10 a.m., but difficult to come at night, butstudents and employed people wanted to meet about 8-9p.m. The combined attendance of both meetings hasbeen averaging 10-15, which is about 20% of our membership of 54, and not too bad compared with the averagechurch.

8 p.m. prayer meeting at Mejirodai.

7. Mrs. Kishimoto has started a ladies meeting forlunch together after the worship service on the secondSunday of the month, called The Lydia Meeting."

L^ia Meeting at Mejirodai.

Men eating simple meal in the Slme' dining room during I^dia Kai.

8. A brief report on the sick who have been mentioned in previous issues:

a) Mr. Ichijo was at church this past Sunday,which also was his 31st birthday. He has had 8 operations, but is nowin the longestperiod between operationshe has experienced yet. The advertising companywherehe works allows him to go to work after the rush hour tosave stress and energy, and he can come home early if hedoesn't feel well. He recently drew a cover for a new bookwritten by one of our Japanese preachers featuring thestone tablets ofthe 10 Commandmentswhich was praisedhighly.

b) Mrs. Hara is making progress in the rehabilitation hospital; speaking well, but not walking but a stepat a time. On our last visit I asked her husband if any ofthe church people had been, and he began listing themand mentioned they had brought food for him and theworking daughter to eat also. None of them had saidanything to me about any of that quiet good work.

c) Mrs. Okada, nearing 91, remains in the hospital, but her mind is clear, and we always enjoy some goodhumor when we visit her. She knows all about the other

8 patients in her room, and they also share in our conversations.

JONATHAN SIMS

ON STUDY FURLOUGH

On July 14, Jonathan left Tokyo's Narita Airport forLos Angeles, just in time to attend the North AmericanChristian Christian Convention. Aftervisiting a few dayswith his youngest brother, he will fly across the U.S. toChesapeake, Virginia to spend some time with the LaurelAvenue Church there, which is his forwarding agent and

main supporting church.FYom there he vnll^ go to

be free to go out and visit Jonathan Simachurches who would like

to have him talk about his life and work in Japan on theweekends and during holiday times.

Jonathan came to Japan for about 7 months of internship during the last half of 1979, before graduating fromcollege, and then came as a missionary in May of 1981. Inthe 11 years he has served in Japan he has only taken 2furloughs of several months each. He has become quitegood at both spoken and written Japanese language, andhas served in the Yokosuka Church and Joel Home.

Several of his friends have suggested that he get a littlehigherdegree before he gets anyolder, so he is taking oneyear or perhaps a little more to do that at this time.

NEW OPERA

[The Ten Virgins]

On Saturday evening, May 17, the Kishimotos andSimses went downtown to see the premier performanceof a new opera. The music was written and played on thepiano byMr. Kohei Kawaguchi, the organist and an activemember of Minato Church of Christ, and a teacher ofpiano and other music subjects at one of the area univei^sities as well as a well-known concert pianist. The writerof the script was his wife, who is also a very active andzealous member of the same church. The performerswere all trained singers belonging to a group calledKeimon Kai, whose leader is also a Christian. The largehall was packed to standing room only.

As the title makes clear, the story and music iscentered on the parable that Jesus told. There was achorus of 10 female singers who sang and acted the partsrelated to that, but there was also a sub-plot woven inabout a young girl and her love and her going to "theteacher" to ask about part ofhis sermon onthe mount, etc.It was very good original music, done in a very professional manner, and we enjoyed the evening very much.This is the second such musical production this couplehas done.

NEWS NOTES

The first term at American Christian College endedon July 10. On July 7, Mrs. Tanal, the school secretary,and two of the students left for the United States. Theywill be taking a short summer course at Milligan College,and the students will be looking over the school there.Following this they will visit several places in the UnitedStates briefly, including seeing some former A.C.C. stu-

American Christian College students and teachers on April 15, 19B2,beginning the third year.

dents now studying there. Jonathan Sims will escortthem to Williamsburg, Virginia andWashington, D.C. forthe few days they are in that area.

This year we had a veiy small Golden Week Camp,with only 7 present besides Lois and me. But, we had anice, quiet campwith good talks togetherafterthe eveningservices munching cookies and drinking tea and coffee.The best thing about the camp was the attendance of 2local people: an elderly lady who is a zealous member ofan Alliance church in Tokyo, but recently moved into thecommunity near the camp because her son-in-law, who isa doctor in one of the large prefectural hospitals built ahome for the family there, and a young lady who nowworks in Tokyo but used to attend Sunday School whenthe Pattons lived and worked at the camp. She was backhome for the GoldenWeekvacation. Manyof the farmingpeople in that area know about the Christian Camp andcan direct people to it, but they don't come to hear thegospel messages.

The non-instrumental churches of Christ in Japanhave an annual 3-day gathering of their preachers andmissionaries where they study together about some designated subject or a portion of Scripture. We know anumber of them, and have had various contacts throughthe years. This year we were specially invited, becauseBro. Nakano - the Church History Professor in our OsakaBible Seminary - was the speaker. His subject was thehistorical background ofThomas Campbell and the Dec

laration and Address. Bro. Kishimoto and Ikeda and I

went, and had a veiy good fellowship with about 30 ofthese brethren. The meetingwas held in a YMCA facilityup in the mountains about a 3-hour drive from here.

Motonobu Ikeda and his wife and 1-year-old son returned in June from a year of study at Abilene ChristianUniversity where he received an accredited Master's Degree that will qualify him as a teacher anywhere here inJapan. He also studied 2 years at Cincinnati ChristianSeminary, after graduating from Osaka Bible Seminary.He is the youngest son of the minister of NishinoomoteChurch in Tanegashima where this year's Conventionwill be held. On the weekend of July 4th and 5th, Bro.Kishimoto went back to the Megumi Church of Christ inTakarazuka, near Osaka, where he ministered beforecoming to Mejirodai and participated in the ordinationand installation of Bro. Ikeda as the minister there. He

will be working with the George Beckman family.

Shigeru Akada and his wife, who minister with theOnta Church in Tolyo, went on their first visit to theUnited States during the latter half of May. For a goodnumber of years they took care of Mrs. Akada's parents(Mr. & Mrs. Abe who used to preach in Okayama Prefecture) who were very infirm. Mr. Abe passed away someyears ago, and after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, Mrs. Abe died during this past Christmas season.An older sisterwent to America and married there a goodnumber of years ago. So they wrote and invited them tocome to Colorado and visit them. Since their only sonentered college this spring and they were now free fromthe responsibility of caring for the aged parents, theythought this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Mr. and Mrs. Itagaki, who minister at Nakano, havenow become grandparents. Their son, who is a middle-school teacher in Chiba Prefecture, borderingTolyo, andhis wife (second daughter of the Kishis who minister inHiroshima) had a baby girl on May 28.

We have 4 younger ministers in the Tolyo area nowwho are very actively involved in the work of ShinshuBible Camp. I met with them in June to plan for thesummer camp, but they are making most of the decisionsand getting out the advertising. And they and their wivesgo to the camp and actually do the work in the kitchen andother places. Several of the younger missionaries areabout the same age, so we feel the future of the camp willbe in good hands.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray (retired), RD. 2. Box 160, Meadville,PA 10335.

Mr. and Mra. Andrew Fatten (retired), #6 Tanglewood, Carl Junction, MO 64834. Forwarding Agent: Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Morford, Rt.2, Box 413, Knightstown, IN 46148.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Sims. 303-7 Mejirodaio, Haohioji-shi. TokyoIBSJapan. Forwarding Agent: First Church of Christ,319 E. OrangeAvenue. Eustls, FL 32728-4104.

Two year donation—3.50Donation & Flaming Torch—$1.00

Tokyo Christian (U8PS 776-320)

Published four times a year in January, April, July, and Novemberfor the missionaries of the Church of Christ, Cunningham Mission,Tokyo. Japan by Mission Services Association, 7525 Hodges FerryRoad, Knoxville. TN 37020-6731. POSTMASTER Send address

changeBtoTokyoChrislian.c/o MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION.PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37001-2427.

Before you move, please send the mailing label with a copy of your new address toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37001-2427.

Form3579 Requested,POBOX2427,Knoxville,TN 37901-2427.

Tokyo[xm-~

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

Volume 91 November 1992 Number 4

SIMS' NEWS

SHINSHU BIBLE CAMP

Our annual young people's camp was held this pastsummer the week of August 10-15, which is in the middleof the summer vacation season for the whole nation.

We think we will try for a time earlier in August next year,because the roads were too crowded with holiday trafficto make the rather long trip enjoyable. We left here with2 cars full of young people, luggage, guitars and programs, song-sheets, etc., shortly after 9 a.m. on Mondaymorning, and after eating lunch at a service area alongthe expressway, got to the camp soon after 3 p.m.; 6 hoursfor a trip of a little over 100 miles.

This year we tried a new idea which I think was veiygood. The first part ofthe week (Monday-Thursday noon)was mainly programmed for first-time campers, with anevangelistic emphasis. The latter part (Thursday - Satui>day noon) was mainly programmed for College-Careeryoung people who are already Christians and veterans ofthe camp and now need and desire training in Christianliving and leadership. Three college students fromMejirodai church and 3 from other area churches helpedwith the planning and music and also served as teamleaders, room chairpersons, etc., and should be countedas staff members during the early part of the week. Wegave them some discount in their camp fees for that time.All of them stayed as campers for the latter part of theweek.

Theyounger set of Japanese preachers who were at Shinshu Bible CamponAugUBtl4. (L.toR.): Bro. Ikeda, recently returned from graduate study inthe U.S. and preacher at Megumi church in Takarazuka; Bro. Nishiyama,preachingat Sannobarachurch in leehara, cooperatingwith Paul and KathleenPratt; Bro. Taninari. director/manager of Shinshu Bible Camp; Bro. Ishii,preacheratKoteeashi church inTokorozawa city, nearTokyo; Bro.Yokomizo,preacher at Yokosuka church; and Bro. Kishimoto, preacher at Mejirodai.

This year the camp manager, Bro. Taninari, who livesthere with his family all through the year, brought theevening messages during the earlier part of the week.The theme was "Streng^th Out Of Weakness," and themessages were on the level that young people who hadnever heard a Bible message could easily relate to. Heseemed to really enjoybeing free from kitchen duties andother usual responsibilities this time and being able topreach to and fellowship with the young folks. PennyBoggs, who has had some years of experience working incamp kitchens, both in the U.S. and at Shinshu, was incharge of the meal planning and preparation this year.She was assited by Mrs. Betty Turner, Mrs. Ruth Hlnsonand Miss Masumi Naka. There were many favorablecomments about the meals from everyone.

There were several people who should be mentionedwho were able to attend the camp only part of the time.Bobby Snyder, who has finished the first year of study inCincinnati Bible College and is considering being amissionary to Japan was visiting the country briefly forthe first time, spent less than 2 days at the camp. Butduring that time, he spent several hours with a gasoline-powered cutter removing tall grass from a steep hillside.Jason Craft, a graduate of Roanoke Bible College, who Isworking with Bill Belew and others as a tentmaker inNiigata prefecture, came to see what the camp was likeand participated In a ping-pong tournament organized tohelp pass a rainy afternoon. Also there were 3 exchangestudents from Hong Kong. One of them lives in TanabeCity, and was invited to attend the camp by the Hinsons.She, in turn, invited 2 of her friends. They knew someJapanese language and also some English, but didn't geteverything that was said in either language. One of ouryoung staff ladies is a student of Chinese language andhas visited there, so she helped them by sitting besidethem and translating the messages. Finally, one of thestudents from Osaka Bible Seminary, Izumi Niro, camefor the week and contributed to the camp as a team leader,etc., while giving some publicity for the school.

We had a total of 16 Jr. High Schoolers and 8 Collegestudents, plus the 3 Chinese girls. The Hinsons broughta total of 10 students from down in Wakayama Prefecturewhere they work, and for most of them, it was their firstcamp experience. They traveled 16 hours, making 3changes on local trains to get to the camp. This is becausethatwas byfarthe cheapestway, as the NationalRailwayshad a summer program of a ticket good on any local trainfor any distance for a set amount of about $19.00. Theyenjoyed the mountain scenery of a part ofJapan they hadnot seen and a lot of good fellowship along the way. Partof our prayer and goal for the camp this year was to getmore of the low-teen group interested in camp. This year

that turned out to be the largest group. This may be thelast year for several of our Mejirodai young people whohave been to camp for about 10 years because they will begraduating from University next March and going intoemployment. But theyare verygrateful for what the camphas meant to their Christian life.

Two of the High School students who attended camplast summer and especially enjoyed the music learned toplay the guitar during the year and were able to stand upin front of the group and accompany the songs. I didn'teven know that one ofour Mejirodai girls could playuntilI saw her doing it there. One attraction of the camp is therousing singingin the evenings, as newgospel music wasintroduced by the Kumes and others.

I brought a carload home on Thursday after the firstpart of the camp, so was not there for the second part. Iunderstand it consisted mainly of Bible study in smallgroups where they learned together how to read, question and discuss Bible passages and applications to dailylife. Bro. Ishii, of the Kotesashi church, was the mainspeaker for that camp. Some ofouryoungpeople thoughtit was really profitable. One girl from Mejirodai, whoattended for the first time, brought 3 of her friends to ourJr. High Class at church yesterday morning (Aug^ust 23).

We thank all of you for your prayers, support andencouragment of the camp. We miss the Pattons there,and praythat the Lord ofthe Harvest will raise up workersto keep the camp going.

YEARLY CONVENTIONS

llfi

The 43rd annual Convention of our

Japanese Christians was held last sum-mer, July20-22. Themostunusualthingaboutthisonewastheplace-thesmall |island called Tanegashima, which is a |part of Kagoshima prefecture, but quitea distance out in the sea toward

Okinawa. For over 35 years there hasbeen an active church of Christ and

kindergarten in the main city ofTanegashima down there. Bro. Ikeda PNtS" '̂ -"11^^and some of this family usually attendthe Conventions, no matter where theyare held. This year is the 35th anniver- _sary of his ministry with the churchthere, so he wanted to have a once-in-a-lifetime gatheringofourbrethren at hisplace. Many of our folks wanted tomake a once-in-a-lifetime trip to thatpart of Japan, which is rather well-known to all, but not visited by verymany of the Japanese people.

There were several unusual thingsabout this convention:

l.This the the place where guns were first introduced to Japan over 400 years ago. They used tobe called "blunderbuss" and various othernames.

Usually they are only fired at the yearly commemoration festival, but they arranged a specialdemonstration firing for the special convention

Barbecue breakfast in the garden of the Convention Hotel.

The local church choir singing at the banquet of the 43rd Convention inTanegashima.

visitors.

2. This is the location of the Japanese Space Center- like Cape Kennedy in the U.S. Those whowished to see that were taken by bus.

3.The mayor of the city gave a welcome address.We don't usually rate that.

4.The Convention Hotel was brand new, and justopened in time for this Convention which was itsfirst meeting.

The attendance this yearwas smallerthan usual(around 200 from outside of the island), but themain reasons for that were the distance and ex

pense of getting there and the fact that the dateswere during the week when many working peoplecould not get time off. There were over 10 peoplewho went from Tokyo, including Bro. Kishimotoand Mr. and Mrs. Kume from Mejirodai.

The main eveningspeakerswere A1 Hammond,who was the missionary who began the work thereabout 40 years ago and has been a professor at SanJose Christian College for a number of years; Mr.Sakae, who became a Christian while living on theisland, but is now president of an Interdenominational Bible Institute near Nara, Japan; and Bro.Oda, the professor of Greek and New Testament atOsaka Bible Seminary. Many others took various

parts on the program, including the youngest son of theIkedas who recently returned from graduate study in theU.S. and is the new minister of the Megumi (Grace)church near Osaka. Next year's Convention is scheduledfor Kobe, about the same time of the year. A largeattendance is expected.

MISSIONARY CONVENTION

The missionaiy convention this year was held immediately following the Japanese one, July 22-24. Only a fewattended both. There were a total of 43 adults and 10

children in attendance. There were 9 older folks there

who had been in Japan for 40 years. A1 Hammond's daysin Japan go back to almost that long ago. But, to all of us,the most encouraging things were: 1. the good group ofyounger missionaries, and 2. the presence of several ofour non-organ using brethren. Some of the young peoplewere missionaiy interns in Japan for the summer, but areholding out the possibility of returning as careermissionaries. Also, several English-speaking Japanese peoplefrom Bible classes taught by Convention hosts, AudreyWest or Keith Summers, were present and enjoyed thefellowship.

The main speaker this year vf&s Bro. Jim Taylor fromRiverlawn Church in Wichita, Kansas. He and his wife,Marj, are good friends of Audrey. The church in Wichitapaid their way. They fit right in and made a good contribution.

Don and Norma Bumey were there for probably theirlast time, as they were in the final stages of preparationsfor going to Russia. After Don made an interesting talkabout experiences there thus far and their reasons formaking this move at this time, an offering was taken tohelp them financially in the move.

Dale and Peggy Wilkinson were back in Japan for avisit, and also Rick and Lydia Coyle (daughter ofPaul andKathleen Pratt) and their family attended the last part ofthe convention. We rode down with the Pratts in their car,followed by the Turners and Wilkinsons in their car. Wecame home on the bullet train. One of the JapaneseChristian ladies took us to Okayama City in her car,stopping by a farmer's market on the way so we could buya box of delicious peaches at a wonderfully low price.Okayama is peach country, the origin of the famous taleabout "Momotar." It was also the peak of the season.

TMCA

Fellowship meeting of non-instrumental churches of Christ and ourmissionaries and Japanese preachers. Bro. Nakano. Professor of ChurchHistoiy at Osaka Bible Seminary, was the speaker. (Middle of first row.)

JESUS' ALL-STAR TEAM

—byPennyBoggs

The Japanese are, among otherthings, greatbaseballfans. When we decided to adapt Standard Publishing's"Team Up With Jesus" lessons this year for our VacationBible School at Mejirodai, it was met with great enthusiasm. Because it was also an Olympic year, the idea ofbeing on Jesus' All-Star Team and working towards amedal, or in the Christian's place, heaven, seemed veryappropriate. All of our Bible stories, songs, crafts, andextras (like attendance stickers and object lessons) werebuilt along these themes.

Summer vacation is short and often crammed with

trips to grandparents' houses, outings with the family,and even some school activities, so it is often difficult tofind even 3 days when the majority of the children canattend VBS. This year seemed to be particularly difficultand we even had to change the dates at the last minute,but finally settled on July 29-31. Then another problemhad to be overcome - some of the children still had this

and that scheduled during the morning hours. Solution?Have an evening VBS. So, for the first time ever, theMejirodai Church VBS was held in the evening.

The teenagers passed out leaflets in the immediateneighborhood and, as a result of their efforts, 2 little girlscame to church for the first time in their lives. Alongwiththem were 16 of our regular Sunday School children.Although attendance varied from night to night, a total of18 different kindergarten - 6th graders came.

Even though the language is different, the childrenvary little from American children. VBS here is much thesame as it is at home. Our program included songs, aBible lesson, workbooks, crafts, snacks, and, of course,play time. Daiki Kishimoto, the minister at Mejirodai,presented the Bible lesson each evening. Sayuri Kume,professional Christian musician, taught the childrensome new songs and also helped with a class. Others whoso willingly helpedwere Masumi Kishimoto, Akiko Tsuda,Makiko Tsuda, Akiko Fukuda and Ikuo Yukawa. MasumiNaka, ayoungChristianwoman who helps at the MachidaChurch of Christ, was responsible for translatingStandard's workbooks into Japanese and did a fantasticjob. Needless to say, we could never have VBS without thesupport and encouragement of Harold and Lois Sims.

In addition to the regular evening programs, we helda mini-Olympics in the afternoon of the final day. After

Bro. Kishimoto telling the Bible story at Mejirodai VBS.

marching aroimd the park with the Olympic torch andOlympic and Christian flags, we ran relay races and hada waterballoon toss. Courtesy ofPat Mackin the U.S., thechildren even had their first ever sack race competition.It was hot, hotter, hottest and eveiyone enjoyed a quickdip in the wading pool backat the church. We ate a cunyrice supper together and then began the regular eveningprogram.

Inkeepingwith the tradition set lastyear,we held ourclosingprogramthe SundayeveningfoUowingthe end ofVBS, August 2nd. Seventeen adults and 7 children werein attendance.

This year's VBS was probably the most successfulsince 1 came to Mejirodai in 1987. It is my hope andprayer that the children did indeed leam how to be All-Stars for Jesus, and will continue to strive towards thegold medal of eternal life in Christ.

NEWS NOTES

Mr. and Mrs. Kishimoto (preacher at Mejirodai) became parents of a son on September 1, their secondwedding anniversary. He was named Koh, which means"to plow or cultivate," and expresses his father's wish thathe will be used of the Lord in pioneering work in Hisharvest field. Mrs. Kishimoto had some physical problems following the birth, but both she and the baby aregetting along fine. We had a simple, but meaningful,dedication prayer immediately after the morning worship on October 4, when he visited church for the firsttime. The local congregationm also, made a generouscontribution toward the hospital expenses.

There is a severe shortage of nurses in Japan thesedays. The large hospital near Mejirodai church has anumber of Brazilian nurses living in a dormitory aroundthe comer from us. The father of one ofthem died aboutthe end of July. She felt very sad and lonely and asked ifthere were a Catholic church nearby. The hospital staffsent her to Mejirodai church and Bro. Kishimoto hadprayer for her and arranged a service for the following

Simday evening. Meanwhile he went to the Japan BibleSociety and bought a parallel Portugese and JapaneseNewTestament and ordered some tracts in the Portugeselanguage from anotherchurchwhichhe had heard ofthathad a program for people from Brazil. The bereaved ladyand 7 of her friends came to the church that night, and 2speci£tl services have been held for them since.

Tim and Lisa Turner returned to Japan on September5 after a 7-month furlough in the U.S. Mrs. BettyTurner,who had been taking care of the Machida church workand classesatnearbyOberlin College and H.S., left for theU.S. on September 16 to join her husband who rathersuddenly retired to the U.S. last March because of illness.

Fifteen people attended the Senior Citizen's CampSeptember 13-15. Bro. Hideo Fukuda was the speaker,outlining his 40 years in the ministry into 4 periods ofabout 10 years each and giving some very interestinginformation about his life and thought as well as encouragement to live by simple tmst in God.

COMING EVENTS

November 2, 3 Aimual "Seed-Sowing Meeting" atOsaka Bible Seminary.

November 15 45th Anniversary of Sims' arrival inJapan.

November 22, 23 Overnightwhole-church fellowshipouting of Mejirodai.

November 29 Fifth-Sunday Rally at Minatochurch. (An attempt to restartthese meetings after a 1-yearlapse.)

December 13 Young People's Christmas Parly.

December 20 All churches will have their Christmas Programs.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray (retired), RD. 2, Box 180, Meadville,PA 16335.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Fatten (retired), #6 Tanglewood, Car! Junction, MO 64834.

Mr.and Mrs.Harold Sims, 3-33-7 Mejirodai, Haohioji-shi,Tokyo 103Japan. Forwarding Agent: First Church of Christ, 315 E. OrangeAvenue, Eustis, FL 32726-4194.

Two year donation—$.50Donation & Flaming Torch—$1.00

Tokyo Christian (USFS 776-320)Published four times a year in January, April, July, emd November

for the missionaries of the Church of Christ, Cunningham Mission,Tokyo, Japan by Mission Services Associedion, 7525 Hodges FerryRoad, Knoxville, TN 37920-9731. POSTMASTER Send addresschanges to TokyoChrisUan, o/o MISSION SERVICESASSOCIATION,PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

Before you move, please send the mailing label with a copy of your new address toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

Form 3679 Requested, PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.