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Tokyo Christian'Co ye Into aU the world and preach the gospel to every creature' Mark 16:15

AprU 1995Volume 94

Kobe EarthquakeAftermath

The biggest ofmany earthquakesto hit Post World War II Japan happened early in the morning of January 17, just a few days after I sent offmateri^forthepreviousTokyo Christian. I am sure that most ofyou haveseen pictures on TV and read in various places information about thenumbers of lives lost, buildings destroyed, disruption oftransportationand utility lines, etc., and so will notreviewthat again here. But I do wantto give a brief description of the response to the emergency situationthat I have seen on the part of a few ofour Christians here.

There were 260 Christian

churches of all denominations lo

cated in the area affected by thetremor. Rather remarkably, only 10ofthesewere destroyed, though manyhad cracks in walls and other damage. Among those relatively lightlydamaged were the 6 in our group -one on Awaji Island, and 5 in thegreater Kobe area. Osaka BibleSeminary's 3 buildingswere not damaged at all. Among the thousands ofhomes destroyed were severalbelonging to our Christian brethren, andone family is being housed in theSeminaiy dormitory rooms for now.We thank God the quake did nothappen 2 hours laterduringthe morning rush hour, and that many peoplewere able to get to shelters and safety.

Within minutes after the quake,some of the area chiirches which

were still standing became refugecenters, taking in people who had noshelterfrom the cold and didn't know

what to do in the state of shock, confusion and loss. Within hoiirs some

youngChristianvolunteers appearedin the streets offering to help peoplein any way needed, wearing nametags identifying themselves.

The next Simday our church puta box in the entrance hall marked

[Contributions for Kobe Earthquake

oonUnued on page 3

SIMS' NEWS

Sarin (Nerve) Gas inTokyo Subways

Early in the morning of March20,1 left for Osaka for a Councillor's

meetingattheSeminazythere. WhenI got to the school shortlyafter noon,I learned that nerve gas had beenreleased in several subway stationsin downtown Tokyo during the rushhour that morning, causing manyhospitalizations and several deathsand much comment in the news since

then.

The next day the police beganinvestigations of one of the new religions that had received some publicity recently because of its rapidgrowth inJapan and Russiaandothercountries - Aum (Hindu or Sanscritword connected with the Divine)Truth. As the police made repeatedraids on the religious buildings inuntil now unheard of and remote

rural areas near Mt. Fuji and in offices and apartment buildings in

ooDtinued on page 3

Number 2

Spring Youth Campin Shinshu

Again this yearouryoungpeople(Jr. & Sr. High, College ages) enjoyeda good time at our Shinshu BibleCamp during the vacation betweenschoolyears,March28-31. Wehadatotal of 41 in attendance, includingseveral preachers and leaders. Thisdid not include 3 ladies from 3 different churches who helped Bro.Taninari in the kitchen-relatedwork.The attendancewas a little belowlastyear, but we were encouraged that anumber of first-timers were amongthem (personal friends thathad beeninvited byprevious campers) and thatthere were several seventh graders(who hadbeenwaitingforthe chanceto go to the camp.) Three of the 7riding in my car were among thesefirst-timers. Six different churches,including one in Nagano and one inNiigata prefecture,were represented.

The main speakerwas Bro. Shim-

oontlnued on page 2

Spring Youth Camp in Shinshu

continued from page 1

abukuro, one of our younger and more activepreachers in Okinawa. All of the song leading,team leading, and indoor recreation directingwas done by yoimg people who have been atCamp a number of times in the past, and theywere well-prepared and did a good job. Thetheme was about Jesus' Disciples and our Dis-cipleship, and most songs, games, Bible studies, etc., were connected with that. Karis Pratt(granddaughter of Paul and Kathleen Pratt)was the song leader, and her 2 brothers, Casonand Clinton (very tall high school boys now)were also at the camp during a short visit backto Japan after 8 years in the U.S. Singing wasaccompanied by 3 of the young people on guitars. The Bible dramas on Paul, Peter, andJohnwere excellent. The morning devotions anddiscussion times after the evening meetingswere also done in the small team groups, making it a verywell-organized camp. I noticed thatthe newgirls riding in my car during the 4-hourreturn trip had memorized all of the songs,including a couple in English. They sang happily and loudly, "God is mylock" (Japanese wayof pronouncing "rock").

Biiiifl group on the way to camp.

The campground was covered with snowwhen we arrived there, but it had all melted bythe time we left. The one outing was in acaravan of 6 cars to a hot spring about 15minutes' drive away, where all enjoyed a goodsteamy bath.

Mrs. Tsuda was one of the kitchen helpersat this camp. On the morning of March 29 shementioned to me thatherson, Shingo, had beenbaptizedbyme in the nearby riveron that day 11years ago. He has now completed 4 years inOberlin College and 2 years in Osaka BibleSeminaiy, and will graduate and go into theministry and hopefully missionary work nextyear.

Falling Dollar, Rising Yen

Within the past 6 weeks the dollar has fallen in value at ski-slope speed to previously imbelievable lows. It is unreal. Nointervention by national banks, no statements by economists orpoliticians seems able to stop the trend. To put it inunderstandableterms, the financial assets of every American who reads this havedeclined in real objectivevalue (the value of each dollar in relationto German Marks, Japanese yen, and other major currencies hasfallen by 20%). You have had a 20% cut in the value of what youwould have for spending ifyou took a trip to anyofthese countries.Yourhotelbillwould be 20®/4higherthanyou planned on. Andwhenwe take the dollar check received monthly from our forwardingagent in Eustis, Florida to the bank here in Tokyo, they first chargeUS$10.00 (now $12.00) for cashing a riskydollar check, and then weget 20% less per doUaj- than we did last month, while prices hereremain the same except for those like toll on highways and somevegetables not yet in season, etc., that just went up.

For more than half of the time we have lived in Japan, the ratewas unchanged at 360 yen to 1 dollar. That stable rate was the basisof the post war economic recovery of Japan. To see the dollar fallto less than one-fourth of that value is shocking to us, to say theleast. Now, neither the Japanese nor the Americans seem to knowwhat to do or what is going to happen tomorrow.

Many who read this may be thinking that the purpose of this isto plead for more support. No, we have been through such timesbefore and expect to survive this. We have had some yen incomefrom English classes and from the local church for years, anddepend more and more on that. We justwantyou to be aware of thesituation - to tmderstand the solid reason why most missionariesto Japan are part-time English teachers and the depth of theirdesire and commitment to stay with the important work in Japanin spite of the frustrations and difficulties connected with it. Andwe would appreciate your encouragement and prayers for youngmissionaries and recruits for Japan who do not have contacts hereand must struggle through this problem.

Sims Children Visit Tokyo

Most people think the greatest sacrifice missionaries make islongseparation from family. Ofcoursewe have experienced plentyof this part of it, but so far this year has not been like that at aU. Theother night at supper, as Jonathan and Hope were sitting at thesupper table with us, and Lois was beaming as they wolfed downhome-cooked chicken and noodles, I suddenly realized that 4 ofour5 children had sat at this table within the past month! That isextraordinary enough to deserve a brief explanation.

Second son, Robert, and his wife, Helen, of Shelbjwille, Kentucky have wanted very much to bring their 3 children over here tovisit us before we retire, because theywant their children to clearlyremember what their grandparents did, where they lived, whatkind of people their father grewup among, and so on. So, on March3, they arrived with Joel, Amanda, andJoannah. Theyhome-schoolthe children, so vacation was no problem, and they had taken timeto leam a little about Japan and some words of the language beforethey got here.

The weatherwas stillwintery, but for 20 daj^ theyhad a varietyof visits to various places and in the homes of some of Bob's manyfriends. He also did some ofhis companybusinesswhile here. Thechildren were also able to attend 2 days at the local elementaiyschool and join in soccer games, music class and other activities.Many nights Grandpawas able to read the 3 a storybefore theywentupst^rs to bed. They also visited Nakano church smd communitywhere Bob grew up and Joel Home where Jonathan and Verla liveand work in Yokohama.

They brought big suitcases, and in them were such things as

Raisin Bran, Cheerios, Peanut Butter, etc. And Bob evenbrought a small box of tools and did some minor repairsaround the house. He got up into the chiurch attic and gotsome things down from there and gave us strong urgingto "get to packing right now and do some every day."

Theywere here in time for Lois' birthday on March 4,and for our 48th wedding anniversaiy on March 21. Onthat date a couple in our church were also celebratingtheir24th anniversary, so Bob and Helen arranged for the2 famines (total of 13 people) to go to a local restaurant fordinner and then come to our house for an evening ofmusic and talking. The Ito family are all talented at pianoand violin, so we had a very meaningful and happy time,capped off by Baskin-Robbins ice cream.

AtNakitaAlrpoit,Marob23,1995. Left to right: Hope Schmidt, Ameinda.Bob, Joel. Helen, Joannah, Harold, and Lola Sims.

Hope arranged to arrive in Tokyo the same afternoonBob and family left in order to save us one trip to theairport. It was her second visit back home in 29 yearssince she left as a high school graduate. She is here byherself for a final visit home, and we are enjoying quiettalks, Scrabble games, etc., with heras she helps Lois sortthrough pictures and things. She has also enjoyed visitsto Nakano and with other people about her age or older.

Daniel, who broughthis family for 2 weeks last fall forthe same purpose, stopped over one night while on abusiness trip April 7. Since Jonathan and Verla live inYokohama, we see them about once a month orso. We areenjoying this cheny blossom time veiy much, and keeping very happy and busy.

Kobe Earthquake Aftermath

oontinuod from pago 1

Relief] and I was quite surprised to find out that morethan $1,000 was put into it quietly during that first day. Bythe Fifth-Simday Rally at Yokosuka Church on January29, our churches in the greater Tokyo area had collectedover 1 million yen ($10,000) and some supplies of foodand clothing, and 3 of our area preachers made a tripdown there to take the gifts, offer encouragement andconsult with the local people about how to help. RecentlyI heard that the total contributed so far by our churchesin various parts of Japan and some who have sent fundsfrom the U.S. comes to well over $60,000.

An illustration ofhow this is being used might be theactivities at the Megumi (Grace) Church of Christ inTakarazuka City outside of Kobe. This is where veteran

missionaries Georgeand EthelBeckman and theirdaughter, Jenann, live and work. The building had variouscracks in the walls, etc., but afterelectricitycame backonand their life returned to somewhatnormal, theybegan tothinkabout howtheycould serve themanypeople in theircommuni^ whose houses had been destroyed and stilllived in public school gyms, etc. They decided to serve ahot lunch eveiy day and to set up a "bath" for them. Theygot a tub and arranged hot water heating by propane gasand curtained changingrooms, etc. Both of these amenities make the people feel more comfortable.

Late March and earlyApril isvacation time at schoolsin Japan, because the new school year begins about thesecond week of April. So, a series of our young peoplehave gone down there to serve a week - sleeping at nightin the church building, helping prepare the meals, liningthe people up for the baths, and urging them to use thetime effectively and get out in time for the next one, etc.This type of thing is being done in other places by othergroups also, and Christ is being glorified through theseactivities.

As I write, it is almost 3 months since the quake. Thegovernment has gotten things better organized, thousands of units of prefab housing have been built, therailroads in the area are all backin operation, the bigsteelyard has started the fires in their furnaces, and in manyways life is returning to normal. But there are still manypeople in need of help, and this will remain in the memories of all of us for a long time.

Sarin (Nerve) Gas in Tokyo Subways

ooatlnued trom page 1

majorcities,we have had continuous "revelations" oftonsof containers of dangerous gases stored here and there,pompous titles of various branches of the organization,indications of varied efforts to keep any believer fromever escaping and to get control of all the assets of everyone, but no revelations about the whereabouts of theresponsible people or what they needed all these chemicals and weapons for.

We are certainly living in a cra^and dangerous time.I have neither computer or modem nor any desire to geton the highly promoted Information Highway where aconstant stream of garbage is washed down the tube forall who wish to drink from it are free to take their fiU. Thesame can be said for a large percentage of what is calledreligion also, unfortunately.

Anyway, I am thankful to say that as far as I haveheard, none of our friends was affected by the gas thatmorningand even thoughfor a time there will be no wastebaskets available, the subwaj^ maybe betterguarded andsafer.

News Notes

TornTakatani,who graduatedfrom OsakaBible Semi-naiy on March 31, is going to be helping Warren andEileen Christianson in their work in Nagano Prefecturefrom April this year.

Hiroshi Sakasegawa, a 1993 graduate of Osaka BibleSeminaiy, who has been studying, working and helpingin theworkatMejirodai Church-all part-time for the past

Sakasegawa-San

2 years - began his workas assistantministeratbis homechurch in Nishinoomote on Tanegashima IslandApril 1.He was ordained there April 2.

Mr. and Mrs. Taninari, Shinshu Bible Camp manager, had a baby girl on March 10. Her name is Motoka.She has 4 older brothers.

Mr. and Mrs. Kishimoto moved to another apartmentin Hachioji in March. This time they are living in a city-built apartment, so the rent is almost halfwhat they havebeen paying, which saves the church a lot of money.

Emi Ito (9th grade) from Mejirodai will be going to

Harold Sims and MakikoTsudaonher'Comingof Age Da^- January 1S,1B05. She and I were bom on the same day of theyear, exaotlyonehalfoentuiyaparti

Racine, Wisconsin this summer as a part of the JohnsonWax Company home-stay program.

On March 26 Harold Sims was elected as chairman ofthe neighborhood association of Mejirodai 3 chome for 1year. This is the first time a foreigner has served in thisposition. There are 503 households in this association.

On March 24 Harold Sims finished 3 years ofteachingat American Christian College in Old Testament Introduction. The teachers and students gave bim a smallparty and a clock in recognition of his service.

Oroup at SOth anniversary celebration of Sannobara Churoh in laehara.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttr^ (retired), RD. 8, Box 180, MeadvlUe, PA16339.

Mr. and Mn. Andrew Fatten (retired), #6 Tanglewood. Carl Junction, MO64834.

Mr. and Mrs. Harold 8iniB,3-33-7MeJlrodal,HaohioJl-«hl.Tokyo 163 Jiq>an.ForwardingAgent: FirstChuroh ofCliriBt,318E.OiangeAvenue.Eustls,FL32726-4184.

One year donation—-82.00

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Published four times ayear InJanuaiy, April, July, and November forthemisslonariee ofthe Churoh ofChrist,Cunningham Mission,Tokyo,JapanbyMission Services Association, 7525 Hodges Feny Road, Knoxville, TN37920-8731. SeoondClasspostage paid at Knoxville, TN 37901-2427. POSTMASTER; Send address changes to Tokyo Christian, o/o MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION. PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37801-2427.

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Tokyo E0 Christian'Go ye Into aU the toorid and preach the goapd to every ereatttre' Mark I&IS

Volume 94 July 1995 Number 3

SIMS' NEWSThe opening night Communion Service at the North American Christian Convention occurred at 8 a.m.

Monday,Japantime. This isbeingwrittenonTuesdaymomingbefore all the reportsare in,butI cansaythatalmostevery one ofour churches in Japan mentioned this world-wide celebration during their Lord's Supper time in theSundaymorningworshipJuly 16 (Saturdaynight, U.S. time) and I have already received reports ofsmcdl meetingsat 7 different places in Tokyo and 2 in otherparts ofJapanwhere a few believers gathered at 8 a.m. Mondayto havea special commemoration together. It was rush hour on a work day in Japan, and that is a difficult time to gatherveiy many people for such a purpose.

Our Japanese Convention will close with a Communion Service on Simday, August 20 at about 11:30 a.m. inNag^3^,Japan. ThiswUlbe 9:30 p.m. on Saturdayevening,August 19 in Indianapolis. Wewould appreciateallwhowould like to reciprocate to at least remember us in prayer at that time.

50 Years Since the End of World War II

It was late in the afternoon of

August 15,1945 when all the steamwhistles on the trains in the Cincin

nati Union Station, all the factorywhistles andautomobile hornsinthe

city down below Price Hill began toblow continually. It was a great moment in the history of the world andin my own personal life, because Ihad already promised Mrs.Cunningham that I would become amissionary to Japan in the post-warerathatwas nowbeginning. I clearlyremember going to the edge of thecampus where you had a wonderfulview of the city and the Ohio Rivercurving aroimd below you, and having some long, quiet thoughts aboutthe future.

I hadgraduatedfrom highschoolin Eustis, Florida in June 1941 (oneof a class of 41 young people) andspent the waryears in Atlanta Christian College,graduatinginJune 1945.About the first of August I moved toCincinnati to begin graduate levelstudies, rooming in the old woodendormitory with long-time co-workerAndrewFatten. We were doingwhatused to be called "scholarship work"before the school term began in September-painting, cleaning, puttingtons of coal in the basement for win

ter, etc. We didnt receive cash payment, but our tuition fees were reduced by about 50 cents per hourworked,which helpedus financial^.

Now, a half-century has passed,and here we are in our 48th year ofservice in Tokyo, thankful for God'scalling and for His daily provisionfor all of our spiritual and physical

needs and His guidance, sustaininggrace and the loving support andencouragement of many faithfulprayerpartners. Ourlives have beena joy and blessing all along the wayand, while acknowledgingthat therehave been many discouragementsand problems,wewould bewillingtodo it again if that impossible choiceshould be given to us.

Living in Japan at this point inhistoryissomewhatenlighteningandinteresting, tosaytheleast. Formanyyears thewarwas notdiscussedwhenwe were present - it was too emotional and sensitive to the people.But in recent years, after getting toknow us better, many older peoplehavetoldus aboutsome oftheirexperiences and feelings; as if theywantto tell someone who would under

stand before the end of their days.Now this year the newspapers

are running many stories about "50years ago," including pictures thathelp to make that history real andimpressive to those who were notbom at that time. On March 10 and

again in May, the great B-29 air raidson Tokyo which wiped out most ofour church and mission buildingsand many lives were recalled, and inJunewe have been readingabout thebattle for Okinawa.

IntheJapaneseDiet (Parliament)thepresentpoliticalpartieshavebeendebating about some kind of statement or resolution expressing remorse or apology on the part of theGovernmentofJapanfor thelostlivesand damage done to the neighboringcountries as well as Japan itself - an

effort to bring an "end" to the war. Awatered down statement of remorse

was indeed passed, but it was farfrom a strong, unanimous, clearstatement which had been wished for bymanyJapanese aswell aswaited andexpected by the surrounding Asiannations. We have been told by manyordinary Japanese people throughthe years that they never want another war, and are thankful for theblessings that have been brought byahalfcenturyof"peace,"andwe havebeen pleased bythe clearstatementsofrepentance andreflectionbyChristian writers in Japan.

20th City WideEaster Program

On Sunday afternoon, April 16,the Hachioji CityAuditorium (about1500 seats) was well filled for thespecial program sponsored by mostof the 20-*- Protestant churches lo

cated here. Every year we have achildren'sandadultvolunteerchoirs,abignamepreacherfrom outsidethearea and some testimony or specialattraction. I have served on the fi

nance committee, and am the onlymissionaryamongthe8 localpreachers who have attended every time.

This time, part of the reason forthe unusually large crowd was theannouncementthat "Bismark,"a verypopular soccer player from Brazilwho plays for one of the leading To-

oontlnued on page 3

Mrs. Hisae Okada Passes On

Many regular readers may remember the name ofMrs. Okada, who has been mentioned nnmeroiis times invarious articles connected with Mejirodai church. Shewas like a grandmother to all of our members, andespecially our children, who visited her every time theycould. She was put into a large, well-run, modem 800-bedhospital specially designed for the elderly in the city ofOme (about 90 minutes' drive from our home) in April1988 when she developed lower back pains that made itdifficult for her to be helped up by her only living child(and her husband) with whom she had lived for about 20years up until then.

We had visited her at least once a month for the T-*-years ofher hospitalization, and each Christmas a groupofpeople from ourchurch had gone to the hospital on the25th to present a music program and smallbagofcookiesand a tract, etc. to all the patients who wished to attend- alwajrs a room full of wheelchairs with many nursesstanding and helping. We always asked them to singalong with some of the familiar carols, which they didwith joy and enthusiasm. Last Christmas, 22 of us wentandwewere all encouraged tosee Mrs. Okadasowell andhappy. Past her 93rd birthday, she could read all of theshort messages on a large card we had prepared for herwithout glasses, and she remembered the names of eachone in the group, although the children had g^own andchanged in the year since she had seen them.

But after thisyearbegan, she failed steadily. Shewasmoved to the room next to the nurses' station, and eventually was fed through tubes. Even on our final visit weare sure she knew who we were, but she was too weak tospeak to us. When om Japanese preacher called thehospital on Monday, May 15 to inquire about her theyinformed him that she had died at about 2 a.m. thatmorning.

We knewthat she wanted to have a Christian funeralin the Mejirodai Church, but her son-in-law is stronglyagainst Christianity. Of course the hospital deals withhim because he pays the bills and is the most directrelative. We waited for some word from them, and hopefully a reqpuiest to conductthefuneral, butwe are sadto saywe have yet to receive even a word about her death. Andthere was no public funeral even at the home, so even theneighbors still ask us about her.

So the followingSundaymorningduringthe worshipservicewehad a simple MemorialServiceinfond remembrance of her Christian faith and testimony. That, afterall, is the main thing - not the "ceremor^." After a longand eventful life she has gone to be with her Savior andLord.

I will briefly give you a ss^opsis of her life:Bom: September26,1901 in Tsukiji district Q.owland

near the bay) of Tokyo. As a child she attended anEpiscopal Sunday School and Kindergarten, but didn'tbecomea Christian. Shewas raised mostlybyhermother,as her father was often not at home.

Married: to Mr. Okada, a bank employee, about 1921.1. She experienced the great Yokohama Earthquake

on September 23,1923. Following her mother's instructions they fled wearing their best kimonos, becaiise atleast thatmuch ofvaluewouldbesaved. Shewas canyingher 11-month-oldfirst daughter (mentioned above) onherback as they fled to the river from the raging flames. Allthings were lost, but the lives were preserved.

Herhusband's bank sent him to various branches all

overJapan, so she had the experience oflivinginvariousplaces in Japan from the northern island of Hokkaido toKobe and other cities.

She had 3 children after the earthquake. The oldestson died while still a boy. The second son went throughKeio University, a first-class school in Tokyo, but died(probably of TB) shortly after college graduation, in theprime ofyouth. The other daughterwas asthmatic all ofher life, and died during the post-war period when foodand medicine were in short supply. She often expressedthe desire to go to church, but the family made no effortto take her.

2. The second great loss of home and almost eveiypossession was during the bombing in World War U, butshe was thankful that none of the lives of her immediatefamily were lost at that time.

^ Another trial was the long-term illness and deathof her husband. She never told us the name of hissickness, but often mentionedhowshelearnedto sleep inshort snatches while sitting up when taking care of himimtil his eventual death.

^ Yet another trial was the discoveiy that she hadbreast cancer back in 1953. She didn't want to worry herhusband or other family members, so kept the matterbetween her doctorand herselfand justwent and hadthebreast and glands removed bysurgeryand came home inthe miniTnum allowable time. She lived more than 40years after that with no recurrence, and was able toencourage several ofour church women who faced similar situations by relating her experience.

Inthe post-warperiod, afterthe deaths ofherhusbandand most ofher children, she was livingin Fuchu districtofTokyo. Whenthe Morimotos (oldest daughter's family)decided to move to Mejirodai about 1970, they asked herto sell her old house in Fuchu and pool the money withthem to buy land and build a house in this new development. Of course, she would live with them in that houseimtil the end of her days.

Soon after we and they moved to this area, Mr.Morimoto'smotheralso came to livewith themduringthesummer. (Shespentthewinterwith a daughterinwarmerKyushu island.) Old Mrs. Morimoto and the daughter inKyushu were zealous Christians, so when she saw thecross on the roof ofourchurch from her upstairs windowshe wanted to come to our services. She had shakingpalsy, and always sat in the audience shakingherhead asif saying, "no, no" during the sermons, but she enjoyedcoming. Mrs. Okada came along to "take care of the oldlady" (only a few years older than she). We were pleasedthat Ato. Okadakept comingto the services afterold Mrs.M. went back to Kyushu.

Duringan evangelistic meeting in the fall of 1972 shecame forward and made her decision to be baptized intoChrist. Shewanted the baptismto be onJanuaiy 10,1973,because that was the anniversaiy of her otherdaughter'sdeath - the one who wanted to go to church. It was a coldday and we heated buckets ofwater on the stove to tiy totake the bite out of the water. She came with a whitekimonowhichshe had sewn to wearfor the occasion, andthen afterward said she would say to her daughter, "Buiyme in this."

From that day until her hospitalization inApril 1988,she never missed a Sunday. She knew everyone in bothchurchandcommunity, andallknewher. Shelovedto eatraw fish and noodles, and knew which places made thebest ofboth delicacies in a wide area. She loved to talk, ina loud voice, all the way through the prelude before"church" started, and she won, encouraged, and admonished many to their benefit. Rev. 14:13

Easter Program

ooQtlnued from page 1

kyo teams and is famous forkneeling in prayer beforegames, was to be present. Several of our church. Sundayschool kids were anxious to gowith us, and one of them tookhis soccer ball to get itautographed. He succeeded inthat project, and it certainlymade the day for him! He gavea veiy clear testimony to hisfaith in Christ,which was translated from Spanish into Japanese and well received by theaudience.

Bro. Kishimoto was incharge ofpublicityforthis event,and was quite busy for somedays prior to the meeting, but ofcourse got to meet the star personally.

At our local church that

morning we had the best attendance of the year so far - 48adults and 6 children. Our oldest daughter, Hope, was in Japan for a visit home from March23 -April 20, so she was presentfor that day.

Akioka Yohei and Tamai Kayo WedOn April 22, these 2 young people were | ' j

marriedatthe downtownYMCAChapel. Yohei I Iwas bomthe same year Mejirodai Church be- ^ ^ Asgan, and has grown up in our Sunday school ^and chiirch. He has attended camp manytimes,contributed to the music and fun with his diyhumor and his bass guitar playing, and that iswhere he first met Kayo. He Is now employed at

Kayo is the daughter of an employee of the t ^T 1-Japanese Self Defense Forces, andbecause of |f, ^ HHHhrthat has lived in a niunber of places, includingseveral years in Australia during her school ••years. Shewas baptized into Christat one ofournon-instrumentalchurches ofChrist, andwhileattending Oberlin College got acquainted with some of our church members andmissionaries. For the past several years she has been a faithful member of ourYokosuka Church of Christ, and that preacher and his wife acted as the go-betweensfor the wedding, although theymade the decision on theirownaftera courtship thatinvolved a lot of letters and phone calls over some months. Her family are notChristians, but they were very happy about the wedding.

Harold Sims and Daiki Kishimoto jointly performed the wedding ceremony.The invitations, the large reception and eveiythingwere plannedby the couple, andwere original, thoughtful and much appreciated. Each place setting at thereception dinner had a hand-written and decorated note for the individual sittingat that place. There were well over 100 people from church, both places ofemployment, personal and school friends and relatives. The whole event was apowerful Christian influence and testimony to the young people of both churcheswho came. Itwas the first time we had seensome ofthe boys withnecktiesoni Theyare living in an apartment about 40 minutes from the church, but attend eveiySunday and take an active part.

Evangelistic Meetings The 10 Virgins] came to mind as soon as I saw the themeon their handbills.

Alot ofhandbills were distributed to mail boxes in theneighborhood and to people gettingoffthe electric trainson the 2 evenings, so they were disappointed in theattendance. An average of about 15, with only 2 newpeople. They arranged to have lunch together after theSunday morning meeting, and then rather than havepeople go home and come back in the evening, they hadthe final service at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

1. The Mejirodai had a short evangelistic meetingon Pentecost weekend, June 3 &4. The preacherwas Bro.Takekawa, who is a high school teacher in a privateChristian high school in the Kobe area where he isallowed and encouraged to have a regular Bible class, andwho also served for some years as assistant minister atthe Ono Church in that area. He is an interestingpreacherin any case, but he had some simple scientific illustrations that were very interesting to everyone and also fitinto his messages in an impressive way.

We had an attendance of 29 on Saturday evening and37 Sunday morning and 31 Sunday evening, which isbetter than usual for such meetings. That Simday afterthe morning service we had a barbecue lunch and time offellowship, but because of rain we had to do it indoors.

2. Brother Kishimoto was asked to go to Okinawaand conduct special meetings on the weekend ofJime 18.I don't have the attendance fig^uresfor that. The preacherwho asked him to come is a close friend and also agraduate of Osaka Bible Seminary.

3. Sakurayama Church had similar special meetings on July 8 fie 9. They asked me to be the speaker thisyear. They chose the theme, "If you prepare there is noregret." This is not a Scripture, but a Japanese proverb,and it strikes a chord in Japanese hearts today becausethere is much discussion at home and in public about howwe should be more prepared for earthquakes, poison gasattacks and other unexpected emergencies such as thecountry has experienced this year. The first sermon [on

Mother's DaySatoko Okuyama was baptized at Mejirodai on May

14. She had raised her hand as a sign of decision at theSpring Camp, but the baptism was arranged for this dayafter she got settled into Middle School and had a fewpreparatory classes with the Japanese preacher on Sunday mornings during the Bible school hour. Her motheris a member and also a high school teacher. She nowattends the adult worship service every week, and hasbrought some of her school friends.

Father's DayAt 6 p.m. Sunday, June 18,1 went to Machida Church,

which had a special service to which whole families werespecially invited. First they had a get-acquainted game,and then they served a rice cuny supper to everyone, and

then I brought a message to the mixed group - peoplefrom babes in arms to husbands who had never been in a

church before. The majority of the people attending forthe first time had gotten to know Tim and Lisa Turner byliving in the same neighborhood and because their chil-drenattendkindergartenwithSarahTurner. Theyseemedreceptive to the mesage from the first part ofEphesians 6on Bible teachings about the family.

News Notes

The Mejirodai Church began using the newest translation of the Bible into Japanese language in April. Ananonymous donor gave the church 30 copies for thatpurpose some months previously. It was jointly done byCatholics and Protestants and is being more and morewidely used because the Japanese which is used is modem and literally smooth reading and easily understoodand the pronimciation of names of places and people iscloser to the original.

Tomoharu lijima and his wife and 2 children movedto Yamanashi Prefecture at the end of March to live withhis father, who had been living alone since his wife'sdeath 2 years ago. During that time he had a heart pacemaker put in. The son resigned from his school teachingjob, but is confident he can support himself by part-timetutoringand teaching, and theyfeel the countryairwill begood for the children's health. Of course they will takecare of Stephen lijima and help with his writing andpublishing work also.

The Fifth Sunday Rally on April 30 was held at theZushi Church in Machida, using a kindergarten facilitynearby of which one of the church members has been thehead teacher for years. The church was recently remodeled, and while the ladies were preparing the eveningmeal (led by the kindergarten cook) the rest of us walkedup the hill to see the church and Mr. Fukuda's office andprinting equipment. (It was too small to contain thecrowd ofabout 80 who attended and there was no parkingspace, but it is very nice looking. It was the first time formost ofus to see the small church building.) Bro. Fukudabrought the main message of the day. He has publisheda numberofBible commentaries and also edits a monthlymagazine, "Friend of the Bible."

The last day (or Harold Sims to teach Old Testament Introduction atAmerican Christian College near the end of March when a larewell meetingwaeheldforhim. Tfaie picture is in thescboolUbraryon the eeoondfloor. Backrow: a boy and girl student and Mrs. Leone Cole. Seated in front, 1.to r.: TimTurner, Harold Sims, Paul Azton.

Part of the audience at the 5th Sunday Rally in Zushi. Harold and LoisSims and Hideo Fukuda in front row.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Buttray (retired), R.D. 8, Box 180, MesdviUe, PA16335.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Patten (retired), #eTanglewood, CarlJunotion, MO64834.

Mr. and Mrs. HaroldSims,3^3-7Mejirodai. Haohioji-ehl, Tokyo 193 Japan.ForwardingAgent: PintChurolio(Christ,3iSE.OrangeAvenue,Eu8tis,PL32726-1194.

One year donation—82.00

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.

Tokyo Cbristlan (USP8 776-320)

Published (our times ayear in January, April, July, and November for themissionaries of the ChurohofCbrlst, Cunningham Mission,Tokyo,Japan byMission Services Association, 7523 Hodges Feny Road, Knoxville, TN37620-9731. SecondClass postage paid at Knoxville, TN 37901-2427. POSTMASTER: Bend address changes to Tokyo Christian, o/o MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

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ChristianVolume 94

'Go ye into aU the world and preadi the gospel to every creature' Mark 16:15

November 1995 Number 4

SIMS' NEWS

In the Heat of August

Some of the Mejirodai 3 Chome people at the Festival on July 29. Harold Sims is near the center ofthe front row. The lat^ board contfdns the namesof those who contributed financially toward the expenseof the festival, and the lantern says, 'Mejirodai,' in Japanese.

teacher in the Kobe area and givesvery interesting, meaningful illustrations. Oneofthoseraisingtheirhandsin decision wets a young lady fromMejirodai who is now studying theBible with Bro. Kishimoto weekly inpreparation for baptism soon.

August 6 was 50 years since thefirst atomic bomb was dropped onHiroshima, and then August 9 wasthe same for the city of Nagasaki. Asyou can imagine there was a lot ofcomment in all newspapers, TV programs, and even in churches aboutthat historic event and the continu-

ingproblems connectedwith nuclearmatters, including the current seriesoftests beingconducted byFrance inthe South Pacific area.

August 13-15 a Christian Leader

ship Retreat for college age youngpeople who are interested in servingChrist invariousways was held at theSannobara church in Isehara. There

were 16 people present. The specialspeakerwas Dr. Kenneth Dale, a missionary of the Lutheran Church whois a well-known specialist in Counseling and maintains a center doingthat service in downtown Tokyo.

August 14 a babyboywas bom toJonathan and Verla Sims at a hospi-

We imderstand from weather re

ports on TV, etc., that this past summer brought record-breaking heat tothe entire northern hemisphere ofthe earth, and of course we sharedthat experience. From late July imtilearly September in the Tokyo areawe had 35 continuous days with temperatures above 30®C (86®F), in spiteof several severe thunderstorms and

brief torrential rains - including onewhen lightning struck the house 2doors down the street from us and

blew out all the electric power forover 2 hours one afternoon.

This continuous heat broke the

previous record of 31 days setbackin1894. Our solar heater worked verywell, providing plenty of water forbaths, dishwashing, etc., at no costexcept electricity for the pumps. Wedon't have any assurance about theexplanations for the heat; globalwarming, volcanic dust, air pollution.El Nlho air currents, sin, etc. Theyare all true. But we will share with

you some of the happenings hereduring that time which are all goodneu^.

August 1-4. we had our regularYoung People's Camp in Shinshu.This time I took in my car only 2 ofouryoungpeople from Mejirodai and

one ofourladies to help in the kitchen;but 3 other of the "veterans" who are

now either in college or employed,went by train or their own cars toserve on the staff. This was the 15th

summer of the camp's operation, sothe help ofthosewho havegonemanytimes in planning the program, serving as song leaders, team leaders,room supervisors, etc. is very practical and highly valued by all of usolder campers. This year we had atotal of about 50 at-tending, includingvoluntary staff andteachers-mainlytheyounger Japanesepreachers and mis-sionaries. A.

The different -"^jHthing this year was IjHthepresenceof7chil- >dren under 10 yearsold, who belonged tothe teachers. Theyhad a good time play-ingandgaveussomeglimpse of possiblecampers in a fewmore years.

The speakerwasn m 1 1 1. Jonathan, VBro. Takekawa, who Auguet 27. abomis a high school baoksTOund is tb

Jonatban,Verlaand Benjamin Sime inJoel Home meeting room onAugust 27, about 2 weeks after be was bom. The wail banging in thebackground is tbe ChineseJapaneee ideograph for 'Love.'

tal in Yokohama. It was on their

secondweddinganniversaiy, and thedeliveiy went all right. Verla had ahard time with the food and other

things during the few days in thehospital, but was able to go homeafter 6 days. Lois went down to helpfor a few days aftertheygot home, buteveiything went fine, and we arethankful. The baby's name is Benjamin Jon. Benjamin is the name ofthe great-grandfather on both sidesof the family.

August 18 - 20 the 46th Annual

Convention of our Christians in Ja

pan was held in the Hilton Hotel inthecenterofNagoyaCity. (^esonofMakotoYuse, the ministeroftheWestNagoya church is employed there,and on those days when the hotelusually has a slack time, we are ableto get a reduction in price.) Lois andI had a room on the 27th floor, andenjoyed the views of the city. Castle,etc. All of us enjoyed the air-conditioning.

Itwas the first timeforthe Nagoyapeople to host the convention in 20years, and they did a veiy fine job ofplanning around the theme of Faith,Hope & Love. The main speakerswere Bro. Sugiyama, one of the professors in OsakaBibleSeminaiy; Bro.Walter Maxey, missionary inKagoshima; andBro.Stephenlijima,from Minato Church in Tokyo. Theothers on the program were mostlylay men who led discussion groups,ottered special music, etc. One oftheearly morning devotional speakerswas Mr. Saito from Mejirodai. Thedevotions were held in a public parknear the hotel, but the cicadas in thetrees were so noisywe couldnot hearwhat he was saying at all.

The attendance, including thelocal people,was about 240, andallof

ThelljimaFaniUyattheCoQveatioD. Stephenlijlma is at the right, his son and hie eon's wife arein the back and his grandohildren (fifth and thirdgrades) are in the front.

US thought the fellowship and program were veiy worthwhile. I drovemy car, taking 5 of our ladies alongwith Lois and me. Three others from

Mejirodai went by train, for a total of10.

August 20 - 22. our annual Mis

sionary Convention was held atShinshu Bible Camp immediatelyfollowing the national convention inorderto save travel expense for someand to save food and lodging costsfor all. So my riders going down aUcame home separately. Walter andMaiy Maxey rode with us all afternoon from Nagoya to the camp, enjoyinga good visit and fine mountainscenety along the way. As we gotnear the camp in late afternoon, wewere going through a village whichwas havingsomewhatofa trafttc jam.We read the lips of a lady in a carwaiting for iis at a crossing saying,with great shock. There goes someforeignersi' Whenwehadgoneabout100 yards we sawa car full of foreigners in a Shell Service Station, andsaid. There are some more foreigners!" Then it dawned on us that they

were the Morts from Niigata tryingtofind the way to the camp. So I yelledout the window, "Morts! Follow us."They heard it, and got into the trafficflow and followed us to the campparking lot. Thus we arrived about 3minutes before supper time to jointhe others already there. Two otherscame later for a total of22 adults and

5 children. This seems small in com

parison to the gatherings of yearsago, but there are fewermissionariesin Japan now - not only from ourgroup, but all others - partly, if notmainly, because of the high costs ofliving in Japan.

The program this year was arranged by Warren and EileenChristianson who live in the same

prefecture, about a 15 minutes' drivefrom the camp. The speaker wasMrs. Christiansen's uncle who is the

minister of the ParkCrest Christian

Church in Long Beach, California.His wife, Gaye, was also there andspoke to the group. The messageswere built aroimd the theme of "Wor

ship," and gave real life examples ofthe changes in their local worshippatterns and the reasons for them.The adjustments to the local culturalchanges thathe mentionedwereveryinteresting and could be applied toour work in a different culture here.

Joyce Warrick, with some helpfrom others, took charge of the foodplanningand preparation, and it wasveiy good. We had a lot of laughterand good times. The StephenFleenors and their co-workers came

over from their camp in the sameprefecture one night and we enjoyedtheir special music.

Autru3t26 (Saturday, p.m.) we hada disaster drill in our neighborhoodelementary school ground. Since Iam chairman of our neighborhood

Group from Mejirodai Church at Nagoya Couventioii. Theaign at the top soys. "Faith, Hope. Love" - the theme.

MleaionariesatteDdijigourCoDventionfUourShinabuCampground. Inthehaokgroundare the eteps going up to the seoond floor, which is the main entrance halland meeting room.The dining room and kitchen fuo on ground level. The camp is about 6 acres in area on ahillside.

association of 503 homes this year, Iwas obligated to attend. I received anote from the cityoffice askingme tomake all efforts to see that we had at

least 30 people to go. Several policemen would be waiting in our neighborhoodparkto escortus to the place,and we were to wear a hat or cap andbring a flashlight. Since many folkswere on vacation at that time it took

some effort, butwewere able togather38 people, including some whobrought the whole family to help out.

Whenwe got to the schoolgroundwe found well over 1,000 people millingabout from all the neighborhoodswhose children go to that school.There was also a great array of equipment: fire trucks, ambulances, truckswith fresh water, various booths distributing literature from Red Cross,insurance companies, ham radionetworks, etc. Also they had preparedvarious things thatwould simulate an earthquake situation. Theyhad broken down houses with man

nequin bodies inside to be rescued, ahouse full of smoke to pass throughand experience escaping from ahouse afire with no lights, a house ona truck that shook like a real strongearthquake when a switch wasthrown, and they put on a realisticshow of rescuing people from theroof of the school, etc.

It was a veryinterestingand well-planned event. The participantswereall anxious to leam because of the

disastrous Kobe earthquake earlierthis year which was unimaginable tothe average person and for which allwere poorly prepared. I came backhome afterthe Mayor's speech about9 p.m. because the next day was Sunday; but some of our folks stayedovernight on the gymnasium floorand ate the emergency rations andbottled water in order to experience"evacuation life" firsthand. The

school has a supply of emergencyequipment, and that is where wewould go in case of the real thing.

In connection with this I should

mention that, because ofmy positionas chairman of the local neighbor^hood association, I was obligated toparticipate in the local "Festival"which is held on the last Saturdayand Sunday of July eveiy year. Thisyear was the twenty-second year forour neighborhood. We have 4 sections that cooperate. Oiurs is #3, andthe total number of households in

the area is about 2500, giving a population of about 10,000 people. Usually between one and two thousandattend the festival, which includessome Japanese-style dancing in thestreets, canylng portable shrines

aroundthestreets, anda lot of stalls sellingcotton candy, softdrinks, candiedapples, junkfood, gold-fish, various toys, etc.Most people wearlightweight cotton ki- r 'monos and enjoy theslightly cool air of thesummer nights andtalking with neigh-bors, etc. Of course it £has now become gen- *eral knowledge that Ido not drink rice wine

or beer, so they serveme tea. I also firmlysaid that I would not .,

... whlohisaiamparticipatem anythingconnectedwith Shinto

Shrines orreligion, andtheyacceptedthat. But I was asked to "show myface" and even to bring the final greeting at the close of the program onboth Saturday and Sundayevenings.

I was quite surprisedwhen I wentinto the post office on Monday a.m.following the festival to have all thestaff stand up and bow a greeting tome and say, "You made a fine speechlast night." One lady came up to me

Canying a portable shrine around through the neighborhood,which is a familiar scene to all who have spent a summer in Japan.

in the midst of the festival and asked

if she could come to my church. Isaid, "Ofcourse, that is the reason weexist." I also assured her we providBibles and hymnals for use. So shecame to church for the first time in

her life on August 6 and has beenback 2 or 3 times since then. The

contact with the neighborhoodthrough this has been veiy happy.

Vacation Bible School

We have had VBS almost everysummer since coming to Japan. Ofcourse there has been much varietyinattendance, program, activities andeven location. For several years wetook the children up to a mountainlake for 2 nights. When we startedthinking about this summer, we discovered that the month of Augusthad very many things on the schedule for us, but more importantly, forthe 2 yoimg ladies who are kindergarten teachers during the week andin our Simday School on Sundays.The only time open was July 24-26.(llieJapanese language materials aregenerallywritten with only 3 days inmind, because that seems to be theaverage length of time for this activ-i^ here.) This was just after elemon-taiy schools are out for summer vacation here and, from previous experience,we knewthat neitherstudents

nor parents are enthusiastic about"school" again at that time, but wewent ahead.

We ended up having an activeclass of 7 or 8 preschoolers, including the preacher's 3-year-old son and

just 1 fifth-grade boy. Some of thepreschoolers were here for the firsttime, being invited by one of ourregulars who goes to the same kindergarten with them.

The stories, handwork, music,etc., were centered around the storyof Noah this year. Three differentteachem told the main stoiy eveiymorning. Every day we had a different "special" for recreation, and everybody enjoyed that. The first daywe had awatermelon (theywere quitehigh-priced this summer) and thechildren took tiuns trying to break itopen with a stick while blindfolded.The hero who did it on the second goaroimd was the fifth-grade boy. Thesecond day we borrowed 2 smallhousehold sized ice^hredding marchines and made a large cup of icewith a choice of flavors to be pouredoverit for each one. The weatherwas

alreadyvery hot, so it reallywas a hit.The final day we got out a children'swading pool we had for some yearsand filled it with cold water, whichwas a lot of fun and fit in with the

climate, too.

Senior Citizens' Camp

September 14 - 16 we had theninthoampfortheolderpeople. (September 15 is a Japanese holidayhon-oringolderpeople, andtherecurevarious events planned curound them atboth the family cmd community levels,andmanyTVprogramsconnectedwi^that. Thenumber ofpeopleover65 is increasingyecurlyinJapan,withover 18 million -14.5% ofthe populartion - reported this year. There curemany over 100 years old, and quite afew were interviewed on TV.)

Weonly had 10people tl^ year,including Lois and me, but we had avery good time of fellowship, withmany laughs and a nice aitemoontrip to a hot spring for baths.

News Notes

Stephen lijima, preacher atMinato Church cmd editor of the

monthlyBiblestudviuaimzineBokka.WCU3 hospitcdized in late Septemberwithgallstonesand livertrouble, andwill probably have cm operation forthat soon.

The father of DaiM Kishimoto,preacherat Mejirodai, died recently.Since Bro. K is the oldest son, he hadto make several trips to Osaka cmdhis hometown of Tanabe in

Wakayama Pref. during Septemberand October to take care of matters

connected with this.

Shingo Tsudck, who is now in histhird year of study at Osaka BibleSeminary, made a trip to Indonesiafrom late July through August dur-ingthesummervacationatthe Seminary. This was his third trip to thatcoimtiy. The first two were madewith friends of his from cmother

church group who worked witii himin the Christicm Campus Organizartionwhenhewcui a CollegestudentatOberlin in Tokyo, cmd whose churchsupported a Japcmese missionaryworking there. This time he went tovisit tire work of our Churches of

Christ there, and met a g^od numberof both missionaries cmd nationcd

preachers. He hopes to become apart of the missioncuy corps in thatnationafterafewyearsofexperiencecmdsomestudyinaMissionaiyTrain-ing Institute here in Japcm for Japarnese missioncudes. He asked me to

help him with a sermon he was preparing in English for use diudng thesvunmer, and then gave a very happyand reassuring report after he returned from Indonesia cmd before

going back to Osaka. He alsopreached very well at MejirodaiChurch on July 23.

The Lord willing, he will graduate in March next year and becomeassociate minister with missioncuyTimTurnerat the church in Machida

in April and will cdso study pcut timein the above-mentioned Institute.

Mrs. Sandra Jones and a Japanese co-worker in their Mission in

Hiroshima have produced a qualityJapaneselanguagetrcmslation oftheWorkbook on Acts which was originallywritten byJ.VemonJacobs andlater revised by John W. Wade ofStandardPublishing. We are usingitas a text for ourYoungPeople's BibleStudy and also for one of our smallBible study groups.

Two typhoons passed by Tokyoon the two Sundays of September 17cmd 24. The first one was widelyreported ahead oftime to be the largest of this century. The closing ofrailway lines, etc., did affect ourchurchattendance. Butwearethcmk-

ful that the main force stayed out atsea cmdwe suffered no damage here.

Coming Events

Plecuse pray for the followingevents planned or this f^:

October 27. 28 - Around 20

Mejirodai members will go to theYMCAfacility in Ootemba at the footof Mt. Fuji for a 24-hour retreat cmdfellowship time connected with our25th cmniversaiycmdthe future post-Sims, 21st Century plans.

October 29 - Fifth Sunday RallyatMinato Church. H. Simswill speakon The Gospel and Culture," includingsome ofhis experiences as chairman of the local neighborhood association. There was an cui;icle about

this inthe English language newspaper fThe JapanTimes') on September16.

November 2. 3 - Axmual "Seed-

sowingmeeting"atOsakaBibleSeminary. Harold will preach one of thethree messages, and Lois andHcuroldwill leadthe music at one ofthe other

sessions.

November 5 - 25th Aimiversaryof Mejirodai Church of Christ, cmdMemorialServicefor thosewho have

passed on diuing these years.

November 18 - Chapel ConcertatMejirodai. This timethe performerwill be the wife of a dentist in theCkrea. She isa professionallevelMcm-dolin player. She was brought up ina Christian family, and attends ourchurch occasionally.

November 23 - MissionaryThanksgiving Fellowship at Sims'Place.

November26-MelirodaiThanks-

giving Carry-in Fellowship Dinnercmd sharing of the things we arethankful for this year.

Mr. ud Mis. Stanlsy Buttniy (letlrod), RD. 8. Box 180, Sfewtvtlto, PA16335.

Mr. and Mis. Andrew Patton (tetfied), *6 Tanglewood, CartJunotfon, MO64834.

MnandMra.Harold8im8,»33-7MeJliodal.HaohioJl-abi.'lbbyo103 J^>an.ForwardinffAsent: FirBtChurohofChilst,315E.OraiigeAvsnue,Biutl8,FL327264104.

Oneyeardonation—82.00

Tokyo Christian (DSPS 776S20)

Publishedfour times a year inJanuary,April, July, and Novemberfor themissionarieeoftheChuiohofChrist,Cunningham Mission,Tbbyo,JapanbyMission Services Assooiation, 7525 Hodges Ferry Road, Knoxville, TN37020-0731. SecondClasspostage paidatKnoxville,TN 37001-2427. P08T-hfASTKH; Send address changes to Tol^m Christian, o/o MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Box 2427, Knoxvme,TN 37001-2427.

Before you move, please send the mailing label with a oo]^ ofyour new address toMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Box 2427, KnoxvUle, TN 37001-2427.

Form3670 Requested, POBox 2427, KnoxvUle,TN 37001-2427.

/-)2.

iCHRISTMAS LETTER 1995

Dear Friends,The 50th sumffler since the Atonic Bombs was the hottest for

Japan since 1894—35 days of heavy heat and humidity after a longrainy season. But we are thankful and happy to have come through

that and other things this year has brought in good health andfeeling content and secure in God's faithful care. For examplewe have had the sweetest, largest in both number and size persimmons ever on the tree here by the study window, Lois'bloodpressure and knee problems have been improving some, and untila few days ago I hadn't even been to a doctor.fe hope that each of you have been similarly blessed, willhave a happy Christmas and that we will all be led by our lovingHeavenly Father and keep trusting Him through the coming year.Following is an outline of some of our experiences this year.

1. AS MISSIONARIES: I preached at Mejirodai Church about 25 timesfinishing a long once-a-month series of sermons from Isaiah inOctober. I also preached at 5 other area churches more than adozen times. For 40 years Lois has led a Ladies Bible Class atNakano Church every 2nd and 4th Thursday, and did this year too.At Mejirodai we have a monthly Home Bible study that rotates todifferent member's homes, another 1 in a home every first Mon.,and 1 in the church every 4th Tue, morning. In the latter, wefinished Sizemore's [13 Lessons in Christian Doctrine](transl.)and began a study of Acts, using a recently completed transl. ofthe Jacobs-Uade Workbook from Standard.

During this year there were 2 baptisms, and I performed 3weddings. Two of them were for non-Christian couples, but thebrides wanted to be married here where they had studied Englishand attended Sunday School over 10 years ago. Mrs. Okada diedon May 15 at the ripe old age of 93+ at the hospital where shespent the last 7 years of a life that had many trials but also joy.

We attended 3 Camps, 2 Conventions and 1 missionary conference.I participate in the local city minister's association—the onlymissionary among 10 to 15 Japanese preachers. One project is anEaster service in the City Auditorium on that Sun. afternoon,with special speaker and music. This year was the 20th year forthat event, with an attendance of several hundred. I was one ofthe 8 preachers who had attended every time.2. AS CHAIRMAN OF THE MEJIRODAI 3 CHOHE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONOur area of Hachioji City is divided into 4 sections=''chome''by the electric commuter railroad running E-W, and a wide streetrunning N-S. We live in section 3, which has over 500 homes,and have been members of the association since it began 22 yearsago. On Feb. 4, much to my surprise and over my objections,they asked me to serve as Chairman for this fiscal year, and Iwas elected and began serving on April 1. This is only the 2ndcase in Japanese history of a foreigner holding this position.

2,

so on Sept. 16 an article and picture about this was in the Eng.language Japan Times newspaper. As a result of that publicity Ireceived an invitation from Prime Minister Murayama to attend aluncheon in honor of Pres. and Mrs. Clinton on Nov. 21, but asyou know he cancelled his trip to Japan because of the budgetcontroversy or crisis in the U.S., so that plan did not work out.

As you can imagine, this Job takes a lot of time. I am askedto attend all local school programs. Senior Citizen Club meetings

funerals (19% of the residents are over 65, so the average isover one a month) children's 6:30AM physical exercises in thepark during summer vacation, fire and earthquake drills, and ofcourse there are many committee and business meetings to go to.There are also calls about broken street-lights, noisy motorcycles, stray dogs and other such things.I have had to face some special problems because I don't drinkalchohol like almost everyone else, and I do not participate inthe religious parts of the summer festival etc. But when I tooka clear, firm stand my position was accepted without problems.For example, they prepared a glass of Ulong Tea (similar color)for me to drink when it was my turn to offer the "toast" at theconclusion of the festival; and others readily offered to go inmy place to a ceremony at at an old Shinto Shrine in a neighborcommunity.There have been many compensations. Not monetary—all of thecommittee members are volunteers, and in general they take turnsserving for one year in the order in which houses stand alongthe street. But I have had close contacts with many people Ihad not met before, from the city mayor, fire and police chiefsdown to school children. It has given me a deeper knowledge ofJapanese society, customs, language, and thinking, and I alsofeel a wider degree of acceptance and open mindedness toward thechurch and the gospel and even foreigners in general. Also wehave received several tickets to concerts, ballets, plays etc.3. AS PARENTS AND GRAND-PARENTS

As we are winding down our years in Japan, our children, whowere all born in Japan have wanted to come back for final visitsbringing their children so they would have a clear idea of whereand what kind of life and work their grand-parents did in Japan,On Mar. 3 second son Bob and Helen and their 3 children cameJust in time for Lois' birthday. Bob had some Company business,but mostly they Just stayed here and shared our experiences.The children even spent several days at the local elementaryschool. On Mar. 21 we celebrated our 48th wedding anniversarywith the Ito family in Mejirodai church, who were married on thesame date 24 years ago. There were 13 people in both families,and after dinner in a local resturant we came to our living-roomfor some singing and other music and a lot of good talking.

3.

On Mar. 23 Bob's fanily left and Hope arrived. They carefullyarranged schedules so ve souId have to make the long trip out toNarita airport one less time. Hope was with us until April 20,for her birthday, Easter, cherry blossom time etc.Daniel, our youngest, was in Japan on Mitsubishi Motor Co.business 3 times during the year, and he always manages to stopon the way back home for a short visit and to deliver things hisolder siblings give him to take on what he has dubbed "The SimsTransportation Network". Each of these visitors were also ableto go down to Yokohama and visit with Jonathan and Verla duringtheir days in Japan, which both sides enjoyed a lot.On August 14 Verla gave birth to a baby boy, our 13th grandchild. They named him Benjamin Jon. His great-great grandfatheron both sides of the family bore that good Bible name. We arevery thankful and happy that all went went at the birth, and asyou can imagine have enjoyed visiting them once a month since.4. AS CITIZENS OF THE WORLDA. I left our house early in the morning of Jan. 17, to attend aboard meeting of the Japan Missionary Language Institute, anddidn't hear any news before leaving. Upon entering the room atthe downtown school, I was shocked to hear them talking about "abig one" hitting Kobe about day-break that morning. From thethe mid-afternoon when I got home until bed-time that night wesat in front of the TV watching the live pictures of multiplefires and wide-spread destruction and loss of life, and talkingon the phone with various people asking if we had information.But for hours all communication was cut off and could only pray.In the following weeks we were very encouraged to see thegenerosity of our Christians and all the people here as theysent financial aid and people to assist the homeless, sufferingpeople in winter-time down there. We are thankful to reportthat none of our church buildings in that area was destroyedby the earthquake, although some members lost their homes.B. I left home early in the morning of Mar. 20 also, and aboutnoon I got to Osaka Bible Seminary for the Councillor's meetingand heard about the release of sarin gas in the Tokyo Subwayswhich killed and injured many. All were relieved to know I wasnot in downtown Tokyo at that time. Many of the leaders of oneof the "new religions" are now on trial for this and variousother crimes that have been exposed from police investigation.C. On April 19 the U.S. dollar reached an all-time low valueof 79.95 yen, which was 20% lower than the rate 2 months earlierand a shock to all who change dollars to yen. We cashed as fewdollars as possible and managed to get along all right. Now thedollar has recovered to the 100 yen range, and things improved.D. We are concerned, and know you are also, by the decliningmorals all over the world. We don't think this is just because

4.oe are aging, but rather a sign of the times, as in Eph. 5:16,which was part of the text assigned to me for a sermon at theOBS Seed-sowing Meeting on Nov. 3. Also that day Lois led thesong service and I played the piano, at their request. Ve don'tdo that very much these days.There are other things that we could tell about, but in theremaining space we would like to talk again about our retirementwhich we have been saying for 2 years would be about April 1996.During this "final year" we have been receiving many expressionsof respect and gratitude for our years of service from bothJapanese and missionary friends, and we appreciate these words.But just days ago Jonathan and Verla resigned their positionas trustees of the Yotsuya Mission and missionaries with theJoel Home in Yokohama and announced plans to return to the U.S.in early 1996. They will be making their own statement to theirsupporters,but we can easily understand some of their reasonsfor this. Needless to say we were very shocked and disappointedat this move, and sorry that we did not make more moves to helpthem in times of adjustment and discouragement. But we mustaccept their long-considered and firm decision and adjust ourplans accordingly. Basically we have concluded that we shouldextend our time in Japan and delay our retirement until some ofthe problems can be more settled than in the present situation.We will definitely close our 25 year ministry with MejirodaiChurch and turn over the leadership to Bro. Rishimoto who hasbeen working closely with us for almost 4 years now. As weannounced previously, at the end of April or in early May wewill make a trip to the U.S. to visit family and some supportingchurches and discuss retirement places and plans. But now thisplan has been revised to include a return to Japan about mid-September. At that time we plan to live in the Joel Home inYokohama, where Jon and Verla have been for several years, andto stay until at least April or May of 1977, helping as askedwhere we can, and continuing to serve as the Chairman of theYotsuya Mission Corporation and making arrangements and plansfor the continuation of the Mission work as a whole. We knowthat no one is indispensable, no one lasts forever, and no humanknows what the future holds, but after all these years we feel ahigher responsibility to the work of the Kingdom here than tokeep to a plan for retirement in the U.S. when there are tasksand problems that we may be able to help meet waiting in Japan.Please continue to pray with us for God's guidance in thismatter and all other things.

Yours in Christ's service,

HAROLD AND LOIS SIMS