po-ru no ^-gamiNewsletter of the pauI S. Pratt family in Kyushu, Japan

tearch, 1962 Voli-une VT, No. 1 7 ̂

Forewaraing Address Japan Address ^BdBtJkk -kMrs. Polly Wilklhs'on 222 (jearata cho, ^2^769 west £dison Road Kagoshima City, JapanSouth Bend, Indiana.

We thank God who has abundantly provided (thru you B||k sendai clHis servants), guarded our health, and guided our foot- BE^Barsteps in these days. "Great is the Lord, and greatlyto be praised? and His greatness is unsearchable." (Psalms 145:3) And we truly thank each of you who have yielded to His prompting to Help supply our necessities.

Just after our last "Epistle" went to press we experienced a "seasonof refreshing" through five jreaponses to the invitation jii^he Lord. You5.an imagine the great joy"tilat ruled omt hearts on, Betj. 10llh when our"own daugnters, Lydia (10) and Mary (8) were baptized along with RitsukoNagaii (meaning-long well), of Kathleen's Bible class. When we arrivedhome from church on Dec. 24th a special delivery card from Takuo Adachi,a former Bible class student of mine in Osaka, awaited us. It read, "Iam happy to tell you that I will be baptized on Christmas Day. You arethe one who planted the seed of God in my heart." Then on December 27ththe sun shown brightly on the chilly waters of a beautiful but small inlet of Kagoshima Bay where Yoshizo Okamoto of our Kajiki Bible Class wasimmersed into Christ. Though only ten persons witnessed his obedience,many since have seen it and through it have learned the true meaning ofChristian baptism through our 8 MM movie account of the event. Yoshizois a student of varied talents, one of which is doing oil paintings. Re>ie pictured here with "The visit of The Vise Men" which he presented tothe Kajiki church, pray these will be faithful and fruitful servants.

You've heard of C-E Christiana, I'm sure. Well, Easter is not so wellknown in Japan, but you can be sure that Christmas does call out a numberof intei-ested folk. Thank God, this year so far, we have been able toencourage a goodly number of these to continue this interest and attendance. At present, we are directly reaching an average of 100 persons bymeans of servicea and Bible Classes each week. This number woxild be increased considerably if we add personal contacts and our many radio contacts. Read the details of our radio influence on the opposite page.

The fifty boys and girls at Shinomiya orphanage received warm sox forthis cold winter because of yoiir gifts through Mrs. isabell Dittemore andthru us. This year, also, as a token of thanks for their work in behalfof the children, we provided each of the nine lady teachers with a shawland the two men with warm gloves. Though Misa Kikunaga (meaning- longchrysanthemum), our contact lady there, will be leaving soon, we are confident of being able to continue our visits.

Every boy has read about how bears and grounahogs hibernate, we livein a laud where students alsp.-'hi-be-rnate'-. With competition so keen,college entrance examinations difficult and sometimes very costly, manyspend most if not all their time in preparation. Often high school andeven junior high school entrance tests are very rigerous. in order toenter a higher class school, one of our friends rides the train for threehaurs one way to attend high school, each day. One college prep, studentcame to ask many questions about the Bible. After he returned to hishome, 20 minutes from here, he wrote me a letter of appreciation. In ithe declared, "If I had met you while I was still in high school, my lifewoiild be happier, today. But, now, since I must do nothing but study, Icannot attend your church." pive months later he returned for furtherhelp, just before time for his entrance exams (They are in peb. and Mar.)He is just one of thousands who lixerally suffer to attain success.

Sendai Christmas t)ra-.M ircuu

;j lydiaMiss

ATakuo Adachi

yc^:hizc Ckamoto

in-d painting

Those "Life of Christ" filmatri^is whichyou provided for us have been truly invaluable. Many of them have been used with narration here and there. At present, with theassistance of a 'Drama club' we have formed,the spoken message is being put in dramaticform onto tape for future use. By so doing,we realize a manifold blessing, one veryimportant one is the vivid realization of theevents in the life of our lord by the clubmembers themselves who are not Christians.

Miss Yoshida, soloist

Men: Top, Mr. Tanabe,anno\uicerj Mr. Taniyama,preacher; Noah's ArkQuartette

I^ADIO has long been known as an indirect i I feS 1means of evangelism. And yet, when we con-sider it, through this means, in the secretand quiet of the home God can speak very di-rectly to the hearts of troubled listeners.

I '^'^ow shall they hear without a preacher^" \\ _yk"Calvary Calls" is your program which goes

out over JOCF, Kagoshlma for 13 minutes every^tmday morning at 8:43. It is produced byNippon Christian Broadcasting Ass'n. in Osaka(Mrs. Szie ?ultz and staff), and your gifts jS&Bpay for the radio time here. The program con- \sists of THEMB SONG-SCHIPTUHE-SOLO-SEHMON-AN- INOtTNCEMENTS OF CHimCHES, INTERSFEHSKD WITH

• MEN'S QUARTETTE MUSIC-AND A CLOSING APPEAL TOFOLK TO MROLL IN THE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE.

^ ^ ^ I. Ladies: Mrs. Eziel?7erywhere we go we find folk who hear our producer;program. To date we have had 50 responses by ^j^gg yoshida, soloist T•mail. At least five persons, to our knowledge,have come to church as a direct result of hav- Men: Top, Mr. Tanabe,"ing heard the program. Fifteen persons have entered tht corres- announcer; Mr. Taniyama,pondence course and two of these are zealously continuing. Since preacher; Noah's Arkthe programs have included directions as to how to find the local Quartettechurch, more and more folk are aware of their opportunity to attend. .

i These broadcasts cost $112 a month. Thus far, your wonderful assistance has made it possiblV^i for these to continue. However, we found it necessary to temporarily postpone plans for building\ our house because of the radio program, with your help, we are confident of being able to con-tinue the radio program and build the house as well._. The latter we will begin upon our returnfrom furlough in *64•

- o^vgryy/here in our house are reminders of the kindness of Japanese friends. They expresstheir appreciation for favors received by giving delicious cakes, fruits, dolls, pictures, dishes, vases, etc. our neighbor was hospitalized for four months. Now that he has recovered, heand his wife will visit everyone who came to see him during nis illness, express their appreciation for their concern over his illness and give them a gift. Ji^seems as if they do notwant to be found guilty of ingr^itude. No doubt, this is not merely custom or habit, but asincere" expression of thankfulhess.' Our hearts' prayer is that they will turn to the true andLiving God and express their gratitude to Him by giving their lives in obedience, and loving

■ service. By the way, how do you express your gratitude to your Lord, whom^^1^^ you know and love?we firmly believed (and still do) that the "Epistle" is a personal typg-^N,

Report-Letter and best sent out individually. However, (1) an increase in Y\I mailing costs (¥lO to ¥15 each) plus (2) so many address changes force us \ j

; to have them sent in bundles and delivered by representatives of churches i/^ and church groups, sorry, but this, to /

m - /Vf seems to be the best way to bring A^ ' ^^"oxir message to you. we will appreciat^

'" the cooperation of you our represents-/tives and suggestions from any of yov^ ̂

Surely no missionary family is soblessed by friends with such personalconcern as we are. Christmas cards,gifts, and boxes of food-stuffs trulylifted our spirits at the joyous season.Thanks to you and to living-link groupsfor constantly providi^ our needs. Weknow o\ir Eternal God will reward you.

er ^Sa yo na ra.

New JOCF Bmlding Kathleen IBackground Muaic

po - ru no Te-^ami(Paul'B Epletle)

HewslettftT. of the pa\il s. pratt family in lyuahu, Japan

June, 1962 . ̂ Volume VI, Ho. 2

porewarding Address Japan Addressii^Yoy we^ BQison Road "222 TJearata Cho,south Bend, Indiana. Kagoahipa City, Japan.

Dear friends, ^^^§8^855 *By this time most of you nsTs aware of the faot that

Mftther paase'^ that reason, Kathleen madeh huK^ie'd flight to indfanap^is and during her month's stay was ableto visit with many of you.• "And Jesus said unto her, lam the resurrection and the life: he that

believeth in ne, thou^ he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoeverliveth and believeth in me shall never die." (John 11:25,26) "..blessedare the dead which die in the lord ftun henceforth: Tea, salxh the Spiritthat they may rest from their labours: and their works do follow then."(Revelation 1+:13)

fhen our loved ones pass on, these promises become more real to us.The sadness was easier to bear because I was able to be with my familyand to see some of our brothers and sisters in Christ again. It wastruly wonderful to see you again and you can never know how much we appreciated your kind expressions of sympathy by letters, deeds, and giftsof money, ^e following is a list of gifts received directly while Iwas in the states: INBIAHA; ?ay Cranor $25.00; Elizabeth crickmore $10.00Wyatt s.Sch. $10,00; Mars Hill church, Indianapolis $150.00; Angola Ch.$55.43; Mrs. Ray Bergland $10.00; Bvalyn parsons $10.00; (prancss Howell,Mrs. Ed. Michael, Mrs. Ruth Weaver, Mrs. John Button, Mrs. pallie sloane^Mrs. Vera Hunsberger $15.00) Milbuin Blvd. Church $77.00; Hora W.S-C.S.union Chapel $10.00; Mr. & Mrs. pred Bauer $5.00 ; Mr.A Mrs. Oliver Daw-son 4 Mr.4 Mrs. Franklin Kerr $10.00; Attica Church $27.31; Bast ChicagoChurch $12.50; North liberty Church, Indianapolis $25.00. MICHIGAN: Mr.4 Mrs. Elwood Leach $10.00; Ladd Lewie $40.00; Vandalia youth $10:00 (forPaul D.); Dolly Kendall $6.00; PEHNSTIVAHIA: Mrs. Boyer $5.00; Vander-bilt Church $20.00 Christian Endeavour $5.00. These gifts were used fortravel and miscellaneous expenses while in the States, Paul David's travel expense and for some much needed clothing for the entire family, uyfatherj,.Jioweyer, p^d.jny.-fuH roundtrlp fare which was " ""

Many decisions are hard to make. This was doubly true in regudstothe decision to allow Ta^^i $1) tt.b. for school untilwe return for furlougEone year hence. The followlhg factors helped us todecide: (1) He will be a companion for »grandpa' who was left alone. (2)Even if Paul were in japan, he would attend school in Tokyo, 800 or moremiles from his mom and dad. (3) He is able to attend an Ind'pls. schoolat mimimum expense while the Tokyo school is quite expensive.®

Another of our Biglish Bible class students, aKagoshlmauniversity student was bantlzed, ,pn March 31et. Some or you who readmy article 'Tnt a song "in Their Hearts" in tlie par East Christian magazine will be happy to know that he is one of those students, drawn to agreat extent, thru music, just three weeks before his baptism, he invited me to hear and correct the pronunciation of hie school Men's Glee (3.ubon several Negro spirituals. What a joy it was to translate the meaning and especially that of the "Twenty-third psalm" to the 60 men. Pol-lowing rehearsal, at his suggestion, he and I gave our 'testimony' as wesang "I'm so Happy" and "He Lives" both in English and in Japanese.

Lydia and Mary also are making their witness. Thou^, of course,they cannot take credit for leading these two friends to Christ, in thecourse of their play together both Mo^inaga-i-S**"! ynria san were helpedby simple disoussions with our girls. They are now 'eiaVeSi'' in Christ.

Since five of^our regulars at sehdai moved away, our evangelisticmeeting there was poorly attended. However, the following signs encourage us. (1) The group speaks about "Kami sendai Church of Christ" rather than just a Bible Class. (2) They unanimously decided (thou^ onlyone is an active Christian) to have regular offerings. (3) Many of themhave helped in passing out literature on the streets in the name of thechurch. (4) They study and continxially ask questions about the Bible.

Susumu Kojima, who lived with us for a period before going asan exchange student to America, gave our youth a boost with his talk, slides,and Christian testimony. He spoke 10 times to probably a total of 400persons. He is now attending Konan university in Kobe.

in March, we were of what was called 'the very firstgift sent from a philipp&e~con^egatlon -for foreign evangelism^ "Tt was

.4sent by" the' Olas Church of Christ in Davao City. And, believe it or not/ Kathleen was privileged to meet its minister, Elpidio Batalla, traveling/ in the U.S. with Missionary Miss Ruth Smith.

Kathleen also was, privileged to ride on.-the same .plane with '^prince_Akihito an'^'Wino^h^p vtlehlko between Osaka and Miyazaki. Needless to say,

"the family were"'self-appointed' members of the 'welcoming party as theytoured in our city.

Sayonara, _ ^sayonara, _

5* Kathleen's arrival

Kathleen's mother 4 dadHe rededicated his life on

Easter Sunday

Tomari Ban's baptism

I NOW, 'Sisters' in Christ ]'roda, Lydla, Mary 4 Morlnaga

Kojlma and R.S. Students

Kathleen's CompanionsIn travel

po - ru no te-gami(PAUI'S EPISTLE)

irewslet-ter of "the Paul s. pratt familyMissionaries to Kyushu, japan

September, 1962 Volume TI, ITo.Eorewarding Address2>Yby W. Edison Roadsouth Bend, Indiana.

Furlough Address470 South Holt Rd.Indianapolis, ind.

pear friends,if plans work out as we expect, we should be in

the Site's by the time ̂ u~receive this~letter, "rhxsmeans that' our~ruriough~Has been moved up by ei^t months. The reason is Kathleen's father's recurrent heart•spells' and pa\il David's presence with him there. Themost serious one occurred on June 23rd. We are happy toreport that he is much improved at this time.

We will be happy to visit with you and to help inwhateverlSnd of pro^am your church may pfafT! Vh?ite tous at 470 south Holt Road, Indianapolis, Indiana.

on Sunday, July 22nd, Mr. Kanehara pujisaki, a 25year oTd salesman was immersed into Christ in the wa^rsof Kago^iin'a "Bay. TTe has attended two and at times threeEnglish Bible Classes a week for some time. He becomesthe second wage-eamer (many are students, or housewives)of the zagoshima Church as well as one of few'available'Christian bachelors of the churches of zagoshima Ken. Wehave a number of good Christian young ladies.

Puiinkai, is the Japanese word for a ladies meeting.We are q.ulte proud"~oT the seven or eT^fTadies who havebeen meeting, by Kathleen's leading, to study and to domissionary work much as you ladies in America do. The orphanage has presented a challenge to them. Previouslythey prepared used clothing but this summer they have beenreadying one new article of clothing for each of the fiftychildren there.

speaking of the orphanage, about two years ago IjiriSan, a big ooy'ToFTils twelve years was sent to the orphanage because his elder brother could not manage him. Thruthe past year and one-half he has been learning Bible songsand stories from Miss zikunaga and the pratts. He, alongwith other orphanage boys and girls, attended ChristianCamp last year, upon his being returned to his brother'scare this spring he requested a Bible and a song book andimmediately made arrangements to attend church.

The city of zajiki has two high schools. DaikuzonoSan, our preacKer there,~Iai3~the groundwork for the presentation of 800 English-Japanese Testaments (without notes)by the Gideon International on June 30th. Besides each ofthese persons requesting and promising to read the Bible,about 300 declared their interest in a Bible study class,pray that the interval of summer vacation will not diminish their zeal and that the preacher cein begin classes forthem in the fall.

August was camp time and D.B.S. time again. I had thecamp manager's task along with two classes ̂ d sermons forcamp. Both Sendai and Zagoshima held Vacation Schools.

Our plans are to return to Japan in a year. During curabsence the following adjustments mustTe mde. (l)Mr. Tani-Jiri, Ktishikino, will preach at Sendai and Miss Ito, who hasrecently worked as our Sunday School teacher will continuewith that important work, there. (2) we are sorry that lackof funds made it necessary to stop the radio program as ofJuly 29th. we plan to continue with the correspondance co\ir-se by making more contacts in the sanitariums and thru newspaper advertisements. (3) Mr. Imure will make periodictrips to the orphanage. H) The E^lish Bible Classes andwork among students in zagoshima virill simply be suspendeduntil our ret\im or till such a time that a missionary canbe here on the field. pray with tos that our work remain.

^ tj: ^Sa yo na ra.

Mr. Pujisaka, BaptizedJuly 22nd

SENDAI S.S. CLASS

AND MISS TTO

Co-Worker Mrs. Dittemorealso on furloio^