pratt paul kathleen 1979 japan

8/19/2019 Pratt Paul Kathleen 1979 Japan

1/15

T T )

.

P o - r

u

no

T

e-gami

(Paul's Epistle)

CENTRAL JAPAN CHRISTIAN

MISSION

..d eclare His

praise

in

the

islands.

Isa.

h2:12

U37

^ MAR

1

v e r s e a s / f t d d r e s s

Paul &

Kathleen Pratt

1210

Kamikasuya, Isehara City,

Kanagawa

Ken,

259-lli

Japan.

Ph. 0463-95-1019

friends.

Forwarding

Address

Mrs. Mary Lou Bauer

•2910

East 9Sth

St.,

Indianapolis, Ind., 46280

Ph. 317-844-3659

Mark

and Lynn Pratt

c/o M r .

Hubert Lusby

R.R,

I,

Williamstown,

Ky., 41097

Phone

606-824-552

Vol.

XXIII,

Winter, 19

Happy New

Year to

you alii I n

the Oriental

calendar this

is

the year of the

sheep.

We a

ful to God that He

sent

the Lamb of

God,

which taketh away the

sin

of the world . Now

o

is

to tell

that world about

sin in

order that they

can

look

for His atonement.

My father, J ohn

S.

Pratt,

passed

on to his

reward

on Sept. 1 2 ,

1978

(my

birthday)at

the a

89- As a

carpenter

he never had much of

this

world's goods, but h e

and

mom

both

knew wh at

in order to find that

'abundant

life'. For this we are

grateful.

Mom passed

away

ju

years ago. Two of

h e r

nine childr en preceeded

h e r

in death. All

the

remaining seven chil

are following th e Lord, one

of

them is a minister, six

grandsons

are preaching, thr ee gra

s have married pr eacher s and

still

another

is

in

a

full

time Chr istian service.

By

t

died within one day of the

l6th

anniversary of

Kathleen's father 's passing.

IN

MEMORIUM

- JOHN

SNYDER PRATT

Shepherd, Mic hig an, Westlawn Chur c h Women's Miss. Council & M r . & Mr s. Leo Cohoon

Thanks

t o

the generosity

of

the

Sannobara Church and it's S1500

condolence

gift it was po

for me to go back for the funeral, have

a

wonderful

reunion w i t h our children & my bro

to visit

four

of

our churches.

I was back by Sept. 27th .

Five days after m y return, M ark, Lynn and the kiddies left for a nine month furlough tak

Kara

family for their one month sight-seeing tour. Many of you in Indiana

&

Ke

met these

fine

Christian people who

operate

the

Kentucky

House

Restaurant in Isehara.

Y

have read the story

in

Horiz ons about Mich itaro, their son. In addition to

visiting

livi

k ch urc hes

Mark is concentrating on his

Master's thesis

at Cincinnati.

In

Mark

and

Lynn's

absence, Sara Bumey, the daughter of

Don

and Norma Burney,

Shikoku,

w

I

with our

children.

Stateside

Rick, Shar a, Lydia, Paul

D,

Paul

S,

Mary

brothers, Ralph, Paul, George, E r a o j r y

sisters,

Lillian,

Catherine, Wiletta


2/15

from George Pepperdine U. last June

has

come

to

take

over their classes

and

to live

rented house* We, too, appreciate her teaching S.S, for us, playing the piamo and assis

with Tiny

Tots

Worship at the Sannobara Church.

Many thanks to you who have taken away part of the loneliness for us at Christmas with yo

gifts,

edible

and wearable gifts and lovely cards. As we have said before, the growth

family in Christ here is great reward. Five adults

were baptized

in 1978, one is

the

hu

of our treasurer and

two others were

a

couple

united in

Christ.

'Tom* Takahashi spoke

h

on his

Christmas

card.

I don't

forget your

kindness to me, forever. I'm

always happy

Jesus. God bless you. These dedicated Christians are yours

and

our fruit.

Did you know that The Little House

on

the

Prairie

is

pointing up

Christian

princ

to Japan's Saturday

P.M. audiences?

Christian documentary (testimonies)

televisi

is shown weekly

on

Thursday at 9^00 A.M. in addition to the Hope For Tomorrow seri

each

Saturday at

7iOO

A.M?. • he Sannobara

Church

is in the process of

becoming

a No

Corporation?. f

a

driver is shown by the balloon test to have alcohol on

his

brea

his

driver's

license?.

hile

American children look for San

Christmas, the Japanese children

head

for grandma & grandpa' s house on New Years hoping f

New

Year' s Treasure, and they are

getting

$50

to S500

each,

depending on

the status

or

weal

the

grandparents?.

arrel

e

Peggy Worley and little Tracy from the

North

Liberty Churc

are

now

worshipping

with us? Darrel is

a Marine

Guard

working

at

both the

Atsu

Kamiseya Naval Stations about

kO minutes away

by car.

Harold Akers

was

installed as a

Trustee

of

the

Central Japan

Christian

Mission at our Se

He and Neomia have been busy traveling

to

churches

as

our representatives. Th

display materials

and are awaiting your call. Dial 219-288-0098.

Believe it or not, Japan's new prime minister is

a

Christian.

However,

before

Ohira

w

is called The New Victor's Buddhist Temple

in

Chiba.

Since

the

Premier Christian groups have been speaking out.

When he

announced plans

to

vis

Ise Shrines

they petitioned

against it. They state d that the Premier's visit to Shinto-ty

contravened article

20 of

the Constitution, which bans all

religious

activities

of t

Likewise

they

stated that Mr. Ohira as a Christian, should not

do

such a thing,

if

any religious conscience . Maybe the Christians

can

help keep Ohira' s shoes polished.

By no

stretch of

the

imagination could

a

Christian reasoning be

given to

the recent trage

more than 900 suicides. Suicides are common

in

Japan. Just a few

days

before that Guya

reached our

news wires we

read

of

a family

of

nine

persons in rural Japan

dying

in

Very

keenly aware

of

the

Christian commitment

is

Masami

Sugimoto

who

is

servi

an orphan home. He observed that, In a

real

sense when we give ourselves to Christ we co

suicide. The

old

man

of

sin dies and we begin

a

new life in Him. He is

giving

no apol

for physically taking one's life. But Masami has caught Jesus

challenge

that, Unless

of wheat

falls into

the earth i n d

dies, it remains

by

itself alone;

but if

it di^s,

much fruit. (John 12:24 NASV)

Are

we bearing much fruit? ^^

rr j:

If you have

moved

and

wish

to continue receiving the 'Epistle' just drop a post

card

to o

Or if a shut-in

would

like, we

want

to sent the 'Epistle'

directly

to

t

is Betty Burnham's address and she will

be

glad to send it to anyone who wishes.

Christian Mission

19194 Helen St-

South Bend, Indiana, 46637

A

Non-profit Organization

Address Correction Requested

BULK

RATE

U S

POSTAGE

PAID

South

Bend,

Ind

Permit

No. 31


3/15

CENTRAL JAPAN CHRISTIAN MISSION

Forwarding Address

Mrs,

Mary

Lou

Bauer

2910

E. 98th

Sto

Indianapolis,

IN

46280

Ph.

317-844-3659

25

Overseas Address

Paul

Kathleen

Pratt

1210

Kamikasuya,

Isehara City

Kanagawa ken 259-11* Japan

Ph. 046>95-1019

P

o -

r

u

no T

(Paul

Mark's Epistle)

NEW CAMPUS MINISTRY ADDRESS

Mark Lynn Pratt

3182 Tokiwa, Machida City

Tokyo

194-02, Japan

Ph.

0427-97-191^

Temporary Furlough Address

Mark Lynn

Pratt

c/o Hubert Lusby, Rt.

1,

Williamstown, KY

41097

Ph. 606-824-5552

Vol. 23,

February,

1979

Dear

friends,

PROM J A P A N W e w e r e f e e l i n g a l i t t l e g u i l t y a b o u t b e i n g a l l c o m f o r t a b l e

h e r e

i n

c e n t r a l h e a t i n g w h i l e S a r a h

w a s

s t i c k i n g i t o u t i n t h e d r a f t y h o u s e

w e d

r e n t e d i n J a p a n .

But

s h e w r o t e t h a t i t s b e e n

a

r a t h e r

m i l d w i n t e r .

I n

a d d i t i o n , s h e b a k e d s o m u c h

for

t h e

s t u d e n t s ar o u n d C h r i s t m a s

t i m e t h a t

t h e o v e n h e a t w a r m e d

t h e

h o u s e q u i t e n i c e ly i

S a r a h

c o n t i n u e s

t o h a n d l e o u r w o r k i n a n o u t s t a n d i n g a n d

r e s p o n s i b l e

w a y . W o r k e r s

a r e

b a d l y n e e d e d a l l o v e r J a p a n .

So

S a r a h h a s h a d s e v e r a l a s k

h e r t o

c o m e a n d w o r k w i t h

them after she

finishes

her

work at

Obirin.

M o m a n d D a d P r a t t r e p o r t e d a n u n u s u a l l y l a r g e

c r o w d f o r N e w

Y e a r s S u n d a y . O f t e n

e v e n

t h e C h r i s t i a n s

w i l l g o t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n a l l t h e S h i n t o

a c t i v i t i e s

at

t h e

s h r i n e s

o n

N e w

Y e a r s

D a y — t h a t c a n b e

v e r y d i s c o u r a g i ng .

S o

w e r e j o i c e

w i t h

t h e m i n t h i s

v i c t o r y .

D a d a n d

s o m e

of

t h e o t h e r m i s s i o n a r i e s

u n i t e d

t o d i s t r i b u t e 7 , 0 0 0 p i e c e s

of

l i t e r a t u r e

i n

a

n e a r b y t o w n .

T h e y

w e r e t o

p a s s o u t j u s t t h a t m a n y

t h e n e x t d a y , a l s o . M o m

s a i d

she was amazed that they just didn't pass

out,

period

FROM THE

U . S . I n D e c e m b e r , w e e n j o y e d s h a r i n g a b o u t o u r w o r k w i t h :

The

C h u r c h

o f

C h r i s t a t N i c h o l s o n , I n d e p e n d e n c e ,

K Y ; C h r i s t s C h u r c h

a t E a s t s i d e P a r k ,

B u t l e r ,

K Y ; E r l a n g e r C h u r c h o f

C h r i s t ,

E r l a n g e r , K Y . W e s p e n t f o u r d a y s i n

S t . L o u i s ,

M i c h i g a n ,

v i s i t i n g

w i t h t h e

p e o p l e o f

t h e C h u r c h

o f

C h r i s t t h e r e . D u r i n g

t h e l o n g w e e k e n d , L y n n

s p o k e t o t h e l a d i e s g r o u p ;

a n d

t h e l a d i e s s u r p r i s e d h e r w i t h a s h o w e r o f p e r s o n a l g i f t s .

I s p o k e a t

t h e

r e t i r e e s l u n c h e o n .

W e

a l s o p r e s e n t e d

o u r

s l i d e p r o g r a m a n d a ns w e r e d

CALENDAR

MAR 18

p.m.

25

a m

p.m.

AIR 1 a m

p.m.

15

p.m.

20-22

29

a m

p.m.

MAY

p.m.

13

a m

River Drive Christian Church, Irvine,

KY

Westlawn Church

of

Christ, Shepherd,

MI

Church of Christ, Bangor,

MI

Church of Christ at Delhi, Cincinnati,

O H

Montgomery Road

Church of

Christ,

Cincinnati,

O H

Goshen Christian

Church,

Morning View, KY

Western Hills Church of Christ, Cincinnati,

O H

Plum Cree k Christian Church, Butler,

KY

Elsmere

Church of

Christ,

Elsmere,

KY

Mars Hill

Church of

Christ, Indianapolis,

IN

Hi Point Church of Christ,

Beliefontaine,

O H


4/15

questions, spoke

to

the combined adult Sunday-school classes and to the children's

wor

ship session. The

children presented

us

with

an offering they had been saving.

After three

Christmases

in Japan, it

was a

special

treat

to

celebrate

Christmas in

the States. We had

memorable

visits with relatives from

both

the Pratt

side

and the

Lusby side

of the

family. And,

of course,

we

made

sure we

were here at home

on Christmas

morning so

Santa

Claus

could

find us. Several of you remembered us with cards and gifts

—as always,

we

appreciate

this

thoughtfulness.

January travels took us

to

the Dean Ave. Christian Church

in

Terre Haute, IN. In

Pennsylvania

we

spoke

to the

Church

of Christ

in

Vanderbilt

(Dad

Pratt's

home

area)

and to the Norwin Christian

Church in

Irwin—a first-time

visit.

The

very

next week

end, we were

in

Michigan

where

we

stayed

with

Lynn's aunt.

We

brought

the

people up

to

date

on our work at Macomb Christian Church in Sterling Heights

and

the Greiner Ave.

Church of Christ in Detroit. We also had

Monday night

dinner with the

Roger Agler

family in

Utica, regular

contributors.

All during

January

and

February

we worried that bad

weather would

force us to

cancel

our

speaking dates;

but

we only had

to

postpone

one. The first Sunday

in February

found

us

at

the

Silver

Grove Christian

Church, Silver

Grove,

KY, in the morning;

then

at H i g h v i e w C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h

i n

C i n c i n n a t i ,

OH,

for t h e

e v e n i n g

s e r v i c e . ( A n y t i m e

w e ' r e

in Cincinnati, we

try

and sneak in

a

visit with my sisters, Mary Pratt, and Rick and

Lydia

Coyle

and

Shara.) That

same

week Lynn

spoke

to the

Highview

Ladies'

Open

Circle.

The ladies

presented

us with

some much-needed

baby gifts.

Oh, guess

we

haven't told you yet—about the time you get this, our third child is

due to be born. Consequently, Lynn

and

the kids have skipped some of the long trips.

But I have been

lucky

to have

a

good traveling companion in

Yuichi Nick Nakagawa.

Nick is a

member of the Sannobara

Chiirch

of Christ

in Isehara

where Dad works. He' s

here

studying

English and taking

a

couple

of

classes

at

The

Cincinnati

Bible College,

It's been kind of

fun

to

show

off this fine Christian young

man

from

Japan—not

to

men

tion what

a blessing

he's been to those who have

heard

him sing or speak.

These few weeks

have been

a

series

of deadlines. It

was receipt-sending

time, news

letter-writing time, financial report time, tax-figuring time, and time to turn in the

first

draft

of

my

thesis—everything suddenly due at once—including the baby So we've

been

having a

pretty hectic time of it recently. I f y thesis

topic, The

Concept of

Sin in

Japan, is a difficult one. But research is needed on this subject;

and,

it is my hope

that other missionaries will

be able

to use my material for more

effective

evangelism in

Japan.

URRENT NEEDS

Pledges for the land (Monthly payments run o ^ e r

$700)

Baby clothes (any size)

Prayer for Sarah who is

working

in our

absence

Prayer for the Spirit to work in the hearts of

the young people we reached during our first

t e r m |

Increase

in

regular

support

For you to realize how grateful we are for

y ( ^ u r

constant

support.


5/15

M 7

Gleanings ugo

7? 79 W ' E M )

ASIA

Paul and MrSo Kathleen Pratt,

1210

Kamikasuya, Isehara City,

Kanagav;a

Ken 259-11 Japan phone

0465-95-JC19

give

an

update on their

furlough plans to

USA as: four

mont?as

from December, 1979

till April, 1980,

The

work

of

Paul,

and

Kathleen

in

Obirin Academy

in

Japan gives them

contact

' / i t h

some

400

Japanese

students per

week.

Their forwarding

agent

is:

Central

Japan

Christian

Mission,

Mrs, Mary

Lou Bauer,

2910 East 98th

Street, Indianapolis,

IN

46280 nhone

517)

844


6/15

7 ̂ C O^

o ru

no

T e-gami

(Paul

&

Mark's

Epistle)

CENTRAL

JAPAN CHRISTIAN MISSION

"..declare His

praise

in

the

islands." Isa. ̂ 2:12

Paul c

Kathleen Pratt

1210 Kamikasuya, Isehara City,

Kanagawa

Ken,

259-11?

Japan.

Ph. 0463 95 1019

friends,

Forwarding

Address

Mrs.

Mary

Lou Bauer

2910

East 98th St.,

Indianapolis, Ind., 46280

Ph. 317 844 3659

C.J.C.M. -

Campus

Ministry

Mark and Lynn

Pratt

3182 Tokiwa Cho,

Machida

Shi,

Tokyo 194-0 2,

Ph. 0427-97-1914

Vol.

XXIX, Spring, 1

We

praise the Lord for your faith fulness in linking

arms

with us.in this work,

"your gi

ered through us, will mean that many

will

thank God. For your giving does not end

g the wants

of

your fellow-Christians.

It

also results in an overflowing tide of than

to

God."

(II Cor. 9:11,12 Phillips)

You can

win

Japanese in the States

to

Christ. Sachiko Hashimoto was won

to

Christ by

of a

Christian family

in

Slayton, Minn.

She came to the

church

to

pray on

a week

day l

er. Kathleen invited her into the h ouse and listened to her story. She experienced t

istian love on

a

five w eek home stay program last summer.

Our

church people responded

to

d after gr aduating from

the nearby Chr istian horticulture college

in

March

she was

baptized

Sunday. Other s

of

our people have c aught th e vision

of

reaching

Japanese, Stateside.

mailed

out literature to

several

who w ant

Bibles and

literature in

Japanese, Praise

God

Besides Sachiko's baptism,

three

others at Isehara have

made the

decision

to

follow Chri

t

happened

when Mr.

Shiraada of

Sendai

held a three d ay evangelistic

meeting.

Though K

s

seventy-three

he has become

like

a

ch ild before God.

Masae is 15 and has been receptive f

first and already has been faithfully

serving

with

us. Kyoko, 24, wanted so badly to att

, even

back

when

she

began seeking that

she quit

her

job

in order

to

have

Sundays off.

Grandma Fujikawa

lives

across

the street

from

us. You may remember that years

ago

we t

calling me 'a god'. Last year the d octor gave up trying

to

heal

her

ulcer.

She

asked

for her

health and for the

icy

cold family situation that caused

her

ulcer. So we d

she

came with

a

smiling face b ringing some homemade

flowers, saying, "God

has answe

prayers. Though my family still won't speak to

me,

my ulser is cured.

But, she

said,

ould not only ask

God for

things. I must walk the

straight path.

God

knows

everything I

d sinc e I'm getting old, I will die

soon.

So, I want to please Him. She

has not

yet und

need to be baptized, but w e

are

amazed

at

this

child like

faith.

It

reflects w hat

in Sunday School nearly

seventy

years ago.

Sachiko

Hashimoto

rfw

[

rfj

'HU

Grandma Fujikawa giving flowers to Kathleen


7/15

At this year s congregational meeting the

Church

choose seven leaders besides

six trustees

of this

religious non-profit

The

trustees

are

Michio

Inoue,

Pratt,

Hiromichi

Kara,

Yukiya Shimokawa,

Yamada, and Katsumi

Yamazaki.

Paul is

Oui

tUNToA/

5L.^4.-

More opportunities have

come at Obirin V i v / y / /

—.

I

am

in

the chapel speaking sched-

awd

t e a c h i n g

t w o

c l a s s e s

a t

t h e

j u n i o r h i g h

|

^

^

O l d

T e s t a m e n t

H i s t o r y (in J a p a n e s e ) , o f f e r - w

a Study

in

the

Epistle of James as an el-

in

the College. Now the Christian

club

asking

for

a bi-monthly Bible study

in

English

and

Japanese. These are in

addition

to

of English

Conversation

I teach

in

the college. Kathleen

is

busy, too, with

twel

at

the

junior college. Thereby

we

are reaching

some

400

students

a

w e e k . _

Do you know

that...as of recent

elections,

Isehara

has one

Christian

serving

on

the

C

of

Christian protests Prime Minister Ohira visited the shrines

at

Yasuku

Ise?...elementary

students

play time is

limited because many of them

attend

several class

abacus,

music,

English,

kendo,

judo

etc.

besides

public

school? This is probably one cau

the recent increase in children s suicides...Sixteen persons from the Sannobara Church w

the

kOO

who

attended this yea r s Japa n Christian Convention at

Wakayama?...you

can save

notifying us of any change of address?...Mark and Lynn are still ma king plans

to

retu

Japan sometime in

June, this time with three (wonderful)

children?...MARY

JOYCE

is serving

Mt, Healthy Christian Home

in

Cincinnati,

Ohio

as a recreational

director?

Furloughs of various missionaries will cut down

our

literature

distribution

efforts.

H

with

the coming of Bill and Betty Turner and the return of Julius Fleenor

we

plan to go

o

w e e k wi h

a

team

of

four

or

five. Several persons have come to church, ev^gelistlx me

ings have been given wide

coverage,

nearlyia

hundred Bibles have be

sent

out, many are enrolled

in

Bible Correspondence Courses

and

PAUL D PRATT s c o r e of t h e s e h a v e come t o

d e c i s i o n s for

C h r i s t . Needless

s a y , w e h a v e

g o t t e n

s o m e

n a s t y

c a r d s b a c k

i n

r e s p o n s e , t o o .

ATTORNEY AT LAW o j

i 1

H , s

R E s i G N A T , O N

F R O M

E p i s t l e T e a c h e s y o u

p r o b a b l y

t h e • H o r i z o n

will hav e corrected

their statement about

our

furlough

plans.

As

HUGHES AIRCRAFT COMPANY ^ow, w e are

looking

forward to taking

about

four

months from

Dece

To

E N T E R

I N T O F U L L - T I M E bcr till April

ucxt year.

PAUL .PRATT

ATTORNEY ATLAW

ANNOUNCES

HIS

RESIGNATION

FROM

HUGHES

IRCRAFTCOMPANY

TO

ENTER INTO FULL-TIME

PRACTICEOF LAW

fl 5

.

MARKET STREET

UITE eOO CIRCLE TOWER

INDIANAPOLIS. INDIANA

46204

(317) 636-7645

With deliberation our L ord la id the groundwork and fulfill

His promise of

power

upon the

Apostles,

enabling

them

to launch H

church some 19^ 7 (?)years a go. What a good time of year

it

is f

us to appraise ourselves to see how we measure up. Are our

eyes

all nations ?

our

program

His?

Has

our

message changed? H

our

zeal

diminished? Do our methods agree? Do we have His power?

. : T

^

Japan Christian

Mission

1919^

Helen

St.

S outh Bend, I ndiana, 46637

A

Non-Profit Organization

Address

Correction Requested

BULK

RATE

U.S. POSTAGE

P I

South Bend, Ind

Permit

No.

31

Ai

=

L

E


8/15

CENTRAL



Mark Lynn

Pratt

3182

Tokiwa,

Machida City

Tokyo 19^-02, Japan

Ph.

0427-97-191^

^

p

o - r u no T f a a i

(Paul Mark's

Epistle)

Forwarding Address

Mrs.

Mary

Lou Bauer

2910

E. 98th

St.

Indianapolis, IN 46280

Ph.

317-344-3659

Vol.

23, May,

1979

Dear friends—

Overseas Address

Paul Kathleen Pratt

1210 Kamikasuya,

Isehara City

Kanagawa ken 259-11> Japan

Ph. 046>95-1019

This last hitch of our furlough has

gone

by fast.

The

car has held

up

well

and

has

carried

us many miles.

We enjoyed being with the Pleasant View

Church of

Christ

in Cassopolis, MI. They have

be en

regular contributors

to Mom

and

Dad s work.

The

first part

of

March offered us a

little change of

pace

from

our regular mission

presentation.

The

First

Christian Church in Springfield, OH, invited me for

their

faith

promise

rally

where I challenged the

youth

to

get

involved in mission work.

I

was a part of the

annual

mission

rally at Kentucky

Christian College and

also

spoke to three

churche s

in that

Ashland,

KY—Hunt-

ington, WV, area. During the

last

half

of

March we

spoke

at:

Southside Church of Christ, Falmouth, KY;

River

Drive Christian Church,

Irvine,

KY; Westlawn Church

of Christ, Shepherd, MI; Church of Christ, Bangor, MI;

and had

two

sessions

during Missions Emphasis

Week at

The Cincinnati Bible

Seminary.

On April Pool's

Day

we had a great time in Cincinnati,

OH,

at

the Church of Chris t, Delhi

and

Montgomery

Road

Church of Christ

where

we

used

to

s e r v e

as youth

minis

ter. The rest of April was

quite

busy as

we visited:

Sherman

Church

of

Christ, Sherman, KY; Goshen Christian

Church, Morning View,KY; Church of Christ, Buchanan, Ml;

Plum Cre ek

Christian

Church, Butler,

KY;

E l sme r e Church

of Christ,

Elsmere, KY. Also

in April Lynn spoke to

the

ladies ' group at the church

in

Bethel, OH. And

I

was the

main speaker for the faith

promise

rally at the Western

Hills Church of Christ, Cincinnati, OH,

The

month

of May will

bring

our travels to

a

close.

Our

thanks to these churches for having us: Mars Hill

Church of Christ, Indianapolis,

IN; Hi Point

Church of

Chris t, Belie fontaine,

OH; St.

Mary's Church of Chris t,

St, Mary's, OH;

Elizabeth

Christian Church, Ber ry, KY;

Mt.

Pleasant Church of Christ, Williamstown,

KY.

ANNOUNCING

Clinton James

Pratt

Born: March 21, 1979

2:03

P'Ti-

Christ Hospital

Cincinnati, Ohio

Weight: 9lbs. 7 oz.

Length: 20j

inches


9/15

Pictured

left

to

right

are: Harry

Bauer«

Paul

D.

Pratt,

Ernie and Polly Wilkinson, Roger and Betty Burnham,

Mark Pratt, and Harold and Neomia Akera.

Directors' names are underlined.

I was glad to be able to

meet

with

the

board

of

directors

of

our

mission

in

April.

Some of

you

may not know

who

is

on

the board. The Wilkin

sons

and the

Burnhams

have

been involved

in

my

family's

mission

work

ever since

we

first

went

to Japan in

1958.

So

they

are

quite

well

informed. The

Akers

have

visited.the field

for a 5-r^onth

term of

service. The Bauers

have also visited, and

Mary

Lou

currently

acts

as

our forwarding

secre

tary. Paul is

able

to

offer

advice

on legal

matters. This

group

helps us in

planning

and

on major decisions. (Mary

Lou

and Lynn were not

able

to attend.)

GRADUATION

On

May 11, 1979* 1

received

the Master of Arts

degree in

the field

of

Apologetics from

The Cincinnati Christian

Seminary. My thesis, The

Concept

of Sin in Japanese

Thought,

was written

under

the

direction

of Dr. Jack

Cottrell.

thanks to Mom Lusby for

countless

hours of babysit

ting while we worked,

to

Lynn

for

rough draft typing and

proofreading,

to my sister

Mary for typing

the

final

copy, and

to

friends

in

the

U.S. and Japan for their

helpful suggestions. Special

o

p

§

o

h

Is

t id

Q9

This picture

shows

a group

from the 1970

Obirin

College English

Camp.

I

hope to

participate

in

the

camp

again this

sunmer.

I am also scheduled

to speak for Obirin chapel services4 imes soon

after we return

to

Japan. I'm

really

excited

about

a new

job I've been

offered.

The Obirin

Junior High

School has asked

me to teach two

Bible classes in

the

curriculum. We feel

like

a

lot can

be

accomplished through these classes

since they re

strictly

Bible, and I ll be

teaching them in Japanese,


10/15

CENTRAL JAPAN CHRISTIAN MISSION


Mark Lynn Pratt

3182

Tokiwa, Machida City

Tokyo 19^-02, Japan

Ph. 0427-97-191^

SEP2

P o

- r u

no

T e-i;aBX

(Paul Mark's Epistle)

Forwarding Address

Mrs.

Mary Lou Bauer

2910 E.

8th

St.

Indianapolis, IN

46280

Ph. 317-844-3659

Overseas

Address

Paul

. Kathleen

Pratt

1210 Kamikasuya,

Isehara City

Kanagawa ken

259-ll»

Japan

Ph. 0463-95-1019

Vol.

23, August,

1979

Dear

friends,

Ta

da i

ma.

We're home

The day after we arrived

home, I was

scheduled to speak at the

Obirin

High

School

chapel service. The

clock

said

8:45 a.m.,

but

my

bones

told

me

it

was

sometime

in

the

middle of the night. Nevertheless, it

was

exciting to

be back

on

campus

and

eat up

the

warm

welcome I received. During

our

first

three

weeks home I spoke in chapel five times.

Then the

Obirin

students were out for

the

summer. My regular classes of junior hi

English, junior hi Bible, and college English will begin

again

the

first

week in Septem

ber. I have resumed teaching

my

private classes at Sumitomo Construction Research Company,

Kyowa

Hakko Laboratories,

and the Morino

Tutoring School. We

have

to

teach

these classes

in order to

make

ends meet. Although they are strictly English classes, we

do try

to use

these opportunities as a means of witnessing.

This

summer again

I had

a

wonderful experience

at

Obirin's English Seminar. None of

the other teachers stayed the

full

week. I'm not sure whether that means I have extra

endurance

or am just

a

glutton for punishment. Anyway, the 12 sessions

I

led

went well

I had

prepared

material

from

the Bible, true-life stories about God's leading, and Chris

tian

music. The

final

night three of us stayed up most of the night

talking

about

Japanese

religions, God, and Christ.

Three students from San Jose Bible College arrived to spend a week in the Tokyo area

before visiting other missions in Japan. They helped

us

in

two

Sunday services plus a

Saturday night youth cook-in

(that's

a

cookout that

got

rained

on). We

brought the thre e

students to Machida long

enough

to show

them

where we

work

and fix

them

a

sukiyaki

supper.

The San Jose young people.

Dad, and

I

all went to Yoko-

suka

to

help

the

Fattens

with

their first

beach evangelism

effort

(held

in conjunction

with

their

church

retreat).

The meeting included distrib

uting liter ature, talking

with

people, giving

testimonies

over a loud-speaiker,

sind

mak

ing announcements

about the

church. I spoke once

and led

some

of the music.

Obirin

English

Seminar

•


11/15

On

the second Sunday

of

the San

Jose

young

people's

visit, three more students Mr.

A1 Hammond arrived. That night we had a Tokyo area youth

meeting/cultural exchange.

Nakagawa-san £ u i

Koizumi-san (from

Dad s church) and I were in charge of the music.

The month of August usually means several trips to the airport. We picked up Miss

Sheryl

Rice

from Madras, Oregon, who arrived

just

in

time to

help with Dad s VBS. Sheryl

Turner (daughter of missionaries Bill

and

Betty

Turner)

also

came to

work. We all

spent

the

week

at Dad s conducting what we concluded was a successful

VBS. One

of the good

points was that some of the mothers stayed each day to listen.

Sheryl Rice

spent the

next week

visiting

friends

and

doing

some

research for my

English/Bible

class. Another trip to the airport to welcome Sheryl*s mother, Naomi

Rice—and

still

another trip the

next

day

to

send her off to

Okinawa

where

she

will

be

teaching at the Christian School there.

Our church

retreat

will be

the

last weekend in August.

Kikkawa-san s

(preacher in

Ono City) rich spiritual food, the cool air, and the beautiful scenery

at

Mt.

Fuji

will

provide a

much-needed

refresher.

Mark translating testimony by

Casey

Larsen

of SJBC

at beach

Saturday night

cook-in

REMEMBER TO PRAY:

OUR THANKS TO EACH OF YOUl

for

Yuki

Ota,

one

of my Obirin

students,

who has

been

attending

Dad's

church regularly

for

four

months. Also pray with us that we can

get

three

more

students to start attending in

the

next

three months

for our land fund/building plans.

If

you ve

been involved

in

a building program at

home,

you know

how much

trouble

and e:q)ense

it is.

Double that, and that's

what it's

like

in

Japan. Monthly payments are being made to

repay the loan on the

land. At

the same time

we must

save

tow€Lrd

the

building. We

need

your help in this project.

Sincerely yours—and His,


12/15

•

v rs s

r ss

— \ / ( T )

P

o

- r u

no T e-gami

(Paul &

Mark's Epistle)

CENTRAL JAPAN CHRISTIAN MISSION ^

"..declare

His

praise

in

the

islands." Isa. ̂ 2: 12

Forwarding Address

Mrs.

Mary

Lou Bauer

2910 East 98th St.,

Indianapolis,

Ind.,

Ph. 317-844-3659

Paul Kathleen

Pratt

1210 Kainikasuya, Isehara City,

Kanagawa

Ken,

259-111

Japan.

Ph. 0463-95-1019

friends,

... in the

wilderness shall waters

break out

streams

in the

desert. And

the parched ground

a pool, and the th irstyland wrings

water:"

(Isa.

35*Di7/ Having unprepared hearts

showing th e

usual

opposition to the gospel,

years

ago

Iseh ara was

a

desert,

thirsty

unproduc tive and unaware

of this fact. As

He

our God has answered your prayers pro

fruit out of

barrenness.

On

Sept.

1979

'ight

adults

voted unanimously to

accept

sed Constitution and

By-laws and to

seat

seven trustees required by Japanese law, (see

at right) Our

sights

are on

more harvests.

At the close of this congregational meeting Mr.

Matsunaga announced his desire

to

be

bap

on Sept. 9th. This makes

the

seventh family

r church that is united in Christ.

C.J.C.M. - Campus Ministry

Mark and

Lynn Pratt

3182 Tokiwa Cho,

46280

Machida

Shi,

Tokyo

194-02

Ph. 0427-97-191^

Vol. XXII, No. 3, Autumn, 1

NOTICE:

KATHLEEN AND I

ARE

MAKING PLANS FOR

A

MONTH

FURLOUGH

IN THE

STATES

AS

OF DECEMBER.

TIME

YOU

MAY CONTACT US AT THE INDIANAPOLIS ADDRESS.

Back:

Paul,

Shimokawa, Sugimoto, Hara

Front:

Mark, Yamazaki, Yamada

Ko

I

was

thrilled to be able

to

visit

for four days in

Kagoshima to help

in

a

retreat

with

the Kagoshima Ch urch. I met with old friends we had mad e in Christ twenty years ag

benefit

was

a two day visit with another 'Timothy', Hideto Yoshii and his family along my

p r e s e n t a d d r e s s

is 5 - 1 - 3 2 T a k a m i

D a i , Y a h a t a

N i s h i , K i t a K y u s h u , B o ? ,

J a p a n .

H i d e t o

i s

s e r

a haplain in a mission sch ool, h olding regular

services

near the sch ool and at h is home.

In

addition to our own

church

retreat this summer we had a D.V.B.S. and Stateside visitors.

who

proceeded

us to Japan years ago

brought

six

students of

San Jose Bible

College w

now

serves. Three

of

them were with us for one week

helping

with special

programs

and

joi

in

a

Beach side Evangelism

with

the Yokosuka Church.

Then

the

whole

group

joined

together

f

at the Kamioch iai

Church

in Tokyo. It helped boost the fellowship

of

our

area. Th

and gangl

Kathleen took advantage

of

her

summer

vacation from teaching

to

return to Indianapolis for

Lou

Bauer

(her

sister

and

our forwarding agent) was

hospitalized

for

a

gall

bla

and

Kathleen

assisted

when

she returned home

from

the hospital.

She came

back

to

J

August

16th, happy day

No more batching I so

appreciated

Lynn's

taking care

of my

meals

leaving

prepared

foods

for me.

Our

church

ladies, too,

took pity on me and prep

dishes

which

I enjoyed.

"Lord, we thank you

for

the ch ance

to

attend Sannobara's

(Isehara)

Retreat and

to receive

Kikawa's

challenge. Help our

little

church

here

at Zushi to be revived and

to

begin this

from September

to

be a greater

witness

for you."

Th ose are

^ h e

words

of

Mr. Hiraraoto,

e

the church who attended

our

week-end retreat with four other-Zushi members. From

his

other

he is determined to

help

answer that

prayer.

We are

sorry

that those

of you

who receive the

Epistle

by

direct mail d i d

not

receive

a

the

Spring letter.

The

packet

evidently was

lost

between Cincinnati

and

South Bend.


13/15

Hichitaro,

Age

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER You

read

about

Michitaro

last fall in

the

Horizons.

is the

little

fella who witnessed to other k i f l s in the hospital. He is

in g o o d

health, but all

of

a sudden on August 1st his t e m p e r a t u r e

i l h e e v e n t u a l l y l o s t c o n s c i o u s n e s s .

h j l l e

r e q u e s t i n g p r a y e r s f r o m

his mother called in

her family doctor

for

a

second opinion. Tw o

had said, "j ust a summer

cold".

He was rushed off t o emergency w ith

conclusion

that

it was spinal meningitis.

He

remained

unconscious

till

4th.

A n o t h e r

c h i l d a r r i v e d

a Say^ater

t h a n h e w i t h t h e

s a m e s i c k n e s s ,

died the next

day. That Saturday

morning

brought the long-awaited

call

Haras from the

doctor.

"You can breathe easier, now.

In

answer

to

question Mit Chan answered, *Yes, y ou're Keiko Chan's daddy'."

Mr.

Hara

in

church the next

day. It

was

a

tearful but joy ful

mo

as

he

said,

were about

at our

wits end, even ready to give up our

b e f o r e

t h e n e w s c a m e .

B u t ,

n̂ o w t h a t G o d

a n s w e r s

p r a y e r s ,

as He h a s

d o n e b e f o r e .

W

o u r G o d " A p p l a u s e a n d a m e n s f o l l o w e d . A g a i n ,

a s

b e f o r e , M i c h i t a r o p r a y e d a n d wit

d

to the other kids in the ward. At first they made fun

of

him

when

he talked about praying

God, Later, they were w on over

to

his

side and began praying

themselves.

They w ere cr

he

was discharged.

Can you

imagine

the imp act this surely

had on the

doctors,

nurses,

kids' parents. This

boy

is a natural leader. Pray

God

can use him.

"T he-college campus is a mission field." (Horizons, Ap ril 15i 1979) This is true in a spe

on this m ission field. Mark and

I

both serve as chaplains at Obirin Academy . Thru the B

the work with the Christian Club, decisions have been m ade for Christ. With the

ft.

lot

w e have purchased we have p lans to erect a

campus building

which

will

serve

as

a

for

teaching the Word and double for Mark and Lynn's home. T h e y are making special app

now for

funds

for this imp ortant project. "T ake it to the Lord in prayer"

Then do

a

you. MARK

YOUR CHECK

FOR CAMPUS MINISTRY

CENTRAL JAPAN CHRISTIAN MISSION.

Did you know hat

the

Sannobara Church will celebrate

the

3th anniversary of

the

ded

of

it*s building

on

November 24th? At that time

Norihiko

Saito,

Prof,

of

Osaka

Bible

S

will direct an

evangelistic meeting.

hat surveys show about 70^

of those

who accept

in

Japan are from Christian homes, or spent

some

ti me

in

their youth

in

Sunday

School

o

mission school?

hat Mary

Joyce

Pratt

is

in

Colorado? Her

address

is

296O E.

College

Boulder,

Colorado,

80303..

that

the

Japanese

desire for

status

plus

their social

of gift-giving

help m a k e

real barg ains and discounts almost non-existent, thus sending

of commodities sky high.

While

comp osing this letter

(Sept. 9th)

w e

got

a

telephone

call

from

Hideto

Yoshii infor

that

his

mother had passed away. Many lives

throughout

Japan have been blessed by Mr. &

and their

seven children, all

of

who m have been

active Christians. Tw o

of them are mi

of the gosp el. "Blessed

are

the

dead who

dii

in

the Lord...for

their

deeds follow

them

"Though I

have

much

to

write

to you,...I

hope to come

to

see you

and talk

with you face

t h a t

o u r

j o y

m a y i b e

c o m p l e t e . " ( b o r r o w e d ' f r o m t ^ h n ' s T h i r d E p i s t l e ) I f y o u w o u l d

to

visit your church or group

please

write us

at

our Indianapolis

address.

^

Japan Christian Mission

19194

Helen St.

South Beqd, Indiana, 46637

" T h y word is

truth

^

on-profit Organization

Address

Correction Requested

BULK RATE

U.S. POSTAG

P ID

South Bend, In

Permit

No. 31


14/15

CENTRAL


new CAl^PUS MINISTRY ADDRESS

Mark

&

Lynn Pratt

5182

Tokiwa, Machida City

Tokyo 19^-02,

Japan

Ph.

0427-97-191^

5

T )

P

o * 7 * 1 1 no T

(Paul

t

Mark's Epistle)

Forwarding Address

Mrs.

Mary Lou Bauer

2910

E. 98th

St.

Indianapolis,

IN

46280

Ph. 317-844-^59

Overseas Address

Paul & Kathleen Pratt

1210

Kamikasuya, Isehara City

Kanagawa ken 259-11» Japan

Ph. 0463-95-1019

Vol. 23i November, 1979

Dear friends.

All of

the

classes

at

Obirin were

in

full swing in September. This keeps

me

very busy—

especially

the

junior high Bible class which I

teach

in Japanese, because

it

takes con

siderable preparation. I'm

taking

about fifteen

of

these junior high

kids

to

see The Ten

Commandments downtown.

The students

who

are

members

of Obirin's English clubs

enlisted r a y

help

for

the festival

program.

This involves

my correcting

the skits they have written

in

English.

It's a

great

chance to be with the students,

yet

it is

perplexing.

For, after spending several hours

going

over

their strange English, I

get

to the point where I can't speak it

myself1

The private English/Bible class that

I

teach using popular Christian songs

has

grown.

There

are

about

twenty

different students attending now.

The

school

has given me

kind

of

an office. Actually it's

shared with

many

teachers-

Never

theless,

it's a

place

to work where Karis, Cason,

and Clinton

can't help Daddy.

Because

I

was given

this

office

I

determined to

be

there

at

certain

hours

and passed

out

notes

in

my classes

to

that effect. As

a

result of this effort, I've been

able to

do some

extra

counselling.

We

also printed and distributed invitations

to

the students

to go to church

with

us. Since the last newsletter seven students have gone

with

us. Twoof thenrseem really

i n t e r e s t e d a n d w i l l b e g o i n g

f o r t h e

t h i r d w e e k s t r a i g h t

t h i s

S u n d a y . ^

Emily

PRAY WITH USl

The work at Obirin sometimes seems over

whelming.

Pray for our strength.

Pray for our students,

particularly

Emily

and

Puff.

We are

in the prayer

and

planning

stages

of

a fund-raising campaign for

our new

building.

We can't

take

a loan on

top

of the one

we have

for the land. We must

have the funds to begin

building.


15/15

October got even busier, if that's possible.

For

Lynn

it

meant beginning Karis* first grade

teaching using

a

correspondence course, and

doing an

assignment for Standard

Publishing.

On

top of my regular work

load,

it was exam time

at

Obirin. The grading was endless.

In

fact,we

might have labeled the whole

month

of October

"Overwork"

if it hadn't been

for our

wonderful

trip

to

the Walter

Maixeys

in

Kagoshima. But at first we wondered if we were going to get

knocked out of that. A typhoon hit,

stranding

us at

a hotel near the

airport

for

a night. I

was

a sad scene with Karis crying in

Tokyo

and Shelley

crying

in

Kagoshima

over

the delay.

But the next

several

days brought beautiful weather

for

our visit.

I was

the speaker

for

Walter's

English

Bible camp, using the theme,

What

is

true

happiness and

how do

we

find

it?

We had a great time at camp with about

twenty-five campers.

We also stayed over for two days

of

fun

and talking with the Maxeys.

Mary

kept us well-fed, except for one batch of gooey

potatoes,

which

vre'll

blame

on

the

Japanese farmers

The school

festival

was

in

early

November. I

went to watch the English

clubs

perform. A

booth labeled

"Christ

Research

Group"

caught my attention.

I

was appalled to

see a

girl plac

ing her hand near the foreheads of

willing

siJia^nts--za^ping

them with some kind of power sh

called the comforter (not to be

confused

with

the

oly Spirit, she insisted). On display

were two

jars

of Japanese noodles. The jar that had been

"zapped"

had molded; the other jar

remained

fresh.

Curiosity

had drawn many

students to this

booth. Our

good friend, Mr.

Taka-

gaki^said

there

was

no way to stop

this

kind of

group. Apparently they

are

protected by

some

school

rule, because they

use

the name

"Christ" in their

group

name. I hope

to attend

their

regular meetings and confront

them

with

the

truth.

Several other rather

unsettling

things on campus have

come

to my attention. One

of the

teachers is interested in

Chri.6tian Science.

One of

my

students

studies

English at

the

Mor

mon church. They press him to attend their Bible classes. And

the

list goes on.

Up till

now

we had thought it was an advantage to be

on

a campus that encourages Christian teaching. But

we're

beginning to

see that many things

under the guise of Christianity

are possibly going t

^onfuse the students more than ever. The J apanese tend to lump all of Christianity together.

Therefore, they do not realize the danger of joining

groups that

do not teach the truth.

In

spite

of

some

of

these

things, we

are encouraged

in our

work.

Puff

brought two junior

hig

boys

to church, because he thought

it

would

be

a good experience for them. Two college boy

asked me: Do

you

teach

the

Bible? We want

to

study.

A

teacher said: Do you have church

services in

your

home?

If

you do, I will

come."

Thanks to all of you for

your

concern and help.

pratt paul kathleen 1979 japan

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