8/11/2019 Beckman George Ethel 1989 Japan
1/6
Osali^^
Ghri^t i^n
^iioiL
oj ^meric^^
No t - f o r -P ro f i t
Corpo ra t i on
FORWARDING
AGENTS
Roger & B er yl J oh ns on
3320
Westgate Parkway
Rockfo rd , XL 61108
8 1 5 - 3 9 9 - 3 6 9 0 J a n u a r y 20 , 1 989
Dea r
F r i e n d s
and Fe l l ow Work e r s ,
1^/9
OSAKA
BIBLE SEMINARY
MISSIONARIES
George & Ethe l Beckman
J e n a n n Be c kma n
2-415
Kiyoshikojin
Takarazuka
Hyogo Pre.
665
JAPAN
Phone
0797-86-1261
H e
who
sits
upon
th e th rone say s ,
Beho ld ,
I am
making
ll
t h i ng s
n ew . ( R e v . 2 1 : 5 .)
At th e beg inn ing o f
t h i s
new
yea r ,
we a re very
consc ious
o f new
t h i ngs
and even ts . e are deeply g ra t e fu l fo r your
prayers
and suppor t
t h a t
have
made ll
t h i s
po s s i b l e and
we p ray t h a t t h i s
new
yea r i s as ex c i t i n g and
c h a l l e n g i n g
i n
t h e Lord f o r each o f you
a s it
ha s so
f a r
been f o r u s .
We
have
a
new worke r
on
ou r team to b eg i n t h e work h e r e . Mr. Da ik i
Kishimoto gradua ted from I b a r a k i Ch r i s t i a n Col lege in
March
1988 and
became a
s t uden t
o f
Osaka
Bib l e Seminary . He preached h is first
sermon
on
Chris tmas
day to
which
s ix teen people
came
fo r our first Lord s Day
wor
sh ip . He wi l l preach th ree
Sundays
a month
and
George wil l preach
one
Sunday. Mr. Kishimoto i s a very
zealous
young man with a winning personal
ity
As
mos t
o f
you
know
we
have
been
p l ann i ng
and
l o ok i ng
f o rwa rd
t o
moving
to a new area and beginning a
new
work
fo r
the pas t
year . That
dream
became
a r ea l i t y
when
we
moved
to
our
new loca t ion on December
19
1988.
Tha t move was so much a b i gge r u nd er ta kin g th an
we
had dreamed t h a t
if
it
had no t been fo r th e h e lp o f
many
f r i e nd s we neve r would have made it We
had dreamed
and
planned to
be
here
in p l en ty o f t ime to ge t s e t t l e d
and
beg in work with a Chris tmas meet ing, bu t because o f th e many days
o f
r a i n
l st
summer
th e
cons t r uc t i on had been de layed so t h a t we were unab le to
move un t i l
Monday December 19
and
still
t h e re
were workmen around
t ry ing
to g e t
t h ings
f i n i shed . They f i n a l l y f i n i shed by
four
o c lock
Sa turday
af ternoon so
tha t the meeting room could be
cleaned
and furni ture
put in
p l ace in t ime f o r th e Chr i s tmas Eve mee t i ng we had
p l a n n e d .
On
th e twen t i e t h
Mr.
Kishimoto
and
f ou r
semina ry
s t ud en t s
d i s t r i b u t e d
tr cts
in
t h e ne i ghbo r hood telling
o f
t h e mee t ing t o be
he ld
on
Chr i s tma s
Eve.
Before
the
day
was over one
o f our neighbors
came to
the door
saying
t h a t
she
wanted to
come
to
th e meet ing and beg in a t t end ing E t h e l s
Bib le
c l a s s and worsh ip
on Sunday .
Our h ea rts r ejo ic ed
when
t h i r t y
people most
of them our neighbors ,
g ath ere d fo r ou r first
mee t i ng .
We
showed
a
v i d eo o f
t h e
Chr i s tma s
Can t a t a
A
Christmas Glorious
produced by the Southland
Chris t i an
Church Lexing
t on , Kentucky. So
t h a t
th e people
cou ld
under s t and it we
prepa red
a book l e t
with Engl ish s c r i p t on one page and Japanese s c r i p t on the fac ing page.
The even ing was n ot w ith ou t o t h e r exc i t emen t a s w e ll , fo r when we
r e t u rned home
we
cou ld hea r wate r r un nin g somewhere in th e house , bu t
we
c o u ld n o t
f i n d
where it was . F i n a l l y we l o oked
unde r
th e
f l o o r and found
s e v e r a l
i n che s
o f
wa t e r
t h e r e . The
j o i n t
to th e
p ipe
l e ad i ng to
th e
second
f l oo r had given
way.
We rece ived
bucke t s
o f water from o ur n eig hb or to ge t
us
t h rough th e
n i gh t
and th e p lumbe r came th e n e x t morning to f i x
it in
t ime fo r us
t o
g e t ready to
go to
worsh ip .
New
Years
i s always a b ig
th ree
day hol iday
in
Japan. Many people go
to
th e
t emp le s
and
s h r i n e s to worsh ip
in
o r d e r to ga i n f a vo r s fo r th e
new
year .
In
sp i t e of t h a t
the re were s ix
of us in
pra i se and
worship
to the
Lord ou r God. E ach S un day s i n c e t hen we have had an i n c r e a s e in numbe r s .
Not only
do
we have a new
year ,
bu t we have a
new
e ra
in Japan
as the
emperor
d ied
on J an ua ry s ev en th and the crown pr ince was made
emperor
t h a t
day. The
name
of the
re ign of H irohito was
ca l l ed
Showa
meaning
harmony
and
enlightenment
.
The
new
era
of Emperor Akihi to i s
ca l l ed
Heise i , l i t e r a l l y
8/11/2019 Beckman George Ethel 1989 Japan
2/6
meaning achieving
peace. During
the
long i l l n e s s of H irohito there was
mu h controversy over the role of the
emperor.
Since Hirohito s death
m ny
people a re speaking
o u t and o p i n i o n s
a re being s t a t e d which
no
one would
d o a s l o n g a s
h e
l i v e d .
E t h e l s
E n g lis h B ib le
c l a s s
h as begun th e
new
y e a r w i t h t h r e e
new
members from
t h i s a r e a : Mrs. Tanaka who had come twice to
Koyoen
to
th e
c l a s s
Mrs.
I k e h a t a who
came t o
th e d o o r in r e s p o n s e to th e
t r a c t s and M rs.
A s a n o whom w e
h a d m e t o n e
t i m e w h e n w e
c a m e t o
s e e
t h e
h o u s e .
he
church
a t
Koyoen
had
t h e i r
l a s t
meeting
in th e
house
on
January
15 and
work on demolishing th e
house
began
th e follow in g
Wednesday. They
a r e
m e e t i n g i n a s m a l l t u t o r i n g s c h o o l
b u i l d i n g
w h i l e
t h e i r
ne w
b u i l d i n g i s
b e i n g
c o n s t r u c t e d . P r a y t h a t
t h e y
w i l l
b e
a b l e
t o
r e a c h o u t i n t h a t n e i g h
b o r h o o d i n a g r e a t e r w a y .
We
w a n t
t o e x p r e s s
o u r
g r a t i t u d e
t o all o f y o u
who
a r e m a k i n g t h e
w o r k
h e r e
p o s s i b l e
t h r o u g h y o u r p r a y e r s an d s u p p o r t . We e s p e c i a l l y t h a n k a l l o f
y o u
who r e m e m b e r e d u s
at
C h r i s t m a s
t i m e . May
yo u b e
r i c h l y
b l e s s e d o f
t h e
L o r d . V
P le a se n o t e o u r new a d d r e s s and t e l e p h o n e number.
2 - 4 - 1 5
K i y o s h i k o j i n
T a k a r a z u k a
H y o g o P r e f .
6 6 5 J A P A N
T e l e p h o n e
0 7 9 7 - 8 6 - 1 2 6 1
We will b e w a i t i n g
t o
h e a r f r o m
y o u .
f
Y o u r s in hrist
t c L L
G e o r g e E t h e l
J e n a n n
/ . V .
8/11/2019 Beckman George Ethel 1989 Japan
3/6
^iioit ,
oj
^meric^^
Not - f o r - P r o f i t Corpora t ion
FORWARDING AGENTS
Roger & Beryl
Johnson
3320
Westgate
Parkway
Rockfordy XL 61108
815 - 3 9 9 - 3 6 90
May
1 ,
1989
jdll
OSAKA BIBLE SEMINARY
MISSIONARIES
George & Ethe l Beckman
J e n a n n
Be c kma n
2415 Kiyoshikojin
Takarazuka, Hyogo Pre f .
665 JAPAN
Phone
0797-86-1261
Dea r Ch r i s t i a n F r i e n d s :
May the
grace of
our
Lord Jesus
Christ be
with
you.
We continue to thank
God
for
the
fellowship
that we have
with
you in proclaiming
the Gospel here
in
Japan.
In
the four
months
that we have been living in Kiyoshikojin
we have
been constantly reminded of His grace in
leading
us
to
t h i s
place to work.
After we had become
almost
set t led so that
the
house began to look like a home
Ethel
inv i t ed
the
neighbor women in
fo r
tea one af ternoon. So fa r one
of
these women
has
been
coming regularly
to worship on Sunday
mornings.
On March 12 , E th el re ce ived word that her youngest
sis ter
had gone
to be
with her Lord.
Though
Stel la s
body has always been handicapped , she had a great love for people
and
for
her Lord. She
never
complained even though
the
last months
she
was
in pain.
On March 21 over
eighty
people
gathered
to help us
dedicate
Grace Church of Christ (Megumi
Kirisuto
no
Kyokai .
Many
others
who
could not
come
sent congratulations
and gifts
to
the
new church. The archi tect who
designed
the
church
said
that
he wanted
to
build a
church
where people could
find
reset
for
their
souls
and
strength for their
l ives, and
everyone
who
enters
the small and simple room says that
is
th e atmosphere they feel . The windows
on the west side of the room face a
grove of
green trees;
this
ad_ds_ to the beauty
of
the
room. Of
course, the
peace and rest they
find here
will depend on
th e
people they
meet,
and i t is our constant prayer that they will find the love of God that gives th is rest and
s t rength
re f l ec t ed through
us .
On March 24 two young women graduated from Osaka Bible Seminary. Miss Sach iko Oshiro
returned
to
Okinawa and she began
working
as a
chaplain
in a Christian hospital . Miss Hiromi
Iwaasa returned
to her
home in
Tokyo;
she
will
look for
work to
support herself
and plans
to help
in
her
home
church.
The All Japan
convention o f
the
Churches
of Chris t
was
he ld a t a new ho te l in Okinawa
from March 28
30, with over
400
attending.
The theme
of
the
convention
was
taken
from
John
15:16
You
did not choose
me, bu t I chose you
to
go
and bear
f ru i t . Jenann
and
Mr.
Kishimoto
wen t f rom Grac e
c h u r c h .
Five new
students entered
Osaka
Bible
Seminary
April
11 ,
th e
beginning
of the
new school
year,
bringing
the to ta l
enrollment to
eleven regular
students
and two auditors. Mr. &
Mrs. Shimabukuro
come
from Okinawa, Mr. Hiroyuki Sakasegawa from Tanegashima, an
island
off Kagoshima, Mr. Shinya Matsushita from Kagoshima, and Mr. Shiro Tanaka from Wakayama.
From May
21 Mr. Matsushita
will
be coming here
to help in the Bible
School on Sundays.
The semi-annual meeting of the Kobe Women s Luncheon
was
held on April 19. Our speaker
was Dr. Keiko
Fujii ,
a
ped ia tric ian i n
Hiroshima. In her search for the meaning of
l i fe
she had studied Buddhism and become a Buddhist nun, but found no answer there. When a church
moved
into
a new
building next
door
to
her home
she
began
attending
and
there
found
the
Truth, the answer to her search. Since then she has won all of her family and
many
relatives
and
others
to
Christ.
Although she
is
a very busy
doctor.
Dr.
Fujii travels
many
places
to t e l l
her
s to ry .
Specia l
i tems
fo r prayer :
1) The people who have been coming
to church, especially
Mrs. Fukuoka who
also
comes
to
s tu dy S at ur da y a ft er noons w i th
Mr.
Kishimoto.
2 For guidance in
trying
to reach our neighbors.
3
Please
pray
for Jenann.
One
of her
livin g lin k churches has asked
her to look for
some
other church es
to supply the support
they have
been
giving
her.
She does not want
to
go on furlough to raise more
support right now
just as
we are
beginning a new work.
4) The new
students
in
the seminary.
Yours
min i s t e r s
to Japan ,
George &
Ethe l
Beckman
8/11/2019 Beckman George Ethel 1989 Japan
4/6
New
Students of Osaka Bible Seminary
pr i l 989
Mr
Matsu sh i t a
. Mr
Tanaka
.
Mr Shimabukuro
Mr
Sakasegawa
.
Mrs
Shimabukuro
Ded ica t i o n o f Grace
Church o f
Chr i s t
mt
h
I
4lm
8/11/2019 Beckman George Ethel 1989 Japan
5/6
^iioiL,
oj
^meric^^
No t fo r P ro f i t Corpora t ion
FORWARDING
AGENTS
Roger &
Beryl
Johnson
3320 Westgate Parkway
Rockford , IL 61108
815 399 3690
D e a r
C h r i s t i a n F r i e n d s :
November 4 1989
p /f
OSAKA BIBLE SEMINARY
MISSIONARIES
George & Ethe l
Beckman
J e n a n n
B e c k m a n
2-415
Kiyoshikojin
Takarazuka,
Hyogo Pref .
665
JAPAN
Phone
0797-86-1261
I don t know about tomorrow, but I know
who
holds
my
hand. How
often
have we
heard
Martin
Clark
sing this song that he loved so well. On May 9, 1989 Martin attended and had a
in the funeral of a Christian friend and neighbor. After the funeral he
was
telling us
how t rim and f it he had kept, saying, See this black suit I have had so many years st i l l
fits
around the
waist.
The next morning he had a light heart
attack
and was
admitted to
the
coronary
section
of
Yodogawa Christian Hospital. Though he seemed
to
be
recovering, after
a
series
of
three severe attacks
he was called home by
the
Lord
to
his reward. Martin
is
greatly missed not only by the faculty and students of
Osaka
Bible Seminary, but by mission
aries
and
Japanese
Chritians throughout
Japan.
Paul Clark, Martin's son, was made acting president by the councillor body of the Sem
inary
just
before Martin s death and was officially
made
President at the meeting of the
councilors on
November
2 ,
1989.
We were again
made
aware of the
uncertainty
of l i fe
on this
earth
when we received
word October 25 of the
accidental
death of the two-year-old son of Gary Jones in Hiroshima
and grandson of Lee &Sandra Jones, our fel low-missionaries in the
same
city.
Our hearts
sorrow in
sympathy
with
these
f ami l i e s .
We
Joined the missionaries in
July for
the annual all Japan Missionary Convention held
this year in
Kagoshima,
Kyushu. The hosts for this year s convention,
were
Walter &Mary
Maxey, Mark &Pauline
Maxey
and Afred &Rhonda Juve. We were challenged and encouraged by
five
messages on
the
theme: I
m
Not
Ashamed
brought by Charles Faber . Two
discussion
periods were centered on the questions,
Where will
the
next
generation of missionaries
come
from? and Where will the next generation of Japaneses preachers
come
from? Evelyn
Clark went on the plane with us while Paul
and
his family drove and camped along the way to
t he c o nv e nt i on .
Even before Mr. Kishimoto began to work with us in Takarazuka, he had promised to take
care of the work at Mejirodal while the Simses were in the States during July and August.
While he was gone students
from
the Seminary
and
George preached on alternate Sundays. Like
most
other
churches in Japan,
the
attendance was
down
during the month of August; but
i t
has
Built back up and Increased in September and October until the average for the last two
months has been almost double that of the months before August.
Two very hot days Seminary student
Mr. Sakasegawa
came and
distributed tracts
through
out our neighborhood. Jenann helped him the second day. Then in August with
his
help Jenann
held
a
vacation
Bible
school for three days.
From
October
13 we had an
enjoyable
week as Marge Robinson from
th e
Central Christian
Church in Waukegan, Illinois, visited us. We were sorry we did not have time to take her to
see more of the sights here. Ethel took her on a tour in Kyoto on Tuesday. She went with
Jenann and George to the Seminary on Wednesday and visited
Ethel s English Bible Class
on
Thursday. After
class
we ordered in lunch and had a time of fellowship.
Then two
of the
members
took
Marge
to the botanical garden In Nishlnomlya.
Then again from October 31 until November 6 we were greatly blessed by the visit of
Willard & Janice Kelley from Central Christian Church, Rockford, Illinois. They had been in
the Philippines holding evangelistic meetings for
two
weeks
and stopped here on
their way
back
to the
States.
Here we kept them busy, too, as
Willard
gave two
l ec tu res for the
annual
Tanemaki
Kai
at
Osaka Bible Seminary November 2 and 3, and preached for Megumi (Grace)
Church
of Christ on Sunday. Janice also spoke to Ethel 's English Bible class on Thursday.
We were able to squeeze in one day of
sight
seeing Kyoto on Wednesday, where we saw the Nijo
detached
cast le,
famous for I ts nightin-gale floor,
th e
golden pavilion, and the handicraft
center . Since the co ronat ion pa la c e
was under
reconstruct ion we were unable
to see
it
The theme for the Tanemaki Kai this year The Church in the ew Age (in Japan),
George spoke on Evangelism: The 50 s, The 80 s, and th e Future on th e
morninc
of the
rd
Sunday afternoon we went to see the church building in Nlshinomiya
that
was being built
on the s i te of
ou r
old
house.
I t is
scheduled
to be
finished
by November 19, and dedication
has been set for
November
23 ,
a
national
holiday.
8/11/2019 Beckman George Ethel 1989 Japan
6/6
want
to
thank you
fo r
your
continued
support In
prayers
and concern for
the
work in
Japan.
thank od fo r a wonderful student body and faculty at Osaka Bible Seminary, and
for
their cooperation in the
transition
since the time of
Martin s
death.
have
great
hopes for the future of the Seminary, our only preachertraining school in Japan.
thank od also for Mr. Klshimoto, our young preacher, and for the many opportuni
t ies
we
are
having in making the Gospel
known
in Kiyoshikojin. ar e grateful to Rockford
Central Christian Church for let t ing Willard and
Janice
have the extra week to come here to
help
and encourage us .
I t
has been a real blessing to us .
May
the
Lord bless you as you also serve
im
and witness to others. May you grow in
S p i r i t
and
in love in
the
Lord.
Yours
minis te rs
to Japan,
GEORGE
ETHEL BECKMAN
JENANN
A NOTE FROM THE KELLEYS
I t
was our p le as ur e t o
v i s i t
with George,
Ethel ,
and Jenann on the i r home ground.
What a th r i l l to se e their new faci l i ty
(both
hou se and church building), i t s fine
location
and good cons t r uc t i on
and
the enthusiasm
the Beckmans have fo r
t h i s new work. We
v i s i t e d
also
th e
si te of
their home
for
40
years, th e beautiful
new building under construction
which wil l house th e church that
met
in th e
Beckman
basement for
so many
years. We Just
pray
tha t
both
fac i l i t ies
are
only
a
shadow
of th e
stable
and
secure
church
bodies
which
wil l
meet
in
them
for
many years to come. I t was equally rewarding to
v is i t
Osaka Bible
Seminary, to meet
the
facul ty an d student body, and witness
the
enthusiasm fo r
Kingdom-
building manifested there. The Beckmans
lead
a
busy
schedule. pray for the i r strength
heal th in the good
work they
do.
WILLARD JANICE KELLEY
Vacat ion Bible Schoo l , Megumi Church o f Chr i s t
A u e u s t
1 9 8 9
Paul
Clark
b e ing in tr o du c ed as the new
President
- of
Osaka Bible
College,-
tudents
of
O s a k a ible
Singing a t Tan emak i K ai - 11 3 89