Burney Donald Norma 1956 Japan

TMD iS A'"C10TH^SUN^^

m bon^ SCCR^TSIN THt 6r^Z

fJAM

S?)RAHRUTH

Don

no&wftEivRH^V

Vou KNOW My MVS fp-cAhD BRCJlUy^PACJL, li IJ HOP& SC^CDflV "50

V(|S flLL

a /v?

IKVvM

ifi+d

V 19

MARCH,

i;

p

1956

Dear Christian Friends,HWiile apologizing for not writing to

you last month," we want to announce the birthof pur daughter, Sarah Ruth, on January 7For such itiny people, they certainly canupnet. a household, can^t they? Y^e now haveboth a boy (Paul, two years old in Januayand a girl, and we thank the Lord for entruiing ijhem-to us, ^

Our language study is going on about astisual^ Don's present semester en/S in Marchand a new one begins in April, He has goneback over the first book, this time in pleadingand writing^ and can now write SOOKanji-Cthecomplicated Japanes writing)besides the phonetic writingNorma is studying at hometwo hours each oh Monday andThursday mornings Herprogress is much slower, butsatisfactory.

A few days after our last newsletterwas written Don had.left the house on someerrand when Norma thought she heard a noiseon the back porch, which is really a smallrooia Inside the house. Upon opening the door

KAN21

mm

N o t f a r f r o m o u r h o m e , i n a l i t t l e

w o o d e n - s h r i n e , b e s i d e t h e r o a d , i s a f a t ,

b a l d l - h e a d e d ; l i t t l e i d o l a b o u t t w o f e e t

t a l l . T h e - l a s t t i m e w e p a s s e d b y t h a t w a y

t h e r e w a s a . , b e a u t i f u l b o Q u e t o f f l o w e r s i n

a v a s e o n t h e s h e l f a t i t s f e e t , a n d a r o u n d

i t s n e c k w e r e t i e d t w o l i t t l e - g i r l s a p r o n s . . .

T h i s i s ' ^ J i z o " w h o i s w o r s h i p p e d a s ^

C h i l d r e n ' s g o d . T h o y c a l l h i m t h e S ^ d o f

S m i l e s a n d L o n g S l e e v e s " . W h e n a c h i l d i s

s i c k t h e m o t h e r t i e s h i s b i b o r a p r o n

a r o u n d J i z o ' s n e c k h o p i n g i n t h i s w a y t h a t

J i z o w i l l h e l p t h e s i c k c h i l d . T h e _ d e s i r e

f o r O n e w h o l o v e s , p r o t e c t s , a n d g u i a e s

s e e m s t o b e u n i v e r s a l , i n t h e o f m a n

k i n d , b u t h e r e i n J a p a n ,

m e s s a g e o f t h a t T r u e . O n e w h o s a i d , S u f f e r

t h e l i t t l e c h i l d r e n t o c o m e u n t o i a e , ^ ^ a n a ^

f o r b i d t h e m n o t , f o r o f s u c h i s

d o m - o f ^ h e a v e n ^ q - h a s - n o t . y e t - r e a c h e d t h e m a s s e s

T h e l o n g e r t h e d e l a y i n d e l i v e r i n g t h a t

m e s s a g e , t h e m o r e t h e a p r o n s w h i c h w i l l ^ o e

t i e d a r o u n d t h e n e c k o f a c o l d s i s o n e , . ^ d

t h e m o r e t h e f r a n t i c m o t h e r s ' p r a y e r s w h i c h

w i l l b e s a i d b e s i d e t h e r o a d t o a n u n h e a r -

i n g , l i n f e e l i n g i d o l l

P r a y f o r u s a n d f o r t h e p e o p l e o f J a p a n .

' . Y o u r m i n i s t e r s i i i J a p a n ,

F o r w a r d i n g A d d r e s s : J s ' ^ a n A d d r e s s : ^

c / o M r . - G a r l a n d P e t t y 3 - 1 1 4 6 S h i m o o o h i a i

5 9 6 1 1 t h S t r e e t S h i n j u k u , T o k y o

P e r u , I n d i a n a ^ a p a n

i ^

= i

; i

j I

i i

\ I

A n a : /

1 s t t w i f i T

T l i c r t H e , 1 5

i , W A T C H f o r f e A O D V .

" " x 2 , K i i r y i

5 B i l l . ' K i t r r / I

S A R A H / . H O W i

y o M v ( C j r o u j n

| M A P s o n i i / ? ^ " ^ b b

o u r t f t i P ! f / f e

samni'A"I

U^UJfc/

31UW

\\Vdi.Mb!UJiSrn(nuanb^H

V>fUW^iX9-|.9| dUAOqf*Y3UJP9joioGana'n^oU.iubM pjbaH'an^AtoHll:>jXuyHi.^iSnui3(919IBHD(idciuw9g j3ntA^U^JOllHD^Sdt-vji^clwfmajWitnfn|uo

\_.J/boaH(X'

rTuhJHO- /n8tJ&SHauufc/u

pH->ot>931^9ajooa4,xau ooqoSj^m.'sjoqtj\?^uas^uttcJofaA^Mll,9ro

'-sn^ap:^.1I(nnU>\W.v^cf^1191

a^Ubd^r/f'T .JJ.(UUlUJOlOlvi\wb

A RED FACE BECAUSE OF LANGUAGE (LACK OF IT)One of the things that makes the oon*^

stant drudgery of study more bearable is thelaughs v/e have on ourselves because of ourown mistakes* The best one yet happenedonly a few weeks ago to Don. We have manybeggars, and while we do not give money, wealways feed them. One evening a young manin a college uniform came, and Don broughthim in and fed him three or four large sandwiches, tea, and fruit, and talked to himfor some time. We laugh everytime we think*of Don. urging more and more food upon himbecause.he thought he was hungry, while theyoung" man out of courtesy struggled to eatafter already having had his supper, becoming more and more confused at this, unusualtreatment. He had come to collect for February's newspaper.

mtmin ismor696X09

OK OHVMOH

QNI m3dHi U AA 965

* /vom'm. .OW 4.iwyk3

ONI OHBd(im

3DVlSOd s n3ivbi

\

M iVfGO J

Kf

;13saT Christian Friends,. ^ We are. sure that- yoii- will rejbice v/ithns at'the neWs of tlie bap^ti^, into Christ ofour first Japanese convert'. No" matter howmany more there may be, Okada-sah CMr. Cftcada)

wilt always be a little special to us aabeing the first, and also as being a close

'friend. He' first pame to the house shortlyafter we.pome to Japan, and asked about theservices of the church (the building is neictdoor to he house), and about English Bible cclasses. Within a week or-^tyjo he was comingseveral times during the week to ;listen whilDon talked to hm in English about the Lordand the Scriptures, and afterward t.6 "trade"with Don Japanese conversation for theiBngllsh conversation^ he had received. "Ihose.were- the days wh^ everything was strange tousthe. people, the customs, and the lahguagXi^oat of all-^and it was a great.cojinfort tohave a friend who understood some ^glishwho could explain some .of the customs, andwith whom we could talk in English a'bout theLord. ' " .

Weeks and mbnths of conversation, Biblereading, questions and answers went by, butafter it all Okada-San became a new creaturein Christ Jesus. We do not, of course, wantto seem to clain to be the only, or even themain, human factor in leading him to acceptthe Lord--he has had Christian influence inhis background,^ he has studied hard himself ,and been in contact with the Christians andservices of the church here. But we do wantto rejoice that we have a new brother inChrist, and want.you to rejoice with us. *

Akira Okada is 24 years old, and auniversity student najoring in ElectricalEngineering. We think he will be a greatforce for the Lord in Japan. He continuesto come to the house twice a week, and wiecontinue to study together.

I

The wet, cold winter has passed, and wears now -experienci^g^theLjwet^^arm_S]^J=ng_^while waiting for the aMost uhbelieva^hot summer. (To'make the picture completethe Fall is the time of the wet, windy ty-phoons that Japan is heir to) The cherryblossoms, the thing for which you probablyknow Japan best have come and gone. Boys*daya spring festival ..which come .May 5, has alsopassed and the country has settled down forthesummer. B6ys*Day seems to us to have theleast amount of pagan religious influence init of any of the holidays we have yet seen.It is a gay time, a day for both girls andboys, but especially honors little boys. Hugepaper or cloth "fish", ten or more feet long,fly in the wind over each house where thereis a little boy during the week before thisday-one for each son in the family. When thewind is blowing well these fish look amazinglylike they are "swimming" from their flagpoles.Paul, our little two-year-old, loved them and

^)i 1 I "BURNEY 6 PETTY ^

i : 1141 sToil 1bt ^1 our- horrji^ for Hhtc r\^{

1 z^,/..pii iVI \ i w^rg-J

1/ ' J \i-^ ((Bt/ V ^'fe-r'J( ll ..L

THIS I^ toHere. S^feu-Chi^nliv^S ^

miik;

^5.' CM*??enzM

'^SSisrtssf:^

E'

|\ l^^i

.'>>.r* n l " s h A K ^ ^ I

h f l o d S v t h e y p o i x )

a S a k s : ,

j - ^ S E . . . ; ^ ^ -

i' SRbU-CHft(\ 1 ftin gow to ployi jEflseSAU >Jiyi oio wcxjld i

'iT"/

J

a.Muu. > refii rnCf:h(- isn't P-'iUCh Oiffue'jt ^

thfin I m-)txapt f

'/tT+bi' cnr\ -V -TV . . .. r"^: . .2^

BU; w, JKOfXj. W

t lX)esn t tuoftShipI ^ Goo

JrI J

iLu Thi^nfcvou. bii^ \cflo'^ ito( just got j

htrt

"rrr

begged to see nore "fish" long after they haddisappeared from all the neighborhood houses.The purple iris is the flower of little boyson Boy's Day little boys are told about theancient national heroes and legends of Japan,and told they should be as brave. The irisis used on this day both because of itsJapanese name, and because its leaves resemble the swords used by these ancient heroes.It is a cus-fcom. how prevalent we do not icnow,for the mother to put iris outdoors on theevening of May 4, and then to put it and thedew it collects into her sons' baths earlythe following day, A friend tells us thatthe public bath house, used by most Japaneseis strewn with iris leaves on this day, theflowers having been thrown into the waterbefore bathing. Small dolls with ancientarmor are owned by those who can afford it,and exhibited in the home on this day.Chief among them is Kintaro-San {Golden Boy)who is the "strong boy" of Japanese legend,and who is supposed to have been able topush down trees at his convenience. The fishthat fly over the houses are carp, a verybrave fish, fox it swims upstream and jumpsthe rapids. This also is a lesson in bravery.

We believe that knowing the customsof the people will help us to reach them forChrist, both in teaching us to understandthem and their backgroimd,- and as illustrative material is lessons and sermons. Thecustoms v;ill be almost as important to us.as knovjing the ,language

Pray for us as we continue to study

Your ministers in Japan .

YOU V>nXL ENJOY THSSS

The Japanese all v;ant to learn English. Itis a required subject from Jr. High Schoolon. One of the difficulties, however, isthat their language has no "1" and confusionarises between the English "1" and "r".Between Tokyo and.Yokohama on a railroadunderpass there is a sign that reads, "PraySafety First". (Perhaps it would help.). .On a recent evening Okada-San, referring tothe soft place on our Baby Sarah's head, .struggled for the right word, and then remarked that "her head had not yet become concrete." (We sometimes wonder if that is what'is the matter with her parents.). .Anotherpoignant sign over a laundry we know reads"Dj'-ine Done Q,uickly". It is humorous, but itreminds us of the urgency of the-Lordsmessage.. . - . .

CHURCH 0^CHRIST MISSIOH596 WEST Mth ST.

PERU, INDIANA

NON PRCfIT ORGBULK RATEU S RDSTAGE

ftllDPERU INDPtRniT NO. 235

fmifmBOX950JOLIEt ILLIKOr^

July /vlW V

Oflc tali) JD Jj)?i)])JU.Y 1956

Dear Christian Friends,At this writing it has been not quite a

year since our coming to Japan. It has been abusy year with only a little discouragementfor seasonings .'e have been very glad for youin the United States who have prayed,written,and given to keep us in language school.This year has seen progress in our ability tospeak Japanese, it has seen a daughter borninto the world,, and a friend born into Christe pray that it has been important to the fixture of the Lord^s work in Japan.

Recently, as Norma was reading a bookintended for Japanese children, she noticed aborder around a series of pictures, of agreupof little animals made of cucumbers and eggplants with four sticks for legs. Thinkingthis was a good idea., she made a mental noteto make some for our two-year-old Paul. Fortunately, however, before she could do so welearned the meaning and use made of them inJapan, and Paul will be playing with no four-legged eggplants.

e have just passed the season called."Obon" in Japanthe Festival of the Dead. Itis a widespread Buddhist memorial in which 1hespirits of the dead are supposed to return totheir former families for three days.Conlrary

to what you would suppose, this IS not a somb^bre, but a gay occasion. Lighted lanterns aredisplayed in homes and in cemeteries to helpguide the spirits. Many families .-biirn driedhemp reeds iu clay basins before thesir housesmuch as we would turn on the porch light to"welcom^guests to an ordinary party^

this offering that -the egg-'plant-cow and cucumberhorseappear, presumably to serveas conveyances from thespirit-world. (The lotus plant is used becausewith its roots in the mire, it rises to thesurface and bursts into beautiful bloonasyTPbol to them of the yearly return from death

On the'evening of the last day small"ba:ts *containing a small lighted candle inside apaper house aVe put afloat on the rivers toguide the spirits back to their"othor world."Early the next morning the food offeringswhich have been set out for the use of thespirits are thrown in the 3?iver, also.. Thespirits having already returned, there is nofurther use for the food.

We have presented to you the traditioijalmoaning of the Japanes Festival of the Dead.

^ ^ W- .F^d offerings to the dead.are the most

important item of the day. Before th-e Buddiistfamily altar, which contains tablets ipon vhichare written the names of the dead, are placedfirst a straw mat, then aleaf of the lotus plant.XJDon this is placed thevegetable and fruit offeringwhich is to feed the dead,along with a bowl of riceand chonsticks. It is with

LETTER FROM BILL

Since I came to Japan to be with. Dad^ I havelearned a lot of thingsabout the Japanese peopleBut the main thing I havelearned is that they donot worship God or knowthat Jesus came to save*them.

Instead, they worship make-believe gods.Some, of them worshipmany different kinds of "gods" and othersworship a statue

_ .9^^ J?A^-bors have a shrine in theiryard where they worship the- "fox-god^*. .

X

But there are manyother places where,people worship,too.

One is the large neighborhood, shrines. Theyall have large gates infront of them like this. ^And buildings inside where they v^orship allkinds of thingslike spirits of trees androcks, etc. The people who worship at theshrinesthe ones in the yare and neighborhoodones-are called SHIHTO-ists.

La

BODrHA.have snali onesinside theirhones, and there"f. ^^ger onessh the large

"SSEles.1*? i' foF"astaoue whichIS wcrshippod is

iaoi.nn ^"'

Most people go through all the motions-some because they believe it, and some because it iscustom handed down- from their ancestors. Butmany Japanese have told us that more and more"since the war" the Japanese people are comingto disbelieve their traditional religions.Theyoung people- especially,:, they say, are lookingelsewhere for- the answer to their questions.Unfortunately, many are turning to atheism andsome to Communism. Uow is- the time for. Christianity to present the- only Answer.- The,question is, "Can ws?" The harvest is ripe, but tiElaborers are pitifully few. "Fray ye, thereforathe Lord of the harvest "

Your ministers in Japan,

CKILDRSM'S LESSONS

Because of a mix-up in the mails the regular "Sabu-chan and Bill" strip does not^appearin this month*s newsletter, Ye hope the inserted sheet will take its place for this time.They will be back in Sectember,

A JAPANESE STORY

There is an old folk-tale in Japan whichmay interest you. It concerns two frogs. Inthe city of Osaka there vjas a frog who startedout for the city of Kyoto in search of water.At the same time a frog from Kyoto" had the sameidea and was on his way to Osaka. As they c.aneto the top of a mountain in the middle of theirjourney, from v;hich noth cities v^ere visible,they suddenly met. Each, anxious to see theother^s city, stood up and gazed long. ""VVhy,Kyoto looks just like Osaka," said the Osaka-frog, "I agree," said the Kyoto-frog. But thesilly frogs had ifbrgott^ that their eyes wereon top of their heads, and when they stood upthey looked behind them at their own city.

JXEj5j^rsroT

Tiistaking it for their destination. \/heraipontoth frogs returned the way they had conie.,eirunhling angrily that both cities were thesane.

(Cannot we all take a lesson in Missionary "Vision from the "frogs who looked behindthen"?).

^kikoku , (2kuick(?ktis{ ^AissLOn596 W. nth St.Peru, Im

%'^0

Non-profit Org.iBuJ.k Rate I

U, So PostagePAID 1

I Peru, Indiana \Permit No. 235 |

POW.'iRD MC FARLAND0X966JOLIET ILLINOIS

f!i? TOlDiliiJ)

Dear Ciiri-stian Friends, v.- ro t This month y^e have what we cbnsider u

very -."^b^d news. At a. tin^e when we were IMcoming to a crossroad in our service tothe Lord in Ja^.an, He has opened a door.

During the past yoar, as you mayknow, due . to the kindness of the ./JuliusFleonor family who offered us the useof"their home while they wore on furlough,- we. have been living-in Tokyoand stud-ying the Japanese language.As the Fleenors will-return to Japanin late October, wo were beginningto make arrangements to. find. an^other house and continue our . 'study in Tokyo., when the Lordopened a door to both lanpua/^estudy and working with the ,church in Kobe, This willlast OKLYbut it will beinvaluableexperivmcein teach-r

"ing

"v-r r- t;

Soot.

hOWSHt,

(/'/SOC:

KVtiS^ OS\dl

and learning the problems of teaching inJapan. We are very happy to think that wewill again be engaged in a teaching program!

Mrs. Exie Pultz (connected with ChristianRadio Mission in Osaka) has made the contactsand established this church in the years shehas lived in Kobe. It is a small church, andnot yet able to carry its entire teaching,program by itself. For this reason, MrsFultz asked if it would be possible for us tocontinue our language study in Kobe and help the church there during her year of furloughin the United States. We will be leavingTokyo for Kobe around October 24

If you will turn again to the map ofJapan on the first page of this letter, youwill notice another reason why we considerthis move to Kobe a golden opportunity.^ You .

"ivilXniotlcer that the- i sland of-Shikoku i sjust across from Osaka and Kobe. We feelthat we can have much of the groundwork forour work on Shikoku laid before the end ofour one year in Kobebecause we will beliving within week-end travel distance ofShikoku. Such a thing would not have been

-possible from Tokyo.

Our new address-rafter October 24isto be

Donald G. Burney1-732 UozakiUozaki-choEigashi Nada-kuKobe, Japan

You will be interested, perhaps, inthe driving conditions in Japan. It ieabout 300 miles between Tokyo and Kobe, butwe hope to drive it in two days. There is a

Im neme is MaT^o(w)1om sister.MAT&UnOlO MtKO ^

r;iilSSsxHon ws

I i^wss the jowjon nie

r3^T,fwm 6UL7

I (tilSH $mHl fo crtRivn^n /

son UK oU do rfj5 insiend otuishinnM jusi wshnj t)we1o 12Q some-"niAW It so j

\\

WAND

Bia

MOTHtK I DONV -=THINK SO-KITTV. ^

rwyet irs ni5^mNomiMER.

KlTiy: 6)HAf5 SHEDOm^mDOV?

to lell-HMin

nx)RninG

ir.U

am insjMtTo( seiu'CHaiviMme (HoiifV ii4

^ ,remm she dapped hER WRHDS,TO call -UN RS(^THtn SHE bNll dap\WR HMIK OQMIT

tHt ft)*-(y)0 $HE ISfinishED

5ABUCMimwe vou cAn'

AO^Ainr^d be-

BUT, PeD, tt fcrx-cfckl caa'l Hmehe-.^avasA-th(C i5nt onyiKwv ^ 59p">^

^

^ ffiominaeiu/ fetbet^ ihisIS ttUL. &U. Ttfit i( my {aiMK

QtirT IS (ijiiai wa cdl cMdNn beamewDwe il*w-- Wflicy.oK'' .

SPEAKING OF DRIVING IN JAPANYou know, of course, that traffic moves on theleft side of the road in Japan, That firsttrip from the ship to your lodging place israther nerve-racking, but after that exceptfor driving habits that die hard (like makinga long loft turndirectly into the path ofoncoming traffic, as Norma once did), it isn'tthe difference of the side of the road thatbothers you, .The things that bother mostare Pedeatrlans (in most places there are nosidewalks in Japan, and pedestrians think ahorn blast means you have seen them and theyare safe). Taxis (Reader's Digest calledJapan's taxis "Kamikaze Gabs", but a friendof ours oalls them "Misguided Missies"),and. Narrow Streets (There is one street wesometimes travel through which we are able to '

^gueeze because someone else has already worna notCii in a telephone pole for our rearbumper,!

CHURCH^ CHRISTMISSIONS

596 WEST 11 THPERU IND

^Cr' c y ;

non-profit orgbulk rate

TJ S Postage f;.idporujiiid

>ermit no. 235

-j

HOWASD MC FARLAHDB0X968JOLIBT ILLINOIS

national speed limit of 35 m.p.h, in Japan,which leaves a good safe margin, since in mostplaces you can*t go over 25 m.p.h anyhow. Yehope to make at least a 20 m.p-.h, average,butthat nay be wishful thinking, especially withthe car loaded down with various things inmoving. .

Please do pray especially for us duringthese next two or three months, as we movefrom Tokyo and settle down to work, and studyin Kobe..

Your ministers in Japan,

n-M/OUM

,riGX/YVia QjUVTifii-1

A SET OP COLORSD SLIICPS available for your usePictures of both the everyday and religiouslife of the people of Japan, together with atape recording explaining the pictures and-especially interestinggiving many of thesounds one hears in Japan. This tape may^beplayed on any recorder, which can use ^ inchreel and which'olays at 5 5/4 inches persecond {ordinary slow speed). If you cannotuse the tape recording, there is also a scriptavailable with it. You are welcome to use theslide program at any time. Please scheduleit by writing to;-

llr. Garland Petty596 ^.'est nth StreetPeru, Indiana

ALSO .nST^OGNCBIG: Something only grandparentsare interested in, but parents can^t resist

BABY SAR/iH TOOK 1^0 STEPS BY KERS'SLFI!