Burney Donald Norma 1965 Japan

From The Don BumeysSHIKOKU, JAPAN

Our Greetings in the Lord!

Another year has passed, and we are alreadywell into 1965. Ninteen-sixty-four wcs a year of bothsuccess and of disappointment, but taken all together, it was a good year. We have never beenbusier since we have been in Japan. We cannot include the entire year's activities in this letter, but letus show you a few of the things we and the Christians here hove been doing. .

We had an idea! After getting the permissionof the largest local hospital, we made a bookcase onwheels, the Gomen Christians filled it with goodbooks, tracts, and Bibles. It is pushed up and downthe halls of the hospital every Saturday afternoon,by two or three of the Christians. It is a lendinglibrary on wheelssmall enough to push into eachroom we are allowed to enter. We hove tracts.Bibles, Scripture portions, books with a Christian emphasis, and other just plain "good books".

As with so many things, we cannot tell the fulleffect this may have on the spread of the Gospel inthe Gomen community; we simply know His Word isnever spread in vain. We did hear a surprising andamazing comment the other day from the Head Doctor, though. He said that since we started bringingthe library every week, the male patients didn't hauloff and sock the nurses anymore! That's something,anyhow.

You may have stayed overnight in a ChristianService Camp, or at least visited one. But you haveprobably never had one in your home. We did! WeH'dn't intend to, exactly. Extreme hot weather here inthe summer, our being so busy with DVBS programsand other things, added to the fact that August is abusy month for many Kochi families (both harvestand planting the second rice crop come in August),makes camp in the summer difficult. So we choseOctober, our front yard, and two big tents for dormitories. The final result; the two tents, laced togetherand fastened to the end of our house, became themen's dormitory. The women slept on the floor inside, and all meals and meetings were in the house,also, Mr. Shimada of Osaka Bible Seminary, preached at all the meetings on the theme "The ChristianLife". The first night it rained (the tent leaked); thesecond night the men were up until 3:00 a.m. tryingto keep the tent from blowing down in a high wind.And since it did blow down the third day, they gaveup and slept in another room of the house.

One of the major activities of 1964 was the Children's Meetings we held in various public halls andat the Noichi and Gomen churches. Faced with thefact that Sunday School is poorly at'ended in Japanas a rule, we decided to try a new approach. We hadChildren's Meetings after school Mondays, Wednes-nesdays, and Fridays, and taught 3 months of Sunday School lessons in a month. We offered a graduation certificate and awards for attendance. Wefound the result amazing! We taught more childrenand taught each one more of God's Wordthan wehad been able to do in all of our other years in Japanput together.

Miss Reiko Nagata, a graduate of Osaka BibleSeminary, put her tremendous talent into this workas the teacher in some of the meetings of over100 children at once. She taught 6 Children's Meetings (in 5 locations), and together with others fromthe Gomen and Noichi Churches and a young manfrom Osaka Bible Seminary, she also taught 3 Vacation Bible Schools. We are very happy when wethink that the Lord's Message has been told to so

PIThe Lending Library for the HospitoL Books and

Bibles fit into die shelves. Tracts. Scripture porticpggo into the top.

A Christian Girl Loaning Books in a Hospital Room.

We know that Christian lives were strengthenedby this camp, and that it will bear fruit in the livesof the non-Christians as time goes on. It has alreadyborne fruit in the life of Miss Kuroishi. a high schoolJunior, who was baptized into Christ two weeks later,(above picture).

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Children at a Children's Meeting sitting in rowsaccording to their grade in school

many. (Miss Nagota is presently preparing to travelto the U. S. where she will enter Lincoln ChristianSeminary for graduate work this fall.)

Besides the Children's Meetings, there are Sunday Schools at both Gomen and Noichi. A (I^Jhristianwoman from the Gomen church, Mrs. Kusenose, hasalso had one in her home during this last year. Mrs.

"Kusenose^"hasa-ojuiiti ystorewhereshe seHs-candy, pencils, flashlights, miscellaneous foodstuffs,etc. (She quite often closed the store to help withChildren's Meetings in her area, or with DVBS. Sheis a Christian quite willing to sacrifice for Christ.)

Many children come to Mrs. Kusenose's store, ofcourse, and of them she recruited a Sunday School.A big poster in front of her store advertised thememory verse for the next week! Since it was thereall week long, many more people than the childrenwho came to Sunday School read it, and Scripturememorization was very good among those studentesince they were reminded every time they went tobuy a piece of candy.

Many other things have been accomplished in1964 for which we have no room here. A major onwas the printing of much needed Christian literature.Tracts, Sunday School materials, a 4-page paperaimed at the non-Christians of the community, acomplete DVBS course, (teachers' book, worktx^ks,handwork), posters encouraging Bible reading, abook on Flannelgroph use for S. S. teachers, and other

Church of Christ at Treaty

Rt. 5, Wabash, Indiana

A "Graduation" ceremony cct another Children Meeting, in a public hall (MSss Nagota is onthe left of the blackboard.)

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Mrs. Kusenose and her Memory Verse Poster

things including a "Christian Christmas Card", havecome from our press this year.

We thank you for your prayers which hove sustained us in 1964, and ask that you continue with usin this ministry during 1965.

Your nmiisters in lapan. Don and Nonna

Non-profit OrgcoiizcrtionPermit 127

Wabash, Indiana

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sHimu cmtsTfAff'Missm ^21 Nakanof Otaniy Noichi-choy Kami-gmm KfiM-Kem SkikokUf JAPAN

%f 11, 1965t96B

Mr. & Mrs. Donald G.^uraeyU, S. Address : c/o Mr, Robert Winterrowd

R. R. 5y Wabaskt Jfkiiam

HORIZONSMission servicesBOX 968,joli*t, IllinoisU S* A*

Bear prlonds.

We are sending you a copy of the vacation Bible school course, jesus and Iwhich we have Just published and printed for the year 1965, ilnce wethink you may be interested in it as a new attempt among our Christianbrethren in Japan.

It was written by four students and former students of Osaka Bible seminary,Miss Naomi ijagata, Mrs. Lydia Klahi, Mrs. Akiko ota, and jfr. Taneyxuciyaraazakl. Miss Naomi Kagata, who is to be a student In LincolnChristian Seminary beginning with the September 1965 semester,' actedas Sdltor of thfe course. Miss uitgata was also a part-time instructorat Osaka Bible senilnary before going to the united States to study,she taugnt "Devexoping Bible Teaching Materials."

Mrs. Lydia Kishi (nee Lydia shlgenobu) who helped with the v/riting og thecourse, is an Osaka Bible seminary gradtiate, and studied at ciJ^clnnatiBible seminary ror a time, sue now lives -in Hiroshima with her

**** * husDand and daughter, holds services in her home, and has been doingsome evangelistic writing, including help on this VBS course.

Mrs. Akiko ota (nee Hashimoto) and her preacher husband are laboring forthe Lord in okayama prefecture. Mrs. ota also has a dau^ter, but hastaken time from a very busy life to write.

Mr. yamazaki, an Osaka Bible seminary student, is the artist who illustratedthe course.

we are extremely happy that our fellow-Christians in japan are beginningto produce materials for evangelism in their own language, previouslythe churches have had to rely on translated-from-English mgterials--which can never be quite as good as those written in Japaneseor havehad to buy "interdenominational" (calvinistic) VBS courses, we arequite happy with our course, and very proud of those who produced it.It has already been used in various churches throughout Japan, oi'dershave come from Hagoya, Okayama, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kagoshima, and wehave used many copies ourselves here in Hochi.

we have been publishing various materials for evangelism for some timenow, but have never said much about them in our Stateside letters.We print a monthly 4-page sheet for non-cbrlstlans called "Neighbor"#We distribute 9 #000 a month by paying newsboys to fold them 1 nsidetheir newspapers before they deliver thanu we also print a childrentscourse weekly-i/sunday school by mail" called "cbildrems dub".(Membership in "(^lldrems dub" grew from 31 to 92 In a ^month

we have printed various other things from time to timeChrlst-^norl^ Christmas Cards, a book on the use of plannelpraphfor Sunday school teachers, posters urging Bible Reading, and^ther^rious materials, v/e publish under the name of "shikoku ChristianK;ess". we brought a used 1250 Kultlllth (1937 model | bAck to Ta^Smrhs T/hen we returned from furlough In 1968. It has been of morevalue to the Lord is work here than evervthinr else we nvrn

filling a need In japan which is not being otherwise met!we are hoping that perhaps some of this material will bP nsoKin.

as news of spreading the Gospel in Japan.

in cJ*r*lst,

Don and Rorma Burney

KiW.^aeh^,^?ouro!;sses ^dott to churchesprogress'no^^r!choo^^^! ^t'^ ho^^ht^^be,ou might