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April 2002
Dear Friends,
Spring greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun! Spring has
come early this year. Not only is Easter already over, but the
cherry blossoms are already gone as well. They bloomed more than
two weeks earlier than usual, upsetting a lot of cherry blossom
festival plans in many areas. On April 2, the thermometer was
in the low 80s here in Tsukuba—something we’ve never
seen before. The effects of global warming? Perhaps, but not necessarily.
We’ll have to wait and see on that.
One project we would like to get off the ground in the near future
is to begin a mini-newsletter by e-mail. While we will endeavor
to put out at least three hard-copy newsletters a year, with the
proliferation of e-mail and the Internet, it makes sense to begin
using these tools more effectively for keeping in touch with our
supporters. Thus, we want to begin putting together an e-mail
list of all of you who would like to receive short reports on
a more or less monthly basis. This would be a quick way to tell
you of interesting things going on in our ministry as well as
issues for which we need your prayers. If you would like to be
included in such a mass e-mailing, please e-mail us your address
and we will add it to the list. Once that list is put together,
sending a message to hundreds of people takes no more time than
sending it to one.
Work continues on the book, Japan: The Land Of The Hidden Cross.
This is a book that will detail the considerable influence Eastern
Christianity (what is known as "Nestorianism") had in
ancient Japan and how bringing out this repressed and almost lost
history may be a key to opening up the hearts of many Japanese
to the gospel today. It will take a bit longer than originally
envisioned, as the process of getting the documentation is time-consuming.
The first draft is almost finished, and the process of editing
and getting ready for printing is under way. It always seems to
take longer than what one originally envisions, but hopefully
we can get copies in your hands by fall.
Our supporting churches were sent a copy of Tim’s book,
Bible Stories Hidden In Chinese Characters, as a kind of "Christmas
Present" to show our thanks for their support. As the book
was published by the Tsukuba Christian Center and printed here
locally, we are having difficulty in getting it distributed. At
present, we have no way to get it in bookstores in the U.S., and
so we have just been selling it individually and by mail. We can
send it to the U.S. by airmail for $11, postage included, and
would be happy to fill orders from any of you. If you have contacts
with Christian bookstores that might be willing to stock it—or
with libraries—please do put us in touch.
The Tsukuba church has been undergoing a lot of change recently.
After a pastoral change two years ago, the pastor who came was
not really a good match for this church, and some conflicts resulted.
We’ve all seen similar situations in our American churches
as well, I am sure. Rev. Miura has moved on to a new situation
and a new pastor, Rev. Onji, has just begun his ministry here.
His first Sunday was Easter Sunday. It is a bit early to evaluate
his job performance, of course, but we are very pleased with what
we see so far. We think he and his wife will be just what this
church needs. We ask you to pray for the Tsukuba church and Rev.
Onji’s ministry here. Likewise, please do remember Rev. Miura
and his new church in Shimizu in your prayers as well.
Administrative work is not exactly the most exciting work to
be involved in, but it is critical for the long-term ministry
of all our mission personnel here. With fewer missionaries on
the field in Japan, all of us are having to take on more responsibilities
in this area. With our dual relationship with both the United
Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we have
two sets of administration to deal with. Tim is now the secretary
of the Missionary Maintenance Committee for the PC(USA) mission
in Japan, and this necessitates travel to the office in Kobe (almost
six hours one way!) three or four times per year. Maintaining
a separate office in Kobe in addition to the joint office in Tokyo
shared by all of the boards is necessitated by the PC(USA)’s
affiliation with two denominations in Japan (the main United Church
and the much smaller Reformed Church in Japan) in addition to
the Yodogawa Christian Hospital, a major hospital that is under
the legal umbrella of the Japan Mission. We will devote a future
newsletter to this important ministry sometime.
Lisa and Jennifer are just finishing up their senior years of
college and high school respectively. Lisa plans to take a year
off and work here in Japan before going to grad school. She has
changed her career goals now (something her dad did more than
once!), and now she plans to go into Asian studies, focusing on
China. She has been learning Chinese for several years, and knowing
many of the written characters already (since the Japanese usage
is basically similar, with just different pronunciations), she
has a huge advantage. Jennifer will be attending Biola University
in La Mirada, California, and is planning on majoring in art and
religion.
Juji’s health is pretty much the same as it has been for
several years. She still struggles with the same neuromuscular
condition and will need her periodic hospitalization and treatment
soon, probably going in later this month for a three- to four-week
stay. As always, please do remember her in your prayers. As always,
we thank you all for your continued support of our work through
your prayers and offerings.
Love,
Tim, Juji, Lisa and Jennifer
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 185
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