September 2002

To our Friends and Supporters:

Greetings from Japan. We had a very busy August, with lots of travels. After a short vacation at our usual retreat at Lake Nojiri, Tim took to the skies in a big way, traveling first to Indonesia (via Singapore) for a week and then to the U.S. to get Jennifer enrolled in college. The Indonesian trip was particularly interesting, as Tim was part of a four-person delegation of representatives from the Japanese church visiting Indonesia at the invitation of the Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa. A large group of Indonesians (about 1000) have settled in and around the town of Oarai here in Ibaraki where we serve. Most work in seafood factories. They have organized an active church, and we are assisting them in numerous ways. While most of Indonesia is largely Moslem, about 10 percent of the total population is Christian. Minahasa is the northeastern section of the island of Celebes, and in that region, almost 90 percent of the population consider themselves Christians. About half of the Christian population belong to the Evangelical Church, which is very active in promoting the welfare of the people in Minahasa as well as reaching out to other areas of Indonesia. They are actively serving as peacemakers in the regions of strife where ethnic fighting (usually portrayed as Muslim vs. Christian violence) is going on.

The goal of the trip was to further cement ties between the Japanese and Indonesia churches and to foster cooperation and mutual aid. Formal ties have not yet been finalized between the two churches, and so this trip served as a preliminary meeting towards this goal. The Japanese church has much to learn from the Indonesian church and we believe that the witness of the Indonesian church here in Japan will have a positive impact on the Japanese church. Likewise, the Japanese church can help facilitate the work of the Indonesian church in improving the lives of its people as well as its role as peacemaker in a land of so much strife.

A fairly stiff breeze with temperatures of only about 70 º F made us wish we had something besides our short sleeve shirts! The church I preached in on Sunday gave me goose pimples, both because I was a bit cold but also because it was packed with several hundred people eagerly listening to my translated sermon. As were many of the churches we saw, this was still a church under construction, with huge bamboo scaffolding still up all around and walls not finished. Tables full of delicious food lined one wall for everyone to partake of after the service. The smell attracted a number of dogs to the service as well, but no one seemed to mind as they wandered around the church during the service. I was impressed, however, that these neighborhood dogs did not even once attempt to take any food off the table but patiently waited for something to fall from someone’s plate onto the floor. This reminded me of what the Canaanite woman said to Jesus that caused him to commend her great faith: "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." I doubt that American pooches would have behaved so well!

Shortly after our return to Japan, tragedy struck the Indonesian community here as two of their members were killed in a car accident. Due to the difficulty of Indonesians getting Japanese driver’s licenses, many of these workers end up driving with no recognized license at all. We have been assisting several of our Japanese pastors in sorting through the various legal problems these people face, trying to improve relations between the Japanese community and their Indonesian guests, whose labor they desperately need. Similar groups of other such foreign workers face similar problems, and so we are also actively beginning to network with a local Filipino church dealing with similar issues.

This trend towards increasing internationalization of Japanese society is certain to continue. Japanese society is aging quickly due to the low birth rate, and while the worsening economy has meant a tighter labor market in general, the lower paying, manual labor market is experiencing a labor shortage. Thus foreign laborers willing to work under these conditions are in demand. This means that the opportunities for Christian ministry among internationals in Japan is rapidly increasing. While our primary calling is to ministry among the Japanese, our involvement in this area of ministry will likely increase.

As for family news, our older daughter Lisa graduated from college in May with a degree in biology, and she is now back with us in Japan for most of a year while she prepares to work towards a masters and Ph.D. She is changing fields, however, as she is going into Asian studies focusing on Chinese history and culture, probably at the University of Michigan. She has been studying Chinese, and being fluent in both reading and writing Japanese, she has a big advantage in that. Jennifer is now majoring in intercultural studies at Biola University in California and enjoying herself immensely. Juji is holding her own with her medical problems and continues her work counseling fellow patients in addition to her church work.

As always, your prayers for and financial support of our work here in Japan are deeply appreciated. God’s blessings on you all.

Grace and Peace

Tim and Juji Boyle

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 185