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Summer 2000
Summer greetings from Nagasaki, Japan,
This country is often in the news for economic or political reasons,
and last week you may have read about Japan in the 2000 Mission
Yearbook for Prayer & Study (pages 172-73). At Kwassui
Women’s College there are still a few weeks of classes before
first semester examinations occur at the end of July. This past
year has been even busier than usual for me, and this situation
is likely to continue, as schools try to adjust to the decreasing
number of children in Japan.
At this time last year I was preparing to go to the United States
for interpretation assignment, as I expect to do again next summer.
It was necessary to organize the work of July before departure
and to be prepared to start teaching the second semester immediately
upon returning at the beginning of October. While I was in the
United States, however, one of our American teachers suddenly
resigned for health reasons, leaving my
colleague-housemate the contents of her apartment to sort out
(partly in our house) and a full schedule of classes to deal with
without a new teacher, so we each taught two extra courses. Immediately
we arranged to go to an international language teaching conference
near Tokyo to look for a new teacher for April 2000. In addition,
I was asked to plan and give a special lecture on sociolinguistics
for the general public, as part of a lecture series presented
by Kwassui faculty members.
December 1, 1999, marked the 120th anniversary of Kwassui Gakuin’s
founding by American Methodists. There was a special performance
of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, for which our dormitory Bible
class
members joined the chorus.
Last winter vacation I had expected to catch up on various undone
projects, but my father died just before classes ended, so I went
to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to be with my mother at that time. In
January, along with finishing classes, I was busy writing up my
sociolinguistics lecture for publication in the Kwassui Review
and helping prepare for several entrance examinations. These occur
throughout the second semester, especially in November and February.
As soon as I had finished regular final exams, and before I could
finish writing a suddenly requested research article in Japanese,
it was time to go to Nottingham, England, as an escort for 12
students in a home-stay program for most of March. We had an interesting
time there. Then, the week after I returned to Nagasaki, I convened
the missionary conference for all missionaries in Japan related
to the United Church of Christ in Japan (Kyodan). Most of the
preparatory work had been organized by my colleagues, Sheila Norris
(a Methodist from England) and our college chaplain, along with
other Presbyterian mission personnel working on the island of
Kyushu. About 80 people attended, and we learned from Japanese
colleagues about Protestant and Catholic history centered in Nagasaki,
as well as looking toward hopes for the new millennium.
The new school year began April 1 with a new English teacher,
but also with about a 15 percent decrease in the enrollment in
Kwassui Women’s College and Junior College. The Japanese
literature department and the Junior College English department
are seriously below their target enrollment, and many adjustments
in curricular organization are being planned for the next year.
Besides all of the expected meetings concerning changes and ongoing
matters, Kwassui is having a video made to portray the life of
the founder, Miss Elizabeth Russell. This may be a good show when
completed, but being required suddenly to appear in the film during
June, which is rainy season here, was another unanticipated stress.
I had a non-speaking role, but a few other colleagues had bigger
parts. It would seem that Japanese people mostly do not mind so
much doing things without advance planning.
This semester I have had a regular course load of six classes,
along with three extracurricular Bible study groups, which I co-lead,
and another Bible study group at church. The students are not
numerous, but they attend enthusiastically so we are pleased that
God has called them to come together to learn from God’s
word.
My colleague Sheila is going for an interpretation assignment
period to England starting next week, while I finish classes and
exams. In mid-July I am to speak in Japanese to all the students
in the chapel.
This past week we have been interviewing about 50 students who
want to take part in Kwassui home-stay programs next spring. It
seems early, but necessary. Kwassui is working toward setting
up sister-school
relations with some Methodist colleges, so this summer the head
of the Junior College English department and I expect to go to
the Midwest and California on a very quick trip, after which I
wish to spend some time with my mother. (I hope my cat-sitter
can manage four cats while I am gone.)
Your prayerful support of Christian mission around the world
is greatly appreciated. I pray that you are having a good year,
despite weather problems and other factors. May God give you vision
to serve Christ, and energy to enact God’s plans in life.
Yours in Love,
Barbara Jo Easton
The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 173
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