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December 2001
Christmas Greetings from Nagasaki, Japan,
As the weather here is getting chillier, I pray that hearts will
become warmer as we move toward the end of a calendar year and
into the beginning of a new season in the church. Japan, too,
decorates and holds parties during the period leading up to Christmas.
Kwassui Women’s College, where I teach English, has an Advent
wreath with candles lit for various chapel services and also a
nativity scene and Christmas trees. Chapel talks help our mostly
non-Christian students and staff to see a deeper meaning in the
season, which normally ends in Japan on December 25 (or at the
end of Christmas Eve), even in most churches, as people prepare
to celebrate the New Year in a big way with family and friends.
This year, because of the recent birth of Princess Aiko, perhaps
there is more attention being given to infants for a while.
From July through September I was in the United States on interpretation
assignment. In August I was happy to be able to accept an invitation
for a first visit to Park Lake Presbyterian Church in Orlando,
Florida. Earlier in the month I attended the missionary sharing
conference in Louisville, which brought together mission personnel
and national staff working to proclaim the good news about Jesus
Christ in various areas of the world in relation to the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.). It is always encouraging to know that God is
working in many ways in different countries. Thank you for doing
your part to help support the mission work through your valued
prayers and gifts to the general budget of the church as well
as making efforts locally. Your continuing support of God’s
mission through the PC(USA) is greatly appreciated by people throughout
the world.
While I was in the U.S., I spent about ten days in July interpreting
for and traveling with the president of Kwassui College. Mostly
the president talked with Methodist college leaders, as Kwassui’s
Methodist roots go back more than 120 years. One of our visits
was to Rocky Mountain College, in Billings, Montana, which also
has Presbyterian connections. Later, a group of six Kwassui students
from various departments came with one of our Japanese chaplains
to visit our two sister colleges. I joined them in Detroit, and
we spent about a week at Ohio Wesleyan University, where we were
helping with a Habitat for Humanity project on September 11. It
was a beautiful day in a small town setting and rather difficult
to take in the impact of the news coming over the radio focusing
on New York City and Washington, D.C., especially since we were
supposed to fly into Reagan National Airport on the 14th for the
weekend. Needless to say, our plans were changed as America sought
to deal with tragedy. We all saw impressive aspects of Americans
sharing griefs and hopes. In the end, we were able to complete
our visit to Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia and
return on schedule to Japan.
I did not get to New Mexico this summer. I no longer have a home
base there, since my mother passed on in March. Instead, I stayed
with my sister’s family in Michigan and also with my aunt
and uncle when my sister moved her family to Wyoming in September.
Life is full of changes for everyone, but God watches over all.
We were especially aware of God’s mercies at the time of
my mother’s passing and when my nephew was in an almost fatal
car accident this summer, from which he has recovered miraculously
well.
After returning to Nagasaki, I have been busy with classes, seemingly
endless meetings, several Bible classes, speaking in chapel in
Japanese, and other activities at Kwassui. After Christmas vacation
we have one month of classes followed by numerous entrance exams
(most of the 27 kinds available to prospective students this year)
before graduation in March and a new academic year from April.
I expect to be continuing in service as a mission co-worker here,
despite the fact that several names, including mine, have been
omitted from the list of people in the 2002 Mission Yearbook for
Prayer & Study, which lifts up Japan on July 2 and 3. Please
continue to pray for all of God’s workers as we all pray
for greater peace with justice for God’s people and earth.
Wishing you a Happy New Year starting from Advent, 2001.
Yours in Christ,
Barbara Easton
The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 185
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