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8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
1/8
LINKLETTER
#295
March 1991
Mr.
and
Mrs.
MarkG. Maxey
Kyushu ChristianMission
Kanoya, Kagoshima, Japan
Box
139,
North Venion» Indiana
*THIS
IS
THE
WAY
THE TOP
OF
OUR LETTER LOOKED
35 YEARS AGO*
Great Teaching Singing Plajring 40th Yr. in Japan:Mark-
by Bro.Nomura by Sims Maxey Pauline Maxey Honored
M.Nomura
Conducts 29th Leadership Training Course
37th Annual
Conv.
of
Kagoshima
Churches-Nov.
23,1990
Church Leadership is Interviewed by Hideo
Yoshii R
Dea r Ch ris ti an F ri en d s
Pardon our lon
s i lence. I t has taken a
lo ng tim e
to g
organized
and back
into th e swing of
things again. Lit t le by l i t t l e
as they
sa y in Japan.
By
any
calculat ion,
has been
a year to do down in his tory. The
Jap
anese have a way surmiing up
things
in
the ir own shorthand . So they have
named Dese r t Storm
th e
Wan-Gan-Sen-
so.
Wan=BAY; Gan=SHORE and Senso=WAR.
So i t
is
th e Bay-Shore-War in Japan.
Due
to
the time
difference,
the
end of each
day's
war was th e begining
of th e day here so we had full news
views
of
th e war
early
every
day.
Let
us
praise
God
i t
was over speedily and
le t us
pray
to God
that
such a war or
any war will not have to be repeated.
15
years
ago I took
my
wife and
2
daughters
to th e
historic
si tes in
I ran , t ravel ing
by bus. To th e
oil
loading
isle of Kharg thence
to
Khor-
ramsharr, a t
th e head
of the
Persian
gulf . There I
dickered
for a dinky
boat which took us up the Shat-Al-
Arab
to
Bosra. climbed up a mud
bank
there. Hired
an open-aired Mer
cedes cab which took us
across the
vast
expanse from
th e
Tigris
to the
Euphrates-a
day's
ride about which
I
could write
a book. Finally
to
Nasariyah where we climbed the zig-
gurat a t Ur and s tu ck our head in
th e
door marked home of Abraham.
He and Sarah weren't in having left
for
the
Holy Land 4000 years ago).
On
north to Karb alla, a sacred
spot
for Islam. We were denied entry
to
the
mosque). Thence to Bagdad while
th e
radio t o l l e d
th e
names o f the
Iraqi army men
shot
that day by th e
government.
A
day a t
th e Bagdad muse
um
ended
ou r stay in that troubled
land. This
has
three
sec t ions,
each
featuring one era /cul ture /ar t i fac ts
of
that country. Fabulous Someday
I d l ike to re tu rn
an d
look
fo r a week.
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
2/8
Well, let s see.
The
last time I wrote I left you in North Pole, AK- which, by the way is a
very nice place to be. Next stop was at the village of Millet, Alberta, Canada.(Get a map and look i t up.)
It
is
in the province of Alberta. Well-received at
King
Edward Park church in Edmonton on Sunday. Great
reunion with daughter, Paula, husband,
Kiyoto Yanagimoto
and four live-wire, handsome grandchildren. All
August birthdays in
the
family remembered there.
Finally, back in Pierre SD again we retrieved our
car
and enjoyed two days of preaching and fellowship
at
the Pierre
church. Pauline and I both have August
birthdays
so we enjoyed birthday parties in sever al
places.
Pierre had a beautiful cake showing a Japanese
bridge
connecting the USA to Japan. In Kirksville
MO Jan
Green had prepared a cake with 73
candles. When
I blew them
out,
the smoke rose
to the
ceiling
and
set off the fire alarm, turned out the
lights
and turned on small battery-powered
ceiling lights
all
at
the
same time. Things can be dramatic
a t
Kirksville. Another
birthday
cake and party
a t
Truman MN where I was
minister
50+
years
ago
le t
us
know that
friends
and memories
of
the past
live
on
into
the
future.
The drive north from
Pierre SD
on
th e
east bank of
the
Missouri
river
is
lonely
and
beautiful.
Happy
reunion
with
Bill
and Mary Lou Hoist in Yankton SD. A week
end
in Storm Lake lA with th e
church there
and
A
and
Mary
Giese (she
is
iny younger
sister) .
Reunion
at
Truman
Church
of Christ
where I was a young
preacher 50+ years ago. Lots of faces and memories of th e
past
there. South to Union lA. Hard to find bu t
lots of people found i t for a great time
of
fellowship.
Mitchell Maxted was there.
He
said,
Did you know that
th e
daughter of Charles E. Garst was s t i l l alive
and well? I did
not
know that. I knew about Charles E.
Garst, our f trs t
mlss,ionary
to
Japan;
of
hi s untime
death there at age 45 and of
his
family
returning
to Iowa,
their native state.
But I did not know of thei
having,
a baby^dau^hter.before her_father_Ls_deajth. The next day we.drove to Des Moines. I made th telephon
people happy by phoning all
th e Garsts living
in Carrol County.
Finally,
I
go t th e
information I was lookin
for.
Rachel Garst Merrill, age 93, was
living
in a condominium in Des Moines. Pauline and I went
to
see
her
immediately.We found her
to
be a
gracious lady,
keen
of
mind and
spir i t
faithful
to her
church and
ready_and willin g to to
talk
about all things Japanese. We were her guests fo r lunch and a couple of hours
of visiting before
we had
to continue our journey.(Our mission in
Japan
began
in
1883
-
108
years
ago
Here i f a brief
summary
of our travels as
we
turned eastward: Christian church. La Harpe IL,
Jerry
McCune minister-
a
hearty,
faithful people worshipping in a fine, new building. Members of th e Evening
missionary group from Ancona IL church filled the Charles and
Betty
Coe
home
to hear and
talk
about Japan.
A great day at Streator IL speaking to the women of
the
area and
at
Central church
of
Christ, filled with
people
iny
age from various persuasions -
but
interested in the faith and needing the fellowship
of o ther s.
Sti l l
in August, an
overnight visit with
Jim and Barbara Linder in Urbana; all
night with
Bruce and
McQuigg, Rankin
II.
, computers
determine
when and
how much
their
hogs will be
fed. Niece,
Roberta
Longawa
drove down from northern IL for a
short
vis i t with
us.
On August 16, Faith Church of Christ and Burlington
Church
of Christ joined
together
to
welcome us . Long-time
family friend,
Sarah Ward, made us
welcome
at
he r
home as we v is ted the church in Terra Haute IN. August 17 we spoke at th e church in.New Holland OH.
There were three people
there who
graduated with me from the New Holland grade school.Amazing1 The next
day we
a tt ended the 55th reunion of the
class
of 35
,
Circleville
OH
high
school. Half
of
us were
able to
attend. I gave a few words, more
or less
well spoken. Paul and Mary Turner hosted the
class
and us. Memo
ries
of the depression fade while the
meaning
of
life becomes more real.It was
good, real good, to meet again
Well, I am going to run out of space: In Michigan we visited
Pleasant
View church,
Cassopolis,
none
more
faithful;
Dr. and Mrs.
Joe Schaeffer,
way up
north. He
took
care of
Paula
when
she had
polio.
Also
saw long-time f riends: Bil l Plank aiid Allen Law.
He
was my
chaplain s
assistant in the Philippines.Now the
space
is
gone and so much to be
said.
Thanks and greetings
to
churches and friends
we haven t
the
room
jto-jneiition,who jLte,
nevertheless,
a
part
o.f this_work jthrough_thesfi
jnaDy_yea_rs.
We
saw them
Jbl the
churches
we
visited
in
Ohio
and Indiana. In a swing to the
east:
Pennsylvania (and Pauline s
home
town of Wind Ridg
Bakerton WVA Washington DC; Mechanicsville VA;
Jacksonville NC;
Asheville NC; Flag Pond
TN;
Pennington
G
VA; Mt.Sterling KY
Mt.Byrd church, Milton KY...and time has
failed
to tell by
name
all
who havethe
faith,
love,
hospitality
and
means
to help
this
mission
continue. God bless
you
all . IN
HIS
SERVICE.
Publ ica t ion
o f
Kyusliu Ciiristian
Mission
Box 417
t h Vernon, I nd iana 47265
Return Requested
C
E D I T O R
HORIZONS
BOX 2 4 2 7
KNOXVILLE TN 3 7 9 0 1
Non-Profit Orguiisat
U.
S
POSTAGE
PAID
Louisville. Kentuck
Permi t No. 537
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
3/8
A Report by Mark and Pauline Maxey
/UNKLer re f i /
To
the
friends
of the Kyushu Christian
Mission
Kanoya. KagosMma893 Japan - Box 417
N
Vernon IN
47285
LINKLETTER 296
JUNE
1991
Dear
Chris t ian f r iends,
I t s been a long time since you heard, from
us .
Too long
Either
events ar e
getting
more numerous
or
we
ar e getting slower.
At any
r at e, t hi s le t ter will le t
you
know
that
we
ar e s t i l l
engaged
in
mission.
We arrived back in Japan on October23. 1990, af ter a si x month furlough. Our
yard
was
full
of people to
welcome
us home .
I t
was a very good
feeling
indeed. In
our absence,Katsuo Shimoda,
my right
hand man, had
replaced
the living
room ceiling.
I t had done its best fo r 40 years but
now
its time was up. He had the mission house
and Christian Cente r and yard looking mighty fine.
Before
goi ng any fur ther , l e t s
take
note of
th e
pictures . In January
of
this year,
Bro.
Yoshii, min is te r o f the Kanoya church started
work on
the
40
y ear h is
tory
of
th e
Kanoya church. Severa l
months
of
research and
hard work
resulted in
a
f ine
history writ ten and published.
We
were
able
to
aid
hi s work through photos and a re
cord of the
people and
events contained
in almost 300
issues of
this Linkletter. His
book is
all
in
Japanese
so
don't
write fo r
a copy.
A few
miles out in the country
from
ou r
house
is
a a
hospital-housing
com
plex
buil t fo r victims
of
Hansen's disease
(leprosy) 45
years
ago.
We
have served th e
Christian community
t he re for
40
of
those
years.
Also Bro Yoshii.
Now they
have
called
a minister of
their own
- Hironofu
Ito.
I participated in hi s
installation.
Mr.
It o
was born in one
of
the
Okinawan
islands. He caught
this
disease as a child. By God's
grace he
is
one
of
the few who conquered the
disease
and has no visible marks
of th e
disease. Bro. Yoshii and I will
continue
to visi t the Keisei church fo r preaching and
teaching as
we
have
before.
Another
activity
which we have continued from the beginning
is
holding reg
ular
services
fo r
the children and young people living in the
Osumi
Gakkusha. This
institution
takes care
of those
who
have lost a parent or whose families ar e unable
to
take
care
of
them.
We
have also gone to t hi s inst itu tion since the very beginning .
Bro. Yoshii and I alternate in holding services
there.
Let's sum up some of our
acti-
ties
under
th e following
headings:
FAMILY NEWS:
Walter Maxey,
wife,
Mary, and family will be in the
USA
on a
yea r' s f ur
lough beginning August 3. They
will
make their home
in Murphysboro IL. Daughter,
Shel-
le
will
be in her second
year at
the University of Illinois. Son, Trent,
will
be in his
third year of high school.. Our third daughter, Hope,
will
come to Japan this summer.
She will be living in Walter and Mary's home and also be teachi'ng'fnglish in the Kago
shima area
schools.
Paul and
Faith
(2nd
daughter)
Axton
continue
to live in Tsukuba,
a couple of hours north of Tokyo. They s er ve t he Tsuchiura Church o f Chr is t in that
area and
also the
American Chrstian College which they started in Tokyo.
I t is
now in
i ts second year. Grandson, Tamon Leroy Yanagimoto,
wil l enrol l
in Lincoln (IL)
Christ
ia n college this fa l l .
MEDICAL
NEWS;
Paul ine continues
under
th e
care.of
Dr.Suzaki», head of t he l oc al branch
of the Kagoshima Prefectural
Hospital.
She sees him twice a month and he sees
that
sh e
gets th e medicine and
assistance
that she needs. He charges noth ing
fo r
hi s
services.
Her medicine is expensive but this cost is mostly taken care
of
by the Christian
Medi
cal Society to which the mission
belongs.
Pauline
continues
to take care of her home
and teaching responsibilties and is always with
me
as
we
are teaching and preaching
in th e churches. As
for
myse lf . P aul in e
went
witn
me on
th e
f ive hour drive
north
to
the Ideta Eye Hospit al. The v is ion in my
right
eye had been deteriorating
for
some
time. In a rather lengthy operation. Dr. Ideta removed a
cataract
from ny right eye
and in the same
operation
put in a
lense implant.
Because of the
eye's
condition,
the
lense
kept
slipping
out but the
operation
was completed
successfully.
On a
scale
of
5
this
eye now has a rating of 3. The eye is now flooded with wonderful
light
so
that
I can enjoy reading and drive safely.
Tam grateful.
Pauline spent.a
week
with me there.
CHURCH
NEWS:
The
f irst church
on
th e
western
peninsula of our state
was
built
on a
strategic corner
in
the prefectural capital ci ty-
Kagoshima. This was a
pro ject o f
Isabel
Di-ttfimore.
An
original pre-fab building was
replaced
by a second
similiar
build=
ing with
living
quarters above. This was
replaced
by a
three story,
ferro-concrete
building
in the fall
of
1971. Over the years, the grime of the
city
had le ft it s mark
on
the
building both
inside
and outside. I suggested to the church, through
i ts
minis
ter , Koichi Homori that the mission would pay half i f the church would pay
half
for a
the repainting of tne
interior
as well as new ceiling
lights.
This was agreed and the
result is delightful new place of worship . Now the church
will
launch a similar pro
ject for the
exterior. On June 2,
Pauline
and I a tt ended the
services there.
Bro.
Homori,
for
the chu rch, gave us
flowers,
a plaque and
restaurant dinner
in our honor
and to which the whole church was invited. Alsomatching tea cups made out of our area
pottery, known
as Satsuma Yaki All in
al l , i t
was a
really fine event.
Kanoya
Chdrch
o f Ch r is t
h f t d
— 4 0^ c } £» ; ^—
Awalkof 4 yeaija«Y^40 th Anniversa
*1950*
*1990*'
A 10
Year
History
-by
Minister,
Hideo
Yosh
4 * e * o * e * e * o * o « o * o * o * o * o * o « o « o * o i * o *
Pauline's Mother's Day-Bouque
I
Laying
on o f hands
for Hironof
I
to -new
min i s t e r
a t
Keise i
c h u r c
Sunday P M
Class at Or^ang
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
4/8
PREACHING - TEACHING - SHARING; We had
hardly got
back in Japan when I was due
to
speak
at
th e annual conference
of
the
Mennonite missionaries of Kyushu - mee ting in th e
next
prefecture - northeast. Some months before that I had
written a lengthy
article
under the t i t le : My Pilgrimage into Mission. . It was published
in
the Japan Christian
Quarterly in the Summer issue, 1989. I thought this would be
satisfactory
source material
for th e
messages I would
g ive. But halfway through the
series
of three messages I found
that
everyone present
already
had a copy of my paper
with
them. I was somewhat
nonplussed but none
of t he missionar ies present seemed
to
mind. So 1
proceeded.
We had a
mutually
satisfying
fellowship as well as a
sharing
of
insights,
experiences and faith. I
thank
missionary Anna Dyck
for arranging this meeting
together.
This was October 29-30
Hiroshi
Isobe.
minister
of the
Mennonite
church
in Miyakonojo, just
over the
line in
the next prefecture
asked me
to
speak Saturday night and Sunday on the subject , The Japanese Christianity That I See. I found i t dif
ficult
to come
to
grips
with
the topic.
The fellowship was great. I met
some whom
I had baptized and
several
who had
known
me
through
the
years.
It
is
true:
the
good
that
men
do
lives
after
them.
(Also
the
evil
The same month. High School principal, Mr. Kohtoku. asked
me
to give a lecture
a t
his school on
the subje
Japan: Inside and Out. I fol lowed the line from the an
ol d
operetta: Accent t he Pos it iv e:
Eliminate
the Negative.
November is one
of
the very busy
months
of
th e
eyar. There is t he annua l convention of Kagoshima churche
on November 23, a national
holiday.
Kanoya church, Bro.
Yoshii,
minister, was the hos t church. The preparatiom and
program was
outstanding,
Harold Sims
of
Tokyo
gave th e
convention address. Minister, Masatami Kikkawa held a revival
in
the Kanoya
church. Then at our
preacher s
meeting in Kagoshima,
November
21, he
told the story
of
the
outstanding
and great church he has developed in
the
city of Ono {near Osaka}
An extended
trip
north took me
th e city
of
Klta
Kyushu where I gave a
lecture at th e
Laymen's Bible Schoo
I have had a long-time connection with
the schoo l
but this
was
the f i rs t time
to get to
teach
there.
They were keen
listeners. This was March 19,
Friday. Saturday
I was
th e
guest
of
Makoto Yoshii as he took me to vist
the
college wh
he
is
teaching.
Early Sunday I spoke
at
a girls high school where Hideto Yoshii is professor. 1000 girls all with
bla
hair,
cut
the same way and wearing identical uniforms. An amazing sight. They were
attentive l isteners.
From there w
moved qui ck ly to Onga
Church
of
Christ where
Hideto
Yoshii is the dynamic preacher. Lots o f f ri ends ,
new
and old, to
ta lk;
to
a f t e r
church .
A very long
ride
on
t he Bul le t
train
brought
me
to
Tokyo
and
participation
in
th e
opening ceremony
of
American
Christian
College, founded by Paul Axton and now beginning
its
second year. A board meeting
followed.
With
Paul by train to see the rest
of
the family : wife and daughter, Faith and two
l ive-wire chi ldren:
Erin and Zachary.
By train to Motoyuki Nomura and wife in the i r mountain home. They have welcomed 1048 guests in 5 i y ea rs . By train on
south to Osaka. Received by Paul and Rickie Clark. An important visit with them
to
see his mother, EvelynClark,
suff
ering from a stroke. Now
removed
to the USA.(There is a
good possibility
of partial+ recovery.) Keep her in your pray
ers. Spoke for chapel at Osaka
Bible
Seminary, Thursday, March 25.
Finest
looking student body I have ever seen
at
the
seminary.
Very encouraged. Thence by a ir and bus
back home to
Pauline and
Home
Sweet Home.
VOLCANO NOTES: Our nearest volcano, Mt. Sakurajima, is only 20 miles away
(a s
th e crow fl ies) bu t a moun
tain
shields
us from
the
eruptlons-127
times by
the
end
of May.
Mt. Unzen,
now
In
the news is
a hard
day s d rive
to
the northwest corner
of
our
island.
I t 1s of no danger to us. ^t after a silence of 199 years I t Is raining death
and destruction on
the land
and
people of that area.
Pray
that
the
err tions
will
cease.
IN HIS
SERVICE.
(P.S.
There
are 1800 volcanoes in the world,
2^
of them In Japan,and
of
them
active Mizpah)
That's what the
Good Book Says
Lecture for the
Laymen's
Bible School in northern Kyushu
Pub l ica t ion
o f
Kyushu Christian Mission
B ox 417
r th Vernon , I nd ia na
47265
Return
Requested
EDITOR
HORIZONS
BOX
2 4 2 7
KNOXVILLE
C
TN 3 7 9 0 1
Non-Proflt OrganiMtl
U.S .POSTAGE
PAID
Louisville.
Kentucky
Permit No. 53 7
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
5/8
A 'Report
by Mark
and Pauline Maxey
u N K L e r re f i
To
the
friends o f th e Kyushu Chri st ian Mission
Kanoya, Kagoshima 893 Japan - Box 417,
N
Vernon IN 472fiS
LINKLETTER #297 SEPTEMBER
99
I
nc^ iAPaa_
Dear
Christian f r iends,
September has come and
with i t
a hint of
coolness.
The
cherry trees
in
front
of ou r house have shed
their
leaves letting us know that autumn will soon be here. The typhoons we've had on our
peninsula this
year have been wet
and windy,
bu t
have
no t
done
much
damage.
Japan is
one of the
smaller
nations o f the world
in
terms of
size but
consider
this:
th e Tokyo
city
govern
ment has 200,000 employees and an annuual budget of ¥16.65
tr illion
uen. ($1.00=¥135). Tokyo's annual budget is big
ge r than
th e
vast country of China and i t
equals
the
entire
budget of the
country
o f Aust ra li a.
Ever
stop
as you were driving to ge t something cool
to drink?
Japan has 100,000
roadside drink dispensers
scattered throughout Japan.
These
operate
24 hours a day using, i t
is said, the total electr icity output of
one power
plant. Anyone
of
any age can buy the
drinks
available,
including
alcoholic ones. The penal ti es for drunken driving,
however,
are
very severe.
For
family
news:
e
welcomed
home
our third
daugher, Hope
( in J ul y) . She will be teaching English in
the col
leges
and schools in th e Kagoshima
City
area, which
is
west and
across
the bay from
us . e spent
some time with
her
as
she
was finger-printed
(a
necessity
fo r foreigners
and
criminals);
was
registered
and was
supplied
with an
affidavit
of
support.
All was done
quietly,
efficiently and with
courtesy.
When the lady that was doing
he r
paper work asked
Hope
where
she
was
born,
she replied,
in
Kyoto,
Japan.
The
lady
looked up at
her
in
surprise
as
i f
to confi rm
that
this
was
no t
a
Japanese voice speaking
to
her.
Meanwhile, Walter and Mary
Maxey
and children, Shelley and Trent, have returned to the U.S. fo r
furlough.
Th
will
be living in Murphysboro,
I ll inois. Trent will at te nd
high school there and Shelley
will continue her
studies
at
th e
University
of
I l l inois
Every
July,
on
or near
the
4th,
the
Kanoya
Rotary
Club has
Pauline
3s a
special guest
and
asks
one
of
us to
give
a talk. This
year
I talked
about my
father, R. Tibbs Maxey, father
of nine children,
5 sons and 4
daughters.
Seve
lived
to maturity. 4 of the boys served during th e war. I t was father that
pu t
the faith in our hea rt s and
the
steel
our spines. Four
sons
and a
daughter
became missionaries and one
daughter
a
minister's
wife.
Health-wise, aging leaves
i ts mark on
all of us. Pauline continues
under a
doctor's care
and on
appropriate
daily
medication, I have enjoyed good
health
all
my life (except fo r severe
asthma in
my
youth) but several
weeks
ago
fainted
while teaching
a
class.
After I had
fainted nine time s
on
other occasions,
I went to
see
Dr.
Suzaki,
head of
th
Prefectural Hospital in our
area.
He
gave
me
all
the
tests ,
t ook X-rays
and
told
me I was in good
shape.
While he was
telling me
this,
I fainted and fell on him. So i t was back
to
square one. I have been diagnosed as having a Stokes-Adam
attack. Since then
I have been
taking
medication
daily.
So
far,
no more attacks. The possibility
of
a pacemaker
is
in
th e f u t u r e
Because
of
th e
above, Pauline
and I
did not attend
th e
annual missionary
convention
-
held this
year in
Koch
city, on the
i sl an d o f
Shikoku, one
of Japan's
four major
Islands.
Don and Norma Burney have
served there fo r
35
years
The
convention-goers
gathered around
the
phone
to
say
hello
and
to
wish us
well.
This was good medicine
fo r
our ears
The 1991 Christ ian serv ice camp was in th e campground of
ou r
area
churches. I t
had been decided that instead
of having
three consecutive
camps,
all
three would be
held
at the
same
time
but
in
different
places. To accomodate
the
groups,
a
large
tent was
furnished.
This and
the
porch and rooms
of
the camp's main
builidng
provided good settings
fo
all
the
campers and
staff.
This plan
will continue
in
the future.
y class. Great
Characters of the New
Testament was
held
outside,
under
the
trees. I chose five
men
to discuss:
Jesus,
John,
Peter,
Paul and Luke. Lives of
great men all
remind us
TO
iOME
SWEET HOME
from MARKtWULK
MAXEY
, TO THE
f-aT'CENTER - '' :
2 7
1991 Christian Camp-3
Age Groups-August
4,5,6
Adult Class Mark Maxey, Teacher
Grea t C h ar ac te rs o f
th e
New Tes t amen t
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
6/8
I enjoyed not only the prepara tion required for
t hi s c la ss ,
but a lso the cooperation of
my
students and
my
renewal of acquaintance with these great
men
of
old.
Jesus,himself, as well as the recorded
words
f these great
men
continue
to speak to us in
th e
pages of the New Testament.
We
enjoyed having two
students
from Osaka Bible Seminary
with
us
during
part
of July
and in August. These
were fourth year student, Hiroyuki Sakasegawa from the island of Tanegashims, south of us, and Katsuyuki Ueno a mem
be r of the
Kanoya
church and a
first yeat student
a t
Osaka
Bible Seminary. Sakaseqawa preached at the Kushira church
during the summer Also, Yuichi Tsurugaoka, at age 33, has entered Osaka Bible Seminary to
train
for the ministry.
Ever;
i f
you
don t
pronouce their
names
correctly,
keep these mm in your prayers as they prepare to
live
and
share
th e Good News of
th e
Gospel.
August is birthday month fo r
Pauline
and I. Thank you to al l of you who sent
to
us cards and l e t t e rs.
I t
makes growing
older
a
pleasure.
The week-end of August 24 was a memorable one. Pau line and I were
guests
of
th e
Hideo Yoshii family as
we
went with them by plane to
Osaka fo r the
wedding
of their
daughter, Noriko.The beginning of a
new Christian
family
is
significant event
anyplace, but
especially
in Japan where only one
percent
of
th e
people
ar e
Christians.
T hi rt y y ear s
ago I held the wedding ceremony fo r Mr and Mrs. Yoshii of the Kanoya church.
ow
i t
was my pleasure to hold the cere
mony fo r
their
daughter, Norikoto Tatsushi Sato of Osaka. The beginning of a new
Christian
family is a
significant eve
anyplace,
but
especially
in Japan where only one
percent
of the people
ar e
Christians.
The wedding
reception that fo l
lowed was
special no t
only
fo r th e
food that was
served
but
also for
th e hymns that were sung, words
of
praise
f or b rid
and groom as well as words
of
encouragement
offered
to them both.
The wedding was held on Saturday, August 24. On Sunday
morning,
Kenji Niro, faithful Christian friend and as
ciate
since
ou r
early
days in Kanoya,
came
to th e hotel with hi s wife. They took us to morning services in Horiguchi
church, Osaka. Seimin
Sugiyama
is minister
there. Again
a time of wonderful fel lowship and preaching.
We
had a
good vi
with
Paul
Clark
and
wife, Rickie,
in
Hirakata before
she took us to th e airport
fo r
a flight back to Kagoshima. Paul h
lost
both
parents recently.
Now as seminary
president,
the weight
of
leading th e school has
fallen
on him.
Keep
h
In your
thoughts
and
prayers
Le t me close with
this
story.
Five o r six miles from us
is
a
hospital
o f lepers (Hansen s Disease). I met
th e
leader
of the
small group
of
believers
soon
a ft e r
arriving
In Kanoya. I began
preaching
and
teaching
there
regularly.
This was in th e fall of 1950. Several monnths
l a t e r ,
in August 1951, I baptized 23
of
these
people. At
that
time fear o
this
disease was very strong. I determined, however,
that 1 t
was my sacred duty
to
baptize these
new believers
and to
pu t
my confidence
in God fo r
th e
outcome - both
theirs
and mine. Now
after
40 years,
four
of those who were baptized
st i l l alive. They
are:
Hiroshi
Morishita,
Etsue Sakaguchi, Fusako Toyoshima and
Kane
Kimura. The latter
recalled
that
was 40
years
ago
that
I had baptized she and th e
others. Now th e
remaining
four
wanted to give us a g ift in memory
o
their baptism long ago. It was a heart-warming
event
and an
assurance
that, indeed, The good that men do
lives af ter
them, Must
close.
Blessings
to
the readers of this
letter.
HIS SERVICE Mark
Maxey
HmGMDNG
w
A ugus t
B i rt hdays;
Pau l ine
and
M a r k
Auaust
2-Waiter
Maxey
f am il y- Fu rl ou gh t o U .S . Noriko
Yoshii We
^ Sato T a ts us hi- 24 A
^
fubKon
Kyushu Christian
Mission
Box
4 7
th V er no n, I nd ia na i|7265
. , R Permit No. 537
R e tu r n R e qu e st e d
EDITOR
:
H O R I Z O N S
B O X 2 4 2 7
KNOXVILLE TN
379
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
7/8
A Report by Mark and Pauline Maxey
/ L f N K L e r r e R /
To th e f r iends
of
th e K yu sh u C hristian Mission
Kanoya, Kagoshima 893 Japan - Box 417, N.Vernon IN 47265
L I N K L t T T E R
298
DECEMBER
1991
Dear Chr i s t i an f r iends
The ear th turns , the sun suLb, the
moon shines
and
present
ly the sun is on the horizon again. Everything is in motion and yet
nothing
seems
to change from day to day. But change is always with us
and all of a sudden It
reachcs
out and tuucht S us In stcirtlimj and
frightening ways.
roared up with the south s e as I t h it
and (Kyushu) full-force .
I t then
n archipelago
devastating fruits ,
ing as
i t went. Finally, th e storm
of here. Immediately afterwards,
tw o an d
so ld each h a l f a t th e
former
dst of
th e
sea,
we
ar e
always
aware
The weather
is fully
reported along
In
September
a typhoon
t he northern corne r
of
our huge
is l
continued up the center of the Japa
vegetables,
roads,
bridges
and hous
blew
out to
se a a
1000 mil es n or th
local
markets
cut
l e t tuce heads
in
price
of
one
head.
Living in th e
mi
of approaching storms and
dangers,
with
th e
news
on
both radio
and TV.
Special
visitors
have
come
our way. Dick Lash, long-time
missionary in Korea, spent a week with us
after
a renewa l of ties with
the churches and leaders there. Dr. S.M. Chang gave him a royal welcome
to the the
campus
and
it s
new buildings and facilites. Just
this
year,
the college has
become
a university under Bro. Chang s leadership.
Also visiting us was Ted and Beverly Skiles and son, Brad.
Theirs has been a ministry of
faith,
perserverance and outreach in Cent
ral Taiwan. They
have
provided a
haven
for orphans, the Christian wit
ness of a living church, a Christian bookstore and place of encourage
ment and st imulus to our other missionaries on the island,.
On October
9, I
had
a life-changing experience. I was
having
fainting spells of short but increasing frequency while taking
medica
tion three times a day.
But one
day I fell down and woke
up
with my
dog
licking
my
face. I
was
taken to the local hospital
where
I
prompt
ly fainted again.
The
hospital staff decided to send
me
to Kagoshima
City Hospital located on the western peninsula. Pauline had a hour to
gather the essentials. Then she went
with
me in th e ambulance
to
th e
hospital. Pauline stayed in Walter and
Mary s
(Maxey) house during my
20 days in the hospital . Daughter. Hope, is also staying in this house
during Walter and Mary's absence - and while she is teaching English in
the Kagoshima area high
schools,
colleges and universities.
Dr. Ishigami, a member of the Kagoshima church,has been a
staff member of
this
hospital for
many
years. He introduced me there.
Also,
he and his wife arranged a loan to
pay
my hospital bill until
payment of hospital Insurance came through.
express our thanks to
them.
38th
Annual Convention-Kagoshlma
Churches o f Chri st
I
I
I
I
i
I
I
I
f
\
LUXtz Baby in a. mangeA,
Nestled Zn a b d hky,
Do Vou knoio LOhcLt tiiL& ak^ad
J A you A.e, boA.n on
ChAX JCmcu
Vay?
Lit t tz Baby in a mangeji,
Having no
plac.t
in
tkz
inn,
Vo Vou knou the pAi.ce
you- tt
pay
To A.&dzejn mankind
6in?
Little
Baby,
in
a
mangeA,
Ve^tinzd ioA a cAaet
Giving up youJi to
o^^zA.
VoAdon, peace and iiboAty.
LiXtte Baby in a
manges,
I4e6tted
in
a bed
oi
hay,
Vo you
knou)
uihat
t ie6 ahead
Aa You're boAn on C.hxUitma Vay?
Oh,
love
beyond aZZ
othvi
tovzJi —
A
Love
we
cannot
undeutand
Vou fenow—and
•6titt
You come
To lay
dom YouJi
t i i e ioK man
Little Baby, in a mangen.,
Nestled in
a bed o^ hay,
We pAai^e You
the
tacnX-iice begu
Ai You'fie
boAn
on ChAi6tm6 Vay,
- Copied .
The Good Physician -Dr.
Ishigami
-
8/9/2019 Maxey Mark Pauline 1991 Japan
8/8
While waiting for surgery , I got word
that
Bro. Takeo Ilmure
had died.
He
was the f i r s t
man
I worked with after
our
arrival
in Kanoya,
now 41 years ago. He was active in teaching, preaching, wri ti ng l es sons ,
interpreting
and in p rep arin g the many documents needed to become a part
of the community in th e
city
of Kanoya. His funeral was
held
in the Ka
noya church by Bro. Hideo Yoshii. His ashes were placed in ou r
Christ
ia n mausoleum located in a nearby cemetery.
Tuesday , Oc tober 9, was
th e
day for a
pacemaker
implant by
Dr. Toda and assistant , Dr. Tominaga. Also present was Nurse Enokizono,
a member
of th e
Yoshino
church.
She
go t
h er duty
day changed
so
she
could
ass i s t during my
operation.
As they prepared to
begin
th e implant, she
leaned
over
and whispered, You don t
have to
be quiet . You can cry out
i f you want
to .
Hers was a
comforting
word and a comforting
presence.
Actually, I did not
experience
any pain dur ing
the
operation - bu t much
Jfr—thes
days
that followed.
When
the operation was finished some changes had taken place:
I was an American who had received a German-made pacemaker
implanted
by
a
Japanese doctor.
Jus t
ca l l
me
Mr. Internat ional .
I was amazed - and
also blessed
and comforted - bv th e many
people who came
to call
- each with a specially wrapped money gif t to
help on t he hospi ta l expenses. Also there were words of prayer and en
couragement.
Gifts
of f ood and f rui t . Always
fresh
flowers on th e win
dow-sill, Hospital l i fe does have i ts
pleasures
to
offset
i ts pains.
I
was
in
a
room
with
three
o the rs
so
there
were
lo t s o f
visi tors
coming and
goin g. M issionary
Ben Hirotaka spent a day on
th e
t ra in
to
pay a visi t . He came down from
northern
Kyushu and back again.
Second
daughter.
Faith, came
down
from north of Tokyo bringing
he r
child
ren: Erin
and Zachary. They
pu t
l i fe Into
that
hospital room . Bapt ist
missionary, Paul
Shook,
stopped
by fo r a vis i t
every night, bringing
some
thing
of in te res t each t im e. P au li ne was reading to me every day
and
seeing that I took my pi l l s - and whatever.
Finally,
i t was time
to
go home. I talked
th e
doctor
into
le t t ing
me go home a day early . So
finally,
on October
28,
we were on
th e way back home. November was upon us before we were finished with
October.
November 12 was a special day
as Pauline
gave he r annual mes
sage to the jo in t
women's meeting - Kanoya
church
and
th e women
of the
Keise i church (Hansen s
disease) -
held at their church
out in
the country.
A big event each year is the annual convention
of
Kagoshima
churches,
held
each. November
23,
a
national
holiday.
This
was
i ts 38th
year.
Bro. Naganorl Tanij i r l and the church
a t
Kushikino hosted.the
convention. I t was an Ideal day and the
building
was
full .
Bro. Makoto
Yuse from Nagoya brought morning and
afternoon
message. This is th e
church
far thest away from Kanoya so we lef t
early
and
got
home
af ter
dark - bu t fellowship
and
th e
inspirat ion
were worth I t .
According
to
t he zod iak, this year (1991) was t he y ea r of
th e
lamb. 1992
will
be the y ea r
of
th e monkey. Monkeys can do some smart
things and some dumb things. So let s not
le t
the Newy.^ar make a mon
key
out
of
us. B le ss ings
to al l .
IN HIS SERVICE
A Hospital
Visit
daughter - Faith M
}
I i »
And - jgi
g ra n
dch
i Id r e
Erin Zacharv^^^HnfllH
T ed Bev £
Brad
Ski les
Holding
the Missionary
F o r t
in
Ta iwan
Dick
Lash
- Revisiting His
Missionary
Service in
Korea
Kyushu
Ch?istiSn°Mission
®
Box
417
PAID
t h V er no n, I nd ia na
i»7265
, , — j
r«nn i t
No.
55 7
ess Return
Requested
E D I T O R
H O R I Z O N S
BOX 7
KNOXVILLE TN 3 7 9 0 1