Messages of other months can be read by clicking HERE.

English Bible Classes (09/05/04)

Learning Japanese (09/05/08)

Choosing a Location (09/05/12)

First Impression of Kariya (09/05/18)

Kariya (09/05/22)

Kariya House (09/05/25)

Special Attention (09/05/30)

English Bible Classes (09/05/04)

The aim of our first year in Japan was to become acquainted with the language and customs of the Japanese people and to find an appropriate place to begin an effective Christian ministry. Although the emphasis of that first year was on language study, developing a basic understanding of the peculiar Japanese language and the ability to make effective use of it ourselves, I was happy that opportunities were provided for communicating in my native language also. My first English Bible Class was held in the Japanese church where our landlord and his wife were members in response to a request by young people in that church. We met there every Sunday evening. The 15-20 who attended were basically high school or university students, both Christian and non-Christian. One older member of that class, an active member of the church, a research scientist for an important electric company, arranged for me to teach a similar class at the research laboratory of that company. Although the 15-20 members of that class, all scientists engaged in research, may have been more interested in learning English than in studying the Bible, that Friday afternoon class emphasized both. I enjoyed teaching these two Bible classes and my contact with the students helped me understand their language and culture, so the classes were productive for both teacher and students. (1225)

Learning Japanese (09/05/08)

Every language has its particular characteristics or peculiarities. Some languages have similarities with other languages that have emerged from a common source, but Japanese seems to me quite unique, especially in its written form. It makes use of thousands of Chinese characters and has two additional syllabaries, but no alphabet. Almost 2000 Chinese characters are regularly used in magazines, newspapers and books in Japan and there are about 75 different pronunciations represented by each of the two syllabaries. In spoken Japanese, the different levels of politeness is another complicating factor for speakers of European languages. In regard to the difference between terms used for one’s self and for respected others, I made some embarrassing blunders before I recognized the clear distinction. There were times when I spoke to our maid as though she were a member of the imperial family. And one day when I was still in the early stages of my language acquisition, when our landlord and his wife were not at home, the telephone rang and I quite boldly decided to answer it. I began with the common words, moshi moshi (“Hello.”) Evidently the caller was surprised to hear a voice he did not recognize, so he asked: Donata-sama desuka? (“Who are you?”) My immediate answer was Ofuna sama desu (“the honorable Mr. Offner.”) It was many years later that I was elated by the statement of a man with whom I was talking on the telephone that he thought I was Japanese. (1226)

Choosing a Location (09/05/12)

During our first term in Japan, along with becoming acquainted with the language and customs of the people among whom we were expecting to live and serve, we also needed to choose an appropriate location for both our home and our ministry. Many factors related to our family life and the type of ministry we envisioned needed to be considered. It was our hope to find a city, town or village where there was no Christian activity, where a Christian family from a foreign country would be accepted and from which the development or expansion of our ministry into the surrounding area would be possible. As the first and only missionaries from our church, we did not have experienced ministers in our particular tradition to give us advice, so we conferred with leaders of other churches and Christian organizations. We were happy with the mutual understanding that resulted from such contact and for the information received. Looking at a map of the main island of Japan, and the railways that connect Tokyo with the rest of the country, we decided to use some of our spare time to take trips on the train to view and experience Japanese life in other areas. After checking the cities along the railroads where there were no Christian churches, we boarded certain trains, got off at certain stations and walked around that area until the next train came along. We then boarded that train and got off at another station and did the same thing. In this way, through our own personal experience we gained some sensations regarding the places, living conditions and the people there, which influenced our conclusions. We also experienced how crowded the country was. At one station, it was necessary for us to climb out of a train window on to the platform because the train was so crowded, we could not get to an exit in time. (1227)

First Impression of Kariya (09/05/18)

As noted in the previous message, while looking for an appropriate place to begin our Christian ministry in Japan, my wife and I received various impressions as we walked around the commercial or residential areas near railroad stations in the countryside. As expected, some impressions were very positive and others were negative. It is interesting to note that the place which stimulated the most negative impression was the place we finally chose. Looking back over our experiences, we recognize that a number of different factors were involved in stimulating the impressions we received—including the time of day, the weather, the age and social class of the citizens who saw us. We attracted the curious attention of children and young people but more questionable stares of many adults. In the city of Kariya, located in Aichi Prefecture, just east of Nagoya, it was at the end of a workday and the streets were filled with workers hustling to the train station after a day of work in their work clothes. As they went by us, most of them seemed to frown as they noted this strange couple of foreigners and probably wondered what we were doing there. Anyway, the hour that we spent walking around that part of the city stimulated a negative reaction in our minds. Nevertheless, for reasons to be explained in subsequent messages, that was the city, we chose as the place to begin our ministry. First impressions are not always accurate. (1228)

Kariya (09/05/22)

During our first year in Japan, while becoming acquainted with the language and customs of the country, my wife and I also had to decide where to begin the ministry of the American church that sent us there. There were various reasons why the city of Kariya in Aichi Prefecture was one of the cities we seriously considered. At that time it was a city of about 30,000 residents. It was located just east of Nagoya, Japan’s third largest city, on the main railway running east and west between Tokyo and Osaka. In Kariya, this railway intersected another railway running north and south, so it was an important transportation hub. Along with the commercial areas of the city, there were industrial and rural areas. In fact, it was in this area that the Toyota Motor Company was born and many of the factories produced products related to automobiles. There was no Christian church in the city, so we considered it a suitable place for our ministry. In talking with our landlady in Tokyo, we found out that her uncle lived in a city not far away from Kariya and knew residents who lived there. He was willing to inquire about a possible place for us to live. His inquiries were productive and he informed us of a house in a rural area in which the first floor rooms could be rented while the family lived on the second floor—just the opposite of our situation in Tokyo at that time. It was in July of 1953 that I went to see that house along with our landlady’s uncle. My wife did not join us because she had just given birth to a baby boy at the same hospital and under the direction of the same doctor as a year earlier. (1229)

Kariya House (09/05/25)

The house in Kariya, which I visited with the uncle of our Tokyo landlady, was in a quiet area with rice fields nearby. It was a traditional Japanese two-storied house, but I was surprised to see the floor of the rooms on the first floor. Although the rooms were divided by the traditional sliding doors made of decorative paper, there were no traditional straw mats on the floor. Rather, the tatami had been replaced with wood because the daughter in the family had been teaching sewing classes and the students sat on wooden stools in front of the sewing machines so the wooden floor was preferable. Such a floor would also be preferable for classes or meetings we might hold there. When I inquired about the monthly rent, the mother and daughter asked me how much I was willing to pay. In one corner of the room, I quietly asked the man who accompanied me how much would be appropriate. When I responded with the figure of 5000 yen, the mother and daughter went to another corner of the room and quietly conversed. Their response was that they were willing to rent the large living room, three smaller rooms of different sizes (which we would use as a bedroom, a study and a kitchen) and a Japanese style restroom for 3000 yen. I was amazed at their offer and gratefully accepted it. This mother and daughter became very helpful in getting my wife and me and our 2-month old baby settled. During our adjustment period, they helped my wife in her washing and ironing clothes and making Japanese meals. The kitchen/dining room they continued to use on their side of the first floor did not bother us and we were permitted to make use of the Japanese bath, or ofuro, which was between us. (1230)

Special Attention (09/05/30)

In August 1953, we moved from Tokyo, where we had attended a Japanese language school for over one-and-a-half years, to the city of Kariya in Aichi Prefecture. My wife and I and our baby went by train but our furniture and other items were delivered by truck, which required a few more hours to make the trip. On the evening when that truck arrived, a group of children and young people gathered at the door of our house to see the kind of things a foreign family would bring. Even after the truck had been emptied and left, some observers remained and continued to look through the window to see what we had and how we arranged things. We felt very special indeed. From that time on, whenever we went outdoors to go shopping or to take a walk around the community, a group of onlookers would always gather to watch. We were about 15 or 20 minutes from a shopping area by walking, but my wife and I soon purchased bicycles, the most popular mode of transportation in that city at that time. However, it was when we took our baby out in a baby buggy that attracted greater crowds, for both adults and children were interested in seeing a Caucasian baby. We requested that fresh milk be delivered to our house daily, but the only bottles available were small half-pint bottles. The day after we requested that a larger bottle be used, we received milk that had been transferred by the local deliverer into a large, thin-necked, green sake bottle, so we reversed our request and continued to receive the small half-pint bottles of milk. (1231)