/sol

U.S.

Jaan^^Address

Address

Pirs. Carl^^ Plckett

Don and Norro Burney

2-1-6 Asahi-machi

lUinoU 82S57

Tosa Yaitada-cho

Kcchi-ken, JAPAN 702

Tell 0217-662-3389
Telt 08875-3-AA13

September 24 1983
Dear Friends,

This has been ouita a suwisr. Besides the isany sweet activities, ue have had abno^y

hot waaJ^r! ^^Id eaSh<M<e. and aeater shortage caused by atyphocnt And all beUean the ti,
the hcls let out at the end of luly and the time they sUrt again SapteaiJSt 1.

The older people say that this has been the hottest s^r sinc^
officiauy over 38 C(lIK)t F], but a local rumor held that it had reached A2 C

ino fields of some of the Kochi City schools and that some of ttw more active sports

^laS^ ^ STfield. tie considered canceling the sumner camps if the ueather s that hot at caap
time# but the temperature had gone down a little by then.

In late July our family and 6others from the Kochi-ken churches attended the aapao.*tiona

Christian ConvanUon in Kobe. After having hosted the

be present in aU the sessions and to knou that the brethren of the Ono church mere in charge. There
were about 500 people from all parts of Japan present.

There were about 60 at the English (Plissionary) contention which follcuied the Nati^

convention. It is really refreshing to sing and hear sermons in En^ish once a y^

other missionaries, most of uhom ue see only at the convartion. ^re is

L
childrm these days, as the average missionary is Bran(*>a-ish [We have a grandson .too.]. Do pray the
Lord of the Harvest that He will send laborers to Japan.

On our way home from the conventions we helped Exie Fultr. idy> was just return^ ftm a .

furlough in the U.S.. to get her baggage to her home on Awaji Isla^. to spant parts
helping her open her house (putUng up screens, washing cut the refrigerator, etc.) so^
started living there again. Exie was already in Japan whan we
^
year in this country was spent living in her apartmant in Kobe while she was on furlo^. ^
mAwaji and is our "nearest" missionary nei^ibor-about 8hours by car. including a ferry trip across
from Shikoku.

Be had about S) different children in UBs'this year. The hi^ atteiv^ in tte. 5
22

There were 3 little boys and the rest were Uttle girls, kindergarten

Ra^l worked together teaching kindergarten throu#t first. Mchiko Fukoe tau^t second through fourth
(the largest class)# and Don had fifth through seventh.

ChUdran's camp was a special blessing to us the next week. Ute had 49 in camp, including the

adults Who ware helping. [Our caaps are aco-operative effort of the three churches in^ ^

Noichi, and Yamada (us).] Because we have no campground of our ouffi, we reserve rooms ^a You^ tostel,

or other youth facility. This time we could get reservations for only 40 people, so the

slept in two tents we were allowed to pitch in the Youth Hostel yard, and one of us^ove
each meal for 9carry-out lunches! Don was the speaker for the last session . aral there ws li*o
responded to the invitation-6 of them from Yamada. They were all to go back to their own ehutces and
talk to their our preacher.

Adult camp followed immediately. This was a "Bible Reading Caap". ^

Christians from the Gomen church. There were no teachers and no sermons, instead, there were hour-long

~-page 2

assi^ied Bible readinQs foUowed by group reporting. There was one special session in it*iich you could

choose your own Scripture, but were to read it for 3 hours. It urarked cut pretty well, really, exdispt
for the terrible heat we were having at the time which hindered concentration. There were from 20 to

24 people there, including 7 3r. Hi and H.S. students. [The nan whose idaa it was is a policeman
can't find all the,time he would like for reading the Bible, lite intend to use his idea again some time
during the coming year, perhaps for a one-day retreat, and pr^iably (firing cooler weather.]

All during adult canp a typhoon that had come from the south Pacific (as they all do, of course)
had approached Japan and was sitting Just south of Kochi WAITING. You learn newer to think you can
predict the movement of a typhoon, and never to be surprised by u^iat it finally does. This one was a
monster one, mostly fuU of water instead of wind. It sat there for three or four days, then turned

abruptly and finally "landed" a Icaig way north of us, near Tokyo. So instead of a typhoon, we got
a water shortage. With such a monster typhoon full of water approaching, the authorities had emptied

the dams rather than risk flooding when it arrived. Since it didn't arrive,- we are stiU left with a

short supply of water. We are just now at the date of this letter waiting for typhoon ninber 8.
[A normal year would have had 25 by now, they say.]

Iite had to wait a feu days for the ocean to calm down before we could have Girl Scout camp

in tents beside the sea. Then, following Girl Scout canp, was the earthc^iake. Not a very big one, and
rare to have one in Shikoku. There was little damage--just glasses, etc., knocked off shelves in stores.
The children from Yamada who said at camp that they wanted to become Christians had all been

r^ar at Sunday School, and had attended VBS before going to camp. Wichiko-san talked to them all

indiwiduaUy and they understood well. At first there was one mother and father tdio objected, but the
children (two sisters) brought the news the next ued< that their permits had agreed to their baptism.
AJr. Hi girl's mother agreed, but the younger sister of this pair decided against it. That made 5 from

caup, plus another girl who hacfri't gorte-to camp. So the entire congregation (the Yamada church) went

to the river araj Don bapUzed the Byoung ladies. This was a really wonderful ending for the summersix new Christiansl

We know you rejoice with us.

Trouble started iimediately, though. We had made sane misjudgements. The mother and father

who had objected at first, did indeed still object, and in order to be baptized the children had lied
to them about where they were going, and to us about their parents permission. The chUdren are now

being prevented from coming to church or Sunday School and the parents wUl not talk to us about it.

Ue should have
to the parents beforehand ourselves, instead of trusting the children s word.
The mother of the Jr. Hi girl also doesn't allow her to come to cAirch or Sunday School, althoogh ahe
admits that she had given her permission beforehand. Ite hope you will pray for these yoLvigsters i*io
have suddenly been isolated from fellowship with the church and from teaching.
One other child has stopped coming to Sunday School also since VBS md camp. Kar parents
said she "was causing trouble in the famUy" because she said that people idio beUeved in Jesus

didn't worship idols. During the summer fesUval of the local Shinto shrine she had refused to
worship. Pray for her, too. The parents of all these chUdrw hope that they can make them forget about God, of course. This is the first time for a long time that we have had outright opposition.
tte other hand, Septen4er seems to have seen a great jun^a in the activities of the

Christians in Yamada. Ide have moved the communion service

to the beginning of the Sunday morning

worship, and then the older ChrisUans take turns teaching the new Christians each week, so they won t
be

udth adult sertaons. ChUdren of Christians, not yet Christians thecnselves, have Uso

begun to join this younger group. The "lessons" have bei on "What the Bible says about
example, lying, fortune-tellino and witchcraft, and idols.

, for

One of the Christians has organized his entire family, including his brothers and their

wives and chUdren, into a mid-week Bible study uhich moves from household to household. There is
also talk of an adult Sunday School (a thing unheard of in Japan, where Sunday School has always been
for children only).

~>page 3

In

also the Sunday morning (torship attendance jumped remarkably. There have been

19 each of the last tuo Sundays, a situation uhich almost overflous our living room. Rejoice with ust

Lastly, for you uho know our children, we will tell you what they are doing. Recently the
four older children, all in North America as of now, met in Peru, Indiana at the homes of Notma's
mother and sister for a reunion before they "scatter again." fiaul and IfiQli both unmarried, are in

TOilpy in Athens, Georgia and Syracuse, New York, respectively. ^ and his wife, Warilyn. after
spending a year in Korea, are now in Urbana, Illinois in graduate school. Sw^, her husband Geoff
and son John, live in Beamsville, Ontario, Canada, where C^off works in a home for retarded a(^ts.
Uhich brings us to another item of G(MO tCUS!

Geoff and Sarah have made plans to come to Japan to live and proclaim God*s Uord. They

are greatly needed. They want to arrive in time to take care of Paul Pratt*^ house and classes and
help the Isehara church while the Pratt family is on furlough. This will be this coming Decenber (1383).
They do not yet have enough support promised, however. They need transportation money, but they also
need a promise of monthly support for their family. If you or your congregation can help them, please
write tot
Geoff and Sarah Acker
Box 103

BemasviUe, Ontario

CANADA

LORIBO

(Tel. 416-565-7885)

Please pray for them in this time of preparation and planning. Second generation missionaries are a
joy to all of us (not only their parents), and have the potential of being of special
isportance iir evangelizing Japan. Consider supporting them if you can.
Your ministers in Japan,

/'I

/-<

P.S.In mentioning the children, we don*t want you to think that we have discarded Rachel. She is here
with us in Yamada, studying Jr. High School by correspondence , and doing an awful lot to serve
the Lord. She will be 14 on October 24} is taller than her mother and still growing. She is in

the higher class in Japanese Sign Language now, has nmny deaf friends and a "nicknone" in Sign
which she would be glad to show you (but which lacks something in discription).