1955 KYUSHU REPORTSummary of the Past, Present and Futureof the Kyushu Christian Mission in Kanoya Al/. Sakurajima in Kagoshima Bay

M!SSIONARlt:S:Mr. & Mrs. Mark G. MaxeyKanoya, Kagoshima, Japan

FOHWARDLNG SECRETAUY:Mrs. Claiiys Aucrswaltl

Box 139, North Vcrnon, Indiana

MISSIONARY ASSOCIATES:Mrs. Isabel Diltemorc

Mr. & Mrs. A1 llaminoncl

Pastmmm]APAN has four main islands Hok

kaido far north; Honshu largest andcentral; Shikoku lying off and parallelto the southeast coast of Honshu; andKyushu farthest south. Japan is dividedinto prefectures, called ken in Japan-

KANOYA

ese, each with a capitol city. Theseprefectures are the equivalent of ourstates though much smaller. Kagoshimais the southernmost prefecture at thesouthern tip of Kyushu Island. Islandswhich are part of Kagoshima extend allthe way to Okinawa.

Japan is a long country. Put thenorthern tip of Hokkaido on the city ofMontreal, Canada, and Kagoshima wouldfall on the state of Alabama, with Kanoya resting on the city of Montgomery.The climate also varies from extremecold- to the sub-tropical. Japan is athickly populated country. It has 88million people. Kyushu has 10 millionof these and Kagoshima prefecture onemillion, 800 thousand.

Japan is a small country. Its 368thousand square kilometers is roughlyequivalent to the state of California.Kyushu contains 40 thousand squarekilometers, and Kagoshima, 78 hundred.

Japan is a non-Christian country,the 100th anniversary of the arrival ofthe first Protestant missionary in Japanwill be celebrated in 1959. Progress hasbeen slow. The Christian populationtoday numbers only a quarter of a million or one-half of one percent of thepeople.

Kagoshima is a historic part of Japan. No history of Japan from its

beginning to the present time can betold without frequent mention of this areausually referred to by its ancient nameof Satsuma. Here the Portuguese introduced Japan tothe gun in 1542 and hereseven years later, the same nation introduced Catholicism to Japan in theperson of Francis Xavier. The gun wasuniversally received and used until Ja

pan became a world power, but Christianity, after 88 years, was suppressedand all Christians annihilated in northern Kyushu near Nagasaki. Japan hasnever been hospitable to Christianityto Christianity since, except for a fewbrief years immediately after World WarII. Now increasing effort seems to berewarded with decreasing results.

The Missionary Family

Mof/c, V/alter Mark, Pauline, Paula. In front, Gregory.Mark G. Maxey is the son of Mr. and Mrs.R. Tibbs Maxey, one of nine children.His father was a Christian minister for51 years. Today his family is active inChristian work at home and abroad. MarkMaxey attended the University of Minnesota two years and is a graduate ofMinnesota Bible College and CincinnatiBible Seminary. He began preaching inJuly 1937 and has held pastorates inMadelia and Truman, Minnesota; Hol-lowtown and New Holland, Ohio; andNorth Vernon, Ind. Pauline Maxey is thedaughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Pethtel

of Wind Ridge, Pa., and a graduate alsoof CBS. The Maxeys were married inDecember 1941 while attending Seminary. They now have three children-Paula, 12, born in Seymour, Indiana;Walter Mark, nine, born in Cincinnati,Ohio; and Gregory Allen, three, born inFukuoka, Japan. From June 1944, Mr.Maxey served five years as an ArmyChaplain. His family Joined him in Japan in 1947 and it was there that thedesire to serve in Japan as missionarieswas born. They requested dischargein September 1949 for this purpose.

Desiring to do a pioneer work whereour people had not gone, they chose theisland of Kyushu and named their proposed work The Kyushu Christian Mission. An exact location had not beendetermined. Later they heard that Chaplain Paul Cook (now of Wayne, Neb.),had been stationed in Kanpya w^ theAir Force, had baptized a nurfiber ofof converts and gathered them into achurch. They decided to begin with thisnucleus though they had never beeneither to Kyushu or to Kanoya before.

The Maxeys sailed for Japan lateAugust 1950 and began residence inKanoya in October. Since that time theyhave been actively engaged in ruralevangelism in that area using Kanoyaas the center.

Kagoshima prefecture is divided into two large peninsulas by KagoshimaBay up the center. The western peninsula is known as Satsuma and Kagoshima City is the principal city. Theeastern peninsula is called Osumi andKanoya is the principal city. It is calleda city, though by western standards, itis quite riural. Osumi has been wholly

First Term SummaryONE hesitates to list accomplishments,but to give an accounting of our stewardship to the supporters who made it possible for us to live and work in Japan,the following attempt at listing factsand figures is the same time, j chuRCHES: Eight, at the followingwe must say thaM^imcs Tannegashima, Tarumiiu, Kan-can be report^ bptat.stics. No figure ^ Koyama, Lshira, Matsuyama, Iwa-or fset can indicate Jtooil a^ Sueyoshi. None of these chur-

Neither can i;oiind-^jj[ip^s^be used as abdsis of compdliBWrof-mtss'lons or missionaries; nor to judge success or failure. For our own part we can truly say,"We count not ourselves to have laidhold."

neglected by missionaries except for aBritish missionary who lived in Kanoyafor two years some 40 years ago.

MISSIONARY ASSOCIATES

in J'anuary 1952, Mrs. Isabel Ditte-more, Mr. Maxey's sister, and Mrs. MaudeB. Maxey, his mother, arrived in Japanand took upresidence in Kagoshima City.Mrs. Dittemore was a long-time missionary on the Tibetan border where shelost her husband and finally had to fleefrom the Communists. Mrs. ^I^ittemorehas established four churches on Satsuma at Kagoshima City, Kajiki,'Kushi-kino, and Sendai. The^e are other outposts, preaching points; and Sundayschools. V,

In May 1954, A/ and Eleanor Hammond arrived. They are graduates of SanJose Bible College and a consecratedyoung couple. They lived in Kagoshimafour months and have had eight monthsof study in Kobe Language School. Theyare now in Kanoya in the mission housecarrying on in our absence. Upon our return they plan to launch a pioneer workin a new territory.

1. PROPERTY: Mission house at Kanoya erected, together with suitable outbuildings. Approximately three acres ofsurrounding land has been purchasedand improved.

are

points at Takasu, and the leper colony,Sunday schools in each place, and oneat the Osumi orphanage.3. CHURCH BUILDINGS AND LAND:Church buildings pre-fabricated at themission house and erected for a total

cost of approximately $500 have beenerected at Kushiro, Tarumizu, Sueyoshi,Kajiki (for Mrs. Dittemore) and Tonne-goshima. These churches are repayingthe cost of their buildings with verysmall monthly payments. The cost ofland is extra. Land for three churcheswas purchased by the Mission and Tan-negashima paid half and the Missionpaid half for theirs. Kanoyachurch ownsa Japanese residence which serves bothas a meeting place and as a home forBro. limure, Mission evangelist. Thisbuilding waspurchased through the jointefforts of Benson church, Omaha andthe Mission in 1949. Also a small Japanese residence has been purchasedfor the church at Koyama recently. BothKanoya and Koyama rent their land, acommon practice in Japan.

4. BAPTISMS; 323 for four years beginning October 1950 and ending September 1954. Baptisms since that time havenot been compiled.

> .' >

5. SEMINARY STUDENTS: Total of 10in Tokyo and Osaka Bible seminaries.Of these, four have completed their studies and returned to Kagoshima to work.Two others have graduated but are continuing their studies. The Mission hascontributed to the Seminary life throughlectures and addresses, and financiallythroughstudent support especially pledged by various groups.6. SUMMERCAMPS: The Osumi-SatsumaChristian Service Camp has been started and four sessions conducted, twowith both Junior and Senior weeks. Total attendance each year: 195131;1952-70; 1953-49; 1954-83.

7. DAILY VACATION BIBLE SCHOOLS:Under Pauline's direction, the Seminarygirls have taught a full program ofDVBSthrough August for three years. Figuresfor the last two years show 16 schoolswith 1110 enrolled in 1953, and 11 with655 enrolled in 1954.

FIFTH SUNDAY RALLY AT KANOYA. MAY 15. 1950

8. RALLIES&CONVENTIONS; 5th Sun- oya on May 15 just before the Maxey'sday rallies of the OsumI churches, held departure. Once a year in the summer athree times a year, have been started. convention isheld forall the KagoshimaThe 9th Osumi Rally was held at Kan- churches, alternating between Satsuma

and Osumi. In April 1954, Kanoya washost to the All-Japan Christian Convention. Mr. Maxey initiated the first annualmissionary convention and three of themhave already been held.9. EVANGELISM: Anaverage of 10 complete weeks each year has been given toevangelistic campaigns. Tracts, advertising, public address systems, audiovisual aids, the selling of Christianliterature and other things have beendeveloped or adapted to go with thisprogram.

10. PRINTED MATERIALS: Mrs. Maxeyhas adapted the Standard Junior Coursewhich covers the Bible in four years,and had it translated a lesson eachweek. Three years of the course hasbeen completed and it will continue 'tilfinished. A pamphlet. Guide to Christianity was written and published. Alsoa great many other tracts, sermons, andteaching materials. Two complete books.Training for Service and Christian Nurture have been translated and mimeographed. All these have been widelyused locally and by our brethren in Japan and Okinawa. A bookstore has beenmaintained and a great number of Bibles,hymnbooks and other Christian literature has been sold at low cost or madeavailable to those interested free ofcharge.11. PREACHING: No attempt has beenmade to record the number of sermonspreached or the places. The past threeyears Mr. Maxey has visited each churchonce a month on Sunday and preached asermon in Japanese using a script written in Roman letters. A book of 21 ofof these sermons will soon be publishedin Japanese. Through the kindness ofChaplains Gosser, Martin and Mayfield,there have been many opportunities toreach the servicemen in Kyushu withevangelistic and missionary messages.

12. TEACHING: Through the years, Mrs.Maxey has maintained a weekly trainingclass for Sunday school teachers; a monthly women's meeting in Kanoya and inthe other churches at longer intervals;classes for girls and Worker's Conferences for Bible school teachers. Mr.Maxey has also held a weekly leader'straining class; special teaching programs in the churches, and young peo-pel's meetings every month.

13. SOCIAL & COMMUNITY SERVICE:WeeklyEnglish Bible classes have beenmaintained for three years; lectures onsuch subjects as Democracy and SomePrinciples of Success have been givenin many schools. We have always attended every school and civic function orceremony to which we have been invitedproviding it did not fall on Sunday orinterfere with our Christian duties. Some

foodand much clothing sent by Christianbrethren at home havebeenfreely shared;first with Christian preachers and workers, second, with the orphanage, thirdwith needy Christians in al Ithe churchesand fourth, with the war widows and theother poor in Osumi. The Osumi orphanage near our homeis a prefectural institutionbut the Kanoya church hasmaintained a special Sundayschool there for almost five years. Frequent gifts of clothing and playthingshave helped make the children's lifepleasanter. Recently the Camp WoodChapel, through Chaplain Gosser, equipped them with a playground, and a complete rythmn band. Bibles have beenplaced in the rooms of the prefecturalhospital in Kanoya, and regular teachinggiven there. We have maintained fellowship ina similar way at the leper colony.A rest house with bulletin board andand water fountains on the main road infront of the mission house has beenbuilt and maintained for the use of thosepassing by. Though social service is

not our object, yet in this way, we havemade it possible for some to say I washungry and ye gave me to eat; I wasthirsty and ye gave me drink;.. .nakedand ye clothed me; / wos sick and yevisited me...

U. ORGANIZATION: To satisfy legaland tax requirements and to regularizeMission policies, financial and otherwise, the Mission was incorporated as areligiousorganization In the State of Indiana. In Japan, to satisfy the requirements of the Japanese Religious Persons law, to hold property and to enablethe churches to be tax-free, the properregistration was made. Both missionaries and Japanese brethren are servingas officers. Actually, affecting this registration was a very difficult and lengthy process.15. REPORTS TO THE CHURCHES:Through June 1955 a totol of 69 Link-letters have been mailed out to all liv-inglink churches and regular supportersto give a detailed and intimate account

of our activities as missionaries monthby month. Other printed reports and picture reports have been mailed out generally from time to time. Ten FinancialReports have been prepared and sent toevery contributor to give an accountingof funds received and used.

16. FAMILY LIFE; The Christian family in the foreign land is the first demonstration of Christianity at work. Thisinvolves great responsibility and theever-present feeling of failure. Paulahas become highly proficient at Japanese and has rendered invaluable assistance throuah her translating, takingphone calls and handling ahost of time-consuming details. Both Paula and Mar-kie have many Japanese friends andplaymates, and through their irifluence,many of them have become Christians.In addition to her other duties, Paulinehas . been school teacher for Paula andMarkie using the CalvertSchool lessonsas much as possible. We have alwaysgone as a fomily to the churches and

MISSION ACTIVITIES ARE ILLUSTRATED BY THE PEOPLE IN THIS PICTURE

" ti

(left to right)

1. Mark G. MaxeySupervision, teaching,evangelism

2. Pauline MaxeyBible Schools andwomen's work

3. Takeo limoreEvangelism,Sheperding

4. Denzo Shimoda & son{seated with model ofS500 church building)church building,carpentry of all kinds

5. Akiya MaidaBookstore, duplicatingteaching materials

6. Hideko NodaLanguage teacher, Sunday school counselor

gatherings and have felt that this hasdemonstrated in some way the familyas a unit and the husband and wife aspartners.

17. "For time will fail me if I tell ofGideon, Barak, Samson...": All theabove is not to say that we have doneit. This is the Lord's work made possible by the Lord's people in Americaand we are but the agents through whicha great many people in Japan and elsewhere have worked together to bring itabout. Specifically and especially wewant to acknowledge and thank the following: Missionaries: Isabel Dittemore,Al and Eleanor Hammond, Maude B.Maxey, and Mr. and Mrs. Martin B. Clark;Japanese brethren: Sakahiko Motoyoshi,Takeo limure, Shin Okabe, Akira Maeda,Kenji Niro, Denzo Shimodaand YosunariYaita; Seminary Students: Hideo Gasha,Shuichiro Shibaoi, Sumitako Diokusono,Keizo Osumi, Hideko Noda, Itsuko Shi-genobu, Hisako Akano, Reiko Seguchi,Reiko Uemura, Shizuko Shimago, andmany, many, pth

99PresentWe left Japan June 6th for our first

furlough. The Al Hammonds had alreadyarrived to carry on. We are grateful fortheir decision.

Three Japanese brethren will helpwith the work; Paul Takeo Iimure, mission evangelist (livinglink of Homebuil-der's Class, Benson church, Omaha). Heand his family live in Kanoya. He visitsthe churches regularly, acts as interpreter and advisor, assists Mrs. Ditte-more three or four days a month, conducts meetings, ministers to Kanoyachurch. The church furnishes livingquarters and contributes toward salary.

Sadahiko tAotoyoshi started and carried on work of Tarumizu church, supports himself teaching school.

Shin Okabe, an older man who camefrom the Baptists, accepted the New

yama '^^ and wilinSueyoshi dlconfidence that the work "wilI continueand prosper.

Our stateside home will be Louisville, Ky., where the children will get acomplete term of American school. Paula,who contracted polio in Japan August1947, will return to Warm Springs, Ga.for the second time to undergo surgeryon her legs. We will be spending thefurlough year reporting to tne brethren,visiting summer camps, Bible collegesand conventions, evangelizing, doingsome special study; being revitalizedby fellowship with our families, friendsand fellow Christians; and preparingequipment for the next five years.

~mmmPuiureWe plan to return to Japan in Sep

tember 1956. Our task: to continue theestablishment and nourishment of indigenous churches (self-supporting, self-governing, self-propagating). This goalis easy to state; difficult to achieve.

On return, we will start a schoolto train young men and women for Christian leadership and evangelism, andsecondarily, to teach them skills whichwill help them to be self-supporting.Land for such a school has alreadybeen purchased adjacent to the Missionhouse in Kanoya. Work on this schoolmust begin by October 1956 or government will reclaim land.

A second project is a completelyequipped tent (and trailer to carry it)for yearround evangelism and a teamof four young men to live with it andconduct the campaigns full time. This

will be expensive but productive,believe tent evangelism has a betterchance of success in Japan than anyother method.

The production of low cost churchbuildings, and assistance to thechurches in obtaining land for them willcontinue. In addition, first term projectsand work will be carried on as before.

In these tasks we hope to proveworthy of your continued prayers andinterest and support. We undertake thiswork in the firm conviction that JesusChrist is the only answer to the needsof the Japanese people. We believe that"in none other is there salvation; forneither is there any other name underheaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved." We are assuredthat "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yea and forever."

KYUSHU CHRISTIAN MISSION in Kanoya

Serving Christ through youin southernmost Japan

Now in our fifth year of service;furlough in June 1955

Mission activities are illustrated bythe people in above picture

(left to right)

1. Mark G. Maxey-Supervlslon,teaching, evangelism.

2. Paul ine MaxeyBible Schoolsand women's work

3. Takeo limure- Evangelism

4. Denzo Shimoda and son (seated withmodel of $500 church building)-church building, carpentry

5. Akiya Ma idamimeograph operatorproducing teaching materialsof all kinds.

6. Hideko Noda-language teacher,Sunday school counselor

FORWARDING SECRETARY:

Mrs. Gladys AuerswaldBox 139North Vernwi, Indiana

MISSIONARY CO-WORKERS (Not Shown)

Mrs. Isabel Dittemore

Mr. and Mrs. Al Hammond

KAeaSH/MA \rfiEfCTuHi

FcM r L/tti

40

\MIYAZAKi

KaGoSHI/IAFkepectu^e

KYUSHU CHRISTIAN MISSIONKanoya, Kagoshlma, Japan

Reprinted from HORIZONS Magazine for April 23, 1955