FEB 131360

(Paul's Epistle)
A Report from the Paul S. Pratt family
Missionaries to Kyushu, Japan

Japan Address^

Fnrewatding Address
Mrs. Polly "Wilkinson

5-1 Chome, Kagoike Dori

Fukiai Ku, Kobe,

23769 "W. Edison Ed.

Hyogo Ken, Japan.

South Bend, Indiana

Dear Friends,"

a beautiful day, praise the Lord, but

'I'-V-V

great faith would have driven him into the mo

1 w. T ord He has faced disbelieving family and friends

--

The

c M is Kathleen's home con

f Though the picture is published late, constan

TerfaJful sUrt and regular letters have been given

^' 51 trrHHSSS:=
.:r

''
- ..
CnrUlian Church
Cnrlstian Church

'-.r-,-

n le reverse side you

which
will
he
huilt
this
summer.
will get a glimpse of the piano we were able ^

Gosport, Indiana
Gosport,
Indiana

Japanese classical

0r Ckrist^^'^ ^ifts be.an with an escourted tri^o

(1 woman & 2 men are absent)

We were guests of the Kobe High

"' . School English teachers whom Kathleen

aet'h r and then sang cmoIs in the com-

A-U(^ camp "Western greeting m Ungiisn,

munity. Sure enough, at each location, we gave the same Wes

iviciiy

Christmas,"

....

mettith\7Ltr
Ho^LerolirT'
h
'"'ebrate' the birth of Christ Scho I '

P<=ople

=r r

Mark & Teacher Mrs. Dittemore

rrrt:

with the New Piano

Seminary and the important place it occupierin our ^orrLrr^rTerbut"'

ASK FOR LARGE AMOUNTS. THEY WILL ALWAYS BP n anr v

^T

gift SO FAR WAS SIO, IF EVERY

PF0^D h-ave the %iooo which we would likTtj ppJ

SCHOOL. PRAY FOR THIS BUILDING PROGRAM CDeta ! ri M

request them. Just drop a card to our South Bend address.) '

.
r t

. j"
' -F

..
j-- -l; i?" -

CA/^^,

SCHOOL. PRAY FOR THE

-Skip' Oeltli. a sailor from Hay ward, Calif, and the

Claude L,k,ns family, our missionaries in Tokyo visited us
recent y as did also Afm Vivian Lemmon, of Tanabe

'wo years since our children

we found snow in shady

r.-rA

^^^GEST

'',.V
.SM;^.
-rl^ i::-"- .

aiout 40 young people from

.-i

4'';;-.^

'wo congregations we have attended since coming to

P^e^frrrbrxes "^WcT'^ou^

rr:::::rr-" ---

Nagoya. After Iter^'sl't ^rte^Tere'recedTd 'rnIy"tL'"frre

'
k
ft'
""
">P frpework of the buildings remain. Pray likewise for
^

Csayonara)

{ Paul's S^istla)
A Rsporc from tb3 Paul S. Pratt fanulMisL;lonariss to Kyushu, Japan
April, 1960

Volume IV, No, I

I-

;,ror-wardin2 Add:

Japan Address:

Mrs, Polly Vilkinson Paul S. Pratt

2;3769 V/, Edison Rd,, 5-1 Chome, Kagoike Deri,
Couth Bead, Indiana
Fukiai Ku, Kobe, Japan

The Maxeys:
our Associates--my hosts

Dear friends,

As a result of comparatively mild weather, your

contributed vitamins and above all the continaoias

blessing of the Lord, we have been quite healthy

this winter.

The very important matter at hand is the pur

chase of land, moving the church building in Kajlki(which must be moved by the 1st. of April), and
making plans to build our home. To this end, I
took an early test at language school on Feb. I6th,
went to Kyushu, viewed the lots together with Mark
Maxey, preached in three of the churches in Japan
ese, and then returned to Kobe on the 23rd for my
classes again.

The church building to be moved is about 20' x

40' and to save trouble in moving it we tried to
get land not too far away, with a wide enough
street to move it on. The present location is near
to schools and the train staion; so we were fortu

nate in finding a lot about 45' x 80' not three

blocks away. In order not to tie up traffic, the
moving will take place about midnight.
The lot which we chose for our house is near

the rice paddies at the southeast corner of town,

so we could buy more land(about 60' x ISO') for
just a bit more than the other lot cost. Pictures
at the right show that it is the site of a small ho
tel that burned out. On the land which is elevated

with a good 3' wall on the east and west side is a

stone porch with steps, a small bomb shelter, and
a 3' to 4' deep hole for the foundatioji.^"'"^^:^-^^
Both of these lots are avaiIabla,^for $1,800.
Down payment has been made (I0%)^':a^ the balance must be paid by April 30th, This is necea^"''^
ary because our credit is not established at
lyushu as yet. At this writing we need $1,00
e finish off these payments. To you who wis
0 contribute, please try to get the offering tt
ur South Bend address by April 27th, so it c
e wired to Japan from there.
Cur schedule will be a bit altered from no'

n. Kathleen will stop school, I plan to attend

fternoons so I can teach a j:ourse in Genesis

t Osaka Bible Seminary before moving south
1 June or July.

PRAY FOR US!

Sayonara,

Paul and familv.

The lot for our house.

Upper Porch, and excavation site

Lower--A view thru the gate posts.

(Paul's Epistle)
A Report from the Paul S. Pratt family
Missionaries to Kyushu, Japan

Volume Iv, No. 3. j

June, 1910

New Japan Address (After July 1)

222 Uearata Cho
Kagoshima, Japan.

Forewarding Address
Mrs. Polly Wilkinson

23769 W. Edison Rd.

South Bend, Indiana

Dear friends,

^ a fr.rmer serviceman we

Thanks to the fine response you made ^T'Ttokr to Mrk"Maxey's diplomacy and use of the
were able to meet the April 301. deadline on our land, ^^h
Japanese lan,prage we were
"
prospects are bright for paying that off also, we p

who always rewards what little faith we exercise,

we do appreciate your generous gifts.

from Mrs. Norma Schoeffler in memory of her husband who passed

away March lOf.. They lived at Branch Hill. Ohio where we began
our ministry. Our deepest sympathy goes out to her in this oss.
The lU. All-Japan Christian Convention was a true booster shot

for all of us. I went to most of the Japanese Convention and sang with
the Men's Chorus which is pictured at left. Kathleen and the children

came just in time for the "Foreigners" Convention (March Slsf to Apri
9d) A very important member of the family, the vibraharp, was also
there The fellowship was sweet, the messages inspiring and the oppor

tunity to lift our voices to praise God in English thrilled our souls. On
the last day a special farewell was held for yeteran Miss Grace Farnam
who is returning to the States after some 30 years of faithful service
here. Our prayers are with you, Grace.

^i^ekly

(I i. R)

K.b. Cb.. ,
... '
Praii, A. Koii.rS. K.ji..

and Saito-we record for Mrs. DitUmore s

Our Youth Group met each day at the convention as did the
tots. The youth group is pictured at the left as they sang

convention last longer ? "

expressed the thOUght of all of US,

Why

."rr,,
May, Carol Mings and Markie Maxey.

same time. He is transferring from Osaka Bible Seminarv to

t>-u,

and have been "stalwards" in the Ucaki Church herelin Kobe.

Notice the picture at the left. No, the men
are not blacksmiths. Nor are they breaking stone.

ft

They are preparing "Omochi" or rice cakes for the

community at New Years time. They are eaten at
other times also. The man at right tends the fire
and boils the rice. When it is ready it is transferred
to the stone bowl. Two men alternately pound it
with mallets and the other men knead it at intervals

We have learned to eat rice cakes prepared certain

IgRjllll^Mp ways- Of course the Japanese love them.

While you are reading this, we will be packing
each year for the past five years However this

our own for a while at least. "Well begun is half drn'e" T

our new community.

established in a home of

'

POrtant beginning at Kajiki,

there are denominatiolal mhZnarl^irTrroundi'' ""

"""

Though the i^oup is small, it seems to have a gooT"'

Church is close to the schools and cToser t^the .'T
as being." soJar" or in a 'Jt 1

vicinity'present a

Kagoshima Bay. Though

congregation in town. L^he

describe your location

T cr 'aT

people win become persLlly a.n^lriit ^Chrr'' '^"tr

among men whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) j '

-

If so, other children supply competition for

he living at home and no^ L

niralUr;

"""""
children of missionaries,

wii,

We have been closely associated with Mrs TsahsH n,>t

j,

-^|pok of Acts is being dramatized under the title "Behold Th 7 7 '

Currently, the

J- Aas hired to direct this. After about a dozen weeks of readtag tT'' "
conclusion that he should do more than iust act H

ccction Bay -rnoon, M, Tanabe

' '^'"ctics teacher

studying and dramatizing, he came to the

"shLT."

._servme m a mountajn stream in Kobe. We praise the Lord Z .T

God unto salvation,-to everyone who helievetliT.

"

'

a beautiful

CAnsf" that "is the power of

Pursue^^VjttVI
l7tdrrba:t7ary77:7T^^
rule.
Jesus promised "Peace
I give, not as the world grves'
Lt ^givl T"
gives . Let us give Jesus, and TRUE PEACE.
^

^ CSayonara)

JUN 1 "C i960

Saijo saaj.
''

PBAI

l^e a Christian. la facu,

go.''he^^arohoIeS

Mother's

5tSaSto'^Matsial sm,

hS mother,a maiden name and - 8

""'^ie'p?ohlerle:that ^hey
;^S"further that
nay learn even at th

hon? and

.o^pletely
rairi to

Saren given amo^ men

deoide for.them,

y
rm^^tje S-:removed,
rowfitSU-hrode
prayr^.
co-uxse this IS imp
pray..
even this monntain can

j.

(D^IS
po-ru no Te-gami
(paiil's
Epistle)

A Report from the Paul s Pratt family

Missionaries to Kyushu, japan

October, I960

Volume IV, Ro. 5

Porewarding Address

Japan Address
~22R~trearata~Cho,
Kagoahima City, japan

Wra, Polly WiiKinson

23769 West Edison Road

south Bend, Indiana

pear friends,

After almost three years (one traveling in the states and

two in Kobe Language school) we are "back in the saddle again".
We began a ministry at the Kajiki Church, July 31st, which is
about 20 miles from our temporary home in Kagoshima City. Sunday
preaching and teaching in the Sunday school have kept us both
working on the language constantly.
We have two English Bible
Classes and Japanese Bible Study on Wednesday and have now taken
on an English Bible class each in Kagoshima.
At right you will see the group which
assembled at Kajiki on our first Sunday.
Paul and Mark had gone to camp early.
Our highest attendance to date is 25.
Seio San, in the vehicle, and ishihara
San, the young man just behind her were
both _ baptized into Christ on the next
Sunday.
seio San had been hospitalized
for sometime which prevented her obe
dience.

Ishihara San is an electrician

who became interested through Mrs. Isa
bel Dittemore's radio program.
He com
pleted the correspondance course and
upon moving to Kajiki, began attending
the church there. We praise God for the
power of His word.
The work

at sendai

is still

in the

formative stage.
We meet each Sunday
night in the homes of Christians. There
are about seven, but all are interested.
The problems are many but no different
from those in other parts of Japan. (1)
Laborers,, shopkeepers, etc, work . seven
days a week.
(2) students are often
taken away by extra-curricular activi

ties on sundjy

or

are urged

not to be

out at night.
(3) Members and radio
program contacts are often scattered and
cannot easily get transportation at ni^t.
These are a few of the many adversaries,
but, "The Lord has set before us an open
door".
He has said, 'My grace is suf
ficient for thee". (II Cor. 12:9)
Meet
Saito San, who tirelessly walked the
streets of sendai with me seeking out the
members, pictured beside him is Motoyoshi San, the high school teacher Ao in
terpreted for Mark Maxey and preached for
several years.
He is now teaching at
Sendai and assisting with the church.

saito

Motoyoshi

/ The children already have more friends of their own age here

'than they had in Kobe.

With table, chairs, stove, washer, etc,

the girl's friends think it strange that we have no television.

With none of these things, yet, they have the TY.
However,
bydia and Mary visit their homes to see programs and the Japan
ese friends enjoy onr piano and other things.
So, everyone is
inconsistant, but happy.

The people of Kagoshima prefecture

have a dialect all their

own. When saito San came from Kobe, he remarked, "it seems as
if I have come to a foreign coimtry". Paul and Mark are learn

ing different expressions rapidly.

They even taught

saito san

some Kagoshima 'ben'. The boys never meet a stranger, and make
conversation wherever they are.

Have you received a report from Martin Clark as to the in

come received toward the new Osaka Bible Seminary building?*
Our latest information says they are yet $10*000 short of the
oal.' Our contribution with your help was $110.
Pray about
this continued need

and

remember the school

with a gift.

If conditions remain good, japan is

looking foreward to its sixth straight
year with a bumper rice crop.
Fields
are prepared for planting in June. The
fields are laid out on the level so as

to be flooded easily.
As you see by
the picture, a man with an ox-drawn
drag digs up the soil and levels off
the hills previously made to elevate
the strawberries, wheat or sweet pota
toes above the excess water.
spirit
ually speaking, it is necessary for us
to irrigate, plow up and level off in

preparation

for

the

setting

out of

tender plants. We need divine wisdom.

Join us in prayer to Him "V/ho giveth
to all liberally and upbraideth not".
(James 1:5)
We desire to "bear much
fruit" for His glory.
As the farmer
must do his very best and commit the
result to God, so do we.

To you who have so faithfully remembered us in prayer and by

your giving, we say, "Domo, arigattou gozaimashita" (thank you
very much).
Sa yo na ra

p.3.

In answer to

q^uestions,

we have never

at any time been

personally affected by political strife (except disappointed

feelings such as you have had).
In fact, the people as
a
whole are very gracious to foreigners.
We also thank God that
to this writing, all the typhoons have made a detour around
Kagoshima.