Overseas Missionary Fellowship
2531 Karuizawa
Nagano Ken, Japan
December 1953
Dear friends at Home,
It seems like just yesterday that we wrote to you telling of our arrival here and asking you to pray for us as we began our study of the Japanese language. Actually nearly three months have elapsed since then; three busy months in which we have tried to learn something of this people and their customs as well as their native tongue. We have enjoyed each day as it came and have been conscious of your help in prayer. We ask your continued prayer for the days of 1954 which lie ahead.
We should really tell you a little of life in Karuizawa. The fall here has been absolutely lovely. Having come from western Canada we have not seen too much red in our autumn colors but out here the mountain sides were a riot of color. Reds and yellows of every shade and hue greeted our eyes for days on end. The autumn lasted much longer than at home and gave us longer to appreciate it’s [sic] beauties. Mt. Asama with it’s [sic] snow-covered peak, towers above the other mountains which surround us and is lovely to behold on a sunny day. We all enjoy the out of doors and occasionally picnics and hikes are planned. As the missionary population is quite large we do not lack in any way for fellowship. Going to Sunday morning service would remind one of going to Sunday service at home. Some night meetings as well as early morning prayer meetings take place there regularly. Although it is fine to be in such a beautiful spot with such fellowship still we all long for the time when we will be out on a station in the midst of a Japanese population. Our prayer is that God will use these Karuizawa days to prepare us for the work that lies ahead.
Last week some of us experienced our first earthquake. At 3 a.m. we were awakened by the feeling that everything below and around us was in motion. The shaking increased in intensity for the next three minutes then subsided. We learned the next day that the eruption was some seventy miles off the coast and under the ocean bed. It made one realize a little of what it would be like to be right on the scene of such a quake . We were thankful to God that it was not worse and it has cast us all the more upon Him for our daily care and keeping in this land.
Recently Lea went to Tokyo for a few days. The journey down by train was very interesting as all the farming areas were in the midst of harvesting. One was again impressed by the efficiency of the Japanese electric railway system. The trains are none too comfortable and the crowds literally pack into the cars, but fast and regular service is assured. Tokyo has well over 7,000,000 people; this is not hard to believe when one hears the horns honking, the streetcars clattering and the vast crowds shouting. This city is indeed a challenge for evangelism for there are very few centres of witness amongst this multitude of people. Economically Japan is rather unstable but in spite of this the large department stores have an amazing amount of goods displayed. Returning by car along a narrow road which wound through villages and cities we were again impressed by the tremendous need for the Gospel message in Japan. Nearly all villages are without a Christian witness and many large cities have only one or two small weak churches; but in all of these centres you will find heathen shrines and temples and the usual idol shelf in the home. Such a highly industrialized and educated nation holding its own politically in the world and yet still in heathen darkness is a real challenge for prayer and preaching.
We have been surprised to see how the Japanese have copied our Western customs concerning Christmas. Already the stores even in the small town have begun their Christmas advertising. They have copied the festivities and the commercial opportunities of Christmas but refuse the Christ of Christmas. Only faith in and allegiance to the One who was born a babe in Bethlehem can free this people from their gods of wood and stone and prepare their souls for eternal life in heaven. May Christmas for each one of you be not just a time of family festivities but a time for becoming acquainted with Jesus who was born the Saviour of the world thus preparing for a blessed eternity with him.
Very sincerely,
Lea and Louise Little
2531 Karuizawa
Nagano Ken, Japan
December 1953
Dear friends at Home,
It seems like just yesterday that we wrote to you telling of our arrival here and asking you to pray for us as we began our study of the Japanese language. Actually nearly three months have elapsed since then; three busy months in which we have tried to learn something of this people and their customs as well as their native tongue. We have enjoyed each day as it came and have been conscious of your help in prayer. We ask your continued prayer for the days of 1954 which lie ahead.
We should really tell you a little of life in Karuizawa. The fall here has been absolutely lovely. Having come from western Canada we have not seen too much red in our autumn colors but out here the mountain sides were a riot of color. Reds and yellows of every shade and hue greeted our eyes for days on end. The autumn lasted much longer than at home and gave us longer to appreciate it’s [sic] beauties. Mt. Asama with it’s [sic] snow-covered peak, towers above the other mountains which surround us and is lovely to behold on a sunny day. We all enjoy the out of doors and occasionally picnics and hikes are planned. As the missionary population is quite large we do not lack in any way for fellowship. Going to Sunday morning service would remind one of going to Sunday service at home. Some night meetings as well as early morning prayer meetings take place there regularly. Although it is fine to be in such a beautiful spot with such fellowship still we all long for the time when we will be out on a station in the midst of a Japanese population. Our prayer is that God will use these Karuizawa days to prepare us for the work that lies ahead.
Last week some of us experienced our first earthquake. At 3 a.m. we were awakened by the feeling that everything below and around us was in motion. The shaking increased in intensity for the next three minutes then subsided. We learned the next day that the eruption was some seventy miles off the coast and under the ocean bed. It made one realize a little of what it would be like to be right on the scene of such a quake . We were thankful to God that it was not worse and it has cast us all the more upon Him for our daily care and keeping in this land.
Recently Lea went to Tokyo for a few days. The journey down by train was very interesting as all the farming areas were in the midst of harvesting. One was again impressed by the efficiency of the Japanese electric railway system. The trains are none too comfortable and the crowds literally pack into the cars, but fast and regular service is assured. Tokyo has well over 7,000,000 people; this is not hard to believe when one hears the horns honking, the streetcars clattering and the vast crowds shouting. This city is indeed a challenge for evangelism for there are very few centres of witness amongst this multitude of people. Economically Japan is rather unstable but in spite of this the large department stores have an amazing amount of goods displayed. Returning by car along a narrow road which wound through villages and cities we were again impressed by the tremendous need for the Gospel message in Japan. Nearly all villages are without a Christian witness and many large cities have only one or two small weak churches; but in all of these centres you will find heathen shrines and temples and the usual idol shelf in the home. Such a highly industrialized and educated nation holding its own politically in the world and yet still in heathen darkness is a real challenge for prayer and preaching.
We have been surprised to see how the Japanese have copied our Western customs concerning Christmas. Already the stores even in the small town have begun their Christmas advertising. They have copied the festivities and the commercial opportunities of Christmas but refuse the Christ of Christmas. Only faith in and allegiance to the One who was born a babe in Bethlehem can free this people from their gods of wood and stone and prepare their souls for eternal life in heaven. May Christmas for each one of you be not just a time of family festivities but a time for becoming acquainted with Jesus who was born the Saviour of the world thus preparing for a blessed eternity with him.
Very sincerely,
Lea and Louise Little