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Seedtime and Harvest

Jan.
Vol. 12

Feb.
1964

March
No. 1

NONE

STAY

You STAYED so we could go:


Held a rope with steady hand. Sent a light with brilliant glow To a far and pagan land.
Yon WORKED so we could work:

Put your dream away awhile. Caught a vision, did not shirk,

Squared your shoulders, wore a smile.

You CAW so we could give: From income high and Low, Gave bread so men could live. Gave seed so we could sow.
Yon PRAYED so we could stay To tend the whitened field:

Asked strength for feet of clay To reap the harvest's yield.

But yOlB footprints clear Are upon the mountains of our wd.

We so men could hear The news now blazed abroad.

arUt

and
IN THE

RYUKYU ISLANDS

ESTABLISHING SEI.F-SUPPORTIN6. SEUFPR0P06ATING NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES

RETURN

IMPOSSIBLE

After five months of treatment, including two series of intraven ous histamine, I was given the doctor* s final diagnosis: The final tests proved conclusively that niy trouble is a severe sinus condit ion which can be permanently helped only by moving to a dry climate This, of course, means that we will not be able to return to the danp, highly humid climate of the islands. My headaches have less ened considerably even in this area, but my ear condition remains the same and 1 am advised that it will worsen if the sinus trouble is not cleared up. We have been prepared for the possibility of not being able to return to the mission field, but as yet we do not know where to go or what type of work to do that will give freedom from tension and nervous strain to allow complete healing to take place. I have no intention of giving up Christian work, but will for a period of

time have to do it on a part-time basis. We believe the Lord will


soon provide.

He want to again express our deepest appreciation to all who have

prayed for us, spoken or written expressions of concern, or sent special gifts. And to the churches and groups who have continued
our regular support during these months of relative inactivity, we thank God for your faithfulness above and beyond what might have been expected. Thank you so very much!

CON*S

COLUMN

Church just isi^ t church unless you are sitting cramped on the

floor, scratching and smacking away at mosquitoes, with a half-dozen voices out of tune, the soft purr of kerosene lamps and the roar of the big diesel engine generator for background music; the occ

asional clatter of geta or patter of zori on the feet of the johnnycome-laters climbing up the steps; the crickets singing with all their hearts their new resolutions to the moon; sounds from the

nightly party at the policeman's house across the white dirt road where a quiet game of Go or a noisey game of counting is being play
ed; the village drunkard coming by to stop and sing or yell in the road just as the soft patter of bare feet come slowly by with the conmnuiion or to gather the offering. It seeos like I should still hear the never-changing, monotonous

tone of the Okinawan preacher reading in his Japanese Bible, the


occasional snort of someone who fell asleep, the roar of the sea,

the chirp of lizards on the wall, and the sorely out-of-tune, cour
ageous American man who started out the songs.

I guess it is just one of the things I'm homesick for.

OBSERVATIONS MADE ON YONAGUNI TRIP


Bamboo, growing in abundance, is one of God's blessings and is used in many ways and for many purposes: house flooring, roofing, Woven into matts for the sides of houses and doors, fences of both

stalk and split style laced together with green bamboo ribbons, vines or rope--hand tooled from shredded reeds or palm tree hair,

young bamboo shoots

to 25 inches long are used for food,although

they are slightly bitter.

Another blessing of God is that there are no poisonous snakes on

the island of Yonaguni. This is also true of some other islands in

the Ryukyuan chain, but is strange considering the dangerous habu


that inhabits Okinawa. Yonaguni has snakes, but they are non-poison
ous snakes.

The island seems to be a dying area, population-wise. It is re


ported that the present population is about half of its original size, although this is not official. One entire village has moved off the island to other places. Many others have left their houses and property to seek homes elsewhere. There is no sale on property and any price is low. Much rice land is in use, but this being the worse drought in 70 years, the rice harvest will undoubtedly be low this year. Considerable land is utilized for agriculture, but much more could be (^ened up where there are hands to work it. Life is

hard, but given water there would be a great improvement. Many spr ings have dried up, but the underground water level evidenced by

Village wells indicates that a large well and pump could produce
much of the water needed for fields.

The hard life tells on the features of the people, especially the
women. The happy countenance seen so much in the other islands is

not nearly so noticeable here. Most young people leave the island as soon as possible in search of work elsewhere. Old, patched cloth ing is the common wear everywhere.Around the home and in the village streets near home, the women quite often wear only a slip so as to conserve their dresses. Men wear loin cloths. Before marriage there is a strong code of modesty for the women, but afterwards there is a changeperhaps because of necessity and the low estimate of women. The hard work and the raising of children cuts down quickly on money for clothes. Children, by the way, seem to be even more lovingly cared for than elsewhere, and are also disciplined which
is unusual in the islands.

As mentioned previously, the men talk brazenly, and the women


more reservedly talk of immorality in mixed groups, but strangely
enough, even during such conversations a man would turn to us and

ask about Christianity and its hope for mankind. On the other hand, during a meeting or conversation on spiritual matters, a man would break in to ask us about immoral preferences in the various places
we have visited. Such interruptions, though surprising, must not be received with an expression of shock, but taken in serious stride and dismissed by God's wisdom that is siQ)plied at such times. The

meeting or the talk will then be resumed concerning whatever matter was being discussed. Embarrasment or repulsion would doom us in the estimation of the men. We must be not only teachers of God, but men
and able to stand on the same ground as other men if they are to be convicted of sin and their need for salvation. They are in a hope less and hardened condition brought about by the wiles of Satan and his nighty tools of deception and ignorance. Onl, a small part of our first hours of teaching can be grasled, and yet, thanks be to

God, it was received to the extent that we were often asked, "When
are you coming back to tell us more of this Jesus and His way of

salvation?" These were not idle inquiries, but were asked with
feeling.
Each touse has several worship places. Inside is cme for ancestor

worship or that of Nichiren, and one for the gods of the house. In
the yard may be found from one to several. A stone or rock god guards the entrance to the yard, and sometimes other deities are remembered, too. One of their greatest fears of a new religion is that it will cost them something or take away some pleasure, activity, or even some idea handed down by the ancestors. Ancient mottoes are impres sive to these people, and herein we, as ambassadors for Christ have

a strong weapon in that God's plan for man can be traced from the
beginning of man through distinct periods of development until its
fiiBil culmination in Jesus Christ. In contrast we can show how their

ideas began much later, born in the minds of men and have constantly

changed through the years, and are still changing today with each
new leader.

Seemingly, the greatest desire of the island people is for a re ligion that will afford immediate tangible reliefthe necessities of life, healing, wealth. It is hard for them to think about spiri tual life when th6 physical life is in distress, and yet this, too, is the strong point of Christianity: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things SHALL be added unto yotf'! A type of judg ment for sin is recognized but is quite vague-;as is the matter of what constitutes sin itself. Religion, as they understand it, has

very little if any application to morality, but does have a definite


relation to life and its necessities.

Friends, pray that this beginning in these far-off islands will


have been ground work for future planting of the Gospel seed. Pray that the evangelists will be willing to endure the hardship of boat travel if necessary; that they will receive a vision of these is lands of the sea without hope and without God.

The above observations are not to be considered conclusive due

to the short period of time in which they were gathered, but are
to be understood only as first impressions that may be modified, or

even proved inaccurate by those who continue the work. One thing is

certain, the acceptance of Christ will have a great effect upon the morality and life of the people as a new area is awakened out of the sleep of darkness into the light of the glory of God through
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Qood Jlfewg f
In January, missionaries Carl Fish am] Claude Likins came from Kobe, Japan, to hold evangelistic meetings at Nakijin and in llirara on Miyako Island, with results that thrilled us. There were 48 con* versions on Miyako, mostly high school young people and adults. Among these were two in particular that we rejoiced over: Mr. Ideroura, a good friend at the RKK boat con^any, husband of one of the Christian women, and who attended our English Bible class when we

in Hirara last year. The other one was the elderly wife of a faith
ful white-haired Christian man in one of the country villages who

was very much opposed to Christianity.

What victories!

And... back home. ..at Nakijin in our own Village of the Joshi, there were 18 conversions, but had there been only one our joy would have been full because one among those was the "small woman"

--our little nei^bor who was our close friend for more than ten

years, long under tremendous conviction, always faithful to the Bible classes, but never yielding her heart to the Lord. There was
never happier news than this of her salvatitm!

Leper Christian, Mrs. Awakura (left) with Pastor Shimazawa,

and Christian worker, Yoshiko

TO

THE

LEPER

CHURCH

The shepherd greets his flock. They smile but do not talk.
Each bows for prayer.

Asks help his cross to bear. They sing a hymn to Him


From hearts when eyes are dim.

They cannot see the One who came, but lovingly they call His name.
Do not abhor to look at them.

Some look, and then condemn.

But never fear, for these are whole: The rest of us have leprosy of soul.

YONAGUNI

TRIP

( CONTINUED)
(The first part ef this rep*rt n Uel's trip to the southernmost island of the Ryukyuan chain appeared in Seedtime and Harvest seTeral months ago.)

On May 11, we were np at 6 a.m. for a breakfast of rice, a fried


were in the shape of tails that I could only correlate with snakes
to Yaeyama.

gourd mixture with some questionable meat chunks, some of which

eels or lizards l didn* t inquire which* , and fish-flavored noodle

soup. He left at 7:30 a.m. for Sonai and the eight-hour return trip The crossing to Yaeyama was much better on the return trip, but
even at that Brother Taira was desperately sick all the way, in
spite of being fortified with dramamine. Flying is reasonable and takes only a matter of minutes for the 40 mile trip, but six doll
ars compared to $1.75 by boat must be considered. There must be a solution to the travel situation if any inter-island work is to be successful. After spending so much time enroute, waiting in ports and hotels for delayed boats, there is often little time left for evangelizing.

As usual there was a delay in shipping out of Yaeyama. ffe tried


to make the most of our time there by visiting Miyako people who had moved to Yaeyama under the government re-settlement plan, as
well as several relatives and friends of Brother Taira. In each

home the conversation led as always to the subject of religion and gave an opportunity for teaching.

After returning to*the hotel for rest and refreshment. Brother Taira and I studied the Scriptures together, sang hymns, exchanged testimonies and Christian life experiences and discussed at length

the need of men being won to Christeven the necessity of search

ing them out and winning them individually for the sake of the Is
land Church. I think Brother Taira was able to more clearly visual ize this important task of the evangelist.
We arrived back on Miyako island May 13th, in time for our even ing Bible Class in one of the villages. The day ended at 11 o^ clock
as did the full week of travel and preaching which covered 250 miles

by sea and 30 hours of travel time, not to speak of the miles cov ered by foot and vehicle in order to open a new area to the Gospel. Our prayer is that God will use this effort to glorify His Son among those who as yet have not had the opportunity to know Him.

This paper is published quarterly in the interest of Mel and

Marguerite Huckins, Missionaries to the Ryukyu Islands. All gifts should be sent to Lloyd Sapp,407 Prairie, Norfolk,Neb. SECOND gASS MAIL PRIVILEGES AUTHORIZED AT NORFOLK, NEB.

^ Seedtime and Harvest


APR! L

-OZAiyr.

Vol.

12

No.

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with God,
1 Cor. 3:9

rit6. <^l\/(iEt ami c^ar^usrUs (^^ucin


IN THE

BYUKYU ISLANDS
ESTABLISHING SELF-SUPPORTING. SELF-

PROROGATING NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES

AT

HOME

IN

WISCONSIN

During the third week in March we hurriedly packed all of our worldly goods into a 5X12 foot U-Haul trailer, and our six most priceless poss essions in an Oldsmobile Station Wagon, and headed east for LaCrosse, Wisconsin during spring vacation, to a new home and a new way of life. For the present Mel is in the Fuller Brush Sales business, and we

are working and fellowshipping with the Charles Street Chhrch of Chr ist, ministered to by Burdette Wakeman and Cloyd Christmanboth fri ends from college days at Minnesota, aw well as Okinawa, where Brother
Christman was a fellow missionary. Having these friends, plus the fact that we used to drive through LaCrosse every weekend during our school

year in Minneapolis enroute to preaching points in the southern part of the State, make us feel more at home than strangers from the Far
East and the American West.

Mel made arrangements for the purchase of a new National home in a housing addition near the foothills on the south side of the city when he was here early in March. The key to the house fell into the right
hands--those of our wonderful Christian brethren of the Charles St.

Church--and we found our cupboards full of food, plus two one-hundred

pound bags of potatoes that make daily trips from the basement to the
kitchen. There has been no end to the kindness and generosity of these

people in helping us get moved in, furnishing our house and making us
feel like old friends and a part of the Christian family here.
Burdette Wakeman has passed on to Mel the opportunity and challenge of a Bible study group at the LaCrosse State College. This is an ac

tive group and has a lot of potential for reaching the college students
for Christ.

If this news comes as a surprise to most of you, please do not feel that you, have been uninformed of our whereabouts and plans. Things have happened so quickly we are still in a state of surprise, if not shock, ourselves. As we mentioned, we packed up and moved in the space of a week after Mel returned from his speaking tour. Never will we forget you and your prayers that have sustained us

through many difficult times. Please remember us, too, though you will

no longer have the reminder of Seedtime and Harvest after this issue;
and pray for your missionary-turned-salesman. He will need it.

This paper is published quarterly in the interest of Mel and


Marguerite Huckins, Missionaries to the Ryukyu Islands, All

gifts should be sent to Lloyd Sapp,407 Prairie, Norfolk,Neb.


SECOND CLASS MAIL PRIVILEGES AUTHORIZED AT NORFOLK, NEB.

ISLAND

EVANGELISM

TO

CONTINUE

We are happy to announce the good news that our living-link siqiport
from the church at Wyandotte, Michigan and from other of our livinglink churches will be transferred to Claire and Donna Boulton, brother-

in-law and sister of Marguerite, who are carrying on the inter-island work that my own heart was so de^ly engrossed in. The Boultons have already completed one term in Miyako Island, and
now have returned from their furlough and have located in Okinawa.

Claire has been going ahead enthusiastically with a program of personal evangelism that we believe will result in strong conversions.
Their work is known as THE BOULTON MISSION TO HIE RYUKYU ISLANDS.

They need additional support,and since they are continuing the work in which we were engaged, we ask all who will to aid them as you have us through these past years.
At the end of May our mission books will be closed. Any funds com ing in after that time will be transferred to the Boulton Mission. Please send all funds to the following address:
THE BOULTON MISSION

1306 N. Stanley Decatur, Illinois


o o o o o o

62526

speaking Tour
Following my period of medical treatment in Seattle, Washington, I
packed my gear and hit the old speaking trail from the state of Wash

ington to northern Michigan, speaking in many churches both going and coming, visiting friends and siq>porters in their homes along the way,
covering about 7,000 miles in six weeks.

My main purpose in making the trip was to see as many of you as poss ible to report on the accomplishments of the last four-vear missionary term in the Ryukyu Islands, and to say "thank yoif from the depths
of our hearts for all you have done for us and the ork of the Lord-some of you since the beginning of our labor in 1950.

I want to take this opportunity to again express my appreciation for your friendly welcome, hospitality and interest; for the many fine offerings, and for your farewells of " God bless you and be with you."

mi MiW

Although the Nakijin work continues with local leadership, the is land economy does not as yet enable the Imadomari congregation to be
self-supporting. Accordingly, living expenses for Brother Nashiro and family must be continued for ^proximately five years more.

To enable the work to continue in the most efficient manner during the economic growth of the next few years, we believe that Brother Nashiro's salary should be based on a regulated decreasing scale over this period of time. Therefore, beginning with 1965 his salary would
be decreased by one-fifth, and so on each year to the end of the five

years at which time we hope the church can become self-supporting.


Brother Nashiro and his wife, Toshiko, are capable leaders, welltrained, and have proven their faithfulness and ability for several years after the completion of formal Bible training. We commend them unreservedly to you and the Lord, making request that they will be fully supported for the ongoing of the Nakijin work. Brother Claire Boulton, now located in Okinawa, will be within call of the Nashiros and will visit the Nakijin field on occassion so that
Brother Nashiro will have contact with the American brethren. THE

BOULTON MISSION will receive and handle funds for the Nashiros, so

after May 30 j^ease send your offerings, designated for Nashiro, to:
THE BOULTON MISSION

l'J06 N. Stanley

Decatur, Illinois

62526

0';:

uxx<2or

ssnoo sTqiB 5IJB20

FRIENDS

INDEED
They

About five or six weeks before Thanksgiving, the Friendship Class of the Kenwood Church of Christ, Livonia, Michigan, started a project They collected baby food jars and turned them into banks, making
slots in the lids and gluing Scripture texts on the sides.

then gave each family in the Church a jar and asked them to drop money into it each time they could, and the total amount collected
would be sent to our family as a Thanksgiving offering.

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving they had a special opening

Bible School program during which a member of each family brought


their bank to the front and placed it on a table provided for that purpose. After Church, the Friendship Class had a potluck dinner and afterwards counted, recorded and wrapped the money. The total
amount was $294,511

Maybe they thought we would have trouble believing what we saw when the check came, so they sent along a picture to verify it!

Don't you agree that it was a wonderful idea, and that these dear

pe(9le were really friends in deed during our time of special need?

THANKS

TO

WYANDOTTE

At the beginning of our living-link relationship with the Christ


ian Church in Wyandotte, Michigan, we were told to call on this vital Church for help should the need ever arise. They have been as good as their word, or better--twice sending emergency funds to help us come home, and to cover added expenses.
This Church is bursting the seams of its old building and could well have used the money at home. Surely God will bless them more

abundantly for not withholding the full price.

A Message
from Tim
fHiis is the first article by Tin,
our 12 year old son.) I have enjoyed my stay in Okinawa all these years very much, I think

that it is a great privilege to be a


missionary's son. You go many places and do many things. Above all, you
learn the Word of God.

A. ^

have made many friends. When we went


back to Okinawa after our last fur lough, we started our schooling in

village of Nakijin we

one of the Okinawan schools. We went there about a half of a year and
then switched to the Calvert home studies. Then again when we moved
down south we went to the Okinawan Christian School where there were
all kinds of races.

I would have to write a

book if I were to tell you of all our ad

ventures in Okinaw^. One of the earliest things I remember was sitt

ing on our porch with an old ojisan (grandfather) who came to my house
every day. We would talk and talk about many things. The very first language that Con and I knew was the Okinawan dialect

called hogen. If we had something to say to our parents we would have


to have Obasan (aunt) translate it for us. It was kind of difficult.
We would speak to Obasan in hogen, then she would translate the hogen into Japanese so our parents could figure out what it was in English.

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