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(of JLmorica)
(Not-for-Profit Corporation)
MISSIONARIES @80^0 iSlBlo S^&tttinary forwarding agents
George &Ethel Beckman Roger 8e Beryl Johnson
Jenann Beckman 3320 Westgate Parkway
8-40 Kamizono-cho Rockford, Illinois 6110 3
Nishinotniya 622, Japan 1-815-399-3690
0798-71-7170
April 27, 1987
Dear Christian Friends,
"Thine, 0 Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory,
and the victory and the majesty; for all that is, in the heavens and in
the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted
as head above all."
This was the attitude expressed by the hundred or so people who
gathered on April twenty-first to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary
of the opening of Osaka Bible Seminary. People came from the United
States and many parts of Japan to take part in the celebration.
The celebration began the evening before with a fellowship meet
ing, when each one present introduced himself and told of his rela
tionship with the seminary, and enjoyed looking at pictures taken
throughout the years.
The speaker for the celebration was Andrew Fatten of Shinshu
Bible Camp. Following the message, greetings and challenges were given
by representatives from the Councillor Body, the alumni, and the chur
ches in Japan. Leone Cole, widow of Mr. Harold Cole who began the
seminary , unveiled the plaque in commemoration of the opening of the
first class on April 21, 1937 by Mr. Cole.
In the afternoon an informal meeting was held, in which Grace
Braley, daughter of M. B. Madden who began missionary work in Osaka
and called the Coles to begin the seminary, spoke. Grace challenged
the churches to encourage their young people to give their lives to
the Lord as missionaries and evangelists. Others from among the _alufflni_
also brought messages^ of encouragementHetnd challenge.
On March 27, Miss Noriko Nakamoto graduated from Osaka Bible
Seminary with a bachelor of arts degree. She has returned to Okinawa
to work in her home church.
The new school year opened on April 14 with three new students:
Mr. Sato, a retired worker who wants to devote the rest of his life to
the service of the Lord, Miss Oshiro, a kindergarten teacher from
Okinawa who has wanted to study in OBS for several years, and Miss
Kohama, also from Okinawa, who is a graduate of a junior college in
preparation to becoming a kindergarten teacher.
As many of you know from previous correspondence, we have had two
churches meeting in our home until they could get a building of their
own. Now the Rokko church, which has been meeting in the afternoon,
has the money for a building, but land in this area is much too
expensive to buy. They have asked to build on part of this land. Since
they are able to carry on without us if they can build here, we have
decided to sell part of this land and buy land in a newly developed
area where there is no church, and we can buy the land and build a
house for the money we can get from this land. On March 22, the two
churches met and decided tc work together as one church. There are
still some details to be worked out and there is a problem of the map
of the land that will have to be straightened out before we can sell a
part of the land. We ask your prayers that this can be settled soon
and the Lord will lead us to the place he wants us to go.
We ask you also to pray for our dear friend and fellow mission
ary, Vivian Leraraon, who was hospitalized in February. She was released
last week, but is bedridden and has to be fed through a tube in her
nose. We are thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Ueyama who are caring for her
and we ask you to pray for them, too, as they have three small chil
dren and both tutor classes to make a living.
Thank you for your support and prayers that have kept us here
these many years and have made possible the victory we have just
celebrated. With the sixty per-cent loss in the value of the dollar
over the last year the seminary is badly in need of more support. The
churches here have been challenged to give more, but that will still
not be enough. We ask your prayers on this behalf.
May the Lord bless you in your outreach for Him.
Your ministers to Japan,
George & Ethel Beckman
Jenann says:
When you have people coming for a special occasion such as a
fiftieth anniversary, you like to fix the place up. The dormitory is
brand-new, but Madden Building was built in 1961 and Sugano Hall in
1968, and they both needed new paint on the outside. So we had that
done. The auditorium (Sugano Hall) has paneling inside; I pray that it
gets washed someday. The floor is linoleum tile and it gets washed
and waxed regularly. We had some windows fixed and painting done
inside the academic building (Madden Building). It has wall-to-wall
carpeting. (During spring vacation I vacuumed it all except inside the
office and my father, the secretary and a student shampooed it. That
was a good day's work.)
The anniversary celebration began Monday evening after Resurrec
tion Sunday. I did not start preparing soon enough for the latter.
Our Sunday school program went well, but only ten children came. I
should have told them about the program every Sunday starting six
weeks ahead, and the day after we handed out the printed announceront I
should have mailed a copy to each child who was absent, instead of
waiting until I had time to deliver them in person.
To get back to the program, the three teachers hid behind a sheet
for a projection screen. As I advanced the slide projector by remote
control, we read the parts of two angels and the Lord. Our parts were
more difficult to write than I anticipated, because the ending you put
on a verb in Japanese differs according to your sex and whether you
are speaking to someone superior to you or inferior. I was afraid the
children would misunderstand the angels if they used too polite an
ending when speaking to the Lord (children only gradually learn all
these "proper" endings), but the preacher was uncomfortable with such
impolite angels. And I wanted the angels to talk consistently like
men, although tW3 women read their parts.
Please pray for the Sunday school as I prepare to move away.
Thank you.
Jenann Beckman
New Students at Osaka Bible Seminary
April 14, 1987
Miss Kohama Miss Oshiro Mr, Sato
I
Leone Cole unveiling the plaque commemorating the 50th
anniversary of the opening of Osaka Bible Seminary
April 21, 1937 - April 21, 1987
50th Anniversary of Osaka Bible Seminary
Miss Noriko Nakamoto graduated March 27, 1987 from
Osaka Bible Seminary
(BsaRa &Rrisfian emission, iSno,
(of Jlmerioa)
(Not-for-Profit Corporation)
MISSIONARIES (SsaSo iSSiBlo Seminary forwarding agents
George &Ethel Beckman Roger & Beryl Johnson
Jenann Beckman 3320 Westgate Parkway
8-40 Kamizono-cho Rockford, Illinois 6110 3
Nishinomiya 622, Japan 1-815-399-3690
0798-71-7170
November 11,1987
"0, Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name,
make known his deeds among the peoples!"
June 20, 1987, we helped Martin and Evelyn Clark celebrate their golden
wedding anniversary. Although the actual date of their wedding was June
2nd., we waited until June 20th for the celebration so that their two
daughters, Pauline and Karlyn, with Karlyn's two children, could come from
the States. It was truly a joyous occasion.
July 5, 1987, Mrs. Miwa and Miss Setsuyo Nishida were baptized by Mr.
Saitoh in the baptistery at Osaka Bible Seminary. Pray that these two women
will grow in Christ. Mrs. Miwa has since moved to the west side of Kobe a
long way from the church, but she continues to come as often as she can.
July 23-25, The annual missionary convention was hosted this year by Mr. &
Mrs. Lee Jones in Hiroshima. The program was a real blessing and encourage
ment to all who attended. We appreciated having the Rostvit twins and
Romona Brown to help with the music.
The all Japan convention was also a great convention in Hiroshima, but
we regretted that we were unable to stay for it.
August 24-26, Koyoen church had Vacation Bible School. Jenann planned the
curriculum, and prepared all the material, including the work books for
three classes. The other two teachers were Mr. FUjimoto and Miss Iwaasa.
August 25, 1987 , Our dear friend and fellow missionary Vivian Lemmon went
to her promised rest with Jesus. She had been bedridden since February. Mr.
and Mrs. Ueyama, who lived with her, faithfully took care of her all that
time.
September 7 & 8, George and Jenann attended a meeting of preachers and
evangelists of our churches in this area in Okayama, hosted by Mr. Ohta,
the preacher there.
September 15, 1987 , The fall term of Osaka Bible Seminary began. This term
George is teaching Romans and Corinthians to the second year students.
October 20, 1987, The speaker for the fall meeting of the Kobe Women's Lun
cheon was Mrs. Matsuo, who owns and operates a Christian home for the aged
called "Migiwaen", which means "still waters". The name is taken from
Psalms 23:2, where people may find rest for their souls as well as their
bodies. Ethel gave a short welcome to open the program.
October 24,1987, Miss Kuriko Wada was baptized into Christ by Mr. Saitoh.
She and Mr. Toda plan to be married after worship on Sunday, November 22nd.
Please pray that she may grow as a Christian and lead her husband to
Christ. He has promised to come to church with her,
November 1-3, 1987, Annual "Tanemakikai" (preaching convention) at Osaka
Bible Seminary was one of the best that we have had. The theme was
"Christ's Glorious Church" taken from Ephesians 1:18. Mr. Saitoh was pro
gram chairman. The messages were to show how the church is to bring glory
to Christ in all of its relationships. Nine men from the non-instrumental
churches of Christ came and greatly enjoyed the fellowship. They spoke
about wanting some of their young men to come to Osaka Bible Seminary. Pray
that this spirit of unity will grow among the churches of Christ in Japan.
We are still looking for a place to move. We ask your prayers for the
Lord's guidance and provision for this. He has provided the means in the
sale of part of this land, and we believe that it is His will that we go to
an area where there is no church to begin work, and there are many such
places. Pray that we may see where the place is for us.
Yours in Christ,
George and Ethel Beckman