This will be our final report for our 2015 trip. August 4, when we arrived, seems a distant past. The weather was hot and humid with long days. Now we are in cooler temps and the sun is further south. It has been a very good trip and we have been blessed in many ways.
After our guests left September 21, we attended the Japan School of Evangelism Founding Lectureship. This is the twenty-sixth year for the school. While the number of students has been small, it has been an encouragement to the churches in Japan.

Following the lectureship we attended the overnight teachers’ meeting. This is a time to discuss curriculum, future topics of study, how to better help local congregations. I received a few assignments for next year at the meeting.

September 24 marked the third and final lesson for the Japan School of Evangelism. “Father, Son, Holy Spirit and the Christian” was the topic for this last lesson. I had been teaching this at Ochanomizu over two classes. It is amazing how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit play important roles in our daily Christian life.

Our eighth Sunday in Japan was with the Shirosato congregation in Ibaraki. This is a small congregation which meets around tables for worship. We had a wonderful time of table fellowship following the worship. One brother named his dog Ike after former president Dwight Eisenhower who was in office when he was a young man. He had suffered a stroke since we were with this congregation last year. One lady had been studying the Bible for many years, but was not yet a Christian. She still attends often because she is drawn to Jesus Christ.

Each year we purchase a Japan Railways Pass for distant travel. We had scheduled to travel to Sendai and Hachinohe this year. Purchasing regular tickets to these two places would be much more expensive than the two week pass, so there is savings in buying the pass in the U.S. It also allows us to travel to other places during the week to do cultural and history study as well as see new areas of Japan.

We learned that the visit to Sendai was not convenient for the people with whom we were going to visit or for the church. We quickly arranged to worship with the Warabi congregation. They are a small congregation of about twenty-five and have purchased a four story building near the train station. We’ve known some of the members for over 30 years. In the afternoon we reviewed the church situation with them and talked about outreach. They had some interesting questions to ask me as well: Is baptism necessary for one to become a Christian?; Is our salvation secure; once saved can we be lost?; What is your opinion about the Pope as he visits the US?; Is it necessary to have the Lord’s Supper (Communion) every Sunday? Interesting topics which gives an idea of some of the things they are thinking about. It was a very encouraging Sunday for us.

On Monday October 5, we went to visit the Noguchi family. Yoshiya is minister for the Ochanomizu church as well as chaplain for Ibaraki Christian University. They have two bright children, eleven and nine. It is always an encouragement to be with them. The following day I spoke in the ICU chapel about Jesus being the “Peace Child” sent by God to restore us to God. That was followed by a curry lunch sponsored by the Omika church of Christ.

At this point Josephine and I took three days to travel to Izukyu-Shimoda. This is where Commodore Perry and his Black Ships encouraged Japan to open up to the West. The first U.S. Ambassador, Townsend Harris, took up residence here in 1856 establishing the first embassy in Japan. One interesting thing is that communication was from English to Dutch to Japanese. Japan had been open to some Dutch trade through the port of Nagasaki in Kyushu. Shimoda saw several firsts: first U.S. embassy, first cow to be killed for human consumption in Japan, first U.S. flag to be flown in Japan.

Our final weekend in Japan was a full one. We journeyed to Hachinohe. This would be like going form Memphis to Chicago. That Saturday afternoon we had a three hour class using the material I had prepared for the school lectures and had used at Ochanomizu – “Father, Son, Holy Spirit and the Christian.” The following day, Sunday, I used the lesson I had prepared for the Ochanomizu camp back in August on unity from Ephesians 4. Both lessons proved to be providentially what the members needed. Fourteen gathered Sunday to worship. In that number were four military brethren from the Misawa Air Force Base. As in other places, the morning assembly was followed by a time of table fellowship.

We boarded a train (Shinkansen or Bullet Train) to return to Tokyo and then on to Mishima in Shizuoka Prefecture. This is like going from Chicago to Jackson Mississippi. The whole trip took less than four hours with almost thirty minutes waiting between trains. We were greeted by a brother from the Numazu congregation. They had prepared a wonderful sukiyaki meal for us. It had been a long time since we had one. Breakfast came early. These meal times were enjoyable times of fellowship. This couple had celebrated forty-nine years together the day before we arrived. What a testimony to the joy we find in having a traveling partner.

Following breakfast and before we had to leave for the day’s activities, we got a good view of Mt. Fuji with its first snow. It was a bit hazy, but you could still see the beauty of this thirteen thousand foot dormant volcano.

Our last Monday was filled with a meeting of six congregations in Shizuoka Prefecture with another two additional congregations represented. I delivered the Bible study in the afternoon under the topic of “Shine Like Stars” from Philippians 2:12-16. This was again an encouraging time of fellowship.

Now, the day before we depart for Memphis, we’re getting things together to pack for our return trip. We store a few things here to save weight and to use on our next visit. Many things have happened: 70th annual Ibaraki summer retreat, the death and funeral for Debbie Carrell, Ochanomizu Bible camp, Josephine’s English Bible classes with Tachikawa and Ochanomizu ladies, five premarital counseling sessions, three lectures for JSE at Tachikawa, worship with ten different congregations, chapel talk at ICU, home stays with two families, hosting our visiting Park Avenue couple, JSE lectureship. God has blessed us with health and the support of many who have checked lessons and offered advice over the past seventy days. May God continue to be glorified through his church here in Japan (Ephesians 3:20-21).

We are grateful for the wonderful hospitality we receive and for the support and encouragement from you who have written us during our time here. Thank you very much.

This report is being written the day before we return. The past five weeks have been filled with activity giving little time for reporting.

The main event during this reporting period is the visit of a deacon and his wife, Gordon and Patricia Corder, from the Park Avenue church of Christ in Memphis. This is our overseeing congregation and has been since 1977 when we went as a family to Japan. Through this year (2015) the Park Avenue church has supported a person in Japan since 1977.

Many of the ministers and members in Japanese congregations have visited Memphis and worshiped with the Park Avenue church. Josephine and I are grateful for the church’s continued support in letting us minister in Japan for two to three months each year. This year marks the eighteenth consecutive year to do this since our family returned to Memphis in 1986.

September 6 we worshiped with the Mito congregation in Ibaraki. This is the second largest congregation with about ninety in attendance on Sundays. They are also involved in feeding the homeless in the area each month. With a number of Assistant English Teachers for the Mito school system, the church also provides English Bible study as an outreach into the community.

On our visit this time we heard a message from a minister in training with the Mito congregation. He had a good message concerning making a positive impact on the people we meet. We are to “do good” and through that show God’s love to them as expressed by Jesus Christ. It was good to hear the message and also to see a young minister in training. This was his second sermon.

Our Ochanomizu and Tachikawa classes continued. However, the Wednesday Ochanomizu class (September 9) was canceled because of a typhoon which brought heavy rain to the area and severe destruction to an area of Ibaraki. The Tachikawa class was the second in a three part series on the Trinity as we looked at trinitarian passages in the Old Testament.

September 11 Josephine and I stopped over in Ikebukuro on our way to the airport. This is the end of the line for the train line we lived on. It is a great shopping district with some big department stores. After a brief time looking around we headed on to the Tokyo-Narita Airport to greet our visitors. Gordon and Patricia Corder arrived on time and we four quickly boarded a bus to take us to the Tachikawa church third floor dorm.

That Saturday we all traveled to Tomobe for an afternoon meeting. This was an outreach to the students in the School of Life as well as visitors to assemblies. There were twenty in attendance with five non-Christians. My lesson was based upon the book by Antony Flew There Is a God which chronicles his journey from atheism to theism. The church had requested something on the Bible and science. I felt this lesson which I gave three years before might be good especially since I did not have time to work up a new lesson. Marlin Ray, missionary with the Tomobe church, was unable to attend. He was hospitalized with pneumonia. As I write this report he has been discharged and is making slow recovery. The Corders were able to visit him in the hospital.

Sunday worship at Tomobe went well. The lesson I presented was from John 8 concerning the woman caught in adultery. It is important whether we choose to leave Jesus as the Pharisees did or remain with Jesus as the woman did. Remaining with him brings forgiveness and encouragement to be faithful to his will.

Following our visit to Tomobe our guests and we went to Hakone to do a little history study about the Edo period as well as enjoyed time away from the city of Tokyo. Hakone is a former volcano and there is still volcanic activity in the area. Part of the area we normally visit was off limits due to the danger of eruption.

Wednesday of their visit was a quick tour of the city of Tokyo with a metropolitan area population of over thirty million. The Tokyo-Edo Museum is a great place to see the history of Edo/Tokyo from its early days as a castle town at the end of the Warring States Period (c. 1467-c.1603) to the present day.

That evening we worshiped with the Ochanomizu congregation. I completed the second lesson on the “Father, Son, Spirit and the Christian” showing how the Trinity is involved in the Christian’s life. Our guests shared a report on their medical mission work in Belize and Guatemala. That was an encouragement to those who were at the meeting.

Thursday our guests again presented a report on their medical mission work. There was a number of questions about their work. That time together was followed by a wonderful meal and fellowship. Friday was a rainy day which gave us time to rest a bit. Saturday we had lunch with Masa and Mari Nonogaki to hear about their work. Our guests were close to the Nonogakis when they attended the Park Avenue church while in school at Harding School of Evangelism.

That evening we had a wonderful treat. We journeyed to the home of one of the Ochanomizu elders for a home Bible study and fellowship. It was a blessed time with twenty Christians studying the Bible and worshiping together.

Sunday we worshiped with the Ochanomizu congregation. I spoke in English and Japanese as it was a joint worship with the English speakers and Japanese. That period of worship was followed by a time of table fellowship. Josephine spoke that afternoon to the ladies. Her topic was “Changing Saul to Paul” discussing Saul’s three days of blindness before his conversion.

We returned to Tachikawa that evening for our guests to do their final packing. We put them on a bus Monday morning for their return trip to Memphis.

Another two weeks have passed. The big event during this time was the Ochanomizu church’s Hakone Bible Camp. The word “camp” is probably a misnomer as it is held in a very nice hotel near Hakone with excellent meals.

The theme for the camp as well as for the year is unity taken from Ephesians 4. I was one of three main speakers and thankfully I spoke first from Ephesians 4. My title was “Traveling Together.” The flow of Ephesians leading up to the admonition of walking worthy of your calling (Ephesians 4:1) and doing what is necessary to maintain the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3) begins with Paul’s statement in chapter one about receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). In chapters two and three Paul adds that this makes us God’s family (Ephesians 2:19-20) and through that family (the church) God’s wisdom is manifest (Ephesians 3:10-11). Therefore, Christians are to walk worthy of their calling and endeavor to maintain the unity of that family. I modified the lesson and used it as a sermon the next Sunday at the Tachikawa church at the minister’s request.

The Hakone Bible Camp is an opportunity to get out of town and enjoy time with the Ochanomizu church family. This was the first time at this camp for about one-third of the participants. From young families to older members, it was a great time of fellowship. One-third of the regular Sunday morning attendance were at camp. This left the remainder to worship together in Tokyo. We missed several regular attenders due to health and scheduling issues.

One highlight of the camp is worshiping with the Numazu congregation in Shizuoka Prefecture. This congregation was begun after WWII by Sarah Andrews. Brother Shinozaki is their full time minister and their Sunday morning attendance is about twenty to twenty-five. They had just finished a Let’s Start Talking effort with a group from Pepperdine University. About eight years ago this small congregation built a new meeting place next to the multipurpose house Sarah Andrews lived in until her death in 1961. It is truly a blessing to see two church families worship together.

Josephine continues to meet with three ladies on Thursday afternoons. They are studying John, but many questions are asked about other things on the minds of these ladies. These are marathon study periods lasting up to two hours for each lady. We sow in hope.

At the end of last week, she received her topic for the ladies’ class at Ochanomizu later in September. She has been preparing that lesson for translation. She writes the lesson and has it translated and printed for the ladies. This is given to those in the class which prompts discussion when she teaches. Josephine works through a translator, but knows enough about Japanese culture and Japanese to adapt what she teaches to those in the class. She had a compliment and eager expectation for her class while at camp.

Most of the time in between these events are filled with study. I’m sharing three lessons for the Japan School of Evangelism on the topic of the Trinity. Most of these lessons have been written in English so most of my time is spent preparing presentation slides in Japanese, having them checked for errors, and working up vocabulary. Language study never ends. Language is an amazing thing and most of us have trouble mastering one. Thankfully I have some very good brothers who check my Japanese and help pick out the right words.

Additionally there are new assignments for our meeting with the Tomobe church later in September. I’m still waiting to hear from the group in Hachinohe as to what they would like to study. Then there is another lesson for the Shizuoka retreat the Monday before we return to Memphis. All of these are great opportunities to get into the Word and study Japanese at the same time.

Weather wise we have been blessed with cooler temps. But these have come with overcast skies and off and on rain making everything damp and susceptible to mold. So far we have not been affected by any typhoons.

Thanks again for your encouragement and support in this effort.  — Dwight

We’ve just completed two weeks into our eighteenth consecutive ministry trip to Japan. We left Memphis on a 6:30 a.m. flight to Detroit on August 3 arriving in Japan some twenty-one hours and a day later. After a two hour bus ride to Tachikawa we were greeted by Nao and Noriko Fukushima who minister to the Tachikawa Church of Christ.

Jet lag for us does not seem to be quite as bad going west as when we return. Generally you wake up early in the morning and begin to feel very sleepy late in the afternoon. The first day here was filled with setting up housekeeping, getting a work space prepared, and going to Costco for food for the time we are here. Buying larger quantities of things does save.

On our second day here, Josephine began her Thursday afternoon classes with three ladies. She is studying John with them. All three attend the Tachikawa church off and on and one is not yet a Christian. Josephine has taught ladies like this for over twenty years and adapts her lessons to their Bible knowledge and English ability. She will continue these classes for six weeks. These are days with three to six hours of one-on-one teaching.

On our third day we traveled to Tomobe to connect with Marlin and Jean Ray. They graciously agreed to take us to the Seventieth Annual Ibaraki Summer Seminar organized by the Takahagi and Hanakawa Churches of Christ. While neither of us had any teaching responsibilities, it was a very good opportunity to meet many friends whom we would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet. We reacquainted with Josephine’s home stay host from 1969 and a brother we hosted in Memphis in 1974. There were many old friends and new ones.

Our first Sunday was with the Omika Church of Christ. This congregation used to meet on the Ibaraki Christian University campus but now has a meeting place off campus. Every Tuesday during the school year they host a curry lunch for the students following chapel. This Sunday there were about thirty junior and senior high school students in attendance in addition to the twenty-five or so members. Attendance at a Christian worship assembly is one of their summer “homework” assignments for the student’s Bible classes at Ibaraki Christian Jr. and Sr. High Schools. I spoke from Luke 18 about the prayers of the Pharisee and tax collector. Makoto Tateno is the new minister for this congregation. Part of the time while studying at the Harding School of Theology he worshiped at Park Avenue. He has been welcomed by the members and has begun a good work there.

Debbie Carrell, wife of Steve and missionary since 1979, was hospitalized earlier this year as she battled leukemia. She was in the final stages of the disease. We visited her August 10, but she was not very responsive due to the pain medication she was taking. We visited with Steve and tried to be a support to him. Their son and his family were able to visit in June. She was allowed to return home briefly during their visit. Their daughter came for a week just before we arrived. She was alert for both their visits.

Early Wednesday morning, August 12, upon returning from a walk I heard a telephone conversation between Steve and Nao. When the conversation ended, I found out that Debbie had died just a few minutes before. Nao and I quickly prepared to go to Steve. When we arrived they were taking Debbie’s body away. We spent the rest of the morning and some of the afternoon with Steve and the funeral director helping as we could.

The cremation was Friday afternoon and many from the Matsudo Church of Christ where Steve and Debbie have ministered since 2007 were present. There was time for prayer, scripture reading, and singing, “Blessed Assurance.” Her remains will be interred in the Tachikawa church cemetery and in Texas where some of her family are buried.

Her memorial service was Monday, August 17, at the Tachikawa church building. Over seventy were in attendance coming from as far away as Shizuoka and Gunma Prefectures. It was a wonderful tribute to this Christian lady and her hope and courage in the face of death. Two sayings she would frequently repeat, “God will provide.” and “This too will pass.” She encouraged all the Christians who visited her with the reminder that we will meet again. She will be missed. Both the Matsudo and Tachikawa congregations have done a great deal to help remember her and to support Steve in his loss.

Our second Sunday was with the Ishioka Church of Christ in Ibaraki. The minister here was a Bible professor at ICU for many years and continues to teach and write. Sixteen were present for the worship with a time of fellowship afterwards during a pot luck lunch.
In between these things, we continue to study and prepare for future lessons. We continue to remember all those who fellowship with us in this ministry through prayer and support. May the Lord continue to be glorified.

— Dwight Albright

The Albrights left this morning for Japan.  More updates to follow…