Eugene Edward Blosser

Eugene Edward Blosser 1917-2008

2008-06-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Eugene Edward Blosser (March 27, 1917 – June 8, 2008), career missionary in China and Japan cited in The Mennonite Encyclopedia (1955+), died Sunday morning at Parkview Manor in Wellman, Iowa, following a long respiratory illness. The son of Perry and Ada V. Lahman Blosser of South English, IA, Eugene was the eighth of nine children. In 1932, he discontinued his education at South English High School in order to help his father farm. During WWII he served in the Civilian Public Service corps in Nebraska and Wisconsin. After passing his General Education Development exams, he was admitted to Goshen College in Indiana, from which he graduated with a Bible major in 1949. He later continued his studies at Goshen Biblical Seminary and post-graduate work in Far Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

In the summer of 1949, Eugene was commissioned by the Mennonite Board of Missions to serve as a missionary in China. Upon arriving in Hong Kong that September, he was married to Louella Gingerich, whom he had dated at Goshen, and who had preceded him to China as a medical missionary in 1947. They served together in Chengdu, Sichuan, from 1949 to 1951. Their efforts continue their work following the Maoist takeover of Chengdu on December 30, 1949, are chronicled in Dorothy McCammon's We Tried to Stay (1953). In March 1951 they returned to the U.S., and were reassigned to Japan in 1953. They planted new churches in Hokkaido (Taiki, Sapporo, Hiroo), served established congregations (Obihiro, Kushiro), and administered a boarding facility for missionary children attending Hokkaido International School in Sapporo. In 1981 they returned to the U.S. after Luella was diagnosed with brain cancer. She died in 1982. After serving as interim pastor in Oregon and Nebraska, Eugene married Elsie Zook of Wellman in 1984. The couple lived together in Wellman for 24 years, where they continued active involvement in the local Mennonite church after retirement.

Eugene was preceded in death by his first wife, Luella; and adopted son, Thomas Yoshiro; his parents, and all of his siblings, including six brothers, Wilmer, Aquila, Dwight, Menno, Oren, and Amos; and two sisters, Abbie (Zook) and Mary Kate (Yoder). He is survived by his second wife, Elsie; his children, Philip, Rachel (Derstine) and Meiko (Schoemig); eight grand-children (Christopher, Jonathan Benjamin, Nathaniel, Hannah, Katherine, Elizabeth, and Julia); and four great-grandchildren (Augustine, Ambrose, Cyprian, and Raphael).

Saying Goodbye ...

2008-06-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday July 10, 2008
A bittersweet day of sad goodbyes and all too brief reunions ...

Grandma Elsie with Philip, Hannah, Augustine and Ambrose

Augustine and Ambrose saying goodbye to Grandpa Blosser Philip (with daughter Hannah), Rachel and Meiko
Jamie, Jon, Nathan and Christopher
Back: Liz (with fiancee Andre) and Katie
Front: Jamie (with son Cyprian), Jon, Nathan and Christopher

Renata, Nathan, Elsie, Christopher, Philip, Jon, Danielle (holding Cyprian), Jamie (holding Ambrose)
Andre, Liz, Katie, Rachel and Rod

Eugene Edward Blosser - Photos & Memories

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High school at South English, Iowa, which Grandpa attended from 1931-1932.

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Grandpa standing beside his brother Amos' car ('35 model Ford) about 1939 or 1940.

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Grandpa, about 1941.

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Grandpa with his Wisconsin 'parents', or the people whom he worked for while in Civilian Public Service during World War II, from 1943-46.

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The farm where Grandpa worked during his years in the Wisconsin Civilian Public Service.

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Grandpa and Grandma Blosser during their college years, before they were married.

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Grandpa & Grandma Blosser married on
September 19, 1949, by Rev. Mulrenin at St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong.

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Grandma Blosser & Philip's first picture, taken for alien registration in Communist China. Philip was born on Sept. 14th, 1950.

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Grandpa & Grandma Blosser & baby Philip,
arriving at the MCC Centerin Kowloon, Hong Kong, January 28, 1951.

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Grandpa & Grandma Blosser & baby Philip in 1953, shortly before leaving for Japan. (Note the distinctive Blosser ears on Pa).

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On board the President Wilson Passenger Ship leaving for Japan, August 1953.

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Grandpa & fellow missionary Don Reber aboard an old train. Note the pot-bellied stove to keep warm.

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Some of these train cars are in the museum in Sapporo, Hokkaido (Japan) which Grandma Elsie saw when we visited Japan in 1985.

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The Blosser Family at home in Taiki, Hokkaido (Japan) about 1958 or '59.

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Tom and Philip playing a game in the Blosser home in Takai, about the same time.

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Hostel Years. Back row (from left): Tom, Ruth Kanagy, Barb Shenk, Gloria Shenk and Dawn Buckwater.
Mid-row: Ken Lammers, Rosemary Buckwater, Linda Faber, and Rachel Blosser.
Front row: Meiko Blosser, Grandma & Grandpa.

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Grandpa, hunting for his car in the snows of Hokkaido. ("It's out there somewhere -- but where can I go if I find it?")

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Tom, Phil & John Bell were entertaining cousin Darvin Yoder, on his way to Laos. Here is Tom & Darvin sharing a bowl of Ramen.

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Grandpa & Grandma Blosser - lunch stop on one of our many cross-country road trips in the United States. (Who knows where???)

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Grandpa & Grandma at their last Japan conference in Hokkaido in 1981. Pastor Yamade interviewed them on the years of service in Hokkaido.

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Grandpa at his desk in Tokyo Anabaptist Center, where they served before leaving Japan.

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Grandpa & Grandma's last picture together, about a year before she passed away in May, 1982.

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Philip, Jon and Grandma Elsie on Orcas Island, Seattle, at the Blosser Family Reunion (August 1991).

Chapter 1: Louella Gingerich Blosser - Early years, Call To Service, and Trip to China

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Childhood
Spiritual Beginnings
Educational Pursuits
Nurse's Training
An Unexpected Path
Final Good-bye's and Long Journey

Childhood

Mary Zehr and Christian Gingerich (Just married)

Louella Gingerich was born on April 26th, 1918, near Parnell, Iowa. Her parents were Christian J. and Mary R. Zehr Gingerich. Her father was born and raised in the large Mennonite farming community of South-East Iowa. Her mother was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, in the home of a medical doctor. They were both of German-speaking Anabaptist stock, and were a real part of the West Union Mennonite Church community.

Chris & Mary's home - Louella's birthplace

When Louella was born, there was great joy that a little girl had come to bless the home. At the same time, however, there was deep sorrow because the Doctor told the family that their mother could not live long because of severe peritonitis. Only three days later, their dear wife and mother was taken from them as she went to be with her Lord. For the father, Chris, and the three older brothers, this was a most crushing experience.

Menno & Lizzy Gingerich
(who raised Louella)

Before her death, realizing that she could not live long, Mary had asked her husband's brother, Menno, and sister-in-law, Lizzy Gingerich, who lived a quarter of a mile west, to take Louella to raise until she was grown. There, she was loved and cared for by her aunt and uncle, plus three cousins, Ella, Irving, and Esther. As she grew up, these cousins were recognized as her own brother and sisters.

Two years later, her father was married again to Tillie Swartzendruber from Nebraska. It was some time later that another little girl, Ruth, was born.

Louella Gingerich 4 years

Now, Louella had a half-sister living at her father's house close by. Louella often spoke fondly of her childhood and her two families. She often told very amusing stories about the mischief that she and her brother, Bill, found to do, such as throwing rotten eggs against the back side of the garage. She would distinguish between her two fathers by calling her own father "Chris-Pop," while referring to her second father as "Menno-Dad." Louella never returned to the home of her father after he remarried, but remained in the home of her Aunt and Uncle, and their home was always home to her.

Louella and half sister Ruth - in front of the house where L. was born

In Louella's early childhood, she suffered many attacks from asthma. When the weather was exceptionally cold and snowy, or otherwise disagreeable, she was taken to the one-room school on a horse. These attacks gradually subsided, but she later experienced hay fever. Her family said that she tended to be a real "tom-boy," and was a good pal to her brothers down the road. She also went with her Menno-Dad when he went out to do chores. She told many stories about how they worked together as they took care of the animals. Frequently, as they grew older, she and Ruth walked to each other's house to play. She was happy to have a younger sister who was near her own age.

Playmates - From Left: Nora Doolin, Louella and Grace Shettler

While she was still very young, Louella learned to help with much of the family work, such as using the rake and hoe in the garden. She also learned to milk cows, feed the chickens, gather the eggs, and to do house work. She really enjoyed doing the common, ordinary tasks that Iowa farm girls were expected to do. These work habits were an asset to her later in life when she went into service, and still later when she established her own home. She shared many happy experiences with her cousins on Lizzy's side of the family. These were the grand-children of Gabe and Anna Kemp Yoder, and they frequently gathered for family dinners, or for picnics in the timber.

Spiritual Beginnings

A series of evangelistic meetings began at West Union Church on April 20th 1930, and continued through May 9th. These meetings were led by James Bucher of Montgomery County, Indiana. There were more than 140 confessions of faith that happened at these meetings. Some of those making confessions were professed Christians who had sin in their lives, and felt they needed to make a new start in their life of faith in Christ.

Church where Louella was baptized and worshipped in early years

Louella and her brother, Bill, however, were among those who received Christ for the first time. Then, on Sunday morning, May 25th, a beautiful Sunday morning, twenty-one new members were baptized and received into the fellowship of West Union Church by Abner G. Yoder. Louella and Bill were among them.

Educational Pursuits

1 of the two rural schools that Louella attended

Louella attended school during the first eight years of her education at both Green Center and Tucker one-room schools, and neither school was very far from her home. It was the custom in her community for young girls to not attend school beyond the elementary level, so Louella did not go to high school following her elementary education. Instead of pursuing further studies, young girls were, at this time, expected to find work and earn money for the family, or for their own use later in life.

Louella's elementary school class

When Louella was about twenty years old, her brother, Jerry, who was at Hesston College in Kansas at the time, invited her to come there for a six-week Bible course during the winter. Since the study was taking place during the winter months, and not much work needed to be done on the farm, her parents consented for her to go. At the end of her six-week Bible course, Jerry suggested that she stay until the end of the year and work on her high school credits, and her parents reluctantly consented for her to stay. The following year, beginning in September, Louella was old enough to plan her own future, and decided to finish her high school education at Hesston. She graduated in the Spring of 1941.

Ruth & Louella

During the summer of 1941 Louella was at home with her family again. She was making plans to begin nurses training at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Iowa City, Iowa. Unfortunately, her family thought that she was foolish to pursue such a future, and they tried to discourage her. Louella's brother, Bill, told me how everything came to be. One Sunday afternoon, Bill went to his Uncle Menno's farm, where Louella lived, to get some water for his cattle. While he was there, Louella came out of the house, crying. She told him about her plans to go to Nursing School, and of how her family was all opposing her. Bill said to her, "Why don't you come to my house this evening, and we'll go to church, and maybe we can find someone who will help you." She agreed that it might be a good idea. That evening, they went to church, and when the service was over, and as they went out, they saw an older man standing near the door. Bill suggested that she talk to him about her problem. When Jerry and his sister were finally in the car, and on the way home, Louella said, "I have firmly decided I am going to Nursing School." Her friend, the older man, had given her the encouragement that she needed.

Louella in her youth

When Bill told me this story, I asked whether she wanted to take nurses' training because her mother had, or because her grandfather was a doctor? Bill said that he could not answer the question. Having been with Louella for thirty-four years, and sometimes talking about these things, I am not certain whether or not she was influenced by either her mother or her grandfather in her desire. It may be that, as her family talked about the experiences of her grandfather and mother, her mind was unknowingly influenced in that direction. In the autumn of 1941, Louella began her training in Iowa City. She was thrilled to be pursuing the dream that she had so long anticipated.

Nurse's Training

Louella found her studies at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing most interesting. Most of all, she enjoyed the practical bed-side patient care, no doubt because she enjoyed people so much. The school where she was studying was also a fully-functioning, Catholic-operated hospital. Many Mennonite and Amish people from her home community came to Mercy Hospital for treatment and for surgery, so she was always happy to have opportunities to care for these people, and to get to know them as persons.

Louella & friend Ophia Sevits

Early in her second year, she became aware that she was not getting all of the courses that she should have been receiving, according to the curriculum. Another disappointing discover was that the Director of Nursing was not providing some of the practical work that had previously been promised. She and a good friend who was also in the course of study were disturbed about this development. They talked to the Director of the School, but failed to extract a promise that they would receive the training they wanted. As they thought about the problem, they both recalled that our church had a hospital and school in La Junta, Colorado. Before the end of the semester, they made a call to the Director of the School of Nursing in La Junta. They told him about their problem and asked, "If we would transfer to La Junta, would we be accepted?" His reply was that they would both be gladly accepted, but they would need to take tests over the materials that they had studied so far. They both agreed and said, "We will come."

Louella and her friend made plans leave for La Junta at the end of the semester. It was a long train ride to Colorado from Iowa City, but they felt certain that they were doing the right thing.

Louella graduated from nursing.
La Junta. CO. Class of '44.

When they got to La Junta, the first thing they had to do was take the tests concerning their previous work. They discovered that their results were better than they had received in Iowa City, so the La Junta School accepted the grades the tests taken there, rather than what they had received from Iowa City. The girls were elated, and they joyfully continued their studies.

While Louella was in training at La Junta, Sanford Yoder, who was President of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (as it was called then), visited the School of Nursing to recruit nurses for their mission-work in India. While Sanford was there, he talked with Louella, and asked her if she would consider going to India. Mr. Yoder was very surprised to hear Louella say that she did not want to go to India. Rather, she had a desire to go to China. He said, "That is fine if you want to go to China. You go ahead and finish your college work, and by that time I think we can have a group ready to go to China."

Maple Grove Church in Belville, PA.
Louella appointed here for China, '47.

Louella's interest in China actually began while she was in nurses' training in Iowa City. She, of course, had heard many missionaries speak at her church of different countries, but she had not heard anyone speak about China. The idea of going to China had come to her while she was studying in Iowa City, where another student, Mary Helen Huber, whom she had known well, was also interested in China. Mary had talked about China continuously, and Louella became very interested in this far-off country, and began to want very much to go there. God works in Amazing ways! Mary Helen Huber wanted so much to go to China, but she never did get to go there. However, she was use to cause Louella to have an intense desire to go. I am convinced that God was at work in these lives to find people who would go to China. Through Louella, my own interest was stimulated to also want to go there, and through it all, God's purposes were being fulfilled.

An Unexpected Path

Louella had not planned on going to college, but now that seemed to be the path she needed to take. So, the autumn of 1944 found her back at Hesston College. By the spring of 1946, she graduated from Hesston Junior College, and that summer she entered school at Goshen College to continue her final two years of study. That same summer I, also from Iowa, appeared on campus. I had just finished my war-time alternate service on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, and was enrolled in the accelerated Pastoral training course. We had known each other casually in Iowa before my war-time service, and we had a couple of dates together during that first summer at Goshen.

Nursing staff at Goshen '46.

In September we were both in school again. We began dating again that autumn, but with some apprehension, because Louella had already decided on her career, and I had not yet received direction from the Lord about my future. Yet, neither of us seemed ready to say, "No, this cannot go any further". We knew that one's direction comes through the influence of another person, and why should this direction not come from someone whom you care about very much? So, our relationship continued.

Louella finished her college work, and she graduated in the summer of 1947 with a B.S. in Science degree. She and the other China-bound missionaries were scheduled to leave in September. By that time, I felt we should make some definite plans, but I sensed that Louella was not ready, so I did not press the issue. The postal services between the U.S. and China were less than speedy back then, but we did manage to maintain a reasonable correspondence with each other.

Final Good-bye's and Long Journey

Menno & Lizzy Gingerich's home in Iowa.

It was a beautiful, but very warm day in Iowa when, on September 8th, Louella was leaving her home to begin the long journey to China. Several pictures were taken. Louella's parents said their good-bye's to her, wished her God-speed, a safe voyage, good health, and the Lord's blessing in their absence from each other. Later, Louella would write with admiration for the way her parents showed clearly resigned submission to the will of God. Lizzy, her aunt/adoptive mother was so gracious and courageous, actually brave and cheerful as if she were seeing her off on a holiday. Menno-Dad did his best, but with tears, he reminded Louella that they may never see each other again. She realized that his statement may be true, yet, knowing of God's providential care, she answered him, "Then, we will be in a better place. Really, as long as we are faithful and walking within God's Will, in our lives it makes little difference where we are when God calls us to Himself." Then, about her cousin, Esther, Louella said, "Poor soul, she is nearly worn out with all the rushing around and preparations. She has worked so hard, but I believe she realizes how fully she must rely on God for help, comfort, wisdom, and guidance, especially since I am leaving. I do hope that she will soon be rested, and can return to her nursing which gives her so much satisfaction."

Bill, Wilma, and the three older children, Lucy, Linda, and Leland, drove her to New York. I traveled with them as far as Goshen since I was going back there to continue my studies. Bill had just traded his car on a new Kaiser which did not seem to work too well, and so he did not make good time. Louella's had mother sent fried chicken, and Wilma brought salad, apple-betty, and tomatoes. We stopped at Lone Tree, an Iowa park, for lunch. Then, we drove on until evening. In Jolliet, Illinois, we stopped at a cabin for the night. The next day, we drove to Elkhart, where Louella wanted to stop at the Mission Board Offices to see Joe Graber. She arranged to have her steamer trunk expressed to New York, so that it would arrive in time to be loaded into the hold of the ship. She deposited her extra money with the Mission Board, where it would be kept for her on interest.

We arrived at Goshen by about noon, and we had lunch at the park. Then, we visited the campus of the college for a short time, and Louella picked up her diploma, which she gave to Bill to keep for her. At that point, I gave my good-bye's to all of them, and they left for New York.

They arrived in the city at the designated place just ten minutes late, only to discover that none of the others had arrived yet. Joe Graber took Louella and Ruth Bean to the Bank of New York to get travelers' checks. Then returned to where the others had gathered at American President Lines headquarters. Louella said, "New York seems to be one mad rush of cars, trucks, and people. They jam up at intersections, honk their horns, and become impatient as if their life depended on them getting there right now!"

The Rev. Haynes made a dinner appointment for the China group and Joe Graber at the Chinese restaurant, "The Shanghai Royal," and what a feast! They had to eat with the chopsticks ordered by Joe Graber, and it sounded like they had some fun trying to eat that day. On the final morning, the China group met with Joe Graber to create a field organization, receive instructions and encouragement, and take a little time for devotions and prayer. Joe read from Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1: 8,9, and from Acts 2. Louella wrote, "We were again inspired with the meaning of the great commission which we had been given, and with the witnessing we were urged to give." Then, Don was chosen as the field secretary-treasurer.

At 9:00 AM, Louella met Bill in the lobby of the hotel, and went with him up the steps of the Empire State Building. At eighty-six stories, it was then the highest building in the world. New York City proper, with all of its rushing cars and people, seemed rather small in appearance from that high perspective, Louella thought. She said that it reminded her of how insignificant man must appear in the sight of God, yet how God still protects and watches over every sparrow. In the afternoon they had group pictures taken, checked out of the hotel, and went on to Eri Terminal in Jersey City. There, again, they had to wait in line, and Bill waited with her, as Louella needed to be checked for a proper passport and immunization record, and to have determined the amount of the excess baggage fees that she needed to pay. Finally, at around 3:40, they were able to get to the ship. During this process, Bill took some eight-millimeter movies of the group.

Louella told of a rather dramatic incident that happened during their preparations to board the ship that was nothing short of a miracle! About two hours before the ship was scheduled to sail, a missionary named Helen discovered they she also needed a Visa for her little son, Eric. A man named Abe Wicke rushed her and her son to the American Consulate in New York. Helen and her son were on their way to Manila, where she was to join her husband who was in relief work. The ship whistle had sounded, and everyone not going on the ship was ordered to disembark. At that moment, here came Helen flying through the station, baby, bags, and all, and Joe Graber helped her board at the very last second. Was this not one of God's incidences?

That evening aboard ship, Louella began writing of her feelings and impressions. I guess that today we would call such a thing "journaling."

"I have a mixture of feelings and emotions that sweep over me as we sail away, waving goodbye to Bill and his family. It is somewhat unexpected, exciting, and strangely different. I feel a slight tinge of sadness at the thought of not seeing my family for a period of years, but I also sense a deep peace and completeness. I'm not at all sorrowful, but rather glad to be on my way to the place I believe the Lord has called me to serve. As I waved goodbye to Lucy, Linda, Lee, Bill, and Wilma, my heart was full of gratitude for all they had done for me in helping me off, and making my leaving so pleasant. They are so unselfish, and Wilma is such a devoted Christian mother. Oh! for more like her in America. It would be so interesting to know what was in the minds of those little children as our ship sailed off. My thoughts also went home to Mom, Dad, and Esther. I'm confident that God will grant them courage, and will strengthen them now and in the future. They have borne up so bravely, and seemed so willing to give me up for God's service. How wonderfully they have shared themselves with me!"

Chapter 2: Early Years, Call to Service, and Trip to China

2008-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Family Life
A Fire Brings the Community Together
College Years
A Time of Waiting
A Time of Parting

Family Life

Gene's father and mother - Perry & Ada V. Lahman Blosser

Our father, Perry, was one of the pastors of our church when we were growing up. We not only heard him preach many times, but we also experienced some of the birth pains of those same sermons while he was preparing them on Saturday evening or on Sunday morning. Our father did not have a study, as pastors have these days, but he owned a little desk that is called a "secretary" today. This secretary, our father's only work-space, was located in the living room, and with many children around, it was a hassle, to say the least, for him to do any serious study for a sermon. We were told to stay out of the living room, but that rule was too easy to forget, so more serious measures were eventually implemented.

Gene's home, built by his father in 1916. Gene was the first child, born here on March 27, 1917.

My elementary education took place in a little one room school that stood one and one quarter miles from our home. I graduated from that school in 1930, and that autumn I entered high school at South English. In the middle of only my second year in high school I dropped out to help my father on the farm.

My father was a man of many skills. He was a carpenter, a part-time farmer on a thirty acre farm who also owned a steam engine, a threshing machine, a clover huller, and a saw mill. The boys in our family learned many things as we worked with our father at many different tasks. This learning proved very valuable in later life. The numerous tasks on the small farm we had fell to the boys who remained at home. The older boys and our father worked away from home at other tasks. Of course, we all had our chance to work on the saw mill at one time or another, which included a lot of heavy work such as handling logs and carried heavy beams and boards away as they were being produced from the saw. We also gleaned much wood from the scraps of the logs which were cut up and used for fuel at home in the stove and in the furnace.

Gene - 4 years old.

My earliest recollections of family dining are that there were 10 of us around the table at every meal, and so many mouths required an abundance of food. Our mother and sisters did a lot of canning and other types of preservation during those early years. In addition, there was baking of bread twice a week, an enormous amount of laundry to be done, constant mending of clothing, and the general cleaning of the house. All of these things took a great deal of time and energy.

Gene, first row far right. Brother Amos is behind him, at school.

Our father was usually able to repair those things that broke, especially if those things happened to be made of wood. Watching and helping him work was an education in itself, at least it was of a certain kind. Unfortunately, neither my brothers, nor I finished high school, at least not at the time when it should have been done. Several of us were able to get high school equivalency certificates in later years through further study, or by taking General Educational Development tests.

High school at South English, Iowa, which Gene attended from 1931-1932.

As for myself, I eventually took G. E. D. tests and received college entrance, and later embarked upon Seminary studies. Most of the boys in our family continued to be farmers, or they pursued some sort of business that did not require further education. I was the only one who went on to College.

Our father was away from home so much with his varied occupations that our mother carried a heavy load much of the time. She had us help with the work and worked with us so that we learned how to do things. She was a very small woman, but was able to do many things well. She was only 5 ft tall and never weighed over 140 pounds. Yet, in spite of her small size, we children had the deepest respect for and loved her dearly, and we never doubted her love for us.

I remember when our Aunt and Uncle came to see us from Tennessee, bringing two of their teenage sons were with them. My older brothers and our cousins enjoyed many happy times together. During our cousins' stay, they often made earthen dams across the creek that ran through our pasture field. When the water filled in behind the dam they had a good place to swim, which they did often, all summer long. Yet, finally the day came when we had to say our good-byes to our cousins. The cousins were dressed and ready to leave, but someone mentioned one more swim! The boys were off to the creek, but not without warnings from their mother to keep their clothes clean and dry, so they were careful to place their clothes a safe distance from where they swam. It was so much fun, but the time eventually came for them to really have to go. Cecil, one of the cousins, had dressed already, but Oren, my brother, was ready to dive in one more time. Cecil ran to give him a push, but Oren went a little too quickly, and lost his balance. When Oren came out of the water, there stood Cecil right in the middle of the pool, waist-deep in water, with his good clothes soaking-wet. What a mess!

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During the depression years following the 1929 economic crash everyone seemed to become poor, and our own family situation was such that we all had to contribute to the general living expenses. My older brothers and sisters found themselves working away from home in there late teen years. I recall that my slightly older sister did house work for another family for $3.50 per week. I was still quite young at the time, but I remember working for a neighbor one winter for $7.50 per month. So, we all worked together in order to pay the bills for the family. Everyone was so poor that our father often found himself without work because no one was able to pay him to do work for them. This made it very difficult for us to meet family expenses. Mother patched our overalls until they had patches on the patches, but since everyone else seemed to be in the same sort of situation, no one could ridicule anyone else.

A Fire Brings Our Community Together

Church at St. English, where most of Gene's siblings "grew to adulthood and learned to know the Lord"

On New Year's day, 1933, on a cold winter night, when we were about ready to leave to go to Church, an alarm was sent out on the telephone lines announcing that the Mennonite Church was on fire. We all grabbed buckets and hurried to the church. Soon, a large crowd had gathered. The building that was our place of worship was full of smoke, and fire soon broke out on the roof. We had no fire departments in those days, and no water source available, so all we could do was watch it burn. Someone said that we had never had such a large crowd at church before, and someone countered, "Your Church was never on fire before." We all returned home that night feeling as though there was a big hole in our hearts. How could we possibly rebuild when we were in the depth of a depression?

Pastor and three young men at church - Gene is second from right.

Quickly, members' meetings were held in order to decide what to do. The growing conviction was that somehow we had to rebuild. This question was raised, "Should we rebuild on the same site or in the town of South English?" Some felt strongly that we should build in the town of South English, while others felt the old site was best. The matter was discussed for several days, and then a vote was taken. It was decided that we should build at the same site as before. Until the new church could be rebuilt, however, the local Baptist Church in South English (called Weeping Water Baptist Church), which had no pastor at the time, kindly invited us to come and have our church activities at their facility.

Gene - Dorm group at CPS University at Weeping Water, NE. In soil conversation work for 9 months.

At Weeping Water we became involved in soil conservation activities such as filling gullies and ditches which were a result of erosion. Also, we created sodden waterways and diversion dikes in order to hinder the erosion from happening again. During the winter months of 1942 and 1943, my crew was sent to a large farm near Nebraska City where an entire orchard had been killed by the Armistice Day storm of 1940. The trees had all been cut and the tops cleaned up, but there were still all of those stumps. So, they put us to grubbing out those stumps with pick and shovel during the winter months when the ground was frozen like a rock. It was a miserable job, but we understood that it needed to be done.

My brother Amos, who had gone with me to Weeping Water, signed up to go into forestry service in Belton, Montana, but that call for men was full before I could get there.

The farm where Grandpa worked during his years in the Wisconsin Civilian Public Service.

Then, a little later in February, they came calling for men to go to Wisconsin to work on dairy farms, and I signed up to go there. There were 100 of us whom they selected to go, and not all of us were from Nebraska.

We arrived in the beautiful City of Madison, Wisconsin on a sunny morning that bore a cold North-West wind blowing off the lake that was located just north of the center of town. We entered the government building where we had been instructed to go, and the farmers came there to select the men they wanted to work for them. Some went to work for commercial dairies, while others went to individual farmers. The man who chose me was Rudy Roethlisberger from a town called Verona that was just west of Madison by about ten miles. I lived with him, his wife, two daughters, and a young son. One daughter was already working, and the second was just graduating from high school.

Grandpa with his Wisconsin 'parents', whom he worked for while in Civilian Public Service during World War II (1943-46).

After working there a couple of years, I became aware that the Lord was calling me. He was asking me to go and prepare for the work that He wanted me to do. The Lord did not just speak to me once, but came back again and again. My response was, "Lord, you know that school was always hard for me. I have not finished high school, and I am already twenty-seven years old. You know how painfully bashful I have always been, and I am not a gifted speaker." The Lord did not seem impressed with my arguing.

About that time, at the invitation of the family I was working for, my parents came to visit me in Wisconsin. They came on a week end when we would have some time to visit. My father was also invited to preach at the Baptist Church where we attended. I shared with my father my call I was experiencing in my heart, and both of my parents encouraged me to do as the Lord was calling me to do. I also talked with church people there and at home when I was on leave. Some encouraged me, while others were quite discouraging, which I could well understand. However, because of the Lord's persistence in His call, I determined to follow His leading. Aware of many difficulties ahead, I set my mind to obey what the Lord was telling me.

Soon after my decision was made, I learned of the General Educational Development Tests. They were made available to veterans, and to older people like myself who wanted to extend their educations. Our CPS Director said he would administer them for me, and my boss, Rudy, told me that I could have some days off to take the tests during the winter months. My director rented a hotel room in Madison so that we could have a quiet place to work, and believe me, those tests were a grind. I had been out of school for twelve years, but when the reports returned, the percentile was very good. This was an encouraging sign, and I felt that the Lord was with me.

Gene - 25 years old.

I then applied to enter Goshen college when I was released from my work contract in June of 1946. This timing was due to the accelerated program for students coming out of service situations like myself. It was understood that we were growing older and wanted to get on with our lives. In March of 1946 I was released from the draft. Rudy asked if I could stay on until the end of May to help until corn planting was finished. I consented to do that for him. This did not give me much time between the end of May and my beginning studies at Goshen College, but it did provide more needed funds for my education. I was convinced in heart that the Lord was providing for me.

College Years

In June of 1946 my college career began, something I never expected to undertake, and it was with much apprehension that I began my class work. The Lord was wise to show me what was ahead in little bits and pieces. If I had known the struggles that lay ahead, the Lord would have had a much more difficult time convincing me to go down the road that He chose. Yet, as one moves ahead step by step, He strengthens, encourages, guides, gives grace, and grants resources that I never imagined could be made available.

Grandpa standing beside his brother Amos' car ('35 model Ford) about 1939 or 1940.

My first year in College was a real test of my ability, character, and faith. I began to wonder whether or not I could possibly make it in college. That first summer was a tough time that I shall never forget. I made it through, but only just barely! There were not only doubts in my mind, but in the minds of others. I prayed hard, set myself to the task at hand, and asked the Lord to help me to accomplish the work to which he had called me. My early grades were poor, but gradually they improved, and with each success my courage and hopes increased. It began to look like I might actually make it, I begin to believe that maybe I was college material after all! A friend asked me one day in 1947, "Did you see your name on the honor roll in the Ad-building"? I responded, "You're kidding!" "No," he said, "Go look for yourself !" He was right, and in addition to that I was making "A's" in Greek and in Greek Exegesis. Wow! I felt like I was on the way! I think that, perhaps, I even stood a little straighter.

What a marvelous Father we have Who helped this poor farm boy overcome such limitations in the unfamiliar world of College, and Who gave me the will, determination, and faith to go and accomplish what had appeared to be the impossible. I could not have done it without the Lord!

Gene & Louella during their college years, before they were married.

During my early years in college, I began to date the girl who was to become my wife. It was common knowledge that she was called to go to China, and that she was pursuing that goal with diligence. My future was not yet clear to anyone, including me. This gave Louella and I both some perplexity, but it seemed that neither of us was ready to say, "This cannot go on." As time went on, and Louella went to China, we continued correspondence, and later became convinced that God truly wanted us to go through life together.

On June 6th, 1949 I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Bible from Goshen College. It was a great day in my life, and I experienced a real feeling of accomplishment. My brother Dwight and other family members were present for the occasion. I was sorry that my parents could not be there as well, but I understood how travel would have been difficult for them.

After graduation I returned to Iowa to make preparations to go to China. The Mission Board had already given me written and oral examinations for my preparation to serve with the Board. They had given their approval for my going to China pending the circumstances there.

Very soon after my return to Iowa, the Annual Mission Board Meeting was held in Hesston, Kansas. It was expected, of course, that I would be there for the appointment of a large group of young people who were prepared to go out all over the world, and to be appointed by the Church at this time. My mother and Sister, Abbie, went with me to this meeting. It was a very impressive event, with so many youth of the Church being commissioned for service in so many parts of the globe.

Our world had suffered so much during the war years, and these young people felt that they needed to give hope to so many suffering people. The challenge of the church during those days was strong and we were called to go and make a difference through sharing the Gospel of Christ, Our Saviour. Many of us would not meet again for many years, as our furlough schedules would not easily coincide.

A Time of Waiting

Another test of my faith came because of the political situation in China producing much instability in this country at that time. Communists had been making considerable progress in the occupation of large sections of east China. Consequently, our Mission Board was vacillating about sending me to China too hastily. There were good reasons for their hesitancy, and it was for these reasons that they had recommended earlier that they send me to India, then have Louella meet me there. As I said earlier, Louella was not totally in agreement with that decision, but tried hard to be submissive to the will of the group. The Board was taking all of this very advisedly and moving with necessary caution.

Consequently, the Mission Board response to this was to put me on a waterman freight ship, departing from Mobile Alabama, with a trip through the Panama Canal, finally leaving August 2nd, and arriving in Hong Kong on Sept 15th. In other words, this was a very slow boat to China! My contact person in Hong Kong was to be William Voth of MCC, Hong Kong. The situation would be assessed upon my arrival and plans were to be made accordingly. So, my goal was to get my papers in order, and to get to my intended destination by August 2nd. In the mean time, the Board asked my church in Iowa to make plans for my ordination as soon as possible. My home church in South English made plans with the Iowa-Nebraska Conference Bishops who did the ordaining in our Conference. My ordination was planned for the 17th of July, 1949 at my home church. I appreciated the Conference and the Bishops for the trust they had in me to carry out this ordination without hesitation.

Two of my brothers and their families made plans to take me and our parents to Alabama to see me off on the ship. We were to leave on the following Monday evening. Sunday, we attended Gulf Haven Mennonite Church. My parents had friends there who had formerly lived in South English. My older brothers knew the people, but I had been too young when they were there, and I did not remember any of them. I was asked to give the message that morning at Church, it was a good experience for me to share with those people, and to learn to know them, as we would meet later.

A Time of Parting

On Monday we drove over to Mobile to learn where the Madaket, my ship, would be boarded. We had to go to the shipping Company offices to see that my papers were all in order. We had time to look around the City for a while, and I found a shady spot where I could put the necessary labels on my luggage. The heat of the South was very oppressive to us. This made the wait until boarding time a long one.

This was a very difficult experience for my parents to witness the departure of their son off to a distant land that they knew almost nothing about. They also realized that they might never see me again, and they had very mixed emotions that day to be sure. They were glad that I was going, but they were very uncertain about the future. My mother was the one who had the most difficulty, and one of my brothers told me years later that after the ship had left the dock, she would not leave until my had ship disappeared over the horizon. If my term of service had not been cut short by the Communist Government, they would not have seen me again, but the Lord was merciful to us, and made it possible for us to meet again, and for them to see our son, Philip, who was born in China. How we all rejoiced.

Mail between The US and China was very intermittent that summer, not because we did not write, but because letters seemed to get lost on the way, or were simply not delivered at all. I had not heard from Louella for more than a month before I left the US. I was not sure whether I would find myself in India or in China, nor where Louella and I would next meet each other. We were living with a lot of anxiety that summer, but deep down in our hearts we had the assurance that things would work

The Madeket, on which I was crossing the Pacific Ocean,1 was a good ship, and had comfortable rooms. I shared one with a young man named Jim Phillips, who was just out of Yale University, and was on his way to Korea as a missionary. We passed through the Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean. From there we headed north-west toward the Hawaiian Islands and to the harbor at Honolulu. The crew spent one day unloading freight, and another day loading freight for points west.

After many days seeing lots of water, many flying fish sailing from one wave crest to another, and porpoises leaping from wave to wave, plus an occasional whale spouting water, we saw the Island of Guam coming into view. There again, we had a couple days while freight was unloaded and loaded. We were given passes to leave the ship during the day, but were expected to return to the ship for the night. I should have mentioned that while crossing the Pacific and the International Date Line, we lost one day going west. That day, Rosalie Stoltzfus lost her birthday. But, unfortunately, when going east you have two days going east with the same date. Consequently, when flying east by Jet plane, one arrives in the US before one leaves Japan-- some interesting travel trivia.

Our next stop was the Philippine Islands where I received two letters from Louella. What a surprise! In one letter she told me that she was in Hong Kong awaiting my arrival. Now we were only five days away from Hong Kong, but with two days in Manila, that amounted to a week. I opened the other letter, and a news paper clipping fell out. It was an announcement that she and I would be married on the19th of September, just four days from the time I would arrive there. Wow, what news! That seemed little more than a breath away! The wedding would take place at St. John's Anglican Church in the Lady Chapel. Louella then went on to explain the problems she had encountered. She had learned that in Hong Kong, weddings must be announced seventeen days in advance, and that we did not have that many days. She needed to get special permission from the Governor to have the wedding earlier. She had also become aquainted with a man who was an Anglican Missionary from Suchwan Province in China where our work was located, but who was now in Hong Kong, in charge of a Children's Hostel. She had asked him if he would conduct our wedding on the19th of September, which he readily consented to do. The situation called for early planning, so she went ahead and made plans, trusting that I would approve. The next five days from Manila to Hong Kong were indeed long ones for me. That ship seemed slower than ever as it plowed through the waves of the South China Sea. We arrived on schedule, but it had been two years plus since we had seen each other.

William Voth, the man whom I was to contact in Hong Kong, and Louella came out together to meet me in the harbor. There was no dock open for our ship, so our ship had to anchor with others in the harbor. It was a most welcome sight to see them approaching our ship. As Louella came up the stairs and reached the top, there was a big embrace, with a crowd of interested viewers looking on, but after two years, who cared? Dan and Rosalie had known her in College, but I introduced her to the other missionaries on board, and other friends. What a day and what a Blessing!

* * *

Louella had reserved a special place for me in the men's dormitory in the Guest House where she was staying. The next days were extremely busy ones, as we made plan and preparations for our wedding . Those plans were center stage for all our activities until the designated hour of 4:00 PM on the 19th of September. There was one thing about our special day that made history in the Church of England. They require a wedding ring in their ceremony, and at that time, rings were not allowed to good Mennonites. Rev. Mulrenin insisted that he had known of no other wedding in the Church of England that had taken place without a ring.

Grandpa & Grandma Blosser married on September 19, 1949, by Rev. Mulrenin at St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong.

Rev. Mulrenin had asked me for a copy of our Churches Ceremonies. He said, "If your Church forbids you to use a ring, then it would be a sin if you used one. I will contact our Bishop in Hong Kong and ask for permission to perform the wedding without a ring." The reply from the Bishop came soon. The Bishop said, "Yes, I believe it will be all right for you to perform the ceremony for these people without a ring, for I understand that Mennonites Baptize and believe in the Trinity." We thought, "How interesting!" We were thankful that he was willing to have us go ahead with our plans.

Our wedding took place as planned on September 19th at 4:00 PM. After the signing of our papers, many thank-you's, the taking of pictures, and, finally, good-bye's to our guests, we were off in a waiting taxi that took us to Castle Peak and to Dragon Inn, where we spent several days alone at a very beautiful spot, and did some catching up on all that had happened in our lives during those long years of absence from each other. It was Marvelous!

Twenty-eight guests had attended our wedding, mostly Missionary friends of Louella's who were on their way out of China, and a few friends who were living in Hong Kong. Our attendants were Dan and Rosalie Garber Stoltzfus, who had accompanied me on the ship to China. There were also some MCC workers who were there. It was really a great event for us, and we were grateful to God and to all of those who helped to make it possible. After those few days together, we returned to the Guest House where we had been staying earlier. We were there two nights before we finally left to enter China, the first time for me and the second for Louella. We got our baggage together and made final clearance for our flight to Chungking. Our ten days together in Hong Kong went by so quickly, and so much was packed into them, that they almost seemed like a dream that passed all too quickly. But, I would hasten to add that the Lord had many good and wonderful years in store for our future, and we were anticipating them.

Chapter 3: Our Years in China

2008-06-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Entering The Promised Land
Getting Acquainted
Off to Language School
Sound of War
Under Communist Rule
Our Trip Out of China

Entering The Promised Land

On September 26, 1949 Louella and I left Hong Kong on a DC-3 Plane for Chungking. The DC-3 was what some called "The Work Horse for getting around in China at mid-century." We took off from Hong Kong airport, and were in the air for about an hour, when we noticed that one motor was missing out occasionally. Soon the sun came around in front of us, and we were sure that we were heading back. So many passengers were immediately on their feet and looking out to see what was going on, that the Pilot almost immediately announced that we were going back to Canton (Guang Juo) to have the motor checked out. It could not have been that far to Guang Juo, and in a short time we were safely on the ground at Guang Jou airport. The Airport attendant asked what the Pilot needed, but the attendant and the Pilot were from different parts of China and could not understand each other. So, the Pilot said, "I needed a mechanic." "Oh," the Attendant said, "You need a mechanic?" They spoke in English from then on, and got along fine. We were all instructed to get off the plane, and to go into the terminal while they checked the plane out. Then, they announced that we would all be put in a hotel for the night, and that the next morning another plane would be brought from Hong Kong to take us to Chungking.

So, after a good night's sleep, we were up and on our way again. We arrived at Chungking before noon, and Olin Stockwell was at the Airport to meet us. He had the luxury of a car, which made everything convenient for us. Olin and Esther, his wife, were certainly the fine hosts that Louella had said they would be. Dorothy McCamon came from Hochwan to meet us in Chungking, and to escort us back to Hochwan, the last lap of our journey.

Riverboat traveling between Chungking and Hochwan via Jaoling river.

We were unable to secure passage to Hochwan until the next day, so Dorothy devised a plan by which we would leave Chungking by bus that afternoon for Bei Pei, half way to Hochwan, and from there, take the boat, and save a little time. So, off to the bus station we went, and were able to get tickets, but the bus kept delaying. Finally we were off, but this was not exactly a relaxing trip. The driver would put the bus in neutral on the down hill runs to save gas, so there were some real thrills going around curves where there sometimes were fierce drop-offs. The sad part was that we still failed to get to Bei Pei before the boat arrived. Consequently, we had to stay in a Chinese Inn for the night. This proved to be an introduction to the realities of China at mid-century. It sounded and smelled like we were next to or right above a pig pen--not the best environment for sleeping.

Hochwan Waterfront - Hochwan was the location of the Mission 1948-51.

The next afternoon we got on the next boat to Hochwan, and we eventually arrived to a great welcome in the Promised Land. Finally, after over two months of travel, I arrived on Sept. 28th at the destination for which I had left my home in Iowa on July 29th. The welcome that greeted us was not only a welcome to me, but also for Louella and I, as newly weds, coming to Hochwan to be a part of the missionary group. For me it was a great welcome to a new and strange land, and in many ways, to a strange people. They would not be strange for long, however, for the Chinese people are very friendly and easy to learn to know and love. They are so easy to share life with that I never doubted that the welcome they gave me was most sincere and real.

Getting Acquainted

The next month was filled with many exciting experiences, as I observed missionaries and Chinese workers busily carrying out the life and work of the young Chinese Church Building the Kingdom in China.

Common Chinese Church in 1948.

Listening to their many conversations in Chinese made me wonder how in the world I would ever be able to communicate with these people. The inability to communicate with people, even though I wanted to very much, became an incentive for me to work hard at learning the language when that opportunity came. That opportunity was to come very soon. One of the Chinese co-workers, James Luo, who knew English quite well, was a big help to me when I needed to talk to Chinese friends.

James Luo, Co-worker

In fact, on the second Sunday we were in Hochwan I was asked to give the message at morning worship. James became my faithful helper, and interpreted my sermon as I spoke.

One time we were all together, and I asked the mission group how many people they were making contact with. They, for the most part, had no idea, so with time on my hands, I began to do some figuring. The congregation gathered several times, they had English Bible classes, and met with the children at the orphanage.

Julia, Louella's co-nurse

Louella opened the clinic for people and someone always shared Bible stories as they waited. Counting up the average numbers that gathered each time, it seemed that they met about twelve-hundred people each week with a gospel message. The missionaries were quite surprised to learn that they were meeting that many people. Of course, when one thought of all the people on the street every day, not to mention the many homes where people dwelt whom we seldom saw, they were really meeting only a very few of them. It really made one feel very inadequate to minister to all the multitudes. I think Jesus must have felt the same way when he, as a human being, saw all the multitudes who had no Shepherd to guide them.

Pastor Gordon Wang

Their Pastor, Gordon Wang, was a recent graduate from a Bible School, and was really quite young, but was such a dedicated young man. He loved the Lord, and really put his heart into his preaching of the Gospel. We all admired this young co-worker, and his faith that the Lord had sent to him. I always felt bad that I could not communicate in a more personal way with Gordon, but he knew very little English. James was a big help to me, of course, but it is always hard to share some other person's personal thoughts with someone else, so I still felt very limited.

Gathering for Church on Sunday morning

Evenings were relatively free for missionaries in China because there were no electric lights in so many of their homes, only candles. People were, therefore, inclined to stay home at night, and did not usually welcome guests. So, that was the time for missionaries to share in devotions, experiences of the day, and to sing hymns together, building one another up in the faith. Precious times!

After Louella and I had been there a couple of weeks, Don suggested that he and I should go on a trip to Yuen Min Zen, a town about thirty miles to the north of Hochwan. The missionaries had been there earlier and thought that it would be a good place for Louella and me to go visit after language school. We left on a bright, sunny morning, and followed what looked to me like paths through the fields. Don said that if you know how they look, you can tell which are paths to distant places and which are those that end close-by.

Chinese hauling rape-seed oil - wheels squeek, but they enjoy the music!

We walked rather briskly, so we arrived in Yuen Men Zen by about mid-afternoon. We found a fruit stand and bought some fruit to take away some of the hunger that had crept into our middles. We then went and found some of the people whom Don had met earlier, and they seemed very friendly. After a while, we went for a walk around town. Don told me that it was a town of about ten-thousand people. In China that is a rather small town, yet it was a very nice little town. In that stage of my development, in relation to the Chinese culture, it looked very primitive. To me, I thought this town must have been about like some of the little towns Jesus visited in Israel. At that point in my adjustment, it did not look like a very desirable place to live. However, by the end of the next year in language school, and after having learned to know the Chinese a little better, I would have gladly gone there.

Don and I stayed at someone's home for the night. I can no longer remember their names from so long ago. To make beds for us they took doors off the inside of the house from hinges that un-hook from the lower part, and they placed the doors on saw horses. Then, they put blankets on the doors, and added bedding to cover up with. They were hardly "Simmons" mattresses, but we slept! After all, a thirty mile trek made us quite ready for some rest.

The following day, Don sent me back to Hochwan by boat, as he wanted to go on to the next town to contact other people. A family was going down river on a boat, and they were happy to have me go with them. Don gave them a little bit of money for the trip. He was sending me because he thought I had heard enough Chinese words that I did not know, and I was inclined to agree. For the trip down the river I was on my own. I had learned a few Chinese phrases such as, "What is this?" So, as we floated down the river I pointed to different things and asked, "What is this in Chinese?" Then, they would say the word in Chinese for me. I picked up a few new words on the way home, and the time went faster. As we were going down the river, the rowing did not take a lot of effort, and we arrived in Hochwan rather quickly. At the dock I got off the boat, turned, bowed, and said, "Shei Shei," which means, "Thank you," then I returned to our home.

Language School

Off To Language School

It became obvious that unless I learned to speak the language, I would be of no help to anyone, not to the Mission, not to the Church, nor to China. I needed badly to learn to communicate with the people, so Louella and I were released to go to Chengtu in order to attend the West China Union University. This university had been established years before by five cooperating Mission groups, and was filling a tremendous need for the people of China, and for new missionaries coming to serve. We arrived in Chengtu in early November, and were able to rent a house from some of the Methodists, since their missionary homes were not all occupied. We gave ourselves over diligently to the study of the Chinese Language.

Clock tower on Campus

This was yet another test of my faith and determination. Several weeks were spent memorizing phonetic script (A set of symbols used to make sounds of words in Chinese). Along with that, we also learned the four primary tones used in producing the combined tones of different words in Chinese. That was a long and tedious struggle for one beginning language study. Louella had mastered that part long before, and offered encouragement to me as I went through those difficult times. It really seemed to me at times that I was getting no where. However, I was soon to discover that all those drills were really for my good. For, one cannot produce words correctly unless they are pronounced correctly and in the proper tone. One Phonetic sound may be used in four different sounds and have four different meanings, so the tones cannot be ignored. How amazed I was when I began to use words and phrases I had learned, and the Chinese people understood me. Wow! Great! This hard work was paying off! There is no better incentive for language study than to be understood when you talk to people, and to begin understanding what they are saying to you. A precious treasure!

During our time in Language Study, Louella and I also taught English classes, using the Bible as a text-book. This was an opportunity to present a Gospel message to people who were conversant in English, and this method helped them to improve both their pronunciation and their understanding of English words and phrases. We were able to become aquainted with some very capable and bright young people through this teaching.

Sound of War

It was late November in the year, 1949, and after we had only been in Chengtu a little more than a month, when the sounds of the big guns of the Communist Armies could be heard in the distance, especially in the otherwise quiet of the night. This made us all too aware that a war was going on, and that the fighting was not far away. The sounds did not seem to move much closer for some time, but they continued to be heard throughout the month of December. Everyone harbored fears of what might happen when the battle for the City of Chengtu would take place. One morning around mid December, Louella and I awoke to the sound of machine gun fire not too far in the distance. We could hear the bullets cutting through the leaves of the trees, but, thankfully, none of them hit our house. However, one bullet entered the house of our neighbors and slightly wounded the wife. We heard later that two Generals of Chiang Kai Shek had gotten into an argument about whether or not to turn the City over peacefully. So, the two Generals and their forces had to fight their way to a decision. Fortunately, the battle did not last long, and nothing more came of the situation. On December 30th, 1949, the City of Chengtu was turned over peaceably to the Communist Forces. Everyone, including the foreigners, were told to stay inside and not be seen on the streets.

Under Communist Rule

We were soon informed that we should go about life as usual, but to remain inside the City and not try to leave. So, we continued to study the Chinese language, to teach our classes, and life continued to go on much as it had before. After several months we were asked to appear at a certain office for registration with the new government on a given day. At the specified time and place we appeared, and we were received briskly and cordially invited to have chairs. A young officer came in and questioned us in some detail as to who we were, what our parents' names and occupations were, where we went to school, and why we were in China. They also wanted to know in which parts of China we had lived. They asked for our passports, but we responded that we had been instructed not to give them to anyone. They replied that they understood, and that they would return them again after they had prepared new resident certificates for us, then were given a time when we should return for our new alien certificates and passports.

After some months all the money was recalled and we were issued new currency, "Peoples Money." After that occurred, we no longer needed to carry a briefcase to bring our money home from the bank. The old money had been so inflated that it was necessary to carry a great deal of it just to do a little business. We were really glad that we no longer needed to do that.

The great event of 1950 was the birth of our first son on September 14th. What a day! In China, when one's first child is born, and if it is a boy, that is called "Ding How," which means, "The Very Best." When I returned home from the hospital, which was on campus, to report to the cook and his family that we had a son, they just beamed! Soon after I arrived home, Mrs. Cunningham, Louella's Doctor, brought Philip home in her personal Ricksha, and Louella followed in a "Whagen," which is similar to our stretcher, but the poles are bamboo, and the person riding bounces along as they are carried by two men. When she came up the walk from the front gate, there was a line of missionaries and their servants waiting to see this new foreign baby. What young father's shoulders would not be a little more broad with all that attention? The baby's name was Philip Eugene, but since a Chinese name was necessary for registration, our Chinese friends gave him the name Bei Bow Gen, which means "Precious White Thought."

Louella & Philip's first picture, taken for alien registration in Communist China. Philip was born on Sept. 14th, 1950.

One of the first things we needed to do after Philip was born was to have a picture taken of him, and have him included on our alien registration certificate, that way he would be an official resident of the "People's Republic of China." We could not have him registered on our passports at that time because there was no American consulate in China; they had all gone home and told us that we were on our own. We had to wait until we were in Hong Kong to have that done.

On November 6, 1950 we applied for exit permits to leave China. A short time before we had asked for permits to go to Hochwan where our other workers were located, and their response had been a definite "No!" They told us that we could not travel anywhere in China, so we had asked, "Does that mean that we can only ask for permits to leave China?" They replied, "Yes," so we soon asked for permits to leave China. They said that they would tell us when we could leave, and that we would absolutely have to depart at the time they indicated. It was not long after Philip was born that the wife of a young couple we knew well came to visit us. Both husband and wife had often visited us while we were in language study. This time, however, the wife came alone. She told us that they would no longer be able to visit us because the government officials had come to question them for long periods of time about their relationship with us. She said that when had happened, her husband could not get his studies done for school. He was studying to be a medical doctor, so she said that he had to keep up with his studies, or he could not stay in school. We told her that we understood, and that we would not expect them to come. That was the last time we saw them before we left China. She was also the last Chinese person who was to visit our house before we left Chengtu on the 30th of December. I was rather amazed that it was possible for our cook and his family to continue serving in our home, but they did not say anything, and neither did we. We were very careful about their situation regarding their relationship to us, not asking anything that we knew would make things difficult for them, and they continued to help us faithfully to the end.

The Communist Government had, in early 1950, told all missionaries that we could no longer pass out tracts or literature of any kind. All youth work was forbidden, as they said that they would be too busy, and they certainly did keep them busy! All church meetings had to be registered with the government, and no group meetings could be held without the permission of the government. One Sunday, the afternoon English Worship Service for English Speaking People was interrupted and closed because someone had failed to get the required permit. The propaganda and slogans of the government were very profuse. Some often-seen slogans were: "Down with Imperialism," "Down with Capitalism," "Down with America," "Imperialistic Americans buy the favor of the people with money," and "People are paid to attend Church." In the rural areas, a popular saying was, "Down with the Land-Lords." Many Landlords, in fact, were arrested because of the high rents that they had charged the poor renters during the past years.

On the second of December, 1950 a letter to us from the foreign office was delivered, asking us both to come in for questioning. They also gave us papers to fill out to receive travel permits to leave China. The papers they gave us to fill out were all in Chinese Characters, many of which we did not know, and we needed someone to help us fill them out. We found a friend who agreed to help us fill them out, and when they were complete, we returned them. We were then were given papers to take to the bank in order to verify that we were free of debt and obligated to no one. These papers were also to have the certification of a shop keeper who knew us and could certify that we were of good character, and that we were responsible persons. Yet another paper that we received was to be taken to the Newspaper so they could publish our names, nationality, and our desire to leave China, so that any one offended by us could make it known to the government. Needless to say, these were rather uneasy days for us.

We then prepared our luggage for travel. We had one trunk each for Louella and me, plus two foot lockers to give to China Travel Service to handle. We lived out of two brief cases for ten days while waiting for a plane. Our Sunday before Christmas was spent with Wesley Day and his family, and on Christmas day, we stayed with the Knettlers. Both families were good friends of ours from the Methodist Mission. However, time did get rather long because we had sent all our books off by mail, and we had very little to read. We also had very few dishes to use before we left, and the Knettlers' cook was a real blessing to help us when we needed help, and he managed so well with so very little. He was able to do the job better than we could have done, for certain.

Our Trip Out of China

Finally, on December 30th, l950 our long journey began, as we were permitted to make the first lap of our trip out of China. This part was easy! It was a fine, sunny day after a period of much cloudy weather. We traveled by plane in the faithful DC3 used so much in China at that time. Our flight was a real delight, but the landing on the tiny island in the middle of theYangtse River in Chungking between the mountains was more than a little breath-taking. It was a long climb up the four-hundred steps to City-leve, and the Chinese were so attracted to our group of foreigners, and especially to the little baby being held in his mother's arms. Frequently, they tried to touch him, and would rub their hands over his face and lips. Eventually, Louella and I carried the baggage and gave Philip to a missionary girl who stood about six feet tall. The Chinese, who were generally short of stature could then not reach Philip so easily. Being taller does, of course, have it's advantages sometimes.

Gene, Louella & baby Philip, arriving at the MCC Centerin Kowloon, Hong Kong, January 28, 1951.

We stayed at the Mission Center of the United Church of Christ. This Mission Center had become something of a Hotel during that time in Chungking, as so many people were leaving China and needed a place to stay until they could get passage down the Yangtse River. I think that, at one time, we were among about twenty people staying there, waiting together. We, along with a number of others were given permission to leave on January 18th. Tensions have a way of building up when so many people stay together in one place, and under those kinds of circumstances. Some of the missionaries were running low on money, and having no way to get more only added to the already-present tension. Because of the abundance of guests, the Chinese servants helping at the Center were also feeling strained. So, we got together and came up with some extra money to give to the servants for working so hard at taking care of all of us. That solved one problem, but we, like many of the others, still had to deal with the issue of our significant lack of funds. Fortunately, we were able to solve this particular problem when a Chinese Doctor friend let us have some money. We felt that the Lord was stepping into a difficult situation by allowing this friend to help us solve our problem. Such things do not just simply "happen," such charitable acts are granted to us when our need is great because we are watched over by a God Who cares.

This trip down the Yangtse River to Hankow was to take one week. We were on a boat that was made to hold from fifty to one-hundred people, and there were at least two-hundred and fifty people sailing on this particular journey. Needless to say, the boat was very crowded, but the Chinese are accustomed to living close together and to moving over to help someone else. Orientals do these things much more easily than we do. We might make such accommodations when we cannot do anything about it, but it is not easy for us. Louella, along with Philip, was invited to share a room with two other missionary women, while I was able to find a place inside a men's dormitory room where I could spread a folded blanket on the floor. That steel deck was pretty hard, but after a couple of nights of adjustment, I slept like I was on a high-class mattress.

For food we were given two meals a day, one at about 9:00 AM and the other was served at about 4:00 PM. The meals on the boat consisted of a bowl of rice, with a big leaf of boiled cabbage and a fat piece of juicy pork. It was hard to take at first, but after the first day it began to taste good, and by mid-week it was delightful. One's perspective and the situation makes all the difference.

Each night we docked at a city along the river. Then after we were settled down and sleeping well, past midnight a government official woke me up to ask many questions and go through our baggage to see what he might find. After he had scattered things about and seen everything, he told us, "Now you can pack it up again." that happened every night all week. They did the same to Louella, but fortunately I had most of the baggage.

Finally we reached Hankow and were able to board the train for Hong Kong. We wanted to find food for the trip of two days, but we didn't have time. Just before we got on the train a man came with a cartload of beautiful bananas. I asked Louella for a couple of Philip's clean diapers, asked the man to cut off a big bunch of bananas and wrapped them in the diapers. They did nto make a well-rounded diet, but we had something good and clean to eat.

We arrived at the border just befor noon on Sunday, the 28th of January 1951. Our travel permits expired that day. We could not cross the border until someone was sent back to Guang-Juo by train to see if they could let us go. During the next three hours we sat there and looked at the British flag waving in the breeze on the other side of the little stream that divided the borders. Louella said as we sat there, "I never thought that the British flag would look so good to me as it did that day." Then a man returned with word that it was all right for us to cross the border. At the middle of the bridge across the stream a British official welcomed us into Hong Kong.

We were taken into a little tent by the side of the road, where they checked out passports and made sure our papers were in order. We were questioned about where we might be staying and we told them we had a place reserved at the MCC Headquarters in Kowloon while in the area. They then gave us directions by train, for which we were thankful.

When we arrived at MCC Headquarters we found no one at home except the housekeeper, who welcomed us gladly and showed us where we could clean up from our trip. We were so glad that we could make ourselves look presentable to the others when they returned.

How happy we were to meet President Earnest Miller of Goshen College. Niva White was there serving as his secretary, and Dan and Rosalie Stoltzfus who had come with us on the boat from the U.S., and were now serving as host and hostess at MCC Headquarters (their daughter was born about the same time as Philip). Dan McCammon was there too, having arrived the day before from Mainland China. What a blessed reunion it was to meet all of our friends who had meant so much to us in years past! Meeting Don was a troubled joy, because we knew that his wife and two other Missionary women were still being held -- he had been deported and had to leave them behind.

The second or third day after arriving in Hong Kong, I became very ill with measles and had a very high fever. A Chinese doctor who came to help me said it looked like measles to him, but Louella assumed I'd already had them as a child and told this to the doctor. I finally got Louella's attention and told her that I hadn't had them before.

After it was confirmed that I had the measles, I was placed in the basement of the building where we were. In nearby rooms they had a kindergarten for children. Unfortunately, some of the children would sometimes come into the room where I was, and it was not long before they had an outbreak of measles in the kindergarten. The doctor said that I should not worry because this was the best time for them to have them, but I was sorry to be the one to make them sick. I was very ill for about two weeks with a high fever and bad cough. Finally I recovered, and was so grateful that I would never have them again!

While I was sick with measles, Don McCammon was exploring Hong Kong, and on his walks he discovered a travel agency, and he made reservations for us to travel to the U. S. on the President Cleveland, a ship of the President Lines. These reservations were for late February.

After I was fully recovered, we decided to take Philip for some immunizations. When I got out of the car, which was only a little two-door van, Louella had to step over the back edge of the front seat. I was already out of the vehicle, holding Philip, when she caught her foot and fell, breaking her arm just above the wrist. So, instead of getting immunizations, we had to get Louella's arm set and put into a cast (We got the immunizations later.) This accident resulted in me being Philip's caregiver for a while, and my having to help Louella with many other things during her recovery period. This is, of course, part of the promise, "....until death do us part." It took an amazing amount of patience for Louella to accept that even if her hair did not feel like usual, life still went on. Unbelievably, it was soon time for us to get ready to board the ship for America. It was mostly my responsibility to do most of the preparations, and to get us off at the right time, and we made it!

Chapter 4: Two Year Sojourn in America

2008-06-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Return Trip to US 1951
Deputation - Summer of 1951
A Time of Celebration and Despair
India
Our Next Field -- Japan

Return Trip to US 1951

In late February we boarded the President Cleveland to return to the States via Japan. En route, our ship stopped at Osaka, Japan one evening for a twenty-four hour lay-over. There, we spent some time with Carl and Esther Beck, who were Mennonite Board of Missions workers still doing language study in Osaka. I recall that they gave us "Whale Steak" that evening for dinner. If they had not told us, we would not have known that it was not the real thing.

The next day, they drove us around Osaka, and we were able to observe some of the destruction still evident from The War. In one area we visited, there were miles of house foundations where homes had once stood that had been burned by incendiary bombs. We felt real horror at the destruction that war causes, and by the suffering that must have accompanied such devastation.

That evening, we boarded the ship for an overnight trip to Tokyo for another twenty-four hour stop-over. There, we met Ralph and Genny Buckwalter, also with Mennonite Board of Missions, and in language study. They gave us a good introduction to the capital City of Japan, where we were impressed with the great number of people and the heavy traffic on the streets of this enormous city. It seemed that everyone here was always on the move and very busy. Both the Becks and the Buckwalters gave us a hearty welcome to come and work with them in Japan. At that time we needed time to assess what we had been through in China, and to be sure about what the Lord wanted us to do in the future.

Back aboard the President Cleveland, which was beginning to feel like home to us, we had two weeks to think and to share stories with other people who were also returning from China. We arrived in San Francisco on Palm Sunday, March 15, 1951. Louella's Brother Jerry and his family were there to meet us, and it was mid-morning when we finally docked. We were permitted to leave the ship fairly soon, but we had to wait on the dock for our excess, or hold baggage, to be unloaded from the ship. This seemed to take hours. We could see Jerry and his family on the other side of a fence some distance away, but they were unable to come to us, and we were unable to go to them. What a wearying situation it was.

Finally, they got all the baggage off and lined up on the dock so that the customs agents were able to come and check our bags and trunks. Fortunately, they did not spend much time with most persons coming out of China. By a little past noon we were able to have them check our things, then have them taken near by to a shipping agency, and then have the heavier things sent ahead to Iowa. It was such a relief to these tasks finished, and not have to worry about those particular things any longer. Now, we were ready to enjoy spending time with Jerry, his wife, Letha, and their family again. We soon found a place to get something to eat, and then we were on our way to Winton California, where we would spend the night with some friends of Jerry and Letha.

In Winton, we met the Horsts, who gave us food and a comfortable bed. As we traveled, Philip had watched the lights along the way for so long that he seemed to be weary, but he could not sleep right. When he did fall asleep, his eyes were still open. It was very strange, but by the next day and through the following night he seemed to be all right. The Horst family lived in a little Mennonite Community where there was a small church. The next morning we were on the road again for Los Angeles, and we were to spend time at Ora Conrad's home. Mrs. Conrad was a cousin of Louella's, and her home was in Oregon, but she was spending the winter in California, and we occupied the house for a while. We were learning many new names, and so many of them have slipped through the cracks of my memory that I have trouble recalling them now.

Jerry, Letha, and family were with us for a few days in Upland, but they soon needed to find their way back to Idaho, where spring work was beginning on their farm. While we were in Upland, Kenneth Good from Elida, Ohio came to hold meetings at the Upland Mennonite Church, and they were also staying at Mrs. Conrad's house. Kenneth's wife is a first cousin of mine, so it was a real privilege for us to be there for a part of the renewal meetings, and to have some good visits together while we were there.

By the time we arrived in California, the cast on Louella's arm was ready to come off, and Jerry and I undertook the task. Louella encouraged us to do it, for it would only have cost a lot of money for a Doctor to do the same job. So, we took a tin snips and cut it off for her. She was surely happy to be free from that cast, and to be able to do things for herself again. Philip was growing and becoming an active little boy, so his daddy was still kept pretty busy!

During the last week of March we took the train back to Iowa to meet our families again, and to introduce our son, Philip, to them. It was a blessing to be back in Iowa, and to relate to families and to churches again. The churches kept us busy reporting on the China Experience, and since Don McCammon was from Manson, Iowa, the people from the Manson Church were anxious to hear more about him. Because we were the first missionaries to return to the U. S., it fell to us to do the first reporting to the churches about China. This seemed a little unfair to the other China Missionaries, but the situation called for us to report.

Dorothy (Don's wife), Christine Weaver, and Ruth Bean were still being held at Hochwan, where they had been living in China. They had freedom to live in their own houses, and to move around town, but they were not allowed to leave town. We encouraged the churches to continue praying for them, that their faith would be strong, and to remember Don as he was waiting for them in Hong Kong. This was a very trying situation for him.

In early May, we made a trip to the Elkhart-Goshen area of Indiana to meet the Board people, and to meet with friends in the area. We gave several days to the Mission Board Staff, and made contacts with people whom they especially wanted us to report to. There was a real whirlwind of activity from morning till night without many chances for us to catch our breath. They took us to different offices to settle accounts, plan for deputation to the churches, and they asked us to have a Chapel meeting with the Board Staff to report in some detail the experiences we had while in China. The staff had also scheduled meetings with churches in the community. When we left, they said that we should be careful not to let the churches work us too hard. We had to smile a little at that!

Deputation - Summer of 1951

That summer (the summer of 1951), Louella, Philip, and I made our home with Menno and Lizzy Gingerich in Iowa. When we returned with Philip, we called them Grandpa and Grandma. They enjoyed him so much, and he enjoyed all the attention as well. The Mission Board staff planned deputation trips for us that took us to most of the churches in the Iowa-Nebraska Conference, and to some other near-by churches. In every area, there was an intense desire to know what had happened, and what was happening with the Missionaries who were still in China, and especially what had happened with Don, who had been arrested. This was no doubt the result of poor mail service between China and the U.S. during the recent years when we were in China. During the summer when I was on my way to China, it had seemed that the only sure way the Board and the field could have real communication with us was by using cabled messages. Mail, even then, was too uncertain.

We not only shared much with the churches, but it was very rewarding for us to become aquainted with the Iowa-Nebraska Conference churches and the people in their communities. We visited many of the South-East Iowa churches, at their convenience, from our home in Parnell.

Gene, Phil & Louella - back in U.S.
(Goshen, IN).

Soon, it was late August, and we loaded our few belongings into our little Chevrolet Coupe, and went to Goshen, Indiana where I would be spending the next nine months, finishing my Seminary studies. The Mission Board had arranged for us to have an apartment at 1701 9th Street, just a few blocks from the college. We soon learned that our next door neighbors across the hall would be James and Ann Martin, who were in school preparing to go to South America as missionaries. Since they had two little daughters near Philip's age, he had playmates at almost any time that he wanted them.

A Time of Celebration and Despair

Since I was back in school to finish my work in Seminary, it was arranged that I should get my practical experience by serving as Assistant Pastor at the East Goshen Mennonite Church where Paul M. Miller was pastor. This was a very enjoyable plan for me, as Paul was a pastor with some years experience, which made him a capable mentor from whom I could learn much. Again, on weekends, when we were available, we visited churches in the area to report on the China Experience.

During our Christmas vacation that year, we were invited to spend some time in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area, and in the Denbigh-Newport News area. This was very profitable for me since my parents had both come from the Harrisonburg area to Iowa in 1902. For that reason I was excited about visiting some of the churches where they had known people years before.

We arrived back at Goshen on January 3rd, and on the 4th we were unpacking from the trip to Virginia. Louella was busy with Philip, and preparing food for the days ahead. Much of my time was spent on studies that I would have done during vacation if we had not gone to Virginia. On the 6th, we were with the East Goshen Church where I was assistant pastor for the morning and evening services. Then, on Monday we began making preparations for a trip to Iowa. This was one trip that we could hardly escape since my parents were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary on the 9th of January. So, we determinedly set our faces toward Iowa again. We had expected to make our return trip to Goshen on Wednesday, the 9th, after my parents celebration, and on the night of the 8th we stayed at Louella's parental home.

First thing, on the morning of the 9th, we received a call telling us that my mother, Ada Blosser, had experienced a severe stroke early that morning. During the night, she had asked my father, Perry, for some medication, which she took and then went back to sleep. But, when my father awoke around 5:25, she was unconscious and breathing heavily. He called the doctor immediately, but the doctor was unable to do anything for her, and he announced that she could not live long. This day of anniversary celebration had turned into a day of sadness for us all. She passed away on the following evening the at 5:30 in the evening.

I stayed with my father that night so that he would not have to be alone. My brothers and I took turns staying with him for a number of days, as this was a terrible shock that had come at such a time. Preparations for the funeral were then made, and it was to be held on the following Sunday afternoon, which was January 13th, 1952. The funeral was held at the Methodist Church in South English, on account of the large crowd which was expected, and Simon Gingerich from the Sugar Creek Church at Wayland preached the sermon. My mother was buried at the Brethren Church Cemetery, which is east of South English. Sudden partings like this are often difficult, and they create much stress for those left behind, but are they worse than long, extended illnesses in which a whole family or an entire community is involved in the protracted caring of lingering sickness? I believe that only God knows.

India

The Mission Board began the application process for our entrance into India during the summer of 1952. We began setting our hearts in that direction by reading everything about India that we could find. The past school year had been an extremely busy one, but I had learned much, and was able to finish the work that I had planned to do. It had been such a busy year that I was unable to do the depth of study in some areas that I would have liked to have done, and I felt somewhat disappointed. As I thought about it, however, I came to realize that in my work as a missionary and pastor, my studies would continue, and I would be able to do more in-depth study along with my work. Also, I realized that a practical setting for my studies would ultimately make the lessons learned more valuable.

The final days of the school year were typical for me, in that I was very busy with taking tests and finishing term-papers. As always, these I found these days to be somewhat stressful. However, once that final effort was completed, and my graduation exercises were finished, I certainly felt grateful that the church had offered such an institution where I had received such dedicated instruction from people who were so concerned that all of us received the training necessary to accomplish all the work that God had called us to do. Praise be to God!

After graduation, we left Goshen for Iowa with feelings of peace and accomplishment. However, we were also aware of our need for God's grace, guidance, and help, as we were about to undertake the sharing of the Gospel with people of nations yet unknown to our experience.

Our hearts' desire was that we would be servants of Jesus Christ, communicating His Gospel to people who would learn to know Our Savior, and to worship Him with us. We were so grateful for each other, and for our son Philip, as well as for the confidence that we had that God would use us in India for His glory. In short, Louella and I were really anticipating going to India as drove back to Iowa.

Our friends in Iowa made plans for us to rent the house which had been Jacob Swartzendruber's house(Eleanor Yoder's Grandparents). They had passed away some years before and no one was living there at the time. We expected to be going to India by mid-July or, at the latest, in early August. Before leaving we would need to plan what we should take along. We would need to buy clothing and things we would need for living there. We got some lists from Missionarid on furlough. Since they were emphasizing that missionaries should travel lightly, young missionaries tended to take less than those who had gone earlier. We had also talked with students from India who had been in school with us about what we would need. They didn't feel we would need to take anything extra along. They felt there was plenty of everything in India, but it was recognized that westerners tended to need more than Nationals. By early July we had our baggage that would be stored in the hold of the ship ready for shipment. That meant that it was boxed, crated and address labels were attached. We were ready to go. The day we planned to ship off our necessities we received a telegram from Elkhart saying, "Hold your baggage. India Visa rejected. Letter follows." Now, what did this mean? We were deeply perplexed! Did this mean that India was not for us? Did it mean that they would simply have to apply again, giving more information? Such questions filled our minds as we pondered and waited for the promised letter. We prayed much! Finally, we received the letter from Joe Graber, secretary of the Board, and the letter was encouraging. He said that he would apply again for us, emphasizing the urgency and the necessity of our going.

Joe Graber thought that there was a good chance that another application would bring a positive response. We wrote to him, thanking him for his encouragement, and for making this new application. In the mean time, while we waited, we were asked to share what we anticipated in India, and to give messages from the Word in the local Iowa Churches.

One of the churches we visited occasionally was the little church in Parnell, Iowa. This church was started in the home of one of the members. They had, just eight years earlier, moved a church building from a its previous country location, where it was no longer used. The church members had restored the building, and painted it, so that it looked very nice and neat by the street in Parnell. At the time, there was quite a number of people who attended the church. With a number of workers coming from the West Union congregation, located about ten miles to the east, to help with the singing and with Sunday School, the church was pretty well staffed. Leroy Bender from West Union was the congregational leader, and John Y. Swartzendruber acted as the Bishop in charge.

When they learned that we would not be leaving immediately for India, the people in charge of this little church in Parnell came and asked Louella and me to come and serve as pastors until we needed to leave. We concluded that this would be a good opportunity for us to get some experience before going to India. These folks turned out to be a fine group to work with, and we truly enjoyed being with them.

Later in this summer of 1952, the Mission Board received a letter from the Indian Embassy in New Delhi rejecting the application for a Visa for the Blossers. This was, of course, a keen disappointment for us. We wrote to Joe Graber, suggesting that, due to this second rejection, we should possibly consider India as a closed door for us, and give consideration to another field. Joe replied that he too felt that it would be better for us to consider some other field.

Louella and I gave ourselves to prayer for the Lord's leading in our lives, so that we might be truly ready to do His Will. We tried to open our hearts to Him, praying to know something of His purposes and plans for us. Joe Graber made several suggestions to us as to possible fields that we might consider serving. He had suggested Israel, Argentine Chaco, Uruguay, and Japan. We spent several weeks talking and praying about these different fields. As we prayed and shared our thoughts, Japan seemed to rise to the surface in our thinking more and more frequently. We felt that Japan, being an Oriental country, would be more nearly like China, where we already had some experience, and that our adjustment might be easier there. We knew that the Japanese used some Chinese characters, so we imagined that there would be some similarities in language. These were the factors that helped us to give more consideration to Japan as a possible field

Since our plans to enter India had been terminated, we had promised the Parnell church that we would continue to serve there until the following year, or until another field would be presented to us. Our work at the little church was proving to be a good experience for us and we were happy to serve there.

Our Next Field -- Japan

Soon, we wrote a letter to Joe Graber to tell him that we have a growing conviction that God would have us join the workers in Japan and serve with them. Then, we learned that Don and Dorothy McCammon had decided to go to Japan in the following fall of the year, and that Ruth Bean and Mary Arm Hostetler were leaving for Japan at about the same time. This stirred our excitement even more, as we realized that we might be given the opportunity to serve this new mission with friends.

Gene, Louella & baby Philip in 1953, shortly before leaving for Japan.

After we communicated to the Board our conviction about where we should serve, they began to process our applications. On May 19th of 1953, I was called to attend a meeting of the local West Union Church ministers and their extension committee. Among other things, they were discussing the future of the work at Parnell. At what I thought was the proper time, I suggested that, on the basis of my experience at Parnell, I felt that the members were mature enough to be organized as a congregation, and to have a minister ordained to carry their work forward. These leading ministers, however, insisted that they were not ready for that, and proposed returning to the previous arrangement of having preachers from West Union take responsibility for preaching at Parnell on an a rotating basis. But, by the following year, they did ordain to the ministry Paul E. M. Yoder, who was given responsibility for leading the congregation. Since I had earlier requested release from responsibility for the work at Parnell by June 1st, that release was now granted to me.

The Mission Board meeting for that year was held in Harrisonburg, VA, and it was here where we were to be appointed to Japan. I went alone by train to the Board Meeting, and on the evening of the first day that I was there, I became deathly sick with extreme abdominal pain. They took me to the hospital and put me in bed. They gave me a shot of something that relaxed me, and everything that I had eaten all day started to come back up. I started to feel much better, but they kept me over night to be sure that I was all right. I was released on the following morning from the hospital, and I returned to the Board Meeting. There were no more problems, luckily, and I enjoyed the inspiration as well as the work that the Board was doing in many places all over the world. They were opening up new fields every year, it seemed. Eventually, I was called to be interviewed by the Board, and I was to speak for both Louella and myself. The Board wanted to know about our medical histories, and I informed them of everything that I thought might be of interest. The doctor who was present at the interview tentatively determined that we seemed to be fit enough for extended travel, and I explained that we were excited about the possibility of going to Japan, and that we wanted to go as soon as possible.

Before returning home, Joe Graber asked me to get a physical exam soon, so that we could be absolutely certain that there was nothing wrong with me that would cause problems later if we found ourselves in an isolated place. This, I did when I arrived back in Iowa, and they discovered that I had five gall stones that were about the size of small marbles. I reported this to Joe Graber immediately, and he suggested that I come to Elkhart for the surgery, and they would arrange everything there. So, I was on my way to Elkhart again where they did surgery to remove the gall stones, and I was out of the hospital in a week, and I recuperated at a friends house for another week. I then returned to Iowa by August 3rd.

Friends from Winton, CA see us off to Japan.

After my recovery, we immediately prepared the baggage that we needed to send ahead to the ship we were to depart on. On August 18th, many of my family and friends gathered at the Cedar Rapids train station to see us off for California, via Idaho, where we would spend a little time with Jerry and Letha, Louella's brother and sister-in-law. Philip thoroughly enjoyed the train ride over, around, and through the mountains. He was also excited about seeing Jerry and his family again, but he probably did not remember them from his that first meeting at the ship in California about two years earlier. During this visit in Idaho, Jerry, his boys, and I went up into the mountains where there was a camp for youth being held near the lake. We had quite an enjoyable week-end, sleeping in sleeping bags out on the beach, under the stars. What fun!

Philip shuffling with Dad aboard ship
en route to Japan

When we finally arrived in Japan, we learned that Don and his family were living upstairs in the house where we would be living in the downstairs apartment. We discovered that they had even partially stocked the pantry for us. How thoughtful can people get? Philip and their little daughter, Julia, soon became fast friends, and were constantly playing together. It was very unpredictable what they might find to do next, but they did enjoy being with each other.

On board the President Wilson Passenger Ship leaving for Japan, August 1953.

The very next day, we went back to Yokohama to get our hold baggage through customs, but we were disappointed to learn that they needed more time before they were ready to process it. We then returned to Tokyo and shopped for some furniture that we needed. Finally, on the 18th, we were able to get our baggage hauled to us.

The day after our baggage arrived to us in Tokyo was Louella's and my fourth wedding anniversary. As I look back at all that happened in those four years, it all seems almost unthinkable. We were young then, and able to do things never possible in later years. For our celebration, the missionary family took us out to a Chinese restaurant, which was exactly what we loved. Then, in the afternoon, we returned to reality at our apartment, and began unpacking and putting things away. By evening, we were both very tired. It seemed that being on the ship for two weeks did not give us the kind of activity we needed to keep in shape for what we were trying to do in our home. We were both very happy to be back in the Orient, and ready to settle down to the learning of another language. The Japanese language looked quite formidable as we began our study of it, but we had done this kind of thing before and believed that, with hard work and determination, we could do it again.

On September 20th, on a Sunday morning, we had our first meal alone in our home since we had arrived in Japan. It felt so good! Then, we were off to Sunday worship held at Don Reber's house. It was a group formed by missionary language students and a number of young Japanese University students from the churches in Hokkaido. The service was in Japanese, with the message given in English, and then translated for the Japanese. We were very happy to get to know a few of our brothers and sisters from the northern Island where we might be working someday.

Chapter 5: Beginning Years in Japan

2008-06-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Learning Japanese
J. D. Graber Visits Japan (and Rachel is born)
Our First Trip To North Japan
Second Year of Language Study
Another Big Move
Winter Bible School
Philip Enters Kindergarten
Nakamura-Hirayama Wedding
Another New Life
Hiroshima
Louella's Surgery
Taiki

Learning Japanese

Louella had been having her Japanese helper be instructed by Dorothy (who could speak Japanese) when the girl did not understand Louella's English. We were taking a few days to get settled in our house so that we could give ourselves to language study in earnest when we got started. We had a good department store only three stops by train from our nearest train station, which was a three minute walk from our house, and you cannot have it much more convenient than that. The store had most things that one needs to keep house, and groceries could be bought in walking distance, a few minutes from our house.

We planned to begin Language study on the following Monday. As we began, we hoped that we would be able to stay longer here than we had in China. I had studied Greek, German, and Chinese, and I was hopeful that I would not get them all mixed up with Japanese. I could soon see that Japanese would be my biggest challenge yet. It looked totally impossible from where we were then, but with God's help, we believed we could conquer this task. We decided that I would study forenoon's, and that Louella would study on afternoons. This way, I could take care of Philip while she studied. If Philip did not sleep much in the day time, then we could both do our homework at night, that was, if we could keep awake.

One day, soon after we arrived in Tokyo, Dorothy took Louella by train to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, and introduced her to Dr. Woods. Louella was several months pregnant, and needed to be seeing a doctor, so they did some lab work for her, and put her on a schedule for seeing the doctor regularly. This meant that Louella's language study was going to have to lapse at times.

Saturdays were often good times for taking the children on excursions. Not too long after we were in Tokyo, we took the children to the Tokyo Zoo. This zoo was a good one, and the children enjoyed going there. Julia and Philip got along very well, but they were skilled at being mischievous at times, so we needed to be alert to what they were doing all the time.

A few believers (along with Louella & Philip) gather in Tokyo.

Sunday was a welcome time to relate to Japanese friends and to other people at church. Missionaries usually took turns giving the message and conducting the worship services. My turn came after we had been there a while. The Japanese hymnals conveniently had the titles of the hymns listed in English, as well as in Japanese. This was great, I thought, and I found quite a few familiar hymns in the Hymn Book, and selected as many as I needed. But, on Sunday morning when I led the worship service and announced the first song, Ruth Bean, the song leader that day, turned to me and said, "This sounds like a familiar song, but the tune is different. I can't lead this one." So, I learned the hard way that familiar songs do not always have familiar tunes. How embarrassing! Consequently, I began taking the music of the familiar hymns more seriously, and after that, things went a little more smoothly.

Also, we discovered there was an English Service on Sunday Afternoons at the Tokyo Union Church. This was a blessed experience, for us first year language school students who were not able to get much out of a Japanese service, other than tunes of hymns we knew. This service was also attended by many Japanese who knew English, so we were able also to have fellowship with Japanese people who knew English. We considered this a real blessing for we could get to know and have good fellowship with the Japanese in their own cultural setting, and this helped us to understand them a little better.

Louella one day wrote in her diary, "I will praise the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth." She continued saying, "We are indeed most grateful to be in Japan, and to be learning the Japanese language." From that I knew she was keeping her spirits up, and that she was not discouraged with her lot of carrying a baby, while simultaneously struggling with the study of a new language. I really appreciated her spirit and attitude, for language-study was to be our task for a long time yet.

One day, Philip was playing where there was a little water on the ground, and he was very troubled. As he persistently pulled a stick through the water he said, "Why can't I make a path through the water?" Louella then carefully explained to him that water just naturally runs back together by itself. Then, Philip replied, "But, Moses did!" Later, that same day, Philip said, "Jesus really doesn't understand Japanese, does He?" "Yes, of course he does," Louella replied. "But there are no Japanese in heaven, are there?" Philip asked. That idea must, we concluded, have come from our explanation that we came to Japan to teach them about the Gospel of Jesus so that they could go to heaven, too. We determined that we needed to do some more teaching about our situation to Philip. In his mind, the coming of missionaries to Japan was just starting, and he apparently assumed that not many knew anything about Jesus.

On October 20th, 1953, letters came from Iowa telling us that Louella's sister, Esther, had passed away of Tetanus. Louella entered in her diary, "I am quite sorrowful to think that Esther is gone. Then, I think of her many frustrations, disappointments, suffering and pain, so I can't help but praise the Lord for His Mercy in releasing her from her life of misery. I do so pity my dear, aging, parents." We wrote to them and to the Irvings that evening. When Louella told Philip about Esther's death, he said, "Then she will say Hello to Jesus." Then, he asked, "Did she die because a car ran over her?" "No," we said. Then, Philip continued, "Then, she will be in Heaven with Jesus, and she won't have any more ouchies."

One day, I was cutting Philip's hair. While cutting his hair, I unintentionally pinched his neck a bit between the handles of the scissors. I asked, "Oh, I'm sorry, did that pinch a little?" He replied, "No, it hurt far and wide!"

Another day, we were shopping in a nearby department store. Philip became engrossed with the display case full of electric toy trains and airplanes. We wanted to go nearby to another area of the store to look a little, but he did not want to be separated from the toys. We asked him, "Will you stay here and not go away?" He promised that he would not go away. So, we went to the place where we wanted to look, but kept a watch on where he was. Suddenly, we noticed that he was gone. We hurried to the place where he had been, but we could see nothing of him. We walked around, looking for him, but without success. We became quite worried. Then, suddenly, we heard his feet going pitter-pat as he came running saying, "Oh mommy, I found you!" He thought that we were lost.

November 23rd was a Japanese Holiday--their Thanksgiving day. I was at home, and decided that this would be a good time to get our Christmas letter started. We always liked to send our letters by sea mail in order to save postage. At that time we were sending several hundred pieces of mail over a small span of time, so this certainly made a difference.

Another thing that happened about mid-November was an earthquake. A few days earlier I had said to Louella, "I haven't felt an earthquake yet, and I would like to feel one once." A few days later, at about 2:45 in the morning when we were sound asleep, we were suddenly awakened, and things were bouncing. Then, the bouncing suddenly changed to a swinging motion from east to west, back and forth. Louella spoke first, saying to me. "Okay, now you better wake up and enjoy your earthquake." We did not have to ask anyone whether or not we were having one, we were certainly sure about that. A sliding door upstairs in Don's apartment banged open or shut. Don and Dorothy suddenly appeared at our bedroom door and said, "Let's get out of here." So, we went outdoors until things quit moving and all was quiet again. Then, we slowly went back in, wondering what would happen now. When we got into our bedroom, a round mirror hanging by one string was swinging back and forth like a pendulum. We have some aftershocks during the next day or two, and I did not ask for any more earthquakes. I was satisfied with that one.

J. D. Graber Visits Japan

The day Joe Graber arrived, all the Mennonite missionaries in Tokyo went to the airport to welcome him. He arrived on December the 9th, and all of us were very happy to see him. Louella and I were happy that we had the privilege to care for him in our home.

Louella was becoming more uncomfortable daily from the infant she was carrying. "Her time can't be too far off," I thought. We were wondering if we might have a Christmas present. My younger sister was born on Christmas day, and in Louella's family, her father was born on Christmas. Those days did get a little anxious for her sometimes. Also, I found myself helping more with the house than I had in recent weeks.

On the evening of the 12th of December, Don, Joe Graber, and I went downtown, where the central shopping area is located in Tokyo, to see the Ginza lights. Then, on the following day, we all gathered at the home of Don and Barbara Reber for our morning worship. Joe preached for us that morning, and was interpreted for the Japanese present. He spoke on the subject of, "Fellowship In Christ". Monday evening, Joe Graber left for Hokkaido, the northern Island of Japan. There, he was to meet with and visit the missionaries and the believers of the various churches. The Becks, Buckwalters, and Kanagys were busy there in the work to which God had called them. Louella and her helper were busy getting ready for the new member of our family, who was to arrive soon. They had a crib ready, and clothing for the baby, and a suitcase had been packed and was ready for the dash to the hospital if things began to happen suddenly.

On the 19th of December, we received our first Christmas package from the USA It was from the Roethlisberger family, at whose dairy farm I had worked during my Civilian Public Service days in the State of Wisconsin. Then, on the 20th, Louella and I stayed home from church. In the evening, we listened to records we had of Handel's Messiah. On Monday morning went to see the Doctor at the hospital. He said that the baby could come at any time, and told Louella that she should come to the hospital that evening. So, that evening, we returned to the hospital, taking all the things that she and the baby would need. Louella rested very well that night. The next day, our little daughter, Rachel, arrived. She weighed seven pounds and twelve ounces. Don was with me while waiting for the arrival of the little one. What a little blessing from the Lord, not on Christmas Day, but close enough to bring a lot of joy. Philip and I took Louella and Rachel Ann a dozen red and white carnations, but that did not measure up to what we had received from Louella. On the 23rd of December, Louella wrote in her diary, "My heart overflows with praise to the Lord, my soul is full of joy in God, my Savior." (Mary's Magnificat). How happy we are for the normal, healthy baby to bless our home.

The next evening, high school students from the American School in Japan came and sang in the halls of the hospital. Louella was so thrilled by the singing, and she enjoyed it much. Then, on Christmas day, the nurses on the floor where Louella was sang carols for the patients. It was so beautiful, and such a blessing for them to do that.

On Christmas day, Philip and I went to the hospital with our Christmas mail and gifts. When Philip saw Louella he said, "Oh Mommy, I like you!" Philip got his first look at Rachel in the nursery with all the other babies. Then, he said to Louella, "Are you going to stay here and make them happy?"

Carl Kreider was then, at that time, serving as Dean of the International Christian University. Carl and Evelyn had invited the family of Mennonite Missionaries to their place for Christmas dinner. So, Philip and I went from the hospital to the Kreider home for a Christmas fellowship meal. It was a joyful occasion, and the fellowship was wonderful.

On Monday, the 28th of December, I went to the hospital to bring Louella and Rachel home. I went by train to the hospital, which was some distance from where we lived. Then, we returned by taxi with Louella, the baby, and their things. By then, Louella was feeling much better, and she enjoyed being at home with the family again. That evening, we opened the rest of our Christmas gifts as a family. Philip was so proud of his little sister, as were Louella and myself. We were a happy, proud family.

The next two days saw people arriving from Hokkaido for the meeting of missionaries with Joe Graber, which was to be held at our house. The conference was to last from Thursday evening until the following Saturday evening. On the last evening, Joe Graber led us in a communion and feet-washing service. It proved to be a most meaningful conference that centered around discussion of the work that God had called us to do.

On Monday, January 4th, all of our guests left for Osaka, where they were to gather with all the Mennonites working in Japan. Our home was left in the midst of a great quietness! This was after a couple weeks of great events and activity. We had welcomed a new member to our family, welcomed our Mission Board Secretary, and hosted the Japan Mennonite Missionary Conference. Now, we were lost in the calm of just being a family at home and alone again. At that time, Louella wrote in her diary, "It is so nice to have this short time of being a family alone for a few days before our language school begins again. Rachel is doing so well, and eats and sleeps very well."

A few days later, our classes began again. That evening, Dorothy, Adella Kanagy, and I met as the Mission Budget Committee. None of us could boast any maturity in these matters, for we simply had no experience doing this kind of thing. This proved to be a new education for all of us in learning by doing. Not all missionary work is about saving souls through prayer and church ministry. Life in the field serves other earthly functions as well. I cannot recall what kind of budget we made, which included the work in Hokkaido, which I had not seen, but somehow it survived, and nothing of a drastic nature took place, so maybe it simply was not significant!

In late January, we received a letter from my brother, Dwight, which told of the death of Orval Swartzendruber. Sadly, we learned that he took his own life. Our hearts went out to his two sons, D. Dale and Marlin. It must have been a real blow to everyone. We were praying much for them, that they may know the strength and grace of the Lord through this experience.

Also, in late January, it began to snow one evening, continued to snow that night, and it was still snowing the next day. A total of twelve inches stacked up before it stopped. It was the most snow that Tokyo had seen in that century to date, and it sure brought everything to a standstill. Everything was so quiet. We could not hear the usual sounds of trains, cars, and busses, which were normally constant noises. Don and I went out with Philip and Julia, and we played in the snow, and we made a huge snow man. We had lots of fun, and it was delightful to see the snow man melt down during the next few days.

At about that time, we received a tape on which was told about Esther's passing, and about Lizzy's birthday celebration. Philip enjoyed hearing Grandpa and Grandma's voices, and a song which was sung by Oren and Mary Kate's children. Sharing in such things from home meant so much to us all.

In March, the Language School took a day off and went to visit the Diet (Much like the British Parliament). They were discussing the necessity of the Self Defense Forces. Japan's Constitution forbids them to have an Army, but allows for a Self Defense Force. Some thought that this is the same as having an Army, and opposed it very strongly. We could not understand much, but it was interesting to hear their discussions, for they could get pretty noisy in their heated discussions. The press came by and photographed our group, so we had our pictures in the "Nippon Times."

One evening, we had several members of the Japanese church in Tokyo come to our home for an evening meal. They all talked English pretty well, so we had a very happy time visiting with one another. Later, we worked together at planning services for the next month of Sundays.

On March 27th, our spring break from Language School began, and this was also my birthday. We had planned a trip south to Osaka, where the Ressler sisters lived and were in language study. Ruth and Rhoda met us at the Osaka Station the next morning, and we took the train from there to Kyoto, the former Capital, and the ancient Cultural Center of Japan. They say there are twelve-thousand temples in the city of Kyoto. Many of them are Buddhist Temples, and there are also Shinto Shrines where Japan's Emperor is worshipped. Worship of the Emperor was to be forbidden at the end of World War II, but peoples' faith cannot be changed that easily. There was one that is called the Heian (Peace) Shrine. It is a beautiful Shrine, and the gardens surrounding it are a place for leisurely walk, or for meditation. That night, we entered a Japanese bath for the first time. It was great! The bath is very warm, and the water comes up to your neck and warms you clear to your bones. Then, you stay nice and warm all evening.

The next day was a Sunday, so Ruth and Rhoda took us to Kobe City, where we attended a General Conference Mennonite Church. There, we met many of the church people and the two missionaries who lived there, Bernard and Ruby Theiesen. Then, on Sunday evening, we went to the MCC Center in Osaka, and met Jonathan Bartel and his wife, who had served with the Mennonite Brethren Church in China before they had to leave there. We went to church with them and a Japanese minister, Pastor Maekawa, preached. We then returned to stay with Ruth and Rhoda for the night.

The next morning, Ruth and Rhoda needed to go to Language School, so we went for a walk out on the beach nearby. In the afternoon, Ruth and Rhoda took us to see the Osaka Castle. This is a very old building with stones at the base that are thirty-five to forty-five feet long, and twenty-thirty feet high. These huge stones had been moved into place by human labor many years earlier. It is located near a river, and water is diverted from the river through a wide mote surrounding the castle. Ruth and Rhoda had given us much time, so that evening we went to be with Wengerts, who had worked with M.C.C. for many years, and were in charge of M.C.C. work in Japan at that time. We learned much about M.C.C. as we visited with them that evening. The next morning, we returned to Tokyo by train. It was a most beautiful and scenic trip. There were many fields of tea bushes, so neatly trimmed. We also passed quite near Mt. Fuji, a beautiful majestic mountain.

It was great to see Rachel when we returned. We still had a few days of Language School vacation, so we took the children, Philip and Julia, to the nearby department store, where they had a place on the roof for children to play. Philip enjoyed riding the electric horses, which gave the impression of riding a horse, but really did not go anywhere. Another day, we went to see the cherry blossoms in a little park near our house. They were so very beautiful! The Lord has made so many beautiful things for us to see! The children, during those days, took a lot of Louella's time, so she tended to get behind in language study. I tried to take time to be with the children in the afternoons while she studied in Language School, but sometimes it was rather difficult to take the place of a mother.

We were working at getting Louella started on a regular afternoon schedule so that I would be able to take care of the children more, and so that they could not run after her so easily. Her tutor was a big help, but there can be nothing quite like the give-and-take challenge of a class with others.

Our First Trip to North Japan

By early July, our coworkers from the north were urging us to make a first trip to see Hokkaido and the places where the Becks, Buckwalters, and Kanagys were planting Churches, and where Don and Barbara Reber were just getting located in their place of work. In other words, we were to do a little prospecting to see where we might locate in the future.

So, about mid-July, Philip and I left Tokyo for Hokkaido to begin looking around for a while. Louella did not want to spend so much time in Hokkaido, but thought that she could more profitably continue language study with her tutor. Phil and I went to the Kanagys first, where Phil met Lee and Adella's son, Daniel. They seemed to get along well with each other immediately, and they had lots of fun together.

Lee began showing me some of the areas around Nakashibetsu where he thought we might want to begin work. One place was the pioneer farm area that the Government was helping young farmers to started farming. The Lees were living in a Japanese house which they were renting. It was quite small, and they were not sure how long they would be able to live there. He also took me to see a little sea coast town called Nemuro Shebetsu, which was about thirty minutes by train from where the Lees were living. Then, we took a trip to Shebecha, a town we had passed through on our way to see the Lees. Then, it was time for summer camp.

Donald Gingerich, a nephew of Louella's from Parnell, Iowa, had given enough money for the church in Japan to buy two tents which could be put together and used for summer camp. This time, we headed for camp at Kawayu, where there was a lake and a warm springs Hotel. They did not use the Hotel for camp, but set up their tents nearby, so that they could go during the evenings to the Hotel for a hot bath if they wanted to. They had invited a young Pastoral student from Tokyo to come and teach at camp. His name was Matsukuma Sensei, and his ministry among the young people was very good. In the evening, they would usually have a spiritual life meeting around a camp fire. This was a time for challenging young people to receive Christ into their hearts, and to help them to live for Him in their lives. There were usually some decisions to follow Christ, and this made the camp a significant event in the life of the Japanese church. The young people were not only helped by the leader, but they also helped one another to have faith in Jesus. We were at the camp for three days. Then, Lee and Adella took me up to the north side of the Island, by the Sea of Okhotsuk. It was August when we were there, and the sun was shining, but the wind was blowing with a real chill. I asked Lee if they ever had summer there? He replied, "Yes, but it is very short and they must grow things that mature early, both in their gardens, and on their farms."

We met a few people in the town of Shari, but they did not seem to be much excited about having these American people in Japan. From there, we returned to Ashoro, where Lee and Adella took the bus, and returned over the mountains to the east, and back to Nakashibetsu. Philip and I continued on to Hombetsu, where Don and Barbara Reber had just begun the work of planting a church. They were quite excited about the possibilities that the area provided for the building of a new church. They also took us back to Ashoro, the town where we had parted ways with Lee and Adella. Don and Barbara had made some contacts there that they felt were promising, and they believed that work could be established there, as well as in Hombetsu, and their vision was eventually fulfilled.

From there, Philip and I took the train back to Obihiro, where the Becks were located. That was the place where Louella met us. She and Rachel had come alone from Tokyo. They had traveled north by train from Tokyo to the straits between the Islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. There, they took the ferry to cross over to Hokkaido. On the ferry, Louella had met a young Japanese man who introduced himself. He said that he knew Carl Beck, and was now studying at a University in Tokyo. So, she had a guide to help her as she traveled on to Obihiro, where Carl and Esther Beck lived. That young man was later to become an important part of the Church in Hokkaido.

We were with Carl and Esther for several days. They took us to the rural towns of Taiki and Hiroo. The first place, Taiki, was an agricultural town, and the second, Hiroo, was a fishing center. Both were south of Obihiro, on the same rail line, near the south coast of Hokkaido. Taiki was a beautiful little town that was divided by a river. We were to learn later that it was not only a physical divide, but that the people of the town were divided by it more than one would think possible. It served as a reminder so many times of the saying in America, "The people on the other side of the tracks." Both towns were accessible from Obihiro by either train or bus. The train was a little faster, and much more comfortable, because the roads were gravel and so well maintained. We returned that evening to Obihiro.

The next day, Carl and Esther showed us the city where they were working, as well as some of the surrounding area. Obihiro was a very beautiful city on the plateau, just twenty miles east of the Hidaka Mountain range. It was the center for Agriculture and Industry in this large plateau, which was a fine farming area. It seemed to be rapidly developing in many ways, and we were to learn that Obihiro boasted the best climate on the Island.

The next day, we took the train to Kushiro from Obihiro, which took two and one half hours. We enjoyed a beautiful ride through the mountains and along the coast, until we reached Kushiro. Ralph and Genny met us at the station, and proceeded to show us around the city. Kushiro was a larger sort of city with a large fishing industry, as well as other developing industries related to fishing and mining. We then visited some of the suburbs where there were possibilities for establishing churches. We certainly did a lot of praying and thinking about all the places that we were shown on our visit to Hokkaido.

It was time, once again, to head back towards Tokyo, and to dedicate our time to zealous language study. We were still so limited in our communication skills. The next evening, we took the express train across to south western Hakkodate to the straits. The ferry brought us across to Honshu Island, and, from Honshu Island, we took the train on to Tokyo. We reached Tokyo the second morning of our traveling, and we were so grateful to be back at home.

Second Year of Language Study

We had hired a lady to look after our house while we were gone to explore Hokkaido. She had cared for things very well, and had even cleaned the house for our return. We were so grateful to her, and very glad to be back in our apartment. Louella and I went to the Intermissions Wholesale Store, where we stocked up on staples and bulk things that we needed. We were able to get a good supply of necessities for the months ahead. It was possible for us to get the daily needed fresh vegetables and minor items locally, but this wholesale store was a much needed place to get the bulk items.

While we had been in Hokkaido, Don and Dorothy had found a house that was for sale at a reasonable price, and in an excellent location. Another mission organization was offering it for sale. It had adequate room for their family on the first floor, and a large room upstairs that looked like it would be adequate for the church for some time. So, while we were away, they had moved to the new location, and were no longer living in the apartment above us. It was not long, however, before a couple from the Baptist Mission moved in upstairs. There names were Jerry and Mary Jean Gano, and they would soon join us in language school.

Philip & Rachel have tea

Soon after arriving back in Tokyo, Louella and I went to the Takashimaya Department store nearby and bought ourselves a high chair for Rachel. We also got a rocking chair so we could rock the baby to sleep. That evening, we had some special guests, Eunice and Norman Wengert, and Orrie Miller, all from M.C.C. Norman was director of MCC in Japan, and Orie was from M.C.C in Akron, Pennsylvania. They, along with Don and Dorothy, came for our evening meal, and the meal turned out to be a picnic on our back patio. The celebration was for Don and Dorothy's ninth wedding anniversary, and it proved to be an enjoyable evening of fellowship. September the 14th was Philip's fourth birthday, and the day when our language school was to begin. Louella and I had been reviewing as much as possible so that we would not feel so dumb when it was time for classes to start. One can get rusty quite fast if one does not keep working at learning a language.

Another day, Philip and I took a new pulpit that I had made for the church over to the McCammons. That evening, we had invited some other language school students to our home for a meal. We had traveled with these fellow students on the same ship coming to Japan, then we had struggled together for a year in language school, so we felt that we had much in common. It turned out to be a great evening of visiting together.

One day, after a typhoon had passed nearby, the rains had cleared the sky, and we noticed Mt. Fuji standing there, clear and beautiful in the distance, and we realized that is really a beautiful mountain. On September 26th, that year, the Toyo Maru Ferry Boat sank in the Hakodate Harbor at the straits between Hokkaido and Honshu. It had just arrived at Hokodate Harbor from Aomori on Honshu, and had entered the harbor with some difficulty, due to the high winds and waves, but it had been able to dock. Then, the winds had calmed, and it seemed that the storm had passed. The ferry was unloaded, cleaned, and loaded again. As they were passing through the harbor and entering the bay, suddenly the winds started up again, the waves became very high, and the ferry overturned. Twelve-hundred people lost their lives in the tragedy, and among them were several missionaries. One missionary, whom I would later become aquainted with, was miraculously saved. He was not able to swim, but the waves seemed to carry him towards the shore until his feel touched ground, and he was able to get to a bus that was taking people to the hospital. The water was so cold that hypothermia set in very quickly, and he needed help to get warmed up. He said that he shivered uncontrollably until they got him into the hospital and wrapped him in warm blankets for a long while. He was, thankfully, able to be released from the hospital the next day.

Another Big Move

In the autumn of 1954 we learned that our Hokkaido missionaries were thinking of the possibility of our moving to Hokkaido soon for the purpose of filling in for Carl Becks and his family while they were away on Furlough. Was that ever a surprise to us! It simply seemed too soon for us to leave language study. We just did not have enough mastery over the language to communicate well in conversation, let alone communicating the Gospel to the Japanese. Then, in October, when we received a letter from Carl and Esther suggesting that we come a few days earlier so they would have time to give us some orientation to the area. They wanted to be certain that we would know where to buy things, and wished to introduce us to some of the people whom we would be working with. So, it was clear that they wanted us to be on the way soon. They also asked us if we would be willing to provide room and board for a Grandpa who would be able to teach us more of the language. These were hard decisions to make from a distance since we did not know the people involved.

On October 23rd, Louella and I began packing some things that would need to be shipped ahead of us. At about the same time we received a letter from Joe and Emma Richards telling us they would be coming to Japan soon, and they would be able to take over some of our furnishings. They said that if there were things that they might use, we would not need to ship these things to Hokkaido. That sounded good to us!

Then, on the 28th of October, a group of Language School students took a tour to Nikko. This was a beautiful tourist area, located north and west of Tokyo, which was famous for its autumn colors. Nikko was an historic town containing many famous temples, and boasting attractions for tourists. We found the place as wonderful as it was described. The fall colors were just as gorgeous as everyone had said, and the red maple leaves were as fantastic. Also, we were able to see the beautiful Kegon Water Falls. They were three-hundred and twenty feet high, and rather narrow, not wide like the Niagara Falls. In one particular temple, Philip saw a box that attracted his interest. It looked to him like a box we had talked about one time. He asked us, "Is that the Ark Of The Covenant?" This was an opportunity to do some teaching about temples that do not honor Jesus. Those times occurred frequently, and they were very fruitful opportunities.

The next morning after we returned, Rachel broke out with the three-day Measles. We had, by then, discontinued language study, and were giving ourselves completely to the move that we had to make. We did need to send a few things ahead, but, fortunately, not as much as we had thought earlier, since Joe and Emma were planning to take some of our heavier furnishings. We did need to clean out our apartment, and to leave it like it was when we came. The 11th of November was our last day in Tokyo. The evening of the 10th, Don and Dorothy took us to a German restaurant called "The Kettle" for our evening meal. This provided a good time for us to fellowship with them both.

On our last day in Tokyo, Louella's helper, Reiko, took the day off to get her things ready to travel to her home and family in Fukushima, which was located north of Tokyo. On our way to Hokkaido, we were to spend the night with her parents. Reiko's father was the manager of the City Newspaper Company, and they gave us such royal treatment.

The next morning, we took another train north to Sendai, where we spent some time with Jim and Mary Ann Melchert. We enjoyed a very good time with them in their cozy little Japanese home. We left at 10:14 that night for Aomori, where we would get on the ferry to cross over to Hokkaido the next morning. When we got on the train, four seats were open, each two facing the other two. So, we put Philip on one pair to sleep, and we sat on the other two, holding Rachel. The next morning, we arrived at the ferry at 11:25, and soon arrived in Hokkaido. We took the train past the Capital, Sapporo, and on to Ebestsu, where we stayed over night with a young missionary lady whom we had known in China, Hazel Rippy. Hokkaido greeted us with cold and snow.

Our stay with Hazel was a wonderful, leisurely, and restful time. She had prepared a very suitable meal for us after such a long night and day on the train. Hazel was busy and happy in her work, but we sensed that she was also lonely as a single person in a strange city.

The following day, we left early for our seven hour train ride to Obihiro. We arrived there at 3:15, after crossing the Hidaka mountains, and we found that it was even colder in Obihiro. When we arrived, Carl, Carol, and some of the Church members were there to welcome us, and everyone welcomed us warmly.

The next evening, the church members had a farewell planned for Carl and his family, and a welcome planned for us. They really made it quite a gala experience. Then, on Friday, the 19th of November, all of the Hokkaido Mennonite Mission Workers got together, and actually made a thanksgiving dinner. Esther had fried some roosters, and other families had brought additional food. So, there was certainly no shortage of things to eat. That night, the Becks, Ruth Bean, and all the men except me went to a hotel to sleep, while the mothers, the children, and I stayed at the house. The next morning, we were all up early, and everyone went to see the Becks off at the station. There was a very large crowd of people there from the churches in town, business men, and many others whom Carl, Esther, and Carol had come to know. It was a very impressive moment for us all, as it provided tremendous evidence of the friends and influence that Carl and his family had made in the few years that they had lived in Obihiro. Everyone present helped to sing the song, "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." This was the first Mennonite Missionary family to leave Japan on furlough, so it was a very special occasion. Eventually, however, the crowd dispersed, the other missionaries left for their homes, and we were on our own.

Church group in Obihiro, where we served 1 year.

On November 21st, our first Sunday in Obihiro, a retired Pastor was invited to give the message, and we were so thankful. This made it possible for us to observe, and to see what would be expected of us in the weeks and months ahead. Our children were not accustomed to having worship in our home on Sunday mornings, and all the commotion of these activities, with strange people seeming to take over our house, was very distressing to them. Philip was more able to adjust than Rachel, since he was older. For Rachel, the activities did not bother her as much as the amount of attention that the young people gave to her did. She simply did not understand what it was all about. To the Japanese, she was this cute little foreign child, and they all wanted to touch her, hold her, feel her hair, and try to talk to her. She cried a lot, and she could not be comforted.

On Tuesday, Louella did a large washing for ourselves, and one for the Becks, who had left some things to be washed and put in storage. Then, after school was out, there came scores of children, whom we did not know would be coming, to practice Christmas songs with their high school student-teachers. This was all taking place in our house, and, needless to say, the experience proved to be quite frustrating, but we tried to manage. Rachel, however, cried almost endlessly.

One day, I went with a group of young believers from our church to visit a home for senior-citizens. We talked with them about Christmas and its meaning, and tried to encourage them. Then, we went to the prison to sing carols, and to share some of the Scriptures. Following that, we went to the orphanage and shared with them too. They all seemed to appreciate our coming. Later in the evening, we went to the City Hospital to sing carols in the halls for the patients. With all the coming and going, Louella found that the children were getting most irritable, so much so that she had difficulty getting them fed and put to bed. I know that she would have been thrilled to be with us, but she also knew that it needed to be this way now. She was very patient!

Then, came Christmas day, which it was most beautiful, and our family enjoyed it thoroughly. No one bothered us, for a change, and I made a fire in the fireplace, and turned on the Christmas tree lights. We kept the drapes to the windows pulled, and read the Christmas story to the children and sang carols. Then, we opened our Christmas gifts, some of which had come from family and friends in the U. S. After a leisurely breakfast, a few guests began to come. At 10:00 A.M., when the church people had all gathered, we had our Christmas Day Worship. I preached that morning, and in the afternoon, the Sunday School children gave their program, and it was very well done. Then, in the evening, the young people of the church came for their Christmas party. They were in charge, and it was well conducted, plus, they seemed to enjoy being together in such a relaxed setting.

On December the 27th, we, along with Don and Barbara from Hombetsu, went as far as Kushiro, and spent the night with Ralph and Genny. The next morning, we all got on the train and traveled to Nakashibetsu, where Lee, Adella, and there family lived. There, we had our Christmas meal and a wonderful fellowship together. That night, the fellows went to a hotel and stayed, while the women and children stayed at the house. The next morning, after a good breakfast, we all headed back to our respective homes again. We rejoiced in the good fellowship that we could enjoy together as a group of missionaries.

After we returned home from our trip, we told our helper, Mrs. Mitsuka, that she could take a week off for the celebration of the New Year. That is the big holiday of the year in Japan, and all of the business places, factories, and government offices shut down for anywhere from three days to a whole week. People there usually go and buy a lot of food supplies so they can celebrate for a few days, until the stores open, and everything goes back to normal. Trains and buses, however, do run on a limited schedule so that people can get around if necessary. On December 31st, Jim and Mary Ann Melchert arrived at our house for a visit. We had visited them at Sendai, on our way to Hokkaido, in November. They were wonderful guests, and we very much enjoyed their visit with us.

On New Years Day, we did not get going very early, as we had two different Japanese guests to call. On New Years day, calls are formal encounters, complete with formal bowing and the presentation of gifts. Don Orth, a missionary from the United Church of Christ in town, and a friend of ours, came to visit us. We missionaries were not bound by the formalities as the Japanese were, so our greetings were more relaxed. Philip and I went to call on our helper, Mrs. Mitsuka, and presented her with a box of fruit. Then, we went to call on our language teacher, Mr. Takahashi, and gave him a box of fruit also. These were short calls with formal bows, the presentation of our gifts, and the wishing of a good and prosperous year. That evening, those people whom we had visited came to our place and called, also presenting gifts and wishing us a good New Year.

On Sunday, that week, we had a good turn out at our worship service. I preached, and Brother Nemoto interpreted for me. I gave a message related to the New Year. One so often wonders how messages get through to listeners when the messages are interpreted by another person. One simply prays that the Lord will intervene, and that He will enable them to receive a good Gospel message. In spite of language barriers, however, I should note that our fellowship time together after church was always most enjoyable.

That afternoon, the mail brought a package from Oren Yoder and his family. Oren Yoder's son, Darvin, had Philip's name in the Christmas drawing, and he sent Philip a toy cattle truck. Philip said, "If this is a cattle truck, why didn't he send the cattle with it?" Things got a little complicated with Philip sometimes. I received some socks, and Louella was given some dress material and an apron. We were very happy to be the recipients of such generosity.

The first Monday of January, we had the Pastor's fellowship at our house. This time, I gave the devotional, which was not very long because of my limited Japanese. Along with our devotional, there was made time for prayer requests, then we prayed together, remembering each other. Louella served the meal as wife of the host pastor, and truly enjoyed having such a friendly group of men as guests in our house.

On January 7th, Louella's helper, Mrs. Mitsuka, came back again. Louella was very happy to have her in our home again. She prepared a special Japanese soup for lunch that we all enjoyed very much. Also, our neighbors, the Bando family, came to see us, they and gave us some bean paste candy which we all liked and enjoyed much.

Winter Bible School

In Japan, public schools are closed the first couple of weeks in January. The Mennonite Church took advantage of this vacation time, and planned a week of Winter Bible School, in order to provide an opportunity for an extended time of Bible teaching for any one who wished to attend. It seemed that the believers were really grateful for this, because many of them attended. This was a time when potential leaders also became evident, or received the conviction that they should do more preparation for service in the church. It also had a strengthening effect on the believers as they acquired increased knowledge of the scriptures, and grew in their Christian life.

That year, our Bible School started out with thirty-seven people in attendance. The Rebers came to help us as hosts to the Bible School. Lee Kanagy came, and brought his son, Daniel, to play with Philip. There were more people than our house was made to accommodate. The first night, we had twelve overnight guests who stayed for breakfast the next morning. They said that the studies were very good, and they enjoyed them very much. Our members were so busy providing places for overnight guests, ordering futons, and having them brought to our place. We had wall to wall guests every night. When it was all over, they reported a very successful Bible School for which we praised the Lord and the good helpfulness of everyone. Louella reported that they had served three-hundred and seventy meals during the course of the Bible School. If we had known before what a task it would be, we might have rebelled. The Lord sure knows how to lead and provide for his people.

As the month of January continued, the weather became increasingly cold. Each night, the temperature went down to minus ten to minus twenty Fahrenheit. The temperature in Hokkaido stays quite constant, and does not fluctuate much from day to day like it does in Iowa. It continues to stay very cold there in winter months.

During the winter months, there were many people in Hokkaido that year who did not have enough food, and some suffered from malnutrition. We were able to get seventy-three food packages from M.C.C, as well as some clothing. Some of us from the church went out and delivered the packages to the needy homes. We found out who were the needy ones by going to the City Office and asking them to give us names of the most needy, and their addresses. It was rather amazing to us how the Japanese kept records of people's conditions and financial status. They were able to give us the names, and did so very readily when they learned that we wanted to give them food. This made it very easy for us to distribute our gifts to those who were most in need.

In early April, we had a missionary meeting at our place for all the Mennonite Missionaries. They included Lee and Adella Kanagy and children, Ralph and Genny Buckwalter and their girls, Ruth Bean, and Don and Barbara Reber and children. Our meeting dealt with budgets, various problems, vision for work, and new people coming to join forces. At that time, Ruth and Rhoda Ressler were in Osaka making plans to come to Kamishihoro in central Hokkaido, which is north of Obihiro. We needed to inform the church of when they would arrive, plan for where they would live, and prepare the place so they would not have all that to do when they arrived in Kanishihoro. People were appointed to complete the tasks, and these people turned out to be Don Reber and me, since we lived in the area.

The next evening, after the missionaries returned to their homes, Louella and I went out with Easter tracts and invitations to our Easter Sunday Services. Also included was an invitation to the Good Friday Service to be held that evening. Seven or eight of those invited came to our Good Friday Service that evening. This was a real encouragement to us. Unfortunately, the one who was to interpret my message for me that evening did not appear. Miss Kitama tried to interpret for me, but found it very difficult. So, we had Miss Kitama read the crucifixion story from the Bible instead. Then, another faithful high school student spoke briefly, explaining simply the meaning and purpose of the suffering and death of our Savior, Jesus. In the end, I think the service turned out to be quite meaningful for those who came, because it was given by such young people, and in terms they could understand very well. The Lord sometimes helps us in very different ways than we would think try to plan by ourselves. On Easter Sunday there was a good crowd present for the service. Many children came to Sunday School, and we were much encouraged at the response of the community to the efforts of the young members of our church. They were very generous with their words of appreciation.

On Monday Don and Barbara came, and Louella and I both went along to Kamishihoro to see what kind of house might be available for Ruth and Rhoda to move into. An earlier promise of some kind had been made that they could move into one of the block houses that the town was planning to build. Japanese houses are very cold in winter, and no one knows better than they do. They lived in them so long before they could build better ones. Anyway, the plan for them to live in a Japanese house until the block houses were built was the best we could expect. There was a house that was available, but it was not in the best condition. They promised, however, to fix it up, and we felt that we could help make it warm enough with some special fixing.

Louella mentioned in her diary a man who was admired all over Japan for his preaching on the trains he took as he traveled all over Japan. His name was Mr. Kyotsuki, and he was then in his seventies. He came to our house one day, and wanted to stay with us for three days to rest. He mentioned that he had stayed with the Becks earlier, and he was such a warm-spirited Christian man that we could not refuse him. We made a place where he could stay and rest from his travels.

Mr. Kyotsuki would stand at the end of the coaches and preach the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ, and he had been doing this for many years already. Officials of the Rail Road Company knew about him and had very much respect for him. He knew the number of seats on the coaches, and he knew about how many people were on each car, so he could determine how many people he had preached to each day. His love for the Lord was real, and his life and presence exuded the love of the Lord. I was always amazed that the was able to use the trains in this way. Usually, in Japan, one is not allowed to preach to a captive audience, but he had been doing this for so long, and people loved him so much, no one seemed willing to stop him. So, he went merrily on his way, sharing the Gospel with the multitudes. He happened to be at our place on a Sunday, so we asked him to preach for us on Sunday morning. The members of our church were happy to have him preach for us, and we were very blest.

During that year, a young man, Mr. Kannari, came from Kushiro to be a teacher at one of the Obihiro schools. He had been a member of the church in Kushiro where Ralph Buckwalter was pastor. He was a very capable person, and known as a fine teacher. This young man often seemed to be busy on Sunday mornings, so we began having him speak to our Sunday evening group quite often. I believe that Mr. Kannari was a person with much leadership potential. However, he hesitated to commit himself to be used on a continuing basis. There seemed to be too many cultural things involved, which I did not fully understand, that kept him from becoming too deeply involved.

Louella and I had birthdays about one month apart, and we had developed a pattern of buying gifts that our family could enjoy as much as we could. That year, I purchased for Louella a classical music record of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. This was something our whole family loved much.

On a Tuesday morning in May we set out for Sapporo, where there was to be a gathering of all the missionaries on the Island of Hokkaido. This meeting was held once a year, and a special speaker was always invited to speak. Often, it was an executive from one of the Mission Boards who was visiting Japan, and could give some time for this. They were usually glad to do it, and had good things to share with the missionaries. Don and Dorothy McCammon, and Joe and Emma Richards, our Mennonite missionaries in Tokyo, came for the meeting also. It was the first time that most of us had met Joe, but we all had known Emma from our years in Goshen College in Indiana. We found that fellowship with the broader missionary community was very good for us, as we found that we all have the same problems, and the solution for one might be the same for all. So, we had much to share meaningfully with each other. We experienced many spiritual blessings as we shared from the scriptures the good things of the Lord. It turned out that we had much more in common than we had ever guessed. As we returned to Eastern Hokkaido by train, we had an opportunity to visit with Joe and Emma Richards, and with Don and Barbara Reber. They all stopped with us for the night. Don Orth, a missionary with the United Church of Christ in Japan came for the evening meal and to stay all night. It was his last night before leaving on furlough, he had all of his belongs packed up, and he needed a place to stay. This provided us an opportunity for some good fellowship with a brother missionary.

Then, on Sunday the McCammons, from Tokyo, were with us. Don preached for us on Sunday, and there were about fifty people present that day, which was more than usual. This was, perhaps, the result of some beautiful spring weather. It gave us all a big lift to find so many present for worship.

The following day, Ruth and Rhoda Ressler, and Don and Barbara Reber came, and we went to Kamishihoro to see how preparation of the house was coming. We found that things were not being done very well, and all concerned expressed resignation with what was happening. We knew that surely the Lord was with us, and we all returned to Obihiro for the night.

The following day, Ruth and Rhoda packed their things stored in Obihiro, and left for Kamishihoro on the noon train. They seem satisfied with the arrangements, and things are not always seen through the eyes of others. There is always the possibility that we will accept things for others more readily than we will for ourselves, so we need to be careful what we accept for others. On Thursday of that week I went to Kamishihoro to help Ruth and Rhoda with some of the process of settling into the Japanese house. It was new for them, but far from new in reality. So, I proceeded to fix some doors that did not fit the way they should, and I straightened the clay chimney tile, and stabilized it better than it was. I also helped with other things to make the house a little more useable for them, and they were very appreciative.

I remember that there was a Canadian missionary couple of another Mission group in Japan driving through Obihiro one day, and they heard that foreigners lived there. So, they decided to come see who we were. It was very near noon, so we invited them to have lunch with us, and they accepted our invitation. We soon learned each other's names, and we had a very enjoyable visit over lunch. Later, Mrs. Mitsuka, Louella's helper, asked, "How long have you known that couple?" We said, "This is the first time we have met." Her mouth dropped open with astonishment, for she could not conceive how complete strangers could possibly talk together so freely the first time they met. She had supposed that we had been old friends for many years. Our cultures are so unbelievably different!

On May 19th Louella wrote in her diary, "Spirea, Jonquils, and Hyacinth are all blooming." These flowers blossom later in Hokkaido than they do in Iowa. In fact, Spring is rather disappointing in Hokkaido. May sometimes is rather spring-like, but June and July can be, and usually were, so very drippy, chilly, foggy, cold, and quite uncomfortable. So much so that one missionary, Don Orth, often said that Hokkaido has two seasons, Winter and August! That was a rather drastic statement, but August was often the only summer-like month of the year.

One Sunday evening, a young girl named Miss Shinohara decided to commit her life to the Lord. She had become a friend of ours earlier in the summer. Her parents lived just north of Obihiro, and she had been in school at Matsuda College in Tokyo. She came to see us when she heard that foreigners lived in Obihiro. She came to our door, and when Louella appeared she spoke in English, introducing herself, and asking if there was anything she could help with. Louella was so happy that she knew English so well, because this was someone with whom she could communicate easily. Even more importantly, she desired to know more about Christ and the church. So, she and Louella had a wonderful time together. It seemed they were both very delighted over their new found friendship. Miss Shinoharabegan coming to church, and became a real help to us in many ways. Also, when she returned from college on vacations, she would find time to be of help to us. Her coming to know the Lord that summer gave us reason to give much praise to our God.

Philip off to kindergarten.

Philip Enters Kindergarten

On August 18th, we took Philip to see the Kindergarten at the Episcopal Church, and to meet Pastor Kuzue, who was the principal of the Kindergarten. Philip was quite impressed at the sight of so many toys. Pastor Kizue was a very gentle, caring person, so he and Philip got along from the start. We expressed our hope that Philip might be able to enter Kindergarten when it opened in the fall. On August 24th Kindergarten opened, and Pastor Kizue said that Philip could come. I took him the first morning, and when Philip saw the crowd of children, and heard the noise they made, Philip had to cry a little. Then, Pastor Kizue took Philip and went to where all the other children were. I stayed as much out of sight as possible until Philip found some children who would play with him. As soon as he seemed a bit more sure of himself, I left. When I picked him up at the end of the day, Philip came home happy, and seemed to have enjoyed it very much. The next morning, Philip got up, and was ready to go to Kindergarten again, which was a real encouragement to us.

Nakamura-Hirayama Wedding

October 7th was the day for the marriage ceremony of Mr. Nakamura and Miss Hirayama. It was my responsibility to conduct the service, and to see that all went as it should. A quartet sang for the occasion, and there were about thirty guests present. Louella had prepared a wedding cake along with some other cakes and, of course, tea. Miss Nomura, a member of the church who worked at a flower shop, brought suitable flowers for the occasion, which were very beautiful. Louella watched very closely to see responses, and she felt that everything went very well, and the guests seemed pleased with it all. Although we had misgivings about such a wedding, we felt in our hearts an awareness of God's presence and guidance in the way it was planned, participated in, and conducted.

Another New Life

The next day, we had a telegram from Lee Kanagy that Louella should come to their place as soon as possible. This was an expected announcement, for Adella was expecting a new member of their family and we were anticipating this call. So, Louella left on the train that evening. She needed to stay in Shebecha that night with Mrs. Oshigiri, who was the midwife appointed to help Adella. The next morning, they left on the first train to go there.

There was no evidence that the birth would take place soon, so Mrs. Oshigiri returned to her home again. Louella went to worship service that evening with Lee. The next day, Louella baked a cherry pie for the family, and there still was no evidence of a birth taking place.

Lee and the church were in the process of building a Kindergarten building which would also be used as a church building. Louella helped to make curtains for the building while they were waiting for the birth to take place. The next day, she made some clothes for Ruth's dolls. Finally, it seemed that things were beginning to happen, so they called Mrs. Oshigiri, and she came at 12:50. By 3:45, a bouncing ten pound, ten ounce David Joseph Kanagy was born. Both Adella and David were doing just fine. Louella stayed with them until the second day, and then left on the 3:12 P.M. train to return home. She arrived at Obihiro by about 10:00 P.M., and I managed to have some rolls and coffee waiting for her.

Hiroshima

After the Christmas and New Year celebrations were over that year, we took time for a much needed vacation away from our work. We left on the late night train called the "Marimo." Rachel, unfortunately, was starting with the chicken pox, but we had wanted a break for so long that we felt that we had to go anyway. Leaving on the late night train got us to Tokyo by 10:15 of our second day of travel. Don McCammon met us, and took us to his home. We spent the night there, and then Don and I left for South Japan, where we were to attend the all Japan Mennonite and Brethren in Christ Missionary Fellowship Meeting to be held in Miyazaki, on the Island of Kyushu.

Japan is a very beautiful country, and we enjoyed watching the countryside go by as we passed through the southern part of Japan, which we had not seen much of before. As we passed through the Osaka and Kobe Stations, several more Mennonite missionaries boarded the train. After the others boarded, we talked some about Hiroshima, and about the possibility of stopping off to look around for a short while. By checking the train schedules, we found that it would be possible to be there for a couple of hours, and could then get another express train that would still get us to our destination in adequate time.

When we arrived at Hiroshima we hired a taxi to take us on a tour of the city, which the taxi driver was very willing to do. This was in early 1956, a little over ten years since Hiroshima had been bombed. There had only been sporadic attempts at rebuilding, for there had been so much fear of atomic radiation. There appeared to have been some obvious effort to do some real planning, for a new city had already been organized. The complete devastation of the city was still so evident that it made one feel sick to think of the suffering that must have been experienced by the people who had lived there. After seeing most of the city, we returned to the station to continue our journey. Soon, the next express train arrived, and we were on our way again. Since we were going to Miyazaki, it would be early the next morning before we would arrive. That was a long trip for me, having traveled most of four days already.

Louella's Surgery

On Sunday, February 4th I gave the message for the Mennonites gathered in Tokyo for morning worship. That afternoon, Louella and I went to the Tokyo Union Church English worship. Bishop Lilje from Hanover, Germany spoke on "The Four Soils," and his message was a great inspiration to us. That evening, four of us Mennonite couples went to a nearby Chinese restaurant for a meal. Louella and I thought there was no better food than Chinese food, but some people thought we were just biased.

At 9:30 that evening, Louella had a gall bladder attack that was quite severe. Luckily, we had scheduled physicals the next day at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital. We both seemed to be in very good health, but Dr. Woods recommended that Louella have her gall bladder removed, the children also had their necessary shots, which they never enjoyed.

Two days later, Louella entered the hospital for surgery at 9:30 A.M. Before the doctor gave her the anesthetic, he prayed with Louella that all would go well with the surgery, and Louella appreciated that so very much. She was out all day, and totally unaware that I was there at all. The doctor found that she had many small gall stones, and was not sure that he should remove her gall bladder. While he thought about that, he removed her appendix. And, finally, he concluded that she would probably get along better without her gall bladder.

On the evening of the 14th the children and I got on the train to go back to Hokkaido. Louella was doing well, and she would follow us as soon as she was able to travel. The children and I got along fine, and we arrived at home on the second morning. Louella had many visits from friends in the Tokyo area, including missionaries we had become aquainted with in Language School. When Philip and I visited, Louella presented him with some chocolate "gold" coins, and Philip was delighted. He thought that going to the hospital to visit was a special treat! On the19th, after spending eleven days in the hospital, Louella went to stay with the McCammons. The next evening, she went with the McCammons to hear Billy Graham, who was holding a series of meetings in Tokyo at that time.

In Hokkaido, the children and I had Mrs. Mitsuka come and cook for us, because their dad was not a very good cook. The children would certainly vouch for that! We got along very well with Mrs. Mitsuka doing the cooking, but I had to spend a lot of time with the children because they missed their mother so very much--poor motherless children!

One day, Mr. Inomata and another student from Obihiro, who was a good friend of ours, came to talk to Louella. They read and talked about many things from the Bible, and Louella felt very blessed with this opportunity to witness to the Grace of God in Christ. While they were talking, Mr. Inomata received Christ as his Savior. "Alleluia! What Joy!" Louella said.

The next day, Louella flew to Sapporo Airport, and took the train from there back to Obihiro. She arrived late that night, and I was there at the station to welcome her home again. The next morning, Rachel would have nothing to do with Louella, which was rather hard to accept, but that is a very common thing with children when they are so young.

Taiki

In early March Don Reber came and went with me to Taiki to see if we could find a house that we could rent when we moved there later that month. We looked at a number of places which were simply shells and would have almost needed rebuilding, and we were disappointed at the lack of possibilities that were presented to us. We simply did not know what to think.

Finally, the head of the City Office introduced us to the head of the Forestry Department of the local government. They sent a man with us to show us an old, empty hospital building, and he told us that we could rent several rooms there as a place to live temporarily, but that, within a year, they had plans to tear it down.

Grandpa & fellow missionary Don Reber aboard an old train. Note the pot-bellied stove to keep warm. (Some of these train cars are in the museum in Sapporo, Hokkaido which Grandma Elsie saw when they visited Japan in 1985).

This was an old building, but it was livable, so we rented four rooms there to be our home for the first months of our time in Taiki. As we continued to try and find something more permanent, we concluded that there was nothing available to rent. We talked with the other missionaries of our mission, and concluded that it would be best for us to build a house during the Spring and Summer of 1956.

Our days were becoming very busy as we planned our move to Taiki. At such times of heavy activity, our children seemed to sense our tenseness, and they often became very quarrelsome. Finally, we completed our packing one night at about 11:00 P.M., and we had expected a truck to come for our things the next day, but no truck came. We called and asked when the truck would come, and we learned that another truck had to be sent for our things, because the roads were so bad that the first truck could not get through. Alas, there was nothing we could do but wait!

That same evening, Mr. Uehira, a young man who had recently become a believer, came to visit us. He was working at a local furniture factory at the time, and was quite a laid-back sort of person. Talking to him helped us to calm down and take a new perspective of what was going on.

On March 23 there was a commencement held at Philip's kindergarten, and he was one of the ones would be graduating with an honorable mention. They also mentioned that Philip would be moving to Taiki in March, and that he would begin first grade there. Commencement exercises for Kindergarten children in March may sound strange to people from America, but in Japan the Fiscal Year begins on April 1st for most everything. For that reason, the end of March is the time when all schools, government agencies, businesses, railroads, and factories make personnel changes. It is when new people are hired, and older personnel are moved to higher positions, so it is also the time when kindergarten students move on to different schools.

Eventually, the second truck did find its way too us, and we were finally on our way to our new home and to the next stage in our lives. Our train ride to Taiki was uneventful. The day after we arrived at our new home, the Ressler sisters came and hung curtains for Louella. The curtains were to cover only the lower half of the windows, which is normally fine. However, the snow had slid off the roof and piled up along the side of the house, and had not all melted. In fact, enough snow was left for the community children to line up on top of, and proceed to look over the curtains to see what these foreigners were doing as they were getting settled in. As Louella said, "we had a great cloud of witnesses!"

We found ourselves living in a Japanese-style house with a little coal-burning stove constructed of sheet metal, and made to burn from the top and down. The chimney, or stove pipe, came out of the side of the stove near the bottom, and the stove was filled with coal, leaving just enough space at the top for a bit of kindling and a little paper to start the fire. It was rather amazing how easy it was to start a fire in them. The draft was controlled by a small sliding draft opening near the top of the stove, and they worked very efficiently.

Chapter 6: Years in Taiki (A Number of Firsts)

2008-06-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

First Six Believers Baptized
The Adoption of Our Son Thomas
Planning for Furlough

Gene & Louella with their congregation in Taikai

On the opening day of school we took Philip to the Opening Day activities and ceremonies. There were one-hundred and fifty first-graders in three different classes, with fifty in each class. We did have some thoughts and concerns about putting our little pale-faced child among all the other children in school. There were only eight-hundred and twenty students in the elementary school, and all of them wanted to see this foreign child among them. It was very awesome to say the least!

On the first Sunday evening we gathered in our living room for services, and we had twelve guests present. Now we were on our own with Japanese young people, and Mr. Kondo, who came with us as my helper from Obihiro, there for to help in translating. He seemed really happy to do anything we asked of him, and he would serve as a leader at most of our church services. His help was very necessary, for often he would explain things that I was trying to say in my imperfect Japanese language. We also had some neighbors move into other rooms of the old hospital that we were not using, and we were happy to have some Japanese folks living nearby. Sometimes, we needed to ask questions about customs that we did not understand, and they were able to help us out quite often.

Later on, we wanted to build a house, so we purchased some land on the other side of the river that divided our town. Carl Beck came from Obihiro with the Mission Seal that was used to finalize the purchase of the land, and it did not take long to purchase the land once the decision was made to do so, and everyone was happy with the deal.

Then, we had to purchase the lumber for the building. Also, it was necessary to purchase cement blocks for the walls of the house. I had worked with several Japanese blueprints, so I was able to draw up plans that the Japanese could understand. I drew up plans for the house as we wanted it built, and the contractor had blueprints made, with copies for the city office, the carpenters, and for us. The Japanese are really serious about details, and they want to know every detail before they begin a project.

As the summer progressed, our Sunday evening meetings were attracting twenty-some people who showed much interest and asked good questions. We were very much encouraged. We also noticed that as Philip progressed in school, and talked about different things, that his thinking was becoming more and more Japanese. What would this mean in years to come?

As the days passed and April came, we thought that Spring should become more evident, but the winds were blowing off the snow mountains to the west, and they were so very chilly and cold. Sometimes, the wind became so strong that it was difficult to work outside. There were some days when the men working on the house had to quit working because of the force of the wind.

On May 27 my good helper, Mr. Kondo, unloaded a heavy burden that he had on his heart for a long time. He had made many friends in Taiki, but not all of them thought the same as Christians do, so their influence was not the best. Being a lone Christian among many other people in restaurants and public places, the attitudes of other people toward Christians had almost overwhelmed him. He had become quite absorbed in thinking of a Japanese leader, a University professor, who, as a Christian, had started what came to be known as the Non-Church Movement. Professor Uchimura, as this man had been called, had become disillusioned with the church, and he felt that the established church was not adequately fulfilling the purpose of Christ in the world. Many University students became followers of his, and he expressed an equal love for both Jesus Christ and for Japan, but his love for Japan was a patriotic love. His love for Jesus put him at odds with his own countrymen, and his love for Japan put him at odds with missionaries, and with the organized church, who thought that he was too narrow. On the other hand, he felt the organized church controlled peoples lives too much with their organization. Mr. Kondo, my helper, had a lot of respect for Professor Uchimura, he found that some of his friends were critical of the missionaries. He and I had many talks together, but what he was hearing from his own people appealed more to his heart.

Brother Kondo struggled with his thoughts for quite a while, but he finally decided that he could not continue with us. He left with the understanding that he would be going to the University of Tokyo in the autumn, but somehow this did not happen. We completely lost track of him. We did hear of him years later, but, unfortunately, we never had the opportunity to meet him again.

During the summer of 1956 we continued to experience many winds coming down from the cold Hidaka mountain range to our west. That cold air from on top of the mountains seemed determined to get down beneath the sun-warmed air in our area, hence the cold winds came steadily from the mountains. The fact that we needed to be building a house often put a strain on us as we worked with the Sisters and Brothers seeking to become a part of the church. Then, their friends would try to discourage them in their walk of faith because they did not agree with the Christians and their activity among their people. These influences drove us to greater diligence in prayer, and during that time we received some much needed help from another source.

An elder Brother from the Kushiro church came occasionally, and he brought us a message in Japanese that the people we were trying to reach could more readily understand. This, we all appreciated very much. He was also a great help to Louella and I, as he could explain to us Japanese customs that often perplexed us. One thing that we had not previously understood was when new converts would not want to invite their parents to their baptismal services. We thought that this would be such a wonderful time to give their parents a better understanding of the Christian ways. However, this incredibly helpful individual explained that the parents often opposed their children from becoming members of the church, but if the children went ahead and were baptized, then the parents would no longer oppose them. Instead, they would simply realize they could now do nothing about the situation. That sure helped us to understand the thinking of the young people, and why they hesitated to invite their parents and siblings to their baptisms.

The Blosser's new home in Taiki

After the traditional Summer Camp happened as usual, we moved into our new, unfinished, house on August the 17th. Soon following our move, we planned a dedication service. In this service, we presented ourselves, as a family, to the Lord, and vowed to fulfill His purposes, that we might do His Will and serve His church. It was a meaningful experience for us all, and we invited some people from other churches to come and share with us in the experience.

This year at Christmas we had the usual rush of activity and practicing for the Christmas programs just like we had experienced in previous years. We had a candle-lighting service on Christmas Eve, and there was an excellent turn out. That same evening, Miss Yamayoshi, whose home was out in the country, a short distance from Taiki, took the opportunity to announce that she would be getting married soon. We found out later that, unfortunately, she was marrying an unbelieving husband. The difficulty is that there are so few Christians in Japan, it is nearly impossible to find believing companions in every community for every Christian who wants to marry. This was disappointing for, even then, we knew of the problems that are bound to arise in such a relationship.

Our big event of the year came on New Year's Eve. Miss Nakazaki had been a very faithful attendant at all of the meetings we had in Taiki, both previous to our moving there, and following our move to Taiki. She had proven herself to be a very dependable person. Late on New Year's Eve, she wrote a letter to us. She told in some detail the long struggle she had experienced while determining whether she should become a Christian or not. She knew that her mother was a very faithful and active Buddhist, and her mother worked daily to promote the faith of Buddhism. Miss Nakazaki also was aware that she may have difficulty relating to the rest of her family if she were to become a believer in Jesus Christ. We knew what it was like to be an outsider in Japan, and for her to be in such a predicament with her immediate family held a very strong probability. We could feel much of what she was feeling, and we understood. She was so perplexed with her problem that she had contemplated suicide. That was, sadly, a very common Japanese reaction to a dilemma like the one she was experiencing.

On this New Year's Eve she began to pray. As she opened her heart to the Lord, she began to feel His presence. As she prayed, she offered herself to Him in a commitment of faithfulness. At that moment, a wave of love, joy, peace, and confidence poured over her and filled her soul. She felt so much joy in her heart that she could hardly contain it. So, she wrote the letter to let us know of her experience with the Lord. We shared the letter with our pastor, Mr. Chiba. We were so filled with joy to think of the first of our confessed converts in Taiki. All the months of teaching, praying, and hoping in the Lord were well rewarded. Oh, the joy of it all! We could hardly keep from flying!

Gene & Louella with their congregation in Taikai

In February, our Taiki believers were studying the Gospel of John together. As we were studying John, we challenged people in the group to seek God's New Birth by which Jesus opened the door for us to come into fellowship with Him. There were four persons who confessed faith and said they would like to prepare for baptism, and another one or two were still struggling with the decision. One Sunday evening after worship they all stayed to talk, and they avidly gave testimonies when others asked questions. This was getting exciting! They talked until 11:30 that evening.

A few nights later, more confessed faith. Now, there were six souls who had confessed that they believed in Jesus as their Savior. What joy followed as we were able to share with them a mutual faith in the Lord, and were able to rejoice together in the goodness of the Lord.

It was just then reported to us that Mrs. Mitsuka who had helped us in Obihiro had been baptized thirty-nine years before, but that for many years her faith had been sleeping. Now, she has expressed a desire to reconsecrate her life to the Lord Jesus, and she had become a part if His church again. We praise the Lord for working in her heart, giving her a desire to walk again in faith with Him.

The Church in Taiki

Another event this winter had proven to be a tremendous blessing to us, and to the believers at our church. Don Reber had started a Christian radio broadcast from Sapporo with a very gifted Japanese evangelist as a speaker. He had also advertised a correspondence course for listeners who wished to study their Bibles at home. Don wrote me a letter telling me about a high school student from Hiroo, on the coast, about thirty minutes south of us by train, who was studying the correspondence course. He was actually in the T.B. hospital there, had time on his hands, and was learning with some determination. Don asked me if I would visit him, and I responded that I would gladly do so. One day, I went to see him, and found a very fine young man in him. He also was keeping up with his peers in high school by studying a correspondence course for that too. He was certainly a very gifted person, as well as ambitious, and we were very excited to know that there was such a person living in Hiroo.

Two weeks later, I visited him again. He seemed glad to see me, and responded warmly when I suggested that we read a Scripture together. After discussing it some, I sensed that he had a very good understanding of the Gospel. I asked him if he would like to receive Jesus as his Savior, and he responded in the affirmative. So, I explained to him how we do this, and I asked him to pray with me. He did, and we prayed that the Lord would come into his heart and help him to be a faithful follower of His. I continued to visit him about twice a month, and we enjoyed some wonderful times together.

First Six Believers Baptized

It was early in April of 1957, and the six we had in our first seekers class said that they wanted to be baptized. This, as I mentioned earlier, was a hard decision for the Japanese to make, so we were approaching the date for the first baptism with some uneasiness. Our uneasiness was not nearly as great as it was for the others, never the less, we had ours also because we were aware that they were having some real struggles. As the day drew nearer, it was evident that they were having problems with their commitment, but we continued to pray for them that their faith would be strong. We had our church meetings on Sunday evenings because many of them worked during the day, and they could not get off to come in the morning.

Our services began at 7:30 P.M., and as the hour came nearer, it seemed that Louella and I were both very tense. Carl Beck came to speak that evening at our meeting, so he was there, and one or two people came, and we waited. Soon, 7:30 came, but the ones to be baptized were not there yet. Would they all stay away? Would they not go through with their promise? At a little past 7:30 a couple of them came, and we welcomed them. Then, a couple more came. We continued to delay the opening of the meeting. Then, another came. Finally, and about twenty minutes late, the last one came. How grateful we were! The last two that came asked, "Are we too late?" We replied, "No, we haven't started our meeting yet." We then began the meeting, and true joy filled our hearts.

The meeting went well, and Carl brought us a good message on "Living The Christian Life." Then, time came for the Baptism Ceremony. It went well, and they all confessed their faith in the Lord and promised to be faithful followers of Jesus. I baptized them, and their response was good. After the meeting, they all seemed to be really happy and rejoicing in their new found faith in Jesus.

I am sure that in the days ahead their faith was tested in ways we never guessed, in ways that they had never expected, but they continued to walk by faith. They continued to grow and to learn how to stand up to the evil one and his temptations. They would come with many questions, and some were not easy to answer, but we would find answers in the Bible that they could trust. Their trust in the Word became increasingly strong and stable, and it was a joy to see their faith grow.

In late July we planned and held a short evangelistic meeting of several days. Twenty-one people signed cards expressing interest in studying the Bible, and some were interested in becoming Christians. There were actually fourteen who decided to attend seekers class, and we were greatly encouraged.

Taiki group at Camp.

Another thing that we were able to begin in Taiki was a broadcast of our Mennonite Hour tape. In Taiki, as in many rural villages in Japan, they have telephone-like connections to farmers' dwellings by which contact can be made at any time, and these are left turned on constantly. During the day-time and evening hours, they broadcast news, play music, and make known any kind of emergency. And, using these connections, we were able to broadcast our Mennonite Hour tape to the farmers. This was at a given time each week, and I was able to take my tape recorder, which was a good one, and play the tape for the broadcast.

In early August of 1957 we again held Summer Camp for all our churches in Hokkaido. Our speaker that year was Pastor Horikawa, who was a very gifted speaker. About eighty young people were present for camp, and the spirit and cooperation of everyone was very good, and our camp proved to be a really blessed experience for all who were there.

The Adoption of Our Son Thomas

During the spring and summer of 1958 Philip talked much about how nice it would be to have a brother "just the size of me." He seemed to think and dream about it continually. There were many people at that time who were adopting children in the U.S., and there were articles in the Church papers telling about the experiences of those adopting. Letters from friends also brought word about these adoptions. We, of course, talked about the things we were reading, and Philip was listening! One day, he asked, "Couldn't we adopt a child like others do in America?" He continued, "We aren't rich, but don't we have enough that we could have another child in our family?" Louella responded, "Maybe God will give us another child." Philip said, "Yes, but it would be a little baby, and probably a girl!" His prodding and continuous talking about it caused us to think and pray more seriously about the matter.

In September of that year Louella went to Tokyo to attend an International Conference on Christian education in the church, where was able to gather considerable information about the work of Christian education from other educators that would be useful in planning the future of our church. While in Tokyo, Louella talked one day to a person from the Evangelical Alliance Mission about whether or not they had any six or seven-year-old boys at their orphanage. She was not sure since their orphanage was some distance from Tokyo, and she did not get there that often. So, when Louella was ready to leave Tokyo for Hokkaido, she said to her friend of the Alliance Mission, "If you find a little six or seven-year-old Japanese boy who needs a home, give us a call." From there, Louella put the whole thing out of her mind. However, she did tell me what she had done, but not in the presence of Philip.

It was about two weeks later when a call came from her friend in Tokyo saying, "There is a little six-year-old boy at Muroran City, on the Island of Hokkaido," and she gave us the name of the missionaries there whom we could contact if we were interested. We knew the Missionaries very well, having met them at the All Hokkaido Missionary fellowship that met once a year. Now, was this really the Lord leading us? Usually, one has time to prepare for another member of the family, and this seemed so sudden! We corresponded with the missionaries whose names they had given us, and they responded quickly to our letter, sending pictures of the boy whose name was "Yoshiro." Philip was the most excited about the possibilities, and had to work at keeping his hopes realistic. The missionaries said that if we came to see Yoshiro, then we should plan to stay at one of their houses, and that they would make plans to meet the family. We wrote them and gave them a date when we would like to meet and talk with the family, and the day finally came which we had designated in October. We left our children with friends, and took the train to Muroran, which took most of a day. We arrived in early evening, and were warmly welcomed by our missionary friends. Plans were made for us to meet the family the next morning at the uncle's house, and we learned that Yoshiro and his family had been forsaken by the father when Yoshiro was still an infant. His Mother left home when he was about two and one-half years old. He said that he recalled the morning she left. Apparently, she got up early, thinking that Yoshiro would still be sleeping. She put quite a few things that she wanted to take with her in a "Furoshiki," (a large square piece of cloth used for carrying things on one' s back) and lifting these things to her back, she walked out the door and past the window of the room where Yoshiro was lying. He never saw her again.

Yoshiro's grandmother had become the caretaker of Yoshiro and his older brother and sister. As the grandmother became older, however, she was no longer able to care for herself and the three children. At the uncle's house, we learned that the uncle had three children of his own. So, with the six children, plus the grandmother, his wife, and himself, they were a family of nine. They were discovering that his salary of thirty-thousand Yen a month was not enough to provide for this sizable family, and they were at the point of a serious impasse. Yoshiro, up to this point, had not been in school, and he was being passed around from one place to the other. Now, however he was now in school, and this was no longer, so they were looking at the possibility of adopting him out.

We told the grandmother and uncle that we were interested in taking Yoshiro, but that we wanted to check with his teacher to see how school was going. We also said that we would like to take him with the understanding that if he or us found the situation too difficult for him to be in a foreign home, that we might return him to them. They agreed that this would be acceptable. We then contacted his teacher and had a good talk with her. We discovered that she was a Christian who had been praying for Yoshiro, and that she was deeply concerned for him and his future. She also indicated that, even in the unstable situation, Yoshiro was doing average work.

We contacted the family later that day and told them that we would like to take Yoshiro with us on the following day. We asked if they could bring him to the station the next morning at a little before train time, and they agreed to be there with him. That night, we stayed again with our missionary friends. They were so interested in our plans about taking Yoshiro with us, and we shared the plans that we had made with the family. They prayed with us, that the Lord would lead in all our plans and decisions.

The next morning, we were up early, ready to face the day and what it would bring forth. We found the Yoshiro and his family waiting for us at the train station. They had Yoshiro cleaned up and dressed in the best that they had for him, and he carried a little suitcase, not much larger than a lady's handbag, containing a few clothes and some other things that he might be able to use. The Grandmother came not only to see us off, but to get on the train and ride with us for about an hour, and then take a return train. As we rode along on the train she gave Yoshiro some good grandmotherly advice about living a good life, becoming a good man, and being a dependable person. As we talked with her, she mentioned things that Yoshiro had said and done that she thought were significant or cute. When the train stopped at Tomakomai, where she intended to get off, she stood up and bowed deeply to Yoshiro, a sign of respect and great appreciation for his life. She said a few last words to him, then turned, walked out, and never looked back. It seemed a bit harsh to us, but at the same time, her going with us that distance was a significant gesture that showed how she had deeply appreciated his life, and this was how she had expressed what he meant to her. We had been in Japan long enough to no longer questioned whether their ways or ours were better. To all each and everyone, the familiar usually seems better.

After the grandmother got off the train, we traveled on for many hours. It seemed that every fifteen or twenty minutes, Yoshiro would ask, "Are we about there?" And, we would have to tell him there are many more hours to travel. After many hours, we did change from the train to a bus, which took us around the southern point of Hokkaido, and up the "Gold Coast Road," so called because of the great expense of keeping up such a road that ran between the mountains and the ocean. The waves were constantly pounding the coast, unmerciful to the road, and it cost much to keep it up.

We talked about many things with Yoshiro as we traveled along, asking him about his life with his uncle, what he did every day, how he liked school, and what studies he liked. He did not seem to have any hesitation to talk to us about anything. After several hours on the bus, we finally arrived at Hiroo where we would get the train for another thirty minute ride to Taiki. Kita San, our helper, was at the station to meet us. She had Rachel with her, seated on the back of her bike. When Rachel saw that we had Yoshiro with us, she would not look at him again or say a word. Soon, Philip and his friends came running, and we introduced Yoshiro to them and his new brother. They recognized each other, but said little on the way home, which was about a five minute walk. But, when we got home, they soon found things to talk about, the words began to fly, and it seemed like they almost never stopped. It took he and Rachel longer to get to know each other, and that is understandable. The first thing he said about Rachel was, "This is the first time I ever saw a living doll." He soon, however, learned that she was a living person, and not so different as he had earlier thought.

Tom and Philip playing a game
in the Blosser home in Takai.

Philip and Yoshiro seemed to get along very well for a while, but soon there were some differences between them. For Philip, the adjustments were more difficult than he thought they would be. It was difficult for Philip because previously he did not have to share his toys with another boy. For Yoshiro, our house was a wonderful place to live with many things to play with, compared to where he had come from. When the Japanese could afford toys, there were many to play with, but for many at that time, there just was not money to buy so many. We really had some serious questions about whether it was good or bad for him to have so many things with which to play.

After Yoshiro was with us for about one month, he began to react to some of the things in our life and way of living that were really hard for him to accept. He began to tire of the American type of food that our family enjoyed, as well as our American ways of doing things. Suddenly, life seemed to have become a real trial. We began eating more rice so as to ease his dislike for American foods, and he began adjusting to our ways of doing things a little more readily. Anyway, by the time our three months were finished, we, along with him, decided that we needed each other very much. When we asked Philip whether he wanted Yoshiro to stay or not, he said that sometimes it was difficult, but he really wanted him to stay. When we asked Rachel, she said, "We prayed that God would give us a brother, and I think we better keep him." She always seemed to be so laid-back, and to have things figured out so well.

Then, with the decision made that there was going to be no turning back, we needed to think about a name that might make him feel a little more comfortable when we would be in America after about six months. We all talked about it together, about different names we might use, but, finally, all seemed to think that Thomas would be a good name for him. He seemed to also think that Thomas would be good. So, we called him Thomas, adding Yoshiro as his middle name, and his name could be shortened to "Tom" or "Tommy," which would be easy for the Japanese to say. That name was also used on his documents as we prepared to return to the U.S.

The Blosser Family at home in Taiki, Hokkaido
about 1958 or '59.

At that point in time, we made contact with his family, stating that we had decided that we would like to go on together if they were willing to have it so. They responded, expressing their willingness to accept that decision, and giving their thanks that we were willing to take him and give him the care that he needed.

That year, we had another family member's birthday to celebrate on November 3rd, Tommy's seventh birthday. Louella made him a cake, and we got a couple of toys for him so that he would have some that were his own. He was rather overwhelmed with such a celebration, as things had been quite meager in his life earlier, and it was hard for us to keep things in what might be considered proper balance for him in his experience.

We always had family worship together in English, but after Tommy came, we switched to Japanese since Rachel and Philip were conversant like Tommy. Also, our speaking at home became almost totally Japanese (except when Dad and Mom's strange accent marred the conversation!).

The holidays that we celebrated at church and at Sunday School, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, were times of great excitement for Tommy. With our times of worship at home, he was learning the real meaning of these celebrations, perhaps faster than some of the children at church who were exposed to the teaching only once a week.

Planning for Furlough

When preparing to go on a furlough, one needs to make plans for the needs of the church. Actually, our first concern was the church, and this was where the Lord stepped in and helped in ways we could not have imagined. It was just a little over a year (maybe two years) earlier that Taiki city office had asked Mr. Takahashi to come to Taiki and teach the children the use of the Abacus. This was to be an after school effort, but they had promised him that the income would be good. So, he moved to Taiki to teach the children as was requested. Also, he became a part of the church. He had asked me to teach him about the church and its significance and functions, and I agreed to do this, not realizing that I was, in fact, preparing him to follow me as pastor. God works through the seemingly natural moving of people to the place where they are needed. In this way, God is actually carrying out His promise that He will build His Church. He really does build it, and he uses us in many ways in the process.

Mr. Takahashi began his teaching in the upstairs space of a book store where he rented rooms for teaching and for his own living space. This shows the versatile nature of the Japanese houses--you can have a room in your home enlarged simply by removing a few sliding doors and storing them in a corner or a closet. It works great! All he needed for furnishings were some small, low tables that the children could kneel behind to do their work. They sat on cushions on the floor, so no chairs were needed. In true Japanese style, he was able to begin classes with a minimum amount of both space and furnishings.

After World War II, the Japanese people were so very poor that they learned to live and work in very small spaces, in fact, so small that most of us would have considered it impossible. Brother Takahashi established himself in Taiki as a responsible citizen and a very capable teacher for the children. He was also studying to make himself a capable student of the Bible. As our time for leaving drew near, in counseling with the other missionaries to determine how we should provide leadership for the Taiki Church, they all felt that he would be the best candidate for the task. I found it very difficult to ask him to do it because he was so young and so recent a convert to the Christian faith. When I asked him if he would consider serving as the leader of the church in Taiki, he said that if he could call on the missionaries from other churches to come and help at special times, he would. We promised to pray much for him and the church, and assured him of our confidence that he would do well. The Lord had been so helpful in providing for us in times of need, so we believed that he would also discover the Lord's faithfulness.

Bro. Takahashi and his mother from Hiroo said that they would be glad to move into our house, care for it in our absence, and continue using it as a meeting place for the church. This was a good solution to the problem of what to do with our house which was mission property.

Our newly adopted son, Tommy, was making good adjustments in our family. We were finding him an easy person to live with, and enjoying him much as a part of our family. We were concerned about him arriving in America, and being unable to understand any English at all, which would be cause for a lot of frustration and adjustment problems. So, we found a child's book with pictures and names of objects, and we used this book to teach him the names of things their meanings. We also taught him some verbs and how they are used in sentences. By the time we arrived in the U. S., he had a vocabulary of four or five hundred words, and he knew a little bit about using them in sentences.

Thomas was also learning about Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit in our home and in Sunday School. He was also learning about heaven. In Japan, when talking about countries of the world, they say the name of the country, then add "country," as in "Japan-Country" and "America-Country." Heaven might be referred to as "Heaven-Country." One day, Tommy asked, "When we go to America-Country can we stop off at Heaven-Country, too?" It all sounded very logical to him! There were so many questions coming from Tommy, because his world had expanded so much in the last year. After arriving in the U.S., the questions came even faster, and this kept our days very interesting.

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2008-06-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

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