God Speaks to Osaka

It was in May, 1955, that we left the Tokyo Sanitarium compound in our heavily loaded car and literally bumped down the Tokkaido Highway, which promises to become someday a superhighway linking Tokyo and Osaka, the two great centers of Japan. It took two full days to make the trip. As we arrived in Osaka, we were immediately impressed by the challenge of this huge city with nearly three million in­habitants living inside the city limits—five mil­lion in the Kobe-Osaka area. In this vast metrop­olis, which still bears some of the scars of war, we have only a Korean Seventh-day Adventist church. There is a small handful of Japanese believers, but no organized Japanese church.

Immediately we began to plan with W. T. Clark, the president of the South Japan Mis­sion, some way of reaching this great mass of people. Already it had been voted to build an evangelistic center, and a fund-raising campaign was just getting under way. Needless to say, a good share of our time for the next year, and more, was to be devoted to this solicitation campaign.

As we began to plan and pray, God stepped in to open the way before us almost faster than we have been able to follow His wonderful providential leadings. The first indication of His blessing was the unprecedented way in which we were able to secure four hundred letters of introduction to the local business community signed by the governor, mayor, and president of the chamber of commerce. These letters have already resulted in thousands of dollars being raised toward our building fund.

Previously, the brethren had secured at nomi­nal cost a small but very advantageously located lot for the evangelistic center. Plans are now under way to erect a three- or four-story build­ing that will seat four hundred and provide adequate space for a welfare center, clinic, reading room, and the various phases of work that can be carried on in a true evangelistic center. Another providence was called to our attention recently when with F. A. Mote, presi­dent of the Far Eastern Division, and F. R. Mil­lard, president of Japan Union Mission, we visited the Osaka property. There we noticed that both streets running past the site, which is a corner lot, were being widened. The center will face a road that is being widened into the equivalent of a six-lane highway, and the side road is also being almost doubled in width. But the amazing thing is that all the corner lots at that intersection except ours will be completely taken over for use as city streets. How good God has been to keep our property for us! Property values are now ten times what they were when our land was purchased, and it would be im­possible for us now to find another location as advantageous.

Next, God opened the way for J. R. Spangler, division ministerial secretary, to come to Osaka this fall to hold a series of evangelistic meetings, which we feel sure is being blessed of God to the raising up of a strong group of believers that will form the nucleus of the evangelistic center.

It is impossible in the large cities of Japan to get an adequate hall for more than two or three nights a month, especially for the purpose of holding Christian meetings. Again, when it seemed that we were facing a blank wall, God provided a way and we were able to contract full eight nights in the large Mainichi Hall, only one block from the evangelistic center site. Then we were also enabled to contract for a smaller hall nearby, the Morinomiya Labor Hall, which seats four hundred, for four nights a week for seven full weeks following the open­ing week in the larger hall.

Ministerial help, with the exception of the few workers already in the area, was virtually impossible. Therefore, in May of this year we began a field school of personal evangelism in the Kobe church, training those workers, col­porteurs, and laymen who could cooperate in this campaign. Along with the field school, a three-week series was held in the Kobe church. God blessed us, and nine who attended these meetings have already been baptized.

Funds for the field school and Kobe meetings all came from the four-thousand-dollar budget that was voted for the Osaka effort. When the hall rent was paid, there was very little left for advertising. But the field-preparation team went faithfully to work, and by the time Pastor Spangler arrived from Singapore the middle of August, they had contacted a group of six hun­dred, who proved to be good interests.

The next few weeks were busy weeks of work and prayer. Six young students from Japan Missionary College and Pastors Shiro Ogura and Jack Sager had also joined the team. On Sab­bath morning, September 8, at 10:50, all our members throughout Japan united in prayer for God's blessing on the Osaka campaign.

The power of united prayer was witnessed the next day when God turned aside Typhoon Emma, one of the worst Pacific storms in more than two years, which had threatened to strike Osaka the day of the opening of the campaign. Nine hundred flocked to the Mainichi Hall to attend the first meeting, and the continued good attendance for the entire eight nights was very gratifying.

By the end of the first week we had the names of fifteen hundred who had attended the meet­ings. The move to the smaller hall caused a considerable drop in attendance, but all of the workers, with Pastor Spangler taking the lead, are visiting in the homes of the interested ones, and we have already contacted scores of very good interests.