Christians on Okinawa

. . . But other (seed) fell into good ground and brought forth fruit. . . .

Okinawa had been good ground for the Word of God. Planted in the years of peace, it had taken root, brought forth good fruit. War did not lay the ground waste. Said Army Chaplain Garland Evans Hopkins, in last week's Christian Century: "Perhaps no such witness to the durability of the Christian faith has been borne in our time as by the Okinawan Christians." His testimony:

". . . Not expecting to find even one Christian among [Okinawa's 15-man Advisory Council], I yet asked if any of them were Christian. No official of Military Government knew, but one remembered that a member by the name of Toyama refused a cigaret once and someone had explained that he did so because he was Christian. . . .

"I soon learned that four of the 15 councilmen are Christians, and that they hold the most important posts in local government. . . . Four out of 15, when today there remain only about 800 Christians out of a postwar population of 365,000! . . . We have found regular services being held in six centrally located villages, serving at least 25 neighboring hamlets. These have an average weekly attendance of about 400 persons. In addition to these services, Sunday schools are being held in at least five towns. . . .

"All this activity is proceeding with no central organization, no church buildings, with few Bibles and hardly any hymnbooks. . . . The only Japanese Scripture in Ishikawa [Okinawa's capital] is ten pages of foolscap, which Mr. Toyama had written down from memory for his own devotions. . . .

"In Mr. Toyama's words: 'Send us missionaries. We need them. But tell your people to send us men who are not so much concerned as to whether or not we smoke or dance. Send us men who have a message of internationalism through Christian brotherhood, whose devotion is to truth and love, not passing fads and fancies.' "

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