The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-09-03

4
TO II friends hou." Ia feast for the Jars
are ggss,t fellows 20 entertain their guests
with l,-ast> lIr remarked 4, me that Of
all tlie-'- people whom Jaw ou the
; streets noue OF then. kew ihe true tiod,
but If I would COM there. 10y aud 10y,
r they would come E" know Him and be-
= li-y,. "ii lI:u W.. had the most sui
I sthnii:rl feast I lG,." YET s;it down to -
: Eir,t. II r"ufs.. Of tea. then Il c"ur>.. al
> beef. then a c"ur>.. fish, then 81 cour>s.
of rice and egg, and finally "a course Of
JapHIe,t. cake and SWe-fHeals. WheI.
Jarnne>e invites you 10 his house to
feast, iIe, himself not his wifi. or servant,
cooks the food for you lie cooks it be
fore you nn i, hibaclI. in which he burns
charcoal. His wife and servants wait on
him 10y bringing such things as lac calls
for. Almost always a small box is pass
ed to you. ia which is a small coal of char
coal fire, smouldering in the ashes, and
pipe and tobacco. They think strange
If you do not smoke. Aud the never
failing cup Of tea Is Always proifrred yOu.
The Japs will sit and drink tea and
smoke and gossip by the hours Some
of them appear to idle away THEN lives
doing nothing.
The furniture of japanese room is
the simplest kind. room furnished a
la mode Japanese consists of n mat, a
screen, and Iibach. Occasionally you
will see IA Grade picture or so on the walls.
Returning to my room at the hotel, |
found the GoN ernOr. the Vice Governor,
and two of the third officers of the Ken,
| (of whom there are five or siN). They
knew was missionary, what my work
was, and yet they were very desirOus |
that | should come and take charge of |
their hospital, and asked iue OH what |
conditions I could come. | also learned |
that the Vice Governor was very much |
Interested in the Bible, and was believ-
er in its truths. The next day, at anolh-
er feast where | met several of the first |
officers of the Ken, and also of the upper
classes, | asked where we should meet
on the next day Sunday to lave IL talk
on the Bible, and the Vice Governor i'll
vited us to meet at his house.
A young man and his wife, who were
members of the native church ia Kobe,
were living in Okayama, and | hunted
them mp. They had been reading the
Scriptures To some of their friends, and
two of them, they said, were believers
in its truths. But they knew of no 9th
ers Hence found there were two sets
of persons in this place reading the Scrip
lures, and neither of them knew any
thing of the other.
There we've some twenty persons at
the Vice Governors house the next day,
Sunday, and we spent some two hours
and half in reading the Scriptures and
Offering some explanations. They ap-
peared much interested, and | invited
them to meet together each Sabbath, TO
read and study the Bible, and asked the
yoang Christian to take charge of the
meetings, which, after some hesitation,
he consented to do. The Vice Govern
1
Siuce then they have met together OH
the Sabbath to study the Scriptures. Had
my visit to OkayaIha accomplished moth
ing more than 10 bring these people to-
getler, and start them to meeting on the
Sabbath to read and stady Gods wOrd,
it would have been well worth the TAX
ing. found they had all the Bible in
Chinese, AMI all oc tlle New Testament
that has been thus far translated into
japanese, together with some tracts.
There are some eight or ten persons in
this place who are deeply interested in
the study of the Scriptures.
How was this lut"r"st ,r.rst awakened?
anow not. Perhaps through IA young
man who went TO the States several years
ago, who spent some three years study
ing in tie Esasiern states, was there con-
verted, aud eanle hoiue. lie died shortly
after he came, and the interest | saw
may, in all probability, Lee the iruit of
the seed he had sOwn before his death.
but he this as it may, 1t Is only one of
many Instances which are brought to our
notice here of how God alone is work
ing for the salvation of this people.
Most all thet upper class of ,Iananrae
read Chinese quite well. and you find
tha Chinese Bible every here and there
throughout Japan. 1t goes where the
missionary cannot yet go, and CARRIES It's
light with /. some knowledge of the
true God and of Christianity is thus
sprinkIed here and there all over I@lan
The Governor has ,aade So much noise
about Christianity that the more enter
prising desire To know something about
it. They buy ;he Chinese- Bible AID
read fur themselves. Iiesiles, II large
publishing frm in Tokyo Yeddo is eu-
gagged in trap.lalins aud publishing va
rinus works un Christianity, and distrib-
uting them. by sale, throughout the
country. Thus, God Is using his own !
means, independent # the missionary
agency, to hring the gospel and the true
light TO this people.
returned home ON a small japanese
steamboat, so many of which row I!ow
the waters of the i.and of the sun, hay
ing been absent eighteen days.
1t is quite probable that shall OBTAIN
permission To live in Okaya.la, through
medical wTgk, by taking charge OF the
hospital, and il 81, shall move there in
the fall. Steps have bcea taken hy the
officials of Qkayama ia seeure this, with
good prospects OF success. am now
invited to tour there and spend ten days
Der month, and / purpose commencing
the work this month, hot rs it Is. Imust
not fail to state that the expenses ofmy
tours, including that Of Il medical assist
ant and Bible helper, will be paid by the
hospital at Okayama, while at the same
time they purpose to make it a charity
hospital, that tiey inay SECURE my ser
vices.
Since returning home, a committee of
two men. from three provinces north Of
Bizene, lying on the northwest G nast,
eaIne TO Kobe TO see if could not go