The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1928-10-24

Following is the annual report of
Miss Margaret Burmeister taken
from the year book of the Japan
WOman's Conferences. Miss Burmei-
ster, daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. A. C.
Burmeister of Redwood Falls has
been connected with missionary work
in Japan for the past two years.
Among the appointments received by
Miss Burmeister on various commit
tees for the following year are Con-
ference travel, Evangelistic work in
the kumamoto region and editor and
publisher. The report follows:
Kumamoto-City and District Ev-
angelistic Work: Carolyn NJ. league,
Margaret Burmeister, Yasuye Okubo,
Michi Yokomizu.
Nineteen twenty-seven and this
part of nineteen twenty-eight has
necessarily been a year of adjust
ments in kumamoto station. Miss Kill
burn left here in July to go to her
new appointment in Sendai. Miss
Burmeister came in September to
take up part of the work left by Miss
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time language study.
The three kindergartens under the
care of Kumamoto station are all
thriving beautifully. The Kumamoto
kindergarten has very beautiful
new garden, due to the interest of one
of our neighbors; a retired army Of
ficer who is a graduate of Cornell
University. His grandchild is one of
the kindergarten children. He gave
the trees, sent the best gardener in
kumamoto to set them out and has
seen personally to their care since.
The kindergarten at Yatsushiro is re-
joicing in having, for the first time
in its history, an adequate building in
which to carry on its work. This
building has been made possible by
the efforts of DR.. Spencer and the To-
cal church and city officials. While
it is by no means pretentious, it
seems, in comparison to the previous
one room box-like house, to be a man.
sion. But even in these enlarged
quarters the Christmas celebration
filled it to OVERLOOKING
In the Yamaga kindergarten, under
the supervision of the new head teach
er, Mrs. Sekimoto, very successful
year has been completed.
The results of the work carried on
with the kindergarten as center
have been very gratifying this year
Primary clubs for both boys and
girls meet weekly The girls club
consisting of twelve little girls did
not wish to disband during the sum-
mer vacations they met by themselves
at the home of one of the members.
Both clubs are live, enthusiastic
groups.
The work with older girls has been
so we'll organized, that aside from
occasional consultation and the work
of English teaching, it is practically
self-perpetuating. The Aso confer
ence, being the summer camp for
Methodist girls of this island, was
most successful last July. Lasting
results have been felt in all the
churches from which the girls came.
Girls who had been interested in
Christianity for years, received here
their inspiration to take a definite
stand with their churches, where they
have formed the nucleus around
which the young girls work has been
carried on.
The women's work has been very
gratifying. We feel, as we have
watched the development of this
work in Kumamoto city and district
that at the present time, there is a
real feeling, among the women, of
their personal responsibility and priv
ilege of working to help bring in the
Kingdom. Through various activities,
their organization has proved itself a
real factor in the life of the church.
And it is from this source that many
women have been led to give them
selves to Christ.
The work which perhaps stands
out most clearly in our minds this
year, is that which we have carried
on among the people left destitute,
last September by the typhoon and
tidal wave which swept away fifteen
villages of Kumamoto prefecture.
Nearly thousand people lost their
lives and eight thousand were left
without homes, clothes, food or visible
means of support. The section of the
country which has suffered most was
that land which had been reclaimed
from the sea at a great expense.
Twenty miles of sea wall went down
before the awful force of the wave
and salt water sweeping everything