Our Japanese Medical Mission
By S. A. Lockwood
ALL who are interested in the progress of the cause in Japan will be glad to learn that work was begun in Kobe on June 1, and has been moving steadily forward since that time. A few words concerning the location of Kobe may be of interest. The ground upon which it stands rises gradually from the bay to a height of three hundred and sixty feet, thus securing excellent drainage. Back of the city, dome-shaped hills rise, terrace above terrace, to a height of three thousand feet, their slopes being covered with grass, flowering shrubs, and groves of pine trees. Their canons and summits, and the tiny valleys nestling between them, are made easy of access by numerous well-constructed paths, so that they form a vast natural park, thousands of acres in extent. The bases of these mountains are reached by a few minutes’ walk from the sanitarium, and the inviting shade of the pine groves or the music of waterfalls tempts one to linger, but the ever-increasing beauty of the scene as he climbs one of the winding paths, leads him onward and upward. How sad that in the midst of this beauty so few have any regard for the Creator or for his claims upon them! Instead, many may be seen muttering prayers in front of some Buddhist shrine, or casting a small coin or a handful of rice as they pass by. The sanitarium consists of the main building (shown in the illustration), an annex containing four rooms, and a Japanese house of five rooms, which is used as a home for nurses and other helpers. The managers of the boarding house offered to sell the house furnishings to us for two thousand dollars, but we did not have one tenth that16amount to invest, so they were disposed of by auction. The mission treasury was empty, but by close planning, several members of the mission were able to raise one hundred and fifty dollars, and with this amount I attended the auction. We were offered the privilege of buying on time to the extent of several hundred dollars if we wished, but resolving not to begin with a heavy debt, we purchased only one hundred and fifty dollars’ worth more than we could pay for at the time. The landlady was asked to make a few repairs, but, to the surprise of every one, she did ten times more than had been requested, and as a result the house inside appeared like new. We felt very grateful that the Lord had enabled us, out of almost nothing, to furnish our office, parlor, dining-room, kitchen, halls, and several guest rooms. Within a few days after our doors were opened, we had several house patients, and several people from the city were coming daily for office or bath-room treatment. During June more than forty of the foreign residents called, either to visit friends who were here or to welcome us to Kobe. Excepting my wife’s salary and my own, our receipts for June were more than sufficient to pay our rent,—fifty-five dollars,—helpers’ salaries, and all running expenses. During the past month the work has been lighter, as a large percentage of the foreign population is away at the mountain resorts. We have taken advantage of this, by encouraging our nurses to engage in the canvassing work, and several hundred tracts and small books have been sold. “His Glorious Appearing,” “Steps to Christ,” “Marshaling of the Nations,” and several others have been translated into Japanese, and sell readily, particularly “Marshaling of the Nations.” As a result of the canvassing work, quite a number of interested persons have been found, some of whom come to our Sabbath meetings, and some come for Bible readings during the week. A young man in the naval service found a copy of our Japanese paper in Nagasaki, and when his ship came to Kobe, he sought us out. After a number of Bible readings he determined to unite with us, although he may be imprisoned for an indefinite length of time for so doing. The president of the nautical college in Tokyo wrote to me, urging that I should use my influence to cause him to change his erroneous views. This gave me an opportunity to call his attention to the true Sabbath. This young man and two of our domestic helpers were baptized a short time ago when we received a visit from Elder Field. We are planning to issue a monthly health magazine as soon as possible, and we believe that it will not be difficult to secure a large circulation for it. Pray for us, that we may be able to carry the truth quickly to the people of Japan.