Timothy & Yuko (Juji) Boyle  Tsukuba Christian Center in Tsukuba Science City, Japan    za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp

Tim and Yuko "Juji" Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org February 2007      Greetings from Japan in the name of Jesus! We last wrote you in December, asking you to pray for the pastor of the Tsuchiura Church in the city adjacent to Tsukuba. Pastor Yoshioka, who heads up the committee Juji and I work under here in Tsukuba, had a major stroke on Dec. 4. Even though the blockage occurred while he was at the hospital for a checkup (thus allowing treatment to begin immediately), there was considerable brain damage and his recovery is going to take quite a bit of time. In the meantime, Tim has been pinch-hitting for him every Sunday and this is scheduled to continue through the end of March. After that, Tim will likely preach 2 or 3 times per month at that church until we move to the Osaka area in early October.      We are hopeful that Rev. Yoshioka's recovery will continue to proceed to a near-full recovery, but even in the best-case scenario (short of an outright miracle, which we continue to pray for, of course), there will likely be significant disability remaining. We take hope from the experience of another pastor we will be working with closely when we move down to begin working with the Buraku Liberation Center. Rev. Tanimoto has been the "spark-plug" for the BLC for many years, and in the summer of 2005, he also experienced a very similar stroke that left his right side paralyzed and made him unable to speak. He was told that he would likely be confined to a wheelchair at best, but he has proved the pessimistic outlook wrong and has recovered to the extent he is able to walk with a cane and is able to speak almost completely normally. He has even been able to return to active ministry, and has been an inspiration to many, to say the least. We are hoping that Rev. Yoshioka's recovery will be equally inspiring.      Over the next few months, we will be preparing for another series of lectures to be given by Dr. Hugh Ross of "Reasons To Believe." For many years, Tim has headed up the Japan branch of RTB, and we have had Hugh over 5 times previously, the last being in 1999. So, it has been quite some time. This time, he will be here a total of 9 days, from May 19 to 28, and we are planning a full set of events beginning in Osaka, including an excursion down to Fukuoka, and then ending in the Tokyo area. An important part of this aspect of our ministry is the development of a Japanese website that includes an English page with either the English version or the link to the English original on the RTB or other web site. You may be interested in looking at the latest addition, which has just been posted. It is about some very interesting theories concerning the Exodus and the events surrounding that pivotal event. Go to:  http://www.konkyo.org/English/SolvingTheMysteriesOfTheExodus Love, Tim and Juji

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org/english/index.html   December 2006   Christmas Greetings from Japan           We thought we'd include a brief "family news" newsletter with our Christmas cards this year. This will be our last Christmas in Tsukuba, as next year we are moving to the Osaka-Kobe area, and in fact will be living between those two large cities in a city called Nishinomiya. Details are not yet finalized concerning the exact timing, but at least by this time next year, we should be settled down in our new location. Juji's specific assignment is not yet finalized either, but it will involve counseling patients and family members in church-run medical facilities in Kobe. Tim's assignment will be with the "Buraku Liberation Center," a Christian institution dedicated to working with the former "outcast" class, who still face various forms of discrimination.           Juji recently completed another round of "plasma exchange" treatments for her neuromuscular disorder, and that went well. She'll be in pretty good shape for a few months before needing a new round, probably next summer some time. We don't yet know how our move to western Japan will affect future treatment, but we're confident she can get the care she needs in a hospital there as well.           Our two children, Lisa and Jennifer, have or soon will reach milestones in their lives. Jennifer (23) graduated from Biola University in May and is now working in an English school in Tokyo saving up some money for graduate school, though she is as yet undecided as to where she will go and what she wants to study. Her long-term goal is still to do mission work here in Japan.           Lisa (27) will be finishing up her graduate degree in oriental medicine this month and will take the California licensing test in January. We're confident she'll do well with that, as she has done so well in school. She has been looking into several possibilities as to where to practice, including other states such as Washington and Colorado.           We certainly do appreciate your prayers, and we wish you a good year in 2007.   Love -- Tim and Juji Boyle

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org   November 2006   To Our Friends and Supporters:       Greetings from Japan to our Supporters around the world. On October 31, representatives from almost every district of the United Church of Christ in Japan met in Tokyo for a rally in support of Kazuo Ishikawa, who was wrongly convicted over 40 years ago of a crime he clearly had no part in. The "Sayama Case", as it's become known, has become a focal point for the struggle against "buraku" discrimination.       Briefly, this miscarriage of justice stems from a botched police investigation of the kidnapping and eventual murder of a teenage girl in 1963. The local police were under severe criticism for allowing the kidnapper, who had written a ransom note, to escape. They were under extreme pressure to solve the case. Their "solution" was to look for a suspect in a nearby "buraku" area (a poor neighborhood of people descended from those who had been designated "unclean" by ancient religious traditions), and Kazuo Ishikawa proved to be a convenient scapegoat. He didn't have a provable alibi, and since he was "one of those people" that society thought of little worth anyway, it was easy for them to justify extracting a "confession" out of him.  You can read more of the story by going to http://www.imadr.org/sayama/story.html.      It boggles the mind to think of a young man's future being taken away from him by clearly trumped-up charges. After being tricked into signing a confession after many days of grueling interrogation, he was actually sentenced to death. This was in spite of the clear evidence that he could not possibly be the real culprit, and was based entirely on his "confession." The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment, and after spending 32 years behind bars, he was finally paroled. His unjust sentence, however, was not overturned, and in fact, the court has continued to refuse to even open up the case again so that he can clear his name. The court is in effect following a traditional Japanese saying: "If it stinks, put the lid on."      The rally Tim attended on Oct. 31 was to launch a new campaign to collect a million signatures appealing to the Japanese Court to reopen the trial and look at the actual evidence. Frankly, in looking at the facts of the case, it's hard to imagine a more obvious case of frame-up. In fact, the frame-up was so poorly done, that it is clear that it was done totally ad hoc and under pressure, with little if any real planning. This is not a case of simply "reasonable doubt" concerning his guilt, but clear and compelling evidence of his innocence! Even in this situation of "guilty until proven innocence," that would be very easy to do if only given the chance.      People all over the world are being urged to show their support in this effort to put pressure on Japanese authorities to come clean and admit this injustice. Previous efforts have been stonewalled, and the court has steadfastly refused to even look at the evidence. We urge all of you to go to the website http://www.imadr.org/sayama/ and sign the petition on line. Just click the "Sign the petition" button on the right under "More Information" and type in your name and email address and submit.      At the rally, we spend more than an hour appealing to passersby to add their signatures to the list and gather more than a hundred from our one spot. Next, we went to the main rally, where well over 1000 supporters from various religious and secular groups were gathered to listen to speeches in support of the cause. Kazuo Ishikawa himself came to express his appreciation for all of the support he continues to receive.      Ishikawa is only one victim of a wide variety of subtle and not-so-subtle forms of discrimination still present in Japan against people of buraku descent and other marginalized groups. His story, however, has become a central symbol in the struggle to liberate not only the people who suffer such discrimination, but also those who still engage in it. The goal is not retribution or revenge against those who directly perpetrated this injustice. It is to set all of us free from the fear and misinformation that is at the root of the problem in the first place. And as Christians, our goal is to introduce people to the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate answer to this age-old problem.   Grace and Peace,   Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle

Tim and Yuko "Juji" Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org Newsbrief September, 2006     Greetings from Japan in the name of Jesus. In our July Newsletter, we shared with you a report on the June conference organized by the "Buraku Liberation Center," a ministry of the United Church (Kyodan), which we work with here in Japan. In that report, we mentioned that the General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, Rev. Randy Day, climaxed his presentation with a promise that the United Methodist Church would soon respond to the long-standing request of the Japanese church to send a missionary to work with the center.     He would have liked to announce who that person would be right there at the conference, but as the preparations had not yet been completed, it was a bit too soon for that.  You can probably guess already who that person is. We are to move down to the Osaka area early next year, where Tim will begin working directly with the BLC. It will be quite a change for us, and we are sad to have to leave our friends here in Tsukuba and at the local ministries we have been involved in for the last 20 years. On the other hand, we look forward to being able to make a positive contribution to an important ministry of the Church in Japan in helping to put an end to the injustice of Buraku discrimination.     This will, of course, continue to be a joint appointment with the Presbyterian Church USA. As we've reported before, Tim has been serving as the field representative for the "Southern Presbyterian Mission in Japan" for the last couple of years, and since their offices are in Kobe, this new location will make it much easier to serve in that capacity and to be more involved with the Yodogawa Christian Hospital, which operates under its legal status.     Juji's new assignment is still being worked out, but it will likely involve a similar ministry to what she is most involved with here in Tsukuba ? namely counseling with patients and their families. We expect to be able to announce that in the near future as well. The exact timing of our move has not been decided yet, but it will be sometime within the first months of next year. Likewise, we don't know yet where we will be living.     Needless to say, we do kind of "dread" the thought of having to pack up 20 years worth of stuff from our life in Tsukuba. This is especially since we know we'll need to cut back on a lot of the things we have now.  But this is likely to be a "blessing in disguise," as it will force us to cut back on our possessions. And it will no doubt make it easier to make our next move a few years down the pike when retirement age arrives (only another 7 or 8 years). We imagine that many of you have faced that before and can identify with us in that.     We'll keep you up-to-date, as the details of our new assignments become clearer over the next few months. We ask for your prayer support as the various decisions that still need to be made concerning our housing and the specifics of what we'll be doing are worked out. In Christ, Tim and Juji Boyle

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org Newsbrief March, 2006      Greetings in Jesus' name from Japan. A couple of weeks ago, I (Tim) attended the official unveiling of the results of a major poll in Japan on religious and worldview attitudes among the Japanese. The poll was conducted by the Japan branch of the Gallup Poll, and George Gallup Jr. made a home video presentation to be presented to the missionary community in Japan. After his opening greetings, he began the presentation by saying, "In my 50 years of polling, there has been no study that I would consider as important as this one, because it not only provides you with new insight into a fascinating culture (and one that is mysterious to outsiders in some ways), but also because the survey findings point to ways that evangelistic strategies can be put in place. As a survey researcher, I am of course dedicated to total objectivity in question wording, and other aspects of survey research. As a Christian, I am keenly interested in the prospects of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in Japan. I believe that the most important discovery one can make in life is the discovery that one can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and it is my constant hope and prayer that every person in the world will come not only to know about Jesus Christ, but to know him as his or her Lord and Savior."      There were several aspects of the results of this survey of 3500 Japanese from various backgrounds and ages that are particularly significant to our calling as missionaries in this country. Something that certainly comes as no surprise to us is that a large majority of Japanese say they have no particular religion, even though the vast majority of these still go through the cultural rituals of going to Shinto Shrines for "blessings" and Buddhist Temples for funerals. Only 30% of adults claimed to have any formal religious beliefs, but of these about 12% said they were "Christians", which comes out to almost 4% of the total population. With youth, the number claiming to having any religion dropped to only 20%, but a surprising one-third of these described themselves as "Christians!" This works out to about 7% of teenagers, with girls being particularly high in numbers. Of course, since less than 1% of the population are actually members of churches and young people on average are underrepresented among those who usually attend church services, the obvious question is, "Where is everybody?"      What these figures tell us is that Jesus is rather popular in Japan even though his church (in the sense of organized, formal churches) is not. There are numerous historical and cultural reasons for this, and so while these statistics are disturbing in one sense (our relative lack of success in "church growth"), they are very encouraging in a different sense. It means there is quite a bit of openness to the gospel message of Jesus Christ, and so this should motivate us to find ways of encouraging more than just an "intellectual acceptance" of Jesus, but a life commitment as well.      Another set of statistics of great interest (and concern) that came out of this study is prevailing sense of lack of purpose found in many Japanese youth today. There has been quite a bit in the Japanese news about the huge number of "NEET" (Not in Employment, Education or Training ? this word has been imported into Japanese to describe this phenomenon), a designation to young people who aren't going anywhere in life. It is a phenomenon that really has the Japanese public worried, and several statistics from this Gallup Poll bear this out. In his video presentation, George Gallup Jr. said, "Young people in Japan are desperately in need of the healing hand of Jesus. Compared to their U.S. counterparts, Japanese teens are extremely bleak in their outlook on life. 22% of US teens, but 85% of Japanese teens say they often wonder why they exist. 76% of teens in the US say they always see a reason for their being on Earth, but only 13% of Japanese teens say this. 76% of US teens say they would choose their life the way it is right now, but only half (48%) of their Japanese counterparts give this response. 12% of US teens wish they were someone else, but 3 times this percentage, 36%, of Japanese youth respond this way. And finally, 3% of US teens go so far as to say they wish they had never been born. But more than 3 times as many Japanese teens (11%) give this startling response."      Japanese society is rapidly changing, and clearly the "answers" people used to have to the "big questions" such as purpose in life are quickly evaporating. This opens the way for new approaches that particularly focus on the feelings of hopelessness so prevalent among Japanese youth. We couldn't agree more with Mr. Gallup's closing comments:      "Today could well be a historic moment of opportunity to ?seize the day' and bring the people of Japan to an ever-growing awareness of the life-changing and life-saving message of Jesus Christ."      As always, we deeply appreciate your continued support of our work through you prayers and offerings.      Grace and Peace -- Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief February, 2006      "Intelligent Design" has certainly been in the news in the US lately, though only very briefly in the Japanese media (commenting on the furor in the US). Most of you are no doubt aware of the unfair and biased treatment ID has gotten in the US press, and so naturally what little is reported here is similarly misrepresented.      Since this topic is of great importance in our witness to particularly the intellectual community here in Tsukuba and around Japan, Tim has been working on a "PowerPoint" presentation entitled "Intelligent Design versus Accidental Origin: The Origin of Information And the Genetic Code in DNA." This is a new venture, and to make good use of this new tool, we've purchased a portable video projector that can take the PowerPoint presentation off our laptop computer, along with any video/DVD material we want to add, and project it on a screen.      So far, Tim has presented both the English and Japanese versions twice each and has 2 more venues lined up by the middle of February.  This looks like it will be a very useful new skill. DNA truly is an amazing molecule and is by far the most compact information storage system in existence. One scientist calculated the volume that the DNA in one cell would fit into, and then figured out how much that would all add up to if you put together one "genome" of every creature that has ever existed in the history of the earth. Of course, we don't know the exact number, but it is something like one billion species of life. Anyway, this is what he came up with: "One teaspoon of DNA could hold the design information of all species of life that have ever existed and still have room to encode every book that has ever been written!" Of course, in that form, this "teaspoon of DNA" would be useless gunk, as DNA needs the fantastic array of molecular machines and structures in a cell to be of any use. So, those who pretend that random-chance evolution has the answer to all of this are left scratching their heads when it comes to trying to explain where the vast store of complex information encoded in DNA came from. We, of course, know the answer, and it is the same answer the Bible has declared all along. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:13-14) Indeed, each life form is "wonderfully made", and the more we learn about how the cell actually works, the more amazing it all gets. It is like a miniature city, with a complex transportation network and little molecular "trucks" transporting molecules to exactly where they're needed (along with the instructions of what to do).      DNA is so versatile, that a "gene" (a particular section of the long DNA strand) can code for two or even more proteins at the same time. One bit of information is stored in a "codon", which is made up or a triplet set of 3 "bases", of which there are 4 varieties, labeled A, G, C and T after their chemical names. Thus there are 64 (4x4x4) codons that encode all of the information DNA contains. This is similar to a "byte" on a computer's hard disc, which is made up of a set of 8 "bits" of either plus or minus (256 combinations to code with). God has so constructed DNA and encoded the information in the series of codons that make up a gene that the gene can be directed to drop out a small section at a particular place when it transfers the information to "messenger RNA" so that the series of 3 bases that make up the "codons" are shifted over to line up in an almost entirely different set ? and it still makes sense! (I'm not sure that sentence makes much sense, however, as it's too complicated to easily explain in words!)  In other words, the 2 sets of information for the 2 different proteins are encoded in the same gene!  And sometimes there is even a third set of information for a third protein!      Tim wrote an article for the local English newspaper describing this amazing property through an analogy. There is always one particular codon (AUG) that indicates where the gene sequence starts and one of 3 codons tell it when the sequence ends. Imagine if we could encode fairy tales using DNA. "Once upon a time" would be the start codon and "they lived happily ever after" would be the end codon. Imagine that you were able to figure out a genetic code that would enable you to encode the story of "Snow White" that way, and then imagine that you were able to remove a base or two from that long chain of encoding codons so that the triplets making up each codon were shifted over so that the new set of triplets would make an entirely different sequence of codons. And now imagine that the story had turned into that of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty!      That sounds utterly impossible (and no doubt is ? at least in English!), but God has done something similar in DNA. It utterly boggles the mind to think that such a feat is possible, but God is so far beyond us that he can design such fantastic complexity into such a small space. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"  (Ps. 139:6, 17)      We'll close with a note asking your prayers for Juji as she undergoes her usual treatment in the hospital. Things are progressing along normally, but we ask you to lift her in your prayers. Tim Boyle <za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp

Christmas Letter 2005  Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail:  za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org/english/index.html             Christmas Greetings from Japan!  The Christmas season has already begun, and we are already behind.  So, along with getting this Christmas newsletter out a bit late, we are in the midst of putting up our decorations, getting out Christmas cards, and preparing for the numerous events we have coming up this month.  So, we would certainly appreciate your prayer support for strength and health during this season.           Since our last regular newsletter in July, a lot has happened, some of which we have reported in the 3 email "newsbriefs" we've sent out since then (if you're not on the email list and would like to be added, please send us an email to the address above).  Christ's ministry through us continues to advance on a variety of fronts, which include both community/social action involvement as well as evangelistic efforts.            The Christmas season in Japan is a time when there are many opportunities for direct evangelism that aren't nearly as available other times of the year.  This is because Christmas ? at least the commercialized version of it anyway ? is very big in Japan.  Santa Claus is everywhere to be seen, and so there are many opportunities for at least planting seeds about the "reason for the season", and we try to take advantage of those opportunities.  As we've done each Christmas since we came to Tsukuba (This will be our 23rd!), we decorate the Christian Center in Christmas lights and hold an "open house" for people to come in and share some holiday spirit.  Typically, we have a hundred or so people, many of whom have little or no connection with the church, and so it is a good way to make contacts.           In previous newsletters, we have mentioned several ministries we're involved in beyond the local church, and so in this issue, we want to give an update on two of them ? one in community service, and the other in evangelism.  Since 1992, Tim has headed up the effort to get a functioning international school established in Tsukuba, and we are now in our 14th year.  (www.tsukubainternationalschool.org).  Things are really beginning to move towards the development of a full-fledged international school within the next couple of years.  With the opening of the new train line to Tokyo, there is a concerted push for development of whole new areas of the city, and several influential people are now giving the establishment of an international school a very high priority.  The present TIS will serve as the kernel for further developing the new Tsukuba International School (they'll keep our name), and while we will still help in appropriate ways, it will be nice to hand the baton over to professional school administrators.  For the next year or two, however, we expect that TIS will need quite a bit of our attention.           The other project we want to lift up in this issue is something we mentioned in our July newsletter, and that involves the reprint of Tim's book in Japanese, "Bible Stories Hidden In Chinese Characters".  First published in 1994, all copies of the original have been sold out for well over a year, and so, with a little encouragement, the publisher agreed to do a second edition.  The English version, put out in 2001, (available either directly from us or from: www.reasons.org/shop/customer/product.php?productid=532&cat=2&page=1) contains several significant characters not included in the original Japanese, and so a new section is being added to the Japanese update.  We had hoped that the reprint would be available in late Fall, in time for the Christmas season, but the preparation process has taken a lot longer than originally thought ? rather similar to our Christmas preparations in general!  We're in the final stages now, however, and so the second edition should be on bookstore shelves early next year.           As for family news, Juji's hospitalization treatment for "neuromyotonia" usually takes place twice a year, in spring and fall, but as the previous treatment has lasted longer than before (which is a good thing, of course), she decided to wait until after Christmas this time, and so will begin that course of treatment sometime in January.  In the past, doing that in November meant that she was in her best condition during the busy Christmas season, but this time, it is the reverse.  She is doing okay most of the time, but does have to take things a bit easier.  As always, your prayers for her health are appreciated.  Her ministry among fellow patients, of course, continues.  We look forward to having Jennifer home for Christmas.  This is her final year at Biola University.  Lisa is doing internship now as she works towards her degree in oriental medicine. A blessed Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year of 2006!   Love -- Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief September, 2005 Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org                  As I write this, I am putting together my English sermon entitled "Lessons from Katrina" for the International Service this coming Sunday. But I'm wondering what to expect from Rita now, as it looks like it could even be more powerful and destructive. Our prayers are joining with millions of others petitioning God to spare our nation another Katrina-scale disaster. We also pray that God will use this time of crisis to spur on his Church to minister to people in the love of Christ and through this bring thousands to the feet of Jesus for healing and reconciliation.                I have been planning on writing this letter today for the last few weeks in order to inform you of an important new book and to encourage you to get a copy. A "science apologetics" ministry we are affiliated with (Reasons To Believe) is putting out a new book entitled "Who Was Adam?" that details the latest findings on human origins that support what the Bible has said all along. We are special creations of God in the relatively recent past (on the order of 50,000 years ago). All human beings are descended from one man and one woman who came from somewhere out of an area encompassing northeastern Africa and the Middle East. The Darwinian dogma that we are descended from previously existing "bipedal primates" is totally contradicted by the actual data, and is only held onto for philosophical reasons (in spite of the scientific evidence). This is the reverse of how it has been portrayed in writings under the control of this Darwinian dogma that claims "people of faith" can believe whatever they want to (contrary to the evidence), but we "operate according to the facts."                Anyway, as part of a campaign to get the message out, we are being encouraged to place orders for the book on Amazon.com on Sept. 22 in order to cause a spike in sales that will push it up in the standings, which in turn will generate much needed publicity. It is a well-written book worthy of your attention on its own merits, but in this age of media driven worldview debate, it is critical that we be able "to give an answer for the hope we have in us" (1 Peter 3:15). Ordering from Amazon.com is not only an effective way of generating publicity, but it is also very convenient and often cheaper. You can also get free shipping if you order a second book with it.                Just as a suggestion for a really good book to order with "Who Was Adam?", I just finished reading "The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life" by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr. What a fascinating read! It is encouraging to note that a professor at Harvard has been using the writings of these two pivotal thinkers to contrast the worldviews of Christianity and atheism to get his students to discover for themselves the rationality of the Christian faith.

Newsbrief August, 2005     "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat." So begins Rudyard Kipling's famous poem. That may have seemed the case to him some 100 years ago, but over the last few decades, Japanese and American cultures have "the twain met" in many interesting and unusual ways.     Yesterday (8/24), the new train line from Tsukuba to Tokyo began service, and the festivities surrounding that began the previous night with a fantastic illusion show. "Princess Tenko", who is well known in the US these days (she's kind of a pint-sized, oriental, female version of David Copperfield) put on a spectacular show that had us all amazed and baffled by the illusions she and her team created. Several local groups performed before the 2500 in the audience prior to Tenko's hour-long finale. Of the 9 or 10 groups that performed, 2 were gospel choirs! We missed the first group, but the second one consisted of about 50 young people who sang, "Oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!" and "Joyful, joyful, we adore thee" in a style that imitated Whoopee Goldberg and her movies, "Sister Act" and "Sister Act II".     They really did a splendid job, and we mention this because it is one of these surprising areas where "the twain have met". The Hollywood movies did provide an important impetus to Gospel Music becoming quite popular in Japan, and numerous Christian ministries have sprung up to make use of this phenomenon for the cause of Christ. Churches have begun their own gospel choirs that attract quite a few people who are initially only interested in the music style, but who then encounter the underlying gospel message through that and are attracted to Christ as a result.     A somewhat older phenomenon that is similar in many ways is the Christian-style wedding ceremony. Over half of Japanese young people getting married today opt for a western-style, Christian wedding, with most being done in fancy wedding chapels. Needless to say, this phenomenon has its abuses, such as profit-motivated wedding chapels hiring fake ministers to perform (as in "act out") ceremonies, but for the most part, these businesses actively seek out legitimate Christian ministers to do the ceremonies. Japanese-speaking oreigners are preferred, and so a number of "tent-making" missionaries (those, who like St. Paul, support themselves with outside income) make this their main activity and do ministry through and in conjunction with such weddings.     Needless to say, the vast majority of young people getting married (as well as those in attendance at the wedding) have little or no connection with the Christian Church, and so this does provide a unique venue where at least gospel seeds can be planted. For the most part, young Japanese consider the Christian-style wedding much more "romantic" than the traditional Japanese Shinto-style wedding, and they are attracted to the message of love and commitment that is presented. Tim has been asked several times to connect up with such chapels and do weddings on a regular basis. As we don't think God is calling him into this particular form of ministry, he have declined such offers, but he does occasionally do "pinch hitting" for ministers who have scheduling conflicts come up. We always give the couple an excellent book prepared by a missionary colleague designed for couples just starting out in married life. While we may not ever see such couples again, there is a point of reference for them, and a significant number do make some contact with the church at a later time.     Cultures are dynamic and are greatly affected by their interaction with other cultures, both positively as well as negatively. We often hear of the negative impact of western culture on other cultures, but there is also much to celebrate. (And look at how Japanese culture has been impacting US culture in recent years as well!) These are just two interesting examples of how cultural interchange can by used by God to open up channels for communicating the gospel message in modern Japan.     Blessings on you all -- Tim and Juji Boyle

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp Website: www.konkyo.org   July 2005   To Our Friends and Supporters:             Greetings from Japan!  Since our last regular newsletter, we have been on home assignment, where we visited many of you during January, February, March and early April.  We've had a full schedule to be sure since coming back, including the 50th anniversary celebration for the Yodogawa Christian Hospital at the end of May.  YCH put on quite a celebration indeed, with over 70 guests from overseas and several hundred local people.  Tim gave the sermon at the worship service and did most of the simultaneous translation of the Japanese presentations into English for the foreign guests.  The message was entitled, "Standing On Our Past; Envisioning Our Future" and stressed the importance of maintaining our focus on ministry to the whole person, body, soul and spirit.           YCH has a tremendous potential for impacting Japanese society with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and so our goal is to encourage the YCH leadership to deepen their commitment to our mission statement.  Translating it from the Japanese, it says: "'Whole Person Healing' of the Yodogawa Christian Hospital is a medical ministry conceived in Christ's love, serving the patient as a total unity of body, mind and spirit."  As is true in essentially all Christian organizations that have been around for a while, there has been a tendency to loose focus on what one's primary mission is and to put too much emphasis on things of secondary importance.  YCH is no exception, and so as Tim takes on this new role of mission representative and member of the board of directors, it is our hope that we can serve as a catalyst in refocusing YCH's efforts to bring about "whole person healing", not just for its patients but also for the surrounding society and beyond.           A major part of that effort is to work towards a common understanding of what YCH's legal standing is as a "religious juridical person" (a translation of the Japanese legal term for the articles of incorporation we work under) and how we can best utilize the advantages this status gives us in fulfilling our mission.  There has been considerable confusion and misunderstanding in this area, and so we ask your prayers for God's guidance and wisdom so that we can work as a cohesive team in order to maximize our potential.           Juji is presently undergoing her regular hospitalization for treatment of her long-term condition, which has now been given a more formal name instead of "Isaacs' Syndrome."  It's now called "neuromyotonia."  We expect her to be there until mid-July.  Everything is going normally so far, but as always, we ask for your prayers on her behalf.  Jennifer is really enjoying her mission trip to Mongolia, where she is spending 6 weeks helping a Mongolian pastor in his church work.  She is scheduled to return to Japan on July 18 and then will return in August to finish up her senior year at Biola University.           One more news item is that the original Japanese version of Tim's book, "Bible Stories Hidden In Chinese Characters" will be reprinted by this fall.  It has been completely sold out for several months, and as requests continue to come in, the Japanese publisher has decided to do a reprint.  The English version included several characters not in the original Japanese, and so these are being added to the updated Japanese version.  (The English version is, of course, available at our website www.konkyo.org.)            Another book that Tim has been involved with has just been released by a major secular publisher and has been receiving a lot of attention in the media.  It is entitled "Lost Identity" and Tim served as in an advisory capacity and a proofreader.  The book focuses on the necessity for Japanese to understand their true history of where they came from in order to get a better sense of where they should go.  Included in this is a considerable amount of information showing that Eastern Christianity, filtered particularly through the Tang Dynasty of China (618 - 907 AD), had an enormous impact in shaping Japanese culture ? something that is a revelation to most Japanese.  As the gospel message is clearly laid out in the explanation of all of this, it is our hope that seeds of interest will be planted in many hearts that can then sprout into faith in Christ through more direct means.   In Christ -- Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief June 2006     We've been remiss in sending out newsletters and newsbriefs the last few months. We are preparing a regular newsletter right now, but it is going to take some time to get the pictures we want to include, and so we thought we'd better send out a newsbrief first.     The big event we want to report on and include pictures of is the wonderful 50th anniversary celebration we had for the Yodogawa Christian Hospital last week. It was a wonderful time of greeting old friends and meeting new ones, and at the banquet, numerous representatives from city and other organizations were presented with a strong Christian witness. More on that later. We returned from our 3-month home assignment in early April and were, as usual, swamped with backlogged work to get caught up on. Tim's schedule also included a trip to Vancouver Canada for the Make-A-Wish Foundation International convention at the end of April. It was a special time of meeting with representatives from around the world to discuss important issues related to granting wishes to children with life-threatening diseases, and Tim was also able to renew an old friendship from many years ago in Tsukuba.     This past week, Jennifer returned to Japan following her junior year at Biola University. She has quite a summer in store, as she will be spending 6 weeks in Mongolia living with a Mongolian family. It is part of her school requirements for her degree in comparative cultures. She will be helping out with various church related mission activities while she is there.     Our other daughter Lisa will be beginning her internship this summer for her degree in oriental medicine. She still has another 2 years or so to go until receiving full accreditation. Juji will be beginning her usual hospital stay next week for treatment of her condition. "Isaacs' Syndrome" now has a new name: neuromyotonia", another mouthful. As her treatment usually takes 3 to 4 weeks, we expect her home again in early July. Your prayers are always a blessing to us.   In Christ -- Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief March 2005 Easter greetings to all our supporters! As we write this, it is Good Friday and we are in Atlanta, Georgia, just finishing up our 3-month home assignment, preparing to return to Japan in about 10 days. You might say that we are returning to the Land of the Rising Sun in the name of the Risen Son. Our itineration of supporting churches has taken us to many places from Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona in the West to a series of trips in the East, from Georgia to West Virginia (including two trips by plane for Tim to Louisville, Ky. and New Jersey and New York City). The weather has been challenging, with the record rains in the West and the bone-chilling cold of the East. Today, however, is lovely, being in the 70's, and the flowers are popping out all over. We are looking forward to getting home, however, and back to our work in Japan. Perhaps the biggest event coming up for us in the near future will be the 50th anniversary of the Yodogawa Christian Hospital in Osaka. As mention previously, since last year, Tim has been serving as the field representative for the "Southern Presbyterian Mission in Japan", the legal entity under which the hospital was formed, and so he serves on their board of regents, going down for the monthly meetings. During the celebrations in May, people who have been associated with YCH in the past will be gathering with the present staff to give thanks to God for the great work this institution has accomplished over these past 50 years and to lift our prayers to God for his guidance as we look forward with expectation to the tremendous potential YCH still hold for the future. Tim will have the great honor of preaching the message in the worship service at the main celebration event, and so preparing a message of encouragement as well as being a prophetic challenge will be a top priority over the next month even as we struggle to catch up on all the dangling loose ends of the ministry due to our 3-month absence. We ask that you would remember us in prayer as we endeavor to "get back into the swing of things" on top of our involvement in planning for this great celebration. We'll keep you informed. Blessings, Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief December 22, 2004 Subject: Merry Christmas from the Boyle Family     Here it is just three days before Christmas, and we just got our Christmas Cards in the mail yesterday. So our supporting churches and others we send to are going to be getting something more like "New Years Greetings." I guess another New Year's resolution (that's liable to be forgotten by next fall!) is to do our Christmas cards in November! Even though our cards will be late for hristmas, we can still wish you a Merry Christmas by this instantaneous email! (And of course, the way the mail goes sometimes, maybe our cards will reach you just before next Christmas, and you won't know the difference!)     This week, we are holding our annual "Open House" with the Christian Center all decorated up to provide a homey, Christmas atmosphere for those who come to share in the warmth and goodies. Every year, we have more than a hundred people coming, many for their first time, and so it's a good way to make contacts and introduce people to our ministry. Last night, we had about 30, mostly young mothers and their children, who stayed an hour or more, enjoying Tim's "gospel magic." (Magic tricks performed while illustrating a biblical truth.) Each also received a lovely Christmas pamphlet on the true meaning of Christmas.     In less that 2 weeks time, we will be on the plane to the US for our 3-month home assignment. We look forward to seeing some of you then. God's richest blessings on you all this Christmas and throughout the New Year of 2005! Love, Tim and Juji Boyle

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp   December 2004   To Our Friends and Supporters:       Greetings from Japan! The Christmas season has already begun, and we are already behind. We've gotten off to less than an auspicious beginning as Juji's treatment ran up against some scheduling problems delaying her discharge from the hospital and Tim came down with a bad cold that laid him low for a few days. Juji will get out on Dec. 4 and Tim's cold is well along the way towards being something to forget about. So, along with getting this Christmas newsletter out a bit late, we have to now begin our decorations, Christmas cards, etc. as well as prepare for the numerous events we have coming up this month. So, we would certainly appreciate you prayer support for strength and health during this season.     We're already thinking ahead to our upcoming home assignment, as we'll be on the plane in just over a month from now. It is always with mixed emotions that we approach our home assignment times. It is a disruption in our work here in Japan, as we have to put so many things on hold, but at the same time, it is an important part of our overall ministry, as maintaining contact with our supporting churches in the US is vital to the overall mission of the church. Of course, we also look forward to seeing family and old friends as well as meeting new friends wherever we visit.     We leave on Jan. 4 for Honolulu and from there on Jan. 10 for Los Angeles. We'll be based in Pasadena until Feb. 25, when we fly to Atlanta, where we are based for the rest of our time. Our last Sunday will be in the Washington DC area, and so we fly up there on March 30 and then leave from there on April 4 for our long flight back to Japan. Our church visitation schedule is pretty well worked out now, though we still haven't finalized some of our March schedule in the East. Having to contend with Easter being in March does complicate things somewhat, as Holy Week is not exactly prime time for a presentation on missions. But we look forward to celebrating Easter somewhere in the Atlanta area then.     In previous letters, we have mentioned our work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which Tim helped get started in Japan more than 10 years ago, and where he still serves on the Board of Directors. Last week, Tim made a major presentation to a conference of medical personnel who were gathered from all over Japan for a conference on death and dying. There was an excellent response to the 20-minute presentation, with lots of questions being asked. It was interesting to note that 4 of the participants in the overall program of the convention were from Yodogawa Christian Hospital in Osaka, where Tim is now serving on their board as well. YCH began Japan's first Hospice, and continues to be a leader in the field. It certainly is gratifying to see how God is working to make these kinds of connections. Were this will all lead, of course, we do not yet know, but it is certainly exciting to contemplate the possibilities God seems to be leading us into.     The overall mission in Japan is in a period of great change. The "Japan-North American Commission on Cooperative mission", known as JNAC, has been in existence for some 30 plus years, and consisted of several North American mission boards along with the Japanese church. It was designed to facilitate cooperation and it served its purpose well. However, the cost of maintaining the system has begun to outweigh the benefits, and so it is being replaced by a much looser arrangement that won't require staffing. "Restructuring" and "downsizing" are terms we often hear in the corporate world, but they apply to church bureaucracy as well. Such transition involves pain and struggle, but we pray that the final result will facilitate the fulfillment of the purpose of our existence ? namely, the proclamation in word and deed of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Tim has helped with translation work during the initial meetings and will be flying to Louisville in January to help with the final dissolution meeting. We give thanks to God for the vital role JNAC has played over the years and we ask for your prayers for his continued guidance as we prepare for the future.     One need we have is to procure a car while we are in California. Our plan is to buy a car for our use and take out family insurance, and then to pass that on to Jennifer, as she needs to get a car for her use. We'd like to get a dependable, fuel-efficient car for under $5000, and so if any of you have any leads for us to follow up on, that information would be most appreciated. We hope to see many of you over the next few months. May God richly bless you all during this blessed Christmas season!   In Christ, Tim and Juji Boyle

Email Newsbrief,  October 2004  Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun! Fall is upon us and the weather is finally getting cool and nice. We've had a rather severe typhoon season, the most typhoons coming ashore in history, and we experienced quite a strong one here earlier this month right after experiencing the strongest earthquake we've had since coming to Tsukuba over 18 years ago. Fortunately, we escaped both with no significant damage.   This past week was one of our busiest in a long while, as we flew up to Hokkaido to visit Juji's mother in the hospital and see her other relatives there. Juji's mother is 92 and over the last few months has become quite senile. As she had become quite difficult to handle, they have her under medication and so she was not able to respond that much to us. She indicated by nods and squeezing Juji's hand that she knew who we were, but that was about the extent of our communication. We do ask for your prayers for her and the rest of Juji's family as they try to do what is best for her.   After returning late Wednesday night, Tim had to go into Tokyo the next morning to help with orientation of new missionaries and then on Friday, he took the train to Osaka to attend his first board meeting for the Yodogawa Christian Hospital and get oriented to his new additional position as representative for the "Southern Presbyterian Mission of Japan," the religious "juridical person" (legal entity) under which the hospital operates. As mentioned previously, YCH is a well-known hospital, and it has been getting good publicity recently, as an independent organization gave it the highest ranking of any hospital in the entire greater Osaka region. It came in with the 8th highest ranking of any hospital in the entire nation, and so that is something to be proud of.   The hospital is not without its problems, of course, as it struggles to maintain its strong Christian base in a society that often makes that difficult. Part of Tim's role in serving on the Board of Directors is to maintain that strong link with the Presbyterian Church USA and the wider Christian community in Japan. As he begins this important task, we ask for your prayers in asking for God's wisdom and guidance in how to best serve.   We look forward to seeing many of you early next year when we are in the US for 3 months. We leave on Jan. 4 for Honolulu and from there on Jan. 10 for Los Angeles. We'll be based in Pasadena until Feb. 25 when we fly to Atlanta, where we are based for the rest of our time. Our last Sunday will be in the Washington DC area, and so we fly up there on March 30 and then leave from there on April 4 for our long flight back to Japan. We are still working out our church visitation schedule and have not confirmed a few places. We hope to be able to visit all of our supporting churches.   In Christ, Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle

September 2004 Newsletter To Our Friends and Supporters:     Greetings from Japan! As we write this, we hear news of hurricane Frances battering Florida, and our prayers are with everyone there. We have had our fill of typhoons here in Japan this year, as well, and a couple of new ones are headed our way. The first of those is a huge storm over Okinawa now, and it is expected to affect much of the rest of Japan over the next few days. It is already the 6th typhoon to come ashore in Japan this year, a new record. Fortunately, we are not where the damage has been extensive, but numerous othere areas in Japan have experienced significant storm damage, including a couple of cities in our Kanto District that were inundated with floodwaters when levies broke. It seems that the predictions that global warming would increase the frequency of severe storms and other anomalous weather is coming true.     As we begin the fall season, we have a busy schedule on tap. As mentioned in the July newsbrief (email only), Tim is to begin serving as field representative for the Presbyterian Mission, the legal entity that oversees the property that was originally from the Southern Presbyterians (which merged with the northern branch in 1986 to become the Presbyterian Church USA). (For you United Methodists reading this, while Tim's ministerial orders are in the UMC, we are also sent to Japan by the PCUSA under a dual appointment, and so we relate equally to both church structures in the USA.)     Included in this position is being a member of the Board of Regents for the Yodogawa Christian Hospital, which operates under the legal status of the Presbyterian Mission in Japan. It will take some time to "learn the ropes" and will involve at least one trip each month to Osaka and Kobe to do the necessary work. It is our prayer that this added responsibility will not be just another "burden", but an opportunity to serve God in meaningful and productive ways.     In past newsletters, we have mentioned other projects we're involved in, including Tsukuba International School, which began its 13th year of operation this month. We appear to be off to the best start we have had in a while, with a great, new head-teacher and enough students to generate sufficient income to meet expenses. So we are pleased with that. Likewise, one of our other projects, the Japan Branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, is going well, and Tim will be representing MAWJ later this month when a member of Japan's royal family will present the organization with a million yen at a big ceremony in Tokyo. Tim will also be making a presentation at a major medical convention in November. The request to make such a presentation on the Make-A-Wish Foundation came about through Juji's contacts at the Tsukuba University Hospital, and so this could prove to be a golden opportunity to make further contacts that will open up other doors. These various activities, however, will all be on temporary hold early next year, as we are scheduled to take a 3-month home assignment in the US. We plan to leave on New Year's Eve so that we can begin visiting churches the first Sunday in January, starting in Hawaii and then going to California until late February. Our "base camp" then switches to Atlanta, Georgia, where we'll be through the first Sunday of April. While there, we will go through a thorough medical screening as well as visit East-Coast supporting churches. This will be the first time we've taken home assignment during the winter months, but with our children past high school now, we no longer need to plan around their school years. Hopefully, this will be a better time for churches to host us. We look forward to seeing many of you then. Our schedule will be coming together over the next few weeks, and so those of you who want to host us at a specific time, please get your requests in early. We have housing arranged for both our California and Georgia bases, but as is usually the case, we will need to come up with a car for transportation. If you have any ideas on that, please let us know.     Again, we wish to thank you all for your prayers and financial gifts that allow us the privilege of serving the cause of Christ in Japan. Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief  July 2004                Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun! In fact, we wish the sun wasn't so "risen", as it's in the upper 90's and humid outside! But, it is summer, and so it's "par for the course." (I don't plan on playing golf in it, though!)                In our June newsletter, we mentioned that Juji would be undergoing her regular plasma exchange treatment, and so she has just completed the third in that series. Everything is going normally, and so we expect her home from the hospital in another week or so.                Jennifer's mission team from Biola finished their one-month mission trip at the end of June, and so Jen can finally get a bit of rest. As leader of the group, it was a big responsibility for her as well as good experience. It wasn't easy keeping 8 kids together and motivated under sometimes stressful conditions. She has a short summer job here in Japan this month, and then it's back to the US to prepare herself as a resident dorm manager for the fall for her 3rd year at Biola.                Perhaps the biggest bit of news to report actually won't start until next fall, but Tim has been asked to serve as the representative for the "Minami (Southern) Puresubeterian Misshon" in Japan from this fall. You won't find those words in you spell checker, as that is how the English words "Presbyterian Mission" come out when put into the Japanese phonetic system and then rendered in roman characters. Anyway, when this legal entity was established over 100 years ago, it was to represent the interests of the Southern Presbyterian Mission in Japan, and it was under this "religious juridical person" (the name for such a legal entity) that the Yodogawa Christian Hospital (YCH) was founded. When the various North American boards that did mission work through the United Church of Christ in Japan formed a joint organization, they all did away with their old "religious juridical person" status and merged into one holding body. That is, except for this one that had been established for the Southern Presbyterians. Not only did their continued work with a second, much smaller denomination in Japan depend on the maintaining of that "religious juridical person," but also the continued legal status of YCH itself. So this is why it has been maintained.                Tim's taking on this additional role also includes becoming a regent of the hospital, which will entail frequent trips to Osaka to attend the monthly meetings and take care of business in the office in nearby Kobe. Door to door is about 5 hours one way (about 350 miles). The bullet train makes the Tokyo to Osaka part quite fast, and with the new train line opening up next year between Tsukuba and Tokyo (45 minutes), that will cut about an hour off the commute. YHC has a really good reputation in Japan, and we're finding that many of the medical personnel we associate with perk up when we mention it. It was the first hospital to begin a hospice program in Japan and in other ways as well has served as an example of whole-patient treatment for the medical community in Japan.  They appear really impressed when they hear that Tim will be a regent. That certainly wasn't part of the motivation for accepting this responsibility, but it does appear that it will open some doors for us. So our prayer is that not only will Tim's service at YCH be a blessing there, but that it will serve the cause of Christ in other ways as well. We'll share more about YCH in the future. God's blessings on you all.                 Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsletter June 2004 To Our Friends and Supporters:                Greetings from Japan! 2004 is almost half over with and this is our first full-length newsletter. We've put out 3 shorter, e-mail "news briefs" earlier in the year, but have run into several problems. Number one was that our new "eMac" computer broke down after only a couple of months, and all the effort that had gone into setting things up (such as the extensive email directory) was lost forever in cyberspace. Our second "excuse" was a health-related one as Tim came down with asthma in late March, with major symptoms lasting for over a month.                In March, Tim went to the US to give a lecture entitled "Darwin and the Problem of Evil" at a conference, among other things, and began coughing on the plane on the way home. The cough got progressively worse and he had his first ever asthma attack a few days later. This necessitated him canceling a trip to Holland in mid-April as the Japan representative for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, but by May, things had improved enough to allow him to continue with the planned visit to the US again, this time as "tour leader" for a group of 10 Japanese Christians (2 clergy and 8 laypersons) to visit supporting churches and experience the grandeur of God's creation in the Southwestern US.                The trip went very well, and the Japanese all said they had a wonderful experience. We visited the good folk at Ontario UMC in California on the first Sunday, and Prescott UMC in Arizona on the second Saturday and Sunday. During the week, we visited several wonders of the natural world in California, Arizona, Utah and even a bit of Colorado. Every morning, we had a devotional time in the beauty of nature, where we sang hymns, read the Scriptures and shared our thoughts and prayers. Doing that on the rim of the Grand Canyon or in front of a great natural arch in Arches National Park certainly made a deep impression on everyone. The key to the success of this trip, however, was the interaction between the Japanese Christians and their American hosts. The "home stay" in Prescott, where we were hosted for the night by several families, was perhaps the highlight, but in many other ways, the human interaction with ordinary Americans both in the churches and in the community at large was what made the trip the most memorable. This included such treats as a guided tour of Yosemite Valley by an RTB (Reasons To Believe) volunteer and a BBQ lunch at Tim's brother's home in Colorado.                Our daughter Jennifer is leading a group of 8 Biola University students on a short-term mission project to Japan this month, where they will be helping in several of the churches here in Ibaraki as well as doing youth evangelism in the Tokyo area with "HiBA", a para church organization focusing on evangelism among Japanese high school students. Jennifer will begin her junior year a Biola in the fall. Lisa is beginning her second year in graduate school working towards her degree in Oriental Medicine.                Juji will be going in to the hospital again this month for her usual treatment for her "Isaacs' Syndrome" condition. That typically lasts for 3 to 4 weeks, though she is sometimes able to come home on weekends. It is a routine that we have gotten used to, as this will be something like the 25th time we've gone through this. Gee, if you start adding that up, that really makes it sound impressive ? something like 2 years or more worth of hospitalization! Needless to say, we would appreciate your prayers for us during this time.                Two of the patients Juji has been working with were baptized recently. Both of them are terminally ill and aren't medically expected to live much longer.  Nevertheless, God works in mysterious ways, and so we ask you to lift them up in prayer. Mitsuko Kawabe has cancer and Yuki Yasuhira a rare condition called "progressive  encephalomyelitis with rigidity". The picture shows Yuki visiting our Christmas program with our cat Belle doing a bit of "cat evangelism".                Again, we wish to thank you all for your prayers and financial gifts that allow us the privilege of serving the cause of Christ in Japan.                Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief April 2004 Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun!      As we write this, it is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Passion Week as we look forward to the glory of Easter morning next Sunday.  Tim recently returned from a quick trip to the US, where he participated in a conference on "apologetics" at La Habra United Methodist Church.  He gave an hour-long presentation entitled, "Darwin and the Problem of Evil", where he looked at the historical development of science and how an emotional reaction to the problem of evil and suffering played an important role in the takeover of much of the scientific enterprise by naturalistic philosophy.  (The text is available by email to anyone interested in seeing it.)     While that trip itself went well, we've hit a major snafu upon Tim's return.  Juji has been the one with the continuing health problems over the years, but now Tim has come down with asthma, and so please remember this situation in your prayers.  It appears to be triggered by a sudden increase in sensitivity to allergens (house dust, cat dander, etc.), and last week in the middle of the night, he had a full-blown asthmatic attack that lasted 2 or 3 minutes. Since there was no history of asthma in the family and little in the way of allergic reactions either, needless to say, this comes as a bit of a shock. Hopefully, a major house cleaning, "hepa" filters, and medication will do the trick, but do keep us in your prayers.     Many of you have no doubt seen the movie, "The Passion of The Christ". It will be featured in over 150 theaters here in Japan beginning May 1, and we look forward in anticipation to the potential impact it will have here. Some are calling it the greatest evangelistic opportunity ever here in Japan.  Whether that turns out to be the case or not remains to be seen, of course, but certainly it does provide a great opportunity for Christians here to engage their friends in discussions on who Christ really is, why this event took place and what it really means.  Please lift up in your prayers that Christians will be able to make the most of this significant opportunity.     Speaking of evangelism, Jennifer will be leading a group of 8 Biola students in a short-term mission trip to Japan in June. They will be involved mostly in youth evangelism in Tokyo, but also plan to spend a bit of time here in Tsukuba as well.  They would certainly appreciate your prayer support as well.     In Christ,     Tim and Juji Boyle

Newsbrief  February 2004 Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun!         In our newsbrief last month, we listed 3 prayer requests, and there has been movement on all three fronts.  It?s a combination of good news and bad news.  We were disappointed to learn that the government will not issue a visa for Vilmar Martinez, who we had hoped would be able to help with the work here while also teaching at a mission school in Tokyo.  No specific reason was given, and we cannot appeal it.  We trust that although this door has closed, God will open another for Vilmar to serve through.  Please keep her in your prayers.         On a different front, however, the trip planned in May has come together very nicely after a slow start.  We even have a person on the waiting list, and so all of the spots were filled.  With only 2 of the 10 reserved a month ago, we were getting a bit concerned.  Tim will be leading the group in visiting two supporting churches on the Sundays, visiting some other church-related sites and also doing a lot of sight-seeing, including the 3-day trip into the Grand Canyon.         The third request for help in finding Labrador Retriever breed dogs for the Guide Dogs for the Blind association here in Japan has led to several contacts that we hope will be fruitful, though there is nothing definite yet.  Please keep this in your prayers as well.         I (Tim) will also be going to the US in March for a couple of weeks.  I will be making a presentation at a conference sponsored by "CPR", that's Cal-Pac Renewal (United Methodist Church, California-Pacific Annual Conference), together with Dr. Hugh Ross, of Reasons To Believe.         My talk will be entitled "Darwin and the Problem of Evil."  I will also visit my 92 year-old mother in Phoenix for a few days as well as checking up on our two daughters.  And while there, I will do some scouting in preparation for the May trip.         We have been hearing a lot about the movie to open this week in the US, "The Passion of the Christ", and we?re looking forward to a chance to see it ourselves.  It is apparently coming to theaters in Japan in June, and so we pray that God will use that mightily to reach Japan.

 

 

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle December 2003 To Our Friends and Supporters -- Christmas Greetings from Japan     As we write this letter, Advent is just beginning and our Christmas decorations are going up.  Our Christmas activities are already underway, as Tim preached the message at the citywide ?Shimin (Citizens?) Christmas? held in the Baptist Church on Saturday.     Every year during this season, we are involved in a number of special events, and thus it represents both our busiest season as well as the time of year that we typically have our most fruitful ministry.  This year, however, we have a bit of a ?complication?, as the pastor of the Tsukuba Church next door to us suddenly took ill with a blocked intestine and had to be hospitalized.  That was on Saturday morning, Nov. 22, and so Tim needed to come up with a Japanese sermon on Thanksgiving for the next day.     Relying on the ?archives?, he adapted and translated last year?s English Thanksgiving sermon, which fit the situation perfectly.     Rev. Onji is on the mend and will be discharged this week to take it easy at home, and so his work schedule will still be curtailed for some time yet.  Please do keep him in your prayers.  Juji?s twice-a-year treatment has gone well, and she too will be discharged from the hospital this week, just in time to get ready for the events she is so heavily involved with in the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas.     One interesting involvement we haven?t reported on before is the fantastic pipe organ taking shape in the Tsukuba Church.  It is a unique work of art being put together as a work of love by a member of the church. Toshiyuki Mitsuhashi is by day (or whenever the experiments call) a research scientist at the High Energy Physics Laboratory, but much of his spare time is dedicated to building this quality instrument.  A fine musician in his own right, he learned organ building while in Europe working as a physicist, and has already built 3 organs from scratch.  He began this one about 10 years ago, and he estimates it will be another two or three years until completion.  Already, though, its sound is truly incredible, and it has attracted quite a bit of attention from professional organists, one of whom will play a free Christmas concert open to the public Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7.  Several successful concerts have taken place in recent years as a form of outreach by the church.     This organ is patterned after organs of northern Germany from the 17th Century.  In fact, the only thing different is that someone isn?t back there furiously pumping away on the bellows to send the air through the pipes. That is done with a modern, electric blower.  Everything else, however, is the same as it would have been 300 years ago, with complex mechanical keys and stops.  The church has provided him with a workshop and the raw materials.  He does all of the woodwork himself and even forms the pipes from sheet metal. Over the last few years, Tim has spent several evenings helping Mr. Mitsuhashi out, mostly in modifying the church building to improve the acoustics.  This and other building projects has provided a welcomed change of pace from sitting at a computer writing sermons and newsletters, as well as saving considerably on the limited financial resources.     Speaking of building projects, the men of the church are planning on building a 2-story education building to house the church school and other such activities.  As is typical in a crowded place like Japan, there isn?t much land to work with, and so the present existing prefab, that is falling apart anyway, will have to first be torn down before the other is built. Tim?s building skills will also be contributing to this effort in the near future.     We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!     Tim and Juji Boyle Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle     24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-29-855-1907 E-mail:  za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp

Tim Boyle -- Newsbrief -- November 2003 Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun!     As mentioned in previous letters, we are involved in a wide variety of ministries and services.  One rather interesting outcome of our community involvement is that Tim has been asked to serve on a citizen's committee appointed by the "Urban Development Corporation", a government/private business hybrid, to advise local officials on preparations for the opening of the new train line in 2 years.  The "Tsukuba Express" is to open in 2005 and will connect Tsukuba to downtown Tokyo in 45 minutes.  Even under the best conditions, it's at least twice that now, and often 3 times that by public transportation.  So, we are looking forward to that day.     Last week, the group was given a tour of the new underground station being constructed (it's only a short walk from our house!), along with a bus tour of other related development projects that are indeed impressive.  It was not Tim's position as a Christian missionary, of course, that led to this association, but his serving as head of the Tsukuba International School and also editor of the local English newspaper put out by and for the foreign community, "The Alien Times".  People are, of course, aware of who we are, and so our involvement in causes to improve things for everyone in the community opens up a variety of doors for more direct witness.     We were very encouraged by the discussion that took place in the group after the tour, as the need for a full-fledged international school was a major topic of discussion in the meeting following the initial tour.  The suggestion that land and funding to build a good international school near one of the 4 stations within the city limits just might help see it come to fruition.  While much talk and little action has been a common pattern in the past, we are hopeful that this won't turn out the same.  Please do remember this request in your prayers, as such a school will undoubtedly open up new doors for effective ministry for us in the future.     On a personal note, please do remember Juji in your prayers this month as she is undergoing her usual set of treatments for Isaacs' Syndrome.  She usually needs to spend about 3 to 4 weeks in the hospital for each set of treatments, usually twice a year.  She should be out by the end of November in time for the numerous Christmas events we are involved in.  Likewise, continue to pray for the visa for Vilmar mentioned in last month's letter, as it still hasn't come through yet.     Also, our daughter Jennifer is planning on taking part in a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica with other students from Biola University, and she is needing both prayer and financial support.  If any of you are interested in supporting her and her team, you can drop her a note at: Jen Boyle chesterstar@yahoo.com In Christ, Tim and Juji Boyle za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp

Tim Boyle za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp October 13, 2003 - Newsbrief Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun!     As mentioned in the last newsbrief, the mission house in Tsukuba was to be torn down and the property sold to generate funds for other mission property renewal.  Tim has managed to salvage quite a few items prior to the demolition, and a good bit of that has gone to the Indonesian congregation in Oarai, a coastal city about an hour away.  They are renting an old warehouse that was simply a long narrow building with two floors.  There were no toilets and only one faucet over a small sink at one end of the ground floor.  Needless to say, the lack of toilet facilities has been a major headache for the congregation, and so the two toilets from the mission house will soon have a new "home".  After the sewer connections are installed, the toilets will be installed and the men of the church will build the proper walls and doors to house them.  The bathroom sink and other such items are likewise going to go there.  We are happy to see that project finish up, as it has involved quite a bit of effort, forcing some other projects to the "back burner" temporarily.     One situation that we would like to have you all uplift in prayer is the visa application for Vilmar Martinez, who we hope can help us here in numerous ways.  Vilmar is the daughter of a Methodist minister in the Philippines, and she served as a United Methodist Missionary in Bolivia for a term before that particular program ended.  She now wants to work here in Japan, and so we have applied for a working visa through the international school, where she will do English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching, along with teaching English at a mission school in Tokyo.  We expect her to make a significant contribution to Christian ministry here in Tsukuba, but first, she has to acquire the proper visa.  It has been over two months since we applied, and we don't know how much longer it will take.  The immigration office can't tell us where in the process it is, though it should have been finished by now.  They seem to have a huge number of applications, and so it takes a long time.  Please pray that the okay will come through quickly so that she can come to Japan and get started. Tim and Juji Boyle

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-298-55-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp  August 2003   Greetings from the Land of the Rising Sun!     Part of our duties here in Japan is the taking care of mission property. Recently, Tim has been appointed to serve on both the property holding body for all of the Kyodan related churches as well as that for the PCUSA mission, which entails some non-Kyodan related properties (specifically those related to the Reformed Church in Japan and the Yodogawa Christian Hospital).  These involve meetings in Tokyo and Kobe several times a year.     On a more concrete note (literally), the mission house in Tsukuba (where Harry and Kathy Burton-Lewis used to reside) is no longer needed, and so the decision has been made to sell the property and use those funds for needed renovation of property in Tokyo.  As we are the local personnel, Tim has been spending quite a bit of time salvaging various items that can be used elsewhere before the building is torn down.  Demolition is scheduled for sometime in September.     We're sorry to see it go, but it will be a burden removed once it's gone, as Tim has been the "de facto" caretaker of the property for several years.  It was the house from which mission in the new "Science City" began in the late 1970's, and it served as the first meeting place of the Tsukuba church for the first couple of years.  For the last 9 years, since the Burton-Lewis' left Tsukuba, the house has been rented out short-term to several families while its future was being decided.  We thank God for the role this property played in establishing mission here in Tsukuba.  Please do keep this issue before the Lord in your prayers that the best buyer of several who are apparently interested will be chosen and that a good price will be had.   Tim and Juji Boyle

Tim and Yuko (Juji) Boyle 24-7 Higashi Arai Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki-Ken Japan 305-0033 Tel/fax (011) 81-298-55-1907 E-mail: za3t-byl@asahi-net.or.jp   June 2003   To Our Friends and Supporters:      In our Easter newsletter, we reported the effect that the Iraq war had on our plans with the Make-A-Wish Foundation here in Japan. (Tim serves on the Board of Directors and helps with international communications.) It was quite disappointing to say the least when the various events connected with Major League Baseball's opening games in Japan were cancelled. Our wish child who was scheduled to throw out the first pitch will be flying to Seattle in August to meet Ichiro, and while a lot of good opportunities were lost, at least some good came out of it.      We have all sorts of interesting wishes, and one I (Tim) had the pleasure of participating in was so inspiring, that we wanted to share it with you. Megumi Shinada is a 15 year old girl who was born with severe handicaps that greatly stunted her physical and mental development. She can only say a few words, but there was sheer joy on her face when she met her "idol", a character from a children's program that was popular when our children were little. The NHK (Japanese public television) program was discontinued about 10 years ago, but she still remembered her favorite character, Jajamaru, an "alley cat" rather similar to the "Cookie Monster" on Sesame Street. Her favorite stuffed animal was one of Jajamaru, which she always had with her. Even some 10 years later, she was deeply attached to this character, and when her family connected up with Make-A-Wish, she indicated that her wish was to "marry" Jajamaru so that he would always be with her. Like "Parson Brown" of "Frosty the Snowman" fame, "Parson Boyle" served as the minister officiating at the "wedding." The two NHK personalities who had played the roles of Jajamaru, one in the suit and the other who does all voices (kind of a Japanese tequivalent of Mel Blanc), donated their day to travel several hours to the site in Niigata. They did a masterful job, and we were all impressed. The suit used in the show did not exist any more, and so they made a new one and left it with Megumi's family for their use.      Needless to say, I adapted the ceremony considerably, changing the words to be appropriate for the occasion. In addition to the usual I Corinthians 13 chapter, I also added Mark's account of Jesus' blessing of the children. I've translated the prayer and short message to give you a feel for that. It so moved the Make-A-Wish staff that one of them said, "Pastor, you're going to make Christians of us all." Well, I can't do that for anybody, but God can. And our prayer is that he will.      Prayer: 0 God, Creator of the Universe, we are gathered here today to celebrate the "marriage" of our beloved Megumi Shinada and Jajamaru, the character she has loved for so many years. Since she was a small child, she has always wanted Jajamaru to be with her, and so she developed this dream of one day being able to marry him. Lord, we thank you that you are a God who gives us dreams, and these dreams can give us hope. We thank you that Megumi's dream is being fulfilled today. We pray that as her wish is granted this day, that this will help give her the courage and strength to overcome the trials that she faces. May Jajamaru be a comfort to her when she is lonely or sad. And may she come to realize that the Jesus who loves little children is also with her in spirit. For it is in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.      Message: Today, we have witnessed the "marriage" between Jajamaru and Megumi. Marriage is an institution ordained by God for the happiness of humankind. It was because of the marriage of Megumi's parents that she came into this world as a special child. As a "special child", she has different abilities than a "normal child." While she may not be able to run around and play like other children, there are things that she can do that a healthy child cannot. For instance, she can come up with such a beautiful dream that moves us all deeply. Just like the Japanese characters that make up her name, she has given us "beautiful grace". When viewed negatively, having a severe disability such as she has is a very difficult thing.      But when viewed in a positive light, this is something that can teach something very valuable to those of us blessed with healthy lives. Why is it that God created human beings in the first place? Isn't one important reason that He wanted to cultivate a human society that is perfected in love? All human beings are created by God and loved by God as persons of infinite worth. But many people simply don't understand this. Unless they are taught this in a way that speaks to their hearts, this is something that they may never learn. Thus, it needs to be intentionally included in our social education. And it is persons with handicapping condi lions that can best teach us to have compassion and to value those in a weak position.      Without that, a human society that is truly "human" will not come about. Thus, I think that all of us working together to bring to fruition such a wonderful dream as this is something that has great meaning. We thank you Megumi for your dream.      While Jajamaru has a few rough edges to his personality, he really has a beautiful, pure heart. He has been loved by many children. Thank you Jajamaru. Please wear the ring that Megumi has given you and also keep her in your thoughts and prayers.      Before we have the recessional, let us close with a prayer of blessing. Let us pray. May the God who created everything bless you, protect you and guide you. May the Lord uphold you with his abundant love, and fill you with every spiritual blessing. May God be with you in this world and lead you into life eternal with him in the next world. Amen. Love, Tim, Juji, Lisa and Jennifer Boyle