LETTER FROM JAVm

September 16, 1957

Dear Friends,
V/hat a t h r i l l i t i s to see God^s hand revealed in such

imexpected places. There is now a church with 23 faithful members In the Kichi-Arai district since the beginning of the work in February# There is a Christian home that has come out heathen worship. This family has burned their idols

and give their little 10 x 12 foot home over to be use for six meetings a weeko Two have been baptized who came out of

great sin.

They even confessed to murder as children in the

slums when they in anger pushed a playmate in the river. We hear prayers of real repentance and as they sit around the floor taking the Lord supper each one prays for strength and

forgiveness and there are always tears^

the lost in their families

They are praying for

This Aral is the heart of communistic activity because It is a slimio It is Satan^s stronghold so pray for these new

Christianso

One young girl wants to be baptized, but her

family are so anti-American, they refuse to let her

PLEASE l-iAKE REAL IHTEHCESSIOH FOR THIS YOUNG WORK.

You

should hear her friends pray for her to come out for Christ and pray for her family^
Now we have found land^ ue after this time. We will use Virginians living

link $1000,00 in October to lease a piece of land in the center of this district for 30 years with option to contln-.
Then we will need to put up a build

ing,

Pray with us.

We need wisdom in these things.

There

are many more who could be reachedo

the yard to see a Christian film and we gave out tracts. Lord willing we would like a very simple $5*^0 building put up by Chrlstmaso This season is good for evangelism.

Last night >0 stood in

The Shimoochlal Church continues under all Japanese lead

er ship and still needs prayers, but is now a self-support ing work. We want to see more evangelistic zeal there how
ever, so pray to this end with us.

Virginia and I are now taking a 6 months intensive course

We can now read

in advanced Japanese to be able to read the Japanese char

acters and to Improve our speaking abllltya

the Bible because it is In a phonetic alphabet as well as

the character, but we want to be good workmen we are not

ashame before God in teaching the Word accurately.

When we were praying -for guidance about taking this course a very interesting thing happened^ V/e asked God to pro vide a special gift of money for this. We needed this by the 12th of September, On Saturday the 10th a Navy man phoned whom we had met only once before -when I spoke at a
Christian Servicemen^s Ceniser in Japan, He asked to come

out and visit U3 We spoke to him of the work here, but mentioned no financial needo When he left, he handed us an envelope which he had prepared before comingo It con

tained a $100.00 in yen.

He said "Use this where you

need it" When people ask us about a living God, we can say "We know our God leads lis, hears us, guides us, directs

us, and provides for us," Pray for us physically to be enabled as well as spirit
ually for the tasko
Your fellow workman with the Lord, ; Julius Fleenor

ADDRESSES OF YOMG PEOPLE AT COLLEGE

The following ^y be addressed: c/o Cincinna^i^ible Seminary

Mr.- and Mrs, James Ma^in, Knights JPfailer Court, RR 10, ' N^Lafayett^ Indiana
Dale Hileman, Wabash Colle^e^^Crawfordsville, Indiana
Max Eubanks. Linden Hall, 329, Indiana University
^ton, Indiana

William Robinson, P?udy Gloye, Susie^^^rey, Richard Gring

Bernadine Goede, Andersork College, Anderson, Indiana

Edward Ivey.^ Bevera.y Bendix, Sylvia Cosip^Lloyd Mealer,

2700 Glenway, Ci^innati, Ohio

landStreets,. Cinci^ati 19, Ohio Ronald Baker^ Room/ul26^ Wagoner Ha3^, Ball State T, C,,

Judy Lane, Cincinnati j06nservatb^y of Music, Oak and High

Eugiene Fowler,ySox 550 Men's Quad. InSH^^a University, Bloomington, Iniliana Allen Esmo&f^, Men^s Residence. H-1, Purdue hiveraity,
Box 89 West Lafayette, In^ana
l-JHITE TO THEM

Muncie, Indr^a

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

1102 Cedar Streets

MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA

CoLEMAN T. Sparrow, Minister

V. Julius Fleenor, Minister to Japan

Archie Fairbrother, Minister to India

Dear Fellow Christian:

Can you read the following paragraph and not weep?

I could not.

This is a quotation

FROM A LETTER WRITTEN TO ME BY ARCHIE FAIRBROTHER ON OCTOBER

, 1957

'This, to us, is more or less of an auspicious time to write to you.

It is a time when there are many things on my heart that I cannot

find words to express.

Today we got a letter from Mrs, McKittrick

FUNDS HAVE NOT BEEN COMING IN AT ALL.

WHICH WAS NOT VERY ENCOURAGING.

The picture looks very black to us; in fact, very black and dismal. We owe the Church there in Michigan City two thousand dollars, Mrs,
McKittrick has had to cover our checks with their own money to the

EXTENT OF OVER FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS.

WE HAD TO BORROW MORE THAN TWO

hundred dollars OUT HERE, JUST TO KEEP THINGS MOVING,

McFarland over three hundred dollars for past services.
There is no money

WE OWE HARROLD
We are now

TRYING TO SELL THE STATION WAGON WHICH SHOULD ALLEVIATE SOME OF THIS, in the bank and we owe some of the teachers for

LAST month's SALARY,

We spoke

OUR QUESTION IS: WHY SHOULD THINGS BE THIS WAY? THE PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING

in well over two hundred churches and ATTENDED EIGHTEEN CAMP

WEEKS DURING THE TIME WE WERE HOME.

ABOUT THE WORK HERE.

WHAT IS IT THAT KEEPS THEM FROM GIVING?

EVERY

BODY SEEMED ANXIOUS FOR US TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.

WHERE IS THE ACTION

THAT HELPS US ONTO THE FIELD AND THEN KEEPS US THERE AFTER OUR ARRIVAL? To SAY THE LEAST WE ARE GREATLY SHOCKED THAT MONEY HAS NOT COME IN

BETTER, It MUST BE THAT NOW WE ARE SO REMOTE AND FAR AWAY, OUR PLEA IS FORGOTTEN, So MANY PEOPLE SHOWED SUCH GREAT CONCERN OVER THE GoSPEL MESSAGE REACHING THE PEOPLE OVER HERE, THAT I THOUGHT ALL WOULD GO WELL

FROM NOW ON,

The QUESTION NOW IS, WHERE DO 1 TURN NEXT?

WE DO SPEND

MUCH TIME IN PRAYER OVER THIS,

PRAY WITH US ABOUT THIS,"

PLEASE FIND FhOSE WHO CARE ENOUGH TO

MAYBE YOU ARE ASKING WHAT IS
IT TO YOU THE BEST I KNOW HOW,

Yes, I THINK PROBABLY YOU ARE WEEPING THE SAME AS I AMy

THE STORY BEHIND A PARAGRAPH SUCH AS THIS, LET ME TELL

First of all, I am just an interested minister,

I happen to be the minister of the

First Christian Church in Michigan City who has Brother Archie Fairbrother as their LIVING LINK, Brother Archie lived with his family in Michigan City for several months prior to their going to India. During that time he visited church after church, TAUGHT IN CAMP AFTER CAMP. AS THE OFFERINGS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE VISITED CHURCHES,

Archie immediately sent it to India to care for the work of the field there.
WAS necessary to keep the school GOING AND THE TEACHERS PAID.

This

HE DID NOT SAVE UP ANY

OF THIS MONEY FOR TRAVELING EXPENSE FEELING THAT WHEN TIME CAME THE CHURCHES WOULD

SUPPLY THE NEEDED SAILING FUND, HiS VISA FINALLY CAME.

ON VACATION

ALL WAS IN READINESS,

I WAS
"My

IN FLORIDA AT THE TIME WHEN I RECEIVED A LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE CALL.

It was Archie Fairbrother on the other end of the line and this was his word,

SAILING DATE IS FlVE DAYS FROM NOW, I HAVE SENT OUT AN APPEAL AND THE CHURCHES HAVE NOT RESPONDED TO MY APPEAL FOR TRAVELING FUNDS, IT IS COSTING US THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS AND I ONLY HAVE ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, WHAT SHALL I DO? I ASSURED HIM THE

BEST I COULD THAT SOMETHING WOULD BE DONE.

DISTANCE TO THE CHURCH IN MICHIGAN CiTY.

AFTER A PRAYER UPON MY PART, I CALLED LONG

I ARRANGED FOR A MEETING OF THE FINANCE

COMMITTEE, ELDERS AND DEACONS AND IMMEDIATELY UPON MY RETURN TO MICHIGAN CiTY ALL WAS
IN READINESS FOR THE MEETING AND WE WERE SOON ABLE TO SCRAPE TOGETHER FROM OUR VARIOUS FUNDS TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS THAT WE SENT DIRECTLY TO HIS FORWARDING AGENT. WE TELE
PHONED Archie that he could immediately write a check and pay his passage and he left

IN A day or two for INDI A,

Before he left the country he phoned Harrold McFarland asking him to get out an appeal

FOR traveling FUNDS TO ALL OF HIS SUPPORTERS, IT WAS INDEED UNFORTUNATE THAT THE TIME YOU RECEIVED THIS PLEA HE WAS ALREADY IN INDIA AND ON THE FIELD WHICH PERHAPS WOULD
GIVE YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE EMERGENCY WAS OVER.

I DO NOT KNOW THE REASON THAT FUNDS HAVE NOT COME IN TO CARE FOR THE WORK,
1 DO KNOW.
REMAIN IN India,

BUT THIS

Funds must come in or the government will not permit the Fairbrothers to
As that was one of the reasons they were allowed to return again

THAT they might MAINTAIN AND RUN A SCHOOL,

Page 2

There are three things

1 am asking you to do:

1, Will you have the problems of the Fairbrothers brought to the attention
OF your prayer group and will you have a special prayer meeting in their
BEHALF?

2.

Will you in some way send a sizeable offering to Mr, Fairbrother*s

forwarding agent?

3.

Will you as a church pledge to support the work of the Fairbrothers in a service link? We mean by service link that you will pledge
SOME AMOUNT WHICH MAY BE FROM FIVE DOLLARS TO TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS
OR MOBE OR LESS PER MONTH TO THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL AND EVANGELISM

AND THE PAYING OF NATIVE PREACHERS IN AsSAM, INO IA?

Enclosed is a pledge card. Will you fill out this pledge card and send it immedi
in

ately TO the forwarding agent and become one of the churches supporting the work

Assam, India by a service link?

THIS IS AN EMERGENCY.

This emergency must be met.

We are counting so much on YOUR help.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this letter.

Sincerely in His service, your fellow servant of our Lord,

Coleman T, Sparrow, Minister

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA

CTS: ibh
Enc. I

5ND all_contrj3JJI ions to Brother Fa irbrother's Forwarding ^ent:

Mrs. E, D. McKittrick

2^37 E. Mufflin Street Madison 4, Wisconsin