Dec. 24th/76
Dear Madam:I beg your pardon for my keeping a long silence to you. Since we have opened this new station, I have found myself very busy for teaching, preaching and attending all sort of business connected with our school. Hence I was obliged to suspend my letter writing to my friends almost entirely during the term time. The fall term closed yesterday. I feel somewhat rested this morning and feel like writing to you this note in order to inform you about our station work as well as my home affairs. I am thankful to say that through the kind Providence we have met a wonderful success entirely beyond our expectation. A year ago we began to open our school with a dozen students in a hired house. Now we have 70 students in our own buildings and more over two third of them are Christians, and most of them have already begun to work for their Master. A year ago we had only two preaching places with very few audience. We have new four large preaching places and fifty five places with rather small audience varying from 30 to 10. A year ago we had only ten believers with us, but now we have more than sixty.
We divided them into three parts and formed three different churches; so each church has about 20 members. We have not yet special buildings for the service but our churches are formed in our houses. Our first church was organized in Prof. Learned's house on the 26th Ult., 2d church in my house on the 3d Ins. and 3d one in Rev. E. T. Doane's house on the 10th Ins.
Our students are very eager to work and each one of them is trying to find one or two preaching places for themselves. Here is some danger of their not thoroughly preparing themselves for the work still through their effort the truth is spreading like fire on autumnal fields. The spirit of God helps it as I believe and none can stop it. More than a dozen students are going to be colporteurs during this brief vacation. Their chief aim is to preach wherever they go. Some of them have gone out this morning. They go out two by two. I trust the Lord will go with them and give them a great success either in selling books (the Bible and tract books) or in preaching.
I do not remember whether I have informed you about my parents coming to Kiyoto and living with us in my last note or not. They were hoping to come to Kiyoto almost a year ago, but being prevented by cold weather they could not come to us sooner than last spring. They are living in a part of my hired house and are very happy by their being so near to us. My parents are rather slow to understand the Truth. Of course they have already forsaken their old gods, but one difficulty of their embracing the New Truth is their not enabling to see their own sinful state. I have been trying to help them to see their own sinful state thus far. I believe my father has begun to see it and feel very sorry for his past sins and has recently pray to God for the forgiveness of his sins. I am sorry to say that my mother does not feel she has committed any sin. I trust the Sun of Righteousness will shine upon her sinful heart and help her to see her own sinful and benighted condition. The mother and niece of my wife and one of my sisters were received into our church by the new confession.
I suppose you have been long waiting [for] the tortoise shell wares. We could find those wares no where else but in Nagasaki. So I have been hoping to go to Nagasaki myself during some vacation, but having failed to go there myself I asked one of my missionary friends to buy them for me. He has kindly complied with my request and has recently sent them to me. As you know I received $25 from Professor. $25=22.70 Mexican dollars=23.45 Japanese ens. I spent 10.24 for what I have already sent to you. Subtracting 10.24 ens from 23.45 ens leaves 13.21 ens. 13.21 ens were not quite sufficient to buy two breastpins, two sets of bracelets, and one gentleman's watch chain. Hence I made a trifle addition to it which I hope you will accept as a token of my respect to your children. Beside those wares my wife puts in one set of bracelet, which was made here by our order. It is not so good as Nagasaki work. Still she desires to send it to you. I hope you will kindly accept it also. I am sorry that I can not send them some time before this. I packed them in a small box. I hope they will reach to you in safety.
Please remember me to your children. I shall [be] glad to hear from you.
Yours sincerely
J. H. Neesima