August 1907 found Oswald Chambers in Japan.
I’ve written about his experiences with the Oriental Missionary Society and his trip with Juji Nakada and Yale graduate Gilbert Little Stark.
But what did he think of the experience?
Chambers was a wide-eyed appreciator of a country locked away from the west for many, many years.
His diary detailed his excitement at what he saw and experienced.
Cowman and Kilbourne and I took jinrickshaws to the depot; how these fellows can run!
Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God p 128.
Once arrived in Tokyo, a group met them at the train station. Tokyo Bible Training Institute students escorted the men to the school.
Impressed with nearly everything he saw, Chambers thought the school well laid-out.
He spoke with an interpreter, which he noted was splendid, “but restraining.”
Lettie Cowman
He liked Lettie Cowman.
“Mrs. Cowman is a royal soul and truly a saint. They have taken me into their home in splendid style.”
Oriental Missionary Society friends have often described the hardships Lettie and Charles Cowman suffered while serving in a faith-based ministry unsupported by a missionary board.
A retired missionary told me a story involving the Cowmans’ financial sacrifice.
One night, Lettie went to make dinner and only had a loaf of bread and a tiny bit of tea.
Charles surprised her by returning with a guest, Oswald Chambers.
Lettie swallowed, set the table well, and placed the pot and small loaf of bread in the middle for them to share.
Given his notorious lack of concern over money matters, Chambers probably didn’t care.
Tokyo Events
Chambers and Nakada spoke the first three days of August 1906 to gatherings of Christians.
Nakada was a near-celebrity in his homeland.
“Nakada is a mighty preacher here. To see the altar service is wonderful.”
Chambers’ diary soon filled with descriptions of the scenery, the people, thoughts on missionaries and how much he enjoyed Japan.
He traveled halfway around the world to observe missionaries in action. He particularly wanted to observe how the Bible Training Institute trained their native-born believers.
To his surprise, Japanese natives embraced Christianity very quickly and with great enthusiasm. He marveled at their faith and how God answered their prayers.
The other missionaries
The Oriental Missionary Society’s entrance into Japan in 1901 did not come easily.
Other missionaries in-country were suspicious–wondering if the OMS planned to begin a new denomination in Tokyo.
Cowman and Kilbourne had no such plans; they merely came to preach a traditional version of their faith, based in the Holiness Movement.
As Chambers was a noted speaker for Britain’s League of Prayer and sympathetic to the Holiness Movement, this presented no problems for him.
But at the convention he attended that summer, he noted some degree of hostility among the non-OMS missionaries, and it troubled him.
Chambers in Japan found it, “a most entrancing country.” He thought the Oriental Missionary Society a far more elaborate and well-organized work than he anticipated.
Lessons to take home from Japan
As a student at Duncan McGregor’s Dunoon Bible College, Chambers appreciated how living in a community with other students stretched his spiritual life.
He believed Christianity better “caught,” not “taught.” Living together and thus forced to deal with issues provided an excellent training ground.
But, he wondered if missionaries heading overseas might not be as well prepared for the task once they arrived in-country.
He appreciated how the Tokyo Bible Training Institute focused on training their students for the ministry.
The school trained “Bible Women,” to work with women–particularly in their homes.
The BTI trained the men for street evangelism, and they soon went to work preaching the gospel.
Chambers appreciated their preparation.
Traveling with the Cowmans
Shortly after Chambers’ arrival, Charles and Lettie Cowman decided to leave Japan for a “deputation trip,” to England.
They asked Chambers to join them, anticipating his presence in England could help their fund-raising.
The three sailed south, around India and back to England through the Suez Canal.
When they stopped in Kobe, Japan, Charles lay ill from neuralgia, but Lettie delivered tracks and Scripture portions to the crew.
Several days later, Charles Cowman pointed out a comet in the sky.
They arrived in England on October 11, 1907.
When he saw his brother Franklin, Chambers pulled a shilling from his pocket and handed it to him. “I went all the way around the world on that one shilling.”
God had provided everything else he needed!
Oswald Chambers founded and ran his own Bible College four years later.
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Oswald Chambers in Japan with the Oriental Missionary Society. Click to Tweet
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Very interesting! Loved the picture of the women’s meeting.