7 July 2013
Dear Phyllis,
Neil Verwey is one of the closest friends I have on this planet. A few months ago Neil sent out a letter sharing that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He didn't seem to be too concerned about that prognosis at that time and apparently it was unclear what the future was going to be for him. But more recent correspondence says he is fighting severe pain at this point. That is serious. I have sent Neil a couple letters recently that I would like to share with you. This weeks PB letter will be my letters to Neil.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
29 Jun 2013
Dear Neil,
My heart is so full I scarcely know what to write. As I was praying for you this morning tears began to flow, and they have hardly stopped since. I am so happy for you. I am so envious. My only consolations is that someday I will catch up, and we can rehearse together the things that I do sitting here by myself thinking about you.
When I was in Karuizawa I climbed Mt. Asama 10 or 15 times. I always enjoyed climbing it, but that was no easy task. The entrance at the lower level was very pleasant walking though a wooded area that was fairly level. But when you got nearer the top, it was just a matter of exhaustingly putting one foot in front of the other, wondering if you would ever get to the top. I always admired stronger climbers who seemed to have endless energy and were 100 meters up in front of me. I envied where they were and wondered if I would ever make it that far.
Dear Neil, you are the pace setter. None of us has been able to keep up with you. I can only imagine that I was with you and could enjoy the scenery that is yours right now. I don't know which is better the view forward or the one backwards. Both are spectacular.
The Lord only made one Neil Verwey. What a start! Being born and raised in the Kalahari desert; I believe you told me that you never had shoes on your feet until you were 16. Who can match that story? Gomen nasai but I don't recall the details of how Jesus got His hands on you, but I do remember that as a teenager you had a single passion for Christ. I recall how you worked as a mechanic in a garage and had a strong testimony with all who worked there. I remember how, when you left to go to the mission field, you climbed up to the top of the rafters and nailed your hat on the ceiling as a testimony; that you wanted everyone, when they looked up and saw that hat they would remember the lad who told them about Jesus. I remember how years later you went back to see if that hat was still nailed to the ceiling.
I believe it was around 1952 that you came to Japan with the JEB. You had a vision of reaching the bottom strata of Japanese society that was not shared by the JEB. At that time the lowest level of Japanese society was the TB sanatoriums and the dying patients. The JEB wanted you to do church planting but you wanted to reach those who were closest to eternity. There was that young zealous single girl from England that became your partner. Oh my goodness, what a legacy! After your first term you went back to South Africa to start the Japan Mission. That proved to be a pivotal moment for missions in Japan. In the years that followed JM became the leader in every outreach in Japan from radio ministry, to making top-of-the-line Christian films. Those two Korean films were the best ever made. You told me how, in the early days, in your hospital visitations, transistor radios had just been invented. As you walked from ward to ward you saw those little radios sitting on ever stand beside the beds. And you thought if you could get on radio you could reach every one in the hospital plus millions at home. That started the Voice of Joy broadcast that became a major evangelistic outreach. Then you got into printing with Yorokobi no Izumi. Oh my goodness, how many millions of copies of that have been distributed. I am sure, since the Gospel has been in Japan, there has been no single couple, as you and Peggy, who have had such an extensive outreach in so many areas with hospital evangelism, radio, audio-visual, printing, MK Christian school, Joy Club; and a raft of other things of which I am not aware. I have only mentioned the surface things, but the Lord has recorded the full ministry. Oh my goodness what an enormous swath you have cut for God! I can only imagine the gratitude that must be in your heart for all the things the Lord has allowed you to do for Him.
And the fellowship along the way: you have sat in the fist class section and been with some of the greatest people of God of the past 20th and 21st century. You have been a close friend of every major evangelist in Japan. But the one that stands out the most to me is your relationship with JB Friends. He was one of the rarest men of God I ever met. I never met a man who had less naturally and more spiritually. To shake hands with him was like picking up a dead fish. But when he stood to speak, I feared for the pulpit, that he would tare it apart. When he opened the Word of God, it sounded like thunder. I once invited them to stay with us in Karuizawa, but he said he was staying with the Neil Verweys in Osaka. What a privilege to have a man like that to be one of your closest associates! That would be like being friends with Andrew Murray.
Your view backward has got to be one of the most privileged of any man who ever walked on this planet, but that is not to be compared to the view that is just in front of you as you near the top. The Japanese translators didn't have the courage to accurately translate Heb. 12:22-24. The Bible say, “You are come...” (present tense) but the Shinkai yaku says “You are getting nearer...” Andrew Murray brings out that the original is true. Positionally we are there because we are “in Christ”, and this is certainly the central teaching of Ephesians – seated with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:5). But experientially things do look different as we approach the City. Even from my perspective from the lower slope, heaven looks considerably different than it did when I was younger. Bunyan said, as Christian neared the River, he could begin to see the sights and hear the sounds from the other side.
In the 1950s Korea used to have a distinctive smell about it. Flying over it we could smell it in our oxygen masks when we descended below 10,000 feet. When you went into a village, the smell was much stronger than in the country. Going up to Karsuizawa from Tokyo by train, it used to be a sensual experience just to get off the train and breathe. The air in Karuizawa smelled like steak. The pollution was bad in Tokyo and being in a train was like being in a smoke house, but when I got off at Karuizawa, that clear fresh mountain air was so wonderful I used to just stand at the eki and inhale. What we can smell of Emanuel's land from here is just a faint wisp but even that gives us some indication of the fragrance of heaven. I am sure you can smell it much more clearly than I. And I am sure you can hear some of the sounds from the other shore more clearly than I. Oh just to get a wisp of the fragrance and hear faint sounds gives us fresh strength to press on. The nearer we get, the better it gets.
Oh Neil, how very very fortunate you are. As I said before, I am sure Peggy is more anxious to see you than you are to see her. She has so much to show you. JB Friends will be there to shake your hand. Oh how I would love to hug that brother again. The list is enormous. Truly it is a great cloud of witnesses that is there watching. I am down here below you wiping the sweat off my face and panting for breath. But just looking up at you gives me fresh strength. Do you see why tears flow as I pray for you? You have done so well. And you are so near the wire. My path pales in comparison to the trail you have blazed, but it is a fact that someday we can all sit together and enjoy another cup of tea.
When you see her, please give my love to Peggy and to JB Friends.
Gambatte iruing, (hanging tough, giving it my best shot)
bill
No comments:
Post a Comment