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THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
July, 1942
Race Track Use for a
W o r d f r o m A BIOLA STUDENT in a JAPANESE ASSEMBLY CENTER
International News Photo
. — * Barracks at Santa Anita Assembly Center
Christian workers march on, confi dent of standing against the wiles of the devil. I truly*covet your prayers so that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak, to make known the mystery o f \ the gospel which is hidden to countless many w h o m Satan has blinded. Every remembrance of y o u all brings tears of rejoicing and gladness into my heart, for the Lord has truly [ Continued on Page 279] FACING THE ISSUES [ Continued from Page 249] thinking and right living. Live where God lives; dwell high. You cannot fill your mind with slush and scum and then expect clear rippling streams of thought. If a man would be- a pure thinker, his soul must think upon Christ, feed upon Him, and drink at the fountain of His thought stream. Christ will breed no disease within the mind; He will not corrupt the heart. You realize that the high mountain regions are often sought for seclusion, rest, and recuperation; so make' a pilgrimage to the lofty heights of God’s holy mountain range, and you too will find yourself amidst the di vine breezes that play in harmonious enraptured torfes the song of Zion. The spiritual timbers of yonder forest stand as sentinels on the border of the land, and in its meadows the re deemed soul is bathed in the heavenly sunshine of God’s face and His sancti fying love. From that elevation in His presence, you shall be enabled to reach down effectively, laying hold of defeated and lost souls in His mighty, availing name.
Somewhat similar in structure to the temporary barrachs used for housing U. S. Army men, these buildings, and,hun dreds like them, shelter Japanese families at Santa Anita As sembly Center. In the foreground is the small paddock into which, in former days, the horses entered before, passing to the main race tracks.
when we possess this great truth in our hearts, there is a strange calmness reigning in our daily lives. There is a complete faith which controls every effort; it brings a gladness to the voice, a lightness to the step as the duty of the hour is conquered. The hours of action are often the chosen hours for the Christian, but God asks us to have the quiet times before great service, so that all th,e power may be asked from Him, and the limited human power be put aside. I realize that Experience is a hard teacher, yet a very useful one, for no one can realize what can be done until forced to the trial. It is not to be learned in books; it is not to be “learned from the lips of others; it may have to be learned by tears, agony of-heart, conflict with self. But in His strength can be said: “ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” , He gives to us, as we walk silently along the path of fulfilled duty, cour age to serve wherever He places us, and the song will forever ring in our hearts: “Lo, I am with you alway,” guarding and protecting, leading and directing the waiting years in life; comforting, encouraging, urging on— in the years that mark the Battle of Life. So with many of these pre cious promises from the Bible, we
proximately 2,000 young people at tending our church service, so it was quite a gathering. As I stood before the huge crowd, I just couldn’t help but think of the Church of the Open Door with its large membership. We hold our services out in the huge grand stand where f o r m e r l y the horses used to run around the race track; so this gambling, pleasure-lov ing resort has been converted into a house of worship. It is quite a con trast,'isn’t it? We have just about organized our church schedule, \yhich includes the primary division to the senior divi sion. The adults have church Service separate from the y o u n g people’s group on Sundays*. On Wednesday evening the adults have their Bible study, prayer, and p r a i s e service, while the young people have theirs on Thursday evening. There are many problems that constantly confront us,- but God is able. Ygs, my friends, •The adults, being the issei— first-generation Japanese—are segregated from the nisei — sec ond-generation, American-born Japanese—for the church services. The former group are under the care of the older ministers, while the nisei pastors have charge of the children’s and young people’s meeting. A ministerial committee comprising all Protestant faiths controls the Protestant as pect of the religious policy at the Assembly Center. There is also a Protestant “ Youth’s Couneil” which works with the ministerial aroup.
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