The Ohio Independent Baptist, September 1966

HE . la 1 a f ku Kai Liloloa - . ,, ak.en . , ·e i land of the far a~ ay ., a !.. Thi ,, a the by-word in the earl) I oo· a the Congregational n1i ionarie came to the H awaiian I land f ron1 ew England. The great piritual av.:akening that followed . uc– eeded in turning the i landers from their idol . barbarou h abit and uper tition to the Lord J e u hrisr. exten i,rel)' did the H awaiians en1- brace Chri tianity that the mi ion– arie \\ ithdre\\· in 1870, turning over the churche to them. Di a trou piritual changes came in the la t centur)', however, rhat ha\ e d\, arfed Chri tianity in the 50th tate. \\,·ave after \\ ave of atanic \\ ork1ng have beat upon her bores. The pineapple and sugar cane planta– tion owner brought I apanese people to H a-w aii to work in their fields. Along \Xr- ith their rice bowls and c'1op ticks. the Orientals brought their prie t and Buddhi t religion. The Filippinos and Puerto Rican ,vho f d . oCe: St.•c11 in the pu:harc to the reader ·~ left arc Re,. ;uad ~tr, . George Godfrey ,vith their dan,:?htcr, Jo)ce. 'J he Godfre , ha, e been in Ha \\ aii for one , ear and a ha lf. In the picture 011 ) our right · are ,ome of the belie\er · of the Grace Ba1>tist hurch in Hilo, Ha,vaii. 'fhi, '"a' a ~1>ecia l )Outh o,crvice, but ~ome of the ..Older" ) ounJ! peoJ)lc also attended. \\.ere in1porled brought Roman Catho– lic mi ionaries . Mormon mi ionaries were ne t to make their entry. Added to this the Congregational Churches went modernistic. H awaii, the "Cro roads of the P acific!' We have heard many names for the Aloha Land. I f you want to cal l Hawaii a paradi e it is a para– di e with gigantic piritual problems. The leading religion is Buddhism. On this i land there are 27 Buddhist temples compared to 7 Baptist churches. The econd js Catholicism and the third is Mormonism. Of the 701 000 population of the islands, less than I % are Christians. Satan has cleverly "westernized' ' Buddhism in H awaii in an attempt to imitate Ch ris ti anity. Their temples, which are called churches contain pew , piano organs. pulpits song books. and Sunday chools . Christian ongs h ave been adapted to Buddh~ ism: ' 'Buddha Loves Me " "Oh How or I Love Buddha " etc. Added to these are their own Buddhis t songs. In our year and a half, we have learned that Buddhism i real lo the J apanese. One Japanese lady Ii tened to me a I h ared the claims of Christ and Hi promises with her. Afterwar<.l~ he aid, "I apply all that to my Lord Buddha.,, These dear people believe that happiness in the spirit world is imposs ible unless family offerings and respect to ance tor spirits and gocf '> are perpetuated. Baptist Mid-Missions has one church in H onokaa, forty miles away, and the beginning of the Grace Bap– tist Church that we have started. As with other fields of the world, H awaii is white unto harvest and the labor– ers are few. H awaii needs other n1is- ionaries ! Especially is there a need for God s people to be in prayer for these who are bound and blinded b)' atan. "Awaken, ye island of the far away ea! Buddhist Church Buddhist Altar Buddhist Worshipper • Buddhist Grave SEPTEMBER 1966, PAGE 4 THE Ofrf 10 INDEPENDENT BAPTIST