Harold Guddat

I am thankful for Christian parents. Almost all the days of my life I have been serving my Savior, and I have been serving Him out of a joyful heart. This Gospel satisfies. Not just at home, but wherever I am.

One time, when I was in the United States Army, there was a major sitting in front of me who leaned over to his secretary and said, “I am just bored to death in this place!” He was making $600.00 a month. I looked at the three stripes on my sleeve that brought me a few dollars in my pocket each month, and thought of the happiness in my heart. It was something that money could not buy. It came from having salvation and being able to tell others about it. When I was in Tokyo, Japan, I had the opportunity to go into the villages and speak to the people about Jesus Christ. That brought real happiness.

When I was first ordered to Japan, I did not want to go. I sort of rebelled against the order because I did not know what was in store for me. I did not know that there would be any religious work there for me. We know that the Lord leads and guides and His will is best. Within three days of arriving, I was signed up to teach a military choral class. I had the privilege of directing this choir for General and Mrs. Ridgway at Christmas. I remember particularly that we sang “Joy to the World” and afterward had the opportunity to speak to the General about the true Lord who reigns supreme.

I was also asked to be the chapel organist. Through this position, I met and began conducting a Japanese choir. Those choir members have recently been referred to as the pioneers of our church organization in Japan. They are precious people—more precious to me today as I think of their faithfulness to Jesus.

At that time, they had never heard of a Gospel which holds the standard of living a life above sin. How thankful I am for that standard! I have seen darkness and wickedness in our troops. I have seen the lives of boys ruined in war, and I have heard them say, “There is nothing I can do.” How happy I was to tell them that there was something they could do. They could turn to Jesus who forgives sin and gives a new start in life when one prays in repentance.

The Lord led and the choir began asking for a Bible class. I did not feel that I was qualified to teach them, but the Lord laid it upon my heart to do so. We sent for Sunday school literature from the Apostolic Faith headquarters, and we began our Bible class in May of 1952.

The only members who could speak English were two young men who were Buddhists. I was hesitant to use them for interpreters, but the Lord had a plan. Through interpreting the message of salvation, and asking often to have statements repeated, the message sank into their hearts. We began holding prayer meetings in addition to the Bible studies, and at one of these meetings one of the young men prayed through. Then he looked at his buddy to see what he would do. He walked over to the davenport, knelt down, and began praying in Japanese. In the quietness of that hour, the Spirit came down. Before long his heart was melted. I looked at the one who had already prayed through and saw tears flowing down his face. He said, “I know there is a living God. He is in my heart and in my friend’s heart.”

That summer we heard that three representatives from the Apostolic Faith headquarters in Portland, Oregon, were coming to visit. How happy we were to see them when they arrived! The Lord wonderfully blessed our ten months together. The first Sunday we had the privilege of dining together, and then we held a meeting. Two of them testified and the other gave a short sermon. We all prayed afterward and the Spirit came down and blessed the choir, the missionaries, and all of us. Two received sanctification.

Our first street meeting was held in December. We had a little pump organ and a Japanese hymnal. Members of the choir were present, as well as two of the missionaries and me. Several hundred heard the Gospel in that first street meeting.

At this time, we were holding our services in a hotel room, but wondered where we would go when our rent expired. We trusted the Lord to provide, and He answered our prayers. In January, the choir sang for an evangelistic meeting in the Tokyo Seamen’s Union Hall. The man in charge of the hall was a friend of one of our visiting missionaries, and said we could use it. In February, we held our first service there. I remember that the Japanese young people said, “At last we feel we are in the house of the Lord and the Gospel can go out free and unhindered.”

The Gospel did go forth unhindered. It seemed that every Thursday night someone would be saved. We held services three days a week, but Thursday nights were especially blessed. We were allowed to go into the hospitals and hold services, singing, handing out Gospel literature, and preaching. The jails, too, were open to our visits. At one large prison, we were told to come back anytime. We visited the ships in the Tokyo harbor as well. One time, the choir was invited onboard one of the ships to sing, and afterward we went room to room handing out literature. As we did, we came across several men who had attended our services in Portland.

The Lord answered prayer for us many times, and in miraculous ways. When we heard that missionaries were coming to stay permanently, we prayed that the Lord would lead in finding a place for them to live. Homes were expensive and hard to get. One day there was a knock at my barracks door, and there stood a stern-looking sergeant and a civilian. The sergeant asked if I was doing missionary work. I thought I was in trouble, but it turned out that the civilian was leaving Japan and was looking for someone to stay in his home. He was leaving on March 14 and we were expecting the missionaries on the 15th. I went and looked at the house and thought he might charge $100.00 a month for it, but he only asked $20.00 and then decided he didn’t even need that. He got the opportunity to see the Lord work before he left. He came to me worried, because his ship had been delayed and he wouldn’t be able to vacate the house until the 18th. Instead of being concerned, I prayed, and a few hours later, I received a telegram that our missionaries would not be arriving until the 19th. God had worked it out.

Since my return home, I have had the opportunity to work in our ministry of visiting the ships in the Portland harbor. In doing this, I came into contact with one young man who had attended our meetings in Tokyo. He said his shipmates made fun of him at first, but now they respect him. They even offered to do his work, so he could leave the ship and attend the Portland services.

Beautiful letters come in from the seamen and their families in Japan requesting prayer and longing to know the way of Christianity. What an opportunity I have had to help lead them in the way of eternal life!