Harvest Time Report #10

Part two of the series has since been translated and was published in August of 1999. Included are more stories from the original work, along with the illustrations of Christian professional artists, Yoko Ishiyama and Kimiko Shinohara.

Ozawa says that each of the stories in the book in some way illustrates the love of God in action. Some are his own experiences and others are ones that people have told him over the years.

“The stories are all true,” he said. “Of course, after reading them, many people have trouble believing that. But, I’ve found that where God’s love is involved, the truth is, indeed, stranger and more wonderful than fiction.”

The six Harvest Time programs featuring Ozawa’s stories have been airing once a month since August. Each program introduces two stories illustrated with Ishiyama’s or Shinohara’s artwork, and include comments by Ozawa and a Bible message by program host Kenichi Nakagawa.

"The Hippopotamus Postman, and Other Stories of True Love"

“Love Letters” From God

Dr. Joseph Ozawa’s collection of “love stories” is now available as Kaba no Yubin Haitatsunin, Part I & Part II. The set contains a total of 29 stories collected by Dr. Ozawa as a part of his “Hippopotamus Postman” ministry. This (Japanese-only) version is available from Harvest Time for the price of ¥300 in postage stamps per booklet (or $5 per booklet for U.S. orders).
The six Japanese-language Harvest Time television programs are also available for purchase. These feature the artwork of Christian artists Yoko Ishiyama and Kimiko Shinohara. For details on tape purchases, please contact Harvest Time Ministries at (0559) 93-8880.

Titles include, “A Little Russian Girl,” “The Odd Angel,” “A Faithful Friend,” “Forgiveness in Rwanda,” “The Good Muslim,” “A Bit of Rice,” “A Message in the Sky,” and “Did You Learn to Receive My Love?”

Perhaps one of the most powerful of the stories is that of his sister, Alice, who was killed in an auto accident as a child. This tragedy, he said, played a significant part in his later decision to follow Christ.

After the accident, he said, a nurse at the hospital gave him a purse that had belonged to his sister. Inside he had found a folded napkin with the words, “I LOVE JESUS” scrawled on it in Alice’s handwriting. He related his reaction in the book:

None of us would have considered ourselves to be “Christians.” What had happened to Alice? Then, later on, months after the accident, others told me the story. The weekend before the fatal trip, Alice had gone on a retreat and apparently had, “accepted Jesus into her heart,” as they said. Apparently, she was very, very excited. She had said that she couldn’t wait to get home to tell me about it.

Well, that fatal morning, the family had stopped for breakfast, and I guess Alice was just writing things on her napkin. That was her last gift. Her final present to me.

I became convinced that Alice had gone to heaven. Where else would such a sweet girl go? Eleven years later, I, too, came to accept Jesus into my heart the way Alice had.

And twenty years later, the whole family came to know the great love of God. I will always thank Alice for being the first one in our family to learn about God’s love. But most of all, I still love her so very, very much. And I know that someday I will see her again and we’ll hug, and laugh, and cry, and share with each other all the stories we never had a chance to tell each other. -- from “Alice’s Last Gift”

"I	'm going to be a what?” Joseph Ozawa could barely believe his ears. He had come to this man because he had heard he possessed a prophetic gift -- the ability to tell people about God’s plans for their lives.
But now, this fellow had just told him that God planned for him to become…a hippopotamus!