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Chapter 10

Worn Out, But Smiling

One Sunday morning, Charles and Lettie and their Japanese
helpers were sharing Jesus with the people in the villages high
up in the mountains. There was less oxygen in the air up that
high, and Charles had trouble breathing. He turned to his wife
and said, “Lettie, I feel very ill.”
Lettie quickly found a doctor who said to Charles, “Your
heart is not working properly anymore. Your body is worn out.
You need to go back home to America and get some rest.”
Charles did not want to leave. Japan was now his home. He
had lived there for so many years. He had many Japanese
friends who had become like family. It was a difficult decision
to leave the country he loved. But he felt so weak, and his heart
hurt a lot.
Finally, the Cowmans made a difficult decision. In January
1918, they said goodbye to their friends at the same wharf
where they had arrived 17 years earlier. God had done many
good things through them in Japan. Charles and the team had
walked thousands of miles on about 4,000 islands. They had
visited every home in Japan. Nearly 58 million Japanese

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