tribesandtrails 1961 thailand
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r ibes and ra i ls
in ha i l and
April, 1961
Vol. 10,
No. 1
Published twice yearly, in spring
and
autumn,
by undenominational
Christian missionaries laboring to
es
tablish in
Thailand
(Siam) self-support
ing churches after the New Testament
pattern. This bulletin is distributed
with the hope of gaining needed prayer
support
for the Thailand work of urg
ing everyChristianto heed the Master's
call
to
service,
and of encouraging
all
to greatereffort in the spreadofsimple
undenominationalChristianity through
out the
world.
Several
missionaries
committed to this purpose are presently
laboring in
Bangkok
Thailand's cap
ital, and
at
or near Chiengkam, Pua,
and Chiengmai in extreme Northern
Thai land .
Fulough
For Callaways
C.
W. AND LOISCALLAWAY
plan
to get their
children
in India at the
close of school in May and proceed,
via the Holy
Land
and
Europe
o fur
lough in America. They
should
reach
New
York in July. Because of the sit
uation in Laos, and'upon the advice of
local Thai officials, they moved in
December to Chiengkam from their
home
at Tzan
Fu Ville.
MISSIONARY
CONFERENCE
if housing
details can be
ananged
it is hoped that a fellowship gathering
may be had the first half of April for
missionaries in Thailand pleading the
res to ra t ion
of Biblical Christianity.
Separated for long periods from inspir
ing Christian conventions ofthe home
land, we long forthe spiritual food and
stimulus of such gatherings. We
covet
your prayers to the end that the pro
posed gathering
may be a reality
and
a
Blessing
(The latest word was that the Con
ference was to be held in
Chiengmai
from April 2 to 16. C. W. and Lois
Callaway and the Mel Byers family
left Chiengkam on March 29th to at
tend the gathering.)
COVER PICTURE
While Thailand is today making
fast strides forward in
material
spheres
the old ways are still everywhere evi
dent. These lumbering water buffalo
carts
on one of the
main
motor roads
of northern Tha iland bea r
evidence
of
this. Missionaries are finding the peop
le on the whole eager to have
all
mod
ern conveniences they can afford but
reluctant to turn to the more excel l
ent
way in Christ. Pray that yourmiss
ionaries may be, in their labors
fo;
Christ, as patient as those who ride th
buffalo
carts .
TRANSLATORS CONFERENCE
Dr. William Smalley of the Amer
ican Bible Society led another confer
ence
for Bible translators
in Chieng
mai, Thailand in early March. Diffi
cult problems in analyzing various
Thailand languages, and in connec
tion
with
translation work
were
studied.
We trust that this may further speed the
day whenYao, Khamu, Miao, Tin and
other tribespeople may read the
Word
of God
in their
own
languages.
IMOGENE WILLIAMS was scheduled
to
arrive
in
Thailand
in
late March
from a busy furlough year.
YAO
MEN JOIN
ARMED FORCES
Contributing to the decision of the
Callaways to take their furlough at this
t ime have been
the
unsettled
conditions
in Laos, and along the Thai border.
Recentlythere have been a thousand or
more (possibly several thousand) of the
h i n e s e
tion list
soldiers
in
the Chiengkam area. Probably 20 or
more men
of
Tzan
Fu
village
(where
Callaways have been working)have en
listed
with
those
forces.
Most
of
them
have now moved across
the border.
THAI LANGUAGE
STUDES con
t inue for David
and
Deloris Fillbeck
in
Bangkok
and for Dorothy Sterling in
Chiengmai, They look
forward
to the
day when, with this necessary back
ground, Aeycan go onto tribal evang
elism in the north.
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The
spiritual
foe of Christ in
Thai
land is Buddhism. It is a formidable
foe, being entrenched in Thailand for
over 2000 years. The religion perm
eates a l l of Thailand's culture and soc
iety, from the Monarchydown to the
coolie. Everywhere we tum we see the
sharp differences between Buddhism
a nd Chr is t.
The philosophyofBuddhism isessen-
tially Idealism resembling Christian
Science). Ultimate Reality is viewed
as Mind or Spirit. Material objects do
not
exist
outside
th e m ind . The
m at
erial
world around us is
not objective,
but
is
founded on
our thoughts and
made up of our thoughts a Buddhist
quotation).
This Ultimate Reality is termed
Universa l Mind . I t is this Universa l
Mind where the Buddhist, at death,
seeks to go. It is viewed as an obsorp-
tion into the Universal
Mind, which,
once
attained,
there
is no
more re
birth. This absorption is Buddhist sal
vation,
a deliverance from the flesh
with its suffering, constantchange, and
death.
Buddhism presents to the people a
way
of l i fe .
I t
makes little or no
attempt to define the beginning of
things. Most of its teaching is taken
up with rules for daily living and con
duct. Of course there is a
purpose
in
these rules which
is
concerned with
death and the hereafter. This way of
life is not without its morals: withpro
hibitions
and
exhortations such as
found
in
Ga l .
5:19-23.
Much emphasis is laid upon self-
discipline. The ideal self-discipline
life, of course, is the priesthood. The
uddhist monk lives in a monastery
practicing celibacy.He mustgothroum
the most arduous rituals to gain the
passionless life; where no passion,
whether lust or love, must be enter
tained in the mind.
ut
such regula
tions concerning
foods
eating, holy
days, fasting, etc., are as Paul said
in Col. 2:23. Which things have in
deed a
show
ofwisdom in will-worship.
and humility, and severity to the body;
but are not of anyvalue against tiiie in
dulgence of the flesh.
uddha was concemed with escaping
the ever
recurring
cycle of
birth and
death--reincamation. It is
surprising
to
note that this doctrine did not origm-
ate with Buddha,
but
was
bonowed
in
tact
from
a religion of India, being
assumed
by uddhato betrue. The holy
life is to
reduce
the number of
lives
one
must
live
on
ear^
before
reaching
NirvanaUniversal
Mind.
The
uddhist
views sin differently
than
the Christian.
Sin
is
that
which
causes
the
person
to suffer physically
and mentally), and
to
be sad. One
then must correct this cause, or sin, to
alleviate the suffering. Alie maycause
one to suffer
or be
sad.
To alleviate
this suffering or saddness some good
work can be performed.
The widest gap between Buddhism
and Christ
is
that Buddhism
is
atheistic.
In Doctrine, there is no SupremeBeing.
I t
is a shock to the Buddhist
when
he
sees our firm belief in the LivingGod.
We must also
emphasize that
Jesus is
living NOW or else they will view Je
sus
as
Buddha:
dead
Even beyond this,
the
fact that our
God helped andyearnsto help all isre
cognized as being against the grain
of Buddhist beliefs.
Much
stress is laid
upon analysis to
determine the
cause
sin) of suffering. When the person has
done this, his suifering ceases. For God
to help us in this lire and especially
over the hurdle
of
death into eternal
life is uddhistheresy.
On closer investigation, the differ
ences
between Buddhism
and Christ
emerge. And
the
differences can be
suinmed up as being the difference be
tween
philosophy and
revelation.
Budd
hism is but one of the many philoso
phies of life, and but one of the many
attempts
to
gain
an overall picture of
the meaning of life, especially the
l ife that
corfronted
Buddha in India in
500 B.
C .
David Filbeck, Box 1395,
Bangkok, Thailand.
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One
Hundred Mothers
I suppose you've been
out
visiting She
measured
it, and without explana-
one ofyour mothers
again, said
Mr. tion returned to her
work.
After sever-
Peace
with
a
mischievous
smileas
Ire-
al
days
in her home caring
for
her
turned on my bicycle this
morning.
His wounded son, the boy
s
recovery
made
playful words brought home the very it possible
for
me to return to Pua. On
real fulfillment in our
Uves
of Christ s my last day she presented her gift--a
promise
in
Mark
10:29-30
There
is
no
black
Miao
jacket
with
red
trimming
man that hath left house, or brethren, and silver buttons. Nowyou are really
or
sisters,
or father, or
mother,
orwife, oneof
us,
she
said
as I put it on, No
or children, or lands, for my sake, and
longer
a foreigner.
the gospel s, but he shall receive an
hundredfold now in this tinie... and in MOTHER LAUM
the
world to
come
eternal life. Wher
ever the preaching of the Gospel takes
Mother Laum
is one of the world's
us we always fina a
mother
towel- happiest people. Her silver hair, pull-
come
us,
and offer
the service of lov- hack in a
tight bun
in thefashion of
ing hands.
We
would like you to meet ^nQst Lao women, she flashes a big
some
ofourThailand
mothers.
black
smile
at
everyone.
A life-time
of betelnut chewing has permanently
blackened her teeth
but her life
rad-
MOTHER
DA iates the
brightness
ofa cleansed heart.
,
If
there
is to be a Bible conference or
Now
Mother can laugh a^in, of
Christians,
no mountain
is
said
the tiny
brown
woman as
she hurr-
hio^
^or
any trail too
steep for
ied up to the
door with
a gift coconut.
j^Q^her
Laum.
With
a retinueof child-
Your father is up
and
able to wot . grandchildren,
she
is constant-
Saturday
I thought he would not live , the go.
All
the
Christians
call
through
the
day. We had gone out j4i. Mothef and allfind a hearty wel-
Saturday,
and,
with
sorne
very
simple
in her
cheerful
home,
medical t reatment had
relieved
the
old man s symptoms. HUNDREDS
OF
LOVING HEARTS
opted us five years ago,
and
always
refers
to
us as
her children. Aljou^h so^jg
American Mother
her home is about four miles
away
in .. ^g stmcgle of
the forest
she
walks in ftequently to
dtiS
Sf e sKf the
bring a gif^ of a^l gospel. Remember that God's
promises
with a lengthy
report
never fail. No
matter
where the con-
pains. In spite
straint
of the Word takes your
child,
last weekend was the first tune sh^^ prepared a hunmred loving
pressed
a
serious
interest
m
the
gospe
.
mother
him.
Only an
outsider
V/ 1TT ADC riMc
OH
TTcI
could look upon the missionary life as
NOW YOU
ARE
ONE OF US sacrifice. We have found it tme
As
we
sat
on the dirt floor
talking
that for
everything
given up for Christ
around the smoky
open
fire, Iwas start- there is a hundred-fold compensation
led
by the pressure
of a
hand on my IN THIS
LIFE -- and m
the worldto
shoulaer. Stretch outyour arm, com- comeeternal life. Garland Bare, Pua,
manded the
little
Blue Miao woman. Nan Province, Thailand.
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Future
Leaders
Well,
look
at that There,
stand
ing casually on the porch railing, were
two
of our s tudents absorbed in c onv er
sation. Although used to unusual happ
enings after our long associationwith
the tribal peoples, I was rather startled
to see
them
standing
theresince
most
people prefer to stand on the
ground
When Deng, Ya, and Li first
came
to stay with us in August, 1960 they
soon l ea rned the fundamen ta l lessons
of
bathing, washing hands before meals,
and wearing shoes and a clean shirt for
school. Natural boyish instinctssuch
as throwing rocks, stealing fruit, enter
ing the house via windows rather than
doors, and getting on to the porch over
the railing rather than up the steps--
have been
hard to curb, but
they are
making progress, and we're sure they
will be fully civilized some day
More important, there is evidence
that Li, age 10, and youngest of these
Blue Miao boys, is making a real effort
to stop stealing and rock-throwing. At
home therewas little opportunity tor Li
to
improve
He was frequently kept in
the fields because he
couldn' t get along
with
other
chi ldren . His
father
would
often
beat
him mercilessly. One of the
boys calmlystatedone daythatLi could
drink liquor like a man. Apparently
the
hild h d
no
idea
wha t eve r
o f
l ove
During their first month
at
the
public
school the boys' teacher
came
over re
peatedly to urge us to send Li home,
saying that he was stupid, and could
neve r l ea rn.
Unconvinced we cont inued
coaching him at home. Then, sudden
ly Li began to catch on. Although still
far behind Ya and Deng he is ahead of
the other first-graders, and can nowget
across almost any idea in Thai. He is
nowshowing some effort at self-control
and l ikes
i t
he r e
Ya, a
round-faced
boy of
eleven,
tries hard to
please everyone,
and
there
are
few complaints
against
him. He
leams eas ily , and our children adore
h im
Deng, a br igh t nervous boy
of twelve, is very conscious of being
Sho Mai and Tzong Chen
(1. to r.) with their books.
son of an important chieftain. A natur
al
leader, he loves to study; and we ex
pect him to finish public school in rec
ord
t ime
He
also
seems
to
understand
the Bible
stories
better, and is more
mus i ca l
than
th e others
Besides these three boys, whom we
expect to be boarding for the next few
years,
adu l t tribesmen occasionally
come down to study. This year Sho
Mai and Tzong Cheng, twoWhite Miao
men came. Tzong Cheng
is a respon
sible family man with three children.
A broad
sm il e c ha ra ct er iz es his
looks.
Sho Mai, about twenty years old, has
a br i l l ian t
mind
hidden behind his inn
ocent face. Having Sho Mai here was
like having a cyclone around. In be
tween bouts with the
books (he
master
ed both Thai and
Miao primers
in two
weeks) he
learned
to ride the
bicycle
and could
often
be seen running up and
down
the steep
hill
back
of our house.
Underneath all this furious
activity
Sho Mai was sad. Just a few months ago
his young wife died of typhoid. Often
he said mat he
could
forget her only
when studying, and he didn't want to
fo
back home
ll too
soon
they did
ave
to
leave;
promising to return in
February
Thenoys have learned enough of the
Thai language to begin to understand
th e Bible stories we t e l l t h em
This
month
they will
go
home
on
vacation.
Will
they
return? Sho
Mai
and
Tzong
Cheng have just learned to read enough
Miao so that they could begin to read
the
Bible stories. Will they be
back?
Satan
uses every
device
to snatch these
learners from us. Pray that from among
them Christian
leaders
may be
brought
forth for the Miao.Dorotny
Bare,
Pua
Nan Province, Thailand.
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Patients cooking food over a
campfire.
The light from the flickering oil
lamp
shone on
the
faces of those
sitt
ing by
eagerly
listening to the phono
graph. There were two old grandmoth
ers, one of whom was chewing betel
nut and frequently making comments
on the records. Two younger women
were
s i t t ing nearby, one
holding
a
sleeping
child the
other nursing a sore
jaw from which a to oth h ad
been
ex
tracted earlier in the day .
They
said this wasthe first
lime
they
had ever heard about
Jesus,
They
live
in a village almost a day's journey
away, so stayed in our patient house
fora
couple
of nights
while
beingtreat
ed for their various and sundry illnesses.
During the clinic hours theTnai Chris
tian
helper
explained the gospel posters
and pictures and at ni^t I played
the gospel records and told them more
of Jesus, It is good teaching, the old
grandmother said But
it
was a strange
story. Wouldn't it be Wonderfulto know
that youwere going to heaven whenyou
died?
They had only a
brief
contact with
the gospel, but did it find lodgment in
a hungering heart? We do not know.
Perhaps
later they will come
back
really
seeking.
We seek to
preach
Christ
and make Him known; that these
for
whom He
died may come
to know
Him
t
Unexpectedly the
Lord opened
the
way to witness in a Yao village. I was
called
to
help
a
woman
after ch ild
birth.
Mrs. Callaway
accompanied
me
to
act
as interpreter
and
to
take
ad
vantage
of the
opportunity
to teach the
people
about Jesus. We lef t ear ly Sun
day morning, and arrived
about
noon.
Since the patient was occupied at tak
ing a hot bath in a hollowed out log,
we visi ted with the family, and had
lunch. Most of the afternoon was spent
treating the woman
and then I
stretch
ed
out
exhausted while
Mrs.
Calla
way began to
tell
the old, old story
that
fewof
these
had
ever heard before.
One old grandfather was especially in
terested. After supper he started ask
ing questions, and telling everyone to
keep quiet so that he could learn more
about Jesus. A little old lady was sur
prised to hear that some of the
Yao
at
Maasalong had stopped smoking opium
and had
become
Cnristians.
Two weeks later it was again nec
essary to
visit
this
patient. This time
we had a tape recorder along, and some
tapes made by
the
Yao Christians at
Maasa long
We had
hoped the old
grandfa ther and the
little
old lady
would be there, but they, together with
many of theyoung
people
had gone to
theiropium fields to cutthe
poppy
pods
and gather the sap. As soon as supper
was over everyone in the village gath
ered around the fire to hear the tapes.
How they enjoyed the singing and short
talks a nd e xh orta tio ns
for
them to be
lieve in Jesus. Could Jesus really free
them fromthe powerofthe evil spirits?
ouldthey
really
make a living if they
stopped
planting opium?
What woula
others in their village sayand do if they
followed this new teaching, and be
came Christians?Go slowly. Go slowly.
Don't do anything rash
Because Mrs.
Callaway
could speak
the languagewewern't considered out
siders, but daughter-in-laws. They
wanted us to stay for several days, and
were very
disappointed when we insis t
ed that we had to leave by noon the
next day in order to be back for clinic
on Monday. We spent the morning
playing
the tapes
in both sections of the
village before bidding them farewell
and starting the homeward trek. Our
hearts were full of thanksgiving to the
Lord for
the
opportunity to tell these
people
of Jesus. May
the
Word find
lodgment in their hearts, and spring
fortn to everlasting
life.
May we be
ready and willing to witness, and go
wherever
the
Lora leads
that
His
name
maybe
made known among the heath
en
and that they
may come
to know
Him as their Saviour. Dorothy Uhlig,
Chiengkam, Chiengrai, Thailand.
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Tfte
Oh , Foreign
Daughters-in-law*
where have you been? We have been
waiting to
kill
a chicken for your sup
per, but we did not know if we could
just
kill
it or if you would have to do
a demon worship over
it
before
it
was
ki l led
in
order to be ab le to ea t
i t .
Dorothy UhUg and I had gone up to
a Yao tribal village to care for a ser
iously
ill
patient. Wehad arrived just
at noon, and had been given our lunch
with apologies for the meagreness of it,
but with no question. Seemingly they
paid no attention while we offered
thanks for our lunch, yet they had been
aware
that
something differentwas go
ing
on.
Never mind.
Grandfather
Silver,
We don t do any sort of demon worship
at
all,
and you may
kill
the chicken
and cook it in your own way. When it
is ready to
eat,
wewill thank ourHeav
enly Father for it.
GrandfatherSilver
turned aWay,
say
ing over his shoulder, Oh, I
see,
you
wil l
offer a bit of i t to
God
to eat
be
fore you eat it yourselves.
Quickly we explained
that
God did
not need our offerings of food, but that
having made the world, and all that is
in it. He has graciously allowed lis to
live in His world and eat
of
His pro
vis ion.
Grandfather
was visibly perplexed,
but he called to his granddaughters to
kill the chicken
in
the
ordinary way,
and
then he
disappeared
into the
dark
hu t .
A few minutes
la te r
when I arr ived
at
the
fireside. GrandfatherSilver
pull
ed a tiny stool up near his own and said,
Now Foreign Daughter-in-law, you
sit right down
here
and tell
me
all
about God and Jesus. I know nothing
about them, and I want
to know all
abou t t h em .
Where does one begin when a man
knows
nothing about the gospel and he
wants
to
know
a ll about i t in one short
evening? We began with the creation
and followed through the main points
to t he a to n emen t.
Now,
Grandfather,
when we
want
to know what puts a sin barrier between
us
and
God
we don t have to
resort to
divination, as you do in your spiritwor
ship.
God
has sent us
His
Book to t e l l us
what
we
have
done
that
has put
a sin
barrier between us
and
Him,
and this
same
Book
tells
us how the barrier
can
be
removed
so we can be
His children
and have the hope of living in His
eavenly
home.
Alook ofanticipation lighted rand -
father Silver s face. Go, Daughter-in-
law. Bringthe Bookand read it to me.
Only a small portion of the Book did
I
have,
and a few hymns. I couldn t
select
just
the
passages
that
would
have
answered
best Grandfather Silver s
ques
tions. They haven t
been
translated yet.
I could only read him such as had been
translated, and then sing a few hymns,
explaining the meaning between each
v rs
Grandfather Silver
can
speak both
Thai
and
Chinese
to
a
certain exten t,
but he reads neither language, so it
was
l i t t le
comfor t
to
h im
to know t ha t
the
whole Bible
had
been t ranslated in
both of these languages.
Will
you
pray that the translation
task might be speeded so that when the
Yao say Bring the Book, we may op
en its pages and
let
HisWord give them
light.--Lois E. Callaway, Chiengkam,
Chiengrai,
Thailand.
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Cost ly Rellji|ioii
Chickens, hogs, spirit bridges, long
nights of vigil, beating of drums, burn
ing ofpaper money, chanting of long
rites,
hideous
ceremonies, payment
oi
opium to demon prieststhese are but
a
few
o f
t h e
costs
involved
for the
tribesman who is a disciple of malev
olent spirits. And his
reward?--a
feel
ing that the demons he so dreads may
grant a brief respite in their efforts to
to rmen t
h im
Rice in
the
bowl of
the
yellow-robed
priest each morning, frequent trips to
present fancy offermgs
at the temple,
the giving of sons for months or years
to the priesthood, frequent days of hard
labor in beautifying the village temple
and grounds, the burning of joss sticks,
constant
endeavor
in
human
strength
alone to gain merit--these are some of
the
many costs
of being a
disciple
of
Buddha. And
the
reward?the hope of
being reborn after death into a slightly
higher statewherein the constantstrug
gle
continues toward
the
eventual noth
ingness of Nirvana.
Peoples ofThailand often tell usthat
they long to escape from
the
oppression
of trie
demons
and
the
temple.
While
encouraging them, we try at the same
t ime to
make clear
that it
costs, too,
to be a disciple of
the
Christ.
Many
Tha i Chris t ians have
had
stones
thrown
at
their
houses. They may find no one
tohelp in building their home, harvest
ing their rice, or burying their dead.
They may find threatening notes onthe
trail warning them to tum back to the
old religion.
I he Yao built these bridges to
appease evil spirits. It is not necess
ary that they serve a useful purpose.
Actually
it costs
something
in
any
land to
be a real Christ ian. One can be
a modern Chris t ian with
l i t t le
effort
or
cost. One cannot
be a
t rue and Scr ip
tural Christian without paying a high
price.
In a large corporation in the Eastern
States a young Christian bore a radiant
testimony to Christ. The corporation s
president said to
him,
I would give
everything in this world if I could em
ulate you. What you would give,
the young man repued, is exactly
what
i t has
cost
me the whole world.
If you who read these lines have no
purpose in life, and no joyinyourfaith,
itmay well bethatyou havebeen hold
ing out on God, and are not yet will
ing to fully surrender selfish aims to
Him. If you would know real victory
and peace of soul there is but one
waythe
way
of the cross.--C.
W
Callaway
Jr.,
Chiengkam
Chiengrai
Tha i l ana
TRI8ES
AND TRAILS IN
THAILAHV
FIRST
CHRISTIAN
C H U R C H
Nin th
an d P i n e
Stree ts
Klamath
Falls,
Oregon
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
I cPA lD
Kiamath Palls,
Oregon
Permit Numbe r 12
Dorothy Uhlig, Missionary to Thailand
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9/16
. . for thou w a s t
s l a i n
a n d
did
p u r c h a s e
unto
God with thy b lo od men
of e v e r y tribe and
tongue and people and
n a t i o n . . . Rev.
5:9b
f . .
n;c
.
T-
T
S
:
i
TRI S
and
TRAILS
In
THAILAND
OCTOBER
9
: n 0 ^
:
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10/16
TRI8ES AND TRAILS
IN THAILAND
OCTOBER, 1961
Published twice yearly, in spring
and autumn, by undenominational
Christian missionaries laboring to es
tablish inThailand (Siam) self-support
ing churches after
die
New Testament
pa t t e rn This
bulletin
is distributed
with
the
hope
o^aining
needed
prayer
support for the Imailand work, of urg
ing every Christian to heed the Master s
call
to service, and of encouraging aU
to
greater
effort in
the
spread
of
simple
undenominational
Christianity
through-
ou t t h e world.
Several
missionaries
committed to this purpose are presently
laboring in Bangkok, Thailand s cap
ital, at, or near Chiengkam and Pua
in ext reme Northern Thai land .
Picture
Waterfall in Ranong Province
province is
one of Thailand s
s ce nic a re as
But
th e
in teres t
for
th e
Christ ian lies in die fact that great
numbers ofThai , SeaGypsies, Burmese,
Chinese, Malaya and Telugu have not
heard the gospel. NoChristian Mission
aryhas ever
resided
in
Ranong
Province. traveled
down from
Chien^am to be
This
great
Wo r k
Mov e s o rwa r d
Supporters of the
Thailand
work have
expressed
concem because of
the situ
at ion
in next -door
Laos. As this
issue o f
Tribes and Trails goes to press,
all
is
peaceful
in
the
border areas. Mission
aries are free to continue evangelism
unhindered.
He that
observem
tlie
wind shall not sow; and he thatregard-
eththe clouds shall not
reap.
(Eccles-
iastes 11:4). This
is no
t ime for retreat
o f the Church of Christ in Southeast
Asia. The
gates of Hell must be
stormed. As part of the
advance,
new
workers who have been in language
study
are
moving to
tribal
areas.
Dor
othy Sterlingwill assist Donand Roberta
Byers with evangelism and medical
work among the Khamu at Nam Mong.
Dav id and Deloris Filbeck
wil l
be
liv
ing
at
Pua to begin a work with the
T ln Tribe. Because there is only one
postoffice in the entire district, all
letters to the Don Byers, Bare, Filbeck
and Sterling families must be address
ed to
Pua,
Nan Province, Thailand.
C. W. and Lois Callaway and fam-
-
ily left Thailand
for
their
second
fhr-
Vol. 10, No. 2 lough in the U. S. in May. The
Calla-
ways plan to study linguistics at the
University
of Indiana this fall. They
may
be addressed in care of their for
warding agent Mrs. Leslie Webb,
Box
385,
Canadian, Texas.
Garland
and Dorothy Bare spent
most
of June and July in
Chiengmai
where they did special research and
translation worit
at
the request of the
Thai
Bible Revision
Committee. The
revision of the Thai
Old
Testament
is
expected to becompleted thisyear. Re
vision
of the
New
Testament
begins
this
fall.
Garland Bare and David Fil-
beck will be participating in the pro
ject .
If we
can t
recmit new mission
aries, we ll have to raise themI
says
one
of
our fellow laborers. Two new
junior missionaries have recently
been
added
to the
Thailand family.
David
Ambros, first son of
David
and Deloris Filbeck was bom in Bang
kok March
16.
Ardella Sue, Second daughter of
Donand Roberta
Byers
was bom in Nam
Mong
July 12.
Nurse DorothyUhlig
had
with Byers at the
time.
DorothySterling and her two adopt
ed girls moved to NamMong in
August
to
do
medica l
clinic wodc
and
teach
ing.
She
has
been
studying fhe
Thailanguage but will neea to also learn
the
native
dialect
for
the new area.
David Mark Sterling is now attend
ing
the
Woodstock School in Mussoori,
Inaia.
The
Callaway children also at
tended
the school until leaving for fur
lough.
Soon after returningfrom furlough,
ImogeneWilliams was granted permis
sion to spend a
month
in
Burma.
She
stayed
with
Drema
Morse, who
has
been in poor health.
Elsewhere
in this issue will be
found
the accountof a survey trip to Ramong
Province. If the Kra Canal is dug as
planned, this promises to
become one
of the most strategic areas ofSoutheast
Asia.
Pray that the
Lord
of the
harvest
will speeaily thmst forth laborers.
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11/16
Mahe
Me^ut, . .
Why did you come back, wasn t
America fun? Mrs. Daang asked me
shortly after I returned to Chien^am.
Yes, America was wonderful, and
I loved being with my family and see
ing
friends;
butI belong to
Jesus
Christ
and
I
feel that He
wants
me
to
be
In
Thailand. Jesus loves you
Thai
people
and
I have
returned
to tell you more
abou t
Him .
Well, you surely make a lot of
merit by
coming
so far and leaving
yourparents; we just take some flowers
to the temple or give some rice to the
priests, but you foreigners always do
things differently.
I'm not trying to make merit.There
is no way that you or I can earn salva
tion
from sin no
matter
howmany good
deeds
we do. Jesus, the Son of
God,
died on
the
crossto save all people from
their
sins. He is
the
way of
salvation.
The
Bible says
Neither
is
there
salva
tion in any other; for there is none other
name
under heaven given among men,
whereby
ye must be saved.' He has
done
all
tnat needs to be done, but one
must accept Him as Lord and Master
and obey
Him.
Oh yes, I know about Christianity,
you have 10 commandments, 10 things
you can't do, but in our religion we
nave at
least
200. Of course only
the
riests
know all of them but w o
avethat
many, and you have only 10.
Those 10
commandmen ts
a re
im
portant; but not the most important
thing in Christianity. We worship a
living God, one who came and lived
In this world, and yet didn't sin; one
who is
in
heaven
now, and
wil l
come
again to take those to heaven who be
l i eve in H im .
That s nice for you foreigners...
But Christ
came
for all
people.
He
loves
the
Thai just as much as
the
Am
ericans, and that's why
I ve
come back
he re to tell
How much isthe Government pay
ing
you
this
time?
How
nice
to
be
like
^ sJ
SHRINE
OF PRA PATHOM
Thousands of pilgrims visit here each
year for the purposeof making merit.
you
foreigners;
to not
have to
work, and still get lots of money
The Government didn t send
me
here. Christians in America
who
want
to
help
the Thai
people to know Jesus
sen t m e he r e .
Do you
still
go to the LeprosyVill
age? I d
be afraid to go near there.
You really do make a
lot
of merit by
taking
care
of those with Leprosy tho.
I m not trying to make merit I . . .
Can you ride a bike out to their
village
now?
I guess you can't for the
fields
have been
planted. It must be
hard to walk out during the rainy sea
son, but it is a good way to
make
a
lo t o f
mer i t .
I m not trying.
. .
Wel l I must be going now,
but
I ll come again soon for I want to
learn
a l l
abou t
Amer i ca .
If
this
had been the first conversa
tion of this type with Mrs. Daane it
wouldn't be so aiscouraging,
but
it has
been going on for 10 years.
The
devil
seems to
have completely
bkicked
her
understanding. Yet she is one for whom
Christ
died, and
He
wants her saved.
Pray for
her,
and many others
like her,
in Chiengkam.
Imogene Williams
Chiengkam, Chiengrai,
Thailand
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J
11
BORDER
OF
RANONG
PROVINCE
Dav id Filbeck
David
Schaefer
and
Harry Schaefer on trip to Ranong Prov,
A Visit to the Home
of
the Sea Gypsies
In the first week of July, Garland
Bare David
Filbeck my
son David
and I journeyed from BangKok 425 miles
south to Ranong Province. The city of
Ranong
is the provincial capital and is
the center of tnree provinces
that have
never had a resident missionary, and
where little or no missionary work has
ever been done. The Sea
Gypsies
one
of
the
unreached tribes,
are
mund
here
in the numerous o ff -shore
islands
and
of the islands of nearby Burma.
RanongProvince, likeMalaya below
it on the peninsula, is a tin mining
center. Also its fishing boats provide
the bulk of the huge fish supply need
ed for Bangkok, Beautiful wild orchids
and gibbon apes are plentiful in the
surrounding hills. Elepnants haul huge
logs from steep mountain slopes which
are covered with thick
rain-forests.
At
nearbyKraburia canal has beensurvey-
ed
which when
completed will short
en sea routes for ocean Liners many
hundreds of miles. Today Kraburi is
just a cluster of sleepy stores, but with
the Canal may become the second
largest
city
in
Thailand.
The Isthmus
of
Kra is a lso where
the
common Bor
der of Burma and Thailand
stops As
we journeyed southward the mountains
and hills of Burma were at
times
just
ten miles away.
The
roads we travelled
on
are
being
rebuilt
with
American
Aid
funds and wereoriginally built by the
Japanese, using prisoner of war labor,
during
their occupation of Malaya in
the last war.
Surveying Ranong Province for opp
ortunities we
found several
Burmese
and Chinese Christians and
one
Indian
Christian. They had all lived there
many years. On the Lord s Day, we
gathered them together and it was a
t ru ly international service
for
the
preachingserviceI preached in English
then
translated
it
into
Hindi
and then
Garland Bare
t ranslated the
message
into Thai . It was the first t ime the
Lord s Supper had
been
observed for
many years and it was a thrill to see
the joy on the faces of these Christians
who have remained faithful though a-
lone
among Buddhists, Moslems
and
Animists. They
pleaded
that we send
someone to live among
them
to teach
them or at least return once a month
to preach.
The most interesting find on this
survey
trip
was to see several Sea Gyp
sies, called the Moken by the Burmese.
These aboriginal tribes are understood
to
be
of
Dravidian
origin
similar
to
tr ibes tha t were in south India before
the
Aryans came in from the north.
But
little
is known about them as they
are shy
of
strangers. They live all
their lives
on
raft- like boats made
of
palms and only camping on the beaches
for short periods of time. They dive for
clams and shells which they trade for
their necessities. They do not use mon
ey.
and
differ
from the
Thais in that
they
carry things
ontheir heads asthe
Indians do. One of the Ranong
Christ
ians, who is a fisherman, spent seven
months living with them and he invit
ed us to come back when the stormy
Monsoon season is past, and he would
take us to visit these people.
Tru ly , with
the
plans for a canal
through which ocean liners will pass
through
Ranong
Province, and it being
an
unevangelized area
also, this Prov
ince is a great opportunity for Christian
witnessing May the Lord help us to an
swer their
Macedonian
Call
to Come
and preach the Gospel in Ranong Prov
i n c e
--Hany D.
Schaefer
Box 1395, Bangkok,
Thailand
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God Sees^^
Oh
go ahead and take a drink.
The Teache r will
not
find out
and we
promise we won t
tell.
Such was the
temptation confronting Nai Khaek, a
new
Khamu Christian
o f
about
seven
monthsformer drunkard,
spirit-doc-
tor and persecutor in violent opposition
to the Christian group in Nam Mong.
The scenewas a marriagefestival. Af
ter the ceremony the custom was to
bring out
the
food and liquor. Nai
Khaek s reply to this subtlety was be
fitting one who knew his Gm. It is
tmeme
Teacher
may notsee,butGod
in
heaven
sees
ana He
is
the
One I
must deal with not Teacher. From
this he went
on
to witness to the new
joy he had found in Christ. He said,
rm happy now. Iwalk the trail, work
in me
fields
live
wim
my
family
at
home
and have no fear of lurking
evil
spirits. I know God is there beside
me.
I talk wim
Him
and He defeats the
evil spirits. Some
of
his listeners gave
a little mocking laugh, but most sat
mere
deeply impressedwim
the
strange
religion tWt
made men
good and true
and put a joy in
meir
hearts. They were
listening to words from a man theyhad
known and respected for years as a solid
citizen of the village. They had never
heard
him
speak so before. How
come
the change? There was no doubt in Nai
Khaek ' s mindhe
had
found
his
God
I have been privileged to watch
the
spiritualdevelopment of this
man since
Ms
re-birm
a couple of years ago. His
growm and insight has beenwonderful
to
behold. He is illiterate wMch no
doubt accounts for some ofMs
humility
but what he knows to be right and what
he hears
from m e Word
with
under
s tanding
he is quick to appropriate.
What more could you ask? Witn this
tmsting attitude he far outgrewmost of
the otherChristians in a very short time.
He is
always
happy to
wimess
to me
peace and joyme
Lord
has
given. We
know these tnings to be true he rec
ently told his equally radiant wife, for
we have h ad h eaven on earth m ese few
months .
Many
prayers had gone up for Nai
Khaek sinceme first t ime Garland
Bare
entered BanNam Mong, forNai Khaek,
along with two omers, were ring-lead
ers in a strong opposition. From me
verybeginning Garland requested pray
e r for mese three. The omer two were
not long in following Khaek in profess
ing Christ.
The power of changed liveswho
can
and what can argue against
it?
The
native can
dismiss me efforts and
lives of the foreigners for the simple
reason he is a foreigner, and is supp
osed
to be
different.
But
mere
is
no
argument against a kinsman whoseha
bits
have
suddenly changed, and
can
not cease talking about me miracle
wrought in his heart. There is bewild
erment
respect, and an irresistable
urge to likewise
participate.
The story of Nai Khaek, and others
like Mm is just me beginning of God s
work among me Khamu of Northern
Thailand. There are
many
more
glori
ous chapters to be written in his
life
and others
yet
living in darkness. We
humbly confess here
that
the child
l ik e f ai th of
such men
has done
more
and shall do
more
to mmble
pagan
walls, and open sympametic hearts to
the gospel, than me foreigner could
ever do. May the flood-gate of God s
abounding
grace be
poured
out
on His
trusting cMldren.
Don Byers, Pua, Nan Province
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m
MISSIONARIES
AT CONFERENCE: Standing: Mark Sterling, David Filbeck and
son Amby
Melvert Byers Donald Byers David Schaefer,
LiUie
and Harry
Schaefer, Dorothy ana Garland Bare, Lois and C. W. Callaway, Middle row:
Mrs. Deloris Filbeck, Mrs. June Byers with Steve, Mrs. Roberta
Byers
with
Jocelyn, Mrs. Emma Schaefer, Suzanne and Dixie Schaefer, Dorothy Uhlig,
DorothySterling, Imogene Williams. Front row: Richie Schaefer, Donny Byers
Melvy Byers GordonByers Randall Byers Sharon Sterling, Corinne Bare, Judy
Sterling,
Rinda Byers.
Conference
In
Chiengmai
Unity without organization? Im
possible This was tne reaction of a
sectarian friend a few years ago to the
suggestion that missionaries could lab
or in harmony without human organ
ization
.
The
years
since
have been
a
testimony
to God s power to make
of
one mind
those who
re con ten t to le t
the Holy Spirit be the sending agent
and the Bible be the only constitution
and
by-laws.
The evangelists in Thailand belong
to
no
mission.
We are
united,
not in
an organization, but in a Personwhose
Body
the all-sufficient mission agen
cy for all t imes and places. Neverthe
less
recognizing our dependence on
Christ, our need of His leading, and
the power of a united studyof His word,
we sought an opportunity when
all
of us
could join for a time of fellowship.
In April, Dara Academy, a girls'
school in Chiengmai, which was closed
for hot season vacation, made their
campus
available to
us. Here were
dormitories, facilities
for
cooking
study and assembly, and a children s
playground .Furthermore, everyone
was free to attend at least part of the
first two weeks of April.
Those attending were the Harry
Schaefer family and Harry's mother,
Mrs.Emma Schaefer, who had recently
arrived in Bangkok with the hope of
opening an Indian work; the David Fil-
beck s (with
their brand-new son
Amby), also from Bangkok; the C. W.
Callaway and Melvert Byers families.
Imogene WiUiams and Dorothy Uhlig
from Chiengrai Ehovince; and the Don
ald Byers and
Garland
Bare families
from Nan
Province.
Unofficial hostess
was Dorothy Sterling who was already
loca ted
in Chiengmai for language
study, and who had made the initial
arrangements for facilities.
Each day
the men
alternated
in
bringing messages followed by discuss
ion and prayer. The theme of the In
digenous Cnurch was carried through
the moming services. In the evenings,
messages
and discussion centered on
the subject of Prayer. Problems were
d is cu ss ed and burdens were
shared.
While
the
adul ts
met
in these sess
ions, June Byers led a vacation Bible
school
for the children. She was
assis
ted by
Dorothy
Bare andRoberta
Byers.
At tne end the children presented a
program of songs and memory verses.
It was an
especially thrilling time
for
the youngsters for some of
them
seldom
mee t o the r Amer ican children.
The presence ofMrs. Emma
Schaefer
was inspiring to all, and we were en
riched by
her
wisdom from a
lifetime
of service in India. Lois Callaway ably
carried the heavy burden of supervising
the purchasing and preparation of food.
All were blessed in coming apart from
the cares of work and listening to God
speak through His Word, We returned
to out ind iv idual fields o f la bo r w ith a
determinat ion
to know
Him who
is
the
Unit of our unity.
By
Garland
Bare,
Pua,
Nan
Province
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15/16
A l l
L l i r e a e l i e d
M i i i i o i i l iouls
Each
week-day
morning I emerge
from a narrow lane on my motor bike
and turn onto one of Bangkok s busy
streets. Quickly I am engulfed in a
maze of traffic of every
type
and de
scription as
Imake
mywayto language
school. Every type of American and
E u r o p e a n car competes with three-
wheel motorscootet type taxis for po
sition at
traffic jams.
Trucks and bus
ses of
all
sizes and shapes snarl up tra
ffic for blocks. Bicycles, motorscoot-
ers, and motorcycles weave in and out
of
the t raffic .
When
traffic stop
flowing
altogeth
er a policeman takes over. At school
crossings cars
screech
to a stop at
the
signal of a
policeman,
and then
tear
away trying to pass
each other.
Every
few blocks
there
is a public school for
children. Each morning and afternoon
bright blue and white uniforms crowd
t h e streets.
Bangkok,
like
every other big city
in
the
world, has its growing pains.
Traffic
jamsarea
constant problem be
cause of
the typical,
nanow streets.
Adequatehousing is another problem as
many from outlying districts flock to
Bangkok for work and education. For
this reason Bangkokis constantly chang
ing its face by filling in its old canals
and building new six-lane boulevards;
and by tearing down old buildings to
build
bigger
ones.
A ll
o f
this
shows
t h e
imwJrtance
o f
Bangkok in
the national life
of
Thai
land. It is Thailand's
capital,
port of
entry and export, and center of educa
t ion and h e a l t h
T h e r e
a r e t h r e e la n
guages beside
Thai
which are almost
equal in importance. Chinese runsThai
a very close second because of
the
large
Chinese population. English has
been
adopted
officially as the second lang
uage of Thailand
and
is known by al-
BANGKOK STREET SCENE
most all of the businessmen, and by all
the government and
educational
offi
cials. Because of the large Hindi pop
ulation, theHindi language ranks fourth
in importance.
In
spite
of its
size
and
importance,
angkok
has been largely neglected by
t h e missionaries . T h e r e
a r e
around a
dozen
s m a l l Protestant
churches with a
l i k e amoun t
o f
C a t h o l i c
churches
s c a t
tered throughout the
city. The
major
ity of
these churches
are
plagued
with
liberalism and hence are robbed ofany
power to
evangelize.
There
is
a
real need for New
Tes t
ament
missionaries who
are
experienced
in big city evangelism and can mod
ify this experience to Thai culture in
Bangkok, There are many
excellent
opportunities to witness even before
one
knows the language. To
know
E^lish
is a
craze
among the
Thai.
Imere
have
been many such opportunities to
help a
Thai
to learn English by studying
about
God
and His Son.
The people of Bangkok, as well as
those
allov'.rThailand, aresheepwith
out a shepherd.
They
wander about seek -
ing truth and salvation.
Satan
is slowly
swallowing
them
up by means of mat
erialism as more
and m ote o f
A m e r i c a s
materialism
is adopted. Sin of
all
types
are no less here than in any other part
of t h e
world.
Are you praying that many will take
up this challenge and preach the gospel
in Thailand? We know not how many
more days we
have
in which to work.
The peace of
sia
and of the world is
too
delicately
balanced for
comfort.
Only your
prayers
can thrust
workers
in
to
tne
vineyard of Bangkok.
--David
Filbeck,
Pua, Nan Province
-
8/11/2019 TribesandTrails 1961 Thailand
16/16
I Will Direct
Thy
Paths
Plans to go by truck were doused by
torrents
ofrain.
Attempts to find oxcarts
were unsuccessful; but, finally, two
men came offering
their
oxcarts for the
trip to Phayao. Flooded rivers caused
added delays, and yet in His own time
the Lord led. Pushing on
till
late at
night , traveling
all
day, then up
at
midnight to press on to
the
destination
in time to catch a 7 a.
m.
truck only
to miss it through
the
carelessness or
misunderstanding of
the
ones sent to
msdce
the arrangements. A day s lay
over waiting for another truck
and...
frustrating? Yes, if we to run
things in our own way. No, if we
have committed everything to
the
Lord
and are tmsting in Him to direct our
paths.
A warm welcome by an unknown
Christ ian
woman
was a t
the
end
o f
a
river-boat
trip.
Also awaiting us were
opportunities to
teach
among the Khamu
women and children. An
early
morning
bus forgets to pick you up, and your
schedufe for the
next
few ^ys isupset
but
it
makes possible a
brief
reunion
TRIBES AMP TRAILS
IN
FIRST
HRISTI N
HUR H
Nin t h and
P ine
Streets
Klamath
Falls, Oregon
with a fellow missionary who arrives a
few hours later. A tmck stuck in
Ae
mud for two nights gave opportunity
for a missionary to witness to people
whowould never have heard the gospel
in
any
otherway. This included several
chance meetings with an English
speaking
Thai
who is very atheistic and
a
staunch
bel iever
in
Buddha s
teach
ings.
It is easy to become frustrated and
angry in some of these circumstances,
ana yet
if
one has committed his way
to the Lord and is tmsting in Him, He
has promised 1willdirect thy ^ths.
Not always
in the
way we think
best
not
always
in the easy
w^,
but inHis
Way wHich
is the way ot blessing
and
joy.
For any Christian the secret of tri
umphant
Christian
livingis in comm
itting, tmsting and letting Him lead.
Try it and see if
it
doesn t change fms-
tration into joy and disappointments
into opportunities for service.
Dorothy Uhlig, Talat Chiengkam
Chiengrai Province, Thailand
THAILAND
Non-Profil:
Org.
U.S.
POSTAGE
PAID
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Permit Number 12
Dorothy Uhlig, Missionary to Thailand
Form 3547 Requested
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