LISU and RAWANG CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN BURMA

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION

"Where China, Tibet, Burma and India Meet" (Formerly Yunnan-Tibetan Christian Mission)

The Mission Staff with vorieus church leaders and evangelists at tfie End-of>Sehool Picnic which comes at the end of every Bible School, put on by various village etden and enjoyed by all os a great doy of fellowship.

"/ will praise thee, O Lord, with all my heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works."

FIRST 1958 NEWSLETTER

No. 17 New Series Beginning January. 1953

The J. Russell Morse Family and Associates

P. O. Putao, via Myitkyina

Kachin State, Burma

IT HAPPENED IN 1957
JANUARY

In the Stiates: Robert end Betty Morse, with their three sons, returned to Burma after being in the U.S.A. for furlough. They arrived in the States
April 5, 1956 and left for Burma January 27, 1957.

On the field: Bible School was started in January, 1957, at Muladi, taught
by Mrs. J. Russell Morse, Eugene and LaVerne.
attendance of 440. FEBRUARY

There was an all time record

The six weeks Bible School was completed and students who hod come from far and near returned to their respective areas to carry the "Good News."

Robert and Betty and family arrived "home" on the mission field on February
25th, less than a month after leaving the States.
MARCH

Th village Christian Day School was started in Muladi, with Mrs. J, Russell Morse teaching Bible one hour each day. Robert, Eugene and Helen with their

youngest son, Larry, went to Rangoon for medical core and to purchase supplies.
APRIL

Robert, Eugene, Helen and Larry returned to Muladi. Robert started work on translation of the Gospel of John in Rowong. Easter conventions were

held in various villages with a combined attendance of 2200. LaVerne taught group of seven young men in on intensive Bible study for 3 weeks, then they
went out to do evangelistic work in nearby Kachin villages.
May

Mrs. J. Russell Morse visited three new congregations on a 10 day trip, held women's classes and conferred on church problems in each village. Robert returned to Rangoon to see their baggage through customs. This trip was
necessary because their goods hod been pilfered enroute.
JUNE

Classes were begun in the newly opened mission schoolPutao Christian

School with the kindergarten and first four standards (grades) at Dukdang, and 5th and 6th standards at Muladi. The school is under the supervision
of LaVerne Morse.
JULY

He teaches Bible and English.

Lois went to Rangoon for medical care and returned overland.

Robert remained in Rangoon longer than first planned due to difficulties

regarding supplies and also to finish reading proofs of Rawang Primer.

In

Robert's absence, Betty taught English classes in the school at Dukdang (1st through 4th standards.) All eagerly awaited news of Dorothy Sterling, mis sion nurse, who was preparing to return to Burma and was awaiting visaes.
AUGUST

Robert returned from Rangoon overland, resumed Bible translating. Sunday Bible classes were started for adults, with weekly study class for teachers,
taught by Mrs. J. Russell Morse.
SEPTEMBER

Mrs. J. Russell Morse visited two nearby congregations which held early Thanksgiving conventions. Margaret Elaine, fifth child, first daughter, of Helen and Eugene was born at Muladi, September 28th. Dorothy Sterling was denied entry to Burma, so made the difficult decision to work in Alaska,
while continuing to hope for an opportunity to return to Burma.
OCTOBER

Robert held a two-week Bible School in Sirkumdom, a Rawang village about 10 miles from Dukdang. Attendance was 200. Thanksgiving conventions were held in various villages on the Putao plain, each being attended by one
or more of the missionaries.

LaVerne made a one week trip, visiting congregations at the northern end of the Putao ploin. He had an unexpected opportunity to preach in a Shan
village.
NOVEMBER

A Thanksgiving Convention was held in Muladi, with Dukdang and two other nearby villages joining, with an attendance of 100. During this time of

Thanksgiving they witnessed the answer to much proyer, in that John Law rence, (Larry), youngest son of Eugene and Helen storted walking, having overcome handicap caused by circulotory trouble since birth. He was almost
ZVz years old at this time.
DECEMBER

A three-week school for elders and deacons was held, taught by Mrs. J. Russell Morse, Eugene, Robert and LoVerne, with an attendance of 65 from the plains orea. The Christmas Convention was held at the village of Mamu, with o record ottendonce of more thon 3300. Special guests in Mulodi for Christmas week were Dr. and Mrs. Robert Drummond, who have been in Mandalay under Fulbright Fellowships. They ore from Terre Haute, Indiana (Helen's home) where Dr. Drummond is a Professor of Geography at Indiana State Teachers' College. On December 30, LoVerne, Lois and Marcia went to Rangoon for medical care; Drema went to Myitkyina for a rest ond medical check-up. The Drummonds returned to Mandalay on the same plane. These ore some of the highlights of the yearthings that can be described as having happened at some particular time. Not Included are the many things that go on day after day, such as the medical work done by J. Russell Morse and Drema, conferences with the preachers and church leaders, in which all partici pate. Then there is the building and maintenance work by Eugene, and the multitudiness daily routine tasks of all. All of the missionories need your prayers for their guidance and strength in the performance of the work to which they have been called. Remember them, please, in your prayers each day.
Editor's Note: This letter from LaVerne Morse was received too lote to include in

the Third 1957 Newsletter. However, we are using it now, becouse of its mes sage portraying the great needs of the work and the ways in which these needs ore being met.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVANGELISM

Muladi, North Burma

October 31, 1957 Our very dear Christian friends: During the past several weeks I have had the opportunity of surveying more fully one of the great evangelistic areas in the mis sion field. For a number of years, the established Christian work among the Lisu and Rawang peoples has been in close proximity to a large number of Hkamti Shan tribal
villages scattered throughout the Putao plain. Nevertheless, because there
have been almost no (Christians who

^
i fSK

could speak the Shan language, efforts to reach the Shans with the Gospel of Christ have hitherto been practically

futile.

Yet, we have all been think-

3nd praying much about the need

to reach the Shans as well as the other

tribespeoples.

The Hkamti Shan tribespeople are an isolated pocket of what a thousand years ago used to be one of the powerShan Buddhist femity on
thatched beml>oo house

Hie porch of their

near Putoo. The

ground tovel under tho house is used for a livestock pen.

ful kingdoms of Southeast Asia.

Their nearest relatives are three

weeks' journey away by elephant, southwards through the jungles

around Myitkyina. From there, the Shans live in much of eastern Burma, especially In the Shan States, and also across the border

thence in China. They are closely related to the Thai people of Thailand, where our fellow-missionaries the Gallaways, Bares, Byers, Imogene Williams, and Dorothy Uhlig are working. In addition, there are some Shans in Assam, India, where the David Rees family and
Archie Fairbrother family are working. Of all the people of northern Burma, the Shans have been re puted to be the hardest to reach with the Gospel. A very large pro portion of them are opium-smokers, dope addicts whom it is almost

impossible to wrest from enslavement to the drug, except through the Cross of Jesus Christ. In addition, they are deeply entrenched in Buddhism with Its complex social and religious system. Being the outpost of Buddhism In northernmost Burma, they have also
been one of the special projects of the militant Burmese Buddhists

who hold so great a weight of power In the government of this coun try. Yet, because Jesus Christ is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life, we feel that we should do all that is possible to bring the Mes
sage of eternal life to these people.

During the last part of October, I went on a preaching tour to

contact about eight churches around the northern half of Putao

plain. Though I had been to practically every other area of the mis sion field, I had not yet visited these particular churches so close to our present base. Also, the Christians had reported the desire of many Shans near those churches to hear the Gospel message.

Doru Christians crossing stream itorth of Putao on bamboo raft.

The tour started on October 18 with a big Thanksgiving Convention ot Matrowa, about nine miles from Mulodi. Lois and Mother also attended the con vention. About eight hundred people from eleven churches gathered. Preaching
services began Friday evening and ended Monday morning, with singing and church leaders' conferences in between. Also, once on Saturday and once on Sunday, the host church gave a native-style Thanksgiving banquet. This consisted of
boiled rice and boiled water-buffalo meat wrapped in large leaves.

Following the convention, while Lois and Mother returned to Muladi, I started out walking with a number of the Rowang and Lisu Christians to visit the churches. The first church was at Shanggong Village eight miles away across many mountainfed streams and through endless Shan rice fields. Buddhist shrines dotted the grassy clearings around the Shan villages. Truly a great need for the Gospel lies at the doorsteps of the Lisu and Rawong churches. Then in the Rowong church of Shanggong, I found to my surprise that there were a number of Chris tians who spoke Shan fluently, and could' act as interpreters for an evongelistic
team.

When I arrived, the people at Shanggong were excited over the discovery of what seems to be ruby or jade mines just a few miles away from their village. Evidently the Putao plain is teeming with all sorts of natural resources. But of even greater importance is the great potential the Putao plains has for the onward march of the Gospel of Christ. I also found that only about five days' hike over high mountains westwards from Shanggong ore the fierce, primitive, unevongelized
Mishmi tribe of the northeast India frontier.

Every hour and minute seemed to be crammed with teaching, preaching, and conferring with the church people to grow in Christ and to reach others. Travelling to the next church, Woh-ke, consisted of wading various streams and rice fields, and passing many thatched, stilted Shan houses with their characteristic roofs sloping down to the floor level. The Lisu church at Wah-ke has not only the Shans to evangelize at its doorstep, but also a number of non-Christian Lisu who have migrated down from the mountains. The preacher, deacons, and other
church leaders all needed advice on conduct and building up of the church. Con ferences and services throughout the day and far into the night made me tired enough to sleep soundly on a hard cone bed.

The farthest point on my preaching trip is also th^ last inhabited place in northernmost Burma. Lipodi Village stands where the Mali Hka River, headwaters of Burma's mighty Irrawoddy River, comes rushing out of the snowy mountains

which guard the borders between Burma and her neighbors, Tibet and India. The
villagers make their living by trapping fish in the icy stream, by collecting valu able beeswax and honey from wild beehives in the cliffs, and by trapping the rare musk deer on the snowy heights ten thousand feet above their village. Also, the
villagers till a few fields on the sandy plain where decades ago wild Mishmi tribes men from the India frontier dug out rice paddies. In such a setting lives the church of Christ at Lipodi. From this church, may not only the nearby Shans be reached for Jesus Christ, but also the distant Mishmi across the mountains in
India.

As the final point of my tour, I hod scheduled a series of meetings begin ning Saturday evening with three churches gathering at the village of Nam-she. This is downriver from Lipodi, but I found that none of the people at Lipodi knew the direct route through jungles, across grassy plains, and down various streams to the village. Nevertheless, with three Lisu and Rawang companions carrying my kerosene slide projector. Life of Christ filmstrips, and other equipment, I started out according to general instructions given by people who knew the first port

of the way. At least, we were told, the journey was only a short day's hike away.
Following instructions, about three miles down the main trail to Putao we started wading through trackless toll elephant gross, heading southeostwords for a cer tain break in the distent jungle. Coming to on animal trail, we found fresh tracks of on adult tiger and a smaller tiger heading the some direttion we were going. Near the jungle, we abruptly came to on ancient trail made by human beings, and went the direction we had been advised, though my compass said we were going slightly'northwards, whereas our distination was southwards. At lost, we reached a boy chopping firewood in a jungle clearing. He said we had come

the wrong direction.. Backtracking, we travelled hour after hour through jungle. The sun was neoring the western horizon. The tiger tracks reappeared fairly

fresh on the path ahead. Suddenly our troll ended ot a desolate river bonk with dense jungle on either side, ond no sign of human habitation anywhere. Almost
destination.

in desperation, we woded down the river until we at lost reoched a Shon village. It was too late to go farther. In addition, the Shans did not know the woy to our

SfMn Buddhists betide the ancient grave of o priest of tiieir tribe north
of Putoe.

Down-hearted at not being able to reach our destination where the churches were gathered together to heor me preach thot very evening, I remembered the Scripture, "All things work together for good to them thot love God . . Then, the Shqn villogers invited us to stay overnight in the house of the village SAWBA, or ruling chieftain. I hod never before been in a Shon house, so I gladly accepted. The Shan-style dinner prepared for us, in spite of its being terrifically hot with pepper, tasted delicious. Encouraged by our cordial reception, we asked our hosts if they would core to see some projection slide pictures showing the death, resur rection, and ascension of Christ. To our surprise, our host not only gladly said yes, but also sent people to call the entire village together. Moreover, it so happened that, without ony planning on our port, two of my three Christians who

teaching into the language the people could understand. One of the village chieftoins also gladly helped translate to oil the villagers when my companions found their vocobulory in Shan slightly inadequate. Never before had the woy been open for preaching Christ thus in a large meeting to the Hkamti Shons. In spite of our missing the scheduled meeting in the Lisu church, we were thrilled at this opportunity of reochlng the unreached Shons. The next day, after hours of detouring, we at last reoched o Lisu village which in turn directed us to our distinction, Nom-she village. And, though the three churches had gathered since the night before according to schedule, we

hod come with me from Lipodi spoke Shon and Kochin, ond could interpret my

olso found that Preacher Doniel hod arrived from downriver, unscheduled either by
him or by us, just in time to preach for the first two meetings which we hod

missed. Truly, God directs and guides our ways beyond our knowledge and beyond
our foresight, for His Gospel's sake.

After preaching the lost two meetings at Nom-she and having on inspirationol fellowship with the Christians there, I floated then leisurely downstream with Preacher Daniel in a dugout log canoe. The paddles dipped placidly into the clear green waters. We had only one rapids to shoot through till we reached Magotmung

village for one evening service. From there I returned to Muladi and to Lois and Marcia by a comparative highway, having received a new outlook for the onward march of the Message of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Truly He is our Lord,
our ever-present Guide, our eternal Hope. "Go ye therefore and teach oil nations . . . and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Yours together for His glorious service,
LaVerne, Lois and Marcia Lou.

PROCLAIMING CHRIST IN SONG

By Lois Morse

The tribal peoples in the mountains and jungles of Southeast Asia many times become great enthusiasts for good Christian music and four-part hymn singing. Yet^ in order to reach this level of music appreciation, they must come a tremendous way from their evil-spirit-worshipping backgrounds. This is especially true of the Lisu and Rawang people in northernmost Burma. When evangelists and Gospel teams go out among the non-Christians, for instance,

they find that even the best four-part singing seems like a mass of confusion to the people. The non-Christians are likely to ask, "Don't they even know how to sing together?" The Christians' enthusiasm and love of singing, however, is catching; and soon others 'round about them are wanting to learn how to sing too. With continued teaching night after night around their ojDen fireplaces far off in the jungled mountains, in just a few short weeks they begin to sing recognizable hymns. In several months, they may even be able to sing In four-part harmony. In America, we learn to sing or play an instrument by learning
to read notes which are written on a staff. The Lisu and Rawang

people, however, use simply numbers and letters to denote the musical scale. For example, the first tone in any diatonic scale is always "1," the second tone is "2," the third tone is "3," and so forth. The remaining half-steps are indicated by five letters from the Lisu alphabet A, E, 0, U, and U turned upside down. In the key of C, then, C equals 1, C sharp, A; D, 2; D sharp, E; E, 3; F, 4; F sharp, O, G, 5; G sharp, U; A, 6; A sharp, U upside down, and B, 7. The timing is indicated by dashes, dots, and accent marks follow ing each number or letter. For instance, an accent mark denotes a sixteenth note; a dash denotes a quarter note; two dashes, a half note; four dashes, a full note; a dash and a dot, a dotted quarter, and so forth. An eighth note consists of the plain letter or number
with nothing following it. The octave above the middle octave is indicated by an apostrophe

directly after the number or letter, and the octave below is shown
by a comma.

This system of notation helps the people learn to sing much more quickly than they would be able to by having to learn the note
system.

During November and December of last year, I had quite a thrilling experience teaching two beloved anthems, "Gloria, From
Twelfth Mass" and the "Hallelujah Chorus," to a choir of about

sixty voices. We were preparing them for the Christmas convention

Two pages of "The Hollelujoh Che

YV

Hr

LI V

LU .....
1'

Y=i

6'

6'

(-)

6~

L0= L0=
1'

LI LU Y. H. 3LI.
4'

H - LI-

LUY=
LUY=

4'

3' r

3
LU-

3
Y.

(.)

1"
H-

6'

a'

LI-LU-

Y. H-

LUY=

j ((

/<, \( )

4
1

20'

(1 _ jn. _

-) 3 1 __

7.
A

<-)

Ml

NV
5

M
1'

Kua
5

A
_

>

5 ~

(<-

-) 5-

<>

1-

7.

6.-

s.

4^3'

-) 5,-

/ 2-1'
\

3'

2' 5 s

r1

r3

7 20'

1'. 1.

7
2

r 3 SU
5

) ivn

5 wu
r

NY.
3 1

Yl
4'
6

Kua
6
6

. dY3;
- S

L.,0=
5. 3.

Jl
4

1 4-3'
* - 6,

/ >

2' 7

r-

JTi'

1-

r 0

7-. 5. M_
2'.

5
6

6
4clY3

7
4

r-

<<-

-)
-)

((-

6 A0= 3'_
1

TV
V 6

Ml r
3

L_
2' 2

1' 4-

<V

-)
3

<6

5.

Yl

NY

11

dl

11

543

Here we have an example of both simultaneous and intermittent singing by the various parts, which may help our readers to see

both the ease with which the people can learn the usage of the
musical scale of numbers and letters; and also how difficult it

would be for them to learn such numbers as the "The Hallelujah Chorus" when all parts do not sing simultaneously as in most hymns.

rus" OS it oppeors in the Lisu Hymnal

<-

) )
Yl

((P.... w
7 S

<-
NY II Jl

11
s -

Tl
6

(-
3 W 2 Tl
2

-)1'-

5'- 7 3 '

1- (-)
AO-

( - -)S
JJ

1Jl

1
L

<-) 3
II

eT
p

R3

L3-.

....

(-

) ) 5
Yl NY Yl
6

(-

II
NY V 1 V

il Jl

R3_

A0=,
65

T~^
(-)

5 II

<
4 Jl

-)
3P=

7,
P.

(-)

3
11 Yl

II

dl

il

L3.;-.
NY....
5'

-)
1 -

V3 1

4
P

3
W

2B3_

1' 1 A0= A0=

(-) 2
II

II ....
II

II

dl

L3-.

P 2W

W r

R3_
r

(-) 6

~7
5,
L3=

r6
II

(
1

)
r

(
7 P 5

s
P

(-)

3
JI

(-)

L3-.

II

L3

II ....
7

Jl 3'
-

II ....
5

P ....
1'

W
7

Tl
6

R3L .
7 6-

A0=..
5
6 P....

S P

2 L3=i

<

-)

7,
11

n
Jl Jl

5L3. 11
3' 1

0 -

H...
P
2' 2

Yl

NY II
7 6

Tl.

R3_
2'

-)
V

V 1 L3.

3^'
5 P L

2*
2

(-)

2' 2

(-) 7
II

(-> 3
II

<-)

7,
P

dl

11

dl

L3.

II

For those who may wish to compare these pages with the English, the page at the left begins with the phrase, "The kingdom of this (immediately follow world is become the kingdom of our Lord . . ing the first 'hallelujah' section.) going into the "and He shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings, Lord of Lords" . . . section,
in which we find the intermittent singing.

which was to be held in the Putao plains area. The choir members, ranging from about 14 to 18 years of age, were a group of students from the upper grades of Muladi State Primary School and the fifth
and sixth standard students of Putao Christian School.

Having sung from notes all of my life, I found it took some really hard work to learn to read all four parts of these difficult numbers from the Lisu hymnal so as to be able to teach them without hesitation to the students. We had no such convenience as a piano or an organ, only a pitchpipe!! The Lisu and Rawang always learn to sing in this fashion. The leader sings the first phrase, and then everyone repeats after him in unison. Then he sings the following phrase, which is again repeated by the entire group, and so forth. You can Imagine how long it took for us to go through all four parts of the "Hallelujah Chorus" just
one time!

The people, as a whole, have considerable difficulty learning to sing half-steps and also some other intervals. Ones including the numbers "4" and "7" are especially difficult for before the tribal people became Christians they were accustomed to a five-note or pentatonic scale. In the key of C, for example, they often sing "F" the same as "E," and "B" the same as "C," leaving out two entire notes from the octave or diatonic scale. Otherwise, however, they learn to sing in four-part harmony very rapidly. They have a real gift for singing. We usually practiced for two hours at a stretch! I mentioned that we had no instrument to accompany us. Con sequently, while the Sopranos, Altos, Tenors, and Basses were learn ing their respective parts, I had to spend considerable time, as I conducted, shifting (sometimes very rapidly) from one part to an other to help them get the correct pitch and timing. It was really most unfortunate that I could not, as a piano, sing all four parts at once! At any rate, I surely was grateful for every bit of training which I had received in a conducting class under Professor E. Wayne Berry, beloved music instructor of the Cincinnati Bible Seminary. You know, it really is amazing that these people can sing as they do when they generally have no idea how a song is supposed to sound when it is put together. Fortunately, Helen and Eugene did happen to have a record with the "Hallelujah Chorus" on one side, so I
was able to play it for them.

How I wish we could have recorded for you the first practice sessions and then the final rehearsals. It was a great moment when the choir rose to sing before the thousands of Lisu and Rawang Christians who had gathered together for the Christmas convention. Despite a lack of polish in places, we felt that the students did admirably well. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF
OUR MISSION WORK AMONG THE LISU THAT THE ENTIRE

"HALLELUJAH CHORUS" HAD BEEN SUNG. Certainly, the students had travelled far in their ability to read music, to sing with the correct timing, to master difficult intervals, to follow the con ducting of a leader, and so forth. We pray that they will continue to use their talents to glorify His name. We realize the tremendous amount of work yet to be done in

the field of Christian music throughout the mission field; but mean while we rejoice in the wonderful progress which has been made through the years and know with a surety that the singing of our beloved Christian friends in northernmost Burma is, to all of us,
one of the sweetest sounds this side of heaven. PROCLAIMING CHRIST IN PANTOMINE

During the same time that I was working together with these students on the two anthems, Esther was working with a group of them on a Christmas play which she had translated from Chinese into Lisu. Under her able direction, the students practiced for many long hours together in the evenings. Esther also spent many addi tional hoursand a lot of ingenuityon the costuming, from sew ing garments for the part of King Herod to using a lock of her own
cut hair for the horse's mane!

Finally, on the morning of December 27, we missionary families

were busily packing our bags for the Christmas convention. On our

mental lists were such items as bedrolls, blankets, pillows, water canteens, a few foodstuffs such as sugar, salt, tea, and so forth. Around noontime, everyone loaded their belongings on to the tractor trailer; and then we all piled on top of the baggage. You should

have seen the whole crowd of us bumping over the grasslands to the village site where the convention was to be held some eight miles
east of Muladi.

Between three and four thousand people gathered for the

convention so you can imagine how packed the village and surround ing area were during those three days of Christian fellowship! Sev

en of us lived together in a small smoky room of a Lisu house, and the others lived in a temporary grass "house" which was built for

the missionaries' accommodation. A meeting place was built espe cially for the preaching services out in the open fields, just a short distance from the village. Unfortunately, the loosely-laid grass roof was so low that a separate stage had to be built for the presentation of the play. It consisted of grass walls with a room at either side of the main stage for the players. After the close of the Saturday evening service, everyone gath ered together out In the open before the stage to see the drama of the Christmas story. The mantle of the pressure lamp which was to have been used for lighting that night was accidentally broken during the day, so the only available lighting was a number of storm lanterns hung at frequent intervals about the stage plus a flashlight
used as a sort of spotlight! I wish we could have taken some colored

movies of the play. It really was a graphic portrayal of the story of Christ's birth, from the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to the visit of the Wise-men some two years later. During the final scenes, the late evening fog was pouring in on the open stage, and
everyone was feeling the bitter cold.

great assembly"exclaiming, "Shamowa," (Thank you) after the final

You should have heard that

curtain was pulled before they hurried off to their homes for the night.

SMALL WORLD: THREE TERRE HAUTEANS MEET BY CHANCE NEAR TIBETAN BORDER
By Mrs Robert Drummond When one Terre Houtean meets another, by chance, in New York, or Texas, or Arizono, the coincidence is worth talking about. But when three Terre

Hauteans occidently come together on the other side of the globe, within sight of the Tibetan border, the results are inevitable: An enthusiastic greeting, an eager exchange of mutual acquointances and long hours nostalgically reviving
banks-of-the-Wabash memories.

The Terre Houteans who recently hod such on experience are Dr. and Mrs. Robert Drummond, currently on Fulbright Fellowships in Burma, and Mrs. Eugene Morse, the former Helen Myers, of 2024 North Fourteenth Street, who with her
husband is engaged in mission work in far northern Burma.

Dr. and Mrs. Drummond, who ore living in Mandalay, in central Burma, write thot they were determined to see snow for Christmos. To do so they had to

Dr. and Mrs. Robert R. Drummond, Mr. ond Mrs. Eugene R. Morse and chiMren, Dorid/ 8 yrs.; Tommy, 6 yrs; Ronny, 5 years.; 'lorry, 2 yrs.; ond Morgoret, 4 months.
travel as for north in Burma as regulor transportation service is maintained, to a place called Putoo, 50 miles from the Tibetan border. Their plane landed on a short graveled airstrip in the small Putao plain. Surrounding the plain were high snow-capped mountains, oil extensions of the Himoloyas, that mark Burma's northern boundary with India, Tibet, and China. On this picturesque ond isolated

plain, cut off from the outside contact by heavy monsoon rains for more than
half the year, the three Terre Hauteans staged their unexpected reunion. The Mission village of Mulodi, where the Morses ore stationed, is about seven miles tractor distance (no jeep) from the Putao airstrip. The Drummonds had heard of the Morses, for their fame is widespread in Burma, ond they had

intended to visit them. But the surprise come when Eugene Morse met the Drummonds at the airstrip and told them that his wife was from Terre Haute, and that, in fact, Terre Haute was the headquarters for the North Burma Christian Mission. The mission secretary is Mrs. Morse's mother, Mrs. Oscar L. Myers of
2024 North Fourteenth Street.

For Q week the Drummonds were the guests of the Morses in Muladi. Around the fireplace that was a welcome source of warmth in the airy bamboo-andthotch house, the two Terre Haute couples exchanged experiences. Their talk ranged from Terre Haute to Kumming to Hong Kong to Mandaloy. The Drummonds, whose home is at 131 North Thirty-fourth Street, left Terre Haute the first of June, 1957, to spend a year in Burma. Dr. Drummond, who is a professor of geography at Indiana State, is currently serving as o visiting Fulbright lecturer in geography at Mandalay University. Mandaloy University, Dr. Drummond writes, is a school about the size of Indiana State, with similar
expansion problems.

Mrs. Drummond, who coMabroted as co-author with Dr. Clyde Kohn of North western University on a geography textbook for junior high school students before they left, hos been helping her husband with urban research in the city of Mandalay. Since going to Burma, she, also, has been given o Fulbright Scholar ship for research work there, for which she applied before leaving here.

The gross shelter in which Dr. and Mrs. Drummond, Eugene, Helen and family lived during the Christmos convention.

Mr. Drummond has finished his formal class work and, if they wanted to, the couple could leave Mandalay now. However, since both hove plenty of things to keep them busy there for two more months, they think they shall stay on
until the middle of April.

Kipling hod a few facts wrong when he wrote the poem that mode Mandalay famous, occording to the Drummonds. There are no flying fishes in Mandalay; the sun occasionally moy come up "like thunder," but there is no bay, and no China "cross the boy." Mandalay, in fact, is 400 miles inland, twice as for from the Indian Ocean as Terre Haute is from Chicago. The Drummonds hove found Mandaloy a fascinating city, with its many pagodas, its thousands of yellow-robed Buddhist monks, its mixture of Burmese, Chinese,
end Indian customs, its colorful streets and bazaars. There are four other

Americans in Mandaloytwo Boptist missionories, and

two

United States

Informotion Service representatives.

There is also o small Europeon colony,

of less than a dozen persons. Weekend and holiday travel in Burma has taken the Drummonds on both the

Burma and the Ledo roods of World War II fame, on a river trip down the

Irrawaddy, to a jade mine and ruby mines, to a teak forest where elephants
ore the machines, to an area of splendid ruins called Pagan, four miles square and ten centuries old. But both agree that the highlight of their travels in Burma was their Christmas trip to Burma's far north and their visit with Morses in Muladi.

As we read the accounts Lois gives of the training and prep aration for the Christmas program, we see the wonderful progress that has been made as the Lisu and Rawang are developing in many ways in their Christian life and in using their talents for the Lord. The missonaries look forward to these times of fellowship and we can only imagine what it must be like to see hundreds of families coming from all the surrounding villages, and uniting their hearts and voices in a worship service such as this. The children of the missionaries look forward eagerly to the con ventions. We might imagine ourselves attending the convention with Eugene, Helen and family as we read a portion of Helen's letter: "We went to the Christmas convention with the whole family again this year. With five children, it takes quite a bit of bedding, etc,, for such an expedition. The weather was quite cool, about 41 degrees in the early morning, warming up into the 60's during the day, and dropping back down as soon as the sun went down. There was a heavy fog in the mornings, too, which didn't lift until

about 10:00 a.m.

Mother, Daddy, Drema, LaVerne, Lois, and

Marcia stayed in houses in the village, but we and our guests stayed in a little grass shelterfixed up with two roomsout in the fields, close to the temporary church building and right in the midst of all the other folks who had come to the convention. Almost any time when services were not in progress you could hear folks gather ed in small groups here and there, singing. Our little Margaret was quite an attraction, and folks lined up all around the walls, peeking through holes in the walls, trying to get a glimpse of her and the other children. It isn't every day that they see five Amer ican children assembled in one spot, Jonni was with us part of the time, too, so that made six. Then, as an added attraction there were two other Americans to watch. The children, especially,

gathered 'round to watch in fascination while Eugene shaved. He really put on a good exhibition for them, lathering up his face
more than usual, and going through considerable facial contortions in the process. The men out here don't have whiskers, and every one thinks It is quite a sight to watch the foreigners shave. It was impossible to obtain an accurate count, but there were well over 3,000-possibly 3400 to 3600, The program was very good, too. Of course all sermons had to be both in Lisu and Rawang, so it made the service quite long. <As I mentioned before, Lois had worked hard with choir from Muldai, and they sang at the morning services both on Saturday and Sunday, They did very well, indeed!

How many choirs In America could sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" unaccompanied and come out on pitch? It is all the more remarkable when you consider that many of the singers were students only about 13 or 14 years old. Drema worked equally hard with the group presenting the Christmas play. They, too, did well, and it was amazing how much they were able to get together for stage pro-

pertles. Two boys were the horsesthey had fixed up a horse s head from bamboo frame covered with paper and the eyes drawn on.
Some of Drema's hair was used for the mane. All the bathrobes

were put into use for the shepherds and wise men. An old skirt was ripped at the two side seams, fixed with a tie and decorated with strips of crepe paper for borders and made into capes for two soldiers. The boys made helmetsagain using bamboo frames, covered with tinfoilfollowing the pictures in the Life of Christ Visualized books as a patternthe helmets of the Roman soldiers.

If the play had been presented in daylight, we would have taken

pictures but none of us had flash attachments for our cameras. We

thought of having the folks dress up again for the picture but there just wasn't time. On Monday, December 31, we returned to Muladi, and soon the plane came which took the Drummonds to Mandalay, Drema to Mytkylna and LaVerne, Lois and Marcia to Rangoon. It had been a wonderful time of fellowship. The children wanted to know "Why Dr. and Mrs. Drummond had to leave and when they would be coming back." And so, another Christmas has passed, and another New Year has come during which, we pray, thousands more throughout the world will hear for the first time the story of the birth of Christ, their only Hope.

Helen Morse vrith daughter, Margaret Eloine, Christmas 1957.

was three months old.

Boby

LaVerne, Lois and Marcia spent the month of January in Rangoon. They were in need of medical check-ups and also there was much business to be taken care of. As they wrote from Rangoon: "There were many things to get donefrom working out an application for government permission to import 10,000 Lisu hymnals into the country to purchasing a teakettle that wouldn't leak!" When there is a contlnous series of Bible Schools plus the regular Christian Day Schools, books and other supplies must be purchased from
time to time.

The Bible School for prospective preachers and assistant ministers began January 19, with about 240 in attendance. LaVerne got back February 3rd so was able to help his mother and Robert who had been carrying an extra heavy teaching load in his absence.
Robert continues with his translation work, Mr. J. Russell Morse and Drema find the medical work almost a full time task, Betty and Helen must conduct school for their boys and as Mrs. J. Russell Morse wrote In telling about the work of the various ones, "There is plenty of work for everyone, it seems." This is a busy time of year. Weather conditions are more favorable and the food supply is better than during the monsoon season. Your continued prayer support is needed that they may be strength ened physically and spiritually as they train workers to carry the

Gospel to the "far corners" of Burma; as they counsel with the preachers, elders and leaders of the various villages in the area; as they continue to preach and teach, carrying out Paul's admonition to Timothy: "And the things thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall
be able to teach others also."

Mailed by Mrs. OSCAR L. MYERS

2024 N. 14Hi St.

Terre Haute, Indiana

For

Sec. 34.65 (e)-P.L.&R. U. S. POSTAGE

PAID

NORTH BURMA

CHRISTIAN MISSION

Terre Haute, Ind.

PERMIT No. 321

Form 3547 Requested

2CU mmxs wnm 8100

CINCimTI 51, (BIO

Please pass on to the McGilvrey*s and the McFarlands

#
'r
I

...

S R CTA"I

A. YEA12 f^QTlEsT

You will remember that in 1956 whi]^ Robert, Betty and family were in the States on furlough, there came a special request from the rest of the family in Burma, asking
for fervent prayer because of the imminent danger from the Chinese Communists who had

crossed the border into Burma# The response was wonderful - the special prayer at the Missionary Convention in Joplin, will never be forgotten by those who ;;Gr. t! ore# The brethren all over the country responded and because they believed that. "l " CIiAiJGES THINGS, prayer was ansivered and the work has continued these two yeai's - auiiJreds are
now IN CHRIST and have the hope of ETERNITI with our Lord.

Again we have received a request for prayer, A cablegram received gave the appeal as follows:"ASK THAT THE CHURCHES PR/iY EARJ^JESTLI AS REQUESTED VJIIEN ROBEliT WAS THERE,"
So we know that the same conditions exist now as at that time#
ONCE AGAIN

YOU are asked to join with us and other interested Christians in PRAYER at this time

of emergency on the Mission field of North Burma#

CONTINUALLY until the crisis is past.

Not praying just once, but DAZLY,

YOU are asked to pray with us specifically - Remembering that the Lord's help is desperately needed in strengthening, protection and daily watch-care over wach member of the missionary families in Burma. FRAY that the family will be gmidcd in their decisions - that they will not leave the native Christians unnecessarily - since their presence means so much to the present morale and the future confidence of the indigenous Christian church out there. May their every decision bo completely within GOD*S VJIIL and for His Glory and Honor.
PRAY that there will be MCRE TIME to spread the Gospel" to the tribes who have soTess

cently begun to open their hearts and minds to the teacliing and proaching of the GOOD
NEWS - the glorious Gospel of Christ,

PRAY earnestly for all of the native Christians - Lisu, Rawang, Kachin and Shan^ and especially for those who are being persecuted for their faith that they might have
the spiritual strength to remain faithful to the erKi,

V7e quote the following paragraphs from our 1956 appeal ^ich we feel are equally apt
at this time in this present emergency:

"Since the days of the Apostles, those that have gone forth to carry the Gospel to the nations have had to face many trials,ahdrdshipe, temptations and persecutions. W
Whenever and wherever there is an eager seeking after the truth as found in Jesus

Christ, our Lord, the more evident becomes the opposition of Satan#

So it is, that

the missionaries of the North Burma Christian I'iission turn to their friends of like

precious faith for earnest, fervent and faitliful prayer support. "We believe that in times of emergency and crisis such as this, the Lord's people and workers not only have the privilege and right, but the duty of appealing to felJ.cw Christians everywhere to unite with them in prayer, confident that a spiritual victory may be claimed as a promise of God# We are surely engaged in these last days, in a
spiritual conflict, in which all the forces of Satan and his evil hordes are lined up hoping to crush out the light of Christianity, especially in the heart of the vast,
over-populated continent of Asia."
"GOT im RIVERS YOU THINK ARE UNCROSSABLE? GOT ANY MOUNTAniS YOU C;inT mmh THROUGH? GOD SPECIALIZES IN THINGS THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE. HE DOES THE THINGS NO OTHER C/iN DOi"

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, yo shall say unto this mountain. Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall bo impossible
unto you." I'iatt. 17:20

The effectual

fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth mucha" James 5:16

"Pray without ceasing," I Thessalonians 5sl7 Ir)';luded in the cablegram was the news that Robert is much improved. He and fiotty ro'l^-orned up-country Wo are so thankful for this news. The others

we:.-6 well#

on June 25th

ehr.cXt'o'o.; s.-, bn.: a^YCT/.Ll

;zl. I: ^ Uh./i 7i. J A1

orlj: :iir 'xt^w isn.sXirfv

Sc

fri &z:ii X6dcis6ii&i IXlw AfoJ

; ^'sri't i" s;Iirf5al-srf4: It vra&r-eridt;.L-p3'i isioeqe o atrijso -^eslS- jrisiKsXix;!. no . ; .' ,>f: ofiw Z'i-zXsujm.0'^ ^jZ'otJxQ et-J spml i^^nsfr i.iiiixrtpi to aeuasod i0^iq \#novne't ol
. ariJ. Xr'tTfvfeiryrf sfAi oifT fiBm59 Jni Tdfaio<J edt beeeoiD

"v if- i.'i- . ?-*r:

. .-. .

: -'Ki'^- ctsodJ llix ^aJtX^oi^* rJ. noi^rtsw/ioD v^Bcfoieeir: -.'j bovojfei3-3 iv;^r:i ts^wss-xr tM 'Befirjoqcd^ \prMuo9-orid- two ILc natirfi'siJ . , - i x \ OWJ vi j'CT boifflj-jnoc ::'MI Sfli IxtiJ 2flW 'XSr^S'KI tSOIHTIi'
"fjflfi TSI^HD KI t-ron

.'r

. ,.;*;;ti:J:

.""

-;,.

/ '

- 1

= wsnai etf oS

oit

bcswl nsk'i ."ic.igQ.fdco \

an-'.'ffiojuJihaoo mQZ

svisrf sw rriegA ^

'^3R3::t SWTi!3aoii ;-:au; aaisaopsi ?; me

5./: , . . -. .
--

kiri^HiTiio sht TruiT m^icwoxxoi ec

aOtr. : ' ' -
.eit.'rlj-iw nloc'orf fcfl&tefi cn& CfOY

SBEfiJH .tI en3i'TcJ:ijS0 bc-jsu'io^.'ii:

t7..il,';'j"

^cioUo .taift gni'^cici ,7o*. . .__r ^ ......v:!..

. V .

.fsrm/G rls.ic'1 Uo hXail noieej.'' orii fto ^ono^iom lo

... ... ' . .

... *

ai. q/-:'- r'btoa oxii isdi gfijTiodm&rrsH t x^S.&oiti'^xiz Btj rfrfivf 'jsriq orf booit;/*' -^ic UOY todmo:;. uos iLVo Arfxfi!} bofi noi^ofxteiq ,fifcfl0i'<i3n0*iJs r(i; fcabson vr: M qccfc
.,' :-< . ; ." arouff hx -^iXJiksl -y-isitoXcr-irr ; f'J- "to

;^,:.;i: "CH-..'iXK .-^bt4+

YGi'i

-=.'an3e:i:oojb rx ili fU

-a-"^ Iliw

Gi1?t

X.^a?

::dvf ci^. iiritin or;' ett'.vijn ^i/o fiomio

EOsX^TElTf'O ovii^xai Sifcno.^iJirLC erii 'Ic oortDbiiff^D t'ltz-'i/l oriJ" bfii jXsiOiS

* . iaJoH biSB
;

bitfe.JJIW--a'Q(X) ri.ti:w ^eJ'oiq.'.soo o<i hoXaioob

:-rT-pf>cnj r-TT

OPOO ulU ^
.

bcu 3ni.ij.73- oriw

.;: . ^ .

cianx::: '.-.iw qcil -i -u.iii' .-:y.io oi rj^;A--j vl.t-G.o

.rj'cXiriO lo XyqsoO" cuolioXs-aflJ >- SVait

tiJi.T tOjartS bnr rJirlswOf ^grir^/cH.jiraXJ - efC:i:;Je-i'airJ avirtoi ariJ lo

orsd

xXctJcormie

"iiorlJ tol boiucc>eioc\ ^^nxacf oir. r.-fw OEorij tol

,.
,

.. . '

-^bcio-Lu^iWir-i-i^ljAnf'T oi kl^:>a9*i.tE Xpi/^ii'iqL sjiU

l.. vlXfjiJpe 01/; IdoI ov rfairk /.csqas d^kL ti/o mbrtl efq^J'xg-::i3q' r^oxwoXXol c.d-;^
. ;

oK

t\on-vnowo irfOEBTq eifid nx -diHi^ r.-fl^" jB

jc c-f 'ovcri .Ciio'i^'''n' .

0.'' 'i'jqi:-;. c^kt "/r.i:'?

* -

il*':0X"Qfi03' fsvsri'?30.'!+ \:;j]vSoqA or-J-lo eX'^b ffJ ^on-tS**

fi"v^jtfa>"t gobfaoSi! losso nr. r/f. i iorlcf hoc tavoixoci'w

.r

-r.-^.i

-}

j-

'j i.: -.-'."f

.lo r.'uJ'^^so^pqo';>rf^ tijir!oot>d d-ndJ.u.-.rV- .'TO^^

tbloJ too \^cri?riv'

1.:i,7j / V Ctlfioy-l e*t;'iw"^- r.

no! jaxti riEXJ^silrfD rj^ma c:i '.lO ?.o"Xiiiit6Xvr-.i..:; iOLTqirr tas, -riovrijl -sol' riii.'st rrfoist^-i', be?. :;J2iT0 bnn la atyrrjii'' nx .Jed*' .ivoiCDd rV'"'
'
nt .

vc Li:'-'I od riOULr.jy^vfn to yjiul: filJ:'; . h- .

u . "ii'r

c-.v^ff
oil AO-:.iiJrrht'j'T

fon v\i:-AiOvj
z-r n;-.-'iiF.rD-i?d ir---'^-t~i-';^'

"ST." 05.?ri^ Id .^7 rT7^ri~o^ eoin^ a.x^o fcTTf rvu n&JiSs^AO iif.'0"TD"t ar i Tfx~

L'-i.t f.o f-ific-K :->fW nr lCiir^aoqc^ t\;JjjiXJaAi;:j

^ . ' . .. ' :

ort'' ^ifo ivsm*:' o.r

Trvi^floni'iaoo'.oD^.^>i-rt-o;, ? .;.

. ^ g T T x - , . ? " j y o H m. TOO

?aia;5-o5:rM-;

);

jmriT wy p^r;

- 'V

e>

aaoa an-- .ai3i?:30'M to^ok-:: aoprfKT ia

.... . ..(j o-,-;

- j;Xr r

,b:)oe blcJ"am Ic fi-Un^ r. E3 .:v''

.v

-t

'

_f:x.'.0''n bdfl j-TVOTioi rX.nifG il bn:

' ' ' ' '' '

(u. -:-I'q '*

-V

.* * "f

. . ." . ;
'"JvJlIJJ

.!.'..XxfiVft iLZ.-". .- j.^lffgxT r>

L. .'-.

'xrj\;/:'!q
. ^.Uc "'

.y-ry. :-.

' * ft 1^

. > .;

: . f. f v.- . ' s.

.;' ( . .H

Ixv- 'jil
:hvi" :!'

.,bo'-o"Jjnl :ioir: ax .^odo/

tol Xia:|n.'.%rfc r.rJ-"'\

: -,;;n
>v.

nL* ;:' W retsoXdso orf^ fli

i30im -. .V---ci

USD and RAWANG CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN BURMA

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION

"Where Cliina, Tibet, Burma and India Meet"

(Formerly Yunnan-Tibetan Christian Mission)

ill'

Close of six weeks Bible School showing students lined up around church

as they shake hands. The line seen here was two deep all the way around.

^'Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the
harvest? Behold I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest"
JOHN 4:3 9

THIRD 1958 NEWSLETTER

No. 19 New Series Beginning January, 1953
The J. Russell Morse Family and Associates P. O. Pufao, via Myitkyina
Kachin State, Burma

FOREWORD

In our Second 1958 Newsletter we presented the conditions that our missionaries in north Burma were facing together with the native evangelists and teachers. When we received an urg ent appeal for prayer in August, we sent out a special prayer
request to many churches and individuals. The response was wonderful and we feel that once again, the prayers of the faith
ful Christians at home, united with those of the folks on the

field, have been answered in a wonderful way and new victories

are being won for Him.

On September 27, 1958 the following article appeared in

newspapers throughout the U. S. A.: "ANTI-COMMIE ARMY

TAKES CONTROL IN BURMA COUP. " General Ne Win,

staxinchly anti-Communist head of the armed forces, control

led Burma today. He stepped in to halt political feuding that had threatened to give Communists the balance of power. "Premier U Nu annoxmced Friday night that he will resign on October 28, so Win can be named premier to arrange free elections. Win said that he will continue Burma's neutral pol-

0 icy in foreign affairs. This little Southeast Asia republic of

^' 19 million people between Thailand and India, has a 1, 500-mile

border with Red China. The army seized power early Friday morning, moving swiftly to control key points, after two days of rumor that a coup was impending. An army comm\inique said the seizure was to preserve law, order and democracy.
"After day-long discussions, U Nu announced that Win had

accepted his invitation to become premier at a meeting of par liament in one month. Win, 48, was deputy premier in 1950
and earlier served as defense minister. He is commander-in-

chief of the armed forces, which consist primarily ofthe army

of 60, 000 to 80, 000 men.

" "U Nu had scheduled the November elections in hopes of bolstering his government after a split last June in his politi cal party, which has ruled Burma since it won indepencence
from Britian in 1948. '

Theacco\mt in another U. S. Newspaper the same day had

the following heading: "BURMESE HAPPY OVER CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT. " The following comments under this heading would indicate that the future of Burma may look brighter than it has for some time: "The easygoing Burmese generally ap peared happy today about the country's sudden but peaceful change of government. Business men, religious leaders, teach ers and newspaper editorials agreed: "This is the best thing that could have happened. ' They viewed it as a sign that the country will swing back closer toward relations with the West and that a drive on Burma's rebels will be pressed "
We have prayed that the forces of evil might be held back andwe rejoice to see this change come about. Thus ourprayers
are answered.

NEW GENERATION OF MISSIONARIES BEING TRAINED

Many have received inspiration as they have watched the "second generation" missionarie s of some of our pioneer mis sionary families. And it will be an even greater testimony to the power of the Gospel as we follow the progress of the "third generation" missionaries. And there will be, we are confident, because those who have given their lives in the service of the Master in the lands across the sea, are teaching their children (and grandchildren) to see the need of WORLD EVANGELISM and are molding their lives that they may strive to meet the challenge as they mature and will be willing and ready to carry on the work that has been started and has grown, increases being given by the Lord as they serve Him.
There are nine Morse grand
children on the field in Burma.

The

oldest is

David Lowell,

first child of Eugene and Helen.

He was nine in March, 1958 and

was baptized in May. Concern ing his decision Helen wrote: "Todaywas a happy day forus, because David was baptized
this afternoon. He has been

talking about it and wanting to for quite a while, but this past
Davids baptism, Eugene and Preacher Stephen with him.

week he became quite urgent, so we felt we should not delay him. He wanted his daddy to do it, so even though Eugene had to preach across the river this morning, he hurried back and arrived in time to help. It had been raining for a couple days, and this morning looked pretty dark and drippy. But around noon-time it cleared up, the sun came out, and it was lovely
for the service down at the river. Because the river is so

swift, they always have two people do the baptizing so Eugene and preacher Stephen baptized David and five other people. Then, less than an hour after the service, the sky clouded over again, and it was raining! The weather sure changes quickly. "

LETTER FROM MRS. GERTRUDE MORSE Muladi Village

P. O. Putao

Kachin State, Burma November 1, 1958

Dear Christian Friends:

We have just finished another term of our Bible School, by the Lord's grace and help, and I want to tell you about it. When we first started the school, there were so many reports of the enemy's coming that we did not know what a day would bring forth. But we went ahead, looking unto the Lord to keep the way open and safe. How we do thank Him, for He helped us to finish
the school and He also kept us safe! Eugene taught 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. LaVerne

taught one class on "How to Prepare and Deliver a Sermon", and another on "The Work of the Pastor". Lois taught one class In music. I taught Ephesians, Phillippians, and Revelations. Perhaps I should explain that all these classes were not taught simultan eously, but consecutively^for example, Eugene taught 1 Timothy during the first few weeks during his class period, and I taught Ephesians, then as we finished each book, we went on to the next.
Robert was still too weak from his recent illness to do full time

teaching, but he did give some very fine Bible studies once each week Also, he translated my English notes into Lisu for me, which was quite a task In itself. The Ephesians notes alone (prepared as a verse by verse commentary) made a 52-page booklet. Helen took care of all our mimeographing. Mr. Morse and Esther took care of the sick students as well as the many, many other sick people who continued to come as usual each day. Esther also fixed up a small kit containing a few medicines for each of the far-away preachers
to take back with them.

Each weekend many of the preachers were sent out to the thirty-odd churches and other preaching points around the plains. In this way, they had an opportunity to use some of the material that they had learned that week. During the first class period on Monday morning, the preachers reF)orted any problems or matters for prayer which they had encountered during the week-end. Fol

lowing this report period, we had a time of prayer for the various
problems and people before we started the classes for the week. Sometimes by the next week some of the prayers were answered, and by the end of the school, the students had seen many, many of their prayers answered. They were all very happy and realized
anew that they serve a risen Saviour. The music class taught by Lois had prepared to sing the

Hallelujah Chorus and several other special numbers for the con vention. Also, the two public schools had prepared special hymns. Seven sermons were preached, beginning on Friday evening. Early Saturday morning before breakfast, there was a prayer service. Then, beginning about 10:00 a.m., two preaching services were held, interspersed with much congregational and special singing. About 4:00 p.m. the people had a meal together. This consisted of a generous portion of rice, wrapped up in banana leaves, and another portion or two of boiled meat and native vegetables, likewise wrapped up in banana leaves. In the evening there was another preaching service, with plenty of music again. On Sunday the program was the same except that one collection was taken, and after the second sermon the Lord's supper was served. On Monday morning the students and some of the guests met for a final few words of exhortation, farewell, song, prayer, and hand shake. And so we bade farewell to our dear preacher students for another year. It is always a bit sad, but we look forward to the day when there will be no more partings, and we rejoice that we still are able to proclaim the Gospel to lost sinners. In the part of Burma adjoining China in the Himalaya moun tains, food is very, very scarce. The people living there usually get only enough grain to last a few months of the year. The rest of the time they subsist on wild roots, bamboo sprouts, and a very unpleasant tasting sort of bread made from a certain kind of tree. But this kind of food is very deficient in the required food elements, and the people get very weak. Now, with arrival of hundreds of refugees the situation is really desperate. One of the preachers wrote that the new grain from the fields has all been eaten up already, because of the many refugees. So it seems that a great many more people will be moving down into the plains near Putao. It is surely a blessing that the mission tractor has opened up so many acres of land (over 1000 acres) for cultivation, for these fields will help to supply some of the urgently needed grain.

Several of the nearby congregations have expressed a wish to support evangelist to a new non-Christian area here in Burma. These past few months we have been hearing of several thickly populated Lisu communities which have not been evangelized.

Also, there are large numbers of Lisu and Rawang young men serv ing in the Burma army, and they are not being shepherded. So we are hoping and planning on sending out several evangelists, by the

Lord's help.

Please pray with us that just the right workers may

be found for these needs.

The preachers who just recently studied in the Bible School here and have returned to their churches are planning to hold re gional Bible Schools for their young people during the next several months. Two or three preachers will work together in one school.

Of course the children of each congregation are taught by their own

pastors in short schools, but regional schools will be for older
young people.

Two schools are planned for Decemberone for elders, to be

held in Muladi, and another for preachers' wives and other women

leaders, to be held in Dukang. Then in January and February the

assistant preachers and prospective preachers are due to have an

opportunity to attend Bible School. Please pray for all these schools that they may be blessed and used of God to further
His Kingdom.

Sincerely in His name,

Gertrude H. Morse

COMMITTING THE WORD TO FAITHFUL MEN

by R. LoVeme Mofse

The Apostle Paul said to Timothy, "The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou
to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." (II Tim othy 2:2).

One of the most satisfactory phases of the ministry of spread ing the Gospel is to teach in a Biblfe Seminary a group of truly interested, eager Christian workers. This past summer, we had
the privilege of teaching thus when almost all the active full-time

preachers of the entire mission feild came together for an elevenweek Preachers' Training Seminary. One of the most important, unceasing responsibilities of the mission work has been the overseeing, directing, and advising of the evangelistic work throughout the mission field. Counselling
almost every day of the year with the preachers who -come from all

over the mission field for conferences, guidance,, and supplies for their work, we get to know very intimately their personal problems, their strong points and their weak points. Through conferences with the preachers when they come to us, and also by going ourselves whenever possible into the situations which they face and to areas
where they are working, we get to understand the difficulties with which they contend, the obstacles of non-Christian and de nominational persecutions, of sickness such as malaria and tuber

culosis, of near-famine conditions during the summer months in the

lage on monkey trails in pouring monsoon rains or freezing winter

thickly populated eastern mountains, of walking from village to vil

snows. Only thus, with a genuine sympathy and understanding for them, can we most effectively help the evangelists to go constantly forward in reaching lost souls for Christ and in further strengthening those who have already turned to Christ as the Saviour. Thus, we had long looked forward to a Preacher's Training Seminary when all the preachers throughout the entire mission field would be together so that we could teach them a full course on their particular needs, to help them do the work of the ministry more effectively.

To gather Bible students from all over the mission field,

we have to send out letters at least two months ahead of the

opening date. There is no postal service from Putao except downcountry to Sumprabum, Mytkyina, and the outside world. Hence to all the rest of the mission field, letters have to go by the hand of people travelling in the general direction of the addressees, or relay ed from villiage to village until finally they reach even the farthest places sixteen days journey away. Then, while the students are

walking over the mountain trails on their way to the school, it is the responsibility of the churches where the Bible School is to be held to gather enough rice to feed all the far-away students after they
arrive. For this summer's Preachers' Training Seminary, we figured that about 600 bo (five-gallon tins)a standard measurement out hereof unpounded rice would be needed, and we wondered from where would such a large quantity come. However, after sending out an appeal to the churches of Christ in the Putao plains area, we were thriled that contributions fully supplied the needs for the entire school. In addition, the churches throughout the course of the Seminary also sent contributions to buy meat, squash, and corn for the preachers.

Altogether, eighty-three active preachers plus seventeen pros pective or former preachers were registered for the Preachers' Training Seminary, making a select group of one hundred. Four
teen additional preachers of the churches of Christ from distant areas were not able to attend, but they are supposed to attend a
similar school this winter.

Following a daily chapel period each morning, the classes were divided into six periods of one hour each. Eugene taught the first two hours. His subject for both hours was the exegesis of the Pastoral Epistles, I and II Timothy and Titus. Mother taught one hour each day, later expanded to one and a half hours. During the eleven weeks' Seminary course she taught Ephesians, Phillippians, and the book of Revelation. Lois taught one hour a day on the Principles and Practice of Christian Music, including conducting, with me helping to translate the strictly lecture portion of the class. I taught a one-hour-a-day course which I have wanted to do espec ially as a result of directing the evangelistic work the past several years^The Principles and Work off the Christian Evangelist. Se condly, I taught an hour a day on the Principles of Preaching, or
Homiletics.

It was a real joy to teach the preachers, especially as from

week to week as a result of all the classes we could see them

definitely Improving in the contents, quality, and style of their preaching and teaching. Also, they seerned to become more zealous for the work of their ministry. One thing in which they
calling from home to house, both to reach non-Christians and to

have been insufficiently active, I believe, is personal evangelism and

teach and strengthen further the Christians. Also, though some of the preachers once or twice a year have been holding Bible schools one week to four weeks long for young people and children (some what like D.V.B.S.), yet ALL the preachers need to hold such schools, and more of them, with separate classes for each age group. Only thus can they bring people from a life-long back ground of evil-spirit worship to a continuing and strong faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Especially in heathen countries, evangelists need to be very sure that the basis of conversion of the people they reach is not simply the gain
of various material or social advantages through Christianity. Nor should their conversion be simply to follow a new way of life and
a new set of customs. The true basis of conversion must be a

sure faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, followed by re

pentance, confession, and baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit.

Then again, we need to challenge the preachers to greater and more extensive evangelism. There are many areas of the country of Burmanot to mention other parts of southeast Asia
where some day the churches of this area should send their own

widen their spiritual horizons. A church cannot remain static; it must either advance or fall back, either grow or shrivel up.
A very special hope for the churches to be able to stand on their

native missionaries.

We need constantly to help the evangelists

own feet in the future is that the indigenous (native) personnel will

of two men, went practically every week-end to the many villages within a day's walking distance of Muladi. Every Thursday and Friday, I worked on the Evangelistic teams with preachers, and tthey left on Saturday, returning before Monday morning classes.
Since practically all the preachers were gathered from the
entire mission field. Mother and Father, in addition to their other year's work and the status of their churches.
Individual problems and individual work.

the road to being entirely self-sustaining churches, with God's help. One of the very Important extra-curricular activities during the Preachers' Seminary was the sending out of evangel isitc teams every week-end. About thirty-five preaching teams, each consisting

learn to produce their own Christian literature. However, if they could learn to compose and write Christian literature, as well as to manage mechanical aspects of production, they would be far along

work, got together reports from all the preachers on their past
On the basis of

these, we held conferences with the preachersboth individually and in groupsto advise, counsel, and encourage them in their

The end of the Preachers' Training Seminary was a long,

constant rush. Practically all the preachers needed supplies for use in their work. Esther Drema worked to supply almost all the preach

ers, especially the far-away ones, with medical kits. Eugene worked
to recondition and distribute about thirty-one Gospel Recording phonographs for them to use in their evangelistic work. I worked to distribute Testaments, Gospel primers, and Life of Christ Vis ualized to the evangelists according to their specific needs.
On October 6. after a final service and feast and handshaking,

over eighty preachers scattered to the far corners of the mission field to carry the Message of eternal life, to strengthen the people who have accepted Christ, and to win those who are still in the darkness of sin and evil-spirit worship. Let us all pray that God will very mightily bless their work, and give them much fruit
for their labors unto eternal life.

.^5

Scene in Shan village ef Madzeh. Notice xound-roofed Shan heu8et>

different from Lisu houses.

Horisons is aweekly mission news sheet published by

Mission Services, Box 968, Joliet, 111, It will be sent

to all who contribute $1.00 or more to their work. Mis sion study packets are available for many fields. Price 50 cents. The Burma packet is No, 2458, It is also time for subscriptions to the 1959 Handbook published by David H. Henry, 175 - - 15th Avenue E. , Eugene, Oregon. A complete summary of the various mission fields is given and a digest (25^) is sent twice a year to current mailing list. A missionary Prayer Letter,

bringing recent news and urgent prayer requests from the missionaries is available at $1,00 per year from
Mr. Henry,

OUR WOMEN AT WORK

We have marvelled so many times at the devotion and en

durance of Mrs, Gertrude Morse as she made the arduous trips

to the various villages, holding schools for the women, treat

ing the sick, counselling with church leaders, that they might "shepherd" their people with a better understanding.
During the past few months while conditions have been so

unsettled, she has devoted her time and strength to the work

in the Christian Day School in Muladi and in teaching in the

Bible Schools held for the preachers and teachers of the area,

Drema Esther, Tibetan foster-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Russel Morse has been described by various members of

the family in many ways, all agreeing that she is truly a won derful person. The girls (Helen, Betty and Lois} have all told

of her devotion in the things she does that prove her love to
_
1'

them as a "sister" and through

fuldaughter to her foster-parents. She speaks several of the
native languages and dialects fluently; is a fine teacher and has helped many times with the Schools. And since 1953 when Brother Russell Morse returned to the field, has been his very efficient and faithful
assistant in the medical work.

I k " " m o t horphan eri n g " a little Lisu boy, caring for

^
wf"

^
-

^H| and training him that he may

be a blessing in the work of the Lord. Little Sammy (Ahpu) dearly byall the
family and is little Marcia's

She is "mothering" a little orphan Lisu boy, caring for

Dxama and Sunmy. He was about

1 year old.

playmate.

Betty wrote about teaching her boys, Joni and Stevie and

also her work in the village school at Dukdang, the Rawang

village in which Robert, Betty and family are living.

It is 4

As we send our children off to the public schools, we don't re

miles from Muladi, where the rest of the family are living.
alize all of the problems involved where a mother must teach

her own, especially when they have not had special training for the task. Betty sets forth some of these problems; Teach
ing the childrenis really a job. It has its joyous moments,, and I really get a thrill out of seeing the children learn some-times you can almost see understanding break through the 'barrier' I think that children being with their own mother so much is bad, so I try not to act like Mother in the school room. I make them raise their hands before speaking out, etc., like in a real school room. We got desks for them in Myitkyina and Robert has bmlt a real school room on the back of the house, so we all enjoy it much more now, and it does seem like a real school Our children living here have all sorts of problems that we don't even suspect they have. I thought Joni woiild never learn to read his new books when we got back from furlough, and I was almost ready to give up in despair. But just about that time he got his old fluency back in Lisu and Rawang, and lo and behold! his reading improved

99%!

It seems that all of his energy had to go to mastering

the languages he NEEDED for his play and 'work' and so he had no time for English.

"Stevie is a little scholar. (6 yrs. old Nov. 19 1958). He is doing first grade and loves it. He loves his books and looks all through them, at every picture. Joni hardly looks at his books outside of school, but Stevie even looks through Joni's reading books and guesses from the pictures what the
stories are about. Joni hardly knows what to think when Stevie
can tell the stories in almost the words of the book. Now that

is what he has needed all along, I believe, and I do wish he and David could study together!" Betty also told about the classes she teaches in the Day School and how she is trying to meet some of the problems in volved: "The English textbooks are very poorly written and contain no grammer at all. So I have to prepare a grammar for the different classes. Last year I concentrated mostly on material for second grade, and it really paid off. My third graders are a lot better than last year Is. The new students from other schools don't know nearly as much! Now this year

I'm working on a grammar for 3rd and 4th grades, and a

Phonics handbook for any Rawang learning to read English. My students will be the first to benefit, but it is simple enough for anyone to use. Instead of using a phonetic alphabet, I am using the Rawang alphabet, since it is almost completely phonetic-that is, one symbol stands for one sound. Also, many Englishwords can be reproduced according to SOUND, perfect ly in their writing. For instance, English book is written-bok, moon is written-mun-etc. For example, at the top of the page

I write 4*

Under that I list in proper English spelling all the

words that have that vowel sound (the oo as in book). I have a page for each vowel sound of English, and in the case of "a" as in hat, and "i" as in give, the only two vowel sounds that

Rawang lacks that English has), I write the regular dictionary

Phonetic symbol. I feel that this is really worthwhile, and I'M
so anxious to tet it finished and in use. At the end I'll add a

Lisu gizl with bead headdxesB typical Lisu style.

Rawang student wearing a piece of cloth on her head typical Rawang style.
and

L/ois has worked with the Lisu in the field of music

has also taught English in the Day School at Muladi. She has also been working on a Lisu-English dictionary. The follow ing quote from her letter explains her work in this field: "I have been working hard during the past few months compiling
an English-Lisu dictionary. The words in the dictionary, rather than being taken from an actual word list, are words which I have gleaned from Lisu sentences LaVerne and Esther have been able to write since I have been here, from Scripture passages which I have studied from the Lisu New Testament,

from words I needed from eveiry-day living and so forth. Nat urally, LaVerne and Drema Esther have only been able to give
a limited amount of time to help me in my language study for their schedules are quite full with other tasks in the mission

work. Now I am studying about three hours a week with Esther; and if LaVerne is able, we study together about fifteen minutes a day. After a person has a grasp of the language, he is able to learn a lot by simply conversing with the people, saying something to them and then immediately asking them whether the statement was spoken correctly or not. Also, much can be accomplished by comparing the English and Lisu New Tes taments after a person understands the sentence structure of the Lisu language, which differs vastly from our English sen tence pattern. In these ways, through God's help I have been
able to learn more and more as the months pass by. 1 realize the tremendous amount of work yet to be done in between the other tasks which await me as a missionary mother, but I do

rejoice in the progress which has been made thus far with the language. There are at present approximately one thousand three hundred and fifty words typed in the dictionary. Because
of the manner in which the words were collected, I have at

least a partial working knowledge of a good part of this number. Pray for me as I endeavor to learn more. "
Since the missionaries have been restricted to the Putao
area and there has been a concentrated effort to reach the

Shan and Kachin tribes, it has been necessary to prepare lit erature for them. Lois has worked in the typing and mimeo graphing of these materials. One such project is described in one of her letters: "I just finished mimeographing a couple thousand sheets of a Kachin primer which LaVerne prepared some time ago for use in evangelizing these tribes-people. The several hundred booklets which we mimeographed before were greatly in demand and didn't last long, so now I am in the process of mimeographing a thousand more copies. The first section of the 24-page booklet consists of 12 Gospel songs with only the melody. The non-Christians are not familiar with four-part harmony; and to give them a song with all four

parts indicated would only be to confuse them. Following the hymns are several pages of Bible teaching in question and anWe do believe these booklets will have a great part to play

in winning our non-Christian Kachin Neighbors to the Lord.

Please pray for this ministry. "

Until little Larry's death in May, Helen had four little

boys and her baby, Margaret, to care for, keeping her pretty
busy. Because of Larry's troubles he required more than usual care and that very need has made it even harder for Helen since his death. As she expressed it, "It has been so hard for me because Larry was with me in the house most of the time. In all of my everyday tasks I miss him--miss his "singing" as he sat and played. "

In addition to their Calvert course lessons taught by their mothers, Joni and David attend the village school; Joni in Dvikdang and David in Muladi. In writing about David Helen com
mented: "I'm sure that if David has some outside books NOT

required, but just for pleasure, it will stimulate his interest

in reading. He doesn't care too much about it, although he reads very well. His chief trouble is in not wanting to take time to apply the phonics he has learned when meeting a new word. His favorite subject is arithmetic ! Certainly he does
not inherit that taste from his mama! ! ! He seems to like

attending the village school and is taking to Burmese like a

duck to water. He could write all the Burmese numbers to 100 even before he started to the school. I've been rather amazed that they would expect beginning students to learn the

multiplication tables right off in the first year of school, but that's what they have - so David's learning it IN BURMESE! Then, of course, he has no difficulty in switching it over to either Lisu or English. These kids, growing up to be multi

lingual, really have a tremendous advantage over children at

home in some respects, " Later Helen wrote that David had made 100 on his Arithmetic test at the close of the school and

had also passed all of his tests in Burmese. Also he was doing
well in his Calvert course. Concerning Tommy and Ronnie Helen wrote: "I wish you could see Tommy and Ronnie in 'school'. If Ronnie had his way, he'd have me 'having school' all day long. He just 'eats it up'. Tommy isn't qmte so enthuiastic, but does very well. They have finished the first read

ing book (pre-primer) and are ready to start the second. Even

though Ronnie is yotinger, and had a little more difficulty at first, he is keeping right up now, partly due to his keen inter
est. He takes the flash cards or the reader and goes over it by himself, coming to ask me when he doesn't know a word. But Tommy can't be bothered with that much effort. He'd rath er go outside. Since we've been having school again, I've had to \irge Ronnie to go outside and play part of the time. It seems

that learning to read is opening up a whole new world to him, and he's just fascinated with it. Maybe he's going to be the 'bookworm' of the family, Tomatny is showing quite a bit of
artistic ability. "

(Ed. note: This was written several months ago.

Tommy was 7 July 22, and Ronnie was 6 Nov. 9 1958)

Although Helen is a registered nurse, most of her work has been in the secretarial phase of the work, because of her family and also because since Brother Russellte return to the
field he has taken care of the medical work. She does take

care of any O. B. cases in which help is needed. The natives

do not ask for help if all goes well.
Whenever there is a Bible School, it means that much

work must be done in typing various materials, translating,

cutting stencils and mimeographing. Helen wrote of this phase of the Bible School held recently: "The school is fin ished now, closing this past week-end (Oct. 4-5) with a com bined end-of-school and Thanksgiving convention. Certainly there was much with regard to the school for which to be thank ful, For one thing, not so very long after the school began,
there were conditions which made us wonder if we'd be able to

complete the school.

But in answer to much prayer, the Lord

Everyone felt that
I was sorry

\mdertook and blessed in a wonderful way.

this has been one of the best schools we have had.

I couldn't be a part of it too, at least not directly, but my part was cutting stencils and doing the mimeographing. Robert
cut stencils for two sets of notes and translated another which

I stenciled, but I did all the mimeographing.

"There were:

a 52-page verse-by-verse commentary

on Ephesians for Mother (of which I typed all but the first eight

pages): a 20 page commentary on Revalation: a 36-page devo

tional book on salvation-Robert typed these two; and then we only got 8 pages done on Eugene's verse-by-verse comocnentary on I and II Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (which is what he taught this time.) Mother wants to do up her notes on Philippians, and Eugene has to finish his then we will stencil, mimeo graph and send out to the students later. We hope to have them finished to send back with the elders when they finish their school
school in December. Also, there are several maps and charts

which I re-ran-the stencils had been cut earlier, some several years ago. During the last week of the school when there was

so much last-minute mimeographing to be done, David helped me run off the last bunch of notes. He ran off about 50 copies, stopped, heaved a big sigh, and said, "well, I can see why you'd
get tired doing this. " Mostly he took off the stencils, cleaned

them and checked for missed sheets etc. He really was quite a help and was quite pleased to be doing something to help. We hope that we have succeeded in giving you an insight into the daily live of our missionary women. As they perform
the many tasks comjtnon to all home-makers, and strive to

devote as much time and strength as possible to the special tasks of teaching the natives, let "us pray for their physical
strength and guidance. Also, a special measure of wisdom is neededas they teach their own children, ever mindful that these

are formative years, and the prayer and desire of each is that
they may guide their children into lives of service for the
Master.

Moiled by Mrs. OSCAR L. MYERS

2024 N. t4Hi St.

Terre Houte, Indiono

For

Sec. 34.65 (e)P.L.&R, U. S. POSTAGE

PAID

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION

Terre Haute, Ind.

PERMIT No. 321

Form 3547 Requested

BURRIS BOTIBR 8100 HAMILTCIH'AVE.

CINCimTI J5.5 OHIO