Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Madison 4, Wisconsin
JULY
1956
gelist to India. This makes two their support for Marguerite. evangelists to foreign lands for this Marilois and Jewel have their church; the other being Julius support continuing from the church Fleenor, evangelist to Japan. in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois. Ellen and
livinglink amounting to $150 a year per child. You might be the one to the support they had before? The supply this need. East Forty-Ninth Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana and The Fairbrothers take this time the church in Potomac, Illinois, be to thank those who are now support sides a very good Christian lady in ing them. Ve only pray that much Kansas made up the livinglink sup will be done to the glory of the Lord port for Archie Fairbrother before. and that the years will bring many They have pledged to continue their happy memories of our fellowship support for the work as a full living- together.
the Fairbrothers in India, what of
UATTENTION!!
-7
x r
mi r- j
9<r<te fairbnther. It is reody Tibetans and of the Khasi in Asf.r sole ot 30^ '"T,labored 'C""" torChrist among these *1 1Q ^ each or FOUR <or and
people.
Thank you very much for your kind support of me. Your kind support has really gone a long way in this part of the globe. The people here are rather very poor and cannot in the real sense of the term "have two square meals a day." I think that pet animals in your country are better cared for and looked after than most of the people here especially when they
are sick.
As a qualified Compounder, I used to take care of them when they are sick and give them medicines besides preaching. As long as it is that medicine required is of cheap and average price 1 could help them but when the question of costly medicines come 1 had to disappoint them for lack of fund. I am trying my utmost to give a helping hand to them and
for that they are very grateful to me. Thly are re^ly very simple folks
and they cannot go so far as to from where all the funds come but when I told them they were surprised of the love and generosity of you and they are indirectly very grateful to you and the American as a whole. With bet ter fund I am expecting to be able to do more but this is the thing that always stands as a stumbling block. Let us all pray and see what the Lord will do and in His wisdom I yield myself.
The prospect for the progress of the Church of Christ here is plenty but only a few draw back is shortage of workers. Some of my friends I
won over to our church are now making much headway and some of them are really sincere workers. One of them who when he was a Presbyterian he was used to be called by Brother and Sister Rees as Phillip's friend but from the time that he joined our church he has proved his worth and once Sister Rees said as "Thank you for your sacrificial service." He is an educated man and is very much appreciated both by the church members as well as by the missionaries. Brother Davis was very pleased with him when he visited our church and presented him with one Bible. On the whole I could without hesitation say that the ground is very fertileif we have enough people to plough, good harvest is a certainty.
I am now at a lost of how to write and of what you really want to know.
What I am writing is only a bare outline of a general letter. If you, by the way, have any special interest to ask about any information, I shall deem it a pleasure to furnish you with the same. Therefore for the present I close my letter and request you to kindly drop me a line or two if you
could find time. Please also write your name and address clearly so that
I may keep record of it and also to avoid delay or any chance of missing
of letters.
Once again I thank you for your kind support and most precious of all, your love for your brethren in Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christian Love,
Marilois' Letter
Dear Friends:
Daddy and Mama both taught in it. Grandpa and Grandma Bare came to
see us while we were having VBS, and Aunt Maribel came, too.
The next week wewent back up to Wisconsin for camp at Chute Lake. Aunt Jean came up from Texas and Aunt Claire came from Milwaukee; so
house, and we ail went out to see Grandma Fairbrother's grave.
I :H
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Christ's influence can be seen look better than before. Please pray in the lives of these children with us that these legal papers nec-
Phillip is a Tibetan missionary to $25 a month. Lasslydian is our Head mistress for the Middle English Christian Day School in Mawlai, Shillong. It would relieve the general fund if someone would pledge to the Tibetans, taught Phillip many support this fine Christian girl as things about medical work. He is she helps the Mission. She is wellnow doing all the medical work of qualified for this "position and has the Assam India Mission Churches held it for three years. of Christ among the Khasi. One church has already pledged $3 a month, and has been giving it for
sever^ years. Phillip needs the rest Support for Charles, 18 months, and
Ellen, three years, $130 a year each.
non-profit organization
9--
% -
by
MARGUERITE FAIRBROTHER
MISSIONARY EXPERIENCES
North of the Mountains
and
South of Them
by
MARGUERITE FAIRBROTHER
an interpreter by new missionaries. She therefore met with both the problems and the joys of the
mission field.
After her marriage and the completion of her college work, she and her husband went to
Assam, India, to serve the Lord among the Khaai tribespeople in that province. They went to India
because the door of service for the Lord in China
Her years of service qualify her for writing the stories in this book. It is her hope that through this book, Christians, young and old, will have a
better vision of what the Word of God is doing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART ONE Tibetan Stories
! 5 9
.....13 17
Gway Lan
PART TWO Khasi Stories
21
PlaymatesPartners ,
The Blind Leads the Blind
26 30
Khasi Kids
Robbed! !
;.
;......1..34
39
43
It had been another long, hard day for the pilgrims. Travel in Tibet was hard enough, but
now that they were getting down into the heat
of China, walking all day was even harder. They had camped outside the town of Kang Pu in a meadow just across the road from a walled-in
compound.
"Come," someone suggested, "let's go there to beg. The foreigners are always rich; we may
get a full meal from them." They crossed the road and filed in through the open gate. Then, leaning on their walking sticks, they began the beggars' chant: "Please, please. Precious Long Life, give us food. Have mercy on us, poor pilgrims. Gain merit for yourselvesGive us food. Please, please. Precious Long Life!" Their chant attracted several strange-looking white children. One of them shouted in Tibetan, "Uncle Tsering, pilgrims have come!" They were approached by a big, burly Tibet an who greeted them cordially and promised them tea and parched barley flour (tsamba) if they would first listen to his messaige. The leader scowled and mumbled something about going somewhere else, but most of them nodded agree ment, They were willing to stay for tea and
tsamba.
to save them.
Him.
tea. But these words were thrilling to old Grand ma Tsering Drema- 'A God who Ipved?' She
yearned to hear more. Eagerly she questioned, "Is this salvation for Tibetans, too?" "Yes," Uncle Tsering assured her. It is for all who will believe and obey." "What must I obey?"
"The commands of God." "How can I know them?"
The leader snarled impatiently, "Be quiet Mother!" Then turning to Uncle Tsering, "We
have heard enough. and let us go." Give us our tsamba and tea
were rolled up in their robes and sleeping around their camp fire. But poor old Grandma Tsering could not sleep. It was not just the aching of her aged muscles that kept her awake, but also
the words of that Tibetan preacher. Perhaps she could persuade her son to let them rest tomorrow
so she could hear more of this wonderful God who loved and of the salvation He offered.
morning,
then she quavered, "Son, let us rest today. My old joints are gone to water and my aged bones are aching. I cannot move one step."
The leader's temper flared, "Old woman, we
are going on! Your are only using that as an ex cuse to stay and hear more about the religion of
those accursed foreigners."
"You will kill the old woman!" he protested. "What is that to you? She is my mother."
"If you can't treat her better than that," Uncle Tsering answered, "you better leave her
with me."
ing her v/ounds? Of the white woman in pro viding food and shelter for her, a stranger? Grandma Tsering Drema sighed happily on
that beautiful April morning as she waited on the bank of the Mekong River for her turn to be buried with Christ in its muddy waters. She listened to the hymn being sung by Chinese and Tibetan Christians. Uncle Tsering's voice rang out above
the others.
familiar sight in the court-yard of the missionary's home. His father was the headman of his village, a half day's journey from Atuntze. Being a mem ber of the wealthiest family in the village, Mozone had learned to read Tibetan, so he had been given a New Testament written in his own language. ' While he was waiting for the operation on his eyes, he passed his time painfully reading the New Testament, attending church services, and telling
stories to the missionary's children. He had many exciting adventures to tell of
"Oh, Mozone," the children begged, "tell us how they cast out the demons!" "There are many different ways of doing it," Mozone replied. "For each kind of demon they
must do a different way. But for all of them there must be some kind of an image into which
to drive the demon. Then the image must be sur
rounded so that the demon can not escape, and after that the ima,ge should be burned- Then you
know the demon is safely destroyed."
"Yes," said one of the children, "once we saw a tsamba (barley flour) image of a man being burned by some priests. They had scared all the demons in the village into it, so that the demons couldn't harm the crops that had just been planted." "One time," Mozone resumed, "I was present when the priests were called to drive the demon
from a sick relative. Because I could hardly see
anyway, and the room was quite dark, I sat near the table where the priests were working. "They made a snake out of tsamba mixed with tea, which could be molded like clay- They
laid the snake on the table and began the prayers, chanting of spells, beating the drum, and ringing
10
the bell to drive the demon into the snake. Sud denly the snake started crawling across the table.
"Oh, Mozone!" the incredulous children ex claimed. "What made the snake crawl?"
a pool of tea on one corner of the table, and one of them carefully made a winding track of it across the table and down the leg. They laid the
sick person had gone into it. But when the priests molded the snake out of the tsamba they spilled
in the ceremony, the priest sitting at that comer of the table tilted it just a little, and the snake began crawling along the track of tea. It would have been very impressive if I had not seen what
they did."
lake for the baptismal service. A few days later word reached the mission
her holy water with their baptisms. In her anger she refused to send rain, so all the crops would
11
people by telling them that the Goddess of the Lake was angry because the Christians had defiled
fail that year, and the people would starve- The only way to avoid such a disaster was to drive
away the missionaries. But immediately, it started raining.
Atuntze
valley had the richest harvest that year that the people could remember, and they exclaimed to
each other in wonder, "The white people's God has power!"
DRIVEN OUT
At the invitation of the governor of Kham Province, Tibet, Dr. Bare, the missionary doctor,
had established his headquarters in the town of Tsakalo, known in China as Yen Chin. Now, for two years, the family had lived there, and it had been longer than that since they had seen other white people. Imagine the excitement of the children at the coming of another family of American miss ionaries ! As the time for their arrival drew near, each day, eager eyes searched the trail winding down the mountain side into Tsakalo Valley. One bright January day the cry went up, "Here they come!" Sure enough, tiny figures could be seen, one by one, coming around the side of the mountain and zigzagging sin,g-le file down
the trail.
In wild excitement the missionary's four children raced up the path leading from their home to the main road. For many a lonely month they had planned, prepared and prayed for this day, and now, at last, it had come. Daddy was coming home and bringing the new missionaries; the Nichols, Miss Schwake, and Miss Palmer. He had taken the long trip down into China to meet them and bring them up to Tibet.
were the new missionaries, led by Daddy riding Deborah, his faithful Chinese muleThe shyness was forgotten in the eagerness to welcome their four young cousins to this strange
land.
"Do you know any Tibetan, yet?" Such was the greeting the Nichols children
received.
In the golden days that followed, the eight cousins went exploring all over the valley. The
Bare children were busy introducing their cousins
to the strange ways of Tibet, and the Nichols child ren were busy entertainin,g their ,cousins with
wonderful stories of America.
It was a great day in Tsakalo when the Nichols' Windcharger was set up and their radio began to play. Tibetans thronged in from all over to see and hear this strange "box-with-a-voice."
sat. Others looked into adjoining rooms; and the Bare children were kept busy translating to their cousins the exclamations, explanations and ques
tions of the Tibetans.
while the foreign population of the city was dis cussed. It was heard on good authority that the
During the discussion the question was brought up, "Would it be a sin to kill the white
people?"
pening.
be heard. Yes, here they came, milling down the village street, shouting threats and curses"Break down the doors!"
while we go talk to them," and down the stairs they marched, unarmed and unafraid. The children prayed, wondered what was
The angry
: Then the parents came back, unafraid and unharmed- They reported to the children, "They
have given us a month in which to arrange a cara
van, pack, and go. The Nichols must cross the
border back into China, but we may stay in Tibet." But their troubles weren't over. The people
were commanded by the priests to sell no food
to the missionaries.
they gave it instead. One day some men were sent to turn aside
aries.
as they were carrying out the order. "Now let's see your foreigners get water!" one of the workmen jeered. "Don't worry, God will send rain," the Chris
tian replied.
rain poured down and filled the little in the missionaries' back yard. People whisper, "Their God is helping them!" by one the problems of this sudden de
16
It was a long trip from Tsakalo to BatangThere were high passes to climb and deep rivers to cross. In good weather it should take no more than seven days, but what difficulties would wet
weather bring?
Bares, Nichols, Miss Schwake, and Miss Pal mer traveled together the first four days. The
Monday morning, bright and early, the cara van started on toward Batang, across the border
by the time they reached a small tributary of the Yangtze River, it could not be forded as it ordi narily was. Boats called coracles, had to be ord
ered from the Yangtze crossing. They are made from the skins of yaks and become water logged after only a few hours' use, so they have to be thoroughly dried and oiled before they can be used again- The missionaries and their native help were ferried across with their immediate necessities, so they could continue on their jour
ney ; and a guard was posted with the rest of the supplies which were to be brought as soon as the
boats were dry again.
For several days the missionaries waited at the next crossing for the rest of their belongings.
17
Then, one bright morning, the boxes bcigan arriv ing, and were stacked up on the beach to be
Mr. Nichols had gone down to check the boxes as they arrived. He discovered that one of them was broken. Looking into it he found it
nearly empty. He lifted the next one, and to his concern, it felt unnaturally light. Upon investi gation, it, too, was discovered to be almost empty.
Box after box showed that at least some of the
contents had been removed.
"The rest of you children and Jah Lama stay out here and watch that no one else gets into what
is left."
the usual amenities and Oriential hedgings. "Gigen, Ni Museh (Mr. Nichols) says we
cannot pay either the horsemen or the boatmen
"Uncle Ed, Gigen says the horsemen must be paid soon in order to get a good start back to their
homes."
18
thing.
"The boatmen say they received the boxes and were amazed at their ligntness, knowing that
get about everything that is lost. Why should we pay the guilty party? They already have more
than their wages." "The boatmen say the Kongse-kaw horsemen are notorious as robbers. The boxes should never
have been left with them."
"The horsemen say the boatsmen are common thieves who bi-eak in and steal anything they
want."
with petty pilfering? If they wanted the white people's goods they could just have loaded all
the boxes on their horses and gone home with
them."
dark.
"The horsemen say they have to igo. Already we have delayed them until they can no longer
see to cross the river."
"The boatmen say their boats will crack and be ruined. They must go and take care of them."
"Gigen says no one but the guilty ones and God will ever know who took our tMngs. We might as well pay them and let them go." And to this day the mystery has not been
solved. Who were the Robbers?
20
GWAY LAN Her mother had often told her stories of the
days when many missionaries lived in Batang. Mother had been a teacher in the mission orphan age in those days, before she married Gway Lan's father. Now, years later, missionaries had come there once again. Curiously she watched the four white girls playing and laughing under the walnut trees. Those two older girls must be about her age. One of them, she had heard, was bom there at Batang years ago and spoke Tibetan like water flowing.
She wondered which one it was.
From the house someone called in Tibetan, "Marguerite, come and translate." The shorter of the two older girls turned and left the other three, calling back something in
English.
play. There was an older boy, too, but he didn't play with the girls. She could never stay long
because she had to be at home to care for her
for her mother. Sometimes the igirls would look up from their play and smile at her; yet she
21
reter's family had come. They had lived at Batang several years before. Perhaps they would help her mother. Still she lacked the courage
to approach them. Her mother was getting sicker and weaker.
One morning she told Gway Lan not to go for wood. Instead, she must,go to the wife of Teacher Shao, who had been one of her former pupils. She must ask her to take the baby to the mission aries. Gway Lan could support herself, but the baby must have a home. Naomi Ho and Mrs. Shao hurriedly followed Gway Lan to the tiny doorless hovel in which her mother lay in a pile of rags on the floor. MrsShao was shocked at the abject poverty and dying
condition in which she found her former teacher.
Tsong Drema was too weak to offer any explana tion and could only beg Mrs, Shao to take care of
her baby. Mrs. Shao and Naomi Ho hurried back to the
mission compound and called Mrs. Bare and the nurse, Miss Schwake. Together the four ladies
went to the hovel where they did all they could
and feed her and although she was two years old, she weighed only nine pounds. The next day Tsong Drema was a little better. She began having new hope for life. Each day
22
She had
had worked for the mission many years before, she had been an attractive young teacher. Then she married a wealthy Chinese merchant who took
her down into China and then left her for a
Chinese wife because she had only a baby girl, Gway Lan. To forget her trouble she had taken
to smoking opium. She had brought her little girl back to Batang in the hope of finding a job
habit was more than she could support, so Gway Lan had to start carrying wood as soon as she was big enough to go up the mountain. Tsong Drema married a Chinese soldier, and after Phoebe was born she took in sewing to help support the family. When she became paralyzed so that she could no longer go to get her work, Gway Lan would bring it to her. Finally she be came so paralyzed that she could do very little even for herself. The full responsibility for the
Tsong Drema's condition improved consistent ly under the skillful care given by Dr. Bare and Miss Schwake. Then the missionaries went up
into the mountain for a vacation.
23
money and medicine with Tsong Drema. One morning while the missionaries were away, a dark figure loomed up in the doorway of the hovel. A gruff voice growled, "Where's the money the foreign devils left
you?"
"Give it to
Again she refused. Grabbing Phoebe he shouted, "Give me the money or I'll kill the baby!" The next instant he had dashed the little thing'
against a boulder just outside the hovel.
lifeless in the grass.
The
screams of Gway Lan and her mother frightened him away, but the poor little baby lay apparently "I sat down by her," Gway Lan told later, "and cried and cried. After a while she opened
her eyes and looked at me.
to life!"
As for Gway Lan, who had thought she would always, have to carry wood, going to Bible School
was more wonderful than a dream..
24
PLAYMATESPARTNERS
The jeep ground to a stop and was immediat ely surrounded by eager brown faces. Marguer
ite, the wife of the new missionary looked out at them, smiling and haltingly responding to their 'Khublei's', (hello's) but thinking, 'They look
more like Tibetans than Hindus look. I wonder if I'll ever leam to love them as I love the Tibetans.'
Then a tall young man stepped forward and said the familiar words, "Demuh ari?" (How are you?)
Grasping his extended hand, she answered, "Demuh ri." (I'm fine.) Then in recognition, "Yohan! Chen Yohan. Except for your size you haven't changed." He laughed, "You also look much as I remembered you." Seeing she still understood Tibetan, another young man came up with the conventional, "Are you tired?" in Tibetan.
"I'm not tired. Ho Dubao, but I believe you
have changed more than Yohan." Such was the meeting of Tibetan Border play
mates on the other side of their beloved Hima
layas, in India.
into a problem.
childhood habit of calling her "Marguerite," but what should they call her husband? In a short
2fi
so well," Phillip laughed. "I told John not to speak Tibetan to you because it would embarass you!"
"Garland and I used to talk Tibetan to each other. Then when we were in college we talked Tibetan with Dorothy, too. That way we kept from forgetting it so much." John remarked, "As well as you had known Tibetan I didn't think you could forget it!" "John, do you remember on the way to Batang where we were camped by the river a week waiting for the horsemen to take us the rest of the way?" Marguerite asked.
"I remember a little about it, but what I remember best about that trip is when my horse
started galloping, and I lost my white sun hat." "Oh, yes," Marguerite smiled, "how you cried
about that!
noon."
is how quiet and shy you and your brother were," she responded. "And how surprised Dorothy and
I were when Garland told us you were our age!"
" I remember how you translated the serm27
Did you know she gave me a turquoise ring for a farewell gift? I lost it in America, and I've always
felt sorry about that."
Phillip exclaimed, "Who would ever have thought, then, that we three would meet again
in India!"
"We were playmates in Tibet," Marguerite mused, "and now we are partners in the Lord's
work in India."
When the Nichols had to leave, Phillip took over the medical work of the mission. John help ed by sewing clothes for the missionary's children. When household emergencies arose, both of the boys proved themselves useful as housekeepers
and cooks.
ion, which unfortunately, she could not play. John picked it up and began playing hymns right away.
How that drew the crowds when the missionaries
went out to new areas to hold services!
nel-graph board and sets of stories. Phillip's artistic talent proved helpful in drawing back
ground scenes.
When the Fairbrothers had to return for
furlough, a farewell service was held. The church was packed with Khasi Christians, many of them weeping. 'Yes,' Marguerite thought, 'I have
learned to love them as I love the Tibetans!'
The special number, "Seeking the Lost" was the last song translated into Khasi by Marguerite. It was sung by a quartet of the young people, with John Chen singing the bass. Before the Fairbrothers left, John came to the house. "Here, Marguerite, take this home
with you."
29
"Kong Deh!" The Khasi woman turned sight less eyes to the missionary, who continued, "There is a blind girl at the hospital. She is very discour
aged and hopeless, and she is not a Christian. I
think if she could meet you it would help her and cheer her up. Would you go with us today to
see her?"
"Yes, Sister Fair*," her dark face beamed. "I would love to help a blind person!" They climbed into the jeep and Brother Fair
drove them across the town to the eye hospital. When they entered the room, the patient turned
her blank, hopeless face toward them. "We've come to see you again,
Deh."
Kong,"
violently ill. My blindness is the result of that ill ness, and when my family realized I could no longer see, they turned me out saying, 'She will be
of no more use to us.' "I found a room for rent and earned a little
money washing clothes and making medicine from plants. I could tell how to do that by the
feeling and the smell. "Then I became very ill again and was given
As I lay on my pallet on the floor wait He was Rajani Kharkonger, the preacher of the Church
ing to die, a man started talking to me.
of Christ. He told me of God's love and prayed for me. He urged me to believe and promised to come again. Brother Nichols, the missionary who was here first, came with him the next day. He, too, prayed for me and ,gave me medicine. "I improved rapidly and had a new hope for
life. While I was sick I had much time to think
up to die.
of the things they told me of God and His love, and that He sent His only begotten Son to die for my sins. I believed what they said. My own family, who didn't know God, had cast me out because I was useless to them, but these strangers had come to me when I was dying. They gave me new hope and a new light. They paid my rent, brought me food and some warm clothing. "When I got well I went to them and told them I believed. Brother Nichols baptized me. Then I began washing clothes for them twice a
week.
too, hired me to wash for them. Now, with the Reeses here, I wash missionary clothes every day
and have no more time for my medicinal work.
"Don't be discouraged, Kong; I am so happy to meet a fellow-blind-person." The girl interrupted defensively, "I may not always be blind." "K there is still hope for you to see, I am more than happy," Kong Deh rejoiced. "But if there isn't, don't be discouraged. Once you get used to it, it isn't bad at all. Everyone is so interested in me! I go to the river to wash clothes; I go to the market place to buy food; I go to church; I go to my friends' homes. Wherever I go, people stop and watch me. They say, 'There goes a blind
woman. Watch her.'
"Sometimes strangers ask me, 'Are you really blind? How can you tell where you are going?' My friends like to tease me. They ask me if I smell my way around! "Now that I am a Christian, life is a joy and my blindness is no burden. I know that when I get to heaven my new, perfect body will have eyes
that see, and I shall see Jesus, who made the blind
to see when He was on the earth."
Kong Deh paused for breath. Her vibrant joy in living was conta,gious. Everyone in the room was smilingeven the blind girl. She groped for Kong Deh's hand, and hold ing it murmured, "Thank you for coming and thank you for your story. It gives me much to think about. You have brought some light into
32
my darkness. But tell me," her voice was sympa thetic, "have you no hope of seeing again?" Kong Deh laughed, "I no lon,ger have the
desire. I remember how the country looked be fore I was blind. All I want to see, now, are the
Kong Deh's ability for personal evangelism. Her light had been hidden under bushels of dirty
clothes!
S3
KHASI KIDS
The school mate sang the chorus again : "laid lembadJisu. . ("Walking With Jesus"). "Where did you leam that?" "At Jingiaseng Khynnah (children's service).
You should come. It's Sunday afternoon at the
missionaries' house."
"Can just anybody come?" "Sure! It's for all the children in Mawlai.
We're just
questions. The boys usually win. When we leave. Sister Fair gives us Bible pictures that American
children send her."
ing!
Sen was there, next Sunday. It was interest It was fun! It made him feel like Jesus was interested in children, too, and not just in
grownups.
He went proudly home with his picture, and was met with an angry, "Where have you been all afternoon? Why weren't you at church?" "I went to the children's service, and look.
"Were you at the Church of Christ?"
34
children, and see, I got a picture of Jesus!" "Don't you go there again or I'll thrash you!" Sunday he was regular, though always late. Then one Sunday he got home a little later than usual.
His parents were waiting. "So that's why you've been sitting at the back of the church lately! You've been sneaking out and goinig over to that children's service."
He nodded
The following Sunday he came again, but he was late and out of breath. For the next few
Blinking back the tears he answered, "It may be your church, but it isn't mine, and it never
Understand?"
Pineapple heard the sound of a motor com ing down the road past her house and ran out to
see who would be traveling on that road. ly, she raced back into the house. Quick
"Mother, Brother Fair's jeep is coming!" Mother quickly laid down the five-day-old
sweeping the tiny kitchen of her home. But KongBeau and the missionaries were already at the
door.
Pineapple ran over next door to borrow a couple of bamboo seats, although the missionaries insisted they could sit on the tiny wooden benches.
When she came back with the seats they were all
to joke she wouldn't agree to give him away. She listened quietly while the grown-ups talked. They were talking about starting a child
ren's service there in Umtlong.
and Ellen all want a baby brother." Pineapple shook her head and smiled.
ed, "Why wait? Come next Sunday." Without waiting to hear another word, Pine3(;
next Sunday!" She announced happily. "There will be singing and stories. Be sure to come!" Pineapple's father had been baptized about
a week before Baby Brother was born. When the baby was two months old. Mother felt strong enough to walk to the river to be baptized.
family arrived. They had two boys a little larger but a little younger than he. How could he wel come them? . , 1, 11 Every morning before school Ap had to walk about a mile to get a large gourdful of water for
his mother. The Reeses had arrived on Saturday, a service of welcome was held at church on Sun
than usual.
breakfastwhen he came to the door with a gourdEagerly, he explained, "I have nothing else
to give you, and I thought perhaps you could use a little extra water. I am so glad you have boys
for me to play with!"
beamed.
ROBBED!
Homiwell Kharluki is not much over four and a half feet tall and weighs only 80 pounds. He is a bachelor. When ,anyon6 asks him why he
never married, he replys with a doleful smile, "I've always been too poor." Having been the second of three sonsy he is commonly known as Brother Middle (Bah Deng).
He is the oldest deacon in the church, and, for a
while, he was the church treasurer. Bah Deng's enthusiasm for Brother Fair knew
no bounds. His admiration for the 6-foot-2, 200
Flinging his arms in wild gestures he would proclaim, "Brother Fair can make that jeep find
roads where there are none, climb over boulders,
somewhere in their homes. Because of that, no matter what is going on, someone must always
stay home to watch the house. But what if there is only one person living in a house? One day Bah Deng came home to find the
beside his bed was the only undisturbed spot in the house. His New Testament, song book, and
a pile of American Sunday School leaflets were just as he had left them. No, he couldn't read the papers, but he loved the brightly colored Bible
pictures on them.
Quickly he snatched up the papers. There underneath them lay the money. He squatted on the floor beside the money, laughing until he was
weak.
"What a joke on the thief!" he thought. "He has taken all my valueless possessions, but he has
over-looked God's money.
His money!"
gone. But every time he felt like grieving over his losses, he began laughing again at the wonder
ful mistake the thief had made.
vsigned from his position as church treasurer. At every opportunity he told the story, laughing hil ariously at what the thief had missed by overlook ing the Sunday School papers. Soon people began seeing less and less of Bah Deng. He began missing services because of illness. Then some observant person noticed that a rather strong puff of wind nearly carried him
away.
Bah Deng was starving to death! had noticed it! Quick, to the rescue!
Nobody He was
given rice and eggs. The missionaries provided poAvdered milk and vitamins, and they urged him
to have a little to eat whenever he visited them.
After some time he was asked why he didn't come back for more powdered milk. He said he
didn't care for it.
Why not?
How do you
"I take a cup of hot water and sprinkle a little powder over it." "Oh, Bah Deng!" Sister Fair exclaimed,, "let me show you how to make it!"
He watched as she demonstrated.
"Delicious!" his face brightened at the first sip. "Oh, this is very good." Sister Fair urged, "You must drink three or
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four cups like that each day, so that you can grow as big as Brother Fair."
He almost choked on the rest of his milk at
that suggestion. After that he came back freq uently for more milk. It brought him back up to his 80 pounds; and again he loves to laugh about the thief who over-looked God's money.
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As soon as the first number was announced, Chos, the older brother, turned to it and began singing at the top of his voice. At the close of the service, the new missionaries, impressed by
the mature actions of the boy asked about him. "Who is that little boy?" "He is Chosterfield Khongwir."
"Can he really read, or has he already mem orized the hymns we san,g this morning?" "Oh, he can read, all right! I didn't believe it myself until I tested him." "Well, how old is he?"
Each time
system. That means he will be in high school in two more years. His grades are excellent. During a two-week vacation from school, an
intensive Bible School for teachers and church workers was held. Chos asked to attend. What?
But wait!
Chos was
He took
answer questions along with the best of them. The two-week school was followed by a three-day convention of all the churches. Chos and his family had returned from that first sess ion on Friday night, and now the house had settled
to silence.
Chos got up and went to his father's room. "Why, what's the matter, son? Why are you up at this time of night?" "Father, I can't sleep." "Why? Are you sick?" "No, Father, I'm worried about you." "Worried about me? There's nothing wrong
Vv'ith me."
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going to be baptized. Won't you come and be a Christian, too? When Mother and the rest of us die, we will go to heaven, but what will happen to you? Please, Father, be baptized, so you can
go to heaven with us." "Son, I didn't realize you thought about that. I didn't know you worry about me." "I do. Father, so much that I can't sleep, and I've been praying for you a long time!" "Well, son, you know that I have to go to the bazaar tomorrow to sell our produce, so I can
support you and your brothers. That's why I can't be baptized tomorrow. But I promise you
I will be thinking about it; and when I come back, I will be baptized. I didn't know it meant so much
to you!"
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