byers-mel-june-1957-thailand.pdf

8/22/2019 Byers-Mel-June-1957-Thailand.pdf

1/20

THE GREAT COMMISSION REMINDERAmong IheTribes of Northern ThaUand , ^ 7-,.-

"(Soyein/o alUhewotidtandpreach fhegospel'

Published andmailed freebyMEL and JUNEBYERSTalat Chiengkam,Changwat Chiengrai,Thailand,Asia

A'/70H'//W/


2/20

to this confusion are radios and giant size loudspeakers ! 'turned t o f u l l volume b l a r i n g f o r t h American symphoniesand jazz, Chinese operas, and Thai love songs. The narrow,winding s t r e e t s a r e hazy w ith exhaust from overcrowded buses and fore ig n cars of a l l makes. Weaving i n and out oft h i s maze are motorcycles, scooters , bicycles , peticabsand b o l d i n d i v i d u a l s who d a r e t o c r o s s t h e s t r e e t . T h e r ei s t h e c o n t r a s t of smal l ,patched,one room hovels t o massiveultra-modern hotels^ from narrow confined quarters to oneof the l a r g e s t and best a i r p o r t s i n southwest Asia, fromslow moving peticabs to supersonic j e t s overhead.I t i s from Bangkok t h a t we begin our journey home t onorthern Thailand. Boarding the t r a i n , one can t r a v e l thee n t i r e length of Thailand, about 500 miles, i n 20 hours.J u s t before arr iving a t the end of the l i n e , however, weleave the t r a i n a t a c i t y calledLampang. From here themode of t r a v e l i s c a r r i e d f o r t h by means of t rucks t h a thave built-up wooden frames, thus allowing them to carryboth cargo and p a s s e n g e r s . Crammed i n t o one o f t h e s etrucks we t ravel 90 more miles f a r t h e r north to a placec a l l e d Phayao. This i s t h e end of t h e t r u c k r o u t e a s wel las e l e c t r i c i t y . Stopping a t the hotel for the night , wemake preparations for the f inal lap into Chiengkam. Chieng-kam i s available by t ruck only in the dry season, otherwise i t takes two to three days by ox-cart. Traveling byt ruck, however, we can cover the exasperating f i f t y milesi n s e v e n t o n i n e h o u r s . It demands o n e ' s c o n t i n u a l a t t e nt i o n to keep from g e t t i n g a good bump on the head. Aboutt h r e e blocks from Chiengkam*s prosperous market area anddown a small l a n e you w i l l f i n d our house . It i s a woodenframe house with a l e a f r o o f , formerly t h e home of a l o c a lo f f i c i a l . While l i v i n g t h e r e , a baby born i n t o the familyd i e d a t c h i l d b i r t h , t h e r e f o r e , t h e p l a c e i s haunted w i t he v i l s p i r i t s and u n f i t t o l i v e i n . Since no one e l s e i si n te r e s t e d i n t h e place we have been able t o r e n t it verycheap, it has become home to us. In t h i s house my brotherDon and h i s f a m i l y l i v e d f o r a y e a r w h i l e s t u d y i n g t h elanguage. Prom t h i s , our home, we have endeavored t o l i v e ,preach and t e a c h and be a witness t o t h e surrounding community . In t h i s house we have r e g u l a r worship s e r v i c e saround t h e L o r d ' s t a b l e . Although you may n o t have heardfrom us r e c e n t l y , we a r e still h e r e and it i s i n t h i s homewe d a i l y t r i m our lamps t h a t we might keep a l i g h t s h i n i n gi n a dark p l a c e .


3/20

^OTECTUAL MISSIONARY PRAYERand bless a l l our miss ionar ies , underevery trying condition and in every land. Amen."

With the rendering of th is a l l inclusive statement manya l iving link church and wouldbe prayer partner have ab'solved themselves of any fur ther obligat ions attached tothe burdensome but inescapable imperative to reach los tsouls . Some go under the guise of "praying churches" orthe more spiri tuallv significant t i t le "prayer partners".In terms of modern Chris t iani ty such unrealism is cal ledprayer. Supposedly i t is packed with power and manifeststhe great spiri tual depths to which we have evolved. Inthe terms of the New Testament such pra t t l e i s but vainbabb l ing .What i s effectual , fervent prayer in regard to missions?What does i t mean to pray and labor for the conversion ofthe world? To be so overwhelmed with a passion for thel o s t t ha t one can do nothing else but cry out unto God?Some endeavor to ease t he i r "mis siona ry consc ience" byframing beautiful plati tudes and glibly tacking them ontothe morning prayer. In some circles i t has become popularto parade one's spir i tual i ty by ostentatiously emphasizingmiss ions . No smal l e f f o r t i s exer t ed in des ign ing a l lkinds of vague, noisy sentiments about missions, missiona r i e s and the l o s t . Others labor ing under a misguided"missionary feeling" feel a moral obligat ion to pray forevery known f ield, island, hamlet, native worker and missionary in the world even i f i t is jus t a quick "Lordb l e s s so and so" o r a "Lord be wi th th e work in I nd i a ,China, Japan and the whole world". In this there is norea l in te res t , no understanding, merely a misguided sen t iment t h a t one is unde r some k ind o f an oa th to rattle everything off l ike a teletype. I t is amazing the l i s t tha tsome can cover in a ten minute devotional (five minutesreading and five minutes prayer). Obviously i t is imposs ib le to cover everything in one of these predigested devotional "quickies" so there i s a systematic prayer l i s toffered so t ha t everyone can pray fo r everyone and in theend it a l l evaporates in to noth ing .Missionaries have been gui l ty of adding fuel to thesevain repe t i t ions by misr ep re sen ting prayer needs. Thepost office i s clut tered with so called "prayer le t te rs"and "praye r appea ls " and l e t t e r s gushing with a fa lse"pray-for -us" complex. I f these l e t t e r s are he ld to thel i g h t however th e t rue motive i s obvious, the re i s more


4/20

appeal than there i s prayer, ^ ^Despite our around the clock prayer s e r v i c e s , pur prayer

c i r c l e s and our own meager at tempts t o pray f o r t h e l o s t we.-can only blush a t our c h i l d i s h game. To the pure i n h e a r tt h e s e words c a r r y no s t i n g , but the g u i l t y h e a r t i s pricked.Our p r a y e r s have been d i s s o l v e d i n our own e v i l brea thyThere i s no p a s s i o n . There i s no l o n g i n g . There i s nor e a l concern or i n t e r e s t . In fact there e x i s t s a loathinghate within us because of the f r u s t r a t i n g u n r e a l i t y i nwhich we have been a c t i n g . I n t h i s day t h e Lord o f t h eh a r v e s t would be moved m i g h t i l y t o h e a r t h e u n a d u l t e r a t e dcry of the s a i n t s s t r i v i n g i n e f f e c t u a l fervent prayer fo rthe l o s t . Once again He longs to hear men who wil l cry,"Lord give me Scotland or I d i e . " Or the burdened prayerof a Paul who c r i e d , "my h e a r t ' s d e s i r e and prayer to Godf o r I s r a e l i s t h a t t h e y might be s a v e d . " Where i s a n o t h e rITenry Martyn who when f i r s t landing i n India b u r s t f o r t h ,"Now Lord l e t me burn out f o r Thee." In t h i s age of evang e l i c a l f l o u r i s h which spr ings f o r t h from the fountains ofweal th , e f f e c t u a l f e r v e n t p r a y e r i s n i l .

The p l a n t i n g of t h e church i n pagan lands c a l l s f o r f a rmore than an increase in our next y e a r ' s missionary budget,more than c a l l i n g well educated, well equipped and methodminded missionaries, i t calls for more than a disinterestedprayer band which meets for social entertainment t o prayf o r t h e l o s t . The d e s i r e t o capture enslaved s o u l s doesnot my ste rio us ly surge up within o n e ' s b r e a s t by means off a b r i c a t e d missionary programs, pantomimes and e x h i b i t s .I t may i n c r e a s e t h e miss ion c o f f e r s b u t it w i l l never causeh e a r t s t o burn and bleed with a pass ion for the l o s t . Thechurch w i l l not be establ ished with a "well meaning dogood" s p i r i t but with violence . The v i v i d separat ion bet w e e n c c n t u r i e s o f h e a t h e n i s m a n d t h e T r u e F a i t h w i l l b ec r e a t e d w i t h s w e a t a n d t e a r s and t h e f i n a l l i n e w i l l b edrawn i n blood. To belie ve con tra ry t o t h i s i s to denyt h e book of A cts , h i s t o r y and t h e p r e s e n t f a c t s . Thes t r o n g h o l d s of Satan w i l l not f a l l with a h u r r i e d , "Lordb l e s s so and s o . " Vain i m a g i n a t i o n s w i l l n o t be wrenchedf r e e by a "Lord we t h a n k t h e e f o r a l l t h e m i s s i o n a r i e s . "The powers t h a t have e x a l t e d themselves a g a i n s t God w i l lnot be humbled with "d evotio nal q u i c k i e s " no m a t t e r howf a i t h f u l l y we i n d u l g e . The warfare t h a t i s not a g a i n s tf l e s h and blood w i l l not be won with the type of prayerand concern t h a t i s m a n i f e s t e d t o d a y .


5/20

PULLING RUSTY NAILS: In order to bu ild a new s t ruc tu re ,' the o ld one has to be t o r n down and r e bu i l t . If th e o lds t ructure has been s tanding for many years ,and espec ia l lyin a deter iora t ing atmosphere of ignorance, ev i l sp i r i tworship,and idola t ry , some of the ro t ten planks and oldrus ty na i l s are r e luc t an t to be Mrrenched loose .In the process of teaching and ins t ruc t ion there area ce r t a in amount of these old rus ty be l i e f s and supe r s t it ions tha t have been pried up and torn loose. Yearly wehave had a sess ion with the l eper pa t ien ts at tempting toremove some of th ese o bs tac le s and rep lace the s t ruc tu rewhich i s in th e l i k ene s s of Chr i s t . This yea r ano thertwomonth period was spent in recons t ruc t ion work.

Fi f ty s tuden t s , ranging from a l l ages a ttended thec l a s s e s , thus it was necessary to div ide them in to groupsaccording to age and ab i l i t y , Rober ta Byers t augh t thechi ldren , who were ca l led "The Li t t l e Lights" . The nextc lass consis ted of young people and adul t s who could notread and wri te . They were called "The Big Lights" , andwere taught by Imogene Will iams. The Young People ' s Group,known as th e "Fol lowers" , were t augh t by Don Byers . Itaught the adul t leadership c la s s . The en t i re school fo llowed a co-ord ina ted s tudy of th e book of Acts in whichthere was dai ly t eaching, f lannelgraphs and wri t ten quest i o n s . In add i t i on to th e B ib le c la ss e s th ere was p r a ct i c e in reading and wr i t i ng . Each day dur ing the f i n a lper iod the en t i r e school came together to p ra c t ice s ingingin four pa r t harmony.

THE ADULT LEADERSHIP CLASS IN THE LEPER SCHOOL


6/20

A Cff lUSTIAN FAMILY WHICH ATTENDED THE SCHOOL

Each year it i s rewarding to note the progress of theleper pat ients . One prospective leader exclaimed, "Nowit i s up to us to teach others l" Slowly but pers is tent lysome of the old rusty black pagan nai ls are being withdrawn from t h e s e humble hea r t s . The church wi l l no t beestabl ished by frivolous fly-by-night evangelism but by"pulling out old nails and putting in new ones", throughfervent prayer and a sanctif ied devotion to the task ofteaching and ins t i l l ing the Word of God into human hearts

"THE LITTLE LIGHTS" TAUGHT BY ROBERTA BYERS


7/20

SOMR OF THf] VISITORS mO CMflU TO OUR HOME

l-^- -i--.

So ld ie r s from th e 39th Engineers Div i s ion .They came on foot , by t ruck and by he l i copte r

' /"I- -/ ' ?>it*!'.; -v

K-

A large white Miao village is only a day's journey away,thus they make frequent t r ips to Chiengkam. They go bothto the cl in ic and our home to hear the gospel records int h e i r own l anguage.


8/20

LOOKING AHEAJ): As the work progresses day by day in a'very routine fashion, we would seek to freshen our sp i r i t swith a vis ion fo r the days ahead. As these oppor tun i t i e sopen before us we would i nv i t e you to inves t in thera withus by p raye r .The work of t r an s l a t i ng and r ev i s i ng th e cour se in th ebook of Acts, as well as the dupl ica t ing of these courses ,n e e d s to b e c o n t i n u e d . Th e r e is also a ne e d f o r materialt h a t wi l l help the new conver t s .As the opportunity of evangelism in neighboring vi l lagesin cre ase s, th ere i s a rea l need for wisdom in guiding, andi ns t ruc t ing them. The ear ly foundat ions and customs est abl i shed are of g rave impo rtance to the future of thechurch. A re a l in s ig h t to the temperament and need of thepeople i s apparen t .As plans for the next school a t the leper vi l lage arel a id , we seek to draw out more l eade rs . Many of thesehave a l r eady had a grea t i n f luence in communi t ies t h a t areinterested. There also needs to be more understanding inthe v i l l age , i t s e l f , concerning hol iness of l i f e and aburden to win t he i r own people.Within a year 's time we shall be making p repa ra tions togo home on fu r lough . We t r u s t t h a t those who have namedthe name of Christ shall be lef t with faith and knowledgeto s tand and t h a t th e work sha l l con t inue . Without t h i so u r l a b o r is i n v a in .

L' .V' -^J

Some of Ilinda's vi s i to r s . Handy and Donny Byers havemoved to Tua but the little Thai hoy i s s t i l l here .


9/20

T . How then do we pray effec tua l ly? What i s needed tomake our prayer fervent? IIow may we dissolve th ese un-i' r ea l pa t te rns and en te r in to a l abor and work of i n t e rcessory prayer? The fo l lowing may serve as a guide in

. o u r ques t fo r e f f ec tua l f e rven t praye r .1 . Pe r s i s t in your own personal re l a t ionsh ip with God.A. Daily dying to s e l f assures one of th e "ho l iness"

which i s imperat ive and i s in d i r ec t propor t ionto your e f f ec t i venes s in praye r .

B. A^real pass ion fo r sou ls i s expressed most r e a li s t i c a l l y by those who f i r s t have an unquencha b l e thirst f o r God and ITis fiillness.

C. Nearness to C h r is t w i l l make you s ens i t i ve toth e c o n di t io n o f th e lost.

2 . Learn as much as you can about th e mis s iona r i e s andth e pa r t i c u l a r f i e l d which belongs to you,

A. Wri te to th e mis s iona r i e s ask ing fo r i n fo rma t ion .Something about the discouraging and dark condit ion s ra th er than the br igh t and newsy i tems,B. Let your par t icu la r f ie ld know t h a t you areavai lable a t any t ime to pray them s t rong whenweak, well when s ick , and concerning any problemt h a t might a r i s e .

3. Seek the communion and instruct ion of the Holy Spir i t .A. Nothing can substi tute the intimate whisperings

of the Holy Spir i t to a waiting,humble,thirstyheart.

B. The Holy Sp i r i t can put you into immediate cont a c t with the f i e l d , i t s miss ionar ies and i t sproblems. This i n s igh t and i n s t ruc t i on cannotbe obtained anywhere else . This faci l i ty is animportant in ternal design of the church.

C. He will make you sensitive to the cry and bondageof the los t , make you feel the weight of darkness t i l l you can do nothing but cry out inef fec tua l fervent prayer .

There is a need for intercessory foreign missionaries.Those who cannot go in person to the foreign f ield but one


10/20

- L

who sets himself apart to pray fo r the d efin ite d e ta ils ,of the foreign missionary work. Do we believe i t? Then ^l e t us ge t busyIVISITORS: We are qui te used to having th e Thai come

and v i s i t with us as wel l as va r ious t r i b a l groups suchas the Yao and Miao, but ra re ly are we invaded by fore igne rs who are Americans. I lecently we have had qui te a number.

One day three G.I*s . from the 39th E ng in ee rs came plodding in to Chiengkam on foo t . They thought they had aboutcome to the edge of the world and were surpr ised to f indAmericans l iv in g th e re . They seemed de l igh ted to see us ,espec ia l ly the chi ldren and the th ings fami l ia r to a home.They had been ro ug hin g it, ea t ing G. I . r a t ions , thus theyf e l t happy to t ake a hot bath and ea t some good home cooking which June f ixed up. They a re pa r t of a survey teamworking in c onne ctio n w i th th e Thai g overn ment an d Geode t ic Survey t ry ing to br ing th e maps of Thailand up toda te . Since t h i s f i r s t group v i s i t ed us t he re has been acont inual stream of fe l lows from Texas, W isconsin, Idaho,e t c . The b ig exc i t ement , however, came when some of themar r ived by he l i cop te r . The.whole town turned out in massto see t h i s s t range whi r l i g i g .

We were bappy to share our home with the se men as wel la s the t es t imony of Je sus and give them a f ron t sea t viewof miss ionary work, A so ld i e r does not always have thebe s t repu ta t ion in a fo re ign land , bu t coming in to a miss ionary home has a sober ing e f f ec t and they a l l seemed tore spec t and be concerned about what was being done. Theyin tu rn showed t h e i r apprec ia t ion by giv ing us a goodquant i ty of ra t ions as well as food from t h e i r Bangkoksupply . In th e f i f t e en o r so t h a t passed th rough our homet h e r e were two who gave wi tnes s bo th by t h e i r mouth andl i f e t h a t they were fo l lowers of th e Lord . It was goodto see t h e i r t es t imony .

We don*t have much to o f f e r a v i s i t o r , bu t sometimesj u s t a p lace to s le ep , some f ami l i a r food and a home i sa l l a person wants .

One day th e Br i t i s h Consula te v i s i t e d Chiengkam fo r th eweekend. He took dinner with us as wel l as worshippedwith us around the Lord 's Table . He was very i n t e res t edand S3rmpathetic toward th e miss ionary work in Thai l and .


11/20

1

Bal . August 1, 1956 ^ 523.68RECEIPTS: Aug. , Sep t . , Oct . , Nov. , Dec. , 1956

* Milwaukie Chu rch of Chr i s t $ 242.52Coburg Church o f Chr i s t 50.00Lou i s a Beem 15 . 0 0Mr. & Mrs. L. Copenhaver 350.00E lm i r a Church o f Ch r i s t 30 . 75El Cajon, Cal i fo rn i a Fr iends 19.00T r e n t Church o f Ch r i s t 50 . 0 0Mul tnomah Church o f Ch r i s t 250 . 0 0W a l te r Ne l s o n 25 . 00Ga r i b a l d i Church o f Ch r i s t 50 . 00Easts ide Chr i s t i an Church, A lbany 10.00Ted Ca ru t h e r s 10 . 00Fi r s t Chris t ian Church, Roseburg 35.00Mr. & Mrs . J. C. Sh i e l d s 80 . 00Co r b e t t Ch r i s t i a n Chu r ch 10 . 0 0S.W. Church o f Ch r i s t 15 . 00Burn s Church o f Ch r i s t 5 . 38F r i e nd 100 . 00Florence, Ore. C.E 10.00M o l a l l a Ch r i s t i a n Church & Gl e a n e r s . . . 33 . 2 5Court S t . Chr i s t i an , Sal em 5.00Rona l d P a r r i s h 5 . 75Elery Par r i sh 5.00Oregon City Fide l i s Group 10.00Cora L. McCauley 10.00Standard Publ i sh ing Foundation 15.00F r i e n d 200 . 00Chr i s t i an Church, Lebanon 40.00Mrs. 0 . E. Hobar t , Columbia, Mo 10.00Fr ieda Warden, Sea t t l e , Wash 25.00Dr. & Mrs. A. J . Jepson , Washington ... 10.00F i r s t Chr is t i an Church, K lamath Fa l l s . . 50.00Delbert Stanton 15.00^

$2315133


12/20

^ 2315,33DISBURSEMliaJTS; Aug.,Sept.,Oct.,Nov. ,Dec., '56Household suppl ies & u t i l i t i e s ... $ 387.77Pood 271.61Postal (stamps & customs) 100.88Photo 23.09Teacher 12.37Books (Thai & English) 105.98Trave l 60 .72Per sona l 154 .44Gerber Produc ts Co 28.28Suppl ies from s t a t e s ide 200.00Pho to -L i th Co 34ol5Taxes on Wi-Ne-Ma l o t 2 .43Check service charge 2.83 $ 1384.55

Tota l ha l . Jan . 1 / 5 7 $ 930.78

Mailed by-Mrs . A l l e n R . Nicho l s116 3 6 t h StreetX(ilwaukie 22, Oregon


13/20

THE GREAT COMMISSION REMINDERAmong theTribes of Northern Thailand ;; . .

"Goye/nfo a//iheworid^andpreach fhe


14/20

THE FRINGE OF PERFECT PE^CE For a few moments this month a battered, blood soaked;,

s t raggl ing world wil l pause and r e f l e c t on the bi r th of6od*8 Son. Exhau sted wo rld l eaders wi l l uncl inch t h e i rf i s t s and search fo r hope in the message of ^ Christmascarol The shat tered nerves of planet earth w ill re laxand find a moment's comfort in the sacred words of Matthew, now the bi r th of Jesus Chris t was on th i s wise *,Longing eyes will search the heavens for a sign, an angelwho will once again declare, "Glory to God in the highestand on ear th peace and good wil l toward men.** Human hear tswill look into the manger, desperately trying to absorbthe sweetness of the words in Isaiah, " and He shal l becalled Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace,** Many a soulwi l l search and long fo r the Prince of Peaces

Underneath the ga ie ty of our misobserved Christmasl ies the soul of man cowering in the shadow Of war, unrest,greed and misunderstanding. When the equipment for ourChristmas pageants i s stored, and the caro ls cease to be-sung, and th e passages of Matthew and Luke are sea led fo ranother year - what then? In the early hours of the nextmorning there will be the blinding flash - the bursting ofa mill ion suns the pounding shock waves -> the t e r r ib leshaking of the earth, and on the horizon a huge cloud willr ise , taking the form of a gigantic mushroom. Slowly thismonster will drif t across the nations of earth, reflectingthe sinis ter shadow of this corrupt age. Once again relaxedhands will t ighten and come slamming down on council tables.Tempers will burst, ignited by rage, greed and jealousy.The dove of peace will be caged. The sky will be black withwar huhgry vultures seeking fo r the blood of men. And fromouter space will come the mysterious beeps" of a man-mades a t e l l i t e , bu t still no informat ion on how to l iv e inharmony and peace.In the shadow of th i s evi l age, the children of God seeka time and a place to remember the birth of Jesus, singcarols, exchange gifts , and try to believe in **peace,andon earth good will toward men**. Is i t possible? Yes. Tothe Chris tian there is Perfect Peace, for Perfect Peace i sa person. Possessing Him, we can walk through every atomicblast , read despair ing headlines, endure every act of violence and i n jus t i ce and still be clothed with Per fec tPeace. The ruler of Peace has come and he s t i l l reigns.Ehibrace Him with your whole heart and you shal l have Peace!Without Him you are lost in the uncertainty of this age.


15/20

A f t e r one day by a i r p l a n e and t r u c k , an d two daysby h o r s e b a c k , we w ere h ap p y to r e c e iv e B e t t y a n dA l g e r F i t c h a t Chiengkam i n N o r t h e r n T h a i l a n d . Webe l i eve t h i s i s a de f i n i t e s t ep in t ry ing to un i tet h e efforts o f t h e h o m e chu r c h w i t h that o f t h efo re ign evange l i s t .

e igho d a

m

r six


16/20

FAITH COMETH BY HE/UIING

ic . .

Nai Kaw and a bl ind boy l i s t en to th e s toryof Jesnsy who was r a i sed from the dead .

Through the agency known as "GOSPEL RM^ORDINGS" manyunreached t r i b e s have come to hear th e message of Chr i s teven before a missionary has lea rned th e language . Theserecordings a re a l l made by na t ives under th e superv is iono f a miss iona ry . No mat t e r where you go , th e na t ive l i k e sto hear th e s t o ry in h is own l anguage .

In some cases th e Chr i s t i an na t ive has pro f i t ed th emost, fo r in many areas th e na tive cannot r ead . Thus byl i s t en ing to the records many t imes he i s enabled tomemorize and unders tand th e Chr i s t i an message and r ead i lyexpla ins it to o th e rs .

We are indebted to **Gospel Recordings" fo r t he i re f fo r t , fo r a l l of these records are supplied to usf r ee of charge. May they be used to His g lo ry .


17/20

Nai Chanta and Nai Non, two Chr i s t i an men l i s t en ingto Gospel preaching in t he i r nat ive tongue. Nai Chantahas s ince taken th e phonograph and some records toth e mounta ins t h a t th e Miao t r i be smen might a l so hea r - fo r "how s h a l l t hey hea r un le s s one he sent.**

Lis tening to the "noise box" which t e l l s the s toryo f creation.


18/20

A YEAB TO BE QUIETThis has been a rapidly changing and tempestuous year^

The wheels of Science have increased t he i r tempo to a ^deafening roar . The awesome r ea l i t i e s of technological 'advancement come bouncing back from outer space. Therumbling thunder of war has prec ip i ta ted a fa l lout ofgreed, lus t and fear . Added to th i s din i s a money-hungry, pleasure-loving, fas t -s tepping, fashionablechurch, seeking to meet the demands of the world by employing the ways of the world.The coming year predicts no change. The professingchurch wil l become more entangled with the machinery ofgodless mate r ia l i sm. In an a l l - ou t e f f o r t she wi l l employ new schemes, promote bigger and more non-essent ia lpro jec t s , demand l a rger budgets to f ac i l i t a t e f ine rchurch bui ld ings , and compete with others fo r more churchmembers and larger attendances. Yes, we will be l ivingin a new year of mere professing church members, wherenew "works of the flesh" are made manifest. May Godhelp us to be t rue **born again** chi ldren of God and notto be entangled the re in .I f perchance someone is weary of this **mad race**,there i s a br ighter s ide , for th i s new year does holda br ight and cheery promise. I t holds fo r you a blessedquietness and perfect peace. The prophet has promisedtha t '*my people shal l dwell in a peaceable habi ta t ionand sure dwellings and in quiet res t ing places**. TheNew Year holds a l l this for you, i f you would but pushin the clutch and release yourself from the machineryand course of this world , whether scient if ic or rel igi o u s .In place of largeir budgets, we simply need moreChrist ians will ing to give the i r a l l . In place of newand modern methods of promotion and revival , we needmore yieldedness to the Holy Spi r i t . In place of building and adding to our already comfortable and expensiveedif ices , we need to launch a project tha t wil l redeco ra t e th e **inter ior l ife** o f be l i eve r s wi th ho l ine s sand f ru i t s of the Sp i r i t . We need not continue in thefrenzied pace of l a s t yea r . WE NEED TO RETIRE AND BEQUIET THAT WE MIGHT BE CLOTHED WITH A PERSON. He alonei s our method, our project , our budget, and our power.Contrary to earthly wisdom, this is a year to stop**doing** and s t a r t 'being'* a year to go in and ' ' s i tbefore the Lord'* and be quiet tha t we might have thepower to walk soberly and wisely in the days to come.


19/20

\Bal , July 1, 1957 t 140.78

RECEIPTS; July , Aug., Sept . , Oct.Church of Christ , Healdsburg, Calif $ 20.00Co r b e t t Ch r i s t i a n Chu r ch 10 . 0 0T r e n t Church o f Ch r i s t 90 . 00Coburg Church o f Chr i s t 40 .00Court S t . Chr i s t i an Church, Salem 10.00Multnomah Ch r i s t i a n Church 200 .00Ga r i b a l d i Church o f Ch r i s t 50 .00M o l a ll a Ch r i s t i a n Church 60 . 00Maud Byers 10 .00F r i e n d s 60 .00Ted Caru the rs 6.00Eas t s ide Chr is t i an Church, Tangent , Ore. 4.95B urns C hurch o f Ch r i s t 2 ,02Mr. & Mrs, Jay C. Sh ie lds 25.00Dr. & Mrs. A. J . Jepson 35.00Mrs , John Po i n t e r 5 .00UcKinley Miss ion 10.00Church of Chris t ,Mi lwaukie 125.00Chr is t i an Chu rch , A sh land 5.00The Da l l e s Ch r i s t i a n Church 10 .00

7 7 7 , 9 76 918 75

DISBURSEMENTS: July, Aug., Sept . , Oct.Household and repa i rs $ 134.46Food 159.36Customs 33,90Books, correspondence, postage 58.63Film 31 .40Clo the s 3 .83Medical 74.12Misce llaneous 5 .09Min iste rs L ife & Casualty Union 126.25The Pho to -L i th Co 52.25Taxes 2,32Check se rv ice charge 2.91

t 684 .52Total Bal , Nov. 1 , 1957 $ 234.23

Mel and June are completing their f if th year in Thailand,and God willing they expect to return home in the springon furlough. Will you pray with us that God will lead,and direct in th is need? - Mrs. A.R.N.


20/20

PACTS AND FIGURESWHAT A GIRLWHO Robin Elaine BorersWHERE Chiengkam, ThailandWHEN August 4, 3:55 a.m.WEIGHT 7 l b s . 8 oz .

HE IS A GIRLThe b a s k e t in t h e c o r n e rHad blankets trimmed in blue ,For we had thought t h a t t h i s oneWould be a boy, brand new.The many days before "he" came.We always t a lked of "him";We thought we'd ca l l him Bobby,Or maybe ca l l him J im .And then "he" came one morning.He seemed a wee b i t shy;He said t h a t he was sor ry .And then began to cry .And when we saw the t rouble ,I t l e f t us in a whir l ;For "he" was not a little boy,But j u s t a little g i r l .So now we have a daughter ,That makes us t h ree you know;But we a re very happy,Fo r God h a s w i l l e d i t s o .And tho she s leeps in b lan ke ts .And a baske t made fo r "him";He s e ems to b e c o n t e n t e dTo be a "her" again .

M.W.B .

i.

byers-mel-june-1957-thailand.pdf

Documents