byers-mel-june-1968-thailand.pdf

8/22/2019 Byers-Mel-June-1968-Thailand.pdf

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TlAt^ 3 College Library npn i r inco^ ^ 1111 NORTH MAiM APR 1 5 1968THE GREAT COMMISSION REMINDER

Among the Tribes of Northern Thailand"GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD,AND P REACH THE GOSPEI

Pitfcfied and mailed free byMEL ond JUNE BYERS

Talat Chiengkam,Ctiangwat Chiengrai,

Thailand, Asia

MARCH

7

"AND THE HEATHEN SHALLKNOW THAT I AM THE LORD,WHEN ! S H A LL B E S AN C TI FI EDIN YOU BEFORE THE IR EYES . "

Fawarding Agents:ASHLAND CHURCH o f CHRIST

Pos t O ffi ce Box 520Ashland, Oregon 97520

U.S.A.

HOMEWARD BOUND

THIS VOLKSWAGEN BUS WILL BE WAITING AT THE PORTLANDA IR PORT FOR THE BYERS ' FAMILY .


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"WITH WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT WE SAID GOODBYE"(ACTS 20:1 TODAYtS ENGUISH VERSION)

Communist ter ro ri sm has been accelerated in the Chieng-kam area for the f irst t ime. Prowling the streets are armed so ld ie rs , je ep s, trucks and armed carr iers . The small military airport is busy recieving and dispatching aircraft of all kinds. Dailyfresh rumors are bom, distorted and speedi ly passed from oneperson to the next . A sense o f unre st has quickly spread overth e entire community and suddenly we find ourselves no longerremote observe rs but immediate participants in the world struggleagainst Communism. Infiltration into the neighboring vil lagesand h il l t ri be s ha s become more acu t e . Schoo l t e ache r s havebeen at tacked, soldiers and border police wounded and ki l led .Other v il la ge s a re being harrassed with propaganda and threa ts .

Caught up in the circumstan ces o f w ar and unrest are theChrist ians. A very small minority of scat te red be lievers who arepreparing themselves in every way to l ive the paradox of theChris t ian life; "afflic ted in every way , bu t not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;struck down, but not destroyed,"--A-simple trusting folk who asknothing more than to liv e t he ir l ives as disciples ofJesus Christ .

On the eve of our departure i t is increasingly difficult tosay goodbye. There is always one more sermon that should havebeen delivered; one more p roblem discussed; one more at temptto exhort a backsl ider . One becomes anx ious again for the poorwho need help , the sick who need med ic in e and the critically i l lbrother who is facing death. One becomes concerned again forthe many neighbors and friends who have steadily resisted theGospel for so long. Time is running out; i s there one morec han ce to re ach them? In ste ad o f running smoothly, l i fe has away of becoming more enigmatic and the scat tered believersappear more exposed and susceptible than e ve r st i l l we mustleave. Perh ap s, unwittin gly, this also is a New Testamentpattern. Paul was often urged to stay a l i t t le longer but declinedby saying, "I will return if i t is God's will . " (see Acts 18:20 -21) Paul resolved in the Spirit to press onto Jerusalem (Acts 19:21) leaving the young churches of Asia in the wake of "riotingand upro ar." Bypassing other young churches he met brief ly wi ththe elders of Ephesus and then leaving them with much sorrowbecause he had said "that they should see his face no more."(see Acts 20:36-37) He left them in the midst of confusion,weakness , prey for fa lse tea ch ers and terrib ly exposed to thesubt le encroachment o f old s i n s . He le f t them when they need -


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ed more teaching. He lef t them when he personally did not wantto go. Herein is the mysterious working of the Holy Spirit .Suddenly the weak become strong; the newly appointed e lderbecomes a shepherd of the flock and the once t imid, re t icent bel iever sudden ly becomes a strong bold disciple of Jesus . Andalong with this there is a lways a "Demas" who fa l ls "in lovewith this present world" and deser t s ; or an "Alexander thecoppersmith" who opposes the message and does grea t harm,(see II Tim. 4:10-15)

Never theless , Paul, under the directorship of the HolySpiri t did what he had to do in spite of the inward pain and conflict; he said goodbye and then "commended them to God and tothe Word of His grace which is able to build up and give an inheri tance among a ll those who are sanc t i f ied ." (see Acts 20:32)

THAI CHRIST IANS PRESENTING A SPECIAL SONG AT THECHRISTMAS GATHERING.

I t i s in th is same s en s e t ha t we f ee l c ompel le d to l eavemany o f th ese dea r folk. We l eave them in the mids t of l i fe anda ll i ts struggle; i ts war and unrest; i ts temp ta tio ns and uncer ta int ies . We leave them seem in gly weak a nd sca t tered. Thusin our human helplesness we humbly and confidently commendthem to God and to the Word of His grace, believing that this is


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adequate to meet the challenge th ey face; that i t will surelybuild them up and in the end reward these humble trusting folkwith an inheri tance among a ll those who are s an ctif ie d. MayGod's peace re s t upon them.

" PAUL SENT FOR THE DISCIPLES AND HAVING EXHORTED THEM TOOK LEAVE OF THEM AND DEPARTED . "

(ACTS 20 :1 )

In the l as t few weeks we have gradua lly watched our homebecome empty and bare. The rabbits, chickens and pigs are allgone. Only two cats and a dog remain and continue to prowlaround in the new and s tr an ge atmosphere. The rice bin is emptyand the sma l l r i ce mil l ha s been so ld . The book she l ve s a reempty and the daily routine of school and study has given wayto packing and mixed feelings. So also we prepare to departfrom this l i t t le spot in Thailand which has been our home for thepast fifteen years . I t is the only home the child re n have everknown .

We will no doubt allow ourselves to indulge in a b it ofsorrow and sent iment a s with mixed emotion we le av e th is place .The children will reluctantly climb a t ree for the l a s t t ime orwalk a familiar path thru the bamboo ^rove. Each in h is own waywill p art with some old rusty but highly treasured object of somekind o r ano ther . There w ill be the la s t night of sleep on a smallwooden bed with a hard mattress. Reluctan tly we leave thesound of squealing pigs a t feeding t ime, the whitt le from thelo cal rice mill, the crying of the neighbors children and thelonely bugle of a l izard who has made his home behind a cornerpost in the house . We shall leave the dai ly glutt inous r ice ,the peppery f ish soup and the spiced vegetables . We shal l missthe thunderous pounding of the monsoon ra ins on our tin roof.We will no doubt long for the qu ie t evenings when unmolested byTV, meet ings , socia l gatherings and worldly enter ta inment wea ll sa t on the f loor and read an e xc itin g sto ry toge ther . Weshal l remember Sunday evenings as the t ime we had for our ownspecia l worship service . We shal l miss the thril l of ea ting afre sh p in eapp le r ight from our garden or the exotic taste of fre shmangoes from one of our t rees . Then there are the Thai friendswho come over to play, the trips to the market , sleeping out inthe f ie lds a t ha rves t t ime and a hundred o th e r th in g s which havebecome home and a way of l i fe . These things we are now calledupon to leave . Some may be glad to get back to the States butwe find that leaving can be extremely painful.


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CHRISTMAS TIME IN A THAI VILLAGE. SOME OF THE BYERS'CHILDREN PR ESENT S PE CIA L MUSIC FOR THE THAI .

On th e o th er hand w e a re c onv i n c e d t h a t th i s Is th e Lord ' swill and once our front door Is locked and the truck pulls awaywe sha l l look towards the future believing G od 's p lans areorde red . The sorrow o f le av in g tu rns to joy a t the prospec t s o fseeing loved ones and fr iends. We readily accept the challengeand are now e ag er to ge t on w ith the adventure .

" FOR EVEN IN THESSALONICA (Thailand) YOU SENT MEHELP ONCE AND AGAIN" ( ph i l . 4:i6)It has been a re al b less in g to see the fai thfulness of God

a s He works through His people . Our needs on the miss ion fieldhave never been great and God has been pleased to p ro vid e allt ha t we have needed . As we l eave and prepare to m ake our homein the States for awhi le , traveling and the new mode of livingrequi res more expense . Even so the funds have been adequa teand we are grateful to the many friends who have helped us in aspecia l way a t this t ime. I do hope tha t we sha l l be able tomeet with you and share some of these bless ings . It may take al i t t le while bu t even tua lly we shal l see you a l l .


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We expect to a rriv e in Portla nd , O regon on April 6th about3:45 P .M . in t he a fte rn o on .

All correspondence should now be sen t to me in care of theAshland Church o f Chr is t - P.O. Box 520 - Ashland, Ore. 97520or 4728 S .W. Cameron Road, Portland, Oregon 97221.

As yet no speaking dates have been arranged. For thoseinterested i t would be bes t to leave requests with Jim Sinclair,minister of the Ashland Church. Upon arriving in the States Iwill arrange a speaking schedule .

Continue to pray for the Church in Thailand.

PRINTERS NOTE:

What a bless ing i t has been to see the wonderful responsefrom God's people , a s we to ge th er bring the Byers family home.Funds have come from many s ta tes and from those with much andthose with l i t t l e , and God has blessed a ll for their love and concern . There are those who are sewing school clothing for thechildren; two re&igerators have been g iv en for their use; e ightso lid oak double beds , mat t resses and bedspreads have beengiven; a mangle iron (nearly new) and many other items firomthoughtful folk.

Perhaps you're wondering about the VW Bus on the frontcover . When i t became obvious tha t God was supplying a ll tha twas needed to cover the travel funds and that extra was comingin , i t was decided to purchase th i s vehicle a t considerablesavings on a ca sh , no-trade dea l . A family in the Ashland Churchmade the money avai lable without any interest expense . Howvery thankful we are to these and the many others who haveolSered funds interest free to help get the family home. Knowingthat transportation was going to be a big i ssue when they arrivein the Sta tes , and tha t the expenses wil l be heavy adju sti ng t othis new way of l i fe , and that payments would be a load notneeded , we wen t ahead w ith th is veh ic le a fte r cons iderab lecounsel . We pray that you will ac ce pt th is move as one thatwas wise and necessary . When the Byers arrive a t the Airportthe Bus wil l be wait ing for them.


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Several are planning to be at the Airport to meet the familyin Portland and i t may be that you will want to be there too.Notice th e date and t ime ment ioned in the Boxed-In area in th isn ew s l e tt e r .

Please continue to pray for and support Mel and June in themonths to come. Making this adjustment will be expensive fora period of time and our support and help w ill be needed andwe l c ome d .

Thank you again for your support and sacrificial giving.Surely God has blessed and will .-continue to use each of us asw e b e come av a i l a b l e an d u s e a b l e .

Mel Byers


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FROM LETTER RECEIVED MARCH 23rd, (written March 16th)I have been out on a preaching tour in Changwat Nan province for the past seven days and hence the delay on the final

confinnation of our travel date. Here are the particulars:Arriving in Portland - April 6th - at 3:45 p.m. by UnitedAirlines f l ight 043Y.We will be arriving in Seattle via Northwest Orient Airl ines at 1:15 p.m. - flight number 004Y.We just had a little excitement las t night - our entire mar

ket area burned to the ground. I was up all night helping friendstry to save some of their things as well as fighting the fire withwater buckets. I feel bushed today . I guess Chiengkam willnever be the same. For three days we had the Thai Air Force inhere bombing the area for infiltrated terrorists. So it seems thatthe t ens ion and confus ion i nc r ea se s .

Looking forward to seeing you soon.By faith in Him,

MEL JUNE BYERSASHLAND CHURCH O F C H RI ST

P. O . B O X 520ASHLAND, OREGON 9 7 S 2 0

Apr 15 '68

Mr. Barry W iUbanksP .O . Box 454Jopl in , Missouri

Non-Pfclit OigamjalkxiU. S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit No. 84A&nanC, Oregon

byers-mel-june-1968-thailand.pdf

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