A Rock In A Weary Land 99
A ROCK IN A WEARY LAND
morning I was reading Luke xii. 4, 5. 'And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.' "'
Silence reigned in the little huts, now nearly full of villagers.
Then Cha-Lao-San spoke again softly. "It is like an answer, isn't it? Well, I won't turn back either, then."
The word went around like wildfire, ""Me-do-me-pa is not going to turn back!"
It was a crucial moment in the forming of the little church.
Friends at home were praying that God would raise up a leader, a Rock-man, to steady the weak little group of new believers sure of persecution. We have known many other similar cases where the villagers all turned back to heathenism because the headman decided to backslide. It is a weary land where you cannot do what you long to do, and believe is right to do. But if there is one man who is willing to take the punishment on his own head, many others will shelter under his shadow and stand with him.
I would just like to ask the reader one question. What made that man WILLING?
Willing to lose all his lands and physical comforts, perhaps.
At the same time he must give up all his popularity, his wine, his opium—everything that had spelled pleasure to him before.
And gain what? A nebulous "eternal life?' This man was no dabbler in philosophy; he was an illiterate farmer. Moreover, he was unusually marked out by common sense. You would never catch him making a poor bargain. Then what made him gamble his all, for Christianity? The only answer is in Rom. viii. 16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 1 John v. 10, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." This earth person (as the Chinese slightingly call the Lisu) knew, though he could not explain it, that he was contacting God through faith in Christ. He knew that whole worlds of undreamed-of joys and privileges were opening up to him. And he knew that he was only at the weak ignorant beginning of new life, and he was so
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thrilled that none of the old pleasures of the flesh could compare with it any more. They might go, but this new life with God, he must have. So he stood, and everybody waited to see what punishment would ensue.
Days passed without anything happening, but Me-do-me-pa was not deceived. He too was Oriental, and knew the ways of the Laird. One day he was driving pigs to market. He had to pass Place-of-Action; a retainer from the Yamen came out and laid his hand on Me-do-me-pa's shoulder, "The Laird wants ou!"
Ah, it had come, then. All right. He followed quietly into the Chinese courtyard which began, likely, to fill up with onlookers.
The Laird was standing there in a great rage, apparently.
"What are you doing, driving pigs to market when you had orders to be building the road?'' he shouted. There was no use answering that there had been no orders. Everyone present knew it was but an excuse to hide the real reason. Legally China recognizes religious freedom.
"Tie him up to the whipping post and give it to him!"' cried the Laird, and feudal hands reached out and grasped the strong frame which did not resist. It was done. Lash upon lash. What a beating that must have been! One of the strongest Lisu in the district, he was beaten so that he could not walk for three days.
When the miserable punishment was over the tall form lay senseless on the ground. Word had gone as fast as human foot could take it to Oak Flat Village; his fellows dropped their work and with grim faces sped to the scene, knowing they would have to carry him home. They wondered if he would live—if he would ever be the same physically again, and the little group of Christians whispered together and trembled. Would it be done to each? Or was Me-do-me-pa, like his Master, only in a small way, to bear in his wounds "the chastisement of our peace?"
Perhaps they had all better backslide? No, word came that the suffering man was recovering. He had spoken! He had said it was all right and that he was going on in the faith! Days passed and no other Christian was touched. "A man shall be as a rock in a weary land.' Spoken of his Master, it was true in a sense of the followers. The anxious, frightened believers gradually rallied,
A ROCK IN A WEARY LAND
and, as usually happens, others joined them! What was Me-dome-pa getting from Christianity that he deemed it worth such a beating? It did the cause good.
Dr. Jowett has said, "The man who is sure and restful in the conscious companionship of his Lord has about him the strainlessness and inevitableness of the oceantide, and gives off bracing influence like God's fresh and wondrous sea.'
And the-Laird? He had beaten his loyal henchman in ignorant suspicion, and for some time tried by heavy taxation to discourage the new doctrine. But gradually he began to notice things.
He noticed that the Christians were prospering in a material way.
That they were well-behaved. That their obedience to him was just the same, if he did not step on their religious toes. And after some eight years, he ended up by proclaiming openly that the Christians were his best citizens; and as they gave up opium and became physically strong enough to work their fields properly, their tax returns were actually netting him money!
(The taxes are a percentage of the harvest, so the more harvested, the more grain is given to the landowner.) This man never became a Christian, but like Felix of old, he used to call the deacons in and ask them to preach to him. Perhaps he planned to believe at the last hour, but it was not granted him. A sudden fever laid him unconscious and he passed away without repentance.
Now the church in Oak Flat district was an established thing, but evangelists to carry the Good News afar were few. La-mawu's partners went home to Stockade Hill; some others came in their place, but always too few to meet all the demand for teachers, so the responsibility of personal witness fell on the shoulders of the new believers. A long day's journey to the south and across the Salween River on the west bank was the Village of Horse Grass Level. Among the first to hear the gospel, they had been slow to receive it, but now they wanted teachers, so Medo-me-pa volunteered to go down there and give his testimony.
"How did your wife take all this?" I asked him one day, as he was telling me this story. "Did she believe along with you from the very first?"'
"No, she didn't, Ma-Ma," he said with a broad smile, "and she caused me no little trouble. She resented having to give up
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heathen pleasures, and made such stormy scenes that I just got sick at heart with it all."
"Well, she is certainly one with you now!" I replied. "What effected the change?"
"I got to my wit's end over her," he said, a twinkle of reminiscence in his eye, "so I decided to pray about her. For instance, she did not want me to leave home and go preaching, as I had volunteered to do, but I found that as I prayed regularly and faithfully for her, she began to change. She kept on changing as I kept on praying, until now she never objects to anything
I want to do!"
I might say right here, that as long as he lived, Me-do-me-ma seemed the model deacon's wife. She was faithful at prayer meetings, testified and exhorted others until, a full day's journey away, I heard of her being the means of effecting peace between another headman and his wife! After her husband's death she lapsed into girlhood weaknesses, but that does not change, only heightens the fact that his prayers had made a different woman out of her.
At Horse Grass Level, Me-do-me-pa's quiet, common-sense witness bore much fruit, and a steady little church grew up there.
Now we approach the days when my husband and I moved into Oak Flat Village, into a house just beneath Me-do-me-pa's and where we had many neighbourly touches. I would again like to quote from the circulars written during these years.
I first saw him in the spring of 1934 while we were Visiting Mrs. Cooke at Pine Mountain Village, before we actually moved in as a family. It was Sunday and Mrs. Cooke was pointing out some of the main men of the church as they arrived for Sunday service. Pointing to Me-do-me-pa (easily discerned because of his height) she said, "That big Lisu I call The Shepherd because he has such a heart of love and care for the rest of the flock."
Then in December, 1934, the Cookes moved up to the Luda district and we moved in as a family and took charge of the Oak
Flat district. March, 1935, has two references to Me-do-me-pa.
One of the snares in our Lisu work is the matter of lawsuits, quarrels over land, etc., referred to the heathen Chinese Laird for settlement.
We had a grave discussion about it on Sunday afternoon, for Pade-John
A ROCK IN A WEARY LAND
(Cha-Lao-San) and Me-do-me-pa were among the guilty parties; in the evening when the testimony meeting was thrown open, the dear
"Shepherd" was the first to stand up, and he confessed his fault before the flock. His face was so shining and modest as he talked, that one could not but love him.
The Lisu church, being founded on indigenous lines, was selfgoverning. The missionary gave advice when asked, and likewise preached only when invited. In each Christian village there was one elected as service leader, and this one wrote down on the blackboard the names of those he wished to preach during the coming week. If the white missionary's name did not appear, he did not preach but sat in the audience while the selected native Christian officiated. In those early days, before I could speak Lisu, I was in the audience one night when Me-do-me-pa was the speaker. Not knowing much of the language, I could not follow his message, but I knew enough Lisu to find the text he had chosen. It was John xii. 1-9, the story of Mary's alabaster box of ointment poured forth at Jesus' feet. As I listened and saw the glow of inspiration on the Shepherd's face, and felt the hush in the audience, I wondered just what in that story had spoken to this farmer's heart. He had received very little Bible teaching up to that time, but he was gifted with keen spiritual insight, and Mary's costly offering ungrudgingly lavished on the Master had touched and blessed him. There was a kinship of feeling with that Hebrew maiden of old, on this Lisu man's face. ""There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ
Jesus" (Gal. iii. 28).
From the circular of July, 1935, comes this paragraph demonstrating that although the foreign missionary was present, the matter of discipline was left in the hands of the local church.
That night in the evening service, Prodigal got up and said he wanted to return to the Lord, that he realized it meant salvation and happiness.
When he sat down, teacher John grunted, "You didn't say enough!"
And then, Me-do-me-pa and Pade-John went after him. "What about your sins? 'Return to the Lord' and not a word about repentance?
God is not to be treated that way !"—it was good to hear them hot after their Lord's honour. No, once we forfeit His "'well-pleased" there is no
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path of self-complacency back to it. The church has accepted Prodigal's confession and is giving him a second chance to believe, and allowing him to shake hands again—a sign, not of church membership, but of fellowship.
In September it became necessary for Little Daughter and me to g° out to Chinaland for a few months' physical recuperation as has been told in Homay's story. We got back in time for Christmas, and the circular that month tells of our arrival.
We had a wonderful welcome back to Oak Flat on December 16.
Half way down the mountain John met us, accompanied by Ye-Chiame (Kathryn's playmate), Gu-fu-chee (banging the chapel gong) and Mark. The rest of the crowd was ordered to be in ceremonial line farther up the hill, but on hearing our voices Plum Tree Flat-ers could not contain themselves and came pelting down on us, led by Caleb with his big boyish laugh and gripping handshake. One old man said half to himself, "Thank God—He wouldn't allow us to be separated"—an involuntary little word that nestled down softly into the missionary's heart.
Farther up was the reception line—Job, Pade-John, Me-do-me-pa, Keh-gee-sen, and others. On our approach they began to sing, but in their excitement suddenly forgot the words and all came to a stop.
There was a blank and awful silence for a second, and then Job 'said, "Oh, let it go! Let's shake hands."
Our dear Lord is a magnificent giver; He knows how to add the tiny little extras which make a pleasure perfect. Among those who ran forward most eagerly and shook hands most warmly were some we had long been praying for as "cold-hearted."
We had a happy three months with them before having to come home on furlough. I am glad that the furlough circulars contain a letter from Me-do-me-pa, because, although it is not a remarkable one, it is his own voice speaking.
Oak Flat Village.
March 14, 1937.
Big Brother and Sister:
Whom I yearn for, cannot forget and continually long to see, in the name of the Father, Son, and the Spirit I send you a handshake. Now
Big Brother and family, are you dwelling in peace?
There is nothing wrong with us and because of the help of the Lord
A ROCK IN A WEARY LAND
we are all well. Won't you pray very much for me? Also pray much for the deacons of the surrounding districts. Thank you very much.
We are earnestly praying for you to come back and teach us. Won't you do so?
The photo you three had taken, came in the early part of March; we were unspeakably happy to get it. Now there is going to be another period for Oak Flat of "no missionary"—sheep without a shepherd once more! I am wondering whom God has for us in the future?
The writef is one who loves you, the servant of Jesus Christ.
ME-DO-ME-PA.
Reading it in this respect, one is struck by that simple little question, I am wondering whom God has for us in the future? because the answer to it involves the biggest storm that ever struck the Rock-man. He little knew what he was asking.
For some months after our departure, Oak Flat was without a white man missionary; and then one whom the Lisu named
Brother Two volunteered to go in and help. It is not the policy of the China Inland Mission to put new workers on a station alone, without the counsel and help of experienced seniors, but sometimes in an exigency, when no senior has been available, this has been done. And the following story is the result of such an emergency.
Brother Two was a very zealous and devout young missionary, and one with brilliant gifts. He picked up the Lisu language quickly, and his indifference to personal hardship and suffering was a blessing to us all. His arrival was heralded with joy and satisfaction by Me-do-me-pa and everyone else, and his quickness in learning their tongue elicited their admiration.
However, the Lisu language is a very ambiguous one, which even an experienced missionary can misunderstand. And later, the Lisu told us, "There were times when Brother Two thought he had understcod us and he had not; we could tell by his answers." Let us keep this in mind as the story unfolds.
With no experienced senior missionary present to explain matters as they cropped up, and full of zeal to see the Word spread and multiply unhampered, Brother Two gradually began to take exception to the way the Lisu church conducted certain things. Mr. Fraser had given them a catechism, which long
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experience with various tribal attempts at catechisms has made us value because its simplicity makes it easy for the beginner to master, and thus encourages him to further study. But Brother
Two felt that the catechism, with its simple question and direct answer, had a tendency to produce a "'do-this-and-thou-shalt-besaved" effect on the Lisu mind. In other words he feared legalism for the Lisu church. He was much strengthened in these misgivings to hear that Mr. Payne had feared the very same thing.
Brother Two decided to step out and combat legalism, and began to take exception to the way the church was handling cases of church discipline. This of course, brought him up against Me-do-me-pa, who was the head deacon and in charge of all such decisions. Hitherto the missionary, as already pointed out, had let the church do its own disciplining in its own way, only giving the word of advice now and again, the purpose being to strengthen them as an indigenous church; but here was a white man who wished to sit in on their consultations, seemed to want to take charge, and was insisting that methods taught them by the mother Lisu church were wrong. Me-do-me-pa objected to such an abrupt change, without being able to consult Mr. Fraser or Mr. Cooke who were experienced in all the districts of the Lisu work. Brother Two was a newcomer; Mr. Fraser and Mr.
Cooke had long ago proved and approved themselves to the Lisu mind and heart, and both had sanctioned the methods Me-dome-pa was using. It was very painful, very upsetting and very bewildering, for Brother Two held to his opinions and pressed them with all the zeal of youth and the inexperience of a novice in Oriental matters.
Samuel Rutherford in a mellow old age said, "Satan has a Friend-at-Court in the heart of youth,' and commenting on his own past added sadly, "Often my zeal was mixed with my own wildfire." This was a case in point, but neither side was able, as yet, to discern it as such.
Matters came to a head, finally, over young Samuel of Deer Pool, whose dislike for his wife had made Homay weep. In order that the case might be more clear to the reader we must go back and see what happened to Samuel.
1 See-p. 55.
A ROCK IN A WEARY LAND
III The exhortation by Job and Me-do-me-pa to take up his cross and accept his wife had held Samuel to the Narrow Way for a few months. But Sam was never one to "spread out his roots by the river'? as Homay did. He just would not take time to read his Gospel portions and pray, so when the Sharp Wind from the Bitter Height struck him he was easily upset. After we had left for furlough, Samuel had met with a crisis and definitely, wilfully left the Lord and had gone into sin. There was nothing bad that he had not done, they said. His old father, believing it to be because of the unloved wife, took her to the heathen laird at Six Treasuries and bought a divorce. Now Samuel was a very attractive young Lisu, tall, broad, open-faced, and with a sunny smilé; we all liked him. Moreover, Brother Two had misunderstood part of his case—thought that his wife had been married, without himself being consulted, in the heathen days; whereas in truth Sam had had a Christian wedding. It was noticeable that none of the deacons was making any effort to get Sam back; Brother Two evidently did not know that Me-dome-pa had spent much time and loving exhortation in trying to keep the boy from going into sin. "You do not even try to reclaim sinners!'' said Brother Two with heat, and went after Samuel himself, prayed with him and earnestly urged him to return to God. Much flattered by the white man's personal interest, Samuel at length confessed his sin and consented to return. Brother Two was naturally overjoyed, and expected everybody else also to open wide their arms and receive the young sinner jubilantly. But it was not so.
"We are glad he has confessed his sin and wants to come back,"' said the Lisu deacons. "He went into sin wilfully—it is not our custom to receive such back immediately to the Lord's table. We would like him to be suspended from handshaking and the Communion Table for a period, that he may prove his repentance is sincere."
Again, Brother Two gave out opium as medicine, and when told that Lisu Christians were not allowed to have anything to do with opium, replied hotly that "there is nothing in the New
Testament which says that one may not use opium! Nothing to say you may not smoke tobacco or drink wine either !"" This was
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an awful shock; and some of the weak Christians made _ his words an excuse to go back to old sins. And always Brother Two uoted the New Testament—a book which Me-do-me-pa and ic others had heard of, but never been able to read, as the translation was not yet finished. Mr. and Mrs. Cooke were working on it at the time.
And so a definite schism broke the Lisu church. One need not go into the details, but some followed Brother Two and the others stood by Me-do-me-pa. Never had such a Sharp Wind ever blown upon the Shepherd or the little flock. The beating from the Laird 'was nothing to this; that had been from the outside but this was from the inside of the body of Christ! Fearfully and weakly they talked together in the desolate chapel.
Was there any use in going on?
Then it was that Me-do-me-pa again became a Rock-in-aweary-land. "I know what we must do," he said sadly. "We must write to Mr. Fraser, and ask him if we are wrong, ask him what to do. If we should have let Brother Two rule us, we can confess it—God knows we only want to do His will: But Sam never looked sorry for his sin as far as I could see. He confessed it to please Brother Two, to my mind. What will happen to the church if they are allowed to drink, smoke, handle opium? . . ."
Everyone groaned thinking of the misconstructions already put upon Brother Two's words by some. And so that letter was written and mailed. But it would take some three months to get an answer from the superintendent who was away off in the east of the province. In the meantime there was the split church to face every day, and the jeers of the heathen.
One day this came out from Brother Two's followers.
"Brother and Sister Kuhn are back in China, but they are not coming back here. They are to work at Paoshan. If you don't accept Brother Two he will leave, and you will have no missionary ever!"
This was a hard blow. It was true that we were back from furlough and had been designated to Paoshan city; our own letters gradually arrived and ratified it. Then the Wind blew its fiercest. ""We had better write to the China Inland Mission
Headquarters to leave Brother Two here," said some of the
A ROCK IN A WEARY LAND
II3 deacons anxiously. ""We can do as he says! It is better to do that, than to have no missionary!' And they drew up a letter to the Shanghai Council asking that Brother Two be left with them.
Only Me-do-me-pa refused to sign.
"I did not refuse lightly, Ma-Pa," he said to us, in relating it afterwards. "Keh-teh-seh-pa and I stayed up all one night praying; all night we cried to God to show us what to do. But I could not sign.
His refusal shook the deacon body. But finally, after they had swayed back and forth, now going to send it without his signature, now not daring so to treat one who had always proved wise and loving to them; finally, they rallied around the Rockman—''All right, then we won't sign either," they said sadly.
And at that point, help came.
A letter from Mr. Fraser arrived, expressing tender sympathy and telling them to stand their ground; that Brother Two had misunderstood some things, and that he, Mr. Fraser, was coming in to discuss these matters with Brother Two himself; then all would be talked through and cleared up. "You have not been wrong in your stand," he had written. Oh, how those words comforted! ""God has answered our prayers!' Me-do-me-pa cried, almost weeping for gratitude.
After that it was easier to wait with patience. Finally, word came that Mr. Fraser was too busy to come so far, but that he was coming to Paoshan, and that Brother Two was to go out and meet him there; and in the meantime, Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn were being sent in to visit them and, he trusted, "comfort their hearts."' Joy and sadness!
Joy to think of seeing the missionaries who had lived among them in 1935-6; sadness to see Brother Two packing up, still maintaining he was right, and saying that he would never return to them—for the Lisu love their missionaries more than they do their own parents, and although Brother Two was vexed with them, they remembered that he had come all that long way from his own country, had parted with his loved ones, and had made many sacrifices in order to bring the gospel to them, despised earth people that they were. So it was grief to see him go without a reconciliation.
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In about a week's time, a runner arrived to say that Brother and Sister Kuhn were coming up the hill that afternoon probably. As Me-do-me-pa waited behind the Welcome Arch a few hours later and saw his loved missionary coming towards him, something within him seemed to crack; all that weight of decision as to what was wrong and what was right, might be shifted now on to familiar shoulders. It was too much for the dear Shepherd; when he saw my husband he just threw his arms about John's neck and let the tears run. It was a moving sight, for he said nothing at all, he criticized no one, just clung and wept silently. And in the long interview which followed, I never heard
Me-do-me-pa say one word about Brother Two that was angry or "nasty." All was just grief.
That very night the Shepherd had a severe attack of pain.
It was the beginning of strange seizures, which finally settled down into the constant pain and symptoms of cancer. But for over a year, though the loved deacon would have one of these attacks every now and again, we never dreamed he was in danger.
We must say a word of the meeting of Mr. Fraser and Brother Two. The latter had told the Lisu before he left, that he was severing his connection with the China Inland Mission; so sure was he that he was right, and that Mr. Fraser could never convince him of anything but that. Truth to tell, none of us had much hope that the meeting could result in anything satisfactory, but we prayed anyway. December 31 of each year the members of the China Inland Mission set aside for prayer and fasting; and as the year was drawing to a close John invited the Lisu to join in keeping the last day thus. Me-do-me-pa and some ten others gathered with us that afternoon on the open hillside. Of course the matter of the meeting in Paoshan city was uppermost in the minds of all of us. As my husband led, in a little preliminary talk, he said something like this: "Now in our prayers, I do not want to hear anyone telling the Lord about the faults of Brother Two. God knows them already.
This prayer time is to confess our sins, and get our hearts right with God. After doing that, we can ask Him to help Mr. Fraser and Brother Two get reconciled."
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IIs The prayers that followed were among the most precious I have ever heard. The dear Lisu did just what their Big Brother had asked. Not a word that was not loving was said of Brother
Two, but many confessions as to anger, hardness of heart, etc., went up to the Throne of Grace.
And if your hand or foot offend you, Cut it off, lad, and be whole; . ¢. But play the man, stand up and end you,
When your sickness is your soul.
There was "'cutting off" that day in Lisuland, and way off down in Chinaland, God worked beyond thought and expectation. The result was, gradually, a letter from Brother Two to the Lisu church came; it asked forgiveness for disrupting them and for anything done or said wrongly. He did not say that he had been entirely wrong. To the end he believed the Lisu church discipline was wrong; but Mr. Fraser was too big a man to ask a sincere opinion or conviction to be changed. All the superintendent wanted was that unity of heart be restored. So although their individual convictions regarding church discipline and "es catechism continued unchanged, their fellowship as members of the same Body was re-established. The same mail brought a letter from Mr. Fraser, one of the sweetest I have ever read, in which he told us that they had been reconciled as brothers in the Lord; and he added, "Now I never want to hear Brother
Two's mistakes mentioned again by anybody!
As regards myself, they are already forgotten—he is a ree wi beloved. And I order and exhort you also to receive him as such, and urge the Lisu Christians to do the same! "Love covereth.'"' And I believe it did.
Years later, Old Big (of the following pages) was watching me open some mail. ""Ma-Ma," he said, "where is Brother Two now? I know there were some things happened when he was here," with a twinkle in his eye, "but he healed my foot when it was badly cut, once, and I can never cease to be grateful to him.
I love-long after him!" Brother Two was sent to another part where the China Inland Mission was working; and the last I heard, he was in the British Army, and winning many souls to Christ.
And now to our joy, permission was given to us to stay on in
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Oak Flat, and in addition to ourselves, the two fellow-workers previously mentioned were granted to us. Then, as summer approached, the dream and vision of our furlough was laid before the Lisu church—a three months' Bible school (the R.S.B.S.) for Lisu evangelists and laymen whom the Lord might choose to send.
The deacons were pleased with the idea, but when John told them that the expenses (food of the students, chiefly) were to be paid for by the Lisu church (indigenous principles), they were in consternation.
"'Ma-Pa"—They approached the objection anxiously—"'food for fifteen or so for three months takes a lot of corn! Where can the church find so much? It's never been done before in Lisuland, has it? Not for such a long period? Not even in the parent church of Stockade Hill? To feed fifteen students for three months!''
Me-do-me-pa was church treasurer. He, the man of ingenuity, also looked grave. "Ma-Pa, I think it would be fine, but I do not know how it would work out.
There are many difficulties"
"Well, Me-do-me-pa,"' answered John, "suppose we start out and try to feed them and teach them for three months. I'm sure
God will supply the corn, but suppose we just say we will hold the school for as long as He does supply corn?"' On that basis the deacons were comforted and plans were made. The story of the R.S.B.S. will be told in a later chapter, but suffice it to say here that the results gratified all so much that a vote was taken to continue the same thing the next year, and it was unanimous.
Thus it became a yearly institution.
As told before, we began that first school (and subsequent ones) with a time of heart searching, and I notice from the circulars of those days that it touched more than the students—
I quote from June, 1938:
THERE ARISETH A LITTLE CLOUD
In looking over prayer partner letters I came upon this sentence— "We are led of the Spirit to pray for a general revival among the Lisu Christians." We rejoice that the Lisu have people praying for them who are led of the Spirit. Like Elijah's servant on Mt. Carmel, sent up
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Li7 to look for the prayed-for showers, we would like to tell you that "there ariseth a little cloud . . . like a man's hand." From the first days of our arrival there have been individual confessions of sin—some every month—and in a few cases the ones who sought cleansing were touched directly by the Spirit Himself; that is, not through a human medium.
It is always a peculiar joy to see God work all by Himself. He uses us to give us that pleasure, but He does not have to use us.
Sunday, May 1, was the day the little cloud arose. The first Sunday of the morfth is always communion here, and that day John led the service. He spoke on "Go, and sin no more," then before administering the sacrament, he asked if there were not some who wished to make things right before partaking. Immediately Me-do-me-pa was on his feet. He is church treasurer among other things, and some time ago in making up accounts he found $1.50 more than was necessary, so decided it must be his own money and pocketed it. During prayer in his own home, thinking of something quite different, the Holy Spirit brought that $1.50 to his mind and told him he should have given the church the benefit of the doubt. Me-do-me-pa had already confessed it to Job, but now wished to tell the church. His lead made it easy for others. I cannot relate all here, but will pick out some I think might interest you most.
Va-ci-me-pa is the brother of our Joseph who is asleep in Jesus. This boy has had further affliction; their father died a few months ago, and by the way, on his death-bed he said he saw Joseph in heaven ae the singing! Then just lately Va-ci-me-pa's house burned to the ground through his wile' carelessly leaving the flax too near the fire. They lost everything, and in his shock and grief Va-ci-me-pa beat his wife. He arose that day to confess to all and publicly shook her hand before us.
Dear boy—he seems to have the same tender heart that Joseph had, for he broke down and cried and cried.
Rhoda, Job's wife, had a quarrel with Pade-John and the two of them were not on speaking terms. They both confessed and shook hands.
Then Pade-Peter came forward. First he confessed to having stolen a pencil from us three years ago; then to having ill-treated his old parents. At this point Me-do-me-pa, from his own seat on the penitent form, looked up and ejaculated grimly, "Yes, you had better say that!"
Both old people were in the audience and both broke down and cried and started to flood us with miserable details of how unfilial the boy had been, so that the Spirit was quenched and no more confessions followed. Job closed with prayer saying, "Father, there must be many more and greater sins in our midst. Please cleanse us." Altogether we were four hours in chapel that Sunday.
NESTS ABOVE THE ABYSS
One of the rare qualities in a Rock-man is the ability to say no. Many a leader has spoiled his career, and failed to attain greatness, when he met this seemingly simple test. But Me-dome-pa had that ability to be upright at any cost.
As spring of 1939 advanced, the Kuhn household began to run low in corn. We often bought the corn which the Christians had donated to the church, and which had to be sold. We paid the regular market price, of course, but it was convenient to get it from next-door, instead of having to have it hauled from a distance. So John asked Me-do-me-pa, as church treasurer, to sell him some of the church corn. To his surprise Me-do-me-pa refused! He did it very graciously and explained his position thus, "If I sold any of the corn which is in this village now,
Ma-Pa, there would not be enough left to feed the Bible students through R.S.B.S., and the church should not pay to have corn hauled, when there has been enough stored here, to start with.'
My husband was slightly nettled at first, then we saw that properly we should rejoice, "Just think how he has shouldered the responsibility of feeding the students! He is thinking and planning carefully that the school may be run without hindrance.
If anyone is to be bothered with hauling corn, it should be private se like ourselves. After all we can afford it. What a gift, to have a man who cares about the interests of the church whether it makes him popular with his neighbour or not!' And truly after Me-do-me-pa was gone, we had a succession of worries over that very thing. The Lisu who later took charge of the corn (a true Christian himself, but unable to say "No" to friends and relatives who want to "borrow" or otherwise use church corn) was embarrassed by many a shortage which should never have been. It was not due to dishonesty, but merely to that lack of courage in not daring to become unpopular.
As R.S.B.S. (1939) was approaching, Pade-John presented himself as a candidate for entrance. He applied to Me-do-me-pa, saying that he now intended to do the Lord's work, and so expected the church to feed him free. But Me-do-me-pa refused him free board, saying it was against the rules. Now Pade-John is a relative of Me-do-me-pa's, and in the East it is customary to wink at rules if the applicant is your blood relative. But the dear