CF NENS flm the IfDRSES

HQRTH BDRI-IA CHRISTIAN MISSION

*<Where China, Tibet, Burma and India Meet**

TTnlai YT

jmJAM m FEBRnAEY 19^0

JIflftJL

work being carried on in two villages - Muladi and Dukdang - the families working togeliier, yet having to go back and forth, especially during the Bible Seminaries, the jeep will surely be a great help# Then too, as the road program is expanded, -there win be more areas accessible by jeep, Eugene and Helen and family were aMe to go all the way fr^ Myitkyina to Muladi by jeep in November when they went back up^ountof the jeep ^jtnd will be sent to all niio had a part in this project^

received# We know that the folks in Burma will be thrilled with the news# Witii the

ing link churches, started a Jeep lUnd for the NCETH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION They contacted the living link churches of the various members of the family, as well as other Christian fWendSo There was also an announcement in Horizons The response has been wonderful and we are happy to let you know that the necessary amount has been

Some time ago the church at Slddmore Missouri, which is one of Betty Morsels lir

1^

througj^ On behalf of the mission we want to eaqaress our sincere thanls Areport
A recent letter r<m i'lrs# J# Russell I4orse tells of their appreciation of the

ry# Ev^ though the roads were *'iii^ssable'' by American standards^ "Uie jeeps go^

pra^r support given them in response to the special request in their recent telegram# WhaJe the physical danger wasn't imminent as it had been in formsr times, yet there
were rumors and tensions that were having a great effect on the missionaries and the

of our group here were having a tea^ific struggle# So we sent the telegram# As Helen ^s ^tlook and warnings, we have all felt secure and unafraid# In former times of
says, we all have felt blessed by the prayers of you all, and in spite of the dangeiw
weaker# Not so this time. We do thank you 4^821 JSor praying for us#" We Imve heard missionaries from various fields tell that they can almost be sure or the extent of the prayer support at home by i^at they are able to accomplish on the mission field# We surely have a greater realization of the iii5)ortance of pr^orer#
say to all of you who have been so faithful in upholding the work of the North Bimna Christian Mission, "God bless you" as you make it possible for the work
to continue *Where China, Tibet, Burma and India Meet#"
D&'So Oscar L# layers, forwarding agent# 202k N# llith Street

wrotegw I want to say that in January before we sent the telegram it seemed that all of us felt exceedingly distressed and disturbed# The officials had warned thst there might be trouble during the elections, and that things looked pretty bad ahead# Part
^nsion ### we got so nauseated and weak we could scarcely eat, then got weaker and

many tjays# Mrs# Morse wrote after the elections and ia escpressing their thanks she

native Christians, seemtog to increase the spiritual problems, hindering the work in

Terre Haute, Indiana

SPECIAL LETTER FRai THE MORSES

Muladi yiXIage
North Burma

February 10, I96O

Dear Friends in Christj

As you have been reading in our news letters from time to time, Dr and Mrs* Charles V Brown, of Inglewood, California, have volunteered for work in the North Bunna mission field# For thirty years we have wished that we might hsve a doctor work ing with us here. As you knfiw, I4r, J, Russell Morse, who took a medical missionary course, has been doing the medical work as he was able through the years. Then in recent years, our daughter, Esther Drema, who has learned from us, has been helping and really does remarkably well. A real nurse could scarcely do better. But the medical load is too much for just the ti/o of them. There has been a great influx of people into this area in the past few years, and now the number of people coming for
treatment is sometimes as many as 100 in a day#

Very few doctors are willing to give up all the conveniences and lucrative prao tices in civilized places in order to go to such a difficult and isolated place as
Putao. Therefore we are most happy that Dr. Brown and his family feel the call to

service among the people out here#

Dr. Brown is well qualified, having graduated from

the University of California and Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical College, foUowed by a yearns internship and a year's residency at Riverside County Hospital, Riverside, Cal ifornia. At present he has an active practice in Riverside. This he is prepared to
give up in order to come to the mission field#

For the past year we have been praying and t^orking for the entry permit for Dr. Brown. Now at last we have received word frcan the government that action is being taken, and that a permit should be coming through very soon. But in order for him to come to the mission field, funds will be needed for travel, for equipment, for medical supplies# He will also need living link support for himself and his family. These will be needed quicklyj for once the entry permit is granted, it must be used
within three months or it is lost# This means that actual arrival in Burma must be

within three months from the time the permit is issued. In tiiis case, it might be that the deadline for arrival could be as early as the middle of Msgr.
So we commend to you Dr. Brown and his family, asking that you will pray fcr them and their coming to Burma, and that you will help them financially also, as the
Lord lays it upon your heart to do so#
In His service. The Morse family
Dr. Brown may be addressed

c/o Ite. Rylis Brown

3160 Maude Street

Riverside, California

Note I An article wx^ing from a Burmese newspaper deplores the fact that not even Biirmese doctors ar^^lling to serve in the r emote areas of the countiy# And the
Putao area in which the Morse families serve and in which Dr. Brown and family are
of "civilization^'

willing to serve is considered by the Burmese themselves as an area beyond the limits

USD and RAWANG CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN BURMA

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION

"Where Chma, Tibet, Burma and India Meet"

(Formerly Yunnan-Tibetan Christian Mission)

Muladi Village - picture taken from higher land at edge of village. "^Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is psalms sari

that shall tread down out enemies.

FIRST 1960 NEWSLETTER

No. 23 News Series Beginning January, 1953 The J. Russell Morse Family
P. O. Putao

Kachin State, Burma

IT

HAPPENED

IN

1959

Januory - A Bible School was held for preachers, teachers and others who were interested in training for special Christian service. Classes were taught by Eugene, Robert and Laverne. There were 180 students.
February - Health problems were present for members of all families on the tield. Bettywas quite ill and plans were made for her to go to Ran

goon for treatment but the planes did not come. February 10th there
was a fire at Muladi which did extensive damage to the home of Lois

and LaVerne but all were deeply grateful that no one was injured.

March - The plane finally came on March 4th. Betty, baby Dorothy,
Robert Jr. (Ah-key) and also Lois, Marcia and Mrs. J. Russell Morse

condition. On March 9th Robert and thetwo older boys, Jonathan and Stephen went to Rangoon to bewith Betty. March 16th J. Russell Morse
his illness as a gall bladder attack. He was given treatment in prepar
ation for surgery. March 27th LaVerne joined Lois and Marcia in Ran goon as their second child was due early in April.

went to Rangoon. Betty was hospitalized and treated for an anemic

went to the hospital in Rangoon, seriously ill. The doctors diagnosed

April - J. Russell Morse underwentsurgeryfor removal of his gall blad

der and appendix onApril 2nd. His recovery was remarkable after such
a serious illness. Prayers of loved ones in Burma and in the States were answered in a wonderful way. April 14th was a memorable date for
LaVerne and Lois when their first son, Mark Russell was born.

May - Robert, Betty and family returned to Putao by pi'ane May 4th. At the same time, Helen and the children were enroute to Rangoon. They went byplaneas faras Myitkyina and by train the rest of the way. With them were Drema Esther and her adopted Lisu boy, Sammy.
May 14th Mr. and Mrs. J. Russell Morse returned to Putao and on the

28th Drema Esther and Sammy went back up-countryafter their medical checkup. All were able to go by plane even though the monsoon rains
had begun.

June - The folks in Rangoon were happily surprised bya visit from Lois
Callaway and two of her sons, Leian and Mark, enroute from Thailand

to India where the boys were to enter school. June 4th LaVerne, Lois and the children started on their furlough, having the pleasure of trav eling to India with Mrs. Callaway and the boys.

July - LaVerne, Lois and the children arrived in the States July 14th
after visiting missionaries in India, Italy and Germany and also seeing

many interesting sights in other parts of Europe. July 28th was a happy day for Eugene and Helen when Marilyn Louise was born, giving Mar
garet Elaine a playmate near her age.

August and September - were anxious months as they have been for several years. Ihe strain of uncertainty was again present but as in previous years, the prayersof those on the field and those at home were heard and they were able to remain and carry on the work of spreading the Gospel. During the summer months Mrs. J. Russell Morse, Robert and Betty continued with the teaching in the Christian Day schools at
Muladi and Dukdang.

October 4th - Eugene, Helen and family left Rangoon by train, arriving in Myitkyina five days later after quite an eventful trip. Because of the extremely severe and long monsoon season, they were delayed in Myitkyina until November. During October Thanksgiving Conven tions were held in various villages of the mission field, with great num
bers attending.

November - At last, on November 21st, Eugene, Helen and children arrived back home in Muladi. They traveled all the way by jeep from Myitkyina to their home, even though the road was "impassable" in many places - by American standards.

December - Eugene and Robert held a Bible School for preachers, elders and deacons. There were 150 in attendance. The Christmas Con

school, speaking dates and trying to find time to be with loved ones
and to visit their living link churches.

vention was held at Dukdang, the village in which Robert and Betty live, and there was an attendance of more than 4,000. LaVerne and Lois, in the midst of their furlough, kept a very heavy schedule with

As we read these "highlights" of 1959 we see the great need of a doctor in North Burma. The rugged life they live affects their health and it is necessary that they have medical check-ups and care from time to time. It so happens that several were in need of care at the same time, leaving only a couple on the field at a time part ofthe time only Eugene was up-country.
Both Mrs. Morse and Eugene spent many, many hours while in Ran goon, doing everything possible to expedite the granting of necessary papers for admittance of Dr. Charles V. Brown and family of Riverside, California. It is more than a year and a half since they expressed their willingness to go to the field and we are still hopeful that their visaes will be granted. According to the latest report on the matter, the highest officials had the matter under advisement, which in itself is encouraging. We ask that prayers continue that the visaes might be granted in order that Dr. Brown might go to North Burma and aid in meeting the medical needs of both the missionaries and the natives as he strives to serve the Lord, healing both body and spirit in this land
where the need for both is so great.

LOOKING

BACK

During the last few years many names have been added to our mail

ing list and requests have been received for information regarding the
beginning of the work of the Morse families. The workers in this field

prepared, from time to time for reference material and will try to give an adequate background for material that will follow in subsequent
Newsletters.

have always been too few and no one has found time to write a "formal history" so in this presentation we have used brief historical sketches

In her booklet, Mother Morse Remembers, Russell's mother wrote:

"Russell seemed always to expect that he would some day be a foreign wife, and together they raised their hands. Leaving Vancouver, B.C.,
missionary. He could hardly wait to finish college. When he heard Dr. Shelton's plea for volunteers for Tibet, he looked at Gertrude, his

August 13, 1921, Russell and Gertrude with their four month old son, Eugene, traveled with the Shelton Party to Batang, Chinese Tibet."

J. Russell, Gertrude and baby Eugene traveled constantly for four and a half months to reach Batang. They arrived before the close of
1921. On February 17, 1922, Dr. Shelton died at the hands of Chin

ese bandits. Immediately Mr. Morse's responsibilities were gr ea 11 y

increased.

mained at Batang studying languages and native conditions, until 1927 when waralong the border made missionary withdrawal advisable. Two other missionary families accompanied the Morses through the almost unknown Lisu territory across Burma.

There second son, Robert Howe was born April 8, 1923. They re

The Hospital at Batang 1923

soon after the birth of their third son, LaVerne, who was born January the Mekong Valley in Northwest China. There they were busy with

Mr. and Mrs. Morse and their sons, Eugene and Robert arrived in the U.S.A. in the fall of 1927. They returned to the mission field

4, 1929. They still had hopes of working in Tibet, but when that was impossible they settled i n the Chinese-Tibetan village of Yea Chi, in language study, evangelistic work and also started a Christian Day
School.

Their youngest child (only girl) Ruth Margaret was born February 25,
1935 in Hong Kong as they were on the way home for thelrsecona fur lough. After their return to the field a year or so later, the opportu
nities for working with the LIsu tribespeople which had begun in 1930 continued to increase. There were more and more requests from the Lisu for teachers and literature. By this time there were Lisu Christ ians not only in the Mekong valley but also across the mountains In the Salween valley and over into Burma. Their d e c i s i o n to go into the

Eugene with native helper at

ill with Influenza, then pneumonia

Batang, 1922.

found that "the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." and that after all, the decisive factors in healing are spiritual."

she watched over me continually for nearly 24hours wlthoutsleep. We

....Gertrudes nursing saved my life, for at the most critical time

/~>

4.

After telling of the mony tasks involved in the mission work Bro. Morse continued: "Do you wonder that I frequently feel TANGLED?

Many of our friends think our life is very SIMPLE, out here away from
the rush of civilization. But we are the center of great Christian de-

velopement in which "the love of Christ constraineth us" to diverse

tasks. (Ed. note - This could well be written of the present situation

as they work in North Burma.)

The firm foundation on which the churches were established is shown

in the following: "I wanted to examine the 'inquirers' personally, for I believe it is most important that each should have a sure basis of re

pentance and faith before being baptized, else it is not true baptism.
We want our churches to become self-supporting, self-governing and SELF-PROPAGATING not dependent for long on the foreign

missionary nursing bottle. Of course they will make mistakes, and 'experience is adear teacher' but, after all, abilities acquired through practice are more effective than the textbook learning." In telling of an evangelistic tripMr. Morse comments, "Twenty-two villages heard
the Gospel for the first time! 1" Other quotes follow, which we feel are significant in portraying the qay in which the work was established and is still being carried on:
"Converts have been won at various times and places. It has not been
a 'mass movement' but is the fruition of successive, weeks and months

of personal evangelism and preaching and praying with individuals and groups." "We have emphasized the need for CHRISTIAN education as a firm foundation for any democracy. Not mere acquisition of booklearning, - but character-building through knowledge of and conform

ity to God's laws and with God's help." With this background, we will try in future Newsletters to feature incidents of interest that will show the part that various members of the family and their co-workers have had in the progress of the mission
work "Where China, Tibet, Burma and India meet."
ELATION AND DISAPPOINTMENT

We can only try to imagine what a thrill it must be to see someone

from home when you are more than 12,000 miles from home. Only those who have experienced this can know. We can only try to im

agine what a keen disappointment it would be to look forward to such a visit, then through a series of circumstances, be unable to carry out the plans so carefully laid. James Chase, nephew of J. Russell Morse planned a visit to the
North Burma Christian Mission while touring Burma on behalf of the organization with which he is associated. His letter, written to Mrs.
Louise Whitham and Mrs. Eva Melton, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, sisters of

Brother Morse, portrays the deep disappointment that was his and also
the rich blessing received as a small part of his plan was fulfilled. In Robert's letter we find the sentiment that was expressed by all of the family as they wrote back to loved ones in the states. Robert's letter
too, was to his aunts in Tulsa.

',

Air View of Muladi Village. Mission homes in foreground.

James Chase wrote: "Well, on Monday morning, February 1, I be gan the long trip to Putao in a Dakota, arriving there about 1:30 pm.

The pilot was an Englishman; the co-pilot a Burman. The co-pilot has

It was my privilege to become acquainted with the pilot and co-pilot.

been welI acquainted with Uncle Russell and his fa m11 ies for about 8 years. Hespokeof the splendid work they have done In the Put'ao area, and with tears In his eyes, he said, "And to think that for the love of my people they have chosen to live In that area when many of
us would not even do so." I had heard the same report from my fellow
workers In Mandalay

embrace such as an uncle would have for a nephew whom he had not

"At the airport, with a radiant smile, a good handshake anda hearty

seen for many a year, was Russell alone! In his hand were the two ca
bles I had sent. He had received them only a little while before the

come to the airfield. (Editorial note: Telegrams are never delivered

plane landed and there was not time to notify the rest of the family to

in Putao. They are sent to the Post Office and picked up when one of the family happens to be in Putao or when someone Is sent for the mail.
In this case, the telegram might have been given to Russell Morse by
the telecoms man at the airfield.) He had come himself on the mission

tractor planning for me to ride back to Muladi village. He hoped Eu

gene would arrive on his motor bike before the plane left but unfortu nately, Eugene didn't make it.

"I shall never forget the moments Uncle Russell and Ispent together. Later in the afternoon on my way back to Rangoon, I wrote in my diary
as follows:

shorter in stature than I, (James is 6 ft. 3 in. tall) who, in my est

$50, yet it is worthwhile because today Istood shoulder to should
in his noble work, all his family and their converts to Chr?st.'

'Uncle Russell is shorter than I, yet I have never stood with a man

imation seemed to tower so far above me. This trip has cost about

er and heart to heart with a great man, and I am proud and yet humble, Iam inspired and challenged anew. May God bless him
"It is strange, but I can hardly remember about what we spoke. Ido remember his saying that he feels time is running out for them in their work-area and that the powers of evil are being unleashed in an un
precedented way

some of the Christian leaders of the Muladi congregation. I am sure

^It was a tremendous experience to me to be with him, but a deep disappointment that I could not see the rest ofour family and to meet

there was disappointment there too, for a feast had been prepared for
me and a great fellowship service for the evening.

^"The pilot, deeplyappreciativeofoursituation, allowed me to sit in his seat in the cock-pit while the co-pilot guided the plane over the Muladi village and I gook several pictures. I suppose one of themost
sion chapel waving at the plane. We were flying very low, so I waved
emotional moments was when I sawsomeone on the ground nearthe mis that on the way back to Rangoon I wept with emotion. It had been a tremendous experience even though so disappointing. ^"Well, Ispent nearly twelve hours that day in the air in order to be

back even though Idoubt^ that Iwas seen. Iam not ashamed to say

allowed to bring them into the country. Had it not been for the sent

the kind consideration of the customs official in San Francisco was I imental value he would not have permitted it. When he asked the

with Uncle Russell for fifteen minutes. I know Ishall always feel it was so worthwhile, and if in some small way he was encouraged by my effort to come or strengthened in any way, Iam extremely happy. "I am sending you two oranges brought especially for you from Mu ladi village, Burma....and you know who sent them. Only through

question, 'Have you any fruit?' I answered truthfully but quickly ex

withdraw the oranges, saying, 'Don't take them out of your pocket.'
things like this, which makes us very happy." Mrs. Whitham and Mrs. Melton shared one orange with the Paul

plained the circumstance. He put his hand on mine as I was about to

"You see, there are some people in the world who can understand

Chase fam i I y in Tulsa (brother of James) and the other with Mr, and

many vears. Mrs. Whitham added, "We also felt a deep emotion as we shared this symbolic fruit."

Mrs. Bonawit, who have been close friends of the Morse family for

Robert's paragraph completes the picture of disappointment: "We

were terribly disappointed in not getting to see James when he came. Of course I was on a trip into the jungle, to the "Forgotten Frontier",

out that he could not stay, so only Dad saw him.. .We were sooo sorry.
After all, we are still in the most Isolated of places, and even perfect
strangers are greeted like friends. When an actual member of the fam

body was back home getting ready the welcome mat, when it turned

but all the family was expecting to enjoy his visit so much that every

ily got this far, and then to miss him, or not have him stay, v/as Indeed

a bitter pill I"

CALIFORN
BURMA

SEVEN

DAYS

jiL

R. LaVerne and lois E. Morse with Mark, age I year and Mareia age 4. This picture was taken April 17, 1960 while they were visiting lois's living link
church at Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

Bachelor of Theologv degree from the Cincinnati Bible Seminary. At about 5:00 P.M. tnat same day they bid farewell to loved ones and friends at t he airport, as t hey started on the firet leg of their flight
back to Burma, with [ust one week in which to reach their destination

On the morning of May 27th, 1960, R. LaVerne Morse received his

within the year's I1mit of their absence from the country. They left

There was much prayer on their behalf as they left us, that they might have a safe f Ii ght all the way and that there would be no delays along the way.

Burma on June 4, 1959 and had to be back by midnight, June 3,1960.

Their furlough had been a time ofstrenuous labor for the Lord as they
spoke many, many times and places and LaVerne carried a full load at school in order that he might be better fitted for the work he will be

doing on the mission field. The inspiration of the Christian fellowship they enjoyedmeant much to them andof course they weretremendous ly thankful for the time they had with their families, even though it
was limited.

airport about 10:00 P.M. Sunday night. May 29th. How happy and
"ARRIVED JUNE FIRST THANK GOD ALL WELL." It seemed so in-

After brief visits in Tulsa and California, they left the Los Angeles

thankful we were when Lois' parents received the following message:

cred i bl e that in so short a time they had traveled more than 12,000 miles! Then when we received word that they had arrived up-country in Muladi on June 6th - just seven days after leaving the States - we were truly amazed and in thankful humility praised God for His wond rous care as they traveled so far so quickly. How we would have en joyed sharing the reunion with the family in Muladi! LaVerne and Lois will be writing more in detail but we did want to share with you this joyous news of their safe arrival back in Burma.
FAMILY NEWS NOTES

The Easter Conventions were held as usual in April, 1960. These are times of Christian fellowship and spiritual renewal for the mission aries as well as for the native Christians who attend. In telling of this year's conventions Helen wrote; "Robert and Betty attended the con vention atZewin (Rawang village) where there were about 1,000 pre

sent. Mother attended a convention in another village. Daddy, Eu

gene and I and Pastor Titus attended the convention at Mu-cho-wa

where there were about 460. Daddy remained overnight and preached
lute count."

Sunday. Eugene and Titus preachea here at Muladi on Sunday. Where there were about 2,000 gathered. It was impossible to get an abso
In writing about the children, Helen told of their progress in their
school work as she teaches their Calvert courses. Then she added:

"David (eleven years old) seems to have inherited Eugene's mechanical ability and is quite handy at fixing things. He has put into working order a number of phonographs for the preachers to take out and is be coming a sort of general repair man for the bicycles. He has fixed Johi's a couple of times, fixed Daddy's and keeps his own inA-1 con dition." In mentioning the little girls she says: "Margaret is an in dependent little miss, but so sweet and affectionate. She isn't really a beautiful little girl, but has such a sparkling personality that it makes her pretty. She sings a number of songs, getting more words in Lisu than in English... .Marilyn is still our little doll, so lively and cute. She's a very cuddly little girl." Betty too, wrote of the progress of t h e i r boys in school. They had attended the village school and were at the head of their class. The baby, Dorothy Drema is past two now, and Betty says that she, too, is musical and s ings a lot. Robert spends as much time as possible with

his translation work. In a recent letter to his aunts in Tulsa, he men tioned plans for a new project in this line: "I have a new Horizon, am beginning the organization of the Naga dialect, using the charac

ters of the Lisu and Rawang languages. After I get it phonetically

systematized, I'll prepare a Primer of Gospel Stories in Naga. I'm teaching the principles of language classification to two of my helpers, who understand the Naga dialect as well as that of the Lisu and the Rawang, and are proving to be helpful co-workers." (The Nagas are

another of the hill tribes of Northern Burma and they are considerably
more primitive than the Lisu.) Robert obtained permission to go to the Tiliwago area, where the

folks have not been permitted to work since 1956. There were books and supplies there that he brought back with him. Drema Esther went too, visiting Kobudey^ where Dorothy Sterling had been located. There,too, were supplies that had been left by Dorothy and these were brought backtoMuladi. Robert will be writing an account of this trip,
tellingof the progress of the churches in this area since the missionar
ies have not been allowed to work there.

In addition to the Bible Schools and Christian Day School there are always many tasks for the various members of the family as the several phases of the mission work are continued - medical, teaching, trans lation, Preparation of teaching materials, personal work, and evan gelism. There are also many tasks involved just in "living" in that type of field where they must depend on their own efforts - many times needing plenty of imagination and creative ability. Mrs. Morse was trying to visit as manycongregations as possible be fore leaving for their furlough. In t e I I i ng of her trips she write: "I have been out visiting the churches for about seven weeks. Oh, the people are so very happy to have us yisit their churches and be with them a while.. .My, our large green grassy yard with the flowers and fruit trees makes it seem like living in a park after being out in the small Lisu Vi I I ages and living in their homes for a while." After a week or so at home she was planning to go on another trip. "My car riers are due this evening so I suppose I wi I I be on my way tomorrow. (The letter was dated June 10) It is so good to be home and have some privacy. But I do love to help the Lisu all lean while I am here, no
matter how hard it is to walk and wade streams and mud and stand all

day teaching. Please do pray for me."

The tasks are many and the problems sometimes perplexing and dis
couraging but the Morse families are so thankful that they have been permitted to work in this area. They ask for our prayers that the sit uation may remain favorable for their continuing their work, that many more souls might be won to Christ as they continue their labors
for Him.

A Jeep for the Mission

About a year ago Mrs. Robert (Betty) Morse mentioned in a letter to one of her living link churches that a jeep would be most helpful on the mission field. The church at Skidmore, Missouri, started the fund. The response from the churches and individuals was wonderful and the fund was completed before LaVerne and Lois returned to Burma in June. Application for the import permit was made by LaVerne and as soon as the necessary papers are granted, the {eep will be on its way. The Burmese government is expanding its road improvement program and as

more of the area has usable roads, the jeep will become increasingly
useful in the work. On behalf of the Morse families we want to ex

press sincere thanks to all who had a part in this project.

REMINDER

In response to recent inquiries may we explain that currency, money

orders and personal checks cannot be used in Burma. Funds are' trans

ferred through the bank as requests are made by the family to meet the

Mission, c/o Mrs. Oscar L. Myers, 2024 N. 14th Street, Terre Haute,
Indiana.

various needs on the field. All funds except living link for various members of the f<imi 1y should be sent to the North Burma Christian

Furlough plans for Mr. and Mrs. J. Russell Morse were still indef

inite when our last letter was received. But they were still making
tentative plans to leave Burma about mid-August. There are a number

of factors and circumstances that are affecting their plans. There is so much to do and so few of them to accomplish all that needs to be done. Health problems have been a great factor in chang ing plans during the past few months. Betty has not been well and it may be necessary for their family to be in Rangoon for part of the sum mer. Then LaVerne and Lois will have to be in Rangoon in September for the birth of their baby. We keep hoping that definite word will be received regarding the visaes for Dr. Brown and family. They would be a great help in many
ways.

air miles from the Roof of the World. Only a week between two vastly
the rapid transition.

It is strange how modern means of transportation can bring one, in just a few days, from ultra-modern America to the very ends of the earth. Just seven days after taking one last, longing look at the lights along the Pacific Coast, we found ourselves in Muladi Village, just 70

different worlds! Only one who had followed in our footsteps could really understand the physical and mental shock we both underwent in
Our 12,000-mile journey began at the airport just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio, our Stateside home. As the TWA flight we had

boarded liftedinto the air and the sight of so manyloved ones who had come to bid us "farewell" remained but a memory, I buried my head in my arm and wept beneath the drone of the engines. Attachments were deep, and I found it extremely painful to tear myself away from those whom I knew I would miss beyond expression during our next term of service along the borders of Tibet. But than ks be to God, some day there would be a tearless morning over there in the Great Beyond for all who remained faithful during this earthly sojourn, a morning when such things as separations would be no more. Oh, blessed Day!
Mark was extremely difficult to travel with on the first stretch of the
journey fromCincinnati to Oklahoma. We had feared as much because

he was in the process of cutting molars, he had recently been given a

vaccination, and he had gotten hold of some kind of infection which had given him quite a siege of diarrhea which we hadn't been able to

felt His hand at work in answer to those prayers as we jou r n ey ed on toward California. His diarrhea stopped as suddenly as it had come, and in the main he had a wonderful disposition for the rest of the long
journey to Burma. We were so t han kf u I, for I don't kn ow how our nerves and strength would have held up otherwise, under the circum
stances .

drinking well. But so many were praying for him, and we definitely

clear up. With it all, he was extremely restless and not eatingand

I wasn't well by thetime we reached California because of thelittle one we are expecting in September. Fortunately, Dr. Brown and his wife, whom we are hoping will some day join us in northernmost Burma, visited with us shortly before our departure from California. Dr. Brown was a wonderful help to us by giving me a shot and supplying me with sufficient pills-hormone tablets. Vitamin K, pain pills, phenobarbitol, etc. - to enable me, with the strength of the Lord, to endure the jour ney half way around the world to Rangoon, Burma. I was so afraid we might lose our little one, but the Lord kept him safe in His tender care.

I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't provided 3 seats

in the tourist section for me to lie down from Ca I i fo r n i a to Tokyo. LaVerne cared for the children in other seats. The rest of the way I
wasn't quite so fortunate; but He provided strength for each hour.

We were met at the Tokyo airport by Isabel Dittemore, and her

daughter, Janet, and Andrew Patton, and were soon escorted to the

and many other missionaries who had gather^ for the day.

Patton Household, where we had a grand day of fellowship with them

After brief stopovers in Hong Kong and Bangkok, we arrived in Ran goon, Burma - just two days after our departure from Los Angeles. We

were heartened to see Betty and Joni and some family friends there at
the Rangoon airport. Betty told us that the all-weather airstrip at Putao had been completed and air service promised for the monsoon sea son. We realized later that air service was still an uncertainty as there

is no radio beacon north of My it ky in a, making it impossible for the

planes to make it through toPutao in bad weather; but at least air ser

vice has notbeen completely closed, and there would be a weekly at tempt to reach Putao - the end of the line. With the possibility open ing up of our return to Rangoon by air for the baby's birth in September, we decided that it would be best, for a number of reasons to go on upcountry immediately. At the same time, we realized that it would in volve a terrific amount of ad ustment in most every way to take up so
rapidly the things which wou dmake up our every-day lives in Muladi Village.

We left the Rangoon airport about 6:20 A.M. on the 6th of June with

stops planned for Mandalay, Momeik, Bhamo, and Myitkyina. I fig ure we would reach Putao about 1:00 that afternoon. Upon leaving Momeik, one of the crew mentioned that the weather in Putao was very bad. Oh, how we prayed that the Lord would open up the way before
us. The sun was shining brilliantly overhead as we landed on the Pu tao airstrip. It was truly wonderful to be with all the others of the family once again.

Eugene and Helen graciously offeredto let us stay withthem in their

new home until we could make our home livable. The grass roof need

ed to be patched and the house sprayed within to get rid of the terrible grain moths which had "set up housekeeping" during our absence. For years there had been grain stored in half of the downstairs of the house; and justbefore our arrival, 400 bo (a bo is a5-gallon measure)of grain was removed from the dining room. With a number of helpers, we were
able to get the remaining grain taken out of the house and stored else

where, giving us morebadly-needed space and less bugs and rats. You should have seen LaVerne, Esther and the cat trying to catch the rats as the grain room was being cleared. Once the cat got ahold of three rats in one mouthful! Quite a feat, I would say. Wh i I e they were busying themselves thus, I began to go through the foot lockers and

the clothing and bedding still smelled of moth balls and had kept quite
well. But I nearly stepped backwards when I opened the kitchen door

etc.. I was just sick when I began to go through the boxes and saw mold over things I had thought would be in good condition; but most of

trunks in which we had stored our clothing, bedding, toys, books, tools

and saw how our poor little stove had nearly been eaten away with rust.
doubt trials of this nature help us tobecome less attached to the things of theflesh and to long more for the glorious beauty and purity ofHea
ven, and so they have their place. The problems of trying to keep things decent in this climate I But no

The food situation is not too good, but typical, I guess. Meat has been extremely scarce all winter. After we arrived, someone came by
selling fresh pork; but trichinosis was discovered, so, of course, it couldn't be bought. Helen said they had fresh meat about twice in the past two months. In the vegetable line, we have had some squash,
some squash leaves, some cabbage (it is all gone now), some corn, and now and then some vegetables from the Shan women. In the fruit line,

there are a few oranges and grapefruit from Daddy's trees which will last a few days, and some mangoes which were given to Daddy as a gift by a friend in lower Burma, formerly a member of Parliament. Al so from Daddy's trees this year we have greatly enjoyed some lichees. Some fresh milk is being brought to us from Dukdang, and we are sup
plementing it withold powdered milk whichwe can get down at a luke warm temperature with the help of a malt mix we can get in Rangoon.

We were thankful for a few provisions loaned to us by the others of the family - tea, flour, a piece of fat pork with which tofkivor fried rice and vegetables, etc. - and for the few dried and tinned provisions we had left from our last term. But there will be considerable adjustment for our bod i es to make at best. You see, we have just left the mar velous institution of t h e American Super Market and come into a set up where such a thing as any type of food market is non-existent.
Marcia is so very, very happy to be back inMuIadi again. She has Ahpu and her cousins to play with, a cat and two kittens to feed, three houses to roam about in with the others and lots of yard space, rice porridge each morning for breakfast, Nestomalt in her milk, and a piece of candy every day! Mark seems his usual self, not missing the conveniences of American living too much at his tender age - though I wouldn't say he doesn't miss such things as graham crackers which
once were a part of his regular diet.

I've started teaching Marcia, Ahpu, and Ahkey kindergarten in the a ft ern oons after lunch, and they just love it. We studvout onthe
folk's bamboo porch. The three children have bamboo stools on which

to sit and empty book boxes for desks. At first, they just sat and looked
at me, refusing to say or sing anything after me. It was both amusing

and frustrating. But soon they fell into line. The only two songs all
three of them knew in the same language were, "Jesus Loves Me, "and

process of learning other ones. I am following the Calvert Study

Course, as are Helen and Betty as they teach their children.
And so we are in the process of settling down once again into the

"Jingle Bells/' so we usually sing them each day while we ore in the

life and work which we believe our Master would hove us to do. Pray
for us as we live and minister here in this far-flung corner of the earth

that we might be constantly strengthened p hy s i ca 1I y, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the challenging work that is set before
us of w i n n i n g lost souls toChrist and strengthening the great number already within the fold.

An interesting contrast may be noted, when we consider the length of time taken by LaVerne and Lois to make the return t r i p to Burma,
and then remember the four and a half months it took Mr. and Mrs.

J.Russell Morse to make the original trip to China in 1921. The comforting thought is, that though the world is In a process of con
stant change, the Gospel is still the same. Our God is the
same.

yesterday, today and forever!

Moiled by Mrs. OSCAR L. MYERS

2024 N. 14fh St.

Terre Haute, Indiano

For

Sec. 34.66 P
PAID

L & R

U. S. POSTAGE

NORTH

BURMA

CHRISTIAN MISSION

Terre Haute, ind.

PERMIT NO. 321

RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED

HABROLiD H6FABLAND MISSIC3N SffiVICES

BCS 968
TOT.TET.. ill.

USD and RAWANG CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN BURMA

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION

"Where China, Tibet, Burma and India Meet"

(Formerly Yunnan-Tibetan Christian Mission)

Two Rawang women in typical

Rawang dress.

"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!'
PSALM 19

SECOND 1960 NEWSLETTER

No. 24 News Series Beginning January, 1953
The J. Russell Morse Family
P. O. Putao

Kachin State, Burma

LOOKING

BACK

In our "Looking Back" article In the First 1960 Newsletter we tried to give

backgroundmaterlal that would bring us to the beginning of the work amongthe LIsutribespeople. Also showing the type of foundation that was laid by Mr. and
Mrs. J. Russell Morse - a foundation

anchored in Christ - on which theyhave

continued to build for Him, now being helped in the work by their three sons,
Eugene, Robert and LaVerne, who, with their families are now serving in North
Burma.

longings of the Morse fa mi Iy, friends urged them to come home for furlough.
But they felt it Imperative to answerthe urgent pleas of the Christians In the Salween valley, so they made the move, Within six weeks they had built a Lisu
"=. -

style house - bamboowallsand floor and

grass roof. They immediately began to

hold short term preocher-trainlng schools

Lisu. Christians in
Salween Valley

-tk.-

In the various congregations. The staff

was Increased with the coming of Isabel Maxey in 1937. Miss Dorothy
Sterling joined them In 1944. Isabel came home in 1941 and while on

1946, Isabel with her little daughter, Janet, together with Dorothy Sterling, remained on the field while the Morse family came to the States for their first furlough in ten years. Others who had a part in
the LIsu work were Jane Kinnett and David and Lois Rees.

field in 1945. Afterthe tragic death of Warren from typhus, In August

furloughshe and Warren Dittemore were married. They returned to the

policy which had been started In China was continued - teaching the

From the time the first Lisu congregations were established, the

were no trained "preachers" the Gospel message was spread by new

1946 when the Morses returned to the States for furlough.

congregations to be self-supporting from the start. Even though there

Christians who loved the Lord and were anxious to serve Him. The

number of Christians grew from 2,000 In 1940 to more than 6,000 In

In looking bock over the letters written to the family and to the churches duringthis period, wefind many incidents showing the tireless
efforts of J. RusselI Morse as the Gospel was taken throughout the

Sal ween Valley. And even before the flood which causedfthe final
decision to move into the Salween Valley, the Christians had started to evangelize North Burma, Letters of this period from J. Russell,
Mrs. J. Russell Morse,who, as a "Missionary Mother" had so many tasks to do and many trials and burdens that she was able to bear only with the extra strenath supplied bythe Lord intimes of great need. She did
much travelling over the rough terrain as she taught in the villages. She was also the school teacher for her own children, and, as we know,

the boys, Isabel Dittemore and Dorothy Sterling were full of praise for

did her task well. Both Eugene and Robert were granted high school d i p Iomas on examination when they returned to the States in 1946, both having very high grades.
As the children grew in statureand were brought up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" they began to show their several talents.

LaVerne, the youngest son was a goc^ student and because of his love

for the people and zeal for the Lord's work - the environment of un
selfish service to the Lord - he was full of enthusiasm which hewas

well able to impart to the folks in the U.S.A. when he came to the

States in 1944. Ruth Margaret, youngest child and only girl was the "pride and joy" of her parents and big brothers and was a real comfort to all of them as they labored in such an isolated area. Letters often referred to Eugene and Robert as "full-fledged" missionaries even tho they were just lads. In one letter their father commented, "Both boys

have been preaching. Eugene is the evangelist type and Robert the teacher type." It was during these years that Eugene showed special talent as an engineer and builder and Robert developed in his unusual
ability as a linguist. During the early days in the Lisu work the Tibetan foster daughters of the Morses, Anzie Ruth (who died in 1949) and Drema Esther began to take their part as true missionaries. Anzie was a tremendous help to Dorothy Sterling and even after her death, some of the teaching materials she had prepared were used in their Bible training classes.

Drema Esther is now a vital part ofthe work, seemingly an indispensable person not only from the standpoint of her relationship to the family as a daughter and sister, but also as a teacher and medical worker in
the mission.

These years were the preparatory years in the lives of the mission
aries and in the lives of the natives who would later form the nucleus

for the work that is now being carried on in North Burma.

MESSAGE

FROM

LA VERNE MORSE

Rangoon, Burma August 20, 1960

Dear Christian Friends in the Homeland:

Just now I am typing in a small room in Rangoon, with the tropical

monsoon rain crashing down outside. It is oppressively sticky and hu mid, but not so hot as it would be without the rain. Unlike the main part of themission area up-country, however, electric lights areavail-

able even in the daytime. All around are the roaring sounds of civi lizationairplanes, rattletrap Rangoon buses, and cars of everv nation ality and vintage. Wonder of wonders, genuineice cream ana bottled
softdrinks with refreshing ice chunks are actually available here. It

will truly be a big step forward up-country when the Swedish-manufactured kerosene operated refrigerator which we have ordered arrives
in the remote region "where China, Tibet, Burma, and India meet".

This year for the first time in the history of the mission, there has
been continued air service once a week throughout the rainy season between the mountain-encircled jungles of the Putao plain and the

outside world. On August 1, I said good-bye to Lois, Marcia, and

Mark atMuladi and went on the mission tractor seven miles to the Putao

airstrip. Thence to Myitkyina in a two-engined Union of Burma Air ways transport plane I travelled in 55 minutes what Lois and I, together with Marcia when she was one year old, had taken two weeks of slog ging through drizzling, leech-ridden jungles to traverse in August 1956.
Since reaching here on August 2, I have had a full time tramping

around Rangoon on vital business for the entire mission. This includes getting Burmese government import permits for the mission jeep. Gospel Recordings phonographs, and THIRTY THOUSAND COPIES of the Life
of Christ Visualized (Books One and Two) which we hope to get print

ed in Lisu and Rawang here in Burma. The pictured sheets are ready at the Standard Publishing Company in Cincinnati. Now we need to get them paid for. (Funds are needed in the U.S.A., because of many major expenses this year.) Then the books need to be shipped to Ran goon, and printed with Lisu and Rawang script to spread the Gospel message. Also, I've been arranging for the printing of further portions of the New Testament in Rawang which Robert has translated. Vital supplies for the Putao Christian Schoolthe mission Christian Day
Schoolhave had to be bought, as well as medical supplies for treat

ing thousands of patients who come to us for treatment. Above all, I've been working to obtain the extension of Burmese stay permits for Lois and me so that we may, if it is God's will, continue to work in
the harvest fields which we see here in the Buddhism-darkened, evil-

spirlt-worship-imprisoned land of Burma. Just two daysago word came

Students of Standard VII Christian Day School

from the government that definite word connot be given on our stay permits for about a month yet, but we may continue work meanwhile
up country.

Training of native Christian leadership able to guide the churches not only for local, immediate problems, but able also to lead on a national and even an international level appears more and more vividly to be our most important task. Just a few years ago we were dealing with primitive tribespeopie under the spell of witch-doctors and the belief that every object has its spirit. Many ran in terror into caves and busheswhen they saw the first roaring monsteran airplaneflying across the "Hump" mountains a few years ago. Yet today those same people are Christians. Thrust suddenly into the t wen t i e t h century,
they are at the same time in one of the most critical spots on earth, on the doorstep of Communism's most aggressive power. Buddhism and all the other isms are likewise trying to take over. We must prepare them tomeet the challenge. With God's power, they can do so victoriously.

The past five years have seen secular education spread almost like an explosion in the mission area. Parents who ran when they saw the first airplane not many years ago, who never went to kindergarten themselves, are sending their children to middle school, high school,

and if possible to college. But this year, the Buddhist-dominated

government is proceeding to change the religious freedom of the Bur mese Constitutionin order to make Buddhism the State Rel igion.

Buddhism Is to be taught in all government-supportedschools. A Buddhist chapel with images of Buddha is to be set up In every govern ment-supported school. All school teachers who take teacher training

are henceforth to learn Buddhism so as to teach Buddhism as a part of their work. Inopening all further government-supported schools through
out Burma, special effort is to be made to conduct the schools in Bud

dhist "Phonghyi Kyaungs" or monasteries and temples. These are the measures which the government has publicly proposed to take. Christian friends, what should be done to prepare the Christians in this land to be strong in the testing of their faith? During the past several years, relying upon constitutional religious liberty and wanting education for their children, many of the Christian villages in the mission area worked to setup government-supported primary schools in each sector. But just last month, the beginning of the Buddhist tide came. In a totally Christian Rawang village where the formerly village-operated school had been turned over to the government-aid pro gram a Buddhist schoolteacher was sent by the government to take over
from the Christian headmaster.

A greater growth of Christian Day Schools seems to be a ma|or part of the answer. Not accepting Burmese government "aid", the Christian

Day Schools still have the right to follow a non-Buddhist, Christianitybased curriculum. At the present time, there areabout thirteenprimary
Christian DaySchoolsof the Lisu and Rawang churches of Christ through

out the mission area. All of these were started and are maintained by the native Christians themselves, without any government aid. One of
our important responsibilities has thus been to guide the Christian leaders

as they oversee the teachers of the schools, so that each school may truly be on a Bible-centered basis, and yet on an academic level com parable with governmental standards. Especially at present, many of
the "Executive Committee" members of the schoolsthe leaders of the

churches~have themselves never even been to kindergarten so far as

secular education is concerned. Thus all the more they need constant advice and guidance from us, unti I they become fully able
to stand on their own feet. This phase of the mission work has become one of my major responsibilities during the past several years. To provide more-advanced training, the mission is conducting the Putao Christian Middle School, directly under my supervision. Begun in June 1957, this school has grown to a student body of between two

hundred and three hundred students, and is continuing to grow steadily. The mission has not invested very much moneyin material constructions. Rough boards and logs stiil serve as desks and benches for the students, but nevertheless the students aregetting a good Bible-centered educa tion. The best investments today are not mainly in material construct ions, but in changed, strengthened lives. The primary department of Putao Christian Middle School, with its younger students, is located at Dukdang Village, where Robert and Betty are living. The middle school department, with the older stu
dents, is at Muladi Village, where the others of the mission are living.

Christian Middle School Building, Maladi, July 19^0. This' was the first building built with timber and plaster-finished
walls.

about four miles from the primary department. All the students have dally Bible classes in addition to the required secular subjects. Many
of them in the higher standards, being sixteen to twenty-four years of

age, go on week-end evangelistic trips. This year, a number of grad uates from the Christian Day School have gone on to high school in the state capital, Myltkyina.

At the same time, in every village, all the preachers and church
leaders need to conduct ever-stronger programsof Christian education, including "daily vacation" Bible schools for all those not in secular education. We are working towards this goal by conducting shortterm, three-month Preachers' Training Seminaries for all of the cur

rently active native evangelists and teachers as well as for prospective 1eaders. In October, the Lord wi11 ing, we are preparing to start a three-month Advanced Preachers' Seminary with emphasis on Christian

Education. We pray that God might continue to lead us for a wellrounded development of the 150 churches in the missio n area to be strong In the Gospel.

Looking backward, we see how far these Christians have come, from primitive evil-spirit worship to forming strong churches carrying the Gospel to many areas 'round about them. Looking forward we see how much more training the people need, in both the Truth and the prac
tice of the Gospel, to meet the continuing onslaught of Satan in the twentieth century. These past three weeks here inRangoon, especially, 1 have learned what the Burmese Buddhist leaders propose to do in mak

ing Buddhism the State Religion. The need of i mmed i at e, supreme emphasis upon training native Christian leaders appears in sharper per

spective than ever before. Fellow-Christians at home, pray for usl

Yours for the eternal Gospel,
R. LaVerne Morse

TEACHING

TRIP

With Mrs. J. Russell Morse

September 1, 1960

Our dear Christian Friends;

Wouldyou Iike to go with us to visit our church of Nam-de-ku which is about 12 miles from Muladi? First, we must get together a few ne cessary things such as a bed roll and a groundsheet for protection from the inevitable dirty bamboo or rattan bed or the floor. Then there must be extra clothes and shoes, medicines, a lantern, kerosene, enamel bowls, cups, spoons, salt, sugar, canned milk, coffee or tea, water canteen, tea kettle for boiling the drinking water, wash pan, umbrella,

load covers for rainy weather, Bible, hymnal and any teaching charts. These must all be carefully packed into carrying baskets. The church

leaders at Nam-de-ku have kindly sent some Christians to carry our things, so we need not worry about getting on a wrong path. A young
Rawang girl will accompany us and help fix our food.

The first part of the ourney is across the Putao plain. The first part of the way we go on the ox cart road, and then on just a narrow cow
trail. Sometimes we must wade streams, and sometimes there are,

bridges or logs put across the streams. Near the edge of the plain we have to go down into a small valley. The road is very slippery because of a recent rain, but a friendly school boy going after wood offers to help me to walk down the steep incline and to wade across the bridgeless stream. About noon we start to climb the steep mountain. The path winds back and forth across the face of the mountain. After about twenty minutes of steep climbing, we enter a forest. The trees are quite large and dense and block out the sunlight. After we have climbed some distance, it starts to rain. We must see that our plastic rain covers are put over the loads. The sound of the tropical rains on

the trees is so loud that it is hard to talk. We must step carefully or we may slip for the clay mud is very slippery. Oh! what is that large

blood spot on your sock? It is where a leech sucked your blood until

it was full ana then dropped off. But your blood continues to ooze out until your sock is soaked. We must try to get the leeches off before

they bite, if possible, for they make an irritating sore. We see many
very pretty kinds of ferns along our path in the forest.

At last, after about two hours of climbing, we get to the top of the mountain and can see'many villages far off in the distance. The rain has stopped for a little while, so the carriers put down their loads for a few minutes to rest. Away off in one direction is Putao. The sun is shining over it. Away to the right is where Muladi is located. It is raining hard in that direction to the west. Beyond the place where we
India leads over them.

are going is a very high and forested range of mountains. The road to

As we descend the steep mountain through the over-hanging trees, it starts to rain again. There are many leeches clinging to the grass, so we must watch carefully. I even got one small one under my watch band! At the foot of the mountain, we travel along the edge of a
small plain. After an hour's walk, our path winds through the rice

fields belonging to the Christians. When they see us, they stop their work and come over to shake hands and welcome us to their village.
As we go across the last bridge, a crowd is waiting to shake our hands

and to lead us to the place which has been arranged for our residence. It manes our hearts glad to see how happy the people are to see us.

Mrs, J. Russell Morse with two Middle School students

As we climb the notched log which forms a ladder to our room, we realize that we are quite weary from our trip, and we are glad to sit down and rest a bit. The room is rather dark for there are no windows, only the door. Although the walls and floor of our room are made of

woven bamboo, there is a 3 ft. by 4 ft. square box filled with clay built into the middle of the room for a fireplace. A small Iron tripod over the fire supports the teakettle. Our host has a fire waiting for us
and soon our helper has some hot water with which we can wash our aching feet. After changing our wet shoes and drinking a cup of tea
or coffee, we feel much rested. The preacher of the church has come

to greet us and to talk about the services which we plan to hold. Also

he tells us of certain problems In the church. Some very sick people

come for medicine and otherscome to greet us. After this, our evening
meal Is ready, so we sit on stools or on the floor around the fire and

eat our rice and greens, and perhaps some scrambled eggs. If we have

been fortunate enough to bring some cookies, a cookie helps to end our

As it IS now getting dark, we light our kerosene lantern and the gong is beaten for church. About 200 Christians gather for the evening ser

vice. All are very happy to welcome their missionary into their midst. Their gratitude warms our heart. Plans are mode for a full day of Bible study classes and sermons on the following two days. Church problems are discussed and the Bible way of solving them is taught. Sometimes
after classes erring ones who have refused the exhortation of the church leaders are again exhorted. Plans are made for the preacher to con

duct Bible study classes, and for I iteracy classes for those who can
not read their Bibles.

At the cbse of our visit as we pack up our things in preparation for leaving, some sick people come for more medicines. The people gather for a last hand shake and prayer. Some escort us a short distance on

our journey. And again we climb the mou n ta i n and descend to the other side to other like-needy churches.
Mrs. Gertrude Morse

NEW LANGUAGE ADDED

In late January of 1960, three young men arrived in the village of Muladi from about 10 days journey to the westward, right on the India border. One of them was Jeremiah, whose father, Lisu preacher Paul, gave his life in service for His Lord In evangelizing the Daru tribespeople in the northernmost part of Burma. Jeremiah had come to at

tend school, having had opportunity for schooling previously, when staying in the home of Robert and Betty Morse. This time he had brought with him two boys from another tribe, the Nagas.

iTi

//

Lisu, Preacher Zacharias and wife who

are now working aniong Nagas,

L0K TVL0NG RA T0 xUI-IKAO yUO M0N V,ft SHI SH!^

WA SHI L0KOVM VHPUO HPUQ LVP VT0O TVL0NG RA T0.

,m0 LE HEWA L0KDVri VSllG

Sl^NG f4T0O M^U DVy LVP TIO, OMA 0K PIN HTUM HV
L0KDVM DW VHVL,
10.

RD.CAU M^N SHVKUT VT0Q

TVL0NG RA T0
-33-

Page from Naga Primmer

The year before, a Naga hunting party had accidently discovered the Lisu colony deep in the jungles far from their homes. They stayed
there a few days resting up and so became interested In the Christian "Way". They were amazed at the del iverance from the power and

fear of demon forces. So they asked the Christians there to come to

their village and teach them more about Christ. Jeremiah and several

others went there, using a phonograph with gospel records in Kachin.

The people there became so interested that the chieftans of fourteen

villages wrote up a jointpetitionsigned by all, and sent it to us by the hand of these two Naga boys as their representatives begging us to send
a full time preacher into their area. One Lisu preacher, Zacharias, and his family, had been serving the Lisu congregation nearest the Naga area, and in response to this request, they moved to a Naga village, and, using an interpreter, began preaching the Gospel to
them.

Robert Morse after talking with these two Naga boys found that they
had no written script for their dialect of Naga, although some of the otherdialects do have. Therefore, it seemed wiseto try to reduce their language to writing. However, with the prospect of a whole year in

denly, in late April, after only about six weeks of school (classes be
gin in March), the two boys decided they were so homesick they couldn't stay any longer, and had to go back right away! After con siderable persuasive talking, they agreed to stay about 2-3 weeks more, but no longer, as they would be taking a chance on the rains be ginning and the rivers being so high they couldn't get back to their home. They stopped school and went to Dukdang to work with Robert on their language. For two weeks they worked almost without a break,

which to work, there seemed to be no need for rushing. Then, sud

from early morning till late at night, and at the end of that time Ro

bert had been able to work out an alphabet for them and with their assistance was able to prepare a simple primer, presenting the plan of salvation, and four hymns.

Working at top speed, stencils were prepared and the material mim eographed by Eugene and Helen, even though it was necessaryfor Rob ert to leave to accompany Betty and thechildren to Myitkyinafor med ical check-ups. The books were assembled and ready for the two boys to take with them on May 6, even though it meant working until 2:00
a.m. that morning to finish.

Since the boys returned to their home, communications have been cutoff because of the monsoon rains, making travel impossible. There fore, no word has come as to how the books were received, or the pro gress of the work there. That is something we are very anxious to know. All the missionaries and many, many of the Lisu and Rawang Christians have been praying for the Nagas, that many might be won. Won't you praywith us for these people and forpreacher Zacharias and
others who are teaching them?

EUGENE MORSE FAMILY HOME FOR FURLOUGH

October 1, 1960 Dear Christian friends;

It was with mixed emotions that we stood at thePutao airstrip wait

ing for the plane which would take us to Myitkyina on the first stage of our journey towards the U.S.A. and loved ones.
For ubuut three weeks prior to this time, we had been having a series of farewells in preparation for the time of our departure. Feasts

had been given by several different groups, both in Muladi and in

Dukdang. The first feast was at Dukdang, and was given not only for us, but for Mr. & Mrs. J. Russell Morse, and was attended by the en

tire village. Each of us was presented with a book-bag, and to Mrs. J.R. Morse was given a very nice Rawang blanket, which had been

,.

Scene at farewell feast at Yichodi held in the home

of Pastor Philip, center in white shirt.

woven by some of the women in the Dukdang congregation. Then, to our great surprise, each of our two families was presented with an en velope containing "tea money" for our travels homeward. It is o cus tom to give such gifts to those going on long journeys, but we were surprised at the amount it contained, because it is not easy for the folks out there to collect cash. But in each envelope was the equivalent of $16, which is a lot for them to give. But we felt that it was the ex
pression of their love, so a c c epted it with thanks, olthough we felt

somewhat guilty to do so.

Other feasts and farewell gatherings were held at Yichodi, which is the village across the river from us, and in our own village of Mu-

lodi. When peoplecome to say good-bye with tears in their eyes, urg
ing us to be sure to return, and not to forget them even though we are

so for away from them, it makes it a bit d i f f i c u 11 to actually leave

them for a short time.

But for a number of reasons It seemed wise to take our furlough at

this time even though we had not planned to come until next year. For one thing, it had been five and a half years since we left the U.
S., and for health reasons it seemed wise to come to the States at this

time for proper medical check-ups. Also, Betty and Robert are plan-

to wait until the following year, because Betty, too, is in need of a thorough medical check-up. So, whether we waited until next year
and came or whether we came now, it would mean that two families

ning to come on furlough next spring, even though they had planned

would be away from the field, since Mr. & Mrs. J. Russell Morse ore
coming home this year also.

When the plane finally came, we bid fnrewell to the many friends
who had gathered to see us off, and were on our way. We spent one

week in Myitkynia, obtaining our re-entry permits and police clear ance papers, etc., then flew on to Rangoon, where we were able to complete all other necessary formalities within a week, and boarded
a Pan-American plane on Sept. 7. We reached Hongkong that same

afternoon. After spending three days there, during which time we did a little shopping and visiting with friends, we proceeded on to Tokyo, arriving about 10:30 p.m. on the evening of the 10th. For the next

six days we thoroughly enjoyed our fellowship with the missionaries In Japan - Buttrays, Fleenors, Sims', Pattons, and all the others. We were especially thrilled that Mrs. Isabel DIttemore found It possible to make the trip from Osaka to Tokyo for a two-day visit. It had been ten years since we had last seen her in Hongkong, so we had a great many things to talk about. On Friday evening, the 16th, it was our privilege to be present at the missionaryprayer meeting, where Eugene

brought the message, and we had a chance to visit briefly with the missionaries we hadn't had an opportunity to see before. Then, im-

Distributing leaf-wrapped bundles of rice at a Lisa feast.

mediately Following the meeting we had to rush out to the airfield, to board the plane, for the next lap of our journey, which was to Hono-^ lulu. After an overnight stop, we continued on our way, reaching
Los Angeles at 5:30 p.m. on the 17th.

It was really a thrill, upon landing in Los Angeles, to be met by a husband Frank Johnson had come all the way from Santa Barbara to
greet us. There were many of our old friends, too, including Bro. Lowell Megorden, mi n i st e r of First Christian Church in Compton , which is Eugene's living link church. Bro. Megorden took us to their large group of friends and r e Iat i ves. Eugene's sister, Ruth and her

home and made us feel really welcome. The next morning, Sunday,

Eugene spoke at the morning worship services, and we had an oppor tunity to meet more of the folks there. We spent three days there, beforestarting on eastward. We want to express ourgreat appreciation and deep thanks to the Megordens and all the Compton folks for the wonderful way in which they welcomed us and helped us and made us
feel at home.

From Los Angeles, we continued by train to Tulsa, Oklahoma,

where we were met byHeI en's parents, Mr. &Mrs. Oscar Myers. What a joyful reunion it was, too, after so long a time away! And we enjoyed so much a day of visiting with Eugene's two aunts, sisters of
J. Russell Morse, and a third aunt, sister of Mrs. Morse, who came from Oklahoma City to visit us. The following day we made the trip
from Tulsa to Terre Haute, Indiana, which is Helen's home town.

There, we were able to go immediately to our own home, which had been made ready for us by Helen's parents, together with the help of the folks from Maplewood Christian Church, which is Helen's living
link church.

Since being back, we have been rejoicing in all the times of fel

lowship with fa mi Iy and church friends. Also, we have been busy getting settled, and getting the three boys - David, Tommy, and Ron nie - settled in school. We are looking forward to the days ahead as
a time in which we will have an opportunity for spiritual refreshment,
and for preparing ourselves for the time of our return to Burma, that we
might be of greater usefulness In the Lord's work there.

Helen, Eugene and family.

NEWS OF MR. AND MRS. J. RUSSELL MORSE

Mr. and Mrs. J. Russell Morse were scheduled to leave Burma on

September 12th and arrive in the U.S.A. on October 20th. They were

seven and a half years, this time of Christian fellowship with those of
like precious faith who are laboring in other fields would mean much

planning to have a leisurely trip, visiting with the missionaries in the Philippines, Japan and Hawaii. After being on the mission field for

to them. We pray that they will arrive in the States somewhat rested
and refreshed.

They will need time to rest and to visit with their loved ones from whom they have been separated so long before accepting speaking
dates. We trust that those who are looking forward to hearing them
will understand this need. Mr. and Mrs. Morse will have to be back

in Burma by the last of August, 1960.

A GIRL FOR THE LA VERNE MORSES

Word has justbeen received that LaVerne and Lois have a new Iittle

daughter, born October 2, 1960. We were so very thankful when the

following cablegram was received by Lois' parents in Cincinnati:
"CYNTHIA MARIE BORN SUNDAY NIGHT 6 LBS 12 OZ LOIS BABY
WELL"

No doubt we will hove a letter from LaVerne and Lois in time for

the next Newsletter, together with a picture of Cynthia Marie.

As we goto press word has just been received from Robert and Betty

Morse, saying that a Bible School was in progress with 130 preachers
and 20 other students attending. Also, they said that Betty was feeling better than she had for some time but still not well and they ask that she be remembered in prayer that her health might continue to improve.

Moiled by Mrs. OSCAR L. MYERS

14(h St. Terre Haute, Indiana
For

2024 N.

Sec. 34.66 P. L
PAID

& R

U. S. POSTAGE

NORTH

BURMA

CHRISTIAN MISSION

Terre Houte, Ind.

PERMIT NO. 321

RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED

NOV 2 51960

W. E. HcQ]

KCSSICN SERVICES

BCK 968, JOLIET, HL.

LISU and RAWANG CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN BURMA

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSION

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

Litu Christian young married women, Ahnyi Yulimi, right In background is home of Robert and Betty Morse, at Dukdang.

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all

understanding, shall keep your hearts and minda through Christ Jesus."

philippians 4:6, 7.

THIRD 1960 NEWSLETTER

No. 25 News Series Beginning January, 1953
The J. Russell Morse Family
P. O. Putao

Kachin State, Burma

ROCK-A-BYE BABY

Our very dear loved ones and friends,

I hod such an enjovoble time a little while ago practicing the

"Overture" from Handel's Messiah on our small portable pump organ.

The little instrument has had a rather rough life and is badly in need
of repair again but it does p r o v i d e diversion and relaxation for the
heart and mind.

There is so much to share with you ail since 1last wrote telling of our return to Burma, but first we wont to thank each and every one of you for your prayers for the safe arrival of our dear wee baby girl here
in our grass-roofed home. What bliss it is to be able to hold her in

our arms and look into her beautiful little face after the long months of anxious waiting. Again we learn to say, "God is good,"

Lois and Cynthia Marie, age 6 weeks.

It all began around four o'clock Sunday afternoon, October 2nd, Immediately we began toprepare forthe baby's arrival, About twohours later the tractor and driver were finally rounded up and began the
nine-mile journey through the grasslands to Putao to fetch the doctor.

Meanwhile, we busied ourselves with the preliminaries. The minutes

ticked slowly away into hours. I can still see Esther standing by the
bedroom window, looking out into the blackness of the night for some

sign of the doctor. He and Bettyarrived by jeep around 8:30 p. m.,

making better time had theyfound It necessary to return in the tractor.

About 10:15 p.m. the doctor put on his gioves/ and at 10:35 p.m. the

arrive in time for, among other things, Cynthia Marie was born with the cord wrapped around her neck twice. She was blue at first but quickly turned the most delicate color. No red, wrinkled thing was
snel

Lord gave us a precious baby girl. Our Heavenly Father surely did reveal His tender love and answered prayer by helping the doctor to

in sleep until about 4:00 or 5:00 the following morning. Shortly there after, Marcia and Mark came over to the house. Oh, that you might

My body was desperately tired, but my eyes just would not close

in her crib beside my bed. Marcia's eyes shonelike the stars ofneaven the kind of look you rarely see on a child's face except on such an occasion as this, and Mark was so excited he hardly knew what to

have been with us to watch them when they first saw their baby sister

do with himself. He kept pointing to Cynthia with his own baby finger

and saying, "Ah, ah." Then he pullea up her cover to see what lay underneath. It was too precious for words. I don't think there ever was a jealous bone in Marcia's little body; and although Mark has shown some signs of being jealous, it Is clear ly evident that he is madly in love with his baby sister. He lavishes his wet kisses upon her soft brown hair and sometimes motions for me to hold her down at his level so he can put his arms around her. And the most wonderful part about it is that after he demonstrates his love for her in such a fashion, he is extremely pleased with himself as though he has justdone the grandest thing in the wholewide world. Newave nuesof interest opened upas hediscovered baby bottles about the house
that "needed" to be finished and learned how to reach down into her

screened-in bed, which was formerly his, and take off all the covers. The preachers' Bible Seminary at Dukdang was scheduled to be gin the morning after Cynthia's birth, but LaVeme remained at home with me during those first two days. Then Wednesday, before leaving

for classes, he rigged up a loud speaker system for me to use in the

event that I needed help and had trouble raising someonea perfect "bedside be 11" 1 I wish you could have seen him as he held up the mike in front of the baby's mouth so her howl could flood the whole compound. He chuckled like a kid with a new toy train. Esther was so very good in coming in off and on during that first week to help in various ways. It is gratifying to see little children growing in the Lord. Marcia is as familiar in her talk about God as though He were our next-door

neighbor. How many times she has expressed the thought, "This house

is not the prettiest, nuh?" And then she would add that the prettiest was up in the sky. One night when LaVerne and I were about to have devotions, we were suddenly invaded by hornets. Some villagers
wanted to get some hornets' larva to eat; but the trees where the nest was located was rotten so instead of climbing up the tree and killing

hornets with a torch, they proceeded to chop it down. You should have seen all those hornets making a beeline for the lights in our homes. As Marcia and I were talking, she said, "It never was like this before, huh? We just have others like bugs and stuff, huh?"

(She was referring in her own way to the wide assortment of bugs and moths which visit us every evening). And then later as things calmed down and she was tucked into bed, she said, and I thought the first part of the sentence especially precious for a five-year-old, "I LIKE GOD BECAUSE HE DOESN'T GO TO SLEEP and won't let anything
bite us."

Morcia's adjustment to our tribal setting here along the Tibetan border may be well illustrated by a reply she made to me down at the riverside one day when I asked her to come so that I might bathe her. When we first arrived up-country, she once said out of the clear blue
sky, "These people that don't take a bath and don't wash their faces

wash her, she merely replied, "I'll get too clean. I'll get like Amer ican peopi el" I |ust sat and roared. We feel she has made great strides in adfusting and in re-learning the language since we took into

they aren't our friends, are they?" But that day when I wanted to

age. She is such a sweet, cheerful girl and near enough Marcia's size to be a real plavmate. When she first came, we inquired as to her clothing and bedaing situation; and one night A.T. (Arda) (the Lisu girl who will be leaving our home after Christmas) came upstairs when Marcia and I were both in bed and told us that the little girl had part of a blanket, the rest having been burned, the clothes she had on, and it seems another change of clothing still at her house. It was a
Some "poor" people really have everything and don't know ita most unfortunate situation, worse than being poor itself I do believe. Early one morning I wanted to go over to Dukdang on the tractor

our home as a helper a little Lisu orphan girl about twelve years of

prize opportunity to impress on our little daughter how richly God has blessed us and how thankful we ought to be for all He has given.

if she would bestaying home as Ididn't want to leave the baby here without a white person around, meaning a member of the family.with
a responsible head on his shoulders who could act in case of an emer gency. Well, we were both so tickled when we rea I i zed how I had

with LaVeme to visit Betty when she was so very sick. I asked Esther

even change the color of mv skin?" or words to that effect. Imagine

expressed myself; and Esther said, "You mean you love me so much you

someone black around, Lois, so you will doI" What greater compli ment could one want. It reminds me of the story about a colored fel

my going to the Congo and having someone say to me, "Well, we need

low who praised themissionary by saying that even though his skin was white, his heart was really black.

Robert and LaVeme, is coming along very well. Esther is also teach ing the preachers how tosue theflannelgraph sets which we brought out wrote a petition for me to teach music as soon as I had, and I quote, "a little strength." A good number of the students were among those whom I had taught the "Hallelujah Chorus" back in 1958, and how I
with us for them gifts of the churches back home. The students all

The present Bible School, with most of the classes being taught by

that glorious music for you all. The spirit certainly was willing, but

would liked to have worked with them so that we could have recorded

the flesh was just a bit too weak so soon after the baby's birth. Even using my best judgment I seem to have great difficulty at times drawng a'i"e between being lazy and overworking, but I know this would definitely be a case of the latter. LaVerne's days and nights have been filled to the brim with teach

the people stand about thee from morning unto even?" It seems that
is so typical of the kind of lives we all lead out here.

'and the people stood about Moses from themorning unto the evening," And again in the 14th verse: "why sittest thou thyself alone, and all

development of the evangelistic and other phases of the work. How struck we were one day when reading the words used to describe the position Moses found himself in the 18th chapter of Exodus, verse 13:

bilities, including endless conferring that must be done regarding the

ing at the Bible School and Christian Day School plus other responsi

out over that territoi7 during the last war, one of them being a mem ber of the First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio. The latter came to us after the morning church service when we were visiting the con gregation during our last furlough and told us of his experience with the Nagas. Little did we dream at the time how the pieces would fit
together.

very one responsible for rescu ing a number of fliere who had to bail

will be written to bring the story up to date. LaVerne and I were really amazed when we found out recently that the headman of the village whereZacharias was min istering in the Naga Hills was the

You may remember reading about this in the last newsletter and more

The work continues to grow month by month in a thrilling way be cause it is His work and not ours. We have all been expecially ex cited over the development ofevangel ism among the Nagatribespeople.

bring this visit to a close for this time. May the Lord richly bless you and fill your hearts with His love and glory. Remember us way out
here won't you?
Yours in His service,

can print and as to how much time you can spend reading so I will

I couldwrite pages and pages butthere is a limit as to how much we

Lois and family

OCTOBER MAIL LOST

In October therewas an entire bag of mail lost or stolen in Myitkyina just before the plane was to have continued the 55 minute flight north Lois, Robert and Betty ask that anyone who wrote them in late Sept ember or early October and has nothad an answer, please write again. Your letter may not have been received. Even though most of the expecting from Rangoon were not recovered. They felt so very bad because many were of thenew baby and, of course irreplacable. Also,
a number of pictures LaVerne had taken of the natives that would have

to Putao. Later, most of the mail was recovered, but LaVerne and

letters were found later, the pictures which LaVerne and Lois were

been of special interest were lost - most discouraging, that the films
were lost.

Dear Christian Friends,

their four children, and also my brother and his wife, and our many friends from Inglewood, Long Beach and Alvarado. We had never met Ruth's husband, Frank Johnson, norseen our grandchildren, so we were

very happy we were to see our daughter, Ruth Margaret, her husband,

We arrived in Los Angeleson October 20. At the airport, how very,

really happy. We went tothe home of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Partridge that
evening for dinner, and then Frank and Ruth drove us to Santa Barbara,
where Frank is ministering to the La Mesa Christian Church. There we had a much needed rest from our long journey home, before we began

to do any speaking. Also our grandchildren got acquainted with their grandparents.
Altnough we left Rangoon on September 17, we did not reach Amer ica until October 20, due to our many stop-overs along the way. We had hoped to visit the work of our direct-support missionaries in Thai land, but due to the heavy rains, it was inadvisable. However, in Bangkok, the airport for Thailand, we were able to visit with our old friends, Mr. &Mrs. C.W. Callaway, who were enroute to their stotion in the hills of North Thailand. Also, we visited with the two new

missionary families to Thailand, Mr. &Mrs. David Filbeck, and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Schaeffer and family (formerly of India). Both families
were busy studying the Thai language. In Manila, we had the pleasure of visiting with Mr, &Mrs. Barton

McEIroy, and Mr. &Mrs. Willis Hale, and with some of the Filipino
workers and Bible Seminary students. We visited and spoke in the Cruzada Church Wednesday evening, and we were greatly inspired to see the active part taken in the service by the congregation. Also we

^sitedand spoke in the Bible Seminary at their wonderful new location,

we fell in love with the students and thought how nice it must be to
work with them.

Our next stop was Hongkong, where we spent a few days visiting with friends who had helped when Russell reached Hongkong after his imprisonment by the communists in Kunming in 1951 and 1952. Here our special interest was seeing how the well over a mi 11 i on refugees
from Communist China were being taken care of.

the airport by our old friend, Isabel Dittemore, Mr. &Mrs. Cole, and Mr. and Mrs. Ming. Formerly, in China and then in Burma, we had

From there, we went to Osaka and Kobe, Japan. We were met at

worked with Isabel, so she graciously entertained us in her home. We

had precious fellowship together and many interesting times and talks.

We visited andspoke in the Osaka Bible Seminary. We were able also

to visit in the homes of Mr. &Mrs. Clark, Mr. &Mrs. Cole, Mr, &

Mrs. Ming, Mrs. Fultz, Mr. &Mrs. Rickerson, and Mr. &Mrs. Boulton. We spoke in many of their Bible classes and in the churches. How
with Mr. Bob West to their station atOkayama and got acquainted with their two fine evangelists and the Christians there. We are so happy to hear that Mrs. Audrey West isrecovered from her long illness and is

we did enjoy meeting the Japanese students. On Saturday we went

able to be back in lier beloved work. In TokyO/ we were met at the

airport by Mr. &Mrs. Andrew Patton, who took us to the home of Mr.

&Mrs. Harold Sims. On the following day the missionaries met at the home of the Sims' for a dinner together and then a meeting. All the missionaries helped to make our two-day stay in Tokyo both pleasant

and inspiring.

In Hawaii/ we were met and entertained by our long-time friends/ Mr. &Mr. Owen Still, pioneers of the work in Hawaii. Here on the island of Oahu we were so happy to visit in the homes of almost all of
the missionaries and to be able to see a little of their work. We spoke in the various churches and in the Christian Day School at Sunset
Beach.

We kept fairly busy speaking in various churches and in the Pacific Bible Seminary. Also, there were many other tasks such as shopping and correspondence to be done. Russell attended and spoke in the missionary convention in Oregon and visited several churches in that area. We spent Thanksgiving week with my brother, Frank Howe, and Gospel preached and hymns sung in English is a real joy and inspiration, especially after not having heard~rt tor over seven years. Truly a mis sionary needs spiritual refreshment and reviving too.
quite a number of old friends.
America and to meet the Christians of our native land. To hear the

welcomed us to make our headquarters while we were in California.

Inglewood to Bro. and Sister Partridge's home, where they hearti ly

In California, after our short rest at Santa Barbara, we went back to

his family. It has oeen a great joy to us to attend the church services here in

nieces, and nephews. It is so good to seeand fellowship with the var ious members of our family. Also, we have renewed acquaintance with

During December, in Oklahoma, we have been visiting our sisters,

ary friends whom we met along our |ourney home for their generous hospital ity and for their many kindnesses to us. We pray for all of these as they labor on in His vineyard. May God bless them I Upon our arrival in Tulsa we received some wonderful news from the

piration to see the work being done in the various mission stations. We want to take this opportunity to again thank all of the mission

How precious has been our fellowship in Christ with all the dear missionaries along our way back to the States. It was a joy and ins

tion at Muladi. The road between lies tnrough a great, uninhabited

visited their village, which is about 10 days walk from our mission sta

mission field. Here is the background of the story. In the. first 1959 news letter it was reported that members of a tribe called the Nagas, had been out hunting when they met up with some Lisu Christians, and

ungle. These Naga hunters werequite curious when they saw how the

the non-Christian people. Also the Nagas saw that the Lisu people

.isu Christians were living. The Lisu did not have the neathen altars for spirit-worship and animal sacrifice, which is so characteristic of

They also had books, and were so kind and hospitable that the Nagas

were happy, and singing beautiful songs which they liked to hear.

elders explained the Gospel to the Nagas as best they could, in spite of language difficulties. They also sang hymns. The Nagas were very
these are cousins" of the Naga head hunters told about in "National Geographic Magazine" some months ago.

way". The Naga village was about ten days' journey toward India, but the Lisu church elders decided to go. They tookwith them as in terpreter a young boy who had studied in our mission school. These

begged them to come to their Naga village and teach them this "new

interested. Then the elders returned to their home. I might say that

the Kachin language, the Lisu elders did not soon return. But some

Because the Lisu boy interpreter was so limited in his knowledge of

Accordingly, this Lisu preacher, Zacharias, with Christian companions,

accompanied the Naga hunters to their home village. Zacharias preached as best he could with his I imited knowledge of the Kachin

months later, after we had sent one of our older preachers to the two Lisu villages, the Naga hunters came again to beg for more teaching.

language. The Naga people liked him and begged him to stay. The magistrates of fourteen villages wrote a letter to us and each signed

give him food and to build a house for him if we would let him come
to teach them.

it with his thumb print. They promised to protect Zacharias and to

After some weeks this letter was received by us. It was brought by

several messengers. A person does not dare to make that trip alone When the letter was received in Muladi, the elders of the church, to
go. Also, God hel ped us to find a good interpreter for him. It was decided to request that two Naga boys be allowed to come to Muladi

because of the wild elephants, tigers, cobras, and other wild animals.

gether with the missionaries, decided it would be well for Zacharias to

support the preacher and his interpreter. The money was gotten to gether and the letters were written both to the Naga magistrates and to the evangelist, Zacharias. Then the messengers departed. Several
about whom we wrote in our second 1960 Newsletter.

to attend school. Three or four of the larger churches decided to help months later, the two Naga boys came to study. These are the boys
Now here is the good news which we received a few days ago from

the preacher, Zacharias, himself and we quote: "To Big Teacher and Big Lady teacher (Meaning Mr. &Mrs. J.R.) and Teacher Eugene and family. "To Big Teacher and Lady teacherwhom I can never forget. I, Zach arias, your younger brother, have not seen you for two years, and so because I was so thi rsty to see you, I came back to Muladi to meet you. Although I have met those here, yet I am very disappointed in not being able to meet the rest of you. "I would like to testify to you all that has happened (to me) in 1959 and 1960. I left you here in January, 1959, and went to the Lisu vil lage at the head of the Hukwang Valley. Then in Feb. I made a trip over into the Naga country to see how it was. Then in May our whole
family moved to the village of Shr-di. In June I was sick for a whole

month and almost died. Then beginning in July we held a Bible sem
inary for the Christians here (Lisu Christian village of Shr-di), "Then again in December, Kong~di and I madeanother trip intoNaga country to see if there really was an open i n g - to see if they would receive us. At that time all Chieftainsand village headmen greeted and received us, and then wrote the petition asking that teachers be sent to their country. Altogether fourteen men signed the petition. "It was about the end of Feb., 1960 that our whole fami ly moved down to the Naga villages. During March we built our house and all the non-christian Nagas also came to help us build it. Then in April we went around and visited and taught in all the villages of the area. In May and June we taught a Bible class in a school which had form erly been opened in one of the villages. Then in August we made another evangelistic trip visiting all the areas which we hadn't visited in the first trip. Then in October, 1960 our whole family returned to the Lisu village at the head of the Hukwang Valley (Shr-di), and we

school. On Sunday very many non-christians come to hear the Gospel

had a Thanksgiving Convention there at which we really got to teach a great deal. So then we arrived back in Muladi early in November. "Because God helped us, we passed a peaceful year in Naga country. The son and daughter which God has given us, Ah-te and Ah-du, are grown quite big. Please don't forget to pray for us and our two chil dren. Thank you. "Back in Naga country, the chieftain who originally called us, and another family and also the former chieftain have all turned to the Lord with their families. There are about thirty students in their village

tion over there. And tne ones whohave never before heard the gospel are just too many to tell. It is only two days from this place where we were teaching to the border of India. They say that on the India side up in the mountains there is a very heavy population too, even more than you can number. Please pray very much that we will be able to teach the word of God step by step on west-ward. Please witness to all the churches you know of there in the USA and ask all of them to be praying very specially for this work. "Also please write tome from time to time. Tell me of any signs of the

this winter. Pleasepray much for them. There is a very great popula

preached. Very many have aeclared that they want to turn to the Lord

times or any news or other things of interest, and also when you will

be coming back here. Write to me about all these things. Thank you.

with me this next year in 1961, as our children are very young, and
we must travel over extremely difficult trails entirely tnrough wild jungle. However, all the elders in the area and all the preachers and missionaries at the Bible School have decided that I should go back to Naga country for one more year in 1961 and so I will be leaving again on Dec. 1st, 1960 to go back there. My companions this time will be teacher Peter, Kong-di, and a student from the mission school, Yu-li-

"My purpose in coming back this time was to getsomeone to exchange

ya by name. Idon't know what will develop later. The (Naga) vil

lage where we are staying is named Na-lu-ga. They have opened a

church-sponsored pr i Va t e school, and we are trying to get some of their own people to take over the teaching ob. (NOTE: A few of their young people have studied in a school e sewhere.) We will be taking from here all kinds of text books for this school. "Although we are very homesick for our own people, yet because it
is for the sake of the Lord's work our hearts are comforted in reaching new souls for Christ. Please pray for us.

"The churchwhich ishelping ourfamily is the one in Yichodi. With out our seeking it, the N. Muladi church has also promised to help in

this work. We are very happy that the Lord's work here is being shared

by others. "I cannot tell all that has happened, it is so much. "The writer is one who is thirsting to see you," (Signed) Pastor Zacharias
Please pray for these workers, and also for the Naga people that their hearts may be open to the Gospel 1 May God be praised for all
of thisl It is His workl This makes the third tribe which has received

the Gospel in that area. Thus, although we rejoice to be'back in Ameri ca, our hearts turn back to our beloved work in Burma, where we hope to return this spring, the Lord wiIlingo
In the Master's service,
Gertrude H. Morse

PLANS FOR RAWANG NEW TESTAMENT

Ever since Robert Morse reduced the Rawang language to writing in

1950 he has continued to translate I ess on materials, hymns and por tions of the New Testament. Now he has progressed sufficiently that he hopes to complete the translation of the New Testament before he and his family return to the States on furlough in August, 1961. This will be an expensive project. One thousand dollars was given specifically for this purpose last fall, and since Mr. and Mrs. J. Russell Morse and Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Morse have been in the States, they have presented this need in a number of churches and more than
one thousand dollars additional has been received, designated for this
purpose.

there is some question as to the number that should be printed in. the first edition. So as we trust the Lord to supply the funds, we will be
guided in our decision as to the number to be printed, by the way He lays it on the hearts of His peopi e to respond to this need. It is our prayer that we may be able to discern His will in this matter, as in all matters pertaining to His work.

Because of the Communist situation, and other factors of uncertainty,

Dukdang Village
December 1, 1960 Dearest Friends and Loved ones in Amreica,

it has been so long since we've written a real newsl etter, so I'm afraid we are really outof touchwith you all. Please forgive us again and try to understand Ik>w deep into the work out here we are. Some times we go for weeks without seeing an English speaking person, and it is hard to change from one culture to another, as we must do if we
take time out for letters. For instance, right now I have my brain "sei" to think like an American, and if there are no interruptions for the

this letter offon next week's plane. I can't teach you this morning.
Please come back at the school noon hour and I will have the older

women come to learn sewing or knitting, then all this nice enthusiasm will go out like a I ight. I will tall them, "I'm busy now, I must get

next hour, you may get this letter on time after all. But if a bunch of

girls help you." And they will say, "Now, teacher, you go right oheod and do your work, we know how busy you are. We will just sit
here and knit and wait for the noon hour." It being only nine fifteen,

I'm stuck for the morning. Sincerely wanting to help them, I haven'J the heart to say, "Come back tomorrow." But in themeantime I do

visit and I went out on the porch to greet her and it is so warm in the sunshine, we can't bearto come in right away. And as we were chat ting, I thought how nice it would be if you, too, could join us out in

have letters to write, so 1get on with the job. Now my helper girl has come in ond said, "Mama, (teacher) my sister has just come to

the sunshine and toast yourself. (This Is her polite way of telling me that the dishes are not washed yet, but that sne hasn't forgotten about them, so don't be shocked if I happen to pass through the kitchen.) I
told her that 1had to stay here at the desk and write this letter, but that she could take my frozen feetout and warm them for me. Instead, she took my Ioafers off, and took them to the porch to let the sun warm them. Now my feet really are so cold, I'll just about have to go out to get wanm. In Putao, if it rains wehug the open fireplace in the living room, but if the sun is shining, we go outside to get warm. If you sit just a couple of feetaway from the fireplace, it's like being in

in the study here it is cold. If only smoke carried warmth 1 Tne smoke finds its way all over the house, worse luck. School and medical work has beenverv heavy this year. In addition to our regular work, we have the annual Bible Seminary In our village this year. That makes about 170 newcomers to care for in time of sickness. There are 130 prea c h ers, twenty a ud i tors, five or six preachers brought theirwives and families, and some ofthe men brought someone to help carry their loads, hunt firewood, and help cook. Newcomers to this area invariably come down with a very bad kind of
malaria. The first week two preachers from the high mountains got very sick. Their fever was up to 105* and of course it gave us all a

a room with no fire at all. Of course, we have only one fireplace, so

scare. So many times a person catches some contagious disease along the road, and only coming down with it after arriving down here, if these two boys had typhoid or typhus, then our whole school could be

we went together to see him. There we discovered that the person who

agine mv horror then, when Igot word during church one Sunday, that one of the preachers was dying. Drema was visiting us that day, so

ruined. On the other hand If only malaria, there would be no danger to the school, but being newcomers, they could very easily die. Im

had asked for medicine for him that morning hadn't described his sym-

zled by his case. I asked to see the "medicine", and was shown sev eral packets of, I suppose, headache powder, but which bore the name

effect whatever on his raging fever. We don't often have mix-ups like this, but occasionally we do. On questioning him closely though, we discovered that he had been taking some kind of patent medicine bought in a store at the airfield, and the medicine was just strong enough to disguise his symptoms, so that everyone was completely puz

toms correctly, and had gone back with soda. Of course this had no

" EVERHEALTH Penicillin '(G)', Paincure Powder". He had taken

I was furious, because there have been so many cases lately ofthe villagers buying all kinds oftrash from the stores, then in the end, we have to come in and save them. Just the other day the Putao doctor was telling us he had three cases of poisoning in the hospital. Upon

as ten tablets of the latest malaria drug which would have cured him.

four packets since he got sick, the four costing exactly the same price

asking if they were from the deadly poisoned arrows used here, he
replied that, "No, some store got a new shipment of I inament and people were taking it internally." This is really a great problem here,

where hardly anyone can read English and very few can read even Bur
mese labels on the botti es.

seemed overexcited and sure that he was about to die. I wondered if the headache medicine had caused such a reaction. I held his hand

^Well, we got some malaria medicine down the patient and Isat with him to calm him down. I could understand why he was upset, but he

and stroked his head and talked to him until he was calm, then he

ancient custom of diagnosing what they call "Makalong" or what we

told^ me that the people In whose house he was staying had used the
call cerebral malaria. Cerebral malaria takes so many forms here In
Putao, that one would never suspect that all are from the same dis

ease. Usually this method of diagnosing "Makalong" is only used on unconscious people, and according to the results, the family either seeks further help or begins making the coffin] Well, this boy was conscious and saw and heard the report that he was "pretty far gone, better call the teacher, but that won't do much goocT." You'd have
that he would be alright, and before I left we prayed together and he was already beginning tofeel better, with the fever already responding
All funds except living link for various members of the family should be sent to North Burma Christian Mission, c/o Mrs. Oscar L. Myers, 2024 N, 14th Street,
Terre Haute, Indiana.

been upset too, in a similar situation! But I was able to assure him

to the malaria drug. Outside I really scolded the people for scaring him to death. I get mad every time I hear about it. So what if inthe old days everyone died, now we have the new medicines, and also now we are Christian and even If we are without medicine, many times God has heard our prayers and mercifully healed. What they do is this. The 'doctor' takes a copper coin and rubs on the forearm inside the elbow. If he really knows his business, he
can tell a lot about the patient's condition from the resulting raw

bruise. If he can't read the results from this, then he applies a tourni

quet and then sticks needles intothe fingers just above tne fingernails. If they bleed freelv and the blood is the right color, the patient will get well. If the blood is a very dark color and doesn't flow well, the

patient doesn't have a chance. In the old days, this was a real way

of diagnosing. Now, however with the wonderful medicines, it is mostly nonsense, and should be abolished. These people are such fa

actually had it done to me twice, mercifully I was unconscious and didn't know it, otherwise I would have had a stroke just thinking about
itl

talists anyway, and the power of suggestion so very strong, that I just don't like to see it; it always causes trouble to all concerned. I've

Well, the knitting class arrived this morning, (next day) and so I didn't even get to start on this page. As I said, these are preachers' wives, and on the whole, are a bit brighter than the average women

ofthe tribes. If only they had had the opportunity to study and awaken
their minds that the men have had, it would be so wonderful for the

churches. As it is, however, whole areas of their minds are just blank. Afterseeing the young schoolgirls, and how easily and quickly they learn, I feel very deeplyabout these women, and long to help them in
some way to raise their standards of thinking and living. In the tribal

culture, training and discipline are practically unknown. I don't mean to say this in a derogatcM'y way. The people say so themselves. If a person gets angry or is drunk, he may lash out at someone who ir ritates him, but in the everyday sense of training a child towards a
specific goal, nothing is done.

All teaching in the family is done by exampi e, and in many ways this is the best possible way of teaching. The young girl watches her mother weave cloth and she learns also. The boy goes with his father to the fields and learns to plant, follows along on the hunt and learns
the way of the jungle. All well and good. But at the same time the girl is learning from the mother, she is picking up all the bad habits of

dirty clothes at the same time, to wash in the same water. The boy
set" leaves and leave it until theperson is crippled, unless he develops

bowel movement, call the dog to clean up both the floor and baby. Thirsty? Go down to the riverside and drink, maybe taking along any
learns from his father the uses of all the jungle pi ants, and some are

the older woman. Ifyour nose runs, just wipe it off with your fingers and wipe it on the wall or whatever is convenient. If the baby has a

very useful. But if he happens to break an arm or leg on the hunt, nothing at allwill be done to set the bone. They will wrap it in "bone

an infection. In whichcase he may be brought here for treatment If he lives near by - otherwise he will be left to die, even the family aban
doning him when the smell of the flesh rotting gets too bad. If he gets bit by a snake, someone will grab a piece of charcoal and bum the bite. If the poison doesn't kill him, he will be lame for weeks from
the terrible burn.

Does all this sound impossible in this day and age? I am just writ ing from experiences which I personally have had and which most of
the other missionaries to the tribes have had.

I think you should hear the story of Rawang Fourth Son. Way up in the mountains, ten days walk from Dukdang is the village of Kong Zup. This is where Fourth Son lives. He is a school boy and attends school In a village about a day and a half walk from home. One day he and some other school boys went up the mountain side to get bamboo for building purposes. They had to cross over a little gap in the ridge. This gap is just a few feet wide, and on one side there is a huge boulder, with smaller rocks on the other side. All the boys had crossed over the gap, and Fourth Son was last. As he passed be tween the rocks, suddenly the big boulder rolled down into the gap. There must have been a slight earth tremor ust then, and the big rock caught Fourth Son's leg and crushed it. If he had been just a second sooner or a second later, he would have passed through freely. This way, he was caught by a rock that even all the men in the village couldn't move. But his guardian angel must have been right there, because in a minute the huge stone rolled right back up to its regular place and Fourth Son's leg was free. How they than ked God for His great mercy as they carried him home to his father, who could doubtless want to carry him to Putao to the hospital. Upon reaching home, however, the family, in despair because every person in the village was busy with field work, just
tried to treat him with the usual native remedies. The bone was stick

ing out and could be seen by all, yet because the father had no money to pay the people for their ruined fields if they left them to help car ry the boy ten days to Putao, nothing more was done. Of course, in
fection set in, and as the leg swelled and began to smell, the father realized that something would have to be done. At that time, the

China-Burma Boundary Commission was in that area, and wanting load

and fields ana went to carry for the Burmese army, to earn money to bring his son to the hospital down here. He carried both ways twice and earned about 100 Kyats (or about $25 U.S.), but the army never paid him, so he finally went home, still without any money for his son. By then, the boy's leg was so bad that no one could bear to be around him, the whole house smelled, and no one was willing to carry him,
money or not I It was at this time that an Evangelistic Team from our village here

carriers. They were paying very good wages, so the father left home

at Dukdang arrived there at Kong Zup, When they heard the tragic story, one of the men, who had experienced a very similar case years before told them not to give up hope, that with mwem medicines the

boy could still be saved. He had to wrap a blanket over his nose ust

to go in to look at the boy and to pray for him. Though he wanted to

would ask us for medicine and send it up for him. No one bel leved that the medicine would help, but they promised that if the medicine
cine camestraight to us. This was nowOctober, and the boy had been injured in April. It broke our hearts to hear of this terrible suffering,

carry him right then, it was truly impossible. But he promised that he

arrived and took away the stench, that they would carry him down. Upon arriving back here, the Elder who had promisea to send medi

so we wanted to do all thatwe possibly could to help. There Is a fine young Kachin doctor at the Putao hospital now, and he is doing a good if he had anything to help the smeil long enough for the men to carry
him down here. Also I asked if he would give us permission to teacn someone how to give injections so that the boy could receive penicil

job in spite of his very limited facilities. I wroteover to him and asked

lin. This doctor is a Christian, and his heart was touched by this case, so he sent over disinfectant, peroxide, antiseptic andten vials of pen icillin 1 And his permission to teach someone to give injectionsl The

only person going that way was a load carrier who carried for the preachers coming to the School. He didn't look very promising, but
with patient teaching, he learned, and overcame his fear. Then we

smell entirely gone, and the swelling down greatly I Now he is in the
care of the doctor, who is going to try to save the leg, if at all pos
sible. Praise God for His mercy.

used Robert and two of the preachers as guinea pigs and let him prac tice the whole procedure. He apparently did very well, because in the middle of November young Fourth Son arrived safely down here, the

share fully in our work here, I want you to understand what we are trying to do, and why. Only as you see the background of the en vironment can you pray intelligently for the work. You can under
stand how frustrated we feel sometimes. We are children of the

I guess this Ie11 er is far too long. But I do so want all of you to

Twentieth Century, but we are dealing with life as it was in America in the Eighteenth Cetnuryl Please pray for us. There are so many
needs here. First of all we need strength to carry on.

will as we try to build up His churcho Pray for the preachers as they
teach and preach in these critical times. Pray for the people to have the scales of ignorance lifted from their eyes, that they might enjoy and appreciate the many blessings that God wants to bestow on us in
this life as we live on earth. Please continue to pray for Dr. Charles

We are all so very, very wearyl Pray for God to helpusto do His

Brown and his family, that the officials will grant them the entry per mit to Burma. I think you can see the tremendous need for him. So )lease pray for the Browns, and when the permission is granted, we )eg you to support him fully, so that he can come out with all the equipment and drugs that he will need in this primitive place. He will need an ambulance, as well as a jeep for his use. Just yesterday we went twelve miles to get a boy who was bitten by a viper, and who will surely develop gangrene without treatment. He was carried nine

hours over mountoin trails to where we could meet him with the tractor.

How nice it would have been for him had wehad a Jeep instead of the jolting tractor. A couple of weeks ago in the middle of the night the tractor rushed a girl to the hospital just in time to save her life with an appendicitis operation. Before that we took a girl who was having a lung hemorrhage. Yes, the need Is overwhelming.

toacknowledge eyery letter and package we received, yet we've heard no word in reply, so don't know If you have received our letters. Please continue to write to us. We appreciate your letters so much. And you just can't know how much a package means to us. Especially now that the children are older, we appreciate your kindness In giving them an occasional glimpse of America. Memorial Church In Detroit, Stevie's living link, has again sent wonderful Christmas presents, with something for each of us. Thank you so muchl
I must close now, and get this into the mail. I hope this Isn't too long to read. God bless you all.
Sincerely,

So many of you ladies have sent yam for the schoolgirls. We tried

Robert and Betty

w
Mr. and Mrs, Eugene R. Morse announce the birth of a daughter,
Frances Jeanette, on January 18, 1961 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Li 111 e Jean ett e has three big brothers, David 12, Tommy 9-1/2, Ronnie 8 and two "big" sisters. Marga ret 3-1/2 and Mar i Iyn 18 months old, all of whom join Mother and Daddy In welcoming her.

Moiled by Mrs. OSCAR L. MYERS

2024 N. 14th St.

Sec, 34.66 P
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