Morse-JRussell-1991-Thailand.pdf

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CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF MISSIONARY WORK IN ASIA1921 - 1991

S782M IS SION S ERVIC ES ASSDC'i-NEWSLETTERB

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PO BOX 2 4 2 7KNOXVILLE, TN 37901 3

NORTH BURMA CHRISTIAN MISSIONP.O. Box 4074 Terre Haute, IN 47804NBCM Newslelter is published quarterly for the North Burma Christian Mission.4882 East Fort Harrison Road, Terre Haute, IN 47805. Second class postage paid atTerre Haute, IN. POSTMASTER: Send address chattges to NBCM Newsletter, P.O.Box4074, Terre Haute, IN 47804. USPS 482-030.

Vo l u n e 13 May, 1991 No . 2

VICTORY IN aESUS

A Tr i bu t e t o J. Ru s s e l l Morse

At 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, Janxiary 27, 1991one of God^s grea t vreirriors f in ished h is l a s tba t t l e , as J . Russel l Morse l e f t th i s l i f eand went t o be with th e Lord whom he hadloved and served fo r so many yea r s . BomFebruary 4, 1898 in Alexandria, Sou th Dakota,he lacked ju s t a few days of reaching h is93rd b i r t h d ay .

His en t i r e life was a t es t imony to th elove and mercy and fai thfulness of God. Theyoungest of fiv e c hild re n, he was born fourteen years af t e r h is next oldes t s i s t e r , inanswer to the prayer of h is mother fo r a sonwho would be a miss ionary. He gave h is hea r tto the Lord and was bapt ized a t an ea r ly age,and l a t e r attended Phi l l ips Universi ty inEnid, OK, graduating in 1921. He marriedGertrude Howe on May 26, 1920, and togetherthey answered the ca l l of Dr. Alber t Shel tonto go to the pioneer mission f i e ld in Batang,W. China, on the v ery b or de r of Tibet . Withthe i r in fant son, Eugene ( then only fourmonths o ld ) , on August 13, 1921 they beganth e journey t h a t was to l ead them in to morethan f i f ty years o f missionary service inAsia, and r e su l t in the salvat ion of thousands o f sou l s in Tibe t , C hina, and Burma.

They spent the f i r s t f ive years on theT ib eta n b ord er , th en tw en ty -th re e years inChina proper, during which J . Russell notonly preached in very pr imi t ive areeis, butd id a g rea t dea l o f medical work, and in t roduced many var ie t ies of f r u i t t r ees to improve the die t and consequently the health ofthe people. Those years also were marked by

a b r eak from o rgan ize d m iss ion suppo(UCMS), a 70-day t rek through unchartjungle, pol i t ica l upr is ings , s er iou s i l lneses , the trauma of the violent death of cworkers , th e lo ss o f home and belongings inf lood, a 9-year term of service includiWorld War I I years when he and h is two soengaged in ground search eind rescue work fth e Al l i es ( fo r which they were each l a tawarded th e Bronze S t a r medal) , and f i f t emonths of so l i t a ry confinement in a Chinecommunist pr i son .

Less than a year af t e r h is re le ase bthe communists, he was on h is way to jo in h

J. Russell Mo r s e


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fajnily in the mission work in Bunna. Duringthe next twenty years J . Russel l continuedh is preaching and medical work, and in Burmaa l so i n t r oduced dozen s o f v a r i e t i e s o f c i t r u sf ru i t which not only improved the health ofth e Lisu and Rawang Chr is t i ans bu t became asource of income fo r th^. Those yea rs , to o,were marked by hea r t aches , t r i a l s and hardships - the death of h is mother in 1953;po l i t i ca l tu rmoil w ith i t s a t t endan t dangers;t h r e a t o f Chinese communist invas ion; s i ckness ; a d i f f i c u l t t rek in to th e j ung le sfollowed by s ix years o f l i v ing in thepr imi t ive a rea o f Hidden Val ley ; and f i n a l l y ,imprisonment fo r th ree months b efore beingal lowed to l eave Burma, a t th e end o f ane leven-year term o f se rv ice . But g r ea t e rthan a l l the phys ical d i f f i cu l t i e s and dangers o f th e f i f t y years was th e joy o f see ingthousands of Lisu and Ra^-^ang people turningto th e Ijord, an d knowing t h a t t hey , toge therwith h is ch i ld ren and many o f h is grandch i ld ren , were s e rv ing th e Lord in China , Burma,a n d Th a i l a n d .

J . Russe l l Morse ' s life was marked byh is emphasis on memorizing God's Word, andthe way he applied the Scr ip tures to everyaspec t o f h is l i f e . He no t only memorized ith im se lf , b u t cons t a n t l y urged o the r s t o doso . He possessed a s tubborn determinat ionwhich he lped him hold f a s t to h is f a i th inth e most t ry in g o f c i rcumstances , bu t he wasa l so compassionate , with a grea t capac i t y fo rloving people , sind making allowances fo rtheir weakn e s s e s . One com ment mside at t h ememorial se rv ice in Tulsa was t h a t th e speake r had neve r hea rd him c r i t i c i z e o r speaku n ki nd ly a b ou t Einyone.

Anyone who knew J . Russe l l Morse o f t e nheard him say "Where t he re i s no ba t t l e the rei s no v ic to ry" , and "The g r ea t e r th e ba t t l e ,th e g r ea t e r th e v i c to ry " . His s t anda rdpar t ing word to those to whom he was sayinggoodbye was "Victory in Jesus ! " , while givingth e "V fo r Victory" s i gn . So it i s no tsurpr is ing t ha t on the l a s t day of h is l i f e ,h is par t ing words to h is l a s t v i s i t o r s wereh is l i f e t ime watchword: "Victory In Jesus ! " .When th e f ami ly was making ar rangements fo rmemorial se rv ices , the re was no quest ion inth e minds o f any o f J . R us se l l 's ch i ld ren o rg r andch i ld r en a s to th e theme which wouldbes t typ ify h is l i f e , and no su rp r i se whenboth in Tha i l and and th e U .S . , w ithou t consu l t a t i on , th e theme was "Victory In Jesus" .

Fune r a l s e r v i c e s were he l d at th e OzarkChrist ian College chapel on January 31 , 1991when speakers were B. A. Aust in , who waformerly minis te r o f Highland Park Chr i s t i aChurch in Tulsa , OK, bu t now minis te r ing iP i t t sburg , KS; Boyce Mou ton, minis te r o f thChris t ian Church in C arl Ju nc tio n, MO; anZiden Nu t t , f ounde r o f Good News Produc t i onIn ternat ional in Jop l in , MO. Buria l was iMemorial Park cem etery in Tulsa , OK, oFebruary 1, with Boyce Mouton conduc t ing thg r a v e s i d e s e r v i c e . A memor i a l s e r v i c e waheld o n Sund ay , February 3, a t Highl an d P arChr is t i an Church in Tulsa , where J . Russe lhad a t t e nd ed s i n c e h i s r e t u r n f rom As i a i1972, with Steve ThcMiias, Assoc. mini s t e rand Jack Foreman, a close f r iend, par t i c i pa tin g i n t h e s e r v i c e . A memor i a l s e r v i c e waa l s o he ld on February 3 in Chiang Mai, Tha iland, which was attended by some 200 people.

J . Russe l l wEis preceded in dea th by h iswife , Gert rude, in February, 1977. IAugust , 1979 he was marr ied to Suwanna Lepeemis , a nu r s e , from B angkok, Tha i l and , whsurvives him. He i s a l so survived by t h r esons , Eugene and Robe r t , mis s i ona r i e s iTha i l and and C hina; R. LaVerne, o f Cincinna t i , OH; a daugh te r , Ruth Johnson , oJop l in , MO; a fos te r daughter , Drema Es theYangmi, o f Ola the , I^ ; t w e nt y- si x g ra n d ch il dr en , and fifty g rea t -g randch i l d ren .

J . Russe l l Morse wi l l be deeply missedby h is f ami ly , h is f r i ends , and th e thousandof " c h i l d r e n in t h e Lo r d " in As i a who havknown and loved him. But al l can r e j o i ct oge t he r t h a t he i s now with h is Lord, havinfought th e good f igh t , and a t l a s t i s exper iencing t h a t "Victory in Jesus" which was thgoa l o f h is life and min i s t r y .

a

Trave l in 1921 was s low and dangerous, ovenarrow t r a i l s and f l imsy b r i dges .


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19211991 : TO YEARSWhen J . R u s s e l l a nd Ger t r ude Morse w e n t t o

on th e China -T ibe t bo rde r in 1921,t raveled by ship , t r a in , and horse

During th e four-month journey theygradua l ly exposed to th e d i f f e r en tand languages of the inc rea s ing ly

areas they passed through. Onevîch eased t h e i r adjustment to th eany new exper iences was the fa c t th a t they

t r ave l ing with t h e i r f r i end an d m en to r,r. Albe r t She l ton, who "cushioned" maxiy o f

h e cultural shock s f o r t h em . So i t \>7as ablow t o th e new miss iona r i e s when,

two months a f t e r t he i r a r r i va l , Dr.was k i l l ed by a band i t ' s bu l l e t . But

t a l so s t r eng thened t h e i r r e so lve to fol lownd se rve th e Lord r ega rd le s s o f th e c o s t .

In th e f a l l o f 1926 they l e f t th e comfortsecur i ty of work under a mission board,nd launched out by fa i th to follow the

l e ad ing i n to a new work. The i r r ewas severely t r ied when, due to pol i tupr i s ings , they were ordered to l eave

e count ry . Because th e usua l t r ave l r ou te sc losed , they had to make a dangerous

t r ip over land , a t the he igh t of ther a iny season, through u nc ha rted ju no ve r high mountains and swollen r i ve r s ,

th e Mekong R iv er V alley westward i n toThis was when t h ey first came in conwith th e many t r i bes l i v ing a long th e

bo rde r , and l a t e r r e a l i z ed th eord had been showing them the people Hethem to recich - th e Lisu, Nung, Ra-

Daru, and o ther s . In t h a t a r ea , wheret t ha t t ime there were NO C h ri st ia ns , t he rere now t ens o f thousands o f b el ie ve rs , and

of c h u r c h e s .Af te r a fu r lough , th e Morses and t h e i r

sons r e tu rned t o China in 1929, e s t aba base in Yea Chi , a Chinese town i n

e Mekong Val l ey , began house- to -house

) ^ >

Newly bapt ized Lisu believers about 1934.

evangel ism, and s t a r t ed a primary school. Iadd i t i on to Chinese , t he r e were many Lisu ithe area , who were v ery re sp on siv e to thGospel . By 1934 th e number o f Lisu Chr ist i a n s had grown to more t h an 500. They begaevange l i s i ng t h e i r r e l a t i v e s in th e SalweeVal l ey t o th e wes t , and c a l l i n g f o r th e miss i o n a r i e s to visit t h e r e . In 1939 th e fami lmoved i n to th e Lisu v il la g e o f Tobalo , ani n t e n s i ve evange l i sm c a r r i e d on . It was iOctober, 1940, as Japan was invading Chinat h a t th e Miss ion home was des t r oyed byf lood, and the base of opera t ions was movewestward , in to th e Salween Val ley .

HERE AJS3TD THEREResponse ^ Gospel Aiopg Hro In Buria

J on i Morse w r i t e s t h a t t e n Rawang mis s iona ry f ami l i e s a r e now working among th e Mpeople in Western Arakan S ta te in southweBurma, and the re heis been phenomenal churcgrowth in the a rea , with the Gospel beint aken to over f i f t y Mro v il la ge s in j u s t onyear . The response was so g r ea t th a t in somp l aces th e bap t i smal s e rv i ce s became all daa f f a i r s ! L ate st re po rts in dic ate t h a t thera re now ove r 3 ,000 Chr i s t i a n s among t h e MroHeeds Beinf Met U Laoslê Walter Ridgley and Tom Coon familiesand Joe l Li l l i e have a l l r ecen t ly mide t r i pi n t o Laos . Bes ide s be ing ab l e to wi tnes s tthe people, they have a lso helped with suct h ings a s remodel ing th e ch i l d r en ' s i n t en s ivcare room a t a hosp i ta l , pu t in new pane l ingwindows and s c r e en doo r s , e l e c t r i c wir ingand an a i r condi t ioner . They hope also tdrill s ev e r a l wa te r w e l l s wi th t h e drillinr ig bu i l t by Wal te r and Tom, and put inwater sy stem a nd bathroom a t th e Xepon hospital .People were very happy to see them, andbegged them to re tu rn soon. They were ab lto sha re t h e ir f a i th , and o f f e r encouragemeto th e Chr i s t i ans in severa l p laces . Theplan to make r e tu rn v i s i t s as they have thoppor tun i ty .

HE SURE TO COISIDER giv ing "Exodus t oHidden Valley" by Eugene Morse, as a g i f t fot ha t spec ia l young person vîo i s graduat infrom high schoo l o r co l l ege . Order from MrsP a t Bi t t s , P.O. Box 4074, Ter re Haute , IN47804. Special price is $4.00 + $1*10postagif ordered by June 15, 1991.


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FER-SONAL NOTESRobert and Pongsee Morse arrived in theon March 20 for a br ief furloiigh.bert has been working with native informon t ra n sl at io n o f the New Testament intohe Lipo lajT^uage, which is one of the minor

ty languages of Yunnan Province in China..will be in th e U.S. for about fourand plan to attend the NACC a t Denvern July. They can be contacted through theira^ent, Mrs. Diane Laxen, 730St . , Hemet, CA.Ron and Pat r iz ia Morse, and sons Jason andarr ived bsu^k in Thailand on March 221their furlough. The ir add res s in

is P. 0. Box 60 , Chiang Mai 50000,Their f on-warding agent i s GaryRt. 3, Box 608, Joplin, ^^0 64801.Eugene and Helen Morse will also be return

g to Thailand in early May. They hadto return earlier but were delayede to health problems which have now beenThe i r forwarding agen t i s RonP. 0. Box 481, Joplin, MO 64802-0481,

e ir a dd re ss in Thai land w i l l be P . O. Box5, Chiang Mai 50000, Thai land.Also a r r iv ing on March 20 fo r a br ie f v i s i tn the U.S. were Margaret ISas&npiyBrom andon Alex (daughter and grandson of Eugene andl en Morse) . Margaret 's husband, Anan, wi l lthem Apri l 12, and they wil l return to

i la n d w it h Eugene and Helen.Three f ami l i e s wi l l be r e tu rn ing on fu rin June and can be contacted for v i s i t s

o c hu rc he s t hro ug h t h e i r forwarding agen t s :& Nonna Morse, % Jim Albright, 131Ponca City , OK 74601; Joni & Nang-

ar Morse, %Carol Vaughn, P.O. Box 1177,CO 80502-1177; J oe l & Mari lyn% Bob & Penny Lanyon, R. R. 6, Box

Car thage , MO 64836-9221.

Ur iah Je r ed Khopang,fou r t h c h i ld ( th irdson) o f Ma rily n a ndJoe l Khopang, bornJanuary 14,1991.

CORNER

Thanksgiving

1 . For sa fe journeys fo r va r ious miss imembers t r ave l i ng to and from th e f i e l d .2. For progress on th e Lipo l i t e r a tu re , bot r an s l a t i on and pr in t ing .3 . For word o f con t inued growth o f churchin China , with many new be l i e v e r s .4. For r e cen t re po rts o f new oppor tuni t ifo r th e Gospel in Burma.Requests

1. For th e churches and l eader s in ChinBurma, and Thai land .2 . F o r additional r e s o u r c e s to me e t costst r ans la t ing and pr in t ing needed l i t e r a tufo r C hr is t ian s in China , Burma, and Thai lan3. For cont inued growth among th e Mro pep le .3. For hea l th , t r ave l ing sa fe ty ,and provs i o n of n e e d s for t he m i s si on a ri es .

MEMORXAL GIFTS

Memorial g i f t s have been rece ived from tfo l lowing :

1.2 .2 .3 .4 .

5 .6 .7 .8 .9 .10

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In meaory of J. Bassell MorseDr. Wa y n e B . Bi

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