THE LIFE LINE ”For now we live, if ye stand fast In God.” The missionary penned A principle by heaven decreed, By which we must for life contend. ”For now we live if ye stadfast” In faith, the faith of Jesus Christ. No faith of ours is strong enough To thwart the enemies’ device. ”For now we live if ye stand fast” In love. God’s love and His alone Spans seas, and time, and changing years, And makes us one though oft unknown,, “For now we live if ye stand fast” In prayer-prayer in the Holy Ghost, That reaches out in faith and love And saves men to the uttermost. They live if we stand fast in God! Forgive us, Fathey, for the past. Perrhaps some graves on yonder soil Are there because we stood not fast. They live if we stand fast in God ! There’s more to living, Lord, than - life. _.-, -s They may exist by weakness bound ; e= s They should be strong to face tne 5- strife. s They life if WP stand fast in God! s Oh, help us then a vigil Xeep, 5 Iz Since as Thy children sow at home z Accordingly out there they reap. 7 5 Impart Thy faith, shed forth Thy love, 5- - Yearn in our hearts, 0 heavenly s .z Dove. , ’ 7 .zz Their faces on our minds inscribe. s5 May they through us His life imbibe. s5 ivlrs. C. J, Mason. niiiiiiiiiiii~iiui~iii~miiiii~iiiiuiiiiiii~iiuiiiiiiiiiiii~iiiiiiiii~iiniiiiiiiiii~iiinuiiniiiiiiniii~iiliiiinilii~iiiuu~~iiiiiiii~ii~iiiiii~iiiiiiii~~iiiiiiiilii~i~~iii

2 A guest editorial . . . THE LIFE LINE Mrs. C. J. Mason

>'Farnow WE, live, d ye stand fast in the Lord" (1 Thes. 38). Have you ever quotcd this verse in prayer with reference to the mis- sionaries? Have you ~verconsiderad the -=text to- discovrr if you were scriptural in 50 doing? Careful study would reveal that this verse is definite!? zpplieable in that respect, and that between the missionaries on the fie15 and the churches at home there exists a relationship so close that life is actually affected therrqby.

The missionary, in writing thsee words to a churoh, implies that 3 princi,ple or spiritual law is in operation which links us together and makes his or her life momentarily dependent upon us. It represents a life line hy which we must 'help maintain and sustain life. If we fail, the missionary fails! If we sucewd, the missionary succeeds!

Consider the effect on the Apostle Paul of the aggregate spiritual life of the church at Thessalonica. At the, time of writing he had been separated from them for a year and was in the midst of severe persecution and affliction. His burden for that little flo& became so intolerable that he sent Timothem to them. When Timotheus returned with a glowing report of their "faith" and .'love" adtheir "good rfmembrance of w always, desiring greatly to see us" (prayer with desire), Paul's spirit revived. In the midzt of all his affliction and distress he receiv'Pa -comfort, rendered thanks, and experienced joy. During the war that was called "morale building." Paul revealed it as "life building."

. Wi hrnrd the term "the life line" so often during the war. It repre- zented %at flow cd food, clothing, ammunition, reinforcements, and propa-

3 ~ ~~~ ~ ~ consequently, we were constantly reminded of the necessity of an all-out war engaging the energies of the man on the fann, the wife in the home, the children in school, and the workers in the war plant, until all of life was regimented. Our young men were fighting ow war. We could .not go, but they could and did. It was our responsdbility as well as theirs. Getting ahem to the front lines was just the (beginning. The important thing 'was to keep them there and enable them to advance.

Mhions is the divine commission of the Church. The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, bhe mre intensely misio- nary we Ibecome. The church age is drawing to a close. We are writing the &sing chapters of church history. Will it close as it Qpned, in a biaze If glory? The answer depends on us. We are not aeatures of circumstances but creators of them. IndWrence, indolence, inadequacy are everywhere apparent and are coakftions of our own making. Apostasy here is reflected over there. The Church of Jesus Christ must amusw herself, marshaU her forces. and regiment all of her life in a total war. We must stand fast in the faith that works, in love that labors, and in prayer that agonizes. Ws must by mans of this life line cause His I& to flaw as "rivers of living water" to the missionaries In a spiritual and physical uplift so energizing that in reality one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand ta flight. Unless we meet God in a new upsurge of spiritual Me and power, we are doomed to failure at home aria bad.

SPECIAL NOTICE

On Thursday, April 6. Mrs. Herman Dixon was called into the presence of the Lord she lwed sc. well and served 50 faithEully. The Indonesia Mission feels,this loss keenly, and extends to Mr. Dixon and to the bther datives sincere sympathy wibh the earnest prayer that 'God will comfort and sustain them. The next ime of the Pioneer will carry a more detailed account of Mrs. Dixon's ministry in Indonesia.

4 It was on the 17th of Decemher, 1952 that we set sail from Oakland, California on the S.S. Steel Artisan, blissfully unaware of what lay in store for us with ti.* advent of of the New Year. We had watched with interear that evening as the last of the 16 ton Navy trucks and 12 tqn tanks of asphalt were loaded and lashed to the deck In preparation for the usual 16 day 2 hour run to Manila. The barges and cranes had hardly ldt the ship's side, before we were heading out thrmgh the Golden Gate to the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The weather was beautiful during the following two weeks, and we felt that ir was good 10 be alive. We watched the activities on the ship wit4 interest and questioned the ,officers at every opprtundy. Each morninq we noticed the deck crew slowly w.orking their way between !he deck cargo as they tightened the lashings and made sure everything was securz. Everything was going so smoothly it seemed that this was only routineto ,,put in time", so to speak. Christmas came and went, with a fairly well attended carol service id our cabin on Christmas Eve, and a groaning table sprend on Christmas Day. The next week passed much as the first had done. The other missionary couple on board, Ralph and Aha Romine who were going to Manila, joined us for a watch night senice New Year's Eve, and we sought the face of the Lord for His blessing in the coming yea?. New Year's Day dawned the same as any other day, and yet not the Tame. It seemed the same in every respect, and ye1 we knew it was diffkrent.. Therq was just "some,thing" in the atmosphere that was distinctly odd. We remembered something lata that we had noticed but not consi- dered that morning The sea all around us was firzim: just like soda water.

Since the ship had slowed down until it was barely making any headway. , the sound of the fizzing was distinctly audible. We learned later that this was caused by the extrfmely low barometric pressure, which was 50 low that the air dissolved in the water was released and came tp the surface. The strange sensations we experienced that day were also^ probably zttrihutable to the low pres;ure. During the late morning the sea began "making" for no apparent leason. After the waves had imredsed in size considerably, the wind began to come up with real force. During the remainder of that day and night

5 the wind increased in veleeity while the seas mse. The typhodn.'€O~''su&'it was, continued to, wren through the following day. During the afternmn the waves reached at least thirty feet or mare, and the ship rolled from side to side more than thirty degrees from perpendicular. It was aye-inspirinp to stand in a doorway and look high up to see the top^ of a wave, and then suddenly be able to look forty feet or more to the dep:h of the hollow. We plunged and reared, staggered and rolled, until the simplest nwessities of living were a nighhlie'.

The Romines joined us in our cabin about 6: 30 that night and we called on the Lord fmgrotection and His "Peace, be still." We went to bed and tried to sleep, hut that was impossible-we would have been thrown out of bed had we relaxed enough to sleep. The wind reached 200 m.p.h. and a wave ffty or more feet high went right over the bridge. We went through the "eye" of the typhoon about midnight. It was a dead calm without a breath of air or a rocking wave. We thought for an hour that the stom was ever, but it exploded on us once more with all its fierce intensity. About eight hours later we were out on the hinges once more, thankful no lives were lost, and only a few slight injuries sustained by one officer.

The ship and cargo did not fare so well. Fourteen tanks of asphalt containing 3000 gallons each were washed overboard. One of the trucks, lashed down with inch cables, along with other pieces of military equipment were washed overboard. Seven booms were bent and two winches were knocked off their bases, one going overboard. A number of .tanks Qf tar,in the holds were mashed, and the'resultant mess was indexribable. Wr- tunately, none of our things wire damaged in the storm. .

In the 107th Psalm there is a passage which has become ouis in a very Gal way through this experiyce: .'Thy fiat go down to the sea in ships ...... __..__these see the wTks of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep For ho commandeth. and qeiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the wavrs ' the,reof. They mount up, to heaven, bhey 90 down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of-tmuble. They reel to am$ fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their .wit's end. Then they cry qtn the Lord in their trouble, and he brdgeth 'them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves are still. Thenrire th6.y glad because bhey be quiet.;^ ,so he bringeth them ,qQthek desired haven. OH ,THAT MEN WOULD PRAISE !lWE LCZW FOR Hjs.~GOOpw,AND.:FOR HIS , , _I,>_.* 1 WONDERFUL WORKS ,%€k I2-E CHILDREN OF "IEN !" ' ~,

6 Report

R. R. Rudes

Hivmg left Long Bia in our ,big prau on the 29th of September, all during the month of October, 1952, We &%in that same familiar position of sitting knees to chin in a Dyak dugout canoe, known to us as a prau. Not until tho very last day of October were we freed from that situation. Here are a few things that we experienced during those long days making our way up the Kijan River from Long Bia to Long Nawang. ,, We gd a bad start. On the +irst and second days we wer% at the same 1ocat:on because the river was flooding. We were at Long Uesahan (three days trip zbovc Long Bia). Sade of our paddlers were sleeping in the remains of what used to he a ma% langbuse. Q?e were ,in ou bivauac shelter, praying that the rain would ceaii."'l" did, and on the third day of the nionth we wnre on our way again. The water was still high, but we ,wire ?ble',to move along,slowly. That day we'made-camp just past the Bahau River. The. paddlers wanted to stop short of my anticipated destipatiog. . This ,would have, put us in danger of the flood waters ef the .Ba;hsu, thus causing,us further delay. , So I pressed them OD, and by 5 :00 P.Y.WE were able to pass the Bahau and feel that we, had left onn,bjg enemy behind. The coolies felt that I had been a little hard-on them, but

8 pawd .the biggest ,oi.tho..r~p~ds;~'.some.,&&.stkigg.esl ,side -sbrmnrs. and,-w,e realized that we were within a week of HOME.

Visiting our Christians a< ye made OUT way upstwa?, we testifid of the Lord's power to keep us. We thanked them for praying for us while we sere gone, and we listened to their testimonies of Wis keeping power for them a5 well.

. About 3:30'an the 30th of actober (32 days after leaving Long Bia), we rounded the last bend in the river, and Tandjong Zending came into full view. We hastened to open our house, our men began to bri$ up supplies, and by 5 :00 P.M. the new arsy of 21 men had sent their delegation to welcome us hme. We weren't ready to receive them, but they were anxious to recwve us, w) they came.

What 3 year it has been ! I feel a short resume is m order : WHXRZ WAS BUDS IN '52?

,January 5th we went to Long Ria for the regional conference~ofthe church. I arrived back in the district on April 22. Ruth was still at Long Bia md traveled to Makassar, Singapore, and back to,Bia. I again left Long Nawang on June 12, arriving hack at Long Nawang with Ruxh on October 30, having been to Makassar for conference. To make these two trips I had sat for 93 days in a prau. Out of 12 months, only 3 were spent in the district. Out of 12 months, 9 were spent on the river or in,making plans for and taking two trips. This was the cost in human energy of two trips to the coast. Prsu travel cost 15m rupiahs. ,

Spiritually, the year has been'equally hard. Of the 15 MtiOnd workers, one fell into sin and had to be dismissed. Two large houses of Christians at Nahakramel backslid into their old heathen practices. But the blessings have been manifold. In our own lives, the Lord brought us to' decisiom that have refined our spiritual experience. In His strength we have been able to do the impossible. A& any Dyak of the Apo Kajan, and he will tsll You that four trips in a lifetime to the coast and you're am old man. TWO hundred and eleven have been baptized in the past year, even though there was no minister to travel the district for this purpose. Three thousand three hundred rupiahs have come into churches that a year ,and .i half ago did not know haw to give to the Lord. Two hundred forty-six Dyaks turned fi-om their heathen worship to follow the Lord. Five new workers came to fill up the ranks. Seven hundred fifty-one services weye held by 13 wailers in the last quarter of the year as compared to 259 reported in thc krrt quarter by 8 workers. For all these thingi we say. "Thank you, Lord Jesus ! ! Amen !"

9 As a child I can remember how frightened I was of old empty houses which I thought could be haunted. Now we are living in a house which many of our neighbors say is "HAUNTED". If my bld friend "Regie" could read this he would remembef how ne connived to "rare the wits" out of me as a teenager with tales of ghosts and Supernatural things, but his stories are nothing to those told by our new fTi6nd.s but here.-But perhaps you ask, "The Christians. dd not believe those things, do they?" That is what I thought, for superstitions fall by the wayside when we accept Christ as our Saviour. However, these are more than superstitiins to 0;s .brothers and sisters in Christ here. These things are real 2nd aetmiicne'of the, national workers said, "We eamot understand the power of bur enemy. Perhaps_...... _." Would you like to listen to one of ,these stories 7 '"Oh, Tuan, last night about midnight, I wanted to let water into my rice field. As I went out of the house my mother followed me',and as we stood there for a moment wc saw a light from the east of the rice field. We thought it was a,fisherman looking for eels, but then we saw another light come from the west. As we watched, these two lights joined together Bnd made one rather brilliant lig!it which moved back and forth. This is the king of these spirits that we have bem Wlling you about. We were afraid to go any nearer, but we stood for aiinost in hour watchihg. This man in the form of a light has power to hu;t and to kill, but we try not to sin against him so that he will not harm us.'' . According to these stories, there are people who have the power 3f changing their forms. They can become any object, and in the night when zameone finds one of these things, unless he leaves it alone and quickly l&es that place, he is in great danger. For instance they can take on the shape ,of a cocoanut. A man seeing it thinks it has been dropped in error, and so picks it np. This personage in the form of the cocoanut has power to attack the man who has inadvertently picked it (him) up. According to the talk, we live near this king. Of course, being strangers, we had no idea of our close proximity to this one, until one night a lady from the church was here. We had been talking of these things during the day, and as I couldn't explain such "goings on" I began asking her questions. She talked rather freely for a while, and then all of a sudden refused to say

10 more. Why? She-had forgotten she Gas at our ho&. thinking instead sbc was at her own home, She whispered,.”th? king lives near here”. Do you scoff at these things? I did! But now that we are living here in Bali, we know mpre of ”the power of the king of this world” than we did in America or than we did even in Sumbawa. Scoff if you will, but pray, and Pray and PRAY for us as we minister here. ? May the Light of the World, and the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, shine through us and into the hearts of, these who are still in darkness. How deep and how dark is this spiritual abyss, we foreigners do not know.

Mr. and Mrs. Bliss with Balinese Christians

11 ~l~~i~l~ilu~~~llui~m~~urnurmlll~~ii~lli~u~~m~u~ii~uuimlium~~uluui~~i~ll~l~ul~umli~~~lilil~~~ll~u~inl~ull~~~ii~~~~il~~ .s ,I I Is I tE- Our Piayer Requesfs g - I z- I I I ~~iii~uumiiii~mii.auuuii~iiiiiiuiiiiuniiiiii~iinu~iimiiiuiiiiimiii~i~i~~uunu~niuul~~niiiii~umiiuiinuiiiiii~iii~~iiiui~iiuiniN

_..._._.... for the new school term which begirs at the Lona Bia Bible School, East Kalimantan, the middle of May.

' ....._.....for a restful furlough fsr the Sehisler family and.for Miss I ,,', Shantidan. ' $3

...... _.for a missionary Couple to,be sent to,the Pudjungan District. Pray.fur the national workers in charge who have, not had any.'supervision , ,, for two years...... __.for Rev. Ivan Lay and his family, who have just gone to the Sesajap Distrkt,

for the church in Nanga Pinoh, West Kalimantan, Pray that a Chinese pastor qay he obtained from Hongkong and that thefe will be no - difficulty in obtaining a visa for this Chinese :couple.

...... for the Ulrich famdy, who have gone to New Gaine?' to work with.tne plane there,

_._...... _..for the apporntment of Rev. and NLs. Gordon Chapman in August or Srptember upon the completion of their language study.

...... for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon the mission- aries and the three pastors in Bali. Pray for two new missionary couples for Bdi.

...... for the fourteen graduates who have just left the Long Bia rhool. Five have gone to Ap Kajan, five to the Mdahakam, one to the Sesajap, and four to the Pudjungan.

...... for all Christians, that they may be powerful evangels of the Gospa ; for an evangelistic effort; for a burden for souls ; for a realization of iheir iesponsibility to b., "watchmen"; warning ,$hepeople.

12 "For ten yean we have been like sheep without a shepherd. Won't you come OVLT and teach us, and see what can be done to provide us with a pastor?" This was the message and request contained in a letter receivqd b) Guru P. Parara from the churches of Tamab&,'BerOng, and Kemar located on the upper Teweh River. Before 'World War IL these churches were Our rerwnsibility: their inception and establishment having been the res'ult of our 'missionaries' efforts as,weU:as the endeavori of our gurus. During the Japanese occupation the area was reapportioned and these three churches became the responsibility of the Basel Mission with headquarters ki Bandjenasin. However, 'mg.the-period since t-r, the Basel Mission has been unabl2 to provide a guru; thus the churches have come with' a, request to "their old father'' for help.

Ourhearts rejoiced to see that these people with only an annuai. viait from the leader of their mission weie still steadfast .the faith, having continued their weekly scheduh'of services through the years without fail. Oi course,^ they were carnal Christians, and yet Godk childre?, hungry for the truth and power of the Holy Ghost, What a joy it was to teach them that Jesus was their Sanctifier as well as-their Saviour. and that it was His .will to clek~~ehr,by His sanctifying power. The Holy Spirit was present in the services in a woderful way. Most ofthe congregarion moved forward and bowed in prayer at the altar to confess arid repenb'of theit sins There . were confessions of deceit, lying, adultery, and k&oking. How it thrilled our hearts to hear there dear foh ask forgivene;s.'of the Lord,. and +ify afterwards of repentanoe. .

,I E5npthe ~e?~le,,.~~,~~~a=e?~y~nrvk head a message mf sanctifi- cation. It was received with consternation. However, the power of Gb3 was marvelous. and nearly the whole congregation o€ some seventy souls crowded around the altar. God gave real victory over sin in that place. Many testified fiankly of their deliverance from tobacco and betel-nut chewing.

Our host, Naking, and his wife, who are accepted as the spiritual leaders of the village. also were released fmm the bondage of sin. Durinp the three days that we enjoyed their hospitality, they testified frequentlyito thei:

1.3 ,, , ,., , fi fends of the joy of their deliverance from the tobacco and betel-nit habit- The Lord gave these folks a radiance that I shall never forget. Mr. Naking begged us to .continue with them for ten days more. However, we had to 'y on and were very graciously escorted to- Kemar by our host and hostess. ksving had dinner, our friends asked if they might listen to the gospel songs on the phonograph once more. Of course, this request was granted gladly. As they listened to "Come Home, Come Home". and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" ii the Malay l$n~uuage,..Mrs,Naking was Tiping the tears ,with her sarong. In departing to return to Berong they said, "Please, dan't forget us; pray for us that the Lord will supply a pastor. Come again as soon as you can. In the meantime please send us an occasional lettm of instruction and consolation." Dear reader, won't you please pray with us that God will supply a spirit-filled pastor for, these three' hungry churches. "The harvest truly 1s plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his .harvest." Mt. 9:37,38.

Leaving the Sunday mwning service, Makassar

14 One of the most important tasks in building a shng indigenous national church is that of instructing believers in the Word. After men and women are-brought from darkness into the marvelous light of the after ' Gospel, they ,have ken made new creabures in Hh, they must feed on t,he Word c2 Gol. But consider for a moment che many pe&e in Indonesia who have neve7 had such ,privileges as most of us have known, those who are illiterate. IEave you ever tried to imagine Urnat it would be lie not to be ahlc to read an,d write? Tkre are many in this archipelago who have heard the Word and believed, but they must depend on ti30 national. worker for their spiritual food. Some of these illiterate people have diligently memorized portions of the Word. When Dr. Laubach visited M.akassar in 1950; eharts and beginnws' readers were prepared for literacy work. :These are being used in same parts of the field by missionaries and national workers in an effort to combat illiteracy in the local churches. Day after day people come in the book store asking for New Testaments, but for the past month there'have heen no New Testaments to.meet this demand. The Bible in Indonesia 1s published in two volumes, an'Old Testa- ment and a New Testament. Our last order for New Testament has not yet been filled because tho Indonesian army personme1 is being supplied. Pray that quickly the supply of New Testaments will be sufficient to meet the nwd. Pray too that many more people will be led to &sit the book store which now is located on a busy corner. Many of Dr. Jaffray's co-entaries are .on sale. Next to the Bible, a song hook is vkry helpful in the worship services. At the present the sixth edition of a smaU songbook with words, but -10 music, is being printed. Progress has been made on thr trinsiation of "Hymns of the Christian Life" but this is the-consuming work. and we trust you will pray that thts hook which will be printed with the music may soon be isady. A song^ book in the lwal dialect is now being prepared for the Sesayap district. In instructing a new church to become indigenous, it is important that they know how to tithe. A tract presenting this truth has been translated and will soon be off the press ready for distribution. Ask the Lord to bless the ministry of this tract.

. 15 ,~a-d?:+po;(i~nity- <&,"~+ta*,'~eScorry *f ,, great man of faith which has challenged your faith and been an encouraga- ment to you. "An Hour With George .Mulle,?' has be? translated into the Indonesian language.' This will' surely be a .great, encouragement to the Indonesian believers and we hope it can be ready for distribution soon.

Think of all the helps avaiizbie to Christian workers and paswrs 2t -.fiere is no conmrdance as yet .in ,Iadonesian, but Qne of the missie- Fries is working on this now. Sunday School lessons have beeh prepared foi the wdrkek. There are fifty-two'iessons frbm the Old Testament id this first -m.@og?aphed book. A doctrine book is about ready for printing and it will be ireit value to the nationd work&. , , . ~ .. of ,, , The last issue of the PIONF3X told of Mr. Pouw's passing away. Tha faithful service rendered by this-faithful maw is keenly missed and we a*L you to join us in prayer that th.Lord :will raise up the man of His choice tn take up ths responsibilities of: editing the KALkM -HISUP or' Bible Magazin9 in the Indonesian, language. This magazine has a far-reaching ministry as it^ goes Out ta' parts, of. ,these islands where our missionaries have never gone. At the pres&t time translations of "The Holy Spirit or Power From On High" are being published every month in this magazine.

God has given us consecrated workers in this phase of the work, but wo must continue to call upon Him to thrust forth,more laborem into this needy part of the whitened harvest field - that of giving forth His Word by the printed page.

The Pioneer comes to you as a.giir from the missionary whose name appeam on the wrapper. ThePost of prblieation and mailing is borne by the same missionary. If you wish to help share in this expeue, send your .gZt bo the missionary of your choice at 260 W. 44th Street, New York 36, New Yo&. Mark it : "Special - for the Pioneer."

Pioneer staff for this issue : Elaine Ulrich, Editor Ed Ulrich, Art Editor Vonnie Morscheek

~ ~ Lois Boeh;rke

16 Let us Go

1. E. Lay

"And Jesus said unto them Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore come I forth". Mark k38. The words, "Let us go", may be heard or spoken by us very often, but ihere will not be the same urgent meaning as they had when Jesus used them. The child who is playing may use them to urge a playmate to join in some game. The young perron may be seeking the company of a friend Lo join in a time of sport 0; even to go to a young people's meeting. The oldrr person may use them as a challenge to the younger person to go on into some greater experience. The words call for action. They are a chailenge to mne partmlar action. Jesus used these words to, call His disciples' attention to the acepe of His ministry as well as to challenge them to action. His ministry was ncr to be confined to a great work ii one town, state, or country, but "Let us go ink the next towns, that I may preach there also; for therefore came I forth". How He must fed today when He sees many towns - small native villages - still waiting for the Gospel! Remember, "we are ambassador% for Christ!'' Ambassadors are sent only' when the one whom they represent cannot be visibly present. Do you as His ambassador hear Him saying, "Let us go"? He desires to go and iswaitmg ,,to go into the next .towns", but He must wait for someone who is willing to receive the challenge and GO. What an eneouragemht these words are to us at this time! When 'wc think of the great meeds in the Sesayap, we malire that the work is tW 'much for us, but the words ring out, "LET U3 GO". We will not be alone .when we leave Makassar in May to make the slow trip to Long Beraw. Praise His Name! Day after day as we go up over the many rapids the worda

17 can still be heard "Let us go" and "Lo I am with you always". There is no room for doubt or fear as we go forth to help, the native church pet established. W,e hear the Lord saying to us "Let us go", and it means with our physical bodies, personally, but God may have you go in another way. especially in prayer.

The words, "Let us go", are a great challenge. Let me explain quickly why they are such a challenge to us. The native church is esla'blished among about 11,000 Dyaks in the western part of th,e Sesayap. There are abour 4,000 Christians in these villages because Jesus found someone a few years ago who was willing to go into these villages with the Gospel. Jesus has called out a people lor Himself,, but there are yet 25,000 Dyiks in the Sesayap area who are still waiting. We believe Jesus is saying to: us, to the native church in the Sesayap, and to you, "Let us go ,also into^ the next towns". These Dyaks are in tbe Sembakung River mea where there has been no extended evangelistic effort. Same villages have had two or mire visirs while some have had none during tho past twenty, years.

A second reason why we fe,el that God desires to go into these villages IS the result of a work of God in the life of a young man from the Semba- kung River area. This young man is now in another section of East Kali- mantan (Borneo) training to become a school teacher. The school he is attending IS located in the Mahakam District where our mission is working. After entering this school, he heard the Gospel through one of our native ' pastors and accepted Christ as his Saviour. He wrote to his family telling of his experience and explaining the way of salvation. Recently, he has received a l&tir~from them stating their desire to become Christians. Here is an example of hearts ivho are hungry for the Gospel. Shall we fail them? How 'it burdens our hearts to thmk they have no hope in their heathmism! The native church will demand most of our time, so that we will have very little ,tie to make, trips. into this pioneer area, but God is able to open up P way. Pray that the native church will catch the vision! Pray that we will not fail God in His call as.He is saying to you and to us, "LET US GO". What w4we say? Will we take up the challenge and say as Isaiah, "Here , am I send ME"?

a,

A NEW A~ENAL

We are happy to amcunce the birthof a daughter, Lynne Meredith, b ,Mr.and Mrs. E. W. UIrieh on Wednesday, April 1, 1953, at Labuang Qdii Horpital, Makassar. Pray for the Uhichs as they leave for New Guinea *a take up work with the plane.. Their address will be : Sentani Air Sirip, Holhdia,,New. Guinea.

18 To describe a typical day at the clinic is almost an impossibility-just as me cannot plan a regular schedule or routine. The Dyak knows very little about the meaning of time or discipline and very seldom is upset if me- thing does not work out as previously planned. His time element is according to seasons only ; time to make a rice field, time to harvest, pig season, fruit season, ek. Thus his little world circles around the& events and very little thought is given for the future.

Since 'the Dyak 1s not accustomed to making and keeping appointment:, working certain houn every day, or planning ahead of time, it is difficult for him to understand why he must come at a certain time to receive medicine. He thinks it is pdectly all right to come to the house at any hour he has a need even though the clinic is open every afternoon for an hour and a half. When asked why he did not come to the clinic when it was open, the usual response is, "Oh, I did not have time this afternoon", or "I went hunting", or "I forgot to come", or "I had, other wrk to do". For quite a while it was v"y difficult for me to refuse them when they came to the house, and the Dyaks knew Nona (name used for single.girls) would give them the medicine. Health halbits tC the Dyak have no meaning whatsoever. Why should one wash' rice pots, keep the house clean, when they just get dirty again? The rice pot &y be used over and over again without being washed unless a dog comes along and licks out the pot. I have seen dogs eat from dishes of.food set on the floor for children and then the children eat from the same dish&

There have been tirqes when I have visited homes to give medicine and have seen dogs up on the beds (which are just pieces of wood or bamboo elevated from the floor). When I would comment that the dogs should be kept off the bed, I was told that the dog deans b after a child or an adult vomits. Quite sanitary, is it got? Then too, if an individual is sick in bed ve.y often he is not given a bath. He lies in his same clothes hr ma& a week or two; Or they go'+o the other extreme and if the children are sick with meaaes, tfiey,will ofbn take them down to the river when they have a very high fever. and bathe then in the ecol water; as a result, many of tbe babies have &e.d +is, yay.

19 Of course it IS natural !or them to .&ink ,rive= water that,has hot been boded and the river has many ises such as washing clothes, bathing, etc. 1.; it any wonder that these people are frequently sick with worms, dysentery: malaria (as flies are plentiful wherever their IS dirt or filth) and tuberculosis (+ they live in dark little houses with very little fresh air or sunshine coming in)?

It 1s good'to know that not all Dyaks live in such unhealthy conditions: Our Dyaks cod from various districts and it seems ,that those who live nearer the, coast cities have been influenced by a little better standard of living than those who come from way in the interior. But they have much to learn yet. as even our Christian Dyaks me still greatly affected by thei;, old customs and habits of living.

In the giving out of medicine, we can give only,enough for a day at' a time. We have had previous experiences of giv& larger amounts of medicine so that they would not have to come back every day, but the medic+ was rot taken as advised. They would either take too much, or would save the medicine and use it another time, sometimes mixing it with medicines which should not be taken together. Many of them are not accustomed to medical care so we must be very patient in teaching them. Sometimes I have found that d the medicine does not help them immediately, they go back to their own methods and the medicine, we have given is just wasted. We are thankful for the progress that has been made in the past years., There are special classes held for the women in how to.take care of their, homes and children as well as in cooking and sewing. There are also~health. classes taught in the schwl. The Dyaks are appreeiatlve of all that is being done for them and we trust that what they are learning at Bible School wi!l be a basis of establishing good health habits so that they in turn can teach others when they return to their own villages.

BACK ON THE FIELD

In this issue of 'the Pioneer, we aru hawy to extend our hearty welco.rs to a r.umhcr oi (.ur 'missionaries who have returned to the field to take up their work Pfi;.in. These include Rev. and Mrs. .I. Van Patter, Rev. and Mrsi F. Rankin, Miss LUIian Marsh, Mi.;, Margartt Kemp, Mrr. Ellrakth Jackson. adMiss Pauline Royberry. We pray for each ,and all of these a fruithl ministry during this term. We also wkh to welwe Rev. and Mrs. Roger Lewis, who are now i= Makasrzr for .anguage study. Pray for them,

20 s e z g! E z Alor's Awakening 3s z s . . . W. M. Post p s e Iz = ~~l~u~~~~ll~~~~l~~~~~~~~~~~,ll~~~l"l~~~~lllluIIIKuIIIIIlll~llu~u~~~~~~~~~~ul~l~~ll~lLuIIuu~~lluul~ll~ll~~~~llll,~ll~~l~l~ll~~l~"lu~l~~~~l~~"uull~

How God loves to use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise! And the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty! And the base things of the world and things which are despiwd ar.d things which are not to bring to nought things that are!

If someone had ashd us a number of years ago to choose out from our smdent body some young men whom Gad might posstbly use to start a uirite, live, indigenous, self-supporting church in Indonesia, we never wouid have picked anyone from Alor. Students from that island were usually more barkward than the rest. They were poorer, had lower grades, drewd more simply, were mom reticent, and in general occupied a more humble place in our student body. The impression we got was that they did not have qualities of leadership. Several of them could not even get grades high enough to graduate. And yet God has chosen to use men like these to bring about a spiritual awakening an their own island which has resulted in the establishing of a wholly indigenous church, spontanoausly, without the hel;, ct the Mission or II missionary. We have not yet seen anything like it in Indonesia.

God has used these humble instruments to question and break Satan's sway and power on Alor, to call between five and six thousand souls from darkness into light, to overcome persecution and opposition, and to show His powe,r, so that not only did nominal Christian officials sit up and take notice but also local Mohammedan officials acknowledged the work of God and became hearty supporters of the movement.

'Ah is a small island belonging to the Lesser Sunda Group and lies approximately 450 miles east by southeast from Makassar. It has a population of almost 100,000 people who are of mixed Malay and Polynesian stock. Racially, the Alorese are one of the more backward races, and many who leave their homeland usually work as house-servants or perform the more humble tasks of life. Corn, rice and tapioca are grown plenfiully and form the staff of lif~of the people.

Shortly after the war several reports came to us of a movement going on in Ah, though we got few details. But in 1951 we began receivin:

21 repeated invitations fmm some of our former Bible School students to visit the islad and to dedicate the church they were plsnning to build. Not wishing to trespass on the territory of ano&w Mission or church, we consistently begged off, since we have always strictly observed Mission comity. Our Alorese brethren, like the importunate widow, kept repeatine their requests and finally sent two of their leaders, Messrs. Laans and Peni, to Makassar io fetch us, and who waited more than a month with us f%- the next t&t. Se,elng such persistence, and after pray'er and waiting oil the Lord,.we felt that this was of Him, EO could refuse no longer. Besides,' the Alorbse church offersd to pay all of our travelling expe?ses, expressing their readirers lo let us go part w2y by plane, if necessary. This is the first time :n o~rexperience thzt any Indonesian church has ever offered :o pay, our travelling costs. So on December 11th Rev. S. Udis, one of OUT rLtional church leaders, our two brethren from Alor and I left Makassar by ship for Kupinf. from whers we were to travel the rest of the distance by motorboat. Because of poor connections we had a ten-day wait in Kupang, one of the provincml cspitals. 50 did not get to Alor until December 27th. On our arrival at the harbor of Knlabahi we wero astonished to see at least a thourand Christians mho had walked the three miles from the central church to welcome us. When we came to the church we found a fine brik building more ihan 80 feet long and 36 feet wide, with cement floor an3 tiled roof, built at a cortof 45,000 rupiahs ($ 400) 2nd financed entirely hv the Aloreae Christians. Christianity first came to Alor ~n 1910 when soldiers from Ambon and other Christian islands were stationed there. Later some schools were opened with Christian school teachers in charge. These men usually had some! religious training too, and often held down two jobs, that of school teacher and pastor of the church. They worked under the direction of the State church but were paid by the colonial government, According to reports, between 1920-1930 a mass movement took place in Alor when 'thousands bere baptized by the missionary of the State chuFch (also paad by the government), apparently without sufficient instruction. It appears ihat little or no emphasis was placed an tho necessity 01 conversion and the new birth. TOT of a clean break with heathnism. The, Protestant Christians who now made up 75% of the population still worshipped idols, praetistd witchcraft, and retained other heathen customs. They had become Christians only in name. aut the Alor church was made pa?& a larger church organization set UF for'the whole area including the islands of Timor, Rotti and Saw, and was called the Timor Church. After the war this church has been made A:> astonomaus body, but it is having much financial difficulty. Since all the pastors were formerly paid by the government the Christ!-r.s were nwer taught to give, so that now they are finding it very

22 >ad to secure support for their pastors. Some of the Indonesian leaders are aware of their problems but are unable to do anything about it. Only s real spiritual awakening can remedy this situation, and that is just what God has been doing on Alor. When the Japanese overran Indonesia early in 1942 and our missionaries %pie Interned, most of the students who were left stranded in Makasssr rought ways and means to return to their homes. Six Alorese young men ->ere able to board a small native sailing vessel which already had 1W pnssengers bound for Flores, a neighboring island. Though their watsc supply ran out enroute when contrary winds delayed their arrival, they finally reache,d Flores safely and soon these six young men got home to Alor. Arriving at their village, several of them immediately began workin2 with the State church and started prayer-meeting. It was not long before thhy realized that their people weIe still worshiping idols and were firmly b.eld under the powm of Satan. Actually, the whok island was still unde; the devil’s sway and he was worshipped by all religious groups - Roman Catholic, Moslem and Protestant. Nor had anyone yet successfully opposed his power or authority. It was customary for each wllage to have its own xhl, and anyone visiting the village was obliged to make an offering of rice, corn or a chicken to the idol before daring to eat any food offered by on.-. pi the villagers. Should anyone dare to disregard this rite, he would g’?r stomachache, contract a disease or meet with some dire calamity. At hamest time all the people offered the firstfruits to this i’dd. After these young men had held nightly prayer-meetings f3r four solid months one of them announced that they had prayed enough, it was now time to act. They would cast away the village idol. Remem!bermg that a former witch doctor had gone insane when a Protestant pajtor had tried to cast out this idol, many of the people were still fearful But that pastor had tried to effect this by using witchcraft, so no wonder he failed. They therefore set aside a day and spent the morning alternately exhorting thc people and praying, beseeching God for His protection. One of them addressed the people and said, ”If anyone here is not fully in accsrd with this. you had better leave this place lest Satan attack you. But you need hae no fear because the power of Christ is grester than the power of S2t;n.” It was so quint in the gathering one could hear a pin drop, and some of the people were trembling from fear. Then a group of youag men went boldly to th,e idol house, took down the idol (a small wooden statue kept in a taskel), and placed it on a bsinho bench. Ordinarily this idol could only Ee handled by the witch doctor. A’ New Testament was then plaoed on it ani prayer was offered, after which the idol was taken outside 0: the village and burned. To the amazement of all, no one was hurt or soffered ary calamity whatever. No one before had ever dared todo thk. Whn LZ was clearly evident that Satan’s power was broken, other villager asked to have their idols destroyed. The young men from the Bibk

23 Schwl-instructed them, prayed with the people and cast out their id&. Other Timor Church members went to their own pastors to ask them to east out their idols, but the paers said,, "We do not dare to do' it. "You had better go to the Makassar teachors". So they too were helped and thus the movement grew in influence and numbers. When the Church pastors saw that all the people began to foHow the Makassar Wble School students and their own congegations were dwindlini: and vanishing, they began persecuting them. And strangely enough, everyone begzn referring to this movement as "The Mission" (meaning of COUISC. the Alliance MLsion), 10 ddistinpuJsh it from ,the, Timor Church No member of our Mission however, as yet knew anything about it. The Church teachers accused the Mission workers to the Japanese official saying(, "Tun, our church is a Japanese chuh and we* are loyal to the government. These men from Makzsrar are an American church and are oiqosing the goCernment." The Jasanese immediately called six of the Mission leaders to appear and according 'to Japanese procedure, beat them half-dead before boginning to examine them. Only one of the SIX,Mr. Lama. still remained standing. The Japanese official then asked him, "Is it true that you are opposing the government ?" "No", he answered, "we are not opposing tho government. It is true that we were taught by Americans'in Makassar, but they only taught us the GospcI and never spoke akut politics." He then went on to explain what they had done and why the Timor Church teachers were accusing them. "Oh", said the official, "if that's the case, I made a mistake,' I am sorry." He then arranged a meeting of the two group and made peace, But it was only a temporary peace. Every available omortunity was used to bring discredit upon the Makansar brethren and to hinder the pmgress of thr. Gospel...... To be contin,u+.

THE INDONESIA MISSION of the (HRISTIAN AND MtSSlONARY ALLIANCE Djalan Ladjangiru 81, Makarrar,Sulaweri. Indonesia. 1.. Wesley Brill, Board Representative

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