Lisu Diary

When Lily wrote you yesterday we were still in China and therefore she used some coded language to describe a summary of our last week. Now that we are in Thailand wrapping up our trip we can return to more open communication.

Needless to say we witnessed up close and personal the wonderful work that the Lord is doing among the Lisu people in the Salween Valley along the Burmese border. The highlight was the Easter Convention. Jesse, the Chairman of the Lisu 3-Self Church (explained later) gave a message on the historicity of the resurrection that could have been given word for word in any evangelical congregation in the US. The sanctuary was packed shoulder to shoulder on Sunday morning with people who had traveled in from 14 neighboring villages with bedding and food to stay a few days. If the weather had permitted there would have twice the crowd. The people intently took notes on the message, sang from their Lisu hymnal, and performed rhythmic movements to music celebrating the resurrection. The service lasted 3 hours, but who cared.

We had the privilege of being introduced to and conversing with key leaders of the Lisu church, hearing their personal stories of coming to faith, visiting their homes and churches, and witnessing their dedication to taking the gospel to their neighbors, other people groups, etc. What is truly impressive is the training program for their leaders that is built on a multiplication process. Ten key leaders have gone through a 9 session training of 3 weeks each, who then become the trainers of other up and coming leaders/pastors and lay leaders as well. Being subsistence farmers this is quite a sacrifice to come to a bible school for 3 weeks instead of providing for their families.

Our team spent some good time this morning putting some comments on video as Don Leonard captured our remarks. We then charted out the presentation we are looking forward to making to all of you. Thanks so much for your prayers and support. We felt you with us. We have stayed healthy so far and look forward to seeing you, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Lily is writing this entry to give a different perspective:

We started on our journey to the Salween Valley last Friday after a short delay because I managed to gash my knee on the hotel steps just as we were departing. Providentially, Dr. J (and Ruth) who met up with us the night before was able to expertly bandage it, and we were on our way. Travel days are long (10-12 hours) because of unexpected delays: sporadic construction projects, cows who stray onto the roadway, geese who refuse to move, and market days crowding the road with stalls and shoppers. Thankfully the biggest challenge of the road trip
has been learning to use the roadside toilets.

On Saturday morning there was a special family gathering for us in Liukhu. This branch of the family loved to sing, and as we drove into the courtyard young and old lined up to greet us with song. There was a short concert of family favorites, some of which we knew, but also songs which were new to us.

Arriving in Gongshan Saturday night, the other team members went on up to the home where a special family reunion was already in progress. I stayed at the hotel to rest my knee. There was dancing, singing, and storytelling and eating that went late into the night. The next morning I joined in the festivities, and it was truly a joyous occasion. We were each given an opportunity to give our greetings, and there was more dancing, more singing, and more storytelling. When we left, all 400 people at the reunion lined up to say goodbye to each of us personally. What love they have for us!

We spent the next two days visiting two families in the Gongshan area. It was great to see their homes and how they live. Even though their lives are very different, our family connection binds us--as they say, blood is thicker than water!

The only disappointment we have had is that we were unable to share with our relatives the video that we brought with us because of circumstantial problems. We did leave the DVD with them, so they will have an opportunity to view it at a later time.

Wednesday and Thursday were travel days back to Kumming. As we chatted on the bus, it is evident that we return with full hearts and excitement for our branch of the family here.

Tomorrow we will do some sightseeing and will spend time debriefing the trip.

We just wanted you to know that accessing the internet for the next week will most likely be problematic. So if you don't hear from us that is the reason. Please pray for safety on the road through the mountain passes. Pray also for us as we will be in a confined space on a van daily, and that we can build our lives together as a team.

Now the real ministry begins. A short flight (1:30) from Chiang Mai to Kunming, capital of the Yunnan Province, has positioned us for our road tour that we will be on for the next 7 days. Bobby Morse will be our tour guide, accompanied by his wife Tassanee. Our team was completed when Ruth and J. Knipmeyer flew from Shanghai to Kunming and met us at the airport.

The highlight of our day was meeting with Eugene Morse, Bobby's uncle, who will turn 87 in two weeks. Eugene was the author of Exodus to Hidden Valley which tells the story of the Morse family exile in an unauthorized area between Burma and India for nearly 7 years, living off the land and their own wits and ingenuity. Eugene as a 5-6 year old actually had some memory of Greg's grandparents who were serving with the Morse's in Batang. He regaled us with stories of their WWII efforts to rescue pilots who planes did not make it over the "hump". The members of the Lisu and Rwang tribes were mobilized to provide safe passage for the survivors. What a treat to meet one of the hidden heroes of the faith.

I want you to know that we have made a change of plans over the last couple of weeks. Originally we were intending to return to Batang, the site where Greg's and Bobby's grandparents served. We have decided not to tack that on to the end of our trip primarily because of the logistic strain after an already full week of travel by bus and so we can linger longer at various sites as we meet with Lisu Christians

The Lisu Production Team is hard at work. Don Leonard and Bobby Morse have been working closely with Christian members of the Lisu Tribe, primary from Burma to make the first recording of the Visual Bible in Acts. We witnessed selections from Acts 4 that had been carefully recorded in sync with the professional images on screen. Bobby Morse has written the script and his Lisu compatriots did the recording and syncing. We could see immediately the powerful impact that this can and will have throughout the million Lisu in Burma, China, and Northern Thialand. We can hardly wait to see the reaction to the showings we will have. Tomorrow we fly to Kunming, China to start our adventure.

We also had a chance to hear David Morse, Bobby's cousin, describe the updating of the translation of the Lisu Bible that they hope to complete by the end of the year. This will occur along with the notes from the NIV Study Bible. So they will have the first Lisu Study Bible in print soon. When you think of the people who will count in eternity vs. those who count now, the tables will be turned. Donald Trump, who is he? The Morse family is off the charts amazing. To sum it up. What can't be done? This is their attitude. With the Lord anything is possible.