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THE TIBETAN MISSIONARYVol. 3
Chinese New Year
CeremoniesThis Chinese New Year we had
quite a celebration around here in
that the lamas put on quite a show
and even stooped so far as to in
vite the foreigners. We saw through
that, however, as Mr. Woodward
has films and they wanted some
pictures.
You may or may not recall that
some years ago I wrote that I was
taking care of an old lama by thename of Bow Lama who had a
serious heart condition. Well, theyhave found the "absolute reincarna
tion" of this old man in a child of
four. One of my Tibetan friends told
me that this was Bow Lama's resur
rection. It simply sickened me to
hear her say it. I have from time
to time reminded her that there is
but one who really rose from the
dead; and that there is but one
name under heaven given among
men whereby we may be saved, and
yet she will cling to the faith of her;fathers at the expense of eternal
damnation. When they are blind,
how blind they are to the truth.
May God answer our prayers is my•pica for-snrvh.— " "
The celebration was very colorful.
They had a sort of parade from the
old lamasary to the new one. All
the town officials were in the paradeon horseback. Their steeds were all
decked out with beautiful yellowsand reds, etc. The child sat in a
sedan chair beautifully gotten up.
How the Woodwards wished for a
camera with color film. The child
was taken through to the new lama
sary and there was enthroned in the
throne room. What amazed me was
that we, the foreign devils, v/ereIjerniitted to view this throne room.
I asked my friend, Yudreh, if in so
doing, I would give the impression
that I were worshipping. She said
no, it would be just like visiting the
President of the U. S. and payinghim an honorary visit.
In this room, I wished we could
have had the color film. There were
the most wonderful silk and Tibetan
cloth from Hlassah — such fine
weaving I have never seen in Ti
betan things so far. On a beautiful
pedestal, all done in gold, were the
i-emains of the old lama's body,which had been cremated two yearsago.
When we went into the room, myfriend did homage to the youngchild. He had in his hand a scepter
(Continued on page four) I
April, H)47
J I ' fJAi
:"p
Dr. Dare ijiul his inulo on a Tibetan trail.
CHRISTMAS IN CHENGTU
It hardly seems possible that
Christmas is only four days away.
How I wish I could send some little
remembrance to all my many friends
at home, but it seems I will have to
be content with good wishes and
prayers. It is too late even to send
cards, If I had them. i
I guess I will be going out to-1night to hear the "Messiah" sung injEnglish by i Chinese chair. TuRs-|
clay night we are going out to a
Christmas program of some kind.
Wednesday morning, Christinas
Day, they are having their program
here at the mission, and that after
noon a Chinese feast, I think. Then
that evening we go to another pro
gram, and Thursday morning, the
day after Christmas, we will have
our own celebration here in the
Home, with gift giving, etc. That
way we will be celebrating almost
the same time as the folks at home,
because Thursday morning here
would be Wednesday evening at
home.
There is a temple, Buddhist I
think, right next door hei-e and they
have had a continual chanting going
on almost night and day since we
have been here. Sometimes they
have drums and other instruments
accompanying them, but always
there is the vocal repetition of one
or two words over and over again.
I don't see how they keep it up.—
Melba Palmer.
BACK FAMILY SAILING
A telegram has just been re
ceived from Ellis Back stating
that they are sailing on the General Gordon, May thirtieth fromSan Francisco.
MELBA PALMER'S HEALTH
IMPROVEDI am just now recovering from an
attack of typhus. Am able to be up
now, but am still quite weak and
wobbly, and tire very easily. Also I
have a bad bronchial cough that
interferes with my sleep and wears
me out during the day as well. I
still have breakfast in bed and take
my time dressing, then spend the
day sitting by the dining room stove
writing letters. 1 am trying to catch
up on my correnpondence while I'm
still unable to do the many other
things waiting to be done; but my
brain doesn't function too well yet
and I tire so easily that my progress
is rather slow.
I have been so thankful that this
illness came while I was here, where
there are good doctors and hospital
facilities available. I did not go to
the hospital because it is in the
hands of the Chinese and they serve
only Chinese food and give very
poor care. Instead I was taken into
a doctor's home that was near the
hospital so my doctor could keep In
touch with me. I had inexperienced
nursing care, but the two doctorsdid well by me, so I got along very
well. I was there only nine days—•
was taken over and brought back in
an ambulance. (Written January
26th.)
I seem to be improving now, and
have been able to start doing things
toward getting ready to go on to
Kangtiiig; but I've liad to go back
to bed several times clue to compli
cations as a result of the cold I got
while I had typhus. The last few
days I have been much better, but
this morning I feel as if I would
like to go hack to bed again. Since
I am so much stronger, perhaps I'll
(Continued on page three)
Pago 2
THE TBETAN MISSIONARY
Issued Bl-Monthly
Editor—Miss Melba Palmer, Batang,Sikang, West China.
Associate Editor—Mrs. Arthur H.
Schaal, 6709 Pljrmouth Ave., University City 14, Missouri.
Missionaries—^Miss Gladys P. Sch-wake, R. N., and Miss Melba Palmer, Batang, Sikang, West China.
Missionaries on Furlough—Mr. andMrs. Edgar Nichols, 4902 PrattSt., Omaha 4, Nebraska.
Former Missionaries—Dr. and Mrs.
Norton H. Bare, Box 451, Abilene,Texas.
Missionary Recruits—Mr. and Mrs.
Ellis R. Back, 635 Vernon Avenue, Venice, California, and Mr.William O. Rees, 306 S. Fifth St.,San Jose, California.
Forwarding Secretaries — Mrs. Arthur H. Schaal. For Mr. and Mrs.
Ellis R. Back—Mr. J. WycliffeBusch, 931 Scenic Drive, SanBernardino, California. For
Gladys Schwake — Mrs. WilmaWatson, 157 Parkdale Avenue,Buffalo 13, New York.
EDGAR NICHOLS WRITES
Since the last report, I havetraveled a few more thousand mlies,
churches—in Ohio. Illinois,
Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma.Also it has been our privilege to
address the World Volunteers Band
of Cincinnati Bible Seminary and to
speak at the chapel services of Ne
braska Christian College, OzarkBible College, and Midwest Christian College. To visit these BibleColleges, where the word of God istaught in all-its truth and beauty,and to talk to these serious minded
young people, has been a real sourceof inspiration.
However, there are some things
which puzzle us very deeply.
Miss Schwake has been out on the
field for over eight years. She was
willing to stay on alone, knowing
that the Mission buildings would be
occupied by a Government School~ and tTiat much of the fruit ofour
labors would be lost if the station
were left unmanned for only a fewmonths.
Mr. Back, with his family, are
willing and eager to go out and en
dure the hardships and privations
of this field. He has been working
to that end for over a year, pressingon in spite of discouragements and
heartaches. Expecting to sail about
the first of May, they still lack con
siderable in travel funds.
Mr. Rees, the latest recruit, has
his passport and awaits only suffi
THE TIBETAN MISSIONABIT
cient support and travel funds to
enable him to sail.
For ourselves, we have $50.00 permonth pledged towards our support
by the First Christian Church ofLiberal, Kansas, Richard Gardiner,
Pastor.
What puzzles us is whether our
constituency (we dare not say broth
erhood) is indifferent to the sacri
fices made, or whether they havedetermined that the results do not
justify the cost. The latter was the
judgment of the Society, when they
closed the station at Batang. We
are confident that they made a mistake; all of us are wagering our
very lives on the belief that God
wishes the Gospel to be taken to
the Tibetans, but the churches are
apparently voting otherwise.
The fact of the matter is, the Ti
betans are not going to go unevan-
gelized. In recent months there have
arrived at Batang, two workers ofthe World Evangelization Crusade.
The particular emphasis of this
group is to hasten the coming of our
Lord by taking the Gospel to the un-evangelized portions of the earth.
The young couple say that they havebeen immersed and believe in im
mersion and hope that we will be
able to work in harmony on the field.
We most fervently hope so, but have
replied that we take the Bible and
iJL only as all sufficient guide forfaith and practice and that we would
not enter into any comity agreement.
We do not know why these com
plications have occurred, but speak
ing for Miss Schwake, Miss Palmer,Mr. Rees, the Back family and our
selves, "We have done what we
could." It now rests with you, and
by your response you will be voting
whether the Batang district is to be
held for the New Testament Gospel,
as we understand it, or whether a
denominational influence may pre
dominate.—Edgar Nichols.
MISS PALMER MEETS MR. JEN
Mr. Jen, who was the Christian
jpostmaster at Batang during most
of the time I was home and helped
Gladys a great, deal, is working in
the post office hei*e in Chengtu, and
he has come to see me several times.
He has been on the lookout all the
time for prospects of someone for
me to travel with. Yesterday he and
his wife were here to see me again.
He has told me before that he likes
Batang and wants to go back there
sometime. He wants to work for
our mission and was hoping to study
in America first.—Melba Palmer.
THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK
*Tf ye love me, ye will keep mycommandments."—^John 14:15.
Do we love Christ well enough
To do what He commands?
Are we willing, as He asks.
To take Him to all lands?
He gave all to save our souls;His sacrifice was great;
Our price is so small to pay.And do we make Him wait?
Come, friends, let us not delay.As in the days gone by;
Let's take the Gospel to all men.And save them e'er they die.
APPRECIATION
Probably but few of you who readthese lines have thought ot' the timeexpended and the amount of labor
involved in getting this little paperready to be placed in your hands.Both time and work are freelygiven; and I mention them here onlybecause some of you have thought ofit, and have given me more creditthan is my due. As I have my hometo keep for my husband and twoyoung children, it would actually beimpossible for me to do all thechecking of the lists, the addressing,the folding and the wrapping to be
So I am grateful for the help ofMrs. Frank Sedlacek and Miss Fran
ces Mitchell, who have worked con
scientiously every time, and to otherswho have helped when they could,especially Mrs. Williams, Mr. Hender-shot, Mr. Karr, Mrs. Buford and Mr.Jensen who have been able to helpmore regularly than most. To these,I wish to express my thanks in thispublic way—for now I must tell youthat Miss Margaret Spillman, fromthe Chiistian Old People's Home whahelped me with the first number I
put out, and with almost every issuesince, is no longer with us. When wewere preparing the December issue,she worked faithfully all morning,and in the afternoon was taken to
the Christian Hospital, and passed-away on February 26th.
As a sort of little memorial to
her, and that others who are helpingmay have the credit that is due
them, Mrs. Lois Bare has sent me
this little verse:
She presented the "Living sacrifice,"
She "Went about doing good.
Her reward is sure, while His words
endure.
For indeed, "She hath done what
she could."
—Mrs, Arthur H. Schaal.
A LETTER FROM NA-WHAWANG
Dear Mrs. Bare,It has been some time since I have
wanted to write to you, but as I
cannot write English I know you willexcuse me. Miss Schwake does not
speak much Chinese, and as I knowvery little Tibetan or English, I cannot talk to her very much. But now
I have a good teacher who writes
English as I speak to her in Chinese.
Now I would like to tell you aboutour work. On Sunday morning I
help with the Sunday School held intown. There Wang Shiensen (Jo
seph) teaches the words of the
Bible. We pray that those who hearwill believe on the Lord. Now manyof them do not believe because theycannot understand. It is as thoughthey are still little. On Monday wehave a service here (on Ja-po-ding)for teaching the (Jospel. On Fridaywe have a Bible study. There is recently started a weekly servicealong the lines of family worship.Our work will grow, but now it isstill small. Will you please pray tothe Lord for us always, and notforget?
In the old days missionaries came
who had much money. Now we ask
the Lord for what we need that we
mai' dn JTis wQvk ^supply. We long to see the real
Church of Christ extended throughout the Tibetan border country. Wewant to do the Lord's work, but notto become like Martha, doing toomuch for Him and forgetting topray to Him. We want to be like
Mary, for if the Lord does not leadus, our work is nothing. Althoughmen do not love the Lord, He lovesthem and wants their love. He could
strike them and they would cease tolive, but He loves them. We wantHim to watch us work, and we wantto' know that He is pleased.
There is much that I do not k'howand that I want to learn. Write me
a letter, please, and hel)) me to learnmore about the Lord's work. Miss
Schwake tells you about the workhere so I do not need to write youmore about it. I feel that you aremy spiritual mother. Miss Schwake
teaches me spiritual things and helpsus as though we were her children,but she will soon return to the UnitedStates. You are Joseph's mother,and thei-efore, my mother. Pleasewrite to us often. I am studyingEnglish and later I hope I can writeto you myself, but now I cannot.
We received the letter you sent-for Joseph's birthday, and the clothesand bottle of oil. We thank youvery much. There is much more I
(Continued on page four)
THE TIBETAN MISSIONAKY Page S
1 S S I 0 N A R Y
A PRAYERTwinkling stars, bright specks of
light,
That beautify a darkened sky.You seem to watch o'er us each
night.
As kindly angels hovering nigh.
Heavenly Father, shine through our
lives,
As silver stars that glow in space;That we may brighten lonely paths:
And in thy kingdom find a place.
Lord, in the sunset may we see.Amid its splendor golden bright.
Thy glory pictured here on earth.To keep within our hearts thy
light.
.A.S we walk mid trees and flowers,And listen to the songs of birds;
In nature's murmurings may we hearYour love for us in stirring words.
In this dark world of strife and pain.Father, may others see in me,
As I wind my way towards home,
Dear Lord, a likeness unto Thee.
—Dorothy .May Nichols.
MISS SCHWAKE'S
HOMECOMING PLANS
Please give everybody a generalthank you in the paper for their efforts. Tell them now, however, notto try to send any more packages asthe tax is so high. Then, too, I amcoming home, the Lord willing, in ayear. If they want to do some extra
special something, tell them to bank
to my travel fund. When birthdaygifts, etc., come through, pleasebank these, too, for my home journey.
In mother's birthday letter, I gaveher warning that she need not lookfor me this year since Melba is notyet in and the Nichols will not be
here until fall. Some of we older
ones in point of service must stay
on until they have a fair chance to
get the language. It gives me such
pleasure "to know thai God is he.ar-
ing and answering our prayers for
the Backs and the other new re
cruit, Mr. Rees.
I am so sorry that Katherine had
to have the operation and that their
little fellow has bad tonsils. I am
thankful that they are having it
looked after before their coming.
Honestly when one decides for Tibet,
you may well expect the devil to try
to floor you. It seems that everyone
is tried in that v/ay somehow or
other sooner or later. — Glady.s
Jchwalie.
Ba Wang Hang, a recent convert.
A TIBETAN STORY
(From a letter wi-ittcii home byDorothy Nichols while she was
a child on the Tibetan Border.)
Once upon a time there was a man
who had a bag of grain, and being a
poor man he was very happy. That
night he took it home and hung iton the ceiling, then went to bed.
Then he began to think of what
he would do with the grain. "I will
plant the grain and get twenty bags.
Then with half of it, I will buy a
house and with the rest I will buy
cows and sheep and I will become
rich. Then the king will come to
my house and ask for money, but I
will not give him any because he
did not give me any; but I will take
a stick and hit him like this."
The man took up a stick and be
gan to swing it around the room and
he hit the bag of grain and it fell
and hit the man on the head and
killed him.
This is one of the short stories
our teacher told us. Most of them
are long.
MELBA PAL>IEU'S HEALTH
OIFHOVED
(Continued from page one)
he able to avoid it this time. (Writ-
teju February lOtii.)
A young Englishman of the C. I.
M. here in Chengtu had typhus
sometime before I arrived and he
says since he got over it he has felt
better than he had for years he-
fore, so I am hoping I will have the
same reaction when I get over this
cold and all that goes with it. If I
had not gotten the cold while I was
so weak with typhus, I feel sure I
would be in excellent condition now,
too. Tell the folks to keep on pray
ing, and I am sure the Lord willglorify His name in this thing.—
Melbii Palmer.
J'ape 4
CHINESE NEW YEAR
CEREMONIES(Continued from page one)
with which he was schooled to touch
the person so doing. He has two
regents that stood on either side of
him to keep things moving. I was
so struck with the robust little lad
that I tarried a bit to get a better
look at him. My friend called me; I
believe she was afraid I might contaminate him. Ha! Poor little fel
low, he looked so tired, but seemedquite happy "in all this adoration ofthousands.
When we came out of the room,I noticed chat at the door there was
a lama standing there with some
very colorful ribbons, or rather
pieces of cloth stiredded. Those who
wished to take some could. I asked
my friend what they were for andshe said, "Oh, these, if bound about
your neck, will keep you well." Ijust looked at her in open astonishment for at that very time I was
nursing her. I thought well then, Ineed not expect her for anotiier
treatment. You may fancy my feelings when not four days later sheappeared as usual—and that on a
big day at the lainasary. When Iquestioned her why this day, she
said she knew I could give her someextra time as there would be so few
patients due to this big day. Now Iask you????
jTus day nif th.^ btggH.i afraij.
those lamas even gave a feast to theforeigners: so you see they are goingmodern too. They put the Moham
medans, with us, in a place acrossthe way from the building in whichhis royal highness sat
All of this called for a gift. Whata time I had trying to find some
thing suitable, as my boxes are aboutempty of any foreign thing and theylike such. I finally wound up bysending some tea for the big regents. and to the child I sent a set
of paints and an animal book of the
Nichols children's things. The report came back later that he was
highly pleased with the foreigner'sgifts. Oh, yes, he received some re
ligious literature, so that the wit
ness went along of the true God and
Saviour .Jesus Christ; but will theyheed it? I fear not, as it is a verylucrative business. Just think of it!That day alone they must have takenin thoucands of dollars. For every
THE TIBETAN MISSIONARY6709 Plymouth Avenue
University City 14, Missouri
Postmaster:—If addressee hasmoved and new address is known,uotify sender on form 3547, postage for which is guaranteed.
THE TIHETAN MISSIONAKV
A REPORT FROM MR. BACK
Dear Christian Friends:
For months now we have been
praying and planning to the end
that we would soon be able to go tothe Tibetan Border. At last that
time is here, for it will be only afew weeks until we sail. There re
mains many things to be done be
fore we leave from San Francisco,California.
I have been busy on a speakingtour of Colorado, Kansas and Okla
homa during the last four weeks.
On this trip I have spoken some
twenty-five times. Tonight I will beon my way back to California whei"'"-
final packing and preparations will
be made for the long trip to the
"roof top of the world."
There are several things which
we need but are sure that these
things will be provided. We needliving-link support for our two
children, Dale and Karen. Addi
tional funds are needed for travel.
However, we are going on, knowing
that these funds will be supplied as
the need arises. Our forwarding
agent, J. Wycliffe Busch, will cable
gram funds to us after we arrive in
China. Please pray that these
things will be supplied.
We wish to take this opportunity
to thank all you folk for your help
which you have given us in a ma
terial way, and for the prayerswliifti yon bave orferpri ii our
Sincerely in His service,Ellis R. Back.
A LETTER FROM NA-WTIA
WAN(;
(Continued from page three)
wish to say but I cannot say it. Howis Dr. Bare and how are the chil
dren? Please pray for us and for
all of the Christians here. Miss
Palmer has not yet arrived. Joseph
joins me in sending greetings to youall. May the Lord watch over everyo;ie of yo,u.
Joseph and Na-wha Wang.
person who went in to see the child,they collected a rupoo, and the rupeeis now 5500.
Let us prevail in prayer is myplea to our people at home and sendreinforcements. One can alwayshope for them at least. — GladysSchwake.
WILLIAM O. REES
I wish I could write this time that
things are progressing favorablytoward my journey to the field.
However, I am not much nearer than
I was in the other issue, I have re
signed as pastor of the College Avenue Church, and have been busy forthree weeks getting boxes made formy supplies. To avoid repacking mythings later, I am packing themaway properly this time and itemiz
ing everything. I have also been
busy getting things of my brother,David's, ready to ship to him. Atthe time of writing, I have only fourdayp left to get bis boxes ro the
pier in San Francisco. Whether I
make it in time or whether the
boxes will have to wait another two
months, only the Lord knows. These
boxes will be shipped to Rangoon,Burma, and then taken by truck toKunming, Yunnan, West China.
It was my poasure to be presentat the "World for Clirlst" Confer
ence at Inglewood. California. There
wei'e present missionaries from many
of our fields over the world. A chal-
'.enge was presented to all when we
viewed a map of the world with
little lights where there are churches,or where churches are to be estab
lished according to the New Testa
ment pattern. Perhaps to some, the
lights on the map might havesounded a note of triumph, but to
ahead, so that, instead of a few
lights, the map should be covered
with lights. My one regret was that,
except for a few words by Brother
Ellis R. Back, the work of the Tibetan Border was not presented.Neither the "Tibetan - Lisuland
Churches of Christ" nor the "Tibetan
Church of Christ Mission" had evan
gelists there who had been on the
field and could tell something of the,work.
Another challenge was presented
by Brother Mayfield at the Christian
Rally held at Ceres, March 14th.
Brother Mayfield spoke of the need
of the gospel to be presented in the
Mediterranean zone where he is go
ing, but also spoke concerning the
needs of other evangelists to foreign
fields.
Let us pray that all our needs
will be met and that Christians will
awake to their responsibility. —
Wllllaiu O. Rees.
Sec. 562, P. L. &. H.
•on
Iwlllmahe all my mouKtalns away —' ...IsAiAH49:nca)
TIBETAN
THE
MIS'SIONARYVoL 3
MELBA PALMER REACHES
BATANG
The trip from Litang to Batangwas, I think, the most pleasant partof my whole journey. It was like avacation trip—getting up about 4:30in the morning, lighting a candleto dress, and eating a cold breakfast prepared the night before. Thenpacking and starting out while itwas still cold enough to wear awarm coat over my winter clothing.Then, after a morning of ridinglazily on a horse's back, stoppingsoon after noon, before the sun gottoo hot, setting up my tent, unpacking and arranging my thingsand spending a leisurely afternoonresting and treating patients.
Ours was a large caravan. Thepack animals, a bunch of ratherwild yak, must have numberedsomething over two hundred. Therewere seven droves of around thirtyto thirty-five animals, each handledby one, two or three horsemen.
Our first four days from Litangwere extremely pleasant. The trailswere good and the weather favoredus by storming only in the afternoon and evening after we hadmade camp. On the fourth day twomen stopped by who were walkingto Batang and would likely be therewithin a couple of days. I was toldthey would take a letter for me, so Iwrote Gladys a note telling herwhat I had learned from the horse
men—that they expected to get toBatang in six more days.
From there on, things were notso easy, though I really had nothing to complain of, for it could havebeen much harder. It rained much
of the time from then on and the
rivers were so deep that our thingsgot dipped a number of times, getting food, bedding and clothing wet.We were more in the mountains
now, on rocky, muddy, treacheroustrails.
On Sunday, July 6th, we were toldit would take the yak two moredays to reach Batang, but most ofour little party decided to start outearly Monday morning and go onto Batang that day, leaving ourthings to follow the next. I got upabout 3 a.m. and we started out
before daylight. I prayed that thehorses would be able to pick theirway over the rocky trail. We were
(Continued on page 4)
December, 1947
BACKS IN CHINA
(Shanghai, July 13)
We arrived in Shanghai on June16, 1947. After spending considerable time, we finally got our luggage, except the radio, through customs. The next three and a halfdays were spent in getting an import permit for the radio so it couldbe released from the customs office.
I wish you could have been hereand seen all the red tape I wentthrough before paying the duty andgetting the radio. Here in Chinaone's signature is of no value—everyone has a stamp (chop). Thesechops have more bearing in makinga document important than anything else. My papers, to get theradio, must have had over 100 chopson it, because no one trusts anyone else here. After one person putson his chop, two or three moremust check what he did and add
their chops. After getting the import permit, I then had to spendanother day to get an export permitin order to take the radio out of
Shanghai.
(Chungking, August 16)
We completed another log of ourjourney to Batang, arriving inChungking August 13th. We flewbecause it was the cheapest andeasiest way. We saved $150.00 (U.S.)by flying instead of going on theboat; also we saved two weekstravel time that would have been
spent on a crowded river boat. Wewere in the air about 5% hours and
had a very nice trip except for thelast hour, which was a little rough.Little Karen was a little sick, butthat did not surprise us as she was
(Continued on page 4)
REES AND NICHOLS' SAIL SOON
Mr. and Mrs. Nichols and Mr.
Rees have their passports. That theNichols' were given theirs indicatesa slackening in restrictions as theywere not required to give a guarantee of continued support. All ofthem lack a great deal yet in support and in travel funds; but theyare going ahead with their plans tosail. Passage has been booked on"The Great Republic" which sailsJanuary 31st.
No. 4
IN lOURNEYINGS OFTEN
Brother Bill Rees and I have hadthe privilege of fellowship withseveral of our live and growingchurches of the Midwest. We werewith the church at Beaver, Okla.,to which Brother Everett Johnsonministers, for the week of June 8 to14. Classes for the children wereheld each morning, in which thechildren memorized scripture verses,sang choruses, and listened to missionary stories. Growing interestwas evidenced by the fact that attendance increased each day. Dueto the fact that the harvest seasonwas on, the evening attendance wasnot as large as hoped for, but everyone felt the meeting was very muchworth while.
From Beaver we went to Liberal,Kansas, First Christian Church,which I claim as my "Living Link"Church. This church is known for
its enthusiastic group of young people; and we were indeed pleasedwith the way they supported themeeting. We were there for thesecond week of their daily vacationBible School and a similar programto that at Beaver was put on here.Bill leading in the singing of choruses and I telling stories from themission field. We enjoyed the workwith the children greatly, and feelthat seed was sown which will bear
fruit unto life eternal.
Sunday morning, June 29th, Ispoke at Lyman, which was theparting of the ways, as Bill journeyed to Albuquerque, N.M., toteach in a Christian Service Campthere and I went to the Black Hills
Christian Service Camp at Pactola,South Dakota. From there, campsat Dolliver State Park. Iowa andRandolph County, Moberly, Mo. Tous, these camps are at once a sourceof inspiration and hope for thefuture. We counted it a real privilege to work with and speak tothese young people, and werethrilled to the core as some sur
rendered to Christ for the first time
and others gave themselves for fulltime Christian service.
:
Then followed the mission schools
at Lake James and Cedar Lake,"high spots" of the year as far aswe are concerned. The renewing ofold friendships, the making of newfriends, and the fellowship with
(Continued on page 4)
Page 2
THE TIBETAN MISSIONARY
Issued Bi-Monthly
Editor—Miss Melba Palmer, Batang,Sikang, West China.
Associate Editor — Mrs. Arthur H.Schaal, 6709 Plymouth Ave., University City 14, Missouri.
Missionaries — Miss Gladys F.Schwake, R.N.; Miss Melba Palmer; and Mr. and Mrs. Ellis R.Back; all of Batang, Sikang, WestChina.
Missionaries on Furlough—Mr. andMrs. Edgar Nichols, 4902 PrattSt., Omaha 4, Nebraska.
Former Missionaries—Dr. and Mrs.Norton H. Bare, Box 33, O.S.H.,Osawatomie, Kansas.
Missionary Recruits—Mr. William O.Rees, 306 S. Fifth St., San Jose,California.
Forwarding Secretaries—For MelbaPalmer, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Nichols, and William Rees—Mrs. Arthur H. Schaal. For GladysSchwake — Mrs. Wilma Watson,157 Parkdale Ave., Buffalo 13, NewYork. For Mr. and Mrs. Ellis R.Back—Mr. J. Wycliffe Busch, 931Scenic Drive, San Bernardino,California.
It^IMEDIATE SUPPLIES NEEDED
When Miss Palmer reached Ba-tiring— she" found there were somethings she should have taken withher and others she should havetaken more of. She has written thatthose coming later should bringthese much needed things. You willbe able to assist in this work bydonating time and money. If youfeel you can not give much money,then as a member of your churchmissionary group, perhaps you candonate some small package andsend a parcel. Since parcels shouldnot be posted to China, why notsend the parcels to the missionariesto take with them?
Clothes are needed for the nativeorphans who are being taken careof by the missionaries. Be sure towash any new goods you send, sothat they may be classified as used.Do not send old clothing which onlyhas a few weeks or months wear init. It is not worth while payingtransportation on goods that willfall apart after only being worn afew Cmes.
Here arc a list of things neededby me, along with those suggestedby Miss Palmer: small lightweightsaddle and bridle; several smalllightweight tents to be used in theorchard: camp cots, both canvasand steel folding beds; waterproofduffle bags with locks; small steamtrunks or army foot lockers; clothing for all season to last severalyears, and for chidren to grow into;good quality low heeled shoes;leather boots for travel; shoe repairsupplies; wool underwear andstockings; toilet article such astooth paste or powder, toothbrushes,combs, cold cream, soap, etc.; Firstaid and household medical supplies,
THE TIBETAN MISSIONARY
quinine or atabrine (antiphlogis-tine, vitamin C, for Gladys); notions—thread, darning cotton andwool, needles, pins, etc.; stationarysupplies—paper, envelopes, pencils,ink tablets, etc.; extra ribbons forRemington portable typewriter; several hot water bottles, bedding—wool blankets and comforters, pillows, pillow slips, sheets, sheetblankets, mosquito netting; sad ironwith handles attached or extrahandles for unattached kind; freshflashlight batteries and bulbs;alarm clocks, hangers, clothes pins;towels and wash cloths; SundaySchool supplies, especially coloredBible pictures; food supplies to supplement native foods—jello, kool-aid, baking powder, cocoa, instantpostum, spices and flavorings, powdered lemon, bouillon cubes, dryyeast, dried figs, sacharin, cornstarch, candy, etc. (some of these,especially candy, might seem to beunnecessary luxuries but candy isneeded to keep up one's energygoing over the mountain passes);kitchen utensils, dishes, silver, pressure cooker, canning outfit and tins,sturdy pots and pans, heavy weightsieves (several sizes), small heaterand pipe, small cook stove and pipe;fresh garden seeds; lamps and lanterns (kerosene) with extra wicks,chimneys, etc.; tropically packedfilm 620, 116 and 35 mm.; goodphonograph records, candlesticks.
Some of the above seem to berather big articles, but some of thesecould be projects for some BibleSchool class. We would also like a35 mm camera and a movie camera.
Supplies fur-thc Nichols' shouldbe sent to them c/o Oscar Zimmerman, 1540 Lincoln, Berkeley 3, California and for William Rees to himc/o San Jose Bible College, 306 S.Fifth St., San Jose, California.
B —Wm. Oliver Rees.
The August and October issues ofthe Tibetan Missionary were notpublished because we did not havesufficient funds available without
taking those designated for use onthe field. It is financially and physically impossible for these missionaries to write all of you directand still do the work they havegone to the field to do. Thereforethis is their best method of keepingin touch with each o' you.
There is considerable expense involved in the publishing of thispaper, which is paid for entirelyfrom voluntary contributions. Wewant all of you who are interestedin this field to receive this news.
Therefore we would like to urge thatif you are receiving more copiesthan you can use, or can use morethan you are now receiving, thatyou please advise us. Also be sureto keep us informed as to yourchanges of address, as papers incorrectly addressed are wasted.—
Mrs. Arthur H. Schaal.
THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK
"But He knoweth the way thatI take; When He hath tried me, Ishall come forth as gold."
—Job 23:10
He knoweth the way that I take;
He guides me wherever I go;
The path may be rough, hard,and steep,
But He will be with me, I know.
His presence will help me tostand;
He'll give for my life a true mold.And when He has finished the
test
I'll come forth refined as puregold.
ELLIS BACK WRITES WHILE ATSEA
At last we are on our way to theTibetan Border. It has been almosteighteen months since we closed ourpastorate at Jamestown, Indiana.
During that time we have facedand solved many problems, the Lordhas finally given us the Victory.
I am happy to announce that myllvliig link - support" Tias—been—assumed by the congregation atTulare, California. The ChristianEndeavor Society at Liberal, Kansasis sponsoring the support of Daleand Karen. This takes care of Dale's
education. Karen's education has
been assumed by Mr. and Mrs. Horace Phillips of Corona, California.Those supporting my wife, Kather-ine, have already been announcedseveral times through the columnsof this and other papers.
We sailed from San Francisco on
May 30, 1947 aboard the S.S. General Gordon and are due to arrive in
Shanghai, China on June 17, 1947.Continue to pray for us as we
journey to the "roof top of theworld."—Ellis Back.
REQUEST FOR PRAYER
We are facing difficult problemsin the work here, so please praythat we may have wisdom for alldecisions, that the Lord's work mayprosper in this place, that the Backfamily may be speeded on its way,and that the Nichols' and Mr. Rees
may soon be able to join us. Gladysis much in need of furlough and weneed a doctor or nurse to replaceher, so pray about these problemsalso.—Melba Palmer.
ARE WE GRATEFUL?
This is being written in bed bycandle-light some time around midnight of June 18-19 in Litang, saidto be the highest village in theworld, 14,000 feet in altitude. SinceI can not sleep for the thumping ofmy heart and shortage of air in mylungs, and for wondering when Ican go on to Batang and when ournew recruits will be able to comeout, I may as well use this time toadvantage. I have been here seventeen days now, and still have noprospects of a caravan going on toBatang, although there are a number of other people here waiting togo.
I thought you might like to hearsomething of my nursing experiences on this trip. I had forgottenthat if I traveled alone in thiscountry, I would be called on formedical aid, so brought with meonly what medicine I thought Imight need for myself. I am reallysurprised at myself for being soforgetful of this one thing I hadtalked about so much at home. Ican account for it only by the factthat this is the first time I havetraveled in this country without anurse with me.
It was our third day out fromKangting, at our noon stop, that oneof the horsemen tried to tell mesomething without using any words,simply by motions. It took a longtime, but I finally caught on thatone of the other men had a headache. I happened to know the Tibetan words for that, so asked him,and found I was correct. I had-someanacin in my pocket, so gave himone.
That evening, in the house wherewe stayed, a woman showed me avery bad ulcer on her leg. I usedwhat I had to treat it and put ona clean bandage, and it was pitifulto see her gratitude. How I wishedI might have given it really propertreatment!
From then on I was called on to
treat sores of various kinds, headaches and other ills, sore eyes, andeven a bad heart case for which I
could do very little. One of the menwho was helping me on the roadgot his foot stepped on by his horse,so I had him soak it in hot epsomsalt solution nights after we got offthe road.
My last patient was a man witha sore throat. I painted it with mer-curochrome and then told him to
gargle every day with salt water.You would have laughed to see howI told him, with my limited Tibetanvocabulary I said, "Nyi ma re-re-tsa-chu ki" (Every day - salt - boiledwater) and then went through themotions of gargling. He caught onimmediately and repeated it afterme, then asked by sign languagewhether he should swallow it. I
answered by again going throughthe motions of gargling and spitting,which he copied after me, only hereally spat—on the floor, according
M1SS10|>ARY Page 3
a i
THE NICHOLS FAMILY
Because there have been so many requests for extra copies(which are no longer available) of the September, 1946 issuewith the picture of the Nichols family, we are reprinting thisphoto, taken when the family was reunited after Mr. Nichols'return in June of that year. Now, with Mr. and Mrs. Nichols making last minute arrangements to return to the mission field, thefamily is again separated—with each of the children in school ina separate State.
to native custom. He went awaymumbling, "Nyi ma re-re-tsa-chuki."
I enjoyed this nursing experiencevery much, but I would have enjoyed it much more if I had had thelanguage, the supplies, and thetraining so I could have done morefor my patients, and above all else,if I could have given them a message from the Great Physician thatwould have meant healing to theirsouls.
For two weeks I traveled throughterritory where not one person hadeven as much medical knowledge ormedical supplies as I had with me.I have tried to picture in my mindwhat it would be like to be with
out any kind of medicines or anyknowledge at all of how to treatwounds or ailments, or even of thesimple facts of Iiygiene. It is surprising to me that the death rate isnot even higher than it is.
Mr. Shao, here in Litang, has theonly medical dispensary betweenKangting and Batang, a journey ofthree weeks to a month or more.
He has patients coming to him allday, every day of the week, and hetells me sometimes they are so badhe cannot sleep nights. He is alsothe only gospel preacher in thissame large area, where there are somany lost and dying souls. Howmuch we have to be thankful for, inour land of Light and knowledge!
How truly thankful are we, I wonder? I remember hearing, years ago,a story of one child telling another
he was sorry for something he haddone, and the other asking, "Areyou sorry enough to quit?" I won
der now, are we thankful enoughfor our own advantages to share
them with others?
When we were children and one
of the family was given a gift of
candy or such, we were expected to
share it with all the rest. The gift ofGod's Son was given for the salva
tion of all men, and when we re
ceived Him into our lives it was
meant that we should share Him
with every other person in theworld, not just with our friends or
those near us. What are we doingto share Him with these poor
Tibetans?
We have recruits willing and
ready to bring the Gospel to these
people, yet they are being delayed
merely for lack of money and supplies. "How shall they hear without
a preacher, and how shall they
preach except they be sent?" Are we
grateful enough to share?—Melba
Palmer. • --
Poge 4
I
DR. MA
I am enclosing Dr. Ma's picture,which I wish you would run in thepaper, stating he will come to uswhen he has taken a post course ongoiter work and other new surgeryin the U.S.A. He is 35 and unmarried. He is already very competentbut very humble about it. We doneed a good goiter surgeon in here.These Chinese aiways sober up sowhen having a picture taken. He isfull of smiles, but by this pictureyou would never know it.—GladysSchwake.
IN JOURNEYINGS OFTEN
(continued)
workmen from all parts of God'sgreat vineyard make these occasions long to be remembered. It wasin November, 1941 that we had lastseen the Morses; what a joy to meetwith them again and hear the inspiring story of the triumph of theGospel in that far corner of theearth.
Those who have lead out in estab
lishing these two Schools of Missions have done a great service to |the cause of "Direct Support" missions, and I can think of nothingwhich would further the cause of|missions to a greater extent than!the establishing of similar schoolsof missions in each section of our
country.—Edgar Nichols.
THE TIBETAN MISSIONARY
6709 Plymouth AvenueUniversity City 14, Missouri
Postmaster — If addressee has
moved and now address is known,
notify sender on form 3547, post
age for which is guaranteed.
'T
THE TIBETAN MISSIONARY
MELBA PALMER REACHESBATANG
(Continued)
making good progress when twomen on foot met us with the information that we could not possiblyget to Batang that day. What adisappointment! My friends tried toexplain to me, but that was asmuch as I could understand.
Soon thereafter Ho Du Bow metus and led us to a house where hehad been awaiting my arrival sincethe day before. He had a letter fromGladys and explained to me thatthe bridges were washed out in twoplaces. However he had made planswhereby he thougN.t we might beable to get in the next day, afterour loads caught up to us. He hadordered a horse and three donkeysto go as far as they could, thensent word for Gladys to send animals from Batang as far as theycould get.
Next morning, July 8, we waitedimpatiently until my loads arrivedand were transferred to the donkeys,then started out a little after noon.We had not gone far until somelogs that had been washed up fromthe river had to be cleared fromthe trail. After awhile, when weneared the first washed out bridgewe left the regular trail to go up thesteep mountain side through thickbrush that kept tearing at myclothes and hair. After some distance on this trail I saw what HoDu Bao had been calling the "danger place." It was a sheer drop ofperhaps 15 feet or more into a littleravine.
r was relieved of my helmet andall the things I was carrying andtold to take off my boots. Thesewere lowered to Shao Dong Sen,who had climbed down first andcalled to one of the little boys coming to meet us to send help. A ropewas tied around my waist and heldby a man and woman to give mesupport if I slipped. Then with onlysocks on my feet so I could get agrip on the rocks, I turned my backto the ravine and started slidingdown. About half way, as I was trying vainly to reach with my foot thenext rock, a hand gently held mefrom below while a hole was cutin the cliff and my foot slipped intoit. A voice spoke to me in Englishas I was assisted on down andwhen I turned THERE WAS JOSEPH.The climb up the other side was notso difficult, as there were bushes tohelp, and then Joseph walked withme down the mountain to whereGladys was waiting with the horsefor our joyful reunion. I will not attempt to describe that, but leave itto your imagination.
A little farther on we were met bya group of the mission children.There in the lead was Phoebe, whohad been a helpless, starving baby
when I knew her before, and EstherChen, whom I remembered as thethree-year-old, youngest child ofour servants, now a big girl but asattractive as ever. A group offriends were waiting for me at theold lamasery but Synom, our formerfaithful servant woman, with heryoungest child tied to her back, ranahead to greet me with a kiss, andcry on my shoulder. As we wentthrough town, I wish you couldhave seen the people standing attheir doors or looking out the window to see the long awaited foreigner arriving. Coming out. thegate, I saw what remained of thebridge connecting the village withJa Po Ding, the hill where standsthe mission property. Half thebridge had been washed away.From the center to the other bank,a plank and two logs had been laidacross on which to span the ragingflood below.
We crossed the river, climbed thesteep trail to the mission, and I washome at last, a year and a day fromthe time I left my American homein Eugene, Oregon! After two weekshere, those nearly seven years I wasaway seem, almost like a dream.However, it will take some time yetbefore I will really be settled.
—Melba Palmer
BACKS IN CHINA(continued)
not feeling very weU the dayuerorewe left.
We are hoping to go on to CI; ..tu next week if we get our tl ' •through customs again in snori-order.
The Lord has certainly blessed usthus far in our journey. When weleft Shanghai there were a numberof missionaries that had been therefor about six months and were stilltrying to get transportation to theirfields of labour. Pray with us thatthe Lord will continue to open upthe way for us to travel.
The cost of everything is veryhigh, with prices continuing to increase. It cost us over $11,000,000.(CNC) to ship our freight fromShanghai to Chungking. This ismore than it cost us to ship it fromthe United States. We were toldtoday that it would probably cost us$3,000,000. (CNC) per ton to shipour things on to Chcngtu. If this istrue, it means that it is going tocost us plenty to get our things toBatang and that we will need morethan we have on hand; so pray thatthe money will be on hand as theneed arises.—Ellis Back.
Sec. 562, P. L. & R.
