ytjer

Mr. and Mrs. Archie Fairbrother

Christion Missionaries associated with David, H. and J. Lois Rees

ASSAM INDIA MISSION CHURCHES OF CHRIST

Mawlai, Syllaikariah, Shillong 8, Assam, India

March 1967

area is under the able guidance of Brother Bhelwa, who has had gooc training at Kulpahar under Tom Rash and Frank Rempel and other missionaries with whom he came in contact. He has been here for just a little more than a
year and there have already been several baptisms. At the same time he has been very helpful with the work among the Khasis. Because the Hindi speaking

The preaching of the Gospel among the Hindi-speaking people in oui

The Hindi Work

people live in such a wide area of

Shillong, Brother Bhelwa has as many as three services on the Lord's Day to accomodate each area where they live. He has started Sunday school classes for them in. the building
where the Garikhana Church of Christ

(Khasi)

holds

its

meetings. The
'

Garikhana church is cooperating as

Brother Bhelwa teaching a class in English at camp. His interpreter is Wi|ford Lyngdoh. Both of them are now

teachers in our Proceeding High School. Brother Bhelwa tcaches geography and Bible; and Brother Lyngdoh, science and
math.

Brother Bhelwa baptizing Prem Masih in the Umiam River during camp.
Since then he has baptized three other
Hindustanis.

much as possible in the work among the Hindi speaking brethren. Please pray for this work in the Hindi Language, that God will bless the efforts and keep it all in accord(Continued on page 4)

THE CHRISTIAN DAY SCHOOL

February is the month when a new school year starts here in the
Khasi Hills. It looks like our Christ made. Each desk comes to S7.47 and
will ac "omodate two students. This

price for the desk includes the bench

which the student(s) sits on in class.

ian day school will have more than 450 students this year. The final
number has not been ascertained as

yet, because there are still transfers coming in from other schools, but we have already reached over the 400
mark. We have advanced to class

The teachers all get a raise in pay this year, and we have to hire a new teacher for the high school as well. This will bring an increase of about $100 per month in funds that
are needed for the school staff.

eight in the high school, which is the second year under the system here.
The curriculum of the school is

If you are looking for a project

in mission work, the above-mentioned

the same as used here in the Khasi Hills with the addition of classes in

items will be a great help to the Lord's

work here. Make one desk and bench

Bible and Bible-related subjects. We feel that the faculty is made up of some of the finest Christians you can find anywhere on earth. The school is an arm of the evangelism among the people hereSeveral new desks are needed

for $7.47 or support a teacher for $40 a month. If you cannot supply the full amount for a teacher, send a portion of it and thus help others to make up

the whole amount. You will be a great

help in preaching the Word here and thus defy the powers of the "evil

immediately, and we are having them

Phillip and Margaret Ho Arrive I was lucky enough to be in Calcutta in December when Phillip and Margaret Ho arrived here in India, Phillip for the second time and Mar garet for the first. They soon arrived in Shillong where they ate now set ting up housekeeping and getting into the swing of things around the Khasi
Hills.

'oV

It is good to have Phillip back again and Margaret as an addition to

those who labor for the Lord here. We have faith that all will work out

The

church

at Nongpoh

wiih an

extension added on to accommodate the

crowds who attended their preaching rally

February 1012.

to the glory of God with the addition of these two to help in the preaching and teaching of the Word. Pray for them, even as you have been praying
for us.

SCENES FROM CAMP

In front of the girls' tent at camp. Six of the girls in this picture have been,
are, or will be students in the Khasi Bible Training School.

Home from camp with a trailer load of tents and bedding.

The Khasi Bible Training School

There were eight new students in the Khasi Bible Training School
when it started the new year on

March 6, 1967. We pray that these young people will be moved to do great things for the Lord. Pray with us for this part of the work, as you pray for the other activities going on
here.

There will still be six or seven

of the older students attending classes in this Bible-training, preacher-preparing school.

Unloading the trailer. In the back ground is the new room we added on to

our home last fall before the girls came

home from school for the winter vacation.

Final Farewell Marilois Fairbrother came to the begin her sophomore year in high Khasi Hills with her parents in the school. winter of 1951, shortly before she Marilois has taken active part in was three years old. She has grown the work here from the time she was up with the work here. Except for little, especially during the past furloughs she has spent all her time three winters in teaching children's classes at camp. here until she went away to Wood stock School in the spring of 1964 to (Continued on page 4)

THE HINDI WORK

(continued from page 1)

ance with His Will. It could be that

this area of India will have the strong est Hindi work even though the Hindi speaking people are in the minority.
The Lord will bless in accordance
with our concern and labor for Him

arranged by the church at Nongpoh on the day the girls left. We took them by jeep to Gauhati. As we were start ing through Nongpoh we were stopped by a group of the Christians who were waiting beside the highway. They asked us to come in to Bah
Nomi's house for a brief service be

thus we ask for your prayers.

fore going on to Gauhati. The house

was filled with men, women, and

FINAL FAREWELL

(continued from page 3) For the last few days before the girls went back to school, we had a steady stream of visitors to tell Marilois good-bye and to urge her to come back someday. Some brought gifts of fruit or vegetables. Perhaps the most thrilling fare well was a special service held by the Garikhana church at which they presented Marilois with a beautiful Khasi ring. The most touching was
MISSION SERVICES BOX 368

children. After a short prayer service they crowded around and shook hands with all of us, but with special fare well messages for Marilois. Then our hostess asked us to stay for "tea"
and served a delicious meal of rice

and chicken curry. That cancelled our plans to eat supper at Gauhati
before the train left! We felt it was

appropriate that Marilois* last meal

in the Khasi Hills was a Khasi meal
in a Khasi home.

JOLIET, ILLINOIS 60434

Return Requested

The Christian Mission, Voh 11, No. 3, March, 1967

Page 7

ASSAM INDIA MISSION

"Well, here we go!" "Where are we going?" "On a musical trip through the Khasi HillSo"
"When do we start?"

"Six o'clock tomorrow morning. " Before we start traveling through the hills,

however, it might be a good idea to get here first. You can come to India any way you wish,
but we would advise you to fly from Calcutta to Gauhati when you come to visit our work here.

bananas of several varieties (or if it's winter, lovely Khasi tangerines.) As you leave Nongpoh, the missionaiy points out a small bamboo structure to the right and across a soccer field. That is the local church building put up by the Khasi Christians with very little help from the
missionaries.

As you alight from the airplane at the Gau

hati airport, the heat of the Assam plains as

The road climbs up and up, and finally winds around a lovely man-made lake, Barapani, which has only been there since 1963. It is the main source of our electricity.

saults you. You are met at the airport by the

missionary, and conducted to an ancient jeep

You are entering the city of Shillong when the jeep suddenly swerves sharply to
the lefto A short drive down the Mawlai

for the ride to Shillong. Bicycle-rickshaws, bullock carts, cows, goats, dogs, chickens, and pedestrians impede the progress of the

road, another sharp turn left onto a rutted dirt road, and before you have time to hope

jeep. It gives you time to enjoy the typically

Indian scenery of fishermen fishing roadside

ponds, women washing clothes in the same ponds, or carrying jugs of water on their heads;
the little bamboo and thatch huts under stately coconut or betelnut palms, banana trees, bougainvillea vines a Gauhati is a sprawling city on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River. As you leave

you won't ride far on it, you have turned again. Here throngs of children wave and shout as the jeep rattles past; and then your host is pointing out the home of the Rees family. You scarcely have time to ask, "Do
you live near them?" when the jeep curves up and around a building indicated as our Christian Day School, and suddenly you are
"home"

it's borders, the jeep begins to pick up speed

and you are aware that you are approaching hilly country. You pass a cinchona plantation which supplies much of the country's quinine.

As you clamber wearily out of the jeep, you are aware that people are bursting out of the house and coming from several direc
tions at once. Some are from the Rees

Between lie hills are rice paddies, and on the

hills pineapples and papaya trees are growing; but part of the time the jungle takes over and comes right down to the highway. As you jounce tians. In spite of your weariness you admire through one tiny village, you are startled to the view from the Fairbrother's yard. You read a sign in English: "Bananas are the wise can catch a glimpse of the Rees home through man's food. Eat a banana every day. " the pine trees, but you learn that the house Concerning the wildlife in this area, you right next door is where Phillip and Margaret are informed that there are elephants, plenty Ho live. You notice at once that it is being of monkeys, and that man-eating tigers are remodeled, and are informed that the down still reported from time to time in these jung

household who came as soon as they saw the jeep pass. Some of the children are young Fairbrothers, and the rest are Khasi Chris

les; but when you get up into the Khasi Hills, bears are the most dangerous animals around. At Nongpoh you pause for a brief respite from the twisty turning of the road and the wearisome joggling of the jeep. For refresh ment you go to a tea shop for a cup of sweet
Assam tea and and Indian pastry. A woman at a roadside fruit stand calls, "Khublei Bro

stairs is where all the mission medical work

is done.

Around the fireplace that evening plans are made for making the most advantageous use of the brief time you can devote to the
work in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills.

The first thing on the agenda is to attend the preaching rally being held this weekend

ther, " You host leads you over and introduces

at the village of Mairang. There is no church

building there as yet, but the services will be held in the yard of one of the Christian fami(continued on next page)

you as "para bangeit" (brethren in the faith.)

She joyfully shakes hands with you and presses gifts of fruit upon you pineapple, papaya.

Page 8

The Christian Mission, Vol. 11, No= 3, March, 1967

(continued from previous page)

lies. At this meeting you will meet Christians from many of the churches throughout the Khasi
and Jaintia Hills. Some of them stay with the host congregation from Friday afternoon to Monday morning. We leave Mawlai early Sunday morning,

Occasionallyi you learn, all the missionaries attend the same preaching rally, but more

often they are scattered out among several

Villages each week end. Before you leave after the afternoon ser vice. you must have one more cup of tea in the host's home and another plate of rice and curry out in the yard. By the way, how do you like eating with your hands like everyone else? Perhaps you are sorry to leave be

hurrying in order to make the gate The traffice on this road as well as others in this area

is one way with control gates at certain places

where the traffic from opposite directions meets and awaits the proper time to continue the journey. As usual, there are last minute delays (it isn't easy for a family of nine to get ready to be away from home for a full day!, Different ones start explaiming, "It will be a

fore the evening session which is the highlight of the rally. Would you rather sleep on the
floor in one of the homes with the 70 odd

Christians from other villages and catch the

bus back tomorrow?

miracle if we make the gate!" Some of the kids start singing, 'T believe in MiracleSc "
And we do make the gate^ In fact., we even sit there a little while waiting for the trafiic from the other wayAbout this time everyone starts pullmg out "dust-covers". Just beyond the gate the pave ment endSc In spite of our precautions we are a pretty dusty looking group of people who finally reach the village = Our welcome by the Christians is enthusi astic, and our hosts Invite us into their hom.e
for tea and bread. Outside in a bamboo mat

On Monday you begin to realize how "open" the missionary's home must be. All day lone there are people dropping in for vari
ous reasons. Some come early to visit, or just pass the time; others with serious pro blems or difficulties some just briefly, others perhaps for hours. If you are tired of the confusion in the Fairbrother home, go
down to the 'Reeses for awhile. There, too,

is the constant coming and going The dif ference, though, is that the Rees children are not adding to the confusion. They are

in college in fiie States, with the exception of

Lois Kathleen who is in high school. Even the Ho home has it's share (or maybe more) of callers for Phillip is well down throughout the Khasi Hills for his medical ability,. On Tuesday all the students of the Khasi

enclosure, (1) men, women and children are eating their breakfast of rice and curry^ (2) We must hurry with our tea so that we can eat, too, before the morning service startso
By 10:30 tea and breakfast are over and we all go to the home next door where crude wooden benches and planks laid across 3 x 4's are arranged for seating the congregation (3) Some of the men are already seated and waiting. (4) Some of the women, too, are waitings (5}

Bible Training School are back from their

preaching points and classes are in session. You are not only invited to visit the classes,

Now you begin to realize why we called this a "musical trip." Not only was there singing in the jeep all the way to Mairang, but now, while waiting for the services to begin,, the people are singing. Someone mentions the all-night sing that will be held tonight in one
of the homes =

but to bring a message in chapel. The Bible Training School is one of the projects of the Rees family, but the other missionaries also
teach classes. You will also want to visit the Christian

Day School while you are here (10) The primary grades meet from 7:30 to 10^11 in the morning. The crowded conditions may appall you momentarily, but then you remem
ber that schools all over the world are crow

Between services you meet groups of Chris tians from different villages. You also meet some of the preacher boys, students of the Khasi Bible Training School (6) with members of the congregations to which they minister.
There is not much time between sessions.

ded. (11; Here you see desks built for two children being used by four You are even
more amazed by the number of two and three year olds. They use pebbles or sticks to leam to count and learn the alphabet, but

Everyone is called back to the "dining Hall" for tea (7) before the next service. There may be time to take a short walk. (8. 9)

best of all they love to sing. The children from Class I trough Class VHI (which is
(continued on next page)

The Christian Mission, Vol. 11, No. 3, March, 1967

Page 9

(continued from previous page)

the second year of high school) have their

classes from 10:00 to 3:30. Their course of

are still so many places to go and churches

to visit,"

study is that recommended by the government, with daily Bible classes added. Several of the teachers teach in the grade school as well as high school classes, but Mrs. Fairbrother teaches only high school English. (12) Perhaps during your brief visit you will be invited to a wedding. (13 and 14) You will see that a Khasi Christian wedding follows the
western style to some extent, but that it is a
much more drawn out affair. You must drink

"If you must go now, please come back again soon." "Thank you for your coming and speaking words of encouragement from the Word of
God."

"Khublei, Blei un kyrkhu ia phi. " (Goodby, God bless you.)

teac before the wedding and again right after the ceremony. After the second tea, you are still expected to join in the wedding feast of
rice and curry. You are even more likely to get in on a

Archie Fairbrother Family David Rees Family Margaret and Phillip Ho Mawlai, Syllaikariah Shillong 8, Assam, India

funeral than on a wedding. (15 and 16) There, too, you will be expected to drink tea while you sympathize with the bereaved family. One of the strangest customs you've met here is
the fact that the bereaved are not allowed a

Forwarding Agent for Fairbrother

Mrs. Lawtence Rasmussen

Route 2, Box 44 Gillett, Wisconsin 54124

moment of privacy, nor even permitted to sleep the night after the funeral. Friends stay

all night, singing and talking to keep their

minds off their loss.

Forwarding Agent for Rees Mrs. George Tittsworth 1148 Coolidge

Wichita, Kansas 67203

Among the Khasi people you have felt their joy in having friends from elsewhere visit
them. You have seen their enthusiasm for the

Forwarding Agent for Ho Mr. and Mrs. Don Tracy

Box 173

work of the Lord.

You have felt their open-

Eldon, Missouri 65026

hearted welcome of you and their desire for you to bring a message wherever you meet with them, and now you feel their reluctance to let you go.

"Can't you stay a little longer?

There

Numbers in ( ) refer to pictures shown on the picture pages,

XH

Mr. and Mrs. Archie Fairbrother

Christian Missionaries associated with David, H. and J. Lois Rees

ASSAM INDIA MISSION CHURCHES OF CHRIST

Mawlai, Syilaikariah, Shillong 8, Assam, India

September 1967

Helping Tibetans
One phase of our outreach here in India which is not publicized, but which may be of interest to you, is our opportunity to help Tibetan refugees.
From time to time we have oppor tunities here in Shillong to offer hospitality and a little aid to an occasional refugee. In Mussoorie, however, we meet many more Tibet ans. They are always delighted to find someone who can speak to them in their own language. I enjoy learn ing how long they have been in India and from what part of Tibet they have
come.

Most Tibetan refugees are anxious to be self-supporting. Many of them have taken up various forms of handi crafts and the making of art objects which they sell to tourists.

We hope and pray that some of

these brief encounters will bear fruit for the Lord in eternal salvation for those we have contacted. Please

pray with us for the lost in India

whatever their racial background. Marguerite Fairbrother

Marilois in a Tibetan dress.

TOO LITTLE?

TOO LATE?

'For our wrestling is not against jlesh and blood; hut against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of
this darkness, against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places," Eph. 6:12.
When a person thinks about the work

training in leadership and preaching. At

the time of our arrival, there were about

which he strives to do for the Lord, his mind necessarily goes back to the time
when he first started that work. It is

six congregations which you could call

large enough to do an effective work in

natural, and I hope forgivable, if I bring you back to the year 1951, when we first came to work among the Khasis here in
Assam.

their respective localities. Throughout

the years the message has reached out to the many different areas of the United Khasl and Jaintia Hills until there are
some 45 active churches of Christ.

Refreshing

our memories,

I would

restate that the missionaries were invited

The

growth could have been more

here by a church already in existence. They, the congregations, wanted further

spectacular ifwe had laid more emphasis

on conversions instead of on the national

Marilois Fairbrother and her father in front of the Tuj Mahal. Tlie trip to Agra and Delhi was (he family's graduation gift to Marilois.

Christians' duty to do this work. The missionaries have taught by word and deed the duty to preach; and that, because they are motivated by Christ not by the missionary. In this way we could not send back reports to the U.S.A. of several hundred converts each year. The baptisms have averaged less than two hundred each year we have been here. However,
there are now some fine men who are

Events Among Us
Week of Evangelistic Meetings in the
Mawlai Church of Christ, August 21-27, 1967.

Khasi Bible Training School is now in its last half of the academic year,
1967.

taking places of leadership among the

churches.

This question still comes to mind, "Have we done too little, too late?" Certain things are happening in India in

The Christian day school is in the

last half of the academic year, with al most 500 students attending classes. The high school section has proceeded to the second-year class.

regard to missionaries which you have probably seen in the United States news papers also. The anxiety is there as we wonder how long we will be allowed to
continue the work here.

Another problem that faces us is the lack of funds to carry on the program we have going at present. Our receipts have dropped by more than S400 per month in correspondence to the amount needed. We want to make it plain to you that if this is a sign that you do not want us here, we will abide by your decision. How ever, in so doing, it is only fair that funds be provided for our return as soon

Emphasis on leaching Revelation in

both the Mawlai Church of Christ and the Garikhana Church of Christ. Classes are

taught in both places by Archie Fairbrother.

Marilois Fairbrother is now attending

Lincoln Christian College, Lincoln, 111.

as possible. It is up to you whether our

services for the Lord here in Assam are desirable or not.

Translation of tract by Don DeWelt

on "The Church According to the Bible" has just come from the press.

Whatever may be the outcome of the next few months, we plan -our furlough
for the summer of 1968. Funds for the

furlough should be sent soon, so that plans can be made in this regard. Now we think that you should ask yourself a question, "Have I done too
Httle, too late?" There is a chance to do even more for the Lord than in the past,

to "wrestle" with "principalities, . . .

against the spiritual hosts of wickedness

. . ." Just how important is this to you?

Are you willing to throw in the towel as
far as this area of the world is con cerned? We still have faith that the con

certed efforts of Christians can change

the whole
is

world
on

for

peace, because
This includes

Christ

our side.

America and the present troubles that

confront her. Only the Gospel of Christ

can change men from hate to
it not be said

Marguerite Fairbrother and the

children. Hack row: Jewel, a senior in high school at Woodstock School;

love and

joy in a fellowship of all mankind. Let

that we have done too

little, too late! We have the "sword of the Spirit" with which to win battles against the "hosts of wickedness."

Ellen, in the ninth grade at WoodStock; Marilois, just graduatf^d. Front row: Kenneth, age 9; Mother holding Zana, 2; Jeanie, age 6; and Charles,
12.

MISSION SERVICES BOX 368

JOLIET, ILLINOIS 60434

Return Requested