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Mountain rainThe biography of James O Fraser50 years aheadMOUNTAIN RAIN Where might you find a 22-year-old, brilliant pianist with a top engineering degree? Backpacking in Australia on a year out? In 1908 James Fraser was in south-west China, soon to be the only missionary in the area. Sent by the CIM to Yunnan, a fortnight from Shanghai, Fraser was drawn to a strange people he met in the market. They were demon-worshipping Lisu from villages in the mountains bordering Burma. For a decade Fraser trekked the mountains, preaching. Only a handful of families turned to Christ, some turned back. The author (Fraser’s daughter) tells how he was about to be moved elsewhere when there was an explosion of conversions. Hundreds of Lisu families turned decisively to Christ. They seemed more open to the gospel than the Chinese — perhaps because of a Lisu legend of a ‘white brother’ bringing ‘the book of the true God’ in their language (still unwritten)! Anyone interested in mission or Isobel Kuhn’s books will appreciate this biography. Fraser was 50 years ahead of his time in some ways. He would not accept a settled missionary life, building up a church. That was left to Lisu converts, with occasional visits from Fraser and others, even in churches established only a few weeks! Local outreach was given over to new converts. Lisu churches had to be self-governing, self-financing and self-propagating. Recruiting committed prayer supporters and sending them regular information was a practice Fraser developed. His account of his experiences and lessons in prayer (extensively quoted) will surely provoke any Christian to seek a deeper, more effectual prayer life. Two frustrations: no photograph or map — yet we are told three times to consult a map! Why were photos and maps included more in older books when it was more expensive? Secondly, there is much about Fraser’s spiritual life and missionary thinking, but I wanted a fuller account of events — especially the later years. That would help to bring him to life. Isobel Kuhn fills some of the gaps — By Searching tells how Fraser inspired her to join Lisu work, Nests Above the Abyss describes it. Timothy Reynolds, © Evangelicals Now - May 2007 |