History of Shan Churches in Burma 1861-2001 - Khamkoo

Baptist mission among the Shan 55
question, the stars in their courses ordained that you should always submit and never think for yourself,
would it be fair to expect that in 40 years the basic nature of a race would change and that you would be
one of the many who would leap up and decide that you would break with old traditions and public
sentiment? Those are the conditions under which the Shan have been born and grown for hundreds of
years. In forty years we have seen such changes that we are amazed. I’d rather think that when we get
to heaven I would meet many who will come forward to thank us for bringing them the message. They
do not show on the Church books but this is the sort of thing I mean. I met a man going on the road one
day and accosting him I asked if he were going to the bazaar. “Yes” he said and I asked again, “Are
you going to the meeting?” Again he answered, “Yes” and then looking at me he added, “I always go.
You see I can’t read but I go to listen to what the men say and then I go home and try to do it.” I met
another man in his village and after getting into conversation I asked if he worshipped God. He said,
“Yes” and I asked “Which God?” He answered “The God you preach about in the bazaar. I asked
“Jesus?” and he said, “Yes.” Then I asked if he worshipped the idols and he said, “Yes.” “Oh” I said
“you should not do that” and he looked up in surprise and asked, “shouldn’t I?” “I thought that was the
way but if it is not I will not worship them anymore.” It never occurred to these men that they should
make any break and if they had they would almost certainly have been driven from their village.
Perhaps I was wrong in suggesting that they should but I think I will find many such people who have
died unknown believers in Jesus and his beautiful message. The younger people, who were children,
perhaps unborn, when we came, are now in charge of the work. One said about a month ago after I had
told them that people in America were discouraged because the Shan came in so slowly, “If they could
have seen what I have seen I do not think they would be discouraged.” And he went on to tell of the
eagerness to hear which they had found in some villages where the people followed them around from
place to place even till late at night to hear what they said. Or another man born in the mission here
who is now the pastor. He went to another town about 25 miles away and preached in the bazaar.
The Third Mission Field, NamKham (1893)
Rev. and Mrs. J.A. Freiday were the first missionaries to visit and preach gospel to Shan in
NamKham in 1880, after traveling three days from Bhamo. 13 years after the first visit to NamKham by
Rev. Freiday, NamKham mission field was finally opened in 1893 by Rev. Cochrane who moved from
Bhamo mission field to NamKham. Most of the Shan missionaries in NamKham were doctors. Among
them were Dr. M. B. Kirkpatrick, his son Dr. C. A. Kirkpatrick, Dr. Robin Hrasu, Dr. Walter
Rittenhouse, Dr. Robert Harper, Dr. Gordon Seagrave and Dr. Grace Seagrave.
Rev. W.W. Cochrane reported in March 1894,
“At the beginning of 1894 NamKham began to call itself a station. It is too young to
have a history. I can only record its birth. We are living at present - my two Shan
preachers with their wives and myself - in our own hired house. One of these men is
capable, earnest and always at it. The other is a young man (Ing Tha) of some promise
from ThaTon. It is quite a stretch of the imagination to dignify him thus early as a
preacher. I speak rather of what he is striving for and bids fair to be. Their wives are
helpful in evangelistic work. There are already two applicants for baptism, good, hopeful
cases, both of them they are now receiving daily instruction in the word.” 51
Cochrane reported on December 29, 1894,
“The three converts are doing well. The young man, our first fruit was married
last night to a good-looking, highly respectable Shan girl. She was perfectly willing to
have the ceremony performed according to Christian custom and seemed to enjoy the
change of style. I read to them in Shan appropriate passages of scripture, and Ing Tha
51 Burman-Shan Mission, Bhamo, The Baptist Missionary Magazine 1894, p418