Bemo Alan Janet 1984 Thailand

8/9/2019 Bemo Alan Janet 1984 Thailand

1/8

CH I A N G M A

Dear Co-Worker s,

. . -9

984

iBento^s Soj ournlnaA

in Tjkailand

By faith they sojournecJ in the land....

looking

forward to a

city

which

has foundations,

whose

bui lder and make r is God.

HEB.

11:8-10

Forwarding

Agent:

Alan

an d Janet Bemo

Linda Goerke

Box

180

R.R. 1,

Chiangmai. Thailand King

City

Missouri 6

April

1984

I am starting to write this letter to you from an open hallway In our house in Piang Luang. It is 6:00

a .m. and

the sun is just getting ready to come up. Chickens are pecking around and a little fire is going in the back yard. In

front of

our

house

the

village of Chinese

and

Shan

spreads

out among

tall clumps of bamboo

and

towards the back of

the house we look out across paddy fields to the mountains which mark the Burmese border. We moved in here about

a week before Resurrection Sunday and on that day we had our first Sunday service in our house. Also, to celebrate

Easter and our moving into a new house we put on a Chinese feast and invited all the Church members, some village

dignitaries, and some Karen tribal Christians to attend. We had around 130 people who attended this meal.

We have

spent

almost

6,000

on this house. We praise God for the way He has provided. Right now it has

a dirt floor. We are content with that, but the Lord has

seen

fit to

provide

us with better.

The

Christians here in the

village decided they were going to put a cement floor in for us. They bought the sand, rocks, and cement. They also

arranged for a mason to come and do the work but found that they didn't have enought money to do the whole job

after all. But it so happended that the preacher of a Church in Autralia had visited us back during the first of January.

He didn't even get to come to Piang Luang but he heard us talking about our house. When he came back through

on another trip he brought an offering of $200 - almost exactly making up what was lacking.

So

we are going to have

a nice floor Thank you Lord Work is to begin this week.

Of the different places we worked here in Northern Thailand while we were on our

first

term, we felt that Piang

Luang was the most needy, but also the hardest. We felt we should move here but dreaded it in a way. Now that

we a re here we

see

that

God

certainly has kept His promises to us: My Word will not be ineffective.

God

has

pro

vided us with a lot of good co-workers. We have one Chinese intern who has come to work with us for a year -

Hsiong Fu Man. He Is a graduate of a Baptist Bible College in Bangkok. Another intern, Ti Ni, who is a Karen,

and a graduate from Chiangmai Bible Institute, is having good response in three Karen villages near here. Also, here

for semester break are three other students from that school. Two of them are former Timothys from this village from

when we lived here before. All together we have 13 meetings a week. Janet teaches three of these which are Bible

literacy classes for

women.

Five are Children's meetings

and

four are adult Bible studies. We have teenage meetings

on Saturday nights. On May 6th there were 16 baptisms. We were able to have three hours of special instruction for

these before they were baptised. Three families have come to us saying, We want to become Christians, in the last

two weeks. Our living room is approximately 18 by 30 feet. Meetings in this room have been packed - we haven't

had enough chairs. I would say that yesterday ( May 13) that there were at least 40 adults attending service and pro

bably 30 children at the

Bible

study time. Those who have said they want to be Christians do not necessarily believe

that Jesus is the Resurrected Savior and Lord. They need to be taught and baptised yet. So we are praising God for

all He is doing and the ministry He has given us here

We have made several trips to Mipo lately to help the people marke t their peaches . I have not kept records

but I believe there

have been about 500

worth of fruit come

out

of Mipo this year

and

this has mostly been from two

families. This is a big part of their income now. We are now making plans to move over there for a few months the

beginning of next year to set up a much needed processing plant for the fruits and vegetables which are becoming

plentiful there. This plan has a great big if the Lord wills Attached to it.

Severa l sick people have been cared for lately. A girl, A Ying, has

had

her foot

operated

on to correct a de

formity caused by steppong in a fire when she was two. A Sz Pha had correct ive surgery for serious club feet. We

took Lwo Hsiau Fu to the hospital with a ruptured appendix. Just before he went into the operating room he said,


2/8

We

have had

visitors lately. Scott

and

Debbie Marcum;

Ted and

Beverly Skiles

and

their

son.

Greg

came

for

a 10

day

visit from Taiwan . We

have been

hoping some of

our

beloved missionary friends from Taiwan, where we

used to work , cou ld

come

over and visit us. It was a blessing But on just

the second day

they were here.

Ted

was

on

a trip with

Robert Morse

when

t hey were involved

in a

serious

car

accident. Ted

was

injured worst

of all.

barely

escaping

death.

He suffered a fractured skull and at last word is still suffering from a loss of hearing and balance.

His spiritual life is stronger than

ever

though. Let's pray that

God

will

completely heal his body that he may have

many

years of faithful service to

our

Lord.

By the time you get this letter

our

daughters. Beth Becky, in high school in Taiwan, should have arrived

back

home here. They are due

to arrive on May

27th.

It

has been hard

for the kids to be so far

away

- especially

when they have

problems of various sorts.

Though

not a

problem

it would be nice to be

around when

they s ta rt to

date. Jon ni e

is planning on

going

to a

boarding school

in Dalat. Malaysia.

So . next August

it looks like three of

ou r

six children will be far

away

to schoo l. P lease

pray

for

these hard

times of

separation

for all of us.

An inspirational

thought

to us lately is

that

members

of

three

families

have recently

confessed

Christ

no t

be

cause

of

sermons,

calls, or tracts , but because

ou r

children

made

friends and

played

with their children.

They

often

go to their houses and sometimes eat with

them.

Their kids come over here all the time. Our children love it

here,

and

love their friends

here.

This

proves

to us again that

the

main avenue of service for a missionary is to

appreciate

and

love

the people

of

another cul tu re . Love them

into

the Kingdom

We attr ibute all

successes

to

the

Lord

God

of Israel. We are

sure t ha t your prayers have channeled

much

of

that

blessing to us. Please

keep

praying

and thanking God

for

what

He is

doing.

Yours

in Jesus,

The

Lord

adds to this

church

almost weeklif

First Sunday worship rif

Bemo s

new house

Formosa Ch r i s t i a n Miss i on

Sarah

babysitting Rachel


3/8

CH I NCM I

OCT 11 98

^

T lte

^emo^d SoJ^ournin^d In

Tjhailand

By faith they sojourned In

th e

land

looking

forward to a city

which has foundations

whose

builder and

maker

is God.

HEB.

Forwarding Agent:

Alan

an d Janet

Bemo

L inda Goe rke

Box 18 0

R.R.

1.

Chiangmai. Thailand King City, Missouri 644

June July

August

1984

Dear

Co-Workers

Our

family has shrunk from eight to five in the last few days. Beth and Becky were here for the summer break but jus t

left a few days ago to go back to school in Taiwan. Before they left we all made a train/bus trip down to Penang, Malaysia

to see the school where Jonathan will be going to high school. It is a real nice campus r ight on the beach and the staff

are all ded icated Chr is tians who love the Lord and the students very much. Even though the kids are in good schools

we still feel an empty place in our lives without them. All three of them were a big help in the mission work this summer

too. We appreciate you remembering them in your prayers. Their addresses: Beth Becky Bemo,

^Morrison

Academy,

Box 27-24, Taichung 400, Taiwan, ROC. Jonathan Bemo,

^Dalat

School, Sandy

Croft Tanjong

Bungah,

Penang

Malaysia.

Our

house in Piang Luang is finished now. Well, is a house ever finished? But it is mostly done. It has a cement floor

now and flowers growing all around. It is comfortable

and

always a place good to get back too .

Our

work used to be

centered around Chiangmai

but

now Piang Luang. A weekly schedule is something like this: Sunday - morning SS classes

and adult services and evening children and adult teaching at the nearby village

of

Hwei Hai. Monday - I teach two hours

of Bible to five Timothys (actually 4 Timothys and 1 Timothiess). This is done 6 days a week. Janet teaches an English

class in the village school (4 days a week). Tuesday - same and a Bible class at

New

Village. Janet teaches a Bible

literacy t he re too . Wednesday - Bible class at Tang Village, Karen Village, and Lisu Village (we divide up for this night).

Thursday - Bible class

at Ju

village. Friday - family night . Saturday - calling

and youth

meeting.

There

is always a lo t

to do besides these scheduled events. People come for advice, prayer, or help of some kind or other. People have been

coming every week want ing to become Chr is tians. We have been going to Karen villages because we have a co-worker

who

is a

Karen and there a re two

villages

of

this

t ribe which

have never

hea rd the

gospel

befo re. The re

is

also

a

Lisu

village close to us where there are Christians bu t no preacher. Once a Lisu

came

asking for us to go to another village

where people were wanting someone to come to baptise them. I went and 9 were baptised. Each time we have had occasion

to go to Lisu vil lage we keep in

touch

with Eugene Morse because he is mainly doing Lisu

work

and these villages have

all been evangelised by him and his co-workers. Our main

work

is

among

the Chinese

bu t

once in a while we feel the call

to go to others also. Lately we have been doing less agricultural work but are now starting to help another family in Piangluang

who

has

decided to stop growing

opium.

The most wonderful experience is being able to disciple these five people every day. Three of them are

Piang

Luang

Christians

an d

two of these are recent converts . Two are

working

with us

fo r

one year on an

internship. They

have

studied the Bible fo r two and three years in a Bible College so already know a lo t about the Bible bu t I am teaching

them

how to disciple others. We have just recently divided the S.S. classes

into

three

groups and

are teaching

four

local young

adul t Chr is t ians to t e ach t he s e classes.


4/8

In June the first

and

so far only Christ ian among the Northern Thais died. Some of you may remember Ph o Noi Dok.

He

is the man who ha d been waiting for years

for

someone to come to tell him about the Lord. So we

had

the first

Christian funeral in his village People

really

turned out for this event and if afforded us the best opportunity ever to

preach in that village. This reminds me - Paul Cathi Lang an d their little d au gh ter A nn a are planning on moving up

to

t ha t a re a

to

work with t he T h ai s

at

th e

en d

of

t hi s y ea r.

One of our biggest joys lately has been seeingthree children get helped. Sheng Mei is back home after her second operation

on her cleft lip

an d

pallet. A Ying is back home after corrective surgery on her

burned

foot.

An d

now we

j us t g ot

A Sz

ou t of the hospital today and are taking him home tonight. He has been in the hospital for six months getting surgery

an d t h er a py f or his s ev er e c lu b f ee t.

All of us

have

been well . . . except

t h at S a ra h

fell

of f

a swing

last month

an d

broke he r arm. Sh e

ha d it in a

cast

fo r a

m on th a nd

is

no w

in a

splint fo r

a

couple of

weeks

more.

It

ha s

healed nicely.

We have some prayer requests . Please pray for

ou r

safety. There has been some fighting around

ou r

village. Also, please

pray fo r

th e

new

C hr is ti an s. T he y a re

so weak.

On e

ma n is a

hard

opium

addict an d

needs th e

power

of

Go d to get

off.

Pray

fo r ou r Children

and

us as t he y a re

fa r

f ro m h om e.

Pray

faithfully

fo r J an et

as sh e takes on th e responsibility o f

teaching

N atha n and S arah. N ath an

is in 5t h

grade a nd S ara h

is in second.

Daily

lets praise

God for the

wonderful

things He is

doing

here.

Burial of

P ho

N oi D o k

Ch r i s t i a n Miss i on

Mr s L i n d a

G o e r k e

1

Box

1 1 5

C i t y Mo,

6d463

DRESS CORRSGTION REQUESTED

Yours

In

Jesus

T he Bemo

Family

f l lSSION S ER VIC ES H S3H M

2 4 2 7

KHO:^ -;VILLE TW 3751131

Non P ro f it O rg ani z at io

U . S . POSTAGF

P A I D

King

City

o

64463

PERMIT

No .

4


5/8

SEP 1^

CH I A NGMA I

1984

fie

^emo^A Soj ourning.d

in T ltailand

August 10 , 1984

B y faith

they

sojourned in th e land

looking forward

to a

city which

has

foundations,

whos e b uil de r and

make r

is God.

Alan

and

Janet Bemo

Bo x

180

Chiangmai.

Thailand

HEB.

11 :8 10

Forwarding

Agent:

L in da Go er ke

R.R.

1.

King City. Missouri

644

Dear

Co Workers .

Recently we have

been warned

that

our

lives may be

endangered

in

t he nea r future

because of the places we work.

This Chinese Christian informer asked to be

kept

anonymous but ended his two hour warning with, Don t forget my

warning. It could

happen

next week, next

month,

or

six

months from now. I am writing this special letter so that

you

can understand what is going on here.

Our informant

told

us that

Robert

Morse, Daniel Kalnin, Tom Love and myself were

known

to be D.E.A. (Drug

Enforcement

Agency agents.

This

U.S. agency is

putting

a

lo t

of pressure

on the

Thai

government

to

c lamp down on

opium

and

heroine

production

in thi s

area.

It

is interesting

that

people

who

deal

in

drugs

know

this

since

we

of

course

aren t

agents.

This

is

no t

a

recent misconception at

all. Si nce

any of

us

made our

first

trip i nto the areas

along

the border

and

Chinese,

Lahu,

Lisu, or

some other

area language

came

out o f

our mouths

people were sure we were spies .

We

have

probably

been watched

and

checked

up

on

by

at

least

four government

agencies. All

of

us

have heard rumors

like

this from the first. It is an occupational hazard . Though rumors

cannot

always be believed we believe there is

an

increase

of danger now.

Talking

specifically

about the P iang Luang a re a where

we live,

there have been four

things

happen

lately

which

have caused unrest: 1 Heroine factories

and opium

fields were

bombed

in

February of

1984, 2 in July a raid was

made

on

one part of ou r

village in which 7

men

were

arrested,

2 Kilos

of unrefined heroine

was

captured and

several

guns

were

confiscated,

3 several

hundred

Kilos

of heroine

were

handed

over and

burned near

ou r

village,

and

4

there

is fighting between big

drug

controlling factions

just

a few

hours

walk

from ou r

village.

The raid

was led by an

American

DEA agent.

The

other

things

probably happened because of DEA pressure

too.

Some

people

think

we

are DEA

spies living in

the

village keeping an eye

on drug

activities.

What people? Local

drug businessmen.

We

are

in

no

danger from th e

Thai governement,

Burmeese

government

or even th e local Chinese

leadership. As

the Chinese

commander said

when someone

suggested that we

might

be spies, He is

not

a spy. No spy

would move

here, build a

house, bring hi s

wife

and babies here an d

plant

flowers.

Our

only danger would

be

from

a

big dea le r wanting to get even or get back.

What

danger?

We have heard from

reliable

sources that there

is

going

to

be more activity in the Piang Luang area.

If

a big

shipment

were

captured or

if a

kingpin

were kil led we

could get

killed

fo r

revenge.

If

a big

man were

captured

we could get

kidnapped for t rading

purposes.

This

has been

done

successfully by an opium

warlord

since we have been

i n Tha il and .


6/8

It has been over a month since we received this warning and we have been living in Piang Luang

most

of this time.

It has been very peaceful, and we feel very safe. We have seen people continue to come to the Lord. Just last week two

families expressed a desire to become Christians, a girl, a young man, and an opium addict made decisions, and a man

was baptised last Sunday. We believe that

God

has His

most

fertile ground where there is conflict

and

the devil causes

conf li ct where he

is

most threatened.

Our attitude toward

these things: We believe

that much

of

what

we have

heard

is

just

talk. However we believe

there is a possibility

of

danger. Even so we are not afraid. We plan on continuing to work in Piang Luang. Just in case,

we are making certain precautions: (1) The children must tell us at all times where they are going, (2) We all will return

home immediately at the sound of any gunfire or the presence of many soldiers so we can be together. (3) No one goes

out at night unless in a group, (4) Our vehicle is kept in readiness at all times, (5) I do not go to Chiangmai for business

and leave the family in the village, and (6) We will leave the village if it looks like life might be indeed endangered.

We are

no t

afraid in the least

and

will

no t

let fear rule our lives. We came to the mission field to give our lives

for Jesus Christ and it is up to Him whether that is to be used in life or death. Jesus said, Do not be afraid

of

the one

who can destroy both soul

and

body in hell. So the most dangerous place to be in the world is out of God's will because

of

the fear

of

mere man. The safest place to be is in the center of God s will, no matter what man would do to us.

We do appreciate your prayers. We are not wanting to unduly cause alarm. We are not alarmed. But we do

believe in the power of God and believe that if there is a serious danger that He can put a protective spiritual force

around

us.

C h r i s t i a n Miss ion

Mrs . Linda Goerke

1 Box

115

City,

Mo.

6^63

CORRECTION REQUESTED

Yours

In Jesus,

The Bemo Family

Alan

& Jane t

Bemo

l''1l0b'IQN SERVICES RSSMm i'l

BOX 2 4 2 ?

KHOXVILLE TH 373BI

Non-prof i t Organizatio

U S POSTAGE

PAID

King

City,

Mo

64463

PERMIT

No .

4


7/8

CHIANGMAI

M 14 m

ZJke ^emo^3

SoiournLng d in ZJttailand

By faith

they sojourned In

the l and . . . .

looking forward to

a

city which has

foundations,

wh o s e b u il de r

a n d

mak e r

Is God .

HEB.

11:8-10

Alan and

J a n e t

Bemo

Box 1 80

Chiangmal, Thailand

Forwarding Agent:

L in d a Go e rk e

R.R. 1,

King City, Missouri

64463

September - December 1984

Dear

Co-Workers,

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year from Piang Luang, Thailand.

Our

Chirstmas looks like it will be a little more

hectic

than

usual with

many

friends

and

relatives coming right

at Christmas

time.

Janet

will be s taying in Chiangma

while I will be in Piang Luang and another village having Christmas Conventions. Jonathan is due to arrive on the 19th

Beth and Becky on the 22nd, and Mrs. Dit temore on the 24th. Also some new missionaries, the Sandy Sandells , will be

arriving before Christmas.

Our

family will probably open gifts on the 27th.

Our

hearts are filled with joy, as I am sure yours

are, knowing that Jesus came to save us and it is

Him

that we are remembering.

We

haven t

written for several months, as usual . Things have been qui te busy dur ing this time. A skimpy diary of some

events follows: Sept. 14 I was asked to drive to the front lines to pick up 4 land-mine victims. I did

but

only one was

alive when we got there.

That

one died before we got back to Piang Luang. He was jus t taken out of the Land Rover when

a Christian lady came up crying, saying that her sister was in a coma. Would I rush her to the hospital. We left soon but

she died 30 minutes

from

Chiangmai. Sept. 19 A Christian couple were marri ed. Sept. 25 An elderly

brother

Chen

jumped

from

our

pickup to retrieve his blown

of f

cap only to fall and receive a concusion. He was in

the

hospital five days

Oct. 3 A new member of the Church he just arrived looking for a

job

from another area. Oct. 4

Our

teaching in one

village is

hampered

because of fighting and

guards

on

the

road. We

had

to

stop

going for

about

a month.

Oct.

8

Docto

day. I went to the

doctor

to check on some lower back

pain

I d been having and

Janet

had a checkup because

of

a growth

on t he back

of her

head.

It

turned out to

be

nothing

important.

While

Janet was

at the doctor , Nathan

fell

ou t

of a tree

and broke

his arm. Oct. 11

Paul and

Cathi Lang, new missionaries to

Thais

in

ou r

area, came

up

again to show a Chr is

tian

film. Oct. 17 Janet and

the

kids went to town with the Langs and came

back

on a hired truck. The truck

go t

stuck

because of terrible

r oa ds s o

Jan et h ad to walk out fo r

about

five miles wit h Rache l on h er b ac k. O ct. 28

One

man

and

six

women

were

baptised into Chris t.

525

Baht

was stolen of f my desk.

This

adds

to the

list of stolen articles,

blankets

radio, saw, a gold chain, etc. A Mrs. Lee confesses her faith

and

hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nov. 5 Three pick-ups got

caught

with drugs for processing heroin. All vehicles

and

people are really checked thoroughly now. Nov. 9 Wal te r

and

Jeanette

Ridgley came to visit and look over

the

Thai villages where they plan to work with

the

Langs in this new field

Nov . 17 An a irplane

dropped

leaflets over

Piang Luang

warning people

not

to

plant opium and tha t

the military would

be destroying

opium

fields. We discovered a 60-year-old

Shan

Christian lady Nov. 18 Brother Lee marries a non-Chris

tian girl

but

becoming a

Christian

was

part

of the

package deal.

She confessed

Christ during

the wedding vows. Nov. 19

I drove to the front lines aga in to pick up some Chinese commanders. Nov. 25 Just after a trip to a Lisu village fo

services

and

going

through

4 check point s, Sarah

found

a live grenade launcher

round

rolling around in the back of the

Land Rover. It

must

have been hidden under the seat by someone days earlier while going through a checkpoint to escape

detection. It would have been big trouble for us if

found,

especially since only our family was in

the

vehicle that day.

Before we go

any further

I would like to say

that

I hope no-one gets the idea

that

we

are

burdened

or

in turmoil

Though we have been warned of

possible

danger, have had a few hardships, and do shed a few tears we are happy where

we are. In t rying to tell the highlights

and

excitements of

ou r

lives I am

afraid

some might get the idea

tha t our

life is

jus

one

big headache. Forgive me for this. Most of ou r lives

are

tranquil

and

even uneventful. Even when we have a few

bad

things happen we say with the Apostle Paul, Hard-pressed on every side, we are never hemmed in; bewildered, we are never

at our

wits

end;

(2

Cor.

4:8). I am

not

happy

about broken

arms

and

people dying

but

frankly I am glad to be in a place

where

a

grenade

can

be

left

in

the truck

or

roads

cause breakdowns

because

we

are

here

in

the

Lord s

service.


8/8

One of our greatest concerns right now are the Christian women whose husbands are not Christians. Four of thes

ladies

husbands are opium

addicts.

They are

left

with

the job of providing

for

their

families and

terribly mistreated if

they

don't

provide for

their husband s habit or complain about

it.

One

lady

came to us asking if

we could

loan her

the

money

to do some

business.

She said that

sometimes

she was so desperate she thought she would be better off dead. One non

Christian woman killed herself and another tried in Piang Luang this year). We told her we couldn't but would like to talk

to her husband about it. We explained that the best answer for their situation would be for her husband to be converted

and follow the teachings of Jesus. With tears she said there would be nothing she would like better. She confessed tha

her husband put her up to

asking

to borrow

money

from us and that

actually

she had

money

that her husband did not know

about. If he did he

would have

it

smoked

up in a

few

days.

Just

today

we

took a

girl

to

prison

in

Chiangmai

to

visit

he

father and brother caught

with

opium. She is glad they are there for short

terms

because they have been

forced

to get of

drugs while

there.

Some of these women would bemuch better off with no husbands. Lets pray for them that God will, be

cause of

his

greatmercy,

convert

these men. If they are too hard-hearted to listen to the gospel that He

will

solve the prob

lem in

other

ways.

Also, please

pray for four new villages we have heard about to the Southwest of

Piang

Luang. We are planning on

going up there with a little evangelistic team from Piang Luang to scout out and witness. This week just back from a

precious Thanksgiving Convention at Mipo. The Christians there are doing fine. Praise God

We are anticipating, with God's

blessings,

a happy Christmas time and a good

beginning

of another

year.

We pray

the same for you and are looking forward to celebrating with all of you together in God's newHeavenand Earth.

Yours preparing for That day

Alan Bemo

and

family

Formosa

Christian Mission

o Mrs.

Linda

Goerke

R.R. 1, Bo x 115

King City

MO

64463

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

JlslOH^SEKVlCES HS N

S>tuE 379

Non Profit

Organization

U.S.

POSTAGE

PA iD

King

City MO 64463

PERMiT NO .

4

Bemo Alan Janet 1984 Thailand

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Transcript of Bemo Alan Janet 1984 Thailand