November - December , i 9 6$' 
VOLUME F11-• ILEN 
NUMBER SIX 
.*:....•.:**:*A` OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST UNION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA 
NNW 
Ajun (prounced Ah-june), age 25, 
is a very courageous young Seventh-
day Adventist, a lay member of 
the Marabau S.D.A. Church in Sa-
bah, with devotion and zeal for 
his Faith. He became a Seventh-
day Adventist when fourteen years 
of age, the only Christian in his 
heathen family. His is a light shin-
ing through the darkness, and his 
widowed mother and his five broth-
ers and sisters became converted 
and are now Seventh-day Adven-
tists. 
Asked where he had gone to 
school, Ajun smiled and stated, "I 
have never been to school. I taught 
myself to read and write. I learned 
how to read the Bible. The Bible 
was my school." 
Ajun is married, has three chil-
dren aged two to six, and owns six 
acres of coconut palms—consider-
ing himself a small farmer. 
Ajun thought nothing of hiking 
the twenty-six miles round trip from 
his home in Marabau to the heathen 
village of Nangko along the narrow 
foot path several times each month, 
to spend a few days at a time with 
these heathen people, telling them 
about the True God. About two 
years ago the mission placed a Bible 
worker, Madawai Bangkuka, at 
Nangko to take care of the new 
converts and others interested as 
a result of Ajun's visits to their 
village. There are about one hun-
dred Rungus attending the little 
church at Nangko from Sabbath 
to Sabbath. 
Now Ajun had decided to travel 
out farther, crossing Marudu Bay 
in a small boat on open sea, over 
seventeen miles across to the other 
side from Kudat, to the Bengkoka 
Peninsula. He had heard he had 
relatives living somewhere over 
there and would like to hunt them 
up if possible; but his main purpose 
was to bring the news of Salvation 
to the heathen living in the unenter-
ed territory of the Bengkoka Penin-
sula. 
Last year Ajun made his trip to 
the Bengkoka Peninsula and went 
to visit the other side of the Maru-
du Bay. The following is the story 
told to us by Ajun himself. Ajun 
found himself in the company of 
three lay Basel preachers who were 
also crossing over to Bengkoka. So 
they all went together. The Basels 
were invited to a marriage feast 
and they were on their way to 
attend it. 
On the way, while crossing in the 
boat, they were warned, "You must 
prepare yourself. You must have 
some kind of power." 
Ajun answered, "I believe in God. 
I do not have any other power but 
God and this Bible." 
When they reached the kampong 
(village) that night, Ajun said, that 
he talked to the people and the 
people were very busy getting ready 
for a marriage feast. "But we talked 
and talked to the people. I talked 
to them about God. Many people 
came to the feast the first and 
second nights, but the second night 
was the real feast—so many people 
came!" 
An old man who practiced witch-
craft came. He was quiet and sat 
down. He looked intently at the 
young people, but kept quiet. Ajun's 
Ajun, layman, Sabali Mission 
friend called him to come and help 
cook the feast together with the 
three Basel men. (Ajun really knows 
how to cook!) 
The old man kept on watching. 
The old man kept quiet, and 
chewed his betel nut. Then he put 
his chewed betel nut between the 
house and the kitchen, which in 
his witchcraft carried significance. 
As soon as he put the betel nut 
there at 7 o'clock in the evening, 
many people started shaking 
violently—back and forth—arms, 
heads, bodies, legs—shaking all 
over, including the three Basel 
Christian lay men! 
Ajun went and stayed in his hut 
and prayed. Nothing happened to 
him. The rest of the people kept 
on shaking the whole night long. 
The next day the people were still 
shaking violently, until mid-day. 
But Ajun did not shake, and the 
people asked him, "Why do you 
not shake?" 
(Continued on page 2.) 
t'ke Cry frox lgaigkoka 
By Mrs. Hazel Peters, Sabah 
Mission 
A part of the group that attende0 the 5 pay, in Thai held recently at BSH. 
2 �
THE MESSENGER �
November-December, 1965 
Five-day Plan in Thai 
"My father-in-law died from can-
cer of the lung last year. I am sure 
this was caused from smoking and 
I need help to overcome the cigaret-
te habit." These were the words of 
Mr. Vitoon when he telephoned 
Dr. Roger Nelson to learn more 
about the "Five-day Plan to Stop 
Smoking" to be given in the Thai 
language at Bangkok Sanitarium & 
Hospital. Mr. Vitoon lives in Chan-
taburi, a town about 300 kilometers 
south of Bangkok. When he read 
in a Thai newspaper that there was 
to be a plan to help people give up 
the smoking habit, he decided that 
he would come to Bangkok to stay 
during this time so he could attend 
the meetings. He had been smoking 
for sixteen years and knew that it 
was very bad for his health. His 
wife also came to the meetings so 
she could be an encouragement to 
him. It was a real struggle for Mr. 
Vitoon, but after the third night 
he had gained the victory over the 
cigarette habit. 
The clinic was conducted by Dr. 
Roger Nelson and Pastor Sunti So-
rajjakul. Several clinics have been 
held in English in Bangkok, but 
this is the first time one has been 
held in the Thai language. Judging 
Dr. R. Nelson shaking hands with 
Mr. & Mrs. Vitoon 
from the interest that was shown, 
it was a real success. On the first 
night there were 133 registrants—
our nurses' chapel was packed. The 
attendance stayed at over 100 on 
each of the following nights with 
several new registrants on the sec-
ond and third nights. On the fifth 
night when the questionnaire was 
filled out by seventy-four of those 
who had attended the meetings, six-
ty-one indicated that they had been 
successful in giving up the cigarette 
habit. Many others were able to 
cut down the number smoked daily. 
Several of those who stopped had 
been smoking for as long as forty 
years and one policeman had smok-
ed for fifty years. 
On the last night when the audi-
ence was asked to give their im-
pressions of this plan, one lady 
stood and said that she had stopped 
smoking after the first night and 
she felt it was because God had 
helped her. When she came back 
for the follow-up meeting, she told 
Dr. Nelson she had been so enthu-
siastic about the Five Day Plan 
that her husband had also stopped 
smoking, although he did not at-
tend the meetings. 
At the last follow-up meeting, 
held on November 30, a surgeon 
of the First Army Area Headquar-
ters in Thailand who had attended 
the meetings and was successful in 
giving up the cigarette habit ex-
pressed his desire to have Dr. Nel-
son and Pastor Sunti hold a Five-
day Plan at his Army Post soon 
after the first of the year. 
We _ace thankful for the results 
of this Five day Plan held in the 
Thai language and are looking for-
ward to holding several more during 
1966. 
—Betty Webster 
The Cry from Bengkoka 
(From page 1.) 
He replied, "Because I believe 
in God." Ajun told them about the 
true God that he worshipped. 
One of the Basel lay men is 
one of Ajun's own relatives. Ajun's 
friend, Akong, is a witchraft prac-
tioner, and he helped to remove 
the evil spell and the people then 
stopped shaking. 
Aiun stated: "This kind of thing 
(spell) is used for play to show 
whether the visitor has power to 
resist this thing or not. If you do 
not get the shaking or if no evil 
happens to you, then they know 
you have power to resist this shak-
ing. Then they respect you." 
They also have power to kill. 
They can cast a spell and cause 
a person's death. Sometimes they 
use witchcraft to get money. They 
cast a spell on someone, and na-
turally the person wants to be 
Recently Dr. James 
Crawford held a 
very successful 
Week of Prayer py 
for students and 
workers of BSH. 
November-December, 1965 
healed„ so he comes to the witch 
doctor to be healed. The witch 
doctor charges a fee for removing 
the spell, and thus he gets his 
money. 
When Ajun made his second trip 
to the Bengkoka Peninsula he went 
to Kampong (village) KABATA-
SAN, which is located by the Ka-
batasan River, branching off the 
large Bengkoka River. This is a 
two hours' boat trip up river, in 
a motorized boat, from the sea. 
The first thing Ajun did upon 
arriving at Kabatasan was to ask 
for the Orang Tua, (or village 
chief.) The Orang Tua asked, "Who 
are you, and from where?" 
Ajun: "I am from Kudat." 
Orang Tua! "What is your pur-
pose to come here?" 
Ajun did not want to talk about 
religion right away, so replied, "I 
have many relatives in this place 
on Bengkoka Peninsula, but do not 
know who they are. I am a Rungus 
myself." 
Orang Tua: "If you know the 
names, I could help you." 
Ajun: "I do not know the names, 
but I am told I have many relatives 
here." 
Orang Tua: "Well, you can stay 
in my house." 
The Orang Tua—the village chief 
—lives in a Long House. The first 
day and the second day, Ajun help-
ed the chief in his work. He was 
very busy helping him in his work 
out in the fields. The Orang Tua 
was amazed, yet happy for this 
unexpected and willing help from 
a stranger! The third day Ajun 
again went out and worked. Finally 
the Orang Tua asked, "Now, tell 
me your purpose for coming here." 
Ajun felt he had gained the heart 
of the Orang Tua, so he told him, 
"My real purpose is to find my 
relatives here, and my other pur- 
THE MESSENGER 
pose is to tell you about God and 
this Powerful Book—the Bible, and 
about salvation." 
While working out in the jungle 
and fields with the Orang Tua, the 
chief noticed that Ajun knew which 
were the special trees which were 
counted as TABOO among the 
heathen, and that Ajun also knew 
the secret places where they wor-
ship. Noticing this, the Orang Tua 
was now interested at once and 
wanted to ask all about God and 
the Bible. Ajun explained every-
thing he knows about his faith to 
the Orang Tua. 
So the fourth day the Orang Tua 
brought Ajun to the Long House 
and told the people in the Long 
House, "This young man, Ajun, is 
of our tribe—a Rungus. He is a 
Rungus like us, and he has a power-
ful book. He tells about God and 
many things about this book. Come, 
let us go and hear him!" 
So Ajun opened his Bible and 
the picture roll and told them about 
Jesus. He taught the people until 
the seventh day. 
The seventh day three families 
accepted the Truth. So on the 
Sabbath day, the chief called all 
the people to rest that day and 
told them to come and hear Ajun 
preach. 
After the seventh day, Ajun went 
to visit other kampongs and Long 
Houses. In all he visited ten heathen 
villages. To reach one village, he 
had to hike through jungle paths, 
in places cutting through to make 
his own path, to reach the place. 
It took him five days to hike to 
this village. 
Finally Ajun reached Kampong 
BANGKO BANGKO. At this place 
they pour water on their floor when 
a visitor or stranger comes, but 
they leave a dry spot on the floor. 
The reason for this: the visitor will 
3 
naturally look for a dry place to sit 
down on the floor, but that dry 
place has had an evil spell cast on it. 
The people will watch the visitor 
who sits in the dry spot intently 
to see what will happen. If the 
visitor has no "power to resist" as 
they say he will get sick, or some 
evil befall him. So, when Ajun and 
his guide reached this Long House 
they heard the sound of water being 
poured as if washing the floor. They 
arrived at this village at 6 o'clock 
in the evening. He asked if they 
could get inside the house, but there 
was no answer. Finally a lady from 
way inside the Long House called 
out, "You can come in." 
When Ajun and his heathen guide 
climbed up the notch pole and 
entered in the Long House they 
saw the floor all wet, so they looked 
for a dry place to sit down. But 
when the guide saw that the floor 
in the house was wet, he said, "I do 
not want to come inside this house! 
I want to return home! If you dare 
go inside, you may; but I want to 
return." So the frightened heathen 
guide left Ajun alone and went 
back to his own village. 
Ajun went inside the Long House 
and sat down in a dry place, which 
he found next to a post. He leaned 
against the post inside the Long 
House and waited and waited for 
the people to come. The people had 
all disappeared into their rooms off 
the Long Porch. It was night and 
dark. There was no lamp. The only 
light they have is made by burning 
gum or something from a certain 
tree, which gives a dim light. So 
Ajun waited, but the people were 
in their rooms, behind the doors 
off the Long House porch and 
would not come out. 
(Continued on page 6.) 
Sandy Beach Institute 
Pasir Ris means "sandy beach' 
and it also means rest, relaxation 
and enjoyment. For it attract; 
many people, especially on week 
ends, who want to get away fron 
the heat and troubles of everyda3 
life in and near Singapore. 
To the Literature Evangelists anc 
the leaders of the Malaya Mission 
it meant rest, relaxation and enjoy 
ment, plus a four-day institute of 
inspiration and counsel from suck 
men as Elder W. A. Higgins, Gen• 
eral Conference Publishing Secre• 
tary and Elders E. A. Rodeur anc 
J. T. Mason of the FED publishing 
department. 
From October 19-23, at the Pasiu 
Ris Hotel, southeast of Singapore 
about 10 miles, a group of about 
45 Literature Evangelist and leaden 
met together. Pastor S. J. Lee 
Malaya Mission President; Pastor 
K. T. Chin, Publishing Secretary. 
Brother S. S. Daniel and Y. C. Yap. 
Assistant Publishing Secretary and 
Brother C. K. Chan, ,B&PA man• 
ager and Mr. Choo Yau Fong 
Malaysian Signs Press manager and 
A model of the proposed new Chinese Bangkok Church. 
4 �
THE MESSENGER �
November-December, 1965 
A New Church in Bangkok 
By Edward Lim, Church Treasurer 
The present premises of the Bang-
kok Chinese Church of SDA was 
built in 1933 on a 2000-square-
meter lot leased from the Chula-
longkom University. It has a sitting 
capacity of about 200, and was, 
until the last decade, the only per-
manent church building of the SDA 
Mission in Thailand. For a number 
of years it served also as the meet-
ing place of the Bangkok Thai and 
English Church. 
After World War II Thailand be-
came the crossroads of the Orient, 
and the city of Bangkok is under 
going great changes. Modem build-
ings, super highways, and a new 
drainage system now under con-
struction are putting a new look 
on this metropolis. Drains are be-
ing filled, narrow streets are being 
widened, and slums are being torn 
down and rebuilt into modem 
centers. 
About a year ago it was officially 
announced that all buildings within 
the vicinity of our Bangkok Chinese 
Church will be torn down under 
a City Rebuilding Act. According 
to land regulations of this country, 
a land lease ends automatically after 
the buildings on it have been de-
molished, and the landlord is at 
liberty to cancel the lease without 
making compensations. This puts 
our Chinese Church in a difficult 
position to face the loss of the 
church building as well as the build-
ing site. Where else could this 
church, with over 150 members, 
find another house of worship? 
In desperation, the church called 
for a special week of prayer, and 
all the members were asked to make 
it a subject of prayer in their homes, 
that God will somehow open a way 
for us to retain our present lot, 
believing that man's impossibility 
is God's opportunity. We did not 
have to wait very long, for God 
had already made provision for an 
answer. 
Just about this time, Mr. Goh 
Tak, manager of the largest distil-
lery in Thailand, became interested 
in the Advent Message. Learning 
about our predicament, he volun-
teered to bring up our case before 
the authorities concerned. Being an 
influential business man and having 
good connections with many gov-
ernment officials, he succeeded in 
presenting the case before the Pre-
mier, the Head of the Depart-
ment of Religion, and the Secretary 
of the Chulalongkorn University. 
While this was being done all the 
members of the Chinese Church 
supported him with prayers. 
Several months went by without 
any definite news. But our mem-
bers kept up with their prayers and 
Mr. Goh Tak continued to work 
for this case. Then one bright Sab-
bath morning, Mr. Goh came with 
the long-hoped-for good news that 
the Chulalongkom University Board 
had acted favorably on our request 
and that a new lot had been marked 
out congruent to our present site 
for our new church building. Fur-
thermore, a reasonable amount of 
compensation will be granted by 
the City Rebuilding Council. 
Immediately a Church Building 
Committee was formed to make 
plans and raise funds for the new 
church building. Three of our 
church elders were appointed as 
Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary 
of the committee, and over a score 
of our active members were includ-
ed as committee members. The 
Mission President, the Medical Di-
rector, and the Manager of the 
Bangkok Sanitarium & Hospital 
were invited to be advisors. 
The blueprints for the new church 
building were soon drawn, and a 
miniature of the building was made 
and placed in a glass box on a 
table at the church entrance every 
Sabbath for all the members and 
visitors to see. The new church 
building will be a two-story con- 
A group of youth baptized early in 1965 by Pastor Xuan, chaplain 
of Saigon Adventist Hospital. 
November-December, 1965 
astor Daniel Lee, Editor were also 
mong the guest speakers. 
At the closing night's service, the 
anion Publishing Secretary award-
1 certificates for years of faithful 
:rvice. In the group receiving cer-
ficates were Pastor E. H. Wu, 
'ho has been a colporteur and 
ublishing secretary, now retired 
ut still canvassing, for 30 years. 
iso Brother Yap Ming, 14 years. 
rother Khor Thy Peng was not 
resent but has canvassed 11 years, 
nd Brother Lim Dim Chu 10 
ears. We appreciate their faithful 
xample. We pray that others like 
-iem will join us in this important 
.ork. 
Plans were formulated for strong-
r evangelists canvassing programs 
nd the future looks very bright 
3r advancing the message through 
ur publications. The meeting at 
'ash. Ris accomplished what Jesus 
piritual rest received has greatly 
:rengthened our workers for the 
ear ahead. 
—V. L. Bretsch, Secretary 
Publishing Department 
Southeast Union Mission 
THE MESSENGER 
Vam Nhon School 
By Ralph Neall, President 
Vietnam Mission 
The first meeting by any Union 
representative with the teachers of 
the Adventist Elementary School 
in Vam Nhon was made by Pas-
tor Jay Lantry last May. Pastor 
Lantry held a short teachers' insti-
tute in the Cantho Church, but be-
cause of its location in an insecure 
area, was not able to visit the 
school itself. Pastor Le Huu, Edu-
cational Secretary of the Vietnam 
Mission, inspected the school in his 
place. 
Oldest school in the Vietnam 
Mission, the Vam Nhon School has 
5 
operated continuously since 1935, 
except for the World War II years. 
During most of this time it has 
been operated by the Vam Nhon 
Church -without subsidies from the 
mission. 
Five teachers are now instructing 
270 children. Although the build-
ing is only an old attap-roofed 
structure, 80% of the fifth-grade 
students pass the government exami-
nations. The local director of pri-
vate elementary education expressed 
his appreciation for the work of 
the school, since the government 
is not yet able to build in the area. 
As a result of Pastor Le Huu's 
survey of the needs of the school, 
plans are being laid to improve the 
building and aid the teachers. 
crete structure comprising of: on 
the first floor, a chapel with sitting 
capacity of about 450, a pastor's 
study, a baptistry, and a choir 
room; and on the ground floor 
a library, a kindergarten classroom, 
a youth chapel or social hall, and 
a guest room. Behind the main 
church building is to be a two-
story house to accommodate the 
church pastor's family. The total 
cost of construction is estimated at 
ticals 1,000.000.00. This new build-
ing, when completed, will serve 
not only as the Bangkok Chinese 
Church but also as an Evangelistic 
Center, which is so much needed 
for Thai, English, and Chinese pub- 
(Continued on page 6.) 
VN Training School 
Graduation 
By Ralph Neall, President 
Vietnam Mission 
Eleven students graduated from 
the Vietnam Adventist Training 
School last April. Six graduated 
from the ministerial training course 
and five from the teacher training 
course. 
Speakers for the graduation week-
end were Pastors W. A. Burton, 
Principal of the school; Le Huu, 
Bible Instructor and Voice of 
Prophecy speaker; and Jay Lantry, 
Educational Secretary of the South- 
east Asia Union Mission. Four of 
the ministerial graduates and three 
of the teachers were hired by the 
school and the mission. 
Following the graduation exer-
cises, Pastor Lantry and Mrs. Lan-
try conducted a ten day teachers' 
Institute, offering a course in Prin-
ciples of Education and how to 
present God in nature. 
In addition to the Training School 
section, 250 students finished their 
year's work in the elementary and 
middle school sections of the school, 
which are fully recognized by the 
Vietnam government. The Saigon 
Adventist Hospital also conducts 
its student nursing classes at the 
school with 17 students enrolled. 
— 
Pastor Soporn and the evangelistic tabernacle at Fang, Thailand. 
6 �
THE MESSENGER 
A New Church in Bangkok 
(From page 5.) 
lic efforts in Bangkok. The location 
is excellent for this purpose. 
The Campaign for Building Funds 
started out with a special sermon 
on Sabbath, in which the speaker 
related the experiences of the Isra-
elites in their three campaigns to 
build and rebuild the house of God. 
Pledges began to come in very 
liberally from many of our mem-
bers. To give every member a 
chance to share in this noble under-
taking, an offering box was made 
and placed below the pulpit every 
Sabbath to receive savings from 
the members toward the building 
fund. It is a real inspiration to see 
the enthusiastic members and visi- 
(Continued on page 8.) 
The Cry from Bengkoka) 
(From page 3.) 
So Ajun sat there through the 
whole night. Ajun said, "I was 
very hungry, and could not lie down 
because it was all wet." No one 
came out. Ajun had brought along 
a little rice cooked in coconut with 
him so he ate that and drank 
a little water he had brought along. 
So he sat against the post on the 
Long House porch and rested all 
night long. 
"The sun rose, and about 7 
o'clock the Orang Tua in the Long 
House came out to meet me," Ajun 
said. He asked me, "Are you a 
Chinese?" 
Ajun replied, "No, I am a Run-
gus." 
Orang Tua: "Is that so? From 
where? What is your purpose of 
coming here?" 
Ajun: "I am a Rungus and I 
heard I have relatives here and 
would like to see them. I came 
from Kudat (area)." 
Orang Tua: "But do you not 
know that this place is not like 
Kudat? I have been to Kudat three 
times and it is not like this. I know 
this kampong, but you do not 
know this kampong. Do you know 
anything about this kampong?" 
Ajun: "Yes, I do not know." 
The Orang Tua—the chief—talk-
ed to him straight. "If a visitor 
comes here, the people like to try 
him; but I myself do not know 
anything. My friends here know. 
How did you sleep last night? Did 
you sleep well? Did you feel any-
thing?" (Ajun had been "tried and 
tested" by the people in this Long 
House—as they had watered the 
floor, leaving a few dry spots on 
which they had cast a spell to 
"try"•) 
Ajun: "I slept well. I did not 
feel anything." 
The Orang Tua looked at Ajun 
closely for a long time, and "fixed 
his eyes one me, and at last asked 
me," Ajun said, "Who is your 
father?" 
Ajun: "Tampoong." 
The Orang Tua tried but could 
not remember any such name, so 
asked, ."Who is your grandfather?" 
Ajun: "GUNGGUNON." 
Orang Tua: "Oh! ! he was the 
old king? Oh! he was a famous 
man in witchcraft. Now, I know 
the reason why you are so brave to 
come to this place!" 
Ajun: "Not because of my grand-
father." At once Ajun showed the 
chief his Bible, and said, "The 
reason, Orang Tua, I come to this 
place is for good tidings and these 
are the tidings I bring to you. This 
Powerful Book tells about salva-
tion!" 
So the Orang Tua heard him 
and looked at the Bible—though 
he could not read. Ajun told him 
stories about the Bible and spent 
the whole day talking with the 
chief. In the evening, the Orang 
Tua said, "I believe your book is 
a powerful Book, and I believe that 
your God is more powerful than 
November-December, 1965 
our devil. But this time I cannot 
decide to accept your God, but 
come next time. You come again 
any time." 
At the village of KABATASAN, 
where Ajun had spent seven days, 
when he first went over to the 
Bengkoka on this second trip, three 
families in two of the Long Houses 
bravely decided to leave off their 
devil worship and accept the Truth. 
The other people in the Long 
Houses are very much interested 
but waiting to see what evil may 
befall these three families who are 
the "test" families in these heathen 
Long Houses. The heathen said if 
no evil and no sickness nor harm 
befell these three families, then they 
want to become Christians also. 
The people did not want to see 
Ajun leave them, but he promised 
he would return the following week-
end to help them remove some of 
their idols or devil protections as 
they desired. 
The following week-end, Ajun 
made his third trip. This time he 
was accompanied by three eager 
young Seventh-day Adventists—Ma-
dawai, the Bible worker in Nangko, 
Tommy the teacher-pastor at Ma-
rabau, and Lausin, the pastor-teach-
er from Tambarulan. They were 
welcomed at Kabatasan by the peo-
ple from the Long Houses. No 
harm had befallen the three families 
who had bravely decided to become 
Christians. Now many, many others 
November-December, 1965 �
THE MESSENGER �
7 
were also interested. The young 
Adventists removed some of the 
devil protections which the heathen 
worship, at the request of the peo-
ple themselves. 
The heathen Rungus do not have 
any carved idols as such. They wor-
ship the ground, rocks and stones 
in the fields. They take a small 
piece of bamboo about 8 inches 
long, and tie it up in a little bundle 
with two or three sticks from a 
certain tree. They put a few grains 
of rice inside the little piece of 
bamboo—(the bamboo is about as 
big around as one's middle finger), 
a tiny bit of fruit, a tiny bit of 
chopped pork, a little bit of chopped 
heart from the banana bud or 
flower, a little wine. Then they 
hang this bundle of sticks which 
includes this special bamboo piece 
in front of their doors in the Long 
House. In individual houses, the 
bundle is hung outside the door 
also. They believe the evil spirits 
and the devil may be satisfied with 
the little food placed as a gift-
offering in the bamboo, and hope 
they will be satisfied and detracted 
from coming on in inside their 
room or house, thus hoping to 
avoid illness and evil. 
The witch doctor also uses a 
certain leaf from a certain decora-
tive plant with reddish and green 
leaves. Ajun picked a leaf from a 
plant in front of our bamboo shelter 
where we were staying. He said, 
"The witch doctor takes this leaf, 
covers it with pig's blood. Then he 
says certain words over it. That is 
supposed to cure the disease and 
make a person well." 
Asked if he himself believed this 
—just a little bit, maybe,—Ajun 
smiled and replied, "I used to be-
lieve it, but I am a Christian now!" 
November 10-11 we made a trip 
to visit- Kabatasan, on the Bengko- 
ka Peninsula. In the afternoon a 
meeting was held in the second 
Long House. It is amazing how 
those heathen are learning how to 
sing the gospel hymns Ajun has 
been teaching them! They love to 
sing, and memorize the words, and 
join right in. Ajun takes along his 
songbook everywhere he goes, to- 
gether with his Bible. Pastor An-
drew Peters gave a Bible study 
and told the story of the Ninety 
and Ninety and the Good Shep-
herd. 
That evening, a special meeting 
was conducted in the First Long 
House at Kabatasan, and the peo-
ple from the Second Long House 
trudged the mile's distance at night, 
through the mud, through padi 
fields, and through the jungle to 
attend this special meeting. Pastor 
Mandatang Gaban, Home Mission- 
ary and Sabbath-School Secretary 
for Sabah Mission was in charge 
of this evening's meeting. After 
Ajun held a good service in song, 
Pastor Gaban gave a Bible study 
illustrated with color slides, by the 
use of a tiny battery-operated pro-
jector. After a Malay hymn sung 
by Pastor Peters and prayer, a 
little clinic was conducted. There 
is much malaria, dysentary, diarrhea 
and worms from which the people 
suffer. They were most appreciative 
for the little help they received. It 
was late when the meeting and 
clinic were finished. 
The Orang Tua—the village chief 
—and a group of his fellow Run-
gus tribespeople crowded into the 
little bamboo-attap shelter where 
we were resting for the night. We 
were to depart at 4 o'clock the 
following morning so that we could 
reach the sea before the heavy 
winds would make it impossible to 
pass through the rough breakers. 
The chief was speaking. "You 
are going back. How can you leave 
us? We have no one to lead us. 
We have now given up our devil 
worship. We have gotten rid of 
our devil charms. We want to learn 
about the True God. We need you 
to lead us! How can you leave us 
alone?" 
How to answer? 
The mission's budget is stretched 
thin as it is. The village chief has 
ceased his pleading, and stands be-
fore us silent . . . stands before us 
expectant . . . waiting . . . while we 
grope for an answer _to meet his 
plea. In mental image the mission's 
budget passes quickly on review.. �
 
it would take a budget of at least 
US$1,000 to send in a worker to 
open up this new work. . . . Some 
more for a church—that very after-
noon we had accompanied a group 
of eager Rungus from the Long 
House to inspect a lovely site above 
the river for the location of a 
church!—there just is not �
 
The village chief is still standing 
silently waiting before us. 
Looking at the earnest group be-
fore us, recalling the pleas of other 
village chiefs in other parts of this 
same unentered Bengkoka Penin-
sula, recalling the words one village 
chief spoke for himself and for his 
people to Pastor Mandatang Ga-
ban who made a brief trip there: 
Miss Salinee, Director of BSH 
School of Nursing, was one of two 
Thai delegates for World Federa-
tion for Mental Health convention 
held recently in Bangkok. 
"We want the S.D.A.'s. We're go-
ing to wait for you." These have 
been waiting three years . . . An-
other denomination has entered to 
work the peninsula now on the 
east side, but is rapidly sweeping 
towards this side . . . this village 
chief declares, "We're going to wait 
for you. We want the S.D.A.'s".... 
If only the budget. . . . But—the 
DOLLAR sign is overshadowed by 
the CROSS sign. We answer the 
chief. "We will see what we can 
do as soon as possible." 
The chief trotted the two hun-
dred feet or so down the jungle 
path from our shelter to his Long 
House. 
The night was getting late, yet 
others came up the ladder and in 
to our little shelter. So eager to 
hear more about the "Powerful 
Book"—the Word of the True God! 
So many questions to ask! Pastor 
Gaban was kept busy answering 
questions and explaining the Bible 
to these primitive Rungus in our 
shelter until after midnight. 
As we left Kabatasan before 
dawn, to travel down river to the 
sea and across in a small open 
boat, the words of the Orang Tua 
kept ringing in our ears: "How can 
you leave us? We have now given 
up our devil worship. We want to 
learn about the True God. We need 
you to lead us! How can you leave 
us alone?" 
This is the CRY FROM BENG-
KOKA! 
Baptism at BSH by Pastor D. K. Smith. 
8 �
THE MESSENGER �
November-December, 1965 
THE MESSENGER 
Published bi-monthly as the official organ 
of the S. D. A. Union of Southeast Asia. 
251 Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore, 13. 
Yearly Subscription Price so cents (U.S.) 
Editor �
 H. W. BEDWELL 
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST 
UNION OF SOUTHEAST ASIA 
DIRECTORY 
M.C. (P) 1144 
H. W. BEDWELL �
 President 
G. 0. BRUCE � Secretary-Treasurer 
K. T. Kona Assistant Secretary-Treasurer 
KONG �
 Auditor 
J. H. LANTRY � M. V. Educationa,, 
& Temperance 
D. M. BARNETT � Home Missionary 
Mrs. D. M. BARNETT �
 Sabbath School 
G. H. COFFIN, M.D. � Medical 
DANIEL GUILD �Ministerial V.O.P. &I?". 
V. L. BRETSCH �
 'Publishing 
MALAYA MISSION 
President �
 S. J. Lee 
Sec'y-Treasurer �
 W. Y. Chen 
i66, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 
SABAH MISSION 
President �
 A. Peters 
Soc'y-Treasurer �
 Bunny Cheah 
P. 0. Box 34 Jesselton, Sabah 
SARAWAK MISSION 
President �
 R. C. Hall 
Sec'y-Treasurer � P. R. Sibarani 
P. 0. Box 41, Kuching, Sarawak 
THAILAND MISSION 
(INCLUDING LAOS) 
President �
 P. G. Wick 
Sec'y-Treasurer �
 G. Gurusamy 
P. 0. Box 11/234. Bangkok, Thailand 
VIETNAM MISSION 
(INCLUDING CAMBODIA) 
President �
 R. E. Neall 
Sec'y-Treasurer �
 C. -Harris 
P. 0. Box 453 Saigon, Vietnam 
A New Church in Bangkok 
(From page 6.) 
tors, young and old, come forward 
and put their weekly savings into 
the offering box. 
The response from the church 
members, the mission, and others 
has been most encouraging. At the 
time of this writing already ticals 
80,000 has been received from the 
church members. Assistance is also 
coming from the mission. The Far 
Eastern Division and Union have 
voted an amount of ticals 150,000 
for the project. From the city it is 
expected that ticals 120,000 will be 
received. A good beginning has 
been made but more than ticals 
300,000 remain to be raised. We 
cannot be sure just when the order 
will come for us to tear down our 
present premises, but we must do 
all possible to be prepared for that 
soon event. 
From the Scriptures we read, 
"And all they that were about them 
strengthened their hands with ves-
sels of silver, with gold, with goods, 
. . ." Ezra 1:6. While we are doing 
our best to promote this campaign 
and trying to help ourselves, we feel 
that our own efforts are feeble and 
limited. We, therefore, are soliciting 
help from our brethren about us 
whose hearts the Spirit of the Lord 
has touched to strengthen our hands 
with their donations and assistance 
in this good work. 
Robert Jean of Cambodia 
One in Twenty Thousand? 
No, the odds are even greater 
than that. For in all of Cambodia 
with its 5,500.000 people, Robert 
Jean is the only SDA Literature 
Evangelist He was present at our 
recent Vietnam Literature Evangel-
ist Institute. His warm friendly 
smile and his knowledge of the 
colporteur work is the reason he is 
a success at placing our literature 
in the hands of so many heathen 
within Cambodia. 
The pressures of Communism 
have come very near to him, even 
to the extent of losing his father, 
who was captured some time ago 
and hasn't been heard from since. 
Today, with his mother and sisters 
to care for, he could find excuses 
to look for an easier task. But he 
feels the Lord has called him into 
the literature ministry. This calling, 
plus the great need of his neighbors 
and friends keeps him happy while 
serving alone among such a large 
multitude of ungodly people. 
Surely God must still have His 
thousands, in Southeast Asia, who 
have not bowed their knees to Baal! 
We need more Robert Jean's to 
find them. 
Bretsch, Secretary 
Publishing Department 
Southeast Union Mission