Some notes from Fraser’s biography that define two battles, seen and unseen.
Firstly, the ‘seen battle’ – the physical cost required to reach the unreached Lisu people with the Gospel.
“Cold and hunger were constant companions. Sometimes they caught and ate mountain rats or weasels. Sometimes they were able to buy rice and eggs at a village. Bitter winds blew over the passes, and they welcomed the smoky fires of the villages at night. James found he was in his natural element, sitting down in a poor little place among utter strangers, thousands of miles from home, and several days’ journey from the nearest European, warming his wet clothes and looking out on a silent world of mist, rain, and mountains, feeling just as happy as could be, even thrilled with pleasure to think of it.”
Secondly, the ‘unseen battle’ – The spiritual warfare involved in invading territory that Satan claimed as his.
“It was during this time that the hold demonism had over these people came home to James. This was not a childish belief in something non-existent. The demons were real. Their power was demonstrable. The fear the villagers lived in amounted to total slavery. In one village of the Tantsah area, the demon priests were forced to propitiate the Great Spirit from time to time by getting volunteers to walk up a ladder of sharpened sword blades. After being purified, the victims ascended the ladder naked and in a trance. They all tell me that no man so prepared is ever injured, although they frequently suffer from fear beforehand. They say, too, that no one unprepared would dare attempt it, for the blades would just about cut his feet in pieces. When at the top of a kind of platform, they look down with glaring eyes and in unearthly tones give messages from the spirit. At times, they make a huge fire also, in which they burn iron chains until red hot. Then, in some kind of paroxysm, they pick them up and throw them round their shoulders. In this case, they also say that no harm comes to them. You might suppose that onlookers regard the whole thing as a kind of entertainment, but this is far from the case. They all say that they wish they knew how to get rid of the burden; but they must do it, whether they want to or not.”
But it was worth it!
In every village, James told the story of Jesus Christ. In a place called Tantsah, he had a special warm reception. There were over a hundred families there, and he was welcome to stay and talk with the villagers. People were in and out all day. In the evening, we had splendid services. The room was jammed to overflowing – men, boys and women with their breast ornaments, beads and babies, all squeezing in to listen. Attention was often rapt, and response hearty.
The busy keeper of an inn pleaded with James to teach her how to pray to the living God. She seemed to grasp the meaning of the cross. Over and over again, she repeated the little prayer he taught her. The next morning, while it was still dark, she was up looking for him. “Say it to me again,” she begged. “I want so much to pray, and there will be no one to help me when you have gone.”
(Source: Mountain Rain, a biography of James O. Fraser by Eileen Fraser Crossman.)
