“…… whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  Matthew 10:28

Many of us have never heard of the pioneer missionary, James O. Fraser.  However, his life has many powerful lessons for us all.  James was a gifted engineer and concert pianist.  He could have had a career as a musician playing in the cities of Europe, but felt the call of God to a remote area in southwest China.  In 1908, at 22 years, he joined the China Inland Mission and arrived in China.  God led him to the Tibeto-Burmese border to the Lisu people, a minority group who lived in the high mountains along the border.

The first 6 years in China were marked by struggle with no fruit in his ministry.  The Lisu were bound by ancestor worship and Fraser found himself in a spiritual battle he was not prepared for.  He quickly realized the importance of the prayer of faith and much time had been wasted through ineffective praying.  He said, “Praying without faith is like trying to cut with a blunt knife – much labor expended to little purpose.”  His sending church in England took up the challenge and began to pray. His mother formed a prayer group committed to praying specifically for the salvation of many souls.  Within months of earnest prayer, the floodgates opened and 129 families, representing 600 Lisu came to Christ!

Fraser learned the language and began sharing the gospel to groups of people in the market, on street corners or in tea shops.  He had translated the book of Mark and together with tracts would visit towns and set up a table in the marketplace.  One day, the table was knocked over and some of his booklets fell into puddles and were stomped on by mules.  A six year old boy grabbed one, and stuffed it down his shirt.  His father was a pastry chef who had sent the boy to sell cakes.  On the journey home, the father began to read the booklet and it “began a quiet revolution in that mountain home.”

Five years later, Fraser passed through the area and began to play his accordion in the marketplace.  A crowd of about 100 gathered and he shared the gospel with them.  He closed by asking if anyone wanted to know more about Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world? A man stepped forward saying he had come to believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  He invited Fraser back to his shop and showed him “a small, well-read copy of Mark’s gospel.”  It was Moh, the boy’s father.  Moh became a missionary to his own people, enduring some persecution, but led many to Christ in that region.  Fraser recalled, “he never knew a braver man in his witness for Christ.”  “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”  John 12:24.

 Fast forward 100 years.  I was in Beijing on a trip with family members to adopt my grandson Jordan.  It was Sunday morning and I had the privilege of attending the Beijing International Christian Fellowship, a church open to foreigners.  The speaker was a missionary to the Lisu people.  He told how when Fraser went to China, he taught the people how to sing.  They were naturally musical and could sing and play instruments without reading music!  Today, they are known for their beautiful choirs and colorful costumes as they tour China using their voices for Jesus Christ!  Wow!  What a legacy!!   As of 2007, and nearly 70 years after the death of James Fraser, it’s estimated that 70-80 percent of the Lisu people are still Christian!  Christianity is thriving, even in China!

Your friend, Jean