Lois Callaway 1921 – 1996 Writings by Lois Mother
Teacher Book Series on PRAYER C W's Memoirs More to Come C
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Reports 2013 Family Camp - English/Mien Other Links Charley Watley Callaway Sr Memoirs An Iu-Mienh – English Dictionary |
Mother
Teacher page last revised: April 14, 2017 The
Mien called her Mother Teacher the two highest positions of respect that can
be given a woman in Mien society. We knew her as Lois Callaway - loving
mother and veteran missionary to the Mien tribe of Northern Thailand. She with
her husband C.W. Callaway left America in 1946 and set out on a journey to
take the gospel of Jesus Christ to a people group who had never heard the
name of Christ. That journey ended when they arrived in a mountain village in
Northern Thailand where she set out to raise her five children (Lelan, Mark,
Joyce, Jeni, and David), learn the Mien language and learn to adapt to the
hardship of isolation in a jungle village. As a servant of Christ she
saw the needs of the Mien were more than just conversion to Christianity but
a transformation of a way of life. To lift the burden of hardship from
poverty and addiction to opium and give the Mien a way of supporting
themselves would help insure their adjustment to a quickly changing world. The upheaval following the
Vietnam War and the Communist take over of Laos accelerated the need for
helping the Mien adjust to a new way of life. Fleeing into Thailand from the
Communists many of the Mien and other tribal groups ended up in the United
Nations refugee camps in Thailand. From there many were sent to resettle as
immigrants in the USA and other countries. There Lois and C.W. set out
to share the gospel of Christ’s love and forgiveness with the Mien. Many came
to Christ as never before and the foundation of the present day Mien Church
worldwide was born. In the refugee camp there
was no way for the Mien to earn a living. So Lois decided to use the Mien
women’s skill in embroidery to produce products that could be sold to
tourists and the foreign community. These hand crafted products were sold in
foreign women’s clubs, churches and at missionary meetings. But the real
impact was the start of a new handicraft business which has grown to include
all the tribal groups as well as Thai nationals. Now tourists from all over the
world who travel to Thailand enjoy shopping at the large night bazaars in Chiang Mai
and Chiang
Rai. Not realizing that the idea for such a business came
in part from the heart of this servant of Christ. Mother Teacher Book … by way of introduction … Most
every American has heard of the Vietnam War. What many Americans do not know
is that this war had messily spilled over into the neighboring countries of
Vietnam. Quiet mountain villages of Laos were bombed. Young Laotian boys
barely taller than the firearms they carried were enlisted by the C.I.A. to
fight the communists. This was the Silent War; the war in Laos that by
official U.S. declaration, did not exist. Refugees fleeing the communists
were crammed into filthy barbed-wire camps in Thailand. The
camps were bursting with the sick, the hungry, the dying, and the hopeless. Lois
Callaway was an American missionary in Thailand at that time. Yoon
Choy Saechao was a young village boy in Laos whose life was forever
changed by the Silent War. It was in the stench of the camp that their lives
intersected, and Yoon Choy found salvation. I
was privileged to sit and listen to both their stories. History is best heard
from those who were there. These two stories have become a singular story of
crossing cultures and survival. It is as much a tribute to Lois Callaway as
to the Mien people like Yoon Choy, whom she loved and served. One person with
a heart inclined toward the will of God, can effect change. Lois Callaway
showed me that this can be true. LOIS
NADINE ELKERTON arrived in this world in a simple sod home in Adena, Morgan
County, Colorado on November 24, 1921. She distinguished herself in Fort
Morgan, Colorado High School and in that city in journalism and anticipated a
career in that field. She was active in her church youth group and there felt
the call of the Lord on her life for foreign mission service. She thus
entered Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. There she met C.W. Callaway.
After a 2-year courtship they married in Enid on May 28, 1942. They ministered
in Glencoe, Oklahoma. While continuing studies at Cincinnati, Ohio Bible
Seminary they ministered to Syria and Bethel Christian Churches near Orleans,
Indiana. They
first went abroad in December 1946 for a year's study in missionary medicine
and Burmese in London, England. After a frustrating 6 months of trying in
vain to extend their visas in Burma they served a year in Kunming, Yunnan,
Western China. Forced from China by the communist takeover they went on to
Thailand where they arrived on October 18, 1949. Most events in this book
occurred in Thailand. Throughout their ministry they have been supported by
several local congregations of Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. C.W.
& Lois have 2 sons born in America, one daughter born in China, and a son
and daughter born in Thailand. Lois died in an automobile accident near Napa,
California on September 5, 1996. Joyce Bhang |
Please send me an email
note with any needed updates to the information shown on this page.
Thanks, Lelan Callaway. My
email address is: lelan@motherteacher.org