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C W's Memoirs |
Mother
Teacher page last revised: April 10, 2023 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: lelancallaway@gmail.com