Belle, her heart beating rapidly in her chest, looked at John. She could think of one wonderful solution. She and John could go to the Lisu and take over one of the locations. This would have been impossible to do with a newborn baby, but not now.
John was excited too and wrote to James, asking whether he and Belle could be assigned to the Salween River Valley, where the Lisu lived. The days dragged on as Belle waited for a response, but when it finally arrived, it was not quite the good news she had been hoping for. But at least it was a foot in the door.
James had suggested that John and Belle visit Leila Cooke. John could then gauge the latest developments in the opium situation and talk with some of the local officials, and Belle could spend time with Leila and decide whether she herself could withstand living such a harsh existence.
When Belle finished reading the letter, she let out a whoop of joy. Ten years had now passed since she had first heard the call to serve among the Lisu people, and now she was finally on her way to their territory.
Chapter 11
Lisuland
It will take us ten days to get there. We can spend a month with Leila spying out the land, and then it will be a ten-day journey back,” John told Belle.
“I can hardly wait,” Belle replied. “This trip has been in my heart for ten years!”
John nodded knowingly.
Belle knew that John also was looking forward to being with the Lisu people, though over the years he had not felt the same single focus toward them as she had.
The only difficult issue in the whole plan for Belle was the thought of leaving three-year-old Kathryn behind with two women missionaries. Belle knew that her daughter would be well taken care of and that it would not be wise to take Kathryn with them until they understood just how difficult living with the Lisu people would be.
Finally, in early March 1934, Belle and John said good-bye to their daughter and set off on the trip with several local Christians. It was springtime, and the abundance of wild purple and red rhododendrons delighted Belle. What a contrast these bright flowers were to the filthy, airless inns that they stayed in each night. As usual, the food was a trial to Belle, and two days into the journey she became weak with dysentery, but she refused to stop traveling. “I am just as likely to get well on the back of Jasper the mule,” she insisted, “as I am staying in one of these inns.” She prayed for the concentration necessary to hold onto the reins and balance on the mule’s back. Up and down steep slopes they went, with John cheerfully consulting a crude map of the area and yelling out the heights of the mountains they scaled. “Eight thousand feet, Belle. Magnificent, isn’t it?” and “Twelve thousand feet up. Imagine it, Belle, we’re on the roof of the world!”
Belle tried to get into the spirit of traveling, though it was obvious to her that John was a natural mountain climber and she was not.
Eight days and many switchback trails later, Belle and John descended into the Salween River Valley and came to a tiny market town named Luku, which means “six treasures.” Luku was nestled alongside the Salween River and was the gateway to the land of the Lisu. The mountains beyond the town, which included much of the territory of the Lisu, were steeped in feudalism. Three warlords lived in Luku and controlled the surrounding countryside. Those who lived in the territory were obliged to offer allegiance to the warlords and pay them taxes.
That night, one of the warlords invited Belle and John to eat with him at his Yamen, or official home. He took delight showing the two missionaries through his castle-like home, pointing out stashes of weapons and various fortifications. As they ate together, the warlord told Belle and John about the land he controlled and the people who lived there. He talked about the money he made from salt mines located deep in the Salween River Valley and from a tax on the crops the people grew. Among those crops was opium. When it came to describing the Lisu people, he said, “Ah, the Lisu, they are like animals. High up there on the mountains, they are only good for farming and for paying taxes. We call them the ‘Monkey People.’”
Animals! Monkey People! The warlord’s characterization of the Lisu shocked Belle. To her the Lisu were like lost sheep, in desperate need of hearing the gospel message of hope, love, and forgiveness.
Later that night John took Belle for a walk alongside the river. When they came to a small rise, they stood and looked out across the Salween River. Belle could make out the silhouette of mountains rising like black towers from the water’s edge and disappearing into the sky.
“See those specks of light high on the mountains over there?” John said.
“Yes,” Belle replied, her eyes squinting into the darkness.
“Those are Lisu fires—Lisu villages. You are now in Lisuland.”
A chill ran down Belle’s spine as the realization washed over her. After so many years, she was now standing on the edge of Lisu territory.
Early the next morning Belle and John set off in search of their first Lisu village. The mountains of Lisuland were even steeper than those they had already crossed to reach the Salween River Valley. As they reached the top of the first mountain, Belle could see for miles. The scene that stretched out before her from the top of the mountain reminded her of folds of blue and brown velvet pinched together until the folds were parallel to each other. Each pine-covered ridge of mountains rose almost straight up. And in the valleys at the bottom of each fold flowed an icy cold river that ran all the way from the Tibetan highlands. Sometimes it seemed to Belle that she could reach out and almost touch the tops of the next row of mountains. It also almost looked possible to string a long bridge between the mountaintops, but there was no bridge. The only way to travel was to go straight up and then straight down, cross the river in the valley, and then go straight up and over the next ridge of mountains.
By midday they reached their first Lisu village. Belle stood in amazement as she took in the sight and looked around. The village was just as James had described a Lisu village ten years before at The Firs in Bellingham, Washington. Only this time Belle was seeing the village not with her mind’s eye but with her own eyes.
The villagers welcomed the couple warmly and invited them into a shanty for a meal. Although Belle and John spoke no Lisu, some of the locals close to the “outside” spoke some Chinese, and so they were able to communicate enough to find out that the family they were eating with had been converted to Christianity through James.
The house where John and Belle were guests consisted of one room set atop sturdy wooden poles dug into the mountainside so that the back of the dwelling butted up to the mountainside and the front stuck out into the air as the steep mountain dropped away beneath it. The floor was made of wooden slats and woven bamboo. The roof was made from slats laid over beams and held in place by large pine logs, and the walls were woven bamboo. Livestock and chickens were penned up under the house. It all seemed a little precarious to Belle, and more so when she learned that not a nail was used to build the place. Strips of tough tree bark held everything together. Belle wondered whether the knots ever came undone. If they did, surely the house would roll down the mountainside and topple all the way to the river far below. Nonetheless, Belle was grateful for the hospitality the Lisu family was showing them.
By the time the corn and pork rind meal was over, Belle could hardly wait to continue the journey onward to find Leila. Leila’s village, Pine Mountain Village, was located on the side of the next ridge of mountains less than five hours’ trek away.
The afternoon sun was casting long shadows by the time Belle rounded a rocky outcrop and spotted three small huts. Belle’s heart raced. Surely one of them belonged to Leila. Belle suddenly felt a wave of shyness overcome her. She had never met Leila, a veteran CIM missionary and noted author.
It was obvious to Belle that John had been thinking about their first meeting too. He turned to her and said, “Now remember, dear, you know how you like to talk! Try to restrain yourself from overdoing it.”
Belle nodded. She had been telling herself the same thing. It would not do to chatter on like a nervous schoolgirl on her first meeting with Leila Cooke.
Belle need not have worried. Leila was delighted to welcome the weary visitors into her traditional Lisu hut, much like the one they had eaten lunch in. As she fed them homemade muffins and green tea, she explained that it had been nearly a year since she’d seen a fellow white woman, and she had so much she wanted to talk about.
Within hours, Belle felt like the two of them were old friends. Leila told Belle a great deal about the Lisu people. She explained to her that there were two distinct groups of Lisu: the Black Lisu, who were called “black” because they wore unadorned dark colors; and the Flowery Lisu, who wore more “flowery” clothing, colorfully woven and brightly embroidered. It was the Black Lisu who lived around the Pine Mountain Village area.
James had first come and evangelized among the Flowery Lisu in the south of Lisuland, where he had established small churches of believers in the various Lisu villages scattered across the area. The churches had been established as independent, self-sustaining entities. A pastor and group of deacons had led each church, and many congregations had also supported evangelists who traveled throughout the area sharing the gospel. Leila and Allyn Cooke had succeeded James Fraser in overseeing the work among the Lisu. Slowly, mostly because of the efforts of Lisu evangelists, the work had spread and churches had been established in the area where Leila now lived.
Over the years evangelists had spread the gospel to the area around Luda, a weeklong perilous journey up the Salween River Canyon. Allyn Cooke was now living there and overseeing the growing Christian work. Leila was careful to point out that the churches throughout the area followed the pattern James had established. These churches were independent, self-sustaining, and self-propagating. The missionary’s job was not to run or financially support the churches but to encourage the local Christians in their faith and mentor the church leaders.
After the dinner dishes had been cleared away, Lisu Christians made their way to Leila’s hut. The scene brought tears to Belle’s eyes. The group comprised men, women, and children who had heard and accepted the gospel and been taught to read and write. They were all squatting on the floor of Leila’s hut singing hymns and earnestly listening as passages from the Bible were read aloud. In all her years in China, Belle had never seen such openness.
The next few days confirmed Belle’s view of the Lisu. While a large percentage of the Lisu people were not Christians, those who were believers were joyful and loving and ready to share their faith and live it out before others.
Belle had the opportunity to spend time with several native leaders of the church, and although Belle could not speak their language, Leila told her their stories. “That man there,” she said, gesturing with her head toward the man squatting in the corner of the room.
Belle looked at him and smiled.
“That is Me-do-me-pa,” Leila went on. “He is the headman of Oak Flat Village, and he is an evangelist and a good preacher. He has been preaching down in Horse Grass Level Village. Several years ago he was beaten badly by the warlord for being a Christian. But he lived through the ordeal, and because of him, the church in the area is stronger than ever.”
Belle and John were deeply touched by the man’s story. But it was the three men who came to Leila’s hut early on the fifth morning who captured Belle’s imagination like no others. Each man wore loose white pants and a jerkin and had a bright red turban on his head. By now Belle knew enough about Lisu dress to realize that the men must be Flowery Lisu, since they did not wear the navy blue turbans of the Lisu in the area.
