The Mission Scene at Mae Sariang

 

Looking out the window of Drs. Eli and Joyce Cong
in Mae Sariang, some of the rice paddy areas along
 the Yuam River can be seen.

The town of Mae Sariang was located at the junction of the Yuam and Mae Sariang Rivers. The two rivers had formed a nice broad, flat valley ideal for rice paddies. To help control the water and make it available to irrigate the paddy fields, the government had organized a system of canals. Some older Karen told us that most all of the valley had been under Karen ownership in days gone by but gradually had come under ethnic Thai ownership, eventually becoming an “Amphur” (like a county sized governmental unit) in the Thai governing system.

By the time we came on the scene in 1984, Highway 108 that connected Mae Sariang to the rest of the country was paved, though it certainly could generate wash outs, landslides and rough spots from time to time. Still, transportation was much improved compared to what the previous generation of missionaries had experienced. Bob and Pat Coats lived in Mae Sariang for many years and we would eventually move into “The Coats’ House”. They would sometimes tell us of their adventures in travelling to, from and around Mae Sariang sometimes using elephants.

At one of many gatherings left to right, includes
Benny Kya, Lah Say, Dr. Bina Sawyer, Kinuko
Omori, Eva Quist, Peggy Smith, a volunteer
couple and Duane.

In spite of the growing Thai influence and population, Mae Sariang was and remains an important and
sizable Karen community. The north end of town was largely Karen forming something of a large village within the town. Across highway 108 was another area, largely settled by Karen. Closer to “downtown” was a Lawa area and just across the Yuam River was a Muslim mosque with an associated community.

A number of the shops in town were run by Muslims. We were told that the Muslim population originated in India in the days of colonial rule by Brittain. When Burma came under British control, some of the Muslims were encouraged to settle and trade in Burma. From there, they migrated into the Mae Sariang and other areas of Thailand, likewise to start businesses and to trade.

Dr. Bina working with Karen patient

As American Baptists renewed mission efforts in Thailand after World War II, Mae Sariang became a center of outreach. The Mae Sariang Christian Hospital was established and at the time, was the only medical care available in the area. Associated with the hospital were “mobile clinics” that took basic care out to the surrounding, remote villages. Back pack medics were also trained and equipped.

There were few to no schools outside of Mae Sariang so student “hostels” were built. Boarding houses for kids from outside villages to stay while attending school in town, these hostels were the only opportunity for many kids to get an education.

Peggy Smith with a Karen couple.

In addition, missionaries from Chiang Mai would visit Mae Sariang and the surrounding areas to carry
out work like literacy, encourage women’s ministries, conduct Bible study, carry out evangelistic training, help with agriculture, etc.

The Karen had settled in what the Thai called the “Ban Pong” area so the Karen church in town was called “The Ban Pong Church”. The church was just uphill and behind the hospital, and beside the two hostel buildings and a couple mission houses. Especially on Sundays, but at any appropriate time, the church bell would ring out to announce that services, meetings and gatherings were starting.

The Ban Pong Church

As we arrived in 1984, the hospital, hostels and church were all going strong. A government hospital had recently been built in Mae Sariang but was just starting to influence the medical scene. Eventually, it would lead to the closing of the Christian Hospital, but that was still some years down the road.

Some of the Baptist missionaries in Mae Sariang as we arrived included Drs. Eli and Joyce Cong from the Philippines. Both Eli and Joyce helped Dr. Bina Sawyer at the Christian Hospital. Other doctors from the US, Sweden and Burma would come and go for various periods but Dr. Bina headed the work until she retired.

Kinuko Omori from a Baptist group in Japan was ahead of us in language school in Bangkok and preceded us to Mae Sariang. Her main role was organizing and carrying out the mobile clinics to outlying villages. Kim Brown began language school in Bangkok not long before we finished, and she soon joined the hospital staff as a nurse. As the hospital was closing however, and with the rise of AIDS as a health issue, Kim began an AIDS education program that later led to the House of Love and other programs now based in Chiang Mai.

Peggy Smith was another American Baptist nurse. Like Bina Sawyer and several other missionaries in Thailand, Peggy had been a missionary nurse in Burma until the 1960s. Burma forced all missionaries out of the country so Peggy transferred to Thailand. We first met Peggy at the Kwai River Christian Hospital in Sanklaburi but now she was in Mae Sariang.

Dr. Bina and Kim Brown 
taking care of paper work.

Marcia would soon be taking on educational work that had been started by missionaries related to the Baptist Union of Sweden. Sten-Goran and Marianne Liljestrom were in Mae Sariang as we first arrived as was Eva Quist. However, they would soon be leaving and the scholarship and hostel program was turned over to Marcia to help with until others could carry on in the future. Sten-Goran and Marianne Liljestrom would leave, but soon returned to Thailand and carried on with Pwo Karen literacy work as well as the educational programs and more but were based in Chiang Mai.

In addition to Baptist related missionaries, the New Tribes mission had several families working in the area that often maintained homes in Mae Sariang. Especially at US holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, there would be combined gatherings to celebrate. We would also run into them in town and if they came for medical care at the hospital.

I’m sure many of the missionaries will be mentioned in future blog posts. Likewise, there were many Karen leaders and workers that made everything work. We’ll be featuring them as well. For now, we wanted to set the scene to give an idea of the environment we entered when we moved to Mae Sariang. It was a great location and a privilege to become a part of it all.