Mountain Rain

I am now setting my face like a flint; if the work seems to fail, then pray; if services, etc., fall flat, then pray still more; if months slip by with little or no result, then pray still more and get others to help you.

5 min read

Mountain Rain by Eileen Fraser Crossman is the moving biography of missionary James Fraser and his labors in the mountains of China. While he is a role model to be followed, I found his personal writings—both in his journals and letters to friends—insightful and challenging to my own life. I’ll dive into it all in this review.

Summary

James Fraser was only twenty-two when he abandoned a promising career and went to China. At first sight of the Lisu tribespeople of Yunnan province he felt an immediate affection for them, and for the rest of his life he labored to bring them to Christ and to Christian maturity. Packed with personal letters, insightful anecdotes and riveting stories of missionary life in China, this superb biography by Eileen Crossman, his daughter, shines with God’s constant faithfulness and power over evil.

The book follows Fraser’s journey from his college days to his life in China and his eventual death. While his life story is the focus of the book, it’s only half of the content. Much of the book is full of his writings and records of things God taught him throughout his time serving.

These excerpts, these peeks into his thoughts, challenged me more than the overview of his life. As he confronted the spiritual darkness that he found among the demon-worshipping tribes, he learned firsthand the power of prayer and the necessity of living a Spirit-filled life.

Divine Assistance

For John Fraser, prayer wasn’t just an opener to the day, a quick request for blessing and wisdom before moving on. It was his day. His journal records hours upon hours spent alone in the mountains, praying over some straying convert or potent obstacle.

He found that his own labors did nothing; weeks of teaching and reasoning created little result. But as soon as he and his prayer partners in England got on their knees, everything changed. The darkness lifted. Obstacles just up and left.

Life was tough, yes. But when he left everything to God, hardships were no longer debilitating. They were just invitations to watch the salvation of the Lord.

Near the beginning, he also spent some time learning about contentment. He spoke of finding contentment in the menial things, in times of transition, and making the best of your current circumstances.

“Why should I, in the hot, close, rainy season at Tengyueh, long for the dry months when things are more pleasant all around? Didn’t God intend me to put up with the discomfort of heat and mildew? Why should I look forward to the time when I shall be able to speak Chinese more freely? Didn’t God intend for me to serve an apprenticeship in learning the language? Why should I look forward to a little more time for myself, for reading, etc.? Though it is the most natural thing in the world to have such thoughts, I feel they are not at all scriptural.”

As he says, it is natural to look forward to future events that we think will make things better. But even in these small things, such as longing for better weather, or longing to master a certain skill, we are showing discontent with the situations God has placed us in.

The Prayer of Faith

Fraser also wrote on the role of faith in prayer. He said it’s important to pray according to your faith, whether you have much or little. Don’t ask a little, restricted by doubt, but also don’t ask for ambitious results only to satisfy your own fleshly desire for success.

Between that is the land of true faith—the answer that is beyond you, but is grounded enough for confident request. And as one prays more, sees more answers, and grows in faith, one can ask for greater things.

Despite how much he grew during his time in China, he constantly wrote in his journal about more things he had to do, more ways he needed to improve. Having a consistent time to commune with God isn’t the end goal—it’s just the beginning. That’s the bare minimum.

How much more could God do in the lives of Christians if we didn’t settle for the average, expected thing? What could happen if we stepped out and followed Him to the ends of the earth?

Overall

Mountain Rain is a moving book, both from the example of John Fraser and from the devotional insights he had. His writings on prayer and faith have already been on my mind for days, and will doubtless continue to influence me moving forward. Even if you don’t typically enjoy biographies, I would recommend you pick this one up for the theology alone.

If you enjoy this book, you may also like Jungle Pilot by Russell T. Hitt.

Thanks for reading!