Once Chia Koua was involved in learning what Shong Lue taught, he wanted to know more about God. Realizing what Chia Koua had in mind, Shong Lue told him, "If you want to know about God [learn more explicitly what God is like], I am going to tell you." [The lessons then came about in the following way.]

Visit from souls of the dead

In 1966 a Hmong couple, Neng Tru Her [and his wife] lived in Na Hai Village in Phong Saly Province [bordering China on the north, controlled by the communists]. They had two children, an eleven-year-old girl named Youa Her and a nine-year-old boy named Xeng Her. Every day Youa and Xeng's parents went to work in their rice field all day long, leaving the children to watch the home. One day the children saw three cats in the large rice storage bin located in the center of the house. Then, as the time approached for the parents to return from the rice field, the cats all disappeared. The cats showed up for three consecutive days but then they no longer came back. Instead, three monkeys appeared for another three days, and then stopped coming back. [Chia Koua does not know why the cats or the monkeys, or why there were three of each.] Then eight people who could speak Hmong like real Hmong people appeared and stayed with the children, and when the parents returned from the rice field the people did not disappear, but stayed there with the children. Pointing the people out, Youa and Xeng said to their parents, "Some Hmong people came and stayed with us!" But the parents could not see them or hear them talk.

The fact that Youa and Xeng [claimed to be] able to hear and see [people] surprised the parents, who called the elders of the village to come and question the children. [Chia Koua does not know how the children were able to see the people.] Youa and Xeng, who pointed the guests out to everyone, saying, "They are sitting here and there," but since no one saw the guests no one believed the youngsters. The guests then said to the children, "We are only souls [of dead people]; that's why they cannot see us or hear us talk. Tell them to curtain off that corner of the house with a blanket, and we will stay in there and talk to them."

Youa and Xeng asked the villagers to do as instructed. The souls moved behind the blanket and started talking to the villagers, who could now hear; but when they lifted the blanket no one was in there. Then one voice said, "I am Yang Shi Lue; I formerly lived on the other side of Za Tsua Tia Village. I want to tell all of you that God's son has come down to the Long Cheng area [where Shong Lue was living]. Please go and meet him. My coming here is to select the souls of good people [when they die, to be] ready when God comes to raise them from death. All those with me here are souls of your own people; that's why you cannot see them. If you have a deceased relative whom you still miss and want to speak to, let me know, I will bring him or her here to speak to you."

All those husbands or wives whose loved ones had died asked Yang Shi Lue to bring their loved ones back to talk to them in order to test the truth of what he had said. When the deceased women's souls came to talk to their living husbands they spoke in detail of how their past life had been, and how they had died. Their voices still sounded the same to their husbands. But when the deceased husbands spoke to  their living wives, their voices     seemed somewhat distorted. [Chi a Koua does not know why.]

Villagers search for Shong Lue

The Hmong in Na Hai Village then believed that God had come and that Yang Shi Lue had come to tell them.  So the villagers sent Wang Yi Chang, Chon Vang, Blai Her and Ying Her to go and inquire in Long Cheng and learn the truth. These four men took three months to reach the northern part of Luang Prabang Province, where they were arrested by Lao soldiers. They told the Lao soldiers that they were Hmong and wanted to go and meet the Hmong in Long Cheng, so they were released and airlifted to General Vang Pao [in Long Cheng]. No one knows what they said to the General when they met him.

After a while they asked around among people in Long Cheng about whether any important events had been taking place there, and everyone told them, "Only the Mother of Writing." So they traced Shong Lue to Nam Ngua Village and talked to him. Pa Kao Her [early student of Shong Lue Yang, then in military service in Long Cheng] met them then[also].

General Vang Pao told the men to go back home, and asked for volunteers to go with them, but no one dared because Phong Sa1y Province had been under communist rule for twenty years. Several people had been sent there [at various times], but all had been caught. [General Vang Pao saw the arrival of these men as creating an opportunity to cultivate support in the communist-controlled area from which they came.] Finally, Tou Lee and Pa Kao Her volunteered to go, and found ten additional volunteers as well, so that they made up a team of sixteen people, including the four villagers.

On the day of departure Pa Kao Her changed his mind and brought all his equipment to Chia Koua at his home, telling Chia Koua to take his assignment. [Chia Koua does not know why.] Chia Koua, however, said he did not want to go. Pa Kao then repeated an old saying to Chia Koua: "If the older brother is not able to do something the younger brother must do it for him," and insisted that Chia Koua go. Chia Koua answered, "In that case leave the equipment here, and I will go and ask Shong Lue first." So Chia Koua walked to Shong Lue's house and told Shong Lue that Pa Kao had accepted this mission but was no longer going, and had asked Chia Koua to go instead. Should he do so? "Of course, you should go," replied Shong Lue. "I think you will only be gone for three months. Please go and learn for yourself where God is."

Chia Koua told him that part of the northern country was not safe to travel; how could they make it? Shong Lue said: "I am going to write a pass for you and that will do it." He then wrote a pass in Pahawh to wish good luck to Chia Koua. It was signed with an inscription "People to protect Chia Koua Vang" [and is still in Chia Koua's possession]. He said further that wherever Chia Koua went, if he faced difficulties, he should call and Shong Lue would rush there to help him.  After obtaining the pass from Shong Lue, the sixteen people left for Na Hai in April 1967.  The took an airplane from Long Cheng to the Luang Prabang airport and from there they rode a helicopter to land at a jungle site on the border of Luang Prabang and Phong Saly Provinces.