Page 20 - moondani kyema
P. 20
ndani kyema, My Story - Ray Moore 20
It was November before word came through that it was OK to return to South
Shaanxi. We traveled by train to Xi’an and then sedan chair and walking for the rest
of the trip over the Qinling Mountains back to Hanzhong. I was safely and happily
swinging in my specially made basket on one end of the porter's carrying pole.
It took six days to make the trip from Xi’an to
Hanzhong. I was eleven months old and
would spend my first Christmas in
Hanzhong. Twelve days after Christmas I
celebrated my first birthday after a pretty
adventurous first year.
XIXIANG
The little home in Xixiang became the hub of
activities for the new Moore family. Percy
was away a lot of the time, riding his bicycle
around to the small villages, evangelizing
and teaching. Amy tried to keep up the
women's work in Xixiang, balancing her time
between the church work and caring for me.
In those years, the services of an amah
(housemaid or nurse) cost very little so even
cash strapped missionaries were able to
afford one. With the help of an amah to look
after me, Amy could get on with her work
and still spend some time with me,
sometimes walking down to the river
shallows (picture) and enjoying a day out.
In the year after my first birthday, the Han
Valley experienced a serious famine, and
many people died of starvation. Although
this didn't directly affect the family, I actually
saw beside the road, the body of a child who
had starved to death. Money was in short
supply for the missionaries and they often
lived from day to day, not sure if they would
have enough for the next day's meals.
Possibly because of the famine and the
widespread poverty, there were numerous
stories of bandits holding people up along
the roads, and for the missionaries who
needed to travel a lot, the rumours of bandit
movement in the countryside was of serious
concern.
Before I was three years old, I again came
close to losing my life. I developed
dysentery and was in a very poor state. The
nearest doctor was 150 kilometres away in
It was November before word came through that it was OK to return to South
Shaanxi. We traveled by train to Xi’an and then sedan chair and walking for the rest
of the trip over the Qinling Mountains back to Hanzhong. I was safely and happily
swinging in my specially made basket on one end of the porter's carrying pole.
It took six days to make the trip from Xi’an to
Hanzhong. I was eleven months old and
would spend my first Christmas in
Hanzhong. Twelve days after Christmas I
celebrated my first birthday after a pretty
adventurous first year.
XIXIANG
The little home in Xixiang became the hub of
activities for the new Moore family. Percy
was away a lot of the time, riding his bicycle
around to the small villages, evangelizing
and teaching. Amy tried to keep up the
women's work in Xixiang, balancing her time
between the church work and caring for me.
In those years, the services of an amah
(housemaid or nurse) cost very little so even
cash strapped missionaries were able to
afford one. With the help of an amah to look
after me, Amy could get on with her work
and still spend some time with me,
sometimes walking down to the river
shallows (picture) and enjoying a day out.
In the year after my first birthday, the Han
Valley experienced a serious famine, and
many people died of starvation. Although
this didn't directly affect the family, I actually
saw beside the road, the body of a child who
had starved to death. Money was in short
supply for the missionaries and they often
lived from day to day, not sure if they would
have enough for the next day's meals.
Possibly because of the famine and the
widespread poverty, there were numerous
stories of bandits holding people up along
the roads, and for the missionaries who
needed to travel a lot, the rumours of bandit
movement in the countryside was of serious
concern.
Before I was three years old, I again came
close to losing my life. I developed
dysentery and was in a very poor state. The
nearest doctor was 150 kilometres away in
