Page 152 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 152
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
was an accepted candidate for China. I felt very keenly that I was nobody special, so it was almost
unbelievable that He could want me to go to China. I sat at my desk for a while after the lecture
finished and everybody had gone, trying to pull myself together till Allison came to see what had
become of me. She was absolutely thrilled when I told her and wanted to drag me off to Mr. Lack then
and there. I might even be able to go out with her to China in September!
Mr. Lack did not discourage me or laugh at me, but felt that I should finish my two years at MBI and in
the meantime he would give me the application papers to fill in at my leisure. Then I would go
through the normal processes of meeting the CIM council and so on. I would not be going out in
September 1930, but probably in 1931. Now I was no longer just ‘Allison’s friend’ but had become
part of the China scene myself with an open door before me through which I could glimpse a little of
the future ahead of me.
I learned many lessons during my time in MBI, and God, Who knew He was going to make me part of
what is called a ‘Faith Mission’ began to show me that it is possible to receive things from Him, even
financial supplies, simply by praying and trusting Him. On my way from Western Australia, I had read
two books which greatly influenced me. One was the life of Hudson Taylor the founder of the China
Inland Mission, and the other was the life of George Müller, both of them men who, without any
financial backing themselves, had taken on tremendous responsibilities for the support of many
people. I had come to MBI with enough money to take me through the first year, but when the second
year came, I had to look to the Lord to show me what to do if I were to continue. I didn’t know much
about the life of faith and I think half of me expected God to drop money down from Heaven! I soon
learned that He more often supplied by using the gifts and abilities we already had. Certainly there
were times when an unexpected gift from a friend or the family turned up at the very moment when I
most needed it, but I needed more than that, and it was supplied first by going for some months in the
afternoons to the home of a lady who wanted somebody to do children’s sewing. When that job
ceased, I went to do some cleaning and cooking for an elderly couple in their own home.
For my last term at MBI I went to live with Miss Howell, an elderly lady who had her own home in
Hawthorn. Her companion of many years had died and she decided to invite an MBI student to live
with her, give her a little help with meals, and be there as a companion at nights. She was lovely, and
her home became a real ‘home from home’ for me during my last months in Melbourne. She had an
interest in China and the CIM and, when she discovered that I was very friendly with so many of the
Chefoo young people, she encouraged me to invite them home, and gradually her home became a
centre for many happy evenings together. Allison was in China by this time, but Wally, her brother,
was now in MBI and also a China candidate. He was usually the leader among the crowd I was
friendly with, and I saw a lot of him and we became good friends, often walking home together as our
homes lay in the same direction. I enjoyed having a male friend again after all the strict rules that
were in force when we lived in MBI.
By the middle of 1931 I had filled in my application papers, been before the very august CIM Council
with Dr. Kitchen as the Chairman and Mr. Nash a member. This took place in Dr. Kitchen’s home on
Cotham Road, and by the end of the evening, part of which I spent in the kitchen with Mrs. Kitchen
while they discussed me after questioning me at length, I was told that I had been accepted to go to
China in September 1931. They also suggested that, since I had not been home for so long, I should
skip the last few weeks of my final term at MBI and go home to Western Australia where Mr. Robert
Powell, the CIM representative there, would be responsible for me and would arrange farewell
meetings through the State.
152
Amy Moore
was an accepted candidate for China. I felt very keenly that I was nobody special, so it was almost
unbelievable that He could want me to go to China. I sat at my desk for a while after the lecture
finished and everybody had gone, trying to pull myself together till Allison came to see what had
become of me. She was absolutely thrilled when I told her and wanted to drag me off to Mr. Lack then
and there. I might even be able to go out with her to China in September!
Mr. Lack did not discourage me or laugh at me, but felt that I should finish my two years at MBI and in
the meantime he would give me the application papers to fill in at my leisure. Then I would go
through the normal processes of meeting the CIM council and so on. I would not be going out in
September 1930, but probably in 1931. Now I was no longer just ‘Allison’s friend’ but had become
part of the China scene myself with an open door before me through which I could glimpse a little of
the future ahead of me.
I learned many lessons during my time in MBI, and God, Who knew He was going to make me part of
what is called a ‘Faith Mission’ began to show me that it is possible to receive things from Him, even
financial supplies, simply by praying and trusting Him. On my way from Western Australia, I had read
two books which greatly influenced me. One was the life of Hudson Taylor the founder of the China
Inland Mission, and the other was the life of George Müller, both of them men who, without any
financial backing themselves, had taken on tremendous responsibilities for the support of many
people. I had come to MBI with enough money to take me through the first year, but when the second
year came, I had to look to the Lord to show me what to do if I were to continue. I didn’t know much
about the life of faith and I think half of me expected God to drop money down from Heaven! I soon
learned that He more often supplied by using the gifts and abilities we already had. Certainly there
were times when an unexpected gift from a friend or the family turned up at the very moment when I
most needed it, but I needed more than that, and it was supplied first by going for some months in the
afternoons to the home of a lady who wanted somebody to do children’s sewing. When that job
ceased, I went to do some cleaning and cooking for an elderly couple in their own home.
For my last term at MBI I went to live with Miss Howell, an elderly lady who had her own home in
Hawthorn. Her companion of many years had died and she decided to invite an MBI student to live
with her, give her a little help with meals, and be there as a companion at nights. She was lovely, and
her home became a real ‘home from home’ for me during my last months in Melbourne. She had an
interest in China and the CIM and, when she discovered that I was very friendly with so many of the
Chefoo young people, she encouraged me to invite them home, and gradually her home became a
centre for many happy evenings together. Allison was in China by this time, but Wally, her brother,
was now in MBI and also a China candidate. He was usually the leader among the crowd I was
friendly with, and I saw a lot of him and we became good friends, often walking home together as our
homes lay in the same direction. I enjoyed having a male friend again after all the strict rules that
were in force when we lived in MBI.
By the middle of 1931 I had filled in my application papers, been before the very august CIM Council
with Dr. Kitchen as the Chairman and Mr. Nash a member. This took place in Dr. Kitchen’s home on
Cotham Road, and by the end of the evening, part of which I spent in the kitchen with Mrs. Kitchen
while they discussed me after questioning me at length, I was told that I had been accepted to go to
China in September 1931. They also suggested that, since I had not been home for so long, I should
skip the last few weeks of my final term at MBI and go home to Western Australia where Mr. Robert
Powell, the CIM representative there, would be responsible for me and would arrange farewell
meetings through the State.
152
