Page 153 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 153
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
PREPARING TO LEAVE
What a time that was! Ten weeks to catch up with my family after two years away, ten weeks to get
an outfit together for a term of seven years before coming home again, and ten weeks of what proved
to be, in Mr. Powells hands, travelling to every big country town to take part in meetings. What I had
not realised was that something special was happening in the history of Missions in WA. Missionaries
going out from Western Australia were rather few and far between at that time, and to have no less
than four being farewelled at the same time was something unique and caused a stir.
Besides myself, Dorothy Layfield, another MBI student, had also been accepted that year and, though
she was a Melbourne girl, she was engaged to be married to Wilfred Holland from WA. Wilfred was
one of the first students to go through the Perth Bible College which had opened after I left for
Melbourne. The fourth accepted candidate was Horton Holmes from Narrogin who had also gone
through the Melbourne Bible Institute. Since Wilfred would not be going out till later in the year,
Dorothy had come over to spend some time with him, and Mr. Powell grabbed at this wonderful
opportunity with all four of us there together, to put CIM on
the map in WA.
He was determined that we should not go out to China
without having the prayer support of as many of the
churches in WA as possible. Wilfred and I had both been
active in Christian Endeavour and had many friends in other
churches apart from the Baptist ones of which we were
members, so in every big country town to which we went,
the ministers of the main evangelical churches in the area
This picture was taken in got together and planned united meetings. We had to tell
August 1931 of Amy with why we were going to China and how God had lead us to
Horton Holmes (left of that point, and we promised to send them information of our
picture) and Wilfred Holland. work in China if they would promise to pray for us. Years
They were to go out to China later, when Percy and I returned at the end of some forty
with the China Inland Mission years in the CIM, I was constantly moved by having people
say to me that they had prayed for me ever since I left in
in September/October. 1931.
While our going to China stirred up a lot of interest in the churches in the West, there were still plenty
of people who could not understand it at all and, in some cases, tried their hardest to persuade us
against going. As the father of one of my friends said to me one evening, “What do you want to throw
your life away like that for? Alright for some old spinster, but you are a bright, attractive young woman
with all of life ahead of you. I cant understand it.” Some blamed my parents for not stopping me, but
I was grateful that through all of this, my parents gave me their full support, and never for one moment
tried to dissuade me from what they knew I felt was a call from God. Indeed, Mother told me one day
that she actually dedicated me to God for missionary work when I was born.
Dorothy went back to Melbourne earlier to say goodbye to her own friends there and her mother, who
was a widow. Wildred stayed to finish his PBI course and leave for China at the end of the year, and
Horton and I returned to Melbourne to prepare for sailing in September.
A great crowd of friends and relations were at the Perth Railway Station to see me off, and I think it
was only then that it really hit me that I might not see my beloved family for seven years, and that
made it hard to say goodbye. Harry was there to see me off and raced along the platform with the
moving train holding my hand through the open window with tears in his eyes at parting. I knew he
was feeling it deeply, but for me there was no deep emotion except for my family, who I could still see
153
Amy Moore
PREPARING TO LEAVE
What a time that was! Ten weeks to catch up with my family after two years away, ten weeks to get
an outfit together for a term of seven years before coming home again, and ten weeks of what proved
to be, in Mr. Powells hands, travelling to every big country town to take part in meetings. What I had
not realised was that something special was happening in the history of Missions in WA. Missionaries
going out from Western Australia were rather few and far between at that time, and to have no less
than four being farewelled at the same time was something unique and caused a stir.
Besides myself, Dorothy Layfield, another MBI student, had also been accepted that year and, though
she was a Melbourne girl, she was engaged to be married to Wilfred Holland from WA. Wilfred was
one of the first students to go through the Perth Bible College which had opened after I left for
Melbourne. The fourth accepted candidate was Horton Holmes from Narrogin who had also gone
through the Melbourne Bible Institute. Since Wilfred would not be going out till later in the year,
Dorothy had come over to spend some time with him, and Mr. Powell grabbed at this wonderful
opportunity with all four of us there together, to put CIM on
the map in WA.
He was determined that we should not go out to China
without having the prayer support of as many of the
churches in WA as possible. Wilfred and I had both been
active in Christian Endeavour and had many friends in other
churches apart from the Baptist ones of which we were
members, so in every big country town to which we went,
the ministers of the main evangelical churches in the area
This picture was taken in got together and planned united meetings. We had to tell
August 1931 of Amy with why we were going to China and how God had lead us to
Horton Holmes (left of that point, and we promised to send them information of our
picture) and Wilfred Holland. work in China if they would promise to pray for us. Years
They were to go out to China later, when Percy and I returned at the end of some forty
with the China Inland Mission years in the CIM, I was constantly moved by having people
say to me that they had prayed for me ever since I left in
in September/October. 1931.
While our going to China stirred up a lot of interest in the churches in the West, there were still plenty
of people who could not understand it at all and, in some cases, tried their hardest to persuade us
against going. As the father of one of my friends said to me one evening, “What do you want to throw
your life away like that for? Alright for some old spinster, but you are a bright, attractive young woman
with all of life ahead of you. I cant understand it.” Some blamed my parents for not stopping me, but
I was grateful that through all of this, my parents gave me their full support, and never for one moment
tried to dissuade me from what they knew I felt was a call from God. Indeed, Mother told me one day
that she actually dedicated me to God for missionary work when I was born.
Dorothy went back to Melbourne earlier to say goodbye to her own friends there and her mother, who
was a widow. Wildred stayed to finish his PBI course and leave for China at the end of the year, and
Horton and I returned to Melbourne to prepare for sailing in September.
A great crowd of friends and relations were at the Perth Railway Station to see me off, and I think it
was only then that it really hit me that I might not see my beloved family for seven years, and that
made it hard to say goodbye. Harry was there to see me off and raced along the platform with the
moving train holding my hand through the open window with tears in his eyes at parting. I knew he
was feeling it deeply, but for me there was no deep emotion except for my family, who I could still see
153
