Page 156 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 156
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
of amusement or pity to our fellow passengers in the second class as we struggled to learn the
Chinese ‘radicals’ (a sort of alphabet). Two of these fellow passengers were a young married couple
from Western Australia, a Mr. and Mrs. Topping who were going to China with a Pentecostal group.
They told us that the Lord had spoken through them in the Chinese language and they would never
have to learn it as we were doing. God would give it to them as they needed it. Years later, when I
was on furlough in Perth in 1939, I recognised him as the conductor of a tram I was travelling on.
They had stayed less than two years in China and left it very disillusioned and with their faith badly
shaken.
I was amused during this part of the trip by various conversations Miss Crystall had with me, usually
when the others were not on deck and she had me to herself. She was trying to impose on me the
value of dedicating myself to a life of celibacy for the Lord’s sake, and almost wanted me to make a
vow then and there that I would never marry! I wrote at the time, “Needless to say I have not
committed myself at all. I would need to be very sure this is what God wants of me before I would take
such a drastic step. At the moment I am not thinking of marriage though I would like to think the Lord
has the right man for me somewhere - His choice, not mine.”
We were met in Manilla by some friends of the Mission who had been told we were coming through
and who set out to give us a good time. The big cosmopolitan city, our second touch with a country
not our own, was vastly different from the quiet unsophisticated life of Rabaul. We drove along
wonderful wide boulevards with beautiful gardens down each side and masses of tropical flowers,
hibiscus, cannas and many others that I found it difficult to put a name to, but all such a joy to behold
after a week out of sight of land. As we got into the centre of the city, the streets became narrower
and packed with the most cosmopolitan crowd I have ever seen, Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese,
English, American and many others, and many of them in the dress of their own country. In just a few
minutes I saw Chinese women with their hair done in a smooth bun on top, English and American with
the (at the time) fashionable ‘bob’ and Filipino women with their hair hanging in long masses down
their backs. Even the very old women, in spite of the hot climate, kept their long grey hair hanging
loose. The clothes of the Filipino people intrigued us too. The women had long skirts with high waists
and oval necklined blouses with sleeves that were very full and stood out from their arms and
shoulders as if supported by a frame. I found out later that they are made of a kind of gauze material
made from pineapple fibre and very cool. The men wore brightly coloured embroidered shirts, pinks,
mauves, blues, hanging outside their trousers, the whole effect was very picturesque. We spent a
most interesting day and left at 6 pm for Hong Kong.
We reached Hong Kong on 3 October, exactly a month after leaving Melbourne. Our ship anchored
in the harbour about midnight, and as I went up on deck to catch my first glimpse of China, because
Kowloon is part of mainland China, I caught my breath as I saw what looked like fairyland. In the
quiet waters of the harbour were the reflections of myriads of lights and as I looked across the water,
the dark mass of Hong Kong Island rising up to its Peak at the top, was twinkling with thousands of
star like lights which in turn were reflected in the waters of the harbour. Above it all was a clear blue
sky ablaze with real stars and it all made a picture that no later impressions of Hong Kong with its
seamy side, could ever erase.
Next morning as we pulled in to the docks, I got my first experience of how east meets west. Scores
of little Chinese boats, mainly propelled by women, pulled over to our ship and then with hooks on the
end of long poles, fastened themselves to our deck and swarmed up as fast as possible. In seconds
our ship was literally alive with Chinese all clamouring for our attention and offering us every
conceivable thing we could possibly want: postcards, stamps, Chinese money, shoe soles and even
hotel accommodation, all, of course, for a consideration.
156
Amy Moore
of amusement or pity to our fellow passengers in the second class as we struggled to learn the
Chinese ‘radicals’ (a sort of alphabet). Two of these fellow passengers were a young married couple
from Western Australia, a Mr. and Mrs. Topping who were going to China with a Pentecostal group.
They told us that the Lord had spoken through them in the Chinese language and they would never
have to learn it as we were doing. God would give it to them as they needed it. Years later, when I
was on furlough in Perth in 1939, I recognised him as the conductor of a tram I was travelling on.
They had stayed less than two years in China and left it very disillusioned and with their faith badly
shaken.
I was amused during this part of the trip by various conversations Miss Crystall had with me, usually
when the others were not on deck and she had me to herself. She was trying to impose on me the
value of dedicating myself to a life of celibacy for the Lord’s sake, and almost wanted me to make a
vow then and there that I would never marry! I wrote at the time, “Needless to say I have not
committed myself at all. I would need to be very sure this is what God wants of me before I would take
such a drastic step. At the moment I am not thinking of marriage though I would like to think the Lord
has the right man for me somewhere - His choice, not mine.”
We were met in Manilla by some friends of the Mission who had been told we were coming through
and who set out to give us a good time. The big cosmopolitan city, our second touch with a country
not our own, was vastly different from the quiet unsophisticated life of Rabaul. We drove along
wonderful wide boulevards with beautiful gardens down each side and masses of tropical flowers,
hibiscus, cannas and many others that I found it difficult to put a name to, but all such a joy to behold
after a week out of sight of land. As we got into the centre of the city, the streets became narrower
and packed with the most cosmopolitan crowd I have ever seen, Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese,
English, American and many others, and many of them in the dress of their own country. In just a few
minutes I saw Chinese women with their hair done in a smooth bun on top, English and American with
the (at the time) fashionable ‘bob’ and Filipino women with their hair hanging in long masses down
their backs. Even the very old women, in spite of the hot climate, kept their long grey hair hanging
loose. The clothes of the Filipino people intrigued us too. The women had long skirts with high waists
and oval necklined blouses with sleeves that were very full and stood out from their arms and
shoulders as if supported by a frame. I found out later that they are made of a kind of gauze material
made from pineapple fibre and very cool. The men wore brightly coloured embroidered shirts, pinks,
mauves, blues, hanging outside their trousers, the whole effect was very picturesque. We spent a
most interesting day and left at 6 pm for Hong Kong.
We reached Hong Kong on 3 October, exactly a month after leaving Melbourne. Our ship anchored
in the harbour about midnight, and as I went up on deck to catch my first glimpse of China, because
Kowloon is part of mainland China, I caught my breath as I saw what looked like fairyland. In the
quiet waters of the harbour were the reflections of myriads of lights and as I looked across the water,
the dark mass of Hong Kong Island rising up to its Peak at the top, was twinkling with thousands of
star like lights which in turn were reflected in the waters of the harbour. Above it all was a clear blue
sky ablaze with real stars and it all made a picture that no later impressions of Hong Kong with its
seamy side, could ever erase.
Next morning as we pulled in to the docks, I got my first experience of how east meets west. Scores
of little Chinese boats, mainly propelled by women, pulled over to our ship and then with hooks on the
end of long poles, fastened themselves to our deck and swarmed up as fast as possible. In seconds
our ship was literally alive with Chinese all clamouring for our attention and offering us every
conceivable thing we could possibly want: postcards, stamps, Chinese money, shoe soles and even
hotel accommodation, all, of course, for a consideration.
156
