Page 175 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 175
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
Luoyang where he and John Fee had been working together until John’s illness. Myrie and Bertha
were at Xie Shui, one of the Hanzhong outstations, while Fred Smith was with Charlie Frencham at
Ningqiang down on the road to Sichuan.
In August, when the weather got too hot for outside work, the Moores invited me up to Hanzhong so
that we could make our wedding plans. By the time I got back to Yang Xian, my second exam results
had arrived, 93%, so I worked hard and wrote the third one before leaving for Shanghai.
We were going to be a big party, Mr. and Mrs. Moore and us two, Charlie Frencham and Ruth, who
were also going down to be married, and also Dr. Xiao had decided to travel with us to try and stock
up on medicines at the coast. With our marriage and the Frencham’s, and very soon Fred was going
to marry Marjorie Ament who was down in Yunnan, quite a few changes would be taking place in
South Shaanxi. The Michells, who now had two children since baby David had recently arrived, were
moving up to Mian Xian north of the mountains, the Frenchams were to go to Ningqiang on the road
between Hanzhong and Sichuan, Fred and Marj. would probably go to Xixiang, while Bertha and Joy
Betteridge were to work together and Myrie was to go to Miss Begbie, a fellow New Zealander. Before
we left for Shanghai, Arnold and Winnie Strange, with their two little girls, Kath and Beryl, came back
from their first furlough and were going to take over the work at Chenggu.
MARRIAGE AND FIRST TERM IN XIXIANG
WEDDING TRIP TO SHANGHAI
Had we realised how difficult a trip over those mountains at the beginning of winter could be, we might
have hesitated to go at that time of the year. But we were young and in love and our wedding day
could not come soon enough. The men walked, Percy’s mother had a sedan chair, and Ruth and I
shared a ‘huagan’ between us because we were happy to walk as much as possible too. A huagan is
a litter slung between two bamboo poles and carried by two men. Our bedding was spread over the
litter to make it more comfortable, and a piece of cloth could be strung over our heads if necessary to
protect us from the sun. It was much lighter and altogether more utilitarian than the sedan chair, but I
liked them, and often used them.
Sedan chair (left) and It had rained heavily just before we left,
huagan (below) so the mountain tracks were a
quagmire, made infinitely worse
because a train of 200 camels going
up to Gansu was not far ahead of us!
Day after day we found ourselves at
nightfall still ten miles or so from the
end of the days stage. We would
plod on through the dark and the mud
until at last the lights of a little village
175
Amy Moore
Luoyang where he and John Fee had been working together until John’s illness. Myrie and Bertha
were at Xie Shui, one of the Hanzhong outstations, while Fred Smith was with Charlie Frencham at
Ningqiang down on the road to Sichuan.
In August, when the weather got too hot for outside work, the Moores invited me up to Hanzhong so
that we could make our wedding plans. By the time I got back to Yang Xian, my second exam results
had arrived, 93%, so I worked hard and wrote the third one before leaving for Shanghai.
We were going to be a big party, Mr. and Mrs. Moore and us two, Charlie Frencham and Ruth, who
were also going down to be married, and also Dr. Xiao had decided to travel with us to try and stock
up on medicines at the coast. With our marriage and the Frencham’s, and very soon Fred was going
to marry Marjorie Ament who was down in Yunnan, quite a few changes would be taking place in
South Shaanxi. The Michells, who now had two children since baby David had recently arrived, were
moving up to Mian Xian north of the mountains, the Frenchams were to go to Ningqiang on the road
between Hanzhong and Sichuan, Fred and Marj. would probably go to Xixiang, while Bertha and Joy
Betteridge were to work together and Myrie was to go to Miss Begbie, a fellow New Zealander. Before
we left for Shanghai, Arnold and Winnie Strange, with their two little girls, Kath and Beryl, came back
from their first furlough and were going to take over the work at Chenggu.
MARRIAGE AND FIRST TERM IN XIXIANG
WEDDING TRIP TO SHANGHAI
Had we realised how difficult a trip over those mountains at the beginning of winter could be, we might
have hesitated to go at that time of the year. But we were young and in love and our wedding day
could not come soon enough. The men walked, Percy’s mother had a sedan chair, and Ruth and I
shared a ‘huagan’ between us because we were happy to walk as much as possible too. A huagan is
a litter slung between two bamboo poles and carried by two men. Our bedding was spread over the
litter to make it more comfortable, and a piece of cloth could be strung over our heads if necessary to
protect us from the sun. It was much lighter and altogether more utilitarian than the sedan chair, but I
liked them, and often used them.
Sedan chair (left) and It had rained heavily just before we left,
huagan (below) so the mountain tracks were a
quagmire, made infinitely worse
because a train of 200 camels going
up to Gansu was not far ahead of us!
Day after day we found ourselves at
nightfall still ten miles or so from the
end of the days stage. We would
plod on through the dark and the mud
until at last the lights of a little village
175
