Page 239 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 239
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
started, and by that time we were all suffering from cramp. Fortunately for us, once we got going,
some of the passengers were facing the front and could see what was coming. They shouted a
warning to the rest of us when a low gateway or overhanging tree could have knocked us off our
perches as we passed under them. The luggage didn’t fare so well, and got badly knocked about and,
by the time we arrived in the late afternoon at Ye Xian, most of us were covered with dust and bruises
as well.
At Ye Xian we were able to stay at the CIM home. There were no missionaries there but a very
charming little Bible woman welcomed us and made us feel at home. As she could speak English,
even the new girls felt at ease with her. The Terry party caught up with us the same night, so next
morning we all set off together for Luoyang. Because we had arranged the night before that the buses
should call at the CIM before going on to the bus station, we were able to get on first and make
ourselves a little more comfortable with our bedding rolls for seats and back rests.
NORTH WEST CHINA
By the end of the day we were into loess country and the dust was worse than anything we had
experienced so far. As Elizabeth Swanton described it in one of her home letters.
“Clouds of it poured in at the back and up through the floor until we
were nearly choked. We were coated with layer after layer changing
colour as the type of soil changed until all passengers had a uniform
appearance.”
The loess country with its cave dwellings and temples and even idols carved into the hillsides, were
new experiences for her and the others who had not been there before, and they were fascinated by it
all.
Twice during the day we all had to get off the trucks and walk over bridges that had been damaged by
bombing. We held our breath as the trucks were driven slowly over, but they got safely across in both
cases. The nearer we got to Luoyang the more evidence we saw of heavy bombing. The premises
that we would normally have expected to occupy, belonging to one of our Associate Missions had
been wrecked by bombs, but friends on the Lutheran compound opened their doors to us.
LUOYANG
We found they were already giving hospitality to members of three other Missions. It was good to
meet with them all for worship on that Sunday evening. They had a well built air raid shelter in the
grounds, some 35 feet below ground level, but although the Lutheran folk told us their city was due
another air raid, we only had one very short one during our time there. Soldiers were everywhere and
our girls found it very embarrassing to be stared at every time they went out on the street. Those of us
who had been in China longer were so used to it that we never gave it a thought! How quickly one
gets used to a different culture!
What really did upset Ruth and Elizabeth was to be caught up in a crowd one day when they went into
the city. The crowd were marching with music and banners and there were quite young children
among them, all hurrying to see the public execution of a spy outside the city wall.
By this time some of the new workers had already left us to go to Henry and Mary Guiness in one of
the Henan stations for language study. The only ones left were the seven who were to live with us in
239
Amy Moore
started, and by that time we were all suffering from cramp. Fortunately for us, once we got going,
some of the passengers were facing the front and could see what was coming. They shouted a
warning to the rest of us when a low gateway or overhanging tree could have knocked us off our
perches as we passed under them. The luggage didn’t fare so well, and got badly knocked about and,
by the time we arrived in the late afternoon at Ye Xian, most of us were covered with dust and bruises
as well.
At Ye Xian we were able to stay at the CIM home. There were no missionaries there but a very
charming little Bible woman welcomed us and made us feel at home. As she could speak English,
even the new girls felt at ease with her. The Terry party caught up with us the same night, so next
morning we all set off together for Luoyang. Because we had arranged the night before that the buses
should call at the CIM before going on to the bus station, we were able to get on first and make
ourselves a little more comfortable with our bedding rolls for seats and back rests.
NORTH WEST CHINA
By the end of the day we were into loess country and the dust was worse than anything we had
experienced so far. As Elizabeth Swanton described it in one of her home letters.
“Clouds of it poured in at the back and up through the floor until we
were nearly choked. We were coated with layer after layer changing
colour as the type of soil changed until all passengers had a uniform
appearance.”
The loess country with its cave dwellings and temples and even idols carved into the hillsides, were
new experiences for her and the others who had not been there before, and they were fascinated by it
all.
Twice during the day we all had to get off the trucks and walk over bridges that had been damaged by
bombing. We held our breath as the trucks were driven slowly over, but they got safely across in both
cases. The nearer we got to Luoyang the more evidence we saw of heavy bombing. The premises
that we would normally have expected to occupy, belonging to one of our Associate Missions had
been wrecked by bombs, but friends on the Lutheran compound opened their doors to us.
LUOYANG
We found they were already giving hospitality to members of three other Missions. It was good to
meet with them all for worship on that Sunday evening. They had a well built air raid shelter in the
grounds, some 35 feet below ground level, but although the Lutheran folk told us their city was due
another air raid, we only had one very short one during our time there. Soldiers were everywhere and
our girls found it very embarrassing to be stared at every time they went out on the street. Those of us
who had been in China longer were so used to it that we never gave it a thought! How quickly one
gets used to a different culture!
What really did upset Ruth and Elizabeth was to be caught up in a crowd one day when they went into
the city. The crowd were marching with music and banners and there were quite young children
among them, all hurrying to see the public execution of a spy outside the city wall.
By this time some of the new workers had already left us to go to Henry and Mary Guiness in one of
the Henan stations for language study. The only ones left were the seven who were to live with us in
239
