Page 25 - Three Score Years & Ten
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“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
George and Jessie were there at Guiyangfu for the rest of the year 1884 except for two months at the
end of the year when they returned to Chongqing for the birth of their first child, a girl whom they
named "Esther" after George's mother. She was born on 14 November 1884 and was the first
English child to be registered at the British consulate in Chongqing.
WORK IN GUIYANG
The three of them returned to Guiyang before the end of the year and were soon immersed in the
work of that busy city and its surrounding villages and towns. Jessie was kept busy with her small
daughter and superintending the work in the girl's school which at that time only had ten scholars
attending. Jessie was not anxious to increase the number as she wanted more time to work among
the women and to visit their homes. The numbers of women attending services was increasing all the
time.
George too, was anxious to be free to visit villages and towns further out. As he travelled west and
north-west from Guiyang, he met many of the aborigine peoples of China whom he learned to
distinguish by their clothes and their dialects. He was also amazed and dismayed at the large
quantities of opium being grown, far more than he and Arthur Eason had seen on their trip to
Yunnanfu. On the thirteen stages to the western border (some 250 miles) he reckoned that two thirds
of the arable land on either side of the road was cultivated with opium. He commented that those
who were employed in gathering it were the poorest and most miserable of the Chinese, the majority
dressed in rags and some not having even sufficient clothing to cover themselves. "It grieved me" he
said, "that the aborigines of Guizhou who originally had no idols nor worshipped images, are fast
adopting the idolatrous practices of the Chinese and are also imitating them in the cultivation of
opium."
In Guiyang they were always busy helping opium addicts to break the habit, with often three or four
cases of opium poisoning in one day and sometimes as many as twelve in 24 hours. They spent time
with people who came in to enquire about the Christian way of life, or preparing candidates for
baptism, supervising the two schools, and just carrying on the regular services of the church which
included the daily times in the preaching hall which was open on to the street for anybody who wanted
to walk in and sit for a while. "Sometimes I take my concertina," said George. "and we put up a hymn
sheet on the wall and sing. Many come to listen and we preach to them between the singing of each
verse."
Among their many visitors who came in hoping to break off their addiction to opium were a great
number of well-to-do people, making them realise that it was not only the poor who had the habit.
The difference was that the wealthy and upper class found it harder to openly accept and
acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They had too much to lose and even while knowing it
was true, the fear of man kept them from coming out openly. One young man whose father was a
Mandarin came into this category. He was afraid that if he became a Christian his father would be
deposed.
FAMILY MATTERS
In 1887 a second child was born to George and Jessie Andrew. He was born in Guiyang on 14 July
and they named him George Findlay. Eighteen months later at the beginning of 1889 they were
preparing to return to England on their first furlough. It was over eight years since George had left
England, and over seven since Jessie had set sail for China.
25
Amy Moore
George and Jessie were there at Guiyangfu for the rest of the year 1884 except for two months at the
end of the year when they returned to Chongqing for the birth of their first child, a girl whom they
named "Esther" after George's mother. She was born on 14 November 1884 and was the first
English child to be registered at the British consulate in Chongqing.
WORK IN GUIYANG
The three of them returned to Guiyang before the end of the year and were soon immersed in the
work of that busy city and its surrounding villages and towns. Jessie was kept busy with her small
daughter and superintending the work in the girl's school which at that time only had ten scholars
attending. Jessie was not anxious to increase the number as she wanted more time to work among
the women and to visit their homes. The numbers of women attending services was increasing all the
time.
George too, was anxious to be free to visit villages and towns further out. As he travelled west and
north-west from Guiyang, he met many of the aborigine peoples of China whom he learned to
distinguish by their clothes and their dialects. He was also amazed and dismayed at the large
quantities of opium being grown, far more than he and Arthur Eason had seen on their trip to
Yunnanfu. On the thirteen stages to the western border (some 250 miles) he reckoned that two thirds
of the arable land on either side of the road was cultivated with opium. He commented that those
who were employed in gathering it were the poorest and most miserable of the Chinese, the majority
dressed in rags and some not having even sufficient clothing to cover themselves. "It grieved me" he
said, "that the aborigines of Guizhou who originally had no idols nor worshipped images, are fast
adopting the idolatrous practices of the Chinese and are also imitating them in the cultivation of
opium."
In Guiyang they were always busy helping opium addicts to break the habit, with often three or four
cases of opium poisoning in one day and sometimes as many as twelve in 24 hours. They spent time
with people who came in to enquire about the Christian way of life, or preparing candidates for
baptism, supervising the two schools, and just carrying on the regular services of the church which
included the daily times in the preaching hall which was open on to the street for anybody who wanted
to walk in and sit for a while. "Sometimes I take my concertina," said George. "and we put up a hymn
sheet on the wall and sing. Many come to listen and we preach to them between the singing of each
verse."
Among their many visitors who came in hoping to break off their addiction to opium were a great
number of well-to-do people, making them realise that it was not only the poor who had the habit.
The difference was that the wealthy and upper class found it harder to openly accept and
acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ. They had too much to lose and even while knowing it
was true, the fear of man kept them from coming out openly. One young man whose father was a
Mandarin came into this category. He was afraid that if he became a Christian his father would be
deposed.
FAMILY MATTERS
In 1887 a second child was born to George and Jessie Andrew. He was born in Guiyang on 14 July
and they named him George Findlay. Eighteen months later at the beginning of 1889 they were
preparing to return to England on their first furlough. It was over eight years since George had left
England, and over seven since Jessie had set sail for China.
25
