Page 257 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 257
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
would have to go too as Ina still did not have enough language to manage on her own in a Chinese
inn overnight. I left Alan and Frankie in Percy’s care, and they all looked as if this was going to be
great fun with Mum away!
Ina had to get straight into nursing as soon as we arrived so that Winnie could get a much needed
rest, but I felt as if I were having a holiday after my busy year - no babies, no housekeeping and
nothing to do but relax for a few days before I had to return. Arnold seemed to be holding his own at
that time, though he was seriously ill, and I started the trip back feeling confident that he would soon
be well on the way to recovery.
A SCENIC TRIP BY RICKSHAW
With motor roads having been put through because of the war and the use of buses (trucks) more
frequent for carrying both goods and passengers, we had got out of the habit of using rickshaws for
longer journeys. After spending the weekend at Hanzhong, I decided to go back to Xixiang by
rickshaw instead of waiting for a bus. Although I was alone, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. My
letter home says:
“I had a good puller and he pulled me nearly fifty miles that day to get
to a better stopping place with less risk of bandits. The last seven or
eight miles were in the dark and we had no lights, but the road was a
good one and white, so quite easy to follow. Travelling after dark is
not a common experience in China (though I seem to have had my
share of it!) but I found it quite fascinating that night. The white road
stretched in front with the river on our right and mountains towering
up on either side. The bush and the fields all round had a lovely
woodsy smell and, as it got darker, the fireflies began to come out.
They were beautiful as they flitted from bush to bush and from tree to
tree. I really enjoyed the experience and indeed the whole trip. In
daylight I walked a lot just for the pleasure of it and picked a huge
bunch of wildflowers, autumn leaves and grasses to take home.”
This slower method of travel had its advantages which the faster bus lacked. On the slower trips we
stopped at regular seven mile intervals and had an opportunity to chat with people while our carriers
rested. In the early days we preached the Gospel in all these little villages but, as bus travel began to
take over, we shot through them all without stopping. On this trip I got into conversation with an old
woman who seemed really interested and asked a lot of questions. That was on the way to Hanzhong
with Ina. On the way back we stopped at the same village and I met her again and once again was
able to explain the way of salvation clearly to her. I never saw her again, but trust the Holy Spirit
would continue to work in her heart.
While I was away, there was an eclipse of the sun, not quite total, in Hanzhong, but total in Xixiang.
The eclipse was on a Sunday and one of the Christian men had gone off to a little country Church to
take the service. As he walked home later, suddenly everything was getting dark and something
seemed to be happening to the sun. It wasn’t quite the way he expected it to happen, but he felt sure
this must be the second coming of the Lord. He knelt down on the ground so that the Lord would
know he was a Christian, but when the darkness passed and the light came again, he was terrified
that the Lord had come and not taken him. When he got back to the Church and found all the other
Christians still there and heard that it had only been an eclipse, he was almost overcome with relief.
257
Amy Moore
would have to go too as Ina still did not have enough language to manage on her own in a Chinese
inn overnight. I left Alan and Frankie in Percy’s care, and they all looked as if this was going to be
great fun with Mum away!
Ina had to get straight into nursing as soon as we arrived so that Winnie could get a much needed
rest, but I felt as if I were having a holiday after my busy year - no babies, no housekeeping and
nothing to do but relax for a few days before I had to return. Arnold seemed to be holding his own at
that time, though he was seriously ill, and I started the trip back feeling confident that he would soon
be well on the way to recovery.
A SCENIC TRIP BY RICKSHAW
With motor roads having been put through because of the war and the use of buses (trucks) more
frequent for carrying both goods and passengers, we had got out of the habit of using rickshaws for
longer journeys. After spending the weekend at Hanzhong, I decided to go back to Xixiang by
rickshaw instead of waiting for a bus. Although I was alone, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. My
letter home says:
“I had a good puller and he pulled me nearly fifty miles that day to get
to a better stopping place with less risk of bandits. The last seven or
eight miles were in the dark and we had no lights, but the road was a
good one and white, so quite easy to follow. Travelling after dark is
not a common experience in China (though I seem to have had my
share of it!) but I found it quite fascinating that night. The white road
stretched in front with the river on our right and mountains towering
up on either side. The bush and the fields all round had a lovely
woodsy smell and, as it got darker, the fireflies began to come out.
They were beautiful as they flitted from bush to bush and from tree to
tree. I really enjoyed the experience and indeed the whole trip. In
daylight I walked a lot just for the pleasure of it and picked a huge
bunch of wildflowers, autumn leaves and grasses to take home.”
This slower method of travel had its advantages which the faster bus lacked. On the slower trips we
stopped at regular seven mile intervals and had an opportunity to chat with people while our carriers
rested. In the early days we preached the Gospel in all these little villages but, as bus travel began to
take over, we shot through them all without stopping. On this trip I got into conversation with an old
woman who seemed really interested and asked a lot of questions. That was on the way to Hanzhong
with Ina. On the way back we stopped at the same village and I met her again and once again was
able to explain the way of salvation clearly to her. I never saw her again, but trust the Holy Spirit
would continue to work in her heart.
While I was away, there was an eclipse of the sun, not quite total, in Hanzhong, but total in Xixiang.
The eclipse was on a Sunday and one of the Christian men had gone off to a little country Church to
take the service. As he walked home later, suddenly everything was getting dark and something
seemed to be happening to the sun. It wasn’t quite the way he expected it to happen, but he felt sure
this must be the second coming of the Lord. He knelt down on the ground so that the Lord would
know he was a Christian, but when the darkness passed and the light came again, he was terrified
that the Lord had come and not taken him. When he got back to the Church and found all the other
Christians still there and heard that it had only been an eclipse, he was almost overcome with relief.
257
