Page 260 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 260
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
Chinese today?” Even in the middle of a Church service I would sometimes have to answer the all
important question!
Alan was always interested in my letter writing. One evening, while they were having tea, I was writing
to my parents, and he wanted to know who I was writing to. I told him, and he watched me in silence
for awhile, and then said, “Mum, send a kiss for me - two kisses.” So I had to kiss him first, then the
letter and finally put two crosses where the kisses had been put.
Frank had just learned to say ‘banana’ and amused us all by pointing at my mother’s picture and
saying “banana”. By this time he wanted to say his own grace. Ours would not do at all. As soon as
ours was finished he clasped his hands, fingers wide apart, over his face and waited for me to prompt
him - “Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen”. Not long after that he gave up saying Lord Jesus, pointing up to
Heaven instead. His ‘Amen’ became a good Chinese “Hao” meaning “good” or “finished”, and when
he blew kisses to his various relations, he quite often blew one to the Lord Jesus as well. The Lord
Jesus was quite obviously included among his friends and relations.
XIXIANG CHURCH
There was a good spirit at the 1941 Church Conference and we felt the Lord was blessing. Mrs. Wu’s
son, whom we had sent to Bible School in Shanxi, had seemed more like his old bright self again. His
little wife too had been blessed when the Lord met with her during an illness when she thought she
was going to die. She didn’t die and when she recovered, felt she really wanted to serve the Lord with
her husband. All this had cheered Mrs. Wu immensely when she came home for a holiday during the
summer. She was now back with Bertha and Sadie who looked on her as a tower of strength in their
work at Xince.
One morning during the Conference, while I was dressing the children, one of the women came in to
tell me that dear old Grannie Wang had died in the night. I felt sad that I hadn’t been with her at the
end, and afraid too of the dampening effect her death might have on the spirit of the Conference. I
finished dressing the children and went out to join the women. What met me was not gloom and
sadness, but a spirit of gladness and rejoicing. “Praise the Lord”, they were saying, “this is just what
she wanted - to go to the Lord from among her brothers and sisters at the Church.” It was quite a
rebuke to Percy and me, and a lesson too. Surely God’s children should not be too sad when He calls
His children Home. Conference 1941 was a memorable one in more ways than one.
Our missionary Conference was not held in Xixiang as earlier planned but in Hanzhong. The whole
question of the Preaching Band which had commenced with Percy and Pastor Gou in leadership in
October, was thoroughly reviewed. It was decided that Percy and I should move to Hanzhong. The
Church there had given rooms on the Church compound to be used as the headquarters of the Band
and proposed Bible School. Our move was to be made at the beginning of 1942, by which time Arthur
and Esther Moore would have returned from furlough and settled once again in their home in
Hanzhong. For the children’s sake it was nice to think Grannie and Grandad would be so close, but
we felt sad to be leaving the little home where we and the children had been so happy, and where we
had grown to know and love the people of the Church. In the eight years since we first went there as
young and inexperienced missionaries, we had made plenty of mistakes, but had also learned a lot.
We had grown to love and understand the Chinese people and, best of all, we had learned to know
and trust our wonderful God whose love never failed. The people amongst whom we lived were poor
and oppressed, up to their eyes in debt to landlords and Government, but were hardworking and
generous, far beyond their means, and they had a love for God and His Word which often shamed us
who came to teach them.
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Contents
Amy Moore
Chinese today?” Even in the middle of a Church service I would sometimes have to answer the all
important question!
Alan was always interested in my letter writing. One evening, while they were having tea, I was writing
to my parents, and he wanted to know who I was writing to. I told him, and he watched me in silence
for awhile, and then said, “Mum, send a kiss for me - two kisses.” So I had to kiss him first, then the
letter and finally put two crosses where the kisses had been put.
Frank had just learned to say ‘banana’ and amused us all by pointing at my mother’s picture and
saying “banana”. By this time he wanted to say his own grace. Ours would not do at all. As soon as
ours was finished he clasped his hands, fingers wide apart, over his face and waited for me to prompt
him - “Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen”. Not long after that he gave up saying Lord Jesus, pointing up to
Heaven instead. His ‘Amen’ became a good Chinese “Hao” meaning “good” or “finished”, and when
he blew kisses to his various relations, he quite often blew one to the Lord Jesus as well. The Lord
Jesus was quite obviously included among his friends and relations.
XIXIANG CHURCH
There was a good spirit at the 1941 Church Conference and we felt the Lord was blessing. Mrs. Wu’s
son, whom we had sent to Bible School in Shanxi, had seemed more like his old bright self again. His
little wife too had been blessed when the Lord met with her during an illness when she thought she
was going to die. She didn’t die and when she recovered, felt she really wanted to serve the Lord with
her husband. All this had cheered Mrs. Wu immensely when she came home for a holiday during the
summer. She was now back with Bertha and Sadie who looked on her as a tower of strength in their
work at Xince.
One morning during the Conference, while I was dressing the children, one of the women came in to
tell me that dear old Grannie Wang had died in the night. I felt sad that I hadn’t been with her at the
end, and afraid too of the dampening effect her death might have on the spirit of the Conference. I
finished dressing the children and went out to join the women. What met me was not gloom and
sadness, but a spirit of gladness and rejoicing. “Praise the Lord”, they were saying, “this is just what
she wanted - to go to the Lord from among her brothers and sisters at the Church.” It was quite a
rebuke to Percy and me, and a lesson too. Surely God’s children should not be too sad when He calls
His children Home. Conference 1941 was a memorable one in more ways than one.
Our missionary Conference was not held in Xixiang as earlier planned but in Hanzhong. The whole
question of the Preaching Band which had commenced with Percy and Pastor Gou in leadership in
October, was thoroughly reviewed. It was decided that Percy and I should move to Hanzhong. The
Church there had given rooms on the Church compound to be used as the headquarters of the Band
and proposed Bible School. Our move was to be made at the beginning of 1942, by which time Arthur
and Esther Moore would have returned from furlough and settled once again in their home in
Hanzhong. For the children’s sake it was nice to think Grannie and Grandad would be so close, but
we felt sad to be leaving the little home where we and the children had been so happy, and where we
had grown to know and love the people of the Church. In the eight years since we first went there as
young and inexperienced missionaries, we had made plenty of mistakes, but had also learned a lot.
We had grown to love and understand the Chinese people and, best of all, we had learned to know
and trust our wonderful God whose love never failed. The people amongst whom we lived were poor
and oppressed, up to their eyes in debt to landlords and Government, but were hardworking and
generous, far beyond their means, and they had a love for God and His Word which often shamed us
who came to teach them.
Return to Table of 260
Contents
