Page 270 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 270
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
I had dinner that night at ‘Granny’s’, but not alone for there were a number of passing through guests
staying the night before going on to Xi’an. Both houses shared the entertaining and I discovered
there were several nurses besides Ilma Whitelock (Malins) who could have taken care of me had I
needed them. But I didn’t. Towards the end of the meal, as I began to count the minutes between
contractions (mentally of course), I excused myself and slipped upstairs to the room where both
Raymond and Alan had been born. Two hours later at 9:40pm Dorothy Margaret made her entrance
into the world with Ilma and Percy and Mrs. Xiao (also a trained nurse) in attendance and Dr. Xiao on
call had I needed him. She was seven and a half pounds in weight.
Conscious only of a feeling of relief that it was all over, I lay back on the pillows and shut my eyes.
Then I was shocked into wakefulness when I heard Percy say, “You know you have a daughter, don’t
you?” I sat bolt upright and said, “No! Let me see her, quick!” So he brought her to me without
waiting to put clothes on her or even finish cleaning her up, and my first thought was that she looked
like a little skinned rabbit! I was so excited to have a little daughter at last that all thoughts of sleep
vanished. Mrs. Xiao was vastly amused at my reaction and said, “Fancy getting so excited over a little
girl.” I laughed at her and said, “I’m sure you were excited when you had Dorcas after all those boys.”
I loved my little boys but was pleased to have a little daughter as well. As they dressed her and
snuggled her into her bassinette next to my bed for the night, I thought she was the most beautiful little
girl in the world.
Next morning early, as I was cuddling her in my arms, Percy brought up one of the visitors from the
night before, a dear old Chinese pastor going through to Xi’an. He wanted to pray for the new baby
and to pray for God’s blessing on her, and as he placed his hands gently on her head and committed
her to the Lord, I felt glad that the first person to do so should be one of God’s Chinese saints. My
next visitors were Alan and Frank to see their baby sister. I don’t think Frank was very impressed. He
didn’t say much at the time, just stared at her, but after he got out of the room, Percy said he screwed
his eyes up and made a face and said that’s what she looked like. Alan was fascinated by her and as
he took one of her hands in his, he was delighted when she wound her fingers round one of his.
“Such tiny hands, Mummy” he said. Later Frank was wondering why the Lord Jesus had not given us
two babies as He had given Auntie Jess. Without waiting for any explanation we might give, he found
his own. The Lord Jesus could not have had enough ‘rou’ (meat or flesh) left for two babies for us as
well!
CHANGES
It was a wonderful change for me just to lie in bed enjoying my new daughter and being looked after
by my lovely mother-in-law. I felt rested and refreshed as the days went by.
But there were other changes ahead of us. With the closing down of the Team, some decisions had to
be made about our future. Percy’s dad was ready with his own plans and was soon discussing them
with us for our approval. Norman and Amy McIntosh had been asked to move to Lanzhou as
Business Manager for that field and Arthur Moore had been left without a district Secretary for
Shaanxi, so he asked Percy to take it on. The office was just inside the back gate and quite near the
back entrance to the Church, but we would move up to the other house next door to the Moores where
I would be responsible for doing a lot of entertaining of passing through visitors. That would relieve
some of the burden that Percy’s mother had been carrying ever since her return to Hanzhong. Percy
would still be available to the Church for visiting country centres and leading Bible studies in remote
areas, and I would be able to help with the work among women and children in Hanzhong as I had in
Xixiang. We were only too delighted at the proposal, and before I was ‘out of the month’ the men had
moved all our belongings up to the local secretary’s house and I never went back to the two little
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Contents
Amy Moore
I had dinner that night at ‘Granny’s’, but not alone for there were a number of passing through guests
staying the night before going on to Xi’an. Both houses shared the entertaining and I discovered
there were several nurses besides Ilma Whitelock (Malins) who could have taken care of me had I
needed them. But I didn’t. Towards the end of the meal, as I began to count the minutes between
contractions (mentally of course), I excused myself and slipped upstairs to the room where both
Raymond and Alan had been born. Two hours later at 9:40pm Dorothy Margaret made her entrance
into the world with Ilma and Percy and Mrs. Xiao (also a trained nurse) in attendance and Dr. Xiao on
call had I needed him. She was seven and a half pounds in weight.
Conscious only of a feeling of relief that it was all over, I lay back on the pillows and shut my eyes.
Then I was shocked into wakefulness when I heard Percy say, “You know you have a daughter, don’t
you?” I sat bolt upright and said, “No! Let me see her, quick!” So he brought her to me without
waiting to put clothes on her or even finish cleaning her up, and my first thought was that she looked
like a little skinned rabbit! I was so excited to have a little daughter at last that all thoughts of sleep
vanished. Mrs. Xiao was vastly amused at my reaction and said, “Fancy getting so excited over a little
girl.” I laughed at her and said, “I’m sure you were excited when you had Dorcas after all those boys.”
I loved my little boys but was pleased to have a little daughter as well. As they dressed her and
snuggled her into her bassinette next to my bed for the night, I thought she was the most beautiful little
girl in the world.
Next morning early, as I was cuddling her in my arms, Percy brought up one of the visitors from the
night before, a dear old Chinese pastor going through to Xi’an. He wanted to pray for the new baby
and to pray for God’s blessing on her, and as he placed his hands gently on her head and committed
her to the Lord, I felt glad that the first person to do so should be one of God’s Chinese saints. My
next visitors were Alan and Frank to see their baby sister. I don’t think Frank was very impressed. He
didn’t say much at the time, just stared at her, but after he got out of the room, Percy said he screwed
his eyes up and made a face and said that’s what she looked like. Alan was fascinated by her and as
he took one of her hands in his, he was delighted when she wound her fingers round one of his.
“Such tiny hands, Mummy” he said. Later Frank was wondering why the Lord Jesus had not given us
two babies as He had given Auntie Jess. Without waiting for any explanation we might give, he found
his own. The Lord Jesus could not have had enough ‘rou’ (meat or flesh) left for two babies for us as
well!
CHANGES
It was a wonderful change for me just to lie in bed enjoying my new daughter and being looked after
by my lovely mother-in-law. I felt rested and refreshed as the days went by.
But there were other changes ahead of us. With the closing down of the Team, some decisions had to
be made about our future. Percy’s dad was ready with his own plans and was soon discussing them
with us for our approval. Norman and Amy McIntosh had been asked to move to Lanzhou as
Business Manager for that field and Arthur Moore had been left without a district Secretary for
Shaanxi, so he asked Percy to take it on. The office was just inside the back gate and quite near the
back entrance to the Church, but we would move up to the other house next door to the Moores where
I would be responsible for doing a lot of entertaining of passing through visitors. That would relieve
some of the burden that Percy’s mother had been carrying ever since her return to Hanzhong. Percy
would still be available to the Church for visiting country centres and leading Bible studies in remote
areas, and I would be able to help with the work among women and children in Hanzhong as I had in
Xixiang. We were only too delighted at the proposal, and before I was ‘out of the month’ the men had
moved all our belongings up to the local secretary’s house and I never went back to the two little
Return to Table of 270
Contents
