Page 271 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 271
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
rooms which had been our home for nearly nine months. It was a wonderful feeling to have more
space and a garden where the children could play, and work that I enjoyed.
The news from Lanzhou was not good. Soon after they arrived there, both Jess and David had
contracted amoebic dysentery, possibly the result of the long journey they had had from Shanghai and
the poor food they ate. David made a good recovery but Jess never seemed to pick up. After the
twins were born she continued to be weak and tired, so much of the care of the boys fell to David who
somehow managed to combine that with the study of the Chinese language. Jess had been
determined to breast feed the twins and, in spite of constant weakness, she did continue till the end of
November, but then they had to be weaned. In December an anointing service was held for her in
their home. In Hanzhong her parents were becoming more and more concerned for her until they
finally decided that her mother should go to Lanzhou to try and help her.
Six weeks or so after Dorothy arrived I was writing
“She reminds me now of nothing so much as a koala bear. She curls
herself up into a little soft ball when she is asleep. Then when I pick
her up at feed times she slowly uncurls, stretches first one limb and
then another and then by degrees manages to get her eyes open to
gaze at me. We are as thrilled about her as if she were our first
instead of our fourth and I am like a hen with one chick. I simply can’t
resist cuddling her! She was ordered with blue eyes, curly hair and
freckles (Percy’s order). She has the blue eyes at present, but no
freckles as yet much to her daddy’s disgust, and the curls I am still
trying to develop with spit and perseverance. A bald patch on top
where her first down has rubbed off is a bit discouraging, but I keep
on hoping. She gains about 6ozs every week and looks all that a
baby should look in a little white muslin dress with a pink cardigan
over it.”
We received many congratulatory letters from our friends who all knew how happy I would be to have
a daughter, but we had a good laugh over a telegram from Norman Mac, “Congratulations Dotty Mag’s
arrival.” I had told the world that I didn’t want any abbreviations of my children’s names and this was
his response. We longed to be able to take pictures of Dorothy at this early stage, but films were not
available and it they were, the price was so outrageous we could not possibly afford them.
MILITARY SERVICE
It was in the autumn of 1942 that Percy began to think about military service. Reports coming
through of the war in Europe were not good, and the latest papers told of British legislation authorising
the Government to call up their nationals in Egypt for war service. British missionaries in India had
already been called up and it was more than likely that the same thing would happen in China.
Because of all this, Percy felt it would be better if he offered his services to the British Military Mission
where his knowledge of Chinese language and customs might be useful. His uncle George Findlay
Andrew was already in Chongqing being used in some kind of liaison between the Chinese and the
British Governments, and he would be happy to be involved in something similar.
So in August he began a correspondence with the British Military Attache at the British Embassy in
Chongqing. He not only stated his willingness to serve, but also said that he was a married man with
a wife and three children. In the event of his being called up it would be necessary for us both to leave
271
Amy Moore
rooms which had been our home for nearly nine months. It was a wonderful feeling to have more
space and a garden where the children could play, and work that I enjoyed.
The news from Lanzhou was not good. Soon after they arrived there, both Jess and David had
contracted amoebic dysentery, possibly the result of the long journey they had had from Shanghai and
the poor food they ate. David made a good recovery but Jess never seemed to pick up. After the
twins were born she continued to be weak and tired, so much of the care of the boys fell to David who
somehow managed to combine that with the study of the Chinese language. Jess had been
determined to breast feed the twins and, in spite of constant weakness, she did continue till the end of
November, but then they had to be weaned. In December an anointing service was held for her in
their home. In Hanzhong her parents were becoming more and more concerned for her until they
finally decided that her mother should go to Lanzhou to try and help her.
Six weeks or so after Dorothy arrived I was writing
“She reminds me now of nothing so much as a koala bear. She curls
herself up into a little soft ball when she is asleep. Then when I pick
her up at feed times she slowly uncurls, stretches first one limb and
then another and then by degrees manages to get her eyes open to
gaze at me. We are as thrilled about her as if she were our first
instead of our fourth and I am like a hen with one chick. I simply can’t
resist cuddling her! She was ordered with blue eyes, curly hair and
freckles (Percy’s order). She has the blue eyes at present, but no
freckles as yet much to her daddy’s disgust, and the curls I am still
trying to develop with spit and perseverance. A bald patch on top
where her first down has rubbed off is a bit discouraging, but I keep
on hoping. She gains about 6ozs every week and looks all that a
baby should look in a little white muslin dress with a pink cardigan
over it.”
We received many congratulatory letters from our friends who all knew how happy I would be to have
a daughter, but we had a good laugh over a telegram from Norman Mac, “Congratulations Dotty Mag’s
arrival.” I had told the world that I didn’t want any abbreviations of my children’s names and this was
his response. We longed to be able to take pictures of Dorothy at this early stage, but films were not
available and it they were, the price was so outrageous we could not possibly afford them.
MILITARY SERVICE
It was in the autumn of 1942 that Percy began to think about military service. Reports coming
through of the war in Europe were not good, and the latest papers told of British legislation authorising
the Government to call up their nationals in Egypt for war service. British missionaries in India had
already been called up and it was more than likely that the same thing would happen in China.
Because of all this, Percy felt it would be better if he offered his services to the British Military Mission
where his knowledge of Chinese language and customs might be useful. His uncle George Findlay
Andrew was already in Chongqing being used in some kind of liaison between the Chinese and the
British Governments, and he would be happy to be involved in something similar.
So in August he began a correspondence with the British Military Attache at the British Embassy in
Chongqing. He not only stated his willingness to serve, but also said that he was a married man with
a wife and three children. In the event of his being called up it would be necessary for us both to leave
271
