Page 297 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 297
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
laugh in spite of myself. A few days ago he sat at the table and
watched me while I cut up a pear for him to eat. Then he looked at
me with a quizzical expression and said, ‘Really, you are terrific you
know Mummy.’ I was so taken by surprise that I laughed anyway and
that is just what he wanted.”
One day there was a big fair on the drill ground in the city, so I took the three children and they
thought it great fun - men walking on stilts looking like giants and all sorts of side shows as well as
stalls for buying food and toys. I took some money in my pocket so as to buy a few things for the
children. They got so few nice things that they could buy and though these things would not last long,
at least they were different, and I felt the pleasure they gave them was worth it. Raymond spent most
of the time with Dr. Xiao’s boys so he enjoyed himself. His Chinese was coming back fast and he
seemed to be remembering quite a lot.
WEI XIAN CAMP
We had a duplicated letter from Mrs. Lack about this time. She had been in Wei Xian all through the
war as were the rest of the Chefoo School staff, and of course they had the responsibility for the
children all the time they were under the Japanese.
“Dear all of you,
How are you after nearly four years? I have had one Red Cross letter
in three years and nine months, and I am afraid most of mine never
left this camp. I am afraid you must wait for the story of these years
until I get out as work is almost night and day now as two of us are
sorting and packing for the boys. We have used curtains, mattress
covers, table cloths, anything we could lay our hands on to cut out
and make clothes they can wear when they travel home. We have
lost everything, and so has the school, except for our dirty bedding.
The bed bugs have been at their worst during this hot weather, and I
am afraid our boxes will all have to be fumigated.
At last the war is over. We heard it whispered by a Chinese, but we
did not believe it because we have been hearing it at least once a
week anyway. Last Friday, on August 17th, an American B24 flew
over. We all knew it was not a Japanese place because it flew lower
and lower, backwards and forwards and so low it blew our hats off.
We shouted and cheered and laughed and cried. You can have no
idea what this meant to us. One of the children ran to me and said,
“Oh, Mrs. Lack, will Mummy know they are flying over us?” “Yes” I
said, “by this evening it will be broadcast all over the world”.
Our children have been wonderful and it has not been easy for them.
We have had no beds for over three years and have hardly been able
to keep clean with just one piece of soap a month. Mr. Bruce, Mrs.
Houghton and the boys have taken on the washing of sheets for the
past eight months as we were all breaking down under it. Four of us
did it most of the time until I was ill last summer, then we started a
squad arrangement, Mrs. Houghton, Miss Williams, Mrs. Henderson
297
Amy Moore
laugh in spite of myself. A few days ago he sat at the table and
watched me while I cut up a pear for him to eat. Then he looked at
me with a quizzical expression and said, ‘Really, you are terrific you
know Mummy.’ I was so taken by surprise that I laughed anyway and
that is just what he wanted.”
One day there was a big fair on the drill ground in the city, so I took the three children and they
thought it great fun - men walking on stilts looking like giants and all sorts of side shows as well as
stalls for buying food and toys. I took some money in my pocket so as to buy a few things for the
children. They got so few nice things that they could buy and though these things would not last long,
at least they were different, and I felt the pleasure they gave them was worth it. Raymond spent most
of the time with Dr. Xiao’s boys so he enjoyed himself. His Chinese was coming back fast and he
seemed to be remembering quite a lot.
WEI XIAN CAMP
We had a duplicated letter from Mrs. Lack about this time. She had been in Wei Xian all through the
war as were the rest of the Chefoo School staff, and of course they had the responsibility for the
children all the time they were under the Japanese.
“Dear all of you,
How are you after nearly four years? I have had one Red Cross letter
in three years and nine months, and I am afraid most of mine never
left this camp. I am afraid you must wait for the story of these years
until I get out as work is almost night and day now as two of us are
sorting and packing for the boys. We have used curtains, mattress
covers, table cloths, anything we could lay our hands on to cut out
and make clothes they can wear when they travel home. We have
lost everything, and so has the school, except for our dirty bedding.
The bed bugs have been at their worst during this hot weather, and I
am afraid our boxes will all have to be fumigated.
At last the war is over. We heard it whispered by a Chinese, but we
did not believe it because we have been hearing it at least once a
week anyway. Last Friday, on August 17th, an American B24 flew
over. We all knew it was not a Japanese place because it flew lower
and lower, backwards and forwards and so low it blew our hats off.
We shouted and cheered and laughed and cried. You can have no
idea what this meant to us. One of the children ran to me and said,
“Oh, Mrs. Lack, will Mummy know they are flying over us?” “Yes” I
said, “by this evening it will be broadcast all over the world”.
Our children have been wonderful and it has not been easy for them.
We have had no beds for over three years and have hardly been able
to keep clean with just one piece of soap a month. Mr. Bruce, Mrs.
Houghton and the boys have taken on the washing of sheets for the
past eight months as we were all breaking down under it. Four of us
did it most of the time until I was ill last summer, then we started a
squad arrangement, Mrs. Houghton, Miss Williams, Mrs. Henderson
297
