Page 301 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 301
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
A large sum of money had already been given by the churches and individual Christians for this
purpose, but the Committee was still discussing the best way to use it. The main idea was to open a
private school with a standard of education equal to any Government School, but not to register, and
to make it clear to parents that the purpose of the school was not to prepare them for going into
business, but rather to give them a good education combined with a thorough knowledge of the Bible
with the aim of preparing them for the Lord’s work. The problem then arose about what to do in the
years between graduating from the school and entering Bible School. It was felt the churches should
have some kind of interim course to fill in those years while they were still too young to enter Bible
School.
Another important issue that came out of these Church Union Meetings was that there should be a
regular Conference between missionaries and Chinese workers. In other words, all Christian workers
meet together to discuss the work and pray about it together. We rejoiced in this suggestion and later
in the year it was actually carried out when all of us who were full time workers for the Lord in Shaanxi
met together in Chenggu for the first ‘Fellow Workers Conference.’ It was such a success that we
decided to hold it quarterly, and I wrote,
“There was a good attendance - about twenty five or six, and a real
spirit of prayer and intercession. I am sure these times, when we all,
Chinese and foreign alike, live and eat and pray together for a few
days, do much to unite us as a band of fellow workers, and to make
us really feel one in the Lord.”
At the Church Union Meetings in February, Pastor Ho, one of the teachers at the Bible School in
Fengxiang, had been invited to come and give Bible readings during the meetings.
With the war over and Raymond home, we were beginning to wonder what Headquarters were
planning for the further education of our children. Frank and Murray Beck were both due to start
school in September, but where? Would Chefoo be opening again and ready for occupation after
Japanese occupation? What about the children in India? When were they coming home? And what
provision would be made for the older ones like Raymond? Many of them would not be returning to
China as they had reached High School or University age, but there were others, like Raymond, who
were still in China.
I wrote to Bishop Houghton to enquire. He said the Kalimpong children were expected to move back
about April by ship to Shanghai. Alan would then need to fly from Shanghai to Xi’an as overland travel
was still far too difficult. Bill Ebeling had just gone from Xi’an to Lueyang and then on to Lehe by train
and bus, and did not recommend it as a trip to be taken by women and children. He and his wife, after
their long stay with us, were hoping they could go back to their own work again as soon as possible.
It was February 1946 when we received the first parcel from Australia since the war began. It came all
the way from Perth and was from my mother with the first instalment of correspondence lessons for
Frank. He went nearly silly with excitement and raced round the compound telling everybody that his
Grandma had sent him some lessons all the way from Australia. By the time he finished, he had
everybody else as excited as he was himself. It was a wonderful incentive to him to do his lessons,
and I began to feel more encouraged about him than I had been. When I wrote to my mother to tell
her the parcel had arrived, I said,
“He knows the alphabet and can count up to 100. He recognises
most three letter words and can do simple sums in his head without
too much bother, but he is such a little monkey that when he wants to
301
Amy Moore
A large sum of money had already been given by the churches and individual Christians for this
purpose, but the Committee was still discussing the best way to use it. The main idea was to open a
private school with a standard of education equal to any Government School, but not to register, and
to make it clear to parents that the purpose of the school was not to prepare them for going into
business, but rather to give them a good education combined with a thorough knowledge of the Bible
with the aim of preparing them for the Lord’s work. The problem then arose about what to do in the
years between graduating from the school and entering Bible School. It was felt the churches should
have some kind of interim course to fill in those years while they were still too young to enter Bible
School.
Another important issue that came out of these Church Union Meetings was that there should be a
regular Conference between missionaries and Chinese workers. In other words, all Christian workers
meet together to discuss the work and pray about it together. We rejoiced in this suggestion and later
in the year it was actually carried out when all of us who were full time workers for the Lord in Shaanxi
met together in Chenggu for the first ‘Fellow Workers Conference.’ It was such a success that we
decided to hold it quarterly, and I wrote,
“There was a good attendance - about twenty five or six, and a real
spirit of prayer and intercession. I am sure these times, when we all,
Chinese and foreign alike, live and eat and pray together for a few
days, do much to unite us as a band of fellow workers, and to make
us really feel one in the Lord.”
At the Church Union Meetings in February, Pastor Ho, one of the teachers at the Bible School in
Fengxiang, had been invited to come and give Bible readings during the meetings.
With the war over and Raymond home, we were beginning to wonder what Headquarters were
planning for the further education of our children. Frank and Murray Beck were both due to start
school in September, but where? Would Chefoo be opening again and ready for occupation after
Japanese occupation? What about the children in India? When were they coming home? And what
provision would be made for the older ones like Raymond? Many of them would not be returning to
China as they had reached High School or University age, but there were others, like Raymond, who
were still in China.
I wrote to Bishop Houghton to enquire. He said the Kalimpong children were expected to move back
about April by ship to Shanghai. Alan would then need to fly from Shanghai to Xi’an as overland travel
was still far too difficult. Bill Ebeling had just gone from Xi’an to Lueyang and then on to Lehe by train
and bus, and did not recommend it as a trip to be taken by women and children. He and his wife, after
their long stay with us, were hoping they could go back to their own work again as soon as possible.
It was February 1946 when we received the first parcel from Australia since the war began. It came all
the way from Perth and was from my mother with the first instalment of correspondence lessons for
Frank. He went nearly silly with excitement and raced round the compound telling everybody that his
Grandma had sent him some lessons all the way from Australia. By the time he finished, he had
everybody else as excited as he was himself. It was a wonderful incentive to him to do his lessons,
and I began to feel more encouraged about him than I had been. When I wrote to my mother to tell
her the parcel had arrived, I said,
“He knows the alphabet and can count up to 100. He recognises
most three letter words and can do simple sums in his head without
too much bother, but he is such a little monkey that when he wants to
301
