Page 311 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 311
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
My Daily Vacation Bible School was hardly over when a telegram arrived from the Ningqian church to
say that the young worker, Mr. Zhang, whom we had only sent there about three months previously,
had had a nervous breakdown and they were sending him back to us. He came quite soon after the
telegram and the gatekeeper brought him up to me. I suppose I was the one responsible person on
the place at that time as Pastor Niu had left. It seemed that soldiers had tried to force an entrance into
the church at Ningqiang to make their quarters there, and Zhang had resisted them. Apparently they
used force of some kind and terrified him, though it was hard to get the truth out of him. He was still
full of fear when he was brought to me and kept insisting the soldiers were coming. Dr. Xiao gave me
some kind of tranquilliser to calm him down, but in spite of that, my cook and I had a lively time with
him for a few days while I kept hoping Percy would be home soon to decide what should be done
about him. Most of the time he just sat in a corner of our sitting room, but occasionally would dash
outside shouting that the soldiers were after him. He was not what one would call ‘violent’, but there
were times when the cook and I were the only ones who could manage him. I wanted to keep him if
possible till Percy got back as he kept insisting that Percy must go to Ningqiang to fix things up, and I
felt, if he got the whole thing off his mind by telling it to Percy whom he trusted, he might improve. He
was from Yang Xian and I did not want to send him back to his little wife in this condition. They had
three children, the youngest only three months old, and I did not see how she could cope with a
mentally deranged husband as well.
He was with us a week before Percy at last got home and, though he was tired, he spent a lot of time
with Zhang, talking with him and praying with him. Finally, when we were both going to Chenggu the
following Monday for our fellow workers’ prayer meeting, we took him with us. His wife came over too
from Yang Xian with the children, and he seemed happier when he was with his family.
Twenty six of us, Chinese and Western, met at this time for two days of prayer together for what had
now become a quarterly meeting. When it was over, the Chenggu church suggested that Zhang and
his family should stay for an indefinite period on their church premises rather than going back to their
own home. They felt the quietness and the fellowship with other Christians might help him. He
seemed much better but was certainly not entirely normal yet.
After the meetings were over and we had returned to Hanzhong, I commented in my home letter,
“It has been a really good time and I do feel the Lord is working in our
South Shaanxi Churches. There are things that discourage us, but
there is much to encourage too. There have been about 200
baptisms in the district this summer and it does seem as if, in spite of
many difficulties, the Lord is saving souls.”
CHANGES
A new young Chinese Pastor called Chen was invited to the Hanzhong Church and had accepted. He
arrived with his wife and family at the beginning of October. It was a big church for a young man and it
was a big change for us after we had got used to the older and more experienced Pastor Niu, but we
were all prepared to welcome him and help him all we could. Since Pastor Niu left, Percy had had to
be the preacher fairly often, so he was quite pleased to be relieved of some of that responsibility.
Sadie Custer was back and she and Bertha, with a Chinese colleague, Mrs. Duan, had been asked to
take over regular class work in country churches. Frank White from Australia, after time out for war
service, was now back in the CIM in China, and had been appointed to Shaanxi and Percy was asking
him to help Fred in one of the northern stations. Helen Dalton was also back with us and working at
311
Amy Moore
My Daily Vacation Bible School was hardly over when a telegram arrived from the Ningqian church to
say that the young worker, Mr. Zhang, whom we had only sent there about three months previously,
had had a nervous breakdown and they were sending him back to us. He came quite soon after the
telegram and the gatekeeper brought him up to me. I suppose I was the one responsible person on
the place at that time as Pastor Niu had left. It seemed that soldiers had tried to force an entrance into
the church at Ningqiang to make their quarters there, and Zhang had resisted them. Apparently they
used force of some kind and terrified him, though it was hard to get the truth out of him. He was still
full of fear when he was brought to me and kept insisting the soldiers were coming. Dr. Xiao gave me
some kind of tranquilliser to calm him down, but in spite of that, my cook and I had a lively time with
him for a few days while I kept hoping Percy would be home soon to decide what should be done
about him. Most of the time he just sat in a corner of our sitting room, but occasionally would dash
outside shouting that the soldiers were after him. He was not what one would call ‘violent’, but there
were times when the cook and I were the only ones who could manage him. I wanted to keep him if
possible till Percy got back as he kept insisting that Percy must go to Ningqiang to fix things up, and I
felt, if he got the whole thing off his mind by telling it to Percy whom he trusted, he might improve. He
was from Yang Xian and I did not want to send him back to his little wife in this condition. They had
three children, the youngest only three months old, and I did not see how she could cope with a
mentally deranged husband as well.
He was with us a week before Percy at last got home and, though he was tired, he spent a lot of time
with Zhang, talking with him and praying with him. Finally, when we were both going to Chenggu the
following Monday for our fellow workers’ prayer meeting, we took him with us. His wife came over too
from Yang Xian with the children, and he seemed happier when he was with his family.
Twenty six of us, Chinese and Western, met at this time for two days of prayer together for what had
now become a quarterly meeting. When it was over, the Chenggu church suggested that Zhang and
his family should stay for an indefinite period on their church premises rather than going back to their
own home. They felt the quietness and the fellowship with other Christians might help him. He
seemed much better but was certainly not entirely normal yet.
After the meetings were over and we had returned to Hanzhong, I commented in my home letter,
“It has been a really good time and I do feel the Lord is working in our
South Shaanxi Churches. There are things that discourage us, but
there is much to encourage too. There have been about 200
baptisms in the district this summer and it does seem as if, in spite of
many difficulties, the Lord is saving souls.”
CHANGES
A new young Chinese Pastor called Chen was invited to the Hanzhong Church and had accepted. He
arrived with his wife and family at the beginning of October. It was a big church for a young man and it
was a big change for us after we had got used to the older and more experienced Pastor Niu, but we
were all prepared to welcome him and help him all we could. Since Pastor Niu left, Percy had had to
be the preacher fairly often, so he was quite pleased to be relieved of some of that responsibility.
Sadie Custer was back and she and Bertha, with a Chinese colleague, Mrs. Duan, had been asked to
take over regular class work in country churches. Frank White from Australia, after time out for war
service, was now back in the CIM in China, and had been appointed to Shaanxi and Percy was asking
him to help Fred in one of the northern stations. Helen Dalton was also back with us and working at
311
