Page 48 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 48
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
joined Mr. Hunter however, he was to spend some time with the George Andrew in Lanzhou to get
used to the different dialects of the north west and to learn more of the customs of that part of China.
So, before the end of 1907, both Arthur and Esther found themselves settled in Lanzhou. Lanzhou is
the capital of Gansu Province and the China Inland Mission had made it a centre of outreach to other
parts of the province. Mutual attraction soon drew them together and it was not long before Arthur
plucked up the courage to ask George Andrew for his daughter's hand in marriage. The story goes
that when he asked George if he could marry his daughter, George looked at Arthur with a twinkle in
his eye and said, "You had better ask her".
Engaged couples were not supposed to live on the same station until after their marriage. Chinese
customs allowed little or no communication before marriage and, even the strict rules of Victorian
England were still too loose for Chinese standards. So, early in 1908, Arthur was sent off on a long
journey to do evangelistic work up on what was called "the Panhandle". He was accompanied by a
Chinese evangelist, and they travelled for 21 days through Liangzhou and Ganzhou to Suzhou. It was
a long, arduous journey, but still a great deal less than the distance he would have to travel to reach
Mr. Hunter's station in Dihua. They gave out tracts, sold Christian gospels and, in the cities, went from
shop to shop, sometimes preaching to big crowds of curious people who gathered in spite of the
hostility of some who were alarmed to see a foreigner in that remote region. Arthur found it a
wonderful opportunity to learn and use the Chinese language.
WEDDING BELLS
Back in Lanzhou, Arthur and Esther began to make plans for their wedding. Mission rules expected
young people to wait for marriage till they had been in the country at least two years. This was to
ensure that both (but especially the lady) would have time to be familiar with the language and
customs of the people before being thrust into the responsibilities of a mission station and family life.
Arthur and Esther had been in
China almost a year before they
met in Lanzhou, and his long trip
to Suzhou had taken up another
big segment of their two years,
so they planned to be married in
December of 1908. As it was
necessary to be somewhere
where there was a British Consul
to make the wedding legal, they
decided on Shanghai. Esther's
brother George and his fiancée,
Fanny Riley, had been accepted
in London by the CIM and should
be arriving in Shanghai in
October, and her two younger
brothers were in school in
Chefoo, so they hoped the family
might be all there for this first wedding.
All these plans of course were subject to approval from headquarters. Letters went back and forth,
permission was given, the date was set for 11 December in Shanghai, and they set out on the long trip
48
Amy Moore
joined Mr. Hunter however, he was to spend some time with the George Andrew in Lanzhou to get
used to the different dialects of the north west and to learn more of the customs of that part of China.
So, before the end of 1907, both Arthur and Esther found themselves settled in Lanzhou. Lanzhou is
the capital of Gansu Province and the China Inland Mission had made it a centre of outreach to other
parts of the province. Mutual attraction soon drew them together and it was not long before Arthur
plucked up the courage to ask George Andrew for his daughter's hand in marriage. The story goes
that when he asked George if he could marry his daughter, George looked at Arthur with a twinkle in
his eye and said, "You had better ask her".
Engaged couples were not supposed to live on the same station until after their marriage. Chinese
customs allowed little or no communication before marriage and, even the strict rules of Victorian
England were still too loose for Chinese standards. So, early in 1908, Arthur was sent off on a long
journey to do evangelistic work up on what was called "the Panhandle". He was accompanied by a
Chinese evangelist, and they travelled for 21 days through Liangzhou and Ganzhou to Suzhou. It was
a long, arduous journey, but still a great deal less than the distance he would have to travel to reach
Mr. Hunter's station in Dihua. They gave out tracts, sold Christian gospels and, in the cities, went from
shop to shop, sometimes preaching to big crowds of curious people who gathered in spite of the
hostility of some who were alarmed to see a foreigner in that remote region. Arthur found it a
wonderful opportunity to learn and use the Chinese language.
WEDDING BELLS
Back in Lanzhou, Arthur and Esther began to make plans for their wedding. Mission rules expected
young people to wait for marriage till they had been in the country at least two years. This was to
ensure that both (but especially the lady) would have time to be familiar with the language and
customs of the people before being thrust into the responsibilities of a mission station and family life.
Arthur and Esther had been in
China almost a year before they
met in Lanzhou, and his long trip
to Suzhou had taken up another
big segment of their two years,
so they planned to be married in
December of 1908. As it was
necessary to be somewhere
where there was a British Consul
to make the wedding legal, they
decided on Shanghai. Esther's
brother George and his fiancée,
Fanny Riley, had been accepted
in London by the CIM and should
be arriving in Shanghai in
October, and her two younger
brothers were in school in
Chefoo, so they hoped the family
might be all there for this first wedding.
All these plans of course were subject to approval from headquarters. Letters went back and forth,
permission was given, the date was set for 11 December in Shanghai, and they set out on the long trip
48
