Page 52 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 52
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
moon) was fixed as the day for it to begin. The rebels who are all members of Secret
Societies, have their own "Emperor" who is attired in royal robes. All the rank and file
have fancy clothing with a tiger's head in the centre of the jacket and the words
"Soldiers of the Western King" embroidered on the head. The meaning of the tiger's
head is "fierce" or "stop at nothing", which pretty well expressed their intentions.
On 28 June the Xining Prefect called on Arthur to say there was no need to be afraid as he had sent
out men to arrest the rebels. He was very kind and polite and said that if the danger increased he
would invite the family to the Yamen where they would be protected. The city was put under curfew
from 8:30 p.m. and a number of the rebels, including their emperor were eventually captured so that
order was restored.
During the strain and anxiety of this period, Arthur recorded in his diary the Scriptures that God had
used to strengthen them. On Friday 30 June, when the city was in such a tumult, and it looked as if
they would lose their lives, the text in their daily readings was "God, Who delivered us and does
deliver, in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver". On the following day the word was "Abide thou
with Me, fear not, for he that seeks your life seeks My life, but with Me thou shalt be in safeguard."
REVIVAL IN XINING
Life returned to normal and, by the end of July 1911, Arthur and Esther and the church at Xining were
preparing for the visit of two evangelists to the district. One was Mr. Albert Lutley of the CIM who had
a God-given gift of evangelism, and the other was Mr. Wong, a Chinese evangelist.
"From the beginning" wrote Arthur, "we felt that the speakers were filled with the Holy Spirit and with
love for the souls of men". Three meetings were held each day, two in the mornings and one led by
Albert in the afternoons. Arthur was impressed by the quiet and gracious way in which the evangelists
reminded their hearers of the claims Jesus Christ was making upon them to live more holy and
consecrated lives. "It has been a real time of heart searching before God," he wrote, "and a time of
humbling when we have been brought face to face with our own shortcomings, and our need of
greater dependence on God".
It was at the afternoon meeting on the Tuesday, when Albert Lutley was speaking, that one of the
Christians, a man called Jinye got up from his seat weeping bitterly and crying out to God to have
mercy on him. It was the beginning of a work of the Holy Spirit in many hearts. Christians came
forward to confess to dishonesty and other sins and asked forgiveness from God and man. One man
paid off some outstanding debts as soon as the meeting was over. "A great many were in tears",
wrote Arthur, "as the Holy Spirit revealed the hidden things of the heart to each one."
Meetings continued all that week, and the Holy Spirit continued to work and to reveal things to the
church which needed to be put right. Towards the end of the week, some of the boys from the Boys'
School connected with the church came forward to confess sin and ask forgiveness. Some of them
came from non-Christian homes, and Arthur felt they were going to need a lot of support to continue
as Christians. To his surprise the Moslem parents of one of the boys agreed to let their son become a
practising Christian.
So Christians were cleansed and sinners were saved, but to Arthur and Esther perhaps the greatest
joy was to see what God was doing in their own servants. On the final evening of the meetings, when
it was all over, and Esther was in the kitchen, the cook came in to tell her his heart was very troubled.
He had wanted to give his life to God during the meetings but had put it off, and was afraid it was too
52
Amy Moore
moon) was fixed as the day for it to begin. The rebels who are all members of Secret
Societies, have their own "Emperor" who is attired in royal robes. All the rank and file
have fancy clothing with a tiger's head in the centre of the jacket and the words
"Soldiers of the Western King" embroidered on the head. The meaning of the tiger's
head is "fierce" or "stop at nothing", which pretty well expressed their intentions.
On 28 June the Xining Prefect called on Arthur to say there was no need to be afraid as he had sent
out men to arrest the rebels. He was very kind and polite and said that if the danger increased he
would invite the family to the Yamen where they would be protected. The city was put under curfew
from 8:30 p.m. and a number of the rebels, including their emperor were eventually captured so that
order was restored.
During the strain and anxiety of this period, Arthur recorded in his diary the Scriptures that God had
used to strengthen them. On Friday 30 June, when the city was in such a tumult, and it looked as if
they would lose their lives, the text in their daily readings was "God, Who delivered us and does
deliver, in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver". On the following day the word was "Abide thou
with Me, fear not, for he that seeks your life seeks My life, but with Me thou shalt be in safeguard."
REVIVAL IN XINING
Life returned to normal and, by the end of July 1911, Arthur and Esther and the church at Xining were
preparing for the visit of two evangelists to the district. One was Mr. Albert Lutley of the CIM who had
a God-given gift of evangelism, and the other was Mr. Wong, a Chinese evangelist.
"From the beginning" wrote Arthur, "we felt that the speakers were filled with the Holy Spirit and with
love for the souls of men". Three meetings were held each day, two in the mornings and one led by
Albert in the afternoons. Arthur was impressed by the quiet and gracious way in which the evangelists
reminded their hearers of the claims Jesus Christ was making upon them to live more holy and
consecrated lives. "It has been a real time of heart searching before God," he wrote, "and a time of
humbling when we have been brought face to face with our own shortcomings, and our need of
greater dependence on God".
It was at the afternoon meeting on the Tuesday, when Albert Lutley was speaking, that one of the
Christians, a man called Jinye got up from his seat weeping bitterly and crying out to God to have
mercy on him. It was the beginning of a work of the Holy Spirit in many hearts. Christians came
forward to confess to dishonesty and other sins and asked forgiveness from God and man. One man
paid off some outstanding debts as soon as the meeting was over. "A great many were in tears",
wrote Arthur, "as the Holy Spirit revealed the hidden things of the heart to each one."
Meetings continued all that week, and the Holy Spirit continued to work and to reveal things to the
church which needed to be put right. Towards the end of the week, some of the boys from the Boys'
School connected with the church came forward to confess sin and ask forgiveness. Some of them
came from non-Christian homes, and Arthur felt they were going to need a lot of support to continue
as Christians. To his surprise the Moslem parents of one of the boys agreed to let their son become a
practising Christian.
So Christians were cleansed and sinners were saved, but to Arthur and Esther perhaps the greatest
joy was to see what God was doing in their own servants. On the final evening of the meetings, when
it was all over, and Esther was in the kitchen, the cook came in to tell her his heart was very troubled.
He had wanted to give his life to God during the meetings but had put it off, and was afraid it was too
52
