Page 53 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 53
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
late. Esther called Arthur in and, together in the kitchen, they all knelt before the Lord, while the cook
poured out his heart to God, confessing sin, seeking forgiveness and asking the Lord to take over his
life. It was a wonderful finish to the meetings they had prayed so much about, but they were still not
satisfied, and felt there were many who should have responded to God's voice and had not done so.
Christians being revived meant that many of them caught the vision of witnessing to the non-
Christians around them so, in October and November of 1911, they began to reach out to others. At
that time farmers from all over the Xining district were bringing in their grain to the big granaries in the
city. Arthur and many of the church people took the opportunity to preach and sell literature to these
people who would soon be returning to the country districts.
The preaching hall was open daily and an old Christian named Liye sat there most of the day ready to
chat to anybody who came in to drop their bundles for a while and rest. One day a man named Bei,
an exile from Beijing, came in. He continued to come daily and one evening made a commitment to
the Lord. Arthur's comment was that he had become a "new creature in Christ Jesus", and the
change was not only inward but outwards as well. Round his neck and ankles were iron rings and
chains that branded him as an exile and a criminal. He was dressed in rags and had been in the
habit of begging his way from door to door. Now he found a job, washed his face, wore clean clothes,
tidied his hair and never tired of telling people what God had done for him. He wished they could all
be like him "except for these chains". The church, watching his life and testimony, felt it would not be
long before he would be ready for baptism, but when troubles broke out around the city again, he
disappeared, but not before a free pardon had come for him from the Emperor and his chains had
been removed. Nobody knew what became of him, except that they heard he was a Manchu and
may have felt himself safer somewhere else.
THE REVOLUTION - 1911
By the end of 1911 the situation all over China had become increasingly unsettled. Many
missionaries had to leave their stations for the comparative safety of the coastal cities. In Xi'an, the
capital of the adjoining province of Shaanxi, a number of missionaries were killed, and in the Xining
district anti-foreign elements began to make themselves felt again. A big band of brigands from the
West Valley determined to kill the foreigners and burn the mission home. There was a general feeling
of unrest throughout the city and George Andrew, who was watching the situation carefully from
Lanzhou, felt that rather than being scattered in isolated places it would be better for missionaries to
gather for a time in one of the bigger centres.
Arthur and Esther with Percy, now two years old and Jessie nine months old, joined Mr. and Mrs.
Snyder from Guide and travelled together to Didao where Christian and Missionary Alliance
missionaries had a work. The move was made only just in time for, two days after they left, a three
hundred strong band of brigands were on their way to Xining to put their plans into action.
The military leader in the city heard about them and went out with a company of soldiers to meet them,
with the result that about forty of the rebels were captured and beheaded and the rest scattered, afraid
to show themselves again. Another band planning to plunder and kill in Xining actually got to within
less than two miles of the city, but heavy snow and the dark night caused them to lose their way. By
the time they had collected themselves together again, the officials in the city had heard about them
and set out to arrest them. Those who were caught were beheaded and the rest fled.
From Didao Arthur wrote, "We have been surrounded by many rumours and have been cut off from all
communication with the coast and the outside world, but God has kept us in peace." They remained
53
Amy Moore
late. Esther called Arthur in and, together in the kitchen, they all knelt before the Lord, while the cook
poured out his heart to God, confessing sin, seeking forgiveness and asking the Lord to take over his
life. It was a wonderful finish to the meetings they had prayed so much about, but they were still not
satisfied, and felt there were many who should have responded to God's voice and had not done so.
Christians being revived meant that many of them caught the vision of witnessing to the non-
Christians around them so, in October and November of 1911, they began to reach out to others. At
that time farmers from all over the Xining district were bringing in their grain to the big granaries in the
city. Arthur and many of the church people took the opportunity to preach and sell literature to these
people who would soon be returning to the country districts.
The preaching hall was open daily and an old Christian named Liye sat there most of the day ready to
chat to anybody who came in to drop their bundles for a while and rest. One day a man named Bei,
an exile from Beijing, came in. He continued to come daily and one evening made a commitment to
the Lord. Arthur's comment was that he had become a "new creature in Christ Jesus", and the
change was not only inward but outwards as well. Round his neck and ankles were iron rings and
chains that branded him as an exile and a criminal. He was dressed in rags and had been in the
habit of begging his way from door to door. Now he found a job, washed his face, wore clean clothes,
tidied his hair and never tired of telling people what God had done for him. He wished they could all
be like him "except for these chains". The church, watching his life and testimony, felt it would not be
long before he would be ready for baptism, but when troubles broke out around the city again, he
disappeared, but not before a free pardon had come for him from the Emperor and his chains had
been removed. Nobody knew what became of him, except that they heard he was a Manchu and
may have felt himself safer somewhere else.
THE REVOLUTION - 1911
By the end of 1911 the situation all over China had become increasingly unsettled. Many
missionaries had to leave their stations for the comparative safety of the coastal cities. In Xi'an, the
capital of the adjoining province of Shaanxi, a number of missionaries were killed, and in the Xining
district anti-foreign elements began to make themselves felt again. A big band of brigands from the
West Valley determined to kill the foreigners and burn the mission home. There was a general feeling
of unrest throughout the city and George Andrew, who was watching the situation carefully from
Lanzhou, felt that rather than being scattered in isolated places it would be better for missionaries to
gather for a time in one of the bigger centres.
Arthur and Esther with Percy, now two years old and Jessie nine months old, joined Mr. and Mrs.
Snyder from Guide and travelled together to Didao where Christian and Missionary Alliance
missionaries had a work. The move was made only just in time for, two days after they left, a three
hundred strong band of brigands were on their way to Xining to put their plans into action.
The military leader in the city heard about them and went out with a company of soldiers to meet them,
with the result that about forty of the rebels were captured and beheaded and the rest scattered, afraid
to show themselves again. Another band planning to plunder and kill in Xining actually got to within
less than two miles of the city, but heavy snow and the dark night caused them to lose their way. By
the time they had collected themselves together again, the officials in the city had heard about them
and set out to arrest them. Those who were caught were beheaded and the rest fled.
From Didao Arthur wrote, "We have been surrounded by many rumours and have been cut off from all
communication with the coast and the outside world, but God has kept us in peace." They remained
53
