Page 75 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 75
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
By the time Dr. Max Gray, one of the young doctors who had been in language school with Percy
arrived, the crisis was past. John's life was no longer in danger but his abdomen remained distended
and, after six weeks in bed, it was thought wise for him to go to the big Mission Hospital in Shanghai
for further treatment. Arthur quickly made the decision that as Percy was more fluent than any of the
other young men with the spoken Chinese, he should go with John to Shanghai. So with John in a
sedan chair and Percy and Max walking beside him, the three were sent off. John was never to return
to Shaanxi. Percy took him as far as Hankou and from there on he was able to travel alone the rest of
the way while Percy returned to Shaanxi.
In May 1933 another Conference was called and held in Xixiang where Walter and Reba Michell with
their baby daughter Joyce were living. By this time Percy and I had decided to become engaged, and
Arthur announced it to everybody at one of the Conference meetings. A wedding meant a trip to one
of the Chinese cities where there was a British Consulate and, because Doug was still at school at
Chefoo, and it would be an opportunity to see him too, we decided to go to Shanghai at the end of
1933.
We hoped to be married on Arthur and Esther's wedding anniversary, 11 December, and set off from
Hanzhong with that in view. Besides ourselves and Arthur and Esther, we had two other Shaanxi
workers in the party who had arrived there before we did and had been engaged for some time. They
were Charlie Frencham and his fiancée Ruth. Dr. Xiao took the opportunity to travel to Shanghai
with us too, and when we reached Fengxiang on the northern side of the mountains, we joined up with
a party from Gansu, Mr. and Mrs. Moseley of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and Ivy Dix of the
CIM who was on her way for furlough. Doug and the Moseley children joined us in Shanghai as they
had to come from Chefoo a few days earlier.
The Shanghai housekeeper, Jeannie Anderson, had a talk with Esther and Arthur after our arrival to
ask of we would mind postponing the wedding till after Christmas as it would make it easier for her.
So it was changed to 9 January. Esther and Arthur's bedroom in the Mission home became the
centre for family gatherings with Doug delighted to have his family there for the holidays.
I had few friends in Shanghai except for one or two girls who had been with me in Language School
and one or two older missionaries who came from Australia and I had met there. Graham and Elsie
Hutchinson were two of these, and he agreed to be my "father" at the wedding and they both tried to
take the place of my parents. The Moores knew everybody and, as many of the Chefoo staff and
children were there for the holidays, Percy caught up with old friends too and we were all invited out to
a number of homes in Shanghai for meals. Esther's brother George was there part of the time too,
and by the time the wedding day was over I was beginning to feel a part of the Moore family.
Esther and Arthur were always sensitive to the needs of younger workers and, with our wedding over,
they turned their attention to Charlie and Ruth who were to be married two days after us. Ruth and I
shared a room until I was married, and now Esther tried to help her over all the problems small and
great which can face a girl withour her mother on her wedding day.
Esther's mother's heart was something that I became very aware of in the years that followed. Her
thoughts were never long absent from the two girls in Canada and Doug in Chefoo, and it made her
very quick to sense when other young people needed a mother's help.
75
Amy Moore
By the time Dr. Max Gray, one of the young doctors who had been in language school with Percy
arrived, the crisis was past. John's life was no longer in danger but his abdomen remained distended
and, after six weeks in bed, it was thought wise for him to go to the big Mission Hospital in Shanghai
for further treatment. Arthur quickly made the decision that as Percy was more fluent than any of the
other young men with the spoken Chinese, he should go with John to Shanghai. So with John in a
sedan chair and Percy and Max walking beside him, the three were sent off. John was never to return
to Shaanxi. Percy took him as far as Hankou and from there on he was able to travel alone the rest of
the way while Percy returned to Shaanxi.
In May 1933 another Conference was called and held in Xixiang where Walter and Reba Michell with
their baby daughter Joyce were living. By this time Percy and I had decided to become engaged, and
Arthur announced it to everybody at one of the Conference meetings. A wedding meant a trip to one
of the Chinese cities where there was a British Consulate and, because Doug was still at school at
Chefoo, and it would be an opportunity to see him too, we decided to go to Shanghai at the end of
1933.
We hoped to be married on Arthur and Esther's wedding anniversary, 11 December, and set off from
Hanzhong with that in view. Besides ourselves and Arthur and Esther, we had two other Shaanxi
workers in the party who had arrived there before we did and had been engaged for some time. They
were Charlie Frencham and his fiancée Ruth. Dr. Xiao took the opportunity to travel to Shanghai
with us too, and when we reached Fengxiang on the northern side of the mountains, we joined up with
a party from Gansu, Mr. and Mrs. Moseley of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and Ivy Dix of the
CIM who was on her way for furlough. Doug and the Moseley children joined us in Shanghai as they
had to come from Chefoo a few days earlier.
The Shanghai housekeeper, Jeannie Anderson, had a talk with Esther and Arthur after our arrival to
ask of we would mind postponing the wedding till after Christmas as it would make it easier for her.
So it was changed to 9 January. Esther and Arthur's bedroom in the Mission home became the
centre for family gatherings with Doug delighted to have his family there for the holidays.
I had few friends in Shanghai except for one or two girls who had been with me in Language School
and one or two older missionaries who came from Australia and I had met there. Graham and Elsie
Hutchinson were two of these, and he agreed to be my "father" at the wedding and they both tried to
take the place of my parents. The Moores knew everybody and, as many of the Chefoo staff and
children were there for the holidays, Percy caught up with old friends too and we were all invited out to
a number of homes in Shanghai for meals. Esther's brother George was there part of the time too,
and by the time the wedding day was over I was beginning to feel a part of the Moore family.
Esther and Arthur were always sensitive to the needs of younger workers and, with our wedding over,
they turned their attention to Charlie and Ruth who were to be married two days after us. Ruth and I
shared a room until I was married, and now Esther tried to help her over all the problems small and
great which can face a girl withour her mother on her wedding day.
Esther's mother's heart was something that I became very aware of in the years that followed. Her
thoughts were never long absent from the two girls in Canada and Doug in Chefoo, and it made her
very quick to sense when other young people needed a mother's help.
75
