Page 112 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
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GFA – A Different Drumbeat 112
The news went around the world, and it wasn’t
long before the US, who regarded the situation
seriously, sent Lieutenant Robert H Soule,
assistant United States military attaché to
investigate. GFA met him in Sian and, with his
personal knowledge of the area, language and
culture, was to be an invaluable support to Soule.
So what had happened?
In the book “A Martyr’s Grace” 20 there is a
chapter about the martyrdom of Gustav Tornvall.
Here is a selection from that chapter:
Gustaf Tornvall saw a ride in the car of Henry Ekvall, an American international
salesman for Ford Motor Company, as a rare treat. Hardly ever in all his years in
China had he had the opportunity to ride in an automobile, especially in the interior of
the far northwest. But time was beginning to change the way of life for even the
common people of Kansu province. Gravel roads were being carved into the
countryside where, for centuries, people confined their travel to narrow footpaths and
bumpy cart trails.
A perceptive missionary who sensed the economic value of such transportation
progress for his fellow people, Gustaf had volunteered his services as a relief
director to manage funds paid to the Chinese laborers who were building the roads.
In addition, he viewed the money made by the people he supervised as a means of
providing income for themselves at a time when a great famine had crippled the
economy.
Henry Ekvall, on the other hand, was in China for the sole purpose of making a profit.
As a salesman for Ford, he wanted to grab exclusive rights to the fresh market in this
remote part of the country. He had known Gustaf from earlier years and saw the
experienced missionary as just the ticket he needed to further his travels as he made
contact with prospective buyers in the northwest. Having just finished business in the
Kansu region, he now needed to travel back to his base in Sian, the ancient capital
of China, two hundred miles to the southeast.
Gustaf also needed to get to Sian to purchase equipment and supplies for the work
crews he was supervising. With up to forty thousand daily workers carving out new
roads, he was looking for a safe way to transport the large amount of funds he was
carrying to purchase supplies required to keep such a mammoth labor force working.
20 “A Martyr’s Grace. Stories of Those Who Gave All for Christ and His Cause” by Marvin J Newell.
Published by Moody Publishers, Chicago 2006
The news went around the world, and it wasn’t
long before the US, who regarded the situation
seriously, sent Lieutenant Robert H Soule,
assistant United States military attaché to
investigate. GFA met him in Sian and, with his
personal knowledge of the area, language and
culture, was to be an invaluable support to Soule.
So what had happened?
In the book “A Martyr’s Grace” 20 there is a
chapter about the martyrdom of Gustav Tornvall.
Here is a selection from that chapter:
Gustaf Tornvall saw a ride in the car of Henry Ekvall, an American international
salesman for Ford Motor Company, as a rare treat. Hardly ever in all his years in
China had he had the opportunity to ride in an automobile, especially in the interior of
the far northwest. But time was beginning to change the way of life for even the
common people of Kansu province. Gravel roads were being carved into the
countryside where, for centuries, people confined their travel to narrow footpaths and
bumpy cart trails.
A perceptive missionary who sensed the economic value of such transportation
progress for his fellow people, Gustaf had volunteered his services as a relief
director to manage funds paid to the Chinese laborers who were building the roads.
In addition, he viewed the money made by the people he supervised as a means of
providing income for themselves at a time when a great famine had crippled the
economy.
Henry Ekvall, on the other hand, was in China for the sole purpose of making a profit.
As a salesman for Ford, he wanted to grab exclusive rights to the fresh market in this
remote part of the country. He had known Gustaf from earlier years and saw the
experienced missionary as just the ticket he needed to further his travels as he made
contact with prospective buyers in the northwest. Having just finished business in the
Kansu region, he now needed to travel back to his base in Sian, the ancient capital
of China, two hundred miles to the southeast.
Gustaf also needed to get to Sian to purchase equipment and supplies for the work
crews he was supervising. With up to forty thousand daily workers carving out new
roads, he was looking for a safe way to transport the large amount of funds he was
carrying to purchase supplies required to keep such a mammoth labor force working.
20 “A Martyr’s Grace. Stories of Those Who Gave All for Christ and His Cause” by Marvin J Newell.
Published by Moody Publishers, Chicago 2006
