The late summer and early fall of 1948 brought a renewal of hope as a full faculty of seventeen, along with ninety students, 104 began the semester. The addition of a preparatory school was a new feature, since many students deprived of education during the war needed to learn to write Chinese before entering the Institute. 105 Yet within a year, all hopes had vanished. As Communist pressure mounted near Hunan, Roberts went to Hong Kong, then to the United States to check the possibilities of an alternative to the Changsha work. Russ Davis was also in Hong Kong by May of 1949 looking for means to continue the work there. By that time,. Hunan was taken by the Communists, but the Christian schools were allowed to operate unmolested. 106 So H.B.I. continued operations under its last American missionary, Professor William Ebeling, who like the founder - of H.B.I. - Dr. Keller, came from the China Inland Mission. · The widow of C.K. Cheng (Scofield Cheng), who revitalized the correspondence course, a·lso fled to ffong Kong, while others went to F.ormosa. Not allowed -to return -to Communist.· controlled territory, . Roberts returned to. Hong ~- Kong and corresponded with Ebeling at H.B. L in the . last · months of . 1949-. At ·some point before leaving the Institute late in 1948, P~ovincia~ government authorities demanded the deeds to H.B.I. from Roberts, who wisely and fortuitously made copies before turning over the originals. That action would some day pay unexpected dividends . f Ch . t. ld · · 1 07 to Biola and the cause o ris ian wor missions.
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