179 was the means of breaking down local prejudices and winning the confidence and respect of both civilian and military officials. Soon a flourishing work was in progress in this formerly -a:nctf:'foreign city, and the Provincial government actually contributed the _equivalent of fifteen hundred dollars toward the purchase of a hospital site, all contributing to Dr. Keller's fruitful first year in Hunan Province. During the period of 1901-1909, Dr. Keller was introduced to Lyman Stewart, a co-founder of Biola, by Mr. R. D. Smith of the Bible House of Los Angeles, which was the successor of a Bible Institute which Mr. Stewart had sponsored before the founding of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Although the former Bible Institute had not been successful, the organiz- ational structure was continued with its work being shifted to a literature ministry and foreign mission activity. From this meeting, Dr. Keller and Mr. Stewart developed a close friendship and the interest of Mr. Stewart in Dr. Keller's work. Later, God placed a unique burden on the heart of Dr. Keller, who felt his inadequacy in reaching the Chinese because he was Oc- cidental. His desire that the Chinese should be trained to reach their own people was emphasized by a certain incident. The incident occured in the summer of 1909, when Dr. Keller, in the field doing evangelism, observed a small, trim launch steaming up the Hisang River and docking in Changsha. A group of Chinese and Caucasians disembarkec and began distributing small boxes of cigarettes in the shops and houses. Later in the day, when the farmers and merchants were returning home, these men stood on temporary platforms by the roadside and gave each man a sample of their wares. Dr. Keller said, "As we saw their strenuous work and hea,rd of their far-reaching plans, and thought of thousands of towns and villages whose millions of people who have never heard of Christ or even seen a copy of God's Word, who would soon be smoking cigarettes, our hearts were filled with a burning shame and at the same time throbbed with a burning ambition
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