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Pocket Testament Leasue Team, holding meeting at i.'ie Chens Hsln Grammar school, Hsuchow, where Gospels of John were distributed to the school children. During the past year, the P.T.L,. In China has distributed a quarter of a million Testaments to students and servicemen.
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R ECENTLY, during the public Ob servance of the sixtieth birthday of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, ten thousand Chinese school children in Nanking received Gospels. This thrilling story is related in a letter from Harry Liu, Field Secretary of the Pocket Testament League in China. The Pocket Testament League team was in Hsuchow, holding a series of evangelistic meetings for members of the Chinese National Army sta tioned in that area. "While reading a Nanking paper there," Harry Liu writes, “I saw an interesting article about a sing- spiration of patriotib songs in Nan king in which 10,000 children would participate on October 31, the birth day of General Chiang Kai-shek. I said in my heart: ‘Wouldn’t it be grand if 10,000 people sang the Dox- ology and praise to God?’ Imme diately Romans 10:17 came to my mind: ‘Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.’ How can they hear the Gospel without the written Word? "In the same paper I read of dif ferent ways that gifts were being presented. Some groups were donat ing a school in the Generalissimo's name. Others were giving a li brary. At once the thought occurred to me, ‘What .if we could present a gift of 10,000 Gospels of John and give them to the school children who participate in this singspiration?'" APRIL, 1947
Joy to hand out bundles of the Gos pels to those who brought the letters. They came not only from mission schools, but from the government schools as well.” However, it was only two days before the birthday party and it was feared that not everyone had read the notice. Harry and his associate in the work decided to visit the children personally at five song prac tice centers in different parts of the city. This they did. There was oppo sition to the Gospel distribution at only one center from a member of the school board. Harry relates: "But I showed him that our Gospel was a Gospel of peace and pointed out how much more convenient it was to distribute the booklets there than to visit the schools.” The school board member then withdrew his opposition. Among the schools participating in the song festival was a Roman Cath olic one. After some hesitation, lest the gift be resented, our workers decided to ask the teacher in charge if he wished the Gospels for his chil dren. “Of course we want them," was the eager reply. “Thus," Harry Liu’s letter con cludes, "through the messengers who brought the letter and through per sonal presentations at the practice centers, we placed 12,288 Gospels in the hands of school children. Once again the Lord did for us, exceeding abundantly above what we asked or thought. Praise His name!” Page Fifteen
After praying about it, Harry Liu brought the matter before Conrad R. Baehr, Associate Secretary of the Pocket Testament League in China, and a member of the League’s team at Hsuchow. Harry’s letter contin ues: “He was thrilled, and imme diately we knelt down and committed the matter to the Lord. That eve ning I left for Nanking. Mr. Baehr and I parted at the station, praying for the Lord’s blessing on the under taking.” Arriving at Nanking on October 27, four days before the scheduled song fe s tiv a l, H a rry went to the Friends’ Mission, where his friends, Mr. and Mrs. Marri, welcomed him. They also thought that the birthday idea was an excellent one, and they Introduced him to a medical student, Mr. Ma, who was willing to help him in the presentation of the Gospels. First, they prepared a news re lease. The Central News Agency of China was extremely cordial and printed a notice in a prominent spot in the Sunday newspaper. It an nounced that 10,000 copies of the Gospels, beautifully printed in Amer ica, would be presented by the Pocket Testament League as a birthday gift in honor of the sixtieth birthday of the Generalissimo. All schools par ticipating in the singspiration were invited, through the newspaper story, to send for copies of the Gospels. “Letters started to come in Sunday afternoon and continued all through Monday,” Harry reports, “it was my
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