I came back, I found at least four thousand believers, and twelve churches already up. At the church in Hwa- lien, over five hundred aborigines were baptized in less than a year. And,” he added, “most of this can be at tributed to Chi-oang. You remember her?” Lil indeed remembered the little tattooed woman who had come to the Bible school at Tamsui. Jim traced her remarkable adventures. Chi-oang had returned home and began teaching small groups of friends. As interest grew, she went from one village to another. The police, hearing of her activities, ordered the meetings stopped. Though Chi-oang could no longer visit freely, those she had led to faith carried on secret meetings themselves, often at night, setting a guard to warn of approaching police. When she could, she went out among the people. “One of her journeys sounds like something out of the Acts of the Apostles,” said Jim, “ as indeed, in a modern sense, it is!”
guage, Mandarin, so unlike the spoken Amoy that the two had almost nothing in common. The islanders did not relish the thought of again adjusting their customs to suit “ outsiders,” and some of them were frankly appalled at the backwardness of occupying Chinese troops. The Japanese soldiers had been well clothed; many of these newcomers, who came wearing straw hats and sandals, had never seen an electric light or other conveniences that the Taiwanese, under sophisti cated Japanese leadership, todk for granted. Chen Yi, the first governor appointed by the Chi nese, worsened the problems of the transition period by his harsh misrule. His administration was soon brought to an end by riots, whereupon he was succeeded by the able Dr. Wei Tao-ming, former Chinese Ambassador to the United States. Jim completed his survey. Then he returned home once more to report. He wrote Lil, still in British Gui ana : “ Pack up your things; book your passage home as soon as possible. You can see the children and be ready to go back with me to Taiwan.” Lil smiled to her self. Husbands safely distant made moving sound so simple! Even if there was little baggage, there were roots to be pulled up, and in five years they go down deep. After visiting the children in Illinois and Texas, Jim and Lil left for Taiwan by the converted troopship, Marine Lynx, but “ it wasn’t very soundly converted!” All passengers slept in hammocks, men on one side of the ship, women on the other, and all lined up for meals and ate from trays. Many missionaries were on board. Those returning to China were fearfully talking about conditions they expected to find there. Lil said, “Why don’t you come to Formosa? We are never bothered with Communists.” As the ship approached Shanghai, news came over the radio: “ Communist-inspired revolution in Tai wan.” “ But, Jim,” Lil said, “ that can’t be true! Under the Japanese, not even a breath of communism could get in !” For weeks they were kept in Shanghai, but finally clearance came. In Taiwan, as soon as they left the ship, they no ticed changes. Traffic was moving to the right instead of to the left, as had been the Japanese pattern. In Tai pei, bomb damage was evident everywhere. Fortunately, no bombs had fallen on the mission compound. The Dicksons’ house had been repaired by a Christian For mosan businessman and made ready for their return. Every day seemed to pump more life—and anxiety — into the city. The handwriting was on the wall. The Communists were taking over the mainland and no one knew what this would mean for the island. Lil wrote to her friends: “ Every day brings new rumors, fresh alarms. It is only because we are under God’s care and have our eyes and hearts set on one goal —bringing the good news of the Gospel to as many as possible while there is time—that we are able to proceed with comparative tranquility. Refugees are storming our shores by plane and ship by more than tens of thou sands. My guests used to come by ones and twos, now and then a group. Last night we had a letter asking if we could give shelter to an orphanage and a whole theological college student body!” Though the influx of mainlanders and their posses sive attitude created problems with the islanders, there were benefits, too. The most immediately obvious gain was simply that the Japanese had not won. Despite Japanese harassment during the war, a clan destine Christian revival had swept the mountains. “ I never saw anything like it,” Jim said to Lil. “When
A barrel of used clothing from America is like having Christmas. The children try on shoes for a “fit." Her arrival at Mikasa, on the east coast, was re ported to the police who suspected that she was plan ning to hold a meeting without permission. They were right. As the Christians met with her in a home up in the mountains, they heard a bugle call summoning the Home Guard to the police station. They knew that the village would be searched and Chi-oang discovered. Quickly, the meeting broke up and the little group fled back into the hills. Because Chi-oang was so feeble that she could not keep up with the others, the young men took turns carrying her on their backs. Two scouts going ahead, two bringing up the rear, they followed the mountain trail to the small village of Shimmura. Here, though it was night, the Christians, thirty-four families of them, were waiting to welcome Chi-oang, alerted by those who had gone in advance. After a brief pause, the young men went on with Chi-oang to the little village of Bat- keng, a station on the railroad. They hoped to put her on a train in the early morning hours and send her on to safety. They arrived at Bat-keng before train time, not knowing that three members of the Home Guard, sent there by the Japanese to arrest her if she came that way, were waiting at a warehouse. The young men carrying Chi-oang approached cautiously, stopping be hind that same warehouse to pray. One of them, recon- noitering, found two o f the guards. Striking up a con versation, he asked, “ Are you Christians?” , “Yes,” the two told him, “ but the one asleep in there” —they pointed to the open door of the warehouse—“ is not.”
IS
SEPTEMBER, 1964
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker