In addition to the spiritual blessings we received, and the Christian fellow ship which we enjoyed, we transacted some very important business. Many con ferences were conducted at which vital plans for the future of the school were discussed. We mean to utilize our build ings to the fullest extent. The school will open, God willing, with forty-five students and we will retain space for at least two hundred. A new project will be an orphanage for girls and boys which is greatly needed. The attitude of the Chi nese toward their children is tragic, but
missed an important dinner engagement which Mr. Hollington Tong, the Minis ter of Information, had arranged for us at Nanking. To it were invited the Am erican ambassador, the Episcopal bishop, the Roman Catholic archbishop, and top notch generals of the Generalis simo’s Army. Even Madame Chiang Kai- shek herself had promised to come if she could arrange it. Naturally, Mr. Allder and I wished to appear at our very best, so we took great pains to spot and press our travel - stained clothes. However, when we arrived at Hankow, where we had to cross the Yangtze River to reach the plane at the Wuchang airfield, we found that a fearful storm was raging, and the usual means of transportation, an iron ferry, was not available. In our determination to be present at that au gust gathering, we engaged a little Chi nese sailboat, called a sampan, to take us over the tempestuous river. If we had been more experienced, we would have been afraid! As it was, huge w a v e s tossed the fragile skiff about, not only drenching us to the skin, but also cov ering us with yellow mud. I seemed to have the worst of it, for the waves washed over me first. Perhaps it was a good thing — although very disappoint ing to us — that the plane was gone when we got to the other side, for cer tainly the American ambassador would never have admitted two such bedraggled “bums” as Mr. Allder and I appeared to be! We hated to miss that unusual op portunity for a Christian testimony. But Mr. Tong was not to be outdone. He flew to Shanghai for the express purpose of entertaining us, which we appreciated greatly. Just outside of Manila, we felt in our plane the whiplash of the tail of a ty phoon. Otherwise, the return journey was uneventful, although very interest ing. We reached Los Angeles on Octo ber 7th, and were greeted at the airport by our friends who had followed us faithfully with their prayers and thus had a share in our trip. Again and again, as we flew over the countryside of China, we were impressed with the millions of rice paddies, lying beneath us like a huge checkerboard of tiny, well-kept gardens, stretching to the distant horizon as far as the eye could reach. From our observation and the in formation we could obtain, there is no actual food shortage at all in China, al though thousands die of starvation every week. It is all a matter of unequal distri bution of the food produced. The Chinese can subsist on a little rice flavored with fish, and there would be plenty for all if by some means the soil’s yield could be properly allotted to all. One day, as we were thus flying along over the rice fields, a scene below at tracted my attention, which reminded me instantly of the account in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. I thought of that familiar scene near the town of Sychar, where Jesus rested by a well. I remembered the indifference of the dis ciples, who, although they had been sent forth to preach, ignored the needy Sa maritan woman, and the equally needy (Continued on Page 1U) Page Eleven
blood-stained stairway. In 1927, due to Communistic influence, the C h i n e s e church had to declare that it was not a foreign institution, and once more the burden of the propagation of the Gospel fell upon it, which resulted in a strong, native church, with a great burden for the salvation of their fellows. It was just at this crucial time that Mr. Milton Stewart of Los Angeles, and others, caught the vision of an institute to train native evangelists in China, and provided the means to erect the buildings which still stand. In 1937, the Japanese attacked China, and Changsha became a battleground for the opposing armies. The buildings were badly damaged, but in comparison to the complete devasta tion all about it, the Hunan Bible Insti tute was miraculously spared. The work was disrupted, but the witness went on. As students with considerable knowl edge of the Word of God were scattered through China, the Gospel was pro claimed far and wide. After the war, the government agencies wished to make use of some of our property, so it seemed best to allow them to do this for the cost of putting them in repair. Altogether, they spent about $100,000 in American money for this purpose, and, of course, many more thousands of dollars are needed to complete the reconstruction. We believe that God has given us a plan for the work which we will make known in due time, in which all friends of the school may share. To proceed with our trip: It was a great joy to us to renew fellowship with those in charge of the school: Dr. and Mrs. Charles Roberts, Mr. and Mrs. Rus sell Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Corey, and, in addition, to become acquainted with many Chinese sisters and brethren whom we learned to love. The Bible Con ference which we had gone to attend was in progress when we arrived, and a great sight it was to behold the great crowds o f Chinese Christian workers, many of them alumni of the school, listening in tently to the expositions of the Word of God, praying and counselling together over their problems, and having a good time in the Lord. All were housed and fed at the Hunan Bible Institute. The meetings were held during the day and evening. Dr. Roberts conducts a regular English service for those who under stand English, mostly employees from banks, postoffices, and schools, and this was continued in the conference. There were Bible classes led by different dele gates each day, lectures by the Dean, and many special speakers. It was my priv ilege to bring a Bible message each day, which of course had to be interpreted, and I showed the Bible Institute of Los Angeles film, which made all of the work ers homesick. The spirit of the confer ence was wonderful; blessed harmony prevailed. The singing was most inspir ing. Although the words were in Chi nese, it was good to hear the familiar melodies of “ Nearer, my God, to Thee,” ■“ Safe Am I,” “ Rolled Away,” “ Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” and other American hymns and Gospel choruses, which the Chinese love. The closing communion service was a never-to-be-forgotten ex perience.
Chinese children whom we desire to rescue and train for Christ in our own orphanage. it grows out of the economic situation. The boys are looked upon as old age se curity for their parents, for when a son marries, he brings his bride into the an cestral home, and continues to work and provide for his parents. The reverse is true of the daughter, who goes to the home of her husband and thus becomes a total loss to her parents. For this rea son, daughters are not desired, and the unfortunate little creatures are often sold into houses of prostitution at an early age. We want to train numbers of them as Bible Women and boys as evan gelists. The China Inland Mission may take over one of our buildings for a hos pital. We believe that through these new avenues of service the work will increase and expand and many more souls will be reached with the Gospel. It is our strong conviction that, if Christ tarries, the Hunan Bible Institute will play a large part in the evangelization of China in this generation. We left Changsha at noon on September 26th, happy in the knowledge tha t we had accomplished what we believed the Lord had sent us to do in China. One of the great regrets of our trip was that on our return journey we
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