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T H É K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
April, 1936
Junior K ING ’S BUSINESS B y M a r t h a S. H o o k e r
GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER B y A l ic e L a n *
I t w a s d u r in g the year 1932 that Miss Betty Hu and I were left in charge of a hundred little orphan children in a mission school and orphanage in Shang hai, China. One night we were awakened by the sound of guns. War was on be tween China and Japan! W e knew that we were in danger, and that we must make plans for the little children in our care. W e must move them from the mission, for at that time the mission buildings were located between a soldiers’ camp and an arsenal where we knew there were large supplies of guns and bullets. First we moved our great crowd of boys and girls to a friend’s house, but this place soon proved to be unsafe, as it was very near where the soldiers were landed from the river. Again we had to move, and this time we went into a church which was pro vided by another mission. But sleeping on the floor, especially when the weather is bitterly cold, is not the best for one’s health, and soon many o f our little chil dren were ill with pneumonia. We real ized we must move again. We wanted to get away from Shanghai. But how could we? It would cost thirty dollars of Chi nese money for each child to travel in the very cheapest, poorest part of a river boat —and there were a hundred children I But our heavenly Father was watching over us. We began to pray for the money that would enable us to move our children to a safe place. And soon a letter arrived containing the exact amount of money needed—three thousand dollars! What a wonderful heavenly Father we have! Now that we had the money, one great difficulty was removed, but there were other hard questions to face. We must get the children to a boat. All Shanghai was in turmoil. The streets were crowded with people making their way toward the river boats. Every one was anxious to get away from the sound of gun fire. We decided to start before daylight and go to the boats before the other people reached them. W e were up by one o’clock in the morning and on our way. But others had thought o f the same plan! When we reached the river, crowds were waiting along the river banks. Boats were out in the river and were separated from the shore by a platform barricaded with barbed wire. The boats were crowded. We could see people hanging to ropes over the sides o f the boats. It seemed a hope less task to get our hundred little children onto that boat. Miss Hu and I finally climbed over the barbed wire and made our way to the boat, leaving the children on the shore. W e wanted to see the captain. Surely he could help us. The deck space on the boat was crowded with people and their bundles. W e had to step over them as we went to the stern of the boat where we * Associated with Bethel Mission, Shanghai, China.
over the barbed wire and were on our way to the boat. The captain called down to us from the top deck: “Who are those children? Where are they from, and why are they singing ?” O f course we gladly told him all about them and about our troubles in trying to get on the boat. “Would you mind if I put them on the first class deck?” he asked. What a wonderful surprise! God’s Word says that He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). And that was the way He had answered us—and so soon, too ! Immediately the gangplank of the boat was lowered, the barbed wire opened, and soon every one o f the children was climb ing up onto the boat. In all, our 100 chil dren, 10 teachers, and 130 pieces of bag gage were taken on. And we were given the very best place on the boat. What a wonderful heavenly Father we have! And the loving way that He cared for these children in China, dear boys and girls, is the way that He will care for you, too. “He careth for you’’ (1 Pet. 5:7). Jesus Lives! O H -o o how could they do it!” sobbed Alice, And with tears streaming down her cheeks, she hurried from the classroom up the steps to her own room in the dormitory. Miss Rae and the other children in the Bible class were quite unprepared for this sudden outburst o f emotion. True, the class was reading the story that should touch every heart—the story of our Lord’s suffering and death on the cross. But though it was being read thoughtfully and prayerfully, there were no tears in the eyes o f a single boy or girl, save one child, and that was Alice. Could it be that the story had grown a bit too familiar to these boys and girls? Alice was hearing it for the very first time. Alice had spent most of her early life on a large ranch in a Western state. There had been no neighbors for miles around, and she had spent her early child hood days practically alone. When she was still quite young, both her father and mother died. Because Alice was left alone in the world, kind friends had sent her to a Christian school where she could learn not only the things that every boy and girl learns at school, but also about the Lord Jesus, who loves boys and girls. What a strange experience school life was for A lice! At first she was quite shy, but as the days passed by, she began to enter into the happy life o f the other boys and girls in the school, and soon she seem ed quite at home in this large school family. She loved the songs the children sang, and learned them very quickly. Often she could be heard humming the tunes as she played or worked around the school. There
These Chinese boys who are now in the mission school in the city of Shanghai can remember days of great excitement when Jap anese soldiers were landed in China. It was through a crowded river scene that Miss Lan and Miss Hu, with a hundred boys and girls in their care, had to seek the way of escape described in this story. were told we could find the captain. But he was not there. “He’s at the other end o f the boat,” some one said. As quickly as possible, we worked our way through the crowds once more, again stepping over people and bundles. The captain was at the other end of the boat, but he refused to see us. Disappointed, we left the boat; and as we did so, we noticed that the freight department of the vessel was empty. Perhaps bur children could ride there. W e hastened to the main office to get this permission, but we were sent to another office where our case was not even considered. The Travel Service office refused to refund the money we had paid for the tickets. “You must get on that boat or lose your money,” the agent said. What should we do? What could we do? W e knew we could not leave the hundred children on . the river’s bank much longer—and then we remembered that God our heavenly Father is “a father of the fatherless” (Psa. 68:5). We had been trying to open up the way in our own efforts—we had forgotten H im ! Soon every child and teacher was kneel ing there on the bank of the river in the midst of the crowds o f people. But all of these strangers were forgotten, and we began to cry to God to help us. As the praying ceased, the children began to sing. They sang one chorus after another until they came to “God Will Take Care of You.” They had just begun this song when a messenger from the boat came running toward us. “ Is there any one here who can speak English?” he asked. “ The captain wants to speak to you.” “Yes, we can speak English,” Miss Hu and I replied. Soon we were climbing
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