November, 1942
THE K I NG ’S BUS I NESS
407
(there; were casualties In many fami- -' lies all over the town), and the con gregation decided to collect funds and start building up again and continue as a, self-supporting church, and that after six years of War in the, district.. This had been Father’s aim in all the twenty years he ¡¡labored among them, but not until he fave his life for the people by staying'with them through more than‘three years of Con stant fighting, did it become a reality. Praise the Lord! But God was working in my heart, too. He taught me never to question. His doings, whatever be the circum stances, but just to “stand Still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” He . gave me that peace of His. “which passeth all. understanding.” John 14:27 became a reality to me. I found out that only One can give satisfying peace, and that is Jesus. For centuries the world has been endeavoring to establish peace; and what has been the result? A world in flames! I thank God today that although all my dear ones are, in the hands of evil men in both Norway and China, not a hair on their heads shall be touched unless my Father which is in heaven knows about it. And that is good enough for me! From 'the bottom of my heart, and after having tried them often, I •can testify as to the truth of these words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I pnto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” And so I can thank God for every- - Uiing, For when I have Christ, I have life (for without Christ, life isn’t worth living) and I can say with Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
to Be Thankful For?
My reply Is, “It’s not really I who Is doing this; it’s the grace of God.” I thank God for His gift, and I" long that I may live to make Christ known —at least to my “congregation” of three—our children. Of course there’s a slow leak in my heart for you—there always will be. I’m not always ’optimistic. But I’m learning that nothing is so deteriorat ing as self-pity. I know now that God never sends more than we,can bear. His Word, which is becoming more previous to me daily, promises that. With His help I’ll carry on, and some day, because we both trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross, we’ll be together again. In the meantime, His grace is sufficient for me. God has promised; He never fail^. Yours forever, Opal.
ago my father was killed in a Japan ese air attack on his mission station far up in Northwest China. When last heard from, my mother, sister, and two brothers were in Japanese-occu pied China. The rest of my relatives are all in Norway. Today I thank God that He took me away from all my friends in Nor way when I was only thirteen years old, however trying it was for me, just to make me realize what a Friend He could be to the lonesome, and that if I would be willing to do what He wanted me to do, whatever the cost, He would make something out of me. Since then my future'plans have been changed completely three times as a result of the war, and I have spent almost three years as a refugee att different places in China. When we arrived in China in 1937, war had broken oUt, and only Father was able to reach the mission station, though not without difficulty. In the summer of 1939, however, my mother was able to join him, while we chil dren were in a British schodl. On the night before Christmas Eve that year, a telegram came through from Mother saying that Father had been killed. Ever since, that day has been one of the greatest milestones in my life. I felt that from then on ' I had to be both father and brother to those younger than I. But with the responsibility, God gave me. also strength and a wonderful sense of His peace. I could not question God why all this had happened, but as I knelt in His presence I thanked Him for using Father’s life and prayéd that even through his sudden departure ‘ from . this world, souls might come to a saving knowledge of Christ. And they did! In death as wéll as life he was a testimony for his Lord and Master. Even heathens wept when they saw Father’s smiling face after death. Weak Christians were revived as they realized t h e suddenness of death
An Answer by an 18-YEAR-OLD . REFUGEE*
An Answer from a GERMAN INTERN MENT CAMP
One of the greatest joys any one can have must be to know and feel that God is using one’s life to fit into His great and perfect plan of salva tion. That is the reason I have so much to be thankful for, because al though I am only eighteen years old, God has led me through some hard, but at the same time wonderful, ex periences. . . . *1 |un_a Norwegian staying in the United States only for the duration of the war. My parents were.mission aries in China, and consequently I have been separated from them a great period of my life. Two years
What causes for thanksgiving re main for two missionaries—the hus band in a German internment "Camp and the wife back in America after having been for more than a year in the power of the Nazis? Our reasons for rejoicing acre God’s own miracles for both of us. My husband and I were returning to Africa in April of 1941. We had spent our furlough time in North America and were eager to continue our work .under the Africa Inland Mission in Kenya Colony, East Africa. The (ship on which we traveled was the S. S. Zamzam, which was shelled [Continued, on Page 439]
The necessity fo r omitting the name of the young man who wrote this testimony w ill he apparent to the reader ',— -E ditor .
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs