The Canton (China) School by M. Gertrude Thompson

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 28, 1911

The Canton (China) School

By M. Gertrude Thompson

The last Sabbath before the close of school we had the privilege of witnessing a scene which did our hearts good. Five of the girls from the Bethel School received baptism. It seemed the more precious to us as for some time we had marked their conversion, and seen manifestations of Christian growth in their lives. There are others whom we expect to take this step before long.

I have not been able to take so active a part in the school as my sister, but as fast as my little knowledge of the language would permit, have taken charge of such work as I could. Beginning with the opening of the new year in February, we introduced domestic work and some industries.

The sewing classes and the oversight of the domestic work fell to my lot. While heretofore we have had two servants,—one as a cook and the other for general work,—this half-year the girls have taken entire care of the home and the schoolroom. This has proved beneficial to them. As no girl in school was exempt from work, there was no one to look down upon those who worked, and they came to look at their work with a degree of pleasant satisfaction.

It has been gratifying to see the eagerness manifested in the industries. We have not had to drive the girls to their work, but on the contrary, we have had to watch lest it lead to a neglect of their studies. Class periods were not long enough for them, and they asked permission to take their work to their rooms. Our industries were knitting, sewing, garment-making, and slipper-making.

My principal work has been to study the language. This has been a real pleasure to me. It is difficult, but fascinating; and when one is surrounded with these throngs of people, and realizes they are without God and without hope in the world, it brings a sense of the need of haste, and furnishes an incentive which the desire for grades can never give.

We feel especially grateful for the blessing of health which I have had since coming to China. We feel that we have been especially blessed in this respect, as we lived in the noisy, hot rooms over a Chinese street. At the close of school we rented a room up on the mountain, where we have a good ocean breeze; and although my sister has been ill, we hope, after spending a quiet vacation, that she will regain what she has lost.

M. GERTRUDE THOMPSON.