An Important Agency

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 18, 1910

An Important Agency

Among the most important agencies in the spread of the truth in China, is literature put into the hands of the people. The printed page is going to do a mighty work in China. When the truth of God is published as it ought to be in books and small tracts, and printed in the Chinese language, the Lord will use it as He has used no other agency.

Altho my wife, little Joseph, and I have been in China only three and one half years — not long enough to speak the language fluently — and have been preaching and teaching the truth with a stammering tongue, yet the Spirit of God has worked mightily. Of course there is distrust, and those who do not know us call us "foreign devils;" believers and inquirers are ridiculed, despised, and often persecuted; yet our hearts are greatly cheered to see so many honest souls laying hold on eternal life.

We have four stations. At the Shangtsai station are fifty who regularly attend the meetings. At the Hsias Iao and Hsia Tung Kang are some sixty honest souls; and at Hsia Ting Chi are thirty believers and inquirers. At the latter station they have no building as yet of their own in which to hold meetings, but they have already of their own accord raised a considerable sum for building a chapel.

A Circular Doorway in a Missionary's House, Honan

When Elder Evans was here he visited our stations and took part with them in the ordinances the first time they celebrated them. The Spirit of God was present in great measure. In the middle of the day the meetings were so large that an overflow meeting had to be held. There were fifty-two genuine full believers and ninety-eight who were observing the Sabbath and under instruction. Elder Evans said: "My own heart felt like bursting to think that I could not talk to them in their own tongue. We said good-by a hundred times, and then said it again and again."

[Brother Westrup refers to the sore sickness of his wife, the foundation of which was laid in overwork. It was thought she would die, but God heard prayer. Since that time Sister Westrup has visited America and is rapidly improving in health.]

The Lord does not desire His servants to work themselves to death; yet on the other hand what shall we do? Here are these precious souls crowding around us anxious to learn the saving truths of the Gospel, and they must be fed in order to be established. We appeal to the generous, sympathetic, loving hearts of the readers of the "Signs of the Times" to help us. Kindly send offerings through the "Signs" for our press fund, so that as soon as possible we shall be able to furnish more publications for the Chinese.

After Elder Evans' visit our church-school building was finished. We use the chapel for men's school, and a large room in the new building for the women's school; having on an average twenty men and twenty women, and sometimes more, studying diligently every day. The only way we could supply them in the Scripture work was to translate Bible readings and have the teachers and others who could write, write out copies for each one. How slow and wearisome it was! If you could see the eagerness, dear friends, of these souls to learn the truth, you would be anxious to aid us in securing such facilities as would enable us to give the truth to them much more rapidly than we are doing.

As showing how eager the people are to hear, one of our evangelists and another brother went one hundred miles to the west of here where the latter brother lived; and the people were so eager to hear, that these two brethren had to preach all day. As yet we have not been able to follow up that opening. It is impossible for us to go to all the places where souls are calling. Traveling is altogether too slow here in China, and the work is opening up faster than we are able to follow it.

True Christians

Our converts are not vacillating, cowardly Christians. Some of them have stood for the truth like Daniel, against all sorts of persecutions and opposition. One convert, for instance, unbound her feet as the knowledge of the Gospel came to her. Her brother was raving mad over it; and seizing a sharp butcher knife, he threatened to kill her if she did not quickly bind her feet again. But she answered him firmly that she could not nor would she bind them again. He ran the blade down along the spine, thinking that the chilling touch of the knife would frighten her; but she told him that she would rather die than give up her convictions. Such steadfast faith was too much for him, and she won the victory.

Another woman was threatened with death by her father because she had accepted Christ. He became so angry that according to Chinese custom sometimes, he ate no food for several days; at the same time threatening to kill his daughter because she had accepted the doctrine of the foreign devils; but when my wife visited his daughter and showed her tender love for her; when he saw them pray together, and sing songs of praise, the Spirit of God melted the heart of the old father, and his daughter won the day by her courageous and Christian conduct. Others have stood as firmly for the truth. Not a few have conquered the opium habit by the power of Christ.

In this station we have twenty-five baptized Christians. All the baptized women have unbound their feet. The question of foot-binding causes more physical misery than one can imagine. Screams of little children whose feet have just been bound are heart-rending. It is good to know that this miserable custom is becoming unpopular to some extent in the higher circles in China.

The commission is, "Feed My sheep;" but that we may do it more rapidly, more effectually, more wisely, that we may reach very many more than the personal worker can, we need literature; and for that we plead. One of our colporteurs heard for the first time the words, "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion," and he took it literally as well as figuratively. He bought a trumpet and went out into the villages and blew his trumpet. The people came flocking together wondering what was the matter. Then he preached and sold his tracts.

We need more trumpet-blowers, and more tracts for the trumpet-blowers to sell. Help us to swell the loud cry of God's everlasting Gospel in this field.