Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secrets

To develop the work he and William Burns had begun there, a Chinese servant he had hired to oversee the transportation of his household possessions disappeared with all of Hudson's earthly belongings. While by most standards the loss wasn't great, he estimated it at about 40 pounds, it came at a time when Hudson was practically penniless and had no resources with which to replenish even the bare necessities for his survival and continued ministry in China. Acquaintances had urged him to inform the proper authorities and have the man punished severely, but Hudson, who remained hopeful that the man would yet turn to God and repent, took a different course which he described in the letter home. So I have sent him a plain, faithful letter to the effect that we know his guilt and what its consequences might be to himself, that at first I had considered handing over the matter to the Ya' men, the authorities, but remembering Christ's command to return good for evil, I have not done so and did not wish to injure a hair on his head. I told him that he was the real loser, not I, that I freely forgave him and besought him more earnestly than ever to flee from the wrath to come. I also added that though it was not likely he would give up such of my possessions as were serviceable to a Chinese, there were among them foreign books and papers that could be of no earthly use to him but were very valuable to me and that those at least he ought to send back. If only his conscience might be moved and his soul saved, how infinitely more important that would be than the recovery of all I have lost. Do pray for him. Sometime later, a copy of this letter Hudson had sent to friends in England came into the hands of George Mueller, the great man of faith and founder of the orphan homes in Bristol, England. Mueller was so impressed by the Christlike spirit of this young missionary he had never heard of that he immediately sent to China a donation sufficient to cover Hudson's losses and continued to be a regular and generous supporter of Hudson's ministry as long as he lived. But long before the gift from George Mueller arrived, in fact, no sooner than he had written to forgive the man who had stolen from him, the mail arrived with a letter from Hudson's dear friend back in England, the Burgers. Please accept the enclosed, Mr. Burger wrote, as a token of love from myself and my dear wife. Inside was a check for 40 pounds. Having experienced God's faithfulness in such past situations, Hudson remained confident even as he wrote. Eight days before entering upon the care of the Ning Po Hospital, I had not the remotest idea of ever doing so. Still less could friends at home have foreseen the need, and those needs were many. Right away, Hudson's informed the hired assistants who had been working for Dr. Parker that when the current funds expired at the end of the month, the financial support for the hospital would have to be provided by God. When many of them accepted his permission to find other work, Hudson was suddenly in as much need of a staff as he was of money. But when he shared this need with the Bridge Street Christians, many of them quickly volunteered their services. While the hospital's former employees weren't ready to believe in prayer as the minister's only resource, the prospect didn't seem to bother Hudson's friends at all. Hadn't their teacher been telling them that God was a real father who would never forget his children's needs? They gladly threw themselves into the volunteer work of the hospital, and the little fellowship of Christians immediately adopted the hospital and its concerns in prayer. There were few secrets in China, and the financial circumstances of the hospital in Ning Po was no secret. In almost no time after Hudson had informed the old staff of the truth of the situation, the patients knew all about it. Soon the community at large had heard, and everyone waited to see what would happen. Years passed, what little money had been left by Dr. Parker was expended, and Hudson's own supplies began to run low. There was much conjecture around town concerning the hospital's future. Naturally, Hudson and Maria, along with their Christian friends, were continuously in prayer about it. Hudson realized that this was a crucial test, with not just the continuation of the hospital, but also the faith of many young believers at stake. Day after day went by with no answer to their prayers. Finally, the morning came when Gui Wa, the cook, appeared with serious news for Hudson. The very last bag of rice had been opened, and was disappearing rapidly. Then, Hudson replied, the Lord's time for helping us must be close at hand. And so it was. For before that bag of rice was finished, a letter reached the young missionary that was among the most remarkable he had ever received. It was from Mr. Berger, and as before, it contained a check, this time for fifty pounds. But this letter went on to say that a heavy burden had come upon the writer, the burden of wealth he wanted to use for God. Mr. Berger's father had recently passed away, leaving him a considerable increase of fortune. The son wrote that since he had already had all the money required by his own needs, he was praying for guidance to know how the Lord might use this inherited money. Could his friends in China help him? The draft and close was for immediate needs, but he wanted them to pray about the matter, and let him know if there was any way they could profitably use more. Fifty pounds. There it lay on the table, and his far-off friend, knowing nothing about the last bag of rice or the many needs of the hospital, actually asked if he might send them more. Hudson Taylor was overwhelmed with thankfulness and awe. Suppose he had turned down Dr. Parker's offer to take over the hospital because of his lack of finances, or lack of faith. What a joyful celebration of praise the Taylors and their Christian friends had that day, and the patients marveled at the miracle. Many of them said, where is the idol that can do anything like that? Have they ever delivered us in our troubles, or answered prayers like this? 1860 to 1865. Though the new hospital ministry was encouraging for Hudson and Maria, it also meant extra work and responsibility. When added to their already busy schedule, it took a serious toll on their time, energy, and health. Soon after they assumed the management of the hospital, Maria wrote a letter to her husband's family back in England. Hudson has again been prevented from writing to you, which makes the fourth fortnightly mail since he was able to send off a letter. I hope you will not, I know you will not, begin to think that this dear, his dear little daughter is winning his heart away from his beloved parents. If he could steal some hours from the night, he would do so, as he often has before, but his occupations leave him none to steal. He comes upstairs usually between ten and eleven o'clock, tired out with the long day's work, and after resting a little, down he goes again to see some of his patients, or make up medicines for others. Some months later, his own energy is draining, even as the need and the opportunities for evangelism in China seem to multiply. Hudson shared his own concern for needed assistance in a letter to his father. People are perishing, and God is so blessing the work, but we are wearing down, and must have help. Do you know of any earnest, devoted young men, desirous of serving God in China, who not wishing for more than their actual support, would be willing to come out and labor here? Or for four or five such helpers? They would probably begin to preach in Chinese in six months' time, and an answer to prayer of the means for support would be found. Six years of ceaseless labor, under the most difficult emotional and physical conditions, had finally eroded Hudson Taylor's health. In the year of 1860, he and Maria took a ten-day vacation in the country, hoping he'd be rejuvenated. When they returned to the hospital, the work continued to sap his energy. Hudson began to suspect that he might be suffering from tuberculosis. In May, he wrote home to his family. What I desire to know is how I might best serve China. If I am too ill to labor here, and by returning home might reestablish health, if only for a time, or if I might rouse others to take up the work I can no longer continue, I think I ought to try. The next month, as his health continued to decline, he wrote again saying, I trust, if it is the will of God, that I may be spared to labor for China. If not, all is well. Sometimes I think I may not live to see you. Sometimes I hope to be spared to labor long and more earnestly than ever for China. All in all is known to him who needs to know all, and he will do all things well. Hudson grew weaker, so the tailors sadly closed the Ningpo Hospital and headed for Shanghai to book passage on a ship back to England. Leaving the Joneses to watch over their growing congregation of new Ningpo Christians, the tailors planned to do what they could at home to stir up increased interest and concern for China. They prayed that their furlough from China would be short, and that the proper medical care Hudson soon would be strong enough to return to the work that he had begun. But after a grueling round-the-world voyage home, prospects for the future were not encouraging. Though it looked as though Hudson would eventually recover from his illness, his doctors told him he would never be strong enough to live and work in China again. Hudson, refusing to accept their prognosis, continued to hope, pray, and to work for the day that he could return to China, and in the meantime he determined to do everything he could in England to contribute to Chinese missionary work. He helped raise money for the Joneses and the ongoing work in Ningpo by writing many letters to would-be supporters, explaining to them what was happening in China. And with the blessing and support of the Bible Society, Hudson began the task of revising the Romanized version of the New Testament in the Ningpo dialect. While in China, the tailors had found that it was much easier for less educated Chinese to read and understand Chinese translations of books and scriptures, which use a Western alphabet system with its 26 letters, than to understand true Chinese writing with its thousands of characters. And when his health finally permitted it, Hudson resumed his medical studies in London in hopes that if the time came when he could indeed return to China, he'd be even more useful as a fully qualified physician. The appeal he made for four or five new missionaries before he left China had stirred much interest back in England. So for a time after arriving home, Hudson spent considerable time corresponding with a number of potential candidates. Only one young man finally went, James Meadows, and then not until 1862. But he was so much better prepared than Hudson Taylor had gone nearly ten years before. Hudson not only spent time orienting him before he left, but he undertook responsibility for the young man's financial support as well. And because he'd not forgotten the lessons of his first years in China, Hudson made sure James Meadows was dependably supplied with regular and sufficient support for his work. The flurry of interest in China, which was stirred up by Hudson and Maria's return, soon faded. And because of the uncertainty of their future, the Taylors felt forgotten, half a world away from the work that they longed to do, living on a dreary street in a poor section of London's east side. Hudson, at age 29, and Maria, at 24, must have felt at times as if life was passing them by as they lived in limbo, wondering what the future would hold. Not that their life in London was uneventful or unproductive. Their little daughter became a big sister to three younger brothers. And the Taylors learned more lessons in faith as they faced the constant challenge of trying to raise a growing active family on their very limited income. Then there was the ongoing work of the Ningpo New Testament. Hudson had decided that the translation would be even more helpful if it would be included marginal references and commentary in addition to the scriptural text. Fortunately, he had the assistance of another veteran missionary to China from another mission society, and he had the invaluable services of Wang Lijun, a Chinese Christian who had voluntarily left his family and traveled back to England with the Taylors to help them on the journey for as long as he could be useful. Hudson and Lijun spent countless hours in Bible study and translation. A short excerpt from Hudson's journal shows the priority that he placed on the task. April 27, revision, 7 hours. April 28, 9 1⁄2 hours. 29, 11 hours. 30, 5 1⁄2 hours, Baptist Missionary Society meetings. May 1, revision, 8 1⁄2 hours, visitors until 10 p.m. May 2, 13 hours. May 3, Sunday at Bayswater, in the morning heard Mr. Lewis from John 333 took the communion there in the afternoon. Evening, stayed at home and engaged in prayer about our Chinese work. May 4, revision, 4 hours, correspondence and visitors. 5, 11 1⁄2 hours. May 6, 7 hours, important interviews. May 7, 9 1⁄2 hours. May 8, 10 1⁄2 hours. May 9, 13 hours. May 10, Sunday morning with Lijun, on Hebrews 11, first part, a happy season. Wrote to James Meadows. Afternoon, prayer with Maria about leaving this house. About Meadows, true love, revision, etc. Wrote to Mr. Lord. Evening, heard Mr. Kennedy on Matthew 27, 42. Quote, he saved others, himself he cannot save. Quote, oh, to be more like the meek, forbearing, loving Jesus. Lord, make me more like Thee. The meetings and interviews referred to in this journal were a big part of Hudson's work at that time. He was doing everything he could to convince denominational boards and existing mission societies to expand their efforts in China. He explained about the unprecedented opportunities now that foreigners could travel and live in the interior. He described his own experiences and the welcome reception to the gospel he found during his years in China. He tried to impress everyone he talked to with the immensity of China. Its millions of people and their need of the gospel. Christian leaders he met nearly always gave the young missionary a sympathetic hearing, but it soon became evident that none of the boards were willing to assume the incredible challenge of evangelizing a country that contained half the non-Christian population of the entire world. What could he do to stir up greater interest in China? Reverend W.G. Lewis, Hudson's friend and the editor of The Baptist Magazine, asked Hudson to write a series of articles about the work at Ningpo. The first article had already been published when Mr. Lewis returned the second manuscript. He told Hudson that he thought the articles were too important to be limited to publication in his small denominational magazine. Add to them, he urged. Let them cover the whole field and be published as an appeal for inland China. Since Hudson had never forgotten his original calling to inland China, that's what he decided to do. He began studying in detail the spiritual needs of every part of China. While on the field, he wrote, the pressure of claims immediately around me was so great I could not think much of the still greater need further inland and could do nothing to meet it. But detained for some years in England, daily viewing the whole country on the large map in my study, I was as near the vast regions of the interior as the smaller districts in which I had personally labored. And prayer was the only resource by which the burdened heart could obtain any relief. Every day, Hudson looked at the map of China on his wall, read the promises in the open Bible that lay on his desk beneath the map and prayed. Even as he labored to write a pamphlet, he prayed that it would inspire the Christian community of England to launch an unprecedented wave of missionary effort into China. He prayed for every part of his adopted land. Compiling facts about the size and population of every province impressed Hudson all the more with China's needs. At the same time, his research showed him an even more disturbing truth. In recent months, the number of Protestant missionaries to China had actually been reduced from 115 to only 91. Something had to be done. The more he prayed, the more keenly he began to feel that God wanted to use him to answer those prayers. But he was just one person. What could he do? Hudson didn't feel capable of what he now believed God was asking him to do. He wrote, I had a growing conviction that God would have me seek from him the needed workers and go forth with them. But for a long time, unbelief hindered me taking the first step. In the study of that divine word, I learned that to obtain successful workers, not elaborate appeals for help, but first, earnest prayers to God to thrust forth laborers, and second, the deepening of the spiritual life of the church so that men should be unable to stay at home were what was needed. I saw that the apostle's plan was not to raise ways and means, but to go and do the work, trusting his sure promise who has said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. But how inconsistent unbelief always is. I had no doubt that if I prayed for fellow workers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they would be given. I had no doubt but that in answer to such prayer, the means for our going forth would be provided, and that the doors would be opened before us in unreached parts of the empire. But I had not then learned to trust God for keeping power and grace for myself, so no wonder I could not trust him to keep others who might be prepared to go with me. I feared that amid the dangers and the difficulties and trials necessarily connected with such work, some comparatively inexperienced Christians might break down, and bitterly reproach me for encouraging them to undertake an enterprise for which they were unequal. Yet what was I to do? The sense of blood guiltlessness became more and more intense. Simply because I refused to ask for them, the laborers did not come forward, did not go out to China, and every day tens of thousands in that land were passing into Christless graves. Perishing China so filled my heart and mind that there was no rest by day and little sleep by night till health gave way. I knew God was speaking. Meanwhile a million a month were dying in that land, dying without God. This was burned into my very soul. For two or three months the conflict was intense. I scarcely slept night or day, more than an hour at a time, and feared I should lose my reason. Yet I did not give in. To no one could I speak freely, not even to my dear wife. She saw, doubtless, that something was going on, but I felt I must refrain as long as possible from laying upon her a burden so crushing. These souls, and what eternity must mean for every one of them, and what the gospel might do, would do, for all who believed, if we could only take it to them. For seven weeks that spring of 1865, Hudson Taylor made no entries in the journal he'd kept so faithfully. He was too consumed by the spiritual struggle going on in his heart and mind. Summer came. The streets were hot and dusty in East London. Seeing that Hudson was not looking well, an old friend invited him down to the coast to spend a few days at Brighton. Maria, who was concerned about her husband's deteriorating health, encouraged him to go. So it was a Sunday morning in Brighton that Hudson Taylor faced the greatest crises yet in his life. He went to church with friends, but the sight of a large Christian congregation who heard the gospel every week only reminded him of the millions dying in China without ever having heard. Too upset to worship that morning, he walked out of the service and wandered out along the sands left by the receding tide. As he walked, he rehashed the inner spiritual struggle that had gone on now for so long. He knew God was speaking to him. He felt confident that if he yielded to God's will and prayed for evangelists to go inland China, God would answer and that the missionaries would go. He believed too that God would provide the staggering financial needs for such a venture. Hudson had no doubts about that. One question troubled him. What if they failed? He knew what new missionaries would have to face, the hardships, the challenges. What if they failed and blamed him? How could he assume that kind of responsibility? Later, Hudson Taylor was able to analyze his struggle. It was just a bringing in of self through unbelief, the devil getting one to feel that while prayer and faith would bring one into the fix, one would have to get out of it as best one might. And I did not see that the power that would give the men and the means would be sufficient to keep them also, even in the far interior of China. But at the time on that beach in Brighton, he only knew a decision had to be made. He couldn't bear the conflict any longer. Would he accept the burden of leadership he felt God was asking him to lead? He recalled later, in great spiritual agony, I wandered out on the sands alone. Well, the thought came at last. If God gives us a band of men for inland China, and they go, and all die of starvation even, they will only be taken straight to heaven. And if one heathen soul is saved, would it not be well worthwhile? It was then that another thought struck him. If we are obeying the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us. A great sense of relief flooded over him as he cried, Thou, Lord, Thou shalt have all the burden. At Thy bidding, as Thy servant, I go forward, leaving results to Thee. Of that moment, Hudson later wrote, There the Lord conquered my unbelief, and I surrendered myself to God for this service. Need I say that at once peace flowed into my burdened heart? Then and there I asked Him for twenty-four fellow workers, two for each of the eleven provinces that were without a missionary, and two for Mongolia. And writing the petition on the margin of the Bible I had with me, I turned homeward with a heart enjoying rest, such as it had been a stranger to for months, and with an assurance that the Lord would bless His own work, and that I should share in that blessing. The conflict ended. All was peace and joy. I felt as if I could fly up the hill to Mr. Pierce's house, and how I did sleep that night. My dear wife thought that Brighton had done wonders for me, and so it had. But that was merely the beginning of an adventure of faith, which was to see bigger trials and greater victories than Hudson Taylor had yet known. 1865 Two days after his decision on the beach at Brighton, Hudson Taylor returned to London where his journal reads, June 27, went with Mr. Pierce to the London County Bank and opened an account for the China Inland Mission, paid in ten pounds. That was the first reference anywhere to the name of Hudson's new mission, and the money he put in its account was all the money that he and Maria had. They were determined to trust God for their own support. When he returned to London from Brighton, Hudson told Maria about the decision he had made and about the calling he had felt from God. Despite her frail health, her youth, she was still only 28, and the heavy responsibility she had for the daily care of their four small children, she accepted her husband's vision as her call as well. She committed her energies also to the seemingly impossible task of evangelizing the vast inland territories of China. More than ever before in their seven and a half years of happy marriage, Maria became Hudson's comfort and inspiration, his constant encourager. She helped with his correspondence and records and prayed with him daily for their work and for the recruitment of the first party of missionaries they hoped to send out. She also collaborated with him on their first and most crucial task at hand, the completion of the publication their editor friend had suggested they write about, the spiritual needs of China. About the writing, Hudson said, every sentence was steeped in prayer, and the prayers were answered. The pamphlet, which Hudson titled, China's Spiritual Need and Claims, went so fast that it had to be reprinted just three weeks after publication. In the publication, Hudson not only spelled out the needs of China, he reminded the Christian community of their responsibility, Christ's last directive on earth, to go unto all the world. He called for 24 missionaries, and he spelled out the basis of the China Inland Mission, which would guarantee no set salary for its missionaries who would trust God to supply their needs. This faith mission idea seemed radical at a time when the only existing missionary organizations were regular denominational boards. But Hudson's writing was so convincing that his pamphlet moved and inspired countless readers. Inquiries became streaming in from men and women interested in going to China. Though he deliberately avoided any appeal for financial support, readers began sending in money to be used in funding the work of the China Inland Mission's first missionaries. The booklet also served as an introduction for the young, unknown Hudson Taylor to Christian leaders and potential supporters all over Britain. An example of the reader's response can be seen in this excerpt from a letter written by Lord Radstock. I have read your pamphlet and have been greatly stirred by it. I trust you may be enabled by the Holy Spirit to speak words which will thrust forth many laborers into the vineyard. Dear brother, enlarge your desires. Ask for a hundred laborers, and the Lord will give them to you. Hudson's prayer, which he recorded in his Bible, was not for 100, but 24 missionaries for China. And the response to his appeal, while it must have been heartening on one level, added to his personal sense of responsibility. He was well aware that the task before him would prove a greater challenge to his faith than anything he had yet done in his life. However, it was Hudson's past experience of God's faithfulness that gave him the courage to proceed with his plans and to help inspire others to join in the work. Hudson's treatise told readers how he'd seen God answer prayer before, during storms at sea on his voyage to China, for his safety in China, and for the response of the Chinese people to the gospel. And it was his faith that shone through when he wrote, We have to do with one who is Lord of all power and might, whose arm is not shortened that it cannot save, nor is ear heavy that he cannot hear, with one whose unchanging word directs us to ask and receive, that our joy may be full, to open our mouths wide that he may fill them. And we do well to remember that this gracious God, who has condescended to place his almighty power at the command of believing prayer, looks not lightly on the blood guiltlessness of those who neglect to avail themselves of it for the benefit of the perishing. To those who have never been called to prove the faithfulness of the covenant-keeping God, it might seem a hazardous experiment to send 24 European evangelists to a distant heathen land with only God to look to. But in one whose privileges it has been, through many years to put that God to the test, at home and abroad, by land and sea, in sickness and in health, in dangers, necessities, and at the gates of death, such apprehensions would be holy and excusable. The year is 1865. The fact that there would be no set salaries made Hudson's mission distinctive enough, but he also opened its membership to volunteers from any denomination. He explained his thinking about the mission's make-up and organization this way, We had to consider whether it would not be possible for members of various denominations to work together on simple evangelistic lines without friction as to conscientious differences of opinion. Prayerfully concluding that it would, we decided to invite the cooperation of fellow believers, irrespective of denominational views, who fully held the inspiration of God's word and were willing to prove their faith by going to inland China with only the guarantee they carried in their Bibles. That the word said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. If anyone did not believe that God spoke the truth, it would be better for him not to go to China to propagate the faith. If he did believe it, surely the promise sufficed. Again we have the assurance, no good thing will be held or withheld from them that walk uprightly. If anyone did not mean to walk uprightly, he'd better stay at home. If he did mean to walk uprightly, he had all he needed in the shape of a guarantee fund. God owns all the gold and silver in the world and the cattle on a thousand hills. We need not be vegetarians. We might indeed have had a guarantee fund if we had wished it, but we felt that it was unnecessary and would do harm. Money wrongfully placed and money given from wrong motives are both greatly to be dreaded. We can afford to have as little as the Lord chooses to give, but we cannot afford to have unconsecrated money or to have money placed in the wrong position. Far better have no money even to buy bread with. There are plenty of ravens in China and the Lord could send them again with bread and flesh. He sustained three million Israelites in the wilderness for forty years. We do not expect him to send three million missionaries to China, but if he did, he would have ample means to sustain them all. Let us see that we keep God before our eyes, that we walk in his ways and seek to please and glorify him in everything great and small. Depend upon it. God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supplies. That declaration of faith, combined with the size of the task Hudson and his fledgling mission were taking on, drew the notice of Britain's Christian community. A lot of those who first heard the plans of this brash, unknown young missionary didn't quite know what to make of him. But Hudson wasn't as concerned about his own countrymen's opinions of him as he was about the respect of the Chinese people. For that reason, he persuaded the leaders of the Perth Conference to give him a chance to address the assembly. Now, the Perth Conference was an annual meeting of two thousand ministers and Christian leaders from all over Scotland. He began his address by transporting his audience halfway around the world, vividly recounting a true story of a journey he made in October 1865 from Shanghai to Ningpo aboard a Chinese junk. Among his fellow passengers had been a Chinese man who was educated in England and went by the name of Peter. As Hudson talked with him, he learned that while the man knew the teachings of Christianity, he had never made a personal commitment to Christ. As Hudson and Peter began developing a friendship on this journey, Hudson had opportunity to talk to the man about his spiritual needs. As the junk approached the city of Sungyong, Hudson was in his cabin, preparing to go ashore to preach and distribute tracts when he heard a splash and then a cry of alarm that a man had fallen overboard. Rushing onto the deck, Hudson didn't see his new friend Peter. Was he the missing man? Yes, the boatman told Hudson, showing no concern. He went down over there. After convincing the reluctant captain to drop his sails, Hudson jumped over the side and began swimming back to the spot where Peter had disappeared. But the tide was running out and the low, shrubless shore provided no good landmark. His search seemed hopeless. Just then Hudson spotted some nearby fishermen with a drag net, just what he needed. Come, he cried out in Chinese. Come and drag over here. A man is drowning. They've in? The fisherman replied. It is not convenient. Come quickly or it will be too late, Hudson pleaded. We are busy fishing. Never mind your fishing. Come at once and I will pay you well. How much will you give us? The fisherman wanted to know. Five dollars, but hurry. Too little, they called back. We won't come for less than thirty. Hudson told them, I don't have that much with me, but I'll give you all I have. How much is that? They asked. I don't know. About fourteen dollars? They finally brought their net over and the first time that they passed it through the water, they dragged up the missing man. But all Hudson's efforts to revive Peter failed. It was too late. The fisherman's indifference had cost him his life. At the conclusion of that story, a murmur of indignation swept over the crowd listening to Hudson. How could anyone be so callous and selfish? That was the moment Hudson drove home his point. Is the body then of so much more value than the soul? We condemn those healthy fishermen. We say they were guilty of the man's death because they easily could have saved him and did not do it. But what of the millions whom we leave to perish? And that eternally? What of the plain command, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature? Hudson went on to describe the incredible spiritual need of China. He compared Scotland with its population of four million people and thousands of ministers to China with its four hundred million people and only ninety-one missionaries, less than one missionary for every four million people. He explained how in the interior of China that there were regions as big as all Europe without a single minister of the gospel. He went on to tell his audience, It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay home. If in the sight of God you cannot say you are sure that you have a special call to stay at home, why are you disobeying the Savior's plan and his command to go? Why are you refusing to come to the help of the Lord again of the Almighty? If, however, it is perfectly clear that duty, not inclination, not pleasure, not business, detains you at home, are you laboring in prayer for those needy ones as you might? Is your influence used to advance the cause of God among them? Are your means as largely employed as they should be in helping forward their salvation? At that point, Hudson went on to recount that painful conversation with his Ningpo Christian friend, Mr. Ni, when the ex-Buddhist teacher had asked, How long have you had the glad tidings in your country? Hudson had to admit, Some hundreds of years now. And now he told that assembly of Christian leaders about Mr. Ni's pointed response, Hundreds of years and you have never come to tell us? My father sought the truth and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner? Hudson continued his address to the Perth gathering. Shall we say that the way was not open? At any rate, it is open now. Before the next Perth conference, 12 million more in China will have passed forward beyond our reach. What are we doing to bring them tidings of redeeming love? The Lord commands us, commands us each one individually, Go, he says, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Will you say to him, It is not convenient. Will you tell him you are busy fishing, have bought a piece of land, purchased five yoke of oxen, married a wife or for other reasons cannot obey? Will he accept such excuses? Have you forgotten that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in the body? Oh, remember, pray for, labor for the unevangelized millions of China or you will sin against your own soul. Consider again whose word it is that says, If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn into death and them that are ready to be slain, if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not, doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? And shall he render to every man according to his works? With that challenge, Hudson ended his address. So powerful were his words and the conviction behind them that the great meeting was dismissed almost in silence. Who was this man who had such vision and faith? Soon Hudson was being invited to speak in churches at all meetings all over Great Britain and the people who heard his passion and vision for China responded to his message. One thing, however, still troubled Hudson. He was concerned that his new mission might in some way deflect men or money from existing agencies. He felt that robbing Peter to pay Paul would do nothing to advance the kingdom of God. So he established standards that allowed the China Inland Mission to accept workers who might not be accepted by other missions, particularly those who hadn't completed university training. And furthermore, no one would be recruited or asked to join the mission. He believed that God would prompt those whom he wanted to volunteer. In the same way, there would be no appeals for money. Hudson trusted that if the mission could be sustained in answer to prayer without donor lists or solicitation of any kind, it might grow up among the older societies without danger of diverting gifts from established channels. He believed the policy might even be helpful as an example to others that God would provide for those who obeyed him. There wasn't much to the China Inland Mission in the way of formal organization. Hudson's longtime friends and supporters, Mr. and Mrs. Berger of St. Hill, played an essential role, which Hudson later explained by writing, When I decided to go forward, Mr. Berger undertook to represent us at home. The thing grew up gradually. Neither of us asked or appointed the other. It was just so. A few essential spiritual principles were discussed with the candidates so that each principle was clearly understood as the basis of the mission. A few simple arrangements were agreed to in writing in Mr. Berger's presence, and that was all. Again, Hudson wrote, We came out as God's children at God's command to do God's work, depending upon him for supplies, to wear native dress, and to go inland. I was to be the leader in China. There was no question as to who was to determine points at issue. Just as Hudson was to be in charge of the mission in China, Mr. Berger was responsible at home. He would correspond with the candidates, receive and forward the contributions, publish a regular report and accounting of the work and its finances in what was to be called an occasional paper. Mr. Berger would also send out suitable reinforcements as funds permitted and keep clear of debt. This last point was a cardinal principle Hudson felt strongly about. As he explained, It is really just as easy for God to give beforehand, and he much prefers to do so. He is too wise to allow his purposes to be frustrated for lack of a little money, but money obtained in unspiritual ways is sure to hinder the blessing. Nothing seemed to be hindering Hudson's plans for the new mission that fall. A number of candidates had been accepted, had moved to London, were being trained in the suddenly crowded Taylor Home on Coburn Street. When the house next door promptly became vacant, the mission rented it and accommodations were doubled. A letter Hudson wrote his mother in November spells out the level of activity going on at the time. The revision is now going on. We have reprinted the pamphlet again and have missionary boxes on the way. I am preparing a magazine for the mission, furnishing a house completely, setting up two fonts of type for China, teaching four pupils Chinese, receiving applications from candidates, and lecturing or attending meetings continually. One night only accepted for the last month. I am also preparing a New Year's address on China for use in Sunday schools and a missionary map of the whole country. Join us in praying for funds and for the right kind of laborers also that others might be kept back or not accepted, for many are offering. Prayers were being answered. Candidates for all 24 positions were accepted. And by the time the first occasional paper telling of plans and upcoming expresses for the voyage to China came off the press, the money was in hand. An insert had to be put in all the papers saying that the current needs of the mission had all been met. In the early months of 1866, the last prayer meetings were held in the Taylor House on Coburn Street. Friends and supporters of the Taylors and of their first wave of missionaries to China crowded the rooms and staircase sitting among the packing cases and bundles prepared for the journey. On the wall hung the map of China. On the table lay the open Bible. Hudson Taylor had written of the new mission, Our great desire and aim to plant the standard of the cross in the eleven provinces of China, hitherto unoccupied and in Chinese territory. Those who only saw the difficulties ahead shook their heads and called it a foolhardy business. Others who wished them well sighed and said, It's a superhuman task. And even their friends were anxious. Some said, You'll be forgotten. With no committee or organization before the public, you will be lost in that distant land. Claims are many nowadays. Before long you may find yourself without even the necessities of life. But Hudson replied, I am taking my children with me, and I notice it is not difficult to remember that they need breakfast in the morning, dinner at midday, and supper at night. Indeed, I could not forget them if I tried, and I find it impossible to think that our Heavenly Father is less tender and mindful of His children than I, a poor earthly father, am of mine. No, He will not forget us. With that confidence, Hudson Taylor and his small band of young missionaries were ready to evangelize inland China. Hudson Taylor's band of young missionaries was marked by the same faith and sense of spiritual urgency that sustained him. That same confident commitment to God and to the challenge before them was evident from the very start of their journey. It shone forth from the correspondence sent home and from the results of their work and their lives. For them, the simple theology of John 3.16, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life, seemed motive enough to sacrifice their all. So the occasion of their leaving in May of 1866 deserved the tribute in verse penned by Hudson's missionary friend H. Grattan Guinness. Over the dark blue sea, over the trackless flood, a little band is gone in the service of their God. The lonely waste of waters they traverse to proclaim in the distant land of Sinai Emmanuel's saving name. They have heard from the far off east the voice of their brother's blood. A million a month in China are dying without God. No help have they but God. Alone to their father's hand they look for the supply of their wants in a distant land. The fullness of the world is His. All power in earth and heaven. They are strong though weak and rich though poor in the promise that He has given. Tis enough they hear the cry, the voice of their brother's blood. A million a month in China are dying. The party of sixteen missionaries plus the tailors with their four young children boarded the Lamamure, a small sailing ship of less than 800 tons, for a scheduled four month voyage around the globe. The first day on board the group unpacked and got their cabins in order. But the second day the work began. Hudson taught a Chinese language class every morning. Then Maria taught another one in the afternoon. There were times at the beginning when all the students were down with seasickness. The teachers had to do double duty as steward and stewardess. But the younger people soon found their sea legs and proved to be good sailors. Life can get very trying in the cramped quarters of a small sailing ship. So it was for the crew to see how consistently these young missionaries practiced what they were going to preach in China. And while these rough sailors were none too happy being struck with a whole boatload of missionaries, they soon became appreciative of the group's friendliness, helpfulness, and even their penchant for hymn singing. Although the missionaries themselves had prayed beforehand for the opportunity to evangelize the crew, they refrained from pushing their beliefs until the sailors asked if the missionaries would begin holding services. As Hudson wrote to his friends, the burgers, we commenced by having service on Sunday morning in the saloon while with the captain's permission. A few of the sailors came. Then the young men started an afternoon meeting in the forecastle, held thrice weekly. Nor were our sisters less active. Mary Bell began a Bible class, which soon grew into a meeting for reading the Scripture and for prayers every night. Mrs. Nichols and others joined her. Some were converted, and these meetings became general. Mrs. Desgraze undertook reading with the four Swedes, Mrs. Foulding with the German, Mrs. Balsman with the Cook, and the South Sea Islander. Mrs. Barnes held a reading class for all who wished to improve themselves in English and has been blessed with the conversion of several. Eventually a majority of the crew accepted Christ. One of the last was the first mate, Mr. Brunton, who had been a savage bully among the men. His sudden and complete change of heart and lifestyle was the cause of much excitement and rejoicing among the missionaries. After a long, hard voyage across the Atlantic through the treacherous waters of the tip of South America and then over the vast stretches of the South Pacific, the L'Amour Mure sailed safely. It wasn't until they reached the China Sea that the ship faced its greatest test. For twelve straight days, the ship was battered by one typhoon after another. Many among the crew were sick. The structure of the ship was weakened. On Tuesday, September 18th, they finally sighted the China coast, only to be hit by the worst weather yet. They encountered still another typhoon which drove the severely crippled ship away from their destination. The captain did all he could just to keep his ship afloat. Hudson described the experience by writing, Friday, September 21, the gale increasing and having all the appearance of another typhoon, we had prayed together from time to time during the afternoon and night. The decks were swept by the sea in a manner I have never before witnessed. Saturday, September 22, the jibs and stay sails gave way early this morning. So fearful was the sea that the men refused to go out and to secure them. The captain and first mate went on to the forecastle. The men followed, but soon all had to be recalled as the vessel was driven into the sea. Soon after this, the lee, the upper bulwarks began to give way, and before long all this side was overboard. Next, the jib boom and the flying jib boom gave way, following immediately by the foretop and the top gallant masts and the main top gallant mast. They hung by the wire shroud, swinging almost fearfully owing to the heavy rolling of the sea. The appearance of things was now truly terrific. The decks were full of water, which poured over both sides as she rolled, were encumbered by floating spars, tubs, buckets, casts, etc. Because of the danger of being washed aboard, there was no small risk of having one's limbs broken by moving timbers torn from their moorings. Praying to God was our only resource. The sailors paralyzed, gave up work. The probability seemed that our hours, if not minutes, were numbered. I kissed the dear children, and with the young men went out and set to work, hoping to encourage others. Hudson downplayed his own role in the ship's survival, but another missionary, W. D. Rudland, wrote, All through the storm Mr. Taylor was perfectly calm. When almost at its height, the men refused to work any longer. The captain had advised all to put on life belts. She can scarcely hold for another two hours, was his verdict. At this injuncture, he was going to the forecastle where the men were taking refuge, revolver in hand. Mr. Taylor went up to him. Don't use force, he said, till everything else has been tried. He then went in quietly and talked to the men, telling them he believed God would bring us through, but that everything depended upon the greatest care in navigating the ship, in other words, upon the men themselves. We will all help, he added. Our lives are in jeopardy as much as yours. The men were completely reassured by his quiet demeanor and friendly reasoning, and with officers, midshipmen, and the rest of us went to work in earnest at the wreckage, and before long got in the great iron spars that were ramaging the side of the ship. Somehow the ship stayed afloat. The women as well as the men took turns on Sunday working the pumps to keep her that way. It wasn't until Monday that the weather finally cleared, but the danger wasn't over. The pumps had quit, and the ship was taking on water fast. Yet through the ordeal, Maria Taylor, confined to her storm-tossed cabin with four young children, remained confident in God's steadfast grace. She later wrote, It was sweet to rejoice in God through all, to rest in past proofs of his love, independently of present circumstances, and I entered into Habakkuk's song as never before. Quote, Yet will I rejoice in the Lord. I will glory in the God of my salvation. End quote. It wasn't until Sunday, September 29th, that the Lammermuir limped into sheltered waters, and anchored just offshore from the foreign settlement of Shanghai. Curious sightseers gathered to see the mangled and broken vessel that carried the largest single contingent of missionaries ever to arrive in China. But Hudson kept his worn-out band aboard for the night, where the group held a praise service to thank God for his protection. Another ship, landing right after theirs, reported the loss of 16 out of a ship's company of 22. Yet no one aboard the Lammermuir was even seriously injured. Despite his gratitude for the safe journey, as he looked once again upon the city of Shanghai, Hudson must have felt that the real challenge was just beginning. None of the missionaries he knew there would be able to house a party of 20 people. And remembering how hard it had been to find accommodations just for himself the first time he arrived in China, he had to feel a great and sudden sense of responsibility for the young, idealistic missionaries he brought with him. None of them knew what to expect when they stepped ashore in China for the first time, but Hudson knew all too well. But just as prayers had been answered in the midst of the storm, they were also answered in Shanghai. A missionary acquaintance of Hudson's from Ningpu happened to have purchased a residence with an empty warehouse attached. He had not only offered Hudson and his party the warehouse for temporary housing, he also told them that they could store their extra printing, medical, and other supplies there while they journeyed inland. So it was only two days after the L'Ammamure sailed into Shanghai that the entire mission party was housed and a temporary headquarters was established. The group of missionaries caused a bit of stir in the foreign settlement. Some Europeans seemed scandalized to learn that Hudson had brought ladies to China with the plan to send them into the unknown interior, and in Chinese dress, no less. Some wondered if Hudson was some sort of a madman. It was indeed an unprecedented and bold venture. The tailors had in their company a total of six unmarried women, and at that time in all of China there were only 17 single women missionaries and not one was to be found outside the five treaty ports. Hudson ignored the criticism, saying, we have and may expect to have some trials, but the Lord is with us. As to the criticism about his requirement that everyone associated with his mission should adopt Chinese fashion, Hudson remained convinced that it was the only way to carry out an effective ministry in the interior. Not only had his own experience proved that the strategy would reduce undue notice during travels into new territory, but he felt strongly that it would help reduce one more barrier to effective cross-cultural communication. Evidence of just how visionary his thinking was on this subject can be seen in what he wrote to candidates in the first stages of applying to go out under the China Inland Mission. He wrote, I am not alone in the opinion that foreign dress and carriage of missionaries, the foreign appearance of chapels, and indeed the foreign air imparted to everything connected with their work, has seriously hindered the rapid dissemination of the truth among the Chinese. And why should such a foreign aspect even be given to Christianity? The word of God does not require it, nor, I conceive, could sound reason justify it. It is not the denationalization, but the Christianization of this people that we seek. We wish to see Chinese Christians raised up, men and women, true Christians, but with all truly Chinese in every sense of the word. We wish to see churches of such believers presided over by pastors and officers of their own countrymen, worshiping God in the land of their fathers, in their own tongue, and in edifices of a thoroughly native style of architecture. If we really wish to see the Chinese such as we have described, let us, as far as possible, set before them a true example. Let us in everything, not sinful, become Chinese, that we may, by all means, save some. Let us adopt their dress, acquire their language, seek to conform to their habits and approximate to their diet as far as health and constitution will allow. Let us live in their houses, making no unnecessary alteration in external form, and only so far modifying their internal arrangements as health and efficiency for work absolutely require. This cannot but involve, of course, a certain measure of inconvenience, such as the sacrifice of some accustomed articles of diet. But will anyone reflecting on what he gave up, who left heaven's throne to be cradled in a manger, who, having filled all things and wielded omnipotence, became a feeble infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, who, from being the loved one of the father, never misjudged, never unappreciated, and receiving the ceaseless adoration of all the hierarchies of heaven, became a despised Nazarene, misunderstood by his most faithful followers, neglected and rejected by men who owed him their very being and whose salvation he had come to seek, and finally mocked, spit upon, crucified and slain with thieves and outlaws? Will any follower of Christ, reflecting on these things, hesitate to make the trifling sacrifices indicated above? It was a sacrifice, and no one knew it better than Maria Taylor. She wrote her friend Mrs. Berger, Things which are tolerated in us as foreigners, wearing foreign dress, could not be allowed for a moment in native ladies, I do not at all mean to imply a doubt as to the desirability of the change, but the nearer we come to the Chinese and outward appearance, the more severely will any breach of propriety, according to their standards, be criticized. Henceforth I must never be guilty, for example, of taking my husband's arm out of doors, and in fifty or a hundred other ways, we may, without great watchfulness, shock the Chinese by what would seem to them grossly immodest and unfeminine conduct. Oh, pray much for us in respect to this matter. Maria Taylor, too, had a cross-cultural sensitivity far ahead of her time. Just three weeks after their arrival in Shanghai, the entire party boarded houseboats to travel together into the interior, heading up the Grand Canal toward Hangzhou in search of a permanent inland headquarters for the mission. Traveling by houseboats made it possible for the women and children to be sheltered from curious crowds as they passed city after city. Everywhere they stopped, Hudson inquired about permission to rent or buy accommodations where some of the young men in his party might settle. But at each stop he was refused permission from local authorities, no suitable place was available, the landlord wouldn't come to terms, or some other complication thwarted his original plan. So the full contingent of missionaries, some 20 strong, remained together as the boats finally approached the great city of Hangzhou. The Taylors knew that two or three mission families had already taken up residence in that city, and it would mean serious risk to them as well as to the new arrivals if such a large party of foreigners stirred up opposition. But what else could they do? It was autumn, winter was fast approaching, the nights on the water was already bitterly cold, and several of the party were ill, and the boat people were clamoring to go home for the winter. Never had the responsibilities of leadership weighed so heavily on him as it did when Hudson left the boats in a quiet place outside the city and went ahead to inquire about the accommodation they so desperately needed. Maria also felt the seriousness of the situation, so after Hudson left, she gathered the younger missionaries for prayer, telling them of the comfort that had come to her through the psalm in her regular reading that morning. Quote, Who will bring me into this strong city? Who will lead me into Eden? Wilt not thou, O God, give us help from trouble? For vain is the help of man. End quote. Together they read that passage again as they waited anxiously for word. Suddenly, Hudson was back. Wonderful news! A home was ready, waiting for them. One of the Hangzhou missionaries was absent for a week and had left word that his house, comfortably furnished, was at the disposal of Mr. Taylor's party. Situated on a quiet street, it could be reached in the boats unobserved. And that very night, the wearful, thankful travelers were at rest in the great city. Within the next few days, in spite of all the usual difficulties, Hudson secured premises of his own, a large, rambling house, which at once belonged to a government official, that had over time become a warren, occupied by a number of families. There was plenty of room to adapt to the needs of the mission party. A number of renters and their families stayed on for a while, making it possible for the group to begin missionary work within their own doors, without attracting too much attention. From the very start, Jenny Faudling, the youngest of the party, was already able to make herself understood by the Chinese women. Hudson wrote in a report to his friends and supporters back in England at the first of December, It is pretty cold weather to be living in a house without any ceilings, and with very few walls and windows. There is a deficiency in the wall of my own bedroom, six feet by nine, closed in with a sheet, so that ventilation is decidedly free. But we heed these things very little. Around us are poor, heathen, large cities without any missionary, populous towns without any missionary, villages without number, all destitute of the means of grace. I do not envy the state of mind that would forget these, or leave them to perish, for fear of a little discomfort. By mid-December, Jenny Faudling wrote home, We have been getting the house a little more comfortable, though there is plenty still to be done. Mr. Taylor and the young men have contrived paper ceilings fixed on wooden frames, which keep out some of the cold air, for the upstairs rooms have roofs, such as you find in chapels at home. They also have prepared some of the partitions between the rooms. Of course, we are as yet in confusion, but we are getting on, and I hope shall be settled some day. The lodgers are to leave next week. They occupy principally the ground floor. I am so glad for them to have been here, for many have come to Chinese prayer meetings and listened attentively. We could not have visited out of doors yet, but I read and talk with those women every day, and they seem to like it. One woman I have great hope for. Before Christmas they were interested audiences of fifty or sixty at the Sunday services, and Hudson had been at least on one evangelistic journey. In the neighboring city of Zaozong, he and James Meadows had found excellent opportunities for preaching the gospel, and had been able to rent a small house. They planned to settle some of the new arrivals there just as soon as possible. Right away, Hudson wrote Mr. Berger at the home office. You will be glad to learn that facilities for sending letters by native post and for transmitting money to the interior are very good. I do not think that there will be any difficulty in remitting money to any providence in the empire, which will not be easily overcome. In the same way, letters from the most distant parts can be sent to the ports. Such communication is slow and may prove rather expensive, but it is tolerably sure. Thus we see the way opening before us for work in the interior. The team had barely established its first base in the interior, and Hudson was already planning the next steps of sending missionaries farther inland. But in the meantime, his hands were more than full at Hangzhou. After the Chinese New Year, patients crowded into the dispensary, as many as 200 a day, and an equal number attended the Sunday services. When the first reinforcements arrived from home early in 1867, Hudson was literally too busy to even greet them until hours later. He was standing on a table at the time, preaching to a crowd of patients in the courtyard, and could only call out a hearty welcome as the newest party entered, escorted by James Meadows. The busyness didn't seem to bother the new arrivals. They were more than happy to work side by side with the leader they so respected. John McCarthy, who became Hudson's chief medical assistant, later wrote of this time, I think of him as I ever knew him. Kind, loving, thoughtful of everyone but himself. A blessing wherever he went, and a strength and comfort to all with whom he came in contact. A constant example of all that a missionary ought to be. Yet there was some dissension in the ranks. One critical couple of the Chinese dress policy stirred up complaints about Hudson's leadership from two or three others as well. But Hudson and Maria, too, determined to respond with patience and love. Though the handful of dissenters sent their complaints about the tailors' leadership back to England, neither Hudson nor Maria felt it necessary to defend themselves. Not until months later did Maria mention the matter, even in writing Mrs. Berger, and that it was an answer to inquiries from St. Hill that she even wrote at length. Do pray for us very much, for we do so need God's preserving grace at this present time. We've come to fight Satan in his very strongholds, and he will not let us alone. What folly were ours? Were we here in our own strength? But greater is he that is in us than all that are against us. I should be very sorry to see discord sown among the sisters of our party, and this is one of the evils I'm fearing now. What turn the inn, and then she underlines it so that we won't really know the name, what turn the inn matter will take, I cannot think. One thing I know, the hope of Israel will not forsake us. One is almost tempted to ask, why was inn permitted to come out? Perhaps it was that our mission might be thoroughly established on a right basis early in its history. Hudson and Maria were both deeply saddened by the conflict within the mission, yet the response in Hangzhou continued to be very encouraging. So when the first baptisms came in May, Mrs. Taylor wrote again to Mrs. Berger. Perhaps the dear Lord sees that we need sorrows to keep us from being elated at the rich blessing he's giving in our work. By that time the mission had established additional outposts, and the administrative details had multiplied. As Ginny Falding wrote, If only Mr. Taylor could be in three or four places at the same time, it would be a decided advantage. He's wanting to visit the governing cities of the province to look out for the most eligible places for stations. He and Mr. Duncan have been on the point of starting several times. Then there is Ningpo, where he is needed, and here he is overwhelmed with work. He wants to go to Zhao Hin, to Mr. Stephen's stations, that he may give further help with the colloquial dialect. There is hardly any knowing what his movements may be, yet he goes on so quietly and calmly always, just leaning upon God and living for others. That is a blessing merely to witness his life. The greatest sacrifice he had to make, Hudson felt, was leaving his family behind whenever he had to depart on a journey. He loved his children and enjoyed all the time he could spend with them, including the daughter who was born that first winter in Hangzhou. But his little eight-year-old daughter, Grace, seemed a particular blessing. During the voyage to China on the Lumumur, she was so impressed by the changes she saw in the sailors who accepted Christ, that she made her own personal commitment to the Lord. After that, despite her tender age, she seemed as devoted to the task in China as her parents. Early in 1867, she sent a note along with her father when he left on a short journey. Written on pink notepaper with a flower painted in one corner were the words, Dear Papa, I hope God has helped you to do what you wanted and that you will soon come back. I have a nice bed mat for you when you come home. Dear, dear Papa. As the summer malaria season set in and temperatures rose to 103 degrees Fahrenheit indoors, Hudson took Maria, who was getting sick, and his five children out to Hangzhou to some nearby wooded hills where they rented a cooler summer shelter in the ruins of an old temple. As they left their boats that first day and walked up the hill toward the temple, little Grace noticed a man making an idol. Oh, Papa, she said earnestly, he doesn't know about Jesus or he would never do that. Won't you tell him? His daughter's hand clasped in his, Hudson did so. Afterwards, they walked on and when they stopped to rest, Gracie wanted to pray for the man that they had met. Hudson wrote, Never have I heard such a prayer. She had seen the man making an idol. Her heart was full and she was talking to God on his behalf. The dear child went on and on pleading that God would have mercy upon the poor Chinese and would strengthen her father to preach to them. I never was so moved by any prayer. My heart was bowed before God. Words fail me to describe it. Just a week later, a broken hearted Hudson Taylor wrote to his friend, Mr. Berger. Beloved brother, I know not how to write or how to refrain. I'm trying to pen a few lines by the couch on which my darling, little Gracie lies dying. Her complaint is hydrocephalus. It was no vain nor unintelligent act when knowing this land, its people and climate, I laid my wife and children with myself on the altar for this service. And he, whom so unworthily, yet in simplicity and godly sincerity, we are and have been seeking to serve and with some measure of success, he has not left us now. But to his mother, Hudson poured out his anguish. Our dear little Gracie, how we miss her sweet voice in the morning, one of the first sounds to greet us when we awoke and through the day and at even time. As I take the walks I used to take with her tripping figure at my side, the thought comes anew like a throb of agony. Is it possible that I shall never more feel the pressure of that little hand, never more see the sparkle of those bright eyes? And yet she's not lost. I would not have her back again. I'm thankful she was taken rather than any of the others. Though she was the sunshine of our lives, but she is far holier, far happier than she could have ever been here. I think I never saw anything so perfect, so beautiful as the remains of that dear child. The long, silken eyelashes under the finely arched brows, the nose so delicately chiseled, the mouth small and sweetly expressive, the purity of the white feature, all are deeply impressed on heart and memory. And then her sweet little Chinese jacket and the little hands folded on her bosom holding a single flower. Oh, it was passing fair and so hard to close forever from our sight. Pray for us. At times I seem almost overwhelmed. But He has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. And my strength is made perfect in weakness. So be it. 1867-68 In a letter to his family in England, Hudson wrote that the only thing that kept his mind off his grief was the work he did with Maria. And they did work. Perhaps in determination not to let their daughter's death be for nothing, they devoted themselves anew to the task of reaching inland China with the gospel. Before the close of 1867, little more than a year after the band of inexperienced missionaries had arrived in Shanghai, all the prefectural governing cities in Gaicheng had been visited. Nanking finally had been reached by a missionary. And the members of the mission were working in centers as much as 24 days' journey apart. The church in Hangzhou was well established with Wang Lezhong, Hudson's Chinese helper, who had gone back to England with him as its pastor. By the spring of 1868, it looked possible for the tailors to be spared from that center to help in expanding the work on some newer frontier. In those days, opening any new mission stationed in China included the risk of death itself. Riots occurred so often that they became almost an accepted part of existence. So it seemed a natural and necessary question for Hudson to ask one missionary candidate who had only one leg and could walk only with the help of the crutch. But what would you do in China if a riot broke out and you had to run away? I had not considered running away, the man answered quietly and citing scripture added confidently. I thought that the lame were to take the prey. And in fact, after the man was accepted by the mission and helped open a new station in Guangzhou, that confidence was tested. Why don't you run away? yelled the rioters who were robbing him of everything he had and had even taken away his crutches. Run away, he replied with a smile. How can a man run with only one leg? I should like to know. Disarmed by his courage and friendliness, the rioters stopped their rampage and calm was restored. The same spirit of confident faith marked George Duncan, the tall, quiet highlander who had made his way to Nanking as the first resident missionary there. The people of that city, which had felt the brunt of war as the old Taiping capital, remained so wary of any foreign interest that city officials sent word to all the innkeepers that the foreigner was not to be given any lodging. Fortunately, the priest in charge of the city drum tower hadn't been warned, probably because no one considered him a possible host. Indeed, he had no proper room for visitors. But when a weary and discouraged George Duncan inquired, the man told him that he could stay in the tower at night if he wished, as long as he was out during the day so as not to frighten the people who came to the tower to worship. It proved a particular miserable place to live, wrote Duncan. We gladly accepted it and managed very nicely, though we have rather more rats than I like. At night they want to devour everything. Between the constant scurrying of the rodents and the regular solemn sounding of the drums, the missionary didn't get much sleep, and at dawn he had to roll up his bedding and turn out and left on the streets to spend the day in tea shops and the marketplace sharing the gospel as best he could while trying to learn the local dialect. I'm not able to talk much, he wrote, but God helping me, I will say what I can. Eventually, a local carpenter risked renting the foreigner a portion of an upstairs room where his own Chinese family lived. And not long after that, Duncan convinced the carpenter to rent a portion of a street level room which he partitioned off as a narrow little chapel, the first Christian church in Nanking. Soon after his arrival in Nanking, George Duncan had sent Hudson the names of two banks that had representatives back in Hangzhou. When one bank failed and the other left the city, there was no longer any channel for headquarters to provide him with the funds he needed to live and carry on his work. Duncan didn't worry, even when he had to change his last piece of silver and his Chinese cash quickly disappeared. But his Chinese cook and assistant became very concerned. What shall we do when the money is all gone, he asked. Do, the missionary responded, why we shall trust in the Lord and do good. So shall we dwell in the land and verily we shall be fed. Days went on and still Hudson was unable to reach Nanking by native banks. Finally, in his anxiety for Duncan, he sent a brother missionary, W.D. Rudland, up the canal by boat with money for the work in Nanking. But the water level had dropped so far by the time he sailed to a point that was still at least a week away from Nanking by canal, that Rudland abandoned the boat and headed cross-country for a shorter but more strenuous four-day, sixty-mile walk to the city. By this time, the cook's savings, willingly given to the work, had been completely used up. Duncan had not a dollar left, but he went out that morning to preach as usual, reminding his anxious companion, Let us just trust in the Lord and do good. His promise is still the same. So shall thou dwell in the land and verily shalt thou be fed. That evening, W.D. Rudland understood why the water in the Grand Canal had run so low. His overland hike brought him to Nanking several days earlier than would have been possible by boat. And when he reached his colleague's house, he found Duncan's cupboards as empty as his bank account. When Duncan returned tired and hungry from preaching all day, his Chinese helper went running to meet him. Oh, sir, he cried breathlessly, it's all right, it's all right, Mr. Rudland, the money, a good supper. Did I not tell you this morning, Duncan replied, laying a kindly hand on the man's shoulder, it is always all right to trust in the living God. Now, Hudson wasn't content to leave the challenges of pioneer missionary work to younger men like George Duncan. He and Maria readily faced as many dangers and hardships as any one of those who worked for the China Inland Mission. After only sixteen months of settled life in Hangzhou, the church there already numbered fifty baptized believers. But with Wang Lijun as pastor and John McCarthy and Jenny Faudling assisting him there, the Taylors knew that the work was in good hands. So when spring came, Hudson and Maria packed up, loaded their household and four children aboard a junk, and set out by canal intending to join Duncan and Nanking or to establish another station in any city that might open up to them en route. After the untimely death of their eight-year-old daughter, Gracie, in 1867, Hudson Taylor and his wife, Maria, dedicated themselves even more completely to the work in China. Outposts were being established. Many were hearing the message of Jesus for the first time. All were encouraged. After living so long inside the city walls, the freedom and freshness of the countryside provided a welcome and beautiful change of pace. Great mulberry plantations bordered the canal with plum, peach, and apricot orchards blooming like some great bridal bouquet. Wheat and barley covered the lush valleys which were interspersed with great fields of peas and beans and full flower. The canal itself, alive with boat traffic, fascinated the children just as the scenic beauty of its shores refreshed their parents. For three weeks, they traveled with Mr. Henry Gordon, one of their young missionaries who was just beginning his own new work in the famous city of Suzhou Fu, before their junk reached Xinjiang at the junction of the Grand Canal and the mighty Yangtze River. So impressed was Hudson by the city and its strategic location that he determined to establish a mission station there. He began negotiations for property which the missions eventually acquired, but since the final details of the negotiations looked as if they would drag on for some weeks, the Taylors continued their journey up the northern segment of the canal. So after two months of boat life, the Taylor family reached the great city of Yangzhou. The city Marco Polo once governed. Its ancient turreted walls enclosed a population of 360,000 without even one missionary. Here again, Hudson felt so burdened by the spiritual needs he saw that he decided to try to settle his family in Yangzhou. After their arrival there, Maria wrote Mrs. Berger, Were it not that you yourselves are old travelers, I should think it impossible for you to realize our feelings last Monday week when we exchanged the discomfort of a boat into every room of which the heavy rain had been leaking for a suite of apartments in a first-rate Chinese hotel, such a place as my husband, who has seen a good deal of Chinese travelers' accommodations, never before met with, and that hotel too inside the city of Yangzhou. The reception by a friendly innkeeper and crowds of interested visitors greatly raised the tailors' hopes for the promise of an effective new mission station in that great city. But when a favorable proclamation came from the governor on their behalf, they soon acquired a house into which the family moved in the middle of July. The summer heat was already trying, and they hoped for quieter days in August. But the rush of patients and visitors continued. A foreign family seemed quite an attraction, especially as Hudson proved to be such a skillful physician. Maria also established her own reputation among the women who were charmed by her pleasing Chinese speech and manners. Before long, just as had happened in Hangzhou, hearts began opening to the gospel, and the presence of a mother and children helped defuse most suspicion. But their successes didn't come without trials or opposition. The children all contracted measles, and the tailor's youngest son developed a life-threatening case of bronchitis as a complication. Hudson himself grew so ill that for some time he wasn't at all sure he would survive. During the summer, some of the city's literati held a meeting and decided to stir up trouble. Anonymous handbills appeared all over the city, attributing the most revolting crimes to foreigners, especially those whose business it was to propagate the religion of Jesus. Before long, the missionaries witnessed the changing attitude of the people. Friendly visitors gave way to crowds of disorderly rabble who congregated outside the tailor's home, shouting insults at the missionaries. A fresh set of posters added fuel to the flame. Time after time, rioting was prevented only by the kind, patient words of a sick and very weakened Hudson Taylor, who stood in the doorway of his home, quietly answering all accusations and reassuring an angry mob that they intended no harm. Finally, the intense heat of August was broken by torrential rains, which effectively scattered the crowds, and the tailors felt doubly relieved and heartened when the Rudlands and George Duncan arrived to help them. However, the relief was short-lived. Two foreigners from Jingcheng, Europeans in foreign clothing, came up to visit Yangzhou, causing quite a stir through the city. Those opposing the tailors saw too good a chance to pass up. No sooner had the visitors left and everything returned to normal again that the literati became circulating the rumor that children all over the area were reported missing. The story was that 44 children had been kidnapped by the inhuman foreigners. Everywhere, the troublemakers were saying, Let's avenge our wrongs! Attack! Destroy the foreigners! Much loot shall be ours! As a mob, intent on destruction, gathered outside the mission house, Hudson and George Duncan slipped away under cover of darkness and raced toward the governor's palace for help. As Hudson described it, But for the protection afforded us by the darkness, we should scarcely have reached the Ya Men, the police, alive. Alarmed by the yells of the people, the gatekeepers were just closing the doors as we approached. But the momentary delay gave time for the crowd to close in upon us. The as yet unbarred gates gave way to the pressure and we were precipitated into the entrance of the hall. Had the gates been barred, I'm convinced that they would not have been opened for us and we should have been torn to pieces by the enraged mob. Inside the governor's residence, Hudson and his friend were kept anxiously awaiting. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of a riot where they'd left the other missionaries and Maria and the children at the mercy of a mob that had already swelled to eight to ten thousand. Finally, the governor came out. Hudson pleaded for his help in calming the crowd and restoring order and the official responded by calling out three thousand troops who soon dispersed the crowds. Still, fearful for the safety of the others, Hudson and George hurried back to the mission. Hudson wrote, We returned under escort. On the way back, we were told that all the foreigners we had left were killed. We had to cry to God to support us, though we hoped this might prove exaggerated or untrue. When we reached the house, the scene was such as baffled description. Here, a pile of half-burned reeds showed where one of the attempts to fire the premises had been made. There, the breeze of a broken-down wall was lying, and strewn about everywhere were the remains of boxes and furniture, scattered papers and letters, broken work boxes, writing desks, dressing cases, and surgical instrument cases smoldering remains of valuable books, but no trace of inhabitants within. An agonizing search revealed that the missionaries and the children were hiding at a neighbor's house. After the rioters had broken in and begun burning the building, they had all escaped onto a roof and jumped to the ground in the darkness. Some had been injured. One young missionary had received a serious head wound from a rock. Maria had injured her leg leaping from the roof, and others had various cuts and bruises, but they were all alive, and they were just as grateful to be found by Hudson as he was to find them. As miraculous as their survival had been, Hudson decided not to take unnecessary chances. He loaded everyone on a junk and headed down the canal until passions cooled in Yangzhou. Only 48 hours after the riot as their boat neared Qingyang, Maria wrote in a letter, Our God has brought us through. May it be to live henceforth more fully to His praise and glory.