Far-off Liangchow
If anywhere love is a power it is supremely so among the heathen. First, last, and most of all it is love that wins, love that interprets rightly the Gospel message and makes real to darkened hearts the love of God in Christ. Sitting one day among a group of women who had recently come to a knowledge of the truth, in a city which until we went there had never had the Gospel, one was surprised to hear them bring up this very subject.
“What is it that we feel,” they began to ask each other, “when we come inside these doors?”
It was only a poor little place, a four-roomed mud cottage built round two narrow courtyards, but it was crowded from morning till night with patients and visitors, of whom these were an inner circle.
“Yes, what is it?” said another. “We all feel it. As soon as we come in here our hearts are peaceful and k’wan-ch’ ow (broad, spacious: the reverse of worried). We never feel like this any¬ where else, not even in our own mothers’ homes. Tell us, what is it — this warm, restful feeling?”
It was so real and unconscious — the natural expanding of souls under the love of Christ — that it brought tears to one’s eyes: and what a joy it was to explain that this was nothing more nor less than love! This is what Jesus came to bring; what He is in every heart that receives Him. And this in its perfect development is heaven.
“Heaven! Yes, it would be heaven,” they agreed, “to feel like this all the time.”
We had come to Liangchow — the most remote station in China proper, of our own or any mission 1 — knowing that the work had been difficult and beset with discouragements. For thirty years the missionaries had sowed in hope, but now the field watered with many tears was showing signs of fruitfulness. From the commencement over one hundred and sixty had been baptized, each soul a hard-won trophy of redeeming grace, and we longed to see the fellow- workers who were thus encouraged. Hard pressed and lonely they must often have been, but loneliness had not narrowed their hearts, as we soon discovered.
To begin with, Mr. Belcher’s handgrip was a welcome in itself, when he met us a few miles out of the city. His stories about the Christians, told with loving appreciation, made us feel that we knew many of them, even before they received us with shining faces at the door of the mission-house.
The stateliness of Liangchow buildings had impressed us. Rarely had we seen such handsome houses. But it was not the spacious rooms, open fireplaces, and perfect housekeeping that rejoiced our hearts — though to travellers straight from the
1 Remote, that is, from railway or steam-ship communication.
road that January night they did seem wonderful! The missionaries were, like ourselves, wearing Chinese dress (Mr. and Mrs. Belcher and Miss Mellor) and were living simply amid Chinese surroundings. It was the atmosphere of love that made that visit memorable — just the inward ease and rest that nothing else can bring. And we found that the spirit of the missionaries was the spirit of the Chinese Christians. Love — how it was lavished upon us! Never had we received such gifts, such provision for our further journey, such cheering expressions of gratitfide for our coming! If we had had any lingering feeling that Kansu people were a little cold and rough, like their northern climate, it all vanished before the warmth of that sunshine. Just to sit down in memory at Mrs. Belcher’s fireside to-day is to enjoy that sweetness still.
The thing we appreciated most, I think, about it all, was the way in which the spacious, homelike rooms were used for the Chinese. Morning worship, for example, was held in the living-room (sitting-room and dining-room in one), where a bright fire was burning, and night by night during our visit the household gathered there to enjoy hymn-singing with the little organ. Those were hours when the room was filled to overflowing, for many of the country Christians had come in to meet us. But the chairs were drawn up round the table and on three sides forms were crowded in, regardless of floor-rugs and furniture.
What happy times they were, when the darkness of the winter night made the warmth within all the more welcome! School-children who lived on the premises were very much in evidence, bright boys and girls eager to learn the new hymns. Rough¬ looking farmers and women from village homes filled every corner, mingling with well-dressed city Christians. Back in the shadows were some who seemed to be outsiders, opium-smokers and strangers who had dropped in and found a welcome. But with few exceptions faces were radiant because they had” looked unto Him.,,
Never before had we been quite so glad of our “Little Honan Hymn-book,” with its music for every hymn. For the dear people wanted to sing; they needed to sing. They all had their own sorrows and cares; and we found united praise to be wonderfully uplifting. The meetings did not begin with the same freedom and glow with which they ended. An hour or two of singing, learning the simple hymns and Scripture choruses, many of which were new to the little company, and talking over the precious truths they set forth made all the difference. The Chinese tunes in the collection were much appreciated, specially that ancient Bactrian melody said to be the oldest air in existence. Difficult as it is for foreigners to acquire, it seems to lie in the subconsciousness of the Chinese. Whether they have heard it before or not, they can sing it correctly after a Chinese fashion, with very little teaching, and its strange deep measures and plaintive repetitions appeal to them in no ordinary way. It was good to hear them in those evening gatherings singing it to the words:
Heaven is my home — homeward then!
There is nothing here below worth anxious care.
Then there was a fine bright hymn about the Lord’s Coming that was often asked for, a hymn so full of Scriptural teaching that its verses were as good as a discourse. Pastor Hsi’s hymns with their Chinese tunes had a place all their own, reminding one of the saying in Germany that, if the Scriptures are read and one of Luther’s hymns is sung, a service is sure to be profitable, whether the sermon is so or not. But, strange enough, it was a little song intended only for the simplest people that seemed to bring most blessing — a hymn with a Chinese tune and a sweet refrain:
Poor though I am and truly in distress,
The Almighty Saviour loves me with tenderness.
It was touching to see the leading evangelist in the station, with tears in his eyes, ask us to unite with him in prayer at the close of one meeting, as he did want to thank the Lord for the comfort of that hymn.
The short winter days as well as the long evenings at Liangchow were full of interest. Mr. Belcher was enthusiastic at the time over the beautiful new structure that was going up for church purposes —
1 The Little Honan Hymn-hook, as it has come to be called, is the direct descendant of a small collection of colloquial hymns we had published more than twenty years ago for use in our own stations. Enlarged and republished since our return to China — for nothing had quite taken its place — it has entered upon a new lease of life, with a nicely printed tune book, harmonised by the help of willing friends. Both words and music can be obtained from the Tract Society at Hankow. It is not intended to supersede any other collection, for it only has seventy hymns and choruses, but to help in meeting a need among country Christians and in women’s meetings. an enthusiasm that was contagious. For of recent years the work had been hampered by insufficient accommodation, especially on Sundays, and a generous gift from Scotland had come as an answer to many prayers. This had made possible the purchase of a finely situated plot of ground which, though extensive, had few if any usable buildings upon it. Mr. Belcher had not much left over for construction, but with the eye of a practical man saw that good use could be made of the timber in the old roofs and walls. The vermin-infested houses were cleared away and the beams put through a cleansing process which turned them out like new. Then, with the purchase of some thirty pounds’ worth of additional timber, he was able to erect the church and other buildings which we saw.
It was interesting in going over the new premises to observe the care that was being put into the work and the many devices for saving needless expense. The board floor in the church, for example, was being put down without a single nail. Holes had been bored in the planks where the nails would have been, and long pegs of wood were doing duty instead, each one dipped in hot glue and driven home wet and sticky. The sum saved in this way amounted to many sovereigns, for nails are expensive, and the result was entirely satisfactory. The church, capable of seating over six hundred, was boarded throughout and provided with heating arrangements, invaluable in winter. Outside, with plenty of light and sun¬ shine, were the guest-halls for men and women, the big classrooms, of which good use is made for the Sunday School, the street chapel, and even a little hospital, cared for by a Chinese Christian with some medical training.
But one must not dwell further upon all that was going on in church-building, material or spiritual, nor upon the remaining need in Liangchow itself and far out upon the plain. The work is telling and thousands are being reached, but the opportunities are greater than ever before, and there are so few to enter open doors!
One feature of the women’s work that specially impressed us was the way in which the Christians have been given scope and led to take their full share of responsibility. The mid-week class, for example, usually an occasion for teaching on the part of the missionary, has taken on quite another character at Liangchow. It is a women’s meeting for prayer and Bible study in which all take part, attended by Mrs. Belcher and Miss Mellor with the rest. If the women of the church are expected to be present, why should either of the missionaries be absent? They both go, and the meeting is taken by one of the Chinese and one of the mission¬ aries alternately, week about. This has greatly strengthened the Christian women, and has developed leadership and gifts for speaking. To give them confidence, an arrangement was made that if there was time one of the missionaries would give a lesson on the catechism at the close of the address. Thus no one was afraid of not being able to fill the hour profitably. They give what they can, on a subject of their own choosing, and it is supplemented or not as occasion requires. Very rarely, as a matter of fact, is there any opportunity for a lesson on the catechism at that meeting. Moreover, it has grown to be one of the most helpful and popular meetings of the week, with an average attendance of forty to fifty women, and there are eight or ten who can lead it acceptably.
This is partly due, no doubt, to the thoroughness put into Bible teaching on Sundays, and to a system of home Bible study to which Miss Mellor has given much attention. The latter has greatly enriched the spiritual life of the Christians, and there are quite a number who are pursuing it ardently, with a view to completing the course and obtaining certificates — a new development indeed for the Chinese wife and mother! 1
One advance that specially rejoiced our hearts was in connection with the Girls’ School, for which a new day seems to be dawning. Splendid premises have been obtained in a part of the city where girls and women can come freely. The whole is well adapted for a training centre for young women, which it is hoped will be of service to all that part of the province. Miss Eltham, who is returning to Liangchow with a view to carrying on the school, has had the unique experience of being in charge, during the furlough of Miss Cable and the Misses French, of the great institution that has grown up under their care in Shansi, in which hundreds of young women have been trained who are now
1 Information can be obtained about this valuable course from Miss A. Garland of the Tsinchow, Kansu, who, with
her sister, Miss Susie Garland, has given years to working it out. It is a thoroughly practical system for helping women, from inquirers up, to form habits of home Bible study.
occupying positions of usefulness. It was a heavy responsibility for Miss Eltham, a comparatively young worker, but He who called her to it sustained her in it, and the experience has been invaluable. The position of Liangchow for such a school may seem remote, in a province of vast distances, but there are twelve cities still beyond it that have never had a missionary. In that long-neglected region the Spirit of God is working in quite a special way. The time, we know, is short. May it not be that before our Lord returns He wants a strong centre here, from which to send forth the light? If so, Miss Eltham must have helpers. Where are those willing, for His sake, to put their lives into this work? It is lonely, far-away and difficult: it is urgent, satisfying, and near His heart.