January 7th in China Missions History
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AustinGardner.net’s January 7th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1858, Henry W. Frost, American missionary pioneer, was born. Frost was responsible for establishing an American headquarters for the China Inland Mission. When Hudson Taylor was visiting America at the invite of D. L. Moody, he met Frost and was impressed by this young Princeton graduate. The two men became good friends and Taylor asked Frost if he would be willing to start and run a branch of the CIM in North America, so the work going on in China could be more easily supported by the Christians and churches in the US and Canada. Originally, Frost started the CIM North America branch in Toronto, Canada in 1889 and was able to successfully create a strong network of supporters across North America. In 1901, he moved the headquarters to Philadelphia, PA. Under Frost’s leadership, the CIM grew in North America and by 1930, more than a third of all the labor and a half of all the support for the CIM was coming from North America.
01.5.12
January 5th in China Missions History
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AustinGardner.net’s January 5th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1782, Robert Morrison was born in Buellers Green, England to a devoted, Christ-loving family. When he was seventeen years old, Robert’s heart was set aflame by reading of God’s work around the world. More than anything, he desired to be a missionary. But when he told this to his sickly, elderly mother, she begged him not to go abroad as long as she was alive. Robert, though sad to do so, agreed to stay by her side until the end. After the death of his mother, he applied to the London Missionary Society and was immediately accepted. Soon, he was setting sail to China.
Once in China, Morrison did everything to try to fit in with the nationals. He learned to use the chopsticks, grew long fingernail, wore a pigtail, and dressed in Chinese garb. However, he felt that by trying so hard to become Chinese, the people began to mistrust him, thinking that he was trying to stealthily sneak his religion on them. So he picked back up some of his old English habits, but never ceased to become the best at the Chinese language. He worked at it ceaselessly, even praying in broken Chinese instead of English. By the end of his life, he had accomplished his goal. He was able to publish and print the entire Bible in Chinese, as well as numerous tracts and writings. His printings and writings became so powerful that the Roman Catholic church attacked him and shut down his printing press. By the end of his life, Morrison could say, “There is now in Canton a state of society, in respect of Chinese, totally different from what I found in 1807. Chinese scholars, missionary students, English presses and Chinese Scriptures, with public worship of God, have all grown up since that period. I have served my generation, and must the Lord know when I fall asleep.”
Source: Robert Morrison (missionary)
01.4.12
January 4th in China Missions History
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AustinGardner.net’s January 4th in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1851, William Ashmore, a Baptist missionary from Putnam, Ohio, arrived in Hong Kong, where he would begin a work that would last nearly half a century and span all over China, Thailand, and Siam. When Ashmore first arrived, he applied himself with extreme diligence in learning the Chinese language. After he had a mastery of the language, he would go from house to house, talking with those that lived there, handing out tracts, and teaching them of Christ. In just a little over seven years after their arrival, Mrs. Ashmore became very sick and they headed back to the states, in hopes that she would recover. But in 1858, William’s wife, a women he described as being “of rare quality in mind and heart”, died. This was a crushig blow to the young missionary. But the Lord gave him strength and, after spending a few years recuperating, returned to China in 1864 with his new wife. He continued his work until he died in 1909.
Source: Baptist History Homepage
01.3.12
January 3rd in China Missions History
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AustinGardner.net’s January 3rd in World Evangelism HistoryOn this day in 1970, Gladys Aylward died. While attending a revival service as a young woman, Gladys was stirred to serve as a foreign missionary. After being rejected by the China Inland mission, Gladys heard of a 73-year old missionary woman, Jeanie Lawson, who was looking for someone to work with her in China. Gladys quickly grabbed the opportunity and was soon on her way to China. The two woman set up a mission along a high-traffic caravan route. They opened the mission as an inn for weary travelers. After giving the travelers good food and a place to sleep, they taught them from the Bible about Christ. After the travelers left the mission, they carried the message they just heard along the rest of the caravan route to their final destination.
After the death of Mrs. Lawson, Gladys took her influence and Christian teaching to a governmental level. She became the inspector on the new banning of foot binding (an ancient practice of tying Chinese girl’s feet together to make them small), which allowed her to travel the country, helping woman and teaching about God’s love. When the Japanese invaded China during WWII, Gladys worked on behalf of the Chinese government. Her work was so powerful that the Japanese put a reward out for her capture, the same amount as the reward for the Chinese Mandarin, or emperor. When a fellow Christian friend begged Gladys to leave, she replied “A Christian never retreats!” As she grew older, Gladys’s health began to deteriorate and she returned to England, where she traveled around the country and spoke at many churches.
Source: Biographical sketches of memorable Christians of the past
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