Hudson Taylor-In Times of Trials the Mission Thrived

By Mary Vee

Year: February 1871 

Hudson Taylor: age 39

From J. Hudson Taylor's Notes

Photo Courtesy

After Maria, my wife, died, I felt lonely. We had sent our three older children back to England to keep them in good health. Little Charlie stayed with me in China and received care from a woman in Ningbo .

There seemed to be so much work to do. Many of the missionaries became ill with dysentery, cholera, and other diseases. I had letters to write to keep our supporters informed, administrative work, medical care to provide to the sick, and preaching the Gospel as often as six times a day. I kept plenty busy. 

Riots, threats, and a massacre of several missionaries were nothing more than the work of the evil one who attempted to discourage us and make us want to leave. The missionaries in our group had a strong spirit and refused to leave showing God remained strongly involved in the work.

Here are a few of the blessings showing God work here in China: John McCarthy's training school for new missionaries is doing well. The students visit tea shops to practiced their new language skills and tell the people about God's love.

I walked many miles to visit our missionaries in Ningbo, Fenghua, Taizhou, and Wenzhou. They have reported growing churches.

Over in Hangzhou, Jennie Faulding and Mrs. Wang visited many women in their homes. Several of Jennie's students had memorized most of he New Testament. 

Wang Lae-djun travelled along the Qiantang River. With his own money, he set up four mission posts where seven missionaries started a new ministry.

My favorite story to share is about John Cardwell who evangelized the area of Poyang Lake. One time local people who hated foreigners greeted him with a shower of stones. He planted his feet firm and said, "Is this the way to treat a visiting stranger?" A few men in the crowd ordered the stone throwers to stop. 

And another time, when John walked along the river a person called out, "Foreign Devil." Cardwell took the man's hand and placed it beside his. He said, "Our hands are the same! Why do you call me a foreign devil? If our hands are similar and I am a foreign devil then you must be a native devil."

Hah! The local people stopped calling him a foreign devil after that!

Illnesses weakened many of us. A break from the work would strengthen and restore our bodies.

One day I received a letter from the Bergers, the husband and wife who ran the administrative duties and finances in England. The two had become ill and finances for the mission had sorely dwindled. They asked me to return home and go on a speaking tour to let people know about the ministry. This would hopefully stir up new interest in China Inland Missions.

I must admit the letter revived my soul. I too was sick and in need of time back in England to rest. While there I could visit with my other children, tell them their mother's last words, hug them, and raise support for the mission. 

I invited a few other missionaries,, the Meadows, who were in need of a break to sail back home with me. Jennie Faulding agreed to help Mrs. Meadows with her newborn child. Once everything had been arranged and the duties reassigned, I went to the home where my two-year-old son, Charlie, had been cared for and packed his bags. 

James and Elizabeth Meadows, Jennie Faulding, little Charlie, and I boarded a boat to sail back to England.

Please pray that our journey is safe, and pray for the twenty-five missionaries with their eighteen children and forty-five Chinese workers who remain scattered around inland China to carry on the work.

J. Hudson Taylor

Missionary to China--Inland China!

So Very Blessed by God 

Research resources: J. Hudson Taylor, An Autobiography by J. Hudson Taylor; It is Not Death to Die, a new biography of Hudson Taylor by Jim Cromarty; Hudson Taylor Founder, China Inland Mission by Vance Christie; J. Hudson Taylor, A Man in Christ, by Roger Steer, and Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr.and Mrs. Howard Taylor.