By Mary Vee
Year: April 1879
Hudson Taylor: age 46
From J. Hudson Taylor's Notes
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| Photo Courtesy |
So many of the China Inland Missionaries had worked for years without a rest. I don't mean a break from their work, I mean a rest.
A break usually means sailing back to England, which is not an easy journey and takes three months, speaking at many churches to raise more support, going to people's homes and telling them about China, and more. The breaks can make a missionary more tired than the regular work in the country where they serve God.
A rest is going to some place where no one expects you to do anything. You can sleep in, take a nap in the middle of the day, go for a walk in the fresh air and not have to be anywhere.
The Moores served in Zhenjiang and desperately needed a rest. I heard about their need and traveled to Zhenjiang to speak with them. I saw all their work and how tired they were. "I want you to go to Yantai where we've set up a place to rest. When you feel better, come back."
I don't think I've seen happier faces. The Moores left a week later for Yantai.
I went on to Yangzhou and saw our missionaries needed a new orphanage. I helped to draw up plans, organize supplies and hire workers. To save money, I worked with the builders. The summer heat made working difficult, but we kept going. The work wore me down. I lost weight and became ill with dysentery again.
You know where I went, right? Yes. Yantai.
Charles Judd greeted me when I stepped off the boat in Yantai and showed me what he had been working on while I was gone. "I found the perfect piece of land to build our own buildings," said Charles.
"We need to be careful," I said. "If the seller figures out how much we want the land he will increase the price so high we won't be able to buy it."
They walked to the field. I agreed with Charles that it would be the perfect piece of land. While we stood there, the owner came to us. "Do you want to buy this field?"
We weren't sure what to say. If we said yes he might raise the price. We stood there not answering him.
He said again, "Do you want to buy this field?"
I decided to answer him. It did't mean that we had to buy the field. "We are thinking about buying some property."
"Then please buy mine."
The man looked desperate to have money. He gave us a reasonable price and we bought his land right then, without delays in paperwork.
We walked around the field and found a gully with fresh water running down beside it.
The neighboring farmers saw us walking on the land and walked out to meet us. "Will you buy our land, too?"
We bought all of the land at a very fair price. God has helped us start this new ministry. The next step: build.
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
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