“In two days the pastor came for me and brought me to school. This truly manifests the love of God for sinful me, and also the love of Miss ---- in that she gave money to save me. During the time of trial the Lord always helped me, and now He has brought me to this place, free from all fear. Love like this is truly great.” Phœnix has since become engaged to a young theological student and will probably be married within a year. CHAPTER XIV MINISTERING CHILDREN In 1898 a boy named Ch’en Yo, generally known as Yo-ah, lived near the West gate of Chinchew city. His father, who was called Poah, used to sit by the roadside gambling with the passers-by. The boy went with him, and sometimes when his father lost a game, would have a turn at the board and win some money. When Yo-ah was thirteen years old, his father first heard about the worship of the true God, and began to go to church, near the great western pagoda in the city. Strangely enough, Yo-ah, who had gone willingly enough to gamble, would not follow his father to church. For six months Poah went to the ‘worship hall’ alone, then he told his son that he must join him. Yo-ah did not wish people to know that he had anything to do with the ‘Barbarian church,’ so when out of obedience to his father he went to service, he used to creep through round-about lanes and side streets, in the hope that none of his friends would meet him on the way. After a time Yo-ah went to school, though he was most unwilling to do so, thinking that gambling was better fun than poring over books. Seeing how idle he was, his father said to him one day: “If you don’t mean to study you had better go away, for I will not take care of you any longer.” Seeing that his father meant what he said, Yo-ah made up his mind to do better, and set about his work with a will. Not only did his lessons improve; in a short time his temper grew better, and he gave up using naughty words and telling lies. The secret of this wonderful change was that at school Yo-ah had learnt to know the Saviour. [Illustration: SUNDAY SCHOOL, CHINCHEW] The neighbours, who did not understand about worshipping God, noticed that Yo-ah had given up his rude ways, and did not answer back as he had done before he went to school. One of them, a widow who had an only son named Wu-mei, was very much struck by the change in him. Her son had been called Wu-mei, that is, Black Little Sister, to deceive the evil spirits into thinking that he was an ugly little girl, not worth troubling about, in the hope that they would let him grow up to manhood in peace. His mother, seeing how much Yo-ah had improved by study, sent Black Little Sister to the same school.