We were asked by one of the missionaries before leaving Yünnan to make
a slight detour on our way to visit a sick woman, as he had done what
he could to relieve her, but not being a doctor he was uncertain as to
treatment, and wished my niece to diagnose the case; if any medicine
could be of use, he would see that she got it. Our arrival created much
interest in the village, and every one would have liked to be spectators
when the medical examination was made. In fact the paper windows
disappeared as by magic, so we had to have a shutter put up, and a native
lamp threw little light on the patient. The one noticeable fact was that
although she was too ill to do any housework the place was scrupulously
clean, and the husband had everything ready in the way of water for
washing. The contrast between a Christian and a non-Christian house in
the matter of cleanliness was really remarkable.
In several of our halting-places there were small Christian communities,
though no resident missionary. They always welcomed us with great
cordiality and invited us to their meetings. These are held in rooms
which are usually paid for by some member of the community, which carries
on the work without much help from any mission: just an occasional visit
and the knowledge that the missionary will help them in any time of need.
In the village of Yi-ling there was an evangelist, who came to call
on us with one of his chief helpers, a grocer; this man had been most
generous in furnishing the hall, and they begged us to come to meeting
that evening. There was quite a large crowd present and the service was
a hearty one; the people looked mostly of a low type and very unlike
Chinese. They asked me to speak, and listened well. After interpreting
for me, Mr. Li, our interpreter, gave an impassioned address, which
revealed to me the fact that he was more keen than I had realized.
His first inquiry in every place was to know if there was a Christian
community.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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