Fifteen Years Among the Top-Knots; Or, Life in KoreaUnderwood, Lillias H. (Lillias Horton)
Religion
Fifteen Years Among the Top-Knots; Or, Life in Korea
Underwood, Lillias H. (Lillias Horton)
Korea -- Description and travel; Missions -- Korea
By the time the class was over I was able to be carried along the road
in my chair, and only one who has been shut in for three weeks, in a
tiny room not eight feet high, without a pane of glass in it, quite
alone most of the time, can realize how glad I was to be released into
the fresh, sweet air and sunshine. Before leaving Chang Yun we bade a
long farewell to one of the Christian women, who with a smile and the
sweet words, “It’s all grace, it’s all love,” fell gently asleep in
Jesus. Dr. Whiting, in accordance with previous plans, did not go with
us further, but returned to Seoul. After leaving Chang Yun, our first
stop was made at the village of On Chang, where we met quite a little
handful of believers. One of these, a woman who was the first convert
in that place, had been much troubled and burdened with a sense of
guilt. At length she heard that in Chang Yun there were people that
could tell her of One who could forgive sins. She went forthwith and
learned of Jesus and found peace and pardon, and came back to spread
the good tidings and “pass on the word” to her neighbors.
One of these women was a peddler, a class who have to make some
sacrifices to keep the Sabbath. Nearly all their business is done at
the little fairs or market days, which take place every five days at
one or another of the hamlets in a certain circuit. Quite often one of
these days falls on a Sunday, and so a whole five days’ profit is lost.
But this makes no difference, the day is cheerfully kept; another who
kept an inn as cheerfully decided to sell no more liquor, her chief
source of profit.
Our next stopping place was at Cho Chun, and as soon as we neared the
vicinity, we were met by men, women and children, who had walked out
to meet us and conduct us to the home of the leader, in this case the
richest and chief man of the whole neighborhood. People professing
Christianity gathered here from several small villages, were examined
and many baptized. It seemed too hard that we had only so short a time
to stay in these places where we were needed so much. Most of the
women actually wept when we were obliged to say farewell, and the men
and boys followed us miles, sometimes to the next stage in our journey.
They are touchingly grateful for the little we do for them, while we
thank God for allowing us to learn from them, their simple childlike
faith and entire dependence on him.
Mrs. Ha, the wife of the leader, was the only one in the village who
could read, and she taught the other women beautifully. Calm, strong,
intelligent, she seemed to me a rare type of a Korean woman, and one
who was destined to be very useful if she were only better instructed.
She was well acquainted with the Gospels and Acts, the only Scriptures
till quite lately in their hands, and with nearly all the hymns. But
her opportunities for study and instruction were also very few.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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