Forty Years in South China: The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.Fagg, John Gerardus
Religion
Forty Years in South China: The Life of Rev. John Van Nest Talmage, D.D.
Fagg, John Gerardus
Missions -- China; Talmage, John Van Nest, 1819-1892
"Our missionary work moves on usually in the same steady manner without
many ups and downs or interesting episodes (rather a mixture of figures you
will say), which we think worthy of note. I wish you folks at home could
send us more men to drive on the work a little faster. The door of access
at Amoy still continues as wide open as ever, and now seems to be the time
for the Church to send her men and occupy the post, which the Master offers
to her. But the Church at home cannot, it seems, look at this matter as we
who are on the ground....
PRIMITIVE LAMPS
"We have no good lamps yet for the church, consequently cannot open it in
the evening. But I have prepared some lamps for my chapel. I think you
would laugh to see them. They are four in number. Two of them are merely
small tumblers hung up by wires and cords. By means of another wire a wick
is suspended in each tumbler and the tumbler filled with oil. The other
two are on the same principle, but the tumblers are hung in a kind of glass
globe which is suspended by brass chains. These look considerably more
ornamental than the first two. Whether you laugh at them or not, they
answer a very good purpose. They do not make the room as light as would be
required in a church, in as large a city as Amoy is, in the United States,
but by means of them my chapel is open on Sunday evenings and on every
other evening in the week except one. The church and chapel are both open
almost every afternoon in the week, and sometimes in the mornings. One,
two, three, or more of the converts are always ready to hold forth almost
every afternoon and evening. Besides this, they go to other thoroughfares
frequently and preach the Gospel as well as they are able. For much of the
work these converts are perhaps better adapted than ourselves. They
understand the superstitions of the people in their practical working,
better than we probably will ever be able to learn them."
ZEALOUS CONVERTS.
"April 14, 1851. There are now in connection with our church thirteen
converts. In connection with the church of the London brethren there are
eight. Two of our members, although compelled to labor with their hands
for the sustenance of themselves and their families, yet devote the
afternoons and evenings of almost every day in the week, in making known
the way of salvation to their countrymen. They spend the Sabbath also,
only omitting their labors long enough to listen to the preaching of the
missionary and to partake of their noonday meal, from early in the morning
until bedtime, in the same way, publishing the Gospel to their countrymen."
THE TERM QUESTION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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