James Gilmour of Mongolia: His diaries, letters, and reportsGilmour, James
Religion
James Gilmour of Mongolia: His diaries, letters, and reports
Gilmour, James
Gilmour, James, 1843-1891; Missions -- Mongolia
'My salary I shall still have paid to me, and the children's
remittances shall come as usual. If I live I guess this will be
enough for the education of the lads. If I die, the lads are not
destitute. Even in a worldly sense, and quite apart from this sum
which I am banking with God, and which I am sure He'll repay with
compound interest when needed, if left orphans they would be in
some sense provided for by the London Missionary Society, which,
though it gives no pensions to any one, yet yearly raises funds and
gives money to broken-down old missionaries, widows, and orphans. I
don't suppose it is much or enough, but it is something. I say this
that you may not be troubled should your faith be weak or waver.
'I hope that these arrangements may not seem unwise to you, and
will commend themselves to you far enough to have your consent if
not your warm approval. For myself I am thankful that God has given
me faith enough to trust Him so. It has taken time to come to this.
Myself is a small matter--it takes more faith to trust for one's
children. Just fancy old Abraham offering his Isaac. Just fancy,
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. Let us respond to
God's love.
'Your loving son,
'JAMES GILMOUR.'
In compliance with his wish a sum amounting to several hundred pounds
was sent out to Peking and there banked by him. Had not the many
difficulties which Chinese habits placed in the way prevented the
completion of negotiations, there is hardly any doubt that James Gilmour
would have himself spent this money on his own mission-field. He died
before any of the negotiations for premises which he had commenced
reached a successful issue. As he had not specified in his will that
this sum was to be devoted to mission work, the trustees of his boys
have had no alternative, and have felt it their duty to consider it a
part of his estate, the income of which should be devoted to the
education of his sons. But the intention of James Gilmour was clear and
well known, and it is to be hoped that the interest felt by many friends
in his life and work will prove strong enough to secure a permanent home
for the mission as a memorial of its founder, and on the site of his
glad and self-sacrificing toil.
A year or two later, in a letter to his boys, he seeks to enforce the
duty of careful, systematic giving to God.
'Ch'ao Yang: August 19, 1890.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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