God A Refuge For Us
In 1859, 1 experienced a somewhat different but no less real answer to prayer. My beloved wife was brought very low with sickness. At last, all hope of getting better was gone. Every treatment proved to be useless. Dr. Parker had nothing more to offer. Her life was going away fast. The only hope was that God might yet raise her, in answer to believing prayer.
I felt that I must hurry to talk with Dr. Parker to seek his opinion. This was a time of extreme sorrow. The drawn look on her face and eyes showed the time of death was near. There was a question of her life holding out until my return.
It was nearly two miles to Dr. Parker’s house and it appeared to be a long way. On my way, I tried to seek God in prayer. The great words were brought with power to my soul, “Call upon me in the day trouble. I will deliver you and you will honour me.” I was at once able to claim them in faith and the result was deep, unspeakable peace and joy.
All thinking about distance was gone. Dr. Parker approved of the treatment I was thinking of. But on coming home, I saw that’s needed change had taken place with neither this treatment nor any other. The drawn look on her face had changed to the calmness of quiet sleep.
No mark of sickness remained to slow her getting well. Since my own loved one had not seen death, it was with added sympathy and sorrow that I felt for Dr. Parker. In the autumn of the same year, his wife was taken very quickly. The doctor needed to return to Glasgow at once with his children who now had no mother.
A temporary plan had to be made for the work ofthe Mission Hospital in Ningpo, for which he alone had been responsible. He asked me to take over the work, especially the dispensary.
After a few days of waiting upon the Lord for guidance, I felt led to take not only the dispensary work but also the hospital. I trusted the faithfulness of a God who hears and answers prayer to provide the means needed for the work.
Up to this time, the money for taking care ofthe hospital had been provided by the doctor’s medical care to foreigners. When he left, this money stopped coming in. But had not God said that whatever we ask in the name ofthe Lord Jesus shall be done? Are we not told to seek first the kingdom of God, not ways to make it go forward, and that all these things shall be added to us? Such promises were enough.
Eight days before taking this work, I had no idea of ever doing so. Even less could friends at home have thought I would do it. But the Lord had seen the need before and already money was on the way to meet the need.
At times, there were no less than fifty sick people in the hospital, along with a large number who came for treatment but didn’t need to stay in the hospital. Thirty beds were usually given free to sickpeople and their nurses.
About as many were given to opium smokers who paid for their stay while having treatment for the habit. All the needs of the sick were given free, in addition to file treatment materials needed for those who did not stay in the hospital. The daily cost was large when added to the salaries ofthe nurses.
When Dr. Parker gave the work ofthe hospital over to me, he was able to leave money that would meet only the costs of the current month. Unable to guarantee their pay, his workers left.
As my first task, I told the situation to the people ofour little church. Some offered to help. Like me, they would depend upon the Lord. Together, we continued to wait upon God. We knew that in some way, He would provide for His work.
Day by day, the medical store was used up. When it was almost gone, an unusual letter containing a check came to me from a friend in England. The letter said that this person had recently lost his father and he had received his property.
Not wishing to increase his spending, he wanted to use the money to help in the Lord’s work. He wrote that I might know of some special need for it, but left me free to use it for my own need or in any other way that the Lord might lead me. He only asked to know how it was used and if there was a need for more.
After giving thanks to my beloved wife, I called my helpers into our little worship room and read them the letter. I need not say how happy they were. Together we gave praise to God. They returned to their work in the hospital with full hearts and told the sick people that a God was ours.
They asked the people if their gods had ever given them help in this way. Both helpers and the sick received blessings through this remarkable gift. From that time, the Lord gave all that was necessary to continue the work of the hospital, to provide for my own family, and the care for other areas of missionary work. Nine months later, I had to give up this work because of my poor health, but I was able to leave more money for the continued work ofthe hospital than when I began.
But not only was money received in answer to prayer. Many lives were saved from death. People who seemed to be hopelessly diseased were made well. There were good results in cases of serious surgery. There was the case of one poor man whose legs were cut off in a very bad situation.
Healing took place so quickly that both wounds were well in less than two weeks. And greater results than these were received. Many believed in the truth of Christ and called to the Lord in faith and prayer, experiencing the power of the Great Physician2 to cure the sick soul. During these nine months, sixteen sick people from the hospital were baptized, while more than thirty joined some Christian churches in the city.
The year 1860 began with demands for service on all sides. But there was not enough time and strength to make full use of the openings we saw. For some time, the shortage of workers has been a serious problem. In January, prayer was made to the Lord of the harvest3 that He would send out more workers into this special area.
On January 16, 1860, 1 wrote to family at home in England. I told about the deep desire of our hearts like this: “Do you know any serious young men who desire to serve God in China, who do not want more than their real need and would be willing to come out and labor here? Oh, for four or five such helpers They would probably begin to preach in Chinese in six months.
In answer to prayer, the necessary means for their needs would be found.” But no one came to help us. With the departure of Dr. Parker, the continued hard work of body and mind, and the ongoing effort of other missionary work, my health began to fail quickly. This caused us to wonder if we needed to return to England for a time.
The thought of returning was hard to face. The growing church and work seemed to need us to be there. It was very difficult to part from those we had learned to love in the Lord. Thirty or forty Christians had come into the recently organized church.
The well-filled meetings and the warm hearts of new Christians all looked to a future of much promise. At last, taken down by many attacks of sickness, the only hope of my getting better seemed to be in returning to England for a short stay in its healthier temperature.
Though painful at the time, it proved to be only another way for God to show His faithfulness and loving care because He “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” As before, the Lord was present with His help.
We received the means for our trip and enough extra that we were able to bring with us a Chinese Christian to help in translation4 and to teach the language to new missionaries that the Lord would call for the continued work of the Mission. We knew that He would give us fellow workers. We had been asking Him in careful and believing prayer for many months before.
Before leaving China, we wrote to our friend, Mr. W.T. Berger, whom we had known in England and who had always strengthened our hands in the Lord in that distant land: “We are bringing with us a young Chinese brother to help us in writing and I hope in teaching the language to those whom the Lord may cause to return with us.”
During the voyage, our cry to God was that He would rule over our stay-at-home for the good of China and make a way to raise five missionaries to labor in the area of Chekiang. We must tell how the Lord answered these believing prayers and how He honored them.