A sudden change came at the end of 1950 with the outbreak of the Korean war. Funds were frozen, and no one knew what would happen. I was very much alarmed, and spent all of Christmas and boxing day writing letters, trying to arrange a way for money to come in. Yet the Lord had delivered me and provided for me again and again, and He now continued patiently to give me promises from His Word: "Surely the wrath of men shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain." Ps. 76:10. "He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever." Ps. 33:10, 11. Perhaps most reassuring was the card over my bookcase which had accompanied me all through the Japanese internment: "The Lord reigneth". Ps. 93:1.
Everyone was talking of leaving. Some were ordered to leave, and it was often made as difficult as possible for them. Friends in the Salvation Army were told they must go, and then were not allowed to leave until all the affairs of the Army were settled, and thus were kept in suspense for weeks and months. One Roman Catholic priest was told at nine that he must be out at twelve. It was a complicated performance to get away. Business had to be wound up, and goods packed; for those in charge of big business, or missions with large property, this was no small matter. Exit visas had to be applied for, a guarantee procured from a business firm, and departure advertised in the paper, in case there might be any outstanding debts. Sometimes the exit came quickly, and there was a tremendous rush; sometimes there were months of waiting. This "hope deferred" was a special way of persecuting the foreigner. When the exit permit came, everything had to be wound up, and one must get away within two weeks. Departure at that time was always by train, though freight could be sent by sea. A very limited amount could be taken with one on the train, and there was great heart searching over what to take. Then, too, most of those leaving had valuables, and only about fifteen ounces of silver could be taken out, and a small amount of jewelry. At first $100.00 U.S. currency could be taken by those who were going overseas, but this was reduced later.
The C.I.M. ladies in my house packed up and departed. Arrangements were made for the beautiful C.I.M. buildings to be rented to the Government for a hospital. All the C.I.M. workers in Shanghai were gone by June 1951, except one, and he got his visa and departed in September. Many missionaries would have liked to stay, but they feared it would only bring trouble on their Chinese friends and fellow workers. Others felt they could not refuse to follow the decision of the organization with which they worked. It was a sad time for every one.
My special Canadian friend left in May, 1951. My dear Swiss friend planned to spend part of the summer with me before leaving. They told her she would receive her residence certificate for Shanghai when she arrived there. When she arrived they gave her only a week. As usual there were endless things to arrange, it was August, pitilessly hot, and she was not well. She felt she could not survive such a week, but the Lord gave strength, and she got safely away.
I did not want to go. I did not pray to stay, but I prayed that I might be like one of Gideon's three hundred men, whom the Lord was able to use in His army. This was not from any special courage or devotion. It was partly a dislike of running away; partly because it seemed an impossible task to break all the complicated ties-dispose of the house, pack up its belongings, leave the dear Chinese workers who were dependent on us; abandon the Book Room; leave its thousands and thousands of books to be turned into waste paper, and probably used to print Communist propaganda. And if the missionaries were all going, the books would be needed more than ever. It was easier for me to stay than for other missionaries; I was not connected with any mission body or organization at home. As I was working with the Book Room I could be regarded as a business woman, not a missionary. But the future was very uncertain: Would I be allowed to stay? Would the Book Room be able to continue? No money was allowed to come in from outside for missionary work, and how could it possibly be self-supporting? And could any money come in for my own use?
I thought of different ones who might take over. People thought that of course I would go, like every one else; some came to apply for the use of my house when I went, and I watched the paper for advertisements of houses wanted. In June a Chinese lady came to me, offering to take over the shop. I warned her that it might be difficult and dangerous for her. On July 4th she came back to tell me it would be quite impossible, no Chinese could take over from a foreigner. I felt this was the Lord's message to me, and I decided that I would stay. At once I felt the peace of His approval; and He repeated to me the instructions He had given me in April: "As I besought thee to abide still at (Shanghai)... So Do. 1 Tim. 1:3, 43As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. (1 Timothy 1:3‑4). On July 9th a remittance of money for which I had been waiting was released, and I felt it was the Lord's seal on my remaining.
And I suppose the secret of the Peace which remained with me throughout those years was that I was absolutely certain I was in the place the Lord wanted me to be.
Until October money could be sent from Hong Kong. It was a very complicated and disagreeable performance. Application had to be made at the Foreign Office, and after a long wait, there would be a long interview, probably several interviews, to explain where the money came from, and what it was to be used for. Nothing was allowed to be spoken in these interviews except Chinese, the northern dialect of which I knew very little, and I found it very difficult. So did the official interviewing me. They probably all knew English, but were not allowed to use it. I remember one of them exclaiming irritably at last, in desperation, "Do talk English!"-so I did, and the matter was quickly settled. Then applications had to be made in writing, and after several visits to the bank the remittance could be deposited there in an account opened in my name. Finally, when the Foreign Office had given its approval to the bank, I could draw it out.
In October the Foreign Office refused its approval: I was told that I must get my support from the Christian Book Room and the money sent had to be returned to Hong Kong.
This was a tremendous blow, but the Lord assured me that He would provide, and of course He did. Friends leaving for England were only too pleased to leave funds with me, and craw on my money abroad. In this way I was provided for until 1956 when my brother was able to arrange for money to be sent in monthly through the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. It came without fail, and without difficulty until I left. Those years between October 1951 and 1956 money was difficult, and I was very careful. Sometimes my sister, or others, were able to send through devious channels; but we were rather afraid about the whole thing, and kept it secret, and wrote about it in code. But later when the tax office made inquiries about how I got money to live, I had to tell them, and they did not make any trouble.
At the time I could not help feeling it was the beginning of the end. At that same time the Board of Commerce called for a report on the business, and I did not know what that signified. There was always something to keep one in uncertainty; always some fresh call to a Government office; some fresh report to send in. Then there would be opportunities to render secret help to some of the Christians and I would wonder what would happen if it were found out. Each time I put away my summer or winter clothes I thought that probably I would be out of Shanghai before I needed them again. When people who were leaving pressed gifts on me, I would say, What is the use? when I may be leaving next. I grew weary and impatient of waiting. But the Lord showed me that this was lack of faith, the question of the faithless king, "Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? 2 Ki. 6:2323And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:23). And all the time, just as the Lord had made abundant provision for the King of Israel, so He did for me. At this time the Lord also gave me Psalm 11:3-53If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? 4The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. 5The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. (Psalm 11:3‑5). "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Certainly everything seemed shaken, and what was I to do? But the Psalm goes on, "The Lord is in His Holy Temple, the Lord's throne is in Heaven". That is our resource: "God is still on the throne". And then comes the explanation, "The Lord trieth the righteous", and they must learn faith and patience through the trial: it is the only way to learn them.
As the old friends left, new friends were raised up. When the C.I.M. moved out, one couple decided to stay, and the husband got a position with one of the biggest British firms. They moved into the firm's big house, and found endless opportunities of service among both the Chinese and the foreign community. I could not say how much their friendship and help meant to me. There were two C.I.M. workers in Nanking, and five in the far West, who were not allowed to leave. I do not know how they could have existed without the help of the two in Shanghai. There were also eight missionaries in Shanghai who were held for various reasons. We all used to meet once a month at the house of these ex-C.I.M. friends for prayer for China. But it was not prayer and fasting: we always had a gorgeous meal first. It was an anxious time for these eight, against some of whom the Government had brought charges. However, by ones and twos permission came for them to leave, and we rejoiced with them, though sorry to see them go. I still tried to make plans and preparations, in ease I had to go, but they all came to nothing. Then in December, 1951, I was very definitely given the verse "Ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward" Is. 52:12; only I was given the marginal reading "The God of Israel will gather you up". I did not know that He would use the People's Court to gather me up, but that was the way, and as it was His way, no doubt it was the best.
Another very special pleasure which began at this time, and continued until I left, was my companionship with the little group of Christians who carried on an English service, after all the other English services had stopped. I had known many of them for years, but my close contact began when they asked me to give a talk to their young people. The group included a great variety of nationalities, but we were united in a common love for Christ. I had very dear friends among them, and I sometimes wondered how I would have got through the long years without them. A very live group of young people gathered on Saturday afternoons, and had games and then a good meeting in which all took part, and supper together afterward. On Sunday afternoon there was a service, followed by tea and hymn singing. I did not generally get to these, as Saturday was the only time for the many things needing to be done at home. And on Sunday, though I was not teaching the Sunday School in my house, I liked to be at home while it was going on. But I always went to the prayer meeting and Bible study on Wednesday evening. We had very happy and profitable Bible studies together. There was no minister, all took part, and shared in the talks. Then we all had supper together. This was very enjoyable, the only meal I did not have alone, and sometimes the only English I heard spoken all week. Just after I began going there I was asked to give an account of the preservation and translations of the Bible. I was puzzling how to do this in a brief talk, and then I dreamed that I saw a chart of world history as connected with the Bible. I remembered it when I awoke, and made it the outline of my talk.
The group grew gradually smaller, as one after another left for other lands. With each one there was a certain amount of anxiety and uncertainty. Most of them had been born and brought up in Shanghai, and had no other home. Would they get an entrance visa to the land of their desires? Could they get an exit visa from the Chinese Government? For some there was delay of years, some are waiting yet. There was one couple who had waited six years, and had just missed entering one country after another because of suspected T.B. in the husband. They had just been refused once more, and both were desperate and in tears, when three letters were brought to them, telling them that IRO had arranged for them to go to Sweden. They had good friends there, and from there could go on to America, the goal of their hopes. The dear little wife told me about it with the tears running down her face, and said, "I will never doubt God again; This time of waiting has been worth while, I have got to know God so much better.”
The C.I.M. couple took an active part in this work, and were very helpful; but in 1954 the big English firm closed up, and they left, and left a very big hole in my life, and in the whole foreign community. The husband was not an ordained man, but he was the last male Protestant missionary in China. He had conducted funerals, christened infants, held Church services. Their departure meant that I was the last Protestant missionary in China.
After my friends from the C.I.M. left, I volunteered to carry on the foreign ladies' Bible Class, on condition that a place could be found for it, as I felt that my old house was too far away, and too much in the slums, for any of them to come to it. One of the ladies offered her house, and we met there for several months. But then she moved into smaller quarters, and no place could be found, so the class had to be transferred to the old house. Most of the ladies would not come to my house in the "badlands", but some Eurasians, some Russians, and some Chinese continued, and we had very happy times. After the Bible study we had tea. One old Chinese lady never appeared till teatime, when she arrived with a supply of curry puffs, or Chinese cakes; others brought sandwiches or biscuits, and we drank quantities of hot Chinese tea, and heard all the gossip of foreign Shanghai. Gradually they left Shanghai, until there were only Chinese left. We were warned it was no longer safe to have a class, and it came to an abrupt end.
It was in 1954 that some Christian Russians came to Shanghai from Sinkiang, in the very far North West of China bordering on Russia. These people, or their parents, had escaped into China from Russia; and now that Communism had caught up with them again, hundreds of them had sold up their possessions in Sinkiang and come down to Shanghai seeking opportunity to start life afresh in some other land. They lived in the greatest poverty, hoping to be sent on by some of the relief organizations. It was very hard for them, waiting two or three years. They never begged, no matter how hard up they were. Some had friends or relatives in other lands who sent a little money; some still had a few savings; some of the girls got work as servants or in shops, but they earned little more than their keep. Several of the men went around the streets sharpening knives and scissors. After one or two such years some felt they could not race another winter, starving and freezing, and accepted the offer of the government to send them into Russia, or to take them back to Sinkiang, and give them $100.00 to start again there. But many stuck it out, and I think that all have left 'now, and many are making good in Australia or in South America.
My first direct contact with them was in April of 1954. A man came into the shop trying to get Russian Bibles. He did not know any English, and of course I did not know any Russian, so we conversed in Chinese, of which we both knew about as little. He told me that on the very edge of China there was a town where there was no Chinese church, but there was a Russian one; and in another town further south there were three Russian churches-probably they were Baptist, Pentecostal and Seventh Day Adventist. But they had only one Bible and two hymnbooks, and he had not been able to get any in Shanghai.
We had always been interested in the Russian refugees; Shanghai had been a refuge for them from the beginning. We had printed quite a few Russian tracts and books, but unfortunately these were all in the old-style Russian. I had heard vaguely of these Russians in the far West, through Chinese Christians; and had sent parcels of books to them. There was one very interesting boy with a Russian mother and Chinese father who often wrote asking for books. He was in a Moslem district, and wrote to us that they wept for joy at our offer of Arabic tracts; he said that several Mohammedans, and two Russians had been converted. They were also working among some tribes people, and translating hymns for them. Later he told us that all the elders of the church were in prison, and I fear there was much persecution. No more word came from him.
In Shanghai several missionaries had worked among the Russians. When they all left, a Chinese pastor tried to carry on the work. He prepared his sermons in. English, and brought them to me to correct. Then he preached in English, and someone translated into Russian. The Shanghai Christian Russians had almost all left, and he was wondering whether the work could continue when these Sinkiang Christians arrived. The little hall was crowded out with 50 or more present. One of the Christians from the English group started a Sunday School, and soon had over 100 children. At Christmas 1955, 143 Russians were present. I am sure they must have been sitting two or three deep, to squeeze into that tiny hall.
Many of them came to the English meetings; they knew very little or no English; but their singing was lovely. Some of them were very true Christians. A number were baptized, 26 at one time in 1956. They kept coming to the Book Room, seeking Russian Bibles, and there were none to be had. Then friends at home offered to send. I did not dare ask for too many, or all would have been stopped. But two friends each sent me a Russian Bible, or two New Testaments, every month; and one of them also sent to other addresses that I gave him. Some went out to the Christian Russians still waiting in the far West. Some slipped over the border into Russia. Occasionally Russian Bibles came in from Hong Kong. And another friend sent me Russian Hymnbooks and other books, all of which were unspeakably welcome, especially the hymnbooks. There was never trouble at the Post Office over those parcels of Russian Bibles. It was pathetic to see this famine of the Word of the Lord, and it was a great joy when I could supply a Bible. I sold the Bibles at half price, and then gave the money to those working among the Russians, for otherwise unscrupulous people would have taken them. These men and women would walk about six miles across the city, and produce their two dollars for a Bible, when they had nothing to eat but dry bread and tea. Through some of their relatives in Russia I got in touch with some German prisoners of war there, and heard how hungry they were for the Word of God; and I was able to send them several packages of German Bibles.
Not all these Russians were Christians. Some were very bad. And many of the white Russians in Shanghai were regular rascals. I had tried to help some of them; and through one of those rascals I was able to send Scriptures and tracts in many languages into the prison. I hope it arrived there. One poor woman had a son, I think her only child, in prison. Each month, when she was allowed to visit him, she would come into the Book Room to ask for a book for him. Finally she was to be sent to Macao; she appealed for her son, that he might be sent with her, but it was refused. Not long before the end, she came in, to tell me that he was to be sent out to Sinkiang. "He is my son", she said with tears, "and I shall never see him again". She told me that he studied and believed the books, and I was glad that I was able to send him a Russian New Testament.