If there had been anyone there to see, the appearance of Gladys Aylward and her 100 orphans would have been a pitiful sight. But there was nobody within miles, for this was during the Japanese invasion of China, and everybody had fled beyond the Yellow River.
It was a miracle that she had gotten this far at all. It was winter, and for weeks they had trudged over the mountains, desperately trying to get away from the invaders. It had been terribly slow and they were almost starved, for there was little food in that desolate area. But beyond the Yellow River there was safety.
Tired though they were, the children raced down toward the great river.
“Oh, Ma, it’s so big! Are you sure the boat won’t sink?”
“No, children, our troubles are over now.”
“But, Ma, where are the boats?”
Gladys was puzzled. There were no boats to be seen on either side, yet this was a regular ferrying place, she knew.
“Be patient, children. They must be busy. They will come.”
But they didn’t. Gladys didn’t know, but the service had been abandoned several months before. So night came on. Bitterly disappointed, the children, without any dinner, lay down on the ground to sleep.
The next day was the same. Desperately they scrounged for whatever food they could find. But now the hungry, crying children had no patience left.
By the third day Gladys was desperate. She felt that God had let her down. In her agony, she went up the river a little so that she could pray in quiet, away from the children. Then she sobbed her heart out.
“Lord,” she said, “I’ve done my best and it’s no good. The children are starving. Why haven’t You helped me? Why?”
Gladys was too tired and too desperate now to remember the great things God had done for her in the past. She had been a servant girl in London, but God had led her by a dangerous journey across Siberia and into China. There she served Him as a missionary. He had cared for her many years, but she was too upset to remember that now. All she was aware of was the broad, impassable river before her — the barrier to freedom and safety for 100 needy children.
She was glad that she was out of their sight now. They had never seen her cry like this. In fact, she hadn’t cried in years. Always she had been strong and courageous, but now the strain and worry had broken her down. God seemed far away and uncaring.
“Ma, don’t cry,” a little voice said sadly.
Gladys jumped, for she had not seen the child approach. She knew who it was without looking, for this young girl had been very close to the missionary for many months. Gladys had rescued her from a life of hardship and misery. Now she felt ashamed that the child had caught her like this.
“Oh, child, child,” she said. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”
“I can’t let you cry, Ma. It hurts me inside. Why do you cry, Ma?”
Gladys motioned towards the river, and the child understood.
“But, Ma, Moses crossed the Red Sea, and that was bigger than this.”
“I’m not Moses,” said Gladys desperately.
“No, Ma, but God isn’t any different. I’m going to ask Him to work another miracle.”
As Gladys listened, the child began to ask God to get them across the river. Her little voice, quiet and confident, made the missionary ashamed. She went over and put her arm around her.
“God, forgive me for not having the faith of a little child,” she said.
Together they continued to ask God to help them. For Gladys, now the gloom was gone. She was certain that God would deliver them. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalms 50:1515And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15).
A few moments later they were interrupted. It was one of the children.
“Ma, come quick! A great one wishes to talk to you.”
Gladys rose quickly and followed the child. The “great one” proved to be a tall officer in the uniform of the Nationalist Chinese Army.
“I have a boat,” he said. “I can take you and the children across the river.”
Gladys was too overjoyed to ask any questions. “Praise the Lord!” she said, and began rounding up the little ones.
In relays they were all taken across the river. By the time Gladys had finished counting them to make sure they were all there, the officer and his boat had disappeared. It was only then that she realized how strange it all was.
When they arrived in the city a few hours later, the Chinese could not believe her story. “The army withdrew beyond the Yellow River weeks ago!” they said.
Gladys smiled knowingly. “I guess the Egyptians felt the same way about Moses,” she said to herself. “The child is right... God hasn’t changed. His power is as great now as it was in Moses’s time.”
ML-05/24/1987