Monday, July 18, 2005

5:48 AM Last night I started reading China Travail, the story of William and Lena Englund, pioneer missionaries to China in the first half of the 20th centur4y. Many parts of their story remind me of the book of Acts. Time and again they faced hostility as they brought the Good News of Jesus to Chinese towns that had never heard it before. They overcame incredible hardship with courage, prayer, and dogged perseverance. Wlliam Englund said there were two tests he used to assess new missionaries. They must have a good sense of humor and no sense of smell. When they arrived in China in 1903, it took them two months to travel 650 miles from Shanghai to Sian, the ancient capital of China. Two months seems like a long time, but it illustrates a Chinese proverb: “Don’t worry about going slowly; only fear coming to a complete stop.” 5:45 AM “We teach what we know, we reproduce who we are.” Cited by John Armstrong from a recent sermon by Wilbur Ellsworth. 5:45 AM 1265 miles.