April 22 – Mission to China
Hudson Taylor was the son of a Methodist pastor, but it took him awhile to realize God was calling him to something amazing. When he did, he flung himself into his calling with great gusto. He was just seventeen years old in 1849 when he committed to going to China as a missionary.
He immediately began preparing himself for a life in China by studying its history and four of its languages. He moved to a poor neighborhood and worked as a medical assistant, while practicing open air preaching and handing out gospel tracts. Taylor then began studying medicine seriously and finally signed on as the first missionary with the ‘Chinese Evangelisation Society’ out of London.
Before he finished his medical training and prior to his 22nd birthday, Hudson Taylor was on a ship bound for Shanghai. When he arrived in China, he made many evangelical missions that were poorly received by the Chinese. With this behind him, he recognized that since he dressed differently than they and looked so different, he was unable to connect with the people. He was the first missionary to adopt the traditional dress of the people and work to blend in and understand their traditions.
While in China he met the daughter of another missionary and married her. They returned to England in 1860 due to his health problems and while there he began promoting missions in China. He finished his medical degree and also found time to translate the New Testament into a local Chinese dialect. He went on to create the China Inland Mission and returned to China in 1866.
After the death of his first wife and several children, he returned to England, but came back to China in 1876 with eighteen other missionaries, traveling throughout the country establishing mission stations.
He retired to Switzerland, but his descendants continue to work as missionaries in China, bringing Christ to the people right where they are, knowing that faith will support them in the mission field.
Hudson Taylor was the son of a Methodist pastor, but it took him awhile to realize God was calling him to something amazing. When he did, he flung himself into his calling with great gusto. He was just seventeen years old in 1849 when he committed to going to China as a missionary.
He immediately began preparing himself for a life in China by studying its history and four of its languages. He moved to a poor neighborhood and worked as a medical assistant, while practicing open air preaching and handing out gospel tracts. Taylor then began studying medicine seriously and finally signed on as the first missionary with the ‘Chinese Evangelisation Society’ out of London.
Before he finished his medical training and prior to his 22nd birthday, Hudson Taylor was on a ship bound for Shanghai. When he arrived in China, he made many evangelical missions that were poorly received by the Chinese. With this behind him, he recognized that since he dressed differently than they and looked so different, he was unable to connect with the people. He was the first missionary to adopt the traditional dress of the people and work to blend in and understand their traditions.
While in China he met the daughter of another missionary and married her. They returned to England in 1860 due to his health problems and while there he began promoting missions in China. He finished his medical degree and also found time to translate the New Testament into a local Chinese dialect. He went on to create the China Inland Mission and returned to China in 1866.
After the death of his first wife and several children, he returned to England, but came back to China in 1876 with eighteen other missionaries, traveling throughout the country establishing mission stations.
He retired to Switzerland, but his descendants continue to work as missionaries in China, bringing Christ to the people right where they are, knowing that faith will support them in the mission field.
0 comments:
Post a Comment