He was expecting a letter of credit from the Society to have already arrived, but it hadn't, and it didn't. In fact, subsequent letters from the home office of the Society didn't even mention the expected money. Hudson was able to ease the financial strain by subleasing half the house to an American missionary family, but that left only three rooms for the Parkers, their three young children, and himself. Dr. Parker went regularly with Hudson to evangelize in the city and surrounding villages. At home, the men devoted hours every day to the study of Chinese. But the lack of privacy and the lack of provisions proved both trying and irritating. Hudson, who for months had been exceedingly patient and understanding about his own financial straits, wrote an indignant letter to the Society on behalf of the Parkers, in which he said, I trust you will not deem it unkind or disrespectful of me to write thus, for though I feel these things and feel them keenly, were it not for the sake of others and the good of the society, I would pass over them in silence. To do this, however, would be unfaithfulness on my part, for not only is it morally wrong and thoughtless in the extreme to act as the society has acted towards Dr. Parker, But you must surely see that men who can quadruple their salary by professional practice, or double it by taking a clerk's berth, will not be likely, if they find themselves totally unprovided for, to continue in the service of the society. I do not make these remarks with respect to Dr. Parker, who seems thoroughly devoted to the work, and by his spirit has encouraged me not a little. But they are true, nonetheless. And I may add that a vacant post at 200 pounds a year, the whole duties of which would not occupy two hours in the evening, did look inviting to me at a time when I had been obliged to incur a responsibility of 120 pounds for rent, and a resolution upon my last letter to the committee informed me that missionaries drawing more than this was authorized and would only have their bills honored by the Society. Dr. Parker arrived on Monday a week ago today. calling forth true gratitude to God for deliverance from the many dangers that had beset their path. Of course, he found our half of the house nearly empty, as my few things did not go far in furnishing. The other missionaries, when they discovered the lack of preparation, blamed me very much. Could I tell them that having paid nearly twenty pounds for rent, I had only three dollars left, a sum not sufficient to purchase provisions for a week at the present high rate of prices? The weather is now exceedingly cold, and not having been led to expect it, the Parkers needed an immediate supply of warm clothing. Beds and other articles of furniture were also necessary, as well as food and firing, all of which run into a considerable sum. Though he has said little, I am sure Dr. Parker has felt it keenly. I do trust that you will avoid such occurrences in the future, and that your missionaries will be spared unnecessary sufferings. Throughout his first difficult months in China, made so much more difficult by the lack of consideration and the bureaucratic ineptitude within his mission, Hudson avoided a spirit of bitterness. In fact, since several of the secretaries had become close friends and had shared such meaningful spiritual fellowship with him before he left England, Hudson actually missed them and longed for their company. But he also longed for some way to effectively communicate the needs of missionaries to supporters back home who couldn't imagine their circumstances. Those long days of frustration taught him much about how a mission needed to be run. And as seen in a letter to his sister Amelia, he tried to find the good in a bad situation. You ask how I get over my troubles? This is the way. I take them to the Lord. Since writing the above, I've been reading my evening portion, Psalm 72 to 74. Read them and see how applicable they are. I don't know how it is, but I can seldom read scripture now without tears of joy and gratitude. I see that to be as I am and have been since my arrival has really been more conducive to improvement and progress than any other position would have been. though in many respects it has been painful and far from what I should myself have chosen. Oh, for more implicit reliance on the wisdom and love of God. He would soon need it because the young missionary's troubles were going to get worse. The year, 1855. Perhaps the most surprising and impressive aspect of Hudson Taylor's first two years in China was the way he threw himself into pioneer missionary travel. Here he was, alone, a mere boy, barely into his twenties, in a country unimaginably different from home, still learning the language and with virtually no financial resources. A violent civil war raged all around, often inside of his residence, and because foreigners had at one time or another supported both sides in the ongoing revolution, Westerners were hated by many Chinese and universally viewed with suspicion. Yet, despite these circumstances, Hudson Taylor embarked on no less than ten missionary journeys in those first two years, sometimes in company with other missionaries, but several times traveling by himself. Each trip was a tribute to his spiritual courage and his physical endurance. North, South, and west of Shanghai stretched a populous region, reachable through an intricate network of seemingly endless waterways. Junks, small Chinese sailing vessels, were plentiful. They afforded shelter of a sort at night, as well as transportation by day. And boat travelers didn't have to depend on the inconvenient, dangerous, and primitive Chinese inns. Simple cooking arrangements aboard the junk supplied food for the boatsman's family, the crew, and guests. Conditions were crude. The beds were just wooden boards and the tiny windows were often at the level of the floor. But passengers could lie down or sit on their bedding when it was not possible to stand upright. Though travel was slow and depended on tides and weather, millions of people were accessible on shore in city after city, town after town. New villages were never out of sight as the junk sailed slowly along. Most of them had never been visited by a foreigner. Even fewer had heard the Christian gospel. This was what drew Hudson Taylor, who longed to follow Jesus' example by preaching throughout the countryside. He felt the same must Jesus had expressed centuries before when he said, I must work the works of him that sent me, and again, I must the kingdom of God to other cities also. Other sheep I have, them also I must bring. It was not long to minister in the crowded streets of Shanghai. Others were already doing that to some extent. His heart was burdened with a sense of responsibility for those beyond, those who had never even heard the gospel of Christ, and who would never hear unless an outside messenger brought them the message. So nothing held him back, not winter cold or summer heat or deadly disease. Hudson was not even daunted by the perils of war, which not only endangered the lives of any European, but could at any time cut him off from return to the comparative safety of the foreign settlement in Shanghai. Before Dr. Parker arrived and in the time right afterwards, foreigners made many excursions to places within 10 or 15 miles of Shanghai. On similar day trips during the first three months, the new colleagues were together. Taylor and Parker distributed 1,800 New Testaments and scripture portions, in addition to 2,000 explanatory books and tracts. These were carefully placed only with those who could read, and since the majority of the people were illiterate, the message of the books was carefully explained to the constantly changing crowds. Then, beginning in winter, The missionary team took four extended journeys from January to March, in spite of zero-degree weather. It seemed that everywhere they stepped ashore, the two young missionaries automatically drew a crowd, as much to gawk at the strange-looking men in their even stranger-looking western clothes, as to listen to their teachings. On more than one occasion, Taylor and Parker were threatened by hostile crowds. They were once taken captive by a band of militia who wanted to kill them, But when the local magistrate heard their message, he ordered that they be freed and given safe conduct to travel and preach in his city. The welcome at most places was far more positive. Initial curiosity at the sight of the foreigners was quickly replaced by genuine interest and friendliness. And there was usually such an open response to their preaching that they had no trouble giving away thousands more Chinese New Testaments and supplemental tracts and books to those who wanted to learn more about this Jesus that they talked about. So the young missionaries didn't know what to make of the strange response they received on a March trip to Kaiting, a city north and west of Shanghai, up Suzhou Creek. As Dr. Parker reported, even grown men took refuge in their houses as we drew near. hastily shutting the doors, to which, however, they crowded to look after us as soon as we had passed. Realizing that the people of this city not only had never seen foreigners, but had heard fearful tales about them, the two missionaries walked about openly so they could be seen easily. They told everyone who would listen to them that they were physicians who would gladly, and free of charge, examine and treat patients the next day. Word quickly spread that these men were doers of good deeds, and a still fearful crowd began to follow them about the city at a distance. Before long the crowds had grown so large that shop fronts were in danger, and some merchandise displayed outside was getting trampled. The missionaries had no choice but to seek out more open sections of the city so as not to annoy the shopkeepers and other business people. Dr. Parker wrote about the events of the next morning. Long before breakfast, the banks of the river were crowded with persons desiring medical aid. After working hard until 3 p.m., finding we could not possibly see them all, Mr. Taylor selected the more urgent cases and brought them on board the boat. No sooner were those attended to than we were taken to see patients in their own homes who were unable to come to us. and were much gratified to find that we had access to, and were welcomed in, some of the very houses whose doors had been shut against us the day before. From that day on, they met nothing but friendliness in that city, and when they preached a parting message in a temple near the city's west gate, many people asked them to stay. But the missionaries journeyed on. Everywhere they went, people wanted to know more. Hudson was just overwhelmed and challenged by the opportunity and the need that they witnessed. From temple-crowned hilltops and the heights of ancient pagodas, he would look down upon cities and towns and villages where the homes of millions of people were in sight. Men, women, and children, who had never heard the name of the one he had come to tell about, were ready to listen. There was so much to be done, so many people to reach. No sooner would one journey be completed than he would begin preparing for the next. In April, on a journey he took with Mr. Burden, his missionary friend, whose wife had died the year before, he found the river of Tsongming on an island in the Yangtze River particularly receptive. They were invited to speak in four of the city's largest temples, much like the missionaries of the New Testament. And in the Temple of the City God, Hudson set up a temporary clinic in a side room to care for patients while Burden kept the crowd occupied with books and preaching in the open courtyard. Only when his friend's voice gave out did Hudson quit doctoring and take over the preaching. Since he wasn't as tall as his friend, he climbed atop one of the temple's large brass incense vases and began to address the crowd. He wrote about the experience. At the lowest computation, five or six hundred persons must have been present, and I do not think it would be over the mark to say a thousand. As they quieted down, I addressed them at the top of my voice, and the more orderly, attentive audience in the open air, one could not wish to see. It was most encouraging to hear one and another call out, put so, put so, as they frequently did when something said met with their approval. Heartening response during each trip made Hudson all the more excited about the next. So he continued his inland trips during the sweltering months of May, June, August, and September. Out among the crowds all day, and in boats that had to be closed at night because of river thieves, there was little relief from the distressing heat. Yet, even that didn't slow his pace. During May alone, he traveled for 25 days during which he preached in 58 different cities. 51 of which had never been visited by a Protestant missionary. During this time, the Civil War reached a major turning point as Shanghai finally fell before the imperial government forces. Hudson Taylor was traveling at the time with older missionaries towards Suzhou's lake. They had only been gone a few days, when looking back toward Shanghai from the top of the hill, they saw so much smoke, they knew it could mean just one thing. Shanghai was in flames. Worried for the safety of the families and friends they'd left behind in the foreign settlement, the group set out at once to return to the city. Even before they reached Shanghai itself, their fears were confirmed by fleeing rebels who begged for their protection. But there was nothing Hudson or his friends could do to help them. In fact, the men were quickly captured by imperial forces and beheaded before the missionaries' eyes. Hurrying on toward the foreign settlement with growing apprehension, they witnessed more evidence of terrible destruction wherever they turned. But upon finally reaching the walls of the foreign settlement itself, they were relieved to find it just as they had left it. Perhaps because the imperialist troops were satiated by the slaughter they inflicted on the rebels and the native population of Shanghai, they were too exultant over their conquest to pay much attention to the foreigners. Hudson Taylor wrote home in this report. Shanghai is now in peace, but it is like the peace of death. Two thousand people at the very least have perished, and the torture some of the victims have undergone cannot be exceeded by the worst barbarities of the Inquisition. The city is a little more than a mass of ruins, and many of the wretched objects who survive are piteous to behold. But the worst of the danger was over. Hudson Taylor and his colleagues now gave themselves to caring for the spiritual and physical needs of Shanghai survivors, while they waited anxiously for the reply of their society to the suggestions for more settled work. Having seen the opportunities and the needs firsthand, Hudson and the Parkers prayed, asking God for a strategy that would make them most useful in China. They concluded that their mission needed to purchase land in Shanghai, On that day, they should build medical facilities for Dr. Parker to establish a practice and also a permanent base from which they could launch more itinerant evangelism ventures inland. So, after much discussion and prayer, they wrote to the secretaries requesting the necessary money. With the fall of Shanghai to the imperialists, the timing became even more crucial. Now that the siege had ended and rebuilding had begun, the local economy was set to take off. Thousands of Chinese opportunists began pouring into the city from the surrounding region. Their presence, plus a new influx of like-minded foreigners, sent prices soaring once again. Months passed as the missionaries waited for word on the request. The heat of the summer, meanwhile, was overpowering in the crowded quarters. A brief visit to the great coastal city of Ningpo, over a hundred miles to the south, opened up an appealing alternative to their uncertain situation in Shanghai. Several missionary groups in that city, sensing the need for a hospital to supplement their otherwise effective ministries, proposed that Dr. Parker move to that city to establish a medical work. The different agencies represented there even pledged the financial support needed for Dr. Parr to get started in Ningpo. Still, Hudson and the Parkers awaited word on their proposal for establishing a permanent mission headquarters in Shanghai. The need for an answer became even more crucial as they received notice that the house they were sharing with another family would be needed shortly for members of the mission to which it belonged. And still there were no other rooms for rent anywhere in the settlement or the city. Finally, the answer came. But what a discouraging answer it was. The committee had made a firm decision. They said their organization was philosophically opposed to spending money on buildings in the ports because they saw that their mission and that of their workers to be the evangelization of the interior. They didn't want to be hampered by getting too rooted in the port cities. While the decision must have seemed a sound one from where the Secretary sat on the other side of the world, and while their missionaries in China shared the vision for carrying the gospel into the interior, The decision did nothing to solve the immediate problem of where they were to live until the society's mission was feasible. Deeply disappointed by the response, Dr. and Mrs. Parker decided to accept the offer of a new medical work in Ningpo. While Hudson supported his friend's decision, he was left in even more uncertainty. His colleagues were leaving. His home was gone. And with no accommodations to be found even in the native city, How was he to remain in Shanghai to continue his work? In the midst of his discouragement, Hudson began to develop an idea. If he could not get a home on shore, why not take to the boats as many Chinese did and live on the water? That would coincide nicely with something else he'd been thinking about. He'd made up his mind that the best way to live among and minister to the Chinese was to adopt the Chinese custom of dress. Yes, he could see how it would work. He would take his few belongings to Ningpo when he went to escort the Parkers and would return to a new life in which he would identify himself completely with the Chinese people to whom he had dedicated his life. Hudson realized that this was a momentous decision. Adopting Chinese dress would mean shaving the front part of his head and letting the hair grow long and back to be braided into a regulation kiu. No missionaries or any other foreigners conformed to such a custom. For an occasional journey, a Chinese gown might be worn over ordinary Western clothing, but to give up European clothing altogether in favor of Chinese dress would be another matter entirely. He would not only be criticized, his decision would probably result in total rejection. But it was access to the people that he desired. And his recent journey 200 miles up the Yangtze River in May had convinced Hudson that much more could be accomplished by a tenor of evangelism than many had supposed. But the weariness and strain of the journey had been largely due to the fact that he was wearing European clothing, a most outlandish costume to those who had never seen it before. Attention was continually distracted from his message by his appearance. which to his hearers was as undignified as it was comical. He was sure it would have been much easier if only he had been more suitably attired from the Chinese point of view. And if it furthered his relationship with the Chinese listeners, he decided that he didn't care what the foreign community thought. So he ordered a Chinese outfit made for his journey to Ningpo with the Parkers and readied himself for his personal cross-cultural transformation. It was an August evening when Hudson went down to the river to engage the junk that was to take the Parkers on the first stage of their journey. On the way, a Chinese stranger approached him, asking to his surprise if he was seeking a house for rent. Would a small one do, and in the Chinese city? Near the South Gate there was such a house, but its builder had not yet quite finished, and the construction would be done shortly, but they had run out of money. In short, he couldn't complete the work. But if the house suited Hudson, no deposit would be asked, and it could probably be had for an advance of six months' rent. As if in a wonderful dream, Hudson Taylor followed his guide to the southern part of the city, and there found a small, compact house, perfectly new and clean, with two rooms upstairs, two on the ground floor, and a fifth across the courtyard for servants. just the arrangement he needed for his work and in the locality he would have chosen. This last-minute answer to prayer seemed clear guidance from God that Hudson Taylor's work in Shanghai was not yet over. That same night he visited a Chinese barber for the beginning of his transformation from European to Chinese fashion. And the next morning he appeared for the first time in public dressed as a Chinese teacher, a man for the scholarly class. It was in his new costume that he accompanied the Parkers to their new home in Ningpo, and about which he wrote this amusing letter to his sister on August 28, 1855. My dear Amelia, by way of surprise I mean to write you a letter, for I know that you have never received one before from a man with a long tail and a shaven head. But lest your head should be bewildered with conjecture, I'd better tell you at once that on Thursday last, at 11 p.m., I resigned my locks to the barber, dyed my hair a good black, and in the morning had a proper cue plated in with my own, and a quantity of heavy silk to lengthen it out according to the Chinese custom. Then, in Chinese dress, I set out with Dr. Parker, accompanying him about a hundred miles on his way to Ningpo. This journey was made on occasion for evangelistic Now that I'm returning alone, I hope to have even better facilities for book distribution and preaching. But I have not yet commenced the recital of my tribulations, and as there is some doubt as to whether they will all go into a single letter, the sooner I begin, the better. First, then, it is a very sore thing to have one's head shaved for the first time, especially if the skin is irritable with prickly heat. And I can assure you that the subsequent application of hair dye for five or six hours, let's charge one part, quick lime, freshly slacked three parts, water, enough to make a cream, et cetera, does not do much to soothe the irritation. But when it comes to combing out the remaining hair, which has been allowed to grow longer than usual, the climax is reached. But there are no gains without pain, and certainly if suffering for the thing makes it dearer, I shall regard my cue when I attain one with no small amount of pride and affection. Secondly, when you proceed to your toilet, you no longer wonder why many Chinese in the employ of Europeans wear foreign shoes and stockings as soon as they can get them. For native socks are made of calico and of course are not elastic, and average toes decidedly object to be squeezed out of shape, nor do one's heels appreciate their low position in perfectly flat-soled shoes. Next come the breeches. But oh, what unheard of garments! Mine are two feet too wide for around the waist, which amplitude is laid in a fold in front and kept in place by a strong girdle. The legs are short, not coming much below the knee, and wide in proportion with the waist measurement. Tucked into the long white socks, they have a bloomer-like fullness, capable, as Dr. Parker remarked, of storing a fortnight's provisions. No shirt is worn. but a white washing jacket with sleeves as wide as ladies affected 20 years ago supplies its place. And overall goes a heavy silk gown of some rich or delicate color with sleeves equally wide and reaching 12 or 15 inches beyond the tips of one's fingers, folded back of course when the hands are not in use. Unfortunately, no cap or hat is used at this season of the year except on state occasions. which is trying as the sun is awfully hot. Wednesday, August 29. I do not know, dear Amelia, whether you are weary of these details, but I have no time for more upon the subject, so will dismiss it with only a mention of the shampooing I got from the barber the other day. I thought I had better go in for it as part of the proceedings, for I might be in difficulty some day if found to be uninitiated. So I bore with an outrageous tickling as long as I could, and then the beating commenced, and my back was really sore in places before it was over. On the next occasion, however, I stood it better, and I hoped to acquit myself creditably in time with regard to this phase of the barber's art. While still with Dr. Parker on the way to Hang Chau Bay, I was frequently recognized as a foreigner because of having to speak to him in English But today, going about Haicheng City, no one even guessed that such a being was near. It was not until I began to distribute books and see patients that I became known. Then, of course, my men were asked where I came from, and the news soon spread. Dressed in this way, one is not so much respected at first sight as one might be in foreign clothing, but a little medical work soon puts that all right. And it is evidently to be one's chief help for the interior. Women and children, it seems to me, manifest more readiness to come for medical aid now than they did before. And in this way, too, I think the native costume will be of service. I was the interior that more and more filled his thoughts and his prayers. Even as he settled into his new home in Shanghai, everything he did was in preparation for that calling. And in that preparation, Hudson soon found great encouragement. In October, he wrote, Dr. Parker is in Ninh Pu, but I am not alone. I have such a sensible presence of God with me as I never before experienced, and such drawings to prayer and watchfulness are very much blessed and necessary. So it was, with renewed spirits, that despite the comfort of a new place of his own and numerous opportunities all around him in Shanghai, Hudson Taylor set out once again for the regions beyond. This time he went alone and dressed like the Chinese people themselves, and the advantages of his new strategy became quickly apparent. His destination on this journey was the great island and city of Tsung Ming, which had a population of more than a million people without a single Protestant missionary. Hudson had been well received months before on his visit to Tsung Ming when his friend Burden, But the reception he received this time amazed him. At his first landing place, the people simply would not hear of his leaving. Those who had seen foreigners before had never seen one dressed in Chinese custom. This teacher didn't seem at all like an outsider. His medicine chest attracted them as much as his preaching. So when they learned that he would need an upstairs room because of the dampness of the area, they said, let him live in the temple if no other upper story can be found. but a householder stepped forward to say that he had an empty attic apartment. So within three days of his arrival in Songming, Hudson Taylor found himself in possession of his first home in inland China. After all his difficulties getting established in Shanghai, this was exciting reassurance for the young missionary, almost as exciting as the response of the people in Songming. Neighbors dropped in every day to the meetings, and the stream of visitors and patients seemed unceasing. Six weeks of this encouraging work, while it awaked some opposition on the part of the Chinese medical fraternity, resulted in a group of regular Chinese listeners who earnestly wanted to learn about Christianity. One of these was a blacksmith named Chong, and another a successful businessman whose heart, Hudson wrote, the Lord opened. Hudson's own first Chinese confer, Gui Wa, from Shanghai, and another Christian helper were with him. So when the missionary had to return to Shanghai for supplies, the little group of new believers and seekers was still well cared for. But the heartening success in Sung Ming turned to bitter disappointment during one of his trips back to Shanghai, where he found an official summons waiting for him. He was to report to the British consulate at once. Unknown to Hudson, a small group of Chinese doctors and druggists in Sung Ming had pulled some strings. They'd bribed a local official to carry to the authorities their complaints about this foreign doctor, who was interfering with their work by accepting no payment for his medical practice. The Chinese official did complain to the British authorities, and the consul called Hudson in to remind him that the British treaty with China only provided for residents in the port, and if he attempted to settle elsewhere, he would be subject to a fine of $500. Hudson pleaded his case, pointing out that French priests were living in Songming, protected by a supplemental treaty which stipulated that any immunities granted to other nations should also apply to the British. But the council said that he didn't have the authority to make that ruling. Any appeal would need to go to his supervisors. In the meantime, Hudson was ordered out of Songming and instructed not to transgress the treaty in the future. So it looked as if he would have to give up the successful new ministry that had excited and encouraged him so much. And he'd also have to give up that first home in the interior that had seemed like such a clear sign of God's direction and blessing on his work. Now we go to the years 1855 and 1856. It was a frustrated, heartbroken letter Hudson Taylor wrote home that evening. Those young inquirers at Sung Ming, Sung Sa, and the others, what was to become of them? Weren't they now his own children in the faith? How could he leave them with no help and so little Christian knowledge? He inquired in his letter to the secretaries about his responsibilities and limitations. Forbidden to reside on the island and finding that even traveling into the country and remaining for a short time is an infringement of the treaty which may be visited by a fine of $500. I have thought it best to write privately and inquire whether in case I should be fined that the society should be responsible for the sum. Also whether, if circumstances should make it possible for me to go to the interior, Giving up all claim to counsel or protection, you would approve my doing so. Should I be left free to follow this course? Or would the society object to one of their missionaries adopting such a position? Although the attempt to rent a house and reside in Sung Ming has met with failure, we must be very thankful for what has been accomplished. I have every reason to hope that three of those who profess to believe in the Lord Jesus are sincere. And if so, the results will last to all eternity. At the same time, it makes it all the harder to give up the work. Pray for me. I do not want on the one hand to flee from danger, nor on the other to court troubles, or from lack of patience to hinder future usefulness." Hudson determined to challenge the council's ruling by taking the matter before the British minister who was scheduled to arrive in Shanghai within weeks. But in the meantime, there was nothing to do but take his sad leave from Sung Ming. My heart will be truly sorrowful when I can no longer join you in the meetings, said the Chinese blacksmith the last evening the little group was together. But you will worship in your own home, Hudson told him. Still shut your shop on Sunday, for God is here whether I am here or not. Get someone to read to you and gather your neighbors in to hear the gospel. I know but very little, Sung added. And when I read, I by no means understand all the characters. My heart is grieved because you have to leave us. But I do thank God that he ever sent you to this place. My sins, once so heavy, are all laid on Jesus, and he daily gives me joy and peace." Hudson returned to Shanghai, and the even more disheartening news that the British minister was delayed. Any hope for appeal would have to be put off. In his discouragement, Hudson wrote his parents. Pray for me. I need more grace and live far below my privileges. Oh, to feel more as the Lord Jesus Christ did when he said, I lay down my life for my sheep. I do not want to be as a hireling who flees when the wolf is near, nor would I likely run into danger when much may be accomplished in safety. I want to know the Lord's will and to have grace to do it. even if it results in expatriation. Pray for me that I may be a follower of Christ, not in word only, but in deed and truth." It was at this low point in his life that prayers for encouragement, both Hudson's prayers and the prayers of those who cared about him, were answered in a most unexpected way. William Burns, a preacher and evangelist who had become a household name in Scotland during the country's great revival in 1839, had also felt a call to evangelize the interior of China. In an attempt to reach the Taiping rebel capital of Nanking, he actually journeyed far up the Yangtze River before he was turned back. So it was that he ended up in Shanghai, where he met the young Hudson Taylor, who was still stinging from his own recent failure. Despite the disparity in age, the two men discovered that they were kindred spirits, and like those New Testament missionaries Paul and Timothy, They were drawn together in friendship as well as ministry. Soon their two boats began traveling together over the network of waterways leading inland from Shanghai. The older missionary had developed a strategy of his own for such work, and Hudson gladly adopted it. Choosing an important trade center, they might remain two or three weeks in one place. Every morning they set out early with a definite plan, sometimes going to the outskirts of a city in which foreigners had rarely been seen, And from a city's perimeter they would work their way slowly into the more crowded quarters. So they would give several days to preaching in the suburbs, gradually approaching the thronging streets and markets by which time they were familiar figures and could pass about without attracting a rowdy, curious crowd that would arouse the shopkeeper's tempers or endanger their wares. They would also visit temples, schools, and tea shops, returning regularly to the best places for preaching. Announcing at each meeting when they would be there again, they were encouraged to see many of the same faces again and again. And those interested hearers could be invited to the boats for further conversation. Justice Hudson learned from his older friend, William Burns, also learned from him. As time went on, the Scottish evangelists could not fail to notice that Hudson Taylor, though so much younger and less experienced, had the more attentive hearers wherever they journeyed. Hudson was even asked into private houses while he himself was often requested to wait outside. The riffraff of the crowd always seemed to gather around the preacher in foreign dress, while those who wished to hear undisturbed followed his less noticeable young friend. Mr. Burns wrote about his experiences with Hudson in this letter dated January 26, 1856. It is now 41 days since I left Shanghai on this last occasion. An excellent young English missionary, Mr. Taylor of the Chinese Evangelization Society, has been my companion, and we have experienced much mercy, and on some occasions considerable help in our work. I must once more tell the story I've had to tell more than once already, how four weeks ago on the 29th of December, I put on Chinese dress which I am now wearing. Mr. Taylor had made this change a few months before, And I found that he was in consequence so much less incompetent in preaching, etc., by the crowd, that I concluded that it was my duty to follow his example. We have a large, very large field of labor in this region, though it might be difficult in the meantime for one to establish himself in any one particular place. The people listen with attention, but we need the power from on high to convince and convert. Is there any spirit of prayer on our behalf among God's people in Kilseth? Or is there any effort to seek the spirit? How great the need is and how great the arguments and motives for prayer in this case. The harvest here is indeed great and the laborers are few and imperfectly fitted without much grace for such a work. And yet grace can make a few feeble instruments the means of accomplishing great things. Things greater even than we can conceive. In which he wrote, He was mighty in the scriptures, and his greatest power in preaching was the way in which he used the sword of the Spirit upon men's consciences and hearts. Sometimes one might have thought, in listening to his solemn appeals, that one was hearing a new chapter in the Bible when first spoken by a living prophet. His whole life was literally a life of prayer, and his ministry a series of battles fought at the mercy seat. In digging in the field of the word, he threw up now and then great nuggets which formed part of one's spiritual wealth forever after. A cultured, genial, and witty man who enjoyed singing, William Burns proved not only to be a powerful spiritual role model in Hudson Taylor's life, he was a wonderfully lively companion and friend. He loved to tell stories, was happy to share the wisdom of his long years of experience with his young friend. As a result, Hudson's time spent with William Burns was as instructive as any university degree and far more practical, because William Burns lived out before him, right there in China, the reality of all Hudson needed to be and know. If any man have Christ in his heart, William Burns would say, heaven before his eyes and only as much of temporal blessings as is just needful to carry him safely through life then pain and sorrow have little to shoot at. To be in union with him who is shepherd of Israel, to walk very near him who is both sun and shield, comprehends all a poor sinner requires to make him happy between this and heaven. So it was that the two men worked together for seven long happy months. It was during this time, as they continued their travels around the Shanghai region, that a Captain Bowers, a Christian ship's told them about the great need to establish a mission in the city of Swatow. Even as the captain talked, Hudson began to feel the calling of God to that great southern port to which no missionaries had ever gone. But he resisted the feeling for some time because he dreaded the thought of parting from his friend. Finally the evening came when he could resist his sense of calling no longer. He later wrote about the occasion. I asked Mr. Burns to come to the little house that was still my headquarters, and there with many tears I told him how the Lord had been leading me and how rebellious I had been and unwilling to leave him for this new sphere. He listened with a strange look of surprise and pleasure rather than of pain, and replied that he had determined that very night to tell me that he had heard the Lord's call to Swatow. and that his one regret had been the severance of our happy fellowship. Arriving in Sato, the two missionaries could find only a single room to rent over an incense shop in a crowded quarter of the city. When Captain Bowers visited them soon afterwards, he described their situation in a letter to a mutual friend back home. Seeking out his wretched lodging in Sato, amongst the degraded of every class, I remarked Surely, Mr. Burns, you might find a better place to live. He laughingly told me that he was more content in the midst of this people than he would be at home surrounded by every comfort. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reform books, tapes and videos at great discounts, is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email. at SWRB at SWRB.com by phone at 780-450-3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue Edmonton that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N Alberta abbreviated capital A capital B Canada T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart, from his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions. since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.