A MISSIONARY'S HEART FOR THE CHINESE / Gladys Ward

Seventeen years ago because of age limit I had to retire from my work with the Church of Christ in China, but my heart was still in Hong Kong. So when two years later I was asked to come back to teach in ABS, I was delighted. My acquaintance with the Seminary dates back to pre-Japan war years in Wuchow. When in 1942 I taught Bible and later substituted for Mrs. Newbern while she had to be away.

This year, for various reasons, I felt my work at the Seminary was completed. Three years before, I had stopped teaching Chinese Bible because of my eyes, but continued teaching piano. This year, the last class I had taught in Bible graduated and I had little contact with the other classes.

Deciding for a future plan has not been easy for me since America is not home to me, and I cannot go back to China where my heart really is. Several suggestions have been made to me about staying in Hong Kong, but they do hold some practical difficulties. So, as the Lord leads, I shall probably return to our Church Home in the U.S. where my parents were for many years. But for the present I am staying in a Retirement Home provided by the Church of Christ in China for retired. Bible women. Of the two residents here, one is a former pupil of mine in China and is like a daughter to me. Of course, moving from Cheung Chau Island to the centre of town means many added adjust-ments, but it also provides more opportunities for speaking engagements and home visitations.

I would like to share a closing thought which came to me the other day. As I looked at the sea of antennae on the roof of a multi-storey building, I marvelled at the thought that each listener below could still be able to tune in and get the channel he or she wished. And so, I thought, God is able to sort out the various tangles and needs of His children and answer as He knows best. May His best be yours always.

原載於《建道通訊》66期,1986年12月,頁4。