Even though it made people feel uncomfortable, China’s Spiritual Need and Claims was a best-seller. It was reprinted time and again, as more and more people read it and shared it with their friends.
It was as if God had been waiting for Hudson to make a commitment before unleashing His blessing. In what was at first a dribble, and then a flood, money, supplies, and workers began to pour in.
Some readers were so inspired by what Hudson had written that they wrote and told him his vision wasn’t big enough. A wealthy friend, Lord Radstock, wrote, “I read your pamphlet on the way down here and have been greatly stirred by it….Dear brother, enlarge your desires. Ask for a hundred laborers and the Lord will give them to you!” Enclosed with the letter was a check for a hundred pounds.
As workers and money flooded in, people began asking Hudson how the new mission would work and what its rules were. They were good questions, but Hudson didn’t have the answers to them. So he gathered together a group of trusted friends and church leaders to pray and ask God to show them how the mission should work. Over several days of meetings, six principles emerged that they all agreed the new mission should be based upon. These principles were: (1) the workers could be from any Christian denomination as long as they agreed to work together; (2) the missionaries would not receive a salary from China Inland Mission (CIM), but together they would trust God to supply all their needs; (3) the CIM would never ask for money from anyone except God; (4) the mission leaders in China would be free to make decisions about what to do next and would not have to wait for orders from England; (5) the workers would be part of an organized plan to evangelize the whole of China; (6) CIM missionaries would live as much like Chinese people as they possibly could. They would wear Chinese clothes, eat with chopsticks, and live in Chinese-style homes.
The years of quiet recuperation, study, and translation were over for the Taylors. There were so many things to organize and supervise. By May 1866, Hudson had spoken at meetings and rallies from one end of England to the other, as well as in Scotland and Ireland. Many people had offered prayer, money, or themselves to reach the people of China with the Gospel.
Time was drawing near for the Taylors, their four children, and the first group of sixteen missionaries to leave for China. When they arrived in China, they would be joined by the missionaries Hudson had recruited earlier and sent to Ning-po. All the group needed now was several hundred pounds to pay for their passage and a ship with enough space to transport them all. Hudson had seen God work in many wonderful ways during the past four years in London. He had no doubt God would quickly meet their remaining needs.
While the team waited in London to see how God would get them to China, Hudson accepted an invitation to speak at a large gathering at a place called Totteridge. The gathering was like so many others Hudson had spoken at in the past few months. It was organized by John Puget, a retired Army colonel. During the service, Hudson held up a map of China and told those in attendance about his plan to reach the whole interior of the country with the Gospel. He used Scotland as an example. In Scotland, there were several thousand ministers to care for Scottish Christians, and everyone had access to Bibles and Christian books. In China, it was the exact opposite. There was not even one minister for every four thousand people in China. Surely, Hudson pointed out, it was the duty of Christians in Scotland and every other Christian nation to reach out to China.
After he finished speaking, Hudson dismissed the meeting and sat down. Nobody moved; the room was silent. People had never heard the challenge to take the Gospel to every person put quite the way Hudson had put it.
Colonel Puget, who was a quick thinker, saw a wonderful opportunity. The new mission surely needed money, and many people in the audience would be glad to give it. The colonel jumped to his feet. “Brothers and sisters in Christ,” he began, “tonight we have heard from a remarkable man with a remarkable vision. The flyer advertising this meeting said there would be no money collected, but I know many of you would be upset if you could not give. I am sure Dr. Taylor would not mind if we took a collection.”
Now it was Hudson’s turn to jump to his feet. “Mr. Chairman, I beg you to keep to the conditions we agreed to,” he said. “If after thought and prayer the congregation is satisfied that a gift of money is what God wants them to give, then it can be given to any missionary society with missionaries in China, or it can be mailed to our London office.”
Later that night at Colonel Puget’s house, where Hudson was staying, the colonel challenged Hudson about his views. “Why not let people give to God’s work if they want to?” he asked.
Hudson explained that often money is the easiest thing to give. “I think a collection tends to leave the impression that the all-important thing is money, whereas no amount of money can convert a single soul. What is needed is men and women filled with the Holy Spirit to give themselves to the work. There will never be a shortage of funds for the support of such people,” he said.
Colonel Puget shook his head, “I think you are mistaken. A good opportunity was lost tonight.”
The two men went to bed, and the next morning Hudson was up bright and early. He was in the middle of breakfast when a letter arrived from London. It was from Maria, and he ripped it open, eager to read how things were going. As he read it, he smiled. A ship big enough for them all had just docked. It was called the Lammermuir, and it was looking for passengers for its next trip to Shanghai leaving May 26.
Hudson was still thinking of all he had to do, including praying about the remaining money they needed for the trip to Shanghai, when Colonel Puget came in. The colonel looked tired and ate his breakfast in near silence.
When he’d finished eating, he asked Hudson to follow him into his study. He cleared his throat and began speaking. “Last night, I was convinced you were wrong about the collection. Now I’m convinced you were right. As I thought about what you said in the meeting and the ceaseless flow of people headed to a Christless eternity, I could only pray as you suggested, ‘Lord, what would you have me do?’ I think I obtained the guidance I sought, and here it is.”
Colonel Puget handed Hudson a check for five hundred pounds.
“If there had been a collection last night, I would have put in only a five-pound note,” he added.
Hudson thanked Colonel Puget for his hospitality and for the money and hurried back to London. He knew just what to do with the money when he got there. He met with Captain Bell and inspected the Lammermuir. The ship was perfect for their plans. She was two years old, a square-rigger with a steel frame and three masts. And Captain Bell assured Hudson she could withstand the fiercest storm.
Hudson handed Colonel Puget’s check to Captain Bell as down payment on their passage. The captain, a new Christian, was delighted at the prospect of having a band of missionaries aboard his ship, though he warned Hudson that the crew were a rough bunch.
Hudson hurried back to the house to tell the rest of the group that they were officially on their way to China.
Chapter 13
“Were We Never to Reach China”
It was May 25, 1866. The following day, the first official group of missionaries from the China Inland Mission would set sail aboard the Lammermuir, bound for Shanghai. Hudson put his pen down and smiled. He had just completed writing a passenger list to give to Captain Bell the next day.
He looked at the list. His name was at the top, along with Maria’s and their four children, six-year-old Grace, five-year-old Herbert, three-year-old Howard, and little Samuel, nearly two years old. He hoped Samuel wouldn’t be cutting any teeth while they were at sea. He still had vivid memories of the journey home, sitting through the night with the teething Grace.
Listed below the children were the names of the only other married couple in the group, Lewis and Eliza Nicol. Lewis was a blacksmith from Scotland. Below them were the names of five single men: James Williamson, George Duncan, Josiah Jackson, John Sell, and William Rudland. Following them were the names of the single women: Jane McLean, Emily Blatchley, Jennie Faulding, Mary Bausum, Mary Bell, Louise Desgraz, Elizabeth Rose, Mary Bowyer, and Susan Barnes.
Hudson prayed for each name on the list and asked God to give each person strength for the journey. He thought about each one. He remembered how they had come to him with their eyes shining and their faith strong. He’d told each one plainly about the potential dangers that lay ahead, and each one had looked him straight in the eye and told him he was called by God to take the Gospel to Inland China, whatever the cost.
The men and women made a good team. Most of them were not scholars. They were secretaries, stonemasons, carpenters, and teachers, but they had an enthusiasm to share God’s love with people. Any other skill or knowledge they needed, Hudson was sure they could learn later. Most importantly, they had a love for God and a praying heart, and that was the core of a missionary with the China Inland Mission.
Hudson also prayed for their departure. He knew how difficult it was to say goodbye, especially for the parents and family staying behind. There was a cost to count, and some of those saying goodbye tomorrow would never see each other again this side of heaven. And while he would do everything he could to make sure those in his party were safe, both on the voyage and when they got to China, each one felt he was called to go, so the real responsibility for his safety and well-being rested with God.
When he’d finished praying, Hudson went downstairs. The house was in an uproar. There were people and baggage and noise filling every room. The children were running in and out among the sea chests. Jennie Faulding was showing her parents the map of China and pointing out where they would be staying at first and where they hoped to eventually go. George Duncan and James Williamson were unscrewing the legs from the harmonium and packing it into a crate. It would be one of the first things to be unpacked once they were aboard the Lammermuir.
The farewell the next day went smoothly. Of course, there were many tears as people embraced friends and family. Amelia and Benjamin, Louisa, and Mrs. Taylor were all there to say goodbye. Mr. Berger and his wife also came to wish them well. As the Lammermuir prepared to leave the East India Company dock in London, those standing on the dock sang a hymn for those departing, and then those departing sang a hymn back in reply, as Maria accompanied them on the harmonium.
A steam tug maneuvered the Lammermuir out into the main channel of the river Thames. They all sang louder as the ship moved away from the dock.
On board, the Lammermuir’s thirty-four-man crew was worried. All their passengers were missionaries. And for the next four months, they would all be stuck together in the middle of the ocean. And, probably, every day they would have to listen to hymn singing, like the kind they had just witnessed. A long voyage always got boring, and a lively group of passengers could help pass the time quickly. But eighteen Bible-carrying, hymn-singing missionaries and four children were not exactly what they had in mind.
Several crew members were complaining to Captain Bell about their passengers before the Lammermuir had even reached Gravesend at the mouth of the river Thames. The captain just smiled as he listened to their grumbling. He, for one, was looking forward to spending time with Hudson and his group.
The whole group stayed on deck until the coastline of England had faded from view. Maria and Emily Blatchley busily tried to supervise the children. Hudson could see that the boys were going to be a handful; the ship was small, and the boys needed to keep out of the way of the crew. There were also many dangerous things on board they could get caught in, such as pulleys and winches and ropes and chains, not to mention the danger of falling overboard.
