[00:00.00]Sitting in this old church in China
[00:04.03]led me to contemplate
[00:05.46]about the lives of men and their spouses
[00:07.86]who lived decades ago,
[00:09.73]when they traveled to this distant land
[00:12.24]in the Eastern Hemisphere.
[00:14.21]Many of these Christian ministers and laymen
[00:17.78]left their comfortable churches,
[00:19.97]even cathedrals to preach their ideology to foreigners.
[00:24.34]They established small chapels
[00:26.86]where people could join in Christian fellowship
[00:29.49]and where some Chinese people
[00:31.46]accepted conversion to a new faith.
[00:34.74]They came to a land
[00:37.03]where the predominate faith was Buddhism.
[00:39.22]Even though their words were eloquent
[00:42.84]the message at times
[00:44.47]must have seemed formidable and gloomy.
[00:47.10]Even the foreigners'clothing styles
[00:50.27]would have appeared queer.
[00:52.24]During this colonial time period
[00:56.51]missionaries emigrated to all areas of China,
[00:59.35]visiting small villages, distributing Bibles,
[01:03.40]offering divine salvation
[01:05.26]and preaching the word of God.
[01:07.67]A unanimous decision was made
[01:10.73]by many faiths to attempt
[01:12.92]to enrich the lives of others
[01:14.67]and to present the eloquent message of Christianity.
[01:18.50]Some missionaries worked in the medical field
[01:22.22]as doctors, surgeons, nurses and dentists.
[01:26.16]Agriculture specialists helped the farmers
[01:29.77]elevate their crop performance
[01:31.62]to provide better nutrition for the people.
[01:34.91]Finally there were teachers
[01:37.97]who ran the mission schools.
[01:40.16]All had to be very versatile at their work.
[01:44.10]These people proved to be an inspiration
[01:47.27]for others to follow in their footsteps.
[01:50.55]Earnings from all these areas
[01:53.95]would go back into further mission work
[01:56.24]to fulfill their mandate.
[01:58.54]In retrospect, my fascination with this historical era
[02:04.45]may have been kindled in childhood.
[02:07.40]While visiting my grandparent's home
[02:10.55]every Thanksgiving, I was allowed to examine
[02:13.95]the fascinating ornaments from the Orient.
[02:17.22]There were delicate elephant sculptures
[02:20.40]carved from ivory, lacy sandalwood fans
[02:23.79]and an imposing brass Buddha.
[02:26.08]Best of all, I was allowed
[02:29.33]to don an exquisite silk embroidered jacket
[02:32.07]and play with a blue and tan parasol
[02:35.24]which was adorned with
[02:37.21]sprays of plum blossoms and tiny buds.
[02:40.16]It was then I was introduced
[02:43.23]to an exotic new world.
[02:45.41]Maybe this too,
[02:48.00]is partly what lured me to this country.
[02:50.85]Under a new regime in China,
[02:53.91]government statesmen questioned
[02:56.65]what justification these foreign ministers
[02:59.38]had in their country.
[03:00.69]Subsequently, the morality of the instruction was questioned.
[03:06.55]The pendulum swung the other way
[03:08.52]and church people would no longer be welcome
[03:10.93]to impart their message.
[03:12.79]A plea to reconsider the decision was unsuccessful.
[03:17.49]Diplomats also would be required to leave the country.
[03:21.65]It would be a long time
[03:23.62]before visas would be issued to foreign people,
[03:26.68]to again live in China.
[03:29.09]And so here I am!
[03:31.93]The clearance for my visitor's visa
[03:34.67]had been administered swiftly.
[03:36.64]My surroundings aroused in me a sense of heritage.
[03:40.79]Today, sitting here pondering,
[03:43.96]allowed me to be a participant
[03:46.70]rather than just a spectator
[03:48.67]in a new chapter of China's history.