Prayer Needed to Solve Church Problems

      Now we found ourselves facing an increasingly dismal situation in our conference.  Some of our Chinese preachers were on trial for immorality. (I defended one.) Our senior missionary was so discouraged that he wanted us to close the whole work and have the bishop and the mission board moved us all somewhere else.  But I wouldn't agree to this.

         I said, “We had better begin to pray.” This missionary was a fine man (God rest his soul) but he was too busy to pray with me.  Others had to take their baths at that time, or do other things.  And of course, the women had their children to care for.  The senior missionary's wife came the first morning, but it was the first of January, and it was still dark and cold at 6 a.m., so she didn't come anymore.  Perhaps she was embarrassed that only the two of us were present.

         But that day I saw the young teacher-preacher who had prayed with me the year before, and told him we were beginning to pray again.  So the next day he came, and for fifty mornings it was mostly just the two of us, except when some of the missionaries from Kiukiang came for committee business, and they would join us.  The other days the two of us prayed.