Thump, thump. The sound of knocking at the door awoke missionary Lottie Moon from a deep sleep in her little Chinese house. Lottie got out of bed, opened the door and saw a young Christian man standing in the cold winter snow. Lottie recognized the new believer and welcomed him in.

“You must come,” he said, as he stepped into the warm house. “There is much trouble, and the Christians are asking for you!”

Soon Lottie was serving the young man lo mein noodles and asking him what he meant.

“It's Wai-Sung, the magistrate at Laichow,” the young man said. “He has never liked Christians. Now there are rumors going around about the evil things Christians do, so he decided to punish us.”

“What did he do?” Lottie asked.

“Three days ago he arrested 13 Christians on robbery charges. Of course, it is all a lie, and he knows it.” The young man gulped down some noodles before going on. “The soldiers tied the men's queues (pigtails) onto their horses' saddles and dragged them all the way from Laichow to Laichowfu.”

“Did they survive?” Lottie asked.

“Yes,” her young visitor replied. “Pastor Li Show-ting heard what was going on and made the magistrate stop the horses. When I left to come here, the Christians were all in prison at P'ingtu. You must come and help us. Everyone is asking for you, even Pastor Li.”

Perfect Plan

Lottie took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

What should I do? she wondered.

The roads outside the town where she lived had become dangerous to travel in the past few months.

Mobs of Boxers, men who hated any foreigner, roamed Northern China. They reveled in destroying anything foreign. But worse, they enjoyed killing Christians — whether Chinese or foreign.

In going to aid the Christians in P'ingtu, Lottie would be putting her life in danger. Yet it was unthinkable for her not to go.

Eventually, Lottie came up with a plan. It was risky, but it had to work.

“I need to hire a shentze (a Chinese carriage), like the ones the city officials use,” she told the young man. “Do you think you could get me one?”

“I will try,” he replied.

At first light, the young man left in search of a shentze.

While he was gone, Lottie borrowed some clothing from a local official she knew. She put on the long robe with its dangling cuffs. She smoothed back her hair. She placed a skullcap with a large red button on the top of her head. Finally, she slipped into the short red jacket all officials wore.

Lottie looked at herself in the mirror, hoping she would be able to pass herself off as an official going on business to P'ingtu.

Soon the young man was back with a genuine official's shentze.

Lottie gathered food for the journey and climbed in to the shentze.

“Let's go with God's help,” she said to the young man, and then ordered the mule drivers to begin the journey.

As they rode through the countryside, Lottie sat in her shentze holding an official pose. Many crowds greeted her. She also saw mobs of Boxers, who scattered away when they saw the shentze.

Worth the Risk

When Lottie's caravan arrived in P'ingtu, good news awaited. The 13 Christians were all alive. Pastor Li Show-ting had managed to get them released from prison. However, all the men were injured; some from being dragged along behind horses, others from various forms of torture.

Lottie encouraged the men with words of comfort, but the fact that she had risked her life to come to their aid was the greatest comfort to them all.

Bethany M., 12
Artesia, California

Lottie Moon was born to a wealthy family in Virginia in 1840. This spunky, 4-foot-3-inch woman dedicated most of her life to taking the good news of Jesus Christ to people in China. By overcoming loneliness, severe hunger, numerous threats and other obstacles, Lottie led many people to a personal relationship with God and inspired Christians worldwide. The annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Missions has raised more than $1.5 billion for missions since 1888.

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