A LETTER FROM TUNG GOU
To Messrs. Kuang Jung and Yung Tung:
After we left you and returned to the East, God kept us safe all the way home. Thank the Lord. On Tuesday we arrived at Yi Lin and on the next day we parted from Chiu Jih Chien and the other brothers and returned to our homes. Please do not worry about us. With regard to the problem on the river steamer, Brother Lee Kuan Hua’s face was injured in an explosion. He is now in a hospital in Chiang Yin. There is no danger to his life. Brothers Ts’ai Yun Hsien and Tsou Ts’ai Kao are being kept in the Police Department at Chiang Yin as suspects in the case. We do not have detailed news of them. Transportation to northern Kiangsu is blocked now, so we cannot go to save them. The only thing we can do is pray to the almighty, merciful God. I deeply believe they can be released from this danger. This morning I met Brother Wu Wei on the way to Yi Lin. He has arrived safely home. I also received a letter from Brother Han Chang En and the eight brothers with him that said that their train was derailed at a cattle crossing and their steamer was robbed at Shao Po Lake. Altogether they lost only a few dollars; they are all safe and were only frightened. Through all this we learned a big lesson and praised the Lord’s grace unceasingly. This is all of our news. May the eternally living God bless all the brothers and sisters with peace!
The little ones in the Lord,
Hu Hsiao Lan, Cheng Chu Chiu, You Tien
February 8, 1934
LETTER FROM CHU CHIA KOU,
HUAI AN, KIANGSU PROVINCE
To my brother in the Lord, Mr. Kuang Jung:
I and those traveling with me began our journey home on Wednesday evening when we boarded the train. When we arrived in Ch’ang Chou the next day, the tracks were broken, and we were delayed for six hours. Later we changed trains and arrived at Chen-chiang that evening. The next day we bought steamer tickets for the trip north. The boat went very slowly. We came to Shao Po Lake during the night. Suddenly, more than ten pirates appeared and robbed us at gunpoint. All the passengers on the boat were frightened and did not know what to do. We thanked the Lord that He is the Almighty One and that those who rely on Him will not be put to shame. (The rest of the people were also treated cruelly in addition to being robbed.) We lost very little. Only two brothers, Brother Chou and Brother Chen, lost a few dollars. The rest of us lost nothing. We cannot fail to praise the Lord for this. Now we are safely back in Huai City. I wanted to especially let all the brothers know and ask them to thank the Lord for us and so on. (We counted the time spent. It was three days and three nights.) We thank you for all we received in Shanghai. We greet all the brothers and sisters with this!
Your little brothers in Christ,
Chen Ju Ni, Han Chang En, Kao Shih Yuan, Chou Pu Ch’ien, Ma Yun Ho, Shih Ju Chi, Chang Tien Keng
February 7, 1934
(P.S. Brother Chiu Jih Chien also wrote us a short letter. He has arrived home safely.)
LETTER FROM DAIREN, MANCHURIA
Peace to our brother in the Lord, Brother Ho:
Praise the Lord. He really is our Lord. Our boat left at 9:00 a.m. on the morning of the seventh. We arrived at Tsingtao at 1:00 p.m. on the eighth where we met the brothers and sisters from Chefoo. We left the ship to visit two friends. The ship left at 5:00 and arrived in Dairen at 1:00 the afternoon of the ninth. After leaving the boat, we stayed at the government office for three hours. Thank the Lord, we did not have any great trouble. Brother An and the two sisters went north that night. I stayed in Dairen for one more day to visit several brothers. I arrived in P’u Lan Tien today (the eleventh) at 9:00 and saw Brother Chang. He is fine and has received the Lord’s blessing, but he is very lonely. There is almost no one in the Lord who can comfort him much. Please remember him often in your prayers. Remember also the brothers and sisters in Ch’ang Ch’un. I will continue north at 11:00 p.m. tonight and will arrive in Feng T’ien at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. I will stay there for one day and will arrive in Ch’ang Ch’un early on the thirteenth. I know that you care and may worry, so I am especially sending this letter to you. I also greet you with peace! Please greet Brother Nee, Brother Chang, Brother Shih, Brother Wu, Brother Huang, Brother Chou, Brother Huang Tze Hou, Brother Yuan, Brother Hu, and all the brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Your brother in the Lord,
Chiang Shun T’ien
February 11, 1934
In P’u Lan Tien under a lamp
P.S. Brother Chang Chen Ming also greets you.
P.P.S. I do not know whether Brother Luan [Translator’s note: Philip Luan, also known as Luan Hung Pin] is better from his sickness. Has he returned to Hangchow yet? Were our books sent out? Shun T’ien.
(Answer: Brother Luan is better. He testified for the Lord on Lord’s Day morning.—Editor)
(Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 25: Collection of Newsletters (1), Chapter 4, by Watchman Nee)
