Uprisings and Obstacles

Chapter five mentions uprisings and mobs against foreigners in China.  The turmoil in China caused CIM or China Inland Mission to be concerned for the safety of the missionaries in China.  Many missionaries were evacuated as soon as possible to Shanghai which was relatively safer.  Isobel's boyfriend, John Kuhn, was evacuated to Shanghai by boat.  The dangerous state in China made it impossible for new missionaries to enter China,so Isobel was not able to journey to China.

Above picture is of a Chinese Christian martyr.

I was interested by the author's brief reference to this period of uprising and violence in China at this time, so I decided to research the topic further.  This time period is called the anti-Christian movement of 1922-1927.  Led by communists, a violent movement swept through China which targeted foreigners, missionaries, and Chinese Christians.  Chinese Christian converts and missionaries including women and children, were brutally slaughtered by horrific methods including being roasted alive.  Chinese soldiers continued to terrorize China by murdering many more missionaries and Chinese Christians.  A total number of deaths is not certain.  During the Boxer Rebellion CIM suffered more deaths and property damage than any other organization.  I have previously researched John and Betty Stam who were a missionary couple to China during this time period.  They were also murdered by communist soldiers.


Learning about this time in China's history makes me especially thankful for God's grace and work in my life. Christians in the United States, including myself, are not faced with a lot of persecution.  We are blessed with religious freedom. I attend a Christian school, where being a Christian is a relatively easy and normal thing to do.  I often wonder how I would respond to situations similar to those of the martyrs in China. Would my faith be strong and sincere enough for me to take a stand for Christ, despite persecution and torture?  The strength of the faith of the missionaries in China amazes me.  I am also inspired and awed by missionaries like Isobel Kuhn, who despite the danger and potential cost, followed God's call to China.  They continued to obey God, even in the midst of violence in China.  They risked their lives in order to bring the gospel to the very same people who had brutally murdered other believers.  Instead of responding with fear or hatred, the believers responded with love and an even greater passion for reaching out to the lost.


I found a video with excerpts from letters Carl Lundberg, a Swedish missionary, wrote hours before he, as well as his wife and two young daughters, were murdered by Communist soldiers.  I believe it gives a better idea of Christians and missionaries in China during the early 1900's.

Mr. J.O. Fraser and China Inland Mission

A picture of J.O. Fraser

Isobel Kuhn wanted to become a missionary after hearing J.O. Fraser speak of his experience with the Lisu tribe in southern China.  Isobel's mother and brother disapproved of her choice. I found it shocking when Mr. Fraser told Isobel, "Miss Miller, I have sensed that Satan is opposing you and working through your mother and your brother." (pg.8)

Isobel's mother was the president of the Women's Missionary Society.  How could Satan work through a Christian who thought she was doing God's work? The above quote makes me want to evaluate my actions even more carefully.  I do not want be a stumbling block to others or have Satan working through me.  I don't want to discourage people or even assume I know God's will for their life.  When my family began the adoption process for me sixteen years ago, even well-meaning Christians discouraged my parents.  They warned my parents what a great risk it was to adopt and how there were already four children in the family.  Even my own paternal grandparents, who claim to be Christians, were totally opposed and critical of my parents for adopting a child of a different race.  Their attitude has prevented us from having a close relationship.

The Calling

Isobel Miller Kuhn never dreamed of being a missionary to China.  God works in everyone's life to orchestrate events to draw them to Himself.  The story of Isobel Kuhn clearly shows God's hand in her life and how He directed her steps.  Isobel was influenced by a professor to abandon her faith in Christ, and certain events led her to seriously consider committing suicide.  When she was brought to this low point, she rededicated her life to God.  She said, "God, if there be a God, if you will prove to me that You are, and if You will give me peace, I will give You my whole life."  Little did she know that God really was going to use her whole life in a greater way than she could have ever imagined.

 God has also orchestrated every event in my life and has drawn me to Himself.  I was born in a poor, rural village in China and then abandoned  by my birth mother on the steps of a police station.  My life was spared, because God gave my birth mother the courage to continue her pregnancy in a country where forced abortion ends the lives of thousands of babies.  Just as Jochabed hid Moses, God used my birth mother to protect my life when she took me to a safe place.  My birth mom risked her own life, giving me the chance to live.  However, God's plan wasn't finished there. He purposed for me to be adopted into the family He had specifically chosen.  God willed that a Christian family would adopt me, so I would learn about Him and become His child.  He revealed Himself to me and I was no longer an orphan, but a daughter of the King!  He weaved my story together before I was even born.  Looking back on how God has shown His providence and guided my steps is amazing and I cannot even imagine what He has planned for me in the future.  God's purpose for Isobel was to go into China and God's purpose for me was to escape China.

The video below is a brief general biography I found on Isobel Kuhn to give a bit of background information.


View Isobel Miller Kuhn and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.