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Show x Paotingfu, China, June 15, 1936 Bear F r i e n d s , - t*~ Most of you had a copy of my Christmas l e t t e r , - an aooount of a "Year with Bouncing Betty", At the end I wrote Just a sentence or two r e f e r r i n g to some of the i n t e r e s t s which were coming my way as we were g e t t i n g s e t t l e d and re-acquainted in Paotingfu a f t e r our absence from t h i s s t a t i o n of more than nine years, Now I would l i k e to t e l l you a l i t t l e more about some of the people and work th^t have taken my a t t e n t i o n in the nine months since we a r r i v e d. The church women's Mien Li Hui (Endeavor Sooiety)meets every Friday P.M, We have been trying to put some new l i f e into the Society, A good deal of c a l l i n g has been done and e f f o r t s made to have different kinds of i n t e r e s t i n g programs. A l a r g e number attended the Christmas p a r t y . Part of the good program was the Story of the Other Wise Man told a f f e c t i v e l y by one of the women. There were tea, cookies, and candies and second hand Xmas cards for a l l . y Buring the special Weak of Evangelism of the Chinese New Year festival period certain members of the Society led meetings in the churdi several of the afternoons, with attendance varying from 20 to 70 women* some of whom I had not seen anywhere before. The Wdrld's Bay of Prayer for Women was observed with a carefully thought out program, p a r t i a l ly using materials sent,out by the International Committee, A short time before that the church was nearly f i l l ed one Friday P.M. when the Good Samaritan was affectively shown in a play,- donkeyand a l l being staged by the wofcen. Recently there was held the big annual fair at a temple a mile and a half down the r i v e r . The two churches, o? the city, the Y.M, CA. and the Salvation Army united in four days of preaching effort for the crowds and crowds of people who flocked therey to offer incense at t h i s auspicious time; to stock up from the great number 6t and variety of wooden farm implements, topis, and utensils offered for salO: to buy toys, a r t i f i c i a l flowers or other ornaments; or Just to have part milling round finding the diversion and excitement that comes too seldom in their l i v e s . The day that our church was responsible for this preaching s ix or eight of our women walked there and back and spent several hours helping. The next day whan I called on one of them* I found her on the 3£ "kang" with her l i t t l e shoes off, rubbing her swollen aching ankles. The Lien Ho Hui is another women's group of quite a different type. This is rather an exclusive club of young to middle agad woman, a l l of whom are educated and vary congenial,- wives of teachers, or themselves unmarried teachers or nurses. They meet once a month, p r i marily for social purposes but also to discuss and plan ways of service to church and community. They provide a large share of the special music for church services. This year they have assumed responsibility for a Sunday School class for the lower grades of the primary day school, and Just recently have agreed to furnish leaders and conduct the older women's Friday meeting onca in six weeks. It is hoped this will draw the two groups nearer together in fellowship and understanding, and help t r a i n the younger group to take mora responsibility for church work, I wish you might have attended the Children's Bay services which this a l e r t young women's club sponsored on April 5th, Thirty-two babies and small children were consecrated that day, such a service having boen neglected a few years. It was a touching sight to sea them and their parents gathered together in tha front of the church where Mr, Gait conducted tho consecration service, Tha preceding program included songs and l i t t l e plays by various groups of children. The third women's group whose meetings I try to attend also meets once a month. This is made up from a few mora well-to-do woman of the Presbyterian church and our own* with somf leading non^Christian women who Join in the common enterprise of helping1support an Old Ladies Home. Mrs. Lewis of the Pras, Mission has bean the leading s p i r it in this movement ever since i t was started about 15 years ago. The Home i s carried on e n t i r e l y by voluntary contributions,- mostly by tho missionaries of the two missions here, but with supplementary help of this "Tai-tai Society". These women are responding with increasing interest to help provide for soma of their very forlorn sisters* |
