"... in the providence of a merciful God, we stand together at the gates of the most distant field on the globe.  And we have to be the pioneers of our mission."  Those words spoken by Matthew to Eliza (Lizzie) on the eve of their disembarkation.

It's difficult to imagine what Matthew and Eliza were thinking on that first Monday in Shanghai.  I ( Read more... )

I couldn't decide if I should next move to Matthew T Yates' back story (his life as a boy in western Wake County North Carolina, his salvation, schooling at seminary, marriage to Eliza, etc), or jump forward to his first voyage to China.  After some thought, I decided that his testimony and salvation was a really powerful story, and I really want ( Read more... )