In Storm and in Stillness (Christmas, 1919)

 

December is the anniversary of Anna Bøg's departure from Denmark for China aboard the Annam. She embarked on December 6, 1919. Our readers will remember the long letter from Anna Bøg to her relatives in Odense that we published in the posts The Voyage to China (1919) and The Voyage Continues.

On Christmas Day, 1919, Anna Bøg wrote the following letter to the Danish Missionary Society:

"Mediterranean, MS Annam, Christmas Day 1919

"Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." [Ps. 121:4.]

"God has given me a lovely Christmas here on the Mediterranean's deep blue band -- in the evening under the bright stars, and by day under God's warm sun. I'm the only believer on board, as far as I can tell at present, but I am not alone in any meaningful sense of the word. I feel every day that God is with me, and so I think of all of God's people, the great host of Christians, of which I too am a small part, and of the special friends that I was able to meet in Denmark and whom I am still filled with joy to think about. How good God is!

"I am journeying as 'God's volunteer', and it has until now been a wonderful journey, both along Spain's and Portugal's beautiful mountainous coasts and not the least here in the Mediterranean Sea, along Africa's coast, where most days we have seen land. We have had many right storm-filled days, yet in both storm and in stillness the sea has been lovely.

"Tomorrow we expect to be in Port Said, and if possible I will seek out the missionaries there. And from there I will send to all D.M.S.'s dear friends a hearty New Year's greeting, with 2 Chron. 14.11: 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power'.

"I am happy to be sent out as a missionary to China by you.

"Affectionate greetings,

"Anna Bøg Madsen"

Source:
Bøg-Madsen, Anna; "Rejsehilsen"; Dansk Missionsblad, Vol. unknown, Issue unknown; February 15, 1920, p. 110. Translation by Marie-Jacqueline.
All D.M.S. materials used with permission
This post was originally published on December 15, 2009

Image:
Sunrise and rain over the Mediterranean seen from the Greek Island of Kythnos, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.

Commemoration of the Birth Anniversaries of Anna Bøg Madsen and Preben Jørgensen - May 13

Today, May 13, 2025, we celebrate the birth of two Danes, born on the same day but 35 years apart:   the subject of this site - missionary Anna Bøg Madsen (1888-1973), and the co-author of this site - Preben Jørgensen (1923-2014).

Anna Bøg was a missionary in Manchuria with the Danish Missionary Society (DMS) from 1919 to 1946 and established the Women’s Mission Station in Siuyen.  It is remarkable to think of the course of events in China in general and Manchuria in particular during the more than 26 years that Anna Bøg served there: the various phases of the Chinese Civil War, the increasing presence of the Japanese in Manchuria with the establishment of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932, World War II, and the post-war incursion of the Soviets.  Anna Bøg endured all this with faith, diligence, and dignity until airlifted out by UNRRA in 1946.  When she returned to Denmark on the Ansgar, she was so weak with malnutrition and exhaustion that she had to be hospitalized for several months.  Nevertheless a year later she was on her way back to Manchuria despite the Communist incursion, but the DMS called her back because of the political situation.

It is also remarkable to think of the life of Preben Jørgensen, who ran the Belgian branch of a Danish firm in Brussels (Nilfisk), married a Belgian woman, was made a Knight of the Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe, provided his extended family with extensive genealogical material, made a major contribution to this site's presentation of Anna Bøg's missionary work in Manchuria, and managed to keep going for many years despite a struggle with cancer.

We celebrate their lives.  

 

 

We Beheld His Glory (Christmas, 1963)

In 1963, Anna Bøg (left) and Elise Bahnson sent this Christmas card to relatives and friends. They are in front of the home in Kings Lyngby (a suburb of Copenhagen) which the two missionaries shared in retirement. The lettering of the text is in the precise script of architect Elise Bahnson.

Above the picture of the two women is a quote from the Gospel of St. John proclaiming the incarnation of Our Lord:

"The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; we beheld his glory." [Jn. 1:14.]

Below the picture and above the names of the two women, it says, "Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year".

May our readers have the same joy and blessing.