A Full House (1924-1926)

In 1924, Anna Bøg made a request to her superiors in the Danish Missionary Society:

“Since my time as a substitute at Siuyen Hospital has come to an end, I ask . . . to be allowed to remain in Siuyen as a district worker during the last two and a half years before my furlough, and for an opportunity to have the mission station repaired.”

In response, the D.M.S. Board resolved that it “gives Miss Bøg-Madsen’s request its support and recommends that the westerly part of the mission station be given over to her work.” It
also resolved, “[W]hen the women’s clinic premises is discontinued as a meeting room for women, the construction of a small annex to the west with an entrance to the clinic is recommended.” And, it authorized the expenditure of “Ca. 400 G.J.* from the polyclinic fund” and “100 G.J. from the extra budget for 1924 for the repair work sought by Miss Bøg-Madsen.” (1)

In mid-1926, Anna Bøg made another request, to which the D.M.S. Board responded, “[A]pproval is granted that Miss Bøg Madsen may spend part of her furlough in America, and there seek to collect money for a new women’s station in Siuyen. Granted in the 1927 budget, 3000 G.J. to purchase land for a new women’s mission station.” (2)

On October 4, 1926, Anna Bøg arrived in America and immediately began her fund raising effort. In an article published in the missionary newspaper in the spring of 1927, apparently written in late 1926, Anna Bøg described her work with the women in Siuyen:

“We were so happy, the Bible women and I, at the beginning of the year, about those who had been baptized last year, and about all of those with whom we were just beginning to work. Our eldest Bible woman, old Mrs. Fu, now more than sixty, welcomed the fact that there was ‘new territory to take’.

“The two co-workers that Mrs. Fu and I received were the year’s greatest gift -- the Bible women Miss Ho and Mrs. Kuo. We were nothing less than joyful and filled with hope, expecting much fruit, and thankful for them.

“With the two, our work immediately grew. In homes where there had been none, they found some who would like to be instructed, and to which they have returned once or twice a week. One of those who was baptized was from Hsiunglungkuo, where, a few years ago, it seems there was a little movement among the women; one more came from there, but she had not studied enough, so she must wait.

“A young woman from the government school where I taught 5 years ago was also baptized. At the time, friends in America had been praying for the young women. I think she is God’s response to our prayers. May God make her a holy witness for himself. She is a student at our Bible women’s school.

“[We held] crusade meetings** with an invitation for each home to come, and what was given to those who came, God will bless, and in His own time it will bear fruit. There was a full house and . . . we cannot see anything other than that much of the seed fell in good soil. Our daily grain field is the polyclinic, where each day from early spring to late summer we have had between 100-180 women, youth, and children. Here we have made our best effort to use well the occasions that have been laid at our door to bring the message of the Gospel to the remote homes in mountain valleys and villages. Almost all of these women have begun to read. A few have read one or more books through -- and so they have been taught how to sing. It gladdens us to see that those who are accustomed to come, instead of wasting time talking, immediately pull the books from their pockets and look for someone to help them. Here we do a thorough work so that it will happen, as it happened in England anywhere Moody went, that one need only shake the trees to make the fruit fall down. I know my God rightly, he will also let it happen thus in Siuyen: ‘Onward revival’, for God hears prayers. He cannot forget, even after 20 or 30 years. In Dwang-ho we helped the Christian women invite and receive women at crusade meetings. It is a small living church that seems to be consciously responsible for bringing in others.

"To actually do a thorough work in the countryside we need another two Bible women. A second gift from God was the higher elementary class we were allowed to open in the autumn, where we can retain the older girls through their early teen years. But, there is little room for the work with women in the old men’s station; there is no room to grow. That is why I am working with all my strength here in America to collect money and awaken interest in our dear D.M.S. The day after I arrived, October 4 [1926], I held my first meeting. Until now, I have been kindly received in the Danish congregations here, and here at home in Cedar Falls I have received many invitations both from within and outside the congregation." (3)

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*The reference to “G.J.” is uncertain. We think it means "gold yen" (Japanese currency in circulation in Manchuria at the time). If any of our readers has information on this, please comment.
** “Crusade meeting” refers to a revivalist-type evangelistic technique

Referenced sources:
(1) “Bestyrelesbeslutninger”, Dansk Missionsblad, Vol. 91, No. 42 (October 15, 1924), p. 565.
(2) “Bestryelesbeslutninger”, Dansk Missionsblad, Vol 93, No. 29 (July 21, 1926), p. 445.
(3) Bøg Madsen, Anna; “Kvindearbejdet i Siuyen”, Dansk Missionsblad, Vol.??, Nr. 14 (April 6, 1929), pp. 221-223.

Image:
Anna Bøg Madsen (center back), women, and children in Siuyen. Courtesy of Casey Welch.