It was 1900, the year of the Boxer uprising in China.   The Empress had given orders to kill all missionaries and Christians, and in Peking the foreigners all fled to the area of the foreign legation.   The Christians of the various churches of the city had also fled there.   Among these Christians were a Mr. and Mrs. wang, who were among the many others crowded into the legation area behind its high, but rather weak walls, while outside soldiers of the Empress were firing in at them with rifles and cannon.   Mr. Wang climbed to the top of the wall and peeked over at the throng outside, then he descended to tell his wife that the Boxers and soldiers were outside in great numbers and surely sooner or later would break in, after which no one could say what terrible things they would do.

     A little while later one came and told Mrs. Wang that her husband had hanged himself in a temple garden near by.   She ran to the garden, there to find his body lying on the ground with a rope about his neck, and there she sorrowfully buried him.   Mrs. Wang was now left a widow in the midst of war and distress with one girl child of a few years and another child still unborn.

     A little over a month later, while still in the legation area with the fighting continuing even more fierce day by day, on July 25th, 1900, Mrs Wang gave birth to a fat, healthy boy.   There was not even a mid-wife there to help in the delivery, but Mrs. Wang's old mother helped, and as she looked at the fine boy baby she gave him the name of T'ieh, which means Iron.

     When the trouble was at last over, the refugees of the legation all returned to their homes, if they had homes to return to.   Mr. Wang, when he was alive, had been employed in the T'ung Jen Hospital, and he and his family lived there.   But now that he was dead his wife and children could not return there, so Mrs. Wang rented a place on Dried Fish Alley in the east of the city.   A couple of hundred ounces of money in recompense from the government was obtained through their church, which helped them to get by.   A year or so later, when the landlord informed Mrs. Wang that he was having to sell the house and land, she used most of the remaining money to buy the property.   By building and enlarging the buildings on the property a total of fourteen rooms of houses were rented out, and by this means they were able to eke out a meager living.

     The child, Wang T'ieh, was a very bright boy, and not long after he had learned to talk he began to delight in reading books.   He was always bringing a book to his mother and asking what this or that character was.   In this way before long he was able to read most ordinary books.   In his childhood he read through "The Book of Three Characters," "The Hundred Family Names," "The Poem of a Thousand Characters," "The Record of the Sages," "Bunyon's Pilgrims Progress," "The New and Old Testaments of the Bible" and more.

     Reading these books brought Wang T'ieh to thinking much about the great questions of life.   What is the meaning of life?   In the end where does man go?   Is there anything after death or not?   The answer he received from others was always, "All men must die."   However as to after death, their ideas differed widely.   Some said, "When you're dead you're dead.   That's all."   Some said, "It's like a candle going out."   Others said, "After death your soul goes before Ko Wang to receive judgement.   The bad are led in chains by little devils to hell for punishment."   Among these answers T'ieh considered only the first one believable, but this gave him a great deal of heartache.   He wanted a living way, a way of hope.

     When T'ieh was about nine years old, he entered into a grammar school nearby, and at this time his mother gave him a school name, "Yung Shing," meaning Eternal Prosperity.   The teacher was a very stern man in his fifties, who often corrected the students with a board, but since Yung Shing was a very precocious child and quick to learn, the teacher took much pride in him.   As a result Yung Shing became very proud of himself, which led to a neglect of his studies.   One day the teacher called in Mrs Wang and said to her, "Mrs. Wang, this child of yours is a child with wisdom for whom there are hopes, but lately he has not been trying to study.   I can't stand to see such waste.   Now I shall be more strict in teaching him, and you as a mother should oversee him at home.   We two pushing together should surely be able to make him progress."

     When Wang Yung Shing was 12 years old he entered middle school, at which time he boarded at school.   This was convenient for his studies but a great detriment to character.   The evil things he had seen and heard among the illiterate neighbors at home did not approach to the vile stories told by older students at night after lights out.   He was not strong in body, so in any struggle he always met defeat, however with his mouth he could defeat them all, for no one had such ability to accuse, to imprecate and curse as he did.   Since he was the smallest in school he received a great deal of bitterness and mistreatment from other students, but with his heart and mouth he always fought back.   None was ever able to make him serve them.

     It was in 1914, here in this middle school, that Wang Yung Shing was saved.   In the spring of that year an older student sought him out to talk to him.   Yung Shing had already noticed the ever kindly attitude of this older student, so he was quite ready to hear him out, and through his instruction he came to really know God and fear Him.   Through him Yung Shing also learned to pray, and from that time on there was a great change in his heart and life.   At last he understood the meaning of life and its responsibilities.   He now hated sin and unrighteousness.   He now had a desire to live a holy and good life.   He now found a delight in prayer and reading the Bible.   He was never satisfied with his own far from perfect life.   He later titled the chapter of this part of his life as "A brand plucked out of the fire."

     As to the further experiences of Wang Yung Shing, I haven't room to tell all of them, of his baptism and joining the church at this school on Easter Sunday, of the trials and persecutions of evil fellow students, of his further studies in school, his being called to preach, of his being baptized over again by immersion, of the independent church he established in Peking, of his travels all over China in evangelistic meetings.   Suffice it to say that all those who knew later as a preacher of the gospel, knew him by the name of Wang Ming Tao.   (Ming means both clear and bright, and Tao means both way and doctrine.)

     The information that I have given here has been taken from Mr. Wang's book in Chinese, "Wu Shih Nien Lai."   (The Past Fifty Years) the story of his life that he wrote in 1950.   The Communists had entered Peking at this time, and a year or two later Mr. Wang was imprisoned by them, where he was tortured for months until he confessed to various sins against the state.   Broken in mind and spirit he was released, but as soon as he was able to understand he publicly denied his confession.   So back into prison he went again.   News of him has long since ceased to come out of China, and no doubt he now waits our coming up there with Jesus, the one he loved and proclaimed as Savior to so many thousand Chinese.

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“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, First service as a mission work was held January 3rd 2010!       “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof:   for the people had a mind to work." Neh 4:6       I had been working on building a new porch and ramp onto our home so that Sister Cooper could come to services in her wheel chair.   It was a lot of work all by myself.   I had it on my heart that a man would help me in the work and had been praying for the Lord to send such a man.   Then Brother Mike Martin from Mt. View B.C. offered to help.   The Lord sure answers prayers!   Thank you brother       Brother Mike, our families and I have gone door knocking the last two Saturdays.   Monday 1/25/2010 we were able to get the church sign completed and installed at the end of the driveway (see pictures below).       We went to the watch night service in St. Helens, OR and brother Rex Smith preached on having a plan in 2010!   If we want to have a great awakening here in the Great Northwest, we better have a plan.   With that said we want to have a tent meeting here, August 2nd through the 6th 2010 with preaching each night at 7:00 pm.   Men please come prepared to preach.   It can also be a camp meeting.   If any wish to camp there is plenty of room.   We have two hot showers in the house.   We have an old house on the property that we would like to turn into a church building, but it needs a lot of work.       Prayer requests for Lower Columbia Baptist Church: Souls saved and baptized from the community Sister Cooper (health) and her daughter and son in law (salvation) Supplies and man power to fix up the old house for meeting in Tent meeting, advertise to the community that all are welcome Future church camp here Tent meeting! August 2nd through the 6th 2010 Preaching each night at 7:00 pm. Men please come prepared to preach. Where: 1097 E Valley Road Skamokawa, WA 98647

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