Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-10
SEVEN YEARS AMONG HEATHEN
Iowa Missionary Returns on Fur
Tough and Talks with Interest
of His work.

Rev. Thomas B. Owen, a Methodist mis-
sionary from Foochow, China. whose home
is in North English, Ia, is registered at the
Mtllard. Mr.. owen has Just returned to his
native country on a years f~urlough after q
service Of seven years In the Orient. He
will proceed directly from Omaha to AL
bany, N. Y, to attend an important mis-
sionary meeting and then will come back to
Iowa to spend the. greater part of his vaca-
ton at his old home. OF the work and field
Of the missionary in China MIR. owen says:
I'm consideration of the vast population
Of 400. 900, 900 It would seem that 100, 900
Christian Chinese is a poor showing for
fifty or sixty years work, but you can't
form your decision upon such a superficial
basis.
THE first Protestant missionary to enter
China went there ninety-two years ago, but
his work was surrounded with such dangers
and disasters that it became impossible TO
proceed with it. II was practically aban-
doned and not taken up for about thirty or
forty years. But this is not the extent Of
missionary work in China by any means.
The Catholics after 2 service of 300 years
claim 5000. 600 converts.
when the centuries Of idolatry, super
stitution and tradition of the Chinese are
Nonsidered It must be admitted that Chris
tianity has made wonderful progress there.
A vast amount Of good work is done which
does not show on the surface. Seeds have
been sown which cannot be uprooted and
will one day bring forth abundant fruit. We
are delighted with our labors and rejoice at
the privilege Of continuing them in a field
where there is so much to do.
"One thing the missionary OF China has
in his favor. When he sees a native accept
the gospel he may rest assured of a per-
manent convert. Those people will die for
the teachings of Jesus Christ when once
they have been inculcated in their minds
and hearts. No more loyal souls could be
found anywhere than these people who have
breathed the incense Of heathenism all
their lives.
II cannot say that the Chinese are ready
to welcome the Christian missionary. OF
course 1t is well known of these people that
they are strongly welded to their own
strange doctrines and they resent what is
usually considered by them the encroach-
ments or intrusions Of the teachers and
preachers of the Cross. But there is a way
Of getting around this difficult obstacle and
the missionaries, after years of careful and
prayerful thought and study, have learned
that way.
One Vi the most seIlOus PlOUlems "nioh
| confronts the missionary is the use OF the
various dialects. In my province, Tookien,
there are four dialects. ] have acquired the
use Of two, so l can converse intelligently
and preach in them, and then l have &C
quired the use of two other dialects, but I
still have to master the other two of my
own province. This requires hard, cease
less work.
III the people of this Christian nation
were half as liberal and Jealous in contrib
uting their means to the spread of the gos-
pei as are those people who have accepted
it over yonder in distant China one Of the
most formidable obstacles in the way OF the
church's work in carrying the word of God
to the heather would be overcome"