Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1916-03-23
TELLS OF CHINA MISSION WORK
Miss Alice Kugler Gives Interesting
Account Of Conditions

The following letter from Miss
Alice Kugler, stationed in the in
terror of China as a missionary,
will be of great interest to those
who know her. She is daughter of
Mr.. and Mrs. j. j. Kugler and has
been in China the past year:
Wang Kong, So. China, Feb. 10.
Editor Reflector The Reflector
is a welcome visitor at our mission
station, Wang Kong, in South
China. We are stationed about sol
miles from Canton in the country.
Hong Kong is a large city on an
island off the coast of China, under
British possession. About 200 miles
from here and where most of the
missionaries spend their summer
vacation to escape the heat and
floods Provisions, clothing, etc.,
are generally purchased from this
city and taken up country either by
boat or rail.
We must walk three miles to Sal
Nam, then can either board boat
or train for these larger cities.
Small foot paths serve as roads
here. On these we travel, walking
single file, to give out the gospel to
the surrounding villages. Think
nothing of walking from 2 to 10
miles a day to give forth the glad
news to hungry souls that have new
er seen a missionary or heard of
Jesus. The spiritual needs of China
are great as we'll as the educational.
Their religion consists of degrading
belief in spirits, and of attempts to-
placate evil spirits The Chinese be-
lieve that each person has three
souls or spirits, and that at death
one of these spirits goes to the
other world to be judged according
to the deeds done in the body; an
other spirit tarries at the grave
near the body, and the third spirit
dwells in the ancestral tablet Ga bit
Of wood about foot long, two in
ches wide and quarter of an inch
thick, upon which the name of the
deceased is painted) hung up in the
home or in the ancestral hall. In
case the survivors do not perform
the proper services at the graves
and before the ancestral tablets,
these spirits are supposed to bring
plaques, diseases, drought and other
punishments upon the family. An
cestral woship consists of the most
degrading superstition. The whole
religious life of the Chinese is made
up of spirit worship. Every physical
disease is attributed to some evil
spirit and they strive to drive out
this evil spirit by ear splitting
noises, nauseating drugs or by beat
ing or brusing the body.
Every village has several large
temples where people go to wor-
ship. Every home also has it's idols
and worshiping place. l have seen
+ the Chinese dressed in their very
best parading the streets and car
rying an idol. inquired and found
they were taking the idol out for a
walk. Fire crackers and incense arel
used very much in worshiping. Our
meetings have been disturbed MORE
than once by the children firing
fire crackers.
Very few of the men of China
have had more than one or two
years schooling and the women are
practically destitute of it. / have
greatly desired to see schools es-
tablished. This year there are three
new schools opened by the mission
aries. One here. one at Canton and
one at Lo Pau. Teachers wages
here are from 81 to SIS gold
month. One of the principal rea-
sons for opening these schools is TO
teach the children to read so when
they enter the gospel they win be
able to understand the Bible l am
made to wonder some times If China