“Missionary Mondays” is a weekly resource for parents. Each week will feature a missionary story that is designed to be read to young children. Also included is a prayer and corresponding activity. Enjoy!
Hudson Taylor
Have you ever had to practice really, really hard for something? Maybe you had a soccer game coming up, so for weeks and weeks you worked on kicking and passing the ball. Or maybe you were to be in a play, so for months you practiced your lines and prepared all of the correct movements.
Preparing for something can be just as exciting, just as important, as the event itself for which you are preparing. And quite often, the practice can be more demanding and more exhausting than actual “game day.”
The man you will be hearing about today – Hudson Taylor – knew that God wanted him to go far, far away to a land called China. But there would be much practice first, for China was a difficult place, a strange place, and a place very unlike what he was used to. God had plans for Mr. Taylor to spend several years preparing himself for the trials to come in China.
And that practice is a large part of Mr. Taylor’s wonderful story.
Hudson Taylor was born in England in the middle of the 1800’s. He had a wonderful family. His parents loved God very much, and his siblings were his dear friends.
For a long time, Hudson stayed home and did all of his schooling with his family. Those were wonderful years of learning important lessons and being told all about the marvelous love of Jesus. But when Hudson became a teenager, he was sent away to school. And that is when he began to forget about God. Eventually, he not only forgot about God, but he decided that God was not important. Hudson had forgotten his faith.
One afternoon, Hudson was alone in his home and he was bored.
“There’s nothing to do and no one to talk to!” Hudson complained. He roamed around the house, searching for something to entertain him. He found a small book lying on his father’s table.
“I guess I could read this book. I know that at the end of the book there is a Bible lesson, but I’ll just skip that part,” Hudson said.
So Hudson began reading. And as he began reading the story, the truth of the love of Jesus came flooding back into his heart. It was as if God had wrapped His arms around Hudson and asked him to return! Hudson Taylor was filled with a joy and love for God that he had never known before. He was so excited, and he couldn’t wait to tell his parents.
The next day, his parents returned home from their trip. But before Hudson could tell them what had happened, his mother ran up to him and threw her arms around him.
“Hudson, praise God that you belong to Him now! I prayed for you without ceasing until God told me that you had prayed to receive Christ!”
Hudson was amazed! His mother knew that he hadn’t been following God, and had asked that the Lord would save him before she returned home. She had prayed without stopping until she felt a peace that He had indeed saved her son.
Hudson had some more exciting news to tell his parents.
“Mother, Father, when I gave my life to Jesus I heard God speak to me! He told me that He was sending me to China. I am going to China to share the truth with all of those people who have never heard of Jesus!”
But even though Hudson wanted to leave right away, God had other plans.
See, Hudson lived in a very wealthy and beautiful place. Life was easy, and it was easy to trust God to provide when everything was already provided. But in China, life would be very, very different. It was a very poor land, with small amounts of bland food. There was a lot of disease and few doctors, the terrain was rugged, and war and famine were commonplace. What a big change from the way Hudson lived in England!
So, God wanted Hudson to begin a time of preparing. Hudson’s faith and perseverance needed to be strengthened before he was ready to go to China.
Right away, Hudson began preparing himself for the rigors of China.
He began learning their language. He changed his diet to one more similar to what the Chinese ate – small scoops of white rice and a few bits of brown bread.
Even though those changes made life a little less comfortable, Hudson knew that the way he was currently living was still way too easy.
So Hudson moved to a new place in England to work with a doctor, Dr. Hardey. He wanted to learn as much as he could about healing sick people so that he could minister to both body and soul once he got to China.
Hudson’s new living conditions were much more suitable for preparing for life in China. Trash lined the street, and when it rained the trash would become a filthy, flowing river of sludge. The homes were drafty little shacks, and Hudson’s small bedroom was devoid of any comforts.
His life may have been simple and unpleasant, but his heart was overflowing with love for his Savior. Hudson was finally beginning to understand that God truly is the Provider of all things; that he really could trust God with all of his life.
As Hudson’s faith strengthened, his prayers became more and more bold. He wasn’t afraid to ask God for anything, even impossible things! When it seemed that he wouldn’t have enough money to pay his bills or even buy a scrap of bread for himself, he would come to God with his troubles and ask to be provided for. God miraculously took care of Hudson over and over.
One night, Hudson was asked to visit a dying mother in her home and pray for her and her starving family. It was such a sad situation, and as Hudson looked around at the skinny children surrounding them he began to pray…
“Father, grant this family the faith to trust You. See them through this trial, O Lord…”
Suddenly, Hudson stopped praying in the middle of a sentence. He couldn’t say one more word.
You see, Hudson knew that this poor family didn’t even have enough money to buy a small piece of bread. And he also knew, as he was praying over this family, that a single coin was jingling in his own pocket. It was his very last coin – he had nothing else – but here he was praying for a miracle when he was secretly hiding away his last coin in his pocket!
God wouldn’t even let him finish the prayer. He filled Hudson’s heart with faith and the instruction to give away all that he had to this family. “Give, and it shall be given to you.” says the Bible.
“Dear family,” Hudson said, “the Lord has provided. Here is enough money to buy you a meal. I pray that the Lord continues to provide for you.”
When Hudson left their house, he realized that he had no money to pay for the rent of his house. Dr. Hardy was due to pay him the next day, but rather than remind him, Hudson decided to put his faith to the test and not remind the doctor.
Two weeks came and went, and still no paycheck from the doctor. And still, Hudson said nothing. One day, however, the doctor rushed into Hudson’s office looking quite embarrassed.
“Hudson, please forgive me! I realize that it has been 2 weeks since I was supposed to pay you. If only I could give you a check now, but I have nothing to pay you with at the moment.”
At this distressing news Hudson was not even concerned. He knew that the more impossible the situation, the greater God would appear when He provided for Hudson’s needs.
That evening, a patient of Dr. Hardy’s paid an unexpected visit.
“Good evening, Dr. Hardy! I know this is a strange hour to be dropping by, but I just felt the urge to pay one of my bills now.”
Hallelujah! God had sent a very wealthy man – who could have simply mailed his bill whenever he wished – to hand deliver just the amount of money that Mr. Hardy needed to pay Hudson. Once again, God took care of his servant, Hudson Taylor.
After 3 years of constant strengthening of his faith and trust in God, Hudson was ready to go to China. Hudson was so excited that he didn’t even wait to complete his schooling for becoming a doctor. He knew that God was saying, “Go! It’s time! You are ready for China, my son!”
He boarded a very large boat and spent five months sailing all the way to China. As difficult as his 3 years of preparation were, and as dangerous as the journey was across the ocean to get there, he was still surprised at the physical and spiritual darkness of China. Food was very difficult to come by, and disease was everywhere. And the Chinese were not fond of Hudson at first; there were several occasions during which Hudson’s life was truly in danger.
But despite all of that, Hudson remained constant in faith and in prayer. He had developed a theme for his life during those 3 years of preparing to live in China: “Move men, through God, by prayer alone.
As weeks turned into months and months turned into years, that truth became more precious to him than ever. For there were very lonely times, and very hungry times. But Hudson leaned on his Lord and loved the Chinese more than he thought was possible.
Hudson spent the rest of his life in a foreign land that became more home to him than England. He even adopted the Chinese way of dress…with a shaved head, baggy pants, and shirts with big sleeves.
God used a single, obedient, passionate man to bring light to one of the darkest, most mysterious countries in the world. Entire generations of Chinese today know who Jesus is because of the work and faith of Hudson Taylor.
What marvelous, impossible things could God have planned for your precious life? It is never too early to start asking Him how He can use you to change the world! And no matter what God has in store for you, remember to trust Him the way Hudson trusted Him…daring God to provide in even the most impossible situations. God loves you; you are His child and a Father always, always does what is best for His child.
Prayer
Great Heavenly Father, we ask You for faith like Hudson Taylor had. We want to trust You the way he did – even when it seemed like there was no way for things to work out right, You saved the day every time. You are so much bigger and greater than any of our troubles or anything that we are afraid of. Teach us, even though we are young, what it means to have a big faith. And use us Lord, in the way that You think is best. Amen.
Activity: Make a “Miracle Box!”
This activity is special because it will have on-going significance in your family. You are going to assemble and decorate a “Miracle Box,” which is a special container into which your family will place written-down instances of God’s miraculous provision. You can open it once a year and remember the amazing and beautiful ways that God has taken care of your family! And what a wonderful activity for your children to engage in…honoring and recognizing the Lord’s work in their lives.
Supplies you will need:
- Small box (I used a white gift box)
- White paper, glue, crayons, sharpie
Directions:
- Cut out 4 squares of white paper to fit on the top and front panels of your box.
- On one paper square, use the sharpie to title your box. I wrote “Our Family’s Miracle Box.” Decorate the square as you see fit and glue it to the top of the box.
- Have your children decorate the 3 remaining paper squares. My children drew some of their favorite Bible scenes. Glue the squares onto the front and side panels.
- Display the box in a prominent place in your home. Whenever God provides for your family in a miraculous way, write it down and put it in your box!
Check out previous “Missionary Mondays” stories!
George Mueller
William Wilberforce
Mary Slessor
