/‘/o ^ TABLET IN FRANZ DISPENSARY YOCHOW CITY MIINIAM CUIKIA SURGICAL WARD IN HOY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. YOCHOW CITY, CHINA MISS TRAUB. DR. lAO. DR. YOUNG ALLEN R. BARTHOLOMEW HERE is a picture on my desk, sent to me by our missionary, Dr. Adams, of the Hoy Memorial Hospital, in China, that 1 could not print because it is so gruesome. Two poor Chinamen lie by the wayside, their heads cut off from their bodies, and their hearts taken out for medical purposes. The Chinese believe that by drying the human heart, grinding it into powder, and using it as a medicine it will give them strength, courage and endurance. Strange, indeed, is such a cruel belief, but it is only one of many of their superstitions. No wonder that a physician in Syria said: “My heart is in the medical work because it is going to bring about the Kingdom of God in the foreign field.” Yes, and do I err when I say that the medical work is an essential part of our Christian service in heathen lands! By precept and example our Saviour emphasized it. The same Lord who said, “Preach the Gospel,” also said, “Heal the Sick.” Who can estimate the value of the healing art as practiced by the Christian physician and nurse! HEAL THE SICK The hospital is an educator as to the divine atti- tude towards human suffering. It is one of the best agencies which God uses to heal a sin-sick humanity. Some one has said: “A beautiful edifice is a poem in stone; and a beautiful church a sermon in stone; but a building devoted to the relief of pain and misery is the symbol of a perpetual prayer and a perpetual benediction; the prayer of human anguish to the heart of the Eternal, and the benediction of God upon whatever tends to the relief of His suffering children.” The surgeon and the nurse are the two arms who enact the wonders of the healing art for Christ’s sake in these latter days. What a blessing they prove to the millions in the far outposts of progress who feel as keenly as we do, and yet who know of no remedy, but must needs lie in helpless agony until the pain spends itself, or death affords relief! Oh! the sight of the suffering in the non- Christian lands! What ghastly memories crowd in upon my mind as I think of the sightless eye- balls in India and the festering sores in China. In China a woman physician and trained nurse are welcomed most cordially. They have access to the homes of the women who will rather HEAL T H S I C WOMEN S HOSPITAL AT SHENCHOWFU. CHINA WITHOUT A WOMAN PHYSICIAN die than call in a man to treat them. They tell the nurse what they will tell nobody else in all the world, all their sorrows and pains, and they will listen to the Gospel from her. During sickness the soul is usually open to conviction of sin and often moved to confess faith in Christ. At such a time the physician and nurse have the opportunity of telling about Jesus who came to help the suffering and to teach of the Father’s love for all. In China, as well as in America, men and women can say: HEAL THE SICK “The healing of the seamless dress Is by our beds of pain; We touch Him in life’s throng and press, And we are whole again.” The mission of the hospital is to work the works of Christian love, without which our faith is dead indeed, and with which the gracious flowers of Christian faith and works, grow side by side, and come into fullest fruition in China. If there be on earth a sweeter work 1 do not know it. By means of the dispensary much seed-sowing can be done, and it serves admirably to advertise Christian work. It is possible through the dis- pensary to distribute large numbers of tracts and portions of the Scriptures. At the time of the signing of the armistice, it is said, our nation had 35,000 medical officers in the service of the army, and 3,000 in the navy to guard the physical well-being of about 4,000,000 soldiers and sailors. All honor to the Govern- ment for so splendidly caring for our noble men. But compare this large medical force with the 420 foreign physicians, 265 hospitals, and 386 dispen- saries in China among 400,000,000 people. What are so few among so many! A million a month are dying, without the benign ministry of healing. A MOTHER TREATED FOR CANCER Our hospitals have been fountains of blessing to thousands of sick and dying. Two physicians and one nurse at Yochow City, and one physician and one nurse at Shenchowfu are not able to meet the demands made upon them by the sufferers who flock to their doors for relief. Our Church needs to supply more doctors and nurses. The Board should elect immediately two married surgeons, two lady physicians and three nurses. Proper homes for our nurses at both stations would greatly add to their comfort and efficiency. Addi- tional residences must also be supplied for the new doctors. The hospitals in China require the same equipment as do the hospitals in America. Those who have studied the strategy of Missions say that the “Boards must stand on the side of progress and see that their hospitals and medical schools keep pace with the medicine and surgery of Europe and America.” Christianity must prove its superiority over all other religions by superior knowledge and skill in the practical application of it to the needs of the sick. The time has come when we must no longer get along with the scanty outfits and slipshod methods of by-gone days. w omen of the Reformed Church ! Think upon this work, behold the needs of the suffering, go to their relief with your sympathy, prayers and support, and you will never cease to thank the Lord for counting you worthy to have a part in this ministry. 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