Little Teacher General John Larsson (Retired) shares fascinating glimpses of the early Army. Even before The Salvation Army reached China, the Army flag saved a village in its far interior from destruction and its villagers from death. It was all thanks to Adjutant Catherine Hine, a missionary to the Chinese who never left Britain. Hine served as a corps officer until, for health reasons, she was given a headquarters appointment. She was allocated quarters in Limehouse. This turned out to be an answer to prayer, for The Chinese corps in action. Catherine Hine felt called to work among the Chinese people, and in Limehouse she was to live in the heart of flag of salvation for one of her converts. London’s Chinatown. Hugh Redwood told the story in his 1930 book God in the In her spare time Catherine learnt her way around the Slums. ‘To one of her converts, on his departure for his native labyrinth of streets where laundrymen, stewards, sea cooks and land, the adjutant gave an Army flag by way of a keepsake. They restaurant keepers dwelled. She increased her slender knowledge laughed at him when he returned to his village, in China’s far of the Chinese language through hard study, often late into the interior; laughed at his flag and at his strange new creed. But he night. She started English language courses at Limehouse Corps was patient, as the Little Teacher had been patient with him, and hall, and soon was known to all as ‘Little Teacher’. She not only in time he too began to gather followers. taught a language, she ‘Then came a wave of trouble. Civil war raged: murder and also shared her faith. destruction stalked the land. Word was brought that a rebel Little Teacher held army was marching on the village. Torture and death had been classes for her students the lot of native Christians everywhere along the rebels’ path and fear laid hold upon the small community. They sought their at all hours, for they leader with crumbling faith. Here was indeed a test. If prayer often worked at odd could move God’s arm, as Little Teacher had said... times. They sat at her feet ‘He looked at her flag, hanging from the wall of his room, and while she taught them he took it down and prayed. He made reply to his questioners to read, write, count and that God would certainly protect them. Then, flag in hand, he understand the essentials went out to meet the raiders—alone. of the Christian gospel. ‘He had no very clear idea afterwards of what it was he She then began to hold had hoped to do. It did not matter, in any case, because what meetings in Chinese, happened was something he could not possibly have foreseen. first for children, then The colours carried by the self-appointed envoy were recognised for women, and then for by the leader of the rebels. He also had lived in London; had everyone. As the work known and reverenced the Little Teacher. grew, a Chinese corps ‘By curious question and excited answer the two men proved was launched. Open-air Catherine Hine. the bond between them, and the hand of death was stayed. The meetings were held where raiding column passed on its way, nor was the slightest hurt Chinese Salvationists could speak to their compatriots in their inflicted on any in that village.’ own language. In 1917 Hine was given early retirement so that she could devote herself full-time to her ministry among the Chinese Reprinted with permission from War Cry United Kingdom community—a ministry lasting 20 years, which Christian with the Republic of Ireland, 10 April 2021. author Hugh Redwood declared to be ‘one of the most exalting records of devoted service that the annals of The Salvation Army can produce’. The upstairs room that Little Teacher used for classes was decked with Chinese symbols, and to enter it was like passing into another world. But the symbol that attracted people the most was the Salvation Army flag. To them the colours were like the ideograms of their language and they never tired of reciting what the colours stood for. The Army flag was literally to prove a
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18 WarCry 12 JUNE 2021