The Great Fire of Chicago began about 9 pm Sunday, October 8, until early Tuesday, October 10, 1871.  This rapidly spreading fire killed approximately 300 individuals, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles Chicago, and left over 100,000 residents homeless.  This devastating fire would greatly impact the life of American evangelist D.L. Moody.

Fitting In and Settling In
Once the Lammermuir party landed and the missionary party found a place to stay, they immediately adopted the ways of the Chinese they would be ministering among.  This included a diet consisting of a great deal of rice, and the difficult task of mastering chopsticks.  They also adopted Chinese dress, which caused quite a stir among other Europeans.

At a young age, Emily Blatchely became an orphan.  Her parents had entrusted her to the care of missionaries Hudson and Maria Taylor, founders of the China Inland Mission.  As she grew into her twenties, she became the governess for the Hudson family and graduated from the Home and Colonial Training College.  She would become a key part of the China Inland Mission before her life was cut tragically short.  This is the first part of her story.​

Hear about Mabel Francis and her sister in post-World War II Japan.

I would love to see your comments below.  What parts of her story touched you the most?  What did you find surprising, interesting, or funny?

This part of Mabel's story deals with her first landing in Japan at Yokohoma, to the end of World War II.

Part 1 of a multi-part series on missionary Mabel Francis, who served in Japan during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  In this part, we learn about her background and how she got saved.  Enjoy!

Shelter and Hostility
Nadia's uncle on her father's side lived close enough to them to see, from his own window, that his brother's family had been literally tossed out into the icy cold.  He struggled for quite a while.  Could he let his brother's children freeze to death in the cold?  But what about his own family?  What would become of them if he helped the family of a political prisoner?

"I'll tell you what will happen!" shouted his wife.  "You'll get sent to a Gulag!  And what will become of your own children?  What will become of me?" she cried.  His children were listening in quite intently.  He reached for his coat, and his wife tried to pull it away from him.  "I will not allow my brother's children to freeze to death, woman."  He walked out into the snow and ice and brought Nadia, Maria, Boris, and their mother, Oksana, into his home.

On December 31, 1924 a little baby girl named Nadia Chaplya was born in the Ukraine.  Nadia would be the middle of three children; her older sister was Maria and her younger brother was Boris.  Her parents were Anton and Oksana.  The Chaplyas had a small farm with a grove of cherry trees that their children had helped them to plant.  Anton, however, struggled with alcoholism and made things difficult for the family.

This was a difficult time for the Ukrainian people as the Communist influence was increasing.  In their small village, corruption and abuse of power was rampant.  The town constable, Ivan Dushko, wanted the Chaplyas' land so badly he was willing to use his power to take it.  To that end, he falsely accused Anton of political crimes, making him a wanted man.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  -- Hebrews 4:12, KJV

Planting Seed
John Wengatz thoroughly believed in the power of the Word of God, and often gave out copies of the Gospel of Matthew -- and the Lord did many things with those small books.  ​One of Wengatz's missionaries encountered a young man named Buta.  Buta had just finished his military service as a soldier and was retiring as an officer.  He had learned to read and write during his military service, and when a missionary gave him the small, red book (the Gospel of Matthew) he was delighted at a chance to use his reading skills.