The Lammermuir

It was May 25, 1866. The following day, the first official group of missionaries from the China Inland Mission would set sail aboard the Lammermuir, bound for Shanghai. Hudson put his pen down and smiled. He had just completed writing a passenger list to give to Captain Bell the next day.

He looked at the list. His name was at the top, along with Maria’s and their four children, six-year-old Grace, five-year-old Herbert, three-year-old Howard, and little Samuel, nearly two years old.

Listed below the children were the names of the only other married couple in the group, Lewis and Eliza Nicol. Lewis was a blacksmith from Scotland. Below them were the names of five single men: James Williamson, George Duncan, Josiah Jackson, John Sell, and William Rudland. Following them were the names of the single women: Jane McLean, Emily Blatchley, Jennie Faulding, Mary Bausum, Mary Bell, Louise Desgraz, Elizabeth Rose, Mary Bowyer, and Susan Barnes.

Hudson prayed for each name on the list and asked God to give each person strength for the journey. He thought about each one. He remembered how they had come to him with their eyes shining and their faith strong. He’d told each one plainly about the potential dangers that lay ahead, and each one had looked him straight in the eye and told him he was called by God to take the Gospel to Inland China, whatever the cost. 

The men and women made a good team. Most of them were not scholars. They were secretaries, stonemasons, carpenters, and teachers, but they had an enthusiasm to share God’s love with people. Any other skill or knowledge they needed, Hudson was sure they could learn later. Most importantly, they had a love for God and a praying heart, and that was the core of a missionary with the China Inland Mission.

As the Lammermuir headed for the English Channel, Hudson stood on the poop deck and committed the voyage to God. He was grateful that across the British Isles pockets of people were praying for them. It was true, many Christians had criticized the China Inland Mission and its ideas of trusting God alone, but as long as there were people committed to pray for them, Hudson was confident all would be well. When people questioned how he could lead a group that included nine single women into the heart of a heathen country without financial support, his answer was always the same: “I am taking my children with me, and I notice it’s not difficult for me to remember that they need breakfast in the morning, lunch at midday, and dinner before they go to bed. I find it impossible to believe our Heavenly Father is less tender or mindful than I am.”

Captain Bell had been right about the crew. They were rough and loud. The children had to be instructed to ignore their cursing. But as tough as the crew seemed, for the next four months, they were to be the mission field of the fledgling China Inland Mission. 

Mary Bell began holding a nightly Bible study, and to her surprise, many of the sailors attended it. They came not so much because they were interested in what she had to say, but because she was pretty.

Louise Desgraz held Bible readings in Swedish for the four crew members from Sweden. Susan Barnes held classes for those who wanted to improve their reading, and a number of the crew began attending.

Hudson was delighted that he didn’t have to remind anyone in the group of his or her obligation to reach out to the crew with the Gospel message. Before they left England, he’d stressed to them that “a voyage across the ocean will not make anyone a soul winner.” By this he meant that a desire to share God’s love with everyone had to be in their hearts wherever they found themselves. Simply being given the title of missionary would not magically make them missionaries.

Slowly but surely, the missionaries began to win the begrudging respect of the crew. The crew no longer complained about the hymn singing. In fact, they had heard some of the hymns so many times that they found themselves singing along without even realizing it! Then one or two of the crew began to have things to do around the ship’s saloon when the group were holding their meetings. They would splice rope or check a deck joint nearby. After a couple of weeks, they did not bother with excuses; they just pulled up a barrel outside the saloon and sat down and listened. 

First one, then two, three, four, and more crewmen asked Jesus Christ into their lives and became Christians. Before the voyage was even half over, twenty-three crew members had become Christians. The young missionaries eagerly discipled the new converts. The crew asked Hudson to move his daily meeting out on deck because the saloon was becoming too cramped. 

But the more the crew found peace with God, the less peace they found with the first mate, Mr. Brunton. He was second in command aboard the Lammermuir, and he didn’t like what was happening with his crew. Mr. Brunton had a bad temper, which, unfortunately for all on board, seemed to be touched off by any mention of religion. As time went by, he became increasingly angry and began bullying many of the new converts on his crew. Mr. Brunton soon became the focus of prayer for many people on board, both passengers and crew. And slowly, he began to soften. He began to allow Hudson to read passages from the Bible to him and explain their meaning. One night in August, Hudson read him the Passover story from the book of Exodus. When he came to the passage where God tells the Israelites to paint blood on the door posts so death would pass over their houses, Mr. Brunton jumped to his feet yelling, “‘When I see the blood it will pass over you.’ I see. I see. How blind I’ve been.”

Hudson was so excited he woke up John Sell and Elizabeth Rose, who had been praying hard for Mr. Brunton, and told them the good news of his conversion. John Sell looked at his pocket watch; it was three-thirty in the morning. 

The next day, Mr. Brunton called the entire crew together and apologized to them for the way he’d been behaving. An amazing change took place in his life. From then on, he was at every meeting, singing as loud as he could, and he was usually the last to leave. 

Hudson was excited at the influence his group was having on the crew. He wrote a letter to Mr. Berger and said, “Our minds are kept in peace as to the future. Were we never to reach China, we should all rejoice in the work God has done on the Lammermuir.”

Benge, Janet; Benge, Geoff. Hudson Taylor: Deep in the Heart of China (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) (pp. 122-127). YWAM Publishing. Kindle Edition.