It was by the unmistakable leading of Divine Providence that I chanced upon this most precious recommended read, offered by a dear missionary brother laboring faithfully in the distant fields of Peru. Upon searching out the title and reading a small measure of its testimony, I was immediately moved to commit the last of my earthly savings to secure the digital volume. So deeply convicting was the very narration of that faithful servant, Bruce Olson, that my spirit could not lay the book aside; I was compelled forward, finishing the content in the brief span of three hours. In that reading, I found a profound and glorious realization that God had, in His tender mercy, already wonderfully steered my uncertain steps in the right direction from the very genesis of this work. I had long poured out my soul, seeking the mercies of God for a clearer and more definite vision, and with this timely message, the long-sought assurance was settled upon my heart as a blessed certainty. I commend this...

A year went by. Hudson read his Bible through for the fortieth time. He wrote hundreds of letters and prayed constantly for China and the missionaries who served there. The news that Jennie had cancer hardly changed their lives at all. Both of them were already living in the light of eternity. Although she was thin and weak, she told a friend, "I couldn't be better cared for or happier. I'm nearly home. What will it be to be there! The Lord is taking me slowly and gently." And so He was. On July 29, 1904, Jennie died with Hudson at her bedside. Hudson was now seventy-two years old and badly wanted to go back to China. There were so many people to encourage there and so many people to thank. So, in the spring of 1905, he and his son Howard, now also a medical doctor, and Howard's wife, Geraldine, set off on Hudson's eleventh journey to China. And what a trip it was. Hudson was able to visit many areas by train now. Trains were much more comfortable than the whe...

Triumphs come at a cost. Such is the story of the cross. There are no victories where none dares to count the cost. All die, not all die for something of eternal worth. Even our view of death is marred by sin as unfortunate. But for a child of God it is merely the end of sorrows and the beginning of endless joy. *** By Christmas 1869, Hudson and Maria had made the most difficult decision of their married lives. Their four oldest children, Herbert, Howard, Samuel, and Maria were to be sent back to England to stay with their grandparents. It would be safer for them there, and they could go to a regular school. At that time it was quite normal for children to be sent home like this, but it still upset Hudson and Maria to think they wouldn’t be seeing their children for a long time. They decided to keep one-year-old Charles with them because he was too young to be separated from his parents. Also, Maria was pregnant again and due to give birth in the middle of the year, so Charles would ha...

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...

Very early in the course of His ministry, the Lord Jesus taught His people that they were to be the light— not of Jerusalem, not of Judea, nor yet of the Jewish nation, but— of the world . And He taught them to pray—not as the heathen, who use vain and unmeaning repetitions; nor yet as the worldly-minded, who ask first and principally (if not solely) for their own private benefit and need: "For," said He, " your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him. After this manner therefore pray ye:— " Our Father which art in heaven, " Hallowed be Thy name; " Thy kingdom come; " Thy will be done; as in heaven, so in earth." And it was only after these petitions, and quite secondary to them, that any personal petitions were to be offered. Even the very moderate one, "Give us this day our daily bread," followed them. Is not this order too often reversed in the present day? Do not Christians often really feel, and also act, as t...