Pastor Keh made a plea to the Seventh-day Adventist headquarters in Hong Kong for a foreign minister/missionary to assist him in establishing a church in Ku Lang Su, Amoy Island, in the Fukien Province of China.

He was the only Adventist in his family. His wife and pretty daughter were very much against him because he had resigned from a lofty position of being the president of a mission school in Amoy, belonging to a Christian denomination, for a doubtful future. He had to buy a small house not far from the small business district of Ku Lang Su. He had just recently accepted the Adventist truth from one of his students, Timothy Tay. Mr. Keh had made his living room into a chapel as he gathered his family and neighbors to worship on the Sabbath day.

In answer to this call the Seventh-day Adventist Mission Board sent Winfred C. Hankins and wife Bessie to lead out in the work of the Fukien Province. They settled on the small two-by-three-mile island of Ku Lang Su, a mile across the bay from Amoy.

We will let Enid, the Hankins’ oldest daughter, tell the story: “My precious parents were born and reared in Sigourney, Iowa. Dad’s parents were well off until the depression of 1893 hit them. As the grandparents could find no work, the young son, Winfred, sold soap from door to door bringing in $5 a day to feed the family of eight.

“Before Dad was born, his mother was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church from Methodism. She expected that her third child should be a doctor, but instead Winfred gave his heart to the Lord and was baptized at the age of 12. He promised the Lord he would become a minister.

“My mother, Bessie L. Rentfro, was born on a large farm, one of 10 children. The work was very hard but it prepared her for even greater responsibilities in the Lord’s work. On July 3, 1903, my parents were married and went to a camp meeting. If God would have them in His work, they said, ‘Please, Lord, impress the Iowa Conference brethren to accept us and if it be Your will, send us where You please’! It so happened that a collection was taken at one of the sessions to send the newlyweds to Washington, DC, to learn more about soul-winning. Both had normal training and Dad nursed patients on the side. For two years they helped Carlyle B. Haynes give Bible studies and hold efforts. When the plea came from J. N. Anderson in China for help, the General Conference brethren decided to call Winfred Hankins.

“Dad thought, ‘ I believe this is my real call’! And when he talked it over with Bessie she answered as Ruth did that she would go anywhere he went. As he was so urgent they immediately packed and went to Seattle to catch a slow boat to China. On the trip they were deathly seasick.

“Drs. Selman and Miller met the boat at Shanghai. How happy they were when on May 3, 1905, they arrived in Hong Kong and were met by a relative, Mrs. Susan Haskell Wilbur. How happy Bessie was when Susan said she would come up to be with her on the arrival of her baby.

“Upon arriving in Ku Lang Su Bessie’s heart sank when she saw the place they had to live or exist in--two tiny upstairs rooms over the Keh residence. All rents were above $150 a month and the Hankinses had $10 to last them for several months.

“It wasn‘t long until father was sitting in the heat reading and learning a new language with a Chinese teacher. Dad also gathered Keh’s young students at a round table to study the Bible. He had a Chinese Bible where he would point out the texts and the boys would look them up quickly. They learned rapidly. It was from these people that formed the new church and new school. Some of those same boys taught school in Amoy and Ku Lang Su and later Foochow and Formosa. Some became colporteurs.

“With the new recruits well established, Brother Keh felt a lot better and so did his wife and daughter. Mother won Mrs. Keh’s love and she was soon baptized along with her pretty daughter. Mrs. Keh taught mother to cook some Chinese foods so that they did not need to eat beans and rice most of the time.

“1906 rolled around. I was about a year old when B. L. Anderson and Brother J. N. Anderson came to Amoy. My parents had looked for a house to no avail but finally found a large oblong house, called “Cats’ Castle” because the lady of the house had 30 cats which had burned up in a bedroom. The Andersons took the east side and the Hankinses on the west with a long hall between them. The lovely beach in front was the longest beach on the island.

“Mother’s father died and she inherited a small amount of money so my parents could build a small house of their own. Father had a handsome open face and curly hair, wide set blue eyes, commanding everyone’s respect and trust. Mother was blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned and sweet at all times.

“Everyone loved her too. Our home was the most pleasant place to be, a place close to heaven. My sister, Beryl, and I loved our parents so much we never rebelled or disobeyed in any way. There never was a quarrel or loud talk in our home. Our parents were real lovers and their love overflowed to us and everyone who came within our home circle. (Would that every Christian home could be like that!)”

I thought this description of a missionary family would be an inspiration to many. In 1922 a meeting of all missionaries of the South China Union was held in Amoy during the summer so that they could be housed in the boys dormitory. The Nagel family were guests in the Hankins’ home. About halfway through the meeting a terrible typhoon hit the island. Those who were in the Hankins’ home will never forget those two days of destruction. The roof was blown off the house. The walls fell down one by one. The people grabbed the mattresses off the beds and moved to a small building behind the house which was somewhat sheltered by the hill in back. Here they prayed to God for safety and deliverance.

The next morning thousands of dead bodies and broken boats were seen floating on the beaches and not one home on the island was free from damage. That next meeting, Elder F. C. Gilbert, our Jewish brother from the General Conference, gave a heart-searching talk that stirred all who heard it.

During the meeting and after the typhoon, rumors of wars on the mainland came flying. In a few days became a reality. Gunboats came up the bay and bombed the two ports on either side of the harbor. The battles were far enough away so no bombs came near the school where the missionaries stayed. But the noise was terrific. Some folks climbed the mountain back of the school for a better look.

The little Nagel girl, Florence, was climbing with Elder John Strahle, the Publishing Secretary of the Asiatic Division of China. It is reported that as she was hiding by a Chinese grave she looked up said, “This sounds like home.” For many years she had grown up under war conditions down in the Hakka country.

Elder Hankins and family returned to the United States in 1924. Their home was rented to different missionaries who followed, until 1937 when the Japanese army came to Amoy and took it over. When the Japanese left in 1940 they bombed the house, leaving it desolate. Brother Hankins did evangelistic work in America until he retired at the age of 81 and died in February of 1968. Bessie had passed away three years earlier.These are some of the hardships our early missionaries endured.Now it is up to the next generation ofAdventists to finish the work so Jesus may come the second time to take us home.