Born in 1840 and reared in Virginia Baptist aristocracy, Charlotte (Lottie) Moon was strong-willed and throughout her college years vigorously opposed the Gospel. Surrendering to Christ was difficult. Of her conversion she said, "I went to the service to scoff, and returned to my room praying all night."
After her conversion she taught school in Cartersville, Georgia, where she worked among destitute families for whom she bought clothing from her own income.
Touched one Sunday morning by her pastor's sermon, she decided to become a missionary to China. In 1873 she joined her sister Edmonia in Tengchow, in northern shantung province.
Once there she plunged into the work with great energy and determination. Her reports to her mission board were sometimes critical. She once wrote, "It is odd that a million Baptists of the South can furnish only three missionaries for all of China.
After the Boxer rebellion a severe famine followed and thousands of Chinese died of starvation. The Chinese churches did what they could and Miss Moon gave much of her salary to help them. She wrote many letters to her mission board, imploring them to send large sums of money, but the cash-strapped board claimed it was not able to help.
As the famine worsened and appeals to home went unanswered, she withdrew the last of her savings and gave it to relief workers. In her bank book she wrote: "Pray that no missionary will ever be as lonely as I have been."
Shortly after, fellow missionaries began to notice that she was behaving strangely and called a doctor, who realized that she was starving to death. She was placed on a boat heading for home but it was too late. She died enroute on Christmas Eve 1912.
To this day, people continue to be challenged by her sacrificial life.
A Christian martyr is one who chooses to: - suffer death rather than to deny Christ or His work...sacrifice something very important to further the Kingdom of God...endure great suffering for Christian witness.
Source: The Voice of the MartyrsServing the persecuted Church and works in over 50 countries. To help and support, you may contact the Australian mission by email on:
[email protected]or write to them:
The Voice of the Martyrs
PO Box 598
Penrith NSW 2751
Australia
For more information on Bible studies available, visit the Churchlink site on the World Wide Web at http://www.churchlink.com.au/churchlink. Enquiries to: [email protected]
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