Teaching on the Hillside between Alarms
On a bright sunshiny day two or three alarms were nothing unusual and
often several hours elapsed between the first alarm and the all-clear.
The alarm usually sounded while a class was in session, thus hours of
teaching were lost. It was
perfectly obvious that something would have to be done about it.
Finally, we decided that if the planes did not put in appearance shortly
after the first alarm, then we would conduct our classes on the hillside, close
to the tunnel. It was a novel
experience for all of us and we have often wondered if any other Bible School in
China went through such an ordeal in order to keep up with the curriculum.
The picture above shows Pastor Timothy Lin and his class. In spite of their unusual environment I do not remember one
who complained; this in spite of the fact that the seats were not always
comfortable and the sun persistently “penetrated our leafy defenses.”
When classes were thus held on the hillside, there were three or four groups in session at the same time. It was an interesting sight. The flatest places were chosen—and there were none really flat. The students scattered about as close as possible to the teacher, and looked for back rests. Trees, tufts of grass and even tombstones were chosen. Many times, teachers becoming enthusiastic over a certain thought, would nearly lose their balance on the steep hillside. However the Lord was very real to us and the classes held between the air raid alarms at Wuchow will always have a special place in our memory.