Prayer for Morse Family Missionaries Kidnapping Answered:

Working in China, Tibet, Burma border region - Story spans the Morse Family in Asia 1921-1965 A Must read book. Both the prequel and Exodus to a hidden valley. Unknown Missions classics.

"I was always tired and not feeling well by the end of the day’s travel, so as soon as we had eaten supper and the cots were put up, I went to bed. Late that night Russell heard loud talking downstairs, so he slipped quietly into a hayloft where he could see and hear a group of men sitting around and drinking in the landlord’s room. They were drunk and talking rather loudly in Chinese. Russell listened long enough to learn that they planned to kidnap him and Eugene the next morning as we went around the base of a high mountain, and hold them for a large ransom.

He came back from the hayloft to our room, white and trembling and, as always, we took our troubles to the Lord. With His help, Russell began to formulate a plan. We had two trustworthy Tibetan helpers with us and we had an American missionary friend, Miss Cornelia Morgan, who lived at the Bethel Mission in Tsu Hsiung, about a half day’s journey away, where there was a large magistracy. He wrote a note to Miss Morgan, telling of our predicament, then contacted our Tibetans without being noticed and told them of the kidnap plans.

The next morning Russell told me to stay in bed that day, and told the caravan leader that I was too ill to travel. He told them we would have to stay there until I felt better, but he would pay them for the lay-over time. Since I had been ill most of the trip, that aroused no suspicions. Meanwhile, our Tibetans had slipped away early that morning with the note hidden in one of their boots and delivered it to our friend. She then notified the magistrate, who did not question the information, because there had been a great deal of trouble at that particular spot — the same place where Dr. Shelton was kid napped in 1920, and where many robberies had occurred.

The magistrate lined up fifty soldiers (who were opium smokers) and chose eight of the best, with their “best” (least rusty!) guns, and sent them to protect us. They arrived at sun down, and our messengers, who had come most of the way with the soldiers, slipped quietly in after dark. The amazement on the faces of that band of men was a sight to behold. Our Tibetans told us of hearing the landlord, who turned out to be the leader of the group, say “Now we can’t carry out our plans, since the soldiers are here”. Then he questioned each one, trying to find out who had told of their plan. They all denied it, and he said, “Well, surely one of you did”.

After we arrived in America and I was telling my mother of this experience, she remembered that at about that time she was awakened in the night with the terrible feeling that some thing was wrong. She woke my sister and said, “Helen, get up. Gertrude is in trouble and we must pray for her”. On checking back, we found it was the very day that we were so earnestly praying for a solution to our dilemma. The Holy Spirit had awakened my mother, thousands of miles away, so she could add her prayers to ours. And God answered them.”

(“The Dogs May Bark But The Caravan Moves On” – A Prequel to Exodus To A Hidden Valley. Gertrude Morse, College Press, 1998, Pg 175-176)