The Swedish Mission in China, founded in 1887, labors in connection with the China Inland Mission, a large and successful inter-denominational mission, which has more than twenty thousand communicants. To this work other Swedish societies contribute.
|A Pioneer.| The founding of the Swedish Mission in China was due to the influence of a visit from Lars Skrefsrud, one of the founders of the Home Mission to the Santals in India. His burning enthusiasm for the cause of missions influenced Erik Folke to become in 1887 a pioneer in China. He studied the Chinese language in the school of the China Inland Mission and then arranged for the founding of an independent Swedish Mission, which should, however, work in connection with the China Inland Mission. Mr. Folke’s fearful experiences during the Boxer uprising so affected his health that it was necessary that he should return to Sweden where he serves as president of the Home Committee.
The field of this Swedish Mission is composed of the parts of the Provinces of Shensi, Shansi and Honan, which meet at the turn of the Yellow River from south to east. It numbers almost as many inhabitants as Sweden. Among the mission institutions are opium refuges where those afflicted with the opium habit may go for treatment.
|The Swedish Martyrs.| There is a small Swedish Lutheran Mission in Mongolia, begun in 1899 with three missionaries, its station being at Hallang Osso, eighty-five miles north of Kalgan. This mission suffered greatly during the Boxer uprising, its three missionaries being killed. It seemed for a long time that labor in this district was worse than useless, but a few faithful workers have persisted. Now the three missionaries who are on the field believe that the harvest will shortly be gathered.
The Swedish missions have laid many sacrifices upon the altar of the cause which they love. The total number of Swedes murdered in the Boxer uprising was about forty, one-third of the whole number of the westerners who were killed. A number of these were Lutherans. If the blood of its martyrs is the seed of the Church, there opens for Sweden a great future in China.
The Lutheran Gospel Association of Finland carries on a mission in Northern Hupeh with sixteen missionaries in four stations.
American Societies.
|A Generous People.| The Danish Lutherans support, as we have seen, the mission of their fatherland.
Five American Norwegian Lutheran bodies have missions in China, to which they contributed in 1915, about $118,000.
The United Norwegian Lutheran Church is at work in the south central portion of the Province of Honan, where it took over in 1904 several stations of an independent society. It has now six stations and forty-nine missionaries. The Christians number about fifteen hundred. Among the stations are Sinyang, where there are training schools for native workers and Kioshan where the mission hospital is situated.