China Hans: From Shanghai to Hitler to Christ

© Copyright 2009, Hans Wilhelm.

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Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

1

How It All Began

2

In the Steps of Abraham

3

Slow Boat to China

4

Look Out, the Communists

and Japanese Are Coming!

5

You Must Go to an

Internment Camp

6

Haven’t You Got

Anything To Eat?

7

Easter Miracle

on the Pearl River

8

Hitler Youth in Shanghai

9

The Death of Adolf Hitler

10

What Shall It Profit a Man…

11

Anna, Frank, Arthur, Roy

12

And He Calls Himself

a Christian!

13

St. John’s and the

Fall of Shanghai

14

Stanley’s Song

15

You Are…You Will Be…

16

Arrival in the New World

17

The Great Escape

18

Sarah Will Have a Son

19

I Want to Get Out of Here

20

Reunion with

My German Sisters

21

I Will Never Go There

22

Formosa, the Beautiful Island

23

The Vow of a

Seventeen-Year-Old

24

The Body in the Station Wagon

25

The Man Will Not Rest

26

A Honeymoon Like No Other

27

A Fisherman Called

Mr. Sabbath

28

I’m Sorry, I Don’t Have Time

29

Dried Fish, Tree Fungus,

and Two Pigs

30

Foreign Correspondent

31

Frank’s $7,000 Check

32

Prepare to Bury Your Daughter

33

Fuller Theological Seminary

34

Lord, It Doesn’t Make Sense

35

Delta Flight 824

36

Donald McGavran,

Missionary Giant

37

Together at Last

38

Brazil: The Land of Wow

39

I Had a Friend

40

Brazil, Love It or Leave It?

41

Sink or Swim

42

But Dad, You Promised

43

When a Man’s Ways Are Pleasing to the Lord

44

There Were Giants in the Land

45

So, You Are That Hans Wilhelm

46

Aktion Gemeindeaufbau

47

Two Soviet Women

48

Can Anything Good

Come Out of America?

49

Inside Africa

50

This Is Exactly What We Need

51

A Broken Wristwatch

52

Making the Second

Half the Best Half

53

Chinese International Missions

54

China Revisited

55

A Cab Driver’s Blessing

56

From Amsterdam to Zambia

The Last Word

My Mentors

Significant Dates

Notes

Dedication

I do not remember how many times I have been asked over the years, When are you going to write the story of your life?

I knew that I had experienced much, but I always wondered whether anybody would truly be interested in reading about it—and whether it was worth the effort to put it all together.

Then the pressure started mounting from family, especially from my wife, Alice. One thing she said hit home: When you are gone, your story will be gone too, unless you write it down. I had many times voiced my regret that I had not asked my parents more questions while they were still alive. There were so many things I did not know about them that I really wanted to know. I was about to make the same mistake by failing to record my story.

Then I came across this passage: Remember the days of old, consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you (Deuteronomy 32:7).

Years before, I’d been sitting in a hotel restaurant in Wuhan, China, having breakfast with the English-American pastor and teacher Dr. Stuart Briscoe, when he spoke these words: Everyone has a story. I cannot remember the context of our conversation, but I have never forgotten his simple statement. Yes, indeed, every person has a story to tell, and in this book I am telling my story.

Obviously I had to be selective, because over the years I’d assembled a huge repertoire of events and experiences. But I wanted to present a picture of God’s dealings in my life—the great moments as well as the defeats and struggles. My primary purpose was to leave a record of His faithfulness for my grandchildren, with the hope that they too will experience the same grace in their lives.

It is therefore to them that I dedicate this book:

Karl Martin, Heidi Marie, Kari Kay, and Mark Thomas Wilhelm

Acknowledgments

As I have shared parts of my story in public meetings, numerous people have urged me to tell my story in book form. Their faithful insistence finally paid off. I’m grateful to each of them.

My family, in particular, encouraged me to make time for this project and saw to it that once I started it was brought to conclusion. My wife, Alice, my children Marty and Lita, and my sisters Eva, Anita, and Peggy all joined forces to spur me on. Thank you!

In writing this story, I was blessed with some great resources: newsletters written over more than fifty years, other personal diaries and journals, and input from written accounts by my sisters and late brother which refreshed my memory. It would have been difficult to complete this project without them. I sincerely appreciate all of their help.

It was a great delight to work with Jim Lund in Bend, Oregon, who not only helped edit this book but also gave valuable and objective advice in making it more readable. Thanks Jim.

And finally, my special thanks to Lyndsey Barrett, who helped me design the book cover.

If there are any discrepancies and errors in this book, I, of course, assume full responsibility.

Foreword

In Hebrews 13:7 we read: Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. To a significant degree, OC International is the mission it is today because of the faithful and sacrificial service of Hans Wilhelm. It is therefore a great honor for me, in my role as president of the mission and on behalf of our worldwide missionary family, to write the foreword to this book which traces the thrilling story of Hans’ life and ministry.

Most missionaries have the privilege of serving in only one country of the world. In his extraordinary missionary career which now has spanned more than five decades, Hans Wilhelm had the incredible opportunity of serving as a missionary with OC International on five different continents! Beginning with his birth to missionary parents serving in China, this book relates the thrilling story of how God prepared and molded Hans into His servant through a unique series of life experiences, and then how God used him to have a worldwide ministry impact which began in Asia and progressed to Latin America, North America, Europe, and finally Africa.

The first time I met Hans was in the summer of 1974 when, as a young seminary student, my wife and I were beginning the process of preparation for cross-cultural missionary service. During the more than three decades which followed, Hans has been a faithful friend, a challenging model, and an invaluable mentor to me during my own missionary service and my progression through a variety of leadership responsibilities and roles. Just as the life and missionary service of Hans had been profoundly impacted by the godly men and women the Lord brought into his life, so my life and ministry were significantly impacted and shaped by his ministry to me over the years. What has been true of my life and ministry has been true as well for generations of men and women who have served with OC International in places of ministry around the world.

One of the verses, which the Lord has used powerfully in Hans’ life, is Acts 13:36, which says: For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep. In this book you will read the thrilling story of a servant of the Lord who obediently and faithfully served the purposes of God in his generation, wherever those purposes took Him and whatever sacrifices they demanded of him. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you, with the prayer that it will inspire and challenge you in your walk with and service for the Lord, even as the life and ministry of Hans have so significantly inspired and challenged me.

Dr. Greg Gripentrog

President, OC International

1

How It All Began

1931

Guizhou, China

It was during the first snowfall in the mountains of Guizhou province in southwest China, in January 1931, that I made my initial visit to this amazing country.

Seven years earlier, my dad—Papa—had embarked for China from Germany to keep a promise he had made during his soldier days in World War I. Lord, if You bring me safely through this war, then I will serve You as a missionary, had been his pledge. God did protect him through the war years fighting on three battlefields in Russia, Hungary, and France.

Papa, like other soldiers, did not talk a lot about his war experiences. The trench warfare on the western front in France was anything but glamorous, and the deaths of comrades and enemies alike quickly turned a young soldier into a seasoned fighter.

Though my dad said little about his war escapades, one story is still vivid in my mind. It was during the time that he served in the Imperial German Army in France. His duties at that time involved carrying messages from the command post to troops on the front lines. He knew the terrain well and often dodged enemy bullets as he rushed with new instructions for the soldiers who were directly facing the enemy.

On one of these occasions, a dense fog fell on the battlefield, causing my dad to be disoriented. He thought he knew his way, yet the fog covered up all known landmarks. As he came upon a trench, he suddenly realized that he must have strayed across the lines, since all the soldiers were British. Instinctively, he reached for a hand grenade and was ready to release the firing pin, when all fifty troops in the trench raised their arms in surrender. Singlehandedly, my father marched these prisoners back to the German lines. For this he was decorated with the Iron Cross, First Class, the highest decoration awarded to a noncommissioned officer. My father wore it with pride!

While telling the story, Papa mentioned that before he went into the war, he had prayed that God would grant him the special privilege of fighting with distinction yet without taking an enemy’s life. God mercifully granted both of these requests. To his knowledge, he never killed a single soldier during his war years.

It was during those World War I days that the German edition of the Christian magazine, China’s Millions, carried the following announcement:

A young man, who had committed himself to serve God through the Liebenzell Mission, has been killed in action on the eastern front. Who will become his substitute?

Within a week of reading this news, my father sent the following letter to Pastor Heinrich Coerper, founder and director of the Liebenzell Mission in southern Germany:

With deep sorrow I have learned that once again, someone who was committed to serve in the holy cause of world missions has become a casualty of this war. Because of that, I want to respond with an enthusiastic Here to your appeal for someone to fill the gap. If by God’s grace I will return from the Great War, I will fulfill my vow which I gave Him as a youth to serve my Master as a faithful witness to spread His kingdom among the heathen.

Since my early youth, I have had a strong interest in missions, which has only increased as I grew older. But until that time comes, I will be a faithful servant of my Lord in where He has placed me at this time. Oh, may I clearly understand my responsibility and become a blessing to my fellow soldiers and comrades. May I request your intercession and prayers for me at this time? I am praying for you and the mission.

With warm greetings,

Max Wilhelm

As soon as the war was over, Papa signed up with the Liebenzeller Mission working in China as an affiliate of the China Inland Mission. After seminary training and practical internship, he left for China in December 1923, but not before he was engaged to a young deaconess working in an orphanage. They had met only a couple of times, but my dad had fallen in love with Anna Giessel, a petite, dark-haired gal with soft brown eyes who was devoting her life with a deep sense of love and commitment to helping young orphans. As the custom of the day demanded, my future parents had to secure permission from the mission director as well as the director of the orphanage for their engagement. Their commitment was to each other and to work together to take the gospel of Christ to China.

Mission policy at that time did not allow for married missionary personnel to be deployed to the field, but insisted that only engaged couples be considered. This, of course, made for lengthy engagements. Added to this was the further stipulation that the future husband and wife both had to pass their first two language examinations and had to live in China for a period of at least two years before marriage could take place.

My mother-to-be departed for China a couple of years after my father. When she arrived at the language school in China, she was greeted by ominous news: her fiancé had been captured by Chinese bandits in an interior province and was being held for a high ransom. What a shock and test of faith for this young bride! God was preparing my parents, helping them realize that following Him was not going to be easy and would lead to many a sacrifice. Our Lord in His kindness did not reveal all of these things at once, but with each step of faith was able to teach them and later us children what it meant to follow Him.

My father’s captivity was a horrifying experience. Other prisoners were executed daily. After each death, the executioners brandished bloody swords in my dad’s face and said he would be next. Graciously, God intervened. My dad was set free without payment of the demanded ransom.

Two years later, after my parents successfully passed the required language examinations, a fellow missionary performed a simple wedding in Hong jiang, Hunan. The date was September 2, 1927. Two years after that, my sister Eva was born. I followed eighteen months later, on January 8, 1931.

Since this was in a small village in the mountain region of southwestern China, there was no hospital close by. Rosa Kocher, a missionary and nurse, assisted my mother with the delivery in our primitive home. Fortunately, all went well. Little did Rosa realize that the little guy she helped bring into the world would also be the one at her side when she was ushered out of this world! But more on that later…

My parents’ first assignment was to assume pioneer missionary work in the province of Guizhou. It was the land of the Miao people, made up of over thirty different tribes, each speaking its own language. Although some of the men could understand Chinese, there was a mutual disdain between the Chinese and the Miao.

Strange stories circulated among the people about Germans and other foreigners. Once a boatman asked my dad if it was true that in Germany, the dead were not buried but laid to dry in the sun. Another story claimed that foreigners, or foreign devils as we were called, would steal Chinese children and cut out their hearts and eyes to make medicine.

One of the reasons for all this was that Guizhou’s high mountain ranges made it one of the most inaccessible provinces in China. It certainly was and still is considered one of the poorest areas of the nation.

Travel was limited to walking or in some cases, boating. Yet the rivers were dangerous due to the many rapids, which easily swamped the boats and caused many people to drown. Walking along unpaved and often muddy footpaths barely two feet wide was the norm. When you arrived at night at a distant mountain village, a wooden bed with straw was the only lodging available. Everything was cooked over an open wood fire.

It was here that my dad began his missionary career. He would faithfully trudge up and down the mountain paths along with one or two Miao Christians, arrive at some remote village, and settle down for the night. The next morning, in the village square, he would use picture charts to present the Good News to the villagers. For all of them, this was their first contact with a foreigner and the first time that they heard the message of a God who loved them, a God who did not need to be feared, one who was stronger than all the demons in the world. Though not many were receptive to the gospel, some did come to believe.

One of the first converts was a teacher at the government school. During his baptism service he publicly confessed to persecuting Christians. This was a bold step for him, since in those days it was not easy for a public servant to embrace a foreign religion. In later years he even became a preacher of the gospel.

Obviously, I do not recall any events of that first year in China. My parents told me that when I was just a few months old, I was stricken by tropical malaria and was close to death’s door. My mother—I called her Mutti—showed her maternal feelings and voiced her concern with these words: He is too good for this world. That is why God wants to take him to heaven. Once I found out what my mother had said, I did not allow my siblings to forget these words! But even at that early age, I experienced God’s hand on my life. He had a purpose for me which He wanted me to fulfill. As Stuart Briscoe would often say, We are immortal until we have accomplished God’s purposes for our lives.

My sister Anita was born in early1932, and my parents prepared to return to Germany for a brief respite. My father had been in China for more than eight years, and my mother more than six. So with three little toddlers, the oldest being three, the long journey began. First it was down the river in small boats, then some overland travel by sedan chair, though my dad always shunned the ride, preferring to walk. From Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, it was on a small steamer that we made our way to Shanghai, the headquarters of the China Inland Mission.

The Saarbrücken, a German passenger liner, took us down the Pacific, around the subcontinent of India, and through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. From there our journey took us through Switzerland to Germany.

We were finally home.

2

In the Steps of Abraham

1932

Bad Liebenzell, Germany

Germany was going through major political and economic convulsions. It was still reeling from the Great Depression, and not just financially. As a country it had lost its moorings and was casting about for something new and fresh. There was a vacuum in the land.

Adolf Hitler, consummate politician that he was, recognized this vacuum and jumped into it full force. He appealed to the people to restore their self-esteem and climb out of their post–World War I doldrums. His charismatic personality attracted and convinced many, even Christian leaders, that he was a man who could be trusted, one who had the capacity to lead Germany.

My father’s days were full. He traveled extensively throughout the country, reporting on what was happening in China and stimulating many congregations to redouble missionary vision and support. My mother was saddled with the responsibility of caring for her little children. During the next two years, two more additions were made to the family circle: my sister Esther was born in 1933 and my brother, Fred, arrived the following year. Little did my parents realize the impact these additional family members would bring. Dark valleys of testing and self-examination lay ahead. Yet deep within their hearts was the unshakable conviction that God had called them to China and that they needed to return, no matter what the obstacles might be.

The return trip to China originated from the mission headquarters at Bad Liebenzell, a quaint little resort town in the Black Forest. It was not an easy farewell. It meant saying good-bye to my sister Anita, three years old, who would be left behind in the care of my grandparents in eastern Germany.

How my parents came to this decision is still shrouded in mystery after all these years. From what I have been able to gather, there were two main factors that contributed to this momentous and life-changing choice.

First, an enormous amount of pressure was exerted on my dad by his family not to return to China. There was a general feeling that he had already fulfilled his missionary obligation to that land and that his future ministry could be exercised just as effectively in Germany. After all, had he not laid his life on the line when he was captured by bandits, never knowing from one day to the next if he would survive? He had kept his commitment made to the Lord in the trenches of World War I. Wasn’t it just as important now to serve God here in his homeland? These were the questions constantly raised.

Besides, this was a time of considerable political unrest and instability in China. Nationalist forces under Chiang Kai-shek were locked in a bitter rivalry with the Communists led by Mao Zedong.

Two missionaries of the China Inland Mission with whom the Liebenzell Mission was affiliated, Alfred Bosshardt and Arnolis Hayman, were captured by Communist guerillas in Guizhou in 1934. This was the province where my parents had served during their first term in China.

In September 1934, these two missionaries and their wives were among a missionary party abducted by a section of the Communist armies and held hostage for a huge ransom (described as a fine for spying). The women were soon released, but Alfred Bosshardt and Hayman, a New Zealander, were taken by the Second Army on the epic Long March, the massive Communist army retreat to the north and west of China. Beatings and threats of execution heightened the sufferings of the hostages. Their fate attracted attention in the West and led to appeals for concerted prayer by the world Christian community. Hayman was released after 413 days, while Bosshardt was held for 560 days. He was released on Easter in 1936, after he had covered more than six thousand miles on foot. Bosshardt was desperately ill and needed a long convalescence.

Others were less fortunate. In December 1934, news reached Germany of the capture of John and Betty Stam, another young missionary couple affiliated with the China Inland Mission, by Communist forces. With them was their little baby. Their captors demanded more than $20,000 for their release, an incredible amount in those days. Reports graphically portrayed what happened next:

The next morning the young couple was led through town without the baby. Their hands were tightly bound, and they were stripped of their outer garments as if they were common criminals. John walked barefoot. He had given his socks to Betty. The soldiers jeered and called the town’s folk to come see the execution. The terrified people obeyed.

On the way to the execution, a medicine-seller, considered a lukewarm Christian at best, stepped from the crowd and pleaded for the lives of the two foreigners. The Reds angrily ordered him back. The man would not be stilled. His house was searched, a Bible and hymnbook found, and he, too, was dragged away to die as a hated Christian.

John pleaded for the man’s life. The Red leader sharply ordered him to kneel. As John was speaking softly, the Red leader swung his sword through the missionary’s throat so that his head was severed from his body. Betty did not scream. She quivered and fell bound beside her husband’s body. As she knelt there, the same sword ended her life with a single blow.1

You can imagine the horror and fear this provoked in our extended family. You can understand their rationale for seeking to persuade my dad not to return to the mission field. My grandmother and my sister Anita had established strong bonds during the furlough years, which added to the family’s resistance to giving her up to face the dangerous uncertainty China represented.

However, both of my parents stood firm in their conviction that God had called them to serve Him in China—no matter the cost. Had they not already experienced some of these trials of their faith in the past, especially when bandits had captured my dad?

But then came a second blow, and it came from the mission organization itself. When the time approached for my parents to return to China, a blunt mission directive instructed them to leave two of their five children behind. We were a family of seven, but the policy said only five could go!

In today’s world, we can hardly imagine this sort of thing. But those were different days. Germany was in an economic crisis and the mission leaders did not believe they could support large families overseas. My dad protested this decision and in the process was nearly terminated by the mission leadership.

From mission archives, I discovered a letter my father wrote at that time to the mission leadership:

We are very grateful that in this time of crisis in Germany you have expressed confidence in us by sending us again to the mission field. As much as lies in us, we will do our best with God’s help to be worthy of this confidence. The path before us can only be taken by faith. And we are confident of this path before our Lord, even if the mission leadership can give us no other guarantees to accompany us except the unfailing promises of