The Pearl and the Dragon: The Story of Gerhard and Alma Jacobson

by S. Winifred Jacobson

Overview

In 1918 Gerhard and Alma Jacobson and nine-month-old Doris sailed for China. The Chinese landscape, both geographic and spiritual, proved to be a harsh and foreboding one. The marks of the destructive claws of the Dragon dogged the missionaries- haunted houses, civil conflict, demonic attacks, Japanese threats- and death.

Then it was 1941. "Pearl Harbor Attacked," the headlines blazed. In Shanghai, Gerhard Jacobson continued to broadcast the gospel one day: "Ah-llo, Ah-llo," a man's voice yelled suddenly into the receiver. "We cut station off air. We come get you. You stay home!"  Gerhard ascended the stairs to the room, his thoughts running wild. Visions of Japanese torture chambers filled his mind. What did the future hold?  And what about the Pearl, the Church in China? Try as he might, the Dragon has failed to destroy it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600669637
Publisher:	Moody Publishers
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

S. Winifred Jacobson No bio

Read an Excerpt

The Pearl and the Dragon

The Story of Alma and Gerhard Jacobson

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By S. Winifred Jacobson

Moody Publishers

Copyright © 1997 Christian Publications
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60066-963-7

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CHAPTER 1

The Pearl: A Voice Calling

The little sideroom smoldered with a deep oppressive kind of darkness, the form of a young man, his face in his hands, barely visible.

The figure shook and swayed, recalling those first terrifying days when many weeks earlier he and Pastor Hu (HOO) had entered Taiping (TIE ping). The whole city had risen up against their presence. Mobs surrounded the house.

"Sha, sha! Yang guei dze! Kill, kill the foreign devil," they screamed. Miraculously, Gerhard and Pastor Hu were still there. An official of Taiping, a walled county seat in South Anhui (AHN whay), had declared that they would never allow foreigners to live or buy land there because of the devastation resulting from the Taiping Rebellion.

Without the intervention of a small contingent of guards from the magistrate's headquarters who thwarted the crowd's murderous intent, the mob scene might have ended otherwise. But now the guards—and their protection—were removed.

Gerhard recalled how bravely he and Pastor Hu had set out from Datong (Dah TUNG). He could still see their two families waving and smiling tearfully as the men set out down the road. Now his heart became numb with an agonizing dread—he was jeopardizing his family's future. If the murderous mob returned and had its way, he would leave them fatherless.

The curtains of the sedan chair pushed back as Mrs. Li (LEE), the Bible woman, helped a small young woman and little girl to the street. The chair bearers shouted, driving the crowds away with spicy curses that left embarrassed looks on the sea of dark faces.

"I told you not to come to Taiping," Gerhard shouted above the din. "It's very dangerous here, Alma. Why did you come?"

"The Lord told me to come," his petite wife answered self-assuredly as she picked up a box and headed toward the house.

Pastor Hu dickered with the carriers. Mrs. Li shouted to the men as she directed traffic toward the large reception room where the bags were to be placed. The street seemed enveloped in utter confusion.

Inside, Gerhard bent over the boxes and turned to Alma.

"It's good to see you, darling," he said somewhat more gently, "but it makes the situation worse than ever with you two here."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the stout Bible woman hobbling on her bound feet, heading for the kitchen where she would, no doubt, command the crew to make tea for the weary travelers.

Suddenly it seemed that all the weariness Gerhard had accumulated over the last three months drained from his body. It was as if his prison-house existence was forever gone. He rushed to the cupboard where his meager household utensils were stored and began to set a square wooden table.

Looking once more at his wife, he paused.

"Well, you always do what you want, Alma," he said with a slight smile. "Anyway, I'm thanking the Lord you arrived today since you did decide to come."

"Why is that, Gay?" Alma asked, using the abbreviation she reserved for intimate discussions with her husband. Then without waiting for a reply, she continued. "This is a nice big room for services, but so dark and stuffy. Can't we open the doors a bit?"

"And have everyone cramming in to stare at us?"

"Oh, yes, of course. We all had to have our skin and hair felt every time people got near enough to touch us as we came into the city. They thought Doris's brown hair was golden."

Alma glanced at the diminutive five-year-old running from corner to corner, delightedly squealing something in Chinese at each new discovery. Her yellow, pongee-silk dress fluttered like butterfly wings in the dark shadows.

"So why did you feel my coming to Taiping today was so providential?" Alma asked again, this time waiting for a reply.

"Actually, my faith was at its lowest point since coming here," Gerhard responded, a painful shadow crossing his face. "I was just sitting on the cot in the next room thinking about how to get out, and ..."

"You'd never leave after this long a time," Alma interjected. "You're not a stubborn Swede for nothing." Her girlish laugh brought stares from the Chinese nearby.

What a pleasing sight these two missionaries made—Alma with her dark brown hair coiled neatly at the nape of her neck, her softly rounded, heart-shaped face and large expressive blue eyes lending a look of vibrant innocence. She was fanning vigorously, hoping to dry out her silk blouse and black Chinese pants. The pointed cloth shoes hung off her feet. It was cooler that way.

Gerhard was also laughing. To the Chinese he seemed tall and well-built, his face more classic, with a fine straight nose, a sensitive mouth and strong chin. In some ways Gerhard and Alma were look-alikes, at least to Chinese eyes. Both faces were radiant with the happiness they felt after months of separation.

"Let's have a look at the bedroom and start arranging my things," suggested Alma as she lifted herself out of the hard bamboo chair and followed Gerhard into another dark but spacious room.

There were a few shelves and a large black Chinese cupboard along the wall. Black chairs stood here and there around the room. The bed was just boards set on two trestles. Piled on top was a nicely stuffed straw mattress, along with an assortment of pillows and quilts—all bought on the street, Alma decided. Above the bed was a fairly large dark hole.

"Things look very comfortable here. But what is that hole?" Alma asked, pointing to the ceiling. "Does it lead to the attic?"

"Yes. That's where the pet snake stays in the daytime." Gerhard grinned.

"How about at night?"

"He has come and shared my bed with me. Not exactly my idea of a good bedfellow though." Now Gerhard was laughing out loud.

Alma sat down on the bed but she didn't laugh. And I'm supposed to sleep here? she thought to herself.

Her mind wandered back to the early years when she and Gerhard had met in Chicago. Now, here they were in the Land of the Dragon. Suddenly Alma looked up at the window. A brilliant sunset was bidding its daily farewell from behind a crinkled hill.

Oh, there was a fascination about it all. It was as if a voice was calling, "Come see what's behind these far off hills. There's something here for you, something you are looking for."

But what was that something? Could it be the Pearl?

CHAPTER 2

Golden Pearls: The Amstutz Heritage

Wedding preparations were well underway, the German-Swiss colony of Mennonites in Pandora, Ohio, astir with excitement. On this day, May 31, 1887, dainty Sarah Lugibihl would be married to Jonathan Amstutz, each the eldest of their respective families.

Children and adults scurried everywhere. Sarah's sisters Mary and Lena ran through the fields gathering mock orange branches with which to decorate the living room of the Abraham Lugibihl farmhouse.

"Pick as many as you can," Mary instructed her sister. "They'll look beautiful with our tulips and lilacs." But the bushes resisted the two black-bonneted girls.

"Here, give me those scissors," said Mary impatiently. "I can cut them faster."

Flopping on the grass, Lena whipped off her bonnet.

"We've got more than we need already," she complained. "Let's go home." Mary's "ya" was enough. They trudged back home, their arms laden with the fragrant blossoms.

On the expansive lawn, under oaks and maples, long tables were already laden with food for the festive occasion. Borrowed silverware and white linen cloths set off fancy china brought from the old country. Luscious odors of frying chicken, beef stew, boiled lamb and even wild venison filled the air. Fancy vegetables, pickles and pastries added the finishing touches.

By mid-morning buggies and wagons began to arrive. Some carried benches for the wedding service. Everyone was dressed in their finest, especially the children whose bows, lace and bonnets had been freshly starched for the occasion. Last to arrive were the pastor and deacons.

Sarah the bride, in silk brocade, stood small and petite beside Jonathan, her handsome groom. A large taffeta bow was at her throat, a delicate bouquet of white roses at her waist. A single white rose graced the groom's lapel.

The service was a long one, so long that the couple sat down as the pastor gave his exhortation. Several deacons also addressed the couple. Finally, after a lengthy wedding hymn, Sarah and Jonathan recited their vows and the feast began.

At first the couple lived in Bluffton where Jonathan and his brother Jonas were part owners of a dry goods store. But Jonathan was more interested in farming. The land in those parts had once been called the Black Swamp. But it had been drained by "enough tiles to circle the globe three times" and most of the forest in the area had been leveled. Jonathan bought land and built a small but sturdy white frame house.

"Sarah, dear," her mother remarked one day, "Jonathan doesn't look well, but being a farmer's wife suits you perfectly. Perhaps," her mother continued, "it might be well for Jonathan to see the doctor. He has so many stomach upsets and fevers."

Sarah sat down awkwardly on a kitchen chair. She looked tired. Her bulky shape foretold another birth in the family.

"Mother," Sarah responded, "Jonathan works so hard in all kinds of weather. He would like to get this farm paid for as soon as possible." Her forehead wrinkled in an anxious frown.

"Just tell him that neither Father nor I want him to work so hard that he ruins his health. You must talk to him. His brother Jonas coughs all the time too. There is tuberculosis in that family, you know."

Mother Lugibihl's thoughts wandered back to the old days when the Amstutz and Lugibihl children were happy playmates. Now one by one the Amstutz boys were courting and marrying her daughters. Sarah had been courted while Jonathan was studying at Ada College. Although she had attended only a few years of elementary school, they seemed well suited.

"I must hurry home," Mother Lugibihl said finally. "I promised the boys a sugar pie for supper." She gathered her cloak and started off across the lane.

With the coming of spring, Sarah noticed that Jonathan seemed to be growing weaker every day. Medicines didn't help. More and more of the farm work fell to her and her brothers while Jonathan spent days and sometimes weeks in bed. When she was not working on the farm, Sarah sat at her husband's side. Waldo, now five, was his mother's right hand, while four-year-old Alma did her best to care for the younger ones—Edna, three years old, and baby Rhoda, six months.

One spring day Waldo and Alma went to gather pussywillows by Riley Creek. Brimming with excitement, they ran back to the house and to their father's bedside.

"Look what we brought for you, Papa," Alma beamed. Jonathan smiled back weakly.

"Will you please sing a song for us?" Alma begged as she dropped the pussywillows onto a nearby chair.

Their daddy began to sing. It was a song about heaven. The children watched and listened as the voice grew faint and finally subsided. Then their father's eyes closed.

"Mother, come quickly," Waldo shouted. By the time Sarah arrived, her husband was no longer breathing.

He's gone. The thought flashed through her mind unbidden. And then reality gripped her heart like a vise: He really is gone. Taking Waldo and Alma into her arms, she held them up to kiss the silent form.

"Waldo, please call your Grandfather Lugibihl," she whispered. Alma slipped her hand into her brother's and the two darted down the lane.

Just seven short years, thought Sarah, and the light has gone out of my life.

A few days later, although the sun was shining and the song of the first robins filled the air, there was no sun or song for the young widow Sarah Amstutz. Inside, her heart was bleeding, her mind whirling. What shall I do with my family? she asked herself. I have no training. Staying with her father on the farm provided the answer.

Before Sarah knew it, it was time for the children to enter high school, so she decided to buy a home in Pandora. Changes were taking place among Mennonite families as they came in contact with those of other faiths. One group, called the Defenseless Mennonites, was led by an itinerant evangelist from Canada named Joseph Ramseyer who came to Pandora to hold special meetings. With him were his sister and brother who provided music for the services. Revival broke out wherever they went.

"We held a few weeks of meetings in the Defenseless Mennonite church between Pandora and Bluffton," Joseph Ramseyer later recounted. "The Holy Spirit moved mightily among us and many came out definitely for the Lord." The widow Sarah Amstutz and her friend Judith Lehman were among them.

A number of years passed and once again a tent was set up outside the Defenseless Mennonite Church. On the evening before the revival started, crying broke out at a service in the church. The whole place was turned into an altar as the meeting lasted far into the night.

Doctrines such as divine healing, the second coming of Christ and baptism by immersion were explained from the Scriptures. Sarah was fascinated.

After much prayer and heart-searching, she decided to join this little group of believers. It later merged with the German branch of The Christian and Missionary Alliance to form the Missionary Church Association.

The year 1900 was a red-letter year. That year, Waldo, who along with Edna and Alma, had also resisted attending his mother's church, began to feel that it was not right for their family to be divided.

"I think we should go with Mother to her church," he advised his sisters one Sunday. They agreed. Sarah was thrilled.

First Alma, Edna and Rhoda found the Lord at the Missionary Church. Then, several nights later when the call was given, Waldo shot out of his seat and found a place among many others at the altar. What rejoicing there was in heaven and around the Amstutz kitchen table that night. Each one of Sarah's children was now safely in the fold.

Meanwhile, Alma enrolled at Wooster College to take a short teacher's course and began her first years of teaching at one of the little red schoolhouses not far from home.

At the Missionary Church events happened so fast that the town was shaken. A Bible school, known as Bethany Bible Institute, with faculty who had been trained at the Nyack Missionary Training Institute, opened with twenty-five boarding students.

Missionary conferences added to the excitement. At one of the most memorable, Nellie Bowen, a newly appointed missionary to China, spoke. People were deeply moved by her stirring testimony and call for prayer partners. Alma placed Nellie's picture in her Bible and prayed for her faithfully.

By now, Sarah's dear friend, Judith Lehman, was a mission worker to the Jews in Chicago. She invited Sarah to be the hostess for the Mission's new building. So, within days, Mother Sarah and her two daughters Alma and Edna were ready to leave for Chicago.

CHAPTER 3

Selected Pearls: The Jacobson Heritage

A saucy little breeze was flirting with the voluminous skirts and kerchiefs of two young ladies as they leaned over the railing of the Cunard steamship gliding into Boston harbor.

Passengers crowded the decks. Cries of surprise were heard everywhere. Tears of joy streamed down happy faces swarthy from the vineyards of Italy, rosy-cheeked from the misty crags of Scotland or snowy-white and golden-haired from the fjords of Scandinavia.

America was suffering from an acute man-power shortage following the civil war. Famine that had raged in Europe for decades made America the Land of Promise. Land-hungry peasants dreamed of someday owning their own farms and being as rich as barons.

"Do you think Anders will be here to meet us?" Anna Louise Swanson asked her sister Minnie.

"Now there you go worrying," her older sister chided. "Just look for a tall man in a red-checkered shirt."

The masses of faces on land came into focus as the ship neared the dock. Suddenly a very tall blonde man in a checkered shirt whipped off his cap and shouted something in Swedish.

"Look, Anna, that man waving his cap! Isn't he shouting at us?" Minnie cried excitedly.

"Yes, Minnie, it's Anders. Anders! Anders!" Anna Louise called at the top of her lungs as she pulled off her kerchief and waved vigorously to the man on the shore.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Pearl and the Dragon by S. Winifred Jacobson. Copyright © 1997 Christian Publications. Excerpted by permission of Moody Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments,
Introduction,
1 The Pearl: A Voice Calling,
2 Golden Pearls: The Amstutz Heritage,
3 Selected Pearls: The Jacobson Heritage,
4 Matching Pearls: Two People, One Prayer,
5 Matched Pearls: The Decision,
6 Prepared Pearls: China at Last!,
7 The Dragon's Claws: A Spiritual Battle,
8 The Dragon's Power: A Tragic Summer, a New Ministry,
9 The Dragon's Lair: Datong,
10 The Dragon's Fury: Taiping,
11 The Dragon's Fury: The Ultimatum,
12 The Dragon Is Defeated: "Fear Not",
13 The Dragon Is Defeated: A New Attitude, a New Church,
14 Pearls in the Dragon's Lair: Datong,
15 The Dragon's Work: Qingyang,
16 The Dragon's Fangs: Qimen,
17 The Dragon Attacked: Shanghai,
18 Confronted by the Dragon: On the Air,
19 The Dragon Fights: The Rising Sun and the Swastika,
20 The Dragon's Defeat: The Great Escape,
21 The Dragon's Defeat: Together at Last,
Epilogue,
A List of Christian Workers from the Amstutz/Jacobson Descendants,
China Update,