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 2 Crossing the Pacific You are about to look upon the fascinating but frightening, once beautiful but now ravaged , face of the ancient and dying Imperial Empire of China; it is a sight that stuns the senses and defies imagination! Only through constant prayer and implicit belief in God will you have the strength to survive. —dr. kevin w. matson, 1891 It was barely six months since Hannah had first seen Halvor and Thea on the stage of the Lutheran church in Radcliff, Iowa. When she shook hands with Halvor, she felt an immediate sense of predestination. The meeting changed her life beyond her wildest imagination. It was the spring of 1891, and Halvor and Thea Ronning had been appointed missionaries by the Hauge Synod of the China Mission Society and had come to the Lutheran church in Radcliff to raise funds. The attitude toward missionaries was far different at that time than it is today. The members of the congregation were hardworking, God-fearing farmers who thought of themselves as guardians and transmitters of the Christian heritage and culture. They were proud to contribute to a higher cause. The Ronnings and all their ancestors had originally come from Telemark, Norway. In 1883, Halvor and Thea became the first members of their family, in the six hundred years of their recorded history, to leave Norway. Hannah’s ancestors also came from Norway, and she was the first of the Rorem family to be born in the United States. She grew up on her father’s cattle ranch in Iowa and, after graduating from Teacher’s Normal School, became the local teacher in the Radcliff School and the church organist. On that fateful day she had come early to the church. The hall was already brimming over with eager parishioners. The local pastor, Reverend C. C. Holter, introduced the missionaries: “We are thankful,” he said, “and honored that the missionaries have chosen Radcliff to come and bring us the God-given opportunity to participate in a task that American Christians were preserved for: the spiritual awakening of the largest heathendom in the world—the Empire of China!” His attitude, which now seems rather shocking, was typical of the times. crossing the pacific  21 The Reverend Ronning spoke with all the passionate eloquence the congregation expected of their messenger of Christ. He had a strong voice with a lilting Norwegian accent. Thea sat quietly on the platform looking at her brother in amazement as he paced dramatically back and forth, alternately waving his arms in the air and clasping his hands behind his back while he told his rapt audience about the history of missionary work in China. He began with a straightforward question that made everyone feel rather uneasy: Where is China anyway? Some 50 years ago the Norwegian Lutherans in America did not take much interest in foreign missions. They were still pioneers too busy establishing a church of their own. We knew very little about China—many of us scarcely knew where China was—and we cared less. Very few knew that China was half the size of the whole North American continent with a population of over 400 million [sic] people. Very few knew that the recorded history of Chinese civilization, older than any other country, goes back over 4,000 years. None guessed that someday it would have a brilliant future. He concluded with an urgent plea: Millions of Chinese are now dying every year from starvation, disease, war, and pestilence. My heart is crushed when I contemplate the great physical and temporal need of these poor Chinese but their eternal need is far greater. I will remind you of Jesus’ words to his disciples: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are ripe already to harvest.” Halvor threw his arms to the heavens. Now let us go forth. As yet it is still a hard time for sowing the seed, but there are many signs that there will be a glorious harvest. Let us sow, if need be, with tears and blood; we shall reap with rejoicing. China for Jesus must be our aim; China for Jesus. Hannah insisted on driving the carriage home from church and whipped the horses into a gallop. Hannah’s younger sister Rebecca never stopped raving about the handsome young preacher, and her mother remarked on his divine smile. “You know he isn’t married yet,” she called to Hannah, who had let her long...

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