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  • Photo courtesy of Catherine White Children at Sasakwa First Baptist Church gather around Barbara Moon, who recently portrayed Lottie Moon during a "Moments for Missions presentation. Back row, from left, are Cara York, Caleb York, Barbara "Lottie" Moon, Trina Bartlett and Katie Yahola. Front row, from left, are Trey Choate, Trent Choate and Abby Cloud.

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December 18, 2009

Lottie Moon visits Sasakwa church

SASAKWA — Sasakwa First Baptist Church was visited Nov. 29 by Lottie Moon, a Southern Baptist Missionary born in Dec. 12, 1840.

Barbara Moon, a fourth-generation descendant by marriage, impersonated Lottie during the “Moments for Missions” presentation in the morning worship service. At Christmas Southern Baptist Churches receive an offering in honor of this school- teacher- turned- missionary who went to China in 1873. She joined her sister in Tenchow and expected there were no furloughs or retirement.

“I really expected never to see home again,” she said. “I served for the next 39 years working with local groups of people. I baked cookies for the children, took them to their homes in order to meet their mothers. I adopted the traditional Chinese dress and eventually was able to teach the women. Although men would never dream of listening to a woman, on several occasions I caught them eavesdropping as I taught the word of God to the women. I wrote many letters home encouraging Baptists to support missionaries and to come to a realization of the great lostness of most of the world. One of the things I worked hardest to stop was the torture of binding infant girls’ feet. I wrote home often to tell of the great needs of the Chinese people.”

In an appeal for more workers, Lottie Moon wrote to Annie Armstrong in Baltimore, Md., to tell her more workers were desperately needed and they should come “rejoicing to suffer for the sake of the Master, the Lord Jesus, who freely gave His life for us all. Annie made it her personal campaign to promote my concept of Christmas as a time to receive an offering for foreign missions purposes. The first offering totaled $3315.26, enough to send three women to help me in the field,” Lottie said in her letters home.

In 1912, during the time of war and famine in China, Lottie Moon gave the last resource she had to save the lives and souls of the Chinese — her own food. She actually starved to death from malnutrition. She was on a ship enroute to her home when she died on Christmas Eve. She weighed approximately less than 80 pounds. Her memory and her mission work lives on. The national goal for the annual Christmas offering is $175 million while the state goal is $ 5.5 million. Already, the Sasakwa goal has been surpassed, but the offering will continue to be received until Jan. 1, 2009.

Mrs. Cecil Moon (Barbara, a retired adult nurse practitioner and member of the church) dressed in the old fashioned attire and was surrounded by some of the children at the service.

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