BACK FROM THE DEAD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20104, 10 May 1935, Page 12

BACK FROM THE DEAD

LOST MISSIONARIES SAFE Mourning was turned into joy in a Sussex home by a telegram from faroff China. It brought the news that a daughter and son-in-law,' mourned as dead, and for whom a memorable service had been proposed, were actually safe and sound. The home is that of Mr and Mrs W. G. Wheatley, in Burgess Hill. Four years ago their daughter Ruth went to China as a missionary, sixteen months ago she was married in Shanghai to Mr R. S. Frencham, an Australian missionary. Then, on February 22, news was received that Mr and Mrs Frenchman had been captured by Chinese bandits at Ning-chao, in Shensi Province. Two days later came a telegram from the secretary of the China Inland Mission saying, “Reports in newspapers say that your dear ones are with the Lord.”

Mr and Mrs Wheatley received letters of sympathy from all over the world. A memorial service at the local Methodist church was proposed. Then the China Inland Mission received a cable from Hanchung, Shensi, stating: “Mr and Mrs Frencham arrived here safely. All in good order.” Later, Mr Frencham personally notified the China Inland Mission officials in Shanghai that he and his wife were safe. So, after weeks of terrible suspense, Mr and Mrs Wheatley learned the glad news. “If I were a few years younger I would jump over the fence because I am so happy,” Mr Wheatley exclaimed. Mrs Wheatley, a whitehaired woman, stated: “After these terrible weeks I am almost afraid to believe that the news is true."

Apparently Mr and Mrs Frencham were captured when bandits seized Ning-chao, and spent months in captivity attending to the sick and injured. They were released when Government troops recaptured the city. They went to Ning-chao to open a branch of the mission. When they were captured Chinese Government troops were sent in pursuit of the bandits, and an aeroplane, carrying a doctor, was sent after them to attend to Mrs Frencham.