Scotland to China - bho Alba gu Sìona
Highland Gaelic Mission
John Ross felt called to full-time Gospel ministry and so studied at the United Presbyterian Church Divinity Hall, Edinburgh from 1865-70. As a novice minister he continued his religious education and in the spring of 1866 he was appointed as a student missionary to the Island of Lismore, in the Inner Hebrides.
The following year he worked as a catechist among the Gaelic-speaking population of Inverness where the Home Mission Committee reported that he was “presenting his work with diligence, having made 563 visits and conducted 42 prayer meetings during the quarter.” The committee were keen to extend the Gaelic Mission in other districts and after receiving his “License to Preach” in January 1870, John was called to Stornoway, Barra and Portree where he was involved in evangelistic work in anticipation that it would lead to a permanent appointment in the Highlands where he longed to remain.
The call never came and as John contemplated his future an opportunity to join the United Presbyterian Foreign Mission became his true calling.
Call to China
It was during this time that John attended a lecture by the prominent foreign missionary Hamilton M. MacGill, the secretary of the foreign mission board for the United Presbyterian Church. He closed his address with the famous biblical phrase for missionaries: “Here I am, send me.”
Isaiah 6:8
The knowledge that while there were many churches in Easter Ross, in China there were millions who had never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ increasingly drew John towards missionary work and after three years of prayerful deliberation and consultation with MacGill, he finally opted for overseas work in China. John was formally appointed on 27th February 1872 and after his ordination back home at Chapelhill, where he said farewell to family and friends, he proceeded to Edinburgh to marry his first wife Margaret Stewart. The newlyweds were soon making plans for the long voyage ahead.
Transatlantic Voyage
The Rosses were ready to leave for China in May 1872, but it was too dangerous to go by the Red Sea, through the newly opened Suez Canal until October. The passage through America was not much more expensive and the sentiment of the foreign mission board was that “time is more valuable than money.”
Arrangements were made with the Trans-American Railway Company and the Rosses were advised that their “Ross-shire clothing will do for Manchuria in winter.” The journey covered over 14,000 nautical miles taking nearly three months to complete.
The Rosses arrived at the mission station in Chefoo (Yantai) on the Shantung (Shandong) Peninsula on 23 August 1872.
All that was dear to them was far behind them.
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