How God Led My Grandfather David

By Anna Beth

Great Grandfather called as a Missionary Coolie，Two Churches Built before His Death

In January 1860, my great grandfather Rev. Luk-Wu Chau (周路伍牧師) accompanied an American missionary to visit the immigrant coolies onboard at Canton Seaport. He had pity on coolies as there were no believers to minister to them. The missionary asked, “Why don’t you go with them?” After asking God on his knees to confirm that it was God’s calling, he told his parents. They had no objection and put him in God’s keeping. The next morning, he took his wife with her medicine chest and luggage to register as immigrant coolies on board. Once all set, the ship launched for the South Pacific, passed the Strait of Malacca, via the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and arrived at the destination, Georgetown, the capital of British Guiana. During the nearly three-month voyage, his wife cared for many who were seasick. Once they landed, they were sent to the plantation of Peter’s Hall. Rev. Chau was mistreated as ‘Lazy’, but they later found out that he was a pastor, an intellectual, being able to write letters for coolies. He proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Savior and converted many coolies to believers. He built two similar churches, one in the West Bank of the River and one in the East. He endured hard toil on the farm and ministered to coolies day and night for 16 years. He fell ill in bed and passed away a year later.

Grandfather Left School at Twelve for Hire God Granted Hewlings and Ewing to Edify

Great grandmother Mack Shee (謝瑪克, 1820-1914) escaped from the piles of dead bodies that the Qing army slaughtered nearly 100 millions, wiping out the rebels in Southern China. She was received by my great great grandparents who were wealthy believers. Mack Shee, a strong and capable medical doctor, married my great grandfather Pastor Luk-Wu Chau and together immigrated to British Guiana to minister to coolies. She laboured in the field and dealt with urgent cases of illness. At that time, the male, female, and child-labor daily wages were three pennies, two pennies, and one penny respectively. They were provided a shed, a yard, and seeds to grow vegetables, and raise chicken as they wished. In 1876, great grandfather died and left his wife with two children far from their homeland. She picked a rich shop owner Kam to marry her daughter through her match-maker friend. She let her son Loy Chau quit school to be hired by Kam to learn the business. Great grandmother and Kam were then not Christians but self-reliant, so they resented Loy’s dependence on God for everything.

Anglican Pastor D. Ewing had favor on Loy for he loved Sunday school, swimming, soccer, weightlifting and boxing, so he granted Loy his Scottish family name Ewing. Loy Chau registered his chosen name formally as David Johnston Ewing Chow （大衛 約翰斯通 優銀 周， 1867-1923）in the Anglican Church. David obeyed his mother and to quit school. David’s headmistress, Miss Hewlings, saw that his scores had always won first place from the first grade to the fifth grade, and said to him, “What a pity, you have not yet finished your sixth grade courses. The shop opens at 6:15 am. Come to me at 5:00 am, and I will teach you Math and English literature. I am sure you can finish them all within six months. You love to read. I will lend you the books you need. They are useful for your future. In anything you do, never forget: It is God who will help you through everything.” David came to her daily at 5:00 am till he completed all of his eighth grade courses. His reading speed and good memory allowed him to complete everything in five and a half months. David thanked Miss Hewlings for her love and kindness. David loved reading the Bible, singing hymns, and kept learning diligently all his life.

Lost Job and Left Home Due to Baptism ，God Led Him to Various Business Skills

At the age of twelve, David decided to be baptized. His mother and Kam said, “if you do, you must leave the family shop.” In public, he would wear a Chinese long gown, which would be washed and ironed in advance. At 11 pm, he closed and organized the shop, and went to sleep at 12 am, and got up as usual at 4 am. Baptism Sunday had arrived and this was his happy day to glorify God. However, the long gown was missing. He immediately realized that his family wanted to stop him. After a quick breakfast, he walked 8 miles to catch the first ferry at 6:30 am, and arrived at the opposite side at 7 am. Then he walked 4 miles to the Chinese Baptist Church at Peter’s Hall. Everyone was busy preparing for the banquet after baptism. They were surprised to see David dressed in shorts, not in his long gown! He explained that his long gown was well-prepared but missing as his family wished to stop him from being baptized. Regardless, he came to be baptized. They teased him and provided him with all the necessities. The pastor said: “God looks at a man’s heart, not at what he wears.” When he returned home, his mother and Kam asked him to leave. He knew God allowed him to be tested, and said, “God will carry me through all the tests.” He saved the wage that Kam paid him at the departure and deposited the money in the post office near the train station. He sighed in saying goodbye and prayed for his mother to be in God’s keeping.

God led David to two shops. He prayed and chose Wolee for having opportunities to talk about Jesus and personal development, and to be near Rev. Lau Fook of Peter’s Hall Church. The shopkeeper knew little English. He saw that David was bilingual and skilled at bookkeeping and said: “You are honest and straight-forward and you are the one I need.” He paid him much better than Kam did. David had meals with his assistant and the shopkeeper’s family. The two banks in the city opened at 9 am for cash deposit of weekly sales, then for purchasing goods. He took the slack period to go to the department stores to meet the managers, staff, and studied all sorts of goods and businesses. He would pop in to see how the tailor measured customers, and cut out paper patterns and stitch them together; how the jeweler melted gold or silver coins and poured the molten mass into metal molds with holes of various sizes. As the metals went through the holes, they would harden into thin threads and be dropped into the basins of water to form different shapes and be turned into jewelry. He observed how carpenters laid the foundation to take the extremely bitter greenheart woodblocks, the boards were laid on the pillars and on the pitch-pine boards above the pillar, the position of the windows and hinges to them and the rafters. He remembered details and took notes afterwards.

Serving Church and Praying Hard，Mother Repented but Kam Died

Similarly, he learned how to cook rice, vegetables, meats, and fish with salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar, soybean sauce at the right heat so that the vegetables would be green and crispy, and the beef with soy sauce, sugar in wet starch, tenderly flavored. All of the notes played a part in his ministry and in the kitchen in church and for his future. Over a year in Wolee, he provided the herbs and ointments his mother used successfully. He also sold groceries like flour and rice in wholesale and barrels of smoked fish and salted meat with full knowledge of the business, as he knew the prices fluctuated now and then, based on the scarcity of the stock until new stock came. David fully enjoyed his work and prayed for his mother.

God led David back to Kam since Kam’s helper was dishonest and incapable and Kam was addicted to opium. So they asked David to return and apologized for letting him go. David resigned from Wolee, took the train to Leonora, and rushed home. His mother in tears hugged her only son and repented. Waking up from lethargy Kam asked David, “Will you pray for me to God and Jesus Christ that I may give up opium and be healed, if I promise not to touch the opium pipe anymore?” David said, “Are you serious about your promise to God and me to stop smoking?” He said, “Yes.” David knelt beside him, prayed earnestly to God to break the addiction in Jesus’ name and to heal him, and thanked God for hearing his prayer. Kam slept well through the night, then had three meals, repented, and put away the pipes. Business improved for five months. Then the opium smoke re-appeared. Kam had resumed smoking opium, became very ill, and implored David to pray for him. Though discouraged, David knelt by Kam to request earnestly, but in the midst of the prayer, someone came in shouting, “Hog’s Head.” Immediately Kam replied, showing that he was not in prayer. David felt God would not answer this prayer. The next night, Kam died. His sister married a brother in the church six months later.

Laid Hand as an Elder and Being Taught Granted Godly Emily and Children

Peter’s Hall had morning and evening services. But Leonora was far away, and so had to be content with only one morning service, except if on special occasions, the Pastor stayed for the night, then two services were held – morning and afternoon. Rev. Lau Fook led by the Lord appointed David at almost 16 as the Elder of the Leonora, agreed with his request to be taught in Peter’s Hall biweekly. The deacons and brothers in the East Bank came to serve in rotation.

God led David to set up his own shop. David saw an empty plot of land of about two acres in the middle of the village, abandoned by the owner. He at once went to ask the landowner if he would like to sell the unused field. The owner promptly said, “Yes” and offered the land for $500. David immediately purchased the land. David built similar houses for two shops, a grocery store stocked up in barrels, and a department store for clothing. His mother, sister, and two nephews all came to help. In two weeks, the store opened on a Saturday, which was payday in the plantations. Everyone wished to see what David would sell in his new store: new toys, kid’s clothing, hardware, smoked meat, and fish in cans, etc. The sales ran quite well from 10 am to 10:30 pm, with the last 30 minutes for guests from distant farms. David’s classmates and nephews watched over the goods. They ate cold meals with hot tea, organized the goods, washed and went to bed.

The next day was Sunday. David led his nephews to Leonora church, calling people on the way to the service at 11 am to worship God. The new store was a great success. God led him to get a wife as his helper. He asked Rev Lau about the shy girl Emily（艾米利梁, 1870-1927） across Sunday lunch table with her parents. Everyone said, the two were an excellent match and the marriage would be a great help to the Leonora church. Her mother was blind and her father a good shopkeeper. David fell in love with her, so did she with him. Pastor Lau blessed the two in their engagement and held their wedding in two months in the Leonora. People of the three churches gathered in the Leonora to celebrate. Then Emily became pregnant but at 4 months suffered a miscarriage due to overwork in the shop and in the garden. The couple trusted in God for His good will to let them have some experience for the future. They thanked God for His kindness and protection. God granted them 8 boys and 4 girls: All except two were given Biblical names. The eldest girl was named Rebecca, the second a son, Solomon, then Jeremiah (Jerry), James, Rachel, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Charles, Robert, Emmanuel (died young), and Nathaniel. Eleven grew up and all loved the Lord.

Summary

The rich merchant Hoashoo who supported churches was aging. So he called David and their wives to pray, and then hired a teacher for home schooling after school hours. Two families held home worship after Sunday service in the church. The eldest son-in-law James Low came. The three families: Hoashoo, Ewing Chow and Low worked together in ministry and in business. During World War I, there was a shortage of sugar. David, led by God, with his reputation purchased eight sugar cane plantations and updated sugar factories. He was a known entrepreneur and elected as president of the Christian Association of the British, Dutch, and French Guiana. To win over the younger generation for Christ, he built and managed the YMCA in Georgetown. Rev. Fook Lau’s passing made him the only bilingual preacher in the three churches at Peter’s Hall, the East Bank, and the Leonora. David, overworked, collapsed and died with a word to his children: “Leave home to spread the gospel afar with funding set ahead for their missions.”