Something Happened

by Mildred Cable, Francesca French

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

(Alice) Mildred Cable was a British Protestant Christian missionary in China, serving with the China Inland Mission. With her traveling companions Evangeline (Eva) French and Eva's younger sister Francesca, she traveled from Huozhou to Zhangye and settled in Jiuquan in 1923. Branching out from there they traveled extensively, giving away Bibles and Christian literature in Tibet, and Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces. After 1936, Cable and the French sisters were not able to return to Asia and retired to Dorset where they wrote about their experiences.

Reviews

[Jacqueline]

First, this book is available for free through the Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/MN41789uc...

Second, I very much enjoyed this book. It tells the true story of 3 single women who worked as missionaries with China Inland Mission in the early 1900s. I only learned about it because I do this monthly prayer letter for my church’s missionaries, and I always include a quote about missions. I stumbled upon a quote by a woman named Mildred Cable, and I started googling to find out who she was. I found that she had written many books about her time in China, and I was intrigued. What was it like for 3 single British women to travel around China in the early 1900s with no phones and no internet? This was also during the time of the Boxer Rebellion and the Chinese Civil War. They were in danger on many occasions and could have been killed. Many of their friends, both Chinese and European, were killed for their faith.

These women traveled “inland” into the Far West of China where Europeans really didn’t venture. I found myself stopping to look up the cities they visited on a map and see pictures and read their history. For example, look up Dunhuang. It’s a beautiful oasis in the middle of the Gobi desert with a crescent-shaped lake on the side. Stunning! I tried to identify some of the generals they interacted with, but I really couldn’t. There was a lot of unrest and a lot of actors on the scene. The names are spelled differently in the book than today (if they’re even identified) and they may have been only minor warlords.

Overall, I felt like I was taken on an adventure and privy to a secret eyewitness account of incredible events. I had never heard of these women before, unlike Amy Carmichael or Gladys Aylward or Lottie Moon. They felt lost to history, except they’re not! These women left a record of their faithfulness in sharing the gospel in far-flung places to inspire us today. Read this book! You will be encouraged.

[Cathy]

The firsthand account published in 1933 of three intrepid British missionary women who attempt to convert all the Tibetans, Moslems and atheists they meet in the far west of China. Travelling by donkey carts over rough terrain, desert conditions and through somewhat hostile territory, this is a fantastic story that gives insight into the rich cultures and history of western China, of what is now Gansu and Xinjiang. It’s a great read!