(1938) Japanese Take Tsingtao and Kioahsien¶

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Returning to China¶

"A new year! What's going to come of it? It's still an unwritten page for us, but everything is already in God's hand. May this be enough for us." Hedvig's entry in her diary for 1938 was a note of uncertainty. Like many a good Christians of the time she put into God's providence what she could not control. Still the uncertainty and insecurity lingered.

New Year's dinner [would this have been held on New Year's Eve or day?] was held in Nankoaw (sp?). The conversation for the evening was mostly about the war. Later Fraulein Strecker, a German lady with the German Lutheran mission came for coffee. [She lived with Reinbrechts or lived with them when in town or something.]

On Sunday, January 2, Johan Alfred and Hedvig traveled toLong gia[gia means home. Dollan says this could be someone's home]* around 9:00 in the morning for a new year meeting. The roads were full of soldiers with their equipment bound for the interior. Shantung was apparently being evacuated before the arrival of the Japanese forces. The meeting in Long gia went well.*Jin t'ing (sp?) was selected to be chairman. ["But the victims from the members side was particularly bad." Translator was not sure what was meant here].

The next day Egron, Gerda and Johan Alfred traveled to Tsingtao. At first the car wouldn't start, which made them late. Edith on the other hand traveled to Shanghai. Bertil and a [pracklåda - some kind of box perhaps] came home. The Strutz family were planning to come back on Thursday. This missionaries, it seemed, were often on the move. At 2:00 in the afternoon Pastor Wang held a prayer meeting, and did well leading it according to Hedvig.

On Tuesday, January 4 at 2:00 PM they heard bombs exploding from the direction of Kaomi. No doubt the bombing was the subject of the afternoon prayer meeting. If they prayed that no more bombs would fall, they were in for a disappointment.

The following day at 9:00 in the morning the first bombs [perhaps the first bombs for Kiaohsien] were dropped close to the city east of the big main road atFa gia miao (sp?) one could hear machine guns. Though no one was killed or hurt from the machine guns, a man was hurt badly in the leg from one of the bombs. He was now in a room at Chong hsuoa (sp?) [Dong Hsuoa]. It was Ki S.S. [chia chang?] [Principle of grammar school] turn to speak at the afternoon prayer meeting and did well. We may imagine him reminding the assembled and nervous Christians that everything was in God's hands.

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Fan Yingtang (possibly)
Bomb Shelter
Kiaohsien, China
Circa 1938

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It may be at this time that the Rinell family had simple bomb shelters made. One bomb shelter, on the corner of Oscar and Hellen's house just to the left of Oscar's study window, was a small, meager construction. The bomb shelter looked as if it would have problems keeping out rain not to speak of bomb fragments. A larger bomb shelter was [where?]. The largest bomb shelter seeming more sturdy than the other two was a modified auto mechanic's pit. Oscar had the mechanic's pit built, probably years before, to maintain the mission's Ford. Now the pit was expanded and roofed with 'sandbags' though the bags probably contained rocks and dirt rather than sand.

Gerda visited Long so djeng (sp?). She [Long so djeng?] felt much better. [Dollan does not know this person].

In the evening of the following day, Thursday, January 6, the man wounded by the bomb the previous day died of his injuries. Despite the recent bombing the Strutz family wanted to come home, so Egron and Gerda drove to get them.The Stutz family, Egron and Gerda arrived back in Kiaohsien while the afternoon prayer meeting was going on.

On Friday, January 7, Ki again took charge of the afternoon meeting. Alarming news came via the Mandarins about a Mr. Chang. Likely a ???? was on its way from Chucheng (sp?). [Don't know what this is about]. Each new rumor made everyone a bit more nervous. To make matters worse planes flew over the city twice though they did not drop any bombs. The weather was cold. A strong sandstorm made it even more uncomfortable.

Cold weather continued on Saturday, the 8th, at 12 degrees. Despite the cold the afternoon meeting was held and led by Pastor Wang . The Chinese at the prayer meeting were naturally very concerned about their people and their country. "May God hear the warm prayers that rise from sad hearts for their native country and people," Hedvig writes. Alarming news came from* Lindberg in Chucheng. They seem to have *Mr. Shen(sp?) there and they expect war. For their safefy, Mathilda sent the four oldest girls, who were orphans, with Mr.Goa to his farm to spare their being raped by the Japanese. Hopefully, the Japanese soldiers would leave the younger girls alone. [Dollan doesn't know Mr. Goa].

For some reason the telephone and telegraph were no longer working. Perhaps the Japanese had cut the lines.

Sunday morning, the 9th, was of course time for morning church. It was Egron's turn to preach. Considering the alarming events around them Egron wisely preached about Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee. If Jesus could calm the storm he could certainly calm the high waves that roared around everyone in Kiaohsien. Communion was held after the sermon. This"silent moment with Jesus" calmed their nerves a bit.

Another meeting was held in the afternoon at 1:30 and lead by Principle Wang Chia Chang [spelling confirmed by Dollan]. Wong was selected as chairman andHan feng [Dollan doesn't know] was vice chairman.

They heard airplanes flying over two or three times, but the planes dropped no bombs. However, word arrived that Cheo tsuen [Dollan doesn't know] had fallen to the Japanese. Everyone was nervous. "Our hearts are grieving with the Chinese people. It's not a trifle thing to lose your country," Hedvig writes.

The following day on Monday, January 10, Japanese planes started flying over the city between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. They made passes over the city throughout the day, sometimes flying so low that they almost touched the rooftops. Word arrived that Weihsien had fallen. At noon the first Japanese soldiers entered Kiaohsien [should this be Tsingtao because below is mentioned the Rinells were still anticipating the Japanese arrival] meeting no opposition. The Japanese invaders raised the Japanese flag on the government building.

On the 11th (?) the Japanese navy took Tsingtao. This was the second time, the first time being 1914.

Fifteen years of Chinese rule had come to an end. At least there would be no more bombing.

Lindberg's trial started. [Dollan doesn't know what this is].

Earlier the Mandarins and others escaped from the city. Those townspeople remaining would have to fend for themselves. On Tuesday six Japanese planes flew together over the town, but again dropped no bombs. But in På (sp?) andLonggratsuen [Dollan doesn't know where this is] there was bombing. How badly that town was bombed no one new. "J" had not arrived in the city yet. The people were afraid, and for good reason.

No mail arrived.

The day was calm. They saw planes, but they flew high and to the west. Chi mei[Tsi Mei Dollan thinks- one the way to Weihsien.] (sp?) Mandarins came to the town driving in six cars, wanting to get into the city [perhaps they came from another city?]. The Chinese at the gated at first didn't know who they were and in a panic started shooting. Though these Mandarins had been lucky not to be spotted by the Japanese, they were in real danger of being shot by fellow Chinese. Fortunately the misunderstanding was cleared up before anyone was hurt.

A prayer meeting was held at 2:00PM.

On Thursday Egron and Gerda held a welcome home dinner for the Strutz family.

Everything was calm but everyone carried a hidden anxiety deep within . They all wondered how soon the Japanese forces were coming, and what was going to happen to them. Not a calming thought. Hedvig's thoughts were still focused on the Chinese and their plight. She writes, "It's terrible to be Chinese these days when their country is being cut up like this."

January 14, Friday.

Despite the real danger of hostilities on Friday, January 14, Egron and Gerda rode their bikes to Kaomi on a mission errand, a long journey that could take two hours by car. When they arrived they witnessed [solungarnes]. Everything was calm. No conflict nor shooting, but a depressed silence hung over the Chinese people. E.J. [who is that?] rode there on his bike. He was probably curious Hedvig thought.

January 15, Saturday

"An historic day! They are here, the "guests!"", so writes Hedvig of arrival and occupation of Japanese forces. They had invited H[possibly Han-musha aka Pastor Han or and his wife who came over occasionally. Could not have been Hellen because she was in Sweden with Oscar and the kids. Could be Hulda] over dinner, and "at that time the people came who weren't invited," Hedvig writes with cynicism. Japanese planes flew overhead, and the street was soon filled with Japanese soldiers. "They were looking for houserooms [guest room] at our neighbor. But the old C. wasn't buried yet, the they didn't want to stay." [Don't know what Hedvig means by this. Perhaps someone had died and the body had not been taken out and buried? Don't. know. Dollan doesn't know either]. Johan Alfred and Hedvig's invited guests didn't stay for the usual after-dinner coffee, but went straight home. E[gron ?] was very nervous.

January 16, Sunday

Church services went on as usual and many came. Everyone was very jittery, but all could feel some comfort, no doubt, in meeting together with their friends and neighbors who were experiencing the same fears. Refugees including men, women and children, who hours before had homes and a normal life, fled to the mission school and were in all the rooms both upstairs and downstairs. The Japanese had taken their homes, driven them out, and then piled up and burnt their furniture. Through terror the Japanese could intimidate and control the townspeople. Now at the school refugees now either sat on whatever chairs were available or sat or lay down on the floor, tables and benches. It could be presumed that hundreds or thousands more were staying elsewhere or were on the roads.

Alice and her brother Johnny spent the night at Johan Alfred and Hedvig's house. Their father Egron slept at N[an guan. West garden. [Hedvig uses 'N' in her diary. According to Dollan, this was probably Nan Guan, a mission building that had many rooms. Years later it was used as a dormitory for students.], Hulda Andersson, M.B. Anna Andersson (Johansson or Jansson?) and [???] also stayed the night at N[an guan]. Alice and Johnny's mother, Gerda, and fellow missionary Esther Wahlin slept with the refugees in the [girls] school.The Japanese soldiers wanted to spend the night at N[an guan] also, but apparently were discouraged, possibly by Egron, from doing so.

January 17, Monday

All in all about seven hundred immigrants spent the night at the school. Many continued south and east in the morning hoping to find some safety and Japanese-free, villages and towns to go to. They traveled through a heavy snowfall.

During the day the Japanese made house searches. "Poor girls and boys in this country." [Question: were the Japanese doing something to the girls and boys?]

No mail arrived. [Note: the post office didn't deliver the mail. Earlier, the cook would go to pick up the mail at the post office for the Rinell families and other missionaries. Later Johnny Rinell rode his bike to the post office to pick up the mail. When Dollan was about 15 years old she made Johnny a mail pouch with a flag to carry the mail. On the side of the mail bag she stitched P.O. for Post Office.]

They held a meeting at 2:00**** in the afternoon. The attendees were very nice and attentive.

The Japanese continued house searches into the night. [What were they looking for?].

January 18, Tuesday

Three hundred refugees were still in the school and the missionaries [Hedvig for one a one or more others] spoke two times in the morning with the refugees at the school, and gave them t'ang in the afternoon.They were very grateful.

Word started coming in of Japanese atrocities .A young man was executed, the reason being he had a photograph of a friend in his uniform. Many girls had been taken away and already killed.One may guess they were raped before being killed.

Eighty-six year old Mrs. Suen (sp?) and Mrs. Fo spent the night in Hedvig and Johan Alfred's dining room.

January 19, Wednesday

Hedvig [and one or more other missionaries] talked to the refugees in the morning. All the refugees were very attentive. The Christians held another prayer meeting in the chapel at 2:00 PM.

Theives had been breaking into people's homes for some days. During the night another gang of theives continued looting.

The new 'government' made a speech to whatever townspeople who were listenting that they were going to put the railway order and build an airport at T[singtao, probably].

January 20, Thursday

Looting continued, but now it was so common that it was hardly worth mentioning. Cold weather continued. Two hundred fifty refugees contiued living at the school. Thankfully, everyone remained healthy despite the close quarters. Hedvig's dining room is full of refugees from F[ ] and S [ ].

January 21, Friday

A temporary theater was built for a dinner theater production and a dinner party for the Japanese "guests" with the banquet having to be finished by 1:00 PM. Six thousands dollars were required for the Japanese soldiers, probaby a demand by the Japanese invaders that the townspeople would be required to pay. Propagada paintings and slogans were applied to the town's walls.

Thankfully, mail arrived from Sweden, America and Shanghai. Edith was still in S[hanghai]. She was healthy, but of course worried for her family. With communication between Kiaohsien and Shanghai sporadic at best, the worry went both ways.

January 22, Saturday

Temperature was 16 degrees.This day was the same as all days. Stress, fear and uncertainty continued. Everyone's moods were in the dump.

Japanese soldiers went over to Nan Guan [to stay or to check it out?]. The girls [Chinese students?] terrified, jumped over the backyard wall. Esther Wahlin butchered two of here geese. They made too much noise. She didn't want to attract attention. The geese would probaby have been taken eventually anyway by the Japanese. Egron continued to sleep at Nan Guan. Esther Wahlin continued to slept at the school with the refugees.

January 23, Sunday

A silent Sunday with a lot of snow on the ground and a cold of 15 degrees. Many people came to the church service O[ ] preached using John 3:16, For God so loved the world . . .and Ebr: 12:24. What did Jesus' blood say? It said that their sins were forgiven and they were acceptable to God."I have removed everything, you are clean."

At 2:00 some of the missionaries and Chinese Christians went to f[ ] school. Mr. Wang Feng Young gave a lecture on China's customs and superstitions, to help bring some normalachy and distraction to the events of recent dahys. The audience was attentive. Afterwards they had coffee at Gerda's house and talked a bit about the last few days. Someone mentioned a baby had been born to Mrs Chang at the school two days previous, but had died. The baby was born prematurely. This was Mrs. Chang's twelvth child. Of these only two remained alive. Mrs. Chang was only thirty-three years old.

January 24, Monday

The mission was expecting 4000 new kids [students?] on this day.

News arrives from Wangtai of robberies and rapes. Rumor has it that the Japanese are now in Churheng[?]. The theater put up by/for[?] the Japanese was torn down for lack of an audience. [Japanese audience or Chinese audience?].

The mission were set up organizing better living arrangements at the school for the refugees. Fewer refugees lived at the school during the day with the numbers swelling during the evening. [Were refugees arriving in the evening and then leaving in the morning?]

January 25, Tuesday

The missionaries anticipated the arrival of mail. News from family and friends in Sweden helped pull their minds and emotions out of the uncertainties and danger around them gving their lives a brief sense of normallacy. And, they were all worried about Edith in Shangahai.No mail arrived early in the day. However, in the evening a lot of mail arrived including a letter from Edith. She was feeling pretty good.

More new arrived of rapes.

Amapach, Marzia, S. and Charles [check names] surprised everyone when they arrived back unexpectedly in the morning. They had left for C[ ], but close to Chang jung [sp?] drove into a snow-filled ditch. They managed to get the car out of the ditch, but decided not to chance driving under poor conditions, returned to Kioahsien. Anyway Marzia [sp?] was not healthy.

Mrs. S[ ] was back at home after her serious operation.

Other than these events life continued on in its uncertain way.

January 26, Wednesday

Sten Lindberg came by [without a call on?]. That would have been a perfect occasion to get butter. He was on his way to Tsingtao.

Some of the Japanese left the town to fight the Chinese army. "A little beating doesn't hurt," Hedvig writes.

Another prayer meeting at 2:00

January 27, Thursday

E & P's [who?] Christmas package arrived, two months in transit. [Coming from Sweden or China?].

Miss Yang gave a nice speech at the school telling her fellow Chinese about her converstion to Christianity.

January 28, Friday

Word arrived that the Japanese soldiers returned to Kiaohsien carrying their dead and wounded. The Chinese army had, apparently, lost the battle but the Japanese army too had suffered.But this turned out to be unfounded rumor.The Chinese and Japanese armied had not fought and there were no killed or wounded.Sorting out fact from fiction was difficult when hearing second or third hand information.

New Japanese troops arrived in town, and more violence was reported.

Sten arrived back from T[singtao]. The road from Tsingtao was in decent shape except for one patch.

January 30, Sunday

As usual they held a meeting in the chapel. Many came.Egron and Gerda had Johan Alfred and Hedvig [and others?] over for Sunday dinner.

Wei Tji Hoe brought over three bags of rice for the refugees. "I guess it was a payment for all the broken furniture and everything that has been stolen in this city since [the Japanese] came," Hedvig writes. [Don't know what she means by this].

Hulda, M.B. and Anna came for a visit.

A letter arrived in the afternoon from Long so Chung. She and the sisters had escaped when the Japanese came running through all the snow. At one point [the Japanese?] threatened to shoot one of the sisters. "Little" Long was suffering from an affliction in her breast.

January 31, Monday

New Year's Day in the Chinese caldendar. They year of the tiger had arrived, the year of the ox was behind them. Ordinarily this was a time of celebration for the Chinese, but there was not much reason this year for celebration especially for the refugees. Despite their uncertain future, the refugees looked kind of happy anyway.

A few day previous new Japenase troops had arrived in Kiaohsien. Today a new troop of bandits arrived. Despite the presence of Japanese troops, the Japanese could not absolutlely control everything.

Sten and Alice arrived with the accounts.

More women were arriving at the school for some shelter and some measure of safety.

Charles and his company arrived back from U[ ] in the afternoon.

For Chinese New Year the cook made an excellent dinner.

During the night a woman with a seven day old baby came running into the school. Two Japanese soldiers had gone into her home. She hid under the table with her baby, but the solderiers found her. Throwing the baby onto the bed they pulled the mother, screaming, outside. After some time a friend of the soldiers stepped in and stopped the abuse.

E[ ] arrived from H[ ].

February 1, Tuesday

Refugees come and go.

February 2, Wednesday

The day was cloudy and dark and snow threatened.

Hedvig spoke for two hours [probably with the refugees at the school]. Mr. Feng spoke at the 2:00 prayer meeting. Many of the refugees from the school attended.

Old U da Niang [sp?] died at 5:00 PM of natural causes. She was 89 years old, and had been suffering for a long time. In the end she didn't recognize anyone. Years before when 'enemies' [perhaps unfriendly neighbors?] in Fo Lang, U da Niang was there for Hedvig, comforting her.

February 3, Thursday

The trip to C[ ] was called off for the committee.

Sten's car got out of gear on the way home from Kihow.

A devine service was held at the funeral service of U Da Niang's funeral bier.

They saw wounded Japanese soldiers carreid through the town to [F ]. They did not know where the fighting had been.

February 4, Friday

The entire day they heard cannon from the west, but again did not know where the fighting was taking place.

In the afternoon Eric came from Wangtai. On the way he passed 800 or 900 [Japanese, Chinese?] on their way to[W ].

Johan Alfred was to marry [apparently] a couple for [Dienhes], but the bride didn't show up, so he returned home on difficult roads.

Mrs. Chiang invited invited Hedvig for tea.

Mrs. Yang wants to travel to W[angtai?], and train to become a nurse [train in Wangtai?]. That was a good goal, but it meant one less person was leaving [the mission and as a help at the mission?]

February 5, Saturday

Hedvig had a long talk with Fo[s ]in the afternoon and with with women in the school about 'life's path'. "How I wish they were on the right path in life," writes Hedvig.Hedvig's hopes of bring Fo into the kingdom of heaven were being frustrated.

No letter arrived from Edith. "I hope she's not sick, our little girl."

February 6, Sunday

The [church?] hall was full of people. Here in [S ] nol less than 23 women were attending. Wang Lien Cheng preached well. At 2:00 a large group of people went back with Hedvig to the school. Wang continued his preaching, but according to Hedvig they talked to much about thier [problems] and not about the 'living way' in Jesus.

Mrs. Fo[s?] was there the whole day with her nephews. Hedvig hoped that something would sink into their hearts and bear fruit.

Johan Alfred was to [M ].

[S]'s six year old son had just died of fever, and two of her other children were also very sick. As many as ten children had died in the last few days in the village. "Terrible. God help them."

February 7, 1938. Monday.

Hedvig went to Doris [ ] birthday [mien tang].It was well prepared and very good. They all had coffee afterward.

The Japanese had now takens Chen Chung where they were met with resistence and several were killed. In revenge the Japanese burned down a village outside the city.

Three hundred [S.U.] came in today from [ ] with many hurt. It was unknown how many were killed.

February 8, 1938, Tuesday

Nothing new except the usual rumors of soldiers coming and going. One rumor thought made 'one's hair stand on end' that over twenty Japanese soldiers had hung themselves in their barracks during the night.

No mail arrived so there was still no word from Edith.

To keep busy and to keep her nerves calm Hedvig crocheted all day.

February 9, 1938, Wednesday

The rumors of twenty Japanese hanging themselves was now down to four Japanese hanging themselves.

One hundred vehicles coming from the direction of Chefoo continued on to [C ], which had not yet been occupied.

In the morning the missionaries and Chinese heard shooting outside the north east part of the city. Perhaps the Japanese were just practicing. Of course it could have been something much worse.

In Jen Li Choung, a young man was shot while protecting his wife from Japanese soldiers.

Wang Lien Djeng spoke in a meeting about [ ].

February 10, 1938, Thursday

A letter came from a minisiter in Shanghai answering Hedvig's letter on January 25, no doubt asking about Edith. [Hedvig does not say what the letter states about Edith but apparently he had no word about he]. Hedvig was

February 11, 1938, Friday

Nothing was happenining in Kiaohsien. Andrien wrote [a letter?] that everthing was fine in C. The Japanese took the city on the fourth after some shooting outside hat city. [Apparently, the Chinese did not put up any resistence from within the city].

The mission held a meeting in which they talked about opening a primary plus Bible school March 1.

The 'tai tai' [or Mrs.] in the dining room [of the school?] had gone home, but just for a short time [which was good because they needed her]. Fortunately, her home had not been pillaged, and all her things were still there.

February 12, Saturday

A young man was lying in the street, shot dead. He had apparently been stopped by the Japanase. Under his normal clothes they found a leather military trousers and belt.

Still no letter from Edith.

February 13, Sunday

Egron had arrived in China 21 years before [after seminary?].

Hedvig was greeted by a lovely sight in church. Three section were filled with women. And, in the men's section were a lot of men they had never seen before. Hedvig hoped this interest in the church and God would continue. Ki Suan preached about Jonah and the whale, and how God delivered Jonah. . Despite the fact that he preached for a long time, his sermon was good, and appropriate.

When they arrived home after the church service two letters were waiting from Edith. One letter was six weeks old, and the other just four days. Edith had been having pain in her left breast, and a nerve had been troubling her in the old her old would after the operation. Hedvig hoped she was coming home soon.

Johan Alfred and Egron went to [S ] in the moring and preached to many.

At 1:00 PM Johan Alfred and Gerda traveled to Kaomi, but snow began to fall and the conditions were wet and mushy. Getting home could be difficult.

Ki led the 2:00 meeting in the schoo

Life in Sweden (continued)¶

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Dollan Rinell
10th Birthday
Mjölby, Sweden, 1938

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In July Dollan turned ten years old. The family was in the town of Mjölby at the time visiting close friends of Oscar and Hellen. The ladies were bakers who did a good job in advertising their buisness for they were short and fat. Dollan's family and the bakers gave Dollan a birthday party and a number of gifts including two necklaces, the second necklace with a delicate chain and pendant, and a the best of all, a watch. It was probably Oscar who took the picture of Dollan on the bakers' apartment balcony, the ten year old Swede from China wearing a light blue dress with dark polka dots, puffed sleaves and buttons partly down the middle, her gifts spread out on the table before her, and the customary bouquet of flowers for anyone with a birthday. Actually Dollan got two bouqets of flowers, one probably from her family and the second from the bakers.

Leaving Sweden¶

Oscar, Hellen, Roy and Dollan had arrived in Sweden in 1937. In 1938 it was time to go home to China. For Dollan this was a happy event. China was her home. Sweden was a foreign land.

A question was raised at the Swedish Baptist Mission regarding Roy. He was of high school age, and there was no high school for him to attend in China. The head of the Swedish Baptist Mission had the last say in these decisions. He decided that Roy should not return to China with his parents, but rather stay in Sweden to attend school. Danielsson told Oscar and Hellen in the presence of Dollan and Roy. He patted Dollan on the head and said, "You can go back to China."

Roy staying behind would also save the cost of ticket on board the ship back to China. And the cost of boarding school would have to be paid by Oscar and Hellen. Hellen was so depressed by the decision she didn't think to suggest that they take the price of the ticket out of the family's expense account.

At first Roy may have been excited to stay in Sweden where all the stores were, but he didn't realize the import of the decision, and did not know at first that he would be going to a boarding school rather than staying with family.

On the 23rd of August Hellen went with Roy down to his school "Osby Sam Skola" in Osby to attend boarding school.It was the most difficult trip Hellen had ever taken in her life she later wrote her friend [sister?] Esther. 1 Parting was difficult, but they would see Roy again soon - or so they thought. 2 Dollan could not say that she was sad about Roy staying in Sweden. Afterall, she too thought they would be seeing him again in the not too distant future.

Roy lived in a dormitory. He hated it. Both Oscar and Hellen did not like the turn of events and in the future very much regretted it.

Afterward Oscar and Hellen and probably Dollan attended a farewell meeting in 'Salem.' 3 That same evening they left for Göteborg.

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Oscar, Hellen & Doris Rinell
Leaving Sweden for China
via America
Göteborg, Sweden
1938
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Many friends came down to the steamship lines to wave good-bye from the familiar docks of Göteborg. "We were so grateful not to have to see our Roy stand there and wave us good-bye," Hellen wrote. 4 That would have been much too painful.

Streamers were thrown from the ship toward the crowds on the dock and balcony. About 25 to 30 church members came out and stood on the teminal's balcony singing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" in Swedish and "Tryggare kan ingen vara, an Guds lilla barna skara" which in English is :"Children of thy Heavenly Father" as the shipped pulled away from the dock.

The ship they sailed on was possibly the Gripsholm. Sailing the Atlantic went well except for four days of storms. Both Dollan and Oscar were in bed seasick. Most of the time though Dollan was rarely found below decks. She was usually up on deck playing shuffle board or watching the ocean, an ocean which was never the same color.

Other games occupying their time as they did on most transoceaonic journey's were Monopoly, Parchessy, dominos and Snakes and Ladders, a board game in which each players starts at a square at the bottom right, throws the dice, and advances a n number of squares. If the player lands on a square with a ladder, they "climb" the ladder, and advances even more squares. If however the player lands on a snake, they 'slide' down the snake to preceding squares. The game was full of joys, sarrows and excitement. However, the game was also [word]. Ordinarally, missionay kids were not allowed to play with dice. Because dice were also used by worldly people to gamble and inferred other less savory lifestyles, dice were often seen as being sinful in themselves. On lengthy journeys there seemed to be some dispensation in effect. Long journeys are sometimes given over to excesses and certain indescretions that would not be permitted at any other time. A long ship journey was one of those times.

Arrival in America¶

Oscar, Hellen and Dollan arrived in New York and made their way down to Philadephia. 5

From Philadelphia they took the train to San Francisco, traveling by Pullman sleeper. Dollan really enjoyed the train ride. Black porters took care of the guests on the trains. She loved their black porter. He was about fifty years old with very black skin and big white eyes, and the most beautiful smile with straight white teeth. His hands were so black, and the sheets so white. Dollan and her doll slept on the upper bunk, but sometimes would sleep on the lower by her mom to watch out the window at the train stations. Electric lights! How sparkling they were in the black of night. It was so different than Kiaohsien where they didn't have electricity.

The steam from the train gave an eerie look to the station with the vendors selling hot dogs and hot drinks under the misty lights.

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Svante, Dollan Rinell, Hellen Rinell
Seattle, Washington, USA
circa 1938

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When they reached the other side of America they visited Hellen's uncle, her mother's brother, Svante Olofsson in Seattle. This was the first time Hellen and her uncle had met. He was seventy-four years old and a widower for only a few months. He had a cute little home, which he himself took care of, and he cooked his own meals. He had left Sweden fifty-two years before, but spoke and wrote Swedish beautifully.

They also visited Oscar's brother, Erik, who lived in Marinette. In [???] they visited Oscar's two sisters, Margaret and Edith. Margarett and her husband Roy lived in San Francisco. Edith had arrived just three days before from China on the same ship that would now take them back to China, the Empress of Asia 5.1. Margarett and Roy drove them around the area sightseeing "many interesting and beautiful places" around the San Francisco area. [Research indicates that the Empress of Asia never sailed to or from San Francisco. So if Edith arrived on the Empress of Asia, it was probably in Vancouver. She then would have made her way down to San Francisco on another ship or by train to visit her sister Margarett and her brother-in-law, Roy Jewett.]

Dollan remembers being in American when she was eight, arriving an San Francisco, and leaving America at age ten and being at that time in Seattle. So, Dollan and her family probably visited Margaret, Roy and Edith in San Francisco and later her mother's uncle in Seattle and then traveled the relatively short distance to Vancouver to catch the Empress of Asia.

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Empress of Asia Source: http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/asia2.html
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The journey over the ocean was not calm as the name Pacific implies in both English and Swedish. Oscar again became immediately seasick. "Its mostly bad for Oscar. He doesn't get along with the ocean at all, but has to lay down as soon as [the ship] starts to rock." 6 On November 13, they were approaching Shanghai. They had expected to arrive at that port the next day, but the storms delayed them. They would stay a few days in Shanghai and then continue on to Kiaohsien where they expected to arrive on November 20. 3 Later during WWII the Empress of Asia was bombed by the Japanese. Apparently, it didn't sink,but was so badly damaged that it had to be abandoned. (Check the web for details).

Back in Kioahsien¶

Life back home continued on as usual thought one big change took place. Since the time the family had arrived to China in the late 1800s they had all used an outhouse in the yard. The outhouse was a simple affair with walls for privacy and a wood plank with a hole in it. Under the hole was a bucket, which the cook or gardener emptied periodically. The waste was put into the cesspool used by the Chinese staff. Every month or so a Chinese man came by the house and yelled out in Chinese, "Do you have any shit?!!" The cook or gardener would direct him to the cesspool where the man would fill the buckets dangling from a yoke across his shoulders. A few coins were exchanged. Probably he paid the cook or gardener and not the other way around because this rich nutrient could be sold or the man could use it on his own fields. We don't know if he was a local farmer or a middle man of manure.

The big change came when when a downstairs closet in Dollan's home was coverted into a toilet along the same principle of a bucket on a wood board with a hole in it. True it did smell some, but a window made in the closet wall to the outside helped alleviate the smell, and regular emptying by the cook or gardener also helped.

Johnny and his family still used an outhouse which was the room to the of their house as one looked from Dollan's house. The toilet was a woodbox with a hole cut out of it. Under the hole was a bucket.The family used newspaper to wipe themselves.

Lilli¶

All the chickens owned by the Rinell family had been eaten. It was Lilli's turn. Lilli was white, old, and no longer laid eggs. Lilli though was Dollan's pet chicken. Dollan strongly objected to the plan.

Jag kommer INTE att äta Lilli! Jag äter inte middag. I will NOT eat Lilli ! I'm not eating dinner.

Du måste äta ! You must eat !

Jag ska inte ! I will NOT !

Dollan did not eat dinner.

Strutz Family¶

The Strutz family left for Sweden on Monday.

Education¶

Johan was interested in his students continuing on with their education of course. In December he wrote a letter to Mr. Culpepper asking if he would take three of his students all who had been through the mission's middle school into his seminary. One was a woman of twenty-five and the others two men of thirty. The girl had just finished school. One of the young men had been a school teacher and the other an evangelist. 7

Full Time Bible School¶

A full time Bible School that started about 1938. Earlier they only offered two month courses in Kaomi. 9

Family Leaves the Mission¶

In 1938 the Reverend and Mrs. Leander left the Swedish Baptist Mission to join the Swedish Penticostal Mission, whose beliefs and particular expression of the Christian faith were not always in agreement with the baptists. Rev. Leander's drift from the baptist church may have been over a long period. He and his wife were on furlough in Sweden in 1917 when their church, the Philadelphia Church in Stockholm, broke away from the Baptist Union.

The Leander's departure from the Swedish Baptist Mission must have been quite a disappointment to Johan Alfred. He and Reverend Leander worked well together. Also, Leander's departure was a hard blow to the mission. Leander is said today to be a great evangelist, and in Kioami he and his wife were very succussful. The Kioami church had the largest number of church members than any of the churches in the Swedish Baptist Mission.

The Leander family first moved to nearby Tsingtao. From there Leander traveled widely in Shantung province as an evangelist. During the course of his preaching he influence one of the outpost churches to leave the Baptist mission and join the pentecostal movement. Of course this would have been taken hard by the Swedish baptist missionaries, and was not taken well by the Baptist Union in Sweden. In an attempt to put a halt to the loss of an more churches the Baptist Union wrote a letter to Levi Petrus, the founder of the pentacostal movement in Sweden and pastor of the Philadephia church to ask Reverend Leander to work in some other area of China. This Levi Petrus, apparently did, because the Leander family soon afterward moved north to Peking, and did not further influence churches of the Swedish Baptist Mission. 10

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Footnotes

Letter from Hellen Rinell to Esther Colldén, November 13, 1938. Not sure who this Esther is though probably Hellen's sister, Esther Colldén.
They didn't see him for another 8 years.
Don't know where 'Salem' is at. (Probably Stockholm according to Dollan).
Letter from Hellen Rinell to Esther Colldén, Nov. 13, 1938.
You did arrive in New York, right? And then probably took a train to Philadelphia?

5.1 The Empress of Asia was built 1913 by Fairfield SB & E Co., of Glasgow. Her tonnage totaled 16, 909g, 8, 883n. Her engines were Quadruple Screw, 4 x Steam Turbines by Builder, 3, 750 NHP, 19 Knots. She could carry 1,189 passengers. She was launched 23rd November 1912 and completed June 1913 of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Lines. See the http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/asia2.html. Photo temporarily borrowed from this website.

Letter from Hellen Rinell to Esther Colldén, Nov. 13, 1938.
Letter: Johan Alfred Rinell to Mr. Culpepper, December 31st 1938.
Info from Lally Rinell, emailed to Lennart Holmquit, September 28, 2007. Lally also mentions that "Many of the more advanced students went on to study in Huang Hsien in an Institute run by the Southern Baptist Mission. Some continued in Qingdao [Tsingtao] - and a few went to study at Qilo University in Jinan." I don't know if this was in 1938 or later. LJH]
Information about the Leander family leaving the mission supplied by Lally Rinell in email to Lennart Holmquist on December 27, 2009. Lally adds, "Even today [2009] I have met Chinese Christians who were very much in favour of Leander and see him as a good preacher and a man of God.".

CHAPTER

Foreign Devils: A Swedish Family in China 1894 to 1951
© 2012-14 Lennart Holmquist
Lorum • Ipsum• Dolor • Sic Amet • Consectetur

Updated: 12-May-2020

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