The work among the boat people of Hong Kong began with an Englishwoman named Miss Mary Alexander, who was living in Hong Kong at the beginning of the last century and was touched by the plight of this poorest and most despised section of Hong Kong society.
Unable to turn a blind eye to their suffering, she wrote to friends in Chicago, USA, members of the Ewing Street Congregational Church, and the upshot was that their Canadian pastor, Rev Edward Drew and his sister, Florence, felt a call and began to take an interest in the work.
In 1908, Florence had taken a teachers’ course at Valparaiso University, and followed it with missionary work in a ghetto in Chicago. She corresponded with Miss Alexander and decided to travel to Hong Kong.
She arrived in 1909 with a large and heavy typewriter, intending to support herself with secretarial work. Working half a day, she devoted the rest of her time to studying Chinese and attempting to reach the boat people with the Gospel. So began the South China Boat Mission.
After 4 months, friends in Chicago began to send her financial support, which enabled her to work full time for the cause.
Edward Drew joined Florence a year later, and the Chicago church funded the building of a waterside chapel from which to carry on the work. This proved unsatisfactory however. The work needed to be amongst the boat people themselves.
The Drews then heard of a Gospel boat, the Morning Star, that was up for sale with the Swedish Evangelical Free Church of Canton. More funds were raised, the boat was purchased, their first Gospel boat, and it was decided that Canton should be the headquarters of the work, Canton having by far the greater population of Boat People.
In 1913 Edward was obliged by illness to return to the States but once recovered he organised a Home Council composed of businessmen and pastors, who were keen to back the work financially and in prayer.
With this backing and a boat to work from, the work took off. Dispensaries were established which drew crowds on a daily basis, and the Gospel story reinforced by the love in action of the missionaries was a powerful force for change. More missionaries joined the work and more craft purchased and by 1921 there were 8 boats anchored on the Pearl/Canton River. Later on the work spread to three provinces.
Over the years, 40 boat churches were established plus a leprosarium and schools; boat children were educated and health issues addressed, and thousands had heard the good news of the Gospel.
Florence Drew spent 23 years in this ministry prior to her death in December 1932. She had not only pioneered the work but for a number of years acted as Field Secretary for the South China Boat Mission. Her niece Florence Raetz carried on the missionary thread working for the Door of Hope Mission in Canton and Hong Kong. Florence's husband Erwin Raetz was a director of the South China Boat Mission.
The South China Boat Mission became the Oriental Boat Mission, then International Missions and today Christar.
Sources:
Christar Canada with a pic of Florence Drew
Let My Heart Be Broken – Richard Gehman
The Yip Family of Amah Rock – Jill Doggett