Christian Heroes Then & Now: Hudson Taylor

The Christian Heroes: Then & Now series by Janet and Geoff Benge is aimed at older children, but would also be good to read aloud and with younger children.  I can't remember when I first heard about the series, but I tucked the name in the back of my mind and finally looked it up on Amazon a while back.  The series has several books, each of which is a biography of a hero in the faith.  The biographies are generally of more 'modern' missionaries and other influential people (from the past few hundred years), some of whom are pretty famous (Nate Saint, George Mueller, C.S. Lewis, etc), while others are lessor known (Lillian Thrasher, Jacob DeShazer, Betty Greene, etc).  I decided to read Hudson Taylor: Deep in the Heart of China first, as it had gotten excellent reviews.

Hudson Taylor was born in England in 1832 into a family who made Bible-reading and prayer a priority.  When Taylor was a teenager, he began to turn away from his upbringing because of some bad influences at his workplace.  However, Taylor's mother and sisters began to pray in earnest for him, and not long after Hudson truly became a follower of Christ.  Soon he felt the Lord calling him to China, and immediately began to prepare himself in every way he could.  He studied the Chinese language, medicine, and even began a strict regimen in order to prepare his body for the long journey.  Eventually, Taylor found his way aboard a ship bound for China and several months later, stepped onto Chinese soil.  The authors go on to tell of all the difficulties he and other missionaries experienced at that time, but they were careful to point out how God always provided for Taylor and the other missionaries.  Though not every one survived their time in China, Taylor and the other missionaries were faithful in their commitment to God and to the Chinese people.

Even though it was geared more towards children in terms of the reading level, the book was still well-done.  It's not written in a formal biographical style; it seemed more like a adventure-thriller.  The authors did not sacrifice any of the content, however, to make this biography more interesting to children.  I felt they did an excellent job of telling Taylor's story, although I think the book ended too soon.  I think this book, and perhaps the rest in the series, would be really good to share with children; it would be a great way to introduce the concept of international missions, as well as understanding other cultures, to children.  I plan on reading several more in the series for sure!