Overview
Geoffrey Bull drops us into the middle of his story among the mountain peaks of Tibet. God opened the door for gospel advance in the aftermath of World War II, and Bull boldly walked through, the only missionary in Tibet at the time. Bull describes the people and landscapes that he encountered in his journeys. He also gives a firsthand account of Tibet’s annexation by the People’s Liberation Army. Throughout his travels and subsequent three-year imprisonment in a communist re-education prison, Bull leans upon the promises of God’s Word. This inspiring account, written soon after his release from captivity, is a shining witness for Christ in the darkest of trials.
The benefits of this book far outweigh any imperfections. However, I should point out that Bull’s story begins abruptly without no background information about himself, his background, his calling, or his ministry in China as he made his way to Tibet. So, only after reading a few chapters does the reader begin to become oriented in the narrative. Similarly, the book just ends without fanfare. Since Bull published this book only two years after his release in Hong Kong, the reader learns nothing about his later life. Though written in an older style, the book is still fairly easy to read.
To fill in some of the details omitted by the book, Geoffrey Bull was an Englishmen sent as a missionary to Tibet by a Brethren assembly in the outskirts of London. He was saved as a youth and baptized at age fifteen. Though originally planning to go into banking, Bull felt called by God to take the gospel to Central Asia. He and his Scottish coworker, George Patterson, ministered for three years in China in preparation for their work in Tibet, learning both Chinese and Tibetan along the way. After the account in the book, Bull returned to England for a time where he began writing a series of Christian books, beginning with this autobiographical account. During this time, he married a Scottish woman named Agnes Templeton. Together, Bull with his new wife, returned to Asia as missionaries, serving in Borneo in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Highlights
- How God led Bull into Tibet just after World War II, witnessing to Tibetan leaders, Buddhist gurus, and local villagers.
- How God sustained Bull during his three-year imprisonment, keeping his testimony despite deprivation, brainwashing, and threats on his life.
- How God delivered Bull from the hands of his captors.
Quotes
- “Our souls were caught up in one great desire to move on in the full stream of His unfolding will, till Lhasa yield, till Satan bow, till the song of the redeemed echo and re-echo throughout all the peaks and grassland of the great sub-continent of Central Asia, till the whole world should know in this demonstration of His triumph something more of the greatness of God.” (p. 18)
- “Just before noon, I crossed the river called the River of Golden Sand, which forms the upper reaches of the Yangtse [sic] and set my foot down on Tibetan soil under the control of the Lhasa Government. For me a very great event—and also I dare to believe a very great event in the history of the Gospel’s advance into Central Asia by the Will of God.” (p. 77)
- “All had moved forward so perfectly and then suddenly in a moment all seemed reversed. What had transpired in the heavenlies? Could he who had fallen as lightning from heaven [the devil] contend with the One Who “rideth upon the heavens by His Name Jah”? [God Himself] I could find no answer; Satan was striking at the very root of my faith and calling.” (p. 133)
Other Sources
Geoffrey Bull is not highlighted in either Daring Devotion or Daring Dependence. However, if the Lord allows me to publish a third missions devotional in the Daring Devotion series, I will definitely include a snapshot from Bull’s testimony. I already have a draft written!
