This classic is an incredible true story of how one intrepid young lady heeds the call of God to a life of missions in some of the most dismal conditions. It tells of Jackie Pullinger and how she was led from a middle-class life in Britain to go into the walled city of Hong Kong in 1966. The walled city then was a squalid, lawless place in Hong Kong, outside the reach of the government. There, she ministered to the drug addicts, gang members, prostitutes and down-and-out. This is remarkable given she went without the ability to speak Cantonese or much financial resources. All she had was a desire to serve the Lord in a life of missions. Later on, after she was baptised in the Holy Spirit, she would have a complete reliance on the gifts of the Spirit and his leading.
It’s a crazy, God-centred story of a remarkable lady who underlines what the Gospel is about, representing Jesus to the derelict, the depraved, the poorest of the poor.
Jesus said to them: “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
The interview below of Jackie by Nicky Gumbel of London’s Holy Trinity Brompton Church is inspiring to watch, and tells of how she and God transformed many lives. The book fills in the other details!
Excerpt from the book – “It was that Jesus”
Today, Hong Kong’s walled city is no more, demolished by the government. In the last chapter of her book, Jackie Pullinger recounts this touching incident of meeting two denizens of the walled City. What got me was this line “It was that Jesus.” Read on.
The year is 2000 and Jackie is with a friend Margaret at South Wall Road when her name is called by two old men. One of them excitedly tells Margaret about Jackie and the work she did in the walled city. “She cared about us and miracles happened. People who could not change were changed. It was that Jesus.”
Jackie recounted, “I was surprised by him. I cannot recall ever talking to him about Jesus. He used to sit at the congee shop where the poor old men ate the cheapest food. It was where the unsuccessful lawbreakers hung out and for a dollar or so could spin out hours in the familiarity of the Dark City.”
He said, “All those people, Goko, Johnny, Geui Jai, Winson, many, many, all changed by Jesus. You know maybe one day I will believe too. That has to be the one true God. Can I find you?” As he speaks he wipes his eyes which are leaking yellow.
By this time, Jackie said she was leaking tears too. “Excuse me,” she says “but could I introduce you to Him now?”