Sunday, May 15, 2011

Fannie Lowe first medical missionary in Hong Kong

· After working at the Danville hospital for a time, Fannie Lowe traveled to Hong Kong in 1958 to serve the Lord as a missionary and teacher. She had prepared by completing nursing training. Fannie served in Hong Kong for 28 years and started the medical clinic there. She later obtained a bachelors degree and served another 10 years in mainland China teaching English. ·
· “My dear friend Miss Fannie Lowe went to be with the LORD yesterday (May 13, 2011) at the age of 89. A missionary to Hong Kong and China for 39 years, she was my prayer partner in the last few years and I learned much from her.” (Nancye Ricketts)
·
This is the message from China:

“I am so sad to hear this news. Did she passed away peacefully? Did she say anything? Dearest Fannette is the faithful servant of Lord, and she has won the battle in the world, she have had very fruitful life, we thank God again and again for letting her to came to China, so that we can get to know the love of Lord through her. She is a great sister in the Lord!”

- M. Deng

“I have known Fannie for many years and she is partly responsible for my being in Hong Kong. As part of my preparation to go the Hong Kong, I visited Fannie at her home in Virginia and was blessed by her family and her church. After I arrived in Hong Kong in August 1972, Fannie came with her niece and we worked together in the clinic as well as many other parts of the mission there. She and I were both due for furlough at the same time, and I suggested she come and I would delay mine until she returned. Turned out, she decided to go to school - which made her eligible for Mainland China - and I had a short three-week trip home after several months. Fannie is a very sincere and loving person who loves God with all her heart."
(Dora McNeill Sandhu)

"Miss Fannie Lowe first medical missionary in Hong Kong, died Friday, May 13, 2011
The celebration of Fannie Lowe's life will be this Monday, May 16, 2011, at 2 p. m. at the Danville First Pentecostal Holiness Church in Danville, Virginia. Pastor Myron Bruce will be officiating.

Visitation will be at the church from 12:45-1:45 p. m. prior to the service. Danville First Pentecostal Holiness Church is located at 1810 N. Main Street, Danville, Virginia 24540. The church phone is 434.792.1757. For anyone who cannot attend the funeral but would like to email your regards, you may do so at firstphchurch@verizon.net.

Dr. Harold Dalton will represent World Missions Ministries, Rev. Li, Shuk Yi will represent the Pentecostal Holiness Churches in Hong Kong, and Rev. John Parker, missionary colleague will speak on behalf of the missionary family.

Swicegood Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

The church in Hong Kong sent the following Eulogy:

In Memory of Fannie Lowe:

Sister Fannie Lowe had a deep love for Chinese people. She responded to God’s call and went to Hong Kong alone in 1958. Learning Cantonese proved to be a great challenge to her. In desperation, Fannie prayed to God in tears: “Help me to learn Chinese, even if you have to take away my English!” She eventually mastered Cantonese so well that no one noticed that she was not a native speaker.

Arriving in Hong Kong, Fannie set up a clinic in a grass-root residential area as a base for gospel preaching. The clinic, serving the poor of the community and bringing God’s good news to them, later developed into Tsz Wan Shan Pentecostal Holiness Church.

There was nothing that mattered too much for Fannie to give up for God. In her 38 years of serving on the Chinese soil, she missed five funerals of her family, including her mother’s. What we consider as sacrifices were simply incomparable to God’s love and grace.

Never rich from the worldly point of view, Fannie loved to count her blessings, especially on God’s miraculous providence all her life. Her declining health in recent years had not undermined her faith in God’s providence. She stayed thankful to churches in Hong Kong who kept sending her financial support throughout these years. Brothers and sisters in Hong Kong indeed miss Fannie dearly for her selfless dedication to the missions and people here.

Fannie was a truly godly woman. She must have been deeply touched by God’s love that she chose to pour out her life so fully for others. Up to the very end of her life on earth, she still kept praying for the PH churches in Hong Kong every day. She was indeed a living testimony of “fighting the good fight, finishing the race and keeping the faith” and for sure there is in store for her the crown of righteousness which the Lord will award her.

~ A eulogy from the Pentecostal Holiness Church Hong Kong
[Editor's Note: I met Fannie Lowe in 1954 when I was a young Marine at Quantico, Virginia, at the National Pentecostal Holiness Church. She was in nurses training. I found her to be a dedicated Christian with a calling to be a medical missionary to China. That caught my attention since my mother, Julia Payne (Morgan), was a missionary in Hong Kong and Pakhoi from 1920-29. I can identify with Fannie's love for the Chinese people; that is a gift God has given to me as well. It is little wonder that God helped her to learn the Cantonese language. When you love a people group, you will learn their language. In recent years, Fannie taught English as a Second Language to Chinese in mainland China.
Over the years I have corresponded with Fannie Lowe by letter and e-mail. She enjoyed getting Hugh's News and contributed to this electronic newsletter. She was always faithful and loyal to God and to our church.
Melvine and I saw her in January of this year at Falcon at the Centennial Celebration of the Merger of the Fire Baptized Holiness Church and the Pentecostal Holiness Church। I am glad that we were able to talk with her. She learned of her pancreatic cancer and died in just a few months.

The Apostle Paul said it best about living and dying: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21-22, NIV)।

Let us celebrate the life of service that Fannie Lowe gave to the Chinese people. We will never forget her. The memory of this great Christian lady will forever live in our hearts."
(Hugh's News on Sunday, May 15, 2011)

Fannie's brothers Larry and Frank Lowe were two of my friends. We attended the same church together for years.