CHINA - The Miracle of Project Pearl
16/05/05 - One of the most unusual and successful operations of the 20th century
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/proj_pearl_pics/html/index.htm
Twenty-four years ago, Open Doors smuggled a million Bibles in to China’s persecuted Christians in one night as part of Project Pearl.
Open Doors will host a special China Prayer Day in Manchester on 18 March to reflect on that historic event and its impact on the Church in China. Guest speakers will include Chinese Christian Johnny Li and Alan Hall, National Director of Open Doors UK.
In addition, Open Doors will host China information evenings with Johnny Li during the following week throughout England, Scotland and the Isle of Skye to commemorate Project Pearl.
The 1981 smuggling venture was described, at the time, as one of the most unusual and successful operations in the 20th century and all preparations for this daring operation had to be made in absolute secrecy.
The Chinese Church was experiencing a time of revival after being almost wiped out during China’s Cultural Revolution. After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, the reins were slightly slackened. The Church was still alive, and Christians again ‘crept out of the catacombs’. But religion was still regarded by the Communist Party as ‘the opiate of the people’ and had to be countered. Christians still had to be careful and could by no means meet freely everywhere.
There was also an appalling shortage of Bibles.
It was agreed that, on the night of 18 June 1981, Open Doors would deliver one million Bibles to the beach at Swatow, now known as Shantou, a port city on the South China Sea. Over 2,000 Chinese Christians were waiting on the beach that night to hide or distribute the Bibles immediately. This took considerable organisation. The people for this task had to be found individually and informed in person. It was a miracle to find so many people without the Chinese authorities getting wind of it.
Typhoon season
In Hong Kong, the Bibles were loaded onto the deck of an open barge, to be towed to the beach of Shantou by tugboat. The vessels bore the meaningful names of Gabriella and Michael. Because of logistical problems, the operation had already been postponed by a few months, and by June, the typhoon season had begun. Captain Tinsley protested that it was crazy to do this in the typhoon season as not a single one of his crew had sea legs. It was gambling with people’s lives.
But there was no other option, and he considered the task so important that he continued with the undertaking against his better judgement.
The South China Sea is regularly hit by tropical storms, and typhoon warnings are an everyday occurrence there. When a warning is given, all ships must find a secure port or set a course which takes them as far from the path of the typhoon as possible. In Hong Kong, everything is battened down in preparation for a storm: cranes are lashed down and windows are boarded up.
For the tugboat Michael and the barge Gabriella, with their valuable cargo of over a million Chinese Bibles, there was no opportunity to find a safe berth in overcrowded Hong Kong. They had no choice but to stay offshore in a sheltered anchorage area.
Whilst the vessels were waiting in Hong Kong, the first typhoon of the season approached the port. As the crew followed the weather reports with increasing tension, the praying home front was called up.
A signal from Open Doors set a telephone prayer-chain in motion, and within a few hours, thousands of people all over the world were praying for Project Pearl. Only a handful of insiders knew exactly what was going on and could pray specifically: the majority of intercessors knew only that it was a big project for the Chinese Church.
Absolutely calm seas
At a safe distance from Hong Kong, the typhoon abruptly changed course. The barometer, which had reached its lowest setting on 11 June, began to rise again. On the afternoon of 15 June, the tugboat Michael set course for Shantou. The sea, which had been whipped up considerably by the approaching typhoon, was much calmer.
On 16 June, when the barometer in Hong Kong again indicated a normal level, the captain of the Michael received a report that another typhoon was headed towards him. It was a long way off, to the east of the Philippines, but it might cause considerable difficulties on 18 June. The intention was to tow the barge as close as possible to the beach, after which a number of sea valves would be opened in order to submerge the Gabriella deep enough to float the Bibles off the deck and into the ocean. This could be done only with a completely calm sea; otherwise, the barge could puncture its hull on the seabed.
Heavenly Host
The crucial moment arrived. The secret prayer force was again deployed and prayer rose round-the-clock for Project Pearl from all parts of the world. This prayer must have mobilised God’s heavenly host because the transport was able to get close to the beach as the weather was exceptionally good and the sea absolutely calm.
The selected landing point for the precious cargo was on the shipping route to a naval port. Chinese patrol boats approached very close to the Michael, to the great concern of the crew, but the patrols did not sense anything unusual.
Undisturbed, the Michael approached the beach, where approximately 2,000 Chinese Christians waited, ready to transport the Bibles the traditional Chinese way – on foot, carrying a long pole with a basket balanced on each end.
Some lorries also waited on the beach to receive Bibles. By the light of the full moon, the captain manoeuvred his ship as close to the shore as he dared. Then he gave the order to let the holds fill up, to sink the vessel to the seabed.
The Bibles were packed in huge, poly-clad bundles with floats attached. When the barge sank beneath them, the 232 packages of Bibles were left floating on the smooth sea. Rubber dinghies with strong outboard engines towed the packages – weighing 1,000 kilos each – the last leg to the beach, helped by Chinese Christians with their own fishing boats.
As soon as the bundles reached the beach, they were quickly loaded into the baskets and the transporters set off in the dark of night.
Captain Tinsley, the only seaman on board, realised that the calm sea was exceptional and could be explained only by the approaching typhoon, as he describes in his autobiography.¹
Eventually, the Chinese police got wind of the affair but the tug was already making its way to the Philippines under full steam.
Many believers involved with Project Pearl suffered at the hands of the Chinese authorities later on. There were three major crackdowns by the government – in 1983, 1987 and 1989. Open Doors was told that the first and the third of these were related to Project Pearl. Those involved are still cautious today about speaking of this operation, and it is still dangerous for a believer to be seen holding a Project Pearl Bible as it could implicate them in the project.
Sources say Project Pearl accelerated the Chinese government’s official printing of Bibles. We can praise God that more Bibles became available to Chinese Christians just a few years after this amazing delivery. However, believers in remote and rural areas are still crying out for Bibles, Christian books and children’s materials. To find out more, call Open Doors on 01993 885400, email info@opendoorsuk.org or visit the Open Doors UK website at www.opendoorsuk.org.
Ends.
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¹ Seadog, by William K. Tinsley