1932- Bert Nelson

June 1932

Macheng, Hubei

Bert Nelson.

Bertin Nels Nelson was born at Eagle Grove, Iowa, on April 9, 1888. He was the son of Norwegian immigrant parents, Daniel and Anna Nelson. When Bert was just two-years-old his father received a sudden call to become a missionary to China. Despite being criticized and rejected by his church and friends, he was so convinced of the call of God that he sold the family farm and all their possessions and moved to China.[1]

When it came time for Bert’s high school education, he was sent back to the United States. During the years he attended Waldorf College, followed by three years spent at seminary, Bert Nelson longed for the day he would return to China to be with his family and among the people he had grown up with. After graduating from seminary, he was ordained by the Lutheran United Mission. Nelson arrived in China in 1917 and was appointed to Luoshan in southeast Henan Province. There was a great deal of rejoicing in the Nelson household when Bert arrived back in China. His father had often told his children that he would rather they be missionaries than become the President of the United States.

In 1918 Bert attended a missionary conference where he met and befriended Marie Pillskog. They fell deeply in love and were married the following year. Bert wrote that he had never been happier, but his joy was to be short-lived. Soon after the newlyweds returned to Luoshan, Marie became seriously ill. They were the only foreigners in the city, and it was an arduous two-day journey to the nearest doctor. Bert sent an urgent message for help but before the doctor arrived Marie had passed away. His brother later wrote,

“Those were dark days. He had no one to help him in his deep bereavement. But God gave him strength to carry on. He prepared his wife for the coffin, and placed her tenderly in the casket with his own hands. It was heart-breaking to part with his loved one. They carried her to the Chinese cemetery and there by the pine trees she was laid to rest…. In later years he spent many long and lonely hours at that grave and wept many bitter tears…. This loss made his coming years lonely, but undoubtedly strengthened his spiritual fibres for the stony road which lay ahead—the road of death and martyrdom.”[2]

In 1926 another deep sorrow cut into Bert Nelson’s heart. He received news that his father, Daniel Nelson, had been killed by a stray bullet in his home at Xinyang. Bert rushed there and found his mother in deep shock. Because of the fighting between government troops and the bandits the funeral could not take place for a month.

From 1927 onwards the Nationalist government launched systematic offensives against the Communist forces, who, fuelled by help from the Soviet Union and led by passionate leaders, had quickly grown in popularity. The Communist troops who captured Bert Nelson and ultimately killed him were headquartered in the Hubei mountains about 75 miles (122 km) northwest of Wuhan. The inhospitable terrain allowed them to launch raids into the surrounding districts with impunity. In 1930,

“Many cities were captured, thousands of captives carried off, scores of villages burned, and many men, women, and children massacred. The Communists commandeered ox-carts in which to carry away their spoils. They took mules, donkeys, and horses from the farmers. They slaughtered the cattle, burned the grain which they could not take with them, and in general created a reign of terror among the peace-loving peasantry. It was this Red Army which entered the southern part of Henan Province in 1930 and captured Rev. Bert Nelson.”[3]

On October 5, 1930, Bert Nelson was with Christians at Guangshan when a large Communist contingent attacked the town, raping and pillaging as they went door-to-door. Nelson was captured, and for the first few days the Communists treated him well. On October 7th he wrote a letter to his brother:

As soon as the Superintendent of the American Lutheran Mission heard about the capture of Bert Nelson, and the similar fate of Kristofer Tvedt 25 miles (41 km) away at Luoshan, action was initiated in a bid to secure their release. The Nationalist army then pushed the Communists back into their mountain hideouts, and Nelson was taken on a long and arduous hike into the mountains as a prisoner of war.

Contact was made with the Communist leaders, who demanded a ransom of $30,000 for Nelson’s and Tvedt’s release. Neither the mission nor the U.S. Consulate replied to the ransom note, which angered the Communists. Finally, other Lutheran missionaries decided they could not wait any longer, and between them they raised the amount. They sent two Chinese workers—with wads of cash sewn into the linings of their winter coats—into the mountains to pay the captors. Unfortunately, they entered a military zone where a heavy offensive was taking place, and the government troops would not allow them to go any further. They returned with the money still inside their coats.

On February 22, 1931, a letter from Bert Nelson suddenly appeared at the mission headquarters. It said, “We have been tied and beaten with bamboo poles and told to write and tell you to hasten with money or worse things will follow for us. Cannot you do something to save us?”[4] In April enough ransom was paid for the release of one man. The Communists chose Tvedt, who was married with six children, but continued to hold Nelson. Bert’s brother Daniel tried unceasingly to deliver the remaining money needed for his brother’s release, but one thing or another always conspired to thwart his efforts. Attempts to send money and provisions to Nelson proved increasingly difficult. Christmas came and went, and 1932 arrived without celebration. Despite frequent illness, filthy conditions, and the stress of his ongoing ordeal, Nelson continued to hope for a miracle from the Lord and constantly shared the gospel with his captors. He was allowed to write letters from time to time. One revealed the deep level of spiritual surrender that Nelson had achieved:

“If it is God’s will not to be without a witness in this ‘Babylonian Captivity,’ you, my dear brothers and sisters and Mother and friends, must yield as well as I. Your prayers will be necessary until the end. Without the intercession of the dear ones of the Home Church and the tender mercies of God I should not now be in the land of the living…. I know how you suffer on my behalf. I no more plead for my own sake but for the sake of my dear ones.”[5]

In the summer of 1932 Nelson’s position became more perilous when a split within the Communist camp led to two of their officers being executed. By now Nelson had become so feeble that he had to be carried around on a stretcher. Finally, Nelson’s captors decided the burden of keeping him alive outweighed the prospect of having him dead. A Chinese messenger came with news that the missionary had been killed. Nelson had been “taken to an ancestral temple—and there, perhaps bound like all prisoners are bound, with his hands behind his back, he was forced to kneel and then his frail yet consecrated body was subjected to a cruel death by sword or pistol.”[6]

Bert Nelson, whose body was never found, had been held captive by the Communists for 22 months. His friends in China honoured him with the nickname, ‘The Apostle to the Communists.’ Many of Nelson’s 44 years on earth had been filled with pain and suffering. He had endured great hardship, living through the death of two of his siblings, the death of his beloved bride, and the death of his father. Despite all of this, he remained true and steadfast in his commitment to Christ, in whose arms he now rests.

The sacrifice of the Nelson family was not in vain. Luoshan and Xinyang, where they laboured for so long, lie in one of the strongest Christian areas in all of China. Today approximately 100,000 of Luoshan’s 600,000 people are professing Christians, while in Xinyang around 10% of the population follow Jesus Christ.

1. See the profile of Daniel Nelson (1926).
2. Nelson, The Apostle to the Chinese Communists, 20.
3. Nelson, The Apostle to the Chinese Communists, 51.
4. Nelson, The Apostle to the Chinese Communists, 81.
5. Nelson, The Apostle to the Chinese Communists, 124.
6. Nelson, The Apostle to the Chinese Communists, 131.