Does Jesus Make You Fat? Ask Jackie Pullinger!
Hong Kong Missionary Tells How She Helped Drug Addicts Reform
Apr 26, 2009
It was Jackie Pullinger's childhood ambition to become a missionary, however it wasn't until she was 22 – after completing her musical education at the Royal College of Music in London, after a series of powerful dreams – that she become convinced that this was the right thing to do.
Rejections and Refusals
Pullinger applied to all of the Christian missionary organizations she could think of, asking for sponsorship but was universally refused. She was too young, too inexperienced and had all the wrong qualifications, they said.
It was the vicar of her church who gave her the advice to ignore the discouragement and to follow Divine inspiration. Using the last of her cash she purchased a one way ticket from England to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's Walled City and the Triads
The walled city, in 1966 when Pullinger arrived there, was a no-go area for the police. A sordid slum ruled by the Triad, the Walled City was a miserable place to live where poverty abounded and prostitution and heroin addiction were rife.
When Alan Whicker first interviewed Pullinger, the Walled City was an unwelcoming place for foreigners. When she made her first foray into the Walled City and told an addict that "Jesus loves you" he told her to "run along." She realised that what the addicts needed was more practical assistance before they would listen to the message of Christ.
For three months, Pullinger agonized over what to do next and prayed for God's inspiration
Pullinger persisted and her first missionary act was to start a youth club. Her "day job" as a music teacher in a primary school allowed her the freedom to pursue her mission. Soon she was going into the Walled City twice a week to hold meetings.
The boys that she was helping were becoming committed Christians and leaving drug addiction completely behind them. Miracles were happening when addicts were being filled with the Holy Spirit and cured instantly.
"How Come You So Fat?"
The typical heroin addict had no money and no appetite and so was usually very thin. Many of them died each night in the Walled City from overdosing on cocaine or heroin. Being fat became synonymous with being drug-free and healthy.
Once they had stopped being addicts and started to eat normally, they gained weight. Their addict friends would say "How come you so fat?." Once they learned that Jesus was responsible for this miraculous change, they too would find their way to Pullinger's door.
St Stephen’s Society Founded
Pullinger made amazing progress, even succeeding in winning over Triad bosses, who agreed to free the boys that were cured of addiction - something that was unheard of previously.
One of her proteges, Ah Ping, became her trusted assistant and eventually started a rehab center in Macao. Eventually, Pullinger had three rehabilitation homes and has more recently set up the St. Stephen’s Society with American missionary colleagues.
Jackie Pullinger in 2009
BBC's Alan Whicker recently interviewed Pullinger, still working as a missionary in Hong Kong, on his "Journey of a Lifetime" series which aired in April 2009. The Walled City no longer exists but has been replaced by a commemorative garden in which a large limestone statue has been dedicated personally to Jackie Pullinger.
Her best selling book about her early experiences in the Walled City, Chasing the Dragon, is still available for those who would like to read more about this remarkable woman and her remarkable mission.
Reference
- St. Stephen's Society, P. O. Box 71099, Kowloon Central Post Office, Kowloon, H.K.
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