Among the evangelists which the Lord raised up in China was a young sister whose English name was Dora Yu and whose Chinese name was Yu Tzu-tu. She had been saved at an early age and later was sent to England by her family to study medicine. On the way to England her ship docked at Marseilles in southern France. At that point she became greatly burdened and told the captain that she could not continue the voyage and that she must return to China to preach the gospel of Christ. The captain was perplexed but could do nothing except send her home. Her parents were extremely disappointed by her return, and though they attempted to change her mind regarding the preaching of the gospel, their efforts were unavailing. Eventually they gave up. She soon left home, wandering about preaching the Lord Jesus on the streets. No one hired her. She simply trusted in the Lord. Through means supplied by the Lord, she rented a storefront in a suburb of Shanghai for preaching the gospel. From then on she was invited by denominations to hold many gospel preaching meetings. She traveled extensively through many provinces doing gospel work and became a prevailing witness for the Lord. She continued to preach for the rest of her life, leading hundreds to the Lord.
In February of 1920 Dora Yu was invited to Foochow, the capital of Fukien province, where she preached the gospel in the Methodist auditorium. Her preaching was so convincing and full of power that following every meeting rows of tears could be seen on the floor from the weeping of the audience. Many were saved. Among the converts was a well-educated Chinese lady, Watchman Nee's mother. She and her husband were Methodists but without the experience of salvation. After being saved, she returned home and made a thorough confession to her husband and children. Her oldest son, Shu-tsu, was greatly surprised and inspired by her confession. He felt that he must go to Dora Yu's meeting and see what it was that had brought about such a change in his mother. The next day he went, and the Lord caught him. Later the same night he saw a vision of the Lord Jesus hanging on the cross. Through this experience the Lord called him to be His servant.