On February 7, 1950, in his fellowship with the church in Hong Kong, he said, "There were sixty-six young people under Sister Barber's training. In the first letter I received from Brother D.M. Panton, he said that it would be considered good if after ten years six of those young people would still remain. Now, after a long period of time, only four remain."

Margaret Barber was very much in the Lord's presence. One day Watchman Nee went to see her. While he was temporarily delayed in being received by her, he waited in her living room. He said that even though she was not yet there, he had a deep sense of the Lord's presence.

Day by day Miss Barber anticipated the Lord's return. On the last day of a certain year, as the two of them walked together, they neared a street corner. She said, "Perhaps as we turn the corner we will meet Him." She eagerly anticipated the Lord's coming back. She lived and worked under the hope of the Lord's return.

In 1933 Watchman Nee visited Europe. Throughout all his travels he said that he scarcely found one person in the Western world who could compare with Margaret Barber. It was through this sister that he obtained the foundation of the spiritual life. He frequently told others that it was through a sister that he was saved and that it was also through a sister that he was edified.

Margaret Barber went to be with the Lord in 1930. In her will she left all her belongings to Watchman Nee. These included little more than her old Bible with all the precious notes. Though he intended to write her biography, time did not allow.

In his open letter in the March 1930 issue of The Present Testimony, Watchman Nee made the following remarks concerning Miss Barber's departure: "We feel most sorrowful concerning the news of the passing away of Miss Barber in Lo-Hsing Pagoda, Fukien. She was one who was very deep in the Lord, and in my opinion, the kind of fellowship she had with the Lord and the kind of faithfulness she expressed to the Lord are rarely found on this earth."

Miss Barber always put Watchman Nee under Leland Wang (Wang Tsai), one of his co-workers. Leland was five years his senior and was continually disagreeing with Watchman's concept. This caused Watchman a great deal of suffering. When appealing to Miss Barber for the solution to their problems, she would continually put him down, saying that Leland was older than he. On one occasion a baptism was scheduled. Who should be the baptizer became a problem to them. Watchman referred the matter to Miss Barber. Her answer was that Leland should be the baptizer. When Watchman asked why, she answered, "Because he is older than you." Dan-wu, another brother with them, was older than Leland Wang. Watchman thought he could defeat Leland Wang by bringing up Dan-wu and suggested to Miss Barber, "Since Brother Wu is older than Brother Leland, he should be the baptizer." However, she still answered that Leland should be the baptizer. She would not yield him any ground so that he might learn the lesson of the cross and learn not to reason but to submit.

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