the Gift of Being number two: a“Buzz aldrin” Perspective on Pioneer Missions Notto R. Thelle he history of christian missions is usually told from less desperately afraid of being useless. “the point is not that tthe perspective of the pioneers, the daring explorers, idon’t want to leave traces after me,” he says, “but somehow the “number ones.” these werethe eloquent preachers and they don’t have to be so visible for the entireworld. idon’t need evangelists, doctors and social workers, powerful organizers my handprint in the cement. idon’t have to be interviewed for and leaders, and scholars who pioneered the study of foreign what ido. ...someone has to choose to be number two ...that’s culturesandlanguages.Mostofthem what makes the world go around” wereintelligent, dedicated men who (pp. 424–25). sacrificed their lives for what they ihonor the memory of the num- believed was adirect call from God. ber twos in christian missions in they werefeatured in reports and china by reviewing the experience werewriters themselves, fascinating of my father,notto normann thelle people at home with their accounts (1901–90), amissionary Buzz aldrin and appeals. they wereboth cel- in the scandinavian exploration of ebrated and respected.1 Buddhism. in 1922 he arrived in Myintentionhereisnottodimin- chinawithanothernorwegian,Karl ish the role of the number ones—in ludvigreichelt,tobeginanewwork most cases their fame is deserved. among Buddhist monks. let us call But idowant to call attention to the him n. n. thelle or,asareminder number twos and threes, those who of this perspective, just n.n. (as in walked in the footsteps of the pio- nomen nescitur,name unknown). neers, carrying their burdens, taking reichelt was amissionary neil careofthe daily duties, yet allowing armstrong who deserves fame for others to be the protagonists; they his pioneer work, though he was not themselves worked in the wings or the first to step into the unknown werejust walk-ons in the shadows. territory of Buddhism in china.3 he What about the Buzz aldrins of had studied Buddhism for almost christian missions? twenty years when he began his My perspective is inspired by christian Mission to Buddhists in aremarkable norwegian novel by 1922.thisnewinitiativewasaunique Johan harstad, Buzz aldrin: Hvor ble anddaringexploration,andreichelt det av deg ialt mylderet? (Buzzaldrin: wasthe undisputable strategist and What happened to youinall the explorer.4 Butn.n.wasthere fromthe confusion?)2 Buzz aldrin was the beginning too. he worked faithfully secondmanonthemoon,asymbolof with reichelt during his lifetime and the many number twos in the world continued to serve the mission for who tend to be forgotten because almost forty years after reichelt’s number one gets all the attention. death in 1952. they weresometimes neil armstrong, the number one, is mentioned together as pioneers, but Reichelt and Thelle outside the Brother Home remembered and celebrated for tak- reichelt predominates in the great in Nanjing (1926) ing the first steps on the moon and story of the mission. saying the now-famous words, “one small step for man, one ibecameawareofn.n.’sprominentroleinthemissionwhen giant leap for mankind.” But Buzz aldrin was theretoo, taking an american researcher in hong Kong approached me to learn photos, collecting rock samples, and awed by the magnificent moreabout the details of my father’s life.5 this researcher had desolation of the moonscape. Michael collins was also there. studied the records and diaries of the mission in hong Kong and he was in charge of the spaceship and saw the dark side of the discoveredthatn.n.alwaysseemedtobepresent.Whilereichelt moon, waiting for the two to return. the venturecould never was often absent, attending meetings and conferences, making have happened without the entireteam. pilgrimages, and visiting Buddhist monasteries, n.n. was on harstad develops his theme in abeautiful and touching duty at the mission, organizing, taking careofthe daily routines, story of ayoung man who essentially wants to be anumber two, teaching, preaching, receiving guests, and attending to the care satisfied with his anonymity in the world, but who is neverthe- of students and visiting monks. the researcher’s impression was that n.n. was the hub around which the entireinstitution Notto R. Thelle, Professor of Ecumenics and Missiology at the University of revolved. ihad always taken it for granted that n.n.’s name was Oslo, served for many years as associate director of the NCC Center for the Study seldom mentioned, and he himself seemed perfectly satisfied of Japanese Religions, Kyoto, Japan. He is the author of numerous books and with that level of anonymity.But the observation struck me as articles dealing with interfaith dialogue, spirituality,and missions, including correct in many ways: the mission could never have succeeded seeking God’s face (Paulist Press, 2008). without n.n. and some other number twos.6 april 2008 81 History of the Christian Mission to Buddhists God had sown the seeds in the religious systems of the east, and the time was ripe for harvesting, if one could only meet them the official history of the christian Mission to Buddhists is with insight and sympathy,showing them that the inner aspira- described in numerous books and articles, and it shall not be tions of their faith werefulfilled in christianity.the timing was revisited here. it is almost identical to the story of Karl ludvig perfect: n.n. was waiting for acalling from God, and reichelt reichelt, at least for the first three decades until his death in wassearchingforyoungpeoplewhocouldassisthiminhiswork. 1952. it is afascinating attempt to promote christian mission n.n. reflected, “how wonderful that God would use me, of all amongchineseBuddhistsandreligiousdevoteesbyestablishing people, in this work. What agrace!”9 institutions formission anddialogue. allreligious seekers were this encounter led to adeep, lifelong friendship and mutual welcomed as “brothers” and “friends in the Way/Dao” (daoyou), trust, in spite of the generation gap and their radically different positions. theremust have been tensions and conflicts between the two, but ihave never found any recordofn.n. saying or He was reared in awarm writing one negative wordabout reichelt. fromreichelt’sperspectiven.n.musthavebeenanextraor- and affectionate dinary resource in nanjing. his professional background made community with strong him aperfect secretary almost from the beginning, enabling reichelt to “plunge into the real work as soon as possible.”10 in commitments to missions, addition to his own language studies, n.n. took careofeveryday evangelism, puritan values, dutiessuchasmanagingfinances,accounts,andcorrespondence, editing reichelt’s writings, conducting morning and evening and otherworldliness. worship, and teaching in the small school. since reichelt was often out traveling, n.n. was increasingly put in charge of even preaching and worship. to some extent he also accompanied andtheinstitutionswerehenceoftencalledBrotherhomes.they reichelt on visits to local Buddhist monasteries. weremodeled after Buddhist monastic institutions, with adaily Whenreicheltwasaskedtoreturntonorwayinthesummer rhythm of worship, meditation, work, and study,and with ample of1925inordertonegotiatewiththenorwegianMissionarysoci- opportunity for dialogue. ety about the futureofthe mission, n.n. was given responsibility the official story,with reichelt as the “soul” of the mission, for the entirework of the Brother home. for one whole year,with is also n.n.’s story,which he loved to tell. Probably no one else, onlytwoandahalfyearsofexperienceinchina,andwithlimited including even reichelt himself, has contributed morethan n.n. education and no theological training, he was responsible for to keep this story alive.7 the entirecommunity.inatime of escalating political unrest and anti-Western agitation, this was aheavy burden. no wonder he The Pioneer and His Assistant was relieved when reichelt returned after one year and resumed his position as the undisputed master and leader. Karl ludvig reichelt was already in his mid-forties and an ex- reading letters and diaries, both private and public, one is perienced missionary to china when he returned with his new struck by the relationship between the two. it was arespectful assistant in 1922. he had served as amissionary evangelist in relationship in which aconsiderate boss was initiating aconsci- changsha(hunan)andlaterasprofessorofthenewtestamentat entious and capable apprentice to his futurework. the relation- the lutheran seminary in shekou (hubei). he had been involved ship was affectionate, nurtured by deep spiritual fellowship and in revisions of liturgical books and hymnals, and not least, he had mutual friendship. already gained some fame for his research on chinese religions, notably Buddhism. Agonies of Loneliness and Romance his young assistant, n.n., was only twenty-one years old, an inexperienced man from Kristiansand, aprovincial port city other aspects of the relationship between this number one and in southern norway.after middle school and acommercial number two areeasily forgotten. hereweconsider some of the course n.n. served as aclerk in aship-broker company.he agonies and challenges. n.n.’s private diary,written during his was reared in the evangelical tradition of lutheran pietism, a first years in nanjing, was his confidential dialogue partner.it warm and affectionate community with strong commitments affirms the mutual friendship and confidence described above to missions,