Arnulf Solvoll (Chinese: 蘇超生, Pinyin: Sū Chāoshēng, born August 28, 1908, date of death unknown) was a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
*Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
*Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including the ...
evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
and
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
associated with the
Pentecostal Movement in Norway. He was a missionary in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. For his efforts he was awarded the
King's Medal of Merit
The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...
in silver. Solvoll was born and grew up in
Westin
Westin Hotels & Resorts is an American upscale hotel chain owned by Marriott International. , the Westin Brand has 226 properties with 82,608 rooms in multiple countries in addition to 58 hotels with 15,741 rooms in the pipeline.
History Wester ...
. He was married to a missionary,
Berly Solvoll, from
Aarre. He served as an evangelist in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
for about ten years, between 1928 and 1938, before he traveled as a missionary.
Missionary life
In 1938 Solvoll was sent out along with other missionaries of the
Norwegian Pentecostal Outer Mission to the north of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Solvoll resided most of the time in the areas of
Xinbao'an (新保安) and
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Shortly after
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
declared their seizure of power, all the missionaries were forced to leave China. Arnulf's next stop was
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, a sunrise country. He later relocated to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, where he worked for many years and built up a missionary work of
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
broadcasts, a home for those patients affected with
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
, and social work for prisoners. In 1988, after forty-seven years of continuous service, Solvoll was thanked as a missionary at a party gathering in Bethel. The following year he was awarded the
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
King's Medal of Merit for his long contribution to the mission.
Author
Solvoll wrote several books about his experiences as a missionary:
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* 1948 -''China up close. A missionary's view of China and the Chinese.'' Philadelphia publishing house. 134 pages.
* 1959 -''In the Shadow of Hiroshima light of the gospel.'' Philadelphia publishing house. 104 pages.
* 1977 -''God's plow man among the Chinese.''(In collaboration with Jan Kristian Viumdal). Logos
''Logos'' (, ; grc, wikt:λόγος, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive ...
143 pages.
* 1980 -''Treasure Hunt.''Logos
''Logos'' (, ; grc, wikt:λόγος, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive ...
141 pages.
* 1989 -''A missionary recounts.'' Philadelphia publishing house. 149 pages.
*? 1991 -''Memories and Miracles.'' Rex Publishing, 157 pages.
* 1995 -''China up close.'' Hermon forlag, 160 pages.
References
Literature
* Johansen, Oddvar; Hagen, Kjell; Nyen, Astrid Neema; Kolbjørnsrud, Paul and Filberg, Trond. 2010. ''In all the world. Pentecostal Mission in 100 years. PYM 100 years 1910-2010''(anniversary writing) The Norwegian Pentecostal Church (PYM).
* Nilsen, Oddvar. 1982. Light on the path''.'' AS Philadelphia publishing house. Page 150
* Red. ''Pioneer Missionary signing off.'' Yearbook 1988. Pentecostal Movement in Norway. Page 16
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solvoll, Arnulf
1908 births
Year of death missing
Norwegian expatriates in China
Protestant missionaries in Japan
Protestant missionaries in Korea
Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in silver
Norwegian Pentecostal missionaries
Norwegian expatriates in Korea
Protestant missionaries in Taiwan
Protestant missionaries in China
Norwegian expatriates in Japan
Norwegian expatriates in Taiwan