By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Christian missionaries had been in China for several hundred years, which meant that many Chinese immigrants had encountered Christianity before they ever set foot on American soil.

The women and children (known as “easy believers” by missionaries) at the center of Word of God devote their attention to the preacher. The men stand near the edges of the crowd, distrustful and unwelcoming of the stranger in their midst and perhaps envisioning a future surrounded by such strangers.

The exquisite paintings of award-winning artist Mian Situ provide an evocative window into a point in history when the collision of East and West impacted the future, not only for the men, women, and children involved, but for entire cultures.