Dr. Bethune arrived in Yenan at the end of
March 1938. Twenty months later he died. During the time that he was in China, he had
worked under very difficult conditions, caring for the wounded, training
medical workers, setting up army hospital and organizing medical teams to serve
at the front or behind the enemy lines. He seldom had any rest. Sometimes he
would go on horseback and make long journeys to places where he was most
needed.
In August 1938, Dr. Bethune wrote to a
friend:"It is true I am tired , but I dot't think I have been so happy for
a long time. I am needed. I have the fortune to work among comrades to whom
communism is a way of life." (Dr. Bethune白求恩大夫, fortune幸运)