‘In life they were loved and gracious and in death they were not parted’ (2 Samuel 1.23) could be applied to Guy and Barbara Longley, who died within 24 hours of each other on November 7 and 8.
They met as members of the last group of CIM missionaries to go into China in 1949. Guy was from Broadstairs in Kent and his three brothers also served as missionaries. Barbara (née Beck) was a nurse from Ontario, Canada. They married in Hong Kong in 1951.
Far East ministry
With China closed, they spent the next 40 years as members of OMF (the successor to the China Inland Mission) serving in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and the UK. Apart from two years spent in church planting among Malays in South Thailand, all their ministry was spent in administrative roles. Guy’s administrative ability and Barbara’s hospitality were a great influence on all the members of OMF with whom they came into contact.
