The year was 1916 and Nelson had just graduated from medical school in his native Virginia. Later that year, he and his bride of six months arrived in China. At the age of twenty-two, he became a surgeon at Love and Mercy Hospital, the only hospital in an area of at least two million Chinese residents. 

Nelson, together with his family, lived in the area for twenty-four more years, running the hospital, performing surgeries, and sharing the good news with thousands of people. Nelson Bell later became known as “The Bell Who Is Lover of the Chinese People.” His daughter Ruth was to later marry the evangelist Billy Graham.

Although Nelson was a brilliant surgeon and Bible teacher, it wasn’t his skills that drew many to Jesus; it was his character and the way he lived out the gospel.

Dr. Bell believed that spiritual gifts were more important than any other talent. Under glass on his desk, he placed a note where he had listed the fruits of the Spirit: “Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness, and Self-Control” and daily tried to exude these gifts among those he served.
 

From a rural American childhood to an international ministry, Dr. Lemuel Nelson Bell was used by God to touch thousands of lives.