Lottie had become very interested in missions, and decided that she wanted to devote herself as a fulltime missionary to China. Two years after she graduated from college and she respond to a sermon on the text, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." She was appointed to China in 1873, by the Foreign Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention. She started her work in the city in Ton chow, which is in Northern China. It was very hard to get acquainted with the people, because of the language and culture differences, she even started baking cookies for the kids, but the kids were told that the cookies had some kind of disease. Finally, they started eating them and Lottie became known as the "cookie lady". Lottie would write almost everyday to the United States telling them about the many adventures in her life then, and asking them for help and prayers. Her letters were published in the mission's papers, and many ladies became interested in foreign missions through that.

She worked very hard traveling from village to village, telling people about Christ, and Christianity spreading rapidly throughout Pintow and Ton chow. She spent 14 years in China before taking her first regular furlough. Toward the end of her days, she suffered with her Chinese people in the terrible famine. She gave all she had. In the time of deepest trials she wrote, "I hope no missionary will be as lonely as I have been." Literally starving, she soon became ill, and was sent back to the United States. She died on December 24, 1912 when the boat stopped at Kobe harbor in Japan. 

Lottie was honored by many missions all around the United States, and the Southern Baptist have an offering called the "Lottie Moon Christmas Offering", which is an offering used solely for foreign missions.

<information from www.evhsonline.org (photo), www.sbhla.org, www.hyperhistory.net>