 After his 18 month appointment in Hong Kong had ended, Struthers decided to leave for home and join the Canadian Presbyterian Board in September 1914 due to his lack of knowledge of Cantonese.However, in Welhei, he was convinced to stay and learn the language, and by 1915, he was working at the Henan province as part of a Canadian mission.In 1916, Struthers received a message from the British Minister in Peking to the Presbyterian Mission asking for missionaries who knew the Chinese language to serve in France.