EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; BETTY SCOTT STAM 1906 P/9

In this post I will focus on a woman named Betty Scott Stam. She lived from 1906 - 1934. Betty grew up in Tsintao (today called Qingdao), a city on the east coast of China, where her father, Charles Scott, was a missionary.

In 1925, Betty attended a Keswick convention held in New Jersey. Upon hearing D.L.Moody preach she responded to the call to be amongst the 200 to be trained at Moody's Chicago Bible Institute to reach the unreached through the China Inland Mission.

In 1926, Betty returned to the United States to begin to attend Moody's Chicago Bible Institute. While there she met another student, John Stam. He too had gone to the College to prepare for mission work in China. Over time their friendship deepened and their love and commitment for living for Christ was their most precious bond. 

Betty returned to China in 1931 to serve with the China Inland Mission (CIM) while John still had a year to complete in his studies. However, he joined her in China in 1933 and they got married that year.

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; GENEVIEVE JONTE P/8

 

In this brief post I will focus on a woman named Genevieve Jonte. She lived from 1906 - 1983. Genevieve was the daughter and granddaughter of the Montbeliard region pastors. She studied theology in Paris, then was an assistant with the Montbeliard parish in 1923, and was eventually ordained in 1937. Genevieve was the first pastor of the small Saint John temple de Peugeot family had paid for and built in the new workers quarter - it was later demolished when the Peugeot company needed the land. 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; MARIELEINE HOFFETT P/7

 

In this brief post I will focus on a woman named Marieleine Hoffett. She lived from 1905 - 1996. Marieleine was a pastor's daughter who studied theology in Strassburg, Geneva and Edinburgh. She was a vicar with the Reformed Church of Alsace Lorraine and got married in 1931. She took an active part in the resistance movement and in 1945 accepted a position no one wished to take, namely chaplain in former collaborators' internment camps.She then turned to women's bible teaching. She fought against the rule forbidding married women to become pastors, which was suspended in 1968.

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; GLADYS AYLWARD P/6

                                                                                                                                                                           

In this post I will continue to focus on a woman named Gladys Aylward. She lived from 1902 - 1970. Gladys became a national of the Republic of China in 1936 and was a revered figure among the people, taking in orphans and adopting several herself, intervening in a volatile prison riot and advocating prison reform, risking her life many times to help those in need. 

In 1938, the region was invaded by the Japanese forces and Gladys led more than 100 orphans to safety over the mountains, despite being wounded and sick, personally caring for them (and converting many to Christianity).

Gladys did not return to England until 1949, when her life in China was thought to be in great danger from the Communists - the army was actively seeking out missionaries. 

After her mother died, Gladys sought a return to China. After rejection by the Communist Government and a stay in Hong Kong, she finally settled in Taiwan in 1958. There she founded the Gladys Aylward Orphanage, where she worked until her death in 1970. 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; GLADYS AYLWARD P/5

                                                                                                                                                                         

In this story I will continue to focus on a woman named Gladys Aylward. She lived from 1902 - 1970. Upon arriving in Yangcheng County, Gladys worked with an older missionary, Jeannie Lawson, to help manage the Inn of the Eight Happinesses, a name based on the eight virtues of Love, Virtue, Gentleness, Tolerance, Loyalty, Truth, Beauty and Devotion.

There, Gladys and Mrs Lawson not only provided hospitality for travellers but would also share stories about Jesus, in hopes of spreading the gospel. 

For a time she served as an assistant to the Government of the Republic of China as a"foot inspector" by touring the countryside to enforce the new law against foot binding of young Chinese girls. Gladys met with much success in a field that had produced much resistance and even violence at times against the inspectors. 

Gladys became a national of the Republic of China in 1936 and was a revered figure among the people, taking in orphans and adopting several herself, intervening in  a volatile prison riot and advocating prison reform, risking her life many times to help those in need. 

 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; GLADYS AYLWARD P/4

 

In this story I will focus on woman named Gladys Aylward. She lived from 1902 - 1970. Her parents were Thomas John Aylward and Rosina Florence Aylward. They lived in Edmonton, North London, England. 

From her early teens, Gladys worked as a housemaid. Following a calling to go overseas as a Christian missionary, she was accepted by the China Inland Mission to study in a preparatory three-months course for aspiring missionaries. Because of her lack of progress in learning the Chinese language, she was not offered further training.

On 15 October 1930, having worked for Sir Francis Younghusband, Gladys spent her life savings on a train passage to Yangcheng, Shanxi Province, China. The dangerous trip took her across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Railway at a time when the Soviet Union and China were in an undeclared war. She was detained by the Russians, but managed to evade them with local help and a lift from a Japanese ship. She then travelled across Japan with the help of the British Consul, and took another ship to China. 

EVANGELICAL WOMEN WHO LIVED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1900; LILLIAN RUTH LEVESCONTE DICKSONP/3

  

In this post I will continue to focus on a woman named Lillian Ruth LeVesconte Dickson. She lived from 1901 - 1983. During her time in Taiwan, Lillian developed a Boy's Home for young boys who were caught in committing petty crimes.She also helped parents who had children out of wedlock which was marked on their certificates of identification. Due to the social stigma against these kind of families, children were considered illegitimate and denied access to school and the parents had difficulty finding work.Lillian helped the parents find work and the children gain access to school

Lillian also founded the interdenominational Mustard See International and the Mustard See Mission to support her missionary work. She helped establish kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools. Furthermore, her work has led to Bible College and Seminary training for pastors, lay leaders and church planting teams.

Lillian died in 1983.