Gladys Aylward

Gladys Aylward is one of my favorite people in history.  "The Little Woman" by her is an amazing book, and I would recommend everyone read it.  Below is more information about her.  This is my original writing from a homework assignment a few years ago.  I share for educational purposes only.  Please do not copy or reproduce the following in any way.

Gladys Aylward was born on February 24th, 1902 in Edmonton, London.  She came from a working class family and her father was a mailman.  At the age of 14 she became a maid.  When she was 18 years old, she received God's call to mission work.  She applied to the China Inland Mission Center in her twenties, but was rejected and told she was "too old" to learn the Chinese language and become a missionary.  Undaunted, she started saving every penny and eventually saved enough money to go to China by herself.  She heard of a woman named Mrs. Jeannie Lawson who was looking for someone to work alongside her and eventually take over her place in mission work.  With only her one-way train ticket, passport, and her Bible, Gladys set off towards China.  The trip to China just about ended in failure many times, with the Soviet Union and China in an undeclared war.  Gladys encountered many problems and setbacks on her journey.  While traveling through Siberia she was practically not allowed to leave because she was wanted as a factory worker.  Finally, she reached Yangcheng, China, where Mrs. Lawson was waiting for her.  Mrs. Lawson and Gladys started an inn for traveling mule caravans - "The Inn of Eight Happinesses."  Gladys's first mission assignment involved shouting "We have no bugs.  We have no fleas.  Good, good, good.  Come, come, come!"and grabbing a mule and dragging it into the courtyard of the inn.  Once the travelers were inside, they sat around the fire hearing Bible stories and of Jesus' love for them.  Within a year, Gladys could make herself understood in the Chinese language.  She was approached by the government to help enforce a new law against food binding, a Chinese tradition.  She agreed, but only under the condition that she could share the Gospel while doing it.  A few years later she adopted her first child, Ninepence.  Her home quickly grew, and she was soon taking care of more than one hundred children.  She was given the name "Ai-Weh-Deh," which means "Virtuous One."

In 1936, she officially became a Chinese citizen.  In 1940, when the Japanese soldiers invaded their town, Gladys led over one hundred children to safety.  They sang hymns to keep their spirits up on the trip.  In 1953, she opened an orphanage in Taiwan, and worked there until her death in January of 1970.  The movie, "The Inn of the Sixth Happinesses," based on her life and mission work was released in 1958.

Gladys Aylward was a courageous woman for the Lord, had a heart for children, and was very bold about her Christian beliefs.  She taught the children she took care of to have a strong faith and to trust in the Lord.  My favorite story about her life was when her adopted son came to her saying he wanted to go back to his home country to preach the Gospel.  Gladys was not very keen on the idea and worried for his life.  The son told her he felt God's calling there, and asked her to pray for a stethoscope for him (he had been trained by a doctor for many years).  A few days later, Gladys visited a lady's house and saw a wooden box.  She asked the lady for it, and in the box was some old food, a few books, clothes, and in a little pouch, a stethoscope. Gladys never saw her son again, but several years later a man came to her saying: "Where I come from I have watched nine people being baptized in the river.  When I asked how they had the courage to do this when it was forbidden by the Communists, they said it was because they had Christ in their hearts...because there is a wise young man, who has a curious instrument with which he listens and knows all that goes on inside.  He has told them about Jesus."

A few quotes by Gladys Aylward:

"Oh God, here's me, here's my Bible, here's my money.  Use us, please, use us."

"I wasn't God's first choice for what I've done in China.  There was somebody else.  I don't know who it was - God's first choice.  It must have been a man - a wonderful man, a well-educated man.  I don't know what happened.  Perhaps he died.  Perhaps he wasn't willing.  And God looked down and saw Gladys Aylward."

"These are my people, God has given them to me, and I will live or die with them for Him and His glory."

"If God has called you to China or any other place and you are sure in your own heart let nothing deter you...remember it is God who has called you and it is the same as when He called Moses or Samuel."