Hey there. Well, as most of you know, this is Women's History Month and today is International Women's Day. This month everyone's talking about women around the world and their accomplishments throughout history. We'll all hear about the first women pilots, the first female doctors, and female soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen (and I'm very grateful for our female service members -I know several) to name a few. And, of course, women's suffrage (don't get me wrong, I was very grateful for the women who went before me when I had the privilege of getting to vote for the first time :)). I have a few personal favorites among famous women of history such as Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale.
But today I want to make sure that a very important group of ladies is mentioned this month: female missionaries. There have been women who shared the Gospel since the time of the Bible and the early church. Women like Dorcas, Priscilla, and Lydia. Some ministered at home. Others traveled abroad, alone or with their husbands.
That is how many female missionaries throughout history have reached the mission field -traveling with their husbands. The first female foreign missionary from the United States, Ann (Hasseltine) Judson, traveled to Burma (Myanmar) with her husband Adoniram in the early 1800s and later died on the mission field. Also in the early 1800s, Narcissa (Prentiss) Whitman traveled west across the United States with her husband Dr. Marcus Whitman to preach the Gospel to the Indians. She was the first white woman to cross the Rocky mountains and travel what became known as the Oregon Trail. Years later, she laid down her life for the cause of Christ when she, her husband, and several others were massacred by the Indians they had come to help.
There have also been many brave female missionaries who served the Lord alone. Amy Carmichael, from Ireland, dedicated her life to preaching the Gospel and rescuing girls from being forced to work in pagan temples in India. Gladys Aylward, from England, led over 100 children to safety over the mountains of Japanese-occupied China during World War 2. Mary Slessor, from Scotland, fearlessly proclaimed the message of Christ to the African tribes in Nigeria and rescued twin babies -which were considered bad luck- from being murdered; before coming to Africa she was also bold to preach the Gospel to even the roughest characters in the rough parts of town in Scotland. All three of these women have excellent biographies written by Janet and Geoff Benge and published by YWAM, and Voice of the Martyrs has produced great Torchlighters episodes on all of them.
The women of the Moravian church can be considered the first Protestant female missionaries to America. The Moravians were, in essence, the founders of what we know as modern missions, taking the Gospel to many places where it had never been preached before. Among them was a former African slave, Rebecca Prottin, who went to the islands in the Caribbean (where she was formerly held as a slave) with her husband to preach the Gospel to the slaves there.
My family is currently reading through the 8th and final book in the A Life of Faith: Millie Keith series, Millie's Fiery Trial. Although fictional, it gives a glimpse into the physical and spiritual trials which women missionaries faced and the strong faith that it took to endure. The whole series is awesome an I highly recommend it! It's out of print, of course, and you have to hunt to find used copies online, but if you can find some, then get them; you won't regret it! :)
How many of us have driven by Salvation Army chapels and thrift stores, or put money in that red bucket outside the doors of Walmart at Christmas time? How many of you know that the Salvation Army in America was established by a young lady from England? Eliza Shirley joined the Salvation Army at the age of 16, left her home, and began her work in a rough coal-mining town, assisting another teenage Salvation Army officer. Eliza later came to America with her parents and they established the first Salvation Army in the United States.
There are countless more less-known women who have gone out to boldly proclaim the Gospel. But just because they are not known to us does not mean that they are less known to God. Every soul is precious to Him, and those who bring those souls to Him receive a crown. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" -Isaiah 52:7 (KJV)
I want to make mention of a few more brave Christian women before I close. Maybe they weren't officially "missionaries", but they did serve Christ and share His love. They are all from WW1, the "Great War" which has unfortunately become the "Forgotten War". Edith Cavell was an English nurse who ran a nursing school in Belgium. Despite German occupation, she helped Allied soldiers, often aiding them in escaping through German-held territory to Allied lines. She was found out by the Germans and executed in 1915. Her story is excellently told in the book A Cup of Cold Water by Christine Farenhorst. The others are the Salvation Army's "Doughnut lassies". These women were sent to the front lines of Europe to look after the American Doughboys. They served as nurses and also established canteens where they became well known for making their doughnuts. They were Salvation Army officers, and in order to travel to Europe, they were sworn in as privates in the U.S. Army, making them among the first female U.S. service members, albeit in a noncombatant role. These women risked their lives on the front lines to take care of the men. A great way to read about them is in The Doughnut Sweethearts, which is the diary of one of those women, Alice McAllister.
Well, that's enough for now. Remember ladies (and men), you're never too young or too old to start serving the Lord. And you don't have to travel to an exotic, foreign land either. You can start right here in the U.S., even in your hometown!
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