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Reading aloud to the kids has been part of our morning wake-up routine for quite a while now, and I just love the Christian books I’ve found with distinct chapters meant to be enjoyed one chapter at a time. This book was another perfect choice for us.
We recently finished the companion book to this one, Ten Boys Who Changed the World, and really enjoyed it as well. Opening with an anecdote from some famous Christian’s childhood, these books continue to share a snippet-style biography of famous men and women, all of whom became famous missionaries or evangelists.
Like with the Boys, I knew almost all the name listed in this book about Ten Girls Who Changed the World, though three were a few unfamiliar ones. I’ll note those below as I offer a brief summary of each.
- Isabella Kuhn – This Canadian missionary gave her life to serve with her husband among the Lisu people in China. I’ve read a few of her books before (like By Searching, 1959, which I loved), and I’ve always appreciated her honesty in writing, an honesty borne out of many years of hard experience on the mission field. This mini biography emphasizes something, however, that has really got me thinking: It talks much about how separate the Kuhns were from their children, whom they sent off to a boarding school in Malaysia. WWII separated them even more than they had anticipated, and it just made me wonder about missionary family structures of the past century and beyond. I can’t imagine why such separation was the norm for international families back then. Sure, we who live internationally struggle with the discomforts of our children—integration, adaptation, homeschooling, etc.—but sending them off for months and years at a time so they don’t have to “suffer” with us has never been an option, and boarding school never will be. I feel the whole concept is a massive departure from one’s responsibility as a parent, but I might be reading the situation all wrong. Maybe, but I don’t think so. It stems from the concept that the missionary is the willing sacrifice, but the kids aren’t; that the national-cultural-educational background of the family (whatever it might be) is of first importance and any departure from it (like moving to the mission field) is a sacrifice not worth forcing the children to make. It’s an ungodly attitude, a better-than-thou foundation that communicates to the people they’re hoping to reach: “We’re willing to sacrifice everything to bring Jesus to you in your misery, but we love our children too much to make them do the same.”
- Elizabeth Fry – I hadn’t heard of this woman before, likely because she was an English Quaker who was a lightning rod for prison reform in England in the early 1800s—not my area of expertise. Still, her story is an inspiring one, not just about her commitment to the people in prison but also in her organizing the community to join her in meeting their needs and her efforts to convince the government about the need for change.
- Amy Carmichael – Last year we read a book about Amy Carmichael titled With Daring Faith (1987) that introduced us to her ministry among the temple children in India. This was a great reminder of that, and I also loved the emphasis this mini biography places on her eyes—that she once wished for beautiful blue eyes but later realized that she could fit in and minister better in India because of her brown eyes. In response to that, my brown-eyed daughter (11) said, “I love my eyes!” And I was glad to hear it!
- Gladys Aylward – About 2 years ago, we also read Gladys Aylward’s biographical novel, These Are My People (1984) which we loved. We followed that up with the Ingrid Bergman film, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958) and so feel like we’re well familiar with her story. We loved the “missionary”/”Machinery” confusion she faced while training through Russia on her way to Asia, and we also love the survival story she endured by trekking 100 orphans through the mountains of China to flee the Japanese. It’s an epic tale of a determined woman whom the “Christian professionals” thought wasn’t good enough to serve the Lord as a missionary. So much to learn from her!
- Mary Slessor – While I knew her name, I really knew nothing of Mary Slessor before I read this book. Even now, I can’t recall many facts about her life, besides the key that she grew up with a temper and allowed the Lord to use this flaw as the seed for a better trait, determination. I’ve struggled with a temper all my life, so this tidbit is encouraging to me even today.
- Catherine Booth – The story of the Booths is another inspiring one (like Elizabeth Fry’s) that no human being in our midst is beyond hope and the love of Jesus. Their focus was on the alcoholics and homeless whom most Christian ignored, and they ultimately formed The Salvation Army as a way to help meet their needs. How wonderful when God calls people to this specific task, yet it begs the question: why aren’t we all drawn to people in such desperate need? I know my own gut-reaction excuse, so the Booth’s ministry is a great reminder that I’m called first to love before judgement.
- Jackie Pullinger – This is another name I didn’t know before reading the book, though her story his so close to home that I probably should have. Pullinger went to Hong Kong as a musically inclined missionary in the 1960s but was shocked that the Lord called her to the city’s gang-filled slums. She opened a youth center that provided a home and entertainment for the gang members, children, and families in the area, and she used things like music classes and games to build relationships and share the love of Christ. I’m a strong advocate for such warm, hospitable evangelism, so Pullinger is one person I’d like to learn more about.
- Evelyn Brand – I knew the name Brand from other books I’ve read by Paul Brand (like Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and He Satisfies My Soul), though I though perhaps Evelyn was his wife. How surprising to discover that she’s actually his mother! Like with the Kuhns above, though, the Brands sent their children away from the mission field of India to school in England, and I couldn’t imagine why. But they apparently wrote each other often, and Paul Brand ultimately returned to the country as a doctor to work with lepers. It all turned out well for them despite the absentee parenting, though it’s a sign of God’s grace more than anything.
- Joni Eareckson Tada – Although I’ve never read anything by or about Joni, I’ve long known her story. She’s often shared her powerful testimony at conferences, bemoaning her old trust in the charlatans who promote healing ministries. I had shared her story and testimony with my kids a while back in fact, that God allowed her to become paralyzed in her teens so that He could show His love through her in ways that just couldn’t be done by a “healthy” person. Through the love and support of friends and family, she slowly overcame her depression as a paraplegic and placed her confidence in Christ that He alone could make her misery worthwhile. She’s since become an author, speaker, singer, and artist with the constant theme that God is a good and loving God who makes no mistakes.
- Corrie ten Boom – The final mini-biography in this book is one I’m well familiar with. I’ve read a few of Corrie ten Boom’s other books (like Tramp for the Lord , 1971, The Hiding Place, 1971, and Marching Orders for the Last Battle, 1969) and have always loved her story and perspective. Like Joni, Corrie endured some terrible times that left her bitter and unforgiving, and yet through the Holy Spirit that indwelt her, she learned to replace the anger with love and spent her twilight years writing and tramping the world with her story of suffering and salvation, pointing others to the love of Christ Jesus.
This was a wonderful devotional book for the kids and I to read these past two weeks, and I wish I had other similar titles in my library right now. I’m not sure what’s next on the docket, but I’m confident it won’t be as fitting for our needs as these two books have been.
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