Gladys Aylward: My Missionary Life in China

by Gladys Aylward, Christine Hunter (contributor)

A solitary woman. A foreign country. An unknown language. An impossible dream? No!With no mission board to support or guide her, and less than ten dollars in her pocket, Gladys Aylward left her home in England to answer God's call to take the message of the gospel to China. With the Sino-Japanese War waging around her, she struggled to bring the basics of life and the fullness of God to orphaned children. Time after time, God triumphed over impossible situations, and drew people to Himself. In Gladys My Missionary Life in China, Gladys tells her story—a remarkable tale of one woman's determination to serve God at any cost.A true story of a determined missionary, Gladys My Missionary Life in China will challenge you to bold and expectant faith.

Genres: Biography, Christian

176 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Gladys May Aylward was born in Edmonton, London to a working class family. She worked as a maid and had very little education.
In her twenties she attended an evangelistic service and dedicated her life to God. Despite being "unqualified" according to a mission organization, Gladys was determined to be a missionary to China. She spent her life savings on a railroad ticket to Yuncheng in the Shanxi province (October 1930).
She worked with an older missionary, Jeannie Lawson, to found The Inn of the Eighth Happiness. She was involved in caring for orphans, prison reform and worked as a "foot inspector."
Gladys became a citizen of China in 1936. The Japanese invaded in 1938 and Gladys rescued over 100 orphans, leading them safely over the mountains, despite being injured herself.
Gladys returned to England in 1948, and was denied re-entry to China when she tried to go back. Instead she went to Taiwan and founded an orphanage.
She died in Taiwan in 1970.

A motion picture called "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" was based roughly on her life. Gladys was embarassed by the movie's portrayal of herself.

Reviews

[Margaret Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very inspiring biography and both an encouragement and a challenge to everyone who professes Jesus as Lord & Saviour. Against all odds Gladys obeyed God and went to China, accomplishing much not because of her own abilities or giftings, but because she lived completely surrendered and dependent on the Lord.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a powerful life!!! This absolutely changed my view on China. And such FAITH!! Her problems make my problems insignificant. Absolutely insignificant.

Here I am complaining about my job and what I’m going to eat and even today Christians are STILL getting beheaded by communists in China. I’m going to pray for them and see if I can find a missionary fund.

Absolutely amazing read.

[Sam Lavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an inspiration. This woman truly loved and trusted God and her story is incredible. The only reason this isn't a five star read is because the dates were confusing to me. She'd say many years, but I wanted to know the exact years. So that's my own weird thing.

[Drew Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational. What is possible when you make yourself available and ready to listen to God , then do so.

[Suzette Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of My Favorites

This book is Gladys' amazing story of her missionary life. This is my second favorite book ever. It is so inspiring.