followed Him to China years before, she
followed Him into the mountains now.
For more than three weeks, Gladys and
the children traveled, under constant threat
of Japanese soldiers, wild animals, hunger,
injuries, and hopelessness. Gladys encouraged the children to persevere and trust in
God. When they found themselves at the
shore of the Yellow River, with no villagers
nearby to help them cross as they’d planned
for, Gladys’ hope faltered. One of the girls
attempted to encourage her by reminding
her that their situation was not that different from Moses and the Israelites needing to
cross the Red Sea. Gladys snapped back that
she wasn’t Moses. The girl reminded her that
though that was true, God was the same.
Her spirit encouraged by this reminder,
Gladys led the children in prayer. As they
did, Chinese soldiers appeared in the distance, who were quite surprised to find a
tiny foreign woman with nearly 100 children beside the river. They procured the
boats needed to take Gladys and all the
children across to safety.
I encourage you to share the story of Gladys
Aylward with your children today. Whether
it was His choice of the most unlikely candidate, the unconventional way He chose to use
Gladys to minister to the people, the special
way He gave her a family, or the way He took
her across the river instead of parting it, God
in His greatness used this small woman to do
the most extraordinary things.
Gladys once said, “I wasn’t God’s first
choice for what I’ve done for 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. Per-
haps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing.
And God looked down and saw Gladys
Aylward.”
May we all respond as faithfully to His
call.
Torchlighters: The Gladys Aylward Story
is one of the many stories you can find in
the Torchlighters series of DVDs, each one
focused on the story of a different hero of
the faith. These stories bring history and
courage to life for children through engag-
ing animation, powerful storytelling, and
a sensitive and age-appropriate approach.
The Gladys Aylward Story is available on
DVD from Vision Video along with a free
downloadable Leader’s Guide and Student
Handouts.
Bonnie Rose Hudson works as the Director of SchoolhouseTeachers.com, the curriculum site of The Old Schoolhouse®
Magazine. Her heart’s desire is for every
child to feel the love of God and know how
special they are to Him. She would love for
you to stop by her author’s blog WriteBon
nieRose.com for resources to help teach your
children about missions and the persecuted
Church, free history and writing printables,
and to discover how you can write for the
homeschool market.
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
News for Fans of
Torchlighters
Releasing in 2017, the next Torchlighters episode will feature the adventurous story of America’s first missionary,
Adoniram Judson and his wife Ann.
Within two weeks of their marriage,
the young couple set out on the long
journey to India, only to learn upon arrival that they were not welcome there.
This setback would be one of many the
Judsons would face in their ultimate
calling to Burma. Torchlighters will
share the powerful story of their first
convert and the miraculous way that
God protected their translation work
through persecution, war, and imprisonment. Through their story, families
learn that God uses the humble and
calls each of us to be fishers of men.
Gladys and the
children traveled,
under constant
threat of Japanese
soldiers, wild animals,
hunger, injuries, and
hopelessness.
