SOPHIA - Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches

A Cloud of Witnesses
by Anita Schroeder Kipfer
In what way are you different? ... I tell
you, there are a great line of women
stretching out behind you into the past,
and you have to seek them out and
find them in yourself and be con.scious
of them. Doris Lessing
"X J.1JChildhOOd heroine was
V Y' Gladys Aylward. Gladys
grew up in London, England,
and was determined to spend
her life as a missionary in China in
response to what she felt was God's
call for her life. Through a series of
miraculous events Gladys eventually
arrived in China. High in the mountains,
together with a Chinese cook
and an elderly, ailing missionary
woman, Gladys opened the Inn of
Eight Happinesses. There weary
travelers, consisting mainly of mule
caravans passing through, could
spend the night.
In his biography, The Small
Woman, Alan Burgess describes how, singlehandedly,
Gladys would leap at the lead mule as it passed by,
grabbing the animal's head and dragging it in the direction
of her courtyard. Because the other mules were tethered
behind it, the poor beasts had no choice but to follow.
Once inside they were unloaded and given food and water
while the muleteers received a hot
meal and were told Bible stories into
the early hours of the morning.
Gladys's overarching hope was that
the muleteers would carry these
stories for hundreds of miles throughout
the province as they travelled
from village to village.
Gladys's perseverance and
strong faith in God led her on many adventures. Throughout
her life she faced a
myriad of people who tried to put a stop to her endeavors
and to discourage her ministry, including men who ran the
missionary society in England, the Chinese emperor, a
Chinese jail warden and his prisoners and armed Japanese
soldiers. Gladys confronted these obstacles with bold
She turned and said to me,
"Why don't you go and be
a minister?"
conviction. She believed in herself, in others and in God.
Her unswerving faith, courage and stamina inspired me.
Growing up in a Christian home as the child of
missionary parents provided a context in which to embark
on my own spiritual journey. Attending a Mennonite high
school, then Bible college, gave me further opportunities to
nurture my faith and critically reflect on
the theological tenets that had shaped
me so significantly. I distinctly remember
the undercurrent of excitement
that pulsed through me one evening
following a preaching class as I pondered
the possibility of someday becoming a
pastor.
After college, while attending
university, I worked as a home health care aide for the Red
Cross. During that time I met many lonely, suffering people.
Through their pain I experienced God's presence in
ways I had not known before, both in times of crisis and in
daily, sometimes mundane tasks. These people showed me
the importance of human love and relationships and also
the fragility of life. What I received often seemed more
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