Gladys, China and My Boys

Gladys Aylward


A couple of days ago I was looking for a movie at the library and spotted The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. I'd never seen it but had heard it was about Gladys Aylward as a missionary in China. I enjoyed it, though some of the acting was poor, but most was good. I've only read a Trailblazer book about Gladys Aylward as a read-aloud to my children, so I'm sure I don't know many details, but I'm pretty sure the scriptwriters added the whole romance she had in the movie. In fact, I just did a little web-surfing and learned that Gladys was embarrassed about the movie, especially the "love scenes" which never happened. However, I was reminded of her stubbornness to follow where God led her despite no one having faith in her ability to be a missionary in China. And she accomplished amazing things there, because she listened and obeyed God instead of men. Awesome and inspiring. I guess I should read a proper biography of her life.

Part of the reason I chose that movie was that my two oldest sons (19 and 15) are in China at this very moment on a mission trip. So it seemed very fitting. Of course, they can't go in as missionaries. They are there as students helping Chinese students learn conversational English. While they are there they hope to make friendships that will open the door for them to share their hope and belief in Christ. Before they left they had an intense training camp to prepare them for the trip, make them into a team and teach them to rely on God. Now they will be using what they learned and we are praying for them and the Chinese students they will be with. It's so thrilling to know my children are doing God's work.