Readability
Original Sources
Devotional Quality
Avoids Hagiography
Biblical Clarity
| Field | China |
| Missionary | Gladys Aylward |
| Author | Phyllis Thompson |
| Era | 1930s–1950s |
Overview
A London Sparrow: The Inspiring and True Story of Gladys Aylward stands at the top of the list of biographies of this unusual parlourmaid-turned-missionary. Early biographers exalted Aylward as a hero. Screenwriters twisted her life story into a wartime romance in the 1958 movie, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. Just months before she passed away in 1970, Aylward with the help of Christine Hunter tried to set the record right by writing her own autobiography, A Small Woman. However, this endearing book rambles in generalities, leaving out key details. In A London Sparrow, Phyllis Thompson does her research and puts together a compelling account of how God used the most unlikely of believers beyond all expectations.
Like with every book, I would recommend discernment as you read. Aylward’s decision-making methods and ways of discerning God’s will, at times, seem not as biblical as they could be. Perhaps this is a result of her minimal biblical training before leaving for the mission field. What is worthy of emulation is her simple yet daring trust in God. She truly took God at His Word and then took action.
Highlights
- How God protected Aylward during her risky winter trek across the war-torn USSR on her way to China.
- How God opened the door for Aylward to serve as a foot inspector for the government and thus travel with the gospel across her province of China.
- How God guided and protected Aylward as she rescued over 100 orphans during the Japanese invasion of China prior to WW2.
- How God repeatedly showed himself strong in Aylward’s weakness.
Quotes
- “O God, was it worth this? … and to my mind like a flash came ‘Be not afraid, remember the Lord’, so I prayed that God would remember me and deliver me. I believe He did but in quite a different way to what I imagined” (p. 35).
- “Life is pitiful, death so familiar, suffering and pain so common, yet I would not be anywhere else. Do not wish me out of this or in any way seek to get me out, for I will not be got out while this trial is on. These are my people, God has given them to me, and I will live of die with them for Him and His glory” (p. 69).
Gladys Aylward is also highlighted in Daring Dependence, Day 22.