These Are My People: A biography of Gladys Aylward by Mildred T. Howard (1984)

Our new process of balancing fiction with biography is going well and strong with this long-time personal favorite, These Are My People, the biography of Gladys Aylward, missionary in Japan-occupied China.

I recall having read this book in 3rd or 4th grade, not knowing at the time that I would end up spending at least a decade of my life living within the same borders as Gladys. My kids themselves have lived more than half their lives there, so it’s no wonder that this story holds a special place in our hearts.

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Quick Summary of Gladys Aylward and These Are My People

Gladys Aylward was a women determined to spend her life and energy sharing the Gospel of Christ with the Chinese people, though seemingly everyone around her didn’t believe her to be qualified for the challenge. Undeterred, Gladys worked extra hard as a maid in order to earn enough money to pay for the train fare that would take her through Siberia into Northern China. Unprepared for the war between Russia and China, she found herself stuck in a Russian town and very nearly kidnapped into a machinist’s job before she escaped to Japan and eventually finally made her way to China.

Once there, she began working with an aged missionary woman at an inn, hoping to teach the Gospel through story to the muleteers constantly traveling through the area. Gladys eventually took over this inn, leaving a lasting and positive impression on the townspeople and leadership, and also became the official foot-inspector for the area, a job which allowed her to visit villages throughout the region in an effort not only to stop the inhuman practice of foot-binding but also to share the message of salvation through Christ. Beyond this, she also served as a lookout, reporting on troop movements throughout the area.

As the Japanese crept ever closer to their out-of-the-way region, Gladys also began unexpectedly to collect orphan after orphan, giving them shelter in her inn. The number of children grew to well over 100, and soon Aylward’s military efforts landed her on the most-wanted list. In order to escape and to ensure the safety of her children, Gladys began her own “Long March” northward to the Yellow River, an arduous hike with 100 small children in tow. Finding safety across the river, the children found new homes, and Gladys moved on to new locations in China to continue her missionary work. But as the times marched on and the Communists eventually replaced the Japanese in conquering the land, Gladys was eventually compelled to leave the country (in 1949), giving her remaining years to spreading the Word through speaking engagements about mission work in China.

Some Interesting Finds

Now, I have read several other things about Gladys Aylward, yet what caught my interest most this time around was Gladys’ willing decision to give up her British citizenship in favor of Chinese citizenship. It’s not that this fact is not mentioned elsewhere but that her life is so full of other adventures and victories that this one gets lost in the noise. Yet this phrase, “these are my people” takes on a new and powerful air with this decision in mind. In fact, her actual words (heartfelt if not entirely prophetic) were thus:

Do not wish me out of this or in wany 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 or die with them for Him and His glory. (102)

A Very Well-written Biography

Mildred T. Howard’s novelization of Glady’s story is exactly how a biographical novel should go: it’s riddled with quotations and facts for the sake of setting and realism yet fast-paced and highly engaging. My kids loved it as much as I did, and even my 10-year-old daughter read a chapter aloud for us (while I embroidered a Christmas sweater—yes, you read that correctly).

In celebration of this book and of Gladys’s life, we found the 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness starring Ingrid Bergman, which we’re watching together over the Christmas holiday. How wonderful that Hollywood would honor the life of such a dedicated missionary as this, even if they skimped on her real purpose in China (and used white actors to play the Chinese!).

Conclusion

This whole experience has been a healthy reminder for me of the life of this courageous woman and I’m glad to have involved my kids in the process. There’s something wonderful about reading the biographies of great Christian heroes from the past, and I only pray that it will ignite a passion for the Lord in their young lives.

©2022 E.T.

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Read More from JourneyForth Press:

• With Wings as Eagles by William Pinkston (1983)
• These Are My People by Mildred T. Howard (1984)
• Medallion by Dawn L. Watkins (1985)
• Derwood, Inc. by Jerri Massi (1986)
• A Dangerous Game by Jerri Massi (1986)
• Treasure in the Yukon by Jerri Massi (1986)
• With Daring Faith by Rebecca Henry Davis (1987)
• Courage by Darkness by Jerri Massi (1987)
• Some Summer! by Jean Vandervenne (1987)
• Llamas on the Loose by Jerri Massi (1988)
• The Runaway Princess by Milly Howard (1988)
• Abandoned by Jerri Massi (1989)
• A Question of Yams by Gloria Repp (1992)
• Brill of Exitorn by Peggy Downing (1994)
• Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World by Deb Brammer (1994)
• The Lost Prince by Peggy Downing (1995)
• Tales from Dust River Gulch by Tim Davis (1996)
• Camp Sierra Secret by Esther G. Wilkinson (1996)
• Chickadee Winter by Dawn L. Watkins (1999)
• Songbird by Nancy Lohr (2000)
• Nix by Penny McKnight (2006)
• Shield by Dawn Watkins (2008)