'My heart is full of praise that one so insignificant, uneducated, and ordinary in every way could be used to His glory for the blessing of His people in poor persecuted China.'

Gladys Aylward grew up in a working-class family in London; yet her adult life was starkly different. In her late twenties she attended an evangelistic meeting and dedicated her life to Christ. Reading a magazine one day, she came across the need for missionary work in China, and this became the dream that was to determine the rest of her life. She studied hard to prepare for the role. However, she was told by a missionary training school that she didn't have the academic ability nor was she the right age to learn the language. 

Ignoring this advice, Aylward spent her life-savings in 1930 to travel to the Shanxi Province of China. Upon her arrival, she began working with Jeannie Lawson, another missionary. Together they founded 'The Inn of the Eight Happinesses'. At the inn the women provided good food and comfortable beds, telling bible stories to passing travellers. She also became a 'foot inspector' for the government, which entailed visiting communities to make sure no-one was disobeying the new law against footbinding young Chinese girls. Men usually reacted violently towards the assistants, but Aylward was well received. 

As time progressed, Aylward took in orphans, adopted several of them, advocated for prison reform and frequently risked her life to help others. She became a revered figure in the region.

When Japanese forces invaded the area in 1938, she rescued 94 orphans - they completed a 100 mile trek to safety, going through the mountains and crossing the Yellow River. At one point she contemplated marriage to a Chinese officer, Colonel Linnan. Despite accepting his proposal, she later realised she couldn't go through with it because he wasn't a Christian.

Aylward spent 10 years back in England after returning in the 1940s. Her application to return to China was denied by the communist government, so she re-settled in Taiwan in 1953. Her final project was the 'Gladys Aylward Orphanage', where she worked until she died in 1970.

The motion picture 'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness' (1958) mortified Aylward by its liberal portrayal of her character and life. However, media interviews and a biographical novel gave her a chance to communicate her true nature.

Her story teaches us the power of determination and complete trust in God. Giving up the life she knew and ignoring discouraging set-backs, Gladys Aylward risked everything for the sake of serving a struggling people.