Saturday, September 7, 2019

Missionary Evelyn Holiday and Her Connection to F.F. Bosworth

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"
Copyright (c) 2019

#FFBosworth
#ChristTheHealer

Evelyn (Lynn) Holiday
(1924 - 2019)

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Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred

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Because of the ministry of F.F. Bosworth, a little girl found Christ and grew up to become an influential missionary in Vietnam.

Evelyn (Lynn) Holiday (1924 -- 2019) was only 12 in 1936 when she came to Christ through Bosworth's ministry, according to her obituary published in the July/August 2019 issue of Alliance Life. The details of what transpired the day of her conversion are not presented in her obit. However, highlights of some of her achievements are provided in the brief overview of her life.

Like Bosworth, Holiday was a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). She studied at the Missionary Training Institute, which is now Nyack College in N.Y. She earned a registered nurse degree at Columbia Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa. It was that training, presumably, that enabled her to later merge medicine and prayer in her ministry.

Holiday served as a C&MA missionary in Dalat, Vietnam, which is located in southern Vietnam's Central Highlands region. Dalat, a resort town, is known as the "City of Eternal Spring." In 1968, it played a role in the famous battle known as the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War.

During her time in Dalat, Holiday reportedly created a clinic that she operated for the local tribespeople. In addition to providing thousands of vaccines, it is said that she delivered more than 800 babies. Her ministry, however, came with a risk. According to Alliance Life,  she "was shot at and nearly captured by the Vietcong before she was evacuated from the country."

Holiday was one of 34 people rescued. A newspaper reported:

Thirty-four missionaries were rescued from their hilltop mission in the resort town if Dalat by U.S. forces a short time before it was over in by the Vietcong, U.S. officials said Sunday.

The missionaries, including 14 women, 11 men and 9 children, were pinned down inside the mission compound in Dalat, 135 miles northeast of Saigon, when the Vietcong attacked late Friday night. The attack on the mission, which is operated by the Christian Missionary Alliance and Overseas Crusade group coincided with another guerrilla attack on the Alluance's mission in Ban Me Thuot, 45 miles to the north, in which six missionaries were killed, one was wounded and two abducted. (State News of East Lansing, Mich. Monday, Feb. 5, 1968, p. 9)

Holiday died on Jan. 12, 2019 in Carlisle, Pa. She was 94. Her story is a reminder of how important it is for us to share the gospel with children. As Christ so beautifully stated, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14, KJV).

Bosworth understood that admonition.


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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

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For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters

2 comments:

  1. I believe Evelyn Holiday was part of the Alliance Church in Waverly, New York where I was raised. Harriet Beardslee was also part of the church and taught my junior Sunday School Class. Jerry Harding

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  2. I just returned from Hanoi this week after conducting a conference for 160 pastors…mostly Hmong. I learned that most of the churches were CMA. Jerry Harding…jerryachristian@hotmail.com

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