1. Circling the
Globe
THE LARGE STRATO-LINER circled the London airport and landed smoothly on the runway. From the plane alighted a short, light-haired, trim-figured woman, stylishly dressed and wearing a flaming red hat. She was bursting with enthusiasm and energy, bobbing energetically through the group, smiling graciously on one and all, at overwhelmed porters or intrigued dignitaries, her face wreathed in smiles; and then her delighted cries of greeting rose above all others as three handsome young Americans rushed up to throw their arms around her. Don Moomaw, former all-American football player who was assisting Billy Graham in his London Crusade, threw his strong right arm around her in a standard American hug because this woman was his spiritual challenge, inspiration and "mother." She was Dr. Henrietta C. Mears of Hollywood, California.
The very new Reverend Mr. Louis H. Evans, Jr., and his wife were there in eager welcome. He was studying for his doctorate at the University of Edinburgh and his wife, the former Hollywood star, Colleen Townsend, was with him. Their romance and spiritual tutoring had flourished in the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, in the College Department which had been established and taught by this woman (now in vivacious conversation with them) for the past twenty-nine years. Her College Department philosophy had always been that the next important decision one makes after accepting Christ as Saviour is the choice of one's life partner. They both agreed with the principle, and now they greeted her with great love and affection.
With Miss Mears, as her travel companion, was her very dear
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friend, Jean Shay. The group rushed away, with barely enough time to dash to the hotel before hurrying to the large polo grounds at Harringay where the evening meeting for the Billy Graham crusade was about ready to begin. A light rain was falling, and crowds were hurrying toward the large building.
"Teacher, all these people are going to the Billy Graham meeting. Isn't it wonderful?" said Colleen, with her lovely smile and quiet voice.
"It's pathetic!" boomed Don in his deep, masculine voice. "None of these people hurrying along here will ever get in. There won't be enough room inside."
"It is the most amazing spiritual witness I have ever seen," said Lou, Jr.
Miss Mears was looking quickly to the right and left. "Did you ever!" gasped Teacher. "Did you ever! You don't mean they are all going to the meeting? You don't mean to say that none of them will get in?" Her voice rose with the realization of each new thought. "Oh dear, can't we do something about it? Oh, now, you don't mean to say that that mother with her little girl isn't going to be able to get in? Oh, dear, what do you mean? Oh, bless them!" And the five of them peered anxiously from the window of their cab as it rushed down the street, all of them melting with compassion for the others as Teacher's overflowing sympathy reached out to all.
Now the taxi was at the stage entrance and the group was identified by the ushers and hurried onto the stage. A buzz of excitement swept through the group sitting on the stage. "Miss Mears is here! Miss Henrietta Mears of Hollywood has arrived." Billy Graham left the group where he was conversing and crossed the stage with long, eager strides.
"Billy!" said Teacher in her tenderly affectionate voice. "I've never seen anything like this. How many are here?"
"They say 15,000," said Billy. "But no meetings have ever been prayed for by more Christian leaders all over the world, so no wonder there is such a spiritual impact. We're so glad you're here!" he said warmly and impulsively, for Billy Graham was welcoming one of the greatest Christians he had ever known, the woman who had had the greatest spiritual influence upon his own life, apart from his wife and mother. "Remember when I was at Forest Home and I told you I was afraid to look ahead to that first Los Angeles campaign?"
"You and the Lord have come a long way together since then," she said. Now Dawson Trotman, her long-time friend and head of Navigators, was greeting her warmly. He was soon to die while saving another's life.
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Hubert Mitchell, missionary to Sumatra and India and long her close friend, was smiling at her his great, warming smile of Christian love. Cliff Barrows, Bev Shea, Dr. Paul Rees of Minneapolis all came to give a warm welcome to this great lady. Then she was reaching through the group. "Dr. Hudson, how are you? And dear Mrs. Hudson!" She was shaking hands with Dr. A.W. Goodwin Hudson, a leader of the London Crusade, a rector in the Church of England. They were already good friends, for he had been a conference speaker for two summers at Forest Home Christian Conference Center in southern California, founded by Miss Mears twenty years ago..
Bev Shea was standing next in line. "Bev, are you going to sing one of your beautiful songs for me?" she whispered, grinning mischievously. "Just for you," he smiled in return, "and I'll escort you to your hotel tonight after the meeting." It was a standing date after each of the meetings at which Miss Mears was present.
Ruth Graham waved to her. Ruth's impression of Miss Mears' arrival was quickly passed along, flashed back to America, and shared by all Miss Mears' amused and understanding friends: "When Miss Mears arrived in London she looked just like a scarlet tanager coming down in the midst of a flock of English sparrows!"
Miss Mears had come to London directly from a speaking engagement at a United Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and had detoured by way of Princeton to visit her "boys" who were studying for the ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary. There were fifteen at the one seminary from her College Department on this particular visit, who greeted her as the most influential person in their spiritual lives, and in their decision for the ministry they represented over three hundred young people who had gone into vocational Christian work because of "Teacher." Then she had gone quickly on to New York and straight to London.
Mr. Mitchell of the Billy Graham team, said that after the first meetings in Harringay when Miss Mears made her first appearance and sat on the platform, a woman came up to him and said, "I see there was royalty on the platform tonight."
"Whom do you mean?" he asked her.
"The lady who sat next to you; she was wearing a gold coat and a red hat. Who was she? She was so lovely." Mr. Mitchell laughed warmly, "Oh, you mean Miss Mears. Well she is not the royalty you are thinking of, but she has always said that she belongs to the royal family of God."
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Now the scene shifts to Oxford Inn, Oxford, England; having tea together are Miss Mears, Jean Shea, Dr. and Mrs. Hudson, and Mr. C.S. Lewis, author of Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, and other witty and profound Christian writings. Miss Mears had gone her merry, bubbling way to have tea, expecting to find a slender, erudite, silvery-haired, esthetic gentleman. "Why, you're not at all what I expected!" gasped Miss Mears as she met Mr. Lewis, for he looked more like a rotund, jovial character from his own Chronicles of Narnia, with his round face, ruddy cheeks and a short stature.
"I like to surprise people," he said agreeably.
The conversation sparkled with his magnificent sense of humor and the natural merriment of Miss Mears. "Of course, the real reason for our visit is to invite you to come to beautiful Forest Home Conference Center as speaker next summer," said Miss Mears.
"But what would I have to contribute?" asked Mr. Lewis in amazement. "All I have to contribute is in my books, and you can read those for yourselves."
Undaunted, Teacher replied with warm enthusiasm, "Then why don't you just come over and read to us from your books? It would be a very great pleasure for us and a contribution just having you there."
"What!" replied Mr. Lewis with eyes twinkling. "Do you mean to say you can't read in America?"
Peals of appreciative laughter filled the room, Miss Mears' loudest of all. Then Dr. Hudson began to describe the beauty of Forest Home; he had been there on the faculty two different times, he said. Jean Shay, wanting to make a contribution in inducing Mr. Lewis to come to Forest Home, began to tell him how wonderful America is, and Forest Home in particular. Warming to her subject, she began to describe the beautiful new freeways that lead directly to Forest Home, but the description of the freeways began to get quite complicated; the more she described them the more complicated it became. Finally, Mr. Lewis interrupted. "Do you really expect me to come to America and become involved in this vehicle of destruction?"
After the fun, the conversation settled to a more serious discussion and Mr. Lewis gave a marvelous unfolding of spiritual conditions at Oxford, describing some of the philosophies of the hour that made him unpopular for his stand for Christ and Christianity, sometimes making him even afraid to speak. Miss Mears quickly seized her opportunity. "If you come to Forest Home, we'll let you speak and there
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will be over a thousand college leaders from all over America at the College Briefing Conference who will welcome you!"
The hour with him seemed but a fleeting moment. Constantly keeping to the point of her mission, Miss Mears reminded him again of the contribution he could make to the college minds of America; that while they had enjoyed the time with him, their real desire had been to get him to come to Forest Home. He smiled jovially and said, "Maybe, some day." On the way back to London, Dr. Hudson said he had never seen Mr. Lewis more warm in his greeting and reception than he had been with his visitors from Hollywood.
"Just as warm as we will be when we welcome him to Forest Home," said Miss Mears, as she settled back to plan her strategy.
On a bright, blue English morning, Lou Evans, Jr. and Miss Mears took a train to the little town of Redhill for lunch with Mr. J.B. Phillips, author of Letters to Young Churches, translations of the Gospels, and Your God Is Too Small. He had already agreed to come to Forest Home, and they were going to talk over the challenge of the coming conferences. They had a lovely luncheon with him and his charming wife, listening to some of his marvelous record collection played on his hi-fi equipment. Later they sat in his study, which had windows looking out on the garden. Everything in this room pointed to the discipline in his life and to the meticulous schedule of his writing. It was thrilling to be in the spot where such great work had been done. He had a typical English home and, although he was a very busy man, he knew the art of living. The visit was over and Miss Mears and Lou left for London, looking forward to the coming summer with great expectations. In two months Mr. Phillips did arrive at Forest Home and his quiet searching messages, presenting the love and peace of God through Christ, made a bridge between the spiritual strength of England and America. Tape recordings were made of his messages so they could be better remembered and circulated.
* * * * * * *
The plane circled the landing field in Tokyo, Japan. After registering at the Imperial Hotel, Miss Mears and her traveling companion, Esther Ellinghusen, friend and co-worker of long years' standing, left the hotel and walked down the busy street in this city of teeming millions. They were looking for David Morken, outstanding Christian worker in the Far East. All Miss Mears had was his post office box number, but, more important, she had the extreme conviction that if God wanted them to find David, they would.
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Miss Mears noticed a Red Cross nurse on the street and with her inimitable sweet, smiling graciousness, asked her if she knew the location of the "Youth for Christ" headquarters. The nurse didn't know, but since she was from Laguna, California, she took the pair of them immediately under her wing and drove them to the Chapel Center. There Miss Mears was able to obtain David Morken's telephone number. The chaplain at the desk was interested to know about his visitors and told them it was such a shame that they couldn't attend the large missionary banquet being held there that night, but it was oversold and there wasn't a seat left. Miss Mears agreed it would be very interesting; then she went over and called David.
"Miss Mears!" he shouted into the phone. "What a surprise! I had no idea you were coming. Why, you've been dropped right down from heaven! We're having a big banquet tonight for all the missionaries and chaplains in Japan and we need a speaker! Bob Pierce was scheduled to arrive from Korea to speak but he has been delayed. God has sent you! You're the fastest answer to prayer I've ever had. Stay right there. I'll come and get you. The banquet starts in an hour!"
"What do you want me to speak about?" she asked.
"As long as you're doing the talking you can say anything and we'll be inspired. Tell them anything — about what is going on in America and what God is doing there. There is a pretty discouraged bunch of people waiting to hear you."
That night at six o'clock, when she was swept in as the main speaker, she couldn't help but wonder what would be the reaction of the reception chaplain who had told her there wasn't a seat left.
As she faced the large group that night, her warmth and enthusiasm buoyed every listening heart. She straightened her filmy lavender hat, with violets dripping over the brim, and cheerfully answered the same pressing need that she thought she had left behind her in America for her vacation trip. But she had her message. She, unknowingly, had received it at Forest Home several months ago, for just this very hour. It wasn't that this group didn't know the answers or the Scriptures, but how wonderful it was to have a fresh voice ministering to them, giving new assurance to those who had ministered continually to so many others.
* * * * * * *
Now the scene shifts to Africa to a mission station in the Belgian Congo. Miss Mears was talking to another group of missionaries. As she spoke she noticed that one attractive young woman kept nodding
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approval, and smiling. Afterwards the young woman came up to talk with her.
"You probably don't remember me, but I was in your College Department years ago and it was there I dedicated my life to Christ; and here I am with my wonderful doctor husband at this field."
Another woman stepped up, the wife of Charles Trout, a missionary there. "Did Charles tell you, Miss Mears, that it was at Forest Home in one of the first conferences that I made my decision to give my life to Christ and go to the mission field? Here I am!" Miss Mears beamed her enthusiastic approval on these two young women, representative of so many of her "spiritual children" who circle the globe.
When Miss Mears was in Beirut, Lebanon, she visited the home of Bill and Florence Antablin, and they invited the professors from the American University and all the missionaries there to meet her. Bill Antablin stood to introduce her. "In 1947, Miss Mears came up to speak at the Berkeley, California, church that I attended, and she gave a great challenge for missions. Two hundred of us went forward to say that we wanted to go to the mission field as God led; my wife and I were among them. Tonight at dinner we were talking, and we know of fifty of them already on the field; four of us are in this room tonight."
* * * * * * *
It was early Sunday morning at the garden tomb of Christ. A gathering of people was there, having a wonderful, intimate service at the tomb. A young man from Cincinnati got up to speak and said, "I notice that in the group this morning is Miss Henrietta Mears. I've known Miss Mears intimately through the years through her wonderful Gospel Light Press literature and I've built our entire Sunday school in Cincinnati around the Sunday school literature she has written."
Miss Mears was asked to say a few words, and when she had finished, a young man from Greece was asked to pray. He said, "I'd like to say something before I pray. I've also known Miss Mears for years through her Sunday school material, and I never thought I'd see her in the flesh. I'm from a little city outside of Athens and I've seen the Lord grow our Sunday school from one to 650 through the use of Gospel Light Press literature."
Next a charming couple from Siam said, "We want you to know you're not the only ones who have known Miss Mears, for we've used her material too, for years, over in Siam."
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Miss Mears smiled in spiritual joy at the magnificence of God and for His witness throughout the world.
It is as hard to delineate Henrietta Mears' life by a logical sequence of events as it would be to capture quicksilver on a knife-blade or to attempt to get the mercury back into the container from which it has spilled. For it seems without a doubt that Miss Henrietta Mears lives in five directions at once, and in seven on Sundays.
We have circled the globe with Miss Mears: London, Japan, Africa, Jerusalem, India. But when an airplane comes in for a landing it circles the field, lines up with the runway and comes in for a direct approach. We have been taking a brief circle of Miss Mears' life before we come in for a more methodical approach to a description of her ever-widening circles of influence.
The airliner glides to a smooth landing at the Los Angeles International Air Terminal. Henrietta Mears is home, back to her duties as Christian Education Director at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, as editor-in-chief of Gospel Light Press, and as founder and director of Forest Home Christian Conference Center.
