Through the Eyes of a Woman

I grew up in a family whose life was centered on serving the Seventh-Day Adventist church. My grandparents and their sons discovered the truth that would change their lives in 1921. Ever since then, serving God through this church has been synonymous with our identity. My uncle went on to become a missionary doctor and my father’s dream was to be a missionary but he served in the homeland as a teacher and administrator instead. My sister became a pastor’s wife and missionary, and my brother followed in my father’s footsteps, including fulfilling my dad’s dream of becoming a missionary. I married a pastor and we, too landed in Africa as missionaries. The mission was in our blood. With all the modern media, I would suppose that today anyone interested in history will find the necessary information. However, some people need a little nudge to be reminded of special years and dates. 160 years since the organization of the Seventh-Day Adventist church went by last year almost unnoticed. T

 Amalia Galladzheva-Löbsack (Lebsak) (1891–1942) She and her husband, Aleksei Galladzhev, were pioneer workers in Georgia and Armenia. Both husband and wife were imprisoned during the times of massive religious repression in the Soviet Union. Amalia Galladzheva-Löbsack was executed on February 4, 1942. Amalia Galladzheva-Löbsack represents many women from the Soviet Union who served the Church in trying times and whose names we do not know. Early Life Amalia Galladzheva-Löbsack was born May 5, 1891, in the region of Saratov in southwestern Russia. Her father H. J. Löbsack was a leading Adventist minister and missionary in Russia and the former Soviet regions. Amalia was the oldest of five siblings. She and her brother, Georg Samuel, studied at the Friedensau Adventist Mission Seminary in Germany. After graduating as a nurse, Amalia worked in Leipzig and in Pforzheim, Germany, as a medical home missionary. Ministry and Marriage In 1920, at the request of her father, president

Guillermina Deggeller de Kalbermatter (1892–1989) Guillermina Deggeller de Kalbermatter was a missionary nurse in Peru and Argentina, and wife of missionary Pedro Kalbermatter. Early Years in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina (1892-1919) Born on January 8, 1892, in Águila, Uruguay, Guillermina was the daughter of Guillermo Deggeller, who emigrated to Uruguay from Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Guillermina's mother, Berta Kunzle, was originally from Sankt Gallen, Switzerland and emigrated to Uruguay with her parents and siblings. In the mid-1890s, a devastating drought in Uruguay forced the Deggeller's to emigrate to Paraguay. In the port of Buenos Aires, a friend and canvasser of the Bible Society gave them magazines that presented the theme of Saturday as the Sabbath and, without additional instructions, they began to observe it.  While studying the Bible in her home Mother Berta Künzle de Deggeller decided to be baptized with daughters Cecilia, Fanny, Luisa, and Guillermi

 Esther Bergman (1894–1935) Esther Bergman was a leading medical missionary nurse and educator in the United States and in Ethiopia, where she made a critical contribution to the early development of the Adventist mission. Early Life and Education (1894-1917) Born in Superior, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1894, Esther Louise Bergman seems to have been raised in a medically oriented family. Esther, after completing her early schooling in Wisconsin, entered the Nurse’s Training School of the College of Medical Evangelists, Loma Linda, California, in 1914. Before completing her nursing program, Esther engaged in Bible work for several months in 1916. Medical Missionary to the Eastern United States (1917-1933) In the years following the completion of her nursing studies at Loma Linda in 1917, Bergman filled a variety of positions at the White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Early in 1927, Bergman accepted a call to supervise nurses’ medical missionary field work at Wash

 Hanna Elisabeth (Persson) Bergström (1900–1953) Missionary, physiotherapist, and nurse, Hanna Bergström served in Dogba and Koza, Northern Cameroon, between 1931 and 1953, together with her husband Ruben Bergström. Early Life and Education Hanna Persson was born on April 29, 1900, in Helsingborg, Sweden, to Per and Elise Persson. When she was 10 years old, Hanna’s mother, Elise, became a Seventh-day Adventist, a founding member of the Adventist church in Helsingborg. Hanna attended Nyhyttan Mission School, probably between 1915 and 1918. At age 16, she was baptized in a cold river in April.   Following school, Hanna, like many Scandinavian young people, went to Skodsborg School of Physiotherapy in Denmark and graduated in 1923. She returned to Sweden where she worked part time at both the  Stockholms fysikaliska  (physiotherapy institution in the city of Stockholm), run by the Adventist church, and the Nyhyttan Mission School, which was transformed into a “bath” sanitarium dur

  Mary Mortensen (Tripp) Armitage (1859–1950) Mary Mortensen Tripp Armitage was a Bible worker, foster mother to Ellen White’s granddaughters, and pioneer missionary to Africa. Born on April 26, 1859, in Denmark to James Jens Mortensen and Karen Olsdatter she emigrated with her family to the United States in 1865. As a young woman, she served as a Bible worker in Minneapolis and subsequently attended Battle Creek College. In the early 1890s, while Ellen White and her son W. C. White were missionaries in Australia, she took care of Ellen’s twin granddaughters, Ella and Mabel, who affectionately referred to her as “Aunt Mary” and later recollected how they owed “much” to her “for the faithful motherly care she gave us.”  Initially, the Foreign Mission Board considered having her go to Switzerland as a school matron. Instead, the widowed George Byron Tripp (1853-1898) was advised to find a spouse before going to Africa. Two days later, on April 2, 1895, Mary and George were marrie

 Lucy Mabel Andrus  (1889–1939) Lucy Andrus taught in church schools in Minnesota and Washington State for a decade before giving 16 years of active mission service in China as a teacher and Bible worker. Heritage Lucy Andrus was born in Rochester, Minnesota, on September 21, 1889, to Truman and Clarissa (Lull) Andrus. Her father was a farmer and a former volunteer Union soldier. Her parents became Seventh-day Adventists when she was a toddler. Church Career Lucy attended Maplewood Academy, near Minneapolis, from 1904 through 1907, and then taught church schools in Bruno and Mankato, Minnesota, until 1909. She then enrolled at Walla Walla College to begin her formal training as a teacher. In 1911, she began teaching in the cold climate of the Naches Valley, Washington State but continued her training during the summer semesters.  From 1918 through 1920, Lucy completed the Medical Evangelist’s Course at the College of Medical Evangelists, Loma Linda, California. With her yea

  Emma Marie (Thompson) Anderson (1865–1925) Emma Marie Thompson Anderson was a pioneer Adventist missionary to China, author, bookkeeper, Bible worker, and educator. She along with her husband, Jacob, and sister, Ida Thompson, were the first group of official missionaries to China in 1902. Early Life Emma Thompson was born May 6, 1865, in Lone Rock Valley, Wisconsin, to Ozro (1839-1928) and Martha Elizabeth (1844-1912) Thompson. She attended a country elementary school, and later a high school in Mauston, Wisconsin. At the age of 17, she began teaching at a public school and would continue teaching for the next five years. She subsequently studied for three years at the University of Chicago and Nebraska State University. In 1887, she became a Bible worker in the Wisconsin Conference. She also attended a short course of instruction in giving Bible readings from George B. Starr in Chicago, Illinois. She served as Sabbath School secretary and then president of the Sabbath School A

  Hattie Andre (1865–1952) Hattie Andre was a missionary, Bible teacher, and educational leader influential in the formative years of three Adventist institutions of higher learning. Bible Worker Hattie was born on October 5, 1865, at French Grant, Ohio. Her ancestors were among a group of French settlers. Hattie's mother became a Seventh-day Adventist around 1880 and her three daughters also joined the faith. In 1884 Hattie enrolled at Battle Creek College. After a year of study, she returned to Ohio to engage in church work, first with the state tract society in Columbus and then as a Bible worker in Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo, and then in Chicago, Illinois. She returned to Battle Creek College in 1890 and graduated with her teaching certificate in 1892. During the summer of 1892, she enhanced her studies with introductory courses in hydrotherapy and healthy cooking. Missionary Teacher Late in 1892 Hattie Andre was selected to sail with the “Pitcairn” as a missionary

Georgia Burrus Burgess (1866-1948) Georgia Burrus Burgess was the first Adventist missionary to India (including present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) and the first single-woman missionary of the Adventist church to a non-Christian country. She pioneered the work in Bengal, Punjab, the foothills of the Himalayas and Meghalaya. She learned several Indian languages and was foremost in urging other missionaries to learn local languages. Early years: Preparation for Mission Service (1866-1905) Georgia Anna Burrus was born July 19, 1866. Despite family opposition, she joined the Adventist church at age 16 and enrolled as a working student at Healdsburg College in California. She then taught in the Bible Training School in Oakland. While engaged as a Bible Worker she responded to a call by S. N. Haskell for women to work in zenanas in India. In 1893 the General Conference voted to send her to India. Georgia enrolled for the nursing course at St Helena and then a special class at Battle

The Impact of Women on the Mission of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church Once again, we will be posting the life stories of Adventist women of former times during March, Women’s History Month. This time we are concentrating on women who devoted their lives as missionaries. This year the church is celebrating 150 years of Adventist missions, and it is really interesting to see that women were among the first missionaries to enter many new countries. The articles this month will be taken from the Adventist Encyclopedia where you can continue reading about the women presented and find many more. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/ We also encourage you to do your own research about women who have made an impact in your countries so that we can lift up their devotion and life achievements in the future. We mustn't forget the women who have gone before us. The records of many of the pioneer missionary women have been hidden within the life stories of their husbands. Still, there we