Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime (Christian Heroes: Then and Now)

This is a great series that can be enjoyed by young children and adults. I used them as part of the training for a short term missions campaign. Each of the fourteen team members read a different biography in this series and then reported to the rest of the team. It was reminder that the training topics we were learning were relevant and lived out by the faithful and fruitful missionaries introduced by this series of biographies. For many of the team this was their first introduction to reading Christian biography and they loved it!Positives of this series:1) Great introductory overviews of the lives and ministries of the individuals.2) Basic reading level for an increasingly illiterate culture3) Short enough to be read quickly in a culture with an increasingly short attention span4) Available in Kindle and audio book for the technologically inclined5) Well written and holds your attention without being exaggerated and exploitative6) Chapters are short and can easily be read to children at bedtime or by adults on lunch breaksNegatives of this series:1) Due to their brevity and target audience the series does not deal with the more negative aspects of an individual's struggles with sin and the weaknesses in their personality as sinners saved by grace.2) Does not come across as hagiography (so idealizing the person that it borders on idolatry) but these introductions are not the place to get the full picture of these godly but imperfect champions for God. Instead they are great springboards to more extensive biographies that deal with the fuller picture of these heroic but very human Christ followers.

This biography of Gladys Aylward takes as resources all of the other biographies. It is written at a level so that children 9 and up can enjoy and benefit from. Gladys' life shows how God can do great things through a submitted and willing servant. Gladys started life as a servant for wealthy families, but God had other plans for her. While at a revival meeting, she became convinced that he was leading her to China. Even though she knew no Chinese, had no contacts in China and flunked out of China mission school, Gladys saved up her money and bought a one-way ticket to China. The adventures and close escapes she had keep you glued to the pages, all the while glorifying God and all that He did for the Chinese people through His humble servant. Well recommended for home-schools.

Easy read and a wonderful story of complete faith in God to achieve what she did!

This woman accomplished so much. She is a shining example of never letting others tell you what your calling is.

This is an amazing adventure story! I think it would be a bit too scary for younger children, but for teenagers and up, it will encourage everyone to remain faithful to Jesus under even the most difficult circumstances. The Benges do a wonderful job in describing the joys and challenges of a life completely surrendered to Jesus.

We just finished listening to Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime. We had previously read George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans in the same series so we new it would be good. What I didn't expect was the impact it would have on my children age 7, 5, and 4. We have had the most amazing discussions and we were all very sad (some tears were even shed) as we listened to the final chapter. These books/CD's are a great way to talk about difficult subjects from a biblical world view. They have helped to create some amazingly beautiful family moments in our home and in our car. Now for the hard part, picking which one to read or listen to next!

I had seen the 1950's movie "Inn of the Sixth Happiness" and was curious to know how much of it was accurate so I got this book. What an amazing life Gladys had! The hardship she endured to do what she felt called to do which included getting over 100 Chinese orphans out of China when the Japanese invaded. It's an easy read and very inspiring. The only liberty the movie took was the love interest which didn't exist. I recommend this book to anyone.

very exiting, interesting, inspiring and goodthe life of a young woman who obeyed God's call to serve him in a foreign country.Gladyss faith continues inspiring thousands of christians all over the world to love and obey GodThanks authors, this is a very inspiring book

This is an amazing true Life testimony of Gladys Aylward. It is well-written, making it easy to read. If you are thinking of buying this book, I definitely recommend it as you read about the incredible Journey that God took Gladys on. This book is suited to people of all reading abilities who enjoy either reading about adventure or faith stories.

This series of biographies is wonderful for the whole family. We enjoy them as adults and our son loves them too. Great for read out loud too. They deal with the facts but in a family friendly way that we are grateful and confident as we introduce these great people in our home.

I was gripped from start to finish. This is an incredible account of the dedicated life work of Gladys Aylward

Good and fast service, thanks

Very good missionary book to read. Thought provoking book.