Early Life
Aylward was born of a working-class family in Edmonton, London in 1902. Her parents were Thomas John Aylward and Rodina Florence Aylward (nee Whiskin). Her siblings were Laurence, and Violet. Although she became a domestic worker (housemaid) at an early age, she always had an ambition to go overseas as a missionary, and studied with great determination in order to be fitted for the role, only to be turned down because her academic background was inadequate and the China Inland Mission to which she applied was convinced that it was not possible to learn the language at her age.
Her determination was such that, in 1932, she spent her life savings on a passage to Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, China. The perilous trip took her across Siberia.
Read more about this topic: Gladys Aylward
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and organize.”
—Albert Gore, Jr. (b. 1948)
“For my part, I would rather look toward Rutland than Jerusalem. Rutland,—modern town,—land of ruts,—trivial and worn,—not too sacred,—with no holy sepulchre, but profane green fields and dusty roads, and opportunity to live as holy a life as you can, where the sacredness, if there is any, is all in yourself and not in the place.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)