mother that she wanted to receive Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The mother put her arm lovingly around the dear little girl and prayed with her while she accepted Christ as Saviour. Each day the -mother used to pray from 9 to 10:30. Henrietta, the young est of five children, was the only one permitted to go into the bedroom at this time. Then, Mrs. Mears would put her arm around Henrietta and pray for her. Inspired by her mother’s example, one day, Henrietta decided to pray. She took the alarm clock and went into her closet. She prayed about everything she knew, looked at the clock and found that a minute and a half had passed. She prayed again and looked. Another minute had passed! She w o n d e r e d how her mother could pray so long and de termined that she, too, would come to know God better. Nowadays, those who know her well say that she finds time in her busy life to pray by the simple expedient of getting up at four o’clock in the morning. Her dedicated life as a teacher, counselor, writer and editor is all the more amazing when one learns that Henrietta Mears has been plagued since childhood with extremely poor vision. When she was in the third grade, her mother wondered why her grades were so poor when she read all the time at home. Upon ques tioning, Henrietta admitted that she could not see what the teacher wrote on the blackboard. Her mother took her to a doctor and he said, “ If she does not stop school she will be blind by the time she is 30.” Henrietta decided she would rather be blind with a full mind than to have her eyesight and know nothing. She continued to attend school. She did not become blind though she does wear special glasses. Recently, her doctor told her, “ If I were your phy sician I would tell you never to read another line, but I am not your phy sician, you are in the hands of the Great Physician. And so she lives, a witness wher ever she goes, because she is an ex ample of all that she teaches. She is an illustration of what God can do with a woman who is willing to rely unreservedly on Psalm 37:5: “ Com mit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall brine: it to pass.” END.
conference grounds that youth built. That first year many of the staff worked for the honor of working. Mrs. Bob Mitchell used to work there during the week then go into Holly wood and usher at the Hollywood Bowl to support herself. David Cowie had saved money for a trip to Europe and it went into the conference grounds. A roster of those who found the Lord or came closer to Him at Forest Home reads like a who’s who in Christendom. It was there Colleen Townsend saw that being a good girl wasn’t enough to take her to heaven. Even though she was a motion picture starlet, she was a sinner and needed Christ. She re ceived Him as Saviour and went on to give her life to the Lord, leaving the motion pictures and becoming the wife of Louis Evans, Jr., student min ister. Others who have been blessed are Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, Tim Spencer, (formerly with the Sons of the Pioneers and now heading the Hollywood Christian Group, which seeks to win those in the motion pictures to the Lord), Stuart Hamblen, (former radio star) and Redd Harper, star of “ Oiltown, USA.” Henrietta Mears is a witness wher ever she goes, as those who work with her testify. Richard Halverson was led to the Lord by David Cowie, then he went to seminary and upon graduation became assistant to Dr. Cowie in Kansas City. Later, Hal verson was called to be one of the assistant ministers at Hollywood First Presbyterian. He says, “Miss Mears has been a blessing in my life in many ways. But one of the special ways is that, in watching her deal with others, I saw how to do per sonal work. She is a master hand at reaching young people for Christ.” She can teach with assurance be cause for many years, she has sought to do the will of God. She was bom in a devout Christian home. Her father was admitted to the bar on his 21st birthday and later became presi dent of a number of banks in North and South Dakota. Her grandfather, W. W. Everts, founded the first Bap tist churches in New York and Chi cago, and was one of the founders of the University of Chicago. When she was seven years old, at Easter season, she felt the solemnity and joy of the coming day and told her
Miss Mears and those interested waited a year and then the owner lowered the price. The first year Forest Home, Inc., was opened four to six conferences were held. In the evenings, by artificial light, mem bers of the college department en larged the swimming pool. It is a
the Baptist missionary to the Pres byterians. Left is author Haskin.
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