British housemaid Gladys Aylward led 100 trembling orphans over a treacherous mountain range in 1940 to escape invading bombers.
The 4-foot-10 missionary was originally told she was not educated enough to serve overseas. She spent her life savings on a train ticket to China anyway, determined to help where she could. When Japanese forces invaded the region of Yangcheng, she found herself the only guardian for nearly 100 children left behind in the chaos.
Aylward gathered the children, some as young as four, and made a desperate decision. They would walk to the safety of Xi'an, a journey of over 100 miles across mountains, with no food supplies and active fighting terrifyingly close behind them.
For 12 days and nights, the group hiked through rough terrain. Aylward, suffering from internal injuries after being beaten by a soldier earlier in the conflict, carried the smallest babies on her back. The older children held hands with the younger ones, forming a human chain of survival.
They reached the banks of the Yellow River only to find all boat traffic had stopped due to the invasion. The children began to weep, realizing they were trapped between the water and the approaching enemy. Aylward gathered them to sing and pray, refusing to give up hope.
A Chinese patrol boat surprisingly emerged from the mist. The captain, moved by the sight of the lone foreign woman and her army of children, agreed to ferry them across to safety. They made it to the other side just before enemy scouts arrived.
Upon reaching Xi'an 27 days after they started, Aylward collapsed with typhus and pneumonia. She had successfully brought every single child to safety without losing one life. She recovered and continued her work in Taiwan until her death in 1970.
Sources: Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman, Christian History Institute archives
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