Greenville University issued the following announcement on Jan. 13
“At that moment, I decided that when I grew up, that’s what I would do. I would help the sick, the blind and the hungry. I was 10 years old when I made my career choice and I never looked back.”
In her new book, Love Found a Way – The Journey of a Nurse in China (Light + Life Publishing, 2021) Ruth (Smith ’62) Winslow recalls the moment when she realized her life calling to be a nurse–a moment long before she attended Greenville College for a nursing degree and long before she felt God’s specific call to serve in China and Taiwan.
In the book, Ruth weaves experiences and lessons learned early as a child of missionaries in China and India where she clearly sees God preparing her for roles and challenges later in life as she served in China and Taiwan. Ruth tells stories of how her interest in biology likely began when skinning cobras in India as a young girl, and her desire to help others started when she developed a friendship with a blind boy living in poverty in China.
She even points to experiences of her children in Taiwan that she saw as preparing them for their life’s work: “Glenn would climb trees to observe the outdoor [medical] clinic from overhead – an initiation into the medical career that would develop in his adulthood.
Hands of Hope
Ruth’s work in China and Taiwan from 1963 to 2008 included training other nurses, holding maternal child health clinics, raising funds for a mobile eye unit, and using that unit to reach and help patients with vision ailments.
She also worked with those suffering from leprosy and the stigma of leprosy. Part of the fight against the stigma of leprosy included not only educating leaders and the public, but working with those who were cured. Because of the stigma, many who had leprosy, even the children of leprosy patients, were unable to find jobs or were even permitted to return to their families, so Ruth helped start a sewing class for women. Through that, not only did the classes teach the women how to sew and find jobs, but it also empowered women and gave them hope. That sewing class eventually turned into a company, Hands of Hope, with a focus on empowering women that society had forgotten or rejected.
“Sometimes I like to try to measure the success of what our ministries accomplished over the years,” Ruth says on page 132 in her book. “But when I find myself thinking along those lines, I’m reminded that it isn’t really a matter of the projects we undertook, whether they were “successful” in the eyes of the world, or even of the statistics of how many sick or injured people we have seen and treated. In God’s eyes, I’m convinced, the only thing that matters is that He has touched people’s lives in love. I’m just honored that He has seen fit to use Harry and me.”
Writing 101
Ruth always knew she would write a book because it essentially wrote itself through letters to and from her parents and through her own frequent journaling. She credits Professor Elva McAllaster’s creative writing course at Greenville College for a foundation in writing. She also credits GC for being the avenue that God used to bring her and her husband Harry ’60 together.
Love Found a Way details Ruth’s time serving cross-culturally for 45 years. She says she hopes that her readers find it educational and are inspired by the stories of the “overcomers” she met through the years. She adds that the book also serves as a thank you to everyone for their faithful support through finances and prayers throughout the years. She also hopes her story challenges young people to follow God in missions or in any vocations of service to people.
“It’s my life story, but I don’t want me to shine through,” Ruth points out. “I am so humbled that God allowed me the privilege of bringing to my readers the story of God’s love.”
She advises current GU students to “live close to the Lord and do what He wants day by day.”
Ruth and Harry are retired and live in Greenville, Illinois, but travel back to China when they can. Ruth says the GU connection is strong in their family as their four children—Glenn, Mark, Rodney, and Keith—are all GU graduates. Ruth and Harry enjoy spending time with their children and 16 grandchildren.
The Winslow children have established the Harry and Ruth Winslow Endowed Scholarship at Greenville University. The fund is for the children of missionaries who attend GU or GU student planning to pursue work in the mission field. For more information, contact GU’s Office of Advancement at 618-664-6503.
Original source can be found here.
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