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Introduction

Otilia Peverini-Ampuero wrote in her autobiography:

I admire Florence [Nightingale], Teresa of Calcutta, and many others who fought courageously in favor of the suffering, in spite of the daunting environment in which they worked; but I’m excited and full of gratitude to God for the comprehensive work developed by women like Ana Stahl, Guillermina Kalbermatter, Jessie Haliwell, Iris Dalinger and others who served in South America. Their selfless lives full of love for the suffering inspire us.2

As Otilia Peverini-Ampuero expressed it in the preceding paragraph, the women mentioned served in a daunting environment. Their missionary effort was not an easy task. But this did not prevent the development of the gifts God bestowed on these women. By the Spirit these women were made strong and they advanced by faith. Already in 1878, Ellen G. White, writer and cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, described the work of these women in mission in this way:

Women of firm principle and decided character are needed, women who believe that we are indeed living in the last days, and that we have the last solemn message of warning to be given to the world. They should feel that they are engaged in an important work in spreading the rays of light which Heaven has shed upon them. Nothing will deter this class from their duty. Nothing will discourage them in the work. They have faith to work for time and for eternity. They fear God, and will not be diverted from the work by the temptation of lucrative situations and attractive prospects. The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is sacredly kept by them, because God has placed His sanctity upon it, and has bidden them to keep it holy. They will preserve their integrity at any cost to themselves…. These are the ones who will correctly represent our faith, whose words will be fitly spoken, like apples of gold in pictures of silver…. Sisters, God calls you to work in the harvest field and help gather in the sheaves.3

One of the initiatives of the first adventist missionaries who arrived in South America was to work diligently to provide an education that would equally qualify both males and females and prepare them in spreading the Christian Adventist message.

As the first missionaries displayed a lot of energy and the membership in South America grew so fast, in April 1901, only a decade after the arrival of the first missionaries, the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church organized the South American Union Mission (today South American Division), that included the Brazil Mission, Argentine Mission (consisting of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Chilean Mission (conformed by Chile, Perú, Bolivia and Ecuador).4 It is interesting to read the historical records of this “forgotten continent”, as Frank Westphal called it,5 as he reported that not only men participated in the adventure of spreading the gospel in South America, but also women.

Although women played an important role in the development of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, unfortunately the available story fell short or doesn’t fully record reality. There are few or short accounts of the efforts of the women at that time. This could indicate that the influence of the social and political ideas of the time affected, to some extent, the early church in South America. There were single women who started the work in different parts. Very little is said of the sacrifice of those women missionaries that accompanied their husbands to distant and unknown lands and whose turn was to educate, bring up and even lose their children. And while doing so, many times alone for long months because of the work of their husbands, with their commitment they supported and strengthened their husbands in their noble undertaking. They exerted a strong influence in the new groups of local believers, inspiring new enterprises and supplying the growing needs of an expanding church. However, they appear generally behind the figure of their husbands. Very few of them registered the efforts of their own spouses. It seems that women have not been considered in many of the denominational historical accounts. There have been few attempts to rescue this part of history, without which it is incomplete or mutilated.

This book aims to contribute to the rescue of the effort and commitment of several of these women. The biographies were developed on the basis of isolated accounts.

The first story is about Mary Thurston, wife of Frank Westphal. Together they formed the first pastoral couple in South America. They arrived in July of 1894. The next year, in 1895, Lucy Post arrived, she was the first single woman who volunteered to the General Conference of SDA as Bible Instructor for South America; and then, Sadie Graham, wife of Nelson Town. Lucy was one of the first to carry the Gospel and establish the first Sabbath School in Uruguay.6 Sadie Town cooperated with Mary Westphal in Buenos Aires and later Lucy Post joined them. They performed various tasks as: nurses, evangelists, Bible instructors, were in charge of different departments in conferences and unions, teachers and the list of services goes on. As a result of her work, Lucy’s niece, Luisa Post, accepted the Gospel in Uruguay, and was incorporated as a dedicated believer in the Adventist mission. Sadie, Mary and Lucy visited the Greene family. As a result, Lydia Greene accepted the Gospel and later married one of the Bible instructors, Ole Oppegard. Together they continued their lives as missionaries. Some time later, in 1903, while the evangelical endeavor extended towards the north of Argentina and Paraguay, several members of the Deggeller family were baptized in this country.

Particularly the stories of Elvira and Cecilia Deggeller will be remembered. By 1908, Sadie Town and her husband travelled to the United States and passed on their missionary enthusiasm to others. As a fruit of that trip several missionaries arrived in the continent, one of them was the nurse Meda Kerr. All these women were determined and tenacious, full of the Holy Spirit and of love for the Gospel. Some of them came to South America knowing they would not return to their homeland. They came to dedicate their lives to the evangelical mission. The missionary couples complemented each other in every respect and accordingly they carried out a valuable work with the definite and permanent help of the Most High.

It now remains to rewrite history adding the female contribution to God’s cause. Hanna Norheim said that “when women as a group are overlooked, they are also discredited and a notion is formed that they have not had a significant influence in the Christian church”.7 The idea is to enjoy remembering some of the “grandmothers, mothers and young ladies” of years gone by that gave themselves to spreading the Adventist message in South America. We hope that their stories will give courage to the efforts of women and inspire the rescue of bits and pieces of lost history.

2 Otilia Peverini de Ampuero, Delantales blancos [White Aprons] (n. p.: By the autor, n. d.), 80.

3 Ellen G. White, “Address and Appeal: Setting forth the Importance of Missionary Work”, Review and Herald 52, No. 25 (December 19, 1878): 1-2; White, Evangelism, 477-478.

4 Frank Westphal, Pioneering in the Neglected Continent (Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1927).

5 Ibid.

6 Robert G. Wearner, “Lucy Post: Pioneer Pillar in Adventist Missions”, Review and Herald 65, No. 20 (March 3, 1988): 19.

7 Hanna Norheim, “Mujeres al servicio de Cristo [Women at the Service of Christ]”, Diálogo 21, Nos. 2-3 (2009): 17.