“God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their throne and exalted those of humble estate...” ~ Luke 1: 51-52
Throughout history we have magnified and honored the works of men, even in religion. In today’s culture religion is getting very good at promoting themselves and the work of God among their different tribes, sects, and groups. This does not mean that every Christian that insists on promoting themselves and their ministry will not enter the Kingdom of God, but I am becoming convinced that those that work and live out their faith humbly, quietly and without fanfare or reputation will find themselves being first in the Kingdom of God.
The Apostle does remind us to give honor to others where honor is due but not about ourselves or our own ministries. So with that said, within this series called, “Quiet Heroes.” I choose in each segment to tell of those that most likely you will never hear anything about their work unless you dig deep to find it. These are men and women who did not have a mega-church, massive itineraries, or led a revolutionary ministry but were simple, quiet and most of all humble people who intentionally stayed out of the spotlight so that Christ may be sure to receive every speck of glory.
Our first Quiet Hero, is a woman named Jenny Adams, who was a missionary in Peru.
Jenny was from the United States and came to Peru as a Baptist missionary. She fell in love with a Peruvian captain of the army, who later died. Jenny stayed in Peru, resolved to serve God.
In those days the Independent Baptist church did not allow woman to travel alone since there was a war. They also required that women wear skirts and have long hair. Jenny did not obey any of these rules. One day she disappeared from Trujillo and hiked into a very remote village in the Andes. No missionary was ever there before, male or female. She began to teach the people in their homes and many people began to love her. She taught the men the Scriptures and then told them to preach to the people.
One day the people told her that many people in the village assumed she was a prostitute. Their Andean beliefs were such that any woman with pants and short hair was dishonest and a prostitute. When she found this out she began to wear skirts and grow her hair out for the sake of the gospel.
Over the years the ministry thrived and bore fruit. She walked everywhere or took a bus or train until someone gave her a car. One day she picked up some people that needed a ride and was later pulled over by the police at a check station. They searched her car and found that a bag of cocaine was hidden in a gas can that belonged to the people she just picked up. Jenny was hauled to jail for transporting cocaine.
Jenny took full responsibility for having drugs in her car, even though she had no idea they were there. She eventually shared the gospel with the guy who was hiding the drugs and he was saved. He became a pastor and Jenny discipled him from prison. I was told that she stayed in prison for eight years. One day in prison she broke her leg, and because of bad medical attention, she was badly crippled. After she was released from prison, she was unable to hike into all the villages she once ministered in. After 40 years in the field, Jenny died on January 17, 2005 at the age of 84.
The life of Jenny bore much fruit. Many of the Baptist pastors in Northern Peru have come from the fruit of her bold ministry. Jenny is almost unknown in the world, but she is famous in Heaven.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” ~ Philippians 2:3-7