A man stood at the front of a chapel, and he wept. Not for himself, but for children who had no one to tell them about Jesus.

A Childhood Between Two Languages

A young woman in the audience never forgot it. Mildred Droppa was the daughter of immigrant farmers from Czechoslovakia who had settled in upper New York State. She grew up mixing English with Czech — so much so that her teacher once told her, “You are mixing English with Czech, my dear!” That tangle of language would matter more than she could have guessed.

She trusted Christ at sixteen and, sensing God leading her into His service, enrolled at the Missionary Training Institute at Nyack, New York. It was there she first heard the chapel speaker, J. I. Overholtzer, whose burden for children moved her deeply. “I couldn’t get over seeing a man actually weep because of the needs of little children,” she said.

God calling

Her ministry first took her to Arizona, to work with the children of American Indians. Later she enrolled at Child Evangelism Fellowship’s training institute in Texas, and there she heard Mr. Overholtzer a second time. As he made his tearful appeal for workers, she sensed God calling her to the land of her parents. “It was as though an audible voice said to me, ‘I want you to go to Czechoslovakia.'”

She struggled with the call. She had planned to go back to those precious Indian children. Only when she said “Yes” did she have peace.

Arrival in the Land of Her Roots

The year was 1947. Europe had begun to rebuild after the war, and there was hope and anticipation. Her ship docked in France, and she travelled on by train to Prague. She was the first one off the train — and straight into the arms of relatives, showered with hugs and kisses “until tears came into my eyes.”

She had reached the land of her roots. The real work was only beginning.

*This story is taken from the book Harvest Comes in Spring by Ruth E. Turnwall, a former CEF worker.

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