The March 2022 issue of “Svētdienas Rīts” published an article by theology doctoral candidate and evangelist Kristīna Ēce about the as-yet-unstudied missionary experience of Lilija Otīlija Grīviņa (1883-1944) in China.
Grīviņa, despite the opposition of her relatives, followed her calling, became a missionary, and actively served in China from 1913 to 1924. She worked at a school for blind girls and evangelized to families. As one of the few women missionaries at that time, she had an advantage in missionary work, because it gave her the opportunity to speak privately with women and couples, whereas, due to the particularities of Chinese culture, male missionaries could convey the message of the Gospel only to other men.
As Ēce writes, “Grīviņa has a significant role in the history of Latvian mission, because she was able to overcome obstacles and respond to the sensed call of God. She was one of the few who dared.”
Speaking about her calling to ministry, Grīviņa herself wrote in her diary: “In truth it was not my own desire, but the prompting of God’s Spirit within me. I myself still had doubts. When, shortly afterwards, I read the book ‘The Martyrs of China’, it became very clear to me that I had to go to China. I felt very happy about this task from the Lord, but in my heart there was a feeling: If the Lord were to ask you to give up your life in a martyr’s death, then out of fear and shame you would deny the Lord. A struggle arose within me that lasted three days, until the Lord gave me the assurance that He would give me strength if He asked it of me. I laid my poor life on the Lord’s altar and said: ‘Lord, if you can use me in China, here I am, send me!'”
The full text of the publication can be read in the March issue of “Svētdienas Rīts”. A more extensive account of Kristīna Ēce’s research will be published in the upcoming issue of “Ceļš”, the journal of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Latvia.