A tale of two sisters:
Emma and Della Olson
Emma (left) and Della Olson … served more than 70 years
between them in Singapore, Malaya and Indonesia. -
Pictures courtesy of Maxine Olson, niece of Emma and Della Olson.
IN
DECIDING to serve the Lord overseas, some 6,000 miles away from
her native Wisconsin, Emma Olson had a hard battle, shedding many
tears in solitude, until she gained enough strength "to leave
father, mother, sisters and other dear ones who were bound to
her heart with strong ties … [and] felt the call directly
from the Lord of the harvest … and without seeking advice
from her own family, she was willing to immediately obey her Master's
call".
Arriving in Singapore in 1911, she had plenty to do at Anglo-Chinese
School with an enrolment of 1,800 boys [who] "are as good
and attentive as they can be and seem to soak in every word …
I consider it a priceless privilege God is using me in my work
… "
Just about to start her second term of service in 1916, she had
the unenviable experience of being shipwrecked when the steamer,
which was on its way to Singapore, ran into rocks 20 miles out
of Hongkong. Providentially, all hands were safely rescued.
In Singapore, she rejoined ACS and was appointed supervisor of
the Serangoon English School branch. She also spent three months
in China to learn the Chinese dialects which she used in women's
work among the Cantonese and Hakka church members.
In 1924, she was posted to Sumatra where she took charge of Methodist
Girls' School in Medan and set up a girls' hostel until 1927 when
she was forced to leave to take care of her sick mother.
Rejoining the Mission in 1933, she was posted to Kuala Lumpur
where she did work with the Cantonese and Hakka Church and women's
work. In 1936, she was transferred to Seremban as Principal of
Methodist Girls' Boarding School as well as to do evangelistic
work among the local people.
Under doctor's orders, she returned to America in 1939 and remained
there until 1940 when she returned to Singapore as Principal of
Nind Home and the Malaya Methodist Theological College, positions
she faithfully fulfilled until January 1942 when she was evacuated
a fortnight prior to the fall of Singapore.
Her sister, Della, began her missionary service in 1918, and was
appointed to supervise the primary classes at Methodist Girls'
School, then meeting in Short Street, as well as to do Hinghua,
Cantonese and Tamil work. At the beginning of her second term
of service in 1924, she was assigned to work in Malacca with the
Straits Chinese Church and the (Methodist) Suydam Girls' School
where she taught the Cambridge classes.
In the following year, she was appointed Principal, a position
she held until 1935 when, after her furlough, she was assigned
to Taiping as Principal of the Lady Treacher Girls' School as
well as to work with the Tamil women. Now known as Treacher Methodist
Girls' School, it had been started as a government girls' school
in 1889, probably the oldest in Malaysia. It was transferred to
the Methodist Mission in May 1899, after negotiations with Bishop
Thoburn.
During her service in Taiping, Della worked hard to establish
educational standards for the school whose reputation attracted
many pupils of various communities from around the district.
One important contribution was a new and proper building for the
school which then cost over $85,000 - of which more than $50,000
was raised by pledges, concerts, sales of handwork and what the
old building fetched. The effort put in by teachers and pupils
was quite extraordinary and indicated the kind of spirit which
attracted the public.
Completed at the end of November 1941, near the outbreak of the
Pacific War, the new building was commandeered by the British
army and later occupied by the Japanese. The school was thus deprived
of its use until after the war when many girls were unable to
continue with their education. Her other building came after the
war when a girls' hostel was opened in April 1952, after she completed
her service as a Methodist missionary.
But Della was remembered by her pupils as a "legend in Taiping"
because of her single-minded devotion to the school, and whose
ministry made a difference to the lives of the girls who studied
under her administration.
Earnest Lau, the Associate Editor of Methodist Message, is also the Archivist of The Methodist Church in Singapore.