Lillian Trasher

Lillian Hunt Trasher
Born	27 September 1887 Florida, U.S.A.
Died	17 December 1961 Asyut, Egypt

Introduction

Lillian Hunt Trasher (27 September 1887–17 December 1961) was a Christian missionary to Asyut, Egypt, as well as the founder of the first orphanage in Egypt. She is famed as the “Nile Mother” of Egypt.

Early Life

Trasher was born in Florida, and grew up in Georgia. She followed Roman Catholicism as a young girl. In her teens, through Bible reading and Bible studies at a friend's house, she chose to make a personal commitment of her life to Jesus Christ.

While still in her late teens, Trasher attended Bible college for one term, and then worked at an orphanage in North Carolina. She received the infilling of the Holy Spirit at a second Bible school in South Carolina, and pastored a Pentecostal church. For a brief period, she travelled with an evangelist, but later returned to work again at the orphanage.

Trasher was only ten days away from her wedding date when she broke her engagement to Tom Jordan. She felt called to Africa, he didn't, and in that same year of 1910 she defied her family's wishes and sailed to Africa with less than 100 dollars in her pocket. Her sister Jennie accompanied her, and was a valuable companion through decades of work overseas.

Arrival in Egypt and starting the orphanage

Arriving in Asyut, Egypt (some 230 miles south of Cairo) after a period of a few months, a man came to the mission house where Trasher was residing, and told everyone that there was a dying woman nearby that needed to be seen. Lillian and an older woman whose name was Sela went to see the woman. Shortly after the company arrived the woman died. An elderly woman was holding a malnourished baby, clinging to life. When the elderly woman spoke in arabic, the translator told miss Trasher that the old woman was planning to cast the baby into the great river Nile after they left. At the thought of this Lillian Trasher could not leave this baby with her grandmother. Lillian named the baby girl Fareida and thus began an orphanage. By the turn of 1918 her orphanage family had grown to fifty children and eight widows. When she returned to the States for a brief time in 1919 and saw the financial and prayer support to be found in the Assemblies of God, Trasher joined the very missions-minded new organization.

Lillian Trasher worked 50 years, from 1911 to 1961, without a furlough.

Death and Legacy

By the time of her death in 1961, the Lillian Trasher Orphanage had grown to some 1200 children. Today, the institution is entirely the responsibility of the Assemblies of God of Egypt, with 85% of its daily needs being met by donations from the Presbyterian churches of Egypt, the Soul Salvation Society, and other Egyptian church bodies.

"Mama" Lillian lies buried on her orphanage's cemetery. In accordance with Egyptian law she was buried the same day that she died.

Veneration

Trasher is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on December 19.

References

• Beatty, Jerome. "Nile Mother." American Magazine (June 1939): 55-56, 180.
• Brock, Raymond T. "Mama Lillian and Her Children," Pentecostal Evangel, 11 Feb. 1962, 16
• Christian History Institute (2002). "March 27, 1919 • British Compelled "Mother of the Nile" to Leave Egypt". Retrieved Apr. 10, 2005.
• Conn, Charles W. Like A Mighty Army: A History of the Church of God, 1886-1976. Cleveland, TN: Pathway Press, 1977. pp. 146,181, 268, 285, 322.
• Crouch, Philip. "Why They Called Her the Greatest Woman in Egypt." Assemblies of God Heritage 4:4 (Winter 1984-85): 7-8.
• Hassan, Fayza (2000). "Liberty Blues". Retrieved Apr. 10, 2005.
• Howell, Beth Prim. Lady on a Donkey. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1960.
• McGee, Gary B. "Trasher, Lillian Hunt." In Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Gerald H. Anderson, ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1998. pp. 677–678.
• Shemeth, S. "Trasher, Lillian Hunt." In Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, ed. by Stanley M. Burgess, Gary B. McGee, and Patrick H. Alexander. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988. pp. 852–853.
• Shemeth, S. "Trasher, Lillian Hunt." In New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. Stanley M. Burgess and Eduard M. van der Maas, eds. Rev. and expanded ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. p. 1153.
• Sumrall, Lester F. Lillian Trasher, the Nile Mother. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1951.
• Trasher, Lillian Hunt. Letters from Lillian. Springfield, MO: Division of Foreign Missions, 1983.

External links

• Lillian Trasher Orphanage