Born into a devout family at the Southern Methodist Church in Texas, USA, Ruby Kendrick was filled with a passion for evangelizing to non-believers from the time she was a young girl with many dreams. She decided to become an overseas missionary and entered Texas Girls’ High School Bible School. After graduating in June 1905, she met the age limit for sending missionaries, so she diligently prepared for overseas missionary work by working as a teacher for one year and taking a college undergraduate course for one year. During this period, she became the representative of the Texas Epworth League (a Methodist youth organization founded in the United States in 1889. ‘Epworth’ is named after John Wesley’s hometown), and in September 1907, she joined the Southern Methodist Church. She then made her way to Joseon after receiving a dispatch from the Women’s Foreign Mission.

Whilst the Epworth Youth Conference was being held in Texas, a letter from her filled with extraordinary love for Joseon arrived. It said, “If I had a thousand lives, I would give them all to Joseon.” That letter touched the hearts of countless people there. However, the day after the Epworth Youth Conference, bad news suddenly arrived from Joseon. It contained the shocking news that Ruby Kendrick had passed away. She had undergone appendicitis surgery on June 9, 1908, and passed away ten days later on the 19th. She received the Lord’s calling at the tender age of 25, without even realizing her dream of doing missionary work in Joseon.

But her death was not in vain. Just before she passed away, she left these words to those around her. “When I die, please tell the Texas youth to come to Joseon in groups of ten, twenty, or fifty.” Her words were delivered to the Texas Epworth Youth Conference and ignited a missionary spark in the hearts of many young people who attended. About 20 of them rushed to Joseon, a country of seclusion. And the Texas Epworth Youth Association collected donations every year to support the stipend of missionaries working in Joseon.

The revival of the Korean church, which the world is paying attention to today, is not a coincidence. It was built on the foundation of the dedication and martyrdom of our predecessors in faith. The following is the content of the letter she sent to her parents.

“Father, mother… the repression is getting worse. The day before yesterday, three or four people who had accepted Jesus less than a week were taken away and martyred, and missionaries Thomas and James were also martyred. There was an order from the mission headquarters to withdraw, but most missionaries are still hiding and worshiping with the Koreans they evangelized. It seems like they are all planning to become martyrs.

Tonight, especially, I want to go back to my hometown. My mother’s face keeps flashing in my eyes as she tried to stop me at the dock because of the rumor that the people in Joseon were killing foreigners and hating Christianity. Father, mother! Maybe this letter may be my last.

The one seed I planted in the backyard before I came here will now fill the whole neighborhood with flowers next year, right? And it will create another seed, right? I decided to become a little seed here. When I become a seed and am buried in this land, perhaps when God’s time comes, many flowers will bloom in Joseon and they will also become seeds in many countries. I will bury my heart in this land. I immediately realized that this was not my passion for Joseon, but God’s passion for Joseon.”