| "IT
IS WELL WITH MY SOUL" |
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In November 1873, Anna Spafford and her four small daughters
set sail for Europe from America on the Ville du Havre.
In mid ocean, on a beautiful night, a sailing ship rammed the Havre
amidships and split her in two. Anna and her children
rushed on deck, but as they huddled together in the chaos, the
sea rushed over the afterdeck and fifteen minutes later the Ville
du Havre sank.
Of the hundreds on board, Anna was one of only 57 who
were rescued, kept afloat by a piece of debris.
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Anna Spafford |
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Back in Chicago, her husband, Horatio, had been planning
to join his family for a holiday in Europe.
Instead, he received a tragic cable from his wife:
"Saved Alone." |
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Setting off to bring her home, he crossed the Atlantic,
the watery grave of his four daughters, and he wrote a
hymn, "IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL", which expressed his
faith. The first verse is the only allusion to the
shipwreck. |
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"When
peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot,
thou hast taught me to say:
It is will, it is well, with my soul" |
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Later a son, Horatio, and a daughter, Bertha, were born
to them. When little Horatio died of scarlet fever
at the age of three, it was a crushing blow, as deeply
felt as the shipwreck. The Spaffords then decided
to go to Jerusalem. In a letter to a friend,
Horatio explained: "Jerusalem is where my Lord
lived, suffered and conquered, and I, too, wish to learn
how to live, suffer and, especially, to conquer."
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In September 1881, the Spaffords and a few friends
arrived in Jerusalem. The group, which came to be
known as the "American Colony," settled in a
house in the Old City (partially built into the medieval
city wall) and for many years, lived among and
worked for the people there. This house, now known
as Spafford Children's Center, is where the work of the
American Colony continues. |
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| Christmas
Eve 1925... |
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Bertha Spafford Vester |
On Christmas Eve 1925, Bertha Spafford Vester was hurrying
home to pick up her husband and children to go to Bethlehem to
sing carols, when she encountered a desperately ill woman being
helped by her husband and carrying a small baby. The man
explained that he had brought his sick wife to the hospital,
but found it closed to outpatients because of Christmas.
The six hour journey on donkey-back from their village had
exhausted the woman. Still she clutched her newborn
baby. Bertha was greatly moved by their need and
later said, "Here before me stood a rustic Madonna and babe,
and, similar to Mary's plight, there was no place for them to
stay." |
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She immediately took
action and the woman was admitted to the hospital, but by
morning, she died. The next morning, the husband came
with his baby and begged Bertha to keep the child. He
said, "If I take my baby boy to my cave home, he will
surely die." Bertha took the baby, named him Noel,
hired a nurse, and established them in the House on the
Wall. Thus the Spafford Baby Home was born. |
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| Heritage
of Service... |
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Today,
Spafford Children’s Center continues this heritage of
service.
We
care for more than 30,000 children each year.
Most of them are from poor families who face
additional stress from unsettled political conditions.
Spafford Children’s Center provides healthcare
for mothers and children, as well as educational and
child developmental support.
In
addition to the practical help we provide to our
patients, Spafford Children’s Center also sets an
important example of peace.
At
our Center the Palestinian staff of different religious,
cultural and social backgrounds work together, alongside
volunteers who come to the Center from Japan, the
USA, Germany and many other countries. We are
united by a shared desire to give needy children the
best possible start in life. |
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| Private
Non-Sectarian Outreach... |
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Spafford
Children’s Center is a private, non-sectarian outreach
… still managed by members of the same family, who
settled in Jerusalem more than a century ago. |
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Through
four changes of government … through wars and
upheavals … we have held fast to our commitment to the
children of greater Jerusalem.
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Peter
Lind and his mother, Anna Grace,
one of Bertha Spafford Vester's daughters. Anna
Grace was the Center's Director
for many years. |
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Georgette
Lind
Chairman of Spafford Children's Center Association |
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Thank
you for visiting Spafford Children's Center and
Spafford Children's Center Association |
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