The Early Years

Orlena was born Jan. 15, 1922, in Sparta, Ill., the daughter of Thomas Lynn and Marguer-ite McMurtry. When Thomas married Marguerite, he was the only one left at home; so the care of the family farm fell to him. Orlena was the oldest of two girls and would have been named William if she had been a boy, since Will Robb (missionary to China) was home on furlough at the time. It was through Robb that Orlena’s father was brought to a living faith in Christ. Since a girl was born, she was named after Robb’s wife, Orlena.

When Orlena was two, her grandfather died. The farm, being the only inheritance for the brothers, was sold and the Lynn family moved into the town of Sparta. On moving day, little Orlena drank a bottle of lye, and her family had to drive her over 50 miles to St. Louis for treatment—more than a two-hour trip back in 1924. Her parents were given very little hope that she would make it through the night. Apparently God knew more than the doctors.

The family then moved to Gary, Ind., where Orlena’s father started working at U.S. Steel. During her formative years, she fondly remembers family worship of psalm singing and Bible reading both morning and evening, along with praying for Chinese missionaries by name. There being no RP church in Gary, the family traveled to Chicago for not only weekly worship but also the midweek prayer service. This was a 1-hour round trip, and it taught Orlena that these church activities were very important to her parents.

At the 1934 Winona Lake National Conference, as a 12 year old, she clearly remembers hearing of Sam Boyle’s appointment as a new missionary to China.

Orlena led a very active lifestyle during her high school and college years, including cycling (with her dog in a basket), golf, and tennis. She went on to Gary College for two years (IU Northwest) and then graduated from IU with a degree in mathematics and high school math. Afterwards, she worked at the Federal Reserve doing research in industrial statistics, but the Lord always kept China before her.

Kentucky Is Not China

Because of her interaction with so many people in the Reformed Presbyterian denomination, Orlena’s interest in China was well known. It must have come as a surprise when the Home Mission Board asked her to go to Kentucky of all places, even though she hadn’t applied for this work. Her first response was no, but as she prayed she said, “Oh, how can I say no, I am not my own. So, if that’s where He wants me to be, that’s where I must go.” She headed to Kentucky in a Model A Ford named Susie. Orlena and her three companions (Miss Houston, Miss McCracken, and Miss Adams) taught 92 one-hour Bible classes each week. It wasn’t long before she realized, however, that God indeed wanted her to go to China.

Preparation in New York

Following the end of World War II, in June 1946, China began to open once again to missionaries. Orlena was appointed by the Board of Foreign Missions as a missionary to China. The Chinese language school had not yet opened, so Orlena was sent to New York to study Chinese at the Berlitz Language School.

While studying there, she also attended The Biblical Seminary in New York and earned a master’s degree in religious education, a common course of study. During this time, she became acquainted with Gwen Wong, and from her learned the Cantonese dialect, which was used where the missionaries were working.

Interestingly, Gwen paid her way through college as a professional softball pitcher. Born in the U.S., she had never been to China but spoke flawless Cantonese, because her grandparents spoke no English. Gwen’s contract stipulated that she would not play on the Lord’s Day, and she attended worship in the summer with the Lynn family in Chicago. Orlena graduated from the seminary in 1948.

Off to China!

She now headed to San Francisco, but a labor strike at the docks delayed her departure for three months during which the Communists took over China. The mission board cancelled passage for Orlena and others. Meanwhile, Sam Boyle, in addition to his mission work, was acting as treasurer in China. His primary work was to prepare the church for the coming Communist takeover, but most of his time was consumed in dealing with economic struggles due to the political unrest. Inflation made converting American dollars to Chinese currency a full-time job. Sam needed help. Orlena’s background in math and statistics, combined with her language skills, made her the perfect fit to relieve Sam of this crucial financial work. In March 1949 she arrived in China and lived with the Boyles in Canton. Orlena spent much of her time in currency conversion to get the needed funds to those leading mission efforts at orphanages, prison ministries, and boys’ and girls’ schools in Communist-controlled areas. To get the funds to the workers, Orlena would sew the money into the hems of garments to be safely transported.

The American Consulate warned all Westerners to leave China with the approach of the Communists. With a baby due soon, the Boyle family decided to leave for Hong Kong. The riverboat on which they traveled was attacked, and the Boyles laid on the floor with furniture piled up around them to provide protection from bullets coming through the windows. The next day, Christine (now Christine Welsh of Covenant Fellowship RPC in Wilkinsburg, Pa.) was born.

By midsummer 1950, it was clear that it would be impossible to return to China, so the Boyles and several other missionaries headed to Japan to start a new outreach. Orlena stayed behind in Hong Kong until it was impossible to support the missions in China any longer. This was a great time of persecution, and many died for their faith in Christ.

Japan?

In January 1951, the Board of Foreign Missions advised Orlena to join the mission in Japan. Orlena’s mother and others supposed that she was going to Japan when she left Hong Kong. This was not what she was thinking. “Japan? I’d have to learn Japanese. I’d spent all those hours learning to read, write, and speak Chinese. Why waste that? It didn’t seem very practical to me. I’ll just wait until we can go back into China.”

It was very difficult to get passage back to America at this point. When her ship came in January, the first stop was in Manila. Orlena stayed with one of the Chinese missionaries who was there. She said it didn’t seem possible that Orlena would return to America. The next stop on the way home was Kobe, Japan. God could still keep Orlena there! She got down on her knees in her cabin and turned it all over to the Lord. “If this is where you want me, Lord, then this is where I will be.”

She had a three-day shore pass in Kobe, and as soon as she stepped off the ship, she knew she was to stay in Japan. A flurry of activity followed. She got approval from General MacAthur’s office to stay. That stay lasted 40 years!

No one knew how things would proceed in Japan, as the Korean War was now in progress. It was Sam’s idea to start a Christian bookstore to get the Word out. They didn’t speak Japanese, so at the beginning they simply gave out tracts on trains and in shopping areas. When Orlena went to get her driver’s license, her interpreter was a Mr. Masunaga who had previously received a tract from her and asked several questions about Christianity. He joined them for worship the following Sabbath. An English Bible class soon followed, and many Japanese came and studied. Mr. Masunaga went on to become the church’s first pastor!

Another interesting story was of a woman and her mother who came to Christ. Because of their newfound faith, the daughter decided that she must rid their home of a Buddhist idol. Since it was very costly, she shared with Orlena her desire to sell this idol, thinking that Orlena would be pleased. Orlena said, “If you sell the idol, you will be placing it in the hands of someone else.” Orlena spent the entire night on her knees in prayer for this woman. The next morning, she told Orlena she was going to destroy it and asked for her help.

At this time, less than 1 percent of the Japanese were Christians, and many Christian pastors had lost their libraries in the bombings during World War II. Orlena made many trips to seminaries to sell books at discounted prices to pastors and seminary students. In all the years Orlena was in Japan, the mission never received a cent of mission funds from the United States but did receive voluntary contributions. Orlena recalls a little boy in Kansas who gave his first salary from a new newspaper route to the bookstore in Japan. It was this kind of generosity and the prayers of the people that kept it going. And it is still going. When some denominational support was scheduled to end recently, threatening the closure of the bookstore, the Japanese congregations rallied to raise support and save it.

Orlena remained in Japan until May 1990 when she returned to the United States for a 1-year furlough to end her missionary days. In January 1992 she married Sam Boyle whom she had known all her life. She was just a few days shy of 70, and Sam was 87. That spring they traveled together—to Japan. In March 2000 they moved to the Reformed Presbyterian Home, where they were together until Sam went home to be with the Lord in September 2002.

We Are Not Our Own

Orlena reflected upon her life at the celebration of her 89th birthday on January 16, at the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North Hills in Pittsburgh, Pa. Orlena whimsically noted, “In Japan I climbed Mt. Fuji and Mt. Asoto. Now all I do is sit around at the Reformed Presbyterian Home, reading books and taking naps!”

At the conclusion of her talk, she specifically addressed the young people present by saying, “We are not our own; God has created us. Through Christ He has redeemed us; we are bought with a price. We are not our own; we are His. Whatever God wants you to be, no matter what the circumstances, that will be the happiest place in all the world for you. Even through all the river pirates and drownings and things, I had perfect peace in my heart. My life was in God’s hands. He will care for you; He will guide you and direct you. ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass’ (Ps. 37:5).”

—By Mark & Sharon Sampson who are members of the North Hills (Pittsburgh, Pa.) RPC and both work at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Mark is director of development and Sharon works part-time as bookstore manager and with the assessments program.