By Hyon O'Brien

Oct. 8 this year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Mary Scranton (1832-1909). Even in Korea, many people may not know of her.

An American Methodist missionary, she came to Korea in 1885 as a 52-year- old widow accompanied by her son, William Scranton, who was a doctor. In 1886, on May 31, she started a school, Ewha Hakdang, with one student. Now that school is Ewha Womans University that as of this year has produced 170,000 graduates. Currently, 24,000 students are engaged in studying for higher education along with 51 international students from 18 countries.

What a remarkable transformation in 123 years! What an incredible harvest from one small seed!

When I think of Mrs. Scranton, I cannot help but think of the gospel John 12:24: ``I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

She certainly was a kernel of wheat who died and produced many, many seeds. I wonder what she'd say and feel if she came to see the fruits of her labor. The ship in which she came to Korea via Japan also brought other well-known missionaries who gave their lives for Korean education and Christian evangelism, the Appenzellers (Henry Appenzeller 1858-1902) and the Underwoods (Horace Underwood 1859-1916). I certainly count them as other kernels of wheat that produced great harvests.

According to statistics, the Methodist denomination that they helped to establish in Korea now has 5,692 churches with 1,508,434 members and 8,306 ministers. It has its own theological seminary as well as 54 middle and high schools, and six universities. All this from a handful of dedicated missionaries! Let's not ever say one cannot make a difference in the world.

For ages, Ewha had lost touch with any information of Scranton's descendants. However, by the help of a researcher named Ellen Swanson, two years ago they finally found her descendants, surprisingly, in England.

Evidently, Dr. William Scranton had only daughters and three out of the four married British diplomats and settled in England. Ms. Swanson, who used to be an ESL teacher in Seoul, received a book from one of her students: ``Korea 5,000 Years." She happened to notice the name Mary Scranton, and her curiosity was piqued because she is from a town in Connecticut that boasts a Scranton Memorial Library.

As it turned out, this Scranton was not related to Mary Scranton. Not giving up, Swanson's search over the Internet ultimately led her to a family tree that had been prepared by Sally Gale in the U.K. Swanson called Sally Gale and verified the fact that indeed she was the descendant of Mary Scranton. Swanson contacted Ewha to inform of this marvelous news. The upshot was that, this year, eight Scranton descendants traveled from Canada, France and England to participate in Ewha's memorial service and remembrance events to mark the 100th anniversary of Scranton's passing.

I was fortunate to be invited to be the interpreter for a small luncheon gathering hosted by Ewha Alumnae Association. It was touching, humbling and delightful all at the same time to spend many hours remembering Scranton's contribution to Korean society and the betterment of Korean women.

On Oct. 7, the Ewha auditorium was full to the brim with people from Sangdong, Ahyun and Dongdaemun church (all churches that Mrs. Scranton founded) as well as Ewha Girls High School and Ewha Womans University.

As the images of her work and life were put on the screen with narration, I could not hold back my tears. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for her life ― deeply thankful for God's grace of sending her to Korea. I know I am who I am because of her in a large measure. I have been one of many that were empowered as a woman by the education and Christian values she instilled in our school so long ago.

Besides Scranton, I can think of slews of other kernels of wheat: the other day we took a walk to Nodeul Island, which is nearby on the Han River. We walked on the sidewalk of the Hangang Bridge and circled the island arriving at a small park with a statue in the center. The statue had an explanation. In February 1966, there was a drill for a special flying unit of the Army. Lee Won-deung (1935-1966) was one of the group's members engaged in the training. After jumping from the aircraft, he noticed a fellow trainee's inability to open his parachute. He maneuvered himself to go near that unfortunate fellow and released the parachute for him. Sergeant Lee himself fell to the ground to an instant death not far from that island. What amazing courage and sacrifice for a fellow human being!

I think of Rev. Son Yang-won (1902-1950) whose two sons were killed by an angry young man during the Yeo-Sun Incident in 1948. He forgave Ahn Jae-sun, the killer, and adopted him as his own. Rev. Son demonstrated remarkable capacity to forgive and love, and his adopted son became a Christian minister and served out his life as God's servant.

I also think of Dr. Steve Linton (1950- ) as a living example of a kernel of wheat who is willing daily to die to help those in desperate need of his assistance. A fourth-generation descendant of an American missionary to Korea, Rev. Eugene Bell, he has spent the past 14 years dedicating his life to help North Korean tuberculosis patients. Tireless and selfless, he spends most of his life letting people know about the North Korean TB situation and drawing people to help his work, bringing hope to those lowly, poor, neglected people in North Korea.

I close with my deepest thanks and a sincere bow to these amazing people. Let us all think about how to die knowing we were alive as a helper to others.

Hyon O'Brien, a former reference librarian in the United States, has returned to Korea after 32 years of living abroad. She can be reached at hyonobrien@gmail.com.