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Lillian Hunt Trasher (27 September 1887 – 17 December 1961) was an American Christian missionary to
Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut''. ( ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city i ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, as well as the founder of the first orphanage in Egypt. She is famed as the "Nile Mother" of Egypt.CBE International website, ''Nile Mother: The Story of Lillian Trasher'', article by Lucinda Yang, published in Mutuality magazine, Spring 2020
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Early life

Trasher was born in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
. Her mother was a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
, but became a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and Lillian was raised as a Catholic in
Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...
. According to one account, her Quaker family had moved to the South after the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Trasher came to the Holiness-Pentecostal faith through Miss Mattie Perry, an independent Holiness evangelist and activist. While still in her late teens, Trasher attended Bible college for one term, and then worked at Miss Perry's Faith Orphanage in
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
in 1908–1910, after she failed to get a reporting job that she wanted. After becoming engaged to marry minister Tom Jordan, Trasher heard a missionary from India speak. Deciding that her mission lay in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, she broke off the engagement ten days before the wedding after her prospective husband failed to share her call. Trasher also taught at a second Bible school in
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, pastored a
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
church, and briefly travelled with an evangelist, but later returned to work again at the orphanage. In 1910 after meeting Pastor Brelsford (or Perlsford) of Assiout, Egypt at a missionary conference, Trasher decided to defy her family's wishes and leave for that country. Inspired as well by opening a bible to Acts 7:34, which referred to Egypt, Lilian and her sister Jennie sailed to Africa with less than 100 dollars in their pockets.Times Education Supplement website, ''Lillian Trasher''
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Arrival in Egypt and starting the orphanage

Arriving in Assiout, (some 230 miles south of
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
), she soon met a man who came to the mission house seeking someone to attend to a dying woman nearby. Lillian and an older woman named Sela went to see the woman, who died shortly after they arrived, but left them her malnourished baby girl, clinging to life. When they arrived, their
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
translator told Miss Trasher that the old woman then holding the baby (its grandmother) planned to throw it into the great river
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
. At the thought of this Lillian Trasher could not leave the baby, whom she named Fareida. Thus she defied her then-mission organization and began an orphanage. By the turn of 1918 her
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
family had grown to fifty children and eight widows. When Trasher returned to the States briefly in 1919 (Britain expelled foreigners during civil unrest) and saw the financial and prayer support to be found in the
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
, Trasher joined the missions-oriented movement. Upon returning to Egypt, she expanded her mission to include widows and the blind. Lillian Trasher worked 50 years among Egypt's orphans and other forgotten people, from 1911 to 1961, without a furlough, including through the Nazi occupation during World War II.


Death and legacy

By the time she died 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 Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
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. The orphanage she founded still helps people to this day. The Episcopal Church recognizes the date of her death as a feast.


Publications

* ''The Orphans of the Nile''GoodReads website, ''The Orphans of the Nile''
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References


Bibliography

* 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)
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)

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 '' The 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 OrphanageThe Nile Mother (documentary film, circa 1955)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trasher, Lillian 1887 births 1961 deaths Protestant missionaries in Egypt Female Christian missionaries Assemblies of God people American Pentecostal missionaries American expatriates in Egypt American evangelicals