Synod Emphasis - Bonclarken “Seed Lady”“Seed Lady”
CHIP SHERER President
the story of a good friend of his who was interested in dating a fellow stu- my dad’s friend “Just know, I plan to go to Africa to be a missionary and you could come with me.” This was not the plan my dad’s friend had for his life, so he never asked her out again! I never dreamed I would actually meet her a good friend. Jo Ann passed away on December 21. I wanted to share more about her life in my ar- ticle this month. Jo Ann was the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Murray Griffith. Rev.
M
y father graduated from Erskine in 1958, and more than once told me
North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Jo Ann wanted to be a missionary from a young age. She would often visit Bonclarken during her youth, and the call of the Holy Spirit directing her to foreign missions was ever so clear. After graduating from Erskine in 1956, her family assumed she would go to the ARP - rica (as referenced in the earlier story) pointed Jo Ann to link with the United Presbyterian Church and to be commissioned to serve in Ethiopia. She would serve in Ethiopia as a missionary for 46 years.
Addis Ababa. She spent a year in the country setting of Pokwo, then, in 1970, she moved to Dembi Dollo and joined the staff at the Bethel Evangelical Sec- ondary School, where she would serve the next 37 years. She taught numerous subjects, supervised the dining room, and lived in an apartment in the female dormitory.
In 1972, her father visited her and took a shoebox full of seeds—beets,
carrots, onions—which she planted in the Ethiopian soil. Just as she nurtured her students, she nurtured her seeds. These seeds pro- duced plants that produced additional seeds. Jo Ann then shared these seeds with a steady stream of visitors. Those visitors planted their seeds and turned the region around Dembi Dollo into the leading vegetable center. And Jo Ann became known Jo Ann retired from the
stewardship during her 46 years of missionary work allowed her to share gen- - ent of her extraordinary generosity. In addition, she served on our Board of Advisors and was a constant source of encouragement to me. Jo Ann was inducted into Bonclarken’s Honor Roll of Visionaries and Ser- vant Leaders in 2023. Much of this article is from the citation read during her induction. Her life of service is one for the ages and Bonclarken was blessed by her in so many ways.
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The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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