Jennie Bristol Diaz Biography
by Noel Forlini
She had nothing but herself to give. A young girl growing up just a stone's throw from an Indian reservation in Missouri, Jennie Bristol Diaz did not come from a family of wealth. She came, rather, from a sod house constructed from the ground beneath her feet. But from this background arose a woman who gave all she had to the Hispanic community around her, guiding them along a straight path to Jesus Christ.
Jennie was born on October 28, 1875, just south of Kansas City, Missouri. When Jennie was a young child, her family boarded covered wagons for Stafford, Kansas. This family caravan trekked across miles of prairie land, winding in and out of Indian reservations. Jennie's childhood in Stafford was a nurturing environment where the foundations of faith were built.
The biblical foundation laid by her grandfather and parents paved the way for Jennie's own decision for Christ at age 16. Her home church also played a role in Jennie's spiritual development by centering the congregation on a missional lifestyle. "One incident always remains vivid in my mind. One Sunday afternoon at Sunday School, a black, bearded missionary from Brazil was there to speak to us," Jennie said. "I never remembered hearing his name… [but] his story stirred me to the depths, and his song in the Portuguese language fascinated me." This introduction imprinted a missional lifestyle on Jennie's daily life.
Jennie sought ways to apply herself to missional principles. She stumbled upon her own missions field in her neighborhood and formed a weekly organization for Hispanic children called the Sunbeam Band. Jennie also learned Spanish, which connected her with Spanish-speaking people in her county. At the same time, she began to correspond with Emma Miller, missionary to California, who saw missionary potential in her. Emma sent Chicago Baptist Missionary School's prospectus catalog to Jennie, who was fascinated by the notion of studying to be a missionary. "I literally wore it out studying it. But how it could happen to me to go to such a place was beyond my faith to believe," Jennie said. Yet, Jennie's family found a way to send her, believing she would one day walk the footsteps of a missionary.
Her desire to serve God on the missions field gained momentum after she heard another missionary testimony—this time at her grandfather's church. "I had never heard a talk like that. My heart swelled as he told of heathen nations living and dying without the knowledge of the Savior. I wondered if I could ever go and tell them about Him. How could I go?" Jennie wondered. "Would He want me to go? Oh! I wanted to go! When the missionary finished talking, I felt like running forward to tell him I would go. They sang a missionary hymn, then passed the collection plates. I had nothing but myself to give!"
Upon graduation, Jennie requested to work in Mexico. "I really thought I was to go back to California to work among the Mexicans there. I had become so much interested in them in Nipomo and also in Santa Barbara. In Santa Barbara, I had spent many afternoons sitting on the doorstep of their adobe homes, trying out the Spanish I had learned in Nipomo, and at least, by friendly intercourse, witnessing for my Lord." Jennie wanted to continue this work, but when missions appointments came, Jennie's name was omitted from the list. Crushed, Jennie resigned herself to reexamine the Lord's will following this surprise. She didn't have to reexamine for long—just six weeks later, Jennie was appointed following the death of one of the missionaries.
On her way to the missions field, Jennie passed through Chicago where Miss Burdette, one of her mentors, advised her one last time. "Miss Bristol," she said, "You are not going to Mexico to criticize their religion—you are to go and teach and live a straight gospel story." Miss Burdette then illustrated by picking up a straight stick and a crooked stick, holding them side by side. "They themselves will see the difference between the crooked stick and the straight stick. They will choose the straight," she said.
Jennie spent eight years in Mexico, modeling this "straight" life for the Mexican men and women to whom she ministered. "How wondrously the Lord led me during all those years. He had taken a 'crude' girl out from narrowed circumstances and had made of her a widely traveled woman, trying to live for the glory of her Master."
In 1906, Jennie moved to Tampa, Florida, where she taught day school for 120 children. A year later, Jennie married Alfredo Diaz and adopted a daughter, red-headed Sarah Frances. Jennie spent the latter part of her days shepherding her family and teaching church classes. "I had repeatedly said that when I reached 70 years, I would retire from active service. But I didn't. Then I said when I am 75, I'll stop. But I did not. Then before I was 76, God put His finger on my vocal organs and I stopped! I am not unhappy about it as my friends were afraid I would be. It seems to be God's will, and I am content, fully assured that 'He doeth all things well.' I am deeply grateful for the long years of service I have had, since 16 years of age," Jennie said. Jennie died in 1968 at the age of 93. She had "nothing but herself to give," yet this sacrificial offering taught Hispanic men and women about God's love, leading them on the straight path to Jesus Christ.
After her death, the Jennie Bristol Diaz Endowment was established by daughter Sarah Frances and longtime friend Vivian Wilson, both North American missionaries who followed in Jennie's footsteps. The Jennie Bristol Diaz Endowment helps WMU continue its legacy of providing missions education and other ministry materials to the multiple cultures living in America. It assists in language publication materials such as Nuestra Tarea, training Hispanic men and women of languages other than English. For more information about the Jennie Bristol Diaz Endowment, contact the WMU Foundation at 1-877-482-4483, or visit our Making Gifts page and designate the Jennie Bristol Diaz Endowment.
