Hettie Ewing

Hettie Lee Ewing (October 11, 1896 – September 18, 1986) was a female missionary to Japan for the Churches of Christ. She helped establish permanent churches there in the first part of the twentieth century.

Hettie Lee Ewing was a high school teacher in Corpus Christi, Texas. In May 1924 Ewing was attending the Furman Avenue Church of Christ when a letter from Lillie Delanzia Cypert was read. Cypert wanted to find someone her age who would come to Japan to work with her. Ewing met with the preacher, O. E. Phillips, to discuss this appeal. In August 1924 Ewing made her intention to go to Japan public, but two years passed before she made the journey. During that time Ewing worked on raising money to pay for her trip. She spent a year in Los Angeles at the Westside Church of Christ where Hirosuke Ishiguro helped her learn about the culture and language of Japan.

On August 13, 1926, Ewing set sail for Japan. When she arrived on September 2, 1926, she was greeted by Lillie Cypert and J. M. McCaleb. Ewing moved into the home of Sarah Shepherd Andrews, who was away on furlough. Helped by two Japanese Christians, Ewing began a Sunday school and Bible classes in Okitsu. When Sarah Andrews returned to Japan in 1931, Ewing moved from to the southeast part of Shizuoka City. Due to poor health, Ewing went back to the United States in 1935, returning to Japan soon after the end of World War II. During the war she worked for the government helping displaced Japanese Americans by translating and interpreting. She also helped them find new homes. She continued as a missionary to Japan until 1972. In her later years she lived in the Christian Care Center in Dallas Texas.

Works