Helen Joldersma Amoy

I was blessed to be able to share last Sunday in Holland Michigan's Hope Church, which was home to many who served in the Amoy Mission.  When I shared the story of the talented young nurse Helen Joldersma, who tragically died after only two years in Amoy, a man in the back introduced himself as Dan Joldersma, and the next day sent me a scan of a small booklet that Tena Holkeboer had written about Helen's life!

 
I had never been able to find anything about Helen, except the Goble News article about her leaving for Amoy, brief references to her in a couple of missionary's letters, and a couple of photos of her in Amoy (and of her grave at the Gulangyu foreign cemetery).

Dan's PDF file is too large to upload, so I will upload it as a text file when I have time to edit the OCR.  Below I attach what little info I have about Helen.

Amoy Bill (amoybill @ gmail.com )

  
Humorous anecdote about Helen from Alma Vandermeer letter, 

Helen Joldersma's Grave, Amoy

Alma Vander Meer: on January 16, 1927, wrote, "Strong anti-foreign and anti-Christian feeling. There were processions and slogans in Amoy and on Kulangsu, and billboards and big posters against foreign governments. On Christmas day a long procession carried banners and slogans. Helen Joldersma, who had recently arrived in China from America, thought the students were celebrating Christmas, so she marched along, smiling and happy. Fortunately, Edna Beekman happened to see her, and she quickly pulled her out and called her back into San-loh, the unmarried missionary residence on Kulangsu….”

From Rose Talman’s memoirs (Oral China Hands Project): "Following Mary Louise's last illness, Helen Joldersma, our new nurse was helping us and from our house, she went to Chiang Chou to a Mission Meeting. We think she may have eaten something at our house as her fatal illness started almost at once. Her of death was a terrible blow to us all; also  that of Dr. VandeWeg a short time later with whom we were associated in Tong-an. It is harder to understand when such capable and needed people are taken from our midst. The blow seems harder someway."

Further Info about Helen Joldersma from former Amoy Mission folks.  In 2009, I queried friends about Helen Joldersma, and received these emails from Gary Veenschoten and Joan Hill (read the links to learn more about their Amoy family history):

Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 00:26:28 -0700 (PDT)
From: girard veenschoten
Subject: Re: Helen Joldersma?
To: Joann hill 
Cc: William Brown

Dear Joann and Dr Bill
Yes.  I remember very well. We were holding Mission Meeting at Chang Chow [now Zhangzhou / 漳州]. Miss Joldersma became ill.  Over the course of a week she became worse and worse.  They took over my west bedroom at  our house and made it into an operation room.  I remember, her abdomen became very swollen and tense.  Finally, as a last resort the doctors decided to do an exploratory.  As I remember, Dr Bosch did the operation, assisted by Dr Clarence Holleman and Dr Hofstra.  I believe Miss Jean Neinhuis RN was the surgical nurse.  I remember they said her abdomen was covered inside by a board like layer of pus.  They closed her up  and did nothing more.  Everybody available assisted.  She was too sick to be taken to the hospital in Amoy.  The best methods available were inadequate. Afterward, she was taken to Kulangsu for burial.
Sincerely,
Gary Veenschoten

The Amoy Mission Pages