Collection 461 Oral History Interviews with John D. Ellison
Scope and Contents
Oral history interview with John David Ellison (1925-1998) in which he talks about his parents' work as missionaries for the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) in French Indochina (now Vietnam) between 1924 and 1940; his own missionary training at Nyack Institute; his and his wife's work in Thailand among Cambodians from 1950 through 1980; and his work in the United States among Cambodian refugees. Other topics discussed include internment by the Japanese in December 1941; methods of evangelism used in Cambodia and Thailand; distinctives of the Cambodian church; characteristics of Thai Buddhism; effect of the Korean War on missions to Thailand; effect of the Indochinese wars on Thailand in the 1960s and 1970s; work at Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand in 1975; moving to Wheaton and becoming involved in Cambodian refugee work in the US; and the need for indigenous Christian leadership among Cambodians in Thailand. The time period covered by the interviews is 1914 to 1992.
John Ellison was interviewed by Robert Shuster on October 2 and 29, 1992 at the Ellison home in Wheaton, Illinois.
Dates
- Created: 1992
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Biographical Information
Full Name: John David Ellison
Birth: November 15, 1925, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to missionary parents
Death: October 3, 1998 at his home in Wheaton, Illinois
Family:
Parents: David Witham and Muriel Eleanor (Harrison) Ellison
Marital Status: Married to Jean Arlene Beck in 1948
Conversion: May 1935 in Dalat, Indochina (Vietnam)
Education:
1932-1936; 1938-1941: Attended school for the children of C&MA missionaries in Dalat, Indochina
After period of internment by the Japanese, returned to the United States with family and finished high school in Danville, Ontario
1947: Graduated Nyack Missionary Institute
Career:
1947-1949: Pastor in Two Rivers, Nebraska
1950-1980: C&MA missionary in Surin, Thailand, where the population was 80% Cambodian
1975-1980: Evangelistic and humanitarian ministry in the Cambodian refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border
1980-1982: Lived in Lansing, Michigan
1982: Lived in Wheaton, Illinois. Active in evangelistic outreach to and relief work for Cambodian refugees
Other significant information: 1941-1942: For six months was interned with his family in Thailand by the Japanese as enemy aliens. They were exchanged and returned to the North America on the ship Gripsholm via Portugese East Africa and Brazil.
Extent
4 Audio Tapes
180 Minutes
Language of Materials
English
Accruals and Additions
The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by John David Ellison in October 1992.
Accession: 92-122, 92-133
March 26, 2003
Robert Shuster
- Bible colleges
- Bible colleges -- United States.
- Boarding schools -- Vietnam.
- Boarding schools.
- Buddhism -- Christianity.
- Buddhism -- Doctrines.
- Buddhism -- Thailand.
- Buddhism.
- Children of missionaries -- Cambodia.
- Children of missionaries.
- Christian and Missionary Alliance.
- Christian education -- Cambodia.
- Christian education -- Thailand.
- Christian education.
- Church and state -- Thailand.
- Church and state.
- Ellison, John D., 1925-1998.
- Evangelistic work -- Thailand.
- Evangelistic work.
- Korean War, 1950-1953.
- Missions -- Cambodia.
- Missions -- Thailand.
- Missions -- Vietnam.
- Nyack Missionary Training Institute (N.Y.)
- Refugees
- Refugees -- Cambodia.
- Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.
- World War, 1939-1945.
- Title
- Collection 461 Oral History Interviews with John D. Ellison
- Author
- Bob Shuster
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Roman Script
Repository Details
Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository