[Note: In the Scope & Content section, the notation “folder 2-5" means “Box 2, Folder 5"]

Series: Audio Tapes

Arrangement: Chronological

Date Range: 1992

Volume: 4 audio tapes

Geographic Coverage: United States, Ethiopia, Sudan

Type of Documents: Audio recordings of interviews

Notes: John E. Phillips was interviewed by Bob Shuster on May 10 and September 13, 1993, at the BGC Archives in Wheaton, Illinois and at Mr. Phillips’ home in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The events described in the interview cover the time period 1916-1993. For substantial portions of tapes T2-4, Mrs. Geraldine Phillips is speaking.

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Series: Paper Records

Arrangement: Alphabetical by folder titles, which were created by the archivist

Date Range: 1926-1993

Volume: .2 cubic feet

Geographic Coverage: United States, Ethiopia, Sudan

Type of Documents: Correspondence, newspaper articles, a pamphlet

Correspondents: Howard Borlase, Robert Evans, Norm Floss, Malcolm Forsberg, John Phillips, Alf Roke, Spahr, Don Stilwell

Notes: The paper records of this collection consist of a miscellany of documents that Mr. Phillips gave to the Archives at the time of his oral history interviews in 1993. Most in one way or another deal with America missionary activity in Ethiopia and Sudan, but there are a few items about Phillips’ ministry activities in the United States and genealogical records of his family. Folders 1-1 through 1-3 contain correspondence to and from Phillips, as well as copies of a few items not addressed to him that wound up in his files somehow.

Folder 1-1 contains a photocopy of a 1936 letter by Robert Evans (later founder of Greater Europe Mission) to his parents describing in great detail the revival on the campus of Wheaton College in February. There is also a letter from Doris Bruce describing her mission work in Assam, India and a 1933 letter from Clarence about opening a mission station at Durami among the Kambatta people.

Folder 1-2 consists of material from Phillips to friends and supporters. Some are prayer letters, mimeographed correspondence meant to give a general description of his mission activities to a large number of supporters. Others are personal letters. There is one from Ethiopia in 1937 describing the chaos in that country following the Italian invasion. There are several letters (1939-1947) from the Sudan describing the establishment of a mission station at Abayath, observations of life among the Dinka people, the description of the conversion of a handful of people to Christianity, experiences in the United States during furloughs, physical descriptions of the Sudanese countryside. A letter dated January 15, 1985 summarizes his experiences in Sudan. Then there is a gap until the late 1970s and 1980s, when there are some letters describing his activities in the United States and continuing to pass on reports he has gotten on events in Ethiopia and Sudan. A 1989 Christmas letter gives a brief report on his visit to mission stations in Kenya that year.

Folder 1-3 includes a 1962 letter acknowledging the Phillips’ official resignation from SIM. A 1978 letter from SIM worker Howard Borlase includes a detailed report on a development project at Durami that includes building roads and buildings, reforestation and introducing new varieties of vegetable. There are also several more informal letters from the Sphars, the Forsbergs and others about mission work in Ethiopia and Sudan in the 1970s and 80s. (Folder 1-1 also has a poem by Malcolm Forsberg.)

Folder 1-4 contains motes and other genealogical material Phillips gathered on his parents and grandparents. Phillips continued to be active in ministry after his return to the United States.

Folder 1-5 contains a few samples of his activities. There are lists and programs from the Interdenominational Bible Conference, a group that sponsored conferences on Biblical topics in eastern Pennsylvania . There is also a budget, balance sheet and job description for the position of general superintendent of the Rescue Mission and Home Association, another group Phillip was involved in.

Folder 1-6 has an a brief article by Phillips that tells the story of one Sudanese Christian he knew. The folder also has some devotional materials prepared for missionaries by Norman Couser.

Folder 1-7 contains copies of several newspaper clippings of stories from the Allentown newspaper about Phillips’s 1966 return to Ethiopia and Sudan. The stories are essentially the reports that Phillip sent back to the paper describing his visit t sites where he worked and the current condition of the countries and the Christian churches there, along with photos There is also a clipping from 1970 describing Phillips’ retirement as religion editor of the paper.

Folder 1-8 contains a photocopy of a 40-page pamphlet, published ca. 1937, entitled Chaos in Ethiopia. It consists of long excerpts from Phillips’ diary about the Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the subsequent conflict between the Amharic and the Kambatta peoples that caused him and his family to flee, along with fellow missionaries Mrs. and Mrs. Norman Couser and Zillah Walsh. According to Mr. Phillips on oral history interview T3 in this collection, Zillah Walsh really wrote most of this pamphlet.