If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it (Matthew 19:24,25).
Betty and John Stam were not afraid to lose their lives for Jesus. They had the 
courage of their convictions. They knew that only what’s done for Christ has lasting value. They had an understanding of eternity that is missing in our culture today. They truly had a love for the lost that we spoiled, selfish Christians in the United States today do not have. If we really believed that those who don’t know Christ would be lost forever would it change our habits?
Elizabeth Scott Stam (1906-1934) had grown up in China. Her parents were long-time missionaries there and in fact were serving there when Betty was later martyred.
As a young woman Betty decided that she wanted to be a missionary for life but that she needed more preparation. She went to the United States for training at the Moody Bible Institute. There she met her future husband, John Stam. At that time the China Inland Mission was only sending single men on the field. In any case, Betty was ready to go a year before John was and so she went to China first. A year later (1932) John was ready and left for Shanghai, China.
At this point God did a miracle that proved that John and Betty were in His will. Betty was serving in a different part of China but became ill. She went to Shanghai for care and arrived just after John did. The two were joyfully reunited and they married in October 1933
After several short assignments, John and Betty were assigned to the village of Tsingteh. Though there had been some Communist activity a few miles away the Stams felt safe in this little village. The local mission authorities and the village magistrate welcomed the Stams. By this time, November 1934, little Helen Priscilla had been born to John and Betty.
Only two weeks later the Stams received a knock on their door. Communist rebels had snuck past the government troops and swarmed Tsingteh. Only a handful of villagers had had time to escape. They went to hide in the hills.
John and Betty bravely let the soldiers in. Betty prepared tea and biscuits (cookies) and served them to the Communists. In spite of this hospitality the officers bound John and Betty and told them to march with them to the nearby village of Miaosheo. The Stams were ordered to remove their outer garments and walk through the village in this deliberately shaming fashion. Betty knew that this meant that they were on their way to their execution. The Chinese robes that she and John were accustomed to wearing would get in the way of the executioner’s sword.
At their prison in Miaosheo three-month old Helen began to cry. The soldiers wanted to kill her. A former criminal, who had just been released by the Communists, begged for her life. The Red soldiers retorted, “Then it’s your life for hers.” They hacked this man to pieces in front of the Stams. Little Helen was spared.
John and Betty were led to their execution outside of the little town. They left their baby behind not knowing what would happen to her. Betty and John were bound together, standing and then told to kneel down. The executioner’s sword swung once severing John’s head from his body. Betty did not cry out but she fell over John. Moments later the executioner’s sword cleanly took off her head. Betty and John went to heaven together.
What about Helen Priscilla? She had been left behind in the village with a family all wrapped up in the blankets Betty had provided for her.
The local Christians had been hiding in the hills around Miaosheo. A Chinese evangelist named Mr. Lo was with them. When it seemed safe to venture into town again he hurried to find out what happened to the two missionaries. Everywhere he asked he was greeted with silence. It seems that people were afraid of Communist spies and were unwilling to risk getting reported.
Finally an old woman whispered to Pastor Lo that there was a baby who had been left behind. Pastor Lo searched for her and found her. She was still alive though hungry after not eating for about two days. He took Helen Priscilla to his wife for care. In the providence of God, Mrs. Lo had had experience in a missionary hospital and knew how to care for the baby.
Pastor Lo found out that the missionaries’ bodies were still on the hillside in the open. He went to them, wrapped them and placed them in coffins and saw to it that they were given a Christian burial.
Helen still needed to be gotten to safety. Pastor Lo hurried home to make plans. His own son, a four-year old boy had suffered from deprivation from hiding in the hills. So Pastor Lo arranged for some men to help him and Mrs. Lo carry Helen Priscilla and his son over 100 miles to a mission hospital.
At first they wondered how they would manage because no one had any money. But Betty had provided for her daughter before she went to her martyrdom. Inside the baby’s blankets were pinned two $5 bills. This was enough to pay the expenses of the trip. Helen Priscilla and Pastor Lo’s son were placed in rice baskets slung from a bamboo pole and carried on the men’s shoulders. Along the way Mrs. Lo found wet nurses to feed baby Helen.
Eight days later they arrived at the mission at Suancheng. A doctor examined Helen and pronounced her in perfect health. God had blessed the baby. No doubt from Heaven Betty was smiling down on her daughter, grateful for God’s goodness.
Helen Priscilla was taken to the home of her maternal grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Scott where she lived for five years. Eventually she went to the United States for her education. Helen Priscilla took her uncle’s name in order to avoid all of the publicity surrounding her mother and father.
Though Betty Stam did not survive the Communist onslaught her death helped raise up a whole generation of missionaries. Sometimes we ask why God allows really bad things to happen to people. We need to keep in mind what Betty knew – people’s souls are valuable and their eternal destiny is priceless. Her own life was all she had to give to her Savior in gratitude for His redemption. She was willing to give her all so that others might hear the Gospel. What are we willing to give up to be a witness for Jesus?
