Dr. Ida Scudder [1870 – 1960]
Ida Sophia Scudder was born in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, India on December 9th, 1870. Her parents, John and Sophia, were American medical missionaries. They were second-generation missionaries, as John’s father (also named John) was also a doctor and missionary in India.
Ida grew up in Tamil Nadu, where she witnessed the beautiful celebrations of life as well as famine, disease and poverty. As a teenager, she was invited to attend a private Christian boarding school in Massachusetts called Northfield, where she earned a reputation for her pranks. After graduation, she planned to get married and settle down in the US – she was determined never to become a third-generation missionary in India.
But, God had other plans. In 1890, her mother became ill – and so she traveled to India for a few months to help her father run his clinic and take care of her mother.
One night, everything changed. In the middle of the night, a man came running to their home begging for someone to care for his wife, who was struggling in childbirth. Ida was a teenager with no medical training, so she went to fetch her father – but because of the cultural traditions that separated men and women, the man refused to allow another man to treat her. His words were something to the effect of “it would be better that she died than be seen by a man”. Ida was mortified that she could do nothing, and threw herself into prayer and wrestling with God about her life and her call. On that same night, two other men came to her parents’ bungalow with the exact same request, and departed with the same response. The next morning, she was horrified to learn that all three mothers and their babies had died – all because there was no female doctor available to them. In that moment, she gave up all thoughts of marriage and a comfortable life. Later, she wrote: “I think that was the first time I saw God face to face, and all the time it seemed that He was calling me into this work.”
Ida Scudder is famous as the founder of the Christian Medical College and its associated hospitals, but her legacy is far greater than the institution and its buildings.
Are you missing the mission?
Take time. Think about it. Pray. The need is great, now, more than ever.
