Mary Jane McLeod (pronounced mc-CLOUD) was the 15th child born in her family. She spent most of her time picking cotton on her dad’s farm. But she longed to learn to read. One day, a teacher came and asked if Mary Jane could come to school. Her dad needed her help in the fields, but finally he let her go. Soon Mary was reading the Bible to her parents.

As a young teen, Mary moved away from her family to go to another school. Later, she attended Moody Bible College in Chicago, Illinois.

What would she do next? Mary wasn’t sure. She was interested in missionary life. But back then, many missions boards wouldn’t allow black people to become missionaries. (Can you believe it?!)

It seems Mary (now Mrs. Bethune) wanted to do for others what that visiting teacher had done for her. She heard that kids in Daytona Beach, Florida, had no school. So she went there and started one with all the money she had . . . $1.50!

But Mrs. Bethune also had faith. God was calling her to help make a world in which people are treated justly no matter the color of their skin. “Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service,” she said. “Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” Her school grew and grew. In fact, it’s still there! Thousands of students learn there every year.

Have faith in God. — Mark 11:22