Movie Star or Missionary?: An Autobiography

At thirteen, Dorine Hawkins Stewart wanted to be either a movie star or a missionary. Two years later, she knew for sure: God was calling her to be a missionary. But the road was by no means smooth for this middle child of seven, born to a poor Oklahoma preacher. When her mother died, seventeen-year-old Dorine was left to take care of the family household during the Great Depression, when they sometimes survived on biscuits and gravy. She had no money for college or seminary.

Still, Dorine persisted, led by her faith in God and aided by her love of adventure-a trait her mother called "too much initiative." Naïve in the ways of the world yet bold in her prayer requests, Dorine put her trust in God and found that He opened door after door. Finally in 1945, she was sent to Brazil, a country about which she knew nothing except that it was in South America.

Written with honesty and humor, Dorine's remarkable tale of her journey and missionary work there is filled with anecdotes about cultural missteps and God's bountiful goodness. As head of a training school for girls and, later, as a host for the mission along with her husband, she has left her mark on countless lives. Dorine's autobiography shows how God took a poor Oklahoma girl thousands of miles from home and used her hardships, joys, and steadfast faith to accomplish great things.