Last year in November 2022, I read the book Who Do I Think I Am: Exploring Personal Identity by David Claydon.

This is a story about a boy who was abandoned and left on the streets of Jerusalem (Israel) during World War II. He was confused and cold. No one knew about him. He had no name and no known date of birth. He did not know his biological parents, who were killed during World War II. He did not know where he came from or when he was born.

Providentially, a compassionate Australian social worker, Lora Claydon, took him in, adopted him, and brought him to Australia. He was given the name David Claydon. He was taken care of, embraced with love, and adopted by the Australian family. There, he experienced the love of God.  

Born in Bethlehem outside Jerusalem, David’s first language was Arabic. When he arrived in Australia, at about eight years old, David recalled all the things that had happened to him, thanked God he was alive, and dedicated his life to God, telling God that he would serve Him.

David went on to study at Knox College, in Sydney. He studied Economics, Theology and Education. His remarkable journey led him to various roles, including Director of Scripture Union for Australia and the South Pacific Region (1960-81); Rector at St. Mathews Church West Pennant Hill; Director of Church Missionary Society of Australia (1988); and International Director of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism (2002-2004). Additionally, he was a Canon of the Cathedral of Cairo. He advocated for interfaith relations and the cause of refugees. David Claydon transitioned to glory on July 28, 2022.

I had the privilege of meeting David and his wife Robyn several times during the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE) / Lausanne Movement (LM) meetings while I was serving as Senior Associate for Diasporas.

When I was appointed as Senior Associate in Budapest, Hungary, David and Robyn, together with Ted Yamamori and the late Ralph Winter, hugged and congratulated me saying, “Welcome, Joy, to LCWE”. They were a gentle and loving couple. David and Robyn were both passionate for global missions and they championed Bible distribution around the globe. They cared for children and the ministries for women.

Last year, after I had a cruel stroke in 2020, I simply wanted to reconnect with them online. However, I discovered that David had transitioned from his earthly home to his heavenly home in the City of God, while Robyn, in her “sunset years”, is still active in ministry.  

In Christmas of 2022, Robyn sent me and my wife their biography titled Never Alone: The Remarkable Story of David and Robyn Claydon by Cecily Paterson.

The Claydon’s simple, humble life, and painful journey but faithful service to the Global Church is ultimately a story of providential care: God’s protection from brutal war, aerial bombing, and destruction! The Heavenly Father’s provision from starvation and preservation during illness, as a result of war, famine, and family dislocation, was a powerful testimony about God’s care for the children.

Dr. Claydon published and edited several books including Islam, Human Rights and Public Policy.

Global Church Implications

Why do I write this story? If David was alive today, what would we hear from his pulpit or read from his pen?

I think he would preach and write from James 1:27: “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans [diaspora, helpless and abandoned children] and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” (NLT, words in brackets are my own.)

In 2023, UNICEF estimates that there are over 150 million orphans globally. Countries including Russia, Iran, Columbia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Peru have high orphan rates.

• How many are trafficked and put into child labor or prostitution?
• How many orphans are adopted children each year?
• How many are placed in orphanages?
• How many are left behind and die?

What is the Global Church doing to care for the scattered, dislocated, and suffering children? Is it enough to pray for them?

How many orphans are there today, including the victims of the ongoing Eurasian War and the current Israel-Hamas War? Or how many orphans as a result of persecution among Christians, like those in Nigeria, which has the highest number of orphans in the world?

Out of the millions of orphans today, may God move into action another Lora to embrace and raise another David Claydon! Daniel 11: 32b says, ‘but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” (ESV)

There is hope for the orphans if the Global Church can act with compassion and action.

God is “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:5, NIV)

Sadiri Joy Tira DMiss, DMin, more commonly known as Joy, is the Diaspora Missiology Specialist at the Jaffray Centre for Global Initiatives at Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta.