Robert Alexander Jaffray was born in Toronto Canada on December 16th 1873. His father Robert Jaffray was the publisher of the Toronto Globe newspaper, and a politician of some renown. Young Jaffray received the best that his father’s money could buy, the finest clothing, education and training for leadership. All of this for his father’s purpose that young Mr. Jaffray would someday take control of the Toronto Globe, and wield the same political power.

 

Even so, with the weight of all of these trappings, Robert Alexander Jaffray heard the call of the Master’s voice, for while still early in this rich young man’s life he met A. B. Simpson the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Mr. Jaffray knew that God was calling him to preach the Gospel of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in China.

 

His father threatened to cut off his allowance and told him, “If the Alliance sends you to China, they’ll pay every penny of the expense. Not a dime will you get from me. But if you decide the whole thing was a mistake and want to come home, just let me know. I’ll send you the money.”

Robert was trained at the New York Missionary Training Institute. He married Minne Donner in 1890, and they had Margaret their only daughter. After graduating from the Institute Mr. Jaffray and family were sent to Wuzhou, South China 1897.

There despite battling diabetes and the early onset of a heart condition he helped worked tirelessly and founded the Alliance Bible School in Hong Kong. He learned to read and write Chinese and published the Chinese-language Bible Magazine which had circulation around the world.

Mr. Jaffray opened a station in what is now Da Nang, Vietnam and began the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, which remains the largest Protestant Church body in Vietnam. In 1931 he, his wife and family settled in Makassar, in the far south of the Dutch East Indies (now known as Ujung Pandang).

In 1942 Japan invaded the island and Jaffray was arrested by the Japanese. He was held captive in numerous interment camps over the next three years, and on July 29th 1945, he died, succumbing to his life-long illnesses, exacerbated by the horrendous living conditions of the prison camps.