and was soon engaged to a promising young minister named Ares Aresian. As World War I loomed, the Levant Mission faced an enormous problem. Some of the countries that made up the mission sided with the Allies; others joined the Central Powers. The mission was already desperately short of workers, with many of the expatriate workers being called back to their home countries or forced to evacuate. Ares was asked by the mission to go to Greece to help with the work there. Initially, the couple wanted to get married and go together, but as they spoke things over, they realized that Diamondola, with her translating skills, was really needed in Constantinople. So Diamondola remained, trusting that the war would soon be over and that they could get married. Soon communication between the two countries was cut off. Six months later she got word that Ares had died of tuberculosis.
Above: GETTING READY FOR ANOTHER MOVE: Diamondola (on left); her daughter, Indra; her mother, Theodora; and husband, Aram Ashod, prior to their departure for Iran. Left: CLOSE-UP: The author of Diamondola’s biography, Mildred Olson, and Diamondola.
Not Immune From Heartache A L L
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penniless, so mother Theodora set up silk-weaving looms in their house. Seize the Moment
God’s heroes don’t wait for that special something in life. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Eccl. 9:10, NASB)* seems to have been Diamondola’s motto. Diamondola educated herself at home while weaving silk cloth, her textbooks propped up beside her loom. Besides the regular school subjects, Diamondola mastered Armenian, Greek, Turkish, and English through self-taught grammar books. She seemed to understand the commonsense principle that what you don’t use you lose. Diamondola began to use her gift for languages when she was only 13 years old. One of the first Adventist missionaries to Turkey, Pastor AcMoody, made an extended missionary trip throughout Turkey, using little Diamondola as his translator.
F A M I LY
Three years later, in 1910, she again braved bandits, extreme weather, and mosquito-infested swamps and spent several months translating for another Adventist leader, Pastor Greaves, in Greece and Albania. Although she had only three years of formal education she was able to graduate from high school in 1912. She was immediately hired by the Adventist Levant Mission in Constantinople as a translator and secretary. She taught herself French and German in the evenings, extending her fluency to six languages. But Diamondola didn’t spend all her time holed up studying. She had a reputation for being fun and vivacious. She enjoyed doing fancy needlework and being with friends. Despite loving her work and being happy to be working for God, Diamondola discovered in a painfully personal way that being God’s champion often means following duty rather than inclination. Diamondola fell in love,
God’s champions aren’t immune from heartache but they know where they can go with their pain. For Diamondola the pain of the loss of Ares made her cling even closer to Jesus. She wanted with all her heart to hasten His coming. Soon she was arrested for sending out what was thought to be Adventist propaganda literature. She was thrown into prison and then brought into the court of Bedri Bey, a cruel chief of security in Turkey. Amazingly calm, Diamondola asked for her Bibles. She gave the judge her Turkish Bible to follow along and then she went on to give everyone present a two-hour Bible
Chantal J. Klingbeil is a
homeschool mom, author, and speaker living in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. She is married to Gerald Klingbeil and enjoys spending time with their three daughters.
December 2010 | Adventist World - nad
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