 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(March 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Asbjørn Aavik | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 30, 1902 (1902-11-30) Aavig (nowÅvik, Lindesnes), Norway |
| Died | November 20, 1997(1997-11-20) (aged 94) |
| Alma mater | Fjellhaug utdanningssenter |
| Occupation | Lutheranmissionary to China |
Asbjørn Aavik (November 30, 1902 – November 20, 1997) was a NorwegianLutheranmissionary to China. He was also the author of approximately forty books.[1]
Aavik was born in Aavig (nowÅvik) inLindesnes, Norway. From 1921 to 1926, he received education at Fjellhaug utdanningssenter inOslo, a missionary school affiliated with theNorwegian Lutheran Mission.
He was sent to China in 1928 where he started on theChina Mission Association's mission fields aroundLaohekou in Hubei. Aavik married Ragna Torgersen (1906–1984) in 1932 and later moved to theYunyang northwestern mission area. The situation was turbulent, not least because of robber bands and the communist insurgency in the 1930s. In 1935 the couple decided to return toNorway.[2]
The planned return trip to China had to be postponed because the missionaries in China warned of increasing uncertainty and unease, but in 1938 Aavik traveled alone, without family, back to the same mission field in China. The Norwegian missionaries would later temporarily and definitely leave this field because ofWorld War II and the subsequent communist advance. Aavik returned home for the second time in 1946.
Aavik still came back to the Republic of China, nowTaiwan, where he worked with less interruption from 1952 to 1970. His work consisted partly in teaching at a Bible school atKaohsiung and at theLutheran Theological Seminary inTaipei andTaichung. He also became the first principal at the China Lutheran Seminary inHsinchu.
He was the writer of many missionary books. In the summer of 1999, a memorial stone was unveiled for the missionary inÅvik.
