Deighton and Alice Douglin served in The Belgian Congo with CBFMS (now WorldVenture)

Alice’s father was a Belgium Commandant, and her mother was Princes Kengoka, the daughter of Uele Monarchs from the Central African Monbutto people. Because she was of mixed ethnicity, her father arranged for her to attend the AIM-affiliated Mission School in the region. To secure the best possible future for his daughter, her father granted parental rights to the Harold and Doris Wentworth, AIM missionaries. Alice became a believer as a result of her life experiences.

In 1938, when Alice was 18 years old, she became a part of the Oicha Hospital staff in the Congo, a Christian place providing healthcare. She worked in the hospital’s pharmacy and as a nurse. In August 1947, Alice left for the United States. She desired to pursue a missionary career and was obliged to attend Bible School. She was the second black female student to enroll at Providence Bible Institute. Her dorm mates had spotted Deighton Douglin and wanted her to meet him. They dated for some time. Alice left for Belgium to practice tropical medicine while Deighton continued his education at Taylor University. They maintained their correspondence, and Deighton mailed her an engagement ring.

Deighton received his degree from Taylor University. Alice was in her second year of employment at Rethy Hospital in South Africa when she got a telegram from Deighton announcing his appointment by Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (CBFMS – which is now WorldVenture) for Congo.

Deighton and Alice were the first Black missionary couple appointed by the Conversative Baptist Foreign Mission Society.

Alice arrived in the United States in May 1953 and discovered that Deighton had enrolled at the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary (now Denver Seminary) in Colorado. They married in July 1953 and headed on to The Congo. Alice and Deighton were charged with starting the Ndoluma school in the area. This was a nicely appointed boarding school for the mixed-race children of Westerners who had a relationship with a Congolese woman and then abandoned the child. Alice understood this situation well. Religious angst in the area was great, so in 1959, the CBFMS voted to close the school rather than give in to Catholic religious teaching. After this, Deighton and Alice remained and continued to serve. Alice worked in the medical field, and Deighton established a Teacher Training School there.

They faced a great deal of racism but continued to ensure that children there received the best education possible and were continuously exposed to God’s love and truth. They had a tremendous desire for bi-racial children to view themselves as God does, not as men do.

Alice passed away on December 19, 2022 – at 102 years old. Deighton is in a senior living facility.

Read her amazing story in “Daughter of the Commandant” by Alice Wentworth Douglin and listen to the video below.