Connie Gibson with the U.S. Ambassador.

Did you miss the beginning of Connie’s story? Read part one here and part two here.

In December 2010, two years after her book was published, Connie discovered a lump in her breast. The next month, while in the U.S. for winter break, she was diagnosed with stage two cancer. By the summer vacation of 2012, it had progressed to stage four.

Connie knew God wasn’t finished with her yet, and she still had more to do in the East. Despite being extremely ill, she labored on for the good of her students. Meanwhile, God did his part. When she returned to the States for a check-up in December 2012, she discovered she was in remission.

In December 2014, Connie celebrated her 68th birthday in Nanchang. She then continued teaching through the spring 2015 semester before finally moving back to the West Coast. Though she hated leaving her adopted sons and daughters in Asia, she loved being with her American family, including her two sons and seven grandchildren.

Connie with three of her grandchildren

“Even with the cancer, my dear mother has more energy than most people that I know,” her son Aaron said. “She is, and always has been, an unstoppable force in the field of encouragement for others.” (Tweet that!)

On May 11, five months after Connie celebrated her 70th birthday, the Lord took her home. Though we miss her dearly, she’s finally at rest, free from pain, and with her heavenly Husband. I imagine her laughter is lighting up Heaven, and I look forward to the day she’ll embrace me once more.

Her Enduring Legacy

Connie’s students have won hundreds of contests and went on to earn PhDs, land lucrative jobs, and start successful companies. But the effect she’s had on our personal and spiritual lives is even more profound.

Eight years after Connie started praying for my future husband, she spoke at our wedding rehearsal. The love she shared continues to inspire me to love people to their full potential. (Tweet that!)

That love has also inspired TV, radio, and magazine interviews as well as a short story set in 2035.

Connie Mom talking with a radio host.

“I think everyone made exceptions out of Connie, because she made exceptions out of everyone else,” author Moira Laidlaw writes. “She thought everyone was exceptional.”

Want to help Connie Gibson continue to inspire the world to love people to their full potential? Share this blog series on social media!

Did you miss part one? Read the beginning of the story of how Connie Mom became China’s English coach here. 

Coaching Students to National Victory

After speaking in Hunan province, Connie Mom signed this junior high school student’s book, “Wherever you are, be there.”

Jiangxi Normal University assigned Connie to teach English and writing classes. On her own, she also started a translation club, a storytelling troupe, and speech and public speaking classes. In her “spare time,” she founded an English library and held seminars for students and educators all over the country.

Two years after Connie arrived in Asia, one of her students did what no one from poor Jiangxi had done before. Li Jiayu won second place in a nationally-televised English public-speaking competition.

Two years later, Connie’s student Ai Lisha won first place in the same competition. By then, it had become the most prestigious English-speaking contest in China.

Connie with Li Jiayu (far left) and three other students.

Connie’s motivation was to show people God’s love, not to gain recognition. But the recognition came anyway. Teachers from top universities who had met Connie at contests started attending her seminars.

Lina Shi said, “Connie has become a legend in the English public speaking cause in China. [Tweet that!]Her passion and dedication have enabled students to rise from obscurity to excellence.”

From the President to the Proletariat

In 2004, at a State banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Connie was given a solid gold medallion. She had won the National Friendship Award. The next day, Premier Wen Jiabao congratulated her at a special reception. That evening, she attended a State dinner with President Hu Jintao.

In 2011, China’s largest university press created an award just for Connie. In 2014, the China Society for Research on International Professional Personnel Exchange and Development named her the Favorite Foreign Teacher of Chinese Students.

Connie Mom, China’s English Coach

But no matter how famous Connie grew, she continued to make time for ordinary people. She even cleaned and painted her favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant with her speech class and some visiting Americans. 

“She would hug every one,” her student Penny said. “Flash her huge grin to every passerby, take photos with drivers, gatekeepers and remember to send them a photo afterwards.”

The Secret to Her Success

Connie with her friend, a vegetable seller.

In 2006, the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press asked Connie to write a book. They wanted to know how she coaches and why her students become so successful. Two years later, they published A Guidebook to English Public Speaking Training.

But what is the secret to her success?

Connie said, “Mostly I try to see the best they can be, believe in them and all their possibilities. [Tweet that!] Actually, it all boils down to love. I love them.”

Connie Mom reading her Bible

Jenny Owens, an American who also taught in Jiangxi Province, saw this love in action. “Many have stared with bug eyes and mouth open because they have never experienced such love,” she said. “And those who get a second and third taste usually come back for more. People are seeing Jesus. She has been his hands to so many.”

“There is no way I could ever come up with this kind of love myself,” Connie is quick to admit. “God has given me this love for them and for China. Left to my own ability, my passion and love would fall short, dwindle and die. Only God’s continual love and prompting could keep me coming back for 15 years.”

Read the conclusion of Connie Mom’s story here.