Billy Graham Center
Archives
Interview with Doris (Gould) Schneider - Collection 467
[Note: What follows is a description of the documents in this collection which are available for use at BGC Archives in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. The actual documents are not, in most cases, available online, only this description of them. Nor are they available for sale or rent. Some or all of this collection can be borrowed through interlibrary loan. ]
Brief Description.
Two oral history interviews in which Schneider discusses her
family background, conversion, preaching of John R. Rice,
attendance at Moody Bible Institute, marriage, missionary work in
Morocco, women in Muslim society, rearing children on the mission
field, overthrow of the French protectorate, the family's move to
Spain, difference between Arabs and Berbers, public health in
Morocco, return to the United States in 1982, and materialism and
Muslims in the United States. For more information, please see
guide.
Vol: 4 Reels of Audio Tape
Collection 467
[March 7, 1995]
Schneider, Doris
Interviews; 1989
Audio Tapes
Restrictions
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
Biography
Doris Gould Schneider was one of six children born to Frank and Lillian Gould. Her mother was
a Christian and the other children came to be Christians through the influence of her brother,
Frank Jr. Doris was converted in 1936. In 1940, after graduation from high school, she began
taking courses at Moody Bible Institute (MBI). She met Robert Schneider at an evangelistic tent
meeting and they were married after their graduation from MBI. While they were students there,
they felt God's call to missions, particularly in the Muslim world. She and her husband began
working in Morocco, North Africa, in 1947, under Gospel Missionary Union.
The Schneiders served twenty years in Morocco and fifteen years in Spain. In Morocco, they
were involved in evangelism, summer camp work, Bible correspondence courses, Bible classes
for boys and girls, and Bible conferences. In Spain, work included a Bible correspondence
course, a print shop, and a radio ministry. These ministries were carried out in the Arabic and
Berber languages and targeted North Africa and North African communities in Europe.
After their return to the United States in 1982, the Schneiders were appointed as representatives
of the Gospel Missionary Union's ministry to Muslims. The Schneider's had three children, twin
boys, David and Daniel, and a girl, Susan [?]. In 1989, they resided in Elgin, Illinois.
Scope and Content
Mrs. Doris Schneider was interviewed by Robert Shuster on March 17 and April 14, 1989, at her
home in Elgin, Illinois. The events described in the interview cover approximately 1936 to 1989.
The boldfaced entries are intended to highlight the topics covered in the interview. Time
elapsed in minutes and seconds is recorded to the left of the topics discussed in the interview.
The index is keyed to the cassette copy and not to the reel-to-reel original.
T1 - side 1
00:00 Start of tape
00:15 Introduction of interview on March 17, 1989
00:45 Family background; Christian mother; one of six children; conversion of brother and
other siblings; father's conversion shortly before his death through preaching of
John R. Rice; Doris's conversion in 1936; desire to be a missionary to Africa even
before she was a Christian
05:15 Call to become a missionary grew while attending Moody Bible Institute; worked
with young people at Elgin Bible Church
10:45 Meeting Robert Schneider at tent meeting, attraction began with seeing each other's
service to the Lord, their spiritual growth, of Doris and Bob, her work at watch
factory while at school [Noise drowns out voices]
17:30 Attendance at Moody; meeting Paul Rader's son-in-law, "Chaplain" Miller, while on
the mission field and his generosity to the missionaries, including providing an
electric plant, hosting dinner parties for missionaries
22:30 Moody education experience: Christian education major, various professors at
Moody; work at Dearborn station and with homeless and hungry people,
witnessing, professors who left lasting impressions, responsiveness of children to
the gospel; fellow students at Moody; social outlets
30:31 Rule that "first termers" could not date; Bob and Doris asked for permission to date;
association with prayer band as recording secretary who took prayer requests
35:45 Children's class, camp work, and Bible training were helpful for mission field;
selecting stories for children: age group, relevance, method of telling, popular
stories
43:45 Minimal impact of World War II on Moody campus except taking some men away
43:28 End of side 1
T1 - side 2
00:00 Start of tape
00:08 Overlap from side 1
00:30 Reason for choosing Muslim prayer band; details of prayer band meetings, speakers;
realization of her call to missions
04:45 Candidate school at the Gospel Missionary Union headquarters in Kansas City;
classes and assigned work; selection criteria used by admission board; support
provided by church before Schneiders even reached the school; classes on fitting
into culture in others' culture
10:30 First impressions of Casablanca, description of Moroccan house owned by GMU
where Schneiders stayed, Arabic language course, first sights as they entered
Morocco, meeting Moroccan businessman on the boat over; "language school" was
missionary who taught the new missionaries
16:00 Comparison of Arabic language to English; need to write and speak Arabic;
experience of being on furlough in the States and speaking Arabic to a salesman;
Bob asks a woman for a kiss instead of a knife in Arabic; other duties while
learning language
19:30 Experience of having children overseas, French doctor who watched over birth of
twins; value of having male twins in Moroccan society; description of Moroccan
"women's clubs"
23:30 End of T1
T2 - side 1
00:00 Start of tape
00:15 Slow process of presenting the gospel in women's clubs, women enjoyed fellowship
and refreshments, single co-worker Ila Davis, custom of women wearing veils and
covering heads
04:45 Love of Christ intrigued Moroccan women, no word for God's kind of love,
persecution of those who become Christians publicly, life of a Muslim woman at
the time; bigamy and place of woman and children in Muslim society; respect for
elders
10:15 Moroccan view of Schneiders' leaving their twins with two single missionary women
while they went away, rearing children on the mission field contrasted with the
United States, daughter's desire to graduate in the States, children attend
missionary kids school in Tangier, children adjusted to boarding school run by
GMU
16:00 Child evangelism classes separated boys' and girls', attendance, Bob's musical saw,
relations with the local people, typical girls, parents reactions to classes
22:08 End of T2
T3 - side 1
00:00 Start of tape
00:15 Introduction of interview on April 14, 1989
00:30 Morocco at time of coup and overthrow of French rule, atrocities of some Arabs
toward French Moroccans, rapport with people kept Schneiders safe during
turmoil; protection by Arab village men
05:45 Bible correspondence courses started so work could continue in Morocco even if
missionaries had to leave; government banned anything that had to do with the
book of Luke
09:45 Medical care for local people; ailments treated; at first, government provided some
medicines as Doris operated the medical hut by herself, but later the government
stopped the work, which provided source of bonding to nationals; comparison of
Arabs to Berbers; relations were not hostile, but Arabs thought themselves
superior
17:00 Berbers: seemed more open to gospel than Arabs, home-life in Morocco, hospitality,
visiting homes with another woman missionary; size and description of tent-homes,
mud huts with thatched roofs
21:30 Arabs: differences in homes, eating customs, interests and topics of conversation of
Arab women
24:30 Correspondence courses: Bob responsible for content, Doris for duplication printing
press was obtained; conversion of man through correspondence course
28:45 Cost of living in Morocco, support by home church and other churches, extra support
needed for children, schooling, etc.; lack of knowledge of people in States
concerning Morocco; Moroccans view of Americans as very wealthy; relations of
Moroccans to American military men; bartering for merchandise
35:15 Departure to Spain; moving their possessions
42:15 Government's reasons for ousting missionaries from all over North Africa, closing
children's school, finding housing in Spain for children and missionaries of the
school
44:45 End of side 1
T3 - side 2
00:00 Start of tape
00:15 Overlap from side 1
01:00 Helpfulness of southern Spaniards in accommodating school; blacklisting of
Moroccan missionaries who stayed until they were expelled; Schneiders' freedom
to visit since they had left early; difficulty of man who was printer in getting back
into Morocco; attitudes of government to missionaries
03:45 Doris's concern about adjustment to another country and language; move coincided
with Spain's broadening religious liberty; housing problems; finding land in Dutch
subdivision; opportunity to share with English-speaking Dutch women, Dutch
people give Christmas party for children; they also give special offering as token of
goodwill
11:00 Looking for someone to take over Bob's work; radio work; Fred and Dolores Piastra
[?] take over correspondence course and then whole ministry; Schneiders' influence
on Dolores' calling to work with Muslims
15:15 Establishing church services; contribution of land, vacation home
18:45 Doris's responsibilities in Spain: office correspondence, hostess to visitors, helped
start church for English-speaking people; Christmas Eve meeting where two
hundred people attend; Schneiders' decision to leave Spain and represent GMU's
work with Muslims in U.S.
22:45 End of T3
T4 - side 1
00:00 Start of tape
00:25 Overlap from T3
01:15 Difficulty adjusting to American life upon return; culture shock of seeing
extravagance of Americans; difficulty of raising support for missionaries now;
increase in materialism from 1940s to present; retirement plans
05:45 Muslim in U.S.: quarter of a million in Chicago area; reasons for increase; Blacks and
women most common Islam converts in U.S.; local church people and encounters
with Muslims
10:30 Outreach to Muslims in the U.S.: Fellowship of Faith; Chicago Friendship
Network; various prayer groups that meet in homes
14:45 Moroccan girl, Fatima, who accepted Christ and worked with Doris at the mission
18:45 Closing remarks
19:00 End of T4
Provenance
The material in this collection was given to the Archives of the Billy Graham Center by Doris
Schneider in March and April 1989.
Accession 89-18, 89-35
March 7, 1995
Janyce H. Nasgowitz
K. Cox
LOCATION RECORD
Accession: 89-18, 89-35
Type of Material: Audio Tapes
The following items are located in the AUDIO TAPE FILE:
T1 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, about 70 minutes. One side only. Interview of Doris (Mrs.
Robert) Schneider by Robert Shuster, March 17, 1989. Topics discussed include her
conversion, the preaching of John R. Rice, attendance at Moody Bible Institute, going
to Morocco with husband, Robert, under the Gospel Missionary Union, and rearing a
family on the mission field.
T2 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, about 20 minutes. One side only. Continuation of T1. Topics
discussed include the place of women in Islamic society, children's schooling on the
mission field, and child evangelism classes.
T3 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, about 70 minutes. One side only. Interview of Doris (Mrs.
Robert) Schneider by Robert Shuster, April 14, 1989. Schneider discussed the
overthrow of the French protectorate in Morocco, relations with the new government,
difference between Arabs and Berbers, public health among the Berbers, the move to
Spain in 1967, and activities there.
T4 - Reel-to-reel, 3-3/4 ips, about 20 minutes. One side only. Continuation of T3. Topics
discussed include the Schneiders' return to the United States in 1982, American
materialism, and Muslims in the United States.
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Last Revised: 3/14/00
Expiration: indefinite