Maxine Bates' Obituary
Opal Maxine Bates (Maxine), age 99, was called home to be with her Lord on Thursday, July 9, 2015 in Sebring, Florida. She was born to Vernon and Gail Bates, the oldest of five children, in a rural community near Fairfield, Iowa. Maxine was always interested in teaching and started out practicing on her younger brothers and sisters. She accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at the age of 18 and went to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois to learn more about the Bible. After graduation, the Lord put the desire in her heart to serve him in Africa as a missionary. She was one of the first missionaries sent out by the Western Springs Baptist Church in Illinois when Billy Graham was the pastor. She went to Nigeria under the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) in 1944, and taught Bible classes in Nigerian schools from 1944-1974. Then she moved to the country of Niger where she taught primarily at a Leprosarium until her retirement in 1985. Maxine wrote that she praises the Lord for all the opportunities He gave her to serve Him. She often felt so weak in her own strength, but she relied on God’s strength. The Bible says in Philippians Chapter 4 and verse 13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” She retired to the SIM Retirement Village in Sebring, Florida in 1989 where she attended Sunridge Baptist Church. Maxine is survived by two sisters, Alice Morrison, of Grand Island, Florida, and Lynda Alexander, of Bloomington, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her two brothers, Floyd Bates, of Winfield, Iowa and Quentin Bates, of Bethesda, Maryland. A memorial service will be held at 10am of Friday July 31, 2015, at the SIM Chapel in Sebring, Florida. Memorial contributions may be made to the SIM Retirement Village or to Sunridge Baptist Church of Sebring, Florida.
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