Born in 1917 and raised in Boone, Iowa, Rose realized early in her life that she would be a missionary. By 1938 she was married to the Reverend C. Russell Deibler, and they traveled to New Guinea, now called Indonesia. The first American woman to go into the Baliem Valley, Rose was captured by the Japanese and imprisoned at the start of World War II. She suffered greatly in the hands of her captors, but comforting words from a fellow prisoner named Dr. Robert Jaffray helped her during her sickness and suffering. For more than three years Rose was held in various camps and then put in solitary confinement and accused of being a spy. Beatings, interrogations, accusations, lack of food, illness, and cruelty didn't cause Rose to lose her faith. She determined to remain strong in her faith and the Lord would take care of her.
September 19, 1945 saw Rose's day of liberation and also of sadness. She learned of the deaths of both Dr. Jaffray and her husband Russell. After Rose remarried Rev. Gerald W. Rose, the couple returned to the region, this time to Papua New Guinea, until 1978. They taught the locals, preached, and helped the people in numerous practical ways. Years later Rose penned a book of her experiences called Evidence Not Seen. Though her second husband passed away in 2001, Rose lived until February 24, 2004. She was 86 years old.
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