Introduction

A Chinese poet once said, To re-create something in words is like being alive twice. In a very real sense I have found this to be true as I have been compiling this record of my parents' life.

Parents' Life and Correspondence

As missionaries in India from 1923-1960 they had written regularly to me and other family members in the United States. In addition, my father wrote many informative circular letters to his supporting churches. Unfortunately, some letters were lost, but in the end there was a suitcase full of correspondence. I couldn't throw them away. They were my meaningful link to my parents.

Motivation for Writing

So last summer, with the encouragement of my husband and children, I bought a laptop computer and started writing this story as a tribute to the remarkable and dedicated life of my parents, concentrating particularly on their life together as missionaries, followed by 17 years in Home Missions. In the process I have re-lived those early years and true to the Chinese poet's words, I feel that I have been alive twice.

Emphasis in Letters

The reader will notice capitalization of certain words in my father's letters, where capitals are not customarily used. I believe it was his way of emphasizing words which he considered important.