Dearest Mom,
I have a wonderful surprise for you. Elmer has been chosen to be the chairman of the Thailand Mission (the highest honor that a missionary can receive). It came as a surprise because there were other experienced missionaries.
But Elmer was
chosen. One of the things he will be responsible for is the
safety of our Thailand missionaries - a heavy burden in
itself because conditions in the area are not good. He will
also be responsible for all mission money and will represent
the Thailand field on the Dalat school board. That means he
will get to see the children often. We will be moving to
Korat and will have the same address we had when we first
came to Thailand. There will be some adjustments for me to
make including doing alot of enter taining (something I never
really enjoyed). I also know that people in positions of
leadership are subject to criticism, so I will have to learn
to cope with that. But at least Elmer will not be off in the
jungles!"As a young farmer in Minnesota, Elmer had expected to farm for the rest of his life.
He and his
brother, George, had operated a dairy farm until 1941 when
Elmer was drafted into the United States Army. "I was drafted
into the army just before Pearl Harbor," Elmer wrote in a
1951 article: "The shock of the bombing there aroused a
great fear in my heart - a fear of the future. I even bought
a Bible and decided one night to attend a Bible study and
prayer meeting at the army chapel. After the meeting, an army
master sergeant, Tom Shakespeare, asked, 'Elmer, are you a
Christian?' I answered, 'I'm trying to be one.' He knew then
that I was not! He explained the plan of salvation to me
using John 3:16 and that night I accepted Jesus Christ as my
personal Savior."A few weeks later I was on my way to combat
in the Pacific
Islands but now I had real peace in my heart. During my 31
months there, I had the opportunity of seeing missions in
action. I did not know it then, but I later realized that God
was speaking to me about becoming a missionary." During three
months in the hospital with a neck and spinal infection, the
chaplain told me about an organization called "The Christian
and Missionary alliance" and the work they were doing around
the world. He suggested that I contact them and check into
getting some training for missionary service. It was there in
New Zealand that I finally decided that if God wanted me, I
would be a missionary. When I told my family, they asked,
'Why do you want to be a missionary?' They were
surprised to learn that I did not intend to go back to the
farm, especially since plans had already been made to do so.
I told them that I had personally witnessed the
transformation in the lives of many of the island people. I
could not forget the man who said, "Won't you come back
and help give out the story of Jesus?"
Elmer finished his four years of service and
rather than going to the nearby St. Paul Bible College, he
entered Nyack Bible College in the spring of 1946. The CMA
Mission rule at the time was that missionaries had to attend
Nyack College for their final year. Elmer did not wish to
begin at one school and transfer later to another so he had
chosen Nyack over St. Paul. I always said that God sent him
to Nyack because I was there! I was a third year student
preparing for foreign ministry. I never would have met Elmer
if he had attended college in Minnesota. By taking summer
courses, Elmer was able to graduate just two years later.
After graduation, he headed to Prattville, Alabama, at the
request of Rev. T.G. Mangham, Sr., the district
superintendent who had recommended Nyack College. Elmer
pastored there alone for six months until I completed a
nursing course in New York City.
We were married
in Oceanside, Long Island, on November 13, 1948.Mission policy required all missionary candidates to have two years experience in a church at home before going overseas. We spent a happy two years together in Prattville and eventually the telegram with our appointment to Siam arrived. In September 1950, Elmer, little David and I left the U.S. aboard the S.S. Steel Navigator, a cargo ship.
Fifty-seven days later we arrived in
Bangkok, Thailand, with its "cobras in the kitchen, bandits
in the jungle and communists across the river." 
Listen to Chapter 12
Print Book Chapters
