1949 – 1950 # 12
Family in England; Ship from England to India
Nov 29th, 1949
Dear Mother and all,
I wrote you a wee note on the boat, but wanted to add a
little more before we sent this off air mail.
Will have to send the long news letter by ocean mail so it will take
longer.
We are on the train now from Southhampton to London. We had no difficulty getting through
customs. We saw all of our 19 pieces of
luggage as it came off the boat. All
were in good shape except one board off the bed and one new case broken at one
end. They handle them pretty rough. We put the machine in Dorothy’s trunk and packed
things around it and left it to be sent to the next boat along with the other
12 large things. We have taken the one
trunk of foods with us and when empty we can use that case to pack in from
here.
It is foggy this morning so we can’t see very much of
England yet. It is cold and damp. No heat in the train. Children are dressed warmly and we have only
a two-hour ride to London. We will have
to take a taxi out to the house of rest as we have 11 pieces of luggage with
us.
Most of the homes we are passing are made of red or yellow
brick – old style. The newer ones seem
to be of stucco. The grass looks quite
green yet, but is covered with white frost this morning. Trees are bare like at home except lots of
evergreens.
We are in 3rd also on the train. 2 seats facing each other on each side with a
little table in between. 2nd
and 1st class are in private compartments.
Ann, David and Shari are enjoying everything. They have learned to keep pretty close to us.
Love from us all.
Want to write Edith now.
EuniceXXXXXX
The House of Rest
10 Finchley Road
London, NW 8 England
December 7th, 1949
Dear Ones All,
Greetings and love to your from Britannia! The first two paragraphs are a repeat of
Mummy’s letter above. Our luggage
was taken by porters at Victoria Station to a taxi outside. The taxis in London are much different from
our own in America—all black, old style, with a place beside the driver for
carrying luggage. The driver’s seat was
on the right, of course, since the traffic in England keeps to the left. The double decker buses are exactly the same
as we have in Bombay (probably made by the same English company); we felt at home seeing them. London is a big, big city, but does not have
buildings beyond six or seven stories – probably because of the danger of
bombing.
It took only about 15 minutes for us to reach the House of
Rest, where we had arranged to stay. We
met Miss Taylor, the hostess, and were shown to our rooms. This home is an old mansion-like structure,
with winding stairs and lovely large rooms.
We were allotted 2 rooms, but insisted that one was enough – we had in
mind keeping our kiddies within sight.
We are on the third floor. Soon
after settling in a bit we discovered that we did not have the suitcase with
David’s clothes. Thinking back, we felt
it must be at Victoria Station, so John hurried back by subway, and found it in
the Lost and Found Dept. So once more
the Lord watched over His children – real children this time!
Here in our room we have three single beds, a cot, and a
couch with a gas fireplace. Near the
fireplace is a meter, where pennies are inserted to obtain heat. The fire runs high for ten minutes for one
penny, or low for half an hour. After being used to plenty of heat at home, I’m
afraid we required more heat than our English friends, but soon we ceased
trying to heat the entire room and gathered close to the fireplace. The kiddies took over the job of inserting
pennies. There is also a small gas ring
for making tea or coffee, with kettle provided. John makes good use of this.
We have breakfast at 8:30 in the large dining-room
downstairs. Quite a substantial
breakfast of porridge, etc., toast, marmalade and tea. On Sunday morning only a boiled egg appears. Each person’s butter is placed beside his
plate with his name on it! This is about
the only evidence of stringency in food we have seen yet in England. We have ration cards, so can get milk at a
nearby store for the children. Lunch is
1:15 – a light meal: tea in the drawing
room at 4 pm, and dinner at 7 pm. The
kiddies have observed the English way of eating with the knife in the right
hand and fork in the left; Anne does it
very well, but David and Shari have their troubles. They also like putting their napkins into the
ring after meals. Anne puts them back
into our little cubby-hole near the door while David is the self-appointed
collector of hymn-books. Morning
devotions are cared for by Miss Taylor;
Workers from Burma, Africa, and China are here – also quite a number of
Swedish folks learning English preparatory for the mission field.
Aboard the “Strathaired”
Between Port Said and Aden, on Red Sea
Jan 3rd, 1950
Dearly Beloved:
Almost one month has passed since I last wrote you – from
London. This is not at all as we had
hoped, since we want these accounts to come to you from time to time. We wish we could put into words that which is
in our hearts concerning all the LORD’S grace and lovingkindness towards us. The 139th Psalm comes close to
expressing our feelings.
I think our last letter found us at the House of Rest. We want to go on from there and tell you
something of our 3 ½ weeks in England.
One of the first things we had to do during our first week was to get
injections for typhus and cholera. We
called the China Inland Mission for advice about these, and they strongly
recommended the Mildmay Mission Hospital.
So began our first subway trip from the House of Rest to the hospital –
one many times repeated. To get to the
hospital, we entered the escalator ( about the longest we have seen), took one
train for a few stations, got off, went down to a lower lever for another
train, and after that to a Third level for our third train. (It was in these tunnels that many Londoners
slept night after night during the days of heavy bombing.) When we arrived at our last station, we had
to take other escalators to bring us up to the street level.
The hospital is located in a poor section of the city, in
which many of the residents are Jewish.
More than half of the patients in the hospital are Jewish, according to
one of the attendants. We passed many
buildings on our way to the hospital where merely the walls, or one wall, of a
building stood – the result of bombing.
As we entered the hospital, we saw Scripture verses printed on all main
walls. The nurse who gave us the
injection was a sweet Christian girl. We
learned later that she is preparing for work in Africa. She gave the injections very well and
quickly, so the children didn’t mind the first time ( it required one shot in each arm), even
though it hurt a little. However, when
we were a week later to get the second set of injections, we had a bit more
trouble. Anne and David did pretty well,
but when the nurse turned to give Shari hers, she was nowhere to be found. Soon we discovered her hiding behind the
door.
While visiting the hospital, John and I both had a
checkup. John had an X-ray of his back,
but it did not show anything in particular.
The doctor suggested putting on a plaster cast, to remain on for three
months, but we decided against this after prayer. It would have made traveling uncomfortable,
and certainly the heat of Bombay would have made things worse. When the doctor examined me, she suggested
that I see the surgeon the next week about a tiny growth. I did see him, and he said it should be
cared for, especially since it would mean a very minor operation and they could
do it before we sailed. We had liberty
to have this done, so I went into the hospital the next Thursday, and was able
to come home the following Monday – just three days before we were to sail.
I do want to tell you something of the joy of being in this
Christian hospital. All the resident
nurses, sisters, and doctors are true Christians, and they certainly show
fruits of the Spirit in their labor of love.
I was in a 16 bed ward. On the
wall behind each bed was an appropriate Scripture verse. Morning and evening prayers were conducted
by one of the nurses or the sister.
Beside each bed was a Bible and a hymn book. We sang hymns together, and then turned to
the Scripture portions the leader read.
The patients who did not know their Bibles well enough to turn to the
portions were helped by the nurses.
After the brief message, prayer was offered for the Lord’s blessing upon
the day and the lives of the patients.
Very often I would see the Sister or a nurse dealing with patients with
the open Bible. I had a long talk with
the Sister one morning and she told me of some of the precious contacts she had
had with different patients. She told of
one Jewish woman with whom she had dealt for a long time, who finally accepted
the Lord Jesus with joy.
When one is brought into the operating theatre, he sees this
verse in large letters on the wall:
“They that put their trust in the LORD shall be safe”. The verse for the
surgeon and nurses is “ I will hold thy right hand.” It certainly meant a lot to me to have even
this minor thing done in a place like this.
I had to be very careful for a few days after I came home,
and John had to be both Daddy and Mommie, as when I was in the hospital. There were some lovely folks at the House of
Rest who helped him with the children.
But, in spite of a few difficulties, we were able to get packed up and
everything seen to about our sailing on Dec. 22.
One of the matters which concerned us was that we might get
Tourist Class on the “Straithaird”
instead of First Class. The
latter was the only thing available from America, but the headquarters of the P
& O were in London, so we tried to deal with them about exchanging our
class. Although they gave a bit of hope
that last-minute cancellations of others might permit us to have a cabin, they
indicated that, for such a family as ours, it would be very unusual to have
enough cancellations. Tourist Class
accommodations had been reserved up to April, so the only hope lay in
cancellations. When, the day before
sailing, we learned that nothing was available, we accepted it as the Lord’s
will and plan for us to go First Class.
It cost over $250.00 more that Tourist Class for our family of
five. Perhaps, however, it was God’s
purpose for us to be in India before January 26th, when India is to
be constituted a Republic, and when restrictions against evangelical workers
may be more seriously enforced. Then,
too, Eunice’s visa expires on January 19th, so any delay might have
endangered even this.
We did not spend all our time at Mildmay hospital. We took the children to Trafalgar Square, in
the center of London, with the monument to Lord Nelson, and four great stone
lions in the Square. The pigeons come to
the Square in great flocks. Our Kiddies
enjoyed feeding the pigeons, with a number of the birds perched on Shari’s arms
and head.
On two occasions we were to see the Changing of the Guards
at Buckingham Palace. All Guards, both
going out and coming in, are dressed in long coats and high, brightly polished
helmets and plumage. All of them rode
beautiful large horse. It is a pretty
sight, and we all enjoyed it – David was thrilled.
Mummy talks of visiting with the Toomey Wilsons, good
friends who used to live near us in Bombay, whose daughter was born in the same
hospital as we were in Bombay and other sight seeing on double decker busses,
and other visits with friends in England.
We shall never cease to be thankful for this time in
England. Now we can see how the LORD
foresaw our need and planned that we might go that way. Under the Health scheme now operating in
England, there was no charge for all the medical attention we received there.
At 8 am we were tucked into the taxi, and started for the
station. Special boat trains were
leaving for Tilbury docks, about 20 miles from London. Again began the task of counting pieces of
luggage. A porter took over our luggage
this time, and put it into the luggage van of the train. I took the children into the train, while
John made some final telephone calls. We
walked and walked from one car to the next until we began to think that all
London was going on the “Straithaird”.
At last we found seats for five.
We enjoyed this two –hour trip to Tilbury in the early morning
hours. Tilbury is a point on the River
Thames where it is wide and deep enough for large ships to dock. As the train drew into the docks, we were
told to remain in our seats until all luggage was taken off to the customs
shed. After more than half an hour, we
were permitted to leave the train.
Customs inspection was over very quickly, also passport inspections, and
soon we were following the dock porter up the gangplank of the “ Strathaird”.
Aboard the “Strathaird”
Arabian Sea
January 5th 1950
Dear dear loved ones at home:
In just less than 48 hours, we shall be in the land of our
adoption, DV, our beloved Hindustan! It
thrills our hearts. In fact, for days
we have been talking together about it, and rejoicing in the wonder of what God
has done in bringing us again “unto our desired haven.”
After we got aboard the “Straithaird” at Tilbury, I waited
in the lounge until John located our cabin and had seen all our cabin luggage
put away. There the children’s hostess
met me and got the names, ages, and birthdays of the children, explaining about
the nursery, meals hours, etc. Being in
First Class, everything was roomy and lovely.
We found that we had been assigned to 2 two bed cabins in a very nice
location—close to the Purser’s office (where all the business on board is
transacted) on E deck.
We were all very interested to watch them get the ship into
motion. The river was not wide at this
point, and eventually became a sort of canal.
Ropes were strung to both shores, so that the ship might be guided quite
carefully, even though it was going under its own power all the time. We were going along like this for a couple of
hours, then into a wider part of the Thames the rest of the afternoon, when the
ropes were unnecessary.
At 11:30 we went down to take the children to lunch in the
children’s dining room. The kiddies
enjoyed sitting with all the others.
However, the stewards (waiters) were quite inexperienced and that day,
and almost to the end of the trip, they had their difficulties serving the children
(and pleasing the parents!) After their
lunch, we took them to B deck to the nursery each day, where they remained
while we had our own lunch. All three
kiddies loved the nursery for the first few days, and David and Shari still do,
but Anne soon found new interests elsewhere on the boat. After a few days, we were able to trust her
by herself pretty much. She could find her way back to the cabin easily—things
were not nearly so complex on the Straithaird as they were on the Queen
Elizabeth. The decks are safe and the
bars of the railings are close together, so that no child could fall out unless
it climbed up.
The nursery was surrounded by a high fence and a netting inside, so everything was perfectly
safe unless the door was left open—which occasionally happened. There was a nurse in charge all the time, and
usually the hostess also was present.
There was a tiny merry-go-round that Shari never tired of, a slide, and
a rocking pony. There were toys galore,
and lovely English dolls, games, block, and books—with pegs to pound. The children had biscuits in the middle of
the morning. In the afternoon they had
story hour, and a time of listening to nursery rhymes on the gramophone.
I was pretty well worn out by the time lunch was over, so
went to bed and stayed there the rest of Thursday and most all day Friday. When we got into the English Channel, we
began to roll somewhat, and both Anne and David got sick, with the usual result! They slept all Friday afternoon, though, and
were ready to eat again on Saturday. It
usually takes a day or two to get one’s sea legs. Shari and Daddy, however, never missed a
meal. I was not very seasick since I
was in bed most of the day when we were tolling down the Channel. By Saturday I felt a lot better, but all the
first week had a backache probably due to catching a cold. One week of sea air, sunshine, good food,
and rest did wonders for me, and now I feel strong and well again. I think we have all gained weight.
It was very interesting going along the coast of France,
Portugal and Spain. We did not come very
near the shore at any time, but could see very well from a distance of a few
miles. It took four days to reach
Gibraltar.
But before telling
you about that, I must tell you about Christmas on the boat. Saturday night, Christmas Eve, a group of us
missionaries sang carols around the decks, and outside of the First Class
lounge. The children had a special
Christmas Eve party at 5 pm with fancy hats, poppers, and especially nice
food. The grownups also had a special
Christmas Eve dinner, with silly hats and poppers. We had opportunity of witness of the true
Christmas message to many Indian students returning from work in England or
America.
On the Lord’s Day (Christmas), things were quiet and quite
nice. In the morning we went to a
crowded Anglican service in the Main Lounge.
A little dry and as someone commented on the way out “That’s the way I
like it, get it over with quickly”! It
hurts our hearts that after all the Lord Jesus shed His precious blood for, so
many are content with being in Church, just to get a check for the week.
In the afternoon we took the children over into Tourist
Class for Sunday school. The Salvation
Army brother on board had charge, and several missionaries helped—teaching
choruses, Scripture verses, and telling vital stories. It was good, and our own kiddies enjoyed it. One lady taught a verse that Anne already
knew (Matthew 1:21) so she was able to say it first, and well, and received the
chart from which the verse was taught.
On Monday (Boxing Day to the English) there was a special
party for the children. Father Christmas
arrived and brought each of the children a gift. He called off all the names, and each child
came forth for his. Shari got a ball,
David a car, and Anne a Jump-rope. Then
at dinner they had fancy hats and poppers again.
I forgot to mention that on Christmas Eve our kiddies hung
up their stockings in the cabin with great confidence. (We have told them clearly about Santa Claus
or rather the absence of him, and they understand, but they like to carry out
the usual acts.) Daddy and Mommie had
had too full a week previously to think about this need very much although we
had looked at a few things in London at very high prices for minor things. So we were a bit concerned about what we
should put in the stockings. However,
John remembered the parcel that the Bushes had given him in Bristol. After the kiddies were asleep, we opened it
and found two lovely gifts for each child and one each for Daddy and Mommie—all
beautifully packed and wrapped in Christmas paper. We hadn’t given the kiddies much hope the
night before, so they were really surprised to find the gifts beside their
stockings in the morning.
Christmas over, I can now tell you more about the
journey. We had a wonderful view of
Gibraltar. It is a great rock jutting
out into the sea, with sturdy houses (probably for military) all along one
side. Of course we could not see many of
the fortifications, but the Rock must be a network of them inside and out. Our boat drew up within a quarter of a mile
of the Rock, sent off some mail, then sailed along the other side of it, so we
got a real good view and were able to take a couple of pictures. But Gibraltar, in these atomic bombing days,
is not perfectly safe or the people on or in it; but, if we are established on
our ROCK , Christ, we need not fear anything this old world can bring out.
For the next three of four days, we sailed close to the coast
of Africa, seeing land most of the time.
We saw the city of Algiers and were amazed to see how large and modern
it is—at least from a distance of a mile or so.
This is probably all we shall see of Africa, so we were glad to get a
look at it. We passed close to Malta
one night, so saw nothing more than a few lights at a great distance. Except for the second day out, we have had
no rough sailing. The Mediterranean was
beautiful. It began getting warmer as
we continued in this sea, and the weather became ideal for getting out on
deck. The nights too are beautiful on
deck and many folks take strolls along the spacious decks.
Right after the children’s supper at 5 pm, we take them on
deck and sitting as close together as possible we sing our choruses and hymns,
say our Scripture verses, read the Word, and have prayer. Sometimes the wind, or the sound of the bow
of the ship meeting the water, makes it difficult for us to hear one another,
but generally it is fine. These hours
have been a joy to us. Wide wide as the
ocean, Deep and Wide, and Jesus, Savior, pilot me, become very real on the deck
of a ship sailing through sea and ocean.
When we made reservations for our tables in the Dining Room
at the start of our trip, we asked to be put at a table with Indian
people. We have been so happy in the way
we feel the Lord guided in the arrangements.
At our table are Mr. and Mrs. Shanta, a young Indian couple returning
from studies in America Mr. Shanta came
to America on the same ship as I did (The General Gordon) three years ago. Then there is Mrs. Sethi, returning to Punjab
to be with her young son and parents.
Her husband is in the military in England. The Shantas and Mrs. Sethi are Hindus. Then there is Miss Silloo Billimoria, a Parsi
girl, returning to Bombay from London after studying violin. We have had a delightful time with these
friends, with many opportunities for witness, especially in answer to their own
questions. We are grateful for this
contact with the Parsi community through Silloo. We will meet her again in Bombay.
There are about 20 missionaries in Tourist, and six or seven
in First Class – almost all going to India.
We have been meeting at 10 each morning for Bible Study and prayer. For a time we discussed a book on the deeper
life, Bone of His Bone, but felt soon we could benefit more through a study of Romans Chapters 6, 7,
& 8. Workers from various missions
were present, from different backgrounds, but the LORD unified us by His
Spirit, and we had good times together.
Today passengers were shown around the engine room. We were guided down narrow stairs into a
room where giant generators were purring away, also all the intricate machinery
necessary for a ship of 26,000 tons. It
is quite comfortable on the hottest days on the decks, but in the engine room
one wonders that anyone can survive a few hours in such heat. Tomorrow we are to be brought to the Bridge,
the section devoted to the steering of the ship. David will then get to see the man who drives
the boat; he has always wanted to see him.
Today the children’s sports were held on sports deck. There were races for all years under 12 –
potato race, sack race, etc. Anne came
first in the potato race and David came second in the sack race, so they each
received a prize. Shari was a bit sick
yesterday, so we didn’t let her run, much as she wanted to. Anne got a car, and David got a “Strathaird”
pin for prizes. This afternoon the
children had a Fancy Dress Tea Party.
Some were dressed as fairies, brownies, one as a Chinamnan, another as a
cowboy, a walky talky doll, etc. Anne
wanted very much to dress up, but we had nothing to use. Finally we made a dress from Christmas
wrappings, one for Shari from the ship’s paper napkins, and then we draped
David in the large bath towels of the ship and sent him forth as Gandhi. They might have won prizes for the oddest
costumes.
I think we were in the Mediterranean when I left off telling
you something of the sights along the way.
We arrived in Port Said on Friday morning about 5 am. We were allowed to go on shore, so we had a
walk around the city for a couple of hours.
David shouted when he saw his first palm tree. Many things in Port Said reminded us of
Bombay. It was warm there, and mostly
everyone was in light, loose clothing.
We saw the horse gharries, so typical of Bombay. Our kiddies were thrilled by seeing a little
Egyptian riding a tiny donkey. There
were many signs of poverty, in spite of the presence also of good stores. Anne mentioned later that, if the Egyptians
had only treated the children of Israel better, the latter would have stayed in
Egypt and there would not have been so much poverty! We saw the statue of the architect of the
Suez Canal. All along the docks, small
boys were selling fish and crabs.
We went back on board about 10:30 and from the decks watched
the vendors in small boats selling their wares to folks on board our boat. Shouting back and forth, showing their
carpets, baskets, etc., they would
strike a bargain, the vendor would send
the article up by a rope, and the customer would send the money back in a
little bag. This is a very common
practice in all Eastern ports. The
vendors charge much more than the article is worth, but many passengers are
willing to buy them for souvenirs
It took our ship about 12 hours to go through the Suez
Canal. This is a very narrow place, with
not enough room for two big ships to pass very comfortable. As a result, there are wide spots here and
there where big boats stop until the way is clear for them. On one side of the canal (and sometimes of
both sides) there was a fine road and railway tracks. For quite a distance after we left Port Said,
people walked or drove along the road waving goodbye. We were able to get just a small idea of the
immensity of the task of making this canal between the Mediterranean and the
Red Sea.
After leaving the Canal, we were soon in the Red Sea. We talked with the children about how God had
turned back the waters of this sea to let the children of Israel through. We marveled that the Sea should be so large;
often we could not see either shore.
The kiddies enquired whether Pharoah and his army were still at the
bottom of the sea. They wondered too why
the sea was not red, when it is called the Red Sea. We saw Mt. Sinai at in the distance, but not
clearly.
It kept getting warmer each day as we sailed towards Aden,
our next stop. However we arrived in
Aden about 5 am and had to leave again at 8:00 so we did not go ashore. (The ship did not actually dock at Aden, but
ferry boats took passengers to the shores)
The shops of Aden open early when a boat is there, so many passengers
brought back souvenirs. From the decks
of our boat, we watched small boys diving for coins.
Since leaving Aden, our hearts have been filled with
expectation of seeing Bombay in a few days.
Each hour brings us nearer to our home and labors there. The ship travels only about 20 miles per
hour, but we are thankful it isn’t working on an eight-hour day but plods along
the full 24 hours. So our sailing rate
runs between 400 and 450 miles each day when we do not stop. We are preparing our baggage for
disembarking, also our customs declaration forms. We are due to arrive in Bombay at 5 am,
Saturday January 7th, although we may be a bit late. A few days ago the drummer of the dance
orchestra had to undergo a serious operation, and, to give the surgeon every
advantage, the ship ran very slowly for more than two hours. But the drummer died in the morning, and was
buried at sea in the evening. In a
double sense, he missed getting HOME.
So many of us with the Gospel message on board, but totally unable to
get it to this dying man.
Ephesians 6:18 – 20
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
With love from us all,
