From Football to Freetown

Copyright © 2013 JAKE AND RUTH SCHIERLING.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-0452-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0453-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013914227

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/10/2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE KURANKOS OUR FRIENDS

Introduction

Chapter 1   Jake’s story

Chapter 2   Ruth’s story

Chapter 3   Our Wedding

Chapter 4   Our Senior Year At Bible School

Chapter 5   Our First Assignment

Chapter 6   Our First Term in Sierra Leone

Chapter 7   Language Study

Chapter 8   Some Cultural Things We Learned

Chapter 9   Our First Station

Chapter 10   Jeep Road

From Yifin to Magburaka via Kayima/Yengema

Chapter 11   The Arrival of Dr. & Mrs. Maclure

Chapter 12   Our First Furlough

Chapter 13   Our Second Term

Chapter 14   Going to Kamaron

Chapter 15   Building at Ganya for Harrigans

Chapter 16   Our Second Furlough

Chapter 17   Our Third Trip Back to Africa

Chapter 18   Our Third Term

Chapter 19   Return to Kamaron

Chapter 20   Another Longer Trip

Chapter 21   Other Trips and Some Hunting

Chapter 22   Vacations

Chapter 23   Bridge-building

Chapter 24   Other Interesting Things

Nearing the End of Our Third Term

Chapter 25   Our Children

Chapter 26   Our Third Furlough

Chapter 27   Our Years in Fresno

Chapter 28   Kuranko Work and Customs

Observe the Rules: (This is Jake’s page)

Some Work Patterns

Chapter 29   Farming

Chapter 30   Rearing Children

Chapter 31   Tribal leaders

Nine chiefs

1.   Kolio,—chief of Sambaya Bendugu.

2.   Keli Koroma—chief in Yifin.

3.   Balansama—Kuranko chief in Kabala, Koinadugu chiefdom.

4.   Fina Keli—first he was chief of the Mansadugu area, but after the amalgamation he became chief over all of the Mongo chiefdom which included many smaller chiefdoms.

5.   Konta Fore—Mongo Bendugu chiefdom in the northern territory. He followed Chief Fina Keli.

6.   Damba Sayon Mara—Paramount chief of the Kamaron Chiefdom.

7.   Tamba Sayon—Paramount chief of Baliya chiefdom.

8.   Kumba Fanko—Paramount chief of the Neya chiefdom.

9.   Fanko Lai—the chief in the Neya chiefdom.

Chapter 32   Some More Items of Kuranko Culture

Men

Women

Sacrifices

Chapter 33   Missions and Hunting

Chapter 34   Medical Opportunities

Chapter 35   Some Accidents on the Field

Chapter 36   Other Cultural Experiences

Chapter 37   Hunting and Some Rules

Chapter 38   Two Other Hunting Experiences

Chapter 39   Other Hunting Experiences

Chapter 40   Our Return to Sierra Leone

Chapter 41   Moving to Kabala

Chapter 42   Another Return to Sierra Leone

Chapter 43   Two Other Trips Home

Chapter 44   Our Final Days in Sierra Leone

Chapter 45   Odds and Ends

Chapter 46   Other Missionary Trips We Took

Chapter 47   Bintimani

Chapter 48   Some Other Interesting Things

Kuranko Names

Government Permits

Chapter 49   Jack Ross and Jake’s River Trip

Chapter 50   Another One of Those Trips

Chapter 51   Missionaries Have Differences

Missionaries and Cultural Problems

Chapter 52   Saying YES to the Christian Message

Chapter 53   Language Learning and Teaching

Training National Adults

Chapter 54   Giving and Receiving

Missionary Relationships

The Missionary Family and Cross Cultural Matters

Chapter 55   Bits and Pieces

Some special events with our children

Other bits and pieces

Some Kuranko beliefs about witches and some other things

Eclipse of the Moon

Death in Kurankoland

Some Kuranko Parables

1.   One pair of pants cannot walk on two different paths at the same time.

2.   Words alone cannot marry a women.

3.   A fast growing vine on a tree will eventually kill the tree.

4.   Sene ti soron sa yile ro—You cannot make a farm laying in a hammock.

5.   A hunched-backed woman in the house is better than an empty house.

Chapter 56   Catching up with our children

Chapter 57   The Missionary Family and Cross-Cultural Matters

Attitude

Climate

Foods

How to greet people

Asking for forgiveness

Kuranko work ethics

Play

Clothing

Chapter 57   End of the Story

About the Author

Missionary and Friends

THE KURANKOS OUR FRIENDS

Introduction

S ierra Leone is one of the smaller countries in Africa located on the West Coast about 8-10 degrees north of the equator. An estimated population is about 4 to 5 million people.

Most of the people live in rural areas and make their living from the earth and forests. Rice, yam, corn, sweet potatoes, cassava and ground nuts (peanuts) with a variety of vegetables make up their food consumption. They also have palm oil, extracted from the palm nuts by cooking them and crushing them. This releases the oil to float and then be skimmed off the top and be put into vats or containers for using on rice or any other staple. The kernels which are left are then crushed in a machine to produce the white palm oil that is used in all sorts of ways—cosmetics, soaps, etc. They have citrus trees, coffee plants and cacao plants also.

Rice is produced for personal use only and just enough extra to provide some cash for other necessary items needed to live on. In the bigger cities imported rice is provided in the shops and stores. There is not enough rice raised in the country to supply the whole of Sierra Leone. The reason is because the work is mostly done by hand.

Freetown is the largest city in the country and it is the capital. It got its name when the slaves were freed in England and its commonwealth countries, and they were sent to Sierra Leone. When we arrived in Sierra Leone in l947, Freetown was a city with a variety of cultures from many countries of the world. The English were still governing the land. Many of the major stores were managed by foreigners from Lebanon, Syria, France, England, etc. Stores were filled with goods from Holland, England, South Africa, China, Italy and America.

Traffic was not a problem, because not many people had cars at that time. Krio was the trade language, a language born among the people who had been thrown together from British colonies, from where they had been taken as slaves and now were freed and sent back. They had been taken from different West African countries, so it became a kind of hodge-podge. Thus, in Krio you have words that come from the Yoruba language in Nigeria. There are words from other languages as well as English, in a simple form. It has now been recognized as a real language not as corrupted English. In the last fifteen years the Lutheran Bible Translators have translated portions of the Bible into Krio. Example, E de bifo yu. meaning, It is there in front of you.. Wis si e de?, meaning Where is it?. I fin em i fin em, i no se em. meaning, I looked for it and looked for it, but I didn’t find it.

Supplies of all kinds were plentiful. We could even find things left by the British and American armies after World War 2. Food was in great supply with many different kinds. Prices were high for foreign articles, according to national incomes, but very good for us foreigners who had a better income.

Wages for labor were low. Men who worked for us in our home received about $10.00 a month—we would have paid them more, but it would have upset the then economy. We had some of the finest young men helping us in our home and compound. Most of them were Christians or became Christians during their stay with us. A young man by the name of Sayon Keita managed our house for over 17 years. Our children honored him with great respect. He, in turn, called our children his children as well. When we retired from the field in l983, our family sent him $1,000 as a gift for his faithfulness to us over those many years. To this day, he is a dear friend to all of us.

There were a number of large cities up in the interior. Bo was a very large city in among the Mende people. Makini was another large city among the Themne people. Segwema was among the Kono people. Magburaka, our headquarters, was among the Themne people. In early days, we could get most of our supplies there without going to Freetown. Kabala was among the Kuranko, Limba and Yalunka people. Kamakwi was in the Limba area. This was where the Wesleyan hospital was where our son Stephen was born and where we doctored for many years. Kenema was in the diamond area and among the Kono people—it was close to the Liberian border. Yengema was the center of the diamond mining area. The English had control over the country until 1961, but they continued a very strict control over the diamond area for some years later. Since diamonds were often found in alluvial soils and streams, it was hard to control the illicit miners, which resulted in the break down of control. This caused a great many atrocities and ended up funding the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Many very strange stories came from the diamond area after control broke down. Gangs of illicit miners were formed to dig and sift in the swamps and streams. We were told that in a certain gang that was digging for diamonds, one of the gang members located a very precious stone where he was digging and thinking he was alone and wanting to keep this one for himself, he put it in his mouth and swallowed it. Unfortunately for him, one of the other members happened to see him. When evening came and reports were made and finds were shared, the one who saw the other swallow the stone reported it to the others. They asked him about it and proceeded to retrieve it by cutting open his stomach, taking out the stone, and leaving him to die. These were some of the hard and fast rules in the illicit diamond arena.

One of the young men from our village of Kamaron came home one day with a bundle of cash, in the amount of thousands of Leones (dollars). His sudden found wealth drove him crazy—he actually was given the name of Crazy Sayon. He spent his money in crazy ways. He bought several bicycles, a number of battery operated radios with numerous batteries, cartons of cigarettes and paid large dowries for eight new wives. He got into trouble with the village elders on minor things and was then fined large amounts of money, because they were after his wealth. Within a couple of years his money was gone! He lost his respect in the village of Kamaron, so he built his final house on the car road about 1/2 mile out of town. With very little money left, he asked Jake if he would help him put the metal roof on his house, so he agreed and did it for no pay. Not many years later he left Kamaron and went back to the diamond area—his house was left empty, his wives went back home and finally his house collapsed. Some time later, we got word that he had died in the diamond area where he was last seen. Our friend Sayon Keita tried to help him, but to no avail.

Most of the cities in Sierra Leone had a variety of nationalities living in them. Many of the larger cities had people from bordering countries living and involved in business and trading. Before independence many of the lesser cities and towns had foreign business people living and carrying on their business there. People from England, Germany, France, Lebanon, Russia and Syria. Foreigners in larger businesses were many and missionaries from the USA and England were many. After independence, the Chinese and Koreans were invited to provide skills and training in raising vegetables and better methods of growing rice.

Building supplies and vehicles were also plentiful. American vehicles and supplies were rare, but could be ordered. Before the Peace Corp was introduced by President Kennedy, all Americans were thought of as Christians, because most of the Americans the people knew were missionaries. When the Peace Corp came, they saw it differently.

After Independence (1961), things changed. Values changed. What seemed important to the British was not important to the Sierra Leoneans. Government finances were used for other things and in other ways, which became evident in the maintenance of roads, public schools, medical facilities, etc. It soon became evident that the officials were not managing the country in the way it was hoped for by the general public. From l961 to l999 things deteriorated to the point where leadership was divided, members of the army defected and formed a rebel army that has brought destruction to many lives and properties in Sierra Leone. It could have been one of the richest small countries in all of Africa, because of its mineral resources and the rich diamond fields in the North—east part of the country. Lack of control and mismanagement of the mines have been the cause of much of the financial loss to the country.

Presently, Sierra Leone has lost much of the prosperity it once enjoyed, because of rebel activity for so many years. Schools, hospitals and businesses have been destroyed along with many villages up in the interior. Hunger and physical pain inflicted by the rebels is beyond description. Women and children have suffered along with the male population. One of our friends said, We are forced to live in the bush like animals.

Rebel activity has destroyed much of Sierra Leone, but it has caused the churches to grow and many people have committed themselves to Christ. Physical suffering, death and loss of material things have caused many to turn to Christianity for help. Materially and physically the country is poor, but spiritually the people have grown and matured in their Christian faith. It will take many years and much foreign help to restore Sierra Leone to a normal way of African life.

The Kurankos are located in the Northeast part of Sierra Leone and the southeast part of the Guinea in West Africa. When the Europeans colonized West Africa, they divided areas according to terrain and rivers, not recognizing tribal boundaries. One example is the great Niger River. It has its beginning in the foothills of the Lomi Mountain Range in Sierra Leone, north of Bintimani which is the highest peak in that range. The stream flows northwest and then east through Guinea, up into Upper Volta, and finally down through Nigeria into the Atlantic Ocean near Lagos, Nigeria. Thus, the Kurankos were divided by official government controlled boundaries. Since the French and English agreed to control these designated areas, the official language of French territories was French and the English controlled areas was English. Years later, when education came to the territories, the Kuranko children were taught English in schools where English was the official language and French in the French controlled areas.

Since most civilized activity started along the coasts of West Africa, after the era of slavery, very little attention was given to the development of the northern people. For many years the Kurankos were the last to receive any attention from the government regarding roads, schools and medical aid. A lot of this was left to the missionaries who trekked into the remote villages. Missionaries built roads, had clinics and supervised schools.

In the Guinea, the Kurankos are known as the Forest People. In earlier history those areas of Guinea and Sierra Leone were heavily forested.

The Kurankos are also known, even to this day, as the tribe of hunters. Many of the villages in Sierra Leone were originally started by hunters who came down from the north, before the government boundaries were set.

The Kuranko hunters have a very definite set of clothing that is worn during their hunts. Often the hunters wear their outfits at special festivals and government recognized meetings. The head coverings are very important and represent status. The hat worn by hunters that have killed either a buffalo, elephant, waterbuck, or leopard has special tassels on it. One tassel over each ear and one over the eyes. These tassels are to help the hunter keep gnats and flies off the ears and eyes without having to use his hands to chase them off. A twitch of the head sends the insects flying.

Another hat sometimes worn during a hunt appears to be a hard dark shell. This hat originally was just a knitted round hat covering the hair of the head. Each time the hunter kills an animal, blood from that animal is smeared on the hat. After so many layers of blood have dried on that hat, it becomes a hard shell.

Kuranko history is handed down by word of mouth from seniors to juniors. Stories of famous chiefs, hunters, or persons who dealt with native medicines or ancestral worship are shared by the adults who know these records.

Adults have great respect for children. More details will be mentioned later in this book. The Kurankos have some of the best ways to raise children. The training of children is a community responsibility—all adults have the right to discipline a child caught doing something out of line. No discipline is harsh. Children also have great respect for their elders.

Women are subjects of their male overseers and they are not mistreated if they are respectful and perform the female duties of the tribe.

Both men and women have their highly respected secret societies—by highly respected we mean, men respect and greatly fear the secret power of the women’s society. The same is true of the women with regard to the men’s society.

Children, who are not chosen by their families to go to school, learn from their parents or as an apprentice in some skill. Some of the special skills of the tribe are blacksmithing, weaving, tailoring, spinning cotton into thread, etc.

Villages are governed by chiefs and elders. Kingdoms, made up of a number of villages with area boundaries, are controlled by a paramount chief and elders made up of village chiefs and national government appointed leaders. Jake had the privilege of knowing and working with nine paramount chiefs during our 30 plus years as Kuranko missionaries in Sierra Leone. They were his friends and we hope to see a number of them in Heaven. Four of the seven definitely professed to faith in Jesus Christ and accepted Christianity for their chiefdoms.

Village chiefs and paramount chiefs remain in these positions for life, unless there was some very obvious act of wrong doing on their part, which demanded their dismissal.

The Kuranko language only has two basic tones. Quite simple and easy to learn. However, some expressions are more meaningful when used with their many proverbs to convey thought.

Education by missions and the government has given many Kurankos opportunities to advance in government positions, trading and business. Often the people who are financially better off or are chief’s children are privileged to attend school, either locally or in a boarding school outside of their local area.

Our mission was asked to produce a Bible study curriculum that could be used in all of the government schools where religious education was a requirement. If Christian teachers were not available in the public schools, the Islamic religion could be taught if some Muslim teachers were available on staff in those schools.

Many of the Kurankos were captured by coastal tribesmen during slave trading days. Usually they were taken to the Atlantic coast and sold to the European slave traders. Early in our time in Sierra Leone we would be asked by shopkeepers in Freetown, where we were located. When we told them that we were located in the far Northeast, beyond the car roads, they would gasp in surprise. They usually said that they, both African and European, would be afraid to live up there. They feared the place and people of the North, because they might retaliate for the years they had suffered from the slave traders. The Kurankos did not trade in slaves—however many were taken as slaves.

Ruth and I (Jake) lived with the Kurankos for a period of 25 years. We spent 30 plus years as missionaries in Sierra Leone with the Missionary Church Inc. of America.

The Kuranko people were always very kind and helpful. I (Jake) had the privilege of experiencing their system of gift exchange. This is a form of acknowledging friendship. Damba Sayon, the Paramount chief of Kamaron gave us a large bag of rice after harvest and I in return brought him several bags of salt and carried him in my Jeep to places he wanted to go. One of the chief’s sons gave us a young cow for Christmas when guests came to spend the holidays with us. On our next furlough, I bought him a pair of cowboy boots, which I sent to him with another missionary couple who was returning before we would get back.

Gift exchanges are very important to the Kurankos. They do this between themselves. Messages are sent accompanied by four cola nuts wrapped in a special kind of green leaf. Cola nuts are special objects for sharing. They are also eaten to ward off sleep and hunger. The taste is extremely bitter!

The elderly are especially respected. Older women are consulted before a younger person goes on a journey. Blessings from such older people are valued highly.

More details of Kuranko culture is in later chapters.

CHAPTER 1

Jake’s story

S olomon said, A time to be born, a time to die, a time to laugh and a time to cry- These words over a lifetime can represent lots and lots of experiences.

Born (at an early age?) on a farm in the Mennonite community of Inola, Oklahoma, I experienced a very comfortable life.

My roots go back to Holland, Germany and more recently to the Ukraine in lower Russia. In 1854, a shipload of Mennonites left Russia for religious reasons and came to America. My grandparents on both sides were in that group—the Janzens (mother’s side) and the Schierlings (father’s side). Mother was born near Inman, Kansas and Father was born in Henderson, Nebraska. After they were married, they lived in Western Kansas for a while, farming for a living.

My father often spoke of his younger days as a sheepherder in Colorado, because that was all the work he could get. It paid very little, but it helped to feed him. Mother grew up in the country in Kansas on a small farm.

They both had most of their education in the German language—but did go to about the 3rd grade in public school, in English.

My early years in school were spent in a two-room country schoolhouse near Inola, Oklahoma. No school buses in those days, only the horse and buggy that carried us there and back every day. In winter we would start the horse on its way, then pull the blankets over our heads and not uncover them until the horse stopped, at the end of our journey—school or home. Extracurricular activities in those days were hunting in the fall and winter, fishing in the spring and summer. Of course, chores were part of the daily duties on the farm. I was one of seven children, five girls and one brother, Abe. He and his wife served as missionaries in the Dominican Republic for many years.

We learned how to farm from a father who was very strict and neat. Cockleburs were gathered from the cornfields and carried to the ditch by the side of the road. Corn rows, cotton rows, maize rows, etc., always had to be straight! That is why my brother and I had to wait before we were allowed to do any planting. All farm work was done with horses or by hand (chopping weeds out of cotton and corn).

Chores were daily tasks—milking cows, morning and evening; slop the pigs, feed the chickens and put horses in the barn. Kate, our horse, and I were asked to bring in the milk cows that were out grazing in the pasture during the summer months. Riding out for the cows one evening, I was in a hurry and forgot to fasten the girdle strap. So, around one corner, the saddle and I took flight and landed on the ground. Kate stopped and I put things together and went on.

Harvest time was always enjoyable and exciting. The old binder, (no combines) on our farm was used to harvest wheat and oats. The binder would tie the bundles and chuck them out the side. Us kids, sisters included, would set them in shocks.

After a period of drying, the threshing crew would come to our farm, in turn, because a number of farmers were in a co-op, to help each other during threshing time.

The old steam engine, with coal wagon and water wagon, all came together. Water was hauled by horses from the nearest creek. Our nearest creek was Bull Creek, my old fishing hole. Since I was not able to do adult work, I had to be a go-fer—go for this or go for that. I took out the 10:00 a.m. brunch and let them know when the BIG noon meal was ready. At 4:00 p.m. I carried out the snacks (faspa) to the threshing crew for a short break.

One African American was on the threshing crew. He was a good man, but as in the South during those early years (1920-1930), the blacks were not allowed to eat at the table with the whites—so very unfortunate! It would have been fine in our home, for him to be a guest of our family. However, he was a part of the threshing crew that was hired by our farmer’s co-op for this work and so my parents had to do what the foreman of the threshing crew wanted. I could not understand why that man had to eat his lunch on the back porch at a table all by himself, so I took my plate and went to eat with him so he would not have to be alone. Thank the Lord that is past history now! I was about 12 years old at the time.

Our house was small but comfortable, four rooms and a path. Remember, two parents and seven children in a four-room house. Fortunately, my older sisters went to work for some wealthy folk in Tulsa, Oklahoma as soon as they finished the eighth grade. That meant they would stay in Tulsa where they worked—that gave more room at home for the kids left behind.

Dad and Mom rented their farms—one from a Mr. Rupple, which is the one I remember most.

Summer activities varied—harvest time was the main event. Some travel to relatives was done in our Model T Ford, but not very often. Shopping in town, Inola, was done by horse and wagon or buggy.

Sundays always found us in church. In my early years, all services, including Sunday school, were in German. When my Uncle George Regier, our lay pastor in the Mennonite Church, suggested to have one Sunday a month in the English language, my Dad and others thought that this was leaning toward liberalism, but they went along with it. Today, that same church still has a Sunday school class in German and often, in the worship hour, they sing a third or fourth verse of a hymn in German.

Since our parents wanted us to retain German, we were sent to German classes at night (during school days). Thanks to their forethought, I was able to take German in college with a head start. German, or Low German (plaut Deutsche) was spoken, but devotions were held in High German (Hoch Deutch). Church services and singing were all in High German.

The only newspaper we got at our house was a German paper. I think it came from the Mennonite Press.

Our house had an old pump organ, which some of my sisters played. After the older sisters had worked a while, they bought a phonograph with records like, When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain and Tumbling Tumble Weeds, etc.

We lived about 20 miles from Claremore, the hometown of Will Rogers. Maybe once a month, we would go there for a big shopping trip, usually in a wagon drawn by two horses. It was an all day trip. We bought lunch, which was a bowl of chili and a hot dog—sooo good! I also had my first tooth filled by a dentist in that town. I never remember seeing a doctor in my first 14 years. Mom had a lot of home remedies—skunk grease for a sore throat, fried onion plaster for a chest cold; root tea for upset stomach; and, in some cases, a small glass of HOT wine for the stomach’s sake.

Fishing was my favorite past time in the summer. Catfish and sunfish were the main catch. Mom was always kind and fried all I brought home.

I never will forget the day Dad said, Jake, we will have to get rid of your dog. The dog was a beautiful German shepherd mix, but he had gotten into the habit of catching chickens, our own and our neighbors (Arnold Funk’s place). That morning Dad got a rope, tied it around my dog’s neck, got his single barrel 22 rifle out and told me to hold on to the rope while he shot the dog. Sad, yes, but it had to be done and I was clearly made to know why in a very heart—felt way. Some kids, especially now, are limited in their understanding of life and death matters like that. Either they live in ignorance or they become violent and dangerous.

Hunting was always fun—very seldom did we get anything. Skunks, opossums, civet cats were all game for trapping in the winter. Small cash was earned by catching them and selling their dried skins in town at the fur traders. One day, the day of the Christmas program in church, my sister Ann and I went hunting and got a big skunk—WOW! We were so excited! When we got to the house, Mom must have smelled us coming and came out to meet us. She quickly told us to stay outside in the separator shack, where we changed clothes and washed up before going into the house. The separator shack was where we separated the milk from the cream after milking in the evening. The cream was sold or traded for groceries at the town creamery and skim milk was fed to the calves or pigs in their slop (grain and milk).

Bologna was bought, cheese was bought, but most of our other meats were gotten from our farm—pork, beef and chickens. Butchering time was fun for kids—usually relatives or neighbors helped. Pork hams were salted down and put in the attic until needed. Headcheese was a morning favorite. Sausage was put in real gut casings and it was a real treat in the evenings or for Sunday dinner at noon.

Mom was a great cook! When she let us know ahead of time what the evening meal would be, we could order the amount we wanted. If it was fried eggs and fried potatoes, the limit for eggs was 4 per person. Oh well, enough is enough, Mom would say. Bless her memory. My brother and I did something against her rules once and she felt led to discipline us in a Biblical way, spare the rod and spoil the child, but did not have the ability or speed to catch us to carry out the discipline. So, we got away with that one. Usually it was do it or don’t do it, or I’ll tell Dad when he gets home!

Oh, the mistake of my life was made one day when Abe, my brother, said or did something to me and I felt I needed to take revenge. I went to the wood box in back of the kitchen stove, got a good size piece of wood and threw it at him. Had he not ducked behind the table, I would have hurt him badly. As it turned out, when he ducked, the wood went right through a glass window. Needless to say, Abe reported the bad news to Dad, who happened to be in the barn and soon the call rang out in our small 4 room home, Jake, where are you? I could not answer that and was hoping he would not find me. I hid under Mom and Dad’s bed. He found me! Feet first, I was pulled out and spanked upside down—never to forget the results of trying to take revenge into my own hands!! Dad very seldom spanked, but when he did, the receiver knew and accepted it with as much dignity as possible. (footnote—Dad was a healthy, strong farmer)

For the most part, we had a good home—only once do I remember that Dad and Mom had some strong differences, which were resolved with the help of relatives. I was not sure what the problem was, but it separated Dad and Mom for about a week. Our home was a Christian home and I thank the Lord for early in life hearing and learning about the plan of salvation and God’s love for me and all mankind.

In 1936—the year of the drought in the Midwest, crops were not too good, so Dad and Mom did a very different thing. They decided to sell out, buy a new car and take a long trip with those of us who were still home—three sisters, my brother, and me. Dad bought a new 1936 Ford, traded the Model T in and paid $700 cash for the new Ford.

Our trip went from Inola, OK, through Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota. Then on through Canada—Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. We went down through Washington and Oregon and into California. We visited with relatives all the way. Some were not too glad to see seven people come in on them, especially late at night. My oldest sister, Justina and her husband, John Pankratz, lived on Coldwater Canyon in North Hollywood, California. That’s where we landed. During the whole trip, we only stayed in one motel—all the rest we were with relatives, lots of them! Note: There were seven of us and all of our luggage in a small 1936 Ford with no cases tied to the top or on the back or side. My brother did most of the driving; I think the total miles ran around 6,000 miles, and he didn’t even have a driver’s license! After living with my sister and brother-in-law for some months, Dad was offered a place to buy, next to my sister’s place. It was about 2 acres, a home and a garage—very nice place! Dad paid $2,000+ for the whole place.

John (brother-in-law) got Dad a good job with a grading contractor. Things were going well for all of us—new church experience, new school, etc. John and Justina were attending the Van Nuys Missionary Church, which was very much like the Mennonite Church in Oklahoma. There was a good youth group and they welcomed us into their fellowship. I have fond memories of this church. Pastor Lauby was faithful to the Word. There was Sunday school and worship in the morning and youth meeting and evening service in the evening. On Tuesdays were Youth meetings and lots of good parties and outings during the year. I believe it was on a Sunday night Feb. 7th, 1939, Pastor Lauby gave an invitation to accept Christ as Savior and I responded. All my buddies and Sunday school teacher, Lowell Wendt, prayed with me and for me. I became a believer in the true sense of the word and dedicated my life to the Lord for service. Growth as a Christian was slow but sure. That great church youth