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Abilene Christian University Digital Commons @ ACU Stone-Campbell Books Stone-Campbell Resources 1943 I Married A Missionary Zelma Wood Lawyer Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books Part of the African Languages and Societies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Lawyer, Zelma Wood, "I Married A Missionary" (1943). Stone-Campbell Books. 347. https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books/347 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Stone-Campbell Resources at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Stone-Campbell Books by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. , \ MA!lRJE.t 1.41,s1a___ , Zelma_Wood Lawyer 1600 miles deep in Africa Our little grass house went up in flames The missionary wife doses out the medicine I Married A Missionary by Zelma Wood Lawyer Abilene Christian College Press Abil ene. Texas Copyright 1943 by Zelma Wood Lawyer TO my fellow-workers in The Bright Continent ~ -0-- Emma Sherriff The late John Sherriff Molly Sherriff Claassen Wi.11and Delia Short Dow and the late Alice Merritt George arid Otis Scott Helen Pearl Scott Merritt Alvin and Georgia Hobby Myrtle Rowe Orville and Augusta Britten J.C . and Joyce Shewmaker DeWitt and Dolly Garrett Leslie and Addie Brown FOREWORD The events recounted in this book , though apparently ex­ perienced by one individual , are a combination of the ex­ periences of a number of men and women on the African mission field. The story; though chiefly factual, has been slightly fic­ tionized here and there. Mary Richards, whose name is fic­ titious, is a composite character, representing any one of a number of women who have known and loved the kind of life that can be found only in Rhodesia. -6- I MARRIED A MISSIONARY Part One-We go to Africa _______________________________________________________Page 9 ' Part Two-We live in Africa and like it __________________________Page 89 ' PART ONE We Go To Africa -0- "So they married." So did we, George Richards and I. And you have heard that they lived happily ever after . We have not yet lived ever after. Just one month ago we faced the minister, three - hundred of our college friends , and our future life together. In order to have standing room for all our guests, I had my wedding on the lawn, and just to be different I had it at seven o'clock in the morning. I know some must have come without their breakfast. I should have gone without mine if Mother had not trailed after me urging me to eat. Yes , a sunrise wedding , and the beautiful pink rose petals, the lavender and blue larkspur , and the wild daisies tha were strewn along the bridal path made a colorful show in the early sunlight. The close-clipped bermuda grass was dripping with dew, and my chiffon train and white kid slippers were as bedraggled as a hen on a rainy day. But what did I care? Was not that the happiest day of my life? Till today. Now , this is the happiest, for at ten o'clock this morning we c~~e aboard the Queen Mary, my missionary husband and .:, to begin our thirt y-day voy age to South Africa. At the moment we are comfortably settled , th ough I am wondering how long it will be until we ar e uncom fortably unsettled. We had to rush to make the boat . Ship s an d clocks wait for no man. While Geor ge stuffed our ni ght clothes and my cold cream and comb and hi s shavin g thing s into the suitcases , I scribbled one more note to the famil y back home. I felt that anothe r lett er post-marked on U. S. soil would be a comfort to Moth er . Just in the middle of my fir st pa ge , I was sta rtled by Geor ge's sudden exhort ation to hurr y . "Don't be too long­ winded ," he said. "You know how slow we 'll be gettin g across this cit y to the docks ." He is usuall y as calm as an oyster, but this morning I could not help noticin g that he was champing the bit a little. -9- "Yes, I know we'll be slow," I said , "but it's hard to break the last tie. As long as I have my feet on American soil, there's still a feeling that I'm close to Mother and Dad and the kiddies. But once that gang plank goes up, --well , we're really gone." l • I didn't mean to let him see my emotion , but he saw 1t any way. He reminded me that we had each other , and our little one to look forward to. "You aren 't beginning to get homesick already, are you, Mary? " he said. "No, indeed! I'm not homesick ." I wouldn't admit it. "I'm perfectly happy. But leaving America gives me a feeling that somehow, I'm beginning life all over again, as if I were just born yesterday, or--" Then he assured me that we were both beginning over, and that it was a grand new life upon which we were entering. Of .course it is! What could be grander than being the wife of the very best man in the world, and the mother of his child? What could be newer or more thrilling than living with these two in a happy little home in a far-away strange country? These blessed truths are what I have to think upon and rejoice in as I sail along peacefully , or roughly , for the next thirty days. While we were waiting in New York for our boat, we received a new and wonderful blessing in the acquaintance of Doctor and Mrs. Jones. They proved to be the finest of friends. At eight o'clock this morning, they served us toast, bacon, and coffee, and made ready to ship us. At nine we started for the pier. A dull gray morning revealed to us the gloomy streets of New York City. Through the blended mist and smoke we seemed to be looking at the skyscrapers through gray glasses. We stopped in Queens and bought some grape juice to be used in the communion service , which we shall observe each Lord's Day on our voyage. At Queen's Plaza we stopped again and Doctor Jones purchased a gorgeous bouquet of pink glad­ iolas and pink dahlias, the last being about seven inches across . These were to wish us Bon Voyage. We crossed East River , and arrived at the pier about ten-fifteen. I saw only a few things during our drive that I had ,lot seen before. One thing however, which I had seen, but - 10 - ¥T.hi,i;himpres~ed me again, was the teneme .nt houses. People · ~ere hanging out of the windows as if for lq.ck of breath~~~ room inside ; C:lothes were dan glin g from rope lines stretch eq between the tall ugly buildin gs. Some of the windows had small porches beneath them , a little larger than an apple box, with banisters around them.These pens seemed to be the only front porch, back porch, front yard, or back yard that the children, dogs , and cats had to play on. In some c~ses the house _s .were so close together that it would seem that occupants of one could reach out and touch the walls of the neighboring on.~, or perhaps borrow a washtub via the adjacent windows . There was an enormous crowd at the ship when we arrived . It looked as if half of New York had turned out to see the Queen Mary off. Each of her three thousand passengers seemed to have a dozen friends along . It was no troubie to get red caps to carry our baggage, but of course they wanted tips, and got them. Doctor and Mrs. Jones and some of the other New York friends came with us down to our stateroom , which is very small, about six by eight feet. We had to take turns going in and looking it over. The beds are one above the other, like shelves in Mother's pantry . Of course they have a little rim around the edge to keep one from rolling off when the ship starts tossing, which she will, no doubt. The lavatory is in the end of the cabin, with a mirror above it. There are a chair and a chest of drawers on the side opposite the berths, with just enough space to stand in the center of the room. Guess we'll have to go out into the corridor to turn round. The bed spreads, bed and door curtains, and rug are blended colors of tan, orange, blue, and green. The room is well lighted, one light above the lavatory, one above the chest of drawers, and one above each of the beds. The Queen Mary is the highest, longest, heaviest, and fastest passenger ship in . the world. Dr. Jones gave us some papers and magazines to read. However, they may not be read for a few days. Can't tell yet. At eleyen-thirty a.m. th _e sailors began beating gongs and telling visitors to go ashore. At twelve-thirty the ship began to move slowly out of the harbor. The fragile network of colored paper streamers began to snap, leaving one set of fluttering ends in the waving hands of the passengers o:r-1,~eek, - 11 - the others in those of the friends on the pier.

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