SUMMING UP ON THE RING THAT BINDS US

     Our sister Helen chose to live in an outback area of Ivory Coast where families could not afford dental care or first aid for health challenges, or bus fare to the nearest town.  When small children in the villages saw Helen riding her bicycle on the narrow path that led to their town they ran home shouting, “Here comes the tooth lady,” as half a dozen adults began lining up for extractions.  Helen is over 90 years old now living in a care home in Kamloops near our younger sister Esther and husband Lloyd who visit her three times a week.  After spending 52 years in the Ivory Coast, she stayed in their home for 9 years recovering from a broken hip in Africa.  Lloyd prints out e-mails for her and at the next visit the reverse side is used. 

   Back at Orion I learned of a couple who needed someone to care for their small daughter when they were away.  She was a pleasant three-year-old and I was able to work for my board and room and stay with them to attend high school.  Our father often expressed gratitude for Canada’s warm welcome to immigrants.  It was Mother’s large garden and sewing machine skills that helped clothe our family.  Even through the many years when crops hailed or dried out they never asked Canada’s welfare system for help. He said that would have been a disgrace for the family.  Aunt Lena sent pre-owned clothes for Mother who created the patterns for our clothes.  My husband later told me about a class mate whose parents received welfare and when welfare found out there was a radio in their home it was confiscated.  Root crops like potatoes and carrots provided underground foods for winter.

    As their children left home to move into their life’s work our mother said her arms felt so empty and suggested they would have another baby saying “Perhaps this soul will then be that of Harold, their seventh child who died of scarlet fever in the mid l930s and thus Harold be returned to Earth in this way.  We pursed our lips in silence.  In December of 1939 their son John was born and later knew he had been a replacement. After his retirement from teaching high school, John and his wife Jean searched for some unused land in Kenya to start group farms where families work together to prevent  famines.  This challenge is working out well and with gold soaring in price, Mother may have used her wedding ring to help start The International Fellowship.  John and Jean lived in Kenya during retirement with specifics handled by the board at home base .  When Mother passed in 1989 she may have already donated her gold wedding ring for this wonderful cause started by her “replacement son.”  Other family members may have specifics for us.