Kenneth sums up his work in Thailand. During his years there, he started five or six Chinese schools and churches. He preached and evangelized in all the major population centers of his parish, and many small villages. He published a monthly journal…
When the Landons went on furlough in 1931, Kenneth traveled around the world one way, on his own, while Margaret traveled around the other way with the children. She went east, and he went west so as to travel to the Holy Land. One memorable…
On his trip, he came first to Egypt, hoping to tour around Cairo and see something of Egypt. He was walking along the street when a very tall Arab in a long gown, with a fez on his head, came up to Kenneth, spoke to him in English, "Good Morning,…
The guide and Kenneth toured around Cairo, sometimes by taxi, usually by tram cars, and Kenneth paid for everything. The man seemed to be enjoying himself, though he was bemused. Then he took Kenneth out to ride on a camel to visit the pyramids and…
From Egypt, Kenneth went over to Jerusalem and stayed with a resident American community there. There were riots between the Jews and the Arabs, and the Armenians were caught in the middle. Kenneth fell in with a young Armenian who was driving an…
While visiting in Palestine, Kenneth eased himself down into the Sea of Galilee, and swam out a quarter of a mile from shore in the moonlight. There he lay over on his back and floated in the water. He became aware of a typewriter going, looked…
John, Kenneth's guide in Beirut, had some friends there, and he learned that they were fresh out of a hotel manager. They made Kenneth a proposition, that he become the manager of the hotel. John would run the taxi business, and the other fellow…
The ship Kenneth boarded passed through Greece. He still remembers sliding through a narrow channel in Greece. It was eerie because there were sheer walls of granite in those straits. "You could reach out off the side of the ship and touch the walls,…
Kenneth tells the story of two nice rugs he bought in Damascus. On his way to New York he passed through Marseilles (France) and was required by customs to pay $100. Eventually an American shipping company representative offered to ship them to New…
Kenneth tells again of his experience with the phosphorescent sea off the coast of Thailand. It was the Gulf of Siam. Kenneth was traveling on a moonlit night for twenty-five to thirty miles. He describes the sea and the strong impression that the…
Kenneth tells of two paintings he acquired from Mrs. Yipintsoi. He found her painting outside and recognized her style of painting as reminiscent of Matisse. He told her this, and recommended she go to Paris and study with him. Years later, he found…
Kenneth recalls the story of Norm and Betty Hanna visiting. They greatly admired the paintings by Mrs. Yipintsoi and remarked that they were quite rare and expensive.
A story from the Thailand years. The Landons had a leper who used to come and beg. He would come once a week to the Landons' house and stand under the veranda, begging. The man came weekly for several years, never any more than once a week. One day…
Ah Peh was clearing out the pineapples behind the house, under Margaret's direction. There were hundreds of them, making a haven for cobras and vipers. As Ah he worked, a viper struck him in the lower leg, and he became very sick. Kenneth rushed him…
Brad was pleased with the news of Kenneth and Margaret's move to Thailand to the mission field--for him it was a natural religious step. Mae was not, and she was afraid that she would never see her son (Kenneth) again. She was right; she never did.
Kenneth tells of how he began thinking about missions in his two missions classes at Princeton. Until now he had thought only of working in the United States. He shared the new idea with Margaret and she was deeply disturbed by it.
While at Princeton Kenneth met a missionary called Van Ness. He tells how the preaching of this missionary urged him again for mission. Kenneth then met with Mr. Speer the next week in New York to discuss his desire to go to the mission field.
Kenneth tells about his decision to go into mission business and to do so rapidly. This upset Margaret, but it was Kenneth's way of doing things, and it will always be thoughout his life. He reads about his visit to New York to talk with people on…
On January 19 Kenneth wrote his parents to announce Margaret's pregnancy. "And Mother, if you have loads of good advice for Margaret, I know she'd appreciate it," he wrote.
Kenneth and Margaret left their apartment and stayed for free at the seminary. They began to pack, applied for passports, and bought things they would need in Siam.
Kenneth talks about taking Margaret out for a walk every day pretty much against her will. "I guess I'm incorrigible; I never improve," Kenneth says. Each day they would walk farther and Margaret was getting stronger.
Kenneth was given money from the church to pay the note off on his car and take it with him to Siam. Mrs. Ridgeway presented Kenneth with the gift and tried to make a speech, but she began to weep instead. Other people in the congregation began to…
Kenneth had wanted a good pictures of both his father and mother since college days, and for his birthday that spring of 1927, they sent him pictures which they had specially framed and which he kept the rest of his life.
Kenneth was called in to New York in April for further examination because the doctor suspected a heart problem. The heart specialist cleared him, but the mission board doctor remained skeptical. Finally, after a long interview, the doctor…
Kenneth preached his last Sunday at Columbus. He only had his final Bible conference to do before leaving for Siam. He talks about his travel arrangements, the shipment of his car to Siam, and his travel expenses.