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…
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…
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 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,…
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…
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…
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…
One night Kenneth woke up suddenly and heard two men walking by and talking about him. One urged the other to come listen to Kenneth's preaching because it might be true and they needed to know.
Margaret sailed on a small British steamer, the only passenger. There was a meal served twice a day (breakfast and dinner). She couldn't understand the men who spoke dialects that most British couldn't understand. There was an anti-American sentiment…
Margaret gave a tea on Kenneth's birthday because that was the day that Wattana had its commencement, and they all had to go. Margaret explains the missionary work in girl education in the region and how these girls later were in high demand for…
Kenneth was in a chapel when a gangster came in to see him, along with two companions. He looked like a coolie but he seemed educated. He told his story to Kenneth, how he ruined his life as a spoiled child of a wealthy father. He worked in a rice…
Insane people in Siam were not confined; they freely wandered in the town. There was a woman who had gone insane and used to dress at times like a Siamese and at other times like a foreigner. She insisted Margaret was her daughter and she would come…
The Siamese in Bangkok had tried to keep the Landons there but other missionaries were resentful of Kenneth's ability with the local language and culture. The mission sent him to one of the worst fields in Nakhon, on the east coast. This turned out…
Kenneth and Margaret tell about Ah Chuan, their houseworker's baby. Chuan and his wife had already lost a first baby, so the Landons recommended that they see Miss Christiansen. The wife thus received pre-natal care and delivered a healthy baby.
Margaret reads a letter in which she tells about Ah Chuan's baby, who seemed ill at the time when a baby in the same home had just died. Ah Chuan was concerned that his own baby might die of the same illness as the other baby. She also tells of Ah…
Margaret talks about her servant Ah Sim. She couldn't read but was very bright. She would keep the market list in her head. Kenneth was keeping track of the market. Once Kenneth was away for six weeks. Upon his return Ah Sim gave him a report of her…
The Landons inadvertently paid their servants more than necessary. By the time they left the town, one of their servants, Ah Sim, owned three shops on the marketplace. She hadn't owned any when she came to the Landons.
The whole year in Siam was filled with holidays, to the amazement of the Landons. The Thai enjoyed holidays and had incorporated foreign holidays into their calendar. They could stop working and have a wonderful time. They just loved Christmas, not…
Kenneth and Dr. Bulkley had an exotic dinner with tiger, crocodile, elephant, monkey, cobra, and rat meat. They decided that the cobra meat was the best; it tasted like chicken.
Margaret tells about Bill as a baby. He was slow but focused and determined. He would crawl around and follow the servant's motions while she was working. One day Bille became so fascinated by the motion of the mop that he wanted to catch it, but the…
Bill never had Peggy's social instinct; it was just born in her. Bill was always self-absorbed and he was so busy from the day he was able to get around. By the time he was two he was really maneuverable and showed a gift for language.
Brad was most alarmed when Kenneth retired from the mission field. He thought Kenneth and his family were going to come back and be a charge on him. He was planning to sell the house and prevent that from happening. This, of course, was the last…
Margaret wrote of picking a ripe jack fruit that was huge like a watermelon and entirely filled a pail. She briefly describes the fruit, larger than a durian fruit.
Mrs. Snyder had a tendency to make it clear that she thought things were better when she did them. Margaret tells about yard work with the coolies, and the young man who came for the book of Daniel.Â