Dr. Bulkley had a passion for animals. He really wanted to be a doctor for animals, not human beings. Kenneth tells the story of his first visit to the Bulkley's house. He noticed many tiger skulls sorted from smallest to biggest. He hunted them…
Margaret tells about the missionaries she describes as giants with extraordinary abilities. Dr. McCain and Dr. McDaniel were pioneers in setting up asylums for the lepers who were just ignored by society. They had wonderful ministries and were…
Margaret returned to Dr. Toy's story. He worked for the government and drew a lot of money. His first wife bore him four children and died. He remarried and had six more children. The last king died and Dr. Toy was laid off. He decided to become an…
In May 1930, Kenneth wrote concerning his father and dresses. Margaret tells of the fine dresses Victorine Smith had picked up for Brad to send to Margaret. Brad deemed them too expensive and returned to the store to exchange them for cheaper dresses…
Margaret reads about E. P. Dunlap and his work in Siam. His first convert was a devout Buddhist who had turned away from his idols and entrusted his life to the "Great Spirit." He was one day trying to repair a Buddhist idol when all of a sudden it…
The Thai loved festivals. The King's birthday, November 8, was a great celebration that lasted three days. They had built a 150 foot mountain that was believed to be the center of the world.
Margaret and Kenneth witnessed a cremation ceremony. The actual cremation usually took place only after a couple of months or a year or several years. It was costly to afford the cremation, so many families could not get enough money for it until a…
Kenneth tells about a life-insurance plan he bought in Bangkok. The plan was to have 11,000 worth policy by the time he was 52. They ate up that money during a year long unemployment (Margaret believes they kept part of it). Kenneth and Margaret talk…
John Eakin asked the king to give a speech in English, and he replied that he could do so if Eakin would give a speech in the Siamese langugae. Eakin was just beginning his time in Siam, but he managed to have a speech written in perfect Siamese. At…
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…
Kenneth and Margaret once had the whole church over to their home "for a frolic." They had a fun time playing American games with the Siamese. They intended to do that often, but were not able to do so the way the Dunlaps did: a frolic at every full…
Kenneth and Margaret perform the Burmese Gospel chant they learned when they were young. They have no idea what it means. A group of young Siamese taught Kenneth one sentence in their language.
After the vacation the Landons returned to Bangkok and began to prepare to move. Everybody started to entertain them, having in mind that they would soon be gone. There was quite a "confab" as to where they were going to go, but the Landons did not…
Margaret recalls her visit to the prison with Kenneth. She describes the inside of the prison, the people they saw and the conditions in which the prisonners lived.
The Landons completed their first quarter of study, which they did in two months. As it turned out, Kenneth completed in one year a three year language program.
Kenneth met a lot of people he knew while on evangelistic tour in Pnang. He talks of the books of Scripture he memorized (he was hoping to memorize the New Testament), his encounter with the governor who took him on a day long tour in a Sussex…
Kenneth attended a civil Chinese wedding. Mrs. Seigle played the wedding march. It was quite a feast, with plenty of food that Kenneth enjoyed. The heat in Thailand was affecting him: he had gone from 140 to 131 pounds since arriving there.
Margaret recalls how Kenneth was ill in Chong. He had one of those violent episodes of stomach problems that started while he was in seminary. Margaret had to rush him to the hospital that was 12 miles away. The road was barely wide enough for one…
The Danish Legation held an auction and Kenneth bought Margaret a China set there, the kind called Royal Copenhagen, for only $30 US gold (it was probably worth $300). Years later they sent it home to the US.
Kenneth tells of his preaching in Bangkok to his fellow missionaries, challenging them for their lack of zeal. Most of them, he though, were living too soft a life. The response wasn't very enthusiastic.
Kenneth describes a normal day for the Landons at the beginning of their missionary life. They would wake up at 6:30, exercise, have breakfast, wash and play with baby Peggy, spend the rest of the morning studying Thai, have lunch, and go to school…
Kenneth describes Chong, its jungles, snaky vines, agriculture, religious beliefs, and other customs. He remembers the governor cutting down the trees and thus offending the populations because trees were sacred and believed to have a spirit in them.…
Kenneth recalls a big meeting in the market place in Ban Don during which he encountered opposition for preaching that the soul that sins will die (Ezekiel). This reaction gave him the opportunity to engage the crowd, because this kind of reaction…
The Landons discovered that their best cook, Ah Chuan, was deceiving them about money for the groceries. It got to the point where their monthly bill was much higher than that of other missionay families that had more people to entertain. Kenneth…