Kenneth tells again about their language training, his doing three years in one, and Margaret two years in one. She kept up with me, he says. Margaret remarks that it was agony.
The Landons tell again about their first year language study and exam, and Kenneth's first sermon in Siamese. It was about "A Friend of Jesus" and he prepared the sermon in English before translating it into Siamese. He was afraid, but he delivered…
The Landons lived on the Tajin road, held a mile outside the town. The main Christian community lived about three miles away. The general pattern was that people lived in villages for safety reasons. Ku Pru was a teacher at the school and her brother…
Ma Pawm and Ah Sim came to the Landons very poor and not so nice looking. Margaret taught both of them many things and they greatly improved. Ma Pawm was fond of Kenneth and even more so of Carol when she was born. There was a lot of work to do, and…
Kenneth and Margaret describe the monsoon rain and its sudden, violent hits. Kenneth explains the rainy season process and the crop seasons it gave for different areas in the peninsula. Some regions had three crop seasons while others had two. A…
Margaret finally got a good garden book, a great event. She still has it, A Garden Book for Malaya by Kathleen Gough. Margaret now had 120 house plants. There were ferns, amaryllis, lilys, honolulu creepers, bougainvillea, and other small plants. As…
Kenneth inaugurated a system of smiles with the two children. One day, when Peggy was fussing and crying, with the tears running down her face, her eyes all red, Kenneth shouted at her to "Smile. Smile!" Peggy couldn't manage it, though she tried…
Margaret attended a Siamese wedding with a friend called Kru Kim Juang. She was a mother and a school teacher. Margaret describes the wedding, its customs, and the beliefs that go with it. She found the Thai to be superstitious yet civilized people.…
Margaret's skin was getting darker and darker because of the sun. The whiter the person the more she was admired. She talks about skin colors in Siam and people's preferences in this regard.
Margaret describes a normal day. It begins at 6:00, with breakfast and prayer at 7:00. She had a little time to get things underway before her teacher came at 9:00. She studied until 11:30, had lunch and a little nap, then had Siamese conversation…
Margaret reads a letter about her time in Chong, her vacation, her impressions and discoveries of the area. It was one of the most beautiful areas she had ever seen. She describes the Thai hierarchy and the power the governor had. She tells of how…
In one of her letters Margaret wrote that she had always thought, and at some point felt, that she didn't do anything important. Kenneth was the one on the road all the time doing what really mattered. Kenneth joked that he was just dashing around.
Paul Fuller invited the Landons to his house for tea and to meet the Prince and his daughter, who was an expert tennis player and who asked Margaret to be her tennis partner in a tournament in February. Kenneth also was asked to become member of the…
Margaret left Phuket and Mrs. Sheehan drove her down to Tonka harbor where she and the children were going to sail. They listened to a man play classical music. They had a miserable trip going across, with all their luggage. They were glad to get…
Margaret tells the story of "The Pakai Affair". It started when Margaret spent the year battling some health issues and couldn't fulfill her responsibilities at the school. Her illness became part of the plan of Bertha Blount, one of "the villain[s]…
Margaret begins telling "what I call 'The Pakai Affair.'" To tell the story, she gives some background concerning mission history in Siam. Margaret tells of the history of the Presbyterian mission in Siam, the main figures, the mission stations and…
Margaret recalls an article in a local newspaper in which she was misquoted. It was a reunion with Mrs. Boyd, who was visiting in Bangkok and whom Margaret had known since she was a little child. Margaret comments that in many occasion this happened…
Margaret says Bill's pet amusement at the moment was pushing Peggy's doll carriage around. One morning, Margaret found him washing Peggy's doll's hair. The two children looked almost like twins now because Bill weighed only one pound less than Peggy.…
Margaret talks about how the farmers cared for their buffalo. They would keep them under the house, perhaps. Groups of men would take their buffalo out to grazing areas to feed. No one milked cows, though they did have female buffalo. When the…
Margaret describes her stove, how slow it is, and the hard work it takes to cook on it. She tells of the market, especially the buying of meat and how she tendered beef before roasting it. Pork was more tender and they had it more often. She would…
Margaret remembers the friends of the Landons (Ralph Verhaug, who married Katherine, Joe Wright, Muriel, etc.) The friendship went cold for the most part, though Muriel remained very faithful in writing. Margaret recalls how hard it was to not…
Margaret talks about their first three years in Siam and their furlough coming up in just a year. She had just begun to feel that she was of use as a missionary. It was so hard without the language. Sometimes she got blue because of the lack of any…
Margaret tells of her trip home from Thailand on the Landon's first furlough, in 1931. While Kenneth traveled around the world one way, so as to visit the Holy Land, she traveled around the world the other way, with Peggy and Bill. Peggy was four,…
Margaret tells of the compound, housework, market, and sewing. The compound had begun to look like what Margaret had hoped for (it looked like a park). Dan Bovee had done a great deal to bring this about. There was a man for cutting the grass all day…
Margaret ate durian after attending the King's daughters' meeting. When she first came to Siam she felt sick every time she smelled the fruit. After a few years she got used to it and couldn't have it enough. She describes how the fruit grows in a…