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 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 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…
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…
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.
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…
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'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 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.…
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 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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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 were learning about 30 new words a day, and memorizing two verses from the Siamese New Testament. Each week was a significant advance in their learning of the Siamese language.
Kenneth wrote home about their move to Trang. Margaret and the children had gone first and he was left behind moving the furniture. He hired freight cars for the move. The climate was better in Trang and there was some sort of port.
Margaret tells about Kenneth's first evangelistic tour, a four-week long tour. She tells about their problem with insects and vermin in the house while Kenneth was gone. Kenneth makes a few comments on this first tour and the impact it had on him…
Kenneth describes his tour to Ban Don, the way he dressed, the people he met on his tour, and the preaching he had. He would gather people from anywhere between 15 and 250 to listen to his sermon. He preached and sang, distributed literature and…
On Kenneth's third evangelistic tour (Feb. 1929), the last from Nakhon, he visited villages and towns in the district. A young preacher, Ah Ti, was his associate. Both Kenneth and Margaret explain courtesy, manners and names in the Thai culture.
Kenneth had to rush to Bangkok for teeth problems. On his way back home he met a Syrian refugee and an agnostic German who gave Kenneth an inflatable leather pillow. Upon his return Kenneth found that Dr. Bulkley had returned from furlough. Peggy was…
Margaret stopped her language study because the strain had become too much. Kenneth went on and took his second year exam. He passed all the tests, but he was downgraded because the teachers had to grade him on the basis of two years in the country…
Kenneth could visit people in the country about once a year, and the postal system was reliable. He decided to start "epistolary evangelism" and wrote letters to the people he visited and other interested persons. This allowed him to keep in touch…
Kenneth wrote to his father that his mother, Mae's ruby ring came to him safely. Kenneth received and treasured it, before he gave it to Peggy who now owns it. He tells the story of him buying the ring (he always made more money than his brother…