About me
My childhood consisted of numerous journeys of being transplanted in different environments, countries, and continents.
My mother wrote letters to her family from every temporary address, often saying, “Save my letters, in case the children want to know what life was like when they were young.”
The letters were saved by my grandparents, who never threw away any scrap of written information. I inherited Mother’s letters as I am the only one of her five living children who learned her mother tongue, Swedish, well enough to glean treasures from her letters.
I’ve written her story in two different books. The Swedish book ANNAS LYKTA, published in 1984, was translated into Finnish as ÄITINI ANNA YRJÖLÄ in 1987. The self-published English book MISSIONARY MOTHER—Around the World with Five Kids, 2015 (Missionary Mother) gives glimpses of the seven-year journey, 1946-1953, from Finland via America to China, then to Ceylon before returning to Finland.
I’ve made several attempts in the past to blog my stories. I hope I can piece together the scattered shards of my life so that the pictures make sense to my readers.
I have loads of personal letters to glean from, written at a time when I had to choose between Rebellion and Obedience to follow God’s will for my life. That might need another forum. All those struggles come under the umbrella of a Global Nomad.
Dad stayed in Kunming nine months after the Reds had taken the city. He built a boat from wooden packing cases and was able to visit and preach in villages along the shores of the Dianchi Lake.
Dad’s boat on the Dianchi Lake, Kunming.
On many nights, Dad heard the fighting between the Reds and the remaining Nationalistic soldiers around him. He felt safe, trusting God’s Word. “Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night, his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.” Psalm 42:8
Leaving Dad in Kunming as we flee to Hongkong December 5, 1949.
Even though our family’s situation was chaotic, my parents were firmly rooted in God’s Word. Dad told stories later about how he experienced the reality in Psalm 91.
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings, you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
Excerpt from my dad’s biography INTO THE STORM, author Valtter Luoto: One August morning, when he came back to Kunming from a preaching trip with his boat, he went to report at the police station as was required in those times.
“We have nothing against your desire to travel to Ceylon,” the officer said unexpectedly. “Just make your travel plans and inform us about them within three hours,” he said. “But you must know that the only route open is through Chongqing, Hankou, and Canton.”
Toimi made hurried inquiries about the traveling possibilities. The road to Chongqing was occupied by the guerrillas who still tried to hold out against the troops of the communist central government. The only way to get there was to travel the 1100 kilometers by plane to Chongqing. Toimi decided in three hours and informed the police officer that he would travel to Ceylon. Ten days later, on the last day of August 1950, Toimi Leonard sat in an airplane for the first time.
Toimi was gradually leaving China behind him. From Chongqing, he traveled the 1800 kilometers by train to Canton. He had to report to the police at every station where he changed trains, but there were no problems on the way. In Hong Kong, Toimi was in a different environment. Finally, after many efforts, he got a berth on a Philippine ship on 30.9.1950. The ship raised its anchor at the break of day and headed for Singapore and India. Among the passengers was Toimi Leonard Yrjola, a child of Haapasaari Island, who was now saying farewell to the Chinese mainland. He had come to the country of his calling for the first time as a youth in 1929, almost 21 years ago. Now, he was only 41 years old. One of the most dramatic and eventful phases of his life was over. China had closed its doors to mission work.
Dad was coming to join us and his family in Ceylon. Our separation lasted nearly eleven months. I was five. I was not sure how I was supposed to feel. Something inside me was broken. We had grown apart due to his work, which had resulted in many long separations. He gave me a gift, a fragile plastic duck, which he had bought from Hong Kong. It, too, was broken. I begin to see a pattern of brokenness in my life story -- with a promise:
Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 58:11-12
That is a childhood dream. You are so lucky to have parents such as these. Though I never got such an experience I appreciate you sharing your happy adventures :)
What a gift that your Mother saw ahead to your futures and had your Grandparents save all her letters for you and your siblings! And I have been so blessed to read your writings about it all. May the Lord continue to bless your telling of the stories.