My Writer’s Journey does not follow a straight or a regular line, though I wish it could do so. For example, in my Writer’s Journey 1, I mentioned receiving a box of my mother’s old letters in January 40 years ago. We lived in Helsinki at the time. Within a few months, by Mother’s Day 1983, the manuscript of my first book was ready. I realized those letters held a rich treasure I hoped to uncover and share later.
Soon after that manuscript was ready, my husband and I returned to Thailand with our three children. While packing for the move, I felt a few painful joints, the first signs of an illness that has affected my life since then. About one year later, more symptoms appeared. Finally, a blood test at a Bangkok hospital confirmed my fears. I had Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Since I didn’t know much about that illness, I searched for knowledge where I hoped to find it - in a medical book at one of the bookstores holding English books in Bangkok. I noticed a magazine I had to buy in that bookstore—the Writer’s Digest. I forgot what I had initially come to find. That magazine left a seed of longing - I must find a writer’s group somewhere. Preferably an English group. That was far more difficult to hunt down in the remote Northeastern province of Loei in Thailand than to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. Several years went by. Whenever possible, I searched for literature about writing in the few stores in Bangkok selling English books.
(Dear Reader, I appreciate your patience as I learn this new writing forum, SUBSTACK. I hope I can get my stories in order someday.)
Three tragedies
1983 was a turning point in our lives in ways we did not yet understand. My mother’s letters were part of the change. When we returned to Thailand, we assumed life would be as it had been. My husband had schooled a co-worker to take responsibility for the local church. Sadly, shortly after our return, our close co-worker died in a traffic accident, leaving a young widow with two little girls. It was heartbreaking to see their sorrow. Yet, God brought them comfort by showing the younger girl, age four, how angels carried her daddy to heaven. This forum is not the place to express all that happened, but the situation gradually led to new decisions affecting the church’s future.
We soon received another sad message—this time from Finland. The pastor of my Swedish home church in Helsinki died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He encouraged me to write and finish my mother’s story. It felt like the bottom fell out, and my manuscript seemed to float away in the strong currents of change. There was nothing I could do about that. Swedish is a minority language in Finland, and sales of Swedish Christian literature were dropping low.
Within a week after my beloved pastor’s death, a new tragedy occurred, which affected my close family in yet another way, though the news reached me several days later. An unexpected phone call, where I barely recognized the voices of different family members, each repeating, “We are all fine,” confused me. I knew my mother and my sister were in Helsinki. But my father, brother Emmanuel and his family were supposed to sail on the gospel ship Ebeneser from Borneo to Singapore. How could they all be speaking on the same telephone? Where were they?
I had no idea that the third tragedy would affect my Writer’s Journey.
Oh such an amazing story of God's great protection and peace in the midst of the storm! And so fascinating to read the official ship's report also. Thank you for sharing your niece's story with us!