Leaving and Returning
Leaving and returning
Our family of seven people was already on board the white ship Ebeneser, which would take us from Finland to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. The family consisted of my father, Toimi, and my mother, Anna. We children were Toivo, soon sixteen; the twins Samuel and Mary, fourteen; Emmanuel (usually called Manu), nearly thirteen; and I, Lisa, was ten. Dad's vision was being realized. Several future missionaries traveled with us. Dad's brother, sea captain Aarne Yrjola, and chief mate Paavo Kauppinen navigated the ship to its destination.
The northern quay in Helsinki was filled with people who came to bid farewell to the travelers. The music played by the Finnish Salem Church's brass band sounded over the water that warm afternoon and attracted more people to the dock to see what was going on.
As we set sail, we left behind our beloved Grandma, Aunt Göta, and Aunt Elna. The parting was heart-wrenching, as their home had been a sanctuary for us during our brief two-year stay in Finland.
The Ebeneser was beautiful in its fresh white paint. Many fancy-colored flags fluttered on lines stretched between the masts and the bow. The excitement was contagious, and I was caught up in it, too. The brass band's music and many Finnish hymns, typically in a minor key, gave me an ambivalent feeling.
Standing at the stern of the Gospel ship, Ebeneser, I watched as my birthplace and the city of the previous two years of my childhood faded into the horizon. The ship's blue and white flag fluttered in the wind, and the cries of gulls followed us. The chill of the deck was palpable as the first stars appeared after sundown. I searched for our cabin, but there was no turning back. The waves erased the path behind us, leaving only the ship's wake as a reminder of our journey.
I was both leaving and returning. I was leaving the newly discovered land of my birth and returning to my childhood home, Ceylon.
Dear Lisa, God is so gracious to help you put into words these stories and lessons that He gave to you at such a young age. May we all learn to see His leading in every leaving and returning in our own lives! Bless you for sharing dear sister.
Hello Lisa,
Your writing gives me a little bit of an idea of what my father saw and felt when he left his beloved Jakobstad, Finland to come to America with his mother, in 1936. He was 6 yrs old. His heart always stayed in Finland. I believe I read somewhere that you knew missionaries, Sanfrid and AnnaLisa Mattsson? They were relatives of my father.