Narok,
Masai Reserve, Kenya Col.
East
Africa
Jan.
17, 1934.
My
dear Auntie [added in pencil, “Lorene”]
I
hope this gets to you in time for your birthday - is it 69?
Well,
any way since you have been in Calif. a year you will have
regained
your youth and no doubt feel only 29! So who cares
what the
calendar says.
Just
happened to think if you stop at Charlies on your way home and
in
Kansas with others & with Aunt Annie, you’ll hardly be
home for
your birthday. but I’ll address it there anyway.
You
have had a regular furlo, like any missionary - only your
years of
service were a few more than we usually have before our first
furlo. We are so glad you could have such a nice time. and
Uncle Richard is
well taken care of too. How it just all fitted together so
nicely. Every thing after this, will date from “that year I
spent in
Calif”.
I
have several letters of yours here, Aunt Lorene, and one
from
Aunt Annie that came in last mail. Claudon said he had one
from her
but he hasn’t found it among his things yet. ‘Twas a month
yesterday since he landed. Where the time has gone. It is
still
like a dream that he is here. Just now they are out camping
and I
have to remind myself often that he is really here. - - - -
Didn’t
get very far last night & now it’s late so can’t do much.
The campers got back and now Shaffers are getting ready to
leave on
Sat. (day after tomorrow) and then we’ll be getting away on
Mon.
early. And so it will be go, go, go until we get back from
Congo &
then, so far as I know now, we’ll be alone! and I do think we
will
enjoy it for a change.
I’ve
made the lavendar dress the girls sent - or rather Alice sent
it &
fixed up a yellow one Cora had sent some time ago - and made a
new
nighty and now am putting a pongee cover onto my felt hat.
Just now
I’ve made the S.S. register for the year. and so I’m getting a
line up on things & assigning work to the different ones,
so
every thing will go on til we get back.
Conf.
opens Tues. and at the close of that Dad & I are taking
Claudon
to Congo. Perhaps Mr. Devitt a young man at Kijabe will go
with us. Dad doesn’t quite like the idea of driving back by
ourselves.
We
go to Barnett’s first & then to Kaimosi where more friends
are
& then on camping once or twice before we reach Agnes
Hurlburt
Bells place where we will leave him. We wont stay long as we
want to
get back by Mar. 1 or so.
It
will give us a longer time together. It has been so short
& with
so many folks here we have had only a few days by ourselves -
except
the few days of camping. It’s getting cold & this guest
house
is rather draughty so guess I’ll go to bed.
(pg.
2) At it once more. This is Fri. eve Jan. 19. Shaffers are
pretty
well packed up & ready to be off after breakfast. I’ve set
bread to bake and want to wash up sheets & some clothes,
so I
guess I’ll be kept out of mischief, besides moving back into
our
house & getting settled. Then Sun. we take care of all the
meetings and go to Narok and Mon. by 5 A.M. we want to be
ready to
leave for we are to meet Mr. Shaffer at the Nairobi road by 10
A.M. &
he goes to Nairobi with Jno & Claudon. Tues. Conf opens
&
closes the next Mon.
We
are camping. Shaffers & we - all but Mrs. S & the new
baby. They will live in Rift Valley Academy so I’ll be looking
after the
crowd. The day after Conf closes we’ll go home with Barnetts
&
spend 2 or 3 days there & then on. We are not sure what we
can
do after we get into Congo but don’t think we can travel
around
much for gas is very high there. But I’ll write again after we
return and then tell you what all we did.
If
you had to put on such a bath suit as I’ve seen where suits
are
advertised I don’t wonder you didn’t enjoy it. The one Cora
sent
by Cl. is real sensible only hasn’t a skirt & I’m going to
knit one for it. I had intended knitting myself a whole suit
like I
did for Jno but may not need to now. but those awfully brief
things -
I can’t abide.
So
glad you got to Forest Lawn Cemetery - isn’t that it? Where
Albert
lies. I shall never forget the service at his grave - ‘twas
all so
impressive as it was late P.M. The shadows were so long on the
grass
& Mr Boelter read the poem “Sleep on Beloved”.
Your
last written from Alices, came to Kijabe Xmas day & out
here by
Thurs. We were so glad for all you told us. We’ve been
getting,
from the girls, snatches of your good times - & perhaps,
sometime
when we come on furlo we can read your day book.
Send
anything you have of Bible or Testament or stories about great
men -
for Mulungit. He really wants to do right, I believe, tho he
&
his wife are not very “happy” to each other. You’ll know the
affair from the girls’ letters. but he loves reading & his
eyes
are pretty bad. I hope Lora soon sends some more glasses - he
looks
too comical really with only one lens in his glasses. Just
mark
anything you send “old books, no commercial value” & we
wont
need to pay any thing & you will pay very little customs.
If
some leaves are loose I’ll paste ‘em in.
Jno
used to go to the state prison at San Quentin & speak to
the
inmates & sometimes Raymond was allowed as he always drove
Dad
over. I think It’s a wonderfully fine work. Have just read a
book
called “The Bells of Is” & is the record of the prison
work
F.B. Meyer did in his early days in the Lords work - very
interesting.
(pg.
3) The Schlunneggers you visited are nice folks. He
was
Claudons S.S. Teacher at San B. & the boys thot so much of
him.
Yes,
I always think of Uncle Aaron at that awfully windy place,
Fontana! but we’re glad he is in Calif. and every place has
some drawback -
even Africa. We’ve never had so many flies in all our 15 yrs
Syabei history as just now. And it’s hot too.
Jno
has been reading such an interesting book on the stars. he is
typing
some of it. Claudon has gone to brush his teeth so I must too
&
then get to bed. I’m ready for it. Guess I’ll finish this
tomorrow night.
Next
night. Finis. What a day we have had! The crowd did not get
away
before 10 A.M. tho we had breakfast extra early. The men (Jno
&
Cl.) brot all our things from the guest house & we began
to get
settled a bit here. The house was very dirty for 11 of us have
been
using the dining room - but there had to be washing done so we
have
only swept the house. & Cl. is upstairs & we back in
our
stalls. It was an experiment but guess Jno doesn’t want to
repeat
it. The S. children are so loud & boisterous & into
every
thing that it makes Jno awfully nervous. We ate breakfast by
ourselves but the other meals here. Then we had 2 spells of
camping
so it wasn’t too bad.
While
we were away the B.C.M.S. young folks got a telegram to go to
one of
their stations & so when we got back they were gone. We do
miss
them. They were so nice.
Jno
has gone out with his chart to study the stars. They are so
brilliant tonight tho there is a bit of a moon too.
Well,
we baked bread & cake & washed & ironed all we
need to -
and had a good swim too. Course the boys did the washing &
part
of the ironing & Jno & Cl. did a lot of the bringing
in of
the things & putting ‘em where they belonged. I just kept
every one on the move. Now we want to get away by 5 on Mon.
morning
- so we will eat breakfast on the road. Pack up every thing
tomorrow
eve so we can get away early. We broke our thermos bottle on
our
last trip so I’m going to try putting coffee into glass
bottles
wrapped up. ‘Twill need to keep hot only a couple of hrs.
Guess
Jno will get a thermos in Nairobi. They are only a dollar.
some are
more.
Now
I must stop - we’ve stopt & chatted - Cl is looking at the
10
Kodak albums - and there’s much to explain.
This
is rather a rambling letter but it’s got to go - and it
carries our
3 loves and good wishes for a happy birthday wherever you are.
Love
from all
Flo.
[Written
in the margin] Here is a hanky - it is English.
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