This is my maternal great grandmother, on my Mom's side... This is a letter that she wrote to a friend in 1933. It tells a lot about who she was. I treasure it.
Journaling:
Angamally
Travancore State
18th September 1933
My Dear Sister in Christ,
Since my visit to you in 1921, many and many a time have I wanted to write to you but the language difficulty has come between
and stopped me. I am compelled to write now because of an urgent need and I hope and pray that you will find
someone to translate this to you. I have not forgotten you all and I trust you have not me either. My visit to you and
the happy time you gave me is still fresh in my memory and how I long to pay you another visit. The Lord may yet help
me to do it.
The work of the Lord has been going on steadily and encouragingly and souls are being added to the church. Several new places
have been opened up for work and Assemblies formed. In this place especially the numbers have increased very much since
my return in 1922. So much so that now we have to build a larger meeting place. For nearly twenty years we have
been meeting in a shed which is too small to hold all who come. And as we are also in need of a Girl's School,
we want to put up a substantial tiled building large enough to serve both purposes. There is a convent here for
girls but our believers do not care to send their daughters because of the religious instruction freely given.
So they have to send them each day by train to a Government school 6 miles away which means extra
needless expense to them. For some years now they have been begging of me to open a Girl's School
but I could not do so for want of a proper building. Even the Hindus and Jacobite Syrians have joined
in the request as they too do not care to send their children to the Roman Catholic Convent.
About 3 years ago the believers themselves, who are mostly from the poor, out of their great
poverty collected some money but it was only enough to finish the foundation work. Just the
great worldwide economic struggle began and they could not go on. This unfinished building
lies along the roadside to the open gaze of passers by and our enemies. The Roman
Catholics point their fingers of scorn at it and taunt and ridicule our poor believers about it.
Seeing the very urgent need of this place I have taken it upon myself to write to a few
select friends and ask for a little help to finish it. I do hope you will be able to send a
small gift to these poor brethren. I am sure the smallest gift would be gratefully
accepted by them. You may have noticed the announcement in the "Offene Luren"
but I am awfully sorry to say that I have not received anything toward it yet. Dear
sister, you are one who have taken an interest in this work of the Lord in Malabar
from its very beginning. I am sure you pray for it still. Do not lose interest in it
because my husband is gone and do not forget his wife altogether because she is
still going on with the work. This building is urgently needed or I would not have
written about it, so do not fail us at this critical time.
How is your family? I am sure Anni and Minni are married and have families of
their own. I have their photos hanging in my sitting room. I wish you would
send me your family group. I am longing to hear some news of you all. Don't
your sons-in-law know English? If so, ask one of them to write.
I daresay, you must have heard of my beloved Gottlob's Homecall. He was my
best and the most spiritual of all my children and he came from New Zealand
to help me in the Lord's work. Oh, how I miss my precious darling. The Lord
saw it fit to take him. I am enclosing a copy of the circular letter I sent round
at the time.
My Samuel and Theodore are still in England. Theodore is married and has a
son and daughter. They are very clever children. The boy is 8 and the girl is 5.
My daughter is a teacher and my youngest son is a clerk in an office in one
of our large cities.
I myself have not been in good health for some years. I am suffering from not
too strong an attack of Angina Pectoris and Diabetes. For the latter I keep strict
diet and so I am going on without very great trouble. But I am not able to go on
long walks and visit houses as I did before. But I am thankful that I am not worse.
Please pray much for me.
Do you ever meet the Stamheim people now? If you do will you tell them about the
need of our Meeting Room? I know they cannot do much but though you may not be
able to send money, you can all pray that the Lord might send us the needed amount.
The Lord bless and keep you all by His grace and power. With affectionate love and
greetings.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Harriet Nagel
Credit: Amaryllis by Kathryn Mhire
Program: Photoshop Elements 5
Fonts: Verdana and Regency
Registered: September 2006 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 3083
Mon July 16, 2007 1:48pm
Fantastic layout - Having both the picture and the actual letter make it a wonderful piece of history!
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paperlady Deco-Pages Sunshine Team Member
Registered: August 2006 Location: Texas Panhandle Posts: 2519
Mon July 16, 2007 2:14pm
Awesome LO Julie. How wonderful to have those treasures. Love the soft colors.
------------------------------ Joan
tjmuse Loves Deco-Pages
Registered: February 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 152
Mon July 16, 2007 2:31pm
wow what a beautiful letter. you did such a great job on the LO. The beads around the edge are a great way to frame the LO.
------------------------------ TJmuse
Virago Deco-Pages Sunshine Team Member
Registered: June 2007 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 6103
Tue July 17, 2007 3:18am
This is a fabulous layout. I love the photo and the letter, but also the little details like the lacing and eyelets. Very nice way to display a piece of history.
------------------------------ Wendy
Don't forget: Amateurs built the Ark; Professionals built the Titanic!!
Digi-Scrap Designer & Moderator
Registered: March 2007 Location: AZ4ME Posts: 3735
Wed July 18, 2007 7:16am
Great layout & journaling. I too like to write alot: some days more then others!!
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