For The Souls and Soils of India

About the Book

A Chinese poet once said, “To re-create something in words is like being alive twice.” In a very real sense I have found this to be true as I have been compiling this record of my parents’ life. As missionaries in India from 1923-1960 they had written regularly to me and other family members in the United States. In addition, my father wrote many informative circular letters to his supporting churches. Unfortunately, some letters were lost, but in the end there was a suitcase full of correspondence. I couldn’t throw them away. They were my meaningful link to my parents. So last summer, with the encouragement of my husband and children, I bought a laptop computer and started writing this story as a tribute to the remarkable and dedicated life of my parents, concentrating particularly on their life together as missionaries, followed by 17 years in Home Missions. In the process I have re-lived those early years and true to the Chinese poet’s words, I feel that I have been alive twice. The reader will notice capitalization of certain words in my father’s letters, where capitals are not customarily used. I believe it was his way of emphasizing words which he considered important.

About the Author

Helen Maybury (ne Conser) was born in India in 1924 and attended two international schools in India, Kodaikanal and Woodstock, before coming to the United States for university studies in 1942. She has produced a heartwarming profile of her mother and father, two courageous individuals who were confirmed in their resolve to serve God and His people. In all, Helen’s parents spent 37 years in India, as well as 9 years in home missions in the United States after their retirement. Alongside the personal history, the letters tell the story of India during a time of tremendous upheaval and historical significance, as the country fought its way to independence. There are letters that tell of meetings with great leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Vinoba Bhave, the author of the land-gift or “sarvodaya” movement. A non-violent revolutionary in the tradition of Gandhi, he collected millions of acres of land to distribute to the landless. Helen’s parents were an American couple who clearly cared deeply for equality, human dignity and social justice.