[Background to the Book][Table of Contents][First Chapter]

Forward

In the 1800's two Swedes, Johan Alfred and Hedvig, who were from different parts of rural Sweden, converted from the state Lutheran church to a new faith in Sweden at the time, the Baptist religion. Their conversion was deep, dynamic, and all consuming. Having found what they believed was true faith in God they committed themselves, quite independently, to spreading the truth they had found to others. This deep heart-felt commitment eventually took them to China where they lived out much of their lives and where two succeeding generations were to be born and grow up.

The Rinell family lived through significant events and great changes in China's history the most significant of which were the Manchu dynasty, the Boxer Rebellion, the birth of the Republic, the Japanese invasion, civil war and the ascension of the Chinese communists leading to the birth of the People's Republic of China. These were epoch making times. This book follows the Rinell family through these years of change, culminating with their expulsion from the land that they loved and the people to whom they had given and received so much.

[Background to the Book][Table of Contents][First Chapter]