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(1919) Sisters Go to America

Margeret and Edith to America

After the war ended in 1918 Margaret and Edith were free to travel. They took the first available ship, a Canadian ship the Empress of Russia, for North America. The ship had been used as a troop transport during the war.

Hellen Colldén

Now 20 years old Hellen Colldén had worked in her sister's bakery in Göteborg and later had started her own bookbinding business. A committed Christian she had been wondering what else she could do with her life. Her family had always been interested in the work of preaching the Word to the unsaved in foreign lands. During the high festivals1 (högtider) her mother would ask a few missionaries or pastors home as guests although the homestead was crowded.

Hellen's older siblings were teachers in the Sunday School and as junior leaders. They also donated gifts and prayed for foreign missions. At the beginning the family had no idea that Hellen's brother David "harbored a missionary call" as she puts it. Hellen became impressed with the importance of servicing God in missions during church services and mission conferences. "It was mainly the missionaries' inspiring talks that I felt a calling to become a China missionary."

Both Hellen and her brother decided to go to seminary. Their mother had no financial means to pay for both of the twins to go on for more education.2 David did take high school. His job in SKF3 and the business wanted him to learn Russian so that he could work in Russia.

[Above 2 paragraphs or parts of them should probably go into year 1920, because David did not tell his family what was on his mind till then.]

Before her time in Bethel Seminary Hellen had a time of preparation by the evangelist Ida [sp? - first name unclear in document but probably Ida] Andersson [from the] west coast area. Hilda Hassel, a very knowledgeable evangelist, was the was leader for their Christia meeting and activity.

Pastor Viktor Hugo [Pastor of Linniaes church?]4 on behalf of Linneas church to Bethel Seminary. Besides the two year mission course Hellen had extra classes at the same time in mission history from teacher Anders Olof Hammar, and the English language from Pastor Hellström's daughter Mia.

China

In China Kaomi's first medical clinic opened.

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