Mavuradonha Mission Station
P/B 16 Bindura
Southern Rhodesia, Africa
10th December, 1953
Dear Gladys, Clarence, and girls,
A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR !
This is certainly not the type of a day to be writing [missing] greetings but still the calendar says that it is time to d[missing] you feel the sun? It is blazing down in its proper December manner. Anyhow my imagination takes me to the proper type of weather… nice and cold with white snow. I’m wondering if that is the kind that you are having.
School is over for this year and all of the “little dears” have gone to their homes except those who have stayed to work. They are quite a bunch and can certainly present the problems. We had to tell some to go home this year as they cause trouble. Others should have been told to do so. Some are very good and behave.
Tomorrow I am going to town. I’m all excited over the prospects. Anyway it will be a nice break. I’m going with Marie in her 12-seater (or however many it hauls). This is the rainy season and one can expect rain every day although it may not. The worst of our journey is she doesn’t really know much about a car and if we had any sort of trouble I don’t know what she would do. You know how helpful I’d be if the generator came unhooked or whatever can happen. Anyway we will ride merrily along and trust that nothing happens. I’d really hate to sleep in the mud hole with the mosquitoes. It is the time of the year for those creatures, too, although they are around most of the time. I can’t think of but once since I have been in Africa that I have gone to town in this season.
Of course I shall be wondering what you all are doing at Christmas time. We will be a lot of missionaries here and we will have our gift opening Christmas Eve… here’s hoping I get some – ha. We are going to have the dinner a sort of a co-operate affair, much as I hate them. Anyway we are most too many for one person to handle alone, although I could do it. It is a little on the hot side to try to though.
While the “little dears” are home I am trying to get my correspondence up to date and I can assure you that that is a job. I suppose most of the people have forgotten me, sorry to say. It is their loss, though. Don’t you think?
I’d love to see all of the nieces and nephews. I’m sure that they must be a gay bunch when they all get together. The house would have to be bomb proof, I reckon. Anyway I’d like to see them all. Some are getting most too big for Christmas stockings I suppose.
We are honored to have one of our number in the Armed Forces now. I enjoyed the letter he wrote and hope that he writes again.
[Typewritten portion ends; handwritten from here on.]
Mom says that you won’t be home for Christmas this year. I hope that Evelyn can come.
13th December
I’m in Salisbury and it is nice to be doing a little shopping again, although you’d scarcely know that it is so near Christmas.
Most of the missionaries are in for supplies, etc., and I’ve gotten to meet most of the new ones. There will be two new couples with us for language study. We’ll be eleven on our station then.
Well, I trust that you’ll have a nice Christmas and a good New Year. It doesn’t seem as if four years have gone by since I last saw you. I wouldn’t know the children, I’m sure. What are their ages now? I’m awful for not remembering.
Well, I have much to do so must say goodbye for now.
Love,
Eunice
