Life On the Min River

Set in China between two World Wars, this is the story of a missionary family dedicated to the education and independence of the Chinese people. Robert McClure and Jeanie Graham shared a common dream: to become foreign missionaries. They married in 1916, and left for China, their home for the next twenty-one years. Jeanie's detailed letters home form the backbone of this memoir written by their daughter, Agnes Alden, and augmented by Agnes' own comments and observations. During their time in China, Bob and Jeanie struggled against poverty and superstition all the while introducing the concepts of human rights, dignity for girls, and education for those hungry to learn. They helped build schools, hospitals, and agricultural stations, and then trained the best and brightest Chinese men and women to run them. Through all these harrowing times, they kept their wits about them, fostering a keen sense of humor and a bedrock belief in the goodness of the human soul.