So there's this story about Punt.
Punt was a trading partner of Ancient Egypt. Egyptians would travel to Punt, Puntites would travel to Egypt - they loved each other. Egyptian writings described everything about Punt - its beauty (they called it God's Land), the awesome trading (bitumen, copper, naptha), and their peaceful nature (they were totally down with Hatshepsut's reign).
The only thing they didn't describe was where it was located.
Why would they need to draw a map? Everyone knew where Punt was. The trip was relatively easy, and they were such great friends.
So nowhere (that we've found) did anyone write down directions to Punt. No maps. No GPS. Just vague descriptions of things seen along the way.
Punt could literally be just about anywhere in the map below.
There's speculation that Punt is actually referred to as Put in the Bible, Put being the third son of Ham, of course, and the Bible being less than accommodating in making sure everything is spelled exactly the same (I'm looking at you Kings and Chronicles!). Punt is also called Ta netjer, the "Land of the God."
Not that any of that is important.
Why am I talking about an ancient land that hardly anyone knows existed?
BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND OUT LETTIE COWMAN'S ACTUAL FIRST NAME.
I have been researching Lettie for a few months now, in anticipation of the luncheon with Board wives a few weeks ago. And in every book I read, Lettie is introduced as either Mrs. Cowman, Mrs. Charles Cowman, L.B. Cowman, or Lettie Cowman.
I suppose Lettie could actually be her name. But that seems unlikely. It feels like a nickname to me. And I have this vague memory of seeing her full name somewhere. I even had a dream about it that convinced me I knew what her name was, though I was very clearly wrong.
I'm going to keep searching, though not feverishly. More like, as I live, if I see something related to Lettie, I'll inquire discreetly.
The internet is no help on this, btw. Considering OMS wrote her Wikipedia page, if it ain't there, it's safe to say we have no idea.
Anyway, I really just started this post so I could talk about a particular book I read about Lettie Burd. It's called The Vision Lives, and it was written by B.H. Pearson. Pearson was quite a significant figure in OMS history, but he wasn't part of the big families, so hardly anyone knows who he is anymore. (Sad, but true. For family names, look at the street names around OMS.) (I could be wrong here. I just don't ever hear his name. Maybe I'm talking to the wrong people.)
I think I can fairly say that this book has changed my life. I am different now that I've read this book. I've known the Cowman story since I came to OMS. We're pretty decent at the indoctrination stuff. Every new missionary has to read a book (No Guarantee But God) about the founders. So I knew the basics.
But Lettie's story tends to stop for people after Charles dies. And that's horrible, because she lived another 35ish years after her husband died. I could make an argument that she did more after Charles died than she did before.
And I think that's why I was so moved by this book. It felt like her story really started with the writing of Streams in the Desert.
(It didn't. The story of how she met Charles, how long she waited to marry him, their life before Chicago, her conversion and subsequent chivying of Charles, their call to missions, their life in Japan - all great and important tales that tell you a lot about Lettie. But I didn't feel like I knew her until after Streams.)
Have you read Streams in the Desert? I have to admit, I have not read it entirely. But I have read parts of it, and I know the story behind it. In fact, there's a book called The Story Behind Streams in the Desert. You should read that, too. (Incidentally, do you know which verse the book title comes from? You'll get brownie points.)
But in case you don't, here's the gist. Charles and Lettie spent about 15ish years in Japan before he fell ill. Like, seriously ill. They were pretty sure he was going to die. So the Cowmans returned to the U.S. They set up shop in California, continuing to run the Oriental Missionary Society.
And Charles never got better. For six years, he suffered tremendous pain, having numerous heart attacks or strokes (going by the description). Lettie continued taking care of him, doing her duty as his wife.
Lettie called this time her Gethsemane. That was the first thing that really stood out to me. We really only get a small picture of what the garden of Gethsemane was like for Jesus. But we do know it was bad. Extremely emotionally distressing, to the point where he was probably sweating blood. He knew he was about to die, and in the most undignified way possible. For Lettie to compare this time of waiting and watching to Gethsemane is very telling to me.
During this time, Lettie did whatever she could to preserve hope. She always believed that God would heal Charles, and she latched onto pretty much anything that seemed to offer some kind of respite. Nearly anything, because she always compared it to Scripture, and if it didn't stand up, she discarded it like yesterday's fish. Over six years, she had a ton of poems, sayings, and wisdom from many sources. These things form the spine of Streams.
Eventually, of course, Charles died. Lettie finished compiling her book and published it.
And then she started to live.
(Again, probably not politically correct to say that. It just seems like people treat her as an extension of Charles before died. Which shouldn't surprise me. #womenareproperty #imreallynotafeminist #justannoyedatnotbeingtreatedlikeaseparateentitycapableofthinkingformyself )
Seriously, though, the chapter after Charles' death starts like this: "Mrs. Cowman begins to realize how entirely Charles had filled her life." Lettie was 54. Young by some standards, old by most. She writes a book about Charles' life (Missionary Warrior - another good read) and promotes the mission.
Then, at 58, she becomes president of the Oriental Missionary Society. This is huge, guys. She's a woman in 1928, and she's presiding over a multi-national mission. She is the third such president, and she lasts almost longer than the first two combined.
I wish I could describe everything she does in this period. But the book does that, and I'm not writing a book, though you may think so by now. She goes to China, despite the threat from Japan. She goes to a conference in Swansea, Wales. It's here that she feels a call to the rest of the world, not just the Orient. From Swansea, to Finland, by way of a stormy sea. From Finland to Estonia. Estonia to Sweden. Back to England. France. Palestine. Egypt. She meets the young King Farouk. She gives him a beautifully bound copy of the Gospels. Greece (without a visa). Back to England, where her visit with Farouk has engendered an invitation from the exiled Emperor of Ethiopia, Hailie Selassie.
Guys. If you don't know the name Hailie Selassie, you need to stop reading right now and go do some research.
Fascinating doesn't quite cover it.
Selassie's daughter offers to translate Streams. The Emperor and Mrs. Cowman are apparently quite intrigued by one another. Lettie offers a prophetic word (which came true).
Finally, Lettie returned to L.A. But only for a spell, because shortly thereafter, she heads to Cuba. Keep in mind that she's also running a mission, writing books, and contending with a pending world war during all of this.
She returns to Japan for a few weeks in 1939. The Japanese have already invaded China at this point, but it doesn't matter because there are still plenty of people who need Jesus.
In 1941, at the age of 71, Lettie goes to Mexico. Her trip has nothing whatsoever to do with OMS. But people are hungry for the Word, and Lettie places an order for 100,000 Gospels without knowing where she'll get the money. Sure enough, the exact amount comes in over a weekend.
The Colombia field opens. Lettie inexplicably sends the entire Streams revenue to the field with little more than a prompting in prayer. The money purchases the land where the seminary in Medellin will be built.
Colombia becomes Lettie's last trip as president of OMS. She tenders her resignation in 1949 at the age of 79.
Despite going blind, she continues to entertain guests and write columns. She dies on Easter Sunday in 1960.
She had such an incredibly full life. During a time when most people think about retiring, she was just starting some of the most difficult chapters.
But what is almost more fascinating to me are the things that are not said.
Charles and Lettie Cowman never had children. Any mention of children, in fact, is conspicuously absent. Granted, the topic wasn't really one you brought up in polite conversation at that time. But I'm curious. Was it a conscious decision? Was she not capable of having children biologically? Was adoption ever discussed? We can really only speculate.
How exactly did Lettie manage to run a mission society based heavily in Asia during a world war? This is touched on a little, but my understanding of the text is that missionaries had a great deal of autonomy at this point. Communications weren't exactly the greatest, so decisions often had to be made in the field before being sent to a Board for approval.
Speaking of the Board, how did they feel about so much of their work being supported by hope and a prayer? The book mentions countless times where finances or resources were in desperately short supply, yet Lettie forged ahead, trust that God would provide. Granted, He often did. But it must have been nerve wracking to trust so completely in something with no reassurance of success.
Finally, and possibly most curious, what exactly happened when Lettie resigned as president? There's a story that goes around, and I only know bits and pieces of it. Some people say she was forced out. Some people say that she needed to be forced out. The book only says that she felt the future of the mission should be in younger hands. Oddly, though, she requested that the book ministry (most of which came from her) and the crusades form a separate corporation. If you've ever wondered, there is a reason that Streams is published now by Zondervan. I believe the publishing entity of OMS was purchased by them at some point over the years. So the organization she founded purchases copies of her book from Amazon just like everyone else.
I'll likely never know for sure in this life the answers to these questions. And that's okay. I can still be inspired by her. I still admire her devotion to God and to her husband. I admire her adventurous spirit, her kindness to all she met, her desire to reach everyone with the Gospel. I love her humility, her grace, and her peace in the midst of Gethsemane.
Lettie, whatever your first name was, thanks for being so cool.
Punt was a trading partner of Ancient Egypt. Egyptians would travel to Punt, Puntites would travel to Egypt - they loved each other. Egyptian writings described everything about Punt - its beauty (they called it God's Land), the awesome trading (bitumen, copper, naptha), and their peaceful nature (they were totally down with Hatshepsut's reign).
The only thing they didn't describe was where it was located.
Why would they need to draw a map? Everyone knew where Punt was. The trip was relatively easy, and they were such great friends.
So nowhere (that we've found) did anyone write down directions to Punt. No maps. No GPS. Just vague descriptions of things seen along the way.
Punt could literally be just about anywhere in the map below.
There's speculation that Punt is actually referred to as Put in the Bible, Put being the third son of Ham, of course, and the Bible being less than accommodating in making sure everything is spelled exactly the same (I'm looking at you Kings and Chronicles!). Punt is also called Ta netjer, the "Land of the God."
Not that any of that is important.
Why am I talking about an ancient land that hardly anyone knows existed?
BECAUSE I CAN'T FIND OUT LETTIE COWMAN'S ACTUAL FIRST NAME.
I have been researching Lettie for a few months now, in anticipation of the luncheon with Board wives a few weeks ago. And in every book I read, Lettie is introduced as either Mrs. Cowman, Mrs. Charles Cowman, L.B. Cowman, or Lettie Cowman.
I suppose Lettie could actually be her name. But that seems unlikely. It feels like a nickname to me. And I have this vague memory of seeing her full name somewhere. I even had a dream about it that convinced me I knew what her name was, though I was very clearly wrong.
I'm going to keep searching, though not feverishly. More like, as I live, if I see something related to Lettie, I'll inquire discreetly.
The internet is no help on this, btw. Considering OMS wrote her Wikipedia page, if it ain't there, it's safe to say we have no idea.
Anyway, I really just started this post so I could talk about a particular book I read about Lettie Burd. It's called The Vision Lives, and it was written by B.H. Pearson. Pearson was quite a significant figure in OMS history, but he wasn't part of the big families, so hardly anyone knows who he is anymore. (Sad, but true. For family names, look at the street names around OMS.) (I could be wrong here. I just don't ever hear his name. Maybe I'm talking to the wrong people.)
I think I can fairly say that this book has changed my life. I am different now that I've read this book. I've known the Cowman story since I came to OMS. We're pretty decent at the indoctrination stuff. Every new missionary has to read a book (No Guarantee But God) about the founders. So I knew the basics.
But Lettie's story tends to stop for people after Charles dies. And that's horrible, because she lived another 35ish years after her husband died. I could make an argument that she did more after Charles died than she did before.
And I think that's why I was so moved by this book. It felt like her story really started with the writing of Streams in the Desert.
(It didn't. The story of how she met Charles, how long she waited to marry him, their life before Chicago, her conversion and subsequent chivying of Charles, their call to missions, their life in Japan - all great and important tales that tell you a lot about Lettie. But I didn't feel like I knew her until after Streams.)
Have you read Streams in the Desert? I have to admit, I have not read it entirely. But I have read parts of it, and I know the story behind it. In fact, there's a book called The Story Behind Streams in the Desert. You should read that, too. (Incidentally, do you know which verse the book title comes from? You'll get brownie points.)
But in case you don't, here's the gist. Charles and Lettie spent about 15ish years in Japan before he fell ill. Like, seriously ill. They were pretty sure he was going to die. So the Cowmans returned to the U.S. They set up shop in California, continuing to run the Oriental Missionary Society.
And Charles never got better. For six years, he suffered tremendous pain, having numerous heart attacks or strokes (going by the description). Lettie continued taking care of him, doing her duty as his wife.
Lettie called this time her Gethsemane. That was the first thing that really stood out to me. We really only get a small picture of what the garden of Gethsemane was like for Jesus. But we do know it was bad. Extremely emotionally distressing, to the point where he was probably sweating blood. He knew he was about to die, and in the most undignified way possible. For Lettie to compare this time of waiting and watching to Gethsemane is very telling to me.
During this time, Lettie did whatever she could to preserve hope. She always believed that God would heal Charles, and she latched onto pretty much anything that seemed to offer some kind of respite. Nearly anything, because she always compared it to Scripture, and if it didn't stand up, she discarded it like yesterday's fish. Over six years, she had a ton of poems, sayings, and wisdom from many sources. These things form the spine of Streams.
Eventually, of course, Charles died. Lettie finished compiling her book and published it.
And then she started to live.
(Again, probably not politically correct to say that. It just seems like people treat her as an extension of Charles before died. Which shouldn't surprise me. #womenareproperty #imreallynotafeminist #justannoyedatnotbeingtreatedlikeaseparateentitycapableofthinkingformyself )
Seriously, though, the chapter after Charles' death starts like this: "Mrs. Cowman begins to realize how entirely Charles had filled her life." Lettie was 54. Young by some standards, old by most. She writes a book about Charles' life (Missionary Warrior - another good read) and promotes the mission.
Then, at 58, she becomes president of the Oriental Missionary Society. This is huge, guys. She's a woman in 1928, and she's presiding over a multi-national mission. She is the third such president, and she lasts almost longer than the first two combined.
I wish I could describe everything she does in this period. But the book does that, and I'm not writing a book, though you may think so by now. She goes to China, despite the threat from Japan. She goes to a conference in Swansea, Wales. It's here that she feels a call to the rest of the world, not just the Orient. From Swansea, to Finland, by way of a stormy sea. From Finland to Estonia. Estonia to Sweden. Back to England. France. Palestine. Egypt. She meets the young King Farouk. She gives him a beautifully bound copy of the Gospels. Greece (without a visa). Back to England, where her visit with Farouk has engendered an invitation from the exiled Emperor of Ethiopia, Hailie Selassie.
Guys. If you don't know the name Hailie Selassie, you need to stop reading right now and go do some research.
Fascinating doesn't quite cover it.
Selassie's daughter offers to translate Streams. The Emperor and Mrs. Cowman are apparently quite intrigued by one another. Lettie offers a prophetic word (which came true).
Finally, Lettie returned to L.A. But only for a spell, because shortly thereafter, she heads to Cuba. Keep in mind that she's also running a mission, writing books, and contending with a pending world war during all of this.
She returns to Japan for a few weeks in 1939. The Japanese have already invaded China at this point, but it doesn't matter because there are still plenty of people who need Jesus.
In 1941, at the age of 71, Lettie goes to Mexico. Her trip has nothing whatsoever to do with OMS. But people are hungry for the Word, and Lettie places an order for 100,000 Gospels without knowing where she'll get the money. Sure enough, the exact amount comes in over a weekend.
The Colombia field opens. Lettie inexplicably sends the entire Streams revenue to the field with little more than a prompting in prayer. The money purchases the land where the seminary in Medellin will be built.
Colombia becomes Lettie's last trip as president of OMS. She tenders her resignation in 1949 at the age of 79.
Despite going blind, she continues to entertain guests and write columns. She dies on Easter Sunday in 1960.
She had such an incredibly full life. During a time when most people think about retiring, she was just starting some of the most difficult chapters.
But what is almost more fascinating to me are the things that are not said.
Charles and Lettie Cowman never had children. Any mention of children, in fact, is conspicuously absent. Granted, the topic wasn't really one you brought up in polite conversation at that time. But I'm curious. Was it a conscious decision? Was she not capable of having children biologically? Was adoption ever discussed? We can really only speculate.
How exactly did Lettie manage to run a mission society based heavily in Asia during a world war? This is touched on a little, but my understanding of the text is that missionaries had a great deal of autonomy at this point. Communications weren't exactly the greatest, so decisions often had to be made in the field before being sent to a Board for approval.
Speaking of the Board, how did they feel about so much of their work being supported by hope and a prayer? The book mentions countless times where finances or resources were in desperately short supply, yet Lettie forged ahead, trust that God would provide. Granted, He often did. But it must have been nerve wracking to trust so completely in something with no reassurance of success.
Finally, and possibly most curious, what exactly happened when Lettie resigned as president? There's a story that goes around, and I only know bits and pieces of it. Some people say she was forced out. Some people say that she needed to be forced out. The book only says that she felt the future of the mission should be in younger hands. Oddly, though, she requested that the book ministry (most of which came from her) and the crusades form a separate corporation. If you've ever wondered, there is a reason that Streams is published now by Zondervan. I believe the publishing entity of OMS was purchased by them at some point over the years. So the organization she founded purchases copies of her book from Amazon just like everyone else.
I'll likely never know for sure in this life the answers to these questions. And that's okay. I can still be inspired by her. I still admire her devotion to God and to her husband. I admire her adventurous spirit, her kindness to all she met, her desire to reach everyone with the Gospel. I love her humility, her grace, and her peace in the midst of Gethsemane.
Lettie, whatever your first name was, thanks for being so cool.
Oh Jessica! I understand how you feel after reading about and pondering the life of "Mrs. Cowman." I have many of the same questions and as many admirations that explode into inspiration from her life. Amazing story about an amazing woman who truly trusted her amazing God! Thank you for this...maybe more required reading for Cross Training? ~esther :)
ReplyDeleteCant believe I'm just now getting around to reading this! A. Maz. Ing! Thanks, friend, for sharing.
ReplyDelete