"LIVE SO AS TO BE MISSED."

Miss Edith Van Reed on a hired horse~photo taken while at Ediger post.

After an 18 hour trip from Laredo, The Transportes Del Norte pulled up to the Tamazunchale bus depot, on a late Sunday evening.  It was a hot, humid, rainy, soggy, summer night , July 24, 1948.
To their horror upon arrival, they found the three steamer trunks, their carefully packed five years of living supplies lying outside the bus depot in six inches of water.
  Dad said his heart sunk at that sight and immediately set out to quickly move them to their prepared living quarters.  The Lord graciously kept the precious contents safe and dry to his relief.
Miss Edith Van Reed, one of the nurses, had met them at the depot.  She was the first official person to welcome them as missionaries to Mexico.
Dad and Mother found themselves at 300  ft. sea level, along the Moctezuma River and between two mountains to spend a year in language studies.
   After eight months of intense culture and language emersion, they were given permission to move to the more favorable climate of the city of Puebla to await my arrival.
Miss Edith Van Reed’s life would intersect  with ours on several occasions, 1949- April 29,1952.

Edith Van Reed

Knowing the Spanish language well she endeared herself to all who knew her.  She was a very joyful, pleasant person to be around and everyone at the Hospital in Puebla knew her or of her. She made friends everywhere, inspired, and encouraged those around her.
 She was at the hospital when either I or my first brother were born and she was later assigned to our remote village of Zaptitlan to assist Dad and Mother, teaching first aid, hygiene, and child evangelism for a time.
At other times she assisted other fields, like Tantoyuca where she helped establish a Home for Girls.
She was always willing to do her best for the Lord in spite of all the legal restrictions put on the missions nurses at the time, seeing so much need of, and longed to do but not able to do.
Sadly, on April 29, 1952 “Upon  her arrival at the hospital, in Puebla, the doctors and nurses noticed she was tired.  During examination in the hospital  her heart failed…and she passed into the presence of the Lord.” (MIM Bulletin July/August/Sept. 1952~ Dr.James G.Dale)
The great Scotch, McChenye used to say “LIVE SO AS TO BE MISSED.”  Miss Edith lived that way.

“The trip took 7 1/2 hours on horseback without being able to rest at all by walking a little because of the awfully muddy roads.  It was the second time that I have been on a horse and the first time in 6 years.
We had to take the long way around because the rivers were impassable along the regular trail in the woods.
My big straw hat was a help sometimes to protect my face from the branches but one time a branch suddenly appeared and smacked me in the face…”  (Quote from Miss Edith)

EDITH VAN REED, R.N.

1918-1952