All That I Am
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On a bright, warm summer afternoon on Thursday, June 17, 1948, Edward and Rachel Humphrey, newlyweds of little more than a year, stood on the dock of the harbor in New York City. Their hearts filled with excitement and anticipation as they gazed in awe at the Libreville, a Norwegian freighter on which they would begin the journey of their long-held dreams to serve as missionaries in a far-off land.Destination:Nigeria, West Africa!Quite a journey was in store for the youngcouple, whose lives had joined through love for one another and a deep desire to serve God through foreign missions. Along with their “loads”—clothing, food staples, books, general household goods, and enoughsupplies to last for three years—one other passenger, Miss Lavonna Lee of the Sudan Interior Mission, and the ship’s crew, they quietly sailed out of the harbor as night began to fall.Their joy knew no bounds!
For several days, excitement had built as Edward and Rachel attempted to comprehend the sights, sounds, and wonders of a bustling New York City.Busily, they set about looking after the myriad of details required of them to embark.Departing their homeland for the first time required tending to and arranging for details that North Carolinian country farm folk were unaccustomed to—confirming international travel reservations, getting immunizations, and insuring that all their earthly belongings were aboard the ship. In an immediate, post-WWII world, the couple, both raised in poor families through the Great Depression, ventured with trepidation into the unknown.But theirs was a calling engendered in their youth, born of a deep faith and trust in God, a sense of service to others, and an abiding love for one another that, over the years, would be tested beyond measure.
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About the Book
On a bright, warm summer afternoon in June 1948, Edward and Rachel Humphrey, newlyweds of a little more than a year, stood on the dock of the harbor in New York City. They were about to embark on the journey of their lives, becoming missionaries in Nigeria, West Africa. In this memoir, their son Stinson E. Humphrey, who was born in Nigeria, narrates his parents’ remarkable love story. Edward and Rachel both grew up in Christian homes and committed themselves at an early age to missions in Africa. They met in college, married, and were appointed missionaries to Nigeria. Then, in the prime of life, Rachel developed multiple sclerosis, forcing a wrenching resignation from the foreign mission field and a dramatic change in their lives, marriage, and family. All That I Am provides insight into the true meaning of living as one through marriage and the challenges of maintaining faith and trust in God when one spouse develops a debilitating illness. Humphrey shows how each truly was “all that I am” to the other and to their shared ministry. Their love story is told as a soliloquy on an unfinished symphony of love.
About the Author
Stinson E. Humphrey the first child and son of Edward and Rachel Humphrey, was born in Nigeria, West Africa. He grew up in Nigeria, a third world country, in a much different way than contemporaries in the U.S. His was an idyllic childhood, living on an American missionary compound, and attending a boarding school for missionary children. He returned to the U.S. at age sixteen to continue his education eventually obtaining both dental and medical degrees. He practiced medicine in San Jose, CA until 1998 when he was forced into early retirement after developing neurosarcoidosis. During his medical career, he went on multiple medical mission trips to Africa and Latin America. Humphrey now lives in Hawaii with Arvie, his wife of forty years. They have three children and three grandchildren.