On January 17th,, 1931, Margaret Belle Hansen was born in Peking, China. She spoke only Mandarin until the age of five, after which she learned to speak English.
"Margie" sitting on her mom's lap, picture taken in Peking, China.
Little "Margie" could never have imagined 12 years after her birth she and her family would be prisoners in a Japanese Internment camp in Wei Hsien, China.
Dec 1943 marked the date Margaret and her family arrived in New York as exchange prisoners of war. Before she knew it, she went back to Asia as a married woman.
Margaret on her wedding day
In 1955, Margaret Belle Seaward settled into life in Singapore where she made good use of her childhood Mandarin. One day I must write a book of her life, as it was filled with grand adventures and marvelous miracles.
On Jan 17th, 2010, Margaret turns 79 years old. She now resides in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. She flies between Singapore and KK regularly. In a given month she will fly over to Australia to speak for a conference and then zip back to Malaysia to speak for some meetings; a quick dash down to Singapore and back up to Kota Kinabalu....then she wonders, "why am I so tired"
"Mom, because you are almost 79 and you act like you are 19!"
I want to wish my mother a Happy Birthday- and thank her for all she has instilled in me. "Impossible"...."no"...."it cannot be done"....were never part of her vocabulary. She taught me above all to put God first. She taught not only by word, but by her very lifestyle. I can only hope that when I am 79 I will be as 'young' as she is. :)
