After spending six months living in Cambodia, I decided mission work was the life for me. The only problem was getting the man I wanted to marry to feel the same way. Christopher Kipsang’ Allison was from the very beginning the great love of my life, even more so than Cambodia (though many of my closest friends found that hard to believe). Son of long-time missionaries in Kenya, Fielden and Janet Allison, I felt he would surely come to see the light with a little persuasion. Asia, not Africa, was the place to be. Anyone could see that.

Chris, however gentle and quiet his was, was not one to be pushed around. I did, however, manage to convince him to marry me after two years. Had I known now what I knew then, I would have pushed much harder. He was a greater catch than I knew. The idea of mission work in Cambodia turned out to be much more of a difficulty. Though Chris had a heart for the lost, he is one of those frustratingly slow people that end up making better decisions than those of us who are faster simply because they take the time to see all the possibilities. One very hot and dusty survey trip just three short months after we were married, and I, not Chris, was ready to throw in the towel.