A two-page handwritten letter from Peter, plus another copy of the Hearthlight flyer, with a handwritten letter from Marcy on the back of it.<\/p>\r\n
Content warning for a phrase that reads like a critical generalization about foster kids, though I think Peter probably intended it as being about Mark and Larry in particular.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nJan. 15, 1974<\/p>\r\n
Dear Parents--<\/p>\r\n
How are you? Hope you are well & that things are going all right for you... (Every day we pray that God may bless you with health & abundance, prosperity & Light...) Life goes on here in the usual hurry-up-&-wait fashion, lurching from (minor) crisis to (near) catastrophe... & foster kids, like gothic sloths, are no slouches at lurching.<\/p>\r\n
We surely thank you for the surprise! CARE package of blankets & towels--now we have enough bedding for even cold nights. Two friends from Tracy came & stayed overnight--it was so nice to have a guest room & warm beds for them. Also, we\u2019ve begun sending out our brochure, so we expect to have two more kids by March, & six altogether by May: by then, with $2400 a month coming in, we\u2019ll be able to afford to buy extra beds & bedding for the newcomers.<\/p>\r\n
Jed got to play in the snow last week--it snowed east & south of here, and Jed\u2019s teacher Bud took the children from Redwood School to his home up in the hills. \u201cA wonderful time was had by all...\u201d<\/p>\r\n
We have been eagerly awaiting your reply to our letter requesting information about my grandparents--if the exact days of their passing are not available, the year will be all right... We wish to enter their names in the family tree in our family Bible (it\u2019s called the Jerusalem Bible, and is a large & thick tome with pages to record births, marriages, deaths, and husband\u2019s & wife\u2019s family trees), and also to commemorate them & pray for their well-being in the spiritual realm. Here are translations of two \u201cgosanka\" poems (5-7-5-7-7 syllable pattern) written by Meishu-Sama:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\nThat you have left us<\/p>\r\n
Physically we regret,<\/p>\r\n
But we feel, believe<\/p>\r\n
Your spiritual being<\/p>\r\n
Has passed through heaven\u2019s gateway.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nSince we are human,<\/p>\r\n
We mourn your having left us,<\/p>\r\n
But this must be right;<\/p>\r\n
This must be God\u2019s Plan for you,<\/p>\r\n
Since He has called you to Him.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nKnow you will receive<\/p>\r\n
God\u2019s blessings and help always<\/p>\r\n
Wherever you are,<\/p>\r\n
Whether in the physical<\/p>\r\n
Or the spiritual realm.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\nMay you be set free<\/p>\r\n
Of all bondage to this world,<\/p>\r\n
Be elevated<\/p>\r\n
So you become one who lives<\/p>\r\n
In higher realms of spirit.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nFull deliverance<\/p>\r\n
From all bondage, which cannot<\/p>\r\n
Be attained on earth,<\/p>\r\n
Is made possible for you<\/p>\r\n
In the spiritual realm.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nThough you have gone on<\/p>\r\n
To the spiritual realm,<\/p>\r\n
We pray
that<\/strike> you will serve<\/p>\r\nGod\u2019s Divine Light Program still<\/p>\r\n
Doing your best for His cause.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\nI\u2019m sure they lose some in the translation, but anyway...<\/p>\r\n
Much love from, Peter, Marcy, Jed & Joaquin<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n
And the letter from Marcy on the back of a Hearthlight flyer:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\r\nI think<\/u> we sent you one of these, but our notes got confused, so here it is, in case we didn\u2019t\u2014<\/p>\r\n
No sooner do I get ready to send a Thank you note than another package arrives & I don\u2019t get it done, but I did remember a few things from the Christmas package. The vest, though not worn yet, is greatly treasured. Jed\u2019s saving it for a special occasion. And the mickeymouse top is a big hit \u2014 now that the newness has worn off. Joaquin loves it best when some kid comes to visit and wants to play with it. It\u2019s really a grand toy. The pillow covers are neat, too. \u2019Quin has so many favorite pillow cases he has a hard time deciding which he wants when we change the beds. The shortie pajamas I\u2019ll thank you for in the summer. And the pear butter sent us all into ecstacies. Larry is ready to adopt you for his very own grandparents, on the basis of that one jar. As for the
xxx<\/strike> last package \u2014 Thexxx<\/strike> towel shelves are now full & the tea towels are delightful every day, not just once in a while, and Jed really liked Peter Pan, & the small white slippers are just what he needed \u2014 he even puts them on with no reminders. And so a huge<\/p>\r\nTHANK YOU for every last little thing<\/p>\r\n
love, Marcy<\/p>\r\n
Added between a couple of lines of that last paragraph:<\/span> (love those flannel sheets!)<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n
Notes<\/h2>\r\n
\r\n
- \u201cplay in the snow\u201d<\/dt>\r\n
- I vaguely remember being fascinated by my first time encountering snow, but I would have guessed it was a couple years later than this. I think my main feeling about it was disappointment\u2014comic strips had led me to think that snow was a magical white fluffy substance, possibly something like cotton or dandelions, and nobody had told me that snow is cold and wet.<\/dd>\r\n
- Bible<\/dt>\r\n
- I vaguely remember the phrase \u201cJerusalem Bible\u201d from childhood, but I don\u2019t remember ever seeing a family tree for any branch of my family until Helen put one together about her family when I was in high school. So I don\u2019t think that Peter and Marcy ever followed through on this project, though it\u2019s possible that they did and I just didn\u2019t know about it or don\u2019t remember it.<\/dd>\r\n
- I did salvage a Bible from among Peter\u2019s books (along with hundreds of other books), but it turns out not to be the one he referred to here.<\/dd>\r\n
- translations<\/dt>\r\n
- I don\u2019t know who translated these poems, but I assume they were official translations published by the church. (Peter didn\u2019t know enough Japanese to have translated them.)<\/dd>\r\n<\/dl>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A couple of thank-you notes and general life updates. \u201cLife goes on here in the usual hurry-up-&-wait fashion, lurching from (minor) crisis to (near) catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-marcy","category-from-peter","category-hearthlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1271"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1279,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions\/1279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}