me, Mother," said Mary, "but I am anxious to go back to
Africa as soon as I can. There are so many souls there to be won for
Jesus."

Mary soon got over her sickness and was well and strong again. Now she went
to the churches in Scotland to tell about the missionary work in
Calabar. She made many friends. Some of the young people who heard her
wanted to become missionaries. Miss Hoag, Miss Wright and Miss Peabody
decided to become missionaries and later worked in Calabar, too.

Mary was so successful in interesting the people in mission work that the
Board of Missions asked her to stay longer and visit more churches. Mary
did what the Board asked, although she was anxious to get back to
Africa. At last this work was finished. Now she could go back.

Mary was getting ready to go back to Africa when her sister Janie became
sick.

"You will have to take her to a warmer climate," said the doctor. "That is
the only way she will get well."

Mary could not afford to take her sister to Italy or southern France.

"I will ask the Board of Missions if I can take my sister with me to
Africa."

Anxiously Mary waited for an answer to her letter. At last the letter came.

We are sorry, but we must answer
your question with a No. We feel that
to take your sick sister along to Africa
would be an unwise mixing of family
problems and missionary work.

What should Mary do now? A friend told her to take her sister to southern
England where the climate was warmer than in Scotland. She wrote to the
Board to ask whether they would let her be a missionary if she took out the
time to take care of her sister. The Board of Missions wrote:

Dear Miss Slessor:

When the way is clear for you to return
to Calabar we will be glad to send
you out again as our missionary. In the
meantime we will be glad to pay your
missionary salary for three more months.

Mary was glad that she could go back again, but she would not take the
missionary salary when she was not working as a missionary. This left her
with a sick sister and no salary. She took her sister Janie and her mother
to southern England. They had been there only a short time when Mary's
sister, Susan, in Scotland, died. It made her sad to lose a sister, but she
was happy in the thought that Susan was now with Jesus her Saviour in
Heaven.

After a while Janie was better and Mary packed up and got ready to sail
once more to Africa. Just as she got ready to go, her mother became