South America Mission (SAM) was originally the Inland South America Missionary Union (ISAMU), tracing its roots back to 1914. We found this photo of Miss Eliasson in a July-August 1933 copy of an ISAMU newsletter. The caption for the photo in the newsletter read “We are glad to announce the sailing of Miss Dorothy Eliasson on June 24th, 1933, on the SS Southern Cross to Santos, Brazil.” Miss Eliasson would eventually make her way to serve with the Rev. and Mrs. George Haight in Santiago, Bolivia.
From the early days of sailing and taking months to reach the destination points of missionary endeavors, to today’s uber-connected, globalized world (5 hours by air from Miami to Recife, Brazil, seconds to “connect” through WhatsApp or Facetime:), does our sense of going to the ends of the earth still have it’s Great Commissioning-edge?
The call is no less potent now than it was in 1933 or 2014 years ago. We’re still “setting sail” today with equal forward winds at our backs. Grateful for the Dorothy Eliassons and George Haights who have gone before us. Grateful for the sacrifices they made in their going.