It was my first time to visit Grandma Janie’s gravestone, and I didn’t expect anyone to be there, except for me, Mei Ying, and my mom. But an older gentleman approached us and asked if we were family. 43 years ago, the church had honored Janie Ragland White in a special way, and he was hoping to meet someone from her family.
He pointed to the tree behind us. It was the only tree nearby, right where people entered the cemetery. The cemetery was beautifully maintained, and this man was in charge of the committee preserving the cemetery and its history.
“I guess you don’t know about this, but shortly after Janie was buried, the church planted this tree in her memory.” My mom had been in charge of her mom’s memorial service. Mom was only 19 years old, and was studying nearby in Fredericksburg. But my family had never heard about this tree.
I stared at the tree for a long time. Grandma Janie prayed and fasted for her family, for churches, and for nations. One time, she fasted on liquids for 30 days, in intercession for Poland. She never understood why she did that particular fast for Poland, except that God had asked her to.
Grandma Janie died 10 years before I was born. But my grandfather told us many stories about her. And the one he told most often–and always with a heavy heart–was about her death.
In the summer of 1974, they were preparing for an extended trip to visit underground churches in the Communist nations of Eastern Europe. Shortly before they entered, she became too sick to go. But she would not let my grandfather cancel the trip. She told him to go, and to bring Bibles. So he went, and she stayed with a missionary family in Vienna, Austria.
My grandfather’s Bibles were confiscated when he entered Eastern Europe. Later, his trip was cancelled, when he received news that Janie had died. (MRI scans were not common, so they had not known she had a brain tumor.)
Like so many unknown heroes, my grandma lived her life with generosity and joy. Her prayers for her family, for the Church, and for the nations have reached far beyond her life.
Last picture before her death in Vienna, Austria, in 1974.
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