Gallery • 7 Photos

Laurel Adams

On Wednesday, January 26th, a speaker with amazing stories to tell came to PHS. The missionary, Janeece England came to teach the students a few things, and did she ever! Since 2002, she and her husband had been to over a dozen countries on their mission of service. She displayed things that she collected over their travels, and she even passed out a few copies of her book, Thee & me. The lucky ones that got a copy have had only nice things to say about it.

Janeece England told students stories from her travels, including one very heartwarming story from the mission following her husbands death. On the previous trips to the same location, Mr. and Mrs. England played volleyball with the local kids nearly every day after school. When it was time to go home, they walked, and they held hands. Then Steve England, as Janeece put it, very suddenly, “stepped into eternity,” and was not on any more trips. Janeece went back, and was still invited to play volleyball with these boys. She went, and after they were done playing, the boys took on the responsibility of walking her home every day. One of the boys took her hand and said something. These boys didn’t speak English, and Mrs. England didn’t speak their language, but a nearby translator told her that he said, “We don’t know why Uncle Steve held your hand, but we’ll hold your hand now.”

In the part of India where Janeece and Steve England worked, there was what’s called a non-conversion law in place. That meant that unless someone directly asked about Christianity, they couldn’t talk about it. They could be sent out of the country or even imprisoned for violating the law. It was hard not to talk about it, as their relationship with Christ is what sent the pair there in the first place. They tried to lead by example though. Janeece said that the only way they could think to spread the positivity of Christ and of having faith was to show people the difference it made in their lives. They did get questions sometimes. Someone once asked what Easter was about, and that really gave them a chance to talk about the love of God.

Janeece England can talk to anyone, and as soon as you meet her, you can tell. Even in these countries where she didn’t speak the local languages, she found ways to communicate that are universal. Before her husband died, as the pair walked down the road, the women in India would cover themselves and cross the road, as to not interact with Mr. England. After he died, she would cross over to these women to try to get to know them. They used pantomiming and hand gestures to chitchat. One of the women found a way to introduce her daughter, and asked if Janeece had any daughters.

Janeece said that almost no one fully understood English, not even the oxen, as she found out. One day, on her way to the school, a stranger and his wife wanted her to drive their ox cart, and as she had wanted to try it for some time at that point, she was happy to. When they got closer to the school, she realized that she didn’t know how to  stop. She tried the good old fashioned American “Whoa!” but quickly realized that the ox didn’t understand English! The man who owned the ox was able to stop it in a hurry though.

Most of her amazing stories can be found in her book, Thee & me. The book is essentially a collection of her and her husband’s correspondence back to family and friends in the U.S. Janeece distributed it to those who said they’d read it and pass it on when they finished at the end of her presentation, as students milled about, looking at the brilliant works of art she’d brought from her travels.  She also gave students the opportunity to try some candy that she brought back with her, but that didn’t receive the same high reviews that Janeece herself got. She even passed out some Rupees to some students. She really wanted it to be a new experience for students, and it certainly was.

She was also given a tour of Palestine High School, because she went to school here when it was still a grade school. Mrs. England’s Kindergarten class was held in what is now the weight room. She especially seemed to appreciate the senior portraits that hang in the halls. There was a lot to gain from hearing about her experiences, and students were very grateful to her for coming to talk to us.