Chapter 2
Following Christ’s Call to the Ends of the Earth
Graduation from Wheaton came in the spring of 1952. Vonnie told her family that she planned to attend
the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, where she would take the SIL linguistic classes and
then go to Columbia Bible College in South Carolina. In the summer and fall of 1953 those plans turned
into reality. In the summer of 1954 she returned to Norman, where her love for linguistics and Bible
translation work grew. She continued her studies at Columbia Bible College that fall where her love for
God’s Word and prayer flourished.
After finishing her second summer at the SIL linguistic school, Vonnie applied to Wycliffe Bible
Translators with a desire to bring God’s Word to an unreached language community somewhere in the
world. Vonnie was not the top student at SIL. However, her persistence at study, her grasp of linguistics,
her love for God and His Word, and her ability to get along with people resulted in her application being
accepted by the Board of Directors.
Vonnie was thrilled. Her next step was to attend SIL’s jungle training course in Mexico, headed up by
Earl and Betty Adams, to prepare her for work overseas. On New Year’s Day, 1955, Vonnie boarded a
train from Sheboygan to Laredo, Texas where she spent the night. In the morning she met up with other
Wycliffe members. They cleared Mexico customs and took another train to Mexico City, where SIL had a
headquarters. Eventually Vonnie made it to “Jungle Camp” in southern Mexico, albeit not without a few
experiences of motion sickness.
This remote and rural camp was just the thing to excite Vonnie. Her love for hiking, horses, swimming
and adventure were realized. Her interest in meeting new people and learning about their culture and
language filled her days with interest. However she also experienced the trials of cross-cultural living
and the rigors of mission work. As part of her training, she listened to tapes by Cameron Townsend,
founder of SIL and Wycliffe, and recorded a short note in her diary based on II Corinthians 1: 3-5:
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