Missionary Dirks Report Preface

A few years after arriving in Sumatra as a Christian Missionary, Dirks wrote a report. This account was later edited by his son, David, at the time a school teacher in Gnadenfeld, Ukraine. This. report was later translated from German to English by his great grand daughter, Irene Hedlin.

Translator's Note (Dr. Irene Hedlin)

In 1997, the booklet Nachrichten Uber Den Mennonitischen Heidenmissionar Heinrich Dirks Auf ASumatra was donated to the Mennonite Heritage Centre, 600 Shaftsbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB.

I was surprised and happy to find this document. How my grandmother, Evangeline Dirks Rempel, who was born in 1873 in Sumatra, would have loved to read this report written by her father. And all this time, this document had been in Manitoba!

As a great-granddaughter of Missionary Heinrich Dirks, I have tranlated it for English-speaking descendents. It was a labor of love in gratitude to my godly ancestors, whose witness and prayers for their descendents, even those yet unborn, have meant so much to me.

Irene Hedlin, Ph. D.