Anna V. Blough letter to home folks, July 21, 1918

              Ping Ting Hsien, Shansi, China
21 July 1918

My Dear Home Folka [sic], -

This is Sunday afternoon. I am home alone. Have brot [sic] my typewriter out on the porch upstairs where there is a lovely breeze, and where there is such a lovely landscape view. Can see that there is a shower on the hills over to the southwest. I think home never seemed so nice as it does this time that I have come home.

Reached home on Friday, being gonetwenty three days out in the country. I think it the best trip out I have had yet, tho nothing at all exciting about it. Was several weeks at Le Ping, was three days out at a little village not far from there, and four days at Kao Lao, one day at Wu Chia Ping. Everywhere the people gave me a welcome, for I had been there before and they seemed glad to see me again.

Can see that some of the women are making a little advancement in knowledge of the Gospel, tho I am inclined to think they will not go very far till their husbands get warmed up more and get anxious for the women to learn too. I shall be glad when Bro. Crumpacker gets thru building so he can do more for the men. Then I think the work will go forward. However it is holding its own now.

The Kao Lao people who had treated me so well the first time were just as good this time. They took to giving me meals, inviting me to their home. Twice I was invited to breakfast, fearing there was no other time open. Mrs. Chi gave me a gift, a broo, [sic] one made in their own home. No Chinese brooms have long handles. You squat down to do the sweeping. I appreciated it from her very much. She had once come here to the hospital to have her eyes treated. Last Sunday afternoon I held meeting there and twenty women attended. We had a very good meeting. After it was over they took me out to six more homes where I had not been before.

When I wanted to get animals to come back to Le Ping there was a funny situation. One fellow had the monopoly of the road and because of it he charged me RPP cash more than the ordinary price. for road fare. The way he had the whole trade was this way. The authorities at Le Ping ordered the ques cut. Somehow they got nearly all of them cut, but only strait across the neck. It is the hope of the men that the hair will quickly grow out again. But that does not satisfy the authorities, they want to clip it, so each night they go to the inns and clip everybodys hair that have any length to it. This one Kao Lao fellow was so fortunate as to have his clipped on a previous trip. When he went back it so scared the rest of them that not another donkey driver will venture over to the city. So this fellow is very independent about it and asks whatever price he may fancy. I left him know what I thot [sic] about it.

I was very glad for the whole trip, and felt it was all very much in place at this time, but I was glad to get back to a clean place and areal [sic] bed again. Feel as if I do not want to go away again for awhile. But the rest have been out at the mountain for several weeks and I will go too in a day or two. Have some school matters to work at first and then will go. The rain now has reached them out on the mountain and will soon be here. I can see the place where they are, it is three miles away, can see the trees but of course can not see any people. They areall [sic] under camouflage I guess.

Fathers, Mothers, and Ida�s letters were waiting for me when I got home. Had been quite awhile since any had come from home and was