With Faith and Persistence: Living, Learning, Caring

Based on in-person interviews, A. Meryl Grasse, MD, and Gladys Landis Grasse, RN, BS, tell stories and share photos, recipes, and anecdotes from their lives of medical missions and service. Inspired by their Mennonite faith, Gladys and Meryl served communities in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Arkansas as well as Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Nigeria. They lived in and developed health care services, including building a hospital, for the culturally rich and medically under-served community near rural Calico Rock, Arkansas.

If you love life story, memoir, autobiography, this book is for you. If you enjoy reading about how everyday people can do extraordinary things, this book is for you. If you are fascinated by how the Mennonite Church formed and sent bright, willing young people to connect across cultures and meet human need, this book is for you. Learn how one couple raised six children while developing and supporting a medical system, a local church, and actively engaging their community.

You will find themes of vocation and call, work-life balance, race, gender roles, faith, family life, and cross cultural learning, among others. Every life story is a gift!