MISS POWELL CAME

Ding Dong. "Miss Powell's at the door!" a high school memory revived while reading through what I'd written. This is another one of those behind-the-scene thingys that won't make the book...

Joyce during elementary

My sister Joyce began her musical career on the ivories of the pump organ while crawling around in our first Tonokura, Okinawa, wooden house--that former public bathhouse. She'd gone onto the regular piano and quickly learned to play both by sight and ear, easily transposing keys as necessary. We didn't realize how much raw musical talent God had endowed her with until our furlough years in the U.S. when, in a public high school music competition in Michigan, she was given a superior rating awarded only the top 40 students in the state, who were extended invitation to study at any state university completely free.

Joyce in 12th grade

We loved Oak Park High's head music teacher, Alice Powell. And she was excited that Joyce had done so well. But what was this--she heard students say Joyce was going to a Christian College down south? She made a special trip to the house to explain to Joyce's parents their daughter had offer of scholarships to any Michigan school; it must be they do not understand and are making their daughter attend a religious institution.

Joyce in university

It took a while, but Alice Powell heard that Joyce had decided it was "God's will" to "go to Bob Jones University" to train to become a missionary and told her parents that is where she wanted to go in the fall; they were not the ones making her go there! I think, by the time she left the house, she understood. At least, we maintained a very good relationship with Miss Powell. (In fact, I requested private piano with her the next year when we ended up extending our U.S. stay.)

Joyce as missionary

So Joyce went on to BJU and missions, and probably, the music department head marveled at such a waste of talent. Please don't get me wrong; I am not saying all scholarships must be rejected--by no means! God can provide through means of human grants but doesn't need them and can operate separately of them as well. I'm just relating what happened this time!

(It just hit me: but maybe this is why God made sure there were so many other financial blessings all through our college education...I think about them now...There were 3 of us in school, with not-rich missionary parents, yet when we graduated, we did not owe the school a single penny!)