Helen Roseveare qualified as a doctor, packed up her life in England and set off to be a missionary in the belgian congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). She went there to set up hospitals and rural clinics and train national nurses to work in them. Her work often took Helen on long journeys through dense forests on roads that would make a fairground ride seem tame!

After Congo became an independent country Helen's service was interrupted by the Simba Rebellion, during which she was assaulted and held captive for several months.

After some time of recovery Helen went back to the renamed 'Zaire' to serve the Lord by working with people there. In the years that followed she established a nurses' training college in the hope that the nurses', midwives and health workers who trained there would spread out through the vast northeast region of the country, taking the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ with them.

Since returning to the UK, Helen has become well known as a conference speaker. Her experiences in Africa have been an encouragement to many and made her well known and loved throughout the world.

Irene Howat is an award-winning author who has many titles, for adults and children, to her name. She is married to a retired minister and they have a grown up family. She is also a talented artist and now stays in Ayrshire, Scotland. She especially enjoys letters from children and replies to all of them!