PREFACE

My purpose for writing this story is to show that God loves all man kind and will use anyone fully committed to Him. “Anyone” includes the reader of this dual biography.  God uses ordinary people.

This is the life story of two ordinary people, my father and mother, Ejnar (Iner) Leopold Larson (Larsson) and Rebecca Rose (Richey) Larson.  Both were fully committed to God.  Both were called by God to be missionaries to China. Both were determined to serve Christ no matter what the cost or where it would lead. They were willing to give of their lives in order for others to live

After much research on my mother’s genealogy I discovered that she had in her heritage Viking background, as did my father.  My father was from Swedish Viking blood and my mother has a genealogy going back to the 700’s and a Norwegian Viking chieftain named Rollo.

The Vikings were committed to live and act upon their beliefs. Their mythological god, Thor, the brutish god of the sky and thunder; was committed to death and destruction. On the other hand my parents were committed to their God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a God of love and justice. They went into a spiritual battle for the minds and souls of the Chinese people. They were Christian warriors or Berserkers as the Vikings called their warriors. Their job was to reveal God’s love and “open their eyes and turn   them from darkness to light, and from   the   power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith” in Christ, (Act 26:18 NIV). This was not an easy task.  

My parents are just a sampling of the many thousands of missionaries to China and elsewhere that went before and after them. These were men and women that obeyed the Great Commission to "Go   into   all   the   world and preach the Good News to all creation.” Mark 16:15 NIV And as St Matthew stated it “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

Theologically they proclaimed a message that made a difference in their lives experientially and they interpreted the Biblical message as seen through the eyes of the holiness movement at the middle of the 1800’s and onto the present.  This doctrine was that of John Wesley’s and the early Methodists.

 I will show the people and movements that have had an influence on my parents and to the degree possible I will show their influence on others. As the story unfolds it should be clear that God has and can make ones life full, complete, and joyful even in the midst of sorrow and pain when committed fully to God and his service.

At all times it should be remembered that this commitment or surrender is not to be thought of as a way to earn oneself a place in the kingdom of God for that is by faith and God’s grace along but work is the result of God’s love in the heart so that one should strive to obey Christ’s command to love those that seem to be so unlovable. This kind of work is only possible through the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:3-8 NIV

I will be using the third person for the most part while telling the story. The plan is to weave both lives together chronologically placing them in their own historical setting, and giving the history of China where it affected their lives and others in the story.  The writing of their story has been an exploration into the unknown events of my parent’s lives even though part of the story is also my story. My father was fifty-two years old when I was born and mother was forty.  All my grandparents accept my mother’s mother died before I was born and she died before our return to the United States in 1940. I never met any of my father’s family in Sweden so this whole endeavor has been very enlightening. I trust that you will enjoy the adventure as well and I have.

John Wesley Larson

2002

To order your copy contact:

John W. Larson at jwlarson2@juno.com