Fig.6 - The Six are now eight with Bp. Tacconi Meanwhile Bishop Tacconi, Bishop of Kaifeng, Honan, warmly invited the Benedictine Fathers and us Sisters to work in his diocese. At first we felt lost and discouraged; there seemed to be no opening for work we could do. There was already a good high school for girls - Ching I, conducted but the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary of the Woods, Indiana. No need to open another. I felt deeply the bitter contrast between the beautiful cultural city of Peking and the drab, backward city of Kaifeng situated in a poor agricultural area. Of course we found God there and he seemed to be telling us that Kaifeng offered many opportunities for us to be of service to his poor.

Fig.7 - Poor people in Kaifeng There were so many sick people who could not afford to go to hospitals for treatment; these aroused our compassion and our zeal. A dispensary for the really poor would be a blessing for Kaifeng. So off went our earnest appeal to the Motherhouse for a nurse who would be able to establish a dispensary. The answer was Sister Annelda Wahl would be coming filled us with joy. However, I was not to be involved in this apostolate, for I had been asked to teach English at Honan University where Father Clougherty was already heading the English Department. It was with great fear and trepidation that I went to my first class, the first Sister ever to teach in a government school in China. And when I saw the classroom filled with students and long lines out in the hall, every head turned toward me, all eyes on me, I almost turned to flee. But the students were merely interested and curious, they had nver seen a Sister - they called me a fairy; and my own students were delightful. If time and space permitted, I could tell hundreds of little happy and funny incidents of school life there.

Fig.8 - Sister Ronayne traveling to school. I went by ricksha each time with my own runner, and later on during the war with a policeman accompanying me on his bicyle to protect me. As the fighting moved closer to Kaifeng, University life became hectic with classes interrupted by Japanese bombers, and students and professors alike dashing out to the country-side to escape. If the siren blew while I was on my way home, I would be ordered into any convenient shelter along the street. One time I was put alone into a completely dark, low-ceilinged movie house for one hour, and suffered agony until the all-clear sounded.