This diary records no hugely dramatic events, no encounters with celebrities, nothing extraordinary, really, except in the sense that the missionaries and their service, especially under the circumstances, are extraordinary. It may be a fair representation of hundreds or even thousands of missionaries and their service at this era.

I find the rhythm of this diary kind of hypnotic. Can you imagine what it was like to be essentially homeless for more than two years? Almost never to know where your next meal was coming from, or where you would sleep that night? Never to have a private room to retire to, to spend the day in bed when you were ill, or to write your letters, or to wash and mend your clothes? These elders gave themselves to the work in ways that even those of us who have served missions never did.