This Week in Texas Methodist History, August 15 Three Texans Sail for Japan as Missionaries, August 1948 The Board of Missions tried something new after World War II. Most Methodist missionaries were considered “lifers”. That is after preparing for a foreign mission field, they were expected to spend the rest of their careers in foreign missions. Of course there were frequent furloughs in which missinaries would come back to the United States to visit familes, receive medical attention, give birth to their children, and tour churches intrpeting their missionary work to U. S. Christians. Methodist missions in Asia were in shambles after World War II. Churhcs, hospitals, schools, etc. in the occupied portion of China were especially hard hit, but so too were missions in Japan, Korea, and Malaysia. Missionaries in all these places had been evacuated or interned by the Japanese. Many missionaies who had served in East Asia were eager to get back to work, but everyone knew that more laborers in the vineyard were needed. One solution was to institute a program of short term missionary service. Applicants were required to already have their college degrees, and rather than another degree at Scaritt or another such missionary-training institution, they would receive 2 months of intensive training in New York City, home of the Board of Missions. They promised to serve three years and solicit support from their home churches. At the end of those three years, there was no expectation that the missionary would stay in foreign missions. Three Texans were accepted into the program and sailed for Japan in August 1948. They were W. B. Swim of Baird, Irene Nix of Amarillo, and Rev. Lawrence Zellers of Weatherford. The 3 year missionary commitment was designed as an experiment. In the case of Lawrence Zellers, it was a much longer tenure. His name along with Mrs. Zellers is listed in the 2000 Texas Conference Journal as missionaries to Korea.