22 Jul 1942, Rev. Buuck's autobiographical notes

((I've dated this entry to 22nd July, not the 23rd shown below. The 22nd is the date given in his wife's diary and other records of this journey for the ships' arrival at Lourenco Marques.))

On July 23rd our ships pulled into the inlet leading to the port of Lourenco Marques, Portuguese East Africa. What a beautiful morning - made all the more beautiful by the sight of a little tanker proudly flying the American flag and sounding its fog horn. Believe me, there was great cheering when we saw that flag which we had not seen for more than 6 months.

The Asama pulled along the pier with its stern about 30 feet from that of the Swedish liner, the Gripsholm, on which were the Japanese who had come from America. We felt sorry for some white American wives of Japanese men who would now be going into the turmoil of war. As soon as the steamers were tied up some of the crew of the Gripsholm began throwing fruit and cigarettes over to our ship. The excitement mounted among us as the moment of complete freedom neared.

Up to this point we still did not know which of our missionaries had come on the Conte Verde. This was joyfully answered when in the evening the Kleins, Thodes, and Zimmermanns appeared at our gangplank. This was a happy reunion and soon we would be together for the second half of the voyage of a month’s duration.