Chapters 1 - 2 Summary

Christy Huddleston is a young and impressionable girl of nineteen who believes she has been called to missionary work. She comes from a fairly well-off family in Asheville, North Carolina. After hearing Dr. Ferrand talk of his calling to help the poor folk in the Great Smoky Mountains of Appalachia, Christy feels a similar calling. She has always heard of poor people in China and Africa, but has never heard of the plight of people in her own back yard. After Dr. Ferrand's talk, Christy immediately volunteers to be a teacher. Dr. Ferrand accepts her. Then Christy must convince her family to allow her to do this missionary work. No amount of persuasion on their part can dissuade her. So, Christy finds herself alone on a train headed for El Pano in January 1912.

Once the train reaches El Pano, Christy expects...