As a missionary in the Sudan, amid unrest and war following Sudanese independence, Nikkel wrote these quasi-public letters -- missionary epistles --to his friends and supporters back home in the USA. These letters present a vivid picture of daily struggle in an impoverished, war-torn, but lavishly beautiful country.

As a missionary in the Sudan, amid unrest and war following Sudanese independence, Nikkel wrote these quasi-public letters -- missionary epistles --to his friends and supporters back home in the USA. These letters present a vivid picture of daily struggle in an impoverished, war-torn, but lavishly beautiful country.