Whatever the case, Mercy stared at the vessel that was to be their home for the next three or four months. The train car they’d ridden in yesterday had been strange enough, the speed unsettling, the noise and commotion and excitement overwhelming. But it hadn’t prepared her for the magnitude of the ship or the reality that came with seeing it—namely that she was leaving England’s shores, perhaps never to return, and she was sailing halfway around the world to a strange place where she wouldn’t know anyone or anything.

Her sights strayed past the dozen or more women in the tender to the land she was leaving behind. She drank in the vibrant green of the grass and woods decorating the hills overlooking the town, the riot of white, yellow, and purple flowers growing in clusters, and the vast blue sky that went on forever and ever.

The scenery was so unlike anything she’d ever witnessed. She could go on staring at it without ever tiring of the view, much like yesterday when she’d gazed out the window the entire train ride without losing interest. The passing countryside, small towns, sprawling farms, and lush vegetation had awakened a longing within her—a longing to dig her bare toes into the grass, to breathe in the clear air, to stroll among the tall trees.

With so much land spreading out as far as the eye could see, why were the masses of poor people crammed into such small rooms in narrow houses, built so close together that a person could hardly glimpse the sky above them? With the rich resources she’d witnessed, why were hordes of people hungry and jobless and without hope?

During her visits to the dispensary, Dr. Bates had talked about how much God loved her, about the joy and peace and hope He offered. But why would a loving God allow so much suffering? Why would He turn His back on the pain and trouble that afflicted Twiggy and Ash, Patience, and so many others? With all the beauty in the world, why couldn’t God spread it out and make it available to everyone rather than just a few privileged folks?

Mercy’s questions had swelled to hurting the farther she’d traveled from London. It was as if she’d been stuck her entire life in a tiny overcrowded corner that had defined her existence, ignorant of the spacious world that existed beyond her. If only she’d thought to turn around sooner and see what she was missing.