Miss Stoddard recently returned from Helsinki, Finland, where she and Jacqui Drew of New Hampshire had been called for 14 months of Christian work.
Approximately 50 women from the seven AC mission societies in the area were present to hear her describe her work and activities in Finland and the decision made previous to going.
"When a person becomes a Christian," she began, "there's usually an area that isn't committed entirely to God. In order for Him to tell me 'I want you to do certain things in a certain Country,' I had to be ready, prepared for what lay ahead."
She stated that once arriving in Finland, the language was difficult to learn but the people were friendly toward them -- after being convinced that she and Miss Drew weren't "political."
The young ladies were not sent by a particular church, but the Finnish people feared they were Communists as the Russian border was only 40 miles across the water. Once it was established that this was not the case, they welcomed the two workers.
The work the two established in Helsinki related to Bible studies at the American Embassy and Finnish Bible studies, working in a limited way with alcoholic men and women with great emphasis placed on one-to-one contact with the people in order to win them to Christ.
Miss Stoddard had brought visual aids to illustrate some of her talk. A doll, "Anya," was one she had sent from Finland to her mother (Mrs. Jack Stoddard) and portrayed one of the young girls she and Miss Drew had worked with while she related Anya's experience as a new Christian and also those of Olie, a former alcoholic.
She also showed pictures of their landlord and landlady, places they lived and other scenes of Finland.
She concluded her talk by stating emphatically that she and Miss Drew did not come back to the United States because of lack of support or unfriendliness of the people.
"Our work for that particular time was done. We had never lacked for anything while there, but we have been called back here for now." Mrs. Drew is substitute teaching and working in a Christian Coffee House in New Hampshire. "Our greatest desire would be to join a team in teaching the gospel and the Christian life and in going back to Finland."
Previous to traveling to Helsinki, Miss Stoddard had graduated from Berkshire Christian College in Lenox, Mass. She is now employed by the State of Maine as a social worker aide for the Bureau of Social Services out of Houlton. She majored in social work at BCC and had worked in that field before going to Finland.
She has had many speaking engagements in the area and will be speaking in Caribou Thursday evening, Oct. 25 before nine women's groups. Nov. 8 she has been invited to speak at the Washburn Baptist Church.
A Crouseville woman, Miss Deana Stoddard, center, was the guest speaker this weekend at a luncheon held at the Advent Christian Church, Castle Hill. Miss Stoddard spent 14 months in Finland where she was active in church and social work. Above she is speaking with Mrs. Clarice Murphy, president of the Castle Hill Women's Home and Foreign Mission Society, sponsors of the lunch, and Miss Pamela Wood of Chapman, at right.