Lois Gunden (center right) with other members of the Ville St. Christophe staff in Canet-Plage, France.
At the age of 26, Lois Gunden, a Mennonite and French teacher from Goshen, Indiana, sailed to Europe to head the Ville St. Christophe refugee children’s home in Canet-Plage, France. She had not been involved with overseas relief work before, and had never been to Europe. But she spoke French, and the Mennonite Central Committee needed someone willing to place herself in danger to help others. Gunden was willing.
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