I was born in Chicago, Illinois as the first of eight children to Myrtle and Anthony Henricksen (five sons and three daughters). I attended a Salvation Army
Sunday school when I was a child; all of our Christmas presents and much of our food came from the Salvation Army to help our family. I accepted the Lord in a Salvation Army meeting when I was
6 years old. My father worked various jobs on cargo ships, as an awning maker, operated a water taxi service and became a Merchant Marine sailor; we moved often in search of new work. In
September 1942 my father's ship was delivering "Lend Lease" supplies when it was torpedoed by the Nazis; my father was killed.
When I was 16, in order to help support our family, I had to drop out of high school to work.
I worked as a nanny, next in a gasket factory, then wired Grumman Hellcat planes during WWII; I also completed a high school equivalency certificate. 
In July 29, 1943 I was accepted into the Nyack MISSIONARY TRAINING INSTITUTE. I studied hard while I worked in a cardboard factory and cleaned homes as a
maid to help meet school expenses. During my senior year, I was a religious instructor at a Salvation Army camp for underprivileged children. At Nyack, I met the man I would eventually marry,
Elmer Sahlberg.
After graduation, I was accepted by the New York Nursing College where I graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse on September 30, 1948. 
Elmer and I married on November 13, 1948 and I moved to Prattville, Alabama where Elmer pastored a church. Our son David was born in Prattville. We lived in
a little rented room attached to a house. The church was a small wooden building.
In November, 1949 we were assigned SIAM (Thailand) as our mission field. We traveled on a cargo ship to get there. I looked forward to my new life as a
missionary to Thailand.
September 1, 2013 - 92 years old !
Movie: cutting the cake for a 92nd birthday.
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