View source for Haigh, Lawrence B. (1882-1962) and Haigh, Rose Boehning

Lawrence Haigh was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1882. He was a member of the Baptist Church of Holley, England. He eventually attended the Moody Bible Institute ([[Chicago (Illinois, USA)|Chicago]]). In [[Illinois (USA)|Illinois]] he met and married Rose Boehning of Elgin, Illinois. They became the first missionaries of the [[Central Conference Mennonite Church|Central Conference Mennonite Church]], leaving in 1906 for what was then known as British East Africa ([[Kenya|Kenya]], [[Uganda|Uganda]], and [[Tanzania, United Republic of|Tanzania]]).

It was in 1906 that the Defenseless Mennonite Conference also sent missionaries to East Africa. By 1910 the missionaries of both the Defenseless Mennonites and the Central Conference concluded it would be wisest to cede their work in East Africa to the [[Africa Inland Mission |Africa Inland Mission]]. The two Mennonite groups subsequently formed a new inter-Mennonite mission board ([[Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission|Congo Inland Mission]], later known as Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission) in 1911. This board's first commissioned missionaries were Lawrence and Rose Haigh. After taking a brief course in tropical medicine in Britain in 1911 they explored for a field of service in [[Congo, Democratic Republic of|Belgian Congo]]. They were joined the next year by [[Stevenson, Alvin (1870-1913)|Alvin Stevenson]], and together they recommended opening stations along the Kasai River at [[Kalamba (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|Kalamba]] in the south and at Djoko Punda to the north.

The Haighs returned to the [[United States of America|United States]] in 1915 for furlough. When they could not return to [[Africa|Africa]] because of World War I, they concluded their service with the Congo Inland Mission. Lawrence died in 1962.
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[[Category:Persons]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]
[[Category:Missionaries in Democratic Republic of Congo]]