Last year as a part of our 120th Anniversary we invited retired missionary Roberta Stephens to share and answer questions about her book, "A Flower With Roots." Her book gives an account of Mary D. Jesse and Shokei Girls' School. Mary D. Jesse, a woman from a family of means, abandoned everything to follow her vision to help lift the burden of Japanese girls during a time when education was a privilege and not a right. The book is a compelling account of the resiliency of a mission school where the love and loyalty of students shines through, even as the school leadership is embroiled in endless drama in management and personal relations.