According to an anecdote my mother-in-law, Gertrude Troyke, told me many times, the Lutheran Women's Missionary League is the best kept secret of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

As a young woman living in Chicago, Gertrude was an active member of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church. She was aware of the Ladies Aid at St. Stephen's, but thought it was a club for older women. One day she decided to visit her great aunt Lydia Doederlein on the north side of the city and possibly do a little shopping. It was a nice day, and she decided to get out of the house.

On the way back home, a lady sat next to her on the streetcar. They began a conversation and the woman told her she had just been to St. Stephen's Church where the LWML had its first meeting. Gertrude told her she was a member at that church. The woman looked surprised and said, "You were not at that meeting!" My mother-in-law said she was aware of some meeting, but no one told her what it was about.

Over the years, until Gertrude received her crown of glory at age 87, she would shake her head in the telling. She said she didn't know how she could have missed it. She would certainly have been there had she known. Every time she saw the photograph of all the ladies that were there from St. Stephen's and surrounding churches she would say sadly, "I could have been a charter member of LWML."

Fortunately she didn't let the lack of personal invitation discourage her. She did join the LWML and continued to support mission projects with her active participation while she was able and later with her prayers and mites until her death. At her congregation in Pittsburgh, PA, she was known as the "stamp lady" because she was able to prepare the stamps for missions even when she was unable to attend meetings. She and my father-in-law, Norman Troyke, prepared bandages as one of the society projects. They also baked chocolate chip cookies together for the Cabot Home in their later years.

How often has someone said, "The meeting was in the bulletin and the newsletter. I just don't understand why more women don't attend LWML"? Personal contact is so important to reach people. It is easy to see a notice and think that it must be for someone else. Sometimes it takes many invitations to get a positive response. It is important to keep on asking.

Try sharing your love of Christ through the LWML. Be bold in sharing the Good News. We don't ride on streetcars any more, so it might mean wearing some LWML jewelry or clothing that could initiate a conversation. It is sad that my mother-in-law regretted a missed opportunity for so many years. Let's not let that happen. Let the secret out.

Alice Troyke is the editor of the Missouri Voice for LWML. She is married to Rev. Jim Troyke. They live in Kimberling City, MO.