Lettie Cowman and her husband, Charles, were missionaries to Japan. Together, they founded the Oriental Missionary Society, with the goal of distributing Scripture in the hostile land. When Charles was ill, Lettie wrote a series of inspirational essays based on the encouragement they found in the Lord during this difficult time. The essays were published as a book, Streams in the Desert, which was translated into fifteen languages and reprinted numerous times.
Chiang Kai-shek, former leader of the Republic of China, found her book so encouraging and inspiring that he read it again and again, and asked to have a copy buried with him. Streams in the Desert is still in print, and continues to encourage people today.