Early Years
Rosemary McEachern Jensen, born July 20, 1929, is the fourth of six children born to Don and Mayhoward McEachern. Raised in a log house on the banks of the St. John’s River near Jacksonville, Florida, Rosemary knew at an early age that she wanted to tell others about God. In the summer of 1946, when a pastor challenged a group of youth to give their lives to the foreign mission field, Rosemary felt compelled to step forward and answer the call. That one step began a seven-decade journey in God’s service.
Meeting Robert Jensen
After finishing college Rosemary taught high school English. After a while, she felt called to join the Army, which she promptly did. While studying occupational therapy she fell in love with a young doctor by the name of Robert Travis Jensen. Rosemary always joked, "Since he outranked me, he ordered me to marry him, and I obeyed." The two were blissfully married in 1954. They both knew that God had called them to the mission field and were ready to submit to his will.
The Journey Begins
In 1957 Rosemary, her husband, and their two-year-old daughter Annie boarded a ship in New York harbor. Their destination was the country of Tanzania in East Africa, where they expected to spend the rest of their lives serving as missionaries.
“Sailing past the Statue of Liberty with our two-year-old daughter Annie was scary, but I knew enough about God to know that without faith, you cannot please him.”