Lois Nelson, 99, a resident of the Forest Grove community, died Friday monring, April 29, 2022 at her home. Lois Marie Shearer was born in a Christian home on a farm near Forest Grove, Oregon. She was led to the Lord at a very young age at Hillside Community Church, Oregon. Her sister, Evelyn, and her Aunt Ruth were Christian influences in her young life. She met David August Nelson who had been asked to speak at the Hillside church and six months later they were married on November 28, 1941. Gordon Fraiser was the minister at their wedding. World War II was declared while on their honeymoon. David was in the Army when 3 of their children were born, David Jr, Barbara, and Nancy. After Bible School, they were commended by the Portland Area Assemblies to work in the Belgian Congo. In 1948 they went out under Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML.) They served with David’s best friend, Bill Spees, at Lolwa until 1951 when they moved to Bujumbura, Burundi to help the Carl Johnsons. While there, a daughter, Ruth was born (now Ruth Johnson of Tanzania.) Ruth had heart problems and they returned to the U.S. for doctors to see Ruth in 1955. Upon returning to Africa in 1956 they were based at Nyankunde, Belgian Congo where a son, Paul was born. They were evacuated out of the Congo by the US Air Force in 1960 when the Congolese army mutinied at independence time. When they left, they also took along with them many other missionary children and eventually arrived in the United States and dropped those children off with relatives across the country as they made their way back to Forest Grove, Oregon. In the 1960’s they were recruited by Gordon Fraiser to work with the Indian Bible School in Flagstaff, Arizona, where David taught Bible classes and Lois ran the kitchen for the students. Gordon later sent them to Lilooet, British Columbia to start an Indian Bible School. They eventually returned to the Congo which had been re-named Zaire, to serve again at Nyankunde from 1974 to 1976, where Lois worked at the hospital pharmacy under Bob Watt, while David was working alongside the out-school preachers and teachers. Lois was a real prayer warrior who would use the Missionary Prayer Book and go through it until the pages dropped out. She was active not only in the assemblies, but also in Hillside Church until David’s passing in 2014. She was an active member of the local Garden Club. Survived by all her children and many grandchildren and great & great-great grandchildren.