"In January of 1948 when my parents, newlyweds Jay and Marjory Kapenga, stepped off the British India boat, Barpeta, in Muscat harbour to work with the Arabian Mission of the Reformed Church of America (RCA), no one imagined their stay would turn into a 35-year love affair with Oman. At that time, the country was ruled by Sultan Said bin Taimur. There were few roads, few telephones, no banks, no airconditioning, little electricity, and no city water supply.

Muscat and Mutrah were considered the two main towns along the coast. Nizwa was the major town in the interior and the commercial hub of many other towns. But as foreigners were not allowed to go far into the interior without permission from the Sultan, our family rarely saw that part of Oman. Later, when the country opened up with the coming of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, we were finally able to venture into the interior and our parents spent eight years working with the weavers in those once remote areas."