is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Kansas City, Missouri. Her office is located in a high rise building overlooking Kansas City's Plaza district. The office is comfortable, with abundant natural light that spills into the room through the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up one wall. Mrs. Hebenstreit spoke with the Journal for several hours about the practice of Christian Science.
"I was what is called, 'born into Christian Science.' But of course you can't be born a Christian Scientist, any more than you can be born a violinist. I had great Sunday School teachers, belonged to a wonderful branch church, and I had the distinct advantage of seeing Christian Science at work. So you could say I grew up in it, but I had to find out about it for myself."
She was first asked to pray for someone else while she was in her teens. "When I was in high school, I invited a good friend to go to Sunday School with me, and she did. She just loved it. One day she told me she had severe abdominal pain, and she didn't want her parents to take her to the doctor. So she asked me if I would pray with her. Every afternoon after school, we would talk about Christian Science. She had this impressive healing, and the joy of it was so wonderful. I realized then that somewhere along the line I would no longer hug Christian Science to myself, but I would want to have everybody know about it. It was a joy to share it."
