Marie Sandvik loved to preach, even as a child in Norway where she preached to sheep and imaginary people. In 1919, at the age of seventeen, she came to America to get an education, and worked her way through high school, college, and seminary. Her struggle against extreme poverty created in her a compassionate heart, and she vowed that someday she would help those who were penniless as she had been. In 1940, she converted a vacant skid row bar into a mission, moved in behind it, and ran it to help the poor, the homeless, and the hungry, and to bring God's word and love to them all. Four years later Marie was joined by Doris Nye, a young college graduate who was skilled in music and business administration. As a child, Doris daydreamed about growing up to help the poor. She learned compassion for those who were less fortunate as she accompanied her two aunts, who were medical doctors, on their rounds.
Doris planned to become a missionary after she graduated from college, but circumstances put her in touch with Marie at the skid row mission. Doris quickly discovered that her calling was to work with Marie. The two women stayed together for the rest of Marie's life, and their work eventually received national acclaim.