American author Jane Kurtz was born April 17, 1952, in Portland, Ore. to missionary parents and moved to Ethiopia when she was two years old. While living in Ethiopia with her parents and three siblings, it was an all-day trip to drive 32 miles by Jeep up to Maji (8,000 ft. altitude) in the far southwest of the country. It was a two-day trip if they traveled by mule.