A Visit to Emmanuel Mission, South Africa
By W. B. WHITE
AFTER leaving Kolo, where we enjoyed a very pleasant visit, Elder Hyatt and I continued our journey to north Basutoland. [Basutoland is an elevated province in latitude 30° S., one hundred miles inland from the sea, and about seven hundred and fifty miles northeast of Cape Town.] We reached Generaal's Nek November 2, and here met Brother Olmstead, superintendent of the station, and he took me to the mission, twelve miles distant. North Basutoland is a very pretty country, one of the finest I have ever seen, and as quite a quantity of rain had been falling, everything was green, and the soil was in good condition for the crops. At this station we have twenty-five acres of land, more or less, the most of which Brother Olmstead has planted with fruit and vines. These look very healthy and promise good returns a little later. Some of his trees are now beginning to bloom. Fruit does well in this part of the country, as do vines and vegetables. This mission is now a government-registered nursery, which will give its cuttings a standing among the fruit growers of this section. The buildings are of sandstone, well built, and consist of a house for the superintendent, another nearly finished for the assistant, one for the native teacher, a dormitory for students,—which is being constructed,—a new schoolhouse, besides several native huts and other outbuildings. The mission stands in the midst of a large native population, and should be, till the work is finished, a bright light in north Basutoland. The school, which is taught by Brother Olmstead and Murray Kalaka, is not large as yet, but when the dormitory is completed and the school becomes better known, it is hoped that the attendance will increase. A few promising young men are in the school now. The day after our arrival we had a meeting in the schoolhouse for the natives, which was appointed for eleven o'clock. Not having many clocks or watches, they had little idea of when to come to service, so two hours before the time they began to gather on the near-by hills in little groups, dressed in their bright-colored blankets, waiting for the bell to ring which announced the meeting. As soon as this was heard, they flocked into the building, filling the seats, and covering the floor as well. Several chiefs were present with their wives, and all gave the best of attention to the word spoken. Elder Hyatt and I addressed them on the plan of salvation through Christ. After the service we had a few words with the chiefs and some of the people, and all seemed friendly and welcomed us heartily to their land. Here we met Brother James Mtimkula, our native minister in the Orange Free State, who had come to spend a day or so with us. He reported progress in the work in his field, and said that a goodly number of the natives are believing the truth. Here we also met Brother and Sister J. N. de Beer, who have been assisting Brother Olmstead on the mission. Brother de Beer will for a time take up the canvassing work in the Free State and endeavor to build up that branch of the work there. Brother Olmstead, though having his hands full with his building operations, has been endeavoring to do some evangelistic work in the neighboring villages, and is encouraged by seeing some fruit of his labor. He felt very much encouraged by our visit to Emmanuel, and we can see no reason why this station may not be a strong witness to God's truth in north Basutoland. Before leaving the country, we called on Jonathan, one of the leading chiefs of the Basuto, and had a very pleasant chat. He seemed glad to see us, and urged us to call again when we return to his land. He lives only a few miles from the mission.12 We are sure that our brethren who are conducting these stations will find their power for good wonderfully increasing as they acquire the native tongue. This can be done by hard study, and we are sure that the results that will follow will well reward the effort. We hope that God will bless our missions in Basutoland, and give those who are spending their lives in the work much fruit that they can rejoice over in the kingdom.