The Pemba Mission School, Northwest Rhodesia
By H. R. S.
"It is up-hill work here; but somehow we are blessed, and souls are accepting the truth. We shall have baptism soon. There are five candidates ready. This is what cheers our hearts, and makes us content, in the midst of fever, trials, and weariness." These words, just received from Brother W. H. Anderson, give the true secret of the power that holds the missionary in those difficult fields. At the autumn council, word came to us that the South African Union would not need so large an appropriation this year as last, as the Pemba mission station had sent the information that it would be entirely self-supporting. That was cheering news, for it meant the release of money that could be used in entering new fields, hastening that day when the full meaning of the expression "in all the world" shall be realized. Brother Anderson continues:— "As you know, we are short of help at this station now, as Brother Robinson has been taken away to act as superintendent of the work in Nyassaland. That left Brother Campbell and me alone here; and, although he is the best of help, there is a limit to what a man can do, even in mission fields. I am glad that our action [the one referred to in the first paragraph, that the mission would be self-supporting] has met the approval of the Mission Board. It has been a long, hard struggle; but we see the light ahead, and with the continued blessing of God, we hope for still better things in the future. "I have just been going over the total amount that has been appropriated to this mission field since it was started, and find it to be 4,675 pounds. I find, from looking over the invoice of the value of the property we now hold here, that it is worth 4,000 pounds; and that since the mission has been established, the church here has contributed for work outside, that is, to the union treasury, about 750 pounds, so that at present we have property here to the value of the amount that the Mission Board has spent in this field. This is not quite a new experience for me in the mission work, as the last two years that I was connected with the work at Solusi, we did not draw a penny from the Mission Board, and we also paid all our tithes and offerings to the union treasurer. "While I am on this subject, I will send you a statement of the finances of our little native church at Pemba, for the last year. We have received, in—
Tithe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $259.66
Second tithe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198.00
Sabbath-school offerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.53
Weekly and annual offerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.87
For the college indebtedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194.00
'Christ's Object Lessons' for college debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.65
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $783.71 "Now I know that we are away from civilization here, but I can not help feeling great satisfaction in the thought that from this church of fifty-three members, all but four of whom are natives, so large a donation could be received. We hope next year to raise the amount to two hundred pounds, and have set that as our mark. "You will notice that one item is the second tithe. We wanted some literature in the vernacular; and as there were no funds for it, we paid a second tithe for this purpose. In the last three years, we have raised over one hundred pounds in that way, and we still have twenty-five pounds in the treasury for future use. I am sending you a copy of each book that we have printed. Two books, as you will see, are school books. The last one which comes from the press is a series of Sabbath-school lessons on the life of Christ. Mrs. Anderson prepared the lessons, and Brother Campbell translated them. "We have just finished the planting of the crops this year. We have planted one hundred twenty-five acres to mealies (corn), twenty acres to peanuts, twelve acres to potatoes, and fifteen acres to sweet potatoes. Then we have a large orchard, from which we get a good variety of fruit, and a vegetable garden that supplies the table all the year round, as well as pays all the salary of Brother Campbell, from the sales; and we have milk, butter, and eggs, which bring a good income. Brother Campbell goes to Livingstone to-day, to buy thirty cows, and we have fifty now, so we are doing something at dairying. "I have gone into the details of our work here, in order that I might in part answer your inquiry about teachers for the field. As you see, we need all-round men. But especially on these mission stations we need strong teachers for the primary grades. There are few natives in South Africa who advance beyond the sixth standard [grade]. Few here ever arrive at that. They may go beyond it in their Bible study. Most of those we have here are incapable of going further. Of course some of our boys can not learn at all, while some, after trying for a year, suddenly wake up and make excellent advance; and there are others who run well for a time, and then seem to reach their limit, and can go no further. Then it is hard to keep up the interest of our native mission teachers, as they are surrounded for months with nothing but heathenism, which is a poor stimulant for spirituality. We are now arranging a strong summer school for this year. "We must also push the evangelical work in the villages. We now have a lantern, and as soon as the rains are over, we shall make use of that in evangelical work. We are soon to have more help from the Cape, and expect to make much progress this winter. This is the only time that we can travel about in the country. "To return again to the school: We are hard pressed for the present. The only thing we have in the vernacular is the Gospel of Mark and the three books I am sending you. Much teaching has to be done orally. On the farm, in the garden, as well as in the school, we try to sow beside all waters. It is up-hill work. But somehow we are blessed, and souls are accepting the truth. "We have all had our turn at fever this year, but no one has been seriously ill."