Somabula Mission, Rhodesia, South Africa
By H. M. Sparrow
HAVING just returned from visiting the Shangani outschools, I will relate one or two experiences which may be of interest to the friends in the homeland. The first Sabbath was spent with our first outschool, twenty-five miles from Somabula. The morning service was turned into a revival meeting, and the Spirit of God worked miracles among us. One of the first to bear a testimony was the head chief. This chief at first would do anything but grant us a school site. He was quite bitter, until at last Brother J. N. de Beer, our superintendent, approached him. It happened that there were quite a number who wanted teeth drawn. Brother de Beer's success was more than can be credited to human skill alone; God blessed his efforts in extracting every tooth. This softened the old chief's heart, for he saw that we were here for the good of his people. Today he feels that he cannot do enough for us. There has been a very severe drought in his territory, and if it were not for the wonderful way God is working for the heathen, the government would have to feed them. In one forest there is such an abundance of honey that the natives in the vicinity have taken their families and gone to live there, to subsist on honey and herbs. The chief's own words in his testimony were these:— “Almighty God, you have placed me here to rule these people. Now give me wisdom as you did the leaders of the children of Israel, that your work may prosper.” It did our hearts good to hear those words from a man who was once so bitter. Can you imagine their coming from a heathen chief's lips? It is only the gentle touch of the quiet Spirit working upon his heart. Our work in Shangani has now a good foothold. The message is making rapid progress among the heathen kraals. Already the fruit is budding, and soon we expect to see some accept the truth. I will tell you about one old native and his wife. When a little girl, their daughter, who is now the wife of an outschool teacher at Glendale Mission, began going to our school in Shangani, against her parents' wishes. They forbade her and beat her, and then she ran away from home and came to our main station at Somabula. Here she learned to read the Bible and was converted. She returned home and began reading the Bible to her parents. The result was they were converted, and today they are faithful Sabbath keepers, although they cannot read a word of their own language. That is certainly strong faith. It means much for an old couple such as they to leave their tywala (beer) and smoking. The other natives simply marvel at it. Their faithfulness has awakened an interest in the neighborhood, and there is now a call for a school. So the good work is going, and the living God is working in a wonderful way. We are of good courage to press on with new zeal as we pass through these experiences.