Last Sabbath at the Matabele Mission
By W. S. Hyatt
No doubt many would be interested to know how we spend the Sabbath at the mission farm, so I will give last Sabbath's experience. I am sure that you will conclude that we are busy most of the time, and have but very few moments to ourselves during the day. Friday evening at sundown we meet in the church, and spend about an hour in prayer and testimonies. All seem to enjoy the Friday evening services very much. At the close of the meeting a class of those who desire to be baptized, meet at my house, and I spend an hour instructing them, and trying to prepare them for this important step. It is not a small task to take these poor heathen and educate their minds to that point where they will understand the claims of the gospel, and then have a heart to walk in the requirements of the Lord. During the time I have this class, Brother Sturdevant is studying the Sabbath-school lesson with the others. They retire before nine o'clock. Before breakfast Sabbath morning the boys had the chores to do, and then the herd boys took the cattle and goats to the pasture. Breakfast was at seven o'clock, and at eight the teachers of the Sabbath-school met at Brother Sturdevant's to study their lesson. The teaching is all done by native teachers. At ten o'clock Sabbath-school convened, and continued for about one hour. The lesson was the twenty-ninth Psalm. There were eighty young people in twelve classes, and the teachers seemed to take great interest in their work. Near the close of the school we took up the monthly collection, which amounted to twenty-one shillings. For a long time the school tried to have weekly collections; but money was so scarce that the collection was very small. Now we take the collection but once a month, and we get a good offering, much more than we did when we took one every week. At eleven o'clock Elder Sturdevant took the service, and Jim acted as his interpreter. He preached from Rev. 22:17, and the Lord blessed as he gave the invitation, “whosoever will may come.” There were about one hundred at this meeting. There are a few who come in every Sabbath to the meeting and the Sabbath-school. After this meeting the few white brethren and sisters meet at one of the houses for a Sabbath-school and meeting, which lasts for a little over an hour. Dinner is at two o'clock. Immediately after dinner we go to the kraals to hold what we would call in America, cottage meetings. The leader of the meeting has from two to four boys with him, who assist in the singing and prayer. On the previous Friday afternoon Elder Sturdevant gave all the young teachers a lesson on the subject of Christ the Redeemer, from Isa. 43:1. In this way the same subject is given to all the kraals; and through the boys, Brother Sturdevant was able to speak to two hundred and sixty-eight people in twelve kraals. These are from one to twenty miles from the mission. In this way we are able to reach a large number of natives about us here, and we are trying to give them the message as fast as we can. But the people are slow to accept the gospel. Most of the people worship the devil, and ask where he came from, the same as white people ask where Cain got his wife. They fulfil Rev. 9:20 in that they openly worship Satan, and have their stones and sacred goats for worship. But we have confidence that the power of the gospel will reach their hearts, if we work faithfully. It would do you good to hear the boys pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to go with them as they speak to the people. We visit as many kraals as we can with them. The day closed by meeting at the chapel for a few words of prayer, and praise for the blessings of the day. We thank the Lord that we can have a part in this work. W. S. HYATT.