BULUWAYO.—Your good and encouraging letter reached our mission in due time. We were truly glad to learn of the progress of the work in the home field. My heart goes out to God this morning in thankfulness to him for a place, yes, any place, in his “most blessed work.” We are glad to be here, and can say to the glory of God, that our health is good. For this we do praise our Heavenly Father. The health of our mission has been very good, notwithstanding the heavy rains of the last two months. The first of the season it seemed that we should have a dreadful famine; the rains held off, rivers dried up, and stock began to die. We lost many of our goats; however, we saved the cattle. No plowing or planting could be done; but before it was too late, our Father turned our captivity, the rains came in abundance, and to-day our crops look as good as they did last year at this time. So now we hope for a fair yield. Truly God is good to us.
Our little church is prospering; the spiritual interest seems good. As for the school work, I think I can truthfully say that the interest never was better; surely the children are taking hold in earnest, and are enjoying their studies very much. Their desire is to learn quickly, to go at once and help finish the work in “this generation.” We keep this thought ever before them in all our work; for, my dear brother, I myself verily believe it is to be done, and we are the ones whom God has entrusted to do it. O, let us awake! I myself want to awake early. Never had I a greater desire to lie low at the feet of the Master and be taught of him.
Yes, we are doing all we can to push the work. Eighty or ninety miles farther north I have started an out-school with two native teachers. Also twenty-five miles north two others are teaching, forty-five miles to the west and north one boy is teaching, two boys are with Brother C. R. Sparrow at Mkupuvula, one is about ten miles from the mission, and three native teachers help me here. Others are in training, and will soon be able to go out to teach also. So you see we believe in progressive work. Two of my English classes now read the English, and then in the class translate it into their own language. I am now getting hold of the language so it does not bother me so much to understand all they say. I freely admit that it has been a hard task for me to learn the language. We teach out of the Zulu books. The children talk the Gentebele and the Makalaka almost entirely, and while it is true that the Gentebele and Zulu are much alike, they are not alike. It has been a hard task for me to wrestle with the three languages at once, but now I hope soon to be preaching to the natives in their own tongue. O, my heart longs to speak to the people in their own tongue, and face to face! I can talk to them in private conversation, and be well understood, but I fear to try to preach in their language.
Pray for us, dear brethren, that the work may truly prosper in our hands, and God may be glorified thereby.