Lights and Shadows of Mission Life
By W. C. Walston
HERE at the Solusi Mission we made our first attempt to work for the heathen of South Africa. We now have eleven outschools, which are from eight to eighty miles from the main station. These schools are well attended. In December, twenty-nine students were baptized. Another baptismal class of twenty-one was organized very soon after. The rapid advance of the work here, and the many blessings bestowed upon us, shine as lights in our experiences. During 1911-12, this station was self-supporting; but two years of crop failure, one of severe drought, and another of floods, have brought a cloud over our bright prospects. Our expenses are increasing, as our school is growing larger all the time. New students are coming in every week. We now have over one hundred. The perplexing question confronting us now is, “Shall we go on with our work, or shall we curtail our expenses by turning away those who come to us for the gospel, and thus be obliged to refuse to do, in a measure, the very work we are here to do?” We are of good courage. We know the work is the Lord’s and He will in some way render us help.