GOD UNDERSTANDS HINDI by Mrs. O. G. Place

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Aug 2, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 31.

GOD UNDERSTANDS HINDI.

By Mrs. O. G. Place

“Mem-Sahib, Mem-Sahib!” It was the voice of little Abdul calling to me from his cot. I had just tucked him away into his little bed; tucked, not only the blankets, but the mosquito netting, all down in tightly around him; for here in Calcutta, even in midwinter, the mosquitoes are very troublesome; and I had just stepped back into the bath-room for a moment. As I went to him, he pulled the netting and reached up his little brown arms to draw me close down to him, and whispered:—

“Mem-Sahib, please ask God to make me good little boy, me good heart give.”

I said, “Yes, indeed, Abdul, I will, and you ask Him too.”

“O Mem-Sahib,” he replied, “I English word not speak; God Hindi not know.”

Then I told him, “O, yes, Abdul, God knows Hindi.”

“And Bengali too, Mem-Sahib?”

“Yes, and Bengali too. God understands English, and Hindi, and Bengali and all the many ways in which people talk. So you just ask Him yourself in Hindi to give you a good heart, and He will know what you say, and He will give it to you.”

The little brown face looked very thoughtful, and the bright black eyes opened wide with wonder, as I kissed him good-night and turned away, thanking God that His Spirit had been speaking to this dear little Indian boy, and that his heart had heard and wanted to answer. Since that night Abdul has knelt every evening before getting into his bed and talked with God in Hindi.—Mrs. O. G. Place, in Our Little Friend.