Luebo, Congo Belge, Africa
August 28th, 1922
Dear Friends:
This is vacation month in our day schools at Luebo, although the rest of the work on the station continues as usual. Our school year is divided into three terms of three months each, with a month of vacation at the end of each term, making our school year the same as yours. When you consider the environment of the natives it is remarkable how well they learn, and their eagerness to go forward. We have been trying each year to increase our standards, and a great deal has been accomplished towards this end in the last few years. One of our great problems just now is to raise our standard for our native teachers, for we must depend on them to do the bulk of the work, even on our main stations.
To give you an idea how quick the native children are to learn, and how anxious, I want to tell you about a boy who came to me for work less than a year ago; his name is Kalenchi. When he first came to me he was what you would term a typical raw native. He was about 14 years old, and did not know a letter of the alphabet. He asked permission to attend school, which I gladly granted. In less than three months Kalenchi had mastered the primary branch and was beginning to spell out words, and at the end of the term, was promoted to the First Reader. By the end of the next three months he was reading easy sentences and writing them; now he is in the last part of the second Reader, and out of school hours is reading in the Third Reader. Very often when he has no work he will get out his Reader and study it. And you must remember that the school day here is only two hours in all. They all love to read; nearly any day we can hear the boys in our kitchen reading their Bible aloud (they always read aloud unless they are where they will interrupt someone). Within another six months I believe Kalenchi will be reading in his Bible. Many of these natives who learn to read are far away from the sound of the preacher's voice, but the Good News of the Gospel is always open to them; and not only is it open to them, but you will very rarely find a native Christian who knows how to read who does not possess a Bible or New Testament. Many a time have I seen out in far away stations, as well as here at Luebo, a group of natives gathered around the doorstep listening to one of their number who is reading the Bible to them.
Another remarkable example, and one which is somewhat of an exception, is the case of a native chief here at Luebo, who was recently promoted to the Third Reader. He must be something over 30 years of age. But he was determined to learn how to read. We were all glad to see this chief, Kalamba, get his certificate of promotion, for it is not only for the good it means to him, but also the influence of his example as a chief.
We had a Conference of all the native Evangelists and Elders of this section here at Luebo a few weeks ago. There were present something like 300. This covers only our Luebo territory. Special prayers were offered for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, for weeks in advance of the meeting, and we have sufficient evidence to prove that our prayers were answered. One of the main topics that was discussed was their native superstitions, and their resolve to do all they can to eradicate them. The whole life of the heathen native is a network of superstitions and customs. At one of their meetings different ones gave their experiences of the past year. Two different evangelists told how someone who opposed the Gospel had tried to force them to leave the village, and had actually aimed a gun at the evangelist and pulled the trigger, but in each case, the gun had failed to fire and bystanders had kept them from further harm. One evangelist stated that when he first went to the village where he has been working, two brothers in this village had tried to force him to leave by threats. He refused to go, and began praying for those two men. In less than a year, one of them had become a Christian, and the other was now in the catechumen, or Inquirer's Class.
We have had quite an important and interesting event to take place in the Printing Office lately in the arrival and installation of our new job press. Up to the present, the only press we have had is our large newspaper press for printing 8 pages, and which press came out to Luebo about 1912, and went down to the bottom of the Congo River when our first steamer, the "Lapsley," sank. But it is still in good condition and in constant use. However, it is entirely too bulky for small jobs, and the small job press will mean a great saving in time as well as more efficient work.
Just a few days ago a native canoe turned over in the middle of the river at our crossing, and about four or five natives were drowned. There were something like thirty in the boat, so it is a wonder that so few were lost. Only three bodies have been recovered so far, but at least one more is missing, and two or three are supposed to have been lost about whom no one is certain. Even before the bodies were found, the native "wailing" had already begun at some of the homes. Only one of these that we know was a Christian; another was from another village. Instead of comfort and consolation in a time like this, heathen native has only tribulation added to his grief, for all of his relatives, or rather those relatives of the one who remains, come to stay with them and "mourn" for some days or weeks and eat him out of house and home. Without Christ, the native has not a ray of hope, only the terrible shadow of death hovering about his threshold. While many have seen the Light there are still too many who have not believed.
As this will no doubt reach you somewhere near Xmas time, we take this opportunity to wish you one and all a happy and joyful season.
You may feel that this is only a "circular" letter, but we want to assure you that it is a "real personal" letter to each one on this list. We trust you will believe this, and if you can find the time, let us hear from you.
With our prayers for you, we are
Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. B. M. Schlotter
No comments:
Post a Comment