THE following is the letter which was received by the Rev. Neil Cameron, Convener of the Foreign Mission Committee, and read by him at meeting of Synod:—
C/O NATIVE COMMISSIONER, BEMBESI, MATABELELAND, SOUTH AFRICA, 2nd October, 1911.
MY DEAR MR. CAMERON,—I received your interesting letter, and was very glad to hear from you again. The 20,000 bricks are finished; they were made and burned, and the cost was £28. The natives paid for them, with the aid of some European sympathisers. Some natives gave money, some goats, sheep, and fowls; others maize, called Kaffir corn, and mealies. A goat is worth about 10/, a fowl about 2/; a bag of mealies or Kaffir corn is worth about 10/. Mealies and Kaffir corn are the sort of grain which the natives here plough. The natives raised £18, and the other £10 I got from Europeans who know something about our Mission, and the work we are doing, as some of them have visited us out here.
I think the time has now arrived for us here to have a substantial building put up, if possible, as our present buildings are made of dagga and brushwood, which only lasts a few seasons, as they have to be continually thatched and repaired and plastered, which is a continual expense. And as the Mission is now properly established, we are of opinion that a substantial building is now required to carry on the work of the Mission. I have also mentioned before that our church is now too small to hold all the people, especially during Communion, a large number having to sit outside, as our people from Lower Bembesi, Koco, Florida Mine, and Sibindwana’s Kraal, come here on Communion Sabbath. Prayer meetings are held by our men in these different places during Communion week on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday, and on Sabbath they come here. I also hold here services from Thursday to Monday just as we do in Scotland. I also keep a day and an evening school, a prayer meeting on Thursday morning, and on Sabbath day an early morning prayer meeting, a preaching service at eleven o’clock, and another one in the afternoon; and after that a Bible class is held which is well attended. I am glad to say that nearly all the members of my Bible class have professed faith in Christ and have been baptized. The natives seem to be very fond of Bible names, especially the name of Lazarus—I have now two members that have been baptized by the name of Lazarus.
I shall be very glad to get the Bibles. Those who can read seem to be diligently studying their Bibles, and often ask me where can I find such and such a passage of scripture. The Shorter Catechism in Kaffir is also well liked by the natives, and a good number of the members of my Bible class have learnt by heart many of the questions in it. I have been out of them for a long time and wrote to Lovedale for some, but very sorry to say that the reply I received was that they were out of print, and that they were now going to publish a new Catechism. Many of the natives have asked me for them, and we are all disappointed that they are not to be printed any more. We have a man who used to be a notorious witch-doctor now an adherent of our church. His name is Ingelwana.
I mentioned in my last letter that David N’tuli had gone to Victoria, Mashonaland, to begin work there, where the natives had never heard of the Gospel before. The first places he visited were Chilimanzi and Enkeldoorp. The Chiefs in those places said that they did not want a Mission established amongst their people, as they did not wish to do away with their customs. If they accept a Mission, they know that they can no longer practice polygamy, or get (dowry) or cattle when their daughters get married, and for those reasons they do not want a Mission. Before a Mission is established, it is necessary first to obtain the consent of the Native Chief, the Native Commissioner, and the Government—of course, if the Chief and the Native Commissioner are willing, you can begin to preach at once. But before a Mission site is granted, the Government’s permission must be obtained. N’tuli then visited Range, where Maromo, the Chief, consented to have a Mission. He also visited Felixburg. The Chief in Felixburg also consented to have a Mission; his name is Serima. That is where N’tuli decided to stay. These places have also their native names—I have only given the English names of them. Felixburg is in Victoria district, Mashonaland. There is no train to Victoria; the train only goes as far as Selukwe, and it takes three days’ journey from Selukwe to Victoria on foot; it is a distance of about 100 miles. N’tuli appears to have no Mission site yet, but is allowed to preach to the natives. Until he has been granted a Mission site by the Government, the Mission cannot yet be considered properly established. He is here himself to fetch his wife and family before the rainy season sets in, as Mashonaland has big rivers to cross, and if all’s well, he will be returning with his wife and family next week. He has a small wagon which he is to take with him. He sold six of his cattle and bought six donkeys, as oxen are not allowed to travel on account of the east coast fever, which broke out in the Bembesi and Bulawayo districts.
It would have been very difficult indeed for him there to be without a wagon. It is absolutely necessary to have a wagonette in a Mission, as bicycles during the rainy seasons are not of much use. In order to shorten the journey, N’tuli will have to hire a truck to take his wagon and donkeys to Selukwe, where the train ends; he can then go from there to Victoria with his wagonette. It will very likely take him about four or five days, as the donkeys do not travel very fast; it took him a day and a half on his bicycle from Selukwe to Victoria. The trucks for the wagon and donkeys will cost £5, and I shall be very glad if the Church at home will refund that money to him, as he has had to sell another of his oxen to get it. And please also send him £6 for the building of two huts, one for himself and family, the other for the church, to hold services in.
I am now sending you the different estimates and the rough plans of the buildings. You will notice that Mr. M’Keurtan’s estimate is not the same as the last, and his specification not complete. The carriage and transport they have not stated definitely, as the stuff is, I suppose, to be weighed. But I do not think it will be more than £10.—Yours sincerely,
J. B. RADASI.