By Rev. JOHN TALLACH.
FALLING funds due to war conditions and a favourable offer to begin new work seem to be the two most important items to write about just now. Falling funds and new obligations do not appear to be good yoke-fellows for they seem to cancel each other out, but when we look into the Lord’s way of conducting his business we find that this situation is not a new one. Indeed, it occurs very frequently in the history of the church, and always with a blessing.
Notwithstanding the grave upset that the war gives to so many things, we ought not to permit it the power of disturbing the work of the Lord. “The spread of the Gospel” is just another way of saying, “the elect of the Lord must be gathered to him,” and surely that is a work in which a church cannot afford to falter or fail. Such work is her very life. She may be tempted to call a halt, but to do so is definitely to fall into temptation. I think that we must regard the matter in this light or come under the charge of insincerity.
In this way these interruptions appear as being nothing less than trials and tests of the sincerity of our effort. Many parts of Scripture point clearly in this direction. The children of Israel came out of Egypt with an army at their heels. The temple was built stone by stone within sight of the enemy. Gideon’s victory was won only after his forces had diminished. “He that observeth the wind shall not sow.”
Indeed we should doubt very much if the question of Gospel demand and supply should be interpreted in the strictly worldly sense of demand and supply at all. God alone creates the demand and we are directed to look to God alone for the supply. It appears that this truth is so important that we must either confess it and act upon it or deny the faith.
As a source of wealth God is beyond all temporal changes and consequently unchanged by them. “But from all changes thou art free.” “The silver and the gold are mine.” The money required by His cause, coming from Him, is thus unaffected by wars and things of this world. The church has all the wealth of the covenant of grace including this or she has no part of it at all. We readily base our soul’s salvation upon the unchanging grace of God but we do not so readily trust him to supply all the demands of his cause even although we know that these are created by himself. Forgiveness of sins and the money necessary for the publication of forgiveness through the Gospel proceed from the source. The one just as much as the other is the product of the covenant of grace; the one as much as the other is the purchase of Calvary. It is our prayer that the church as a whole, and each individual in particular will see the matter in this the only light that affects us as Christians.
And so every call to extend His kingdom comes from Himself and contains in its bosom all the provision necessary. Surely this is ample encouragement to go on working. However untoward temporal circumstances may be, the call to go on in faith and expectancy is so definite that to doubt or halt is sinful.
In 1924, the year of Mr. Radasi’s death a number of people under chief Bedesani left Induba to settle at Inkai in Shangani Reserve. There were no Christians among them but a number of their children attended our school at Induba and when the question of their education came up the parents asked Mr. Radasi to open a school at Inkai. This was done. The teacher was young and inexperienced and could not be trusted with the preaching. Ordinarily we follow the rule of making unpaid preachers of office-bearers but obviously this rule could not be followed in this case. Shangani is 85 miles away from Ingwenya and so there was nothing for it but to send a paid evangelist to live there.
Mr. Radasi could not have chosen a better man than John Ndiyamabombo who was then a deacon at Ingwenya. His salary was fixed at £26 per year; later it was made up by the congregation to £30. John was followed by his wife and family, and in 1926 his son Alexander, a pupil of Lovedale, arrived to take over the school work.
The full story of the Lord’s work at Inkai would make a little history of its own. For the purpose of this report it is sufficient to say that after many discouragements a good congregation and school were established. Last year, a school was opened at Zenka, 11 miles from Inkai, where there is also a fair congregation. So the cause is not merely alive but it has the promise of strong growth.
To go to Shangani by car 12 years ago was a bit of adventure; the roads, which were mere tracks, were attended by no one, and an axe and shovel were as necessary a part of travelling equipment as petrol itself. Broken springs were of common occurrence but were counted minor mishaps. Broken axles were more serious as these had to be repaired in the veld by a mechanic from a garage sometimes 150 miles away. Despite these difficulties we made three or four visits annually.
In taking a journey of this kind to visit one single out-station must have appeared foolish at times but we have no regrets. We have had our reward. We have had the privilege of seeing a really heathenish spot turned into a garden of the Lord. And that is not all. Neither would it be all with any member of your Committee if he were in our circumstances. For I am sure that if any such had seen the doings of our Lord there he would have just felt as we felt. He would have hoped and prayed that one day the little plot cultivated by us at Inkai would increase until it covered the whole of Shangani reserve. I am sure that he would be doing just what I seek to do now. He would be urging you to take up the offer to extend on a large scale what we have so far been able to do in only a small way.
On the map, Shangani is about a third of the Bubi district and Bubi is just about as large as Scotland. There are 14,000 natives, very few of whom have come into any kind of contact with the Gospel. There is a Native Commissioner, and a medical clinic which is worked from Inyati. There is also a Native Counsel which meets under the Commissioner. At one of their meetings they wished to put through to the Government a request for a Central Mission and school under a European missionary. When asked to mention which Mission they desired to begin this work they asked for ours.
This request was put before us by the Native Commissioner and, as you know, the proposal was passed on to you. Then came the war. Knowing that there would be some delay we made formal application to the Native office and to the Native Development Department. So to that extent the matter is still alive between the mission and the different departments concerned.
Mr. Fraser and Dr. McDonald were taken to see the proposed site and both report favourably on it. The person in charge would need to possess a teacher’s qualification and would require to be ordained. For such a teacher there are grants in aid to the sum of £200 per year. So far as buildings are concerned there is some provision made under a scheme of loans to missions for these purposes. The loan is at low rate of interest, spread over twenty years. So the matter rests between you and the Lord, now. You will foresee difficulties which we cannot foresee, and we can see many which are hidden from you, but it is good and sweet to remember that whatever they are in number and nature, all of them were matter of perfect knowledge to the Lord when He opened this door. “Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward.” Mr. McKenzie will remember that this was the subject of his last address when visiting us some years ago.
There are many good things to be said about Ingwenya but we cannot hide from the very obvious disadvantages we work under here, disadvantages which are not present in the Shangani proposal. Ingwenya is in a very small reserve where the population is correspondingly low; there are five different missions working in this small area; we are surrounded by farms on every side which limit our growth; we are near enough to Bulawayo for the bad side of European influence to be felt among the natives.
Owing to so many of our schools being on farms we have had to close four schools during the last seven years. This is one of the most discouraging features of our work here at Ingwenya and it is owing to our closeness to the European farming community.
The school at Oldgates was closed last year and the people have to leave this year. It is hoped that they will see their way to go to Shangani Reserve. The small congregation at Mikie’s kraal, too, are to be scattered, and they have not yet decided where they are to go. These are sore trials for them and for us.
Against that, we are hoping to open a school at Pyramids which is about 10 miles from Nukwa School and about the same distance from Murray Farm. In the event of our getting a school there it will be easy to visit the whole three out-stations in one trip. This is a great advantage from both the views of time and money.
I have given so much space to the question of the Shangani proposal that I cannot take up your time by going into details regarding the several out-stations. They are all in a prosperous way, members having been added to every congregation.
Death has been busy during the year and some of our older members were called away to rest. Our oldest elder, Patrick Nzamo, lost his wife last year. She was most attentive on the means up to the time of her sickness. Patrick, who must be over 80 years is now a lonely old man. He does not preach as often as before, but when he does so, it is with all the old fervour and fire. “When I preach I feel like a race horse, I must go all out or not go at all,” is his comment on his own manner of preaching.
Manali, the mother of John Ntamo, one of our deacons, also died. She was very old and like many of these older natives was quite a character in a way. Before her conversion she had been a hard drinker for at least forty years. One can never forget her, as she stood in church after a service one day, and said that she wanted to join the Bible class. She was told that if she was to be a true convert one of the things that she would have to give up was beer. “Beer,” she said, “I have been drinking for years and years and to you it may seem hard for me to give it up but it is easy. Anything, anything for eternal life. To give up beer is a little thing indeed if I can only secure eternal life.”
About two years ago she was very ill. Everyone, including herself, thought that she was in the last river. She spoke cheerfully of her hope and had great confidence that the Lord would take her to be with himself. We miss these old people not only for their Christianity but for their interesting ways. They have certain traits which refuse to be pressed into any mould. And there is always a freshness about them as they think along their own lines and express their thoughts in their own way and almost unspoilt by the little bit of civilization with which they have come in contact.
A number of interesting items come to mind as I write but there is little space for them. The Lord continues to bless his word and although the trials are many and often heavy yet on casting our eyes over a year’s work we find much more occasion for rejoicing than for sorrowing. To the Lord be the praise.
Ingwenya School continues to flourish both on its academic and spiritual sides. Reports for both academic and industrial work were very satisfactory. Most of the credit for this satisfactory state is due to Mr. Fraser. We greatly regret that he has to leave Ingwenya, as there is really room here for two European teachers.
Having to drive a Native School of over 400 children week after week towards some higher standard than previously attained to, is not easy work. To do this and yet to keep the emphasis on the spiritual mission of the school is even more difficult. Mr. Fraser has demonstrated that a school can be brought up to a high state of proficiency in every one of its lines while keeping in full view the main work of conversion of the children. By word and example he has kept the main issue, conversion of the children to Christ, before teachers and pupils. The number of senior girls professing for the first time was as large last year as the year before and we have much reason to thank the Lord for his evident blessing on our school work.
We had a visit from the Director of Native Education yesterday. He was well pleased with all he saw and heard. He addressed the higher standards and asked the pupils if they had any questions to ask. One girl got up and asked: “Why cannot you as director arrange to keep Mr. Fraser here?” Mr. Fraser goes with our best wishes and acknowledgement of our deep indebtedness to him.
We put up two buildings at Ingwenya last year; one, a house for the Home Demonstrator and another class room. We re-thatched one school-room and have a number more to re-thatch. You will recall that I have not made any application for money for these buildings. They were paid for by various sums received from friends. We were pleased that you consented to put Miss Nicolson’s house in order and both Doctor McDonald and myself had the pleasure of doing what we could for it.
As I write we hear that Miss Nicolson is in Cape Town and she hopes to reach here this week. She is sure of a great welcome and we are grateful to her for taking what might have been a dangerous journey. The Lord has been good to her and to us in bringing her back. We regret that Mrs. Nicolson is not able to return with her but we trust that the way will be opened for her to return soon.
We should like to thank again the many friends who have been mindful of our wants. I might specially mention the St. Jude’s Ladies’ Meeting who have shown such a generous and faithful spirit in keeping up their large contribution despite the war. I thank them not only for the gifts but for the example they have set.
Although we have had no word from you on the matter, I think we are due leave in July and I hope that we will be permitted to go home. There are so many things to be discussed.
I cannot do better than close this somewhat scrappy report by quoting the words at the head of the opening article in our Magazine last month. “Lord disappoint our fears.” It is a good word for a missionary and a good word for a Mission Committee. If we seek to carry on our work at home and abroad in the spirit of that article we will yet see most of our fears laid low. “The Lord of us hath mindful been and he will bless us still.”