THE following is the letter read at the recent Synod by the Rev. Neil Cameron when giving the Foreign Mission Report:—
C/O NATIVE COMMISSIONER, BEMBESI,
MATABELELAND, SOUTH AFRICA, 4th October, 1910.
MY DEAR MR. CAMERON,—In my last letter I told you that we had an epidemic of measles here, 45 of our school children suffering from it out of a total of 71. We had to close the school for a time. Through the mercy of God, the measles have now abated, and we have opened the school again. The two Mashona boys staying with me also suffered from it, and my little girl too had a very serious attack, but I am thankful to say, through the kindness of God, all are now out of danger. We only lost one school child through it—a little girl about ten years of age, and two babies belonging to women of our congregation. That the losses were not greater is a matter to be much thankful for to the Most High, considering the number that were ill with it. As one woman of our congregation remarked during the measles epidemic, “We are sinners, and we provoke the Lord every day with our sins; this reminds me how easy it is for the Lord to sweep us all out of existence in a moment of time.”
The uncivilized natives were very thankful for the clothes sent. The clothes were distributed in a very careful manner, only to those who were really desirous of coming to church and had no clothes to come with. And a few also were given to the Lord’s poor who were entirely destitute. They wish me to thank our Church and our people who contributed towards them. They were very suitable for the climate here. The destitute school boys were also glad to get their shirts.
The Government disappointed us in the matter of well-sinking. Mr. Lanning, the Magistrate, had said that the Government had consented to dig a well free for the benefit of the people living in the native reserve, and we thanked Mr. Lanning for the interest and trouble that he had taken in the matter. Mr. Lanning now says that the Government are willing to give us a box of dynamite and two boxes of detonators and fuses free of charge, if we will dig the well ourselves.
I also said in my last report that we had opened a new station at Florida Mine, and David Ntuli goes there and preaches every Sabbath. It is about twelve miles from our mission here, and is a very quiet mine as they do not work there on the Sabbath day. It is a thing to be very thankful for to the Lord for having opened us a way there. The manager of the mine is himself interested that the natives should get the Gospel preached to them. He said that it would be a good thing, too, if they could be taught to read, and he gave me full liberty to go and preach to them as often as I wished—or if I cannot come myself, to send some one
belonging to our Church to preach to them there. And so David Ntuli goes every Sabbath there and holds two services. We have as yet no building of our own there, and the manager has kindly lent us a large hut to keep the services in. There is also a heathen kraal close to the mine. This kraal has also been visited, and the people there asked to attend the services—some of them are attending them. I was only there one Sabbath to preach to them, and the natives there seemed to listen very attentively and some of them seemed deeply impressed. There were also present several uncivilized men and women from the kraal close by. There is also another kraal (a kraal is a collection of huts), where the man lives who was baptized by Mr. Mackay. The kraal is about three miles from our Mission. This kraal used to be on a farm, but they have moved from there and are now living in the native reserve, where we can go and preach to them at any time. The man that Mr. Mackay baptized said to me that the young men and women could walk to the services here every Sabbath, as it is only a short distance, but he wished us to visit the kraal and preach to the old men and women who are not able to walk to the church. Services are also kept there occasionally, and I have also been there myself twice on a week-day and one Sabbath to preach to them. Some of them are also sending their children to school.
I still continue the practice of giving Bibles to those who have learned to read them. I think it is a very good custom to do so, as this is a mission school, and our main object in keeping a school is that they might learn to read their Bibles for themselves. It is there that they can learn the doctrine of our utter Ruin by the Fall, Redemption by the blood of Christ, and Regeneration by the Holy Ghost. These are doctrines absolutely necessary to be taught the heathen for salvation.
The heathen natives also need to be taught the Bible doctrines, just as they are, without the slightest modification. It is very, very sad to think that some of those who are sent to teach the heathen put these doctrines in the background; and I am just sending you a cutting from the Bulawayo Chronicle to see for yourselves the state of things here. The subject chosen to address the children on a Sabbath afternoon in a church was “Killing a snake in Australia.” Is that a subject suitable to be addressed to children in a church on the Sabbath day? Would it not have been better to tell those children of their ruined and helpless condition by nature and of their need of the Holy Spirit to quicken them and to enable them to embrace Christ Jesus freely offered to them in the Gospel?
Services are all still carried on Bembesi and Koco every Sabbath. The opening up of new places amongst the uncivilized natives in these heathen kraals means an additional expense to us here, as we have to put up buildings for them to hold the service in, and these thatched buildings constantly need renewing. The
white ants are very destructive to the grass and to the poles; they eat them up and the house falls down. Now at Koco this is the second hut that we have now built, and our people here paid for it. Now the Bembesi church is falling down altogether; it needs new poles and re-thatching all over before the rainy season and re-plastering; and at Ngwenya also, where I am, three of the Mission huts need re-thatching and re-plastering; and I have to see that all the Mission huts are in good condition before the rainy season.
I must now conclude. With kindest regards to you, etc.—
Yours sincerely, J. B. RADASI.