By the Rev. JOHN TALLACH.
The Convener, F.P. Church Foreign Mission, Edinburgh.
My Dear Mr. McIntyre.—Although our mission here is not large, yet it is not so small as to remain untouched by the changes brought through a state of war. We had promised to begin new work in two districts this year and when we found ourselves unable to fulfil our word we felt troubled enough. Our main anxiety, however, was in connection with the work on hand. With the coming of war many things became uncertain and we found ourselves facing a number of formidable obstacles. Mr. Fraser wanted to go home and join the Forces; Miss Nicolson’s return was unavoidably delayed; we ourselves had already prepared to go home; all Europeans here had to register for military service; there were fears that the Government would not be able to give grants on their former generous scale; books and school supplies went up in price; petrol, so necessary for the visitation of out-stations, went up to 2/8 a gallon; our car was fast reaching the stage when any visit to an out-station might prove very expensive, and the high taxation and cost of living in the home church were among the things which entered into our very foundations and set them rocking.
We can now take a look round and it is with thankfulness that we see our building not only standing but stronger than ever. Money from the General Treasurer has come regularly though sometimes very late, and the grants from Salisbury have remained unchanged. We have also been able to ordain a number of office-bearers. The ordination of office-bearers in out-stations must be regarded as a great step forward. Up until now all office-bearers were connected with Ingwenya only, and on this account the work generally was much handicapped. Fit men were there but we preferred to wait until they were tried over a long period before giving them the responsibility to rule in the “House.” We ordained two deacons at Shangani, one deacon at Zenka, one elder and one deacon at Murray Farm, and one elder and one deacon at Nukwa. We have had also an election of office-bearers for other stations. These are: For Elibeni, one elder and one deacon; for Olgate’s, one deacon; for Ingwenya, two elders and four deacons; for Ntabenende, one deacon; for Gwisani, one deacon. Changes in the staffing of four schools have been effected, too. Let us go into particulars.
Murray Farm—Ordination of one elder and one deacon and one teacher added to staff.
Philemon, who has been elected elder here has proved himself faithful over a long period and through many changes. Unsuccessful in 1925 in obtaining permission to build a meeting-house on the farm on which he lived he realised his desire in 1926. But the meeting-house and school stood for one year only; the farmer proved unfriendly. So 1927 found Philemon building a new school on Murray Farm not far from his home, and here a school and congregation was built up. But again in 1936 all the people were shifted from off this farm. Part of the people obtained land nearby and built the school which is now called Nukwa. Led by Philemon, the others went 10 miles further on to Ivighe, where, after a year they were again on the move, but not for such a distance this time. They went to Elisani where they now are. Here Philemon built up a congregation as large as the original one at Murray Farm while the school has progressed so well that another room had to be built and another teacher added. The rebuilding of schools is not difficult, but the power to encourage a disappointed people; to shepherd a scattered flock and yet increase it and to make a school popular among natives are gifts which are not possessed by everyone.
Simon has been ordained deacon at Murray Farm. Not quite so resourceful as Philemon, he is yet a gifted man. He preaches at Elisani while Philemon goes to another district to break new ground.
The new teacher at Elisani is Betty Mafa, who is of N.P.L.3 qualification. She taught at Ingwenya for 14 years but having a fairly large family she wished work in a side school. We sent her to Elisani where she fits in very well. “It is a pleasure to visit this school,” said the inspector’s report last year.
Nukwa—Ordination of one elder and one deacon.
Sitole has been ordained elder here. The whole mission life; church, school and community, seems to meet in this one man. So thoroughly has he devoted himself to its interests that his normal work appears as no more than a side-line in his life. Even heathen people come to him for help and guidance and their children are often more cared for by Sitole than by their own parents. Regarding life in this light everything is serious to him and nothing unimportant. He sees the Kingdom and its interests in everything. If from Scripture it can be proved that Sitole is in the wrong then the most humble and full apology follows immediately. On the other hand, if Satan is active in any way, at once Sitole springs to counter whatever move he is making. To this man, the will of the Lord must be done without parley or delay. A man of this kind will make difficulties for himself, but by grace he will be able to live very near to his Lord. Here is something which reveals the whole man.
At the time when Sitole wanted to join the church he was already a married man with a number of children. His marriage was legal although it had not been performed after the Christian form. Knowing that we required this before examination by the Kirk Session along with his wife he left home one morning and arrived at Ingwenya. Here they found that they would require an enabling certificate from the Native office which they had passed some way back. Off they set the twenty-eight miles, returning to Ingwenya the next day. Then they went on to Bulawayo to buy some clothes returning to Ingwenya for the ceremony. That concluded, they returned home; the whole distance covered in the four days being 214 miles. Actually Sitole did not require to do this as he could easily have waited on our visit to his district. But being married in a Christian way was to him a matter of the will of the Lord.
“The king’s business required haste.” When the time of the marriage drew near I went up to the church to see if all were ready. No one was there but on hearing a voice and looking into the church I saw Sitole on his knees earnestly asking a blessing on his marriage, as if he were but entering into that relationship for the first time. He had been married for long enough to make up half of the average married life, but his asking a blessing was no strange thing to him. It was natural and normal. He was determined to set the Lord always before him in everything. He keeps a note of everything affecting his charge and on my arrival he sets out each item in order before me. With an emphatic movement of the hand he asks for approval or advice as the case may be. Some of his flock were troubled by the Seventh Day Adventist people. Sitole seriously considered a plan to counter them. On my arrival he had his cure ready; a drastic one but we went through with it and the trouble ceased immediately.
Samuel, whom we have ordained as deacon here, is a young man. He is very intelligent and takes his duties very seriously. The collections, the buildings, the school plot and other things are already the better of his oversight.
Inkai—Ordination of two deacons and the addition of one teacher to staff.
We have ordained Alexander Ndiyamabombo and Unyati. Alexander has been teacher here since 1926 when he came from Lovedale. It must have been an unpleasant experience for him to begin living among people who were wholly heathen. The place too was soaking with fever and each summer he went down with this dangerous illness. It was natural that he should seek a change after three years or so. I pointed out, however, that his being a Christian was of itself a sufficient argument for him to stay on. The heathen needed such people as he. He prayed about it and came to see his duty on the matter and he stayed on. The Lord brought a great change over the community and more than once Alexander has referred to that early decision in the following words, “I will ever praise the Lord for enabling me to stay on here, I have seen much of His work and will yet see more.” He has been in Inkai for 16 years now and he still gets his bouts of fever, but there is no word of his leaving now. Alexander counts for something big in the community. I often think of his influence at Inkai as something like that which was felt in the Highlands through the dominie in bye-gone days. In his Bible lessons to the children he gets so close up to the problems of their home life that for the moment a listener forgets that the children he is talking with belong to others. There was a crying need for another teacher in Inkai but we failed to send one last year. Jositina Ngabaza, one of our Ingwenya members has gone there. She is standard 6 and among other things she will teach sewing. There was no need to teach this subject a few years back for nearly everyone was naked.
Zenka—Ordination of one deacon.
Paul Mangai is the deacon we have ordained here. At Zenka neither the school nor the congregation is large yet during the last three years there has been progress, and the credit for that, on the human side, goes to Paul. Another man, Moyo, helps him in the preaching and this has left Paul free to open up another preaching station at a place not far from Lonely Mine. We have not been able to visit the station yet, but reports say that congregations are large and that the time has come for an examination of intending members and that there are enough children to begin a school with.
Gwisanani.
We have had no election of office-bearers here yet, but we shall have one shortly. Although he is very active and still able to cycle 25 miles to preach, Isaiah Nyati, our elder here, is now getting old. He needs helpers and as there is a number of suitable men to choose from he shall have them. Isaiah fought under Lobengula against the British and he is still a fighter. There are no half-measures with him. Lately some Seventh Day Adventists came to his district. He was thoroughly displeased and went to the chief and asked him to call a meeting of the whole community. Then he sent a challenge to the S.D.A. people. They accepted. The debate began by their calling on anyone to prove from the very words of Scripture that the Sabbath was changed from the last day of the week to the first. When Isaiah got up, he asked them to leave that question for the present. He then spoke of the other errors of which this body is guilty and of which they are less inclined to speak. Then he read the 10th Chapter of Hebrews giving a commentary step by step. As he moved on, one after another of the positions along the dispensational line was demolished. Then he came to the Sabbath question. On taking a vote the S.D.A. party was so much in the minority that the Chief felt strong enough to order them out of the district. There has been no more trouble there from them.
But Isaiah is not only a fighter. He believes in the power of prayer. Despite the entreaties of both father and mother, his eldest son took to beer drinking. Finding the lad alone one evening Isaiah called a number of the church people into the hut and having closed the door he then announced that they were to have a prayer meeting specially for his son. The meeting started. It did not proceed far when the young man began to weep, then he confessed his sin and finally asked the people to continue praying for him as he now wanted to give up drunkenness. He was cured. Dolly Nyati, a daughter of Isaiah’s is in her final year Teacher Training and if we can send her to Gwesani she should prove a help to her father.
Elibeni—Election of one elder and one deacon.
The elder to be elected is Thomson Mazwi, and the deacon is called Isimangaliso or Unyati. Unyati is a quiet and sincere man who has never much to say. He was called upon to lead in prayer one day and this is something like what he said, “Oh, Lord thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I am called on to pray; thou knowest that my heart is not in a good frame to pray in public to-day, but thou knowest the desires for thy kingdom which are there everyday. Answer these, for Christ’s sake, Amen.”
Oldgates—Election of one deacon.
You will remember that we had to close the school here about two years ago as the people had word to shift elsewhere. They had not to go however, and we continued our preaching there as usual. Amos, one of our Ingwenya deacons cycles there each Sabbath but the main-stay of the congregation is a man named James Mpofu. James has the softest possible smile but when he has to rebuke it is done with all the force of a very forcible character. But he rules his people just like a father and they love him. He is to be ordained deacon.
Ntabenende—Election of one deacon.
Ndhlouv is a small, somewhat frightened looking man who out of weakness has built up a good congregation with about 30 members and a two-teacher school. He is to be made a deacon.
Ingwenya—Election of two elders and four deacons.
The elders in this case are John Ntamo and Amos Ngombane. The deacons are Daniel, Madema, Mhlanga, and Simon.
I have made these elections and ordinations the basis of this report for I believe that more than anything else that I may write, they will show something of our growing strength. Instead of a number of out-stations clinging loosely to Ingwenya we have set each station now on its own feet. Soon each one will have a kirk-session of its own and each will be worked from Ingwenya. Before this all were worked by Ingwenya. We feel thankful and take courage. I have mentioned the names of these men in the hope that our home people will be able to take a closer interest in them and so be able better to plead the Lord’s cause at Ingwenya.
Visitation of out-stations.
All out-stations were visited four times with the exceptions of Inkai and Zenka which were visited three times. Communion services were held on nearly every visit, congregations show an increase and members have been added to the roll at all stations. What is left to report I shall set down under the following headings.
Ingwenya School—Addition of one teacher to staff.
Simon, one of our congregation and now qualified as a teacher took up duties at Ingwenya as teacher. He has taken over the whole of the teaching of gardening and is likely to make a good job of it. He did not begin work until the rainy season was well advanced and so did not get the full benefit of the rain. Yet he has done well and with a full season next year he will likely do better. Teachers and boarders are now supplied with vegetables and his teaching is on sound lines. Winter watering is our problem at present. When there is wind we do not so badly, but in order to keep the garden going through the winter we require another storage tank. In the belief that the committee will be sympathetic I have purchased another 1,000 gallon tank and will expect to have the money refunded from the “Well Fund.” The price all over is £9 10s.
Future Teachers for Mission Schools.
While Simon is the first boy to be sent by us to a Rhodesian Training Centre we are to continue to send more. One boy is now in teacher training and we have four boys from Kraal schools who will be sent when they pass Std. 6. The benefit of our having trained teachers for our schools and from our own mission is too obvious to require comment.
Ingwenya Boarding School; Heart work among the girls.
We thank the Lord that He has not left us without very clear indications of how He regards the work in the Boarding School. These indications are of the clearest; they say quite plainly “Go on.” Over forty girls made a public confession of conversion at Ingwenya last year. Mrs. Radasi has had to give up the work of House mother but her daughter-in-law has taken her place and she fills it very well.
Some Events.
We were very sorry to lose Mr. Fraser for we would have kept him here if we could. We are glad however, that when he had to leave us he did not have to go very far away. The work is congenial to him. He is in charge of a Teacher Training Centre. This is one of the most important activities of the Native Development Department and it is pleasing to feel assured that at least at one of these centres the Gospel in all its fulness is regularly set before these future teachers. Mr. Fraser comes to all our communions and continues to contribute to our funds and we have the hope that although his connection with us has been interrupted it will be resumed when the Lord opens the way.
Miss Nicolson’s Return.
We all thought Miss Nicolson very brave in her return to us through the ocean battle-area. She got a real Ingwenya welcome. Over 300 children strung out along the road from the mission gate waited to cheer her back to work. We are grateful to her for coming when she did, as some parts of the girls’ work were beginning to suffer through her absence.
Mrs. Nicolson’s Return.
I think that the home-coming extended to Mrs. Nicolson by our oldest elder will show something of what we all felt. Patrick (86 years old) went into her house, said not a word, shook no hands, but dropped on his knees and in Mrs. Nicolson’s presence poured out his heart in thanksgiving to God for her safe arrival. Only after having done this did he shake her hand. The whole community, African and European sighed a deep sigh of thankfulness for her providential escape from the hands of the Huns. Mrs. Nicolson is now busy each day with Stds. 5 and 6, and a great help to the industrial side of the school work.
The New Car.
We were preparing to go to Shangani and had gone into town to get some needed repairs done to the car, when on the way home, the whole hand-brake carriage fell off on to the road. Later that evening all the lights gave out. We had to borrow a car for that visit. On our return we made the matter known to the committee, but we had little hope that friends would be in a position to help us in the matter. Thanks for the new car. To us it is another token that you will help us if you possibly can. The new car is a $\frac{1}{2}$ ton vanette and we find it useful for taking goods from town and from the station. When visiting out-stations too we find it handy to sleep in. Thanks to all friends who have made its purchase possible.
Old Friends.
Despite hard times all our old friends have sent us generous help through the year. We thank the Raasay children for providing prizes; Vancouver Sabbath School for helping us to build another teachers’ hut; Kames congregation for giving us doors for school-rooms and tables for the dining-room; The St. Jude’s Ladies’ Meeting and the Winnipeg Ladies and Mrs. Miller for again sending us money and material for needlework. And to all others who directly or through the General Treasurer helped us by prayer, encouragement and money over the 365 difficult days that now lie back in 1940 we send thanks. May the Lord cause His countenance to shine on you each and all.
New Friends.
Most heartily do we welcome friends in Toronto who have formed themselves into a fellowship to help forward the work of the mission. We wish them great joy in this new service of theirs. We thank Mrs. Nicolson for doing so much to bring the mission and its interests before these Canadian friends.
New Work Awaiting.
Three new schools are waiting to be opened and it is our prayer that the Lord will put into the hearts of friends such sympathy as will enable us to fulfil our promises to these expectant people. All three places are preaching stations and schools should be opened as soon as possible.
Ingwenya and the war.
A good number of our home-men are in Rhodesia in connection with the Empire Training Scheme and I wrote to Mr. McIntyre asking him to put a notice in the Magazine so that parents might help us to get in touch with any belonging to our church. I got no reply and so conclude that the letter went missing. I know that there is a number from the Highlands among these men and that some of them belong to the Free Church but wanting the information asked for I cannot say whether there are any of our people among them or not. If we could be of help to even one, we should feel it an honour.
A special prayer-meeting for the war is held regularly at Ingwenya. It is conducted by the office-bearers and definite prayer is made for spiritual revival and victory. It is not a large meeting but we always have something over the “two or three” to whom is promised the blessing of the Lord’s presence. A large number of natives have been called up for labour on military buildings and on our finding that some of our men were among that number we encouraged them to begin services among their fellow labourers. They were keen on doing this. At first the meeting was small, but now they have to hold the meetings in the dining room. There are various Associations by which we may get wool for knitting and we hope to make a beginning after the winter holidays. We expect that the Boarders will be able to knit over 100 pairs of socks before the end if next term. The making of other suitable woollens for soldiers will be undertaken too.
Some Figures.
There are 14 elders and 14 deacons. Children in all mission schools number 1,200. Native teachers 26. Grants in aid £766. Wages paid to African teachers £690. Boarders’ Fees paid £212. Ingwenya contributions £35. Used in boarding school, 36,000 lbs meal, 2,000 lbs. sugar, 52 goats, 1,800 candles. While over the whole mission there were 1,800 yards of material used for needlework.
As I write, word has come from Mr. Beaton and he expects to pay us a visit shortly. His visit will cheer us up and we expect that he will be able to take notes of our work which should prove useful to both the committee and ourselves.
These are days of heavy stress and intense agitation alike to God’s people and to others. But despite these abnormal distractions the Church finds herself moving on in the same direction as before—towards the coming Kingdom. At the back of this gracious persistence lies the Holy Spirit and His work; at the back of that is Calvary and back of all things is the purpose of God. The Church seeks the kingdom only because the purposes of God seek it, and in this way the church, by pressing on in the spirit of “this one thing I do,” displays the constancy and power of God’s purposes.
Nations, one after the other, are being overturned in almost monotonous regularity yet God moves on without hesitation. Houses, homes, plans and prospects crash and bestrew the paths of individuals yet the Church moves steadily on to her main work. “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” is ever her spur and her goal. The destruction of earthly things gives rise to cries urgent and imperative; cries which, as good Christians, we cannot be indifferent to; but the still small voice, “to every creature” is of Heaven. It bows in silence to no earthly calamity, however awful, however devastating. May we daily hear this voice, daily come under the responsibility and privilege of fulfilling its command. In war or peace “the Gospel” for ourselves. In war or peace, by the Church and through the Holy Spirit, “The Gospel to every creature.” To hear this command, to keep it clearly before our minds, to continue to obey it joyfully is the supreme test of the Church of Christ in these days.
I cannot close this report without a message of sympathy from all of us, Africans and Europeans alike. We read, but we cannot understand all that you are called upon to undergo these days. Never before were the sure things of the Gospel so precious to you; never before were the earthly and spiritual worlds so completely separated before you. It is our prayer that the Lord of grace will lay of spiritual comforts to your hearts so as to compensate you for all the anxiety you now feel.
Others of you who will read this report are serving with one of our three Forces. We assure you that never an hour passes without our thinking of you. We bear your safety and your victory daily before the throne of Jesus. Above all we carry your souls’ interests before Him and plead that His grace will so be extended to you as that you may receive His Holy Spirit. Quite plainly we see your most urgent need to be, “repentance towards God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ.” Quite clearly too we see that you cannot procure these of yourselves. So it is our prayer that the Lord of grace will visit you with them.
I regret that this report will be late for the Synod, but I hope that the committee will be able to consider anything of importance it contains. Thanks for giving me permission to retain last year’s grants to pay our passages home. The full grants (£100 School grant and £175 Medical grant) will be sent to Mr. Grant as soon as the medical grants arrive. These are a bit late.