by Rev. A. F. MacKay, M.A., Inverness
* This article sent on request of the Editor. — Editor.
When I arrived on African soil on the morning of Friday, 2nd February this year, after the over-night flight from Heathrow, London, to Salisbury, I was met almost immediately with the trials which await visitors from this country to Rhodesia. The quick transition from the winter’s cold of Inverness to the heavy warmth of Africa left little time for adjustment to the new conditions of climate, change of hour — there being the difference of two hours’ time by which Rhodesia is ahead of Greenwich — and change of food. I suffered from some sleeplessness at first. Even in the rainy season of the year in which I arrived, the nights are close, and when the sun arose a wave of warmth flooded the room and made further sleep impossible. There was the added annoyance of the little Weaver bird, which arrived each morning at my window with daybreak. This small bird of beautiful bright yellow colouring and startlingly black head, is native to Rhodesia, builds its nest to hang like a coconut from the tips of tree branches to protect it from snakes and other natural enemies, and has a particularly harsh, raucous voice. It rapped with its beak loudly and angrily upon the pane and squawked in at the open window. Most visitors, I suppose, suffer from some sleeplessness. There is a deficiency of calcium in the soil which has to be supplemented in the feeding of cattle and sheep. Some large calcium tablets, supplied by our minister’s wife at Zenka, soon removed this inconvenience. The flies are troublesome, and irritating with their persistent attentions, but are comparatively harmless. The mosquitoes, which abound, are Malaria carriers, and are a real danger. They bring out large, hard weals on the ankles and legs, among the hair of the head, and get under the clothing to attack the arms and shoulders. These trials soon passed, however, and I was able with more comfort to attend to the work for which the Church at home had asked me to visit Rhodesia.
After a brief stop at Ingwenya, which is about 30 miles from the Bulawayo Airport and stands at the entrance to our Rhodesian Mission field, where I spoke on my first Sabbath in Rhodesia to the first all African congregation of my tour, I went on a further 90 miles to Zenka in the north west part of the country. Zenka divides with the Mbuma centre, only 30 miles away, the management of the greater part of our Mission schools, 13 being under Zenka and 15 under Mbuma. Our Mission schools lie within the wide Nkai Tribal Trust Land, and are scattered along the Lupani Valley which stretches roughly between Zenka and Mbuma; others lie to the north, on each side of the Shangani River; and the remaining schools are on the eastern border. The most remote of our schools is Makasane, which lies about 60 miles to the north east from Zenka. I set out with Rev. D. Campbell to visit the Zenka schools, and with little variation the same order of procedure was observed throughout. Usually, we arrived by car from Zenka some time after ten in the morning and went round the class rooms. The children in the upper classes revealed in their questions a strong curiosity about this country, and as the class gathered around a map of the world, I tried to satisfy their thirst for information by referring to facts of geography, history, farming, wild life, etc., but before long, the talk drifted to the Reformation, incidents in the Covenanting struggle in Ayrshire, and the more recent past of our own church. It was a moving sight to look upon the closely crowded dark faces with large, expressive eyes following with the greatest attention all that their teacher told them as he interpreted what was said.
As the time of service drew near, a boy was sent out to a tree in the school compound, from which a piece of iron was suspended, a bar of metal or a piece of plough, or what proved most effective for the purpose, a curved piece of railway line perforated with holes, which was beaten with an iron rod to summon the people from the surrounding district to the service. I found it easy to speak, and often had to discard the prepared address, for a spontaneous talk on the greatest truths of the gospel, expressed in the simplest terms, as the feeling of the moment found utterance. The presence of an interpreter in no way interfered with the discourse. When any wandering of attention became apparent among the children, an interesting illustration or incident from Bunyan’s great Christian classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, was sufficient to secure their interest once more. When the service was over, I met the people and the children as they were leaving to greet each one of them personally. It was amusing to see the efforts of the youngest and shyest of the children try to sneak past me without giving me their hand, but not many of them escaped. Many of these services were held in the open in the shade of a Chabela, or Igonde, or Mapaneni tree. May the Lord bless the gospel to the children especially; they have many advantages and privileges denied to their parents, and may these under the Lord’s blessing lead many of them to devote themselves to lives of Christian usefulness.
On the way back from one of these Mission schools at Ncube, we turned off the main track leading down to the Shangani River, to visit a copper mine. The engineer spoke of quite large deposits in the small area where the mine was placed, and pointed to evidence of great antiquity which showed that the mine must have been worked in pre-historic, possible biblical times. What was left of a Mopani beam, possibly many centuries old, which was part of the wooden platform from which the miners worked, jutted out from the main shaft. Marks made by chisels could be discerned on the wall face itself, and small tunnels led into the rock where the richer veins of copper were followed. Flat stones with finger marks had been discovered on the site which were evidently used with the chisels to dig out the copper. In a series of large, shallow tanks, the copper metal passed through the various stages of being separated and purified, and in the final tank acid, which brings no reaction from copper itself, was applied to remove other minerals. To us it was most interesting. No trace of this mine can be found evidently in any of the oldest surviving survey maps of the district. Is it beyond the bounds of serious speculation to think that among the sources of precious metals which were brought from the ends of the earth to enrich the vast empire of King Solomon, this small mine, once again brought into production by modern mining methods, may have had a place? Mr Campbell enquired how religious services might be provided for the African miners, who lived in kraals nearby and spent their Sabbaths in idleness, beer drinking and quarreling. The engineer, though not greatly interested in religion, readily welcomed this offer to provide religious ordinances for his men, as a means of awakening interest in more wholesome activities and introducing some seriousness into the lives of these improvident Africans.
In the conditions that face our missionaries today in Rhodesia, many problems press for attention. During my short stay on the Mission field, observing the difficulties under which they have to labour, it seemed to me that one of the features that is found among every heathen people can be discerned at work here as well, that is, the depressed state of heathen African women. It shows itself in many ways. In the native kraals women have few rights. Should a child be taken ill, and its survival depend upon immediate medical attention, the mother will make no move or come to any decision while the husband is absent from the home. I saw a child of five months old who had suffered from diarrhoea for three weeks which weakened his strength and brought severe dissication which injured the top of his skull, brought at last to the clinic, when the husband, who had been away from home, returned to give his verdict. We called also at the Kraal of a very sick man who was dying with cancer, yet professed to be a Christian and a member of the London Missionary Society, although two wives still lived with him. From the unhappy atmosphere pervading the kraal and the hardened aspect of the wives, it was evident that the system of polygamy, still strongly entrenched in even so called Christian districts of the country, was a source of unhappiness to the husband and of degradation to the wives. It was a pleasure to meet our own mission people and to visit their kraals, where, in contrast, the fruits of the gospel could be seen in the happy relations of the members of the family, in which the wife was given her rightful place.
A further source of anxiety to our missionaries arises from the policies of the Rhodesian Government relating to education. Undoubtedly, the community development scheme by which community councils are encouraged to take over control of local affairs, including schools, has arrested educational development in mission areas, and severely restricted the opening of new schools, however badly they may be required. For this reason the scheme is not popular with the people. In some districts schools are badly placed to serve the community, and in others there are enough people living to justify the opening of a school, but, till a community council has been formed, the educational department will not move. The chiefs have also been given enlarged powers, and generally the scheme has a hindrance to mission work.
A more ominous development, however, has recently appeared in Salisbury. The Prime Minister, Mr Ian Smith, is reported in the press to be having trouble with what might be termed the left wing of his party, the extremists who wish to sever all ties with Britain. “Anything that smacks of the 1961 Constitution — Mr Wilson’s six principles, for instance — is anathema to them. They are suspicious of any negotiation with Britain and would regard a settlement on the basis of the six principles as a sell-out.” They look to South Africa for guidance in the problems of race relations in the way of separate development within Rhodesia. This struggle within the party has been going on for a long time, but now seems to have come out into the open. One Salisbury M.P. has been suspended for six months, and the chairman of his constituency council has been expelled from the party for expressing these views. If the policy of Apartheid is implemented here, it will add immeasurably to the difficulties of our missionaries.
Before I left for Mbuma in the first week of March, the communion was held at Zenka on the last Sabbath of February in beautiful weather, which was not too hot to be oppressive, and in the open air under the spreading branches of a large Chabela tree where the elders made the necessary preparations for the Lord’s people to gather together to observe the Saviour’s parting command to his people to remember his death till he come. As far as in this part of the Church was appropriate, the preparatory services were held as in our home congregations. I had the opportunity of meeting our aged elders, men of grave, dignified appearance, who had spent many years in the Master’s service and were familiar with the mysteries of divine grace. The ministers on the mission field were present with Mr Campbell presiding over the arrangements. On Saturday, we had the pleasure of listening to Rev. A. Ndebele preach from the consolatory words of Christ which have given reassurance and strength to many of the Lord’s people in their seasons of doubt and fear: “Fear, not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” I believe they were found helpful to many on this occasion too. On the Sabbath morning the sermon dealt with the Saviour’s work, sufferings and reward, as predicted in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, listened to by a congregation of 600, half of whom were school children. Two tables were served at which about 80 communicants sat down, the largest number to do so at any one time up to this date in the Zenka congregation, perhaps even throughout the mission. On Sabbath evening Rev. P. Mzamo preached a most appropriate sermon on the words of our Saviour: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” — Matt. XI, verse 28, a sermon most suited to the young which we pray may be blessed to the children who listened that evening so attentively to these gracious words being expounded and enforced by the Lord’s servant. This large gathering of people, quite as large as the mornings, broke up as the early dusk began to descend. On Monday, the closing sermon dealt with the pleasure of the Lord which would prosper in the hand of the Saviour.
In the discussions which followed these communion services, one of our younger elders asked me about the conditions of success in which the Gospel might be expected to be blessed to a congregation, no doubt having in view the past history of disturbance in the Zenka congregation, when class rooms were burned down and people greatly agitated, by the actions of some foolish youths. I enumerated these as necessary at least, the full unrestricted proclamation of the Gospel in which the whole counsel of God must be clearly unfolded; the prayers of the exercised among the Lord’s people, in public but especially at a throne of grace in private, which has always preceded any special work of the Holy Spirit; and a period of peace to create the evangelical atmosphere in which the Holy Spirit may be expected to visit a congregation with his saving influences, for like the dew He descends in the silence of the night or like the dove which flees from the scene of strife. The man who put the question expressed himself satisfied and again, when I met him at his own house the following day, he again mentioned the subject, and wished to discuss it further as a matter which had been exercising his mind. I think that when the minister of Zenka congregation has such men in his congregation who think along these lines, he has cause for great thankfulness to the Lord and reason for hope for the future of his congregation.
Rhodesia is a beautiful country. The tree clad ridges and hollows that are spread out from Mbuma towards the north and the clear peaceful evening sky remind me so much of the Northern Highlands. That Rhodesia suffers greatly from the vagaries of weather and climate is evident from the sandy soil, the sparse vegetation, and the terrible inroads caused by soil erosion which breaks up the trails we have to follow to reach the mission schools. The thoughtless actions of the people in denuding the countryside of all protective covering and growth such as bushes and trees is responsible for this damage to the soil. Some of the “dongas”, as they are called, especially north of Mbuma, may be eight or nine feet deep, large enough to accommodate the foundation of a small house. Rain came too early last year at the beginning of the rainy season in November, and is now by several weeks overdue. The well is beginning to run low in the only bore hole supplying the Mbuma Mission. God reminds us that the control of the elements is in His hands. We pray that the “Glorious Gospel of the Blessed God” may be owned to the salvation of many here. We have met the greatest kindness and friendliness in every part of the mission field we have so far visited; the members of the European Staff have been kindness itself, and to those among them with whom we have stayed, we wish to express our heart-felt thanks for innumerable acts of kindness. For our Rhodesian African friends we pray that the seed sown will be found after many days.