The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1907-08-15

Those who knew Mary McClelland
as a student In Berea will be interested
In reading the following extracts from
letter written by her to Miss Rob
inson. She is now Mrs. Richards.
Her letter tells us what she is doing.
- e. - ..
Africa needs young people, the more
the better Those who have worked
their way through school are espec-
Tally desirable, for they are apt TO
know how to do things, and all kinds
OF training are useful out here where
one must depend upon himself for ev-
erything.
&c. o..
Our teachers are pleading for a
school where nursing and the use Of
home remedies are taught One CT
them came two days journey to ask
us II we couldn't persuade the people
in America TO let them have a school
first, TO train preachers; second, to
train teachers; third, to train farm
ers. carpenters. tailors ard cobbIers.
And he added, ASK them to teach
MS 20 take care OF sick folks. We
Christians don't want to go TO witch
doctors, for we know they are no
good, and it is hard to be left in our
Ignorance to watch our children die
and we not do anything"
Almost every day the heather peo-
pie come 10 us and ask us to cure
them. They say we know so much
more than they that we must be able
TO help them in sickness IL we would.
For cold they can do nothing
but kill chickens and tie the claws
about the patients neck. II in spite
of this. the cold runs into pneumon-
Ia nothing is left but 10 carry the
sufferer out into the woods to die.
The relatives keep away as far as
possible until all is over, lest the
evil spirits that are killing him
should enter into them.
You are quite right 20 call this the
Dark Continent" 1t is darker than
the friends at home can think. These,
surely, are the people who put bitter
for sweet and sweet for bitter and
darkness for light. Near the towns
the natives are beginning to get bit
.of civilization" without Christianity
II is worse. AT present there are no
schools for natives except the mission
schools, and many come TO learn TO
read who care nothing for what the
forth better trained and many use
their training for bad purposes. Il
is from this that mission work gets
its bad name so often. Their light
is not light, but only a worse dark
ness, but the true light is spreading
and in our own district II seems very
rapid now. Every day we have cause
for thanksgiving for the evidence Of
the work of the Holy Ghost among
us.
l send our mission paper to the Ii
brary and that tells quite fully OF our
work and people. When you asked
for letter for the Student Volunteer
Band, | hardly knew how much they
may already know of our work. Only
want to urge them to prepare thor
oughly. The more talents they have
developed. the better, and the more
talents consecrated, the better mis-
sionary.
The past three years We have been
working on the translation of the
Old Testament and have just finished
last month. We have one native who
understands English and Zulu fairly
well. He makes first translation
and then Mr.. Richards and l go over
It. MUTT gets the idiom. but is not
TO be relied upon for the sense al
ways. We complete about forty yers-
es day.
We try to make tour OF the sta
lions once In three months for the
quarterly meetings. but It is quite inn
possible now. We have thirty-three
stations. The farthest south is on
the Limpopo River. ten days tramp
to the south of us. Westward we go
three days and north four and half
days.
have Just written Ethel Todd about
one of our little stations four days
south OF us, which was founded by
the boy whom the Berea Christian
Endeavor society supported for a
year.
These stations grow very much like
yeast germs. each one throwing Off
more and more and they are leaven-
ing the whole country. A man goes
out into the woods anywhere and gets
the chief to allow him gardening space
He builds his own hut and begins
having prayer services morning and
evening At these he sings Justify un
til his neighbors begin to come. Then
he reads a chapter out of his New
Testament and explains 1t with a
wealth OF illustrations from things ali
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