href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@37728@[email protected]#Page_351" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">351

Little Nurses. Mianda Village, 359 Batonga Fisher Women, 364 Batonga Village with the Cattle Pens in the Foreground, 404 Cattle Pen of the Batonga, 406 A Batonga Family Traveling, 408 Native Women—Widows, 410 Kabanzi Chief with His First Wife, 412 Giving the Gospel in Macha Village, 414 Macha Mission, 1913, 419 Ruth Taylor, 423 First Christian Marriages at Macha, 426 David Moyo and His Wife and Child, 429 Rev. and Mrs. Kerswell with Native Carriers on a Visit to Macha, 431 Batonga Chiefs, Near Macha Mission, 435 School at Kabanzi Village, 446 Sikaluwa, 456 Brethren in Christ Cottage and Chapel at Johannesburg, 469 Mr. and Mrs. Isaac O. Lehman and Family, 474 Boxburg Mission Station. Built by Mr. Jesse Eyster, 479

PART ONE

MATOPO MISSION

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SOUTH AND SOUTH
CENTRAL AFRICA

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CHAPTER ONE

The Beginning of Missionary Effort

It was at the General Conference held in May, 1894, that the Foreign Missionary Work of the Church of the Brethren in Christ originated.

Previous to that time the old fathers of the church had made many missionary journeys through the United States and Canada for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom and in the interests of the faith they so dearly loved. These journeys were made without remuneration and often with great discomfort and sacrifice of time and money. The precept that the Gospel was free, "without money and without price," seemed so instilled into their hearts that some of them, no doubt, would have felt pained for people to think that they expected money for their services. So while the laity were busy with their own temporal duties, these heralds of the Cross would often leave their little farms in care of their wives and of help, hired at their own expense, and devote weeks and months to evangelistic work, expecting what? Nothing but their food and sometimes sufficient to pay their car fare, if they went by train. But it often happened in those early days that the entire expense of whatever sort was borne by themselves. They looked for no reward on earth save the consciousness that they were about their Master's business and seeking to extend His Kingdom on earth.

Much honor is due those old soldiers for their self-sacrificing labors. In that Great Day when the books are opened, perhaps the record of their labors may astonish some of us who sometimes criticise them for their slowness in launching the foreign missionary work of the Church.

Among them were some who were greatly burdened for the heathen. Some felt this lack of Church activity so keenly that they almost severed their connections with it on this account. Others saw the need, but, realizing the smallness of membership and the limited resources, thought the Church was too weak to launch out into foreign missionary enterprise.

In the meantime individual members were agitating the question, and some were planning to go independently to India and to Central America, while others were contemplating going under other Mission Boards.

While this agitation was going on, the question of foreign mission work was brought forward at the General Conference in May, 1894, held in the Bethel Church, Kansas. On Friday, the last day of the Conference, a paper on the subject was read by Mrs. Rhoda Lee, but no active steps were taken and the question was tabled indefinitely, to the great disappointment of some present. Later, on the same day, Elder J. E. Stauffer arose, and, placing a five-dollar bill on the table, stated that it was