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PURCHASED BY THE HAMILL MISSIONARY FUND. BV 3280 .D52 B84 1926 Building on the Rock ¥ he ai (eeu: - oJ ‘ > Fd ' ‘ ’ y : & : 2 ' J | : ' ; J ‘ A ’ i Y eS P af uote. y a ie 4 = oils ay : BUILDING ON THE ROCK uoHeIg OMsyesueaq eEMeYH For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ—I Cor. 3:11. An account of the first quarter of a century of mis- sion work done by the American Mennonite Mission, Hhamtarr. 6. rie India 1899 — 1924 Written by the missionaries. MENNONITE PUBLISHING HOUSE Scottdale, Pennsylvania The Tree Underneath which Bro. Ressler and Bro. A. D. Wenger First Lived in an Improvised Hut Copyright, 1926, by Mennonite Publishing House DEDICATION To the workers of The American Mennonite Mission both Tretian and American who have laid down their hves in the service that Christ might be made known to the people in the field of The American Mennonite Mission this volume is affectionately dedicated J. S. Shoemaker, President of the Mennonite Evangelizing and Benevolent Board at the time of the merger of this Board with the Mennonite Board of Charitable Homes and Missions in May, 1906, became the secretary of the consolidated Bcard which has since that time been known as the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities. He held this position until 1921, when he was succeeded as secre- tary by S. C. Yoder, ‘the present incumbent, since which time he has been a member of the Executive or Mission Committee. 3ro. Shoemaker was delegated by the General Mission Board to visit the mission field of the American Mennonite Mission at Dham- tari, India. Accompanied by Bro. J. S. Hartzler, he spent six months in India, 1910-11. Chapter VI. VIL. VIIL. IX, ne Kl xi XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. CONTENTS Page lpdhamarnnnteldeywyid nooks S1ypncy eon, Serer ere ep San ony pee 9 SEC NINOS Ol Liem VV OL kit) LNC1ae.c, sens. cus pos 13 Pe eta iow ee OLCTO I Pal OU dD Caye..cert, cents 2h 18 MCL ON Ope CMG LOWanee, sues dies. ,siesee eercr stern 27 heer aya babee Maat (Elaphe ab bay wh co ea ee ha eer 4] PU eCtwe la 1S GAIGIN bviircs tamer, Mectasyeeeetccttes tea. 54 Parone eieLl OMLCLESS ene: er tes tecsescers sees ence 69 BA emevidti Toit pO melt ca Miia vet tir veers sepa 89 Age be hei ter Wal eqci via ¥en Leh uel aise ha eady in ee eA 103 TOTMEB Ure Cag ad aVsy Nl Bea ees Pepe wires Lee ren RRA oer ene 116 WM CripkaeenT OL On tC Ie CDG Snes mactees A recteene nace: -k 126 aie sedi ote licie a VV OG creat. tt scree oot cack 137 eiemeLaiie ISilem OW LISSION ALLIES wees. eaytae cess 143 TES WYS a SAK ace Brg Ae asi rian ee PSOE 2 ere rm 154 tee RADICAL GD CLOUCSIO tere sestcs facecctafeeatesctetoee 8: 174 PLU ELLLCME LE) AU ameerses eceat ct etrnree acs cc sponte ates 189 oho Wega giethalds Thole) ia Fe ppm cteese tlre res Sirti t SeaeE 193 Appendix Geo. L. Bender was appointed Secretary pro tem of the Menno- nite Evangelizing and Benevolent Board oi America in 1892 to fill the vacancy caused by the ‘death of Joseph Summers. He was elected Treasurer of the Board at the next regular meeting, January, 1893, and was associated continuously with the missionary organiza- tions of the Church, either as Secretary or Treasurer, ‘until May, 1906. He was elected General Treasurer of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Char:ties at Rittman, Ohio, at the time when the Mennonite Evangelizing and Benevolent Board and the Mennonite Board of Charitable Homes and Missions were merged. Brother Bender was an ardent worker in his field, and the work of the Board was very materially strengthened by his sacrificial labors. His health failing, an assistant became necessary, though he was continued in his position of General Treasurer until the time of his death, in 1921. Brother Vernon E. Reiff was -chosen his assistant in 1918, and was elected as his successor in 1921. INTRODUCTORY The Preacher hath said, “Of making many books there is no end.” No one with his eyes open can deny the truthfulness of this statement. Countless in number, incomprehensible as to the extent of subject matter, and limitless in power of character moulding are the books that are pub- lished and scattered broadcast over the world in this present age. Whether of a historical, scientific, ethical, or religious nature, books are of great value and greatly to be appreciated, provided their contents when read are helpful in storing the mind with such facts, truths, and information as will inspire the individual to truly love the Lord, and lead the reader to walk worthy of Him in every phase of life and service. As one interested in a special way in the mission activities of the Church, it affords me real joy to be permitted to call attention to the valuable contents of this volume. We believe it is the product of love en the part of our devoted missionaries in India, through which they are enabled to convey to the supporters of the work, and to the Church in general in the homeland, a bird’s-eye view of the work that has been accom- plished through the grace of God by the consecrated workers of the American Mennonite Mission in the Central Provinces of India during the past quarter century. All who are filled with the missionary spirit, and interested in the foreign mission activities of the Church, in extending the borders of Christ’s kingdom among the heathen in India and elsewhere, will certainly appre- ciate having the privilege of being in possession of this unique volume which is not only a storehouse of missionary information, but a memorial. of the twenty-fifth anniversary of our India Mission activities as well. May the same serve our beloved brotherhood as a monument marking the end of two and one half decades since the founding of the Mennonite Mission Stelonanitariet, india: Brother J. A. Ressler and Dr. W. B. Page and wile were our pioneer missionaries, commissioned by the Mennonite Evangelizing and Benevolent Board, and sent forth to bring both physical and spiritual relef to 10 BUILDING ON THE ROCK multitudes in India who were hungering for both body and soul food in that dark land of heathendom. The writer of this introductory message had the privilege of being present in the special mission meeting which was held in the Mennonite church, Elkhart, Ind., November 4, 1898, when hands were officially laid upon the three aforenamed persons as they received their sacred commission. On March 24, 1899, the newly-appointed missionaries landed in India, the field of labor to which they had been officially assigned. After careful investigation and much needed preparation, work was opened November 22, 1899, in the vicinity of Dhamtari, C. P., India, by this small band of workers. The work that was founded by our missionaries at that time had a small beginning, consisting of but one mission station with only three workers at the missionary helm, but through the providence of God, and the earnest, faithful, and prayerful efforts put forth on the part of the mission forces that have from time to time been mustered into the missionary ranks during the past quarter century, the small mission twig has, steadily grown until the same has become a large well-developed evergreen tree in the branches of which hundreds of men, women and children have found refuge, and have been safely sheltered from the ravages of sin, and the satanic practices and superstitions of heathendom. Having been officially connected with the General Mission Board and its activities for the last several decades, and having been (with Bro. J. S. Hartzler) delegated by said Board over a decade ago, to visit our mission forces in India to get a view of the field and its needs at close range, and look into the nature and scope of the work as carried on by the missionaries who were then laboring for the extension of the Master’s kingdom in that land of heathendom, and after spending six months in that land of spiritual darkness, we were greatly encouraged to note the progress that had been made in the various phases of the work which had been established in that idolatrous country, and were assured by our investigations and observations of the field and its needs that the same is indeed “white already to harvest.” An itemized and systematically arranged report of the growth of the work, consisting of the number and nature of mission institutions estab- lished. the number of native workers and foreign missionaries that have been in the harness, the number of souls that have been converted and added to the Church, and the extent of the relief, medical, educational, and industrial work that has been done during the past twenty-five years, is given in this interesting volume for the benefit of all who are interested BUILDING ON THE ROCK 11 in the Lord’s work in India. In fact, the missionaries have spared no means in making this special Anniversary Report of special interest to all who have ‘the cause of Missions at heart. We sincerely hope that this Missionary Memento will be welcomed into every Mennonite home in America, and we trust that its contents will be carefully read and studied in order more fully to comprehend the nature and extent of the work already done, and impart to the reader a more complete knowledge of the possibilities and needs of the India Field, and thus be imbued and constrained through love toward Christ and His work, not only to pray earnestly for the extension of the Lord’s work in India, but, as faithful stewards, to give liberally of the means entrusted to us for the support and extension of His work in all the world. J. S. Shoemaker. ‘TR6, 4eoA npulfy ayy JO yyesiveq YI 10 “G “VY HZ6I-S-6 Pred “ATBSSIDIU VUTOJIG JIAO JL pynoys 0} Poettajot oq APU JI yey} Japs1oO ur sono; Aw yO uorssassod [[nf url Suloq }diede1 sty} UsIM oAeY J, Wostor SIq}-1Oq° “WIe]D o10Ul ou. SsABY J ‘9911 24} YPM Soseoid yt JeyYM Op AeW UOISSIPT 94, ‘aT qIS -uodsot oq [JIM J ‘osTe} posopisuod oq ]yeYys yr uo -oafqo ayeul Ja9A9 9UO AUB P[noOYS ‘suorjefqo Aue Joyo ued sjuepusdsap AUT JOU J] JaYyIaU UOTJORSUeI} sIq} UJ ‘“yuNIgG ‘Dy ‘VY ‘Juesy ‘UOISSIP, aUuOUUDTY URITIOUIY 94} JO puNnOdUIOD 9Y4} ZpIsUL SuUIpUe}s JU 0} SuIsuUO[Iq 9913 OSuPU eB (UOISSIPY 94} 0}) UOTSsas -sod 19A0 UdAIS pue (IAT Soodny) /¢ ‘sy Jo wns oy} JOJ pjos ‘a}ep s Aep-0O} uo oALY ‘Indiey 4oII}sIp ‘Tieyweyd jo jJUapiset ‘soutsey eB UOT}ednd90 Aq ‘a}sed TayeyYyD 9Y4} Jo ‘Sursureyy) jo uos ‘sulssouinsg ‘7 Idldogda (Clebsveth cate I BEGINNINGS OF THE WORK IN INDIA Byejooe. Wessler “How did the American Mennonite Mission happen to be established in India?” My dear friend, it didn’t happen. The work at Dhamtari was planned by 'the Master long before those who were privileged to be with it in the beginning were prepared to be associated with it. The rainfall of 1896 was short over a large part of India and there came as a result the famine of 1897. It “happened” that Elder George Lambert was on his trip around the world during the early months of that famine. He came home, told what he saw of suffering as a result of the famine, and awakened the sympathy of the Mennonite people. Later Elder Lambert was sent back to India to represent our people and to see that their means were properly distributed for famine relief. It was natural to realize that the souls of the poor in India were more precious than their bodies. If it was worth while to send help for the starving, was it not more important to see to their spiritual welfare? But who should go? There were no mission study classes and no volunteer bands in the Mennonite Church in those days. In many a crisis the issue hung on the question of who should go. There was no question as to whether Goliath should be slain or not, but who should go to do it? Saul had a family and a kingdom to think about and he could not go. Eliab, valiant as he was, had interests that kept him from going as a volunteer. Little David—hlessed thought for the modern missionarv—did not need to go in his own strength. ‘The people of Israel needed some one to warn them and to give them a very unwelcome message in the days of Isaiah, but even the Lord asked the question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Beginning of the Call In the latter part of the year 1897 a call was issued through the Herald of Truth for volunteers to go to India and open mission work. The 14 BUILDING ON THE ROCK An Ocean Liner Mennonite [vangelizing and Benevolent Board, then the Mission Board of the Church, appointed an examining committee to determine the qualifications of those who should offer to go. Several persons wrote letters of inquiry as a result of these steps, but for a whole year no one made an unqualified offer to go. The conferences of 1898 were fraught with meaning to the mission cause in the Mennonite Church. In the Southwestern Pennsylvania Mennonite Conference, after a deeply spiritual meeting, in which the mission cause had been strongly presented, a call was made for volunteeers to pray every day that some one from that district should be sent to the foreign held. A number rose to signify their willingness thus to pray. Eleven days after the close of this conference the Mennonite Evan- gelizing and Benevolent Board met at Wakarusa, Indiana. The day following the Mennonite General Conference met at the same place. On the 4th of November the Home and Foreign Relief Commission met at Elkhart, Ind. In the intervals between these meetings special meetings were held and in these special meetings the mission spirit ran high. In the meantime the Lord was making preparations for the work He BUILDING ON THE ROCK 15 had to do. Dr. W. B. Page was at this time a practicing physician at Middlebury, Ind. Some years before, while a student, he had become a volunteer for foreign mission work. He had allowed the matter to rest, although the old resolution was not forgotten. Just before the fall conference season of 1898, Dr. Page and his family underwent a season of severe trial. The only child, a daughter, was stricken with a severe Iness and all that medical skill could devise failed to help her. When she was lying at the point of death a second child was Dorn sto; them. in the midst of these testings the missionary call again became very forcible. In talking it over with his wife, Bro. Page asked the question, then so often suggested to earnest Christians by Sheldon’s book, “What would Jesus do?” She replied with emphasis, “He would say, GO.” And so it was that on the 4th of November, 1898, Dr. Page appeared before the examining Committee and passed with the understanding that he should be sent when a minister was found to accompany him. An Important Meeting On the afternoon of November 4, 1898, a meeting was called by bro. Railway Station, Dhamtari 16 BUTDDANG ON TEHHReROCK M. S. Steiner, in the Mennonite Church at Elkhart, to consider definitely the work of selecting missionaries to open work in some foreign field. It was felt that something definite should be done and that talk shouid give way to action. Some spoke of their willingness to go, but there were hindrances which kept them at home. One spoke of his family and the debts that hung over his property. The writer had no property on which to have debts and some months before this his home had been broken up by the death of his life companion, so he felt that these “hindrances” did not apply to him. He arose to urge caution that we do not allow God’s blessings to hinder us in His work, and asked whether others who felt that their families were a hindrance in God’s work, were willing to have their hindrances removed in the way they had been from the writer. Then, continuing, he said what he had no notion of saying when he began, but seemingly urged on by an irresistible power, that, since he was not bound by family ties, he was willing to go where the Lord called, no matter where that call led, whether to remain in America and work on in an obscure place unobserved, or to go to Africa or India or to any other part of the world. Others expressed themselves as personally interested in mission work, but with more or less indefiniteness as to their own relation to it. Bro. D. H. Bender in a few earnest words urged definite action. He appealed to the members of the Board and of the Examining Committee present, saying that, since volunteers had offered themselves, the responsibility rested with those who had the appointing to do, and there was no longer any excuse for delay on the ground of having no workers to go. Lhe members of the Examining Committee held a hasty consultation and announced that at the close of the evening evangelistic service a decision would be announced. At the close of the afternoon meeting the writer went with Bro. Aaron Loucks, with whom he was at this time associated as pastor at Scottdale, Pa., to a private room, where the time until the evening meeting was spent in fasting and prayer. Very definitely the matter was committed to the Lord, the prayer was offered that the men who should make the important decision might have wisdom and grace to do the right and best thing, no matter what personal inclinations might stand in the way. Having thus disposed of the matter, they felt that the men who should decide would certainly express God’s will concerning them in this matter. Aiter the evening meeting fifteen bishops and one minister went into the council room of the church, and those who had spoken of volunteering BUILDING ON THE ROCK 17 that afternoon were called before them. A statement was asked of each of these. After hearing these statements, one after another of the bishops came and placed his hand on the shoulder of the writer, and said, “This is the man.” So it was that Dr. W. B. Page with his wife and child and J. A. Ressler came to be sent as the first foreign missionaries of the Mennonite Church in America. God’s guidance aid control were as evident in His opening of the hearts of the people in the Church at home as His later blessing on and direct control of the beginning of the work on the field. Balai Mata Temple, Dhamtari. The priest is seen standing in the inner door CTEA TT ER aur LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE . “~ ax ~ ~~ Nn xX ith PNR A aa SB Sar cae Taw TH sea aoa waarat ga fo ix Gt Ss sa ox Tears Bl a 4 WH UR err Her ore | AEA 2. 2G. ( In Hindi ) Kyonki Ishwar ne jagat ko aisa pyar kiya ki us ne apna eklautha putr diya ki jo koi us par bishwas kare so nash na hoy parantu anant jiwan pawe. Yohan 3:16. (In Roman characters) John 3:16 in Hindi. The first formidable undertaking of the foreign missionary is the study of the language, manners, and customs of the people among whom he came to work. In the case of our missionaries the language is Hindi. In the first quotation above you will note the peculiar characters of this language. The characters are called the Deva-Nagari characters, same as the original Sanskrit from which Hindi is derived. Sanskrit is one of the oldest if not the oldest of all languages. The chief language spoken in the Central Provinces is Hindi though other languages and dialects are also spoken. Urdu is spoken in some parts, Marathi is spoken in other parts, while in our own mission field, Chhattisgarhi, a dialect of Hindi, is spoken very largely. Gondi and Oriya are also spoken in parts of our field. Chhattisgarhi Dialect As already noted, Chhattisgarhi is a dialect of Hindi. It is a corrupt form of Hindi and is spoken by several millions of people. It is so different from Hindi that persons who know Hindi only are not able to converse with the people nor understand what they say. This is very annoying to the new missionary for he is usually anxious to try his Hindi on any one who is willing to listen and when he finds that he cannot understand what the people say he is discouraged. On one occasion one of our missionaries gave careful] instructions to one cf the servants in what he thought was good Hindi but the servant answered, “Sahib, I do not understand English.” Literature in Chhattisgarhi is very scant. There is a grammar BUILDING ON THE ROCK 19 written by a former school teacher of Dhamtari. Besides this book there are only three gospels translated into the dialect—Mark, Luke and John. The last was translated by one of our missionaries. There is a large admixture of Urdu spoken with Hindi in this part of India. Urdu is derived from the Persian and Arabic languages and is written in the Perso-Arabic character. It is read from right to left similar to Hebrew and has many words in common with Hebrew. Missionaries of our mission find it necessary to learn many Urdu words to add to their Hindi vocabulary. It is the language of the courts and all legal documents that are written in the vernacular are written in Urdu. Hindi is not as difficult as some of the Indian languages, such as Marathi and Tamil, for instance. . Still, most missionaries find it hard enough. [lindi grammar is not really difficult and with close application may be easily learned. Idiom is a different thing. There is a constant temptation to translate literally into Hindi from English but in most cases the translation means nothing. One of our missionaries told a coolie who had lost his temper and was giving vent to abusive language to keep his mouth shut. The next day the coolie came with a big’ cloth tied over his mouth. When he was asked what was the matter he replied that the day Berbice she }was ordered to tie ‘his .mouth- shut. . Gender also causes considerable trouble. There are two genders—masculine and feminine—and all words that do not indicate sex are divided between the two genders there being no very well defined rules to go by. There are no prepositions in the language but plenty of postpositions. The inflection of the verb is not determined in all cases by the subject but by the number and gender of the word immediately preceding the verb. Hindi has fourteen vowels and thirty-five consonants. Most of out missionaries would be satisfied with this number but in addition they have to struggle with a large number of conjunct consonants. To make matters still worse there are differences in the initial and medial and final forms of the letters, in many cases bearing only the slightest resemblance to the letter as it stands alone. Some of the letters are very difficult to pronounce. iiicmiauespectally trie of the nasal “n*, the cerebral “d’s’” and .“t’s”’ and all the aspirates. The soft “r’ gives most missionaries a lot of trouble. Failure to pronounce these and other letters correctly gives a very bad sound to the missionary’s conversation and public speaking and though the polite Indians do not laugh in his presence, bad pronunciation forms the occasion for many a mirthful hour when the missionary is not present. One redeeming feature in the study of Hindi is the fact that it is phonetic 99 99 20 BUILDING ON THE-ROCK which makes it possible to pronounce almost any word without any outside help. } Language study in India is usually different from the study of languages in a college at home. There are two language schools here but they are conducted in the hills and thus far away from us. The usual method is to employ an Indian teacher who, for a consideration of ten or fifteen dollars a month, is willing to allow the missionary to dig out of him all he can. This teacher is supposed to correct the pupil’s pronunciation and help him in the meaning of words and idioms for the pupil must begin at the beginning just as a six year old child when he first goes to school. This method is a distinct advantage over studying the language in schools, for the vernacular is spoken all around him even in another dialect and his aim is to learn to speak to the people around him and understand what the people are saying to him. Also he is very anxious to speak the Word of Life in public service at the earliest opportunity. By reading, by trying to speak, by hearing the language, his eyes and ears and mouth make rapid adjustments to the strange sounds as a reward for his patient, persistent efforts. | For the purpose of guiding our missionaries in their study of the language a special course of study has been prepared. The original course was one of two years. It was later revised and enlarged to a four vears’ course which appears below. Course of Study for Missionaries. First Year First lessons in Hindi (Dann). How to speak Hindustani (Rogers). Hindi First and Second Books. (C. P. Government and Christian Literature Society.) John and Acts and Line Upon Line—Hind1. Orient Reader No. 1 Translation from English to Hindi. Dictation exercises. Second Year Hindi Prose Composition (Dann). For reference Greaves’ Hindi Grammar. Hindi Vhird, BookY (CPs Government and Ge aogm Matthew, Mark, Luke, -Line Upon Line; Pt) 1 iieana Dharam Tula—Hindi. ; Orient Reader No. 2 English to Hindi. Third Year Greaves’ Grammar Fourth, Book. (CP Gove and) Guba oocietws: Romans to Revelation and Sat Mat Nirupan Orient Reader No. 3 English to Hindi. Mark and Luke in Chhattisgarhi. Chhattisgarhi dictation from an Indian. BUILDING ON THE ROCK 21 Fourth Year Urdu Grammar. Hindustani Idiom (Hooper). Pag Mina the Ooi Gearts le & IT Ge PY Gove and’ Cal. SOCa: Kellogg’s Hindi Grammar for reference. Gospels and Acts in Roman Urdu—Mizan ud Din in Urdu. Orient Reader No. 4 English to Hindi. This course was in use by the Mission for a number of vears when various missions of the Hindi and Urdu speaking areas of India Laie to adopt one general course for all Hindi speaking workers and one for all Urdu speaking workers. The proposal received favorable se ene by nearly all missions working in these areas and a course was adopted which, having been revised from time to time, is now the prescribed course of study for a large number of missionaries working among many millions of people. Representatives from the various missions constitute a Joint Examining Board and this Board is responsible for the courses of study and for holding semi-annual oral and written examinations in convenient centers. This Board meets once every four years to consider any matters that will make for efficiency in the language. The course of study has been adopted by our mission whose missionaries have been taking the examinations according to it since 1912. We print the course below: First Course in Hindi. Pm VEL Oli ttimd iheglITC ta lt, so) ied note ts soe etal etal (150 marks) This is a qualifying examination. Candidates failing in this are not permitted to take the written examinations. iy AMER 0, SS PO ee ie p be. ene Nitra marca ee ey aR (100) faiemioictation. (alk of which 10 are for penmanship). (b}) Reading and translation on easy unseen passages of 150 words. RON CT a eet Me Pt gem Pate he oc 3! wake oe h dapat her eee (300) (a) Translation from Hindi into English (150) (i) Central Provinces Hindi Readers I, II and III omitting poetry (50). (ii) Gospel of St. John (50). Coverall Bharat Partell (25). (iv) 20 couplets from Dharam Tula (25). (b) Grammar (50). Greaves’ Hindi Grammar. (c) Translation from English to Hindi (100). As in Dann’s First Lessons in Hindi and McMillan’s King Reader. Total 550 marks. Second Course in Hind. oes mameennione kk Officials and Gentry of the Municipality of Dhamtari BUILDING ON THE ROCK 23 (b) Reading and translation of “unseen’’ passage of 150 words (50). (c) Address or sermon of ten minutes duration (100). (Gi WAVER TE ae ac DNRC Ey se Bile ge a ga an a (450) (a) Translation from Hindi to English Cl50); (i) Psalms 1-40, Acts, James, 20 selected bhajans (50). (ii) Satya Harish Chandra Natak (50). (iii) Shakuntala (50). (b) Grammar—Greaves’ and Kellogg’s (100). 4c) Translation from English to Hindi (100). as in McMillan’s King Reader No. IV. (d) Original composition (100). An essay of not less than three hundred words on a subject given at the time of the examination. Total 700 marks. Third Course in Hindi. (a) Address or sermon of 15 minutes duration (100). (b) Conversation (100). Ba UR iter) ren ee A eh satis ds 4am ap ace tstyt y+ b> radeiede reste spade (500) (a) ‘Translation from Hindi to English (200). (i) Mudr Rakshas (50). (ii) Ramayan—All of Sundarkhand (50). (iii) Shad Darshan Darpan (50). (iv) Unseen passages from current newspapers and periodicals (50). (b) Grammar (100). The subject matter of Kellogg’s Grammar pps. 28-80. The elements of prosody as far as required for the analysis or ordinary metre. The subject matter of Hooper’s Hindustani Language. (c) Translation of English into Hindi (100). About 200 words from Pennell’s “Things seen in Northern India.” About 200 words from an “unseen” passage. (d) Original composition (100). An essay or sermon of not less than 400 words on a subject given at the time of the examination. Total 700 marks. The advantages of such an Examining Board are many. They provide a stronger course of study than would ordinarily be provided by the ‘individual mission and remove very largely the personal element in conducting the examinations. Besides, those who successfully pass the examinations are provided with certificates and these count for a certain number of credits if missionaries wish to continue school work during furlough periods. Although we as a mission have adopted this course of study yet we, as are all missions, are free to omit any portions of the course 24 BUILDING ON THE ROCK we would not consider best for our own mission. All our missionaries are required to take this course of study unless specially excused by the Mission. Language Problems Some people advocate that missionaries study the Hindi language before coming on the field for then they will be able to take up work at once upon arrival on the field. New missionaries are always eager to begin work upon arrival on the field. All of us can testify to the fact that we were disappointed that we were not able to begin work at once and thus help the overworked missionaries. It would be very difficult to get proper facilities to study Hindi in America even if it were desirable to begin the study before coming ‘on the field. But it is not desirable, for the mere study of the language is not the only thing the new missionary needs. It is also essential for him to know the manners and customs and social habits of the people among whom he works so that he may know how to conduct himself among them. This takes time and while he is learning the language he has ample time to study the people, which in turn gives him valuable suggestions as to how to approach them when he is able to converse with them. It is, however, a good thing if candidates for the foreign field while in the course of their preparation for the field take thorough courses in phonetics for this will be a great help to them when they begin. the study of Hindi. “How long does it take to master the language?” is a question frequently asked of the returned missionary. If by mastering the language is meant being able to use it perfectly then we must answer that it takes a lijetime. But if by mastering the language is meant getting a working knowledge of it then our answer must vary with the individual studying it, for some people learn a language more easily than others. Ordinarily a missionary may understand much and be able to talk considerable after six months of hard work. Some missionaries preach within a year after arrival. Others take more time, but one may safely say that the average missionary is able to feel at home in the language after about five vears on the field. Curious mistakes are often made by the beginner. One of our missionaries asked another if the people worship the white sister. He received the reply that they may do so in America but not so in India. What he wanted to ask was if the people worship the white ox. The difference was between “bahin” and “bail.” One missionary wanted to tell the Indians that a certain missionary is expected to land in Bombay BUILDING: ON». THE ‘ROCK 29 next week. Instead she said he would land in the next incarnation. One missionary announced hymn No. 107% intending to announce 167. An- other missionary asked Rajakhan, “Did you ever see any mules?” The occasion of the question was the coming along the road of a number of donkeys. Rajakhan replied, “No, what is that?’ The missionary replied, “Why, it is a long-eared man. We have very large ones in our country.” The reply was not very intelligible to Rajakhan because the missionary used the word “purush” (man) when he should have used the word “pashu” (animal). Because of the use of the wrong Hindi word one missionary in his sermon had men instead of birds flying in the air. But mistakes are not all made by the missionaries studying Hindi for similar mistakes are made by Indians learning English. They delight in flowery language as the following letter written by the Hindu headmaster of one of our schools in the early days of the mission will show: La The Manager M. S. (Mission School) Dhamtari Sir, Most humbly and respectfully I beg to take the liberty of applying to your honor with a sanguine hope for a situation of 40 sq. yds. near the Mission compound, as it 1s spacious with open air. The lodge where I put up now has a worn thatch eaten away by the white ants with a very bad latrine and surrounded on the west with high tamarind trees kissing the skies. The air is blown out from the house and I am smothered. Besides the roof is very low and so I am scorched to death. The lodge is full of holes and infested with rats which are worse than cannibals. They dance on the breast, cut the hair, mustaches and every part of the precious body. On the eastern side of the house the pathway is quite close to it, the dust being puffed off by the wind, flies to my mouth and more to stuff my invaluable body. Thus your honor can see that my body, each nerve and cell, stuffed with the terrible dust. Many more grievances there are to be put forth before your honor which make a work of tragedy. So much will suffice to your wonder that I am hale and hearty and trying to compete others who have more advantages than me. But I promise your honor to look healthier and prettier than at present when I will have a small pyramid of bamboos 26 BUILDING ON THE ROCK two or three stories high with a cooking house, a latrine and a drawing room and a chimney of tin to let out smoke near the mission compound. I beg to remain Sir Yours obediently Signed C6 8 6 4e 6) € eee ee 6 Ce ee Se) 6h ee acm aa an fey wae Har aa aH A TAA fareat gare alc san saat saa TEI grat tg & qe B wel aia Te fa Hatt aa tal Sif an ara eet | eau are ze eH a Tas aqcat & Teg s ale sa Stata HAT AAT at qr tat |aaet ax aa ara se ase asx a f& aa aia ama X fa araeat , macy adi Fl sae ATAT A AT AA faat fe 3 Saat am EN afi cH Wy HI RAAT aA TeaT a gata fi AMT WH eat TAF HAS TH sara eka ac rar gard iy A Kat “ake Ht cara tat ALTA ame TaIIAT ga IX Soaqtg Et HA anigean ae Za TAR aqeat A ag As Hi aeat ait” WET G29, acai aa Feat aa ar ai Ta ar oi} glo saa ala at arat 2 fe fea sar qrit ¥1 af sarca areat @ fe mT AUNT Ga AAC AAA Aat t/ got at ama KL | ate a Aaa Ae & qftga & at ait ara et Tt aia at geatar at aet ate amay | gat aaa ga qt Add As ql watla Z GEA TP GE Ne Lid OCCUPYING THE FIELD The first missionaries of the American Mennonite Mission came to India under the auspices of the Mennonite Evangelizing and Benevolent Board—now the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities—having been appointed at Elkhart, Indiana, November 4th, 1898, and landed at Bombay, March 24th, 1899. They were Bro. Jacob Andrews Ressler and Bro. (Dr.) and Sister William B. Page. Their aspirations were modest when on this date they landed with $1,000.00 with which to found a mission. The task before them was a responsible one but God was in their travels and researches and He led them to a field, perhaps the most needy and at the same time the most accessible in all India. The place to which the Lord led them was Dhamtari in the Central Provinces at which place they arrived and began work November 22, 1899 The entry into Dhamtari can not be described as a triumphant entry in the usual meaning of that term. There was no previous preparation though they had seen the place when travelling through. There was no hlowing of trumpets, no procession,:no reception committee, not even a house in which to live. This first trip was made on a bullock cart all the way from Rai- pur, forty-eight miles north. They unhitched their bullocks and began to make camp on the west side of Dhamtari under a large mango tree at the edge of a large man- go grove. An open field lay Hindu Temple, Dhamtari 28 BUILDING ON ‘THE ROCK Dhomtari City Pop /3,ccoe n Map o§ MISSION PROPERTY SUN DARGANG Dhamtari BUILDING ON THE ROCK 29 between their camp and the town of Dhamtari. November is a beautiful month in India and camping outdoors under the shade of a friendly mango tree is not really a bad experience but it can not be done for an indefinite length of time so Bro. Ressler soon made arrangements for the erection of a hut of bamboo matting. The hut was small and inconvenient but it served as the first dwelling place of the founders of the Mission, which they occupied until more permanent quarters were provided. Bro. A. D. Wenger was at this time making a trip around the world and by a happy coincidence he was in India at the time and was with Bro. Ressler on this trip to Dhamtari sharing the rude hut for several months. For over a year after the arrival of the first missionaries at Dhamtar1 their energies were fully occupied in relieving the physical suffering caused by famine. At one time 9000 persons were on Government works in charge of the Mission and later some 20,000 persons in thirty-eight villages were fed Government rations under the direction of the missionary in charge. After the famine was over and Government help ceased it was felt that caring for adults was a task beyond the province of the Mission but many children found a shelter within the protecting walls of the institution where the name of Jesus is known and the Gospel is taught. As soon as possible after arrival at Dhamtari, negotiations were begun to acquire land on which to build very necessary buildings, which were to become the home of the American Mennonite Mission. The open field west of Dhamtari seemed an ideal site and after much investigation and many delays a permanent lease was obtained from the malguzar of Dhamtari for nine acres of land, part of which was reserved for gardening purposes. The annual rental agreed upon was seventeen dollars. There was a big well on this plot called the Sundarganj well and Sundarganj became the name of the property now in the possession of the Mission. Sundarganj means “beautiful treasure” and we have always greatly prized this valuable plot of ground. Building operations were soon started and in a compara- tively short time orphanage buildings, a hospital building, and two bungalows were built. Bro. Ressler had his eye on the large mango grove of seventeen acres containing five hundred trees, the place where he made his first camp. As soon as he could manage to do so he approached the Government regarding this grove and finally the Government agreed to let the Mission have a permanent lease on it charging thirteen dollars a year to pay for the loss to the Government of the mangoes. This formed an excellent play- ground for the large orphanage. 30 BUILDING ON THE ROCK The Field When the first missionaries arrived there were two missions established in Raipur, forty-eight miles to the north of Dhamtari, one mission in Raj Nangaon, forty miles to the west, and one in Jagdalpur, one hundred thirty-six miles to the south. Mission work was also carried on by a mission to the southeast some one hundred fifty miles away. Somewhere between these points lay the prospective field of our Mission, and in due course of time the final boundaries were determined. The boundaries between our field and that of the neighboring missions were determined by mutual arrangements’ of our mission andthe mission concerned. In order to become better acquainted with the conditions of our field, a Survey Committee was appointed to investigate such matters as extent, population, classes of people, number of Govern- ment village schools, and suitable locations for prospective mission stations. The present delineations of our field may readily be seen by examining the map of our Mission Field, specially prepared for this volume. Another map, also prepared for this report, shows our mission field in its relation to other missions bordering on ours. As constituted at present the Field is about eighty miles from east to west and about fifty-two’ miles from north to south, making a total of four thousand one hundred Workers’ Bungalow in Connection with the Girls’ Orphanage, Balodgahan BUILDING ON THE ROCK 31 Medical Station and Government Macadam Road, Dhamtari-Raipur sixty square miles. According to the census of 1921 the population of this part of India averaged one hundred forty-five per square mile. At this rate our Mission Field contains 603,200 souls. It will be instructive as well as interesting to compare the density of population of our Mission Field with other parts of India and with India as a whole as well as with several other countries. The Province of Bengal has a population of five hundred per square mile while the Gangetic valley boasts of eight hundred. India as a whole has a population of over two hundred per square mile Compared with these figures it may be noted that the United States has a population of thirty-five per square mile, Canada five, and the Argentine, our South America Mission Field, seven per square mile. Although we occupy one of the least densely populated districts of India it 1s still more than four times as densely populated as the United States and more than twenty times as much as our South America Mission Field. How the Type of Mission Work was Determined Our first missionaries came to India with no preconceived notions of ae BUILDINGION DHETROCK the line of work to be undertaken more than that they came to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of India and to endeavor to lead them to the feet of Christ. Arriving as they did at the close of the famine of 1897 followed by another and more severe one in 1900 the nature of the work to be done immediately was at once determined. At the close of the terrible famine of 1900 they found on their hands two large orphanages, both ot them at Sundarganj. The missionaries had no choice in the matter for the orphans must be clothed and fed and educated and trained to work and given religious instruction. Their health must be looked after and before they realized it the missionaries were engaged in Orphanage work, in Evangelistic and Educational work, in Industrial and Medical work. This is a big program to accept with no voice in the choosing of it! No new department of Mission work has since been started for none seemed necessary ! How the Mission Work Expanded To continue two large orphanages—one for boys and one for girls— in close proximity to each other was out of the question and so the missionaries began to pray for a new station for the girls. The little group of missionaries assembled for daily worship in the sitting room of one of the bungalows were greatly burdened with the necessity of a new station. One of them read the 46th Psalm and it seemed that the Lord revealed to them His approval of their great desire, for the conviction came upon all of them after rising from prayer that the new station was a fact. In due time a check arrived from the homeland to be used specially for the girls, followed by another for a similar purpose. The faith of the little group was greatly strengthened for soon enough money was received to purchase fitty acres of land at Rudri, four miles southeast of Sundarganj, and to erect the necessary buildings to accommodate the girls, and a bungalow for the missionaries who were to be in charge of them. The girls were removed to the new station in 1903. There were now two main stations. The difficulties and inconveniences in opening a new station are many and varied. There are first innumerable delays and disappointments involved in purchasing land. And of course there are no buildings on the spot for the missionary builder and his wife in which to live while over- seeing the building work. So temporary huts are provided and shifts are made from the first hut to some partly finished room and finally to the completed building. Such was the case with Bro. and Sister M. C. Lapp when they moved to Rudri with the girls, With the exception of a few years, the girls lived in their new quarters BUILDING ON THE ROCK 33: at Rudri until 1912, when the Government purchased all our property there, with the exception of twenty-five acres of farm land for staff quarters in connection with the great project of an irrigation dam and canal. With great reluctance and regret we gave up the property, receiving from the Government the sum of $9,200.00. The need of a plan to help the growing Christian boys and girls to some permanent occupation soon became apparent. This need was greatly emphasized when in 1905 the first young people from our orphanages were united in marriage. Agriculture is the leading occupation of the majority of India’s people and so it was only natural that we thought of farming as the chief occupation for a large number of our young people. With this in view, efforts were made to purchase a village, or Indian land unit, for this purpose. After much investigation such a village was bought and the choice fell on Balodgahan, seven miles from Dhamtari, paying to the owner the sum of $2,700.00. The missionaries who located at Balodgahan had a hard time of it. They first lived in the mud hut used by the former malguzar but the roof leaked badly and the mud floor got so soft that the table and chair legs sank into it. The thatch roof could not easily be cleaned and there being no ceiling the dirt kept falling into the food on the table. It was right Balodgahan Village Bungalow 34 BUILDING ON THE ROCK in the middle of the town and so there was no privacy whatever. Then another mud hut was built outside of the village which served as a dwelling place until the missionaries could occupy one completed room of the still unfinished bungalow. When Rudri was sold it became necessary to find a place for the girls so it was decided to locate them at Balodgahan, the transfer being made in 1912. In order to accommodate them orphanage buildings had to be erected and also a bungalow for the missionaries in charge. The next station to be opened was Sankra, about eighteen miles from Dhamtari. This station was opened purely for evangelistic work. Enough land was borght for the bungalow and necessary outbuildings, and work on the buildings began in real earnest. Building work began at the time of the visit of Brother Shoemaker and Brother Hartzler. Brother Hartzler had experience in brickmaking and the method he had learned was an improvement over the one used in India so he spent a great deal of time helping the Indian brickmaker improve his methods and increase his output and incidentally his daily income. The missionary, supervising the building work, lived in a tent for which there was very little if any shade and it was bad in the hot season but the work went on until room was provided in the new bungalow. Sorrow early came over the missionary family at Sankra and it was not long until two small graves marked the places where two missionary children were laid to rest. Medical work was conducted from the very beginning but it received a temporary set-back when it became necessary for Dr. and Sister Page to go to America on account of the Doctor’s health. The first hospital building was located in cramped surroundings and the building was utilized for other purposes. The beginnings of a new General Hospital were made on a plot of ground near the railway station about one and a half miles from Sundarganj. The land was purchased in 1912 and suitable buildings were at once started. The medical work received a new impetus when a missionary doctor arrived in 1910. For a number of years the missionaries felt that work should by all means be opened in the Sihawa district. Several missionary tours were made through that district and the conditions seemed favorable to open an evangelistic station. Several investigation trips were made to survey the district and finally it was decided to purchase land and open another evangelistic station. This was done in 1916, when land was purchased in a village called Ghatula, about forty miles from Dhamtari. Soon after the BUILDING ON THE ROCK 35 Rudri Station (Sold to Government) purchasing of the land it was also decided to locate the Bible Training school at Ghatula and buildings were planned accordingly. Last, in the list of new stations to be opened, was Mahodi twenty-five miles from Dhamtari. This was opened in 1920, though land had been pur- chased in 1918. This is a purely evangelistic station and was built under difficult circumstances. Only the bungalow and necessary outbuildings have been erected, there being no institution located there. Besides these six main stations the mission maintains primary schools and evangelistic sub-stations at the following places named in the order of their establishing: Bhatgaon, Maradeo, Bijnapuri, Chikli, Bagtarai, Gopalpuri, Seodi, Gatasili, Nawgaon, Tengna and Kaspur. ‘Two stations, Mogragahan and Potiadi, are maintained by the India Mennonite Conference through a regularly appointed Home Mission Committee. Schools were conducted for a time at each of Chamar Para in Dhamtari, Shankarda and Arjuni, but these had to be abandoned. All these places may easily be located on the map of the Mission Field. or some time it was thought advisable to secure a place at some cooler station where the missionaries might spend part of the hot season not so difficult of access from Dhamtari. After considerable planning Igatpuri was chosen. Igatpuri is located on the Western Ghauts about 36 BUILDING-ON THE ROCK seventy-eight miles from Bombay entailing a trip of nearly seven hundred miles from Dhamtari. As soon as proper arrangements could be made a Rest House for missionaries was erected. This was in 1910. For a number of years the bungalow was used by our missionaries but as our children grew up to school age and as there was no school for European children at Igatpuri the missionaries sent their children to schools in Darjeeling and Naini Tal. What opportunities the missionaries had of getting away irom the plains in the hot season they naturally spent in those hill stations where their children attended school. Thus it came about that the rest home at Igatpuri no longer served its original purpose and as soon as a purchaser was found it was sold. The final transfer of this property was made in November, 1924, when the Methodist Church bought it for nearly $2,700.00. Building Operations It is not possible to do much work without some buildings in which to live or in which to carry on the necessary institutional work. So houses must be built and as a rule the missionaries are responsible for the building work. If the mission buildings could speak what interesting stories they could tell! There are few experiences more trying to the missionary, whether old or young, than this phase of mission work. At home the architect and contractor, the lumber and brick yards, the hard- ware stores and motor trucks are within easy call of the telephone. Not so in India where we live. The missionary must be his own contractor and architect. He must see to the moulding and burning of the brick. He burns his lime from limestone gathered from the fields. He supervises the carpenters who make the doors and windows, according to specifica- tions made by himself. The timber for these as well as for the roof he may order through a timber merchant direct from the jungle but he must order in time or the timber he gets is green and not fit for use in a good building. And when the building operations finally begin, the work moves along in a surprisingly slow manner. A good bricklayer can lay up about a hundred cubic feet of brick wall a day. For this he needs the helpsora lot of coolies who hand him the brick, pour the water, place the mortar on the right spot and hand him his tools. Even at this rate one could get along but there are many delays. Some one may have neglected to report that the lime and sand are all used up and so the work is held up. The brick may have turned out badly and the work stops until a new kiln can be moulded and burned. The timber merchant may not have brought the BUILDING ON THE ROCK 4¥4 timber from the jungle when he promised and the building stands for months without a roof. Perhaps just when the finishing touches were to be put on one end of the building so the carpenters may begin on the roof there is a three day Hindu holiday and the work stops with a jar. It may be, too, that the missionary had to be away on some other urgent business for a few days and when he returned he found to his dismay in spite of the slowness of the work a surprisingly large amount of wall built during his absence that had to be torn down and built over. “Dismiss the masons and get others who will do the work properly,” you say, but we have already employed the best to be had so there is no help in that direction. But in spite of the delays and disappointments the building is finally completed and we are amazed at the amount of time and money and material that went into that building. Yes, and the heartaches and dis- appointments and loss of temper. And how we regretted that harsh statement and that hasty word when there was a little chance to reflect. We would rather do real mission work than put up buildings but these have to be provided in order that real mission work may become possible and permanent. Giving to missions, therefore, does not only mean the feeding and clothing of the poor or providing the means to carry on evangelistic or educational or medical work. It is true that much of the money sent by the church at home is thus spent and no material returns are expected. But money spent for buildings represents some more or less permanent tangible mater- ial stuff which can be estima- ted in dollars and cents. In the list below some idea may be formed of the value of the property in India owned by the church at home. Mission Rest Home, Igatpuri 38 PROPERTIES BELONGING TO THE AMERICAN Station Sundarganj Medical Station Balodgahan Sankra Ghatula Mahodi BUILDING ON THE ROCK MENNONITE MISSION Description of Property Estimated Value Totals North Bungalow South Bungalow English School house & Equip. English School Hostel & Equip. Head Master’s house Boys’ Orphanage, Segregation Ward & Equip. Carpenter shop & Equip. Middle school & Equip. Church building ceachen sahouse Equipment & Outbuildings Land Bungalow European ward Dispensary and wards Nurses’ Home Equipment & outbuildings ‘Land Farm Bungalow Farm Farm buildings & cattle & Equip. Widows’ home and work rooms Boys’ schoolhcuse Workers’ houses Orphanage bungalow Orphanage Buildings & Equip. Middle school Teachers’ home Church Bungalow Equipment & outbuildings School house Church Land Bungalow Dispensary and nurses’ home Equipment & outbuildings School house Bible school & Equip. Land Bungalow Equipment & outbuildings $2,650 5,300 5,800 4,650 650 7,600 2,000 3,650 8,000 350 1,350 2,000 4,050 1,500 1,700 750 900 500 3,600 6,650 ro 2,500 300 1,050 4,000 8,800 3,750 2,000 8,000 4,000 1,200 500 5,000 300 4,000 1,000 1,500 250 3,850 200 4,000 1,000 $ 44,000 10,000 44,000 11,000 10,800 BUILDING:‘ON THE ROCK 39 Dispensary 300 Land 200 5,500 Schools Village schools & Equip. 2,800 2,800 $128,100 Unoccupied Territory It is unfortunate that the Mission has to acknowledge after twenty-five years of effort, that there is territory within its borders unoccupied by any mission forces, but such is actually the case. A thickly settled country in the northwest part of the field and easily accessible has had only occasional work done and is almost virgin soil. For a short while mission- aries and Indian workers were located at Gariaband in the Bendra Nawagarh state but owing to objections made by the state authorities the work had to be discontinued. Representation has since been made in the form of personal interviews for permission to reenter the state which has been heard sympathetically but up to the last moment no favorable reply has heen received. No workers have yet been located in Kanker, a native state south of Dhamtari, because repeated requests for permission to enter have been shelved by the authorities. But the last interview with the prime minister gave us sufficient encouragement to permit us to rent a house or pitch our tent within the state, but when this great opportunity came we were not prepared with sufficient workers for no one could be spared. We have been patiently waiting for reinforcements from the homeland so that we may enter this open door but none have come. ‘The church at home is responsible. Kanker and Bendra-Nawagarh are each large enough to occupy fuily the time of two missionary families in purely evangelistic work. There is another portion in the southwestern part of our field which is at present unoccupied. A missionary family should be located there. At least one more family should be located in the Sihawa field southeast of Ghatula. A. missionary family should be located in Dhamtari in addition to those already there to do evangelistic work only, which work has been sadly neglected because of the pressing and urgent demands on the missionaries’ time and strength through the work already established. The number of missionaries on the field after twenty-five years of effort is twenty-two. Dividing the population of the field by the number of missionaries on the field gives a parish of over twenty-seven thousand souls for each missionary. Or add to the number of missionaries the present force of Indian workers—sixty—it will still leave nearly seven thousand five hundred souls for each worker. Considering the fact that 40 BUILDING ON THE/(ROCK the twenty-two missionaries on the field are responsible for twelve distinct institutions, most of them of considerable size, besides six village schools, there is not much wonder that there are still thousands of people in our own mission field who have never heard of Jesus Christ! A Banana Grove GEA PTE RLV: ORGANIZING THE CHURCH The first Christians of the community were those who had come from other missions and were employed in various kinds of work. Some later became communicant members of the Church and others again returned to their own communities when their services in our Mission were no longer required. Early Converts There were no converts received into the Church during the famine of 1900. The same p.inciple was adhered to in the main during later periods of distress. Those who desired baptism afterward were carefully taught and received into Church membership. Even then a few “rice” Christians crept in as an inevitable result. During the latter part of 1900, eighteen girls, a number of boys, and a few others were received into the Church. By the end of 1902 after three years of missionary effort there had been established a Church of three hundred twen- ty members 1in- cluding ninety- five le piers. This shows quite a_ rapid growth within a comparative- ly short time. The earnest- ness of many may be illus- ewckn cts tes Wen ayo an their own test- imonies. Gar- jan Bai, who Brother Nathaniel, Son and Grandson 42 BUILDING ON THE ROCK later became a real mother to the girls in the orphanage, was conducting a little meeting with the girls one evening in 1902. Not knowing that two of the missionaries had crept up to the lattice fence and were listening, she said to the hearers: “Do you remember the time of the famine when we begged from shop to shop in Dhamtari and other places and received only a little all day? And how we used to cook our handful of rice in our little earthen vessels? Do you remember how the people used to curse us and beat us and drive us away when we went to beg? Do you remember how we went hopelessly along the road, sick and footsore, eating leaves of trees, and picking up a few grains of rice here and there? And how we had scarcely a rag for clothing?” As a murmur of “Yes, yes, we remember,” went round the group she said with pathetic emphasis: “Ves, I remember too,” and added, “Now think of the change! Were we have warm clothing and plenty of good food and we eat it freshly cooked. We know where we have a nice soft place to sleep at night. No more wandering about to find a place and then have to lie down under a tree till morning unable to sleep on account of the cold. What has brought about all this change?” Holding up her New Testament she said, “It is what this Book has taught that has given us all these good things. It all comes from Jesus Christ. Now, should you not thank Him and obey Him?” On a Christmas day of a later year (1904) in a meeting with the lepers one of them in a testimony told how Jesus had suffered for him before he had known any- thing “sof “obi. He said that many had; **beeny simere living skeletons with ugly pus oozing out of their sores. Some had no place to sleep except un- der _ssome: Bitrer: How, ditte tiene their condition now! They have Church Conference Assembled BUILDING ON THE ROCK 43 good clean food to eat, and clean water to drink and bathe in, and all are fat and happy. “What,” he asked, “has brought about this change? Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ?” There was a readiness on the part of all the early converts to accept without question the teachings of the Word which they received and their grateful hearts were overflowing with thankfulness to God and _ their benefactors who had saved them from a miserable physical death and from deep spiritual darkness. Shepherding the Growing Flock For a number of years after the work was begun it was felt that Church administration should remain in the hands of the missionaries. There had not yet developed within the Christian community a conscience sufficient for self-government. Neither were they sufficiently schooled in the principles of the Gospel. They had to be “fed with milk” and carefully led in the ways of righteousness. The standards of the people from among whom they had come were so different, and the social and religious ideals so base that growing in grace after their conversion was a matter of better understanding, and living step by step each Christian principle and precept. They had gradually to experience the actual working of the Faith and the fulfillment of the promises for them. They were faithfully taught by the missionaries from the beginning in the fundamentals of the Christian faith and the distinctive Mennonite doctrines. They knew so little of the Bible and had to be taught over and over again the fact that Christianity is a life as well as a belief and worship. It was not difficult for them to understand the significance of the communion and feetwashing, of wearing the devotional covering, of observing Christmas, Easter, and other holy days, of church attendance, etc.; but they did not realize the value of justice, mercy, faith, and heart service. It certainly took faithful, patient, persistent teaching to establish any kind of a balanced condition among our Indian brotherhood. To quote on the general condition of the Church from the Mission report of E10: “We long to see the day when our people will become stronger spiritually, At present there is a-sreat need of the majority of them being fed with ‘milk. They are not able to understand the deeper things of God. The most of them want to do the right thing, but because of the influence under which they were brought up and the deceitful things which they had been taught, it is very hard for them to understand that 44 BUILDING ONS THE ROCK it is sin for them to live contrary to the teachings of God so long as it ts not known to their leader. When their sins become known and it is proved that they are living in sin before God it is not usually hard to persuade them to make a confession before the Church. There are a few brethren and sisters who have a fair knowledge of right and wrong and seem to be very anxious to walk uprightly before God and man.” Organization and the Church Conference Every opportunity was taken advantage of by the missionaries to drill those of our Indian brethren, who proved themselves most,’ faithful to ithe’ Church, in” cher “polity and) itneewaysieang means of administration and discipline. According to the 1910 Mission report definite steps were taken to have three Indian brethren chosen in each congregation who could cooperate with the missionary pastor in settling difficulties between members and in helping to establish more firmly the unity of the different congregations. Three brethren of each congregation served in the capacity of deacon and often were able to make adjustments without even the pastor’s knowledge. In this same year we had the pleasure of having with us the brethren j.-o. Shoemaker and)" 5. Eartzlen, who, »with= tie brethren vie C mae and P. A. Friesen, formed a committee to draw up rules and discipline to be ratified by the Church conference which was to be called the first ‘Tuesday of January, 1912. All missionaries, all ordained officers, and two delegates from each congregation were given the right to vote on all auestions which were to be brought up for consideration. Where the congregation exceeded fifty members it was entitled to an additional delegate and so on for every ad- ditional fifty or fraction thereof. Unfortunately our visiting brethren could not stay in India to attend the first confer- ence, for which they had helped to lay plans. The first con- ference marked The Beginning of a Christian Community BULLE DINGZON CH BROCK 45 a new era in the history of the Church. It was held in the Bethel meeting house of our Balodgahan station. The membership of each congregation was informed that a conference, called in Hindi “Kanfar- ens,’ would be called at the time set. But the members did not know how to vote for delegates without a great deal of instruction. A private, per- sonal vote was taken in most of the congregations. Tally was kept by the ministering brethren who repair- ed to the council room. We were of the opinion that there were a few who would not be able to give an opinion because of their ignorance. One poor convert who had come from the shepherd caste was illiterate and seemed in some respects to be weakminded. His eyes were dim. When he came into the room to give his vote he hesitated for a little while but gave his vote for such as were unmistakably the best qualified to represent the congregation. This is A Heathen God to be Superseded also true of others whose intelligence we greatly questioned. The membership of the Church at this time (1912) numbering over four hundred eighty, the lay delegation in conference equalled that of the missionaries. Conference assembled, the conference sermon was preached, and the Constitution and Discipline was presented for ratification. In discussing the details it was soon noticed that the Indian brethren were inclined to insist on greater rigidness in regard to some matters of discipline than were provided for in the Constitution. But after there had been only a few minor changes made the document was ratified as a whole and the next step was to have it ratified by each individual congregation. In the discussion of the other questions which were presented some members had to be limited in speech or they would have taken up all the time and not given oppcrtunity for others who really had something to say. The 46 BUILDING ON THE ROCK Indian members of conference had to be drilled somewhat in parliamentary rules. When one question was discussed it was moved that we table the question for the present. The then acting Indian Secretary brother asked. which table the question should be placed upon to the amusement of al’ PIescut, The Church conference has become an annual occurrence. The number of Indian delegates has increased considerably, so much so, that they outnumber the missionaries but we are confident by this time that Conference administration is safe in their hands. For they have demon- strated many times that they are willing to yield to better judgment in all things and be governed by the teachings of the Word of God and by those whose experience and consecrated judgment have rendered them worthy of their respect. As a rule all questions brought for discussion are ably discussed and weighed from all sides before being placed in the hands of the resolutions committee. Neither are they slow to suggest any changes which should be made in the resolutions which are presented for decision by the committee. The conference work means much toward strengthening the Church and helping the Indian brethren and sisters to realize that they are a part of the Church and are recognized as such. All have the opportunity of discussing various questions that come up in assembled conference. We are glad to note the prayerful interest the delegates take in the various activities of the conference. A few of the characteristic questions which have been discussed anc decided upon at different times are as follows: 1. What can we do to better the spiritual condition of the Church? Resolved, that we try to indoctrinate the people of the various congregations and urge that family wor- ship be carried on in all Chris- tian homes. We should be good examples of holy living ourselves and strive to create a hunger after righteousness. Homes of Evangelists BUILDING ON THE ROCK 47 Co Shwe ee or A Mohammedan Mosque in Dhamtari 2. How should we provide for the poor of the Church? Resolved, that in all the congregations the brethren devote much time to prayer that the Holy Spirit may direct as to who should be ordained to the office of Deacon. Note. Discussion of the Scriptural manner of providing for the poor resulted in the above resolution to ordain deacons. 3. What Christian holidays should the Church observe? Resolved, that we observe Christmas, New Year, Good Friday, Pentecost, and Thanksgiving day. All to be kept as whole holidays. Note. In a recent conference suggestions were given as to the manner of observing the days. 4. What plan can we as a Church carry out by which the Kingdom of Christ may be made known to more souls about us? Resolved, that in order that the Church may do some definite work a brother be chosen by the ministerial meeting and that he be set apart as a colporteur or evangelist and that his living and work be arranged for 48 BUILDING ON THE ROCK by the ministerial meeting. (See separate discussion on Home Mission work.) 5. What punishment shall be given to a church-member who defames his neighbors with abusive language by calling them witches, etc.? Resolved, that we urge the different congregations to be more ready to expel such members from the Church or to punish those who persist in defaming others according to section C. Page 12 of the Discipline which in part reads as follows: “Adhering to witchcraft or falsely blaming another of being a witch or wizard shall be considered grave faults and such persons shall be dealt with as offenders by the Church.” 6. If an officer of the Church be expelled, will his office be given him when he is again received into membership? Resolved, that if an officer is expelled because of sin he shall not be given his office when reuniting with the Church but after sufficient time of pure and consecrated Christian living he may again be chosen for the office by his congregation which may be ratified by Conference. If he is expelled the second time his office shall never again be given him. 7. Shall we have a Sunday School Conference? A resolution was passed favoring and a committee was appointed. 8. How get rid of)tébacco in the Church? Resolved, that we consider that tobacco defiles the body and does it: positive harm. According to I Cor. 3:17 we ought not to make use of any unclean thing. Any member of the Church who after having beer fully taught and warned still persists in the’ use of tobacco shall be considered according to the discipline of Conference as an offender in the Church and shall be dealt with by the Church Committee of the congregation of which he is a member. Church Activities Sunday schools were regularly conducted from the beginning of the Mission. According to one of the conference questions definite steps were taken to organize a Sunday School Conference. This was in the Church Conference of Jan. 6th, 1914, and Sunday School Conference has been held annually ever since. Great interest is taken in all the questions brought up for discussion and the attendance is larger than at the regular Church Conference. The former are held on Sunday while the latter are held on a set day of the week. Later the Young People’s Meetings were established and as far as possible put under the leadership of the Indian brethren and _ sisters. They formed the majority of all committees and had their share of BUILDING ON THE ROCK 49 decisions in the choice of subjects and have always taken a keen interest in open discussions. Both brethren and sisters are permitted to express themselves. The weekly prayer-meetings have been a regular feature of Church activity. They have always meant much to the Christian community. In some of the communities where the congregations are large several cottage prayer-meetings are held on the same evening of the week. Where the congregations are small they meet either in the central worshipping place or in the homes of the members. There have been times when such Sankra Church meetings ran far into the night and when the spirit of prayer took hold of all who attended. Teachers’ meetings are held regularly. At different times special 3ible classes were conducted for those who felt the need of Bible study. On several occasions classes of converts were called together to study carefully the essentials of the Christian faith, after they had been otherwise instructed and received into the Church. One cannot give too much Bible teaching to these first generation converts. The Annual Bible Conference has been a recognized activity of the Church since 1915. The Church Conference annually appoints a committee to arrange for it. Previous to this time as far back as 1907 the Mission had regularly arranged for special meetings for deepening the spiritual 50 BUILDING ON THE ROCK life of the *Church.:. They proved a* great blessing each year. Here tie differen, congregations came together to study the Word as it applies to their relations to God and man, to receive inspiration and encouragement, anu to go hack to their stations with a feeling that to live and work for the Lord is worthwhile. As far as possible able teachers and speakers were chosen to have charge of the different meetings which were generally something as follows: Prayer-meeting at sunrise; general meeting at 8:30 A. M.; noon intermission from 10:30 to 2:00 P. M.; sectional meetings of different groups including children, young men, young women, older men, older women, and lepers if they were present; at 3:00 P. M. a general mecting; at 6:00 P. M. a half hour of special prayer service followed bv an evangelistic service. In 1910 during such an evening prayer servic the spirit of intercession seemed to be present in a special manner. The leader read a short passage of Scripture and all knelt in prayer. A number were ready to lead in prayer and the time was too short for those who desired to respond in turn. After singing a verse of song the leader told the congregation that we should not quench the Spirit but that as many as felt led might pray. At once every voice went up in simultaneous prayer. Jhere was no disorder for God was in the midst. Prayer finished, many confessed their sins and others were reconciled to each other. We have never seen quite the same demonstration since, yet who were we that we could withstand God? Ordinations The first great need along this line was for deacons who could help in caring for the poor and serve as councilors with the people in time of difficulty. At first the brotherhood did not think there were brethren who were qualified for this responsible work. But steps were taken according to the Church Constitution. For several weeks previous in the regular services the matter was brought to the notice of the several congregations. The pastors explained what the qualifications of a deacon should be. When the votes were cast they showed that the matter had been given very careful and prayerful consideration. The members considered neither former caste nor position but chose those who were exemplary in their lives and able for the work. We have every reason to believe that God honored their choice for with few exceptions our deacon brethren have proved themselves worthy of the confidence of the Church. Up to the present time the Church has not felt that the time for ordaining ministers has come. The subject is being seriously considered BUILDING ON THE ROCK 51 and while we missionaries are of the opinion that fellow ministers could and should be ordained from among our Indian brethren yet we are patiently waiting and praying that the Spirit may have His way with the Church in this matter. Perhaps those whom we think well qualified for the work would not be God’s choice. In His good time we know He will bring it to pass. We, however, feel that the time is very near and the question which lies before us is, When they are ordained will the Church demand their whole time and fully support them or will she consider them as religious leaders, one of their number, and expect. them to make at least part of their own living? An Indian ministry will also imply an Indian bishopric at some future time. May God grant that this may also be brought about. We are hoping and praying for that also. Home Mission Work For at least three or four years before 1916 regular Thanksgiving services were held and special collections in money and _ produce were taken. The people prepared for the offering by saving up for weeks ahead. The Church was asked what should be done with the money and Conference finally decided to place it in the hands of a special committee whose duty it should be to establish a Home Mission station. The collections taken at Thanksgiving should be placed in a Home Mission fund. In 1916 a house in the village of Mogragahan was secured and Bro. Agnu and his wife, Ganga, became the first Home Missionaries of the India Mennonite Church. They labored faithfully among the people of the surrounding villages. After several years they were transferred to another evangelistic station and Bro. Mohan and wife took their places and have labored there every year since. The result has been that a number of people have become Christians through their instrumentality. But after they had accepted Christ they found it hard to make a living among the village people and were compelled to move to other parts but the efforts of the workers were not in vain and we still hope to establish a congregation in that village. Funds accumulated and Conference in 1922 decided to open another Home Mission station and purchase sufficient land in connection with it to support a worker and his family in order to enable him to labor free from any further financial help by the Conference. During the year 1924 the land was purchased and with it a good house and compound in the village of Potiadi about five miles west of Dhamtari. At the present time the Committee are in search of a suitable couple to locate in this station. 52 BUILDING ON THE ROCK We praise the Lord for His leadings in this matter and believe He will lead the Church to greater activity along this line. It will be of interest to the reader to know that the Church in India has given for Home Mission work both in Thanksgiving offerings and in special collections a total of nearly one thousand five hundred and twelve dollars. We consider the village Sunday schools a phase of the Home Mission work of the Church since they are organized and conducted entirely by the Indian brotherhood. In each congregation the membership, both men and women, is divided into groups of workers who at stated times go to the surrounding villages and bring Gospel messages to the people. They use either the Sunday school lessons or printed Bible lessons such as are printed in the Hindi language. The 1923 report shows that the six congregations of the Mission were conducting fifty-two village Sunday schools. All these except those conducted in the sub-evangelistic stations of the Mission were under the auspices of the Indian Church. The Home Mission work has intensified the interest of the Church in evangelizing the people of India. -It has also» Shown us” the futurer possibilities. of the’ @hurch:; “We try. to» encourage sthemainwever, way to strive to reach the people of every class and bring them to Christ. This has developed another Home Mission activity which although it is not taken over by the Conference yet every Christian is enlisted in this service. It is what is known as the Evangelistic Campaign. A few weeks each year are set apart for the purpose of intense evangelism among the people of the villages. Special prayer and Bible study precede these special efforts and groups of workers are formed according to their ability. The purpose of the work is to bring as many people as possible to a definite decision to accept Christ. It is also a means of deepening the spiritual life of the Church and of awakening her to the needs of the non-Christian people around. It also brings the Gospel before the people in a definite way. A Self-supporting Church From the very beginning of our mission work the Church was taught to give for the Lord’s work. The children of the orphanages and the lepers gladly cut their meals or daily gave a certain portion of their uncooked food in order that some worthy cause might be supported. They thus helped to support the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Tract and book Society and contributed help for flood sufferers in China, famine sufferers in other areas of India, and for the work of the Church of which they were members. After our young men and women married and BUILDING ON THE ROCK 53 established homes of their own they regularly contributed to the Sunday collections and submitted to systematic “taxation” for keeping up the graveyards and regular Church expenses. Thanksgiving day was under- stood from the beginning to be a day of. giving. Tithing has been held up as the Bible standard of systematic giving. ‘Therefore the Church has been gradually brought to the place where she realizes her financial obligations to support activities for establishing and promoting the Cause of Christ. All hymn-books, Sunday school lesson-helps, Bibles and other Christian books found in our Christian homes were bought by them. The cost of lamps for the churches and oil to burn in them, the support of the caretakers of the church buildings, the expenses relative to the upkeep of the graveyards, and the cost of the implements for digging graves, etc., were all met by the Church. In this the Church has been self-supporting. The brotherhood gave liberally according te their means toward the erection of houses of worship. Our Conference records show that the Church has given in collections for maintenance about one thousand six hundred and fifty dollars. Beside this a considerable amount was donated by our Indian brotherhood for charitable work by way of supporting poor in institutions, etc. While it must be remembered that the missionaries also gave their share in these collections which was proportionatel’ larger than our Indian brethren were able to give yet we believe most of them have done what they could. We believe that a greater day is dawning for the Church in India. We pray that by the grace of God she may initiate and support greater activities in the future than she has done in the past. We pray for and are expecting a strong body of Christ in this dark land. A House at the Hills, Darjeeling CHAPTER, DIRECT EVANGELISM The underlying purpose of every department of the Mission is evangelistic. One who has been in the country a number of years and has had the privilege of working in different departments of the Mission and is able to take a view of the whole situation soon perceives that they compose a great whole, the underlying purpose of which is to make Christ known to dying souls and lead them to His feet. They represent a veritable bee-hive of busy workers all concerned with their respective duties yet each having an important part in evangelistic activity. The daily Bible teaching in all our schools, Bible reading in the Leper Asylum, the prayer and preaching hour in the medical dispensaries, and the morning devotion with workmen and servants are all effective means of evangelism. Years of Preparation for Direct Evangelism The efforts of our pioneer missionaries to prepare the orphans for evangelism are highly praise- worthy. They carefully and patiently organ- ized them into classes for Bi- bile, psa diys. They had vis- ions of what these boys and girls should be- come. But they must often have asked them- selves the ques- tion, “Can any Christian Workers’ Family in Ghatula District BUILDING ON THE ROCK = Sankra Evangelistic Station good thing come out of these Chattisgarhis?’ Many of them were ignorant, others dull, and still others irrespon- sible. It would take years of careful discipline and whole- some, persistent teaching to prepare them even in a small way. Could these same pio- neer brethren and sisters be on the field now and have the privilege of again associating with those whom they so faithfully taught they would feel more than repaid for their painstaking efforts. Beside teaching they also used them wherever possible to evangelize their own peo- ple. The missionaries often visited the home villages of the boys and girls with whom they would hold meetings with the villagers, thus giving them a taste of the work and a vis- ion of the great opportunities they would have in the future when they would carry the Message to their own people. These boys and girls heartily testified to what God had done for them. This served as a means of practical train- ing and gave the young peop'e a contact which would be of service to them in future years. As time and opportunity afforded the missionaries aiso visited the villages from which famine sufferers came. They were always accorded a glad welcome. They would take 56 BUILDING ON THE ROCK with them some of the Indian Christians who gladly witnessed for Christ. Many times when they would enter a village someone would come run- ning and ask them to be his guest during their stay. In this way he would try to pay back in part the kindness which was shown him in the famine kitchen or in the medical dispensary. This confidence soon bore fruit in requests for village schools and religious teachers. It increased the re- sponsibilities of the missionaries and led to more definite work of preparing evangelists and Bible women for the great task before them. The Indian Workers Our “Indian, “workers” are. ‘classed vas evaneelists =) Gani women. They preach and teach the Gospel in the bazaars, streets of the villages, in the homes and schools. They also sell the Scriptures and Christian literature, and distribute tracts. It has been found better to sell all literature except tracts at a small cost rather than give it free of charge as it gives it a value and is better cared for by the people» |The price they pay dces not nearly cover the cost of printing. Better a few bought at a small cost and often read than more given free, only to be torn to bits and’ scattered by the roadside. One of our most active high-caste Christians was converted through reading a New Testament which was placed in his hands by one of our Indian brethren. The Bible women are married and care for their own homes. They visit heathen women in the towns and villages and teach them the Word of lile. They, also, as opportunity affords, teach them to sew, to read and write, and other things which will be useful to them. In this way they gain entrance into many homes. The Bible women also have the privilege of being exemplary home-makers. The non-Christian people about them see the difference between the Christian families and their own and are more willing to listen to their teaching. Most of the workers have come from the orphanages. They were reared under missionary supervision and given Christian training from childhood and had a fair knowledge of the Scriptures before being taken on in the work. A very few have come from other denominations and have made our Church their choice. A few have come from among our village converts and have by their conduct and qualifications, proved them- selves worthy. It is more difficult to free such as they from their former superstitions. Most of the workers’ have also received training in some other kind of work and would be able to make a living if left to their own resources. A few are serving as evangelists at a real sacrifice and we appreciate the spirit they manifest. RINIVYH “JOoyrs FIq1g sees aN PO EOL EO LL ELS SLO LEE EE AEROS 58 Mig SBUILDING‘ON. THE ROCK Work of the Main Stations Because of their faith we hold our first colporteurs in grateful memory. One afterward became a leper and died in the leper home. Another who is still living is well advanced in years and can tell us some interesting experiences of his work. Others have gone to their eternal reward. Dhamtari was the only main station for a number of the first years of the Mission. Next was Rudri; then Balodgahan; three native states to open main station but up to the present time we have three native states to open main stations but to the present time we have not been successful in opening permanent work. We are still hopeful that they may become a reality. The evangelistic work differs somewhat in nature according to the location. In Dhamtari a little bookshop was maintained for several years in which phenyle, a disinfectant, was sold and the worker gave out tracts and sold books and Scripture portions. In this way he did a great deal of good. The evangelists during most of the years visited the Dhamtari and other village market places, met the trains as they came and went, preached in the hospital to the patients, Sister Burkhard and Bible Women (1910) BUILDING ON THE ROCK 59 and visited the surrounding villages giving the Word of Life to the people. The Bible women visited the zenanas where women were kept in seclusion. They also visited the homes of the common people and wherever opportunity afforded sang Christian hymns, read the Word, and prayed with the people. Our Bible women were happy when the missionary sisters could accompany them. During the twenty-five years several of our missionary sisters were able to devote a large part of their time to this work. They and the Bible women generally received a warm welcome into the homes of the people. If they were not welcomed it was generally due to prejudice born of ignorance. The evangelistic work of the other main stations was carried on among the people of the surrounding villages. The large gatherings of people at the bazaar places and especially at morais, that is, when the god of the place is reinstated in the worship of the people, afforded good oppo.tunities for preaching. The workers found their work most fruitful when they could follow up their public service by seeking out inquirers and quietly talking to them about Christ and His power to save. During the quiet evening hours they often had opportunities of leading a soul into the Kingdom. Both they and the Bible women have been faithfully serving the Lord according to their capacity and slowly but surely planting the Gospel seed in the hearts of the people. In 1903 over two hundred thirty-eight portions of Scripture and one New Testament were sold to non-Christians. During the twenty-five years the sales have steadily increased. In a big two-day bazaar a missionary and four Indian workers sold four hundred books in two days. People have come of themselves and asked for certain Christian books or for Scriptures. A Mohammedan came into the office of one of the missionaries living in Sundarganj and asked for an Urdu copy of the Bible. Not having one on hand at the time he showed him one written in the Roman characters. The Mohammedan reverently took the book in both hands, raised it to his lips and kissed it. He then said, “I have great reverence for this book and for Jesus of whom it teaches.’ Another, a Hindu, sent to the missionary of another station for a copy of the Psalms, writing in good English, “I consider the Psalms the most beautiful religious teaching we have in the world.” Another Indian who is a leader among his people who are known as Kabir Panthis has bought a copy of most of the different books our evangelists take for sale. He seems to be an earnest seeker after the Truth and we have come to know that he teaches what he reads to his people. Through the seed thus sown from the main stations the surrounding people have come to understand in part the 60 BUILDING ON THE ROCK Message but the fetters of caste are holding them back, else doubtless many more would openly confess their Savior. The Sub-evangelistic Stations In nearly every instance, the real test of the Christian worker and his wife comes when they are called upon to move to an outstation where they must live alone among the heathen people and regularly visit surrounding homes, villages, and market-places, and daily dispense the Bread of Life to an ignorant, superstitious heathen people. Such workers are generally put on their own honor. Each month the men come to the main station for their allowances and bring with them the monthly report of both themselves and their wives, if they are Bible women. They have a list of the surrounding villages of their subdistrict and have in a general way their work outlined for them by their missionary manager. The home life of the worker in the substation means much to the work. The family is generally stronger, healthier, cleaner, more intelligent, better behaved, more refined, and more exemplary in many ways. But they) must. ssulter many inconvenien- ces because of the prejudice of the peo- ple. They may not be allowed to take water from the vil- lage well. The vil- lage barber will not shave the men. They will often be snub- bed by the village people whom _ they are seeking to win to Christ. But they patiently suffer it all. While some of them are prone to become discouraged we thank God for Sister Lapp and Her Bible Women (1924) BUILDING ON THE ROCK 61 those who manifest Christian fortitude and faithfully plod on in their work in spite of the many hindrances which are thrown in their way. They need our closer companionship. As is stated in the discussion of the medical work, the workers in the substations are allowed to keep in stock simple remedies with which to treat common ailments of the village people. This adds a great deai to their influence. One of our substations was visited by a Government Sub-Assistant Surgeon who is very much in sympathy with mission work and who also is a Christian. He afterward said to the manager, “Your worker in ~- station is quite a little doctor. He has some very good remedies there and has a good influence among the people.” oa oe oe ihe i | Village Sunday School, Balodgahan One hardship which our outstation workers have to undergo is to have to put their children in the boarding schools of the Mission and have them away from them a great part of the time. They have better school and other advantages but are deprived of their home life. But they willingly make the sacrifice and also pay according to their financial ability for the training of their children. 62 BUILDING ON THE ROCK The outstations are Bijnapuri, Gopalpuri, Bagtarai, Bhatgaon, in the Dhamtari district; Chikli in the Balodgahan district; Nawagaon and Tengua in the Sankra district; Seodi in the Mahodi district; and Gatasilli and Kaspur in the Ghatula district. A few of the above outstations such as Gariaband and Mahodi, were later either closed as in the case of the former or became main mission stations, as in the case of the latter. Touring Each year special efforts have been put forth to reach outlying villages which have not been regularly visited by the workers. The people as a rule are more receptive in these villages and listen with interest to the messages they hear. Because of their illiteracy we use pictures very largely to illustrate what we teach them. The large Sunday school pictures are used very generally throughout the Mission. The small cards are also distributed among the children. We find them very helpful in the Sunday school as well as the district work. We cannot thank our friends enough for the many cards and pictures they send us each year. Even more of them will be greatly appreciated. Each station has an equipment of tents and camp furniture. At touring time, which is during the cool season as a rule, the tents and furniture are repaired, folded up, loaded into carts together with the necessary food and other provisions for a week or more of camping and the carts are ordered to the camping place. The missionaries and workers plan the visits to the villages surrounding the camp in order to visit several duriny the day and also spend the evening at some central place where by lantern light messages are given to the people. A goodly supply of literature is taken and offered for sale at each meeting held. Oftentimes tours are made to villages where missionaries have never been. Sometimes we come to places where the Indians have never seen the face of a white ‘man. On one such occasion when entering a village the people became frightened and all ran away and hid in the bushes. It was only by patient, persistent effort that they could be induced to return to the little group ‘of visitors. After they knew the real object of- the visit they became friendly and asked that their visitors come back again and tell them the ‘Gospel story. If only we could make such visits more frequently. If the tours last over several weeks, camp is broken several times and the ‘tents are set in several central places. As we tour thus our hearts burn within us for the people whom we visit. They are in gross ignorance regarding the Way of Life. They are receptive. Some of them acknowledge that the religion we represent gives them more than what om et BUILDING ON THE ROCK 63. Mahodi Evangelistic Station they have. But what. can we do by visiting such places but onee a year? ..We can only pray that God may in His own -way through the Holy Spirit make the message clear to them. The Bible Normal During the first years of regular evangelistic work the missionaries did what they could to give the workers Bi- ble knowledge. Later it was deemed advisable to place in the workers’ hands helpful books and assign certain Scripture portions for them to read during the year. For several weeks during this time the workers were gathered to- gether for the purpose of re- viewing what they had read. Examinations were then giv- en and new assignments made for the following year. These annual normals have been held for the last sixteen or seventeen years. At first both school teachers and_~ other wo.kers were enrolled in the Normal but during the last yea.s, sepaiate normals have been held for them in order to give them work better adapt- ed to their separate needs. The workers are divided into three classes according to mentality and years of serv- ice. Those who pass the best 64 | BUILDING ON THE ROCK grades are promoted from the lowest to the highest class year by year. The result is that those of the lowest classes show less ability and if they fail regularly in their examinations they are liable to be excused from the work unless they possess other qualifications which justify their being retained. Each year grade cards are filled out which show the quality of work done in Normal, their faithfulness and ability in general, and their spiritual standing. These serve as a criterion for the future. The fol- lowing is a sample of their grade cards. CHRISTIAN WORKER’S GRADE CARD Naimer Of AVOTK eI Glee etait tay CN Sake ces Ge eee Date iy c7.. Satta anne aieee SS EALIOT spyagehed 5) ce seal See ering fa Sno ae Classification (Advanced, Middle, or Primary) 1. Work. PresentwAllowances () sG> ©) 3-year eeter ce ce: Ability Basis eotwLOQ i a wey aay Application Oe er Pa aes ee 1s a Voluntary Effort ee aN raat eee Totalteog ie 2. Character. Spirituality eg Vice IER Ps cene te Me ih Freedom from bad habits nl oe a ieetas, Dazsteta 2 aoa Readiness: to carry. out instructions: 6 py mee ee otal Sane 3. Normal Subjects ‘ “ec ‘ Et aie thal Lesa hae tee atone WARE Regs Soiane: Pee ere Aree Ths aS ost iee ig SW ae oe St Mea nets. abs eel are Potala eee 6 0 eke so) 8° OF 010.0: 0-6) -o 0, Uéim 4) o (07 a) Orme n le) 2) 6's 0 10'G 6 Grandso6tal a =e Note. The missionary in charge of workers fills in the grades in sections 1 and 2. Section 3 is filled by those in charge of the Normal. The workers in order to secure a passing grade which would make them eligible to promotion must secure a minimum number of 140 marks in any one section and a grand total of not less than 450 marks. This e¢ard after it is filled out is @signed@by the Secretary gore ene Evangelistic Committee and handed to the manager of the worker whose name appears on the card. [t will also be of interest at this juncture to add a few general rules which apply to the evangelists and Bible women. ; i. They shall devote a number of hours a day for five days a week to the service. At times of special effort they shall devote all the time possible. BUILDING ON THE ROCK 65 2. If workers are not able to attend Normal because of sickness, or some other valid reason, arrangements can be made to give them their examinations in their stations. 3. The workers shall be granted two weeks’ vacation each year, the time to be arranged for with their respective managers. 4+. No workers can personally engage in any private enterprise while in service as a worker. Should any one have private interests he must care for them through hired agents or other members of the family. Workers at Balodgahan Note.—Some own land and other property. We encourage them to invest their savings, but not to the hurt of the work in which they are engaged. 5. All workers are required to refrain from the use of drugs, tobacco, liquor, or harmful practices of any kind which will hinder their influence as Christians. The Bible Training School The need of such an institution as the Bible Training School lay on the hearts of some of the missionaries for some time previous to the actual 66 BUILDING ON, THE’ ROCK opening in 1908. Among the first students were a blind man, one who was half blind, and another who was lame; but it was a beginning. None of them were well educated but they were willing to apply themselves. The courses of study at first covered periods of nine months each year tor three years. They included Bible and Church History, courses in Old and New Testament Study, Scripture Memory Work, Methods of Christian Work, Comparative Religions, Singing, etc. From the beginning they were required to do practical work whenever possible during the school year. The teaching staff was small and the missionaries who had charge also had other duties which took a part of their time. It meant training future possible teachers as well as Fae future workers. After shifting about a great deal, Ghatula was finally chosen as the per- manent home for the Bible School. It is now housed in a suitable building and although the attend- ance has never been more than twenty- seven any one year, yet during the years since 1908, ninety- six Indian young men and women have attended for longer or shorter periods. A few were able to take only very elementary work and many of them are not* at present employed as workers but we be- lieve they have been Hindu God Worshiped by the People, Hindu Temple, Dhamtari BUILDING ON THE ROCK 67 helped spiritually and will carry the influence of the school with them in their lives and labors. At the present time the courses of study cover a period of four years of six months each which provide six months’ study and six months’ work in some station or substation. This same method is followed by some other missions and has been found very satisfactory. We praise God for the building for which brethren in the homeland have so liberally donated. We believe God will bless the school to the future good of the evangelistic work of our field. “My Presence Shall Go With Thee.” Detailed statistics regarding the evangelistic work can not be given. Suffice it to say that there were no evan- Pelstsq@olem bible women in 1899, Twelve years after- ward thirty-four men and women were giving their time to the work. It is with feelings -thaty we gratefully remember the services of those who have been call- ccedrOnte tine «to eternity. We men- tioned Bro. Barsan who became a leper and succumbed to the dread _ disease. Bro. Yohan con- tracted tuberculosis and passed away as a result, after years of faithful and fruit- ful service. Patras, his brother, was tak- en in the same way. He, too, was an Workers at Mahodi 63 BUILDING ON THE ROCK earnest and effective winner of soufs. Elizabeth, who came to us from another mission as a leper became an inmate of the Leper Home and was very earnest in her endeavors to teach the Gospel to the other poor stricken inmates. She died happy in her Savior. Sister Sevti was a faithful Bible woman and wite of our deacon, Brother Parsadi. She was suddenly taken by death after only a short Iness. Sister Chherkin was another. Spinal meningitis was the direct cause. She had served her Master faithfully for a number of years. We cannot understand why nearly all of these and man, other faithful ones had to be taken in the prime of life. We could name many more who have been called to what seem to us untimely graves. We would not forget the living both older and younger who have dedicated their lives to the Cause of Christ and are seeking to bring the Gospel to their fellow countrymen. God has saved them by His grace and He will not leave them without reward. They are worthy of your interest, hearty support, and prayers. Some day they, with us, will come before the Throne bringing their sheaves with them and they too will hear the welcome plaudit, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast ‘been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the soy ot thy Lord.” | An Abandoned Hindu Temple Gi AgeT TR VT CARING FOR THE HOMELESS The Boys’ and Girls’ Orphanages, the Widows’ Homes, the Old Men’s Promer themitiohiocuool, Llostel, and school Kitchens) are: classed” as Charitable Institutions. | An institution at any time is a poor substitute for a.good home. A Christian institution in this country is much better than the homes from which their inmates have come. Many of them have not had sufficient to eat and to wear and besides this they knew nothing of Christianity and its teachings. As a result of our Mission having opened work at the beginning of a severe famine much of our work has been with institutions. The Orphanages were started even before the close of the famine. A home for the children was one of the first buildings to be erected. When building was begun only one hundred children were planned for, but before the end of the first year there were one hundred eighty children to care for which made it necessary for the building to be enlarged very soon after being completed. The building was so constructed that the east half of it faced south and the west half faced north. The boys were accommodated in the west half of the building and the girls in the east half. At first they had to eat, sleep and have their school all in the same rooms which caused much confusion and delay in the work of the day. The children also could not all be in school at the same time. Half of them worked in the morning and the other half went to school and in the afternoon they changed about. This plan of part of them working while the others were in school was kept up for a number of years due to the fact that sufficient teachers were not available for the size of staff required. The children in the higher classes helped to teach those in the lower classes. Helpers who could be depended upon to supervise work outside of school also were very difficult to obtain which made the work very hard for the missionaries in those first years. When famine work closed and funds no longer came for that purpose a stable means of support for the orphans had to be provided. It was determined that fifteen dollars would support one child for a year. So the Board was notified and a plea made to the people at home to support 70 BUILDING ON THE ROCK individual orphans. This met with a hearty response and the needed support for the children was secured. The sum required at the present time for support is about double the above amount. Planning for the Girls’ Orphanage It was soon seen that in order to do the best possible for the children the boys and girls could not both be accommodated on the same grounds. The situation was explained to the Board and Church and a plea made for funds to build a Girls’ Orphanage which meant the opening of a new station. There was a hearty response, which resulted in the opening of Rudri station. The girls moved to their new home on May 28, 1903. At that time there were two hundred seventeen in the Girls’ Orphanage and two hundred eighty in the Boys’ Orphanage. Before this time some of the children had to sleep in the verandas of the bungalows and wherever they could find shelter in the rainy season, for they were so overcrowded in their living quarters. The removal of the girls to the new station did not even give room enough for the boys to be comfortably housed in the first buildings. After the school house was built many of the boys slept in it. A line of houses originally built for servants’ quarters furnished a place later on for a number of them to live. Ail the Orphanage buildings were very near the bungalows where the missionaries lived, which in many respects was very objectionable. It brought the children’s playground right to the doors of two bungalows as the first building was between them. For many years it was thought that the Orphanage should be removed elsewhere and finally after it had been there twenty years it was accomplished. A new building was erected in the west side of the same compound in which the boys are now living. This is very satisfactory. Much of the old building is now being used for other purposes, part of it for Sunday school and prayer meeting rooms, part of it for a garage and part for work rooms. In 1906 it was thought best, for various reasons, to interchange the Boys’ and Girls’ Orphanages. In May the boys moved to Rudri and the girls to Dhamtari. In June, 1910, they were returned to their former buildings. With the exception of those four years the boys have always been at Dhamtari. Rudri Sold The girls lived at Rudri until 1912 when the Government acquired ‘the Mission property there for Headquarters for canal construction which required it to be closed as a Mission station. Much time was spent in BULLE DING ONG THE eROCK 71 looking for a location for the Girls’ Orphanage. No suitable place could be found and as moving the Orphanage by a certain time was imperative, it was finally decided to locate it at Balodgahan. Plans for building were made at once but as there was insufficient time to build before the girls had to be moved the cattle stables belonging to the farm were cleaned out, a few changes were made, and the girls moved into them. A small building Was put up in one corner of the compound where the missionary in charge could live near them. The girls lived in this place from May, 1912, to june, 1913, when they moved to their permanent quarters. The new buildings were planned for sixty girls only, as the number in the Orphanage was rapidly decreasing and it seemed then that in a few years all that would be required were accommodations for a small boarding of Christian girls attending school. In 1918, after the influenza epidemic, it was seen that the orphanage should be enlarged. The epidemic being closely followed by two famines made it very necessary to have more room. The money for this purpose was. generously contributed by friends in Pennsylvania. The compound was enlarged to twice its original size and a new kitchen, dining room, dormitory and hospital were added. The new buildings were ready to occupy in November, 1921. Many ot the children were large when they came into the Orphanages in 1900 and 1901. By 1906 a number of them were married. There were also many deaths in the early years of the Orphanages, due to the physical condition of many of the children when they came in. A number of them also left on their own accord after they had been in the Orphanages for some time. Many more boys than girls left because they became more restless and also were better able to take care of themselves outside than the girls were. From the above causes the number in the Orphanages gradually became less. At the beginning of 1918 these institutions had fewer inmates than at any time in their history, there being only about sixty girls and thirty boys and about half in each case were children of Christians going to school from the Orphanages. After that the numbers began increasing which kept on until in 1922 there were two hundred forty-eight girls, the highest number ever in the Orphanage. There were two hundred seventy-five boys in 1921 which was the highest number of boys since 1903 when there were five above this number. At present there are one hundred ninety-four in the Girls’ Orphanage which includes about seventy girls from Christian homes who are attending school from the Orphanage. There are one hundred seventy-three boys in the Orphanage including a number of boys from Christian homes who are attending the Orphanage School. (Still Standing) ission Idings of the Mi t Bui Irs d one of the F 1 an t Dhamtar ing a 1 Orphanage Build igina The Or BUILDING ON THE ROCK 73 Many hoys have been transferred from the Orphanage to the High School Hostel which is a boarding house for pupils who attend the English School. It is also classed as one of our Charitable Institutions because of the boys being transferred there from the Orphanage, and because other Christian boys live there who are unable to pay the entire cost of their SubpOL i nete are thirty-cix.Christian:boys.in the ‘fostel: Industrial Work Industrial work for the boys always has been a problem. It is very necessary for them to learn a trade or profession by which they can make a living when they marry and leave the Orphanage. A few went to school until they became teachers in our own or Government schools. Carpentry including cabinet making, gardening, sewing, rope making and weaving, all have been taught at different times with more or less success. Industrial work is difficult because it is not easy to get good teachers for the different industries. It also is very expensive as new pupils are coming in almost constantly and each one spoils a certain amount of material in learning his work. Besides this a thing produced must have a market and must sell at a profit if the work must support itself. Several boys were sent away to learn wheel-wrighting and blacksmithing. Several were sent to the Government Experimental Farm to learn better methods of farming, two have gone to medical school, and one went to learn tailoring under better teachers than he would have had at Dhamtari. At the end oi twenty-five years bovs from our Orphanages are found in various trades and professions. Among them are farmers, carpenters, stone masons, blacksmiths, cooks, mechanics, coolies, evangelists, teachers, doctors and tailors. While they had the disadvantage of starting out without the help of thrifty parents some of them are today found in good circumstances though the majority of them are financially poor. The girls are taught various occupations more with the view of their being able to do the work required of them in their own homes when they marry and leave the Institution than with the view of it being a source of direct income. A girl in this country can never go away from home to earn her own livelihood unless it be as a teacher or in some profession and she be in a place where she has protection and close supervision as in a wotman’s institution of some kind. Several of the girls took normal training, two took nurses’ training; others attempted it and failed. A number took the Bible course in our own Bible School. Many of the women in this country must work to supplement their husbands’ income. What they will be able to do so often depends on what their husband’s 74 BUILDING“ON YPHE (ROCK work is. Girls from our Orphanage can be found in such occupation as teaching, nursing, taking care of children, Bible Women’s work, matrons’ work, doing housework for the missionaries and others and many of them do ordinary coolie work. A few are home-makers only. Widows’ Home The need for a home for widows and deserted wives had long been felt by the missionaries. As early as 1900 the Annual Report contained this statement, “We need such a home and it will be opened as the Lord opens the way.’’ A woman with two children came in 1911 and asked to be taken care of. She was given a place to live with employment and her children were sent to the Orphanages. In 1912 a few more dependent women came to live in Balodgahan and the missionaries also provided them a place to live and something to do. As time passed a few more came. It was first mentioned in the Annual Report of 1916 and in 1917 there were twelve women in the Home and eleven others had been in it before that time. Until then the Home was only partly supported from Mission Funds but a plea was then made and support obtained for carrying on the work of the Widows’ Home. At the close of 1917 there were nineteen women in the Home. In the beginning the women lived in a few huts near the Mission bungalow which had been vacated by some of the Christian people who went into better quarters. Later a few more huts were added as they were needed. About 1918 money was received from America to build a Home for the women but before the buildings were finished the number in the Home had increased t o more than fill them and the old quarters. POmMCis -OnmsEt ic women remain- ed in the old buildings that were almost ready to fall down until the hot season of 1924 when new mud buildings Wiciieseractca: Boys Washing Their Teeth BUILDING ON THE ROCK 75 The missionary in charge gave much supervision to the work and the women themselves did all the work except the wood work and putting on the roof. Digging the earth, carrying it from the field, carrying water from the village tank, with which to mix the earth into mortar, and laying up the mud walls, is laborious work but the women did it all and now have comfortable houses to live in. Five cottages were built each of which accommodates eight women. Work sheds also were built largely with the labor of the women. There is a well inside the women’s compound. The compound wall was also built by the women. Each woman has her own cooking arrangements. A grain store on a small scale is kept for their benefit where at stated times they can get their Corner of Girls’ Orphanage, Balodgahan provisions. Vegetable sellers are invited to bring in their produce to sell to them on bazaar days. Each woman is given a stipulated weekly allowance of money with which to support herself. She receives this in return for some labor done. The women must be kept busy and feel that they are earning the money they receive or discipline can not be maintained in the Home. The women who are unable to work have provision made for their living but all who are able are required to work. Since the beginning of the Home two hundred and two women have been admitted, twenty-six have remarried, fifteen died, fourteen left of their own accord, preferring their old life to the support and protection they have 76 BUILDING (ON .THE ROCK in the Home. A number of the women have been in the Home the second or third time. One wornan was twice married from the Home and twice widowed and returned. At the close of 1924 there were one hundred fifteen women in the Home. There are forty-three children, nearly all of them being widows’ children excepting a few who are orphan babies whose mothers died, and they are being taken care of in the Home. Nearly all the boys of the Widows are in the Orphanage at Dhamtari. The total number is one hundred fifty-eight. All the women now in the Home, except two, have been baptized and have united with the Church. The Widows’ Home affords good evangelistic opportunities. Many of the women’s relatives and friends come to visit them, some from far away villages, carrying back with them the story of how the women are being cared for and of their having become respectable people. Missionaries or others going on tour through the villages often meet the friends of the women which readily provides an opening into the homes and hearts of the people. They can teach Christ to those who otherwise might not be ready to hear them. At several of our Mission stations, as a result of the last famine, a number of women and children were left homeless. An attempt was made to keep them in their respective stations. There were a few at Mahodi but because the station had to be left for one year with no missionaries located there, the women and children were all removed to the Widows’ Home and to the Orphanages. There are also a number at Sankra. At the close of 1924 there were eighteen women and a number of children at that place. Some of the older boys and girls have been sent to the Boys’ and Girls’ Orphanages. The women at Sankra also live in mud huts. Most of the women are elderly women. All except two are real widows. These two were deserted by their husbands. All of the Sankra women, too, have united with the Church. Men’s Home For a number of vears a few old and disabled men had been cared for by the Mission. Because there was no other place for them they were allowed to live in the Boys’ Orphanage. During famine time the number increased. ‘hey then were separated from the Orphanage and a separate place provided. After famine was over and they became able to take care of themselves they were dismissed one by one until all had been sent away who could possibly take care of themselves. There are still thirteen in the Home. It has always been the policy of the Mission not to admit more into this Home as it always has been most difficult to arrange for their BUILDING -ONUTHE "ROCK 77 support. True they are not very promis- ing but the Missionaries have been un- able to turn them away when it appears as though starvation only could be the result. ‘They are all men who are either o!d, physically disabled or mentally weak and this country does not provide for the support of such persons. So they are kept on with the hope that God will in some way provide for them through the kindness of His people. Station Schools As more poor people came into the Church and the Orphanages filled up it was necessary for some arrangements to be made so that the children of poor Garjan Bai. Gone to Her Reward Christians could be sent to school and the congested conditions in the Orphan- ages be relieved. The parents in many cases are unable to support their chil- dren and send them to school so they must either receive help or remain illit- erate. To give money into the hands of the parents would be a futile way of try- ing to help the children as many of them might not use it for the purpose for which it was intended. Therefore it was decided to open school kitchens in con- nection with schools at the stations where missionaries live. The children were to receive one or two warm meals a day as the need might be. It is not always easy to determine who should Matron of the Widows’ Home 78 BUILDING ON THE ROCK have one or two meals or no help as it can not be exactly known in all cases what the income of the parents is. The plan was first tried out at Sankra in 1922 and proved to be quite satisfactory. The next year it was begun in connection with the Girls’ School at Dhamtari and later for the Boys’ School at Balodgahan. At the latter place there also are a few girls included. At the close of 1924 there were ninety-nine children receiving help in the three kitchens. They are all required to do some useful work supervised by their teachers the hours they are out of school. How long the school kitchens will be continued can only be answered by how great the need will be and whether the means will be forthcoming for supporting them. We must provide a way whereby the children can be educated in order to forestall an illiterate Church in the future. At the present time our Christian community is largely composed of those who came into the Church through the work of our Charitable Institutions in the past and the influence they have had on others. Our evangelists, Bible women, our deacons, all except one, and nearly all of our Sunday school workers came from the Orphanages. Great possibilities for the future of the Mennonite Church in India lie in the children, at present growing up in our Institutions, and unless the means and missionaries will be forthcoming from the home base, to take advantage of these possibilities, much will be lost in carrying forward the work already begun. In connection with this short history of our Charitable Institutions we wish to give a few life sketches of some who have passed through them, which we trust will be as interesting to those who read this book as they have been to those who have come in contact with them. Life Sketches Among those who sought refuge from starvation in the famine of 1899-1900 was a widow named Ramoti Dai. Her husband had already died and she was left with two little boys. Everything she owned had been turned in for food, and what next? She made her way towards Dhamtari. It was a slow process, she being so weak that she could hardly put one foot before the other. On the way, at a large bazaar, her oldest son was lost in the throng of people. Thinking he might be with some relatives the exhausted mother paid little attention to this matter for a few days. When she could not trace his whereabouts she became so discouraged that she tried in various ways to end her life. Once she took a rope to hang herself and her remaining son but did not succeed. Another time she tried’ to throw her son into the river and then drown herself but in this she too failed. Again she was lying beside the road for the night and she says, “A BUILDING.ON, THE ROCK 79 tiger came sniffing around and almost buried us in the sand which he threw up with his paws but he did not even find us good eating and went his way.” At last she reached the famine kitchen where the Brethren Ressler and Page took her in and ministered to her needs. She was in such a bad physical condition that the Indian helpers at the famine camp did not want to touch her. They were ready to let her die. After getting food and medical aid she revived and was a great help in caring for the sick in the hospital but her little boy died. The older one had not been found and to her he was dead—that is the way the Indian expresses it. After the famine Ramoti Dai was taken into the Girls’ Orphanage where she was like a mother to the girls for a number of years. Those who were in the Orphanage then still respect her very highly. When Irene Lehman was born Ramoti Dai was chosen to help take care of her. She was “ayah” (child nurse) for all the Lehman children, helping their mother who was engaged in her mission work. After she began working for the Lehman family steps were taken to find her long lost son. After some searching, traces of him were found and he was brought to his mother. Nine or ten years had elapsed and the little boy had grown to be a man, was married and the father of children. This meeting shall never be forgotten. Truly tears of real joy were shed. There could be no doubt that they were mother and son for the resemblance was very great. The son and his wife are now Christians. Relatives come to see them. One of her brothers also came and is a Christian. She must now be in the seventies and is still working and enjoying her Christian life. One of the most interesting characters that ever passed through the Orphanage was Garjan Bai. We speak of her almost with reverence. She had her human weaknesses but in spite of them she was a noble character. She came into the Orphanage the first day of February, 1900, and was entered on the register as being eleven years old. Her physical condition at that time was very bad. She had sores and needed much care and attention to nurse her back to health and strength. It was not long until she showed the rare ability which she possessed. She early became a leader among the girls and a great help to those who had charge of them. She often related in after years how she with a few other girls studied until late at night in order to have their lessons for school the next day, when according to the prevailing rules, they should have been sleeping. After finishing the work in the primary department of the Mission School she went to Jubalpur and attended Normal School for two years. She then returned to the Mission and taught for about four years. She had (IC6T) cSvucyd-g spar Girls’ Orphanage (1924) 82 BUILDING ON THE ROCK scrofulous swellings on her neck from which she suffered a great deal while she was teaching. Besides teaching she always had numerous other duties in the Orphanage, such as matron’s work, helping to look after the store room and dining room and she was always most faithful in performing her duties. There was some work in which she was very clumsy, such as knitting, sewing and crocheting. But when she made up her mind to learn something it was as good as accomplished for she was most persistent in her efforts to learn. In 1910 she was relieved from teaching and took the position of Matron of the Orphanage which she filled until the time of her death in 1918, though she taught some again the last few years of her life. Garjan Bai came from the oil maker caste. Her mother was a leper, though this fact is not generally known. According to her account of her home life and training she had parents who were as strict as one ever finds among Hindu villagers. She said, “I was never allowed to play outside of our own compound with other children in the evening after dark.” In other ways, also, she was taught to be upright and honest. Her Christian life to her was a great joy and she spent many hours in prayer. Often when it almost seemed as though she should be at other duties, when she was inquired for, the girls would answer, “Bai is praying.” In the influenza epidemic on the 9th of November, 1918, she laid down her life in this world a victim of the disease. How terribly she was missed among the girls where she was like a mother especially to the little ones! She is still missed in the work. Her pleasant smile and hearty welcome await us on the other side. Another beautiful character was Asra Bai. Her mother died when she was a baby. Her sister-in-law took care of her and fed her with goat’s milk and thus she survived as very few little children in this country ever do under such circumstances. Just when her father died is not known to us but her brothers kept her until the famine of 1899-1900 broke out. When they no longer could support her she found her way to the famine camp and from there she came into the Orphanage. In those days she was called Thanwarin but years after when she had learned many things about Christianity she disliked her old name as the meaning of it was not a nice one and wanted to change it. She herself chose the name Asra which means Hope. In this part of the country Bai applies to all women who have some prestige among the people. She was a girl who was very much respected among the people so was always called “Asra Bai.” ; After she finished the Primary School in connection with the Orphanage she went away to Normal School and returning she taught for BUILDING ON THE ROCK 83 several years. [For some time she studied English and with tutoring by some of the woman missionaries she finally passed her fourth class English examination. This she did while she was teaching. In 1913 she went to take the Nurses’ Training Course in the Woman’s Hospital in Ludhiana, Panjab, in north India. She was there for three years before she returned to the Mission to take up work in connection with the Medical Dispensary at Balodgahan. She was there for only a few months and then was transferred to Dhamtari in the latter part of 1916 when Dr. Cooprider came to India, and was connected with the medical work at Dhamtari until her death in November, 1924. She was married in August, 1921. She had very poor health much of the time during the last few years of her life and could not devote much of her time to the medical work but when she could work she aiways could be depended upon to do her work faithfully. She and Garjan Bai were fast friends and she missed Garjan Bai very greatly when Garjan was called away. Asra Bai, perhaps, has never had an equal as a go-between for the missionaries and the Indian people. She seemed to have a special gift in understanding the motives of both and helping them to understand each other. She was a woman loved by many. After her death we heard her name many times in and about the city of Dhamtari and she was always highly spoken of. There are many Hindus and Christians alike to whom she had ministered in sickness. At the present time there is no one to take her place. Birjha is a girl who came into the Orphanage in September, 1916. She had come to the Dispensary at Dhamtari where Dr. Esch treated her for a bad sore she had on her head due to being struck with a heavy stick by her step-mother who was very unkind to her. She remained at Dhamtari for a few days and was then sent to the Orphanage at Balodgahan. She said her people did not want her and had sent her away. A man was sent to her village to investigate and found that her story was correct. She had a sore on her head and through neglect it became full of worms which would outcaste her family if she were allowed to remain in her home. In order to get back into caste the father would have to feed all his caste people and pay whatever penalty they should see fit to impose on him. Rather than suffer this they sent the girl away. Birjha was supposed to be about ten years old when she came to the Orphanage. When here about a year she asked for baptism and wanted to unite with the Church. She has always been faithful. Her start in school was late. She is not extraordinarily bright but she finished the Primary School, has worked one vear outside of school, hecause helpers were too few, and is now in the Middle School (1061) eseueydigQ shog er ee oe Boys’ Orphanage (1924) 86 BUILDING ON THE ROCK and doing well. We believe that she is going to be a good, substantial Christian woman. Shanti was brought to the Orphanage by the police when she was about a day and a half old. At birth her mother had tried to kill her and, thinking her to be dead, she threw her outside the village near the road and covered her body with thorns. The child revived and with its cries attracted the attention of some one who was passing. The police were notified who took charge of the child and investigated the case. The mother was tried and sent to prison where she died some months later. Nothing is known of the child’s father. The little girl was brought to the Orphanage where she was taken care of. Shanti is a tather dull ‘girl and has never accomplished much in her school work but she has certainly needed the sympathy of Christian people if a child ever has. She is now fifteen years old and still goes to school. Kuwarwati came to the Orphanage during the last famine in 1921. She was married when a little girl although she never lived with her husband. Her parents had died and the grandmother kept her, her little sister, and brother. When the famine came she could no longer provide tor them all and sent Kuwarwati to the house of her father-in-law asking them to take care of her. They kept her for a while but when they thought that they also would be scarce in food they sent her back to her grandmother. She returned her to them several times but at last they refused to keep her at all. She with her sister, brother, and grandmother then came to the New Boys’ Orphanage, Dhamtari BUILDING ON THE ROCK Our Blind Boys at Work 87 famine camp at Ba- lodgahan where the erandmother died from the awful starvation she had endured and the children were all taken into the Orphan- ages, @ illess methane ca year after the famine was over and good crops were again in sight the father-in-law of Kuwarwati came to the Orphanage inquir- ing for his daughter- in-law. He could not be turned away with- out a hearing as the girl legally belonged to his household. She was called and he had an interview with her. He told her that he had come to take her to his home. She said to him, “Under no circumstances will I ever return to your house. When I was in need you turned me out, now that I have been brought back from the grave and am in good health and strength you Cattle Stables at Balodgahan Where the Orphanage Girls Lived for Some Time 88 BUILDING, ON THE ROCK come for me but I will not go with you.” The man was told that she could do as she wished about going. He was also asked if the girl had been disobedient while in his home and he replied, “She was always a good girl.” He left and gave no further trouble but went away sad because it means a big expense for a man to have his son married and now he was facing it for the second time with the same boy. The word came at almost the close of 1924 that the boy to whom she was married had died, which releases her and she will be free to marry a Christian young man when the opportunity comes. Kuwarwati has done well in school considering the very late start she had. She is now about fourteen years old. She united with the Church not long after she came into the Orphanage. She is good in hand work .and very clever with the needle. An Orange Tree, Balodgahan CAP TSO Ly THE MINISTRY OF HEALING The main causes of physical suffering in India are ignorance superstition, wrong teaching of family priests, poverty, and hereditary disease. Most of the villages of the country have their houses huddled together without proper air space between, without ventilation, with cattle sheds either built against the huts or near them, without proper systems of drainage or sanitation, and with the families crowded together in closed rooms to sleep or keep warm in cool weather. During the rainy season mud and slush abound. There are plenty of pools in which mosquitoes breed. The Indians of our Mission area are generally careful to cook their food thoroughly but do not know the first principles of cleanliness in its preparing and serving. To quote Dr. Florence Friesen who was called upon to visit a patient in a distant village where the meal had been prepared at the order of the wealthy proprietor: “We were again asked to be seated outside the compound until the meal was ready. There we saw a man who had marks of sin and disease on his body washing a few dishes where we had seen servants washing their feet when we waited there before. After he had washed the dishes he pulled out the end of his dhoti (lower garment) and dried them carefull’. Then the tonga-walla (ox-driver) took the cloth from his neck that he had used to Wipe away the perspiration on the way out and wiped the dishes again, and, to make sure they were clean, wiped them the third time with the end of his turban that had been hanging down his back. Finally it was announced that the meal was ready and the servant led the way to the fine large bungalow. We were guided through it and out on the rear varanda. There was a small table for me and one in another ccrner for the nurse and we were seated with our faces to the wall. There were these same dishes we saw before. Could we eat? We had to or offend. This time when we asked God’s blessing on the meal we also asked to be saved from seen danger and from unseen dangers that daily surround us.” Native Life Most of the houses of the village people are built of mud. Even though they may be of bricks and plastered on the outside with lime and 90 BUILDING ON THE ROCK have a good outward appearance the floors are generally of mud and are cleaned (?) the same way as the village huts, with a preparation of cow-dung and water. The food is cooked in a little corner of a room on a small fire-place and the smoke escapes through a side window if there is any. The whole house becomes filled with this smoke and eyes become irritated as a result. Such eyes become a prey to flies and gnats and become infected. The clothing are generally washed in some pool in which the people bathe themselves. In some such pools they bathe their cattle too. Any microbes that flourish in such water will settle on the clothing resulting in itch, other skin infections, and various, internal diseases. Sores from cuts and bruises become infected not only from contact with uncleanness but from the very treatment they receive. Ashes, mud, cow-dung, and many other unnamable ingredients are made into poultices and applied. Most loathsome sores are the result. Children are not properly cared for, resulting in disease, permanent injuries, blindness, etc. It is quite common for the mother or aunt or grandmother to heat a sickle and apply the point to different places on the infant’s abdomen in order to cure it of some disorder. Most of the children have their little abdomens all spotted from such burns. It is not only supposed to drive out the heat inside but also to drive away any evil spirit which may be persecuting the child. In prolonged cases of crying the medicine man is called and he may recommend applying a hot iron to the soft part of the child’s head in order to drive away the insistent evil spirit. If the spirit persists too strongly the child will die. Aiter the treatment it generally dies. Thousands of people are attacked every year by poisonous reptiles and ravenous beasts. A mad jackal entered our Girls’ Orphanage in 1906 and bit two of the orphan girls and later Bro. M. C. Lapp when he came out to see what the commotion was about. They went to Kasauli for treat- ment and all recovered. A terribly mangled patient was brought to our Rudri dispensary. He had been attacked by a bear. One of our missionaries treated a patient who had been mangled by a panther. Septic poisoning set in and the poor sufferer succumbed. While out on tour one of our missionaries met a man who had his lower lip completely bitten away by a bear. We are often called out to treat cases of snake bite. The patients will recover if taken in time and properly treated. Neglect, especially of women, is the cause of much suffering ‘and death. One missionary was called to a village to treat what he understood to be a child. When he arrived he found it to be a calf. There was a leywieyq ‘uone1g [edIpeyyT we OZ BUILDING ON THE ROCK woman lying ill in the same house but the missionary was not called to see her. He left the calf however and cared for the poor mother. Midwives who are trained according to Indian superstition cause untold suffering not only at the time of child-birth by maltreating the poor mother but too often by causing septic poisoning which leaves both mother and child victims of some dread disease for life. Our Mission district is, perhaps, more free from cholera and plague than scme, but we have had a few outbreaks in and around Dhamtari. ‘Twice the Boys’ Orphanage had to be moved because of plague and the missionaries living in Sundarganj were obliged to take every precaution against contracting it. Sometimes treachery and intrigue, especially among the rich and ruling classes, play a large part in the sickness and removal by death of some. The king of Kanker fell ill from typhoid-pneumonia. As soon as it was known his near relatives began to come and offer their services. This does not sound unusual, does it? No, but the underlying motive led them to do everything in their power that the throne might fall to one of their choice in the nearest possible future. The poor patient knew this and in order to be on the safe side telegraphed for medical help from our Mission. Dr. Esch not being available at the time Bro. M. C. Lapp went to him and took full charge of all his meals and drinking water ordering such diet as was suited to the patient’s needs. Relatives were allowed only such courtesies as would leave him on the safe side. They had sent for the most competent priests and medicine men to administer to his needs and they were ready to show him every kindness (?). But their help was not needed and in twelve days th-ough the careful nursing of Bro. Lapp and the skilled advice of the Civil Surgeon of Jagdalpur he recovered. He liberally rewarded his benefactors for their services. They had saved his life. Do you wonder then that there is great mortality in India? Do you wonder that the cry of the time is for more medical missionaries who will become to India not only apostles of healing and surgery, but of sanitation, cleanliness, and of was and means of improving the general living conditions of the people of India? We are glad to report that the mortality in the Indian Christian community has been considerably reduced. Government has done the best it could and in every place has a system of inspection in vogue but must content itself with such officers as can be had. A one-time sanitary inspector of Dhamtari came to the Mission compound to look around. When he introduced himself to the missionary he said, “I am the thanitary inthpector and have come to have a look around the plathe.” He looked around and compared the living rooms in the BUILDING ON THE ROCK 93 Orphanage with the amount of air space each boy should have and over- looked all the points which he should have noted regarding drainage, sanitation, etc. He himself had been reared in surroundings that would not bear too close inspection. Government Hospitals and Dispensaries It is the lack of dispensaries and hospitals which has called for the establishing of Mission hospitals and dispensaries throughout the land. Government can only go as fast as public sentiment will permit. They Medical Dispensary, Sankra have been careful however to give their servants medical attention by establishing Government dispensaries in every centre in which police headquarters are located. One Government hospital is located in Raipur. The dispensaries which are located in Dhamtari, Sihawa, Kanker, and Gariaband are in charge of assistant medical officers who have had their training in one of the Government medical schools located in Nagpur, Calcutta, Madras, Allahabad, Lahore, etc. They are put on a salary and all medicine is given to the common people free of charge. All dispensaries weyweyq ‘[eywdsoyy uoissi~ oy} ur sAq Ue UO BSuNneIedO ibe AGA RT EES BULIEDIN GIONS TEEUROCK 95 are regularly inspected by the head medical officer who resides in Raipur. He tries to correct any irregularities which may have arisen. We have had occasion to call assistant surgeons to our aid and found them fairly efficient in their work. They have proved capable in both their diagnosis and treatment. We have also called the Civil Surgeon from Raipur in cases of illness when our own doctors were not available or when they wished to consult. The scarcity of Government physicians and private prac- titioners has led to establishing the Mission Hospital and Dispensary. In our Mission there are in all five medical dispensaries located at each of the stations, Dhamtari, Balodgahan, Sankra, Ghatula, and Mahodi. As far as possible they are kept under the general supervision of our medical missionaries located at the respective stations. In most of our outstations the workers are allowed to carry in stock simple remedies to meet the needs of the village people who come to them. Every missionary is looked upon by the Indian people as capable of giving medical assistance and the people often refuse to go to the trained Government assistant surgeons if there is any possibility of receiving help from us. Some of the untrained missionaries have been called upon to operate on and care for difficult cases because of the distance from Dhamtari, or in the absence of our doctors, because the patients insisted upon the missionaries doing the work. Dr. W. B. Page opened the first Mission medical dispensary which was ever opened in Dhamtari. He started work in a shed near which a building was later erected tor the purpose. Sheds were erected for the many famine people who needed medical attention. Hundreds of people were cared for in this way. Not only were grown people cared for but children and babies were kept alive by the vigilant and painstaking efforts of the missionaries. Unless they carefully watched their feeding the mothers were liable to drink the child’s milk and let the infant go hungry. They, in many cases, would feed the children opium to keep them quiet. After the medical dispensary was built a few rooms were reserved for in-patients. After Dr. Page’s return to America there was no Mission doctor until the arrival of Dr. Esch in 1910. The Dhamtari Mission dispensary was left (for some years) in the charge of Muhammed Yakub a Mohammedan assistant surgeon who faithfully served the cause. Previous to this other assistants were hired by the Mission, some of whom were Christians. Some were efficient and faithful while others were found unprincipled and unworthy of the confidence of the Mission. The Mission also spent considerable money for the training of young men from this area for medical work. At the present time one young man is in training in 96 BUILDING ON. THE ROCK Nagpur. It is hoped that he will become a faithful assistant in this service. He is a son of one of our faithful evangelists who a number of years ago was taken from us by death. Tne first building which was used as a hospital and dispensary became too small to meet the requirements and another site was chosen which is over a mile north of Sundarganj near the railway station. A bungalow was built and a small hospital and a ward for a few in-patients was erected. At the present time there is a good building for European patients, and the foundation for a larger and better hospital is dug and plans are laid for more and larger wards for in-patients. With the coming of Dr. Florence Friesen, nee Cooprider, in 1916.and Dr. Troyer in 1923, the work has become better supplied with medical missionaries. Yet they cannot cover the field. There are parts of our mission area which stand greatly in need of a medical missionary to care for the physical needs of the people. We are glad for those in -tite homeland who contemplate taking medical training with the view of giving their lives 'to the cause in India. May God call-more to this nobleyseryice: In ,all during the twenty-five years four doctors. and three trained nurses have come from the homeland and served the cause in India. One doctor was furloughed home because of ill health, one nurse was removed by death and the remaining doctors and nurses are at present on the field. Two Indian nurses, Asra Bai and Sonai Bai, received their training in a mission training hospital at Ludhiana and served the Cause for a number of years. Sonat Bai is still serving. in the Mission but in 1924 Asra Bai was taken away by death. Both have been efficient and faithful in their work. Increased patronage on the part of the Indian people makes a large hospital and dispensary with full equipment necessary. The poor must be given rooms free of charge while the wealthier patrons willingly pay for better accommodation. We believe the plans for enlarging the medical station so as to meet the needs of all concerned are practicable and should be carried out at the earliest possible date. Moreover, as more medical missionaries arrive on the field and are located in different sections of the mission area it will also become imperative that they have better quarters in which to serve the people who come to them for help. While a central hospital and wards are necessary yet this cannot meet the needs oi the outlying districts from which so many patients cannot receive help except from the near Mission stations. Sankra at present is in need of better quarters. A doctor is stationed there. We are praying that doctors will Medical Dispensary, Ghatula come who can serve in still other stations of the Mission. The following record of the dispensaries shows the magnitude of the Medical Mission work: 1900 1901 1907 1909 1916 1920 1924 No. Hospitals 1 1 1 Z iz No. Dispensaries 1 1 5 3 + 4. 5 No. Doctors & Ass’t Surgeons 1 | ] l ] 2 3 No. Nurses and Compounders 1 Jo 3 3 4 4 No. Out-patients 3009 2000 12500 13000 19900 20517 No. In-patients 41 Cee Goel 20 el 62eee 220 2345 The lepers have not been taken into account in the above survey since they are treated in a separate chapter. Medicine and the Gospel Message In a recent number of the Journal of Medical Missions in India, we Headeitoinetne pen of E»F.+Neve, M. D., F--R: GC. S.: “We should aim at nothing less than imparting Christian instruction to all out-patients and in-patients. This may necessitate two or three addresses to out-patients as there are usually fresh arrivals after the first roomiul has been disposed of. In the wards, in a large hospital the difficulty is admittedly great. If helpers are few and there are many wards it may be impossible to visit each ward every day. But that should be 98 BUILDING ON THE ROCK our ideal. It is important to endeavor to build up an evangelistic staff in order to utilize to the utmost extent our opportunities............ Alutrue Christian members of the hospital staff should be encouraged to regard it as part of their duty to join in the work of witnessing—the doctors and nursing sisters themselves setting the example and working according to some plan.” It is generally conceded that through medical Mission work a great influence can be exerted over the people. The relief from physical suffering is an important means of impressing them and of helping them to become more ready to listen to the Gospel message. The nature of the treatment and the cures which have been effected have led many a soul readily to read or listen to messages from the Gospel of Christ, the Great Healer of the people. It will be of interest here to relate some of the incidents which have occurred in the experiences of those who had to do with medical work in the Mission. While one of our missionaries was touring in the district he came to a village in which a former patient lived. Soon the man came running and showed the scar on his body where an operation had been performed which saved his life. He said to the missionary, “You saved my life and now I want you to be my own guest during your stay here.” Fle also called the village people into a meeting and told them to be attentive to the message as the religion of these people was worth learning. A father and son came to one of our station dispensaries. The son had a frightful sore on his head. The sore was treated until it healed and the father became a Christian as a result of the teaching he had received. One morning a man brought his wife to our Dhamtari hospital. She had suffered great pain because of disorder. She thought she had a snake in her stomach. She could feel it. It was killing her. The doctor upon careful examination found that it was the pulsation of the abdominal aorta which became distended because of other trouble. Medicine was eiven her and her true condition was explained, dispelling her fears, and aiso some of the superstitious ideas she and her friends had entertained. She went away happy and was soon restored to full health and strength. We feel confident that the Gospel will find a warm place in her heart. One woman came so weak that she could not walk and had such terrible sores that it was almost impossible for those who treated her to coms near to her. She soon gained in strength from the good food and treatment she received and also became a believer in. Christ. We also have several other women and children who came to us for treatment and food who are BUILDING ON THE ROCK 99 a valuable asset to the Mission. A man needed treatment for appendicitis. The doctor carefully treated him until he was strong enough for the operation. He finally returned to his home sooner than he had orders from the doctor but he recovered much to his own and his friends’ satisfaction. A poor woman came to the Dhamtari hospital with such a bad rupture that a part of the intestines had protruded, becoming perforated through partial decomposition. She recovered (miraculously, it seems to us) after a skillful operation by the doctors and returned to her home a normal woman. A large number of successful operations have been performed on cataracts and other affections of the eyes. It is pathetic to see the joy of those whose sight has been restored to them. During the time that our first medical missionary was in India he Medical Dispensary, Balodgahan had hundreds of cases which were the result of famine conditions. This soon spread the fame of the Mission medical work and widened the field of service, the influence of which is felt even fo this day. When Dr. Esch and his fellow medical missionaries came on the field the Mission planned to give them as much time as_ possible for language study. But missionaries became ill and needed their skilled attention. Needy cases came on which they should operate and it was so easy to take an hour or so of their time in this needy work. Dr. Esch said, “When we first came to India and were located at Balodgahan, Bro. M. C. Lapp had quite 100 BUILDING ON THE ROCK a medical practice. We had the arrangement that for one-hour every morning, after the morning language lesson, I would go out and help him with the cases about which he wished advice, and in the meantime get an insight into the problem of medical practice in India.” One day a man came with a badly festered foot and the only remedy was to amputate the leg above the knee. Dr. Esch was the surgeon, Bro. Lapp the anesthetist, Sister Lapp the nurse, Bro. J. S. Hartzler the first assistant, and Bro. Shoemaker the observer. The operation was performed in the little dispensary room at Balodgahan. The patient was removed to a room in the village and by being carefully nursed he recovered from what was considered a very doubtful case. A few days after we were living in Dhamtari this same man came walking into the dispensary with an improvised artificial leg, apparently well and happy. He had a little discharge from the stump of his leg and upon examination it was found that one of the silk threads was overlooked when the stitches were taken out. It soon healed completely and the man told the doctor thatshewmidts. come to his village about ten miles away and preach and sing to the people and give medicine. | ) A consumptive living in the village of Kaneri not far from Balodgahan was being treated by Bro. Lapp. Dr. Esch was called in for advice and the man was told that he shoyld set his house in order as he had not long to live in this world. The missionaries prayed with him and he declared his faith in Christ and promised that his life would be given to Hime ere would bring about his recovery. The prayer was answered in his seemingly almost entire recovery. But he kept putting off his former promise. He had done away with many of his former heathen customs but finally because of exposure at a large heathen mela, which is held annually at Rajim, a large religious centre on the Mahanadi river, he contracted a severe cold. and his old trouble returned in “ar more (severe (ott mpeee confessed that he had sinned against light and in this condition he died. Great Opportunities Thus we have in the experience of the missionaries cases which show the opportunity for impressing the Message on the hearts of the people. We can truthfully say that the opportunities are taken advantage of in the dispensaries, in the sick wards, in the villages where the people live who have been treated. There are cases of conversion as a direct result of the medical Mission work. But the result cannot actually be shown. Many a patient comes and goes who receives help, hears the Word, and goes back to his or her village and little is heard from them. Yet the seed BULL DUINGLON PEE IROCK 101 has been sown and in God’s own time it will bear fruit for Him. Not only are the people served who come for help. The doctors, nurses, and others are often called out to villages where the sick lie too helpless to be brought to them. It may be a poor helpless mother, or a man who has met with a frightful accident, or someone who was struck suddenly ill from some ravaging disease. The missionaries generally run a great risk in treating such people for they, too often, are almost beyond relief and many times have some disease which, if the doctor or nurse is not careful he or she might contract from the patient. Every care has to be exercised in the treatment of the sick. But much to the credit of those who care for them they shirk no duty, but brave every danger in seeking to save life, and at the same time bring a soul out of darkness into light. They must travel in carts, on horseback, through rain and shine, suffer cold as well as intense heat, in order to carry out their Mission to the suffering. Dr. Esch was called to the home of a village owner of Nipani a village about fifteen miles from Dhamtari. They had sent a pony for him to ride which got him there in due time. The doctor asked for a cart in which to return home after he had eaten his supper and cared for the patient and other sick which were brought to him. The evening meal was greatly enjoyed after such a long ride on a pony. The host told him that there was an elephant in the village on which he could return if he wished to do so. The driver of the elephant told him that the beast would take him in to Dhamtari in about two hours. With a few misgivings the doctor assented to taking the elephant. The saddle consisted of a large pad and several blankets securely roped on. It seemed like sitting on the top of a haystack. He could neither sit or lie with comfort and it was a cold night. They had not travelled long until he could see that it would take more than two hours to get in to Dhamtari. It took five and one half hours to get in, and the doctor had to dismount a number of times and walk to keep warm and limber up. He afterward preferred a buffalo cart with straw if nothing better was available. We cannot refrain from telling you the story of little Banwasa. <A man brought her to the dispensary and said she had no relatives to care for her. She was suffering from a bad ulcer on the back part of her head. A square inch of skull was exposed and maggots were working around the sides of the sore. When she recovered the missionaries planned to send her to the Girls’ Orphanage but one of the Christian women of the Sundargan} congregation who had lost a little girl her size some years before took her into her own home. She is now a fine, happy little girl 102 BUILDING ON THE ROCK and says that when she grows up she wants to he a nurse and help others who need the same kind of help she received. We trust that little Banwasa will be of use in the Lord’s service. This mission of pure love, most times without any pecuniary remuneration, means more to the work of the Lord in India than any one can calculate. It helped the Christian people to come out of their beliefs in witch doctors and medicine men. The movements set on foot for teaching the people as to sanitation, the danger of drugs, the need ol careful and prompt treatment, will all have their influence sooner or later. The Indian people appreciate the service. The orphan children learn to rely on the service they receive. Some amusing and pathetic experiences can be told in connection with the service. A village man whose son was being treated was trusted with several doses of medicine for his son. He was sure that all of it given at a time would cure the son at once if single doses would have the slow effect of healing him gradually. So he gave about four doses at once with the result that the son was thrown into convulsions. The witch doctor was called to drive out the demon that had taken possession ard the father was just in the act of spanking his sick son with a shoe when the missionary came on the scene. After asking a few questions the missionary gave a strong antidote and the “demon” soon Jeft and the son was himself again. One of the orphan girls who had an eye for economy took quinine capsules to her room to take for malaria and when she took a dose of the quinine emptied it from the capsules and brought them back for more. She was straightway told that she was to take capsule and all in order to avoid having to taste the quinine. From 1500 to 2000 dollars are used every vear in medical work beside the amounts of money which go into buildings but none will regret the cost compared to the vast amount of good that can be done. Keeping in mind the ultimate purpose of it all we can rest assured that God will honor the work in the salvation of never dying souls. God bless the medical Mission work and the nurses and doctors who consecrate their lives to this noble work! CHAR OER Serr TRAINING THE HANDS India is a country of almost unlimited resources. There are great forests of valuable timber. The teak wood (tectous grandis) forests of India and Burmah produce some of the most valuable cabinet and ship- building lumber in the world. There are enormous deposits of coal and iron. In Bengal there are coal fields producing over 10,000,000 tons a year. Ships in the harbors of Bombay and Calcutta are loaded with Indian coal, some of which comes from the Central Provinces. The manganese mines near Nagpur, Central Provinces, furnish the steel mills of Pittsburgh with manganese ore for the manufacture of vanadium steel. Agriculture is extended over the length and breadth of the land. Rice, wheat, cotton, kafhr corn, and sugar cane are the principal crops of the soil while various legumes, hemp, sesame, from which sweet oil is made, are produced in great quantities. India was third in the wheat producing countries of the world even when Russia was producing normally. The cotton mills of India compete with Manchester in the manufacture of cotton fabrics. There are in and around Bombay nearly thirty square miles of cotton mills and business warehouses with laborers’ dwellings. The Cossipore sugar mills turn out great quantities of the best refined sugar made from India grown sugar cane. All known tropical and temperate zone fruits grow in India. Shiploads of raw jute are shipped to the United States to be manufactured into the gunny bags of commerce in spite of the fact that jute mills and other factories line up the banks of the Hoogly for miles. India is one of the six great industr‘al countries of the world! Local Natura] Resources ; Os That part of India occupied by our Mission Field has its full share of the above men- tioned natural re- Threshing Rice 104 BUILDING ON THE ROCK sources. Dhamtari is a very busy industrial center. South and east are large tracts of sal (vateria robusta) wood forests which furnish railroad ties as well as coal mine timbers all over India. Railroad ties measure ten feet by ten inches by five inches. These are carted to Dhamtari from the outlying forests in great numbers. In a single trip from Sihawa to Dham- tari by motor, occupying only three hours, as many as eleven hundred carts were counted either loaded and on their way to Dhamtari or going back empty for more ties. In one month as many as 15,000 of these ties were shipped from Dhamtari on the narrow gauge railway. Another jungle product distributed from Dhamtari to other parts of India and to foreign countries is the marabalam nut. This is an astringent nut that grows on the harra tree. The nut is about the size of the white walnut the outside of which is a spongy mass covering a hard seed. The nut is gathered only for the outside portion which is rich in tannic acid and is used for tanning leather and for the manufacture of dyes. For a long time the seed was considered waste but it has been discovered that it is an excellent substitute for fuel, burning with great heat, and now the brick factories of Dhamtari use so much of this fuel that it has become a valuable by-product. Dhamtari is one of the most important lac centres in all India and many tons of the raw material are shipped from Dhamtari every year to European markets. “Lac” is the Hindi name for the raw material from which are manufactured the high class shellac varnishes and polishes. For a number of years the Mission carpenter shop has manufactured its own “french polish” by dissolving the raw lac from the jungle with methylated spirits. When properly applied it will stand the famous valspar boiling water test. Lac is produced by millions of tiny red insects barely visible to the unaided eye. Certain forest trees, preferably the kusum, are inoculated with these tiny insects which at once go to work building up on the small twigs of the eT ge TT aa somes branches innum- erable cells that are filled with a reddish fluid. This fluid becomes hard after it is dried when it is ready. for export. Carting Railway Ties BUILDING ON THE ROCK 105 Great quantities of hemp and bamboos are brought into Dhamtari every year. Dhamtari has numerous brick yards, tile factories, oil presses, native pottery shops, and brass making shops. It boasts five cigarette factories employing two hundred eighty-three men, women, and_ boys. Every day these five factories turn out 150,000 cigarettes. But this is not enough to supply the smoking public for in addition 125,000 cigarettes are shipped into Dhamtari every day. Dhamtari has also recently installed a soap factory with a considerable daily output. The Indian and Labor India has never taken kindly to manual labor. According to the orthodox Hindu, menial tasks are reserved by the gods for the lower strata Irrigating Mission Gardens from a Well of society and for those whose economic circumstances compel them to earn their own living. This naturally includes a very large number but due to the supposed disgrace of labor a man will employ his work done as soon as it becomes possible for him to do so even though he is still classed as a poor man. There are many people who lack even that much ambition and if by working for some time they accumulate a little money, 106 BUILDING ON THE ROCK they lay off until the surplus is used up, when they will resume work again! In large industrial centers this attitude, on the part of the Indian, produces complex labor problems for large employers of labor. There have been great changes for the better in recent years and amazing forward strides have been made but there is still much ground to be possessed before India can be considered in a satisfactory economic condition. The poor man who really wants to get on is put to a serious disadvantage when it comes to borrowing monev. The professional money lender has things all his own way and the high rate of interest he charges often keeps the borrower in veritable slavery the rest of his life. It is not unusual for the borrower to pay from thirty to one hundred percent interest on the money borrowed! Relief has come in recent years in the form of Cooperative Banks, backed by Government, where it is possible with proper security, to borrow money at a reasonable rate of interest. It is a great boon to farmers, cartmen and others who really have ambition enough to want to get on in life. The Economic Situation The economic question in its relation to our Christian community is one oi the most urgent and baffling questions. Our Christian people are drawn principally from the lower classes who are the poorest of the poor. It is not hard to understand this when it is borne in mind that the mnajority of our Christians have come and are coming from our orphanages. It is no easy task to build up a poised, stable Christian community from such material. And yet if that is what is desired, if a self-supporting and self-propagating Indian Church is to be organized and built up, it is necessary to give serious attention to this one of the most perplexing Plowing in India BUILDING ON THE ROCK 107 questions. In one of the numbers of the India Mission News appeared a table representing the financial condition of the Mennonite Church which is here reproduced. | Financial census of the India Mennonite Church (Approximately three rupees to the dollar) 2 families have an income ranging between Rs. 75—100 per month 6e 6é 6é a9 be ce ce re ce ce 9 BOe ey 31 ee 6eé ce ce ee 6eé ce S16) Rae 50 ce ‘ce 35 ee oe ce (a9 6é 6é 6¢ ?0 30 sé 6é | 6é “ec ce ce cé 6e “e 10 20 ce “ce 98 sé 66 ‘ce oe ce ee “ce ies 10 ee 6é 400 orphans, 135 widows, 20 old men and 200 lepers are entirely dependent on the Mission. In other terms 95% of the families have a monthly income of less than Bringing in the Sheaves $16.50; 70% receive less than $7.00; while 35% get monthly less than $3.50. Thus 35% are not only unable to give anything towards the cost of educating their own children but must receive aid from the Mission to provide food and clothing. What does the above mean? !t means that the Indian Church will not become self-supporting for many years. It means also that it will be many years before the Indian Church will be able to contribute towards its own enterprises in the Kingdom of God, for the Church must be more than self-supporting before she will be able to help in the spreading of the 108 BUILDING “ON. THE ROCK Gospel through money contributions. For these reasons the Mission has from its very beginning considered industrial work as a very important form of activity in connection with the Girls’ and Boys’ Orphanages. It was not easy in the early days to convince the boys and girls that it is proper for them to work. Some even declared that the missionaries ought to be proud of the fact that they have the privilege to support the boys and thus acquire merit for themselves! Then again when some form of industrial work was started and a fairly good article was produced it was anything but easy to get a good market for the product. )* People acknowledged that the article was good but were unwilling to pay a proper price for it, somehow getting the idea that anything produced by the Mission should be sold for much less than it could be sold elsewhere. Another difficulty was in connection with the dishonest competitor. This is the most demoralizing for our Christians who wish to set up a business of their own, for, unless they are extremely careful and well poised, the temptation to stoop to their competitors’ methods will not be resisted. The First Year of the Carpenter Shop 109 Leia tietee CR wees known trick to which the un- scrupulous dealer will not resort in order to freeze Ott eis | -DuUSInNeEss opponent, «ihe Mission used to maintain a small book store in the heart of Dham- tari and along with religious literature the store sold phenyle, a disinfect- ant. For a while things went very well and the sales of phenyle alone more than paid the upkeep of the store. But not for long. Other storekeepers saw there was money in phenyle and they also stocked it but in order to make more profit they mixed the phenyle with cheaper materials and thus undersold us. The unwary purchaser concluded that he was getting the most for his money where he was getting the larger measure not knowing how to test the quality of what he was getting and as a consequence the Mission store went out of business. Industrial Early Attempts The earliest attempts along the line of industrial work were naturally in the two orphanages. The girls and boys were taught to sew and to do garden and farm work. Tape weaving, carpentry and blacksmithing were introduced. Boys were trained as cooks and masons. For several years following 1903 a number of boys were engaged in rope making. A strand twisting apparatus was provided for them and seven boys could make jee ooumetoree “Or. four strand rope, fifty feet long, in about three hours. Bed tape was al- so being made about that time. It is made from cotton thread and woven into a webbing about three inches wide on Sawing Lumber 110 small hand looms. ‘This tape is used on beds, taking the place of springs and makes a fairly comfortable substitute. The market for both rope and tape was limited and after five or six years both industries were abandoned. Rope mak- ing was revived about 1915 with a view of putting it on a commercial basis, and although a big concern in Calcutta agreed to take a large amount of rope we could not compete with other rope factories that had facilities for filling large orders on short notice and could guarantee their rapes for special purposes. Aiter making several hundred dollars’ worth of rope on a commercial basis the work was again closed. Tape making was revived about 1920 as a preliminary training for boys who were being prepared for the weaving industry. The first tape made with this in view was made at Sankra where several hand cloth looms were set up. Later tape was made at the Boys’ Orphanage with the same object in view. Boys and others who learned to make tape on a small loom were soon at work on the larger hand looms making cloth. They were fortunate in having a competent instructor and in a comparatively short time several The Potter Making Roofing Tiles Spinning BUILDING-ON- THE ROCK 111 boys had learned most of the important features of the weaving industry and could be seen at work on the large looms making various kinds of cloth including towelling. It has been demonstrated that any kind of good serviceable cloth can be made in the Boys’ Orphanage but it still remains to be seen if a steady market can be developed for the product, for, if this end fails, the whole industry is doomed to failure. . Rug making was also started at Sankra and several men had learned to make good quality rugs of fine pattern but this industry, too, suffered on account of lack of a local market. Carpentry School and Shop About the year 1906 a small carpenter shop was opened at Rudri, Weaving under a tree, for the purpose of making articles of furniture for the missionaries. Orphanage boys were set to work with experienced carpenters to learn the trade. The boys learned to make small useful articles. It was later decided to start a carpentry school in which the boys would be taught mathematics and drawing, as well as practical carpentry. A course was prepared and four boys started on it under a trained carpenter who had passed his Bombay School of Arts examination. In 1917 this carpentry school became the Mennonite Mission Carpentry School entirely supported by the Government. They provide a competent instructor who is 112 BUILDIN GAON! THE ;ROCK able to take the students through practical carpentry and drawing. ‘The boys are also taught calculating and estimating. Boys who have passed this course are able to make furniture from drawings made by themselves. On the completion of the course the Government provides a certificate and a free set of tools. A very serious objection in connection with the school was the fact that scholarships were provided by the Government for non-Christian students only. Christian students were permitted to attend free of tuition and if successful, were given a certificate and a free set of tools but their scholarships had to be provided privately. Representations were made to the Government to have this disability removed but without success. Finally on one of the official visits to the school by the Deputy Commissioner of the district, Mr. De, a Hindu, the matter was mentioned to him who at once declared the condition unfair and that such discrimina- tion must be removed. He accordingly moved the Government with the request that at least two scholarships for Christian students should he sanctioned. His request was forwarded to higher authorities through the Commissioner, Mr. Khan, a Mohammedan, who readily endorsed it. In due time we were officially informed that two scholarships for Christian boys were sanctioned—one for a first year student and one for a second year student. It is now hoped that in due course of time more scholarships for Christian boys will be received. Along with the carpentry school the Mission also had its own carpenter shop carried on as a commercial enterprise. All kinds of furniture were made. Orders were received from our own missionaries, from missionaries of other missions, from Government and from Government officers for private use. In 1914 machinery was installed including a band saw, circular rip saw, combined mortising and boring machine, iron drill machine and emery wheels all turned by an eight horse power oil engine. For a number cf years the work was pushed rapidly and, as more than fifty employees were at work about the shop, the Government declared us a factory and placed us under the factory act which meant that we had to undergo an annual inspection by the Government factory inspector and had to conform to certain factory rules. The annual turnover in the shop never exceeded $3,000.00 but as the prices charged for the articles were not large this represented no small volume of business. Owing to the fact that the manager of the Mission carpenter shop had, as a rule, too many other duties to occupy his time the work in the shop could never be adequately supervised and the inevitable leakage kept the BUILDING ONS THE ROCK 113 shop from earning all it should have earned. On this account it was allowed to dwindle down to about twenty employees and continued for a number of years longer when it was decided to make a bold move and ask several Indian Christian carpenters of considerable experience to take over the work of the carpenter shop on their own responsibility. They were at first reluctant to take over such a responsibility but after not a little persuasion on the part of the manager and a hint that in all probability the shop would be closed, two carpenters agreed to make the venture. This was in 1921. For a while they were permitted to use the mission shop building free of rent but they are now located on their own land ina building of their own with a business that does them credit. The Mission still appoints a missionary to act as advisor but this has been in the last year or two largely nominal. Agriculture Agriculture is the leading occupation in India. Fully ninety per cent of the people of India live in villages which means that most of the people Rug-making at Sankra 114 | BUILDING ON THE ROCK live from the produce of the soil. It is thus easily seen that whatever industries are introduced for the support of the Christian community, agriculture must be the chief occupation for our people. The point was emphasized as early as 1903 when Rudri station, including about thirty acres of farm land, was purchased. But the mission desired a place to locate the boys and girls of the orphanages who would soon marry and settle in homes of their own. With this in view Balodgahan village was purchased in 1906. The village consists of 845 acres of land and cost Rs, 8000 (nearly $2,700.00). We must first understand what an Indian village is. It is not, as in America, a small town but a land unit. That is, it is a large farm, or rather a land unit, containing a number of small farms. The people owning these small farms, instead of living on their own holdings, all live in the same place or “basti’’ (residence section) and farm their farms from this small town. Villages vary in size from a few hundred to a few thousand acres. The village is in charge of a head man, or malguzar, who collects the revenue from the tenant farmers and pays it to the Government officers. Although villages are bought and sold yet the purchaser does not buy all the land of the village for himself but he exercises authority over the entire village. The farmers in the village are really tenant farmers for they may not sell their land without the sanction of the malguzar who erants such sanction after stipulating the amount he himself will have to realize from the sale of the land which may amount to half of the purchase price of the land. As was stated above Balodgahan consists of 845 acres of land of which the Mission is malguzar or head man. The Mission administers the affairs of the village through one of its missionaries appointed for that task. Of the total acreage of the land only about one hundred acres are actually farmed by the Mission. It was at first difficult to carry out the original purpose in connection with the village to locate boys and girls on the farms. Our Christian young men were poor and so did not possess the necessary cash to invest in land but by dint of perseverance on the part of the missionaries and by saving of hard cash on the part of the young men the original purpose is at last being realized and at the time of publishing this book twenty-five farmers are located in Balodgahan with possessions varying from half an acre to forty acres each. The value of the village has greatly increased and is now valued at about $7,000.00. It is a very encouraging fact that not only in Balodgahan but in other BUILDING ON THE ROCK 115 stations and villages as well our Christian people are investing their small! savings in land. This has been going on steadily for many years interrupted only during famine years when it was impossible to save any money. The last three or four years have added many acres to the increasing amount of land owned by our Christian people. The mango tree is usually somewhat larger than our stand- ard apple trees, resembling them in its branching, but is more sym- metrical in shape. The leaves are shaped like those of the peach tree, but are larger. New leaves come out in the dry season, and the old leaves persist until the new ones are formed. The blos- AG Mancoulree soms are in the form of a panicle like those of the chestnut and buckeye. The fruit hangs in clusters, generally only one or two remaining to be fully developed. The mango fruit is in shape like a plum, but from three to six inches long. The seed is large, and between it and the smooth skin is the edible part, or flesh, in texture like that of a plum, and in taste like—a mango! Eat- ing a mango is a new experience. The nearest suggestion to its taste in America is that of the May apple, and that sugges- tion is rather remote.—R. A Bunch of Mangoes (Cie Waid rTP ISRS 1B6 TRAINING THE MIND Iéducation has been defined as “a process of living and not a preparation for future living.’ This is the viewpoint of the missionaries of the American Mennonite Mission and in their efforts to evangelize and Christianize the people, they have not failed to utilize this important evangelistic agency. To quote the words of one who had for many years been directly connected with the work of religious education in India: “The schoolmaster sees in India an inviting sphere in which to conquer illiteracy. Some stern facts face him: He knows that less than one quarter of the boys of school age, i. e., five to twelve years, are in school. He knows that more than one in three of these boys after leaving school revert to illiteracy. He knows that the case of the girls is still more pitiable. He knows that the Indian parent, who should cooperate with him, is far from being an ally. He knows that many boys are only educated so that their parents may marry them to the wealthiest brides. He knows that Government neutrality requires silence on religion in Government schools. He knows that morality, not based on religion, and religion not wedded to conduct, is fatal He knows that education which does not issue in character is abortive, as is proved by the history of Indian student anarchists. He knows too, that the thing which the teacher needs for himself and his pupil is purified personality—a rare commodity and of great value. The schoolmaster is well nigh baffled when he contemplates, but nevertheless goes forward trying to conquer illiteracy.” It is true in all lands that ignorance and superstition go hand in hand. Horrible things are practiced by heathen people who do them because of religious custom or because of a superstitious regard for the gods thev profess to worship. It is the purpose of Christian education to enlighten ihe people and give them the opportunity to enjoy the true light as it is found through Christ. One of the first desires of many new converts to the Christian faith is to read the Bible for themselves and in order to do this it is first necessary to teach them how to read before they can enjoy the rich treasures of God’s storehouse. _Parasram, one of the early BUILDING ON THE ROCK Balodgahan School, Girls’ 117 converts, was very anx- ious to read the Word of God for himself and asked Bro. Burkhard to teach him to read. His case is typical of many others. Education is not like a business that earns profits to maintain itself. It enjoys no material or financial income as a re- sult of its own efforts. In other words, it must be supported entirely by those who are really in- terested in that kind of work. At home the pub- lic schools are supported by the taxes of the peo- ple. Higher education is maintained by the gifts and donations of those interested in the cause. The same is true in In- dia where there are not enough Government schools to enable all the children to attend school and where existing Goy- ernment schools, being neutral in religious mat- ters, have no _ provision for teaching religion to the boys and girls who do attend. First Schools The first school in the Mission was the Or- 118 BUILDING ON: THE ROCK phanage school opened in the rainy season of 1900. ‘The immediate pur- pose of the school was to keep busy for a part of the day a family of nearly 400 boys and girls while the ultimate purpose was to give Christian teach- ing in order to prepare them to take their places in the future India Men- nonite Church. The same motive has continued to impel the maintaining of orphanage schools. In order to fulfil this purpose the training OL ithe hands as well as the heart and head have not been overlooked but, because of Indian ideals, customs and conditions in general, that phase of education has presented perhaps the most perplexing problems in our schools. The Orphanage schools continued as separate schools called the Boys’ Orphanage and the Girls’ Orphanage Schools up to the present time. During the years it was necessary for these schools to shift much of the {ime in temporary buildings but at the close of the period under review it is with gratitude that we can say that both these schools are accommodated English School Dormitory, Dhamtari BUILDING ON THE ROCK 119 in satisfactory schoolhouses. The Boys’ Orphanage schoolhouse was provided by the young people of Denbigh, Virginia, while much of the money for the Girls’ Orphanage schoolhouse came through the Sewing Circles. In the first years of the Mission the children of Christian parents were taken into the Orphanages to attend school when they became of school age. This was done because these were the only schools available to them. The growth of the Church, together with the crowded condition in the Orphanages, due to the influx from the famines, created the need for the station primary schools which were opened for boys at Balodgahan in 1912, Village School, Maradeo for girls and boys at Ghatula in 1918, and at Sankra in 1921, and the one at Sundarganj for girls was revived in 1923. In order to make it possible for as many as possible of the children of school age to attend these schools under suitable conditions, it has been arranged to give the poorest of these children, whe come from their own homes, some cooked food in what are called “school kitchens.” This prevents the children from being 120 BUILDING ON THE ROCK undernourished and in this way they learn better and it gives them a chance to grow up under more nearly normal conditions. In the primary schools five years of work are covered. Those who pass the fifth class examinations receive a certificate from Government and pass into the Middle School which covers three years of work at the completion of which the student is prepared to enter High School. In the Mission we have two middle schools, one for boys and one for girls the former being at Girls’ School at Sundarganj Dhamtari and the latter at Balodgahan. Those of our Christians’ children passing from any of the Mission Primary schools, who wish to take further school work, are admitted into the Orphanages or dormitory, as the case may be, and continue their work in the Mission Middle Schools. Village Schools Village primary schools were first opened in 1902. In the section of Dhamtari where the untouchable classes live a school was opened specially for them because the children of these people were forbidden to attend schools where the higher classes attend. The indifference of the parents of these children, the underhanded opposition of higher classes, and lack of efficient teachers made it necessary to close this school. Government has in recent years issued an order for this district admitting the children of depressed classes to schools where other children attend. Two other schools had to be closed, one because of political pressure and the other because of its unhealthful location. Other schools in the villages were DLO DIN GarO Nes brie @ Ck 121 opened and maintained up to the present time. The schools are Maradeo, Bhatgaon, Gopalpuri, Bagtarai and Kaspur. After twenty-five years of experience in connection with primary school work the Mission has come to the conclusion noted as follows: 1. Primary schools are a necessity for the Christian community and must be maintained as long as the Government is not in a position to do all of this much needed work. Otherwise the next generation of Christians will be largely illiterate. 2. These schools are an effective evangelistic agency. 3. The Government curricula taught in these schools are too theoretical and not sufficiently related to the environing life of the children. 4. A great improvement in these schools is possible if the curricula can be changed Sankra Station School and the teaching made more practical and interesting. Plans are under way by the Mission to have this brought about. In 1901 the municipality of Dhamtari found itself unable to continue their English Middle School. The Mission was approached with the view eyweyd ‘ooysg yYsysugq rE dco ce BUILDING ON+ THE, ROCK 123 of taking over the school as a Mission school. After careful consideration it was decided to take over this school as it would serve as a useful part f the activities of the Mission in making Christ known to the people of Dhamtari for: first, it would make it possible to give Bible instruction to the boys from certain classes in Dhamtari who could not be reached in any other way; second, it would open homes for teaching by Bible women that could not be entered otherwise; third, it would train leaders for the Church; fourth, it would make it possible to train our own boys of Christian parents under our own control that would otherwise take training away from the Mission under alienating influences; and, fifth, it would give some of the leaders of the Church a knowledge of English, thus opening up to them literature that would otherwise not be available to them. This school grew from three boys on a bench in the old hospital building at Dhamtari until now it enrolls a hundred and four boys in both its middle and high school departments. It was raised to the status of a High School in 1912. When we consider the fact that only three per cent of India’s population are literate, we can realize the task that lies before the educational missionary and the corresponding opportunity is too stupendous to be missed. Government is increasing the number of schools. The number receiving instruction in schools in 1924 is over 8,000,000 while twenty-five years ago the number was only 2,000,000. There is a growing tendency toward education on the part of the Indian people. It is for Missions to decide whether the education which they receive is to be Christian or non-Christian. It is true that many who have passed through mission schools have not openly accepted Christ. However, due to the teaching received in mission schools many of the non-Christians of India have a great ad- HLit action. = for Christ and very many are Bible readers. It may require another generation of mis- sionary effort be- tore “the caste- bound pupils in primary — schools in the villages a- bout us accept Boys’ School, Dhamtari 124 BUILDING; ON THE “ROCK Him in great numbers but we believe that that time will come. More than once we had had intimations from Hindus that in case Iuropeans would have to leave the country (which God forbid) educational! missionaries would be asked to remain to carry on their work. What a great opportunity would remain for educational. workers in such an emergency ! Survey of Literacy of Members of the India Mennonite Church No Items Men Women. Total Ly iisia Claso™ Primary, 11 17 28 eek Pauie : 19 13 2 Sera ae : 24 Dh 51 4, 4th “ 2 28 16 oa By hohe a = 7\ 72 143 6. Middle School Department 26 Ze 48 7. High School Department 2 0 2 8. Read in High School but not completed 14 3 lige 9. Special Training—Bible School, Nursing, Medicine lee 5 ZO 10. Number still going to school 168 176 344 11. Number who have never gone to school 174 44 518 12. Number of Christian children between 5 and 15 who are not in school + 13 17 Totals 556 708 1264 Up until last year the Central Provinces school system was run on the 5—3—4 basis. That classification has therefore been used in this survey. The item 5—3—4 means that the Primary School includes the first five grades, Middle School the next three, and High School the last four. Completion of Middle School in India, therefore, roughly corresponds to a completion of common schoo] in the United States. In the above table the number listed after each item indicates the number of men and women who have completed that grade. People who have not read beyond the second Primary class can hardly be called literate. Therefore adding the totals of items one and two to No. 11 it gives us a total of five hundred seventy-eight illiterates. In other terms, this says that out of every hundred members fifty-four can read and write while forty-six cannot. This at first seems discouraging, and it is an index to peculiar and difficult problems, but comparative figures: give more encouragement. Out of India’s three hundred twenty-three million only about eighteen million can read; out of every hundred Hindus, five BUILDING ONT LH E tROCK 125 can read; out of every hundred Mohammedans, three can read; and out of every hundred Indian Christians, sixteen can read. Our Mennonite Church is therefore thirty-eight per cent more literate than the average of Indian Bhatgaon Village School, Two Miles from Dharntari Christians while the great difference between the Christians and the non- Christians is evident without comparative figures. Another most encouraging feature is item 12. This says that all but a few of our Christian children that ought to be in school are there. This of course does not say that after a generation the membership of the India Mennonite Church will be one hundred per cent liter- ate. It might be if we received no new illiter- ate converts, but since ios om sthem ‘come from the uneducated masses we will have this problem always. Custard Apples CHAP IIR aX WORK AMONG THE LEPERS As early as 1880 there was a small community of lepers near Dhamtari. A few miserable huts sufficed to give them a little shelter while some rich people from Dhamtari provided occasional doles of rice for them but their chief living was made by begging in the town and from village to village. Often when travellers passed their way, the lepers would line up in front of them and levy a contribution before they would allow them to pass. In the famine of 1900, thousands of poor people were gathered into so-called kitchens and fed cooked food. The lepers of this vicinity had a hard time of it. They could not be allowed to eat with other people and begging, their usual means of support, yielded them but little result; for nearly everyone was 1n want as much as they were. So kind famine officers gathered the lepers together and organized a separate kitchen for them. Sheds with mud walls were erected, which served to protect them for the first rainy season. Then came the close of the fam- ine and the question of the disposition of of the lepers had to be decided. To let them go back to a life of beggary was not to be thought of if another way could be devised. Again the Government officers came to the relief and a generous supply of rice was al- lowed the lepers so that there was no need of outside help for some time. About this time an effort was made to raise money locally for their permanent sup- port. Nearly $170.00 was subscribed and a committee was formed for the management of the proposed Leper Asylum. Of this com- mittee the Superintendent of the American BUIEDING ON] THE AROCK r27 Mennonite Mission was to act as secretary and he opened communication with the Mission to Lepers in India and the East, of Edinburgh, Scotland, who promptly responded with a remittance of fifty pounds (about $220.00) for immediate wants of the lepers and also promised a yearly grant of $580.00, on condition that we be allowed free access to the lepers and that a Christian caretaker be placed in charge. After considering the matter in its various phases, the local committee thought it best to turn the funds with the entire management and responsibilities of the Asylum over to the Mennonite Mission. Accordingly, the malguzar of Dhamtari gave to the Mission a deed of gift for the land where the Leper Asylum was to be located. The Leper Asylum property was later deeded over to the Mission to Lepers for thirty-three cents. The Mission to Lepers has no missionaries of their own but they assume the financial responsibilities for the support of lepers Men’s Wards in the Old Leper Asylum and their untainted children, and administer the funds through missionaries of the various societies already on the field. In July, 1902, the Mission to Lepers made their first official visit to the Dhamtari Asylum through Thomas A. Bailey, the Honorary Organizing Secretary for India. On the occasion of this visit arrangements were made for about twice as much land as had originally been given. In the same vear the Government sanctioned a grant of fiftv cents per month for each leper in the Asylum. Because of this grant the Leper Asylum is subject to inspection by government officials and these visits are a great help to the 128 BUILDING: ONUtETi Ph SROGCK management of the Asylum and they help to point out defects and assist in maintaining discipline in the Asylum. The official visitors include the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Civil Surgeon of the district and the Inspector-General of Civil ‘Hospitals “ot. ‘the Central Provinces. First Buildings The first solid buildings for housing the lepers were begun in 1902. All the material for the roofs of these first buildings was donated by the Forestry Department of the Government of India. The building work continued until there were three solid buildings for the occupancy of lepers besides a combined office and storeroom and a modest little church. The latter, which consisted of a floor and roof held up by means of pillars, was completed in 1905 and the lepers contributed towards the building about ten dollars worth of rice which they themselves had raised. There being more buildings required for the accommodation of lepers and more land on which to put them, application was made to the Government for the required land. The Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces (now designated Governor) was pleased to sanction a grant of over eight acres of land for the use of the Asylum. Later a small additional plot was acquired, making the total amount of land belonging to the Asylum a little more than twelve acres. On this extended plot three wards for men, each to accommodate twenty-four lepers, were erected besides a new office and dispensary and a new church. Several houses to accommodate members of the staff and a new home for untainted boys completed the buildings. In about 1915 the Government raised the per capita grant for the maintenance of lepers from fifty cents a month to sixty-five cents and several vears later raised the amount to one dollar, and the children to half.the amount which is what they still receive. This represents about half of what it costs to support the lepers, the rest of the support being furnished through the Mission to Lepers. The New Asylum On account of the increasingly large number of lepers applying for admittance into the Asylum it was decided to erect at once three additional wards provided more land could be purchased. But the original twelve acres were so hemmed in by roads, orchards, and public “tanks” that it was decided to remove the Asylum to a new site about five miles ‘from Dhamtari. This would take the Asylum out of the Municipality of Ohamtari—a very desirable change. About 115 acres of land were The Lepers 130 BUILDING ON THE ROCK purchased for the sum of $2400.00. The Government had agreed to pay half the cost of the new Asylum, the total cost of which was estimated at about $40,000.00. Up to date the Government has already paid $17,000.00. The new Asylum when complete will accommodate about four hundred lepers and will comprise some fifty separate buildings. It will be one of the best asylums in India. In order to appreciate the necessity of providing comfort for the lepers we must know something of the real nature of the disease and the consequent status of the poor leper. Leprosy is a loathsome disease and the poor unfortunates are veritable outcastes. There is no room tor them in the villages or near the habitations of man. They are as in the old Hebrew days, “without the camp,” and are considered “unclean.” A leper is not only turned out of his home and village but he is frequently disowned and disinherited. It is thus seen that from the standpoint of the lepers themselves places should be provided where they might receive humane treatment. Then from the viewpoint of a healthy community it is necessary to segregate the lepers. If they are permitted to roam about at will, begging in the villages and bazaars, having free access to the village wells and tanks, there is great danger of contamination. or these two reasons every effort should be made to segregate the lepers and give them proper care. Leprosy Just what is leprosy? It is a loathsome disease bearing some relation to cancer or tuberculosis. Frequently the fingers and toes drop off because of decay of the tissues. The process of ulceration is attended with much pain and if the ulcers are not properly cleansed the stench is very great. Leprosy is caused by bacteria somewhat akin to the bacillus of tuberculosis. The bacilli leprae are very resistant to treatment. At a conference of Leper Asylum Superintendents held in Calcutta the following findings were recorded: 1. That leprosy is contagious, but slowly, with a long incubation period, through the escape of the causative bacillus in the nasal discharges of the majority of cases, which include many early cases having no outwardly visible ulceration, and to a less extent from open sores. 2. That the disease is not directly hereditary, children being free from actual infection at birth, but they are specially susceptible from an early age, children as a class being more susceptible than adults. BUILDING ON THE ROCK These facts necessitate the earliest possible separation of infants and children from infect- ed leper parents. 3.. That in view of the preceding opin- ions segregation is the most effective measure for reducing the prevalence of leprosy, and the grave danger to the community of unre- stricted association with lepers. There are several types of leprosy—the anaes- thetic, the nodular, and a mixture of the two. The former is known by its anaesthetic patches of skin on different parts of the body, especially on the back and thighs, which are insensible to pain. In its incipient stages there may be no other indication of leprosy. The nodular type develops nodules especially on the face and ears, badly disfiguring the leper. A Cure for Leprosy Various experiments have been made as to finding a cure for the disease. The first experi- ment developed a vaccine called leprolin. Nastin was a later development but neither of these two experiments proved useful. For a very long time it was known that chaulmoogra oil is very useful in the treatment of leprosy, but it was found that sufcient quantities of the nauseating oil could not be taken internally so as to produce the de- sired effect. Interested doctors began to experiment with the oil with the view of extracting the active principles and injecting them in their concentrated form into the body of the leper. These experi- ments were tedious and expensive but finally they resulted in a product which, if properly used, holds out the utmost hope to the unfortunate vic- tim of the dread disease. Dr. E. Muir of the School of Tropical Medicines, Calcutta, has re- cently perfected a method whereby ester extracts of chaulmoogra and other oils are made available for very extended use in the various asylums. A 131 The Beginning of the New Leper Asylum at Shantipur, Five Miles from Dhamtari 132 BUILDIN GAON “THE® ROCK brief description of this wonderful treatment by D+. Muir appears below: “Both the ethyl esters (prepared from ethyl alcohol and the methyl esters (prepared from methyl alcohol) may be used both intra- muscularly and intravenously. We have not noticed any advantage in the one over the other except that the ethyl ester is cheaper to produce. They are clear fluids, which do not form a solution with water and which when shaken up with blood serum form an emulsion which rapidly separates out again, the ester rising to the surface. “They are, however, sufficiently fluid to pass through the capillaries of the lungs, though in some patients there would appear to be some little difficulty connected with this passage, especially in the first intravenous injections. “The ethyl esters of other oils, such as cod liver oil, neem oil, olive aud linseed oils and the oil of the soya bean, are also beneficial in leprosy, but our own experience, as well as that of most of those who have had much experience of the treatment of leprosy, puts the preparations of chaulmoogra and hydnocarpus oils in a position superior to those of other oils. Among these preparations again the esters undoubtedly take the first place. “Chaulmoogra and hydnocarpus oils are derived from the ripe seeds of two trees belonging to the same natural order, Taraktogenos Kurzii and Hydnocarpus Wightiana respectively. The oils of several of the species of this order have these distinguishing features that they contain a series of fatty acids with a molecule containing a closed carbon ring and in the polarimeter show themselves to be dextraro- tatory to light. “The therapeutic efficiency of these oils in leprosy seems to be due to these fatty acids. Chaulmoogra and hydnocarpic acids, both belonging to this series, form a large proportion of these fatty acids but it is probable that other fatty acids belonging to this series are also contained in these oils although they have not yet been separated out in their pure chemical form. We therefore use the ethyl esters of the whole fatty acids and believe that they are almost, if not entirely, as efficient as any combination of fractions.” Those who have helped to minister to the temporal and spiritual needs of the lepers can testify that during the quarter of a century just past, the work has been attended with much pleasure and encouragement. Medicine, sanitation, and a Christian attitude and sympathy towards these poor people have worked wonders among them. It is a rule with the Mission BUILDING ON, THE ROCK 133 to Lepers to leave the matter of religious conviction voluntary on the part of the inmates of their asylums, even church going being left to the pleasure of the lepers. This Asylum has not been an exception to that rule. But notwithstanding this fact, in the year 1902, out of an enrolment of 160 inmates, 95 desired and received baptism and the last Sunday of that year was made memorable by the observance of the first communion held in the Asylum. Again in the year 1908 forty-one more were baptized and received into the Church. Since that time it has been the rule among the lepers to desire baptism after a short time in the Asylum, their baptism being deferred only long enough to give them time and opportunity to receive definite teaching and instruction in the tenets of the faith. Testimonies In a meeting one Christmas day, one of the lepers gave a short talk. He told about how they had suffered before they knew anything about Jesus. He said many had been mere living skeletons, and the pus was oozing from their sores. Some had no place to sleep except under trees. How different their condition now! They have good, clean food to eat and clean water to drink and to bathe in, and all are fat and happy. “What,” he said, “has brought about this change? Believing on the Jord Jesus Christ.” Then he sat down. One woman whose fingers and toes are entirely eaten off by the disease, whose hands and feet are mere stumps, though without open sores, and whose eyes have been destroyed by the dread disease, asked for ten days’ leave to go a distance of twenty- five miles to “see” her sister. The leave was granted and she, with another woman, made the trip and returned a day sooner than the required time. One man desired before his death to dispose of his money which amounted to about ten dollars. One-third was put into the treasury of the leper church, one-third to feed the lepers some special food, and the remaining third was to be given to poor people. The lepers have for many years been giving a portion of their daily food for some special object. One time they decided to send a nice contribution to the famine sufferers in China. Several times they made a present to the superintendent. For many years they have been sending contributions to the Bible Society. And for several years they have decided to use the money for the support of a native colporteur who preaches the Gospel and sells religious books in villages and bazaars. For many years Christmas time has been a special time of rejoicing among the lepers, for, besides receiving their regular clothes and sweets, a box of good things has arrived each year from Scotland, sent by the friends of the lepers. 134 BUILDING ON. THE ROCK The Leper Asylum Church and Dispensary, now Vacated for the New Asylum There have been a number of almost heart- breaking experiences in connection with the work \ vot sb ithe sa epes Asylum. A number of children of lepers who had been in the Orphan- ages and thought to be free from the disease developed the unmistak- able signs of the dread disease and _ therefore could no longer remain among healthy children. It-. is: impossible; vere describe the anguish of those boys and_ girls who in this. condition had to go to. the Leper Asylum. Others outside of the untainted children were called upon to pass through such suffering. One such was Barsan. who became a Christian early in the history of the Mission. He was a very successful colpor- teur for a number of years. He developed a stubborn sore on one of his toes and for some time was able to keep it hid but it continued to give him trouble until it was discovered that he was a leper. *The experience) Wwasw a sand one but he was finally BUILDING ON THE ROCK 135 induced to leave his family and live in the Asylum. He continued his Christian work for many years in the Asylum, being a great help to the missionary in charge until the disease got the upper hand and he died in the Asylum. Klizabeth is another one who had gone through such an experience. she was the wife of a native preacher of the Methodist Church at Jubbulpore. She became a leper and was sent by their mission to Dhamtari to be admitted into our Asylum. She was indeed a faithful Christian woman and very intelligent. She was head matron of the women’s ward in the Asylum from the time she came into the Asylum until she died a victim of the terrible disease. Margamma is another one of these sufferers. She came from another part of the Central Provinces and spoke another language. She was lonely indeed when she arrived at Dhamtari where language and even customs were different from her own. She is’avfhne Christian character and’ has Women’s Wards, New Asylum been a wonderful help in the work among the women in the Asylum. She also. conducted the school for leper~girls in the Asylum. She is still a faithful helper in that work. Janki was among the early inmates of the Asylum. She came as. a 3rahmin and lived as such for a short while in the Asylum, when she too decided to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. She was soon given some responsibilities and assisted greatly in the work among the 136 BUILDING SON CGTHE; ROCK women. During the last ten years she experienced much suffering and the disease affected her eyes so that in her last years she was almost blind, but she was patiently awaiting the summons from above to go and meet her Lord. When she realized that she had only a very few days to live she requested that the money she had saved while in the Asylum, which amounted to about ten dollars, be used for the purchase of a cow so that the other sick lepers would have milk to drink. She died happy in her Lord relieved at last of her great suffering. The new Asylum at Shantipur is a great boon to the lepers of our district. True, the Asylum is a voluntary institution and there is no attempt made at present to enforce the leper act which would compel all pauper lepers to come into a leper asylum, and many lepers still prefer to wander around from place to place begging for their living. But those who come to the Asylum are ready to testify that it means a great blessing to those who avail themselves of the opportunity. The utmost effort is put forth to make the lepers as comfortable as possible and all the lepers are provided with good, wholesome food and live in very good houses. They are taught the rich truths of God’s Word and are pointed to the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” About forty cases are under the special leper treatment. The Superintendent lives near the Leper Asylum where the work can be carefully supervised and where he can give close attention to the needs of the untainted children who live in separate homes specially provided for them. Government officers, Hindus, and Mohammedans, all alike, declare that there is no other work in India that is so worthy and so commendable as that among the poor lepers whom the ordinary folks have rejected from their communities. We believe that many non-Christians have been impressed with the Christian religion through the work among lepers in India. CHAPTER X] FAMINES AND RELIEF WORK Had there been no famine in India, would the work of the American Mennonite Mission of Dhamtari, C. P., ever have been established? Following up the work, which had been done by our people in America, of giving relief to the people in India in the great famine of 1896-1897 was one of the things that impelled the people at home to think of taking up mission work in this part of the world. Many people at home can still recall the days when brethren came around to collect money to send to india in order to keep the people from starving. Our missionaries were sent to India as a direct result of what had been done in that famine. They had no more than reached India and were not yet located at A Famine Camp at Balodgahan Dhamtari when India was again in the throes of another famine as wide- spread as the former. There was already acute suffering when they reached Dhamtari and there was no time to be lost. Temporary huts in which to live were hastily constructed and relief work was started. For this purpose O06T-668T fo Fag eurumey BUILDING ON THE 'ROCK 139 liberal sums of money were received from America while the Local Government ap- propriated large sums of money and _ or- ganized extensive relief work. Bro. J. A. Ressler was appointed by the Government as assistant famine charge officer, and Dr. Page was busy attending to the medical Heedcwoleticapeupic. The distress was very great and peo- ple began to migrate from one section of the country to another in the hope that better conditions might be encountered. In order to relieve this distress the Gov- ernment opened famine kitchens where starving people could get cooked food. Relief works were also opened in the form of digging wells, constructing roads, dig- Bro. Burkhard and a Famine Wai{ ging “tanks” (small reservoirs) where people able to work could earn a small daily wage with which to purchase grain from the Government grain — stores. There were at one time as many as nine thousand workmen in Bro. Ress- ler’s charge while twenty thousand peo- ple in thirty-eight villages were fed Government rations, under the direction of our Mission. In spite of all that was being done for the distressed people hundreds of them died. The temporary quarters so_ hastily constructed for the missionaries were soon replaced by more _— substantial houses, the unskilled labor for which was provided from Government famine funds. Famine Subjects 140 BUILDING ON THE ROCK Gauri lying on the straw, has been rescued from star- vation and is now healthy and happy. Irrigation There was no failure of crops from 1900 to 1918 though dur- ing this period there were many years when the crops were far below normal. In the meantime the Government had spent many thousands of dollars on exten- sive irrigation projects, so that the farmers would not need to be absolutely dependent on the erratic rainfall. The Mahanadi Irrigation Canal concerns our Mission more directly because Rudri, one of our mission sta- tions, had to be given up to the Government to form headquarters for their offi- cial staff in connection with its construction. A dam has been built across the Mahanadi near Rudri and a canal dug extending a dis- tance of seventy-five miles with numerous dis- tributing canals branching from the main chan- nel. A large storage reservoir covering nine square miles was constructed fourteen miles from the Rudri dam, which is to furnish water. . for irrigation when the Mahanadi River supply is insufficient, This irrigation canal is capable of irrigating thousands of square miles of rice land and farmers within reach of the canal may now with more or less confidence sow their seed. But the thousands of farmers in our Mission Field out of reach of the canal are still dependent upon the rainfall. The rainfall of 1918 was short and caused famine conditions to prevail over this part of India. Conditions became very acute just be- fore the harvest of 1919. The suffering’ was greatly increased because this famine followed so closely upon the heels of the influenza epi- BUIEDING “ON “THE (ROCK 141 demic and people were too weak to gather the meager harvests. Many homes were completely broken up. Another shortage of rain in 1920, though not wide-spread, caused much suffering in the affected areas. In both these famines the Mission was enabled to render effective help to thousands of suffering people through the generosity of a sympathetic Church in the homeland. But in spite of all that could be done many people came to our famine camps too late and died as a consequence. Relief Work Relief work was carried on at Sankra, Dhamtari, and Balodgahan. The poor people were given work at tank (reservoir) building, road making, and building construction work. In this way we were enabled to utilize the famine funds in providing permanent improvements as well as helping the starving people in their distress. Much help, however, had to be given to those who could not render any work in return. Hundreds of those who were helped in the famine camps fill our Orphanages and Widows’ Homes, and add to the numbers in our Christian community. At the close of the famine all in the camps and orphanages were given an opportunity to return to their homes, for it was the policy of the Mission not to baptize famine subjects until they had decided of their own choice, to remain in the Mission after the camps were closed. Christian teaching was a daily feature of famine camp administration and those of the camps who returned to their homes, no doubt carried with them something of the messages they received. In God’s good time many of these same people may be added to the kingdom of God. Five brothers came to the Balodgahan famine camp in 1919. Their parents were dead. ‘The brothers ranged in ages from three to twenty years. Their sickly and emaciated condition aroused the sympathy of every one. At once arrangements were made to provide the necessary help for they were in need of both food and medicine. One of the boys had bad open sores alive with maggots. But some of the brothers were too far gone to be saved and one after the other died until only one was left. He was fat when he came and very precocious, giving the impression of an expert beggar. Soon he was transferred to the Boys’ Orphanage at Dhamtari where he remained for about a year when he ran away. We were much disappointed for we had expected much from this boy of the basket maker CadeLe. Famines are a terrible thing and we hope they will not recur but thousands of people in India have first come to know of a loving Savior 142 BUILDING ON'*THE ROCK through famines. Nearly all of our Christian work- ers’ sand: schools teachers as well as most of our Christian’ peop ke “have come to us through fam- ines, Would that the Church would again be a- roused to follow. up the work done in famine time by sending renewed forces. The opportunity for effect- ive: work vat! the. end’ of a quarter of a century has never been greater and the call for more .workers at no time more urgent. The three cuts on this page give a vivid proof of the good work done among the orphans. After three After Three Months in the Orphanage months the contrast is Sstrrk'i ney bur aires three years the change is almost beyond be- lief.—R. At the End of 1924 CHARTER: XII THE HOME LIFE OF MISSIONARIES Many people at home have the idea that we missionaries either live in the same house and eat at the same table or very close together in the same station, something like the city missionaries. But this is not the case. Excepting where the nature of the work demands, it, missionary families live alone at their respective stations. At Dhamtari and Balodgahan where there is much work to do, several missionary families are located but in separate bungalows. In several cases a missionary family and a single ister live in the same house and it has frequently been necessary for two amilies to live in the same bungalow. This chapter is included to give the reader a glimpse into the home life of our missionaries. There is no particular reason why missionaries should not have as comfortable homes as, can reasonably be expected under foreign conditions consistent with their calling and efficiency. At the very best their homes are still far from being comfortable as the average Mennonite homes in America with all their modern conveniences. But whatever the building or environment may be it is the people that make the home. “Home its where the heart is, lie it East or lie it West.” s ft An Indian Bungalow Let us take a look, then, at an Indian bungalow such as a missionary family occupies. Here we see a brick building plastered inside and out about 40x80 outside measure. This covers a large floor space but along one side is a 12-foot veranda and the walls are 18 inches thick. There are two bed rooms 18x20, a dining room and a sitting room each 14x 16 with an office and bathrooms and storeroom. The ceilings are 18 feet high. This makes large rooms but it is absolutely necessary on account of the great heat in the hot season when the thermometer does not drop below 90 for two months and may go as high as 115 in the shade. To add a little to our comfort in the hot season we bring into use what we call a “pankah.” This is a large fan twelve feet long and two feet or more wide attached to a pole and swings from the high ceiling. The pankah of Japanese matting just swings clear of our heads and is swung % 4 BUTE DUNG - ON VCE E ROCK 145 back and forth by means of a rope which is attached to the pole and runs over a pulley out to the veranda where it is pulled by a coolie. By keeping the doors and windows carefully closed from nine o’clock till four, we manage to keep the indoor temperature about ten degrees cooler than the outdoor temperature in the shade. The coolie enjoys his job for he can sit in the shade while pulling the pankah at eight cents a day while others will have to work in the hot sun and earn no more. The office is the missionary’s work shop. Here he keeps his accounts, makes up his pay roll, keeps his records, writes his letters and reports. This work is done between interruptions. In the midst of a report he is likely to hear, “Sahib!” (Sir) and then begins another interview. Or if he does not hear the word, Sahib, he may hear what is more trying to his already overwrought nerves, namely, a coughing or a scraping of feet in order to attract his attention. He thinks he will finish the work in hand but the scraping and coughing continue with painful regularity and he finally succumbs, more to keep his nerves from going to pieces than to get on with the interview. Lhe bedroom has single beds fitted with frames over which is placed Vegetables a mosquito net. This precaution is necessary in order to ward off malaria breeding mosquitoes. Most missionaries sleep on the veranda all the year, having the beds carried there, excepting in the hot season when the beds are placed on the ground a short distance away from the bungalow. This is pleasant enough except when the wind blows hard or when it rains or WOOY Bulz}IS BUILDING ON’ THE” ROCK 147 when leopards come prowling around the bungalow! The living room may contain an American rug laid over a bamboo matting covering the cement floor. Here are such articles of furniture as are seen in the picture and here is where the missionary family gather for prayers. And here in the different bungalows by turn is where the meetings of the Managing Committee and other committee meetings are held. The missionary sister (mem sahib or miss sahib), has her special responsibility in the home outside of her regular appointment. She sees that the home is kept in proper running order. She plans the meals and gives out the ingredients several times each day to the Indian man cook (Ouprepare them for the table. The jcook has not the same ideas ot cleanliness as we do and so must be constantly admonished by the mem sahib. He sits on the floor to pare the potatoes. He puts the bread board on the floor to mix the bread. He prefers to wash the dishes on the floor. When he considers the dish cloths and tea towels ready to be washed they are about the color of the stove! One of the trials of the “mem sahib” is the experience with the washerman. He is seen in the ac- companying picture washing clothes. After boiling the clothes in large copper boilers he beats them over a rough stone that takes the place of a washboard or washing machine. This process of washing is hard on the clothes and tries their every fi- ber and button, if there. are any. After the garment has been rinsed, dried, and ironed with a charcoal iron it 1s returned to its owner with any rents and places where buttons are missing carefully concealed by clever folding. Some of the mis- sionaries far away from Dhamtari have their washing done with Amer- can washing machines. Darjeeling Train 148 BUILDING We all love and appre- ciate flowers, ferns, and shrubs. Many kinds grow easily with almost no at- tention, ~ They make our bungalows homelike and remind us of our American homes. Also they remind us of the heavenly Father who so tenderly cares for HlissOwsi (Ne yetone not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.“ The gardens are a valuable source of food sup- ply for us. By the picture you can see that we have almost every kind of vege- table you grow at home. Tomatoes, peas, corn, and carrots may also be grown. We can really only count on the cold season for gar- dening. Pumpkins, egg- plant and lady-fingers can easily be obtained from the native markets where we get our rice, curry, and dal (a kind of split pea), also such tropical fruits as cus- tard apples, small bananas, and limes (a small lemon). The melon-like fruit in the left of the vegetable picture are papaiya which are very Lich in pepsitvessLhiceplanit bears fruit the next season after planting un'ess drown- ON! PHE- ROCK issionaries Children of M BUILDING ON THE ROCK 149 ed out in the rains. In Dhamtari a fruit and potato vender sells potatoes, oranges, guavas, etc., which have been shipped from other cities or from the hills. Potatoes vary in price from one dollar twenty-five cents to five dollars twenty-five cents a bushel, eggs are had locally at about twelve cents per dozen, ghi (clarified butter) can be had at about thirty-five cents per pound and is our substitute for lard. Butter is bought in tins at from thirty-five to forty-five cents per pound. Flour is ordered from Calcutta at one dollar seventy-five cents to two dollars per hundred pounds. These are approxi- mate prices at present prevailing. Shopping for groceries as well as dry goods is not as simple here as in America. There is no corner grocery, or general merchan- dise store where we can do our purchasing in a few hours. Here we sit down at our office table and scan some very incomplete catalogs which often do not even have the correct prices given. We write out the order and if we want it in a hurry, we say, “Send by passenger train” (express ). )) Then atsis not at all surprising if a clerk at the store makes a mistake and sends our box “goods” (freight). So we patiently (?) wait. When it finally does come it is not an uncommon experience to open a box only to find that the things most needed are missing. Upon examining the bill we find the words, “out of stock.” We have heard of outstation missionaries’ cooks making a failure of bread yeast and consequently having edible bread only two or three times in three months. The poor missionaries in question were so hungry for bread that when they did get some they could eat almost a loaf at one meal! Some order yeast from Canada, but the duty and other expenses are so high as to make it practically prohibitive unless a number of missionaries go together in the order. All goods ordered from Montgomery Ward & Co., cost us about twice the listed price by the time we get them here. Do you wonder that we have desk work and need files when we order sugar from one place, butter from another, groceries from an- other, etc., and keep duplicates of all until the orders are satisfactorily filled. The missionaries in and near Dhamtari entertain all visiting Europeans and take them to outstations if they desire to go. They also entertain the out-station missionaries for business meetings and committee meetings, etc. They act as proxies in looking after the mail and local business as well as taking delivery of goods and keeping it until called for as Dhamtari is the railway station for all our missionaries. On the evenings when there are no prayer meetings or other work, the missionary family relaxes a bit. They have a story with the children or a bit of quiet reading or write home letters. More often they are so tired that after the evening meal they at once have family worship and go off to bed. UPULIOYSE AA BUILDING ON THE ROCK 151 The Children The children are in the hands of an ayah (native child nurse) a great part of the time up to school age. The mother of course personally prepares the food, cleans the bottles, gives the baths until the baby can sit up alone. The ayah as well as any other servant must be constantly reminded of many little details of her work, such as never letting the child be under the direct rays of the sun without his sola-topie (sun helmet). Phis needs a special caution on cloudy days as clouds are not sufficient shade and it is hard to determine the exact position of the sun. The mothers with children of school age go to the hills about March fifteenth. In this way they can board the children for several months as well as give them a bit of home life, of which they get little enough. What is a home without children? But what is a home whose children must be away to boarding school about nine months out of every year beginning at the age of six or seven? It is not pleasant to have our families separated every year. Missionaries do not enjoy having the husband and wife, or husband and wife and children separated. When mothers go to the hills with small children they cannot share with their husbands the heat, work, and dangers of the plains in the hot season. We even could not possibly go to them in less than four days or vice versa. We do not mean this as dissatisfaction or complaint but just to let you know that not all of our separation is finished when we leave our dear ones in the homeland. The sisters who have no small children, and the brethren have two months’ hill leaye every two years. The medical authorities strongly advise a month’s leave during the alternate year when the work can so be arranged. The work is important and exacting and needs healthy bodies with clear, active brains and not nervous wrecks. Hill furloughs are expensive, room rents are high, and three to five days of railway travel takes money. A part of the time at the hills is spent in attending conferences and conventions for deepening the spiritual life of the missionaries. We also have necessary dental work done while in the hills since on the plains no dentist is near. We never tire looking at the majestic Himalayan snow peaks in sunshine, cloud-shadow, or moonlight, this being one of the blessings of hill furlough. How do we get to the hills? By alternately travelling or waiting at stations day and night for from three to five days. This is especially trying for small children who grow very restless in the heat, dirt, and cinders. We usually travel third class and the compartments are roomy if not crowded, but have such poor toilet accommodations as to make them all but impossible for a family. And oh, the luggage! At every change 152 BUILDING ON, ‘THE. ROCK we hire coolies to transfer it, keeping a lookout to see that all parcels arrive and are packed into the compartment which we hunt up and designate on our next train. We take as many as five to fifteen pieces of baggage with us in our compartment. These include bedding rolls, suit- cases, small trunks, hand-bags, parasols, lanterns, water pots for drinking water, and lunch baskets. Sometimes we travel for an entire day with no The slow-moving ox-tonga, still very useful, is being replaced by the auto- mobile, thus vastly increasing the usefulness of the missionary. RICKSHAW | stops where we can get a bite to eat. Night travelling is especially difficult for a woman alone with children. She must watch stations and have the bedding packed in time for any change. No brakeman on the train calls out the stations before we arrive there. After leaving the train we need to go some distance in a motor car or dandy or both to get to the top of BUTLDING ON) THE ROCK 153 the mountains. In going to Darjeeling one takes advantage of the narrow gauge railway which takes one up the mountain. The engine is a powertul little machine taking four cars up the steepest grades with ease. The accompanying picture will give you an idea of its size. The track reaches an altitude of 7400 feet above sea level and winds in and out, among and around the hills, going up and up by loops and “Y’s” through most beautiful jungles of tall trees, clinging vines, huge bamboos, and dense undergrowth. Not all of our travelling is as enjoyable as this. Outstation people on the plains travel horseback, bicycle, tonga, or walk during the rains. When the roads are passable we go by motor although no one would dignify our jungle trails by calling them roads. In this country of slow moving there is no timesaver like the motor when roads are passable. Not the smallest item of our home life is moving and getting settled at our new locations. Our moving vans are just simple two-wheeled ox or buffalo carts which are never guaranteed to remain right side up with any kind of a load. Landour in the Hills Gish Meare SUBD EXPERIENCES Mission work is carried on in a methodical and systematic manner but not everything in a missionary’s life happens according to plan. ‘This chapter is included to show the many interesting sidelights of a missionary’s life which are not as a rule mentioned. There are many such and in a great many cases they are anything but pleasant at the time they happen, but they may be recalled with not unpleasant memories long years afterwards. (Contributed by Sarah Lapp) Our First Tour About twenty-two years ago when my husband and I were novices, in India we made a trip to a village about twenty-five miles northwest of Dhamtari to visit the mother and sister of one of the Orphanage girls, taking one of the girls along. We started out in the morning in an ox tonga, taking some provisions along. At noon we stopped for lunch and to feed the oxen, and after a few hours’ rest we started out again for the village of Karibadar, where we intended to stop for the night. We arrived there after dusk, strangers to the people, and could not speak their language very well. In order to find a place to stay for the night we sent our ox driver to make investigations, but he came back without finding a place. Before long, however, a man came and told us we could sleep in his cattle stable if we wished. We were thankful for any kind of place with a roof over us so after eating a cold lunch in the cattle shed we went to “bed,” 1 on a small cot brought by the owner of the cattle stable, and the others on the ground, spreading their blankets on straw. We had a lantern which we kept burning low. We tried to sleep but I, for one, was awake most of the night as the cattle were tied only above five feet from us and were restless on account of us. At times we could feel their warm breath come over us. We were glad when morning came. After eating breakfast we started out for Karra, six miles farther on. On arriving there about ten o’clock in the forenoon, we went to the home of the girl’s mother where there was a happy meeting indeed. We were shown a small room where BUILDING ON ‘THE, ROCK 155 we spent the night. In the evening we told many people who had come together about Jesus and sang songs for them. We left for home the next day, arriving that same evening, glad for our new experience. The Balky Ox A number of years ago my husband and I went to visit some neighboring missionaries. It was in the rainy season and the roads were very muddy. We went from one of their stations to the other, a distance of about twenty-five miles, in an ox tonga. We reached our destination without any trouble but when we were returning our troubles began. For a few miles our oxen travelled well but suddenly without any notice one ox became balky and lay down. The driver prodded him with his oxgoad and got him up again and we were off, but only for a short distance, when he dropped down in the road again. This kept up for eight miles, when to our great relief, we were met with a team of slow but strong and dependable buffaloes sent from the first station, after which we had no further trouble for the buffaloes pulled us right through water and mud and we arrived safely at our destination by evening. When the Tonga Broke About ten years ago when living at Balodgahan two Bible women and I went on a tonga to a village about five miles away to do visitation work. On the way we were driving along slowly, when, without any warning, the tonga tongue broke off right at the driver’s seat, and as tongas have only two wheels we all fell forward in a heap on the ground. We were all stunned for a few moments, then slowly got up. The driver had his ankle sprained and I fell against a piece of iron, sustaining a cut over my eye which was bleeding. The two Bible women escaped with a few scratches. Luckily the oxen walked a little ahead with the yoke and the broken tongue and were out of our way. We all started for home on foot, the driver limping along slowly, bringing the oxen and leaving the broken tonga until he could bring it home later. I had to have a few stitches put into my cut and have my forehead bandaged for several days. We were all thankful that it was no worse. Matt. 25:13. Faith of a Non-Christian Some years ago Bro. M. C. Lapp (now gone to his reward) made a short tour to some villages near Chikli outstation and came to a village Khariya in Kanker state. He was called to see a woman in that village who was laid up with rheumatism and was nearly helpless. He had no 156 medicine with him for rheumatism but Said?) al scan) Bplay [or ByOuwe 90d. all; swers prayer.” They Sdidsa Ayes eC Osptay.« SO.) hes prayed aston Tel wet ccowel ya meal [ele trie weve ihdrote. Some weeks later a man came from that village for some Medicine yal O 1 seh Its family and was asked how the wom- an with the rheu- matism is getting a- long. The man said, “Oh, she is well a- gain and goes to the tank for water and does her own housework.” When asked since when she is well again the man said, “She got DEL Cimee riod tumeaitcr you were there and prayed. All the vil- lagers know about tive BUILDING ON THE ROCK i Canal Four Miles from Dhamtar igation Head Works of the Mahanadi Irr wm | BUILDING ON THE ‘ROCK 1 (Contributed by Anna Stalter) Shifting Responsibility in the Girls’ Orphanage Twenty jackets had been cut and were given to the matron to cut linings and neckbands. Wishing to get through with her job in a hurry she gave a girl the neckbands to cut. They were to be taken off material left from the jackets a piece about six or eight yards in length. The girls eut all the neckbands off along one side of the length of the piece, Helpers do not always help. Disturbed One evening in the hot season Sister Schertz and I sat and read until late. 1 finally went to bed. We were sleeping in the yard in front of the bungalow. J] was in bed only a short time when something banged against the wire fence about eighty feet in front of the bungalow, at the same time giving a deep growl. I called to the night watchman and asked what it was. He said, “Bagh hai’ (It is a leopard). The animal went on his way and we slept peacefully all night. Getting Experience In the hot season when Sister Schertz and I had been in India a little more than a year it was decided that we should accompany two of the girls from the Orphanage to visit the villages that were once their homes. The village to which we first went was about sixteen miles from Dhamtari. In order to get there and back the same day it was necessary for us to start very early, as we were to''go in an ox tonga. The evening before we prepared something for our lunch. Fried chicken as we have it at home had not been tasted for a whole year. We prepared a chicken and fried it nice and brown. That night a dog got the meat safe open and had a feast on part of our precious chicken. We started early in the morning and all went well until we were perhaps a mile from the village. The last few miles led across rice fields with their banks of earth around them. Some of the banks seemed high for the tonga to cross and we wanted the driver to let us get out and walk, but he insisted on our remaining in the tonga, and as we crossed one of the high banks one wheel went down with a crash, breaking every spoke in the wheel. There was nothing left but to walk the rest of the way to the village. It was very hot by this time and the loo (hot burning wind) was blowing in real hot season fashion, turning our weak American umbrella wrong side out and rendering it unfit for further use. 158 BUILDING ‘ON?’ THE ROCK The people were astonished to see us come and were somewhat shy of us as we were the first white people who had visited their village, but they were kind to us and gave us a place in which to rest, and prepared food for us. The man in whose house we were was an uncle to one of the girls and he was glad to see her after her absence of about five years. All the water we could get was from the village tank, which was muddy all the time. We remained in the house the hottest part of the day. Towards evening we walked with the other girl to her village which was about a mile and a half farther on, and returned again for the night. About ten o’clock that night, after much discussion between our tonga driver and the men of the village, of which we understood little, we started home in a “chakra” (a small springless’ox cart for two people) and a driver from the village. Two of us walked and two rode alternately. We stopped a while in front of a village sometime in the middle of the night when the new driver and our own driver had a smoke. They also went away to the village for some time. We sat on a log and one of our party fell asleep: and nearly fell off the log. Day finally came and soon the heat of the sun was felt. The “chakra” had no top so Sister Schertz and I went on home and left the girls to walk the remaining six or seven miles to Dhamtari. We arrived about ten in the forenoon hot, dusty, sleepy, and tired. The only refreshments we had since morning were a drink from a village tank. A Poisonous Snake In this country there are many snakes, though one might live here for years without seeing any. It is a safe thing always to look about one’s bed before retiring to see that all is well. One evening in the rainy season I picked up the lantern, as usual, to go out to the veranda, where my bed was, to see 1f there was anything unusual. As I pushed open the screen door to go out something fell and struck me on the head, then fell on the floor. Examining it I found it was a snake and killed it at once. It was a very poisonous snake about three feet long. The Noisy Jackals It was in the early months of 1905 when I was very new in the country. One evening Sister Schertz and I went for a walk towards the jungle. While leisurely walking along quite a distance from the bungalow we suddenly heard something howling ferociously, and thought, wilatever it was, it was about to get us, so we took to our heels and ran all the way back to the bungalow. We thought the animals must be wolves but since BUILDING ON THE ROCK 159 then we heard them many, many times and we know now that they were jackals, perfectly harmless animals. Another Snake Story During a rainy season when living alone in Balodgahan I awoke in the middle of the night and for some cause or other it seemed as though there were something wrong about the bungalow. I got up, picked up the lantern and a heavy stick, and started on a tour about the house to see if I could find anything wrong. When I got to one of the doors that was open I saw a good sized snake which had crawled up on the outside of the screen door and when it saw me and the lantern it threw its head all about over the door, as though looking for a place to get through. Finding a hole in the screen big enough to crawl through, it started straight in towards me and I at once struck it with the stick, which caused it to fall to the floor where I killed it. It proved to be a viper and they are very poisonous. | went to bed and slept soundly until morning. God does help us to protect ourselves if we trust Him. (Contributed by P. A. Friesen) Hungry for the Gospel We were on an evangelistic tour. One morning three of the evangelists and myself decided to go to the village of Bagdai. We had never been to this village before. Each of us took an unusual number of colportage books with us that morning. When the people saw us coming nearly every one in the village came out to meet us. They offered us beds to sit on and expressed themselves as grateful and happy that we had come to see them. We sat down and started a village meeting at once. We sang and preached to them for two hours when they began to ask for books. In a few minutes’ time we sold every book we had with us, most of which were Gospel portions and song books. When we were ready to leave one man came to me and said, “I have read several of the Gospel portions already. I even know parts of it by heart. I now want the whole Bible.” I told him I did not have any for sale with me but could send him one the next day. He paid me in advance for it and I sent it out to him the next dav. A number of people of that village are now reading the Bible and are always glad when we come to read it with them. Another man in another village took me to his house and said, with tears in his eyes, “If you would come often to my house and read the Bible with me 1 would socn understand the will of God better.” 160 BUILDING WO Nib ROGK. Christian Prayer and the Witch Doctor Cholera was raging in the neighboring villages. One village called their baiga (witch doctor) to come and sacrifice for them so the disease would go away. The witch doctor came and began his work, but while he was making sacrifice he took the disease himself and in a few hours was dead. Now the poor village people did not know what to do. One man suggested that they call the sahib (missionary) to have prayer with them. The suggestion took well with the rest of the people and they called us to come to their village as quickly as we could. I took several workers with me and we had a most wonderful prayer meeting in that village. We requested that everybody that was well and could come out to the meeting should be present and that they too should pray to the living God for help and deliverance. The Lord heard our prayers and the cholera stopped in that village that very same day. Jas. 5:16. (Contributed by Dr. Florence C. Friesen) The Native Doctor This man is a baid (native doctor), who lives just across the road from the hospital. He claimed wonderful things and tried to draw our patients away from us. One day I visited him and in a friendly way inquired about his medicines. I was surprised to find him making medicine from the raw material such as mercury, zinc, lead, etc., which he bought in the bazaar. He also claimed he knew a cure for leprosy but being a poor man could not afford to burn the mineral in intense heat as many times as required. Rain and Bad Roads In company with a fellow missionary, his wife and two small children and two Indian women we left Jagdalpur one evening for Dhamtari, a hundred and thirty miles away.- It was just after the monsoons had broken. We safely crossed the first swollen stream in a boat and were speeding along towards the first dak bungalow (rest house). Sixteen miles farther on we reached the second swollen stream. We all crossed safely in boats but these boats were not large enough for the motor car which stuck in the stream in an attempt to cross. Nothing could be done that night so we opened our bedding and went to sleep under the stars but we were soon covered with a heavy cloud and then it began to rain. We fled to a little hut across the road built for the mail carriers and crowded BUILDING ON THE ROCK 161 ourselves into it for the night. Some of us were soaked and got dry the next morning when the sun came out. By noon we had our clothes dry, had the water out of the engine, a lunch and were ready to continue our journey. The next night we rested in the bungalow we intended to reach the night before. That day we encountered many swollen streams and bad roads but reached Kanker, the capital of a native state, and were allowed to rest in the king’s guest bungalow that night. We had forty miles farther to Dhamtari and arrived there the evening of the third day. Sometimes we waded the streams, sometimes crossed in boats. Sometimes men pushed the motor car through and sometimes oxen or buffaloes pulled it through. We crossed no bridges worth mentioning. Fight temporary bridges were washed away. Eager for the Word An educated Punjabi came to us sick and thought he was about to die. We treated him and he returned to his work. Later his wife came to us ill and she returned to her home. Again the husband came suffering from fever and we treated him. Before he left he asked for an English Bible. I had none for sale but gave him one of my own treasured Bibles. He went down the road with this Bible under his arm. The next time I saw him he said he spent many more hours reading the Bible than he did in his own Hindu worship. (Contributed by Lydia L. Lehman) Short of Help It was during the days of the great war when a number of missionaries were home on furlough and could not return to India promptly after their furloughs were over. At that time eleven missionaries were trying to hold down the work of twenty, the number who had been on the field. During this period of shortage of help, famine, cholera, bubonic plague, and influenza made their visits to Dhamtari. It is needless to say that after yoing through all this there were tired missionaries in India. To add to the heavy work the missionaries were kept in anxiety because of the low exchange and the high prices for foodstuffs. And we never could tell when the ckecks would arrive from home as mail was very uncertain. Mosquitoes and Malaria Two dear old friends who live fifty-two miles south of here in the jungle spent several weeks with us during the rains. It was the time of the 162 BUILDING ON THE ROCK influenza. After the rains closed and the streams could be crossed we took them to their home in the Ford. Due to road repairs we could not reach our desired destination before dark and were obliged to spend the night on the road in the heart of the tiger jungle where the mosquitoes are large and do not often have a chance to feast on foreigners. A mosquito net was put over the motor car. A fire was built beside the road and kept up all night to keep the wild animals away. Three sat guard to watch and listen. A man eating tiger was heard near by but the bright fire kept him away. The rest of the party, too tired and worn out, could not remain awake to keep off the ravenous mosquitoes that slipped in in spite of the net. The result was that two weeks later the entire party had malaria fever. (Contributed by Dr. G. D. Troyer) The Runaway Patient One morning four men came to our bungalow begging us to come to see a sick man in a village about eleven miles distant. We were very busy but consented to come as soon as possible which was in the afternoon. The road was good for eight miles but the last three miles led through rough country roads and through rice fields. We arrived in the village about four o’clock. It was a village of about five hundred people, one-third of whom turned out to stare at us as many of them had never seen a motor car. We found the patient in a small, dark room with only a small door and no windows. ‘The patient was groaning in pain and all the old men of the village were sitting around him smoking. As we entered the house the men left off smoking but the filth still remained in the room. I soon diagnosed the case as pus appendicitis and informed the patient that the only thing we could do was to operate, and that even then his chance of recovery was very poor. He had tried all the native doctors from far and near and had called us as a last resort. We explained to him that it was necessary for him to come to our dispensary. This he was ready to do and as he had no way of getting there he begged to go along with us on the motor car. We consented and arrived home just before dark. The patient was placed on a bed to rest while we hurriedly sterilized the instruments in preparation for the operation. By the time we were ready it was totally dark and so I had to operate by lantern light. I removed nearly a pint of pus and then inserted a rubber tube for a drain. The next morning the patient was much improved having very little pain and appearing much brighter. He was far better than I had expected and he continued to improve until the fourth Siphon Spillway of the Murumsili Reservoir day when he _ be- came very impatient, probably due to su- perstition, and want- Cd-sto,.904 to mie. That night I was twice called to his bedside. The next morning before six o'clock the father came running to the bungalow greatly excited saying his son was running a- way! I looked and saw the patient go- ing down the road at a rapid pace with no clothing on ex- cepting the bandage around his wound, the rubber drain still remaining intact. All I could do was to Lot meiieecou ihe next morning the father came back and begged me _ to come and remove the! tube. I ‘told him that since the son was able to run away he was able to walk back or at least come back on at Ox-Canteeand ett he came I would re- move the tube. The father returned to his home but came 164 BUILDING,YON THE ROCK back two days later saying that he was unable to persuade his son to re- turn to the dispensary. The patient said that he was sure he would die if he returned. We finally decided that we might be able to do some good if we returned to the village, so went that afternoon. When we arrived we had again a large gathering around the motor car. After caring for the patient we sang several songs and Sister Brunk gave a short talk. A few days later I made another call to the village and took two evangelists along. They preached and sold thirteen books to the people while I took care of the patient. This man made a complete recovery and is stronger than he had been for many months before. Besides we have had many other patients from that village since. (Contributed by Mary Good) Stopping for Repairs Four of us were on our way to Kashmir, a valley in the Himalayas, to escape’ for several weeks the severe heat of the plains. We were making the two hundred miles motor journey to Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, and were about half way between two traveller’s inns where we could spend the night. Motors are not permitted on the roads after sunset and night was approaching when the driver stopped the car in front of a very uninviting police station. He calmly announced to us that a bolt had been lost from the car and that we could go no farther that night. There were two choices. We could spend the night in the open shed which was right by the road or on the roof of the same building. We chose the latter. It was easily accessible from the ground at the rear as the building was set in the side of the mountain. We prepared our evening meal by the light of the moon and slept under the stars with the assurance of His protection even though we had read in the paper the day before that a band of frontier’s men had only a few nights before made a raid in a town not far from where we were spending the night. (Contributed by Bertha Z. Detweiler) How We Were Received The reception at Dhamtari was a surprise to us. The two hundred seventy-five orphan boys were lined up on either side of the driveway and gave us their salaams as we passed. Farther on the two hundredstwenty- five orphan girls were waiting and sang, “Oh Happy Day,” as we approached. BUILDING ON THE ROCK 165 When Reuben Came Lhe coming of Reuben’s father and little sister with the helpless crying little babe of six days, Reuben himself, will ever be remembered. The mother had died when Reuben was three days old and they had been giving a little milk using a leaf for a spoon. It was December and the air was somewhat chilly. Later when we took him into our home we cared for him and loved him as we now do our own children. Being unused to the care of babies the responsibility was a very serious one. The Great Disappointment To get a glimpse of the need, to be unable to become adjusted to a foreign climate, to have to leave the country quickly by order of the physicians cannot be understood except by those who have experienced Neg UaWepant wet acs (Contributed by Geo. J. Lapp) Interrupted One Sunday morning while I was shaving the people of Balodgahan came running to the bungalow and asked me to come quickly and shoot a panther that was lurking among the rocks not far away. I dropped the razor, washed the lather from my face, took the rifle and went out as quickly as possible. After an hour of maneuvering we shot the panther which measured nine feet in length from tip to tip. I then dressed for church, hurriedly ate choti hazri (light breakfast), and went to preach the morning sermon. While preaching I noticed the people were smiling and aiterwards when I asked my wife what was wrong she laughed and said, “Why you went to church with your face only half shaved.” An Enemy Won “A malguzar from a near by village wrote a letter to one of our patients that he was not to take medicine from the sahib’s (missionary’s) hands as he would charge for the medicine and it would not do him any good. He also included in the letter a number of libelous charges against the foreigners who come into this country. The patient was not able to read but was getting relief from the medicine so one day he handed me the letter he had received. I read it and told him what was in it and asked him for the privilege of keeping it. I laid it away in a drawer not knowing whether it would ever be of use or not. Over a year afterward the 166 BUILDING ON THE ROCK malguzar came for a visit and to request me to buy his village. After conversing with him for a short time I took the letter out of the drawer and asked him if he had written it. He at once recognized the letter and admitted that he had. We talked it over for a little while and I told him what the legal penalty for such slander is in this country. He asked forgiveness for it and I told him we would not bring suit and I tore up the letter in front of him. A couple of weeks later he again came to me and we had a nice visit together. He asked my wife to teach his fifteen-year- old daughter to sew and knit and it appears from the conversation that he is a friend now. He said in the conversation, “I want to thank you for what you have done for me and I have learned a great lesson which I could not have learned otherwise.” Misunderstood When we were first connected with the work of the Boys’ Orphanage the boys in charge of the sewing gang had al! the names of the boys written on the respective articles of clothing which were to be given out. In sorting them we saw a name on a shirt and asked whose it was. The sewing mate said it was “upraha,” so we told him to call Upraha and they chattered a great deal in protest, much to our disgust, until we finally learned that it was not a boy’s name but that it meant “extra’”—it was an extra shirt. The Belated Panther I shot a panther in Ghatula village which had attacked four men and wounded them before I had killed him. He had killed a goat the night before near a farmer’s house and when he had eaten his fill he lay down under some garden vegetables and went to sleep. The villagers found him the next morning and reported. In the skirmish he ran under the tree in which I was sitting and looked up at me. He ran up another tree not far away. | began to wonder what I would have done had he run up the tree on which I was sitting. The Boaster One morning an old man was brought to me with a broken collar bone. The viliage people at Ghatula had turned out for a drive over the near-by hill to round up a deer which was in hiding. The old man had made his boast that he had killed so many animals that he had become invulnerable. But when the deer came and ran alongside the hill this old man was in BUILDING ON THE ROCK 167 the way. The deer gave him a bump, knocked him down over the rocks and broke his collar bone. After we set it he soon recovered. They Trust Us An intelligent young man came to our dispensary for treatment. He needed an operation. When I advised him to go to the Government Assistant Surgeon he refused and said, “I do not know but that there might be some enemy somewhere who might heavily bribe the doctor and cause my death. I trust the missionaries therefore I want the work done here.” The Frightened Gonds While out on tour we came to a jungle which had no people in it yet the fires were burning on the hearths. We asked another villager what was wrong. He said, “These people are jungle Gonds and have never seen a white man, therefore they became frightened and ran away.” He and one of our workers went into the woods to hunt them and when they found a few they told them we were missionaries and would not harm them. So they slowly came back and we had a meeting with them. It was interesting to note their friendly attitude after they were convinced that we had come for their good. The Sick Calf I was called to a village to treat what I understood to be a child. The man was very much concerned but when I arrived at his hut I found to my disgust that it was a calf. The wife was also sick but he had not called me to help her! (Contributed by Fannie H. Lapp) The Inquisitive Cobra While Sister Schertz and I were living at Sankra I was sitting one evening at my table reading when I heard something stirring underneath the table. I looked but could see nothing. Some time later the clock on the table struck eight and I heard the thing stir again. I thought it was a mole but looked again and saw a black line standing up in the corner. I then set the lamp on the floor to enable me to see better but the line was gone. Getting a cane I tapped the floor matting and a snake stuck out his head. I called for some Christian men who came with sticks and killed it. It was a cobra (a very poisonous snake) measuring about four feet in length. It evidently was sleeping under the matting and the striking of the clock woke it up. ‘p[IOM 9} UT Pury S}I JO }sed1e] puodss ‘Aemjids uoydis e yyZM paddimba st 3y ‘sesodind uorjesi411t Jo} pasn st pue Sajitu o1enbs suru jo eaie Ue SIZAOD NOAIISeY SIV, ‘We}WeYyqd Wolf salul u9a}xIS ‘MOAIASeY 28e1I0}G IjISuUIMAN - a ott a seb aan iain tes eee an ees SS aa ces ice ae Neh ali A aC aa a Scotties ne cee ec a Sat an aR aaah lianas anes aaaner To enacs pasha vt ie enantio ts ponies a EI anal rv anc aan : BUILDING ON THE ROCK 169 A Day with the Bible Women The malguzar (landlord) of a village about four miles from Ghatula had been coming to the bungalow quite often to visit the sahib (missionary) and invited us to visit his home. One morning the Bible women and I started out to his village in the tonga. We were hoping the people in the home would give us a meal but we had not informed them of our coming so I took a small lunch along and told the women to take some bread also. One of them thought it was not necessary and so did not provide herself with food. We got to the village but the malguzar was not at home. We had good meetings with the women in the different houses and toward noon we began to get hungry. We went back to the malguzar’s house but there were no prospects of a meal as the women were very ignorant. So those of us who had brought our lunch ate it and shared it with the one who had none. About that time the malguzar came and gave orders, to have a chicken killed and a meal cooked. As it was very late we told them not to cook for us. We started home and when about half way home the tonga wheel broke and we had to walk the rest of the way through the sand and hot sun. However, we were glad to have gone and given the people the bread of life. (Contributed by R. R. Smucker) Accepting the Invitation In order to become better acquainted with the people and to help in gaining their confidence my wife and I planned to invite the people of certain villages to come to the bungalow and chat with us and to hear music. The first Sunday three hundred fifty people came to the bungalow in response to the invitation. Other villages were invited on succeeding Sundays. The largest number we had on a Sunday afternoon was five hundred. It was an interesting experience to entertain five hundred guests on a Sunday afternoon. The Perplexities of a Non-medical Missionary A child was brought to the bungalow with a very bad knee. I urged the father to take the child to Dhamtari to the doctor but he refused and I was left to do the best I could for the child. Through advice from the doctor I applied remedies which were very helpful and brought much relief. Through this effort we have won many warm friends in that village which had up until then been showing a certain hostility towards our work. 170 BUILDING ON .THE. ROCK The Unlucky Tiger A tiger had been prowling around Balodgahan and killing the farmers’ cattle. Hearing of another ox the tiger had killed I accompanied Bro. Lapp to the jungle where we sat in trees near where the ox had been killed knowing that the tiger would come again the next evening to have another meal. We were not mistaken for shortly after we got safely into our perches in the trees out walked “stripes” and when | first saw him he was not over forty feet away. Taking careful aim I fired killing him almost instantly. I consider the skin a great prize. (Contributed by J. N. Kaufman) The Unfortunate Outcaste One evening many years ago I was called to the home or rather hut of a non-Christian family who were living near the Mission premises at Rudri. They were in great need of help. When I arrived at the house I found the mother lying dead on the earthen floor of the tiny hut, and her little son, born the day before, sniffing at her breast in quest of nourishment. The father was out trying to get people to help bury his wife but as they were outcastes no caste Hindu would pollute himself by helping. With my help young Hindus were secured to dig the grave and then as no one would touch the corpse the husband proceeded to carry his dead wife on his shoulders to the grave.. I could. not permit this’ when) ljheards whae was going on and ordered a Mission cart to convey the body to the grave. In the pale moonlight of the evening Christian men lowered the body into the grave and covered it with clods of earth while a half dozen Hindus stood a safe distance away lest they become defiled! Travelling Difficulties The roads in India other than Government roads are passable during the dry portion of the year but during the monsoons they become very bad. Numerous streams have to be crossed and during heavy rains they become deep and swift. On one occasion Bro. M. C. Lapp and I left Dhamtari on horseback for Sihawa and vicinity, about forty miles from Dhamtari, to see about the possibilities of locating a mission station in that region. It was in the middle of the rainy season. Soon after we started it began to rain and rained most of the time during our week’s absence. On our return trip we encountered some difficulties on account of the high water which made BUILDING ON THE ROCK 171 travelling more or less dangerous. One stream was so deep and swift that it was impossible to cross it and we were obliged to turn back some miles and spend the night in a lonely, leaky hut in the depths of the jungle though at the stream we were in sight of a good house where we could have spent the night in comparative comfort. We had very little to eat for we were not properly prepared for this emergency. The next morning the stream was still very swift and the water reached half way up the sides of our horses but we got safely across and came on. The Mahanadi River, two miles from Dhamtari, was so swollen that it was impossible to ford it so we crossed it on a boat and made our horses swim the river after removing their saddles. On another occasion while I was taking my family for the first time to Mahodi, the new evangelistic station, one stream was unsafe for us to cross on the ox tonga so we sent the tonga across empty and prepared ourselves to wade across. We made quite a spectacle as we made our way across the water which was hip deep, I going ahead carrying our six months’ old baby, followed by Elsie and Paul holding on to each other, Dalancing themselves with sticks. None of us could swim. A Low Caste Man’s Advantage Soon after I came to India Bro. M. C. Lapp and I went to a distant village in the jungle to look for teak timber for our carpenter shop. We had with us two vehicles and two ox drivers. One of the drivers was a high caste man and the other was a low caste man. Now a high caste man is not permitted by his caste or his training to eat from the hands of a low caste man nor can he eat food cooked by a man of low caste. It thus came about that on this trip it fell to the lot of the high caste man to cook the food for both and the man of low caste sat contentedly near by while the other cooked the food and eagerly ate of it when it was set before him. Saving the Buttons It happened before I was married. What buttons came off my clothes I had to sew on myself, which process I did not overmuch enjo0yes One Monday morning I cautioned the washerman to be careful when he beats the clothes over the rough stones in the process of washing so as’ not to knock otf so many buttons. That evening he came to me all smiling with a big string of buttons in his hands. On inquiring the meaning of it he remarked, “Well, Sahib, you told me to be careful not to knock off the buttons but how can I help it if the buttons come off? I have therefore 172 BUILDINGS GON. , THE (ROCK cut off all the buttons from your clothes and saved them all. Here they are!” They were all there and I knew just how many buttons had to be sewed on that week. The Hindu Bible Teacher Years ago I conducted a daily Bible class in the English school. One day I could not be present and the next day when I got to the schoolroom I noticed material from the Bible lessons written on the board. I was told then that one of the masters, a Hindu, fully occupied the Bible period and reviewed the Bible lessons the day I was absent. A Snake Thrill There are many poisonous snakes in India. Among the most deadly are the karait, cobra, asorhia, and others. Thousands of people die of snake bite in India annually. My wife and I had just moved to Dhamtari from Rudri and being very tired we retired early. It was in the rainy season. We could not sleep and the hours dragged their weary lengths until midnight when I noticed a peculiar object lying across the threshold of the bathroom door. Inspecting it closely I discovered that it was a big snake which was making its way towards my bed and had come within a few feet of it. In an instant I was on the floor on the opposite side of the bed and was directly beating away over the back of the snake with a rattan cane I picked up from the corner of the room. It proved to be an asorhia, said to be a very deadly snake. It measured six feet in length. We then went to bed and slept till morning. Did God keep us awake to be ready for the snake when it came? Two weeks later I nearly stepped on its mate on the road on the way home from prayer meeting. (Contributed by A. C. Brunk) Interviewing the King Brother M. C. Lapp and Brother Smucker and I went to Lohara to see the king about getting land on which to build a mission station in the southern part of his kingdom. When we arrived the king was not at home, but he arrived.in ayshort time. “Heeat*once calledius: toimectehimae plese: at a table on his veranda and gave us steamer chairs. Brother Lapp by previous arrangement between themselves began to explain the object of our visit. He explained to the king that if he would admit us into his state we would in no way interfere with the politics of the state, and BUILDING ON THE ROCK 173 that our teaching would make his subjects better citizens, that we would erect mission buildings that would require the expenditure of considerable money in his state and that we would purchase the necessary timber from him (for he had a lot of timber to sell). He was told that we were ready to pay for the land. If he demanded we would pay $335.00 for ten acres of land. He was told that our business was to spread the religion of God. We also told him about all the work that our Mission was doing. The explanation of all these things took about twenty minutes and during this time all the man would say was an occasional “yes” or “no” to an unimportant question. Brother Lapp talked on repeating something he hoped might interest the king but he could not get a sign of real interest nor could he get a reply in the affirmative or negative to the question of whether the king would give us land. Brother Lapp would wait for considerable time to give him time to reply. The king would call a servant and give some orders regarding other business. Again we tried with similar results and at last we asked him whether we might write officially to him asking for a building site. He said we might, and we left him with a very little hope, but much misgiving. We went home, wrote the best letter we could, and received no reply. We waited and wrote again and about three years have passed and we are still waiting for a reply. But this king is now dead and so the matter may now be taken up with his successor. I believe God will open this closed door. Mango Grove Coal weak iic aly, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES Missionaries are the servants of the whole Church. Although they are not all known in all the congregations of the Church yet the whole Church remembers them continually in prayer. For this reason a place has been provided in this little book for brief sketches of the lives of the missionaries who have in their humble way been connected with the work of the American Mennonite Mission. We hope that the personal touch of the missionaries and the home Church may thus be strengthened. It will also be interesting as well as instructive to know how many have been sent forth to the Lord’s work in India, who they are, from what sections of the country they came, and how many were obliged for various reasons to give up the work in India. As far as consistent the names of the missionaries will appear in the order they arrived on the field. I. JACOB ANDREWS RESSLER was born in Lancaster County, Pa., July 28, 1867. He was married to Lizzie Bachman in 1891 who died in 1898 leaving a daughter, Emma, who is now Mrs. Geo. W. Townsend, of Masontown, Pa. He moved to Scottdale and was ordained to the ministry in 1895 and for some time served as one of the pastors of the Scottdale Mennonite Church. Prior to his sailing in 1899 he was ordained BUILDING ON THE ROCK 175 to the office of Bishop. On March 4, 1899 he arrived in India and after much travel and investigation he located in Dhamtari with his colleagues, Dr. and Mrs. Page, thus becoming one of the founders of the American Mennonite Mission. He returned to America in 1903 and was married to Sister Lina Zook in June and returned again to India in December of the same year. In 1908 he returned to America on account of Sister Ressler’s failing health and three years after, with their daughter Ruth who was born in India, settled at Scottdale where he has since been engaged .in editorial work in connection with the literature of the Church. Their youngest daughter, Rhoda, was born in America. Through the generosity of the Church at home especially of Lancaster County, Bro. Ressler’s old home, he found it possible to accept the urgent invitation of the American Mennonite Mission to come to India and visit and inspect the work and help in special evangelistic efforts for the salvation of the lost. He arrived in India early in December, 1924, for a three months’ stay. tee LINAS ZOOK. RESSLER savas: born | in WaynerGounty,. Ohio September 26, 1869. She was for five years a city missionary in Chicago (1895—1900) and served as preceptress of Elkhart Institute (1900—1903) when she was married to Bro. J. A. Ressler and went with him to India arriving in India in 1903. On account of failing health she returned with her family to America in 1908. Bro. and Sister Ressler’s parents are both dead. 3.2 DR. WIELIAM Bi) PAGE was'tborn in Elkhart County, Indiana: He was a practicing physician at Middlebury, Indiana, at the time when the call came to him to go to India as a medical missionary. tien! Gi DAU PAGE, was’ born-in Hancock County, Ohio. Dr. and Mrs. Page were appointed to go to India at the same time Bro. Ressler received his appointment and the three sailed together, reaching India in 1899. Due to overwork and other causes during the time of the famine, Dr. Page’s health broke down and he and his wife were obliged to return to America. Dr. Page has continued his practice in Goshen, Indiana. Dr. Page’s father is still living. 3 5. JACOB BURKHARD was born in Stephenson County, Illinois, October 1], 1873. When he was four years old his parents moved to Nebraska where he grew to manhood. In spite of poor school facilities in those early days in the west he managed to secure a teacher’s certificate 176 BUILDING ON TRH E “ROCK and taught school for two years. His earlier missionary work was done in a community eighteen miles from his home at a place called Antioch where he conducted a Sunday school for three years, travelling the distance every Sunday rain or shine. Preparing himself for further service in the Lord’s work, while in school at the Elkhart Institute, Elkhart, Indiana, he accepted a call to go to India as a missionary and finding a suitable companion in Sister Mary Yoder to whom he was married in June, 1900, they two sailed for India, arriving there in October of the same year. In 1901 he was ordained to the ministry by Bishop J. A. Ressler before he could under- stand the language used in the service. Al- though living the life of a busy missionary, he found ample time to pray and he is still remem- bered by’ the Indian people as a man of prayer. Continuous years of strenuous labors reduced his vitality and when a spinal carbuncle de- veloped he was unable to throw off the effects and in spite of all that medical help could do he grew weaker and blood poison set in. His spirit took its flight, translat- ing him to higher service, September 29, 1906. Bro. Burkhard’s parents are no longer living. 6. MARY YODER BURKHARD was born in Champaign County, Ohidwhepruanyvercmmel Oo, While preparing herself at the Elkhart Institute for service sin the Clmirchashe answered the call to go to India and sailed with Bros, burkhardtomwhom she was married in June, 1900. She remained on the field after Bro. Burk- hard’s death until Febru- ary, 1907, when she sailed for the homeland with her three children, Esther, Samuel, and Anna, all Where Brother Burkhard Lies Buried BUILDING ON THE ROCK 177 born in India. Leaving Esther and Samuel in America she returned with Anna to India in 1908 for another term of service and again returned to the homeland in 1914. Her mother is still living. — 4, MAHLON CASSIUS LAPP was born in Bucks County, Pa., February 4, 1872. When he was six years old his parents moved to Nebraska where he grew to manhood. He was converted at the age of twenty-one after which he took a great interest in the work of the Church. He often accompanied Bro. Burkhard to Antioch to help conduct the mission Sunday school there though it was thirty-four miles from his home. In 1899 he went to Chicago and became a missionary at the Home Mission until 1901, during part of which time he took a short business course at Elkhart Institute. He was married, June 10, 1901, to Sister Sarah Hahn and in the same month was ordained to the ministry and to the ottice of bishop, Bishop Schiffler of Roseland, Nebraska, officiating. Bro. and Sister Lapp were appointed to go to India in June, and arrived in India October, 1901. Their first furlough was due in 1908, which they spent in the homeland and again returned to the work in India in 1909, remaining on the field for their second term of service until 1917 when they went to America. They again came back to the field for their third term of service i eeihe ihirstayear of their work in the third term was unusually hard and in the fall of 1922 Bro. Lapp was troubled with fever and nervousness which was only temporarily relieved. There was no satisfac- tory response to treatment and the trouble developed into softening of the brain, causing him great pain for months. He was taken to Calcutta to get the best medical treatment but nothing would avail and the angel of death relieved him of his suffering on the 30th of May, 1923, when he passed to his eternal reward. 8. SARAH HAHN LAPP was born in Clarence Centre, New York, October 9, 1869. After graduating as a nurse, she was married June 10, 1901, to Bro. M. C. Lapp, and together they received their appointment to India in the same month. Her terms of service and furloughs are the same as those of Bro, Lapp, excepting that after his death in May, 1923, she 178 BULGDINGHONT DEES KROGK remained on the field until March, 1925, when she went on her third furlough. Sister Lapp’s father is still living. 9. IRWIN R. DETWEILER was born in Bucks County, Pa., August, 1873, but lived the greater part of his youth in [llinois and Nebraska. He had completed a Junior College course in preparation for life work when he heard and accepted a call to go to India. 10. BERTHA ZOOK DETWEILER was born in Topeka, Indiana, June 22, 1875. She was married to 1: R. Detweiler in? June;\1902 fatter completing a two year college course, and with him was accepted for work in India, arriving there in September, 1902. Their stay in the service of the Mission was short for Sister Detweiler found the climate too exacting and so Bro. and Sister Detweiler were obliged to return to America in 1904, after less than two years of service on the field. Since their return to America they have resided in Goshen, Indiana. Both the parents of Bro. and Sister Detweiler are dead. 11, ANNA STALTER was born in Allen County,' Ohio, January 28, 1874. Accepting the call to mission work, she took up special training in preparation for her work in India. In due time she was appointed to go to India and arrived on the field in January, 1905. She went on her first furlough in 1911, returning in November, 1912. Her second furlough came in 1918. She began her third term of service in 1920. Her parents are dead. i2, LYDIA ELLEN SCHERTZ. was born: in) Lebanon) Gounty eas October 15, 1880, but later moved to Kansas where she resided at the time when she received her appointment to go to India as a missionary. After a period of preparation at college she sailed for India, arriving on the field with Sister Stalter January 6, 1905. She went on her first furlough in the spring of 1910, returning in 1911 and after another term of service on the field she again returned to America on furlough in the spring of 1918. She resides at present at Los Angeles, California. Her parents are dead. 13. JAMES NORMAN KAUFMAN was born in Somerset’ County, Pa., October 28, 1880. He taught school for some years. He was ordained to the ministry in 1902 and for three years before leaving for India he was pastor of the Rockton congregation, Rockton, Pa. He sailed for India in the spring of 1905 arriving there April 4, 1905. On March 10, 1909 he was married to Sister Elsie Drange, the marriage taking place in India. His father is still living. 14. ELSIE DRANGE KAUFMAN was born in Chicago, July 2 om? BUILDING ON THE ROCK 179 1886, and after preparing herself for service in the Church she was appointed and sent to India as a missionary arriving there in December, 1908. Her parents are dead. Bro. and Sister Kaufman left on their first furlough in March, 1914, and while on furlough Bro. Kaufman completed his college work which delayed their return to the field until December, 1917. Their three children Russell, Paul, and Kathryn were born in India. 13. GEORGE JAY LAPP was born in Juniata, Nebraska, May 26, 1879. Prior to his being appointed to India as a missionary he was engaged as a teacher and evangelist... On June 26, 1905, he was married to Sister Esther R. Ebersole and with her sailed to India, arriving in that country December, 1905. Their first furlough was due in the spring of 1912 and they spent eighteen months in the homeland during which time he completed his college work. Returning in 1912 they began their second term of service, laboring together until 1917, when Sister Lapp died May 8. Due to ill health, Bro. Lapp left for the homeland the same year. During his extended furlough he served the Church as a Bible teacher and evan- gelist, and for a year served as President of Goshen College. On April 14, 1920 he was married to Sister Fannie Hershey, with whom he returned to India in 1921. Bro. Lapp’s three children were born in India. Their names are Lois, Pauline, who died in November of 1913, and Harriett. Bro. Lapp is a brother to Bro. M. C. Lapp and their father is still living at the ripe old age of 91. 16. ESTHER EBERSOLE LAPP was born in Sterling, Ill., June 26, 1880. At an early age she moved with her parents to Nebraska where she grew to young womanhood. In 1901 the father with the children who remained at home, returned to Illinois and the long-looked-for opportunity came to take her nurse’s training in the Passavant Memorial Hospital, Chicago. From girlhood she felt the call to become a foreign missionary and in due time she presented herself to the Mission Board for service and the way opened for her to go. In June, 1905, she was married to Bro. George J. Lapp and in October she sailed for India with her husband. In India she entered upon the duties which fall to the lot of missionaries. Her first term of 180 BUILDINGZON' DHE ROCK service from 1905 to: 1912 was spent in orphanage, medical, and visitation work. Coming back to India with her family ,in, 1913 in the secondwtemm of\service, she’ was in ‘One sshore month called upon to mourn the death of her younger daughter, Paul- ine, who died. .in December, 1913. Her health during her second term of service was not very good and at times she suffered severe at- tacks of malaria. In January, 1917, she was taken ill with black water fever and as soon as she could be moved from the new station (Gha- tula) which Bro. .and Sister Lapp opened, she was taken to Darjeeling, but she never fully recovered from the “sickness, and on) May si/lGe her spirit took its flight.) oir Lapp’s parents are both dead. 17. FANNIE HERSHEY 13a een was born in Manheim, Pa., in De- Sister Esther Lapp’s Grave, Darjeeling Cember, 1882. She was engaged in city mission work prior to her com- ing to India as a missionary. She was appointed for service in India in the spring of 1913 with Bro. John Musselman to whom she was engaged to be married. The Lord had another plan for her and took away her intended husband by death, before they could sail, on the day they were to be married. ‘he blow was a severe one but nothing daunted she carried out her conviction to go to India even in this deep sorrow and arrived in India in November, 1913. She served one full term until 1919 when she went home on furlough. On April 14, 1920, she was married to Bro. G. J. Lapp. She with her husband returned to India in 1921 for another term of service. Her parents are living. 18. MARTIN CLIFFORD LEHMAN was born in Dalton, Ohio, March 16, 1883. He taught school in his home community when he decided to prepare himself for further service in the Church completing a two year BUILDING ON THE ROCK 181 college course. In due time he was appointed to go to India as a missionary. He was married to Sister Lydia Lichty, August 16, 1906. Lely OIA LCE Ye bith ANS was) born in Sterling, 1 Ohio, September 28, 1884. Af- Hered ,COULSe | Ol special preparation for the Lord’s work she was appointed to go to India as a mis- sionary. She was married to-M:. -C. Lehman, August 16, 1905, and together they sailed for India, arriving in January, 1906. Dip ily, 19) 3 ebro: and sister Lehman. leit — on their first furlough and while in America. Bro. Lehman completed his college work. They re- turned in 1915 and con- tinued on the field for their second term of service un- til 1923 when they left for their second furlough and arrived back on the field in November, 1924. They have three children, Irene, Carolyn and Waldo, all born in India. Bro. Leh- man’s parents are still liv- ing but Sister Lehman’s parents have been dead for a number of years. Brother Lehman and Family 20. RETER A. FRIESEN was born in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, May 22, 18/9. He was engaged in teaching and evangelistic and colportage work when he and his wife, Sister Helena Dick, to whom he was married October 10, 1901, were appointed to go to India as missionaries. They arrived in India, March, 1907, with their two children, Peter and Mary. Their first furlough was due in 1914 when they sailed for the homeland, again returning for their second term in 1915. Their second furlough was 182 BUILDING ON CRE, ROCK not quite due when Sister Friesen who was with the children in Naini Tal suddenly »passed ‘away, July, 1921.' Bro. Friesen with the children; Peter, Ida, Willie, John and Edward returned to America early in 1922. Mary died in 1911 and Roza, who was born in India, died in 1913. While on furlough in August, 1922, Bro. Friesen was married to Sister Florence Cooprider and together they sailed to India at the close of 1923. Paul, a younger member of the family, was born in America and Grace Elisabeth, the youngest, was born in India. His mother is living. 21. HELENA DICK FRIESEN was born in Mountain Lake, Minn., February 12, 1880. She was married October 10, 1901, to Bro. P. A. Friesen and with him was appointed to go to India. They sailed early in 1907 and arrived’ in India an, March, 190/78, Thefirst® term of missionaries is usually full of varied experi- ences, and Sister Friesen had her full share. She lived with her family at Balodgahan, their first appointment, and later spent some time at Garia- band where the Mission had hoped to open a new evangelistic station. They lived in improvised quarters while there. When that door closed they Were appointed to Sankra where land was secured for a new station and in November, 1910, they moved to Sankra. She was called upon to pass through a sad experience when Mary passed away on account of croup. Mary died November 15, 1911. Two years later in the rainy season, August 31, 1913, Roza also died. ‘There were heavy floods and it was very difficult for any one from Dhamtari or Balodgahan to go to Sankra but Bro. M. C. Lapp and Dr. Esch got through on horseback. However, all the burial arrangements had already been made and it was Sister Friesen’s sad lot to prepare, with her own hands, little Roza’s body for burial. Their furlough was due in 1914 and she sailed with her husband and family in March of 1914. The children accompanying them were Peter, Ida, and Willie. They returned in 1915. While with her children in Naini Tal in the hot season of 1921 she suddenly took sick and in a few days was with her Lord. She died July 28, 1921. Her body lies buried in the European Cemetery at Naini Tal. Her parents are both dead. 22, DREGE LORENCERCOOPRIDERERELSEN was born near McPherson, Kansas, January 6, 1887. Having completed her preparation BULL DIN GeO Ne ire ROC Ks 183 for medical work at a medical school in Chicago she was appointed to go to India as a medical missionary and arrived in India, November, 1916. In 1922 she returned to America on her furlough and in August of the same year was married to Bro. P. A. Friesen. Her second term of service on the field began January 1, 1924. Her parents are living. 23. DR. CHRISTIAN DAVID ESCH was born near Wellman, Iowa, October 12, 1883. Feeling called to do special work for the Church along medical lines he prepared himself for this work, completing his medical training in a medical school in Chicago. In May, 1910, he was appointed by the Mission Board to go to India as a medical missionary. He was married November 23, 1910, to Sister Mina Brubaker. 2+, MINA BRUBAKER ESCH was born in Cherry Box, Missouri, January 22, 1887. She engaged in city mission work for several years when she received the call to go to India as a missionary. On the 5th of September, 1910, she was married to Bro. C. D. Esch and together they sailed for India arriving there November 23, 1910. Bro. and Sister Esch served their first term of service in India, until March, 1917, when they went on furlough, during which time Bro. Esch completed his college work, and returned again for their second term of service in February, 1921. Their children are David, Sarah, Mary, Nellie, barbara and Helen all of whom were born in India excepting Nellie who was born in America. Their parents are dead. 29. ALDINE CARPENTER BRUNK was born in Broadway, Va., October 25, 1886. He was graduated from college in 1911 and was appointed to India as a missionary arriving in India in 1912, The next year he was married to Sister Eva Harder. 26. EVA HARDER BRUNK was born in. Lathan, Missouri, aiyeec, 1883. She was a student preparing herself for further usefulness when she accepted the call to India arriving there in October, 1908. In 1912 she was married to Bro. A. C. Brunk. Bro. and Sister Brunk left for their first furlough in September, 1919, returning again for their second term in 1922. While on furlough in America Bro. Brunk took further training taking his Master of Arts degree at the College of Missions, Indianapolis. Sister Brunk took a_ special course in medicine at the same institution. 2/7, CHARLES LEWIS SHANK was born in Leeton, Missouri, May 184 BUILDIN GUON GR EyROCK 22, 1886. After graduating from college he was married to Sister Crissie Yoder and was appointed to go to India in 1915. 28. CRISSIE YODER SHANK. was born in Holden, Missouri, Tanuary 7, 1888. She was graduated from college in 1913 and was engaged in teaching prior to her being appointed to India. In 1914 she was married to Bro. C. i. Shank and the next year, August, 1915, arrived in India. Bro. and Sister Shank served in their first term of service until April, 1919, when on account of the ill health of their daughter Ruth, born in India, they were obliged to return to America. 29. RALPH. RR. SMUCKER was born (ans Aurora, BAe peaeken November 27, 1894. Fe moved with his parents to Tiskilwa, Illinois, where he was married in 1915 to Sister Alma Albrecht. 30. ALMA ALBRECHT SMUCKER was born in Tiskilwa, Illinois; December 1, 1890. In 1915 she was married to Bro. R. R. Smucker and during their preparation at college for service in the Church, accepted the call to India and was appointed bv the Board arriving in India in 1920. Bro. Smucker’s parents are both living as well as Sister Smucker’s father. Ernest was born to them in America before sailing and Arthur Allen was born in India. 31. MARY MAGDALENE GOOD was born in Concord, Tennessee; July 23, 1890. She taught school seven years and was graduated from college in 1919, soon after accepting the call to go to India as a missionary. she arrived in India Jutie 23), 1920. ‘Her parents=are- dead, 32. MARY ALICE WENGER was born -near Canton,” Kansas February 26, 1894. After completing the necessary preparation she took nurse’s training at Newton, Kansas, graduating in 1920. Accepting the call to go to India as :a nurse she sailed for India, arriving February 4, 1971: 33. ERNEST EDGAR MILLER was born near Middlebury, Indiana, September 16, 1893. He was graduated from college in 1917 and the next year he was married to Sister Ruth Blosser. He was engaged as a high school teacher when he accepted the call to go to India but on account of the war he could not sail at once and engaged for several years in the Near East Relief. Several years before leaving for the field Bro. Miller was ordained to the ministry. 34. RUTH BLOSSER MILLER was born in Rawson, Ohio, August *UdSOI TT uyof pue piemMpsy { yos%y Aiew pue aan ‘TyONWIG 4sausiy ‘UISIIIT STIL AA UeUjNeYy [neq pue udlyey ‘Yosq yeies SI9AOIT, rurqd pur 119340 : dde’T JOT IIe FT > MO qUOI “ANY Ly [neg pue UISIIL YT 99UIAO] WT pue ° : s “qostT I V ‘d_ + (pasea.ap) usjazy pue ‘ereqieg -UvUTINeY sIs[q pue -n *f :dde’y Auuey pur -° ‘OOL) = MOM IIPPIAL = “yosty Ped ‘4193ua MA AIBW Fale eupyy, pur TOIT 3S9ULy pue “gf yINy {poor AIP f.anyqyiy pue ToyonuG eupy pue ydiey fyunig BAY put ‘d ty -ofeqeuuy puev I9A017, UAIYJeM pur “Cy ‘) “Iq ‘dde’yT stoy -19][821G euuy -URUTYNeYy [[ossny “MOM APT “ISI 07 39] wosy Surpeay Sale Iisyy pue eipuy ur S3IIBUOISSIT INO 186 BUILDING ON THE ROCK 15, 1893. She was graduated from college in 1917 and was engaged in teaching. In June, 1918, she was married to Bro. E. E. Miller. Bro. and Sister Miller received their appointment to go to India in 1918 but on account of the war they were unable to sail until 1921, arriving in India in May of 1921. The parents of Bro. and Sister Miller are both living. They have one child, Thelma Marie, born in India. 35. JOHN HERBERT WARYE was born in West Liberty, Ohio, October 19, 1890. He graduated from college in 1917 and for some years was engaged in teaching school and in the Near East Relief. He was married in 1921 to Sister Nellie Yoder. 36. NELLIE YODER WARYE was born in West Liberty, Ohio, May 16, 1895. She was graduated from high school and took several terms of college work and taught school four years. In 1921 she was married to Bro. J. H. Warve and with him was appointed to go to India. They arrived in India in 1921. Bro. .and Sister Warye had well begun their first term of service when on account of Sister Warye’s delicate health they were obliged to return to America in 1924. They have one child, Herbert Benjamin, born in India. The parents of both Bro. and Sister Warye are living. 37, DR. GEORGE D:. TROYER “was: born “in =Kokomowsindia February 26, 1890. He was married in 1914 to Sister Kathryn Summer. He completed his medical training and served two years as an interne when he, having accepted a call to go to India as a medical missionary with his wife, sailed for India. 38. KATHRYN SUMMER TROYER was born in Peru, Indiana, September 30, 1893, and was married to Bro. G. D. Troyer, July 12, 1914. Bro. and Sister Troyer were appointed to go to India as medical missionaries and arrived on the field December 21, 1923. They have three children, Byron Nortell, Dana Orion, and Mary Annabelle, all born in America. The following is taken from the India Mission News for February, 1925: “Tn all there have been thirty-eight missionaries in the India Mission of which twenty-two are on the field to-day. Of the sixteen who have left the work, four were removed by death; one went home to educate her children and eleven were compelled to leave on :account of health reasons. Of those who had to go home for reasons of hea!th all except two went BUILDING ON THE ROCK 187 during their first term of service. From among those whose health failed none were single missionaries. “The shortest term of service of any missionary was sixteen months, while the longest term is twenty-three years. This makes the average: length of service of all India missionaries nine years. Eight of the personnel, however, served less than two years while eighteen of the missionaries have already completed fifteen and one-half years each. “Practically all of the missionaries have had some special training in preparation for their work. Twelve completed their college work, four took medical degrees and four finished their courses in nurse’s training. “Out of the twenty-five years there were seven years which brought us no new recruits.” Darjeeling—a view of the everlasting snows «Korba /} f (Disci pl esof¥C hrist Mission) @ Bilaspur I (Gen. Conf. Men. Mission) ie Champa om t eae cane ta ae eee * Jagda) @.---" (Method tet M ise) on) B pop, YN is Scale: 1 inch.= 16 miles Our Mission Field bounded by —---—--- —) as related to fields of neighboring missions. Dotted lines Cichaaetees ) indicate motorable - roads. jer: CHAP GER XV. DATES AND DATA FOUNDING OF THE MISSION 1899 Opening of Stations Name First Occupants Sundarganj J. A. Ressler and W. B. & Alice Page Rudri* M. C. & Sarah Lapp Balodgahan M.-C. & Sarahelkapp Sankra P. A. & Helena Friesen Medical Station C.D. & Mina: Esch Ghatula G. J. & Esther Lapp and Fannie Hershey Mahodi J. N. & Elsie Kaufman Shantipur (Leper Asylum) Ca Do .cerMinaaiisch *Sold to Government in 1911. Opening of Charitable Institutions Institution Place Boys’ Orphanage Sundarganj Girls’ Orphanage Sundarganj Girls’ Orphanage moved to Rudri Girls’ Orphanage moved to Balodgahan Leper Asylum Dhamtari Leper Asylum moved to Shantipur Widows’ Home . Balodgahan English School Hostel Sundarganj Old Men’s Home Sundarganj Widows’ Home Sankra School Kitchen Sankra School Kitchen Sundarganj School Kitchen Balodgahan Opening of Evangelistic Outstations Name Missionary Bhatgaon GJ... Lapp Bijnapuri M. C. Lehman Giriaband* P.. A. Friesen Maradeo JoN ee Kautiman Mahodi GaN anes ibaa Chikli Me Geelong Gopalpuri Ars Geo runk Bagtarai J, N. Kaufman Gatasilli G, J. Lapp Seodi Gea lapp Nawagaon P. A. Friesen Tengna P. A. Friesen Kaspur Gj aLapp *Work closed in 1913 due to owner refusing land. Mogragahan Home Mission opened in Potiadi Home Mission land purchased in Year 1899 1902 1906 1911 1914 1916 1922 1924 Year 1899 1899 1902 1912 1900 1924 1912 1918 1919 1920 1922 1923 1923 Year 1908 1909 1909 1912 1914 1914 1914 1914 1914 1915 1918 1919 1923 1917 1924 190 BUILDINGYON FHE ROCK School Boys’ Primary Opening of Schools Place Sundarganj Boys’ Primary recognized as Middle School in Girls’ Primary Girls’ Primary moved to Rudri Girls’ Primary moved to Sundarganj Balodgahan Girls’ Primarv recognized as Middle School English School Sundarganj English School recognized as High School Primary* Village Primary** Village Primaryy Village Primary Village Primary moved to Village Primary Village Primary Girls’ Primary77{ Village Primary Village Primary Village Primary Village Primary Village Primary Bible Training School Carpentry School *Closed in 1906. **Closed in 1912. +Closed in 1910. Dhamtari (Chamar Section) Shankarda Arjuni Rudri Maradeo Bhatgaon Balodgahan Sundarganj Gopalpuri Bagtarai Ghatula Sankra Kaspur Rudri Sundarganj ++Closed in 1915 and reopened in 1923. Name Jacob Burkhard M. C. Lehman (oe) Esch Sukhlal Elisha* Kuwarman Parsadi Mukut P. A. Friesen Sadhram Peter Haidar ASG. Brunk Budhbal Carp misch *Office taken away in 1918. Annual Conferences and Normals First Held Bible Conference Christian Workers’ Normal Church Conference Sunday School Conference School Teachers’ Normal Ordinations Office Minister Minister Minister Deacon Deacon Deacon Deacon Deacon Bishop Deacon Deacon Deacon Minister Deacon Bishop Sundarganj Sundarganj Balodgahan Sundarganj Sundarganj Apion Feb. 5, Apt: Nov. 20, Nov. 22, July 24, Jansece March, Mar. 9, Year 1906 1903 1900 1902 1912 1906 1901 1912 1902 1903 1908 1903 1912 1908 1906 1910 1913 1915 1916 1921 1923 1903 1910: Year 1901 1911 1911 1913 1913 1913 1913 1916 1916 1916 1916 1921 1972 1923 1924 1906 1911 1912 1915 1922 BUILDING ON -fTHE ROCK 191 Missionaries | Year of | |Returned|Invalided| Name Arrival | Furlough| Home | Home |Deceased BE ROY JSS Eg SO a ae POOF fom IOS on me LONG: agen ie ros Ie CGN oy TE pn ig boo) WRN PW EROS! UE hee. Latte L900 Mae ee See PUICCRI Ave ue a, ee eis ste earn T3002) eee fe EL QOOR ee Mewes ne WES MES UTICA ARR one cies a onto TOO eae Wests cons cil ere eta 1906 ey PAST HAG ae A hc ti Sean e wicts ee 1900 1907—08 | Eo) Ce eee a en oe eee GAO Me ae ek See Urey coe cee | 1901 TOUS —=OO Hae citraig eul ne Ge tee | ee eB adele LOL LO eee Ne a de 1923 SEE PTADY a Ley 08 weeds teen oe ae gg ar ak (O01 111 90708 ee eee ral cae eRe li ee py tee Jak. PLOT/. LON es dee Wier ols. Reelek oe Pee OT WCLICII erie yivocks a Uxln ce Bee LOS tt acre, 1904 | in eee | Bhar Betiiaaretweiler sy Saree. or soe TOO Zura or: ee Resear Srl TO04 45 Rae ethoe Mata we ceslete hee fev Wolets cre ce eS 1003 aaa ne IC ait ws 1O0SEe eens PSV CUETIC Ce Ac Sota scitd tees oe a ee 1905 1910—11| 1918 : nae Sees | Geerrck es LUT Nei RONG PLE Sorc A A eet ee 1905 UOT = 12 ee ae h ete me ce ote PLOIS=220 |r ero ee Set ete eee ARE SUSE TC BT: a igo ee 1905 9141 74 vo Oe Nate, che aa hoe ere es cele feo BETTS 0s Ee Mare iin sear POOS Rg 1912--913)| a. noaeeet iene ee icteric ee ees ora oats 17-21 a eaer Pt PCE CTERI SAND matic ee ert hie ace vt ects « | 1905 1912-13.) pa epee 1917 Perm ee ONIN AT ON eae wees Coir oe sacs TO0G me Ot S— ihe cee | PPE Sita “| Peed See y= Toray rasa EO2 324.1 Ere Lett Oo nah een eid eID AT) earn goo she cure chee recta 1906 OMG Sirk, oe tata | tab teele alike eee oes Arty tye EO ZS etZ Aa slr recs tecatee [eae co ond Bil Een ates IEP TICSCT Wott choc lns «eve fees 1907 ea ed bos ani WE anette. de 6 Oe 1922 2S n* Snook Loko v cok aia Bielenamerriccetige: (ot cater tes eee eek LOO 7 aALO PAE 1S Vee oa oe] eure ees 1921 PON AM ACCEL steer sh rrr ues ten sn, LOGS AAO LO——2 TiN ae conve Att eeee ee eo Mote atos AG = brink GI3t. mee Lea ORR Pee bra prone Whe Shah degt ct > Ss REV AB yey hed cu aa oh) een ia aa LOO Sah OFA THE wg Peay | er te geteeee em ieee ae Married to J. N. Kaufman 1909 | Dee ete te pec eeoh arte er pane ra nnd Belkcge i 2 MLR CUME es ies oe OS oak ee es 1910 OL POL bears et b Asante ea het a ANT ged a Ie Oe a eae eee eg 1910 LOU AR —2 1h wh, its, oe cen ey ete tees PLUS ee LIT art. sh are td we We ite «ees 10 12 LO LOFT er ee cer. tle ae tems bee octets ea ee C1 CLSNe Vat ot ti, Wes Sielas nels cos oe 1913 NOD LS A ead BE. | in net yr Lee wore ge ea eielmt Or) Gap Delo, © ee ae Renae ete pistes edad feet oral [helene oe tne “LL GESTS I a a pe iby nie rele 191 5iea eee 1919 ee ireaence 2 breton OTE. TT FSP Gk TS as Pine ato ee ee LOLS er ee 1910 Pa renee ein hare ges Micrencem Cooprider... biases cs veh Fes 1916 £9 22-23 Wm scare erarencts Meenas. etaeticta se Married to P. A. Friesen 1922 | eee ty ae ie cll aaa aeaies Petre co We cela eee, Ome MALIN CKCT). 02.5 6%. ciclo lew skees oats « LOZ ORE rc ss sicclucaic ee Mee ee ene tees whe Pea KOT Oy aSelatciaie. eto c aac o8olert OZ Ly ae WR ee cots (Nate che see | Pea tastes Ree fe nk) a MEE EO wos LAs wel SiS ese cles sad NFPA des ae Sadek, Pa eee a eae Gy © 82 at ee EPR el Ree RAS VETO eT 8S. At ce les ce cad cae PREVA YORE a cree Pina en AM eh ee 7 Ee Cae VES), SAND Se a ne TOD Re cece Geet Genes otara erate ca lee, ubetere Pep HCL © eee sik ee FN BR as HR LO? Tap ameter Aimer Clas. be ome, sion Seite tba BOE VOR 80 ucts etch s wines bale sO 1927 ee here ee O23? [ee aoe chee Scetd gee Ber C oat ae) rece e le ciate aie ee LOZ a Stent seen nes ie eae LOZ 3 ea eee ee i OR SD ore Ae aren ea LOZ SUP IS eee et ee ON Ph ORI Cn eh ROU IM LTOVErD nt ke as Wve bas eens Pate O23 Alc e ere cinder Wok ene ee ne ee oy 192 Name Ruth Ressler Esther Burkhard Samuel Burkhard Anna Burkhard Russel Kaufman Paul Kaufman Kathryn Ruth Kaufman Lois Lapp Pauline Lapp Missionaries’ Children Place of Birth Igatpuri, India Calcutta. India Dhaimtari, CeP., “india Nagpur, India Naini Tal, India Dhaintarite Gal base ina Naini Tal, India Igatpuri, India Buasoure, Gare eindia (Died at Balodgahan, Dec. 20, 1913) Harriet. Lapp Irene Lehman Carolyn Lehman Waldo Lehman Peter Friesen Mary Friesen Calcutta india Bilaspur. Oat eal fidia Ihamitare 1G er ei ndia Dhamtari> Gaebanindia MtPelake 3Minites) Uses. Mteiake,SMinn 2U. 3: (Died at Sankra, Nov. 15, 1911) Ida Friesen Rosa _ Friesen Igatpuri, India Dhamtarig Geel. wl ndia (Miedwat. ankra, | Aug: od LOO) Willie Friesen John Friesen Edward Friesen Paul Arthur Friesen Grace Elizabeth Friesen David Esch Sarah Esch Mary Ellen Esch Nellie May Esch Barbara Alice Esch Helen Rowena Esch Ruth Shank John Shank Darjeeling, India Sankro peels Lidia Spankra, sabe el naia BUILDING ONDE E* ROCK ne Bethel ey Kansas aU 50. Dhtamtari-(Gasl.india Igatpuri, India DhamtarreyG@ee al adia Dhamtari*a, Geb. el ndia Newton, Kansas, U. S. Dhamtariatowst winaia ham tities War eee lLodia Dhanitarti acon india Jagdalpur, 4s.) india (Died in Calcutta, July 26, 1917) Ernest Edward Smucker Arthur Allan Smucker Thelma Marie Miller Herbert Benjamin Warye Byron Nortell Troyer Dana Orion Troyer Mary Annabelle Troyer Dedication of Churches Leper Asylum Balodgahan Sundarganj Sankra Leper Asylum Sankra New Goshensalndss UsiSsc As Dhamtan Cra nadia Dhamtari ates &. einidia Pachmarhi, India Cicero, whl loge, PAY ehicagvOmliiaetrboeeA. Giiicagorsiie Ueto Ac 1905 Famine 1912 Cholera 1914. Small Pox 1913 Bubonic Plague 1917. Cholera 1924 Plague Famine Influenza Famine Cholera ia Date of Birth June 5, 1906 Jan, sol aIO0Z Dec. 16, 1903 Sept. 1, 1906 Apt. *2oe0 1910 Oct 350915 May 22, 1922 O€Ets 32052 1907, Nov. 13, 1909 Marto la g1e 15 Jan: 23; 41910 Novi 24, 1912 Oct 3) F916 Augeezoe 1902 Mayo 5a905 Sept. 8, 1908 Nov. 16, 1910 May 8, 1913 Novis3s0)71915 Oct. 10, 1919 Sept. 10, 1923 Nov. 28, 1924 MaveZivalyit Nov. 8.8912 Nov. 24, 1915 Aug. 28, 1918 Mar. Sy slont Sept: 28, 1923 Feb. 25, 1916 May 30, 1917 June 3, 1919 Nov. ‘27, 1923 July a5; 924 Sept. 22, 1923 July 8, 1918 July 12, 1920 Dec. 14,. 1921 Famines and Epidemics 1900 1900 1902 1907 1907 1917 1918 1918 1920—21 1921 CHAE SE RY 2GV'L A FORWARD LOOK Having noted in the preceding chapters conditions as they exist in the Mission Field, the work our Mission has, by God’s grace, been able to accomplish, the influence of Christianity upon the non-Christians of our Field, and a description of our Mission work as carried on from day to day, it will be a matter of interest and a source of great inspiration to take a look into the future :and see what our India Mission may reasonably be expected to accomplish. Future events can not be definitely predicted but some idea of what can be expected to take place may be had by an investigation of the past and present and noting the tendencies which have characterized our mission work and the general direction in which we have been travelling. But for such an investigation the brief span of twenty-five years is too short to give us the real direction so we will find it profitable to make a brief review of mission work in general. It is a known fact that Christianity is increasing in India very rapidly—that the rate of increase is becoming higher every decade. The millions in India are becoming accustomed to A Forward Look 194 BUILDING ON: THE ROCK the work and influence of Christianity. Hindus in all sections are acknowledging the superior force of Christianity. The lower castes are being won to Christ and these by careful teaching and training are superseding the Brahmins, filling positions of influence which have been held without challenge by the Brahmins for centuries. It is needless to discuss the great effect this has on Hinduism. The low caste people, just referred to, are coming to Christ literally by the hundreds of thousands. Not only are the low caste people turning to Christ. People, who are ina position to know, :affirm that there is a very widespread movement among educated people to worship Christ. There are thousands of these people who worship Christ in secret and the confident prediction is that, in the not distant future, these same people will simultaneously express them- selves openly and publicly confess Christ. What a wonderful day that will be for the Christian Church in India! The very thought thrills one’s heart! The leader of a group :antagonistic to Christianity—-a Hindu—has publicly stated, “The brightest star in the diadem of Christ is India and He shall have it.’ “Mahatma” Gandhi, that indefatigable religious A Typical Jungle Village BUILDING ON THE ROCK 195 Two Hopefuls confined to the missionary force at work in India but came also from the rapidly increasing native forces who are assuming positions of lead- ership. This native force with more mature experience has been able to compel a greater respect on the part of the non-Christians. Let us now trace these tenden- cies in our own Mission. A _ grad- ual, healthy, if slow, growth and de- velopment can be traced in our India Mission since its beginning. The Church is becoming older, more ma- and political leader of India, reads the Christian Bible every day though he himself is a Hindu. These state- ments are given to indicate the tre- mendous influence exerted by Chris- tianity upon the people and suggest to us an encouraging phase of devel- opment. This progress has been It has been gradual. It has come because of hard, persistent, Christian effort for many years. Be- regular. sides, it is general and is spreading out into fields hitherto untouched. This hard, persistent effort was not They Need Your Support 196 BUILDING ONI\THEO ROCK ture and more experienced. The Church already numbers many Christians whose parents have been Christians in our own Mission before them. Besides these, there are nearly eight hundred children—orphanage boys and girls and children of our Christian people—who are potential members of: the .MWennonitre Church and this num- ber is’ increasing ~ as our actual membership increases. A most en- couraging beginning has already been made among the village peo- ple, a considerable number having been baptized among them. Many of our Christian people have Hindu rel- atives who are con- stantly coming in con- tact with the Christian people and many have already been won for Christ. We are watch- ing with keen interest movements among cer- tain castes toward Christianity and while we do Snot sexpectars “mass movement” as is experienced in some parts of India where as many as forty thou- sand people are bap- tized every year; yet Street Scene in Dhamtari we believe that when an open break has been made on the part of these castes towards Chris- tianity in our own Mission Field it will have the most far-reaching results. Another matter that bodes well for the future is the increased feeling of individual responsibility on the part of our Indian church leaders. Not only do they realize that their non-Christian fellow countrymen are unsaved BUILDING ON THE ROCK 197 outside of Christ but they believe it is their duty, even more than the duty of the foreign missionary, to give them the true Gospel. Then, too, since the inconsistent lives of the weaker members of the Church reflect on the whole Church they feel the responsibility of more carefully and effectively disciplining the Church in accordance with the standards of the whole Gospel. In taking a forward look we are not overlooking the fact that only a comparatively small portion of our own Mission Field has as yet been influenced by the Gospel. A study of the map of our Mission Field will help the reader to understand this. The Bendra-Nawagarh State in the The Court, Dhamtari. Three educated and influential Indians northeastern part of our Field has no resident missionary or Indian workers. The whole of Kanker State is without any workers. In the southwestern part of our Field is a native state without any Christian workers. Even our present stations are undermanned and hundreds of villages within easy reach of our stations hear the Gospel only occasionally from our Indian Christian workers while it is an unusual thing for most of the missionaries 198 BUILDING ON THE ROCK to get time to go into these villages to preach the Good News. Obviously, in order to take full advantage of the many opportunities that come to us continually we must have an adequate force of workers both missionary and native. This may be possible through faith and prayer :and comes as a challenge to both the Mission and the Church at home. We are facing the future with great hopes. This does not keep us blind to the grave problems confronting us. Satan has been trying to make inroads and has too often been successful. While we are happy to state that modern tendencies towards liberalism in the Christian belief are absent both in our missionary as well as in our Indian Christian ranks we are aware that there are those among other churches in India who discredit the orthodox view of Christian faith and doctrine and the issue may have to be met by the India Mennonite Church. We believe that when the time comes the Mennonite Church in India will be able to meet the issue for she has been instructed these twenty-five years in the “all things” of God’s Word as believed and practiced by the Mennonite Church. With a communicant membership of over eleven hundred Christians and a Christian community of nearly two thousand, and with seven organized congregations, at the end of the first quarter of a century of Mission work, with God’s help and blessing, what may we not expect in the next twenty-five years? We appeal to the Church at home to continue stead- fastly in prayer for the work that God has so marvelously begun in India. The Lake, Naini-Tal ee aaa Ajda vabad \ INDIA’S CALL Jers J. A. RESSLER $4 ee Nee 4 zi ee et a =e = ass 3 SS eae ene Cass eer aa Zz— Y 1. In your homes of comfort by your fireside bright, Do you think of the poor and dis-tressed ? 2. Don’t you know that heathen are as dear to God, As the souls of the friends you hold near ? 3. From the plains of In-dia comes a mes sage sad, “ We are perlshing, hope-less and lost; 4, “But ’'m old and helpless and I can- not go,” Then let oth-ers you love take your place; 5. Won’t you come then, brethren, and prepare to fight ‘Neath His banner with Truth’s mighty sword? idee oa ee Hebe Sere, Pei fe nl kins 2 ao ae ee = ae Y Those whom sin has banished from the Gos-pel light, And in bondage and darkness oppressed? And you've heard Him calling, ’twas the voice of God, Having ears, will you not let them hear? Will the call not wakeus in our homes so glad, To en-gage in the toil of the cross? From a_ call so pleading andcommand to go, Will you still, can youstill turn your face? Come and join our numbers,see the foe in sight, Won’t you join as we sing thus the word? #. 9. i Be eS ae et ot dors 2) 0. 2° ‘eC )\s ean oH +88 — -8 pp ps —g 5 1 8 — pp 0 9 0 — a a e 1-2. Will you leave your kindred and your homes so dear,Will you count all the world only —_ loss? 3-4, We will leave our kindred and our homes so dear, We will count all the world on-ly __ loss, 5. We haveleft our kindred and our homes so dear, We have counted the world on-ly _ loss, ss or a a See Air ea. Cees he ee =a ae, ries ‘ S| SAG Fines Ee ae ee eee ee eas N eee ee See ee reece ev cee Tae iE efor Nt eee eee o_o e Se SS See ts miper a rat) ns] For the love of Je- sus to those millions drear, Willyou car-ry the word of the cross? For the love of Je-sus to those millions drear We will car-ry the word of the cross. For the love of Je-sus to those millions drear We are bearing the word of the cross. fede ot Ses Pe ea ee 2 9 @ 2 + = ee ee ee ee ee SS oA A el RS LP GP SMS As MLE PG ET EMIS Fae Sin cae oY a ene G2 ipa (sel ne “ly eae nN beat ve BW7530 .D5B9 Building on the Rock... rinceton Theological Seminary— i 1 1012 00018 7676 ren eR CRUD ee ee te ee PPT Pee