If all Africa is to be Christ’s, then Mohammedanism in the north must be overcome, and must be prevented from creeping down southwards. It is already well over the equator, especially on the east coast, and, if left unhindered, will spread right onwards. But the Church of Christ at home must see that this does not happen, and Christians must put forth all their strength in the cause of their Lord and Master. And you children too have your part to play, a part which is told you in this little hymn of which I have copied two verses:-- “The fields are all white And the reapers are few; We children are willing, But what can we do To work for our Lord in His Harvest? “We’ll work by our prayers, By the offerings we bring, By small self-denials; The least little thing May work for our Lord in His Harvest.” Another enemy of Christ in Africa is the native’s belief in the customs and superstitions of their forefathers. The old people cling to these, and tell the children that the Gospel is only white men’s stories. They die hard these old superstitions, but they are slowly and surely disappearing before the light of God’s message. To obey Christ means that a great deal of the old life must be given up and put away altogether; and it is here that the struggle begins. Temptations to drift back into the old way of living beset the African Christian on all sides. They come from without and from within, and only the word of God planted in his heart can keep him from falling. Polygamy is one of the great obstacles in his path. I wonder if you know what that big word means. In words it means that the men may marry many wives, but in reality it means that the women and children are living in conditions that give them but little chance of rising out of the darkness by which they are surrounded. I remember how much surprised I was when told that a certain little girl, who had been at a village school but who was now withdrawn, was married. She was not really married of course, only “bespoken” as it were, by a big bearded man, who already had more than one wife. The girl had therefore been taken from school and was lost to Mission influence. In Africa the girls have but little of the happy girlhood known in England, for they step from childhood right into womanhood.