South and South Central Africa: A record of fifteen years' missionary labors among primitive peoplesDavidson, Hannah Frances
History
South and South Central Africa: A record of fifteen years' missionary labors among primitive peoples
Davidson, Hannah Frances
Brethren in Christ Church -- Missions; Missions -- Rhodesia; Ndebele (African people); Tsonga (African people)
Being inexperienced, we had a little difficulty in having some money
matters attended to. Sister Hershey and myself had each a draft which we
desired to have exchanged for one on an English bank, and were told by
one of the men to take them to the bank on which they were drawn and
have it attended to there. So we were obliged to go up into the city
the morning of the date of sailing, when the steamer was to leave at 12
M. We were gone all morning, only to find on reaching the bank that
there was no one to identify us, and nothing could be done. Hurrying
back to the hotel, we secured our hand baggage and hastened to the
wharf. The rest of the company had already embarked, and only a few
minutes remained until time of sailing, but we appealed to our agent to
exchange the drafts for some on an English bank. Although one of the
other men objected on account of the shortness of time, he promptly
attended to them, Elders Jacob Engle and John Niesly, who were brothers
of Brother and Sister Engle and had come to see them off, going
security. The gangway for passengers had already been removed from the
steamer and we hurried along that on which baggage was carried. As soon
as we were aboard, the steamer _Majestic_ began to move; and ere we
found the rest of our company on board, a narrow stretch of water lay
between us and our native land.
This, our first voyage across the Atlantic, was a delightful one. The
sea was unusually calm for that season of the year, so that none of our
number became sick, except one, as we neared the coast of Ireland. The
passengers on board were on the whole congenial. As we paced up and down
the deck, many thoughts crowded in upon us too deep for utterance. What
did the future have in store for us? What awaited us on the other side?
The Lord alone, whose messengers we were, could foresee. The great,
wide, boundless space of water was an ever-increasing source of
interest and delight, and greatly enlarged our conception of the power
and majesty of Him "who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His
hand." We felt in truth that we had let go the shore lines and had
launched out into the ocean of His love.
The second day out was Thanksgiving Day, and in company with another
missionary on board we had a very enjoyable service which was attended
by most of the second-class passengers. Sunday morning there were the
regulation Church of England services, and later our genial table
steward asked Elder Engle to preach in the evening. He did so to a
large, intelligent, and interested congregation. As there had been much
conjecture among the passengers as to who we were, and what our belief
was, he embraced the opportunity, while speaking, of setting forth some
of the tenets of our faith, much to the satisfaction of those present.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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