These first buildings were constructed in a manner very similar to those at Matopo Mission, except that it was thought advisable to build the main part of the house all in one, so as to obviate the necessity of going outside in passing from one room to another--a very important consideration in such a wild country. The scarcity of grass limited the size of the house to a certain extent. It was 26 x 14 feet, with a veranda around three sides to protect from the sun and rain, and was divided into three small compartments opening into one another, the small doorways being closed by curtains. As there was no seasoned lumber to be had, there was only one outside door, and this was made from one of the boxes in which the goods had been packed. A table was manufactured from another box, and the bedsteads, as well as nearly all the rest of the furniture, were manufactured from native unseasoned timber and draped with calico. A muslin ceiling was a necessity to prevent the sawdust from falling from the rafters. On the inside of the house the walls were carefully plastered up against the thatched roof, and the openings for windows were closed by fine wire gauze netting to exclude mosquitoes. An important question was how to make a screen door for the only outside door of the building, as unseasoned timber would not answer the purpose. The pole of the wagon had been broken soon after our arrival at Macha, and one from the forest put in its place; and since this broken piece of timber was of hardwood and sufficiently long for a door frame, we decided to make use of it for that purpose. It was sawed and with considerable labor made into a frame and proved quite satisfactory. Sister Engle, who was always patient and painstaking in her work and full of resources, deserves much credit for this and many other things with which the house was equipped. That screen door is still doing excellent service after a lapse of eight years. After it was finished it was found that to fit it into the door frame so as to make it mosquito proof was no small task. The door frame had been manufactured from unseasoned native timber and was greatly warped. After much chiseling and shaping even this feat was accomplished, and the result was a mosquito-proof house, for that season at least. Mosquito nets for the beds had also been brought along. A small kitchen was also built and a hut for the native brethren before the rains came. The grass, stumps, and underbrush were cleared off all around the buildings and at some distance from them. This is customary in this part of the country, and it is done for the purpose of removing the hiding places of mosquitoes, snakes, and the like. Although more natives were employed the first few months at Macha than at Matopo, we experienced no difficulty in dealing with them; perhaps because we were more familiar with their character, and our native Christians too were quite capable of understanding them.