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)
That is the right spirit, and what Brother Frey is seeking to do at
Mtyabezi we can all do. The old want to feel that we have a special
interest in their salvation, and that we are not going to leave them to
themselves in the struggle; but let us help them to know that there is
One Who can and will set them free if they will only come. In this
little meeting at Kabwe even some of the older ones who started are
still striving to get on the Rock. One middle-aged man and his wife, who
came forward that night, have finally moved near the mission and built
them a hut there, so that they might learn more about Jesus. The chief
very strongly urged our starting a school at that place, which we did
not long afterwards.
[Illustration: David Moyo and His Wife and Child.]
We remained at this place nine days and then moved to Simeoba's village.
Although some of the other missionaries had visited this village, I had
never had the privilege previous to this. It is larger than the rest and
is made up of three different tribes of people, Batonga, Barotse, and
Baila, but the language of all is more or less similar. They were
stranger and more shy than those at Kabwe, and as soon as we reached the
place, Mankunku and I went through the village to meet and learn to know
the people. Everywhere we were kindly received. They were greatly
surprised to see a white woman who could speak their language; and as
the word was passed along, one after another would come and join the
number who were conversing. About all were in ordinary native garb, but
there were two or three who evidently had been down to Bulawayo to work,
and they prided themselves on their European clothes; especially did one
of these step about as if lord of the place. Some of the sick asked for
help and were ministered unto, and we were pleased to learn that some
were helped. All were invited to assemble around our fire in the evening
for services, and as soon as their suppers were over they began to
gather, about one hundred in number, around the bright, blazing fire,
the shy ones keeping in the background where they could not be seen.
Many of them no doubt had never been at a service before, while a few
who had been at school at Macha could help sing. One or two of those
more pretentiously dressed than the rest evidently had attended meeting
elsewhere, and were at this meeting self-appointed law-and-order men.
With such a raw crowd as most of these were, we always try to sing easy
hymns in which there is a great deal of repetition; we also line the
hymns before singing and have them repeat after us, so that it was not
long before nearly all joined in the singing. Kneeling in prayer is so
new an experience that some of the uninitiated sometimes consider it
amusing and begin to laugh. In this instance two or three girls caused
some disturbance while we were in prayer; and we were scarcely on our
feet when one of the self-constituted policemen jumped over some of the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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