Narok,
Masai Reserve,
March
20, 1934
After
six long years of waiting, Claudon finally arrived at Nairobi,
on
Dec. 18, where we were waiting to meet him. The joy of such a
meeting no one can possibly understand unless they have first
passed
through the other extreme of parting, as we were obliged to
do,
somewhere back in the States, leaving two young sons,
unprovided for
(humanly speaking) amidst all the temptations whose deadly
work have
left behind them, many broken hearted missionaries, who sought
education for their children in the Homeland. What can we say
then
as to the kindness of those who have made it possible that
during
these six long years we should never have a cause for worry,
and
there should never come a word of complaint from the boys we
left
behind? All we can say is, May God abundantly bless the
Westervelt
Home which through its faith in God is a real burden lifter
from the
hearts of many missionary parents.
Well,
anyhow, Claudon has arrived, and after just a little
disappointment,
for in spite of themselves Mother and Dad could not succeed in
erasing from their minds the image of a bashful little boy,
and here
steps out of the train a strapping big fellow - but this soon
wore
off, and we couldn’t get out of the railway station quickly
enough
to jump into the old car and beat it for the Masai plains. The
rest
of it belongs to us alone. For who cares whether the cat was a
kitten of the old mother cat, or who cares whether Kanoku a
dirty
little black herd boy has now too grown up to be a strapping
big
fellow, or whether that blue lizard down under the big rocks
is still
the one Claudon shot the tail off with his slingshot. This
doesn’t
interest ordinary folks but it meant a lot to us. And then
those
camps out on the plains, all by ourselves. How many silly
things we
remembered and how glad we were we could be just by ourselves
and
recall old times. Of course we missed Raymond, but his coming
is
another pleasure to look forward to.
And
then there gradually began to develop in our minds a plan: why
not
all go to the Congo together? Part of a bit of an old
inheritance
left over to us would make that possible. So after securing
Mr.
Devitt to go along with us to drive, especially on the way
back, we
decided to go immediately after Conference which closed the
last of
January. We now began to dream about Pygmies, and snakes, and
elephants, and big forests, and what not, but who wouldn’t if
they
were to begin under such circumstances, a trip through Central
Africa, which proved to be just a little over 3000 miles. So,
after
a lot of preparation we found ourselves on the road.
We
visited at the end of the first day, the Barnetts at Eldama
Ravine,
the second day, the Hoyts at Kaimosi, the third day, the
Housdens at
Kitale and then on through Uganda stopping at Jinja just long
enough
to see the famous Ripon Falls. At Kampala I hunted in vain for
a
little old camp ground, where, 24 years ago I lay sick with
malaria
and never expecting to get up again - but it was all now
covered over
with a good sized city. From Kampala we went straight west on
to
Fort Portal a beautiful little place at the foot of the
Ruenzori Mts.
or sometimes called the Mountains of the Moon, discovered, I
believe,
by Stanley on his trip in from the West Coast.
And
now I want to digress a bit, and give a little history, which
I
think, is not generally known, for I want to say something
about the
work done in Congo, just beyond the Uganda border, which we
were now
approaching. To me, the Mission work done there is a modern
miracle
wholly impossible without the special blessing of God. We will
understand it better if we know a little about its beginning.
(pg.
2) Fort Portal is just a short distance south from where 24
years
before in 1910, two missionaries, Mr. James Gribble and myself
arrived on the banks of the Semliki River, preparing to enter
the
Congo as the first party to represent the A.I.M. We arrived
there
coming down on foot from Hoima, about 150 miles to the north,
and we
had just time enough to pitch our tent when a terrific wind
storm
arose, which tore our tent through the middle, from end to end
and
left us without a shelter. After the storm was over the
porters of
which we had only six, scouted around for whatever they could
find,
and came back with the alarming report that the natives there
told
them that should we cross over the river into the Congo we
should
certainly all be killed, and they had definitely decided not
to go
any further. After a long discussion we finally decided to
give
ourselves to the Lord and let Him use us in any way He would,
to
begin His work in the Congo.
The
next morning we carefully packed up our things and told the
porters
to carry them back to Hoima and that we would return when and
how
ever we could. After a little difficulty we succeeded in
getting a
native to take us across the Semliki in a canoe, but he kept
on
assuring us that the canoe would be upset by hippos and we
should all
be lost. We did see hippos on the way over but safely reached
the
other bank. We had no difficulty in passing customs for there
were
no officials and all we had left in the world we carried in
our
pockets. Now does the Lord really provide for His children
when in
need? We could see at once that the natives could do nothing
for us,
but the Lord had His own way. After walking several hours we
met two
natives carrying guns and dressed like soldiers. This
surprised us
as we were told that no European would be found anywhere in
that
section. They told us however that their Master wanted to see
us. After traveling another hour up a steep escarpment we met
a white
man, with red whiskers all over his face, sitting on a rock;
he had
been hiding in that country for several years, shooting
elephants. He had seen us the day before and being out of
ammunition hoped to
get some from us but was afraid we might be government
officials who
were after him. After comparing notes we found he had a camp
with
about 20 cattle and plenty of food which he invited us to
share with
him, but at the same time we found he was scared out of his
wits for
the Belgian officials were after him and he wanted to escape
over
into Uganda. Discovering that we carried a letter signed by
President T. Roosevelt requesting the courtesy of the Belgian
officials, he offered to guide us any where we cared to go. If
we
took him under our protection. He had several canoes on Lake
Albert,
and together we traveled in high state for nearly two weeks,
mutually
a help to one another. After looking over the land we decided
it
would be best to choose a site near Mahagi Port which later
proved to
be Kacengu Station, and in this way the A.I.M. first began its
work
for which He alone deserves the praise and which I shall now
try
briefly to describe.
From
Fort Portal we went south to Kabale about 200 miles and then
entered
the Congo at Rutchuru about 60 miles north of Lake Kivu.
Little
suspecting the great work going on there, we passed one
station near
Rutchuru of the Unevangelized African Mission without knowing
it, and
another on the shores of Lake Kivu and numerous outschools in
all
directions. When we arrived at Kitsambiro where Paul Hurlburt
is
located we discovered that while we were lamenting the fact
that we
were passing through the most thickly populated part of Africa
I had
ever seen and yet not occupied by missionaries, that the whole
section was really occupied by 4 strong stations controlling a
large
number of outschools all moving forward in a flourishing
condition. This district which is just south of the Pygmy
Forest occupied by the
A.I.M., covers a territory about 200 miles long and for
scenery
excels anything I have seen in Africa. The road we traveled
over
from Lake Kivu north was so well (pg. 3) laid out that one
could
drive at 40 miles an hour and up and down the steep mountains
one
rarely needed to shift gears, so perfect were the grades.
Nowhere
have I seen such a perfectly ideal Mission Field in Africa,
and the
whole of it is practically occupied. The missionaries there
well
deserve our interests and our prayers.
We
now come down out of the mountains and at Beni enter the Great
Ituri
Forest. At Oicha about 20 miles west of Beni we found Mr. and
Mrs.
Bell, Dr. and Mrs. Becker, Mr. and Mrs. Keisling and Miss
Smith. They are entirely surrounded by forest, and along the
road
interspersed with numerous other natives one sees here and
there a
group of Pygmies which once seen can never again be mistaken.
Their
copper colored little bodies with very thin lips but broad
flat noses
and the merry little twinkle in their eyes can never be
forgotten
after once seen. I don’t know what Claudon was thinking about
by
this time but I know down deep in my own heart I would have
given
anything in the world to be able to say “Here I will remain
the
rest of my days”. The grand big trees, the very fragrant
odors,
the birds and butterflies and flowers, and these strange
little
people! We followed out along some native paths into the deep
forest
and I shall never forget the impressions made on me. I believe
Claudon is supposed to open a new station on a small elevation
which
rises above the tree tops surrounding it, and while we wanted
much to
see it it was a six days journey on foot which was too far for
us to
go in our limited time.
After
a week at Oicha, Claudon going with us, we continued our
journey
north to visit some of the A.I.M. stations. Just as we were
leaving
the forest and only about 20 miles from Irumu we saw some
banana
groves broken down by elephants, and as both Claudon and Mr.
Devitt
were very anxious to see elephants in the wild state they
hired a few
natives to guide them and if possible to get a look at them.
They
returned after about three hours and the pleased look on their
faces
told the story. They followed the fresh tracks through the
thick
forest and crept up to within 25 feet of three of them and
after a
few thrilling moments crept back again very much pleased with
their
experience. We then drove on and about 5 oclock reached Bogoro
where
we found Mr. and Mrs. Senff. This station is located on a high
escarpment overlooking Lake Albert and about 15 miles from
Port
Kasenyi where Claudon’s trunks were awaiting him. We all went
down
together the next day for a picnic on the Lake. Mr. Senff
proved
himself a true American by producing a fine watermelon for our
lunch. After buying a very large fish we drove up the
escarpment again and
the boys, Mr. Senff being one of them, planned a buffalo hunt.
We
must admit they did keep on the safe side saying they only
wanted to
see them and not shoot them for so it turned out. Sitting
safely up
in the branches of a tree they saw a large herd. They said
they shot
off their guns just to see what the buffalo would do and
accidentally
hit several of them but not aiming at them didn’t hit in the
right
place; so we got no buffalo steak at Bogoro. We did however
get some
at Aungba shot by Austin Paul. This was the third thrill for
Claudon
and Devitt for besides the elephants we saw several hippo in
the
Rutchuru River.
It
was hard to break away from Bogoro but promising to return
again
another time we drove on to Blukwa the top of the world, as
they
would say in California. From this station one can see many
large
villages in every direction and they told us there was a
school with
a native teacher in nearly every one of them. Holding our
hands over
our faces we peeped in at Miss Love’s Girls’ school, over a
hundred pupils I should say, and here you get the strange
sight of
seeing, or rather hearing girls and women read well who
haven’t yet
learned to dress themselves. We were horribly shocked but I’ll
declare we didn’t see any clothes. However, to give them
credit I
will say this of Blukwa, I hope I wont get into trouble with
other
Congo missionaries, in my opinion Blukwa is the best built
station we
saw in Congo, I shall almost have to say in Kenya as well.
(pg.
4) Rethi was our next stop. While still a long way off I said,
“Hello, California”, for on another top of the world we saw
huge
buildings all in California style and couldn’t even guess what
they
were. Taking for granted that the Belgian Gov’t. was doing
something there we didn’t even inquire, and weren’t we
surprised
later on to find that it was the Rethi hospital, belonging to
our own
Mission. In fact I was surprised continually to find much
better
buildings in the Congo than I was looking for. The new
Dormitory for
missionaries’ children which was just being completed is also
a
very fine burned brick building. I was also very much
surprised at
the cost of some of these buildings- I believe they can do
with
hundreds of dollars where we require thousands in Kenya. Rethi
and
Blukwa are the high spots in the Congo work (we’re not
forgetting
Aba for after all, I can say Aba sitting like a Queen among
the rocks
is my favorite) but after you leave Rethi you must come down
to a
lower level.
I
wish I were just beginning now for we are now going to
Kacengu, our
“Little Grey Home in the West”. We found it was just 20 years
since we left Kacengu, and during all that time we had never
visited
the place. To reach it we were obliged to leave our car on the
main
road and walk 12 miles. Imagine our interest when the place
first
came into view. When we left it there was but one big tree,
now it
had become a little forest. Soon we began to meet natives who
remembered our name, and when we turned up the last grade
there was
great excitement. Jalmoro has returned and Mama but where was
Claudon? No, that’s not he, Claudon was a small child- Well,
but
its been many years now. O, yes, that must be he. “Dong” one
old man said, meaning Claudon, Yes, that is he but where is
Raymond? O he hasn’t come yet. Has he grown up big too like
Claudon? and so
they carried on. Next we met Mr. and Mrs. Lasse and Mrs. King
and
Virginia May, and we were all very rude for each one of us
tried to
do all the talking. It would take days to write all that was
said. Many joys had we experienced at old Kacengu, and shed
many bitter
tears too, but there it was- had grown steadily through the
years,
and I could hardly keep the tears back as Mr. Lasse pointed
out the
hills and said, “There’s a school, and there’s a school”. We
sometimes almost doubted whether there would ever be even a
Christian
and now they have something like 40 teachers each one
responsible for
his own little flock. What a joy to see them come in for the
Sunday
services, but best of all Mr. Lasse announced that all should
be
called in on Monday who remembered us, and such a pack of
scoundrels
you never saw. 30 or 40 both men and women. There was the boy
who
washed our clothes and cut off all the buttons; and there was
the one
who herded our cows and drank all the milk- no matter what we
accused
them of they readily admitted it was true. They were no longer
afraid of Jalmoro and all took it as a great joke. They
assured us
again and again that they believed all the words we had taught
them. I must admit however, that they didn’t look much like
it. Well, it
was all a very grand time and we were very sorry to leave. We
had
never met the Lasses nor Mrs. King before, but within 5
minutes we
were as though we had always lived together.
The
next morning early we were on the path and by noon were back
at Rethi
again. Here we were obliged to leave Claudon from where he
returned
to Oicha, and we went on to Aru. On the way we went to Austen
Paul’s
station for a short stop. This is a new station, opened just a
year
ago. They have made a good beginning & have wonderful
opportunities in the many large villages near by. At Aru we
simply
could not get out of our minds that Mother Hurlburt must be in
hiding
somewhere. We spent but one night here and next morning before
driving on to Aba we visited Arua station. Here too a large
school
is carried on, as well as girls work, besides the outschool
work. Here they have a big opportunity because there are
pupils from so
many different tribes attending the schools and being trained
to go
out among their own people to teach and preach.
We
were at Aba only a few hours, but the place has been haunting
me ever
since. Whoever thought of building up there among the rocks,
and yet
the place is so pretty that in my opinion, there is nothing to
equal
it in the whole A.I.M. And they gave us such a grand welcome.
In
fact I can’t say enough about the hospitality of the
missionaries
in the Congo. As I think back now (pg. 5) of that great
country only
20 years ago wholly heathen, and now mission stations and
schools and
fine roads and a fine Christian spirit everywhere I say again
to me
it is nothing short of a miracle.
But
this is getting too long. The rest of it is simply a confused
dream. The roads were good and we simply whirled along,
crossing the Nile
at Juba, down through the wild Sudan with its rocks and
deserts, then
through Uganda and Kenya reaching Kijabe only about 5 days
after
leaving Aba.
I
only wish that those who have toiled and prayed and given of
their
means could have followed us. The toil has been great but what
a
harvest! And those of you who sometimes doubt just a little
whether
in face of the great falling away the A.I.M. may not have gone
just a
little too, let me assure you it has not. All one can say
after
seeing it all is “What hath God wrought!”
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