Kijabe B.E.A. March 30, 1904.                                                                                                Index

Miss Florence Minch
Napervile Ill.

My dear Florence
        I have just received the two letters that you wrote together, the one you wrote last, came first. It came last Sunday, and the other came yesterday ( Wed.) They both found me in good health and feeling happy. Last Sat. night I returned from a ten days journey up to Mt. Kenia. I went clear up to the foot of the mountain and did have a most delightful time. I went alone with six natives. Mr. Hurlburt asked me to write an account of the journey for Hearing and Doing so I will let you read about it there, and write about other things. I want to tell you about one thing however. I took with me my two Masai boys Naguldu and Mulungit. Mulungit is a most valuable companion on such a journey since he speaks readily the Swahili, Kikuyu, and Masai languages. Thus with him as an interpreter (and I can now understand nearly all he says in the Masai) I can hold conversation with the Swahili the Kikuyu the Masai and the Indians. Mulungit is faithful and honest and shrewd almost to perfection. In many cases I am afraid he does better than I could. I have learned to like him so well that I would not let him go for any thing. I have promised him that when you come (and by the way he is very much interested in you) I would take him with me down to Mombasa to meet you. Naguldu however I was obliged to send away. Dear old fellow how I did hate to see him go, but we must deal carefully with these people or they will make us all kinds of trouble. At Fort Hall a government post near Kenia I bought 90 sheep for Mr. Hurlburt, and brought them here to Kijabe. On the way home I stayed with the sheep till the last day. Then not wishing to be out over Sunday I left the sheep with Naguldu and three Kikuyu, and Mulungit and I went on ahead to reach home by Sat. night. Later Naguldu met three of his Masai friends and in some way he managed to get the Kikuyu away from him and gave to these friends four of Mr. Hurlburts best sheep. He came home with the story that the sheep were lost but I knew that was impossible so we looked carefully into the matter and when he saw he could not get around it he confessed the whole thing. So Mr. Hurlburt took four of his sheep and we sent him away. I always hate to send a man away for it seems just like sending him away from the Gospel, but should we let such a thing go unpunished immediately all the people would try the same thing over. So now I have only Mulungit left. I shall keep him for language work until our buildings are finished then when I have plenty of time I shall try to get fifteen or twenty and teach them to read and write in preparation for special work. When you get here I shall expect to have a large number of Masai children and your work shall be to teach them. I wish you would remember this in your prayers asking God to make it possible for us to keep a number of boys and girls to be trained especially for His service.

        In one way I felt sorry to hear of the decision of the Board and in another way I felt very happy. How nice to have Rauch, Kelly, and Butzbach go to China. Of course it is natural for me to be more interested in these people than in others, but I suppose looking at it from the standpoint of our master we ought to rejoice as much to see workers go to China as to see them go to Africa. Praise him for at last waking up our Church to the interests of China. I hope that now there shall be an open door for a large number of our Volunteers at the College.

        Now about yourself. I almost wish you had not asked me for advice. Not that I do not care to advise you, but because there is only one advice that I can honestly give and that may seem to be for my own selfish interest. Before I say anything else I will say feel free to do whatever you think best regardless of me. Try as far as possible to know what the will of your Master is and the rest will take care of itself. Let me give you a few facts however which may help you to decide what to do. Your work here would no doubt be exclusively among the Masai. European settlers are coming in rapidly nearly all of them looking for their own selfish interests. The government, giving land grants, is gradually crowding down the Masai to a narrow territory and if this continues and there is no reason why it should not they may finally be crowded out entirely. They are a people quite different form others, in that they will not cultivate, nor do the work of other natives. They simply watch their sheep and cattle. So they are of no use to the white man unless taught. Then if their feeding grounds are taken away from them what will become of them. In the light of this many prophecy that with the next generation they will become extinct and in fact half of their number has been reduced already. Is your life and mine worth while to be spent in rescuing some of this generation for our Master. It may seem like uselessly throwing our lives away. There may be no special honor in the future for us, but Florence I do feel as though I should just like to waste and spend my life if only a few of these might be rescued. I really believe one has been gathered in already. I am almost certain should Mulungit die today I would some day meet him in Heaven. If I would not it almost seems now as though Heaven would be a disappointment. Well now it all comes to this. Are you willing to cut off one year of the time we may be able to spend in this work. Are you willing to risk the number of souls you might be able to tell the Gospel for the value of what you may learn at the Institute. Of course I do not say come at once but consider these questions carefully before your Lord and take his answer. Oh when I look at my own life and feel so keenly the littleness of it, it is not that I wish I had a better education it is not a better training that I want but oh what a yearning for more love. Love that will tell the story with unresistable force. Love that will actually compel the people to come in from the highways. Were you going to China, Persia, or India I would say by all means attend the Institute, because perhaps a great deal of education is necessary to win them, but oh how different here. Here you find people like little children abused and hated yet craving and really pining away for simple, pure love. Go to the Institute if you feel that there you will be filled with greater love for these people than you will by actually coming in touch and living with them. They are dirty, despised and wretched. Only a touch of love will brighten them. Your education will come to nothing except that it may enlarge your life. But unless you are certain that God wishes you to stay dont wait a minute longer than is really necessary. We dont know how much time he will give us and especially in this country one can never know which day will be his last. This is all I have to say about the matter. It is Gods work follow His will. Mr. Hurlburt has already written to Mr. Adams about your desire to come. All that is necessary now is for you to write to him and tell him when you are ready. I am glad to see you looking so well on you picture. I hope that now since you are over the suspense of waiting you will steadily increase in health and strength. This is a very healthy section of the country yet one needs all the strength he can get. You asked about a folding organ. I wish I had it just now, by all means bring one if you can get it. Any musical instrument is worth bringing. You have no idea now how one feels the lack of home comforts here. Anything you enjoy at home is well worth bringing no matter how foolish it may seem. Bring all the pictures you can possibly get. Now earnestly praying that the Lord may lead and guide and mould in all your plans and ever keep you from taking a single step aside from His path I am sincerely yours.

        John