Kijabe E.A.P. July 10. 1904.                                                                                                Index

        Two of your letters have come a few days ago. I dont suppose you ever get two from me at one time. Well never mind. I hope the time will soon come when neither one of us will be obliged to write. Really many times I have felt sorry I could not write to you oftener but it was almost impossible for me to find the time to write the few I have written. You can never know how pleased I am to see how faithful you are. I sometimes think you may have as little time for letters as I have yet I believe I have always gotten two for one of mine. But I’ll say no more about this there is too much other matter for this letter. In your last letter you do not say you have applied to the Board but you say you have the blanks to be filled so I take from it that you have applied. I am so very glad to see your boldness and willingness to come as soon as possible. I have letters from your mother, Lora, and Alice and from them I see you are not so very much encouraged to come at once. Of course I do not blame them. It is not so small a matter to let one go out of the family to such a distant country. Although they want to keep you as long as possible I am very much pleased to know that all of them are glad you are going. It seems to me now that you will be here some time near Christmas time or before. If however it is convenient for you to come later I shall not be so very much disappointed since I see how willing you are to come. I am looking forward with much joy to the days when you will be here. It always seems to me now, as though my work is only about half what it might be if you were here. You certainly must know that I cannot feel settled until you come and oh how I am longing to get once permanently settled down. Ever since I have been here it has been running from place to place doing this awhile, and then something else. I am glad however that I can see things gradually coming down to a permanent work. I expect when I told you I had left Kijabe it was not just the greatest encouragement to you. Now however if a new freak of the Government officers does not turn up I shall be stationed permanently at Kijabe. We have just learned that Lenani the big Masai chief has received orders from the Government to take all his people and move to a place about fifty miles north of here. This destroys all our hopes of ever reaching the Masai from Kijabe. I have had a long talk with Mr. Hurlburt and we have decided that the best thing to do now is for me to make my permanent home at Kijabe and go by train two or three months of each year on a sort of an evangelistic tour and while out gather up young men or boys and spend most of my time with them. This will no doubt be the quickest way of reaching the people. We must separate them from their natural surroundings or nothing much can be done with them. And now I want to write you concerning a matter which has been lying heavily on my heart for some time. I shall have to write very plainly if you are to understand the case as it is. What I want to write about is the condition of the Masai women and girls. I think I have written some before but I cannot help but write more. It is because of this condition that I have urged you to come as soon as possible more than for any other reason. So let me tell you just how things are that together we may pray earnestly that God may speedily make it possible for us to do something in this line. Among the Masai it is only the old men that marry. The young men as long as they have the strength have no other desire than to be warriors. Many of these are killed if not in actual war in their many petty quarrels. It is a dishonor to them ever to become old men and rather than to be such they are ever ready to provoke a quarrel even at the cost of their lives. This being the case very few of even old men ever marry. The women of course being very much dissatisfied with such conditions are drifting away from their tribe by the hundreds, and oh Florence the places they go to are too awful to be described. Some go to the low filthy huts of the Indians which to us is a veritable hell. They however are well satisfied with such places. Some of these Indians are able to keep four or five giving them much better food than they get with their own people and furnishing them with filthy cigarettes the smoking of which is to the mind of the Masai girl the highest attainment. Others go to the Swahili huts where conditions are little better. Nearly all Swahili women smoke cigarettes. I tell you Florence it does grieve one awfully to go along the new railway line and see large numbers of these girls and women, bright, handsome, and very intelligent looking, most of them with children having the long straight black hair of the Indian rather than their own curly heads with nothing to better their condition but everything to make it a hundred times worse. I should like to urge you to pray earnestly that God make it possible for us to provide a clean Christian home for many of these women together with the boys and young men we may have under our care. Now this is not an easy matter. We can do nothing. We must trust in God alone to bring it about. In the first place it will be exceedingly difficult to get the girls, they having no desire to live with the white man and then it will be quite expensive to keep them. God however can provide both if we are faithful to him. Florence you can hardly know how I am yearning for such a home. There are possibilities of joy and happiness for us, which cannot be measured. Mulungit was a Masai eight months ago now he is a young man as tender and gentle as any Christian young man at home. It strikes me it would be very funny if he was the only one. There are others. Oh may God help us to win them for his glory! The young men are coming in already. One came about two weeks ago and last week Mulungits brother came to stay with us. His mother will come soon. The one who came two weeks ago has three brothers all of whom want to come and may come next week. I am expecting three from Naivasha tomorrow and have asked the dear old Professor to come with them. I feel quite sure that he is yet to be our man. Mulungit thinks he can get twenty or thirty for us this month. These boys will be taught to read and write and we also want them to learn some trade, and now Florence do come as soon as it is convenient so that we can start the girls department too. I feel that God is going to help us and we may some day be a great blessing to these people. Mr. Hurlburt is planning for a large Industrial School among the Kikuyu and says he would be very glad if we could bring in the Masai with them. I do hope the Government men will not interfere with our plans. I should be surprised however if they thought it would make trouble between the Masai and Kikuyu and want to stop it. Should they do this however they would have Mr. Hurlburt to deal with, whom all officers fear. I believe he would even go so far as to appeal to the home government. You dont know what a treat is in store for you to meet the Hurlburt family. They are as nice as they can be but I cant tell you about this now you must see them for yourself. My but I do wish I had only one sheet written now. Now if you come this Fall you will not get many more letters from me. As to what you ought to bring along you will have to use your own judgement to a great extent. If I knew just what you have I might be better able to tell you. This much I would say however dont be afraid you will bring anything you cant use. You will live here just about as you would at home. Your clothing will be the same except your hats. All people wear helmets. Dont plan to make too much light clothing. You would perhaps be surprised if I told you that many nights of the last few months I lay awake for almost an hour because my feet were so cold under heavy woolen blankets that I could not sleep. This no doubt is a stubborn fact for you people yet it is true. We shiver and shake here sometimes worse than on the coldest days at home. It is because of our altitude. I dont remember ever seeing you wear any clothing too fancy to suit my taste otherwise I should advise you not to bring anything too fancy. People dress very plain here. You wrote something about a camera once. If it is convenient to get one it will be a very useful article here. A baby organ would also be nice but dont get it unless you can very easily. If you have a mandolin or any other musical instrument, even if it be a Jews harp, dont fail to bring it. Also all the music you can possibly get hold of. Especially good hymn books. Also anything to amuse the boys. These boys here are as fond of Games and sports as boys at home. I was just wondering if I should get a good scolding from you if I should ask you to bring one of those old fashioned foot balls for playing Association Foot ball. A good old Krokinole Board would not be bad. Neither would a tennis set but I am mentioning such expensive articles that I think I had better stop. As soon as I know sure you are coming I will tell you what I want for myself. You said once you wished you could help build the house and make the gardens. I am thinking now that if you come soon you will have only too much of a chance. I am helping Hurlburt now. His big house is almost finished. I think you will live in it at least for some time. But I must close for this time. I am writing to Lora. Dont scold her if she does’nt let you read my letter. Now be a good girl. Dont let anything worry you. You no doubt will have the hardest time of your life on the journey but believe me it will be all brightness and sunshine when once you get here. Kijabe I believe is one of the most pleasant places in the world. Let me know just as soon as possible when once you have decided to come. And now may our Good Lord take good care of you and keep you safely in whatever you undertake is the prayer of

        Faithfully yours John.