Kijabe, E.A.P. Nov. 10
1904
Index
Miss Florence Minch,
Hooppole, Ill.
My dear Florence:
Your letters came
yesterday. I promised for some time to write to your mother so
I wrote last night and the letter went off this morning. With
the letter also came the picture. I was so glad to get that
picture for now I know how your brothers look. My but did’nt I
feel proud to think that some day I too shall belong to that
fine looking group. But oh Florence I dont think you can ever
realize what a position I am in. Sometimes I can hardly
understand why it was that I was hustled away so quickly not
being permitted to even learn to know you all and not even
being permitted to spend a single hour alone with you. I must
confess that the last few days I have been almost homesick for
you. I always felt sure that by this time you would be here
but I suppose I had better be a brave boy and go on as though
I did’nt care. I always think that if I could have left you
people as Mr. Butzbach did it would not be nearly so hard for
me. Do you remember that night when I came up to see you
people at Rillings, and when I left, you came with the light
in the hall to show me the way down. You dont know how I
should have liked to have asked you to go down with me and
talk over all our plans, but I did’nt know whether the other
girls knew anything about our affairs or not so I did’nt dare
to do it. Well never mind Florence it will be only a little
while longer then if we dont have just some of the grandest
times in some of these pretty little valleys we had better
despair of ever having a good time.
Dont worry or fret about the affairs of the
Home Council at Phila. They are not forgetting you. Of course
it will not do for me to try to rush matters, yet I hear quite
often of what is being done. You know nothing can be done
without Mr. Hurlburt. So all these long pauses are due to
waiting for a reply from him. This much he has assured me that
everything is alright and that you will be sent out just as
soon as possible. So all we must do is simply wait and be
patient.
I have been laying bricks the last few days
and the people say I am quite an expert at it. Mr. Hurlburt’s
big house is being made of bricks and it suits me so well that
I have almost decided to build our house of bricks also. We
made the bricks right here on our own grounds and burned them
ourselves and really I think they are fully as good as bricks
at home. We are much surprised over the outcome. The house is
almost finished now and it looks really beautiful. I have not
yet begun to do anything on our buildings, simply because of a
little uncertainty concerning the land on which they are to be
placed. The government here is very strict concerning forest
lands. We are trying to lease for 99 years 640 acres for
pasture grounds for the Masai who will live near us. About 50
acres of this is forest and in this forest we want our Masai
workers to build their houses. The land has been promised us
but we do not know where we will be allowed to cut trees. This
is to be decided by the Forest Officer. He has promised to
come up in a few days so I am simply waiting for him. After he
comes I shall begin at once. Mrs. Owen, the lady who supports
me, just sent me a nice little sum of money so there is
nothing to hinder. I am very anxious to get at the work as
soon as possible, because there are three nice little Masai
boys here and I want to take them into my house and wash them
up nicely and get them some good clothing and teach them to
read. There is also the cutest little girl here that you ever
saw. I think she must be about five years old. She says she
wants to be my girl as long as she lives. I want to teach her
to speak English so that she can be your playmate when I go
out on my journeys. Mulungit has two sisters about ten years
old and he asks me often when you are coming that he may bring
them here to live with us. One of his brothers about 20 years
old is coming tomorrow to take care of Mr. Hurlburt’s sheep
and his mother will come as soon as she returns with the
cattle which are about eighty miles away now. She will come
when the rains begin and there is good grass. A second old man
has been here a few days ago and he has gone now to get her
family and his possessions. So you see our Masai settlement is
gradually growing larger. You can hardly know how happy it
makes me to see Masai right in our home. I have a little
meeting with them every night and they are very much
interested in the Gospel. I think there will soon be a large
number of women here which of course will be your part of the
work. I wonder if you ever did much sewing. Try to get as
simple a pattern as possible for a neat little dress so that
you can teach the girls to make their own dresses. If you find
yourself without anything to do get some cheap clothes and
make a few dresses and bring them along. You will be expected
to do quite some teaching in this line. Mulungit says he will
not get married until you get some girl for him and teach her
to make clothing and cook good food for him. My but wont we
have a time making matches and preparing comfortable little
homes for them. I am so glad that our work is getting settled
now so that I can begin and do something definitely. These
people look very handsome when they are clean and dressed in
good clothing. Their features are much like our own. You never
see the thick lips and stub noses, and the Masai especially
look very bright and intelligent. But I must change my
subject.
The Mission work at Kijabe is very
encouraging just now. I told you about Mulungit’s baptism
during our Conference. Last Sunday we again had the pleasure
of seeing others baptized. Two of our Kikuyu boys Wanguhu and
Kijero were baptized. Wanguhu is the boy whom I told you some
time ago was our choirster. He is a very fine boy and will
begin at once to prepare for work as a native evangelist.
Kijero was born a Masai, but was stolen by the Kikuyu when he
was a little boy. He speaks the Masai language quite well
however. He will also prepare for work as an evangelist. We
have now four boys who are preparing for evangelistic work.
Kamau, a Mukamba who came here from our mission at Kangundo,
Mulungit, Wanguhu and Kijero. Is’nt this grand. One years work
at Kijabe and four new missionaries. Oh Florence to be a
missionary is the grandest thing in the world. I always say I
shall live and die in these old hills at Kijabe. May the Lord
grant this to be our lot and give us many years of faithful
service on the “Dark Continent”.
Enclosed you will find some lessons on the
Masai language. Of course it will be very difficult to give
you any idea at all concerning the language. It is very
difficult to pronounce the words. They have some sounds which
are entirely strange to us and very hard to get. You can
however learn some of the more simple and common words and
acquaint your self with the constructions. Of course the
construction is quite simple in all African languages, but it
is wonderful how strictly they hold to their forms. rarely do
you hear a mistake when once you know a form. Most
missionaries say it is best not to make any attempt to learn a
language until you get to the field. I cant quite see where
the harm comes in but let me advise you not to bring on
nervous prostration because of hard study. Just acquaint
yourself with some of the familiar peculiarities and leave the
real language study until you get here. I will send you as
much as I find time to get out. I am trying to arrange a long
vocabulary in alphabetical order and this takes up all my
spare time so dont scold if I dont send you very much. The
fact is so many of my rules are so uncertain that I almost
hesitate to send them at all, but just imagine that your old
man is a very profound philological student and then you will
think you are getting a great deal.
I think I told you about Mr. Alexander the
man with whom I went elephant hunting. Poor old man he went
from here to the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, and was
killed there by a large rock striking him. This rather ends my
hopes of going up to Lake Victoria for he promised to take me
with him and pay my expenses. But I am not just so very sorry.
I am not especially fond of hunting big game. Three men at
different times have been killed near here by lions in the
last six months while hunting and this rather frightens us. We
are not troubled at Kijabe however by lions, but excuse me
from ever trying to Kill one. It has not been my good fortune
to see one as yet so there is not much danger. I have had
nearly all my desires satisfied as far as seeing wild animals
is concerned. I prefer to see them in the zoo. but I must
close. May God keep you very near to himself and prepare you
fully for your work here. This is the earnest prayer of
Ever faithfully yours John.
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