10 Opening of the New Chapel at San Salvadore
Chapter 10 THE OPENING OF THE NEW CHAPEL AT SAN SALVADOR.
SEPTEMBER, 1899 THE following account of the opening of the new chapel at San Salvador, and the detailed reports of two public meetings, were written by Mrs. Lewis. The reader will, of course, remember that the speeches reported were delivered in the Congo language, and that Mrs. Lewis translates as well as reports. I have thought it worth while to print these documents, believing that they will convey more vivid and convincing impressions of missionary success than many pages of abstract exposition.
" We have just finished the opening services of the new chapel at San Salvador, and a splendid time we had; one which we hope will have good results in days and years to come. More than two hundred people from the surrounding towns gave notice that they intended to be present. So we formed a hospitality committee consisting of the deacons, with Mr. Phillips and myself; and on the Wednesday after the service, we took the names of those willing to entertain strangers, while native mats were put down in the old chapel for any men who failed to find accommodation elsewhere. Of such there were very few. Indeed, the difficulty was to provide visitors for all who wished to receive them. Hospitality was offered for four days without any expense to the Mission. A great many brought ’ chop ’ themselves, and whatever else was required was freely given by the people here, with a little help from the missionaries themselves, in the form of beef.
" All Saturday we were as busy as we possibly could be; Mr. Phillips and I receiving our visitors and sending them to their respective hosts; Mr. Lewis with Messrs. Beedham and Pinnock putting the finishing touches to the new chapel. At four o’clock all was ready, and a crowd waiting outside which rushed in as soon as the doors were opened. We, that is Mr. P. and his choir, consisting of the boys and girls on the station and us three ladies, took our seats and sang for nearly half an hour before each service commenced, which had a little effect in quieting the noise. Mr. Phillips presided at this first meeting. Prayer was led by two natives, one man and one woman, an address was given by Mr. Phillips, and a welcome proffered to the missionaries new and returned — Nekaka welcoming them on behalf of the men, and Mbwanzi on behalf of the women. It was really wonderful how well they did it, shaking hands with the missionaries afterward. Mr. and Mrs. Graham responded, as the others could not speak Kongo. The chapel looked beautiful, and every one was delighted. Mrs. Beedham had prepared three texts, which were hung severally behind the pulpit and on each side of the chapel: ’ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving ’; ’ The Lord has been mindful of us ’; ’ He will bless us.’
" On Sunday morning there were some six or seven hundred present at nine o’clock, when Mr. Pinnock conducted a children’s service, and gave a capital address from ’ Knock.’ At eleven o’clock Mr. Lewis conducted the usual meeting, when the place was crowded, about eight hundred being present. He preached from the text ’ My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ At half -past two p.m., there was a gathering of between four and five hundred women. We had such a good meeting — Mrs. Graham prayed, Mrs, Beedham gave out the hymns, and I gave an address from ’ He appeared first unto Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.’ The attention and behaviour were really wonderful, seeing that many had never been to service in a building before. It was a gathering such as is rarely seen in Africa, and far exceeded our expectations. In the evening at five o’clock Mr. Graham preached to an audience of men only, some three hundred being present, on the ’whole armour of God.’ When in the evening we nine missionaries met together for our little English service, our hearts were indeed full of joy and thankfulness.
" On Monday morning all was again excitement, for this was the great meeting, and long before we were ready a big crowd was waiting outside, and Messrs. Pinnock and Beedham had as much as they could do to prevent the people from tumbling over one another. The speakers and choir were already seated, and Mr. Bowskill with four cameras was taking pictures all the time, Mr. Lewis was in the chair, and we had a most interesting meeting, of which I enclose a report. It was really marvellous at all the meetings to see how well the natives, both men and women, acquitted themselves. Some of their speeches would not have disgraced Exeter Hall; they were so much to the point and so well put. Nlekai’s was the best in this meeting, but all were good. We had a time limit of ten minutes for natives, and five for missionaries, and the gong kept them up to it. The meeting lasted for two hours and a half and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
" In the afternoon there were many people to see the children, who played games in the station, Mrs. Graham helping them to enjoy themselves, and after tea we all went over again to the chapel for the service of song, based on the ’ Pilgrim’s Progress,’ which Mr. Phillips had taken much trouble to prepare. We were rather afraid that some accident might happen, as so many strangers came. The place was crammed to its utmost capacity. Fully one thousand must have been present. But Mr. Lewis told them at the beginning, it was a service, not a play, and asked for good behaviour, and got it. The King was present, and when his photo was put on the sheet we allowed the audience to clap. But during the service the attention was as good and reverent as we could wish. All went off well, Mr. Lewis reading and Mr. Graham showing the pictures, while Mr. Phillips and Mr. Pinnock accompanied, Mr. Phillips leading. It reminded me of old days when we sang the same service with Mr. Charlier at Camden.
"The next morning (Tuesday) some of the strangers left to return to their towns, so that the attendance at the missionary meeting was not quite so large. But there were about six hundred present, and a most delightful meeting we had. The speeches were all good, and that of Lau was universally acknowledged to be the best in all the meetings. It was really wonderful to hear this woman, who can neither read nor write, stand up and speak as if her address had all been prepared, with not one word too much. Vita and Elembe, our old boys, now teachers in other towns, spoke also very well, and then Mr. Phillips gave an address, bidding us goodbye, after which we all three replied, and the meeting closed with singing ’ God be with you till we meet again.’
"In the afternoon the whole Church gathered together to commemorate our Lord’s death, when three new members were received, two from here and one, Luvumbu, a Zombo native — who was converted while working with Mr. Pinnock at Tumba — the first-fruits of Zombo for Christ. Mr. Graham presided. The following afternoon Mr. Pinnock baptized these three.
" And so ended a memorable time in the history of the San Salvador Church — a time to which we shall look back joyfully, with thankfulness that thus God has permitted us to see the result of our labours, with prayer that He may richly bless the native Church meeting in this new and beautiful house, and that in many an instance ’ The Lord shall count, when He writeth up the people, that this man was born there.’
"Meeting Held on Monday Morning.
"The Chairman, the Rev. T. Lewis, said how great a pleasure it was to them to meet in this new house of God. When they began to build, many people thought they would not be able to finish, but by the blessing of God they were meeting there to-day. He wanted to thank all who had helped in this work, the bricklayers and the carpenters, those who had carried stones, and the labourers and children who had carried water. Some had worked very, very slowly, and they knew that sometimes he had had palavers with them about their slowness and carelessness. Now he hoped all these things would be forgotten. The work was finished, and to-day they were meeting to rejoice together.
" They remembered three who had begun the work with them, whom God had called in the middle of it — Makaya, Mponda, and William. But they had hope in their deaths that they believed on Jesus Christ, and trusted they were now with Him. He would say to the workmen just one thing. Let them take care lest any of those who had helped to build this house failed to enter into the house God had built above. The workmen who built the ark perished because of their unbelief. Let them make sure that they had entered into the kingdom now, by faith in Christ, lest they should be left outside the Holy City at last.
" He then introduced Mantu Parkinson, who was the first native baptized. Mantu recalled the time when the old King of Kongo received a letter from Mr. Comber, saying that he and his companions were down at Mosuca. He was a very little boy then, but he remembered the excitement of the day when Mr. Comber arrived with his wife and Messrs. Bentley, Hartland, and Crudgington; how the people wondered what they had come for, whether for rubber or slaves. Then soon after they heard that Mrs. Comber was sick, and the big people went to see her day by day, till one day they saw all the white men crying, and heard that she was dead. There was a great cry in the town, and he was among those who followed her to the grave. And though he could not understand what they said, he and others began to wonder what it might all mean. He spoke of several incidents which occurred in Congo, and then of his visit to England, and of many things he saw there. Especially he recalled a remark made to him by the Rev. Francis Tucker, of Camden Road, that God had remembered Congoland and sent them His Word. When he returned with Mr. Comber he often thought of those words, and he was reminded of them again this morning, when he saw the text on the wall, ’ The Lord hath been mindful of us.’ Those words and the teaching he afterwards received brought him to Christ, and he was baptized.
" Nlekai, teacher in charge of an outstation, was one of the first five who formed the Church, December 2, 1887. He said he was a native of Bangu, Arthington Falls. He was a very little boy and couldn’t understand much when Mr. Comber first came to Congo. But he remembered one day when there was a great noise in his town and Messrs. Comber and Hartland arrived, and all the people gathered together to hear them preach. Some of the other boys went back with them, but he was left. A short time afterwards Mr. Dixon visited his town, and after he had preached, asked the chief for some boys to go back with him. Then Nlekai was sent with others. Soon afterwards Mr. Dixon left San Salvador, and he became Mr. Weeks’s boy. With him he went to England. While there he went about and saw many people, and went every Sunday to a big house where they taught the people (the Metropolitan Tabernacle), And the people were constantly asking Mr. Weeks ’ Is your boy a Christian? ’ And Mr. Weeks used to answer, ’ I do not know, perhaps he is! ’ And he asked himself what they could mean. ’ Of course I am a Christian. I have not done any bad palavers, I have always washed the dishes properly.’ He thought very much about this till he came back to Congo, when from the words spoken by the teachers there he began to see that a Christian means some one who believes in Christ. Then Mr. Lewis came, and soon after he was baptized, and Mr. Lewis taught them they must join together to work, and they began to go into the other towns and tell the people there about the gospel. He finished by an appeal to all to come to Christ, and then to help in the work.
" The Rev. R. H. C. Graham next spoke. He said that when in England many people tried to dissuade him from returning to Congo. They said the Congos were too lazy to learn to work, and even if they professed to believe in Christ it was only with their mouths. Even many Christian people said, ’You had better stay at home and teach the people here.’ But when they heard about this house which they were building and saw the photos of it which had been sent home; when they heard that it was being built by native workmen, they said, ’Truly your work is not in vain.’ He then referred to having seen Mr. Dixon, and said how pleased he and Mr. Crudgington would have been had they been present to-day.
"Wavatidi was the next speaker. She, and another, now dead, were the first women baptized in 1888. She said she remembered the day that Mantu was baptized. She, with some other women, went down to the water to wash and saw Mr. Comber baptize Mantu. They thought to themselves, ’ What is this palaver? What can be the use of it? ’ Then she heard many palavers, and soon after that Mrs. Lewis came, and then she began to be taught properly, and learnt to love Christ. When she and Mpuna went to the King, their husband, to ask permission to be baptized, he was very angry and threatened to shoot them. But Padre Barosa interfered, telling the King that baptism was a very good palaver, and he must let his wives be baptized if they wished. She then spoke of how she first went to school and tried to learn to read, and how Mpuna, who had been baptized with her, had been called home.
"Mata, who has been chief capita since the beginning of the Mission, spoke of those who first came to Congo and of the journeys that he took with them, especially of the time when he went to Stanley Pool with Messrs. Bentley and Crudgington, telling some wonderful ’ crocodile ’ tales, and also some Congo parables quite incomprehensible to any European.
" The Rev. H. Ross Phillips said his part was to look after the money, so that his speech would be about that. First he read out a list of special contributions from the natives amounting in all to the value of 578 francs. He then mentioned that the missionaries at present on the staff had presented the pulpit and baptistery, with a brass plate in memory of those who had been on the San Salvador staff, but were now dead, and spoke briefly of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Comber, Mr. Hartland, Mr. Silvey, Mr. Cowe, Mr. Wilkinson, and his own wife. He also said that Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Forfeitt had promised chairs for the platform, and that he and his children would give a communion table and desk in memory of Mrs. Phillips. He spoke of how the work had grown since he came first to San Salvador, pointing out the next speaker as an example to the men, he having learnt to read when grown up, and being now able to preach to others.
" Ndonzwau, a deacon from an outside town, remembered the time when he was in darkness. Nlekai talked to him and taught him to read; and now that the white man had brought the gospel to them it was their duty to take it to others.
" At the missionary and farewell meeting held on Tuesday morning, Mr. Phillips presided, and after prayer and singing called on Elembe, who had a bad foot and occupied a chair on the platform. Elembe, who is teacher at Kimpese, said he was sorry he could not say much as he was not well enough to stand up. They all saw great joy in meeting in that new house, but they must remember it was not built for them just to sit down and enjoy themselves. They must remember it was their duty to go about and teach the people in other towns. There were many towns begging for teachers. But very many people did not like to leave San Salvador. They wanted to sit down in their houses and be comfortable there. To-day they saw how their teachers who were in the pulpit had finished building this beautiful house, how they had a nice station here; but they were going to leave all these good things for the sake of preaching the gospel to the people in Zombo. This was an example for them.
"Lau, the senior woman deacon, said she remembered so many things that if she were to speak of them all they would never get out of that place. She remembered the time when the first white men came to San Salvador and went to see the King, who was ill with smallpox, and gave him medicine which by the blessing of God was a help to him. Those white men said they had come after some stray goats, but truly those who followed had come to seek the sheep who had gone astray. She remembered the coming of the first missionaries and of their present teachers. She remembered the baptism of the first two women, and how, very soon after that, she and two others professed their faith in the same way, and ever since Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had taught them well, both men and women. She wanted to thank Mr. Lewis for building that chapel. They looked at its strong walls, thick roof, but they knew they could never have built it had it not been for Mr. Lewis and the help of God. Let them remember all that their teachers had left for their sakes, their good country, their friends and families. Nengwa (Mrs. Graham), who had just arrived, had left a little crawling baby. Why was that? For their sakes and the gospel’s. And now those in the pulpit were going farther on to preach to people who were still in darkness. They saw much sorrow at their leaving, but should not forget them, always remembering them in prayer, and when they met together in that beautiful house.
" Mr. Phillips here said Lau had reminded them of something they had omitted, viz., to thank Mr. Lewis for all the trouble he had taken in the building of that chapel. Many a time after the workmen had left Mr. Lewis had been busy all the evening till late planning and arranging, and if he had not been here, it could not have been built. He therefore proposed they should thank Mr. Lewis heartily for all his trouble. This was vigorously acceded to by clapping of hands.
" Vita, teacher at Mwingu, spoke next. He said he was a native of Bangu, and when Mr. Dixon went there to ask for schoolboys many of the people thought he wanted them to sell, but he. Vita, thought, ’If I go with the white man I shall learn to get rich like him.’ Since then he had learnt that the missionaries came not to get money but to teach them about God, and they left their friends and all their good things behind, for their sakes. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had brought him up, and he was very sorry to lose them, but he knew it was to preach the gospel in Zombo they were going. They were leaving their nice house on the station. So they must all try to do the same, and be willing to go anywhere to lighten the darkness all around.
" The Chairman, the Rev. H. R. Phillips, spoke of the long time he and Mr. Graham and Mr. Lewis and their wives had worked together happily, so that there was joy and sorrow in his heart that day — sorrow because they were now to part, gladness because the people in Zombo were going to hear the good news of salvation. He remembered how his wife on her death-bed spoke of the Zombo work, and prayed God to bless it. They all knew Mr. Pinnock’s work at Underbill and Tumba, and they hoped that God would greatly bless the work in Zombo, until there, too, there might be a chapel like this, and numbers of those who loved and followed Christ. He concluded by wishing them goodbye and Godspeed.
" The Rev. T. Lewis said he was there just to say goodbye. They all knew he was not going away because he wished to leave them or the work there, or because he wanted to part from his colleagues, but only so that he and his wife might go to Zombo and take the gospel to the people there. He thanked those present for their kindness to him while he had been with them, and would now simply say, ’ Sala Kiambote ’ (Congo, ’ goodbye,’ lit. remain good).
"Mrs. Lewis said she remembered being at the farewell meeting of those who first came to Congo. Mr. Pinnock was present also. She went out to Africa and worked for a short time with Mr. Comber’s sister. She remembered the first day she arrived in San Salvador and the welcome the women gave her, and ever since then they had loved each other. Two especially she thought of that day whom God had called: one Mansonso, who started the work at Nkaba, although she could not read and did not know much; the other [Mrs. Phillips], her fellowworker among the women who had so recently passed away. Some there were her children in the faith, and she had tried to teach them all the gospel, and to show them good fashions for Christian women. Now they were to part, and she had much sorrow because of that. Yet she was glad to go to Zombo, because they in Congo had other teachers now just arrived, but the women in Zombo had none. They should not forget one another, but should pray for one another very often, and then if they loved and followed Jesus here, they would meet one day before the face of God.
" The Rev. J. Pinnock began by saying he couldn’t speak, but would try. Many of the men there had given him plenty of trouble down at Underbill, grumbling about their loads. He would ask them not to trouble the missionaries who were there now, but to try and do their work cheerfully. He was very glad to go to Zombo, so wished them goodbye and God’s blessing on the work at San Salvador.’