The following incidents are taken from “India’s Women."
Punjab
the Dying Sikh Woman
LAST night we were sitting by the bedside of a dying patient, a beautiful Sikh Jatni woman. The old, long-bearded, white haired father-in-law sat watching in great distress. Alas! heart-disease of the most acute form, brought on by exposure during rheumatic fever, was fast hastening the end.
Presently he turned to me and said, “Tell me, who is Jesus. Do you not say when you come into our villages to teach, that He is the Son of God? Tell her a little of Him now."
I began to tell, in a low voice, of that dear Savior, the only Friend of sinners, whether living or dying. Presently the old Sikh turned to the dying woman, and said, “Daughter, you must look to Jesus now; there is no other Savior to help us in death."
It was just midnight when I knelt, with the dear woman's hands clasped in mine, as with struggling breath she prayed in her own words, " Lord Jesus, Son of God, save me, a sinner ' deliver me in this hour of pain." Before daybreak all was over.
- - -
Calcutta
Since our June holiday I have had the great pleasure of going once a week to a village school, to Bon Hughli—where there are over thirty little Hindu girls, whose ages vary from four to eleven. I soon got to know the pretty Bengali names of the elder girls—meaning " Dearest," "Diamond," " Truth," etc.
It makes one very sad to see so many temples with such hideous idols, and the devout but ignorant worshippers folding their hands and bowing their heads as they pass. How it makes one long and pray, “Thy kingdom come," with an intensity of feeling which is unknown until face to face with heathenism. We are sure there are brighter times coming for this dark land. There is a readiness en the part of the people to receive instruction, and there is a spirit of inquiry abroad, for which we must indeed thank God and take courage.
- - -
Bengali Work
A letter received from a former school-child runs thus:—" I write to you often, but cannot send the letters—my mother or brother snatch them from me and scold me much, saying, ' We believe you wish to be a Christian;' they beat me, but it makes no difference. My mind is all for the love of Jesus. Pray for me every day, that I may be one of Jesus' people. I read His life and pray every day. I shall certainly go to Jesus; He will receive me, for He has said, ' Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.' This I believe with all my heart."
In a later letter this girl writes: “I wanted to come to the school to see you today, but suddenly my mother prevented me. Pray for my mother that Jesus may soften her heart, that I may be allowed to come to you."
- - -
A few weeks ago we had the joy of being present at the baptism of a whole family from Andul. The little girl of ten attended our school there, and her elder sister used to come to our Howrah School. For some months before their baptism they were visited and taught by our Bible-woman, and on our weekly visits to Andul much of the day was taken up in teaching them. The mother is so gentle and good, and her strong faith, earnestness in prayer and practical living out the lessons given, have been a great joy to us.
One little child attending one of our village schools has endured persecution rather than bow down to idols, because, as she said, “God had forbidden it."
This little one fell sick, and her school-fellows said, “Ah! you see the gods are punishing you Still she remained steadfast, and when well she said, " Now see, my God to whom I prayed has made me well."
Her father and brothers refused to allow her to come to school any longer, saying, “She is all but a Christian; but we will beat it out of her."
- - -
Among the Mohammedans
Two of the most advanced girls at Mehtar Parah come on Sundays to our Hindustani service; they show themselves really in earnest in their love for the Bible. We cannot accede to the pleadings of one of them for baptism, as she is only nine years of age. Miss Martin spoke to the father the other day of his child's desire, offering to support her at an up-country Christian boarding school, if he would allow it, and telling him that she should come back after some years to be a little Bible-woman in their midst like Mary! She urged how very much better this would be than for her to marry a sweeper. The following letter (which we translate) shows how much the poor child needs our prayers:—
“To the dear Miss Sahiba (Miss Martin).
“I trust this will find all the Miss Sahibas well. We are well, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since you asked my father to allow you to put me in a boarding-school (Christian), everybody is unkind to me—they wish to stop my going to church at all. I am Jitni, your child. Don't tell my father what I have written to you—he will beat me. He says, before he lets me become a Christian, he will cut me up in pieces and sacrifice me."
- - -
Poor wives of India! I wonder if any English girl can imagine herself in their circumstances. Mohammedans are such fatalists. The mother of one ill-used wife complained most bitterly of the condition of her daughter, so I said one day, “But, Bebu, why did you marry your girl to such a man; surely you must have known he was a bad man? He could not have developed into such a character all at once."
She said, " Oh, ma'am! we thought he would become good; but what can we do, all this sorrow was in my daughter's fate?" I said, " Oh, no, Bebu, don't say that; she would have had none of these trials if you had not married her to that particular man." She said, “Oh, but God ruled it so. He could have prevented. it. He had written it all on my daughter's forehead." Fancy putting it down to God, when they begin to search the whole country round for a husband for a girl directly she is nine years old, and they marry her off, no matter how bad the husband may be! All the old women get together and say, “He will be all right; he will reform." If they are disappointed fifty times, they do not mind trying the same experiment with the very next girl in the village.
- - -
Zenana Work
Bengal
We have some most encouraging and interesting pupils—one, a Burmese lady, whose husband is a Christian. She is still a Buddhist, but very thoughtful and intelligent, and we would ask prayer that the teaching given may be blessed to her conversion.
One pupil whom I mentioned last year is waiting on God, and watching for an opportunity of confessing her faith by baptism. She is sometimes fearful about her future among strangers, and said one day, “I can see the light shining on the road, but can I be sure it will shine all the way?” When sad at the thought of leaving all, she said, "When I have left all who love me, will you let me call you mother, and tell you when I feel sad and lonely? I know I shall have Jesus, but I think I shall want you too.
In another house into which we were one day called, we soon perceived the “Bow " was earnestly seeking salvation by faith; she seemed to quickly grasp the truth. The others in the house are most bigoted; her Bible was taken away, and a stop was put to our visits.
Cut off from all earthly teaching, we trust her to Him who sent us to her with His own invitation to “come unto Him."
- - -
One of our most hopeful pupils and her mother have been very thoroughly taught by some Scotch Mission ladies up country. They know their Bibles well, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior; but they shrink from taking up the cross and following Him fully. They acknowledge that they ought to “come out and be separate," but lack courage.
- - -
The people are very fond of singing, and they seem to remember the words sung, for we are often asked to sing again what they have heard on a former visit. In one house the women would not let us go until one of the number had written out the hymn. One of the listeners, who is suffering from leprosy, seemed just to drink in the words of life, “Oh! " she said, " my heart is so full of sin, I fear it can never hold Christ. I love to hear these words; why must you go, cannot you stay all day and talk to us?"
We have had an earnest Bible-woman at Andul during the year, and through the kindness of friends, we have also been able to establish one at Barahnagore. We go round with these women once a week, and in one house often get ten, fifteen, and twenty women together who listen most attentively.
- - -
The Sindii Mission
The Gujerati women are very accessible, there is no difficulty in getting a number together to listen to the Bible. Usually they will send out and call their relatives and neighbors in to hear “the Book " read. Often a woman will say, “I was eating when I heard you were here, but I left my food to come and hear about God."
Some very decided tokens of individual blessing came under notice during the year. One was that of a well-to-do, intelligent women, named Gunja, who had come from the Native State of Kattyawar to visit a relation. She happened to come into a house where Mrs. O'Connor was reading to the women, and sat down to listen. She very soon became deeply interested; she said she had been a long time seeking to know about God, and begged that she might be taught every day about Him, as she would soon have to go away. She was visited daily, and seemed quickly to grasp the truth of the Bible. She felt the burden of sin, and after a time fully confessed her belief in the Lord Jesus. Christ as her Savior. She had been very unhappy because her children had all died, and her husband married another wife. In her own words, she said, “I was always fretting about my husband and children; but now I have found peace and am happy. I was like one tied with cords I could not undo, or like one shut up in a room without any way of escape; but now I am free, my one desire is to serve God, and to wait for that place He has prepared for them that believe on Him."
When Gunja realized that God was her Father, and that she could go to Him and tell Him all her sorrows and cares, she used to rise very early before the others were awake, that she might have a quiet time to pray. She was able to read, and we gave her a Testament. After this, a woman said to her, “Are you not going to hear the Brahmins read?" Gunja replied, “No; I have got something better in this book. I have done with idols, and believe only in God and Jesus Christ His Son."
Another woman, hearing this, said to Miss O'Connor, “Won’t you give me a book, too? I am going, to my country. My son is at the mission-school, and has learned about Jesus; he will read it to me."
There is noticeable amongst the Karachi women a greater sense of their own ignorance, and a desire for better things for their children. The mother of one schoolgirl said one day, "Teach my daughter well, and make her wise and clever. I don't want her to be like me. We poor women are like animals, without knowledge or understanding; but"—pointing to a lamp—"that lamp will not burn unless it is trimmed, and how can we learn without a teacher?"
There are open doors on all sides, and very distressing it is day after day to have to refuse invitations to, "come in and read to us."