The Leopard Man and Other Missionary Stories
Margaret Jean Tuininga
Table of Contents
The Leopard Man
A scream pierced through the stillness of the dark African night-the scream of a prowling leopard. Shivers went up and down the backs of the dark figures about their campfire, and they drew closer to its glow.
The natives feared the leopards, but there was something that they feared even more-the "Leopard-men"! Who knew when one might come bounding out of the darkness beyond the circle of the campfire's light to sink his iron claw-shaped prong into a victim's neck as he dragged him away to a fearful death?
In the earlier days in northeastern Belgian Congo there were frequent reports of the "Leopard-men," who were members of a cannibal secret society called, "Banyota." But even today it is a feared name, and there are wicked deeds one occasionally hears about which are blamed upon the "Leopard-men."
No one knew who might be a "Leopard-man"-perhaps the man in the next hut was one! When they crept upon their unsuspecting victim they were covered with a leopard skin, carrying for a weapon a stick with sharp iron prongs, shaped and spaced to leave claw marks upon the neck like those of a real leopard.
Members were bound to secrecy, and they practiced their wicked deeds partly in heathen religious frenzy, partly in revengeful hate, and often because of their lust for human flesh, for their victim was always eaten!
The moon was shining brightly, but it could not pierce the dark shadows of the jungle night. Boys and girls drew close to their mothers, but their mothers were afraid, too! Defenseless older people looked over their shoulders fearfully.
One day a missionary was having gospel meetings in the village of Mulele, and a number of Africans trusted the the Lord Jesus. Among them was an old man, Okalufu by name.
"Are all my sins forgiven when I trust Christ?" he asked.
"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin!" the missionary replied.
The man's face was beaming with the joy of new-found salvation. "I have been a great sinner," he said, "for you see, I am a 'Leopard-man'!"
The missionary could scarcely believe he was hearing a Munyota, in his leopard skin he had attacked and killed defenseless people, and then feasted upon them with his companions in wild heathen celebrations!
"Will the Lord forgive me?"
The missionary rejoiced that he could answer that for even so great a sinner, Christ had died; and in the assurance that his sins were forgiven, Okalufu found peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The following morning Okalufu was back again.
"Missionary, God has been good, He has forgiven me. But last night I knew in my heart that I must go to the government man to tell him that I am a `Leopard-man'-a murderer and a cannibal."
"May God bless you as you do that which you know is right," answered the missionary. "We will be praying for you, Okalufu."
So the old man packed up a few belongings, and started out on his three-day journey through the forest to the government post. Arriving there he appeared before an astonished official and declared, "I am a cannibal, a Munyota!"
The surprised Administrator could not believe what he heard, and demanded proof.
"You are a 'Leopard-man'? Where is your leopard skin, and where is the claw weapon? Go and get these, and bring them to me if you expect me to believe you."
So back home over the long three-day forest trail the old man trudged to get his leopard skin and claw weapon. Then back to the post he came to lay them before the amazed official.
"But why do you confess this," he asked Okalufu. "Do you not know that the penalty for cannibalism is death?"
"I know," the old man sadly admitted. "But something has happened to me. Through the words of a missionary I have learned of God's love for me, and I have received His Son as my Savior! God has put a new heart within me. I have joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. The ways of the 'Leopard-men' which I once loved I now hate. I have sinned against God," Okalufu went on to say, "and God has forgiven me. But I have sinned against the laws of the government, too, and I confess that to you now."
Touched by the old man's sincerity and testimony, the kindly Administrator imprisoned Okalufu on a minor charge for only three months. In the prison ragged Okalufu, who could neither read nor write, became a shining witness for the Lord Jesus. Several were saved through his testimony. In fact, he fairly turned the prison upside down in his zeal, and some were even glad when his three-month term was ended, and he was set free.
Back over the forest trail again went Okalufu, rejoicing in his freedom that he might spread the good news of salvation far and wide. In his village Okalufu became a tireless witness in his efforts to win his friends and all whom he met to Inc Lord. He would earnestly plead with his people to accept God's Savior, and know the wonderful peace he himself had found.
But Okalufu had done something no one had ever known a "Leopard-man" to do, he had exposed himself as being a member of that dark secret society, and he had departed from it. The sinful men could not stand the rebuking, heart-searching witness for long.
One day Okalufu sat down to eat a simple meal. Before long he felt great pain-and soon he was in the presence of the Lord Jesus whom he had trusted as his Savior!
Someone, perhaps one of his former cannibal companions, had put poison in his food, and Okalufu died, a martyr for his faith!
Today in Africa there are bright-faced, happy Christians, who were brought to the Lord through the witness of this converted "Leopard-man." Many recall his testimony with great wonder and joy.
Okalufu, the "Leopard-man," destroyed life. Okalufu, a new man in Christ Jesus, through God's wonderful grace, became an instrument unto life for many!
Kidnapped!
One day Emmie was sitting on the doorstep waiting for Daddy to come home. Daddy, and his nine-year-old Emmie were missionaries in the land of Mexico. When Emmie was just six years old God had taken her mother to heaven to be with Himself, but she and Daddy had continued to live with the Mexicans to help them, and to tell them about the Lord Jesus who had come to seek and to save them.
Among the Mexicans were priests and people of an untrue religion who hated Emmie and her father because some of the people were leaving their own religion and accepting the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
As Emmie sat waiting for Daddy, suddenly something dark was thrown over her head! As strong arms caught her up Emmie struggled, kicking and biting. Then something struck her head, and everything became dark!
When she awakened her eyes were so swollen she could not open them at first. Finally, one eye opened just a bit, and she could see that she was in a small, dark room, with only a mat and a stool in it. There was a small window, so Emmie pushed the stool over to it, and climbing upon it tried to see out. But the window was too high, and all she could see was the blue sky. Gradually she could not see even that as the sky grew dark, and it was soon nighttime.
What a dark, lonely, fearful night that was! How glad Emmie was that she knew the Lord Jesus, and that she could talk to Him, and ask Him to take care of her!
The next morning her eyes hurt dreadfully, and though she could open them now, she could not see at all! All was dark!
Groping about blindly Emmie found that someone had brought her food in the night while she had been sleeping. There was a cup of water, a small hard roll, and a banana. Emmie reached for the water eagerly, for she was so thirsty, but because she could not see she tipped the cup over, and the precious water spilled upon the floor!
It almost seemed too much for poor, little Emmie. Then she remembered the words, "Call upon me in the day of trouble," from God's own Word. So call she did, loudly over and over! And God did hear, she was not forgotten. God was using Emmie to work out a wonderful purpose of His own!
A little later Emmie heard footsteps, then the door opened. Frightened, she waited as the footsteps came near her, for she could not see. Then she felt a woman's arms about her, and a voice saying, "Little one, do not be frightened. You have nothing to fear if you will just be a good girl and do as you are told."
"The Lord Jesus will take care of me," answered Emmie. "He loves me, and I have prayed to Him and asked Him to take care of me. He loves you, too!"
"You must not talk like that," the woman answered. "We will teach you a different way to pray!"
The woman left, but came back now and then to bring food and to talk a little with Emmie. Sometimes she would find Emmie praying, and sometimes she would be praying for the woman.
"Jesus loves you, too," she would say to the woman, "and died on the cross for your sins!"
But the woman would not listen. One time, taking her by the hand, she led her out of the room and to another place. Emmie did not know where she was, but she heard a man's voice, and she was told that this was a holy man, and that she must kneel and kiss his hand! Emmie remembered that the Bible said she must only worship God, so she would not bow down and kiss his hand, no matter how they scolded and threatened her! Then they placed something in her hand, and told her to say prayers after them. But the words did not seem right to Emmie who had been taught to talk to God as she would to her own dear father, so she would not repeat the words after them. Besides, her head ached, and, oh! how she wanted her Daddy!
In anger, the woman brought her back to the little room. Before leaving her the woman said, "Little one, you will have to stay here and think, until you repent of your stubborn refusal to do as you are told!"
Emmie heard the door close, and the lock turn. Once again she was alone. She still could not see, but she kept praying to her heavenly Father, "Please keep Your everlasting arms under me, and do help me out of here!"
A few moments after the woman had gone Emmie's hand struck something hard and sharp on the floor near her. It was a pair of scissors! The woman who brought her back must have dropped them.
Emmie picked them up, and not having anything else to do she began to cut off her curls-curls that were a pretty red, not black ones like the other little girls in that country had.
When she could feel no more curls she wondered, "Now, what shall I do?"
Something seemed to make her think to throw them out of the window, so climbing upon the little stool she dropped them out, one by one.
Each day Emmie's father went up and down the streets looking and listening for some sign or sound of his dear little girl. One day he spied one of those bright curls on the ground near the building where Emmie was kept a prisoner. Picking it up tenderly, he thanked God, and carefully watched the windows in that building.
Meanwhile Emmie's eyes grew worse. The woman who was caring for her became frightened, for she had thought they would soon be better. She had grown fond of little Emmie, and had become greatly impressed with Emmie's trust in the Lord, and in her saying, "Jesus loves you, too!"
Finally she decided she must get her to a doctor, or to someone who could help her eyes. So after dark that night, the woman took Emmie in her arms and carried her down a ladder, and out the back way.
The Lord led Emmie's father down that way just at that time, so it did not surprise him to see Emmie being brought along the street by the woman!
Quickly he caught Emmie into his arms and ran down the dark street leaving the woman far behind. Oh, how happy they were to know that God had cared for them, and had shown them the way to find one another!
But Emmie was almost completely blind. The light hurt her eyes, and they seemed to grow worse instead of better.
The doctors could not help, for the blow she had received on her head had injured a nerve, and all they could do was pray.
For a year Emmie was blind, and the Lord taught her many wonderful lessons in patience and prayer! She even learned to knit without the use of her eyes, for a kind woman came in often to help her and to teach her.
Emmie learned to love this new kind friend, and they had many good talks together as Emmie told her about the Lord Jesus and His love.
"He loves you so much that He died that you might live, and have all your sins washed away."
"But perhaps I am too great a sinner," the woman would say.
"Oh, no!" Emmie happily assured her. "Jesus died for all the sins in the whole world."
One day Emmie had so much pain she felt she could hardly bear it. Then something seemed to burst-and she could see again! How very wonderful God's world looked to Emmie then! Her heart was so full of thankfulness she felt she could not thank the Lord enough!
But the Lord had even more happiness in store for Emmie, for the kind woman who had cared for her accepted the Lord Jesus as her Savior, and told Emmie's father that she would like to be baptized.
"First, I must tell you something," she said. Drawing up her sleeve she showed Emmie's father a scar upon her arm made by someone's teeth!
"What is that? It looks like a dog bite." "No, not a dog-your little girl did that."
"Why, how awful! And you have been so kind to her."
"Oh, no, sir! She did it when I threw the sack over her head to kidnap her! Oh, sir, can you ever forgive me? I love the Lord Jesus, and He has forgiven me. Can you forgive me, too?"
With tears running down his face the missionary took her arm and said, "Sister, I forgave you long ago! I have been praying for you, not knowing who you were!"
This woman became a faithful witness for the Lord Jesus, and went about everywhere telling others the wonderful story of Jesus' love. Even after she became an old, old lady, and was blind herself, she still loved to tell the story she had learned from little Emmie whom she kidnapped!
A Filipina Rose
OH! What was that frightening sound? Up and down the streets weird sounding whistles and sirens were blowing!
Rose knew what it was-it was the air-raid warning sounding! With dolly under her arm she ran quickly down the basement steps to Daddy's study which was the only air-raid shelter they had. It was not much protection, but was under the porch floor which was made of cement tile. Mother and Daddy, and her two brothers and Rose always prayed, and the Lord took care of them!
Rose and her dolly had a special place all their own!
There was a little rug at the end of Daddy's desk, and it was there where she and dolly would go to pray, and to sit very still until they would hear the "all clear" signal sounding up the street again.
Rose lived away on the other side of the world in Manila, Philippine Islands. Manila was such a pretty city before the war with its lovely trees and beautiful tropical flowers. The Filipino children running up and down the streets have very dark hair and eyes, but dress much like children do here in our country if their parents can afford to buy the clothes; otherwise, the younger boys only wear a shirt!
But Rose had very fair skin, blue eyes, and blond hair; for although Rose was born in that country her mother and father were missionaries who had come from America. You would never know that she was an American to hear her speak, for she could chatter away in Tagalog with her little friends like a native Filipina.
Rose loved the Filipino food, too, even better than American food, which pleased the Filipinos very much. They eat rice and fish a good deal, but also have many other interesting and delicious dishes. The children all like the native fruit before it is ripe. It is hard to understand how they would like the green mangos which are very hard and sour, but they eat them with salt, and enjoy them. Rose liked them that way too, and tried hard to convince her mother that they were good!
Rose went to a school for American children that began at seven-thirty in the morning, and was over for the day at twelve-thirty noon. Most of her friends went to the Filipino school. Some of them would come with her to her Daddy's
Sunday school, and to all of them Rose would talk about the Lord Jesus, for she had given her heart to Him.
When Rose was just ten years old Japanese bombers flew right over her house! War had come to the Philippine Islands. Soon the Japanese marched into their city, and Rose and her folks never dared to go out on the streets in the day time. The Japanese were always looking for American or British people, and when they found them they would take them in trucks to internment camps. Finally nearly all Americans were taken away, but they never went to Rose's house!
One day some other missionaries on their way to India had to get off their boat, and they came to live at Rose's house, too. There was a little girl a bit younger than Rose named Joy. In spite of the fears of bombing and war they had happy times together until one day the Japanese sent orders for all aliens to report to the internment camp!
Rose's little Filipino friends were very sad, and cried when they said good-bye, but Rose's mother said, "Do not cry for us, just pray! God will take care of us!"
When they got to the St. Tomas Internment camp, they were told that all the missionaries were to be moved. Where do you suppose they sent them? Home!
Imagine their friends' surprise when they saw them coming! They cried for joy, now! The Christians at the Gospel Hall said, "It is just like when Peter was in prison! The believers prayed, and God brought him out. You went into the internment camp, and we prayed, and God released you!"
Joy's mother had been a school teacher, so she started a school for Joy and Rose, and four little Filipina sisters who lived across the street. One of the other missionaries started a Bible club for them, and after a time all four little Filipina girls, and their mother were saved!
Finally, the Japanese sent again, and told them that they must go into internment. They must be ready to go the next morning when trucks would come to take them away! All the missionaries, and their families who lived in Manila, were taken by truck the next day to Los Banos.
Here they had long barracks to live in. The family barracks were divided into small rooms, and two people were to live in each room. There were forty-eight rooms in each barracks. Rose shared a room next door to her mother's with another little girl whose parents were missionaries, too.
The Japanese gave consent that they might have school, so Rose and her brothers and all the other children had classes every morning. They went to different people's rooms for each subject. The geography class was held in Rose's room. One teacher gave them lessons on the stars and constellations which they could see at night. The nights were very dark, and the stars shone out beautifully! One lady artist had a class in the afternoon, and Rose loved to sketch and draw. She used to climb a high tree, and sitting there would sketch everything that she could see.
After the Americans started bombing, the Japanese would not allow anyone to climb trees, much to Rose's disappointment! The Japanese gave these orders because they did not like the way some of the boys would climb the trees when the American bombers were flying over, and would call down the number of planes they could see!
"I am so hungry! What would it be like to eat as much as we really wanted again?" Rose would sometimes ask.
Life in the camp would not have been so bad except that they did not have enough to eat, and everyone became very thin and tired, and many were sick.
As the days went by the food grew even less, and more people were getting sick. They prayed for deliverance. One morning Rose went to her mother with her Bible in her hand, "Mother, this is the verse the Lord gave me this morning in my reading." Rose was only ten, but she read a chapter in her Bible every morning, even in the internment camp. The verse she read to her mother was, "There bath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Cor. 10:13).
"I believe the Americans are coming soon, for God said He will make a way of escape."
Many times in the two or three weeks that followed she repeated that promise that the Lord had given her, for she knew that the Lord was surely going to make a way to escape!
Food rations grew smaller and smaller, until the Japanese finally said they would not have anything more to eat! It seemed as though they would surely starve, for there was no way that they could get outside the camp to get food, and they could get no food within the camp! So the missionaries all gathered together to pray.
Just as they finished praying some American dive bombers flew around the camp, and then went into a dive so close that Rose and the others could see the bombs dropping from the plane. That night Rose said to her mother, "I think God is going to send a way of escape soon. I think that the Americans are coming tonight or tomorrow morning, and I am going to bed early so that I will be ready for them." And she did.
The next morning Rose's mother started the fire in her little stove, and put the last half of their little bit of rice on to cook for breakfast. Just then the gong sounded for roll call, and at the same time the heavy drone of planes was heard.
Then "Transport planes!" some boys shouted. "American transport planes!!"
Everyone hurried out to sec-and what a sight met their eyes! Big transport planes were circling low over the camp, and then, out of the sky came paratroopers, about one hundred and fifty of them! What a mighty shout of thankfulness to God went up as they watched their deliverance coming down from above!
Paratroopers-a whole line of them, dropping in beautiful formation from those transport planes! Rose knew that she would never forget that sight as long as she lived. One plane circled back very low over the camp, and Rose and the others could read the word "Rescue" painted in big yellow letters on the side.
My, what excitement there was in that camp at seven-thirty that morning! No one knew just what was happening, but all were ordered inside as fighting would soon start. Rose's daddy and older brother were asked to go around warning all others to stay inside, and her other brother rushed inside, saying, "Mother, where's the rest of the rice you were saving for dinner? Let's cook it! This is our rescue!"
So while bullets were whizzing around he kept the rice boiling until it was cooked! Rose and her mother ran down to the front of the barracks to see if they could get a glimpse of real American soldiers-and oh, how good they did look to them!
They were ordered inside, and told to lie down, but they were too excited for that!
"Here is some sugar we were saving for our little boy," someone called when breakfast was ready, "does anyone want it?"
Roses brother dashed out for it, and they each had a spoonful on their rice. It was the first taste of sugar they had had for five months!
Soon big tanks rolled into the camp, and the call came, "Be ready to leave in five minutes!"
Hastily things were thrown together, and people piled onto the waiting tanks. But there was not room for all, and Rose's family had to walk the three miles to the lake. Although they were weak they managed to get there, and there they found a man with a tin of sugar giving each one a spoonful in their hands-how good it tasted!
Soon tanks were ready to take them across the lake, then trucks picked them up and took them to prison-yes, to prison! But it happened that that was the only place the army had to put them, and they did not mind, for American flags were flying, and there was food, and freedom! The American Army and the Red Cross were wonderful to them, but Rose and her folks knew it was really God's hand behind it all that had brought their deliverance, for even as He had promised He had made a way to escape!
After six weeks of care and good food they found themselves on board a big ship, sailing for the United States!
Rose's war experiences arc much like that of every sinner, yes, even like you boys and girls! Just as Rose was a prisoner of war, so you are a prisoner of sin and Satan if you arc not saved! The Americans came and rescued Rose. The Lord Jesus died on the cross that He might rescue you from the power of Satan!
The American Army and Red Cross gave her food and clothes, and took her home. The Lord Jesus wants to save you and clothe you in His wonderful righteousness, and He gives you His Word for spiritual food. One day He will come to take all who have trusted Him home to be with Him. Will you be ready?
Because Ching Le and Ching Jung Prayed
Ching Le and Ching Jung laughed gleefully one March morning when they spied a flock of wild geese flying toward the South. The great birds looked so pretty with the sun shining on their white feathers, and their melodious honking could be heard for a long time after they had drifted on into the blue sky.
"That means that winter has really gone," cried Ching Le.
"Yes, and we'll have to hurry and get our kites ready to fly in the spring winds," said Ching Jung excitedly, and they ran home quickly to tell their mother the good news.
"Mother," called the little girls together, "we have just seen wild geese going South, so the winter is over."
Mrs. Chang smiled, "You know we'll still have two months before the weather warms up."
"Oh, yes," answered Ching Le who was seven years old and quite grown up, "I know it will still be cold, but the spring kite-flying winds are starting-"
"Yes, and we can fly our kites," chimed in Ching Jung breathlessly. She was a year younger than Ching Le and always tried to talk at the same time as her sister did.
"This year I want a dragon kite," said Ching Jung.
"Don't be silly," laughed her sister, "you know you're too small! Why, it would carry you away with it, and probably drop you over on the hilltops!"
"Well, then, I want a butterfly kite," she retorted, "and it'll fly higher than yours!"
"And I'm going to have a graceful swallow kite," put in Ching Le, "it will be-"
"Hush, girls! if you keep arguing, you won't have any kites at all, and anyway you will have to wait until your father returns. I can't buy them for you."
The little girls were silent at the mention of their father. He was an army captain and had been away many months. Each day Mrs. Chang burned incense to the little clay idol, knocked her head on the floor before it, and asked for protection for Captain Chang.
All of North China was in a state of unrest for it was the time of the Chinese Revolution. Men, women, and children were fleeing in terror before the invading armies. Many fled to the mountains and hid in the rock gullies and ravines for days. They would return to their villages and homes after the army had left, only to find their possessions stolen or spoiled. Many of the villages were burned to the ground. But they were grateful to be alive and started to rebuild their homes.
So far, the small town of Sing Min had not been disturbed, and apart from wild stories and rumors of war, it was quiet and peaceful. But only last night Mrs. Chang had heard it whispered that the invading army had suddenly descended on Min Tuan, a large city to the southeast. That was getting dangerously near.
During the next two days Ching Le and Ching Jung were glad to stay indoors and help their mother prepare material for shoe soles, because outside the wind was blustering and howling. It had started just as it always does in the spring: first, just a little breeze came drifting over the hills. It made the dried grasses nod and bow to each other gracefully. But two hours later it was blustering and blowing. The air was filled with fine yellow dust, leaves, and twigs, and the elm and willow trees groaned and creaked as the wind tore through their bare branches.
The girls had such fun helping mother. She had mixed a large bowl of paste and given each little girl a pile of rags which were torn into strips. They covered a large board with a layer of paste and put on a layer of rags, then more paste and more rags, until it was about six or eight layers thick. After it was finished it had to dry outside, and then it would peel off the board and look like cardboard and would be ready to be cut into shoe soles.
On the third day the wind was even stronger and the air was yellow with dust which had been whipped up from the northern desert. That night Mrs. Chang could not sleep for the wind rattled the tiles on the roof, plucked at the paper windows, and whistled through the branches of the old willow tree in the courtyard.
It was about midnight when she heard a muffled knocking on the front gate. At first she thought it was the wind; then she caught the words "K'ai men, K'ai men," (open the door, open the door.)
Mrs. Chang was afraid to go out, for it might be soldiers; but if so, they wouldn't bother to knock on the door, they'd just break it open. A few moments later she went out and opened the gate immediately when she heard the familiar voice of Captain Chang.
"I thought I'd never get you to hear," he said, wiping the dust and dirt from his face, "I have only a short time before I must join my company tomorrow at Kung Ying Village." His voice dropped to a whisper, "The invading army will be here by noon tomorrow. You must get the children up, gather a few things together, and we will leave in a half hour. There is not time to lose!"
Mrs. Chang could hardly believe her ears, "You mean we have to flee and leave our home?" she wailed.
"Don't stop to ask questions," said the captain, "or it may be too late."
Ching Le and Ching Jung could not understand why they were awakened and dressed at that time of night. They sat huddled sleepily on the end of the brick bed watching their daddy pack food and clothing into sacks.
Mother was collecting some valuable vases and other things which she prized. These she took out and hid in a vegetable pit, first covering them with earth and leaves, then throwing cabbages on top.
The spring less cart, drawn by two glossy brown mules, was at the gate right on time. Hurriedly Captain Chang carried out the sacks of food and clothes. Mrs. Chang brought the quilts which were put around the sides and bottom of the cart, making it snug and warm.
The two little girls were bundled up in their quilts and daddy carried them out to the cart. They were quite excited, for they thought it fun to go on a long journey.
At last they were on the way. The night was so dark and windy that the driver had to walk by the front mule to lead the way by the dim light of his paper lantern.
Morning dawned bright and clear. The wind had gone to the mountain caves to rest awhile before blustering back again.
The weary travelers, having reached the main highway found it crowded with other refugees. Many were traveling in open carts. They sat huddled there trying to keep warm and looked enviously at the Chang family as they came up in their cart which was protected with a felt canopy. Others rode mules, horses, donkeys and oxen, and some even had bicycles. But most of them had to walk, and the very small children were carried in baskets tied to each end of a bamboo carrying-pole which swayed back and forth with each step.
Ching Le and Ching Jung were quite excited. It was really fun to see all these people and they were looking forward to arriving in the big city. They felt sorry for the poor little children and old women who didn't have comfortable carts to ride in.
By noon everyone was tired and hungry. Mrs. Chang had a hard time trying to keep the little girls from quarreling and she was glad when they stopped in Kung Ying Village for lunch. But it was here that they would have to say good-by to Captain Chang.
The mules were eager for a meal, too, and they clattered over the cobble stones, and through the archway of the Travelers Rest Inn in a real hurry.
The inn was crowded with soldiers, but they soon found room for Captain Chang and his family. After a good meal of noodles, fried onions and cabbage, Captain Chang said, "You must go on alone from here. The cart driver is a good man and he will see you safely to the Fu Yin T'ang (Good News Hall) compound in the city of Ling."
"The Gospel Hall compound?" cried Mrs. Chang in alarm, "do you mean we have to go there? Why, I've heard terrible stories about the foreigners there; they cast spells on people, and they don't believe in our gods-" She stopped suddenly and groaned. "Oh, that reminds me, in our haste to leave home, I forgot to place food before our idol, and never even burned incense nor said a prayer to it! Now what will happen to us?"
Captain Chang waved his hand impatiently. "Don't be foolish! Those stone gods are no use anyway, and you and the girls will be well cared for by the missionaries. I know that they are good people, for only last week I met some in Chao Yang city."
It was about midnight that night when Mrs. Chang and the girls arrived in the city of Ling and stopped outside the Fu Yin T'ang. Already there were many women and girls in there, and others waited outside with the Changs.
Mrs. Chang and the little girls were frightened when they first saw the foreign missionaries. Their noses and feet were so large, their skin was white like rice paper and their hair looked so strange.
There was a great deal of talking and arguing in subdued tones as the missionaries insisted on searching the sacks, packages, and quilts. For in one bundle they had found a gun, and in another a small stone idol. Those things could never be allowed in the Good News compound.
Mrs. Chang and the little girls had been at the Fu Yin T'ang for over a week. Mrs. Chang had not only become used to the foreign missionaries, but she was really enjoying it there. Each day two good meals were served, and it was nice to sit around the charcoal brazier (an iron basket in which the charcoal glowed warmly) and chat with the other women or listen to the missionary and the Bible woman teach about the Lord Jesus.
Of course, there were so many refugees that they couldn't all sleep on the warm brick beds, and the Changs, with about fifteen other women and girls, occupied the small Gospel Hall. The benches were stacked at one end, grass mats put on the brick floor, then each person spread out her quilt on the mats. During the day there was a blazing fire in the small stove, and at night the glowing charcoal shed its warmth.
Mrs. Chang would often lie awake at night thinking about the missionaries and the Christian Chinese. "Yes," she would say to herself, "they are good and kind, and those awful stories I heard about them are all lies. This God they worship, although He can't be seen, really seems to help them, which is more than our stone idol ever does."
Ching Le and Ching Jung just loved being at the Fu Yin T'ang, and they had already come to know and love the Lord Jesus. At first they had sat open-mouthed when the missionary lady had told them about God so loving the world, and all the men, women and children, that He sent His only beloved Son down to die on the cruel cross. By His death and the shedding of His precious blood, all who came to Him, believing in Him and confessing they are sinners would be saved, and would go to.be with Him in heaven when they died.
"Do you mean that God can love us," asked Ching Le, "when we are so often naughty and get cross?"
"And when we don't do the things Mother asks us to?" chimed in Ching Jung.
"Yes, He loves you," answered the missionary, "but God wants you to tell Him you have been naughty and to ask Him to forgive you. Then He will help you to be good. If you really love Him you will always try to be good and do the things that please Him, then, too, you will be pleasing your Mother and everyone else."
The missionary opened her Bible, and after a moment said, "When you are God's children, He takes care of you and you never have to worry about the future because He has it all planned and tells us so in His Word." Turning the pages, she read in Psalm 32:8: "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee."
It was three weeks since the Changs had come to the Fu Yin Tang. There was no news of Captain Chang; Mrs. Chang was so worried and sometimes she couldn't help crying. Ching Le and Ching Jung tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, Mother, God is taking care of Daddy. Why don't you trust in God? He will give you peace if you do."
"Peace," murmured Mrs. Chang, "how can I have peace when I hear the boom of guns in the distance, when the bullets whiz overhead and hit the roof top? How can I stop worrying when airplanes drone overhead and all around is the sound of war?"
Sunday morning dawned clear and bright. There was the scent of spring in the air, and birds knew it too, for they chirped and sang so gaily. But although the day was so bright, yet, the news of the fighting was worse and the sound of guns was much closer. All the refugees were very frightened and at first didn't want to come out of their rooms to go to the Gospel Hall. But once they were inside, singing choruses and hymns, they were glad, for it drowned out the sound of the guns.
Ching Le and Ching Jung just loved to sing about the Lord Jesus, and their mother couldn't help wishing that she might trust God and be as happy as they were.
Mrs. Chang listened closely as Mr. Ta the missionary read from the Bible: "Peace I leave with you: my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"-John 14:27. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength"-•Isaiah 26:3, 4. "Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you"-II Peter 5:7. "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed"-Isaiah 53:5.
Suddenly tears began to stream down Mrs. Chang's cheeks, and as Mrs. Ta put her arm about her, Mrs. Chang cried, "Just to think that Jesus suffered all that for me, and I've been rejecting Him for so long. I want to trust Him, just like you, and Mr. Ta, and my little girls have told me to do."
"Why don't you tell Him so now?" whispered Mrs. Ta. "Just talk to God like you would to a friend," said Ching Le.
"Yes, because He is our friend, too," Ching Jung added.
Mrs. Chang's voice shook as she prayed, "True God, I believe in You now. Please forgive my sins and come into my heart and let me be able to trust You just as Ching Le and Ching Jung have done. Amen."
From that day on, Mrs. Chang was a changed person; there was joy and peace in her heart, and she did not worry about the war anymore. Instead, she spent time praying for Captain Chang, asking God to protect him and bring him safely to them. She longed to be able to tell the captain about the Lord Jesus, so he, too, might have the joy and peace that she and the little girls had.
Three days later there was much rejoicing in the city of Ling, for the enemy had been driven back and was hastily retreating to the safety of the western mountains, while the victorious army marched proudly in. With it came Captain Chang. There was the sound of running feet and excited voices"Pa Pa lai Haar (Daddy has come) cried Ching Le.
"And he's driven the enemy into the hills!" Ching Jung's shrill little voice could be heard all the way into the next courtyard.
Mrs. Chang hurried out to meet them, and everyone seemed to be talking at once.
"We are all Jesus' believers now, and we're not afraid of anything because God protects us," said Ching Le in one breath.
Mrs. Chang smiled happily. "God truly has brought us joy and peace, and the girls obey me now and don't argue or quarrel."
Little Ching Jung was tugging at the captain's sleeve. "We prayed to God to protect you and He did, didn't He?"
Handing a taffy-apple to each of the little girls, Captain Chang said, "This is wonderful news! Tomorrow we shall return home, and you must teach me all about God, for I, too, want to know Him."
"We can teach you to sing about Him, too," said Ching Le, and Ching Jung just nodded; for once she couldn't talk, her mouth was full of taffy-apple.
A Navajo Lamp
"What is the trouble, Nabash?"
Big tears were slowly rolling down the cheeks of the little six-year-old Navajo Indian girl. But Nabash shook her head for she could not answer.
It was a wintry night, but the fire in the center of the dirt floor made the hogan comfortably warm. The hogan Nabash lived in looked much like a great upside-down cereal bowl, made of mud and sticks. She was sitting between her mother and father upon a soft sheepskin on the dirt floor, close to the bright fire.
In spite of the warmth and safety of her home, this little Indian girl's heart was troubled. She was thinking big thoughts for such a little child. She was wondering, "Where will my spirit go when it leaves my body?"
She did not know what kind of a place it would be, but Mother and Father always spoke of it as "going among the devils." Suddenly her heart was filled with fear. There would be no nice, warm hogan there, she was sure of that. There would be no rest, and perhaps not even a little sheepskin to sit on!
But even such gloomy thoughts and fears cannot keep a little girl's sleepy eyes open, and soon she fell asleep on the warm sheepskin, and Mother rolled a big blanket around her.
In her hogan home Nabash never heard the name of tI. Lord Jesus. She had never heard the Bible read, nor a blessing asked at meals, for her people did not know the true God. Instead, some evenings after their meal of bread and coffee, when her father had put away his silver-smithing tools, he would tell the stories of the Navajo religion.
Nabash would snuggle up close on the sheepskin, for she loved to hear stories. Father would tell about "The Goddess-Who-Is-Always-Young," about the "God of the Dawn," the "God of the Twilight," and many others. Nabash believed very earnestly in all these gods, and learned to pray to them.
When she was eight years old her parents chose her from among her brothers and sisters to be sent to school. Very few Indians can read or write, but Nabash's father felt that one in his family should be able to conduct the family business for him.
It was exciting, and a little bit sad, to be leaving her hogan and family. As she rode away on her little pony with her small bundle of clothes under her arm the hills in the distance kept blurring as she blinked the tears away.
How new and strange the school life was! She found herself in a big dormitory with lots of other girls of varying ages, all with straight, black hair and dark, brown eyes like her own, but somehow looking so different. Perhaps it was the plain little school dresses they wore. Nabash fingered the pieces of silver decorating her tight velvet blouse, and looked down at the bright full skirt that hid all but the tips of her moccasins. These girls did not have their legs wrapped with cotton bands like she did either. Navajo women and children wrap their legs so that snakes will not be able to bite them when they are out with the sheep. Nabash decided to take hers off as soon as no one was watching, for they probably did not have snakes here like out on the desert.
The matron gave her an English name, Dorothy. Dorothy means, "the Gift of God," but little did the matron know that she was really to be a gift of God to her people, one day being able to guide them into the way of eternal life.
Each week a missionary visited the school. Dorothy would sit quietly, trying not to listen to the Bible stories, but thinking about the gods of her own people. Her parents had warned her not to believe these stories, and never to leave the old Navajo religion.
Dorothy was still often troubled about where her spirit would go when it would leave her body, but she did not want to listen to the white missionary, for she did not care to go to her heaven. She wanted to go to the Indian's heaven-or wherever it was that they went-and she was sure there must be two different places!
When she was ready for the fourth grade, she was placed in the Mission School. Here the Bible stories were told every day, and Dorothy could not help but listen a little bit. Soon she began to think about them.
When she went home for vacation in the spring it was "lambing season." Dorothy loved to help care for the newborn lambs. One night after having been out with the sheep all day, she found as she put them into the corral that one little lamb was missing. She decided to go back at once and hunt for it before it might be found by a hungry coyote!
As she hurried along, one of the stories she had heard at school came to her mind. It was the story of the Good Shepherd who hunted for His lost sheep until He found it, and brought it back. She remembered, too, stories she had heard about how God had answered prayer. This great God, she knew, could see her lost lamb right now.
Dorothy looked all about her, but there was no sign of the lamb. Pausing beside a bristly cactus she bowed her head.
"Dear God in heaven," she prayed, "You know where my little lamb is. Can you show me?"
As she prayed there came to her mind a clear picture of the little lamb lying under a certain clump of bushes she had passed that day. She hurried to that place, and there lay her lamb!
She started back to her hogan, holding the lamb close to her heart. But she was thinking now of herself. How like the little lamb she was-lost out in the darkness of sin with the Lord Jesus still seeking for her. Why should she not give herself to Him this very night?
Clasping the lamb tightly in her arms, she knelt down on the grassy hillside, bowed her head and gave herself to Jesus. She hugged her little lamb closer, and knew that she, too, would be kept in Jesus' safe care.
From then on Dorothy was never troubled with the old fears that had filled her heart. God's Holy Spirit made real to her the truth of the Savior's own words, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
Before she went back to school her people warned her very strongly against becoming a Christian. But before the school year was over she made a public confession of her Savior, and was baptized. When her parents heard of it they were very angry. They told her she had left them, and deserted the faith of her fathers.
Dorothy needed an operation on her eyes, but her parents would not give their consent.
"I know why your eyes are bad," her father told her. "The reason is that just before you were born, when I was dancing in the `Yeibichai' ceremony, I put the mask on crooked and danced with it that way. No white man's operation will help you. What you need is to have a 'Yeibichai performed over you."
A "Yeibichai" ceremony! Dorothy knew that that meant a long heathen nine-day dance, and then a ceremony conducted by the medicine man. She knew in her heart that it could not possibly help her, for the gods of her people had no power. What the medicine man might do to her eyes might even make them worse. How she wished her people knew and loved the living God who had real power to help!
Her father would not listen as she refused, and in anger tried to command her to obey him. When she still refused he said bitter, unkind things to her, and it filled her heart with sorrow, but God's Holy Spirit comforted her as He reminded her, "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Dorothy continued to shine brightly for the Lord, and gradually her people saw that she meant to be true to her new-found faith in the Lord Jesus. Slowly her father's anger began to turn to pride, and although he did not accept the Lord Jesus himself, he would introduce Dorothy to others as, "My daughter, who is a missionary."
Soon after she was saved, Dorothy began to pray that she might serve the Lord. One day as she was reading her Bible she found the verse, "For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."
"The gift of God"! Why, that was what her name, Dorothy, meant! Then it seemed as if God spoke to her, saying, "I have given you eternal life through Christ, now I want you to be a gift to your own people to lead them to Me!"
Dorothy later had a successful operation upon her eyes, and today she is a happy missionary among her own people.
Siddi Finds Love
Some years ago in a tiny village of southern India, (where the sun always shines, and there is never any ice or snow), a little brown-skinned baby girl was born. It may surprise you to know that her parents were very, very sad when they saw this little girl.
"What have we ever done to deserve this curse from the gods?" cried the baby's father. "Surely we have displeased them, and they are punishing us by sending us this girl when we wanted a son!"
It was the first child of these Hindu parents, and they had wanted a baby boy so very much, for they did not think little girls were very important. The parents only knew about that were images made of mud, wood, or stone, and were kept in grimy temples and cared for by the temple priests. Remembering all the offerings they had taken into the little whitewashed mud temples, and laid before the gods the mother wailed.
"Think of all the cocoanuts, the bananas, and the ghee we offered to them! And the leaves and flowers-what more could we have offered to please them?"
"I fully expected a son," repeated the unhappy father. "Well, we shall keep her, and perhaps if we name her after one of the gods, that will please them, and they will some day give us a son, too."
So the sweet little brown baby was named "Siddi" after one of the ugly Hindu gods that her parents worshipped, because they knew nothing of the true and living God of heaven. Baby girls are so unwanted in India that they are often thrown into the jungle to be found and eaten by the wild forest animals. But God had a purpose for Siddi's life, so He caused her parents to keep her.
Little Siddi was carried everywhere on her mother's hip, for mothers in India always carry their babies in this way. Her mother and father were coolies, which means that they had to work hard every day for other people, doing all sorts of things. Sometimes they worked in other men's paddy fields, and Siddi would be carried on her mother's hip to the field, and then laid in the shade on the ground to play and sleep until it was time to stop work and go home for the night. Later, when she was a little older, she would toddle along behind her mother as she worked in the fields.
Then a little boy was born into their home, a little brother for Siddi. How happy they were! They brought many offerings to the gods to show them how grateful they were. But the little son did not live long, and when he died Siddi's father cruelly beat her mother in order to show his displeasure, and also to make the people of the village think that it was all her fault that the gods had allowed their son to die.
After that he would often beat her in his anger, because he wanted a son. Sometimes he would leave them for many days and even weeks. When he returned it was only to cruelly beat Siddi's mother again, and often Siddi, too, if she did not manage to run away and hide quickly enough. Soon they began to live in fear and dread of his coming.
Each day they went out to do coolie work for a few annas (pennies) in order to have something to eat. It was not always easy to get work, and when they could not they would go begging. If they still could not get anything they would steal whatever food they could find.
When Siddi was about six years old another little girl was born. When her father returned home soon afterward and found that he had another baby daughter he was furious. He beat Siddi's mother many times. He would have beaten Siddi, too, but she was nowhere to be found, for she had run quickly away as soon as she had seen her father coming. She and her mother had both expected him to be very angry, so she was hiding in the shadow of a nearby hut.
"I wish he would come out and go away soon," thought poor Siddi to herself. It was lonely, crouching out there, watching the door of the little mud hut that was home to her. Darkness deepened across the sky, her eyes grew heavy, and soon she fell asleep.
It was early morning when she awoke. The Muezzin was standing on top of one of the minarets of a nearby mosque, calling out in a loud chant the summons to prayer to which all Mohammedans respond at daybreak. Siddi sat up, and rubbed her sleepy eyes, and then remembered why she was out there. Stretching her cramped legs she got up and slipped quietly over to her own hut. Stooping down she peeped cautiously into the low doorway.
Her father seemed to be gone, for as she looked inside she saw only her mother, sitting on the mud floor, weeping and praying to an ugly little image that was their "house god" which was on the floor before her. With her heart aching for her mother, Siddi crept to her side. In the dim light of the windowless hut she could see the raised welts and caked blood on her mother's face and arms. Then she remembered her baby sister, but as she looked around she could not see her.
"Where is the baby, Mother?" she whispered.
"Your father took her away," her mother explained with tears. "Oh, Siddi, he beat me so cruelly, but I do not mind that so much. If only he had not taken the baby away in the night."
Tears were rolling down Siddi's cheeks, too, as she sat close to her mother. "Maybe we can find her, Mother," she cried at last. "Let's start right away. We can ask everyone we see, and perhaps some one will have seen where Father took her."
Stopping just long enough to pray once more to the little god who could not hear, and did not care, they started out. They looked in empty huts and sheds, and crossed fields, listening all the while for a little baby's cry. They asked many people, but no one could help them. The long hot day wore on, until finally they had to return home in weariness and discouragement. With an aching body, and an aching heart, Siddi's mother bowed again before the little idol and begged it for help.
For several weeks they searched in all the surrounding villages. They begged for food as they went along, and when they did not get enough to eat they stole whatever they could find, and trudging on to the next village would sell what they had stolen to buy food.
It was not a happy life-searching, inquiring, begging, stealing, and trudging on and on, day after day in the hot India sun. After two or three weeks Siddi's mother became very ill with fever. They were in a strange village where they knew no one and there was no one to care for them. They had no food, and nowhere for the sick mother to rest except the hot roadside. After several days of severe fever Siddi's mother died.
Now little six-year-old Siddi was left all alone in the world with no one to love or care for her. But she knew how to beg, and she knew how to steal, so she made her way from village to village, managing to get enough to survive. At night she slept in strawstacks, or out in the fields, or in any sheltered spot she could find. Her clothes became torn and filthy, and her hair was matted with snarls.
For how many days or weeks she made her way alone no one knows, but the One whose loving eye marks even the sparrow's fall. And so it was, that the Lord was guiding little Siddi's feet in her wanderings, until one morning she awoke at daybreak in a strange village. Again she heard the Mohammedan Muezzin chanting loudly from the top of the Mosque, as he called the Moslems of that village to pray to Allah. Perhaps little Siddi thought of the idol her mother had always prayed to so faithfully, and felt a bitterness in her heart as she realized it had never done a bit of good.
Siddi was hungry. It seemed as though she was always hungry, she thought. She could hardly remember a time when she had had all she wanted to eat. Starting out to find some food, she walked a short way through the busy part of the city until she came to a large closed gate that led to quite a large compound. She wondered what sort of a place it could be, for peeping through the gate she could see that the buildings were neither Hindu temples nor Mohammedan mosques. There was a well inside the compound, and as Siddi watched, a woman came with her waterpot to draw water.
"Amma! Ammar called Siddi.
The woman rested her waterpot, and turned to see who could be calling so early in the morning. She saw the little, ragged girl with her thin arm stretched through the bars, and she heard the whining beggar's cry for food. She was an Indian Christian woman, and the head nurse of the hospital Siddi had seen through the gates.
"Where did you come from, child?" she asked, noticing how dirty and uncared-for she looked. "Who are you, and where do you live?"
"I am Siddi, and I don't live anywhere any more," she answered. "But I am so hungry, won't you give me something to eat?"
The nurse went to find her some food, and came back with a dousey, which is like our pancakes. "Now you must run along," she told Siddi. "I have much work to do for I care for the many sick people in this building."
"Oh, can you make sick people well?" cried Siddi, perhaps wishing she had known of this wonderful place when her mother had been so sick. "Can anybody come here who is sick? And what is that other building over there?"
Siddi was full of questions, and the nurse had to explain about the hospital and the church building inside the compound. She told her that the church building was not for Hindus or Mohammedans, but a place for Christians to worship, but Siddi did not understand this for she did not know who "Christians" were.
"There is a Doddamma (meaning the large Mother) here who came from another country far across the ocean. She knows much about medicines and treatments that help to make sick people better," the nurse explained. Then she added, "The Doddamma has another compound, too, where she has an orphanage. That is a place where there are many girls just like you who do not have mothers and fathers. The Doddamma loves and cares for them."
Someone who loves and cares!-the words were almost too good to be true. Siddi's black eyes sparkled as she asked, "Tell me quick-where can I find this Doddamma? Oh, I want to see her!"
"She will be here soon, for she is coming to the hospital this morning. But if you want to see her sooner you will have to walk about a mile to the other compound," and the nurse pointed the way down the dusty little road that turned suddenly off the main roadway.
Without wasting another precious moment the little girl hurried down the road that had been pointed out to her. She passed the water hole where the dhobis were already busy washing clothes, for the dhobis are Indian men who gather up and wash the clothes for the wealthier high-caste people for only a few arenas. They soak them in the rivers or water holes, and then beat them hard on rocks to try to get them clean.
Swish-smack! Swish-smack! The clothing was swung high in the air and smacked hard on the rocks, but Siddi hardly heard or saw them as she hurried by. She could think of nothing but the Doddamma-one who loved and cared for motherless little girls!
Bing! Bong! She was passing the little whitewashed Hindu temple on the hilltop and the priest was making his way around and around the temple, swinging his smoking incense burner in one hand. The wind caught the heavy fragrance of the burning incense, and wafted it away as it also caught the priests long flowing robe, making it flutter and billow out around him. As he swayed along he rang a copper bell in his other hand, but Siddi did not hear, neither did she see the great image of the sacred bull on the top of the temple which looked down on her with unseeing eyes.
She was on her way to find the one who might love and care for even her!
The dhobis, switching their donkeys carrying their great loads of soiled clothing upon their backs, did not notice Siddi either. Neither did the women who passed her with their waterpots upon their heads. She was just another little uncared-for daughter of India.
At last she saw the brick wall of the compound before her which the nurse had described to her. Inside that wall she would find the Doddamma! She quickened her steps until she reached the gate. Peering eagerly through the bars she saw many dark-skinned girls much like herself, except that these girls were clean and happy, and all seemed to be busy with various duties. Nowhere could she see anyone who looked like she might be the Doddamma. After watching through the gate for a moment she called, "Please, may I come in? I want to see the Doddamma!"
Several girls ran to the gate, and looked curiously out at the little ragged girl. But before they opened the gate they ran away to tell the Doddamma that there was a little girl at the gate waiting to see her. Finally they returned, and after opening the big gate they led her into the compound and to the bungalow where they said the Doddamma could be found. All the way they chattered and asked many questions.
"What is your name? Where did you come from? Are you going to live here? How did your clothes get so ragged and dirty?"
These, and many more, they asked, but Siddi hardly listened enough to answer, she was so anxious to see the one who might love even her. She waited fearfully for what seemed like a long time on the step of the bungalow, and at last the Doddamma came to the door, and called her to her side.
Siddi was frightened at first. Somehow in her eagerness she had forgotten that the white Doddamma would look so different! "Come, dear, don't be frightened," she called, and when Siddi heard the tenderness in her voice, and saw the kindness in her eyes, she became braver, and went slowly to her side.
"Now tell me all about yourself so I will know just how best I can help you," smiled the Doddamma. "Suppose you begin by telling me your name, and where you used to live, and why you came to see me."
So Siddi soon found herself pouring out the whole, sad story of her life to this one who really seemed to care. The Doddamma asked many more questions, until at last she seemed satisfied.
"Now, dear little Siddi, how would you like to have a good breakfast, and then have a nice bath and some clean clothes to put on?"
Siddi nodded happily; some older girls were called who took her away to another building where some nice, hot cereal was given to her. How good it tasted!-and she had a whole big bowlful all to herself. Then the girls helped her to have a bath, and gave her some old, but clean clothes to wear. Then they washed and combed her long black hair, and soon it was hanging down her back in a neat braid just like their own. All the while they chattered happily, and Siddi began to realize that not only the Doddamma, but these girls as well, were glad to have her come to live with them. What a wonderful place this must be, thought Siddi, a place where everyone loves everyone. Why did they, she wondered? Everywhere else she had ever been that she could remember, everyone seemed only interested in himself and only did what he had to do for others.
Meanwhile, the Doddamma was concerned about little Siddi, for her heart had gone out to the pitiful little child who seemed so hungry for love. She wondered if her story were true, so she sent a messenger to the little village which Siddi had said was once her home. When he returned he said it was all true: Siddi's mother had died, and the father had never returned. The white missionary prayed much as she cared for all these little girls of India, and she was happy to care for little Siddi, too, for she felt certain that God had sent her.
What a wonderful new life began for Siddi inside the big compound! Every day seemed filled with new happy surprises. Some things were very strange. She found that none of the girls, nor the Doddama had an image or idol to worship. Instead they prayed to a living God that they could not see, and they told Siddi that God had loved her so much that He had sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for her sins.
Siddi learned, too, that she had many sins. Lying and stealing had been all she had know all her life, and now she found that it was very wrong. The Doddamma and all the Christian girls were praying for Siddi, that she might find the One as her Savior who loved her most of all.
Happy days slipped into weeks, and the weeks slipped into months, and Siddi's thin little cheeks began to grow rounder and rosier. Every day she learned a little more about reading and writing, and every day she heard about the Lord Jesus who loved her so very much. Finally the day came when the prayers of all the Christian girls, and the Doddamma were answered, and Siddi accepted the Lord Jesus as her own Savior. Then Siddi's life was really joyously happy.
Years went by, and Siddi learned to read and write well; she also learned to cook and to sew, and to do the many things Indian girls must know how to do. Then one day a native Christian young man visited the compound and said he wanted a Christian girl for a wife. He seemed to be a fine young man, so they told him about Siddi, and he asked to see her. When she came in he asked her a few questions, and then said, "I would like to have Siddi for my wife."
"Would you like to marry this man?" the Doddamma asked Siddi.
"Yes, I am willing!" answered Siddi simply.
After a few weeks of preparation they were married, and Siddi left the place where she had found love to go with her husband to a new home many, many miles away. But she found that the love of her Christian husband was very precious, and in her new home in that far away village, Siddi is now teaching classes of women and children about the great love of the Lord Jesus.
When Elizabeth Was Five
Little Elizabeth lived in Jerusalem. She knew all about King David who once lived and ruled in that city. But she did not know about the greater King, the Lord Jesus, who once taught in that very san: city, and who died for her sins just outside the city walls.
Elizabeth's mother was an English Jewess, and her father was an Armenian. Elizabeth did not see Daddy very often, he was far away in Cyprus. Something was wrong, she did not know what, but Mother was not happy. Often she cried; and one time she tad said she did not want Elizabeth's father to ever come home.
Knock! Knock! Someone was at the door! As Mother hurried to answer, Elizabeth ran to the window to peek.
Oh! Who could that strange-looking lady ever be? Her clothes looked different somehow, and her hair and eyes were not as dark as Elizabeth's, or as most of the people who lived around them. Elizabeth was sure she wasn't an Arabian or a Jewess, or even an Armenian like her Daddy.
The strange lady and Mother came into the room, and though the lady smiled at Elizabeth and greeted her kindly, Mother and she were soon talking so busily and earnestly that Elizabeth thought they had forgotten her. So she stood quietly in her corner, peeping now and then at the lady's nice face, and trying to make out just what they were talking about.
"Elizabeth, will you get your brother?" Mother asked.
The little three-year-old brother was just waking up from his nap, so Elizabeth smoothed his hair and little shirt and then led him in to Mother. But Mother was crying, so she took little brother into the corner to play.
As the ladies talked Elizabeth heard her Daddy mentioned, and a strange word, "divorce." Whatever that word meant, Elizabeth did not know, but it seemed to be what made Mother cry, and the strange lady looked very sad, too.
Before the lady left she smiled again at Elizabeth and asked, "Wouldn't you like to go to Sunday school with me this next Sunday morning? We have happy times singing and listening to stories from God's Word."
Elizabeth nodded her head shyly, and the lady said, "I'll come to walk with you Sunday morning, then.
You'll be watching out the window for me, won't you?" And once again Elizabeth nodded her head.
Sunday morning came, and when the kind lady arrived Elizabeth slipped her hand into hers, and trotted off up the hill with her.
Happy-faced children were already sitting on little chairs waiting for them, and what a good time they had singing! They learned to repeat the verse, "I will make you fishers of men," and then they learned a nice chorus using those same words. Over and over they sang it, and then the lady told them a story from the Bible.
"Mother, do we have a Bible?" Elizabeth cried as soon as she got home.
"Yes, I think Daddy used to have a Bible somewhere," answered her mother. After looking for a while she found it.
"Oh, goody!" cried Elizabeth. "Now let's find the verse we learned in Sunday school, 'I will make you fishers of men.' "
But Elizabeth could not remember where it was found, and though her mother searched and searched, she could not find it. Elizabeth was disappointed, but she decided to try to remember better the next Sunday so she would know where to look in the Bible.
The next Sunday Elizabeth again went happily up the hill to Sunday school with the kind lady. This day the verse was John 3:16. When she returned she remembered where to tell her mother to find it, and together they memorized it.
"Now, Mother, let me read it the way the teacher told us to do today," and Elizabeth began, "For God so loved Elizabeth, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if Elizabeth believeth in Him she should not perish, but have everlasting life." Then she said eagerly, "Isn't that wonderful, Mother? That means that the Lord Jesus loved me and died for me. I took the Lord Jesus as my Savior today, and I belong to Him now. Let's read it with your name in it, now, Mother."
So they read it again together with Mother's name in place of the word "whosoever." Then suddenly Mother began to cry, and did not want to talk any more, so Elizabeth ran away to play.
Poor Mother! She was so miserably wretched and unhappy, trying to plan her life-trying to earn a living-trying to take care of her two little children-and trying to do it all by herself! She did not know that the loving Savior was close by her side, just waiting for the chance to take her burden and help her in a most wonderful way!
She became so busy that she did not have time to see the kind lady that came to call. Then one morning she awoke feeling so hot and thirsty. When she tried to get up she was almost too weak to move. Elizabeth brought her some water, and wondered what she should do. Then a knock was heard at the door, and there stood the Sunday school lady. How glad she was to see her!
"Oh, come see Mother!" Elizabeth cried. "I think she must be sick. She feels so hot, and can't seem to get up."
Elizabeth's mother was really sick. The doctor came, and said she had typhoid fever. Elizabeth prayed for Mother, and did all a little five-year-old girl could do to take good care of little brother. The kind lady came every day to help Mother, and when she began to get better she talked to her about accepting the Lord Jesus as her Savior.
Mother cried a little weakly, but she smiled as she told how Elizabeth had read John three sixteen, with her, and how they had put their names in the verse. Then she said, "I was too busy, before, but I have had lots of time to think since I have been sick. Oh, I can see what a dreadful sinner I have been, and I do want to accept the Lord Jesus."
Elizabeth had her Bible open to the right place, so Mother read John three sixteen again, putting her name in the verse. Suddenly a beautiful smile came over her face as she said, "Oh, I see it all now! The Lord Jesus loved me and died in my place for my sins. I do believe it."
Soon Mother was well enough to be up again, and to work a little. Then one day a man stood at the door.. Daddy!
With a cry of joy Elizabeth ran and threw herself into his arms, and even Mother who thought a little while ago that she did not want to see Daddy again. was smiling happily, and soon had her arms about him too.
Father was surprised at the happy welcome, and look-lag thoughtfully at Elizabeth and her Mother he asked, "What has happened? You both look as though you have some good news to tell me."
"Oh, we have!" cried Elizabeth. "Mother and I have both put our names in John three sixteen."
Daddy looked mystified, so Mother explained all about the kind lady, and Sunday school, and John three sixteen. She told how Elizabeth had been saved first, how she herself had been sick, and then how she had taken the Lord Jesus as her Savior, too.
As Daddy listened he blew his nose awfully hard, and almost looked like he was going to cry. Then he said, "I guess I am a greater sinner than either of you. I knew about John three sixteen long ago, and took the Lord Jesus as my Savior years ago, too. But I did not read my Bible as I should have, and finally I forgot to pray. Then I began to do many things that were wrong, but if the Lord will take me back I want to live for Him now too."
What a happy little family that was! The dark sad days that Elizabeth could not understand were all in the past, for now they all knew and loved the Lord Jesus. A little later they moved to Egypt where her father had a chance to get good work, and Elizabeth and her mother had classes in their home.
Elizabeth runs up and down the streets inviting the little Egyptian children in, and then she and her mother teach them God's Word, and tell them how they put their names in John three sixteen.
Wouldn't you like to put your name in John three sixteen, too?
Sweeter Than Honey or Mangete, the Pygmy Boy
"Is there any? Throw some down to us!"
Any what?
Little dark-skinned Pygmy boys and girls were dancing up and down excitedly as they called to some older boys high up in a large tree towering above them. Impatiently they called again,
"Hurry! Is there any there?"
Early that morning they had spied bees flying about the top of that tree, and knew that there must be honey there.
So the older boys had taken burning coals from the fire and had wrapped leaves about them. Taking the smoking bundle of leaves, and their axes over their shoulders, they had quickly climbed the tree.
With their axes they cut an opening into the bee hive, and then all joined in blowing through the smoking leaves. Great clouds of white smoke blew into the hive forcing the bees to leave their honey! Disliking the strong, pungent odor, the bees flew from the hive and circled overhead, buzzing angrily.
"We've found some! We've found some!" was the happy cry.
Very soon large chunks of the comb, heavy with wild honey, were thrown down to the children waiting at the foot of the tree. Such a scramble! And little did they care if there were baby bees crawling about in the comb-that was part of it! Bees were soon chewed up with the honey and the comb.
What a real treat that was! Mangete, one of the little Pygmy boys who was eating away happily thought to himself that there surely could be nothing in all the world quite as good as honey! Surely there was nothing sweeter!
Mangete lived in the deep dark Ituri Forest of the Belgian Congo. He had been born about twelve years before in a little leaf hut which his mother had built. There were no soft white clothes nor warm blankets for the tiny brown baby, but he did not mind as he snuggled up close to his mother as they lay together on a leaf mat beside the fire.
Every three weeks the whole camp moved to another part of the forest, and as Mangete grew older, he soon learned to know the different paths, and could go great distances without getting lost.
How happy and free Mangete felt as he scampered through the forest, dressed only in his little bark loin cloth. He soon learned to climb the tallest trees just like the monkeys that chattered almost daily above their camp. He had neither bicycle nor cars to play with, but what would he have done with them in the jungle? He was very happy as he made swings from vines, and played with his bow and arrows. He could really shoot, too, and how proud he felt when he could bring home a bird or small animal for supper!
Then sometimes Mangete played with balls made from wild rubber, or little tops made from the flat, brown seeds of a forest tree. Parrots and baby monkeys made dandy pets!
One day a visitor came to Mangete's camp. He was a white missionary, and Mangete felt a bit fearful and shy, but he did not run away. Once upon a time, not too long ago, missionaries hardly ever saw a Pygmy camp! When news was whispered that a white man was coming the Pygmy camp would vanish into the dark forest, and when the missionary arrived only the blackened fire spots would tell that there had even been a camp there!
But one day a missionary found a sick Pygmy man lying helpless beside a forest path. Tenderly the missionary cared for the man, and nursed him back to health. The missionary found that the man was very fond of salt, so when he sent him back to find his own people he told him to tell the others that he would give them each a teaspoon of salt if they would listen to his message, and not run away!
My, how the Pygmies wanted that salt! They loved it almost as much as honey! So they stayed, and soon learned that they need not fear the missionaries, but could safely trust them.
The missionary that came to Mangete's camp brought strange words with him. He told of a God in heaven who loved the Pygmies! He told about sin, and about Jesus, God's Son who had come to earth to die that Pygmies could be saved, and go some day to heaven where God was.... This visitor taught them a little song.
"Yesu ekundi ime!" (Jesus Loves Me.)
Later he came back and taught them some words of God.
"Elefi la soloka endi kukwo," which means, "the wages of sin is death." Then they learned, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost," which in their language looked like this, "Mikili ma gba apiki kakaba na morokiso bunde babunoii."
What good words this visitor told about the love of this great God! One day Mangete's father went over to the visitor and told him that he wanted to believe in this Jesus, God's Son! Then not long afterward his mother, too, accepted this same Lord Jesus Christ.
A little later the white missionary came out to show Mangete's group of Pygmies how to build a little mud building where they could gather together to worship the Lord. How proud they were of it when it was finished! A teacher came out from the village almost every morning and beat the hollow root of a tree to call the little Pygmies together. Then they would have school in the building and Mangete and his friends soon learned to read the vowels and to put two letters together!
One day Mangete's father said, "Someone should care for our mission," as they now called the little chapel, nestled under the large trees of the jungle.
"I am going to build my hut near it, so I can sweep it and care for it. Sometimes I will go to the forest to hunt elephants and buffalo, and sometimes the younger Pygmies can go and leave us here."
So it was that Mangete was able to become a regular pupil of the little chapel in the forest behind Subi's village. One day God spoke to his heart, too, and showed him his need of taking the Lord Jesus as his Savior. When the teacher came that day, Mangete walked bravely up to him, and said, "Today I want Jesus! He died for my sins. I believe in Jesus today. I don't want sin any more. I want only Jesus!"
A couple of months passed, and Mangete was very happy as he sought to follow his new Lord. Then one day there was great excitement in the camp! The white missionary was coming, but this time he was not coming alone! He was bringing with him other white missionaries, and white children, to spend a whole week with them!
How they hustled and hurried around, and when the missionaries arrived they found the Pygmies had built for them a large square hut of leaves, with a twig floor!
What wonderful days those were! There were meetings four times a day-and Mangete wished that there were more! The missionaries showed them wonderful pictures on a black cloth board as they talked to them, and they soon learned more songs about Jesus, and more words from His Book. Mangete and his friends were almost always the first to appear after they heard the drum booming out into the dense jungle to call them together.
Oh, no! Mangete would not think of missing a single meeting, for he had found something that was sweeter than honey—the wonderful words from God's Book!
The visit was almost over. On the last day the missionary lady called Mangete and one of his friends over to her, and said, "Mangete, how would you like to come back to the Mission Station with us, and learn to read God's Word?"
"Oh, yes! yes!" he cried. How happy he was!
So Mangete went back with them and went to school. His thirsty little heart seemed to drink in all that he learned from God's Word. When school was over he worked in the missionary's garden. The lady gave him some cotton clothes, and, oh, how proud he was of them! As he walked along in the bright sunlight he could not help looking at his white clothes!
But the next day he appeared, dressed only in his bark loin cloth again.
"Where are your clothes, Mangete?" asked the missionary.
"I am saving them for Sunday, and after Sunday school, could I walk quickly home to see my mother and father? I will come back here again before the night falls."
So Mangete is now living on the Mission Station at Lolwa. He has just about learned to read, and when he has finished he will be able to take God's Word back to his own people. When they go deep into the jungle in search of nuts, and honey, and elephants for food, he can read to them every morning and evening from the Jesus' Book which he has found to be sweeter than honey.
Courtesy of BibleTruthPublishers.com. Most likely this text has not been proofread. Any suggestions for spelling or punctuation corrections would be warmly received. Please email them to: BTPmail@bibletruthpublishers.com.