TELUGU country lies in the Madras Presidency, Southern India, which is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the east. The coast line is known as the Coromandel coast.
Fifty-seven years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Day sailed from America for this field. A little more than a year after, an extended tour in the country was made; forty villages were visited, in many of which no missionary or other Christian had ever been seen. The center of their operations was Nellore, in the midst of a dense Telugu population.
In 1848, Dr. and Mrs. Jewett joined the missionaries, and all labored on under many discouragements. Up to 1853, only three persons had been baptized on their profession of faith; and this was all the apparent result of eighteen years of labor.
The propriety of abandoning the mission was discussed at home, but the earnest appeals of Mr. Day, who had been compelled to return for a season to his native country to recruit his health, prevailed. However, the question came up again, "Shall the Telugu work be abandoned?" The difficulties and discouragements were so great, and the results so very small. One of the speakers, during this discussion, pointing to Nellore on the map, gave it the name of “The Lone Star," an appellation which has clung to it ever since.
Towards the close of 1853 a turning point was reached in the history of the mission. The Jewetts, with the three native Christians, Nersu, Julia, and Ruth, made a tour northward. Before sunrise on the New Year's morning of 1854 they climbed the hill which overlooks Ongole and the surrounding country. The dawn revealed to them the populous town, with its mosques and temples, and they, counted fifty villages dotting the plains all wholly given to idolatry." Kneeling down, each in turn made supplication to the Lord to send to Ongole a true and faithful witness for God—a true missionary-and they had the assurance that their prayer was heard.
Nine years later, the missionary who had been asked was given. Mr. Clough, a civil engineer, felt called to this particular field of Christian work. He took up for his sphere Ongole, seventy miles north of Nellore. He took charge of the new station in 1866, and after a time he began tours among the surrounding villages. He made known his coming visits, and announced he was coming to tell the people of Jesus.
On reaching a village, Conda Padu, he found between thirty and forty persons, who had come to his tent in the tamarind grove. They were prepared for a stay of some days, and had brought with them provisions; they had come to learn of Christ. They also brought with them a change of clothes, for they were prepared for making a public profession of His name in baptism. Twenty-eight of these people were baptized. Showers of blessing presently followed. Some of the converts visited no less than eight hundred villages in the district, and in less than two years from the founding of the mission at Ongole the little church had increased to seventy-five members.
Mr. Clough was confident that God had great things in store for the Telugus. Many a time, in 1869, when he was far away among the jungle villages, the word came to him, " Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." And so it was, for soon, instead of being one of the most unpromising, the Telugu mission became most hopeful and attractive.
The growth of the churches was most remarkable, both in Ongole and Ramapatam— indeed, at the latter place, the communicants could be numbered by the hundred, and there was a band of native teachers and students.
The field of work of which Ongole was the center, covering art area of seven thousand square miles, and comprising a million of people, scattered in thirteen hundred villages, was divided into eight districts, and in these a native preacher and his assistant went from village to village telling " the old, old story of Jesus and His love."
In 1877 a terrible famine occurred in the district, and it brought hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation. Then it became manifest why God had chosen a civil engineer to be a missionary, and had sent him to that field. Mr. Clough undertook work under the government for completing the Buckingham Canal. On this work he employed thousands of the Telugus, to whom the gospel was preached after the day's work was done. The men labored in successive gangs— thus thousands heard the words of life. The truth sank into their hearts in such a way that the following year thousands came to ask for baptism. Mr. Clough states, "Perhaps not one hundred had ever received from me, directly or indirectly, the value of a piece (less than half a farthing) from the famine fund, or ever expected to receive from me any financial aid."
Mr. Clough, like his fellow-worker, Mr. Jewett, was a man of prayer as well as ceaseless activity. On going to Ongole, he was waited on by citizens of the high caste, who gave him support, and placed sixty-two of their sons in his school, furnishing the funds for carrying it on, and all this without any restriction as to his religious teaching. But one day three low caste men presented themselves as converts, and were made welcome. This naturally raised the indignation of the high caste Telugus; they waited on the missionary, telling him that if he had anything more to do with Sudras and Pariahs the high caste scholars would be at once withdrawn.
Two other low caste converts applied shortly after for admission. This was the crisis. The school was likely to be wrecked on this rock of caste. It was a battle between caste and Christ. There was a great stir in the town, and the missionary had to decide what he should do.
He and his wife went at the same time into different apartments to pray for the Lord's guidance. They cried for direction in their great extremity, and each took up a New Testament to seek help. On opening his Testament Mr. Clough's eye: fell on the passage: "Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence."
“I see it," said Mr. Clough. “I have not been building on God's plan: it must tumble down, and I must begin anew."
He left the room to go and tell his wife, whom he met coming into the study, and, lo, her hand was on the very same scripture! They at once announced their purpose, and the result was every scholar left them.
But what is the fact today? Among the thirty thousand Ongole communicants, a number of converts from the upper castes have been gathered in. Christ's name has prevailed over the pride of caste. The work has proved to be deep, true, and lasting. Quite a number of the converts have become valuable workers, in preaching, writing tracts, and composing hymns, and in other departments of Christian service.
We will add here a few words of encouragement concerning the same field from the records of the Church Missionary Society. During a great festival, when thousands of the natives had congregated by the waters of the river Kistna to worship their gods, and to wash away their sins, the solitary missionary was full of grief, mourning over the excitement and wild joy of the idolaters. In the great crowd there was one man who had travelled on foot for many miles; he had heard that occasionally a Christian teacher would come to these Hindu festivals and tell the people of the true God. Three years before he had heard that there is a living and a true God, and he had given up his idols, and his constant cry was, "O great God! Who art Thou? Where art Thou? Show Thyself to me."
After this, he learned from his heathen friends, who had heard the missionaries, the truth, that the great God is Himself the Savior, and Venkayya altered his prayer thus, "O great God, the Savior, show Thyself to me."
Again, after some time, certain of his heathen friends attended, out of curiosity, a funeral conducted by some native Christians, and these friends carried to Venkayya the strange story, that the Christians at the grave bade one another dry up their tears, for the soul of their departed friend had gone to God, and the body only rested in the dust till it should rise again.
" Ah," cried Venkayya, "this teaching belongs not to man—it comes from God, who alone gives life; who ever heard before that the dead would come to life again? "
And now this seeker after God, whom God had enlightened to know that there is one God, and that He is the Savior-God, and that the dead rise again, was mournfully wandering in the midst of the throngs attending the festival, praying that he might be led to the Christian teacher. Strangely, a heathen priest directed him where the Christian teacher was proclaiming Christ in the midst of the people. In the end, Venkayya, together with some of his friends, came to the teacher's house, and thus introduced themselves: "We are heathen men, without wisdom; we have come to see you, wishing to know about God. Tell us about the true God, the Savior, of whom you know."
They sat down in the verandah out of the burning sunshine, and heard, from the very heart of the Christian teacher, the words of life. He told them of Jesus, and how precious He was to himself, how he had peace and joy in trusting in Him, and then declared that He had died upon the cross for sinners, and was ready to receive every sinner who came to Him. Then Venkayya arose, and looking up said, with deep emotion: “This is my God, this is my Savior. I have been long seeking for Him; now I have found Him, I will serve Him."
Venkayya invited Mr. Darling to his village, and there a great work for God began. Venkayya removed the lock of hair from his forehead, which is a badge of heathenism, and was baptized, together with his wife and family. He suffered various persecutions from the heathen, but though wounded for Christ, yet his life was spared for some time, and he devoted himself to the glory of his God and his Savior.