In which Coralee writes of the heat, various visitors, and the slow delivery of mail.
Dear girls,
Your letters have been so lovely. Thank you for each and every one. The details you both have written help us to know more of your life there. We are so thankful that you both are happy there. I'm glad you have good food and such a lot of happy events together with such a good spiritual environment. All this we know is a very definite answer to prayer and it is precious to us.
These have been very busy days and those just ahead will probably be even more busy. We will need your special prayer help. The Brills expect to go to Aungba tomorrow. The boy's school and women's school open this next Friday. Then seeing to the press and bookroom as well as the Station workmen and all the church and outschools it will simply be stiff going unless the natives really help.
It has been so nice to have the Hubers back. Maratha is a big girl of 13 years in 1st year high. I feel real homesick for you when I look at her. Vivian is a pretty little girl of 9 and her brother Lester nearly 7 years. They are nice children.
A Miss Shade of the U. F. M. [1] travelled with them. Mr. McMillan [2] and Miss Walker of the U. F. M. arrived at 1:30AM on Friday or I should say Saturday morning to meet her. These folks were here the weekend also. The Hubers are staying in the Stam house as we had a couple of Greek families here in the hospital. The U. F. M. ladies were in your room. We are putting new mud ceilings in the Appendix as the old ceiling fell down.
We have had a shower of rain, the first since we came to Aba. [3]
Pray especially for the S. S. [4] that has been organized in the Poste. It was begun the week before we came. I have been down each week with Mrs. Bill and several of the Christian women. Yesterday I had charge alone. There were 134 children. We believe there is a wonderful opportunity there. Eleya Akulu takes us but I'm hoping soon I'll be able to drive down after I've a few more lessons. [5]
Last night we had the white service in the evening in our front yard. Mr. Huber spoke. It was a lovely service. Often we sit out in the yard evenings now since it is so hot. Often you are in our thoughts and conversations.
[Personal notes.] I can hardly wait to receive your next letter. It will tell us of your Christmas. Yours of last week was written on December 23rd and we received it January 21st. That's a shorter time than before. I really don't know why it should take that long when there is air service all the way.
Must close here with a heart full of love to you both with hugs and kisses too.
OOOO
XXXX
Mother
FOOTNOTES
1. Uganda Foreign Mission?
2. Hector McMillan
3. The Kleinschmidts returned to Aba from furlough on December 7, 1945.
3. Sunday School.
4. Coralee learned to drive quite late in her life.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Aba, Belgian Congo - January 27, 1946
A brief note from Coralee to the girls
Dear Girls,
Just a note to come along with the Bangala Conference items. I thot you'd be interested in it.
One hundred Aba natives and also Daddy, Miss White and Miss Lutz went from here. They had a lovely conference. The other whites at the conference were Mr. Brand, Mr. Litchman, Evelyn, Brashlers, Mr. Paul, Mr. Miller, Mr. Harris, Dr. Williams, Mr. Brill, Seuffs, Littlejohns, Misses Sutter, Short, and Wrightman.
Mr. Bill and Mr. Seuff shot five buffaloes. It has been very hot and dry.
Aunt Rose Mary arrived by plane last Monday January 14th. It is so nice to have her back. We expect the Hubers on the 25th. We didn't even know they had sailed until last Monday.
Your letters have been so nice. In last mail we had the Thanksgiving program and menu, and also your air mail written just before Christmas. They mean so much to us. I stop here and hope to get an air mail ready to come in just a day or two.
With much love,
Mother
Dear Girls,
Just a note to come along with the Bangala Conference items. I thot you'd be interested in it.
One hundred Aba natives and also Daddy, Miss White and Miss Lutz went from here. They had a lovely conference. The other whites at the conference were Mr. Brand, Mr. Litchman, Evelyn, Brashlers, Mr. Paul, Mr. Miller, Mr. Harris, Dr. Williams, Mr. Brill, Seuffs, Littlejohns, Misses Sutter, Short, and Wrightman.
Mr. Bill and Mr. Seuff shot five buffaloes. It has been very hot and dry.
Aunt Rose Mary arrived by plane last Monday January 14th. It is so nice to have her back. We expect the Hubers on the 25th. We didn't even know they had sailed until last Monday.
Your letters have been so nice. In last mail we had the Thanksgiving program and menu, and also your air mail written just before Christmas. They mean so much to us. I stop here and hope to get an air mail ready to come in just a day or two.
With much love,
Mother
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Aba, Belgian Congo - January 27, 1946
In which Ralph discusses the Bangala Conference, a Logo proverb, and the cost of flying to Aba.
Dearest girls,
I'm starting out with small writing as if I expect to write a long letter, yet I don't know if I can fill all this paper this time or note.
We are now in the very hot part of the dry season and during the day are unable to find a cool spot anywhere. Maybe that cave on the back of the big hill would be a good place. But fortunately it cools off quite a bit in the evenings. We have not gone swimming yet. Guess we'll have to wait until Eddie & Nellie arrive before going. It doesn't seem so inviting when there's not a crowd.
Since writing you last time I have been to the Bangala conference at Aja. They limited the native attendance to about a thousand otherwise there would have been far too many to accommodate. And only those missionaries who were on the program or who helped look after the meals were supposed to go. It was a very fine conference, the general theme being "Kulika" or triumphant Christian living. Each morning a native and then a missionary would speak on the same topic for that day, and it was interesting to see how the different aspects of the same subject were brought out in that way.
This morning the Pastor, Timoteo Tiriable used an interesting native proverb to illustrate a point in his talk. He said the Logos have a proverb which says: "If you want to buy a wife, don't look for one at a dance", the idea being that at a dance a girl would be all dressed up with a lot of lipombo and have a new hair-do, etc., trying to look her best to make an impression. But when you married her and took her to your house you might find she was a lazy wife, and not at all what she appeared to be.
Miss Hayes has finally arrived. She became quite ill on the Congo steamer and had to stay in the Government hospital at Stanleyville for a couple of weeks. She wired us asking me to come get her, but I was then at the conference and our car was not in good order. Besides to go there for just one person would cost much more than for her to come in a plane. And so Mother wired her to come by air, which she did. It took about 3/4 hour to get to Buta, the only stop on the way, and then only 3 hours from there to Aba. So she left Stanleyville about 9 AM and arrived here at 1PM. Quite a contrast to our trip on the Courier! Did we tell you that there is now a landing field at Aba, just beyond the SHUN farm? Every Monday a plane arrives here from Costermansville and it leaves about 8AM on Tuesday for Stanleyville. Then every Friday a plane comes here from Stanleyville and goes to Costermansville (at the southern end of Lake Kivu) on Saturday. It costs 3000 francs to go to Stanleyville from Aba. The planes are converted British light bombers holding about 8 passengers. They have two motors and are very pretty and very fast.
Mother will write you about the arrival yesterday of the Hurber family. And now we are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Peter Stams III, and of Eddie and Nellie.
A plane full of love,
Daddy
Dearest girls,
I'm starting out with small writing as if I expect to write a long letter, yet I don't know if I can fill all this paper this time or note.
We are now in the very hot part of the dry season and during the day are unable to find a cool spot anywhere. Maybe that cave on the back of the big hill would be a good place. But fortunately it cools off quite a bit in the evenings. We have not gone swimming yet. Guess we'll have to wait until Eddie & Nellie arrive before going. It doesn't seem so inviting when there's not a crowd.
Since writing you last time I have been to the Bangala conference at Aja. They limited the native attendance to about a thousand otherwise there would have been far too many to accommodate. And only those missionaries who were on the program or who helped look after the meals were supposed to go. It was a very fine conference, the general theme being "Kulika" or triumphant Christian living. Each morning a native and then a missionary would speak on the same topic for that day, and it was interesting to see how the different aspects of the same subject were brought out in that way.
This morning the Pastor, Timoteo Tiriable used an interesting native proverb to illustrate a point in his talk. He said the Logos have a proverb which says: "If you want to buy a wife, don't look for one at a dance", the idea being that at a dance a girl would be all dressed up with a lot of lipombo and have a new hair-do, etc., trying to look her best to make an impression. But when you married her and took her to your house you might find she was a lazy wife, and not at all what she appeared to be.
Miss Hayes has finally arrived. She became quite ill on the Congo steamer and had to stay in the Government hospital at Stanleyville for a couple of weeks. She wired us asking me to come get her, but I was then at the conference and our car was not in good order. Besides to go there for just one person would cost much more than for her to come in a plane. And so Mother wired her to come by air, which she did. It took about 3/4 hour to get to Buta, the only stop on the way, and then only 3 hours from there to Aba. So she left Stanleyville about 9 AM and arrived here at 1PM. Quite a contrast to our trip on the Courier! Did we tell you that there is now a landing field at Aba, just beyond the SHUN farm? Every Monday a plane arrives here from Costermansville and it leaves about 8AM on Tuesday for Stanleyville. Then every Friday a plane comes here from Stanleyville and goes to Costermansville (at the southern end of Lake Kivu) on Saturday. It costs 3000 francs to go to Stanleyville from Aba. The planes are converted British light bombers holding about 8 passengers. They have two motors and are very pretty and very fast.Mother will write you about the arrival yesterday of the Hurber family. And now we are eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Peter Stams III, and of Eddie and Nellie.
A plane full of love,
Daddy
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Aba, Belgian Congo - January 8, 1946
This letter is just a fragment, from Coralee to the girls. We are missing any pages beyond the first...
Dear girls,
I'll send some Bangala letters along and also one I received from Frieda.
Daddy, Mary and Miss Lutz left this morning with Mr. Brandt for the Bangala Conference. So tonight I am all alone on the hill. Even the strong gara[1] wind died down this evening and it seems so still and sultry. Maybe it will rain.
Some odd details you'll be interested in. The dead branch is still hanging in the eucalyptus tree, the one Eddie and Daddy tried to get down. Nearly all my rose bushes have died. I brought cuttings from Rethi and I think one or two will grow. Oh, yes, the first night after we left Orlando we stayed in a tourist home where the lady had a lot of cactus. She gave me slips of several... I passed them on to Mother Schuit. But one called an ice plant I brought. It suffered much enroute but it is growing. It makes me think of you and Florida. I was so interested in what you wrote about the orange bougainvillea. Wish I had one. I'd especially like a white one. The gold shower is simply beautiful these hot days. There is a bouquet here on the desk...
FOOTNOTE
1. The gara wind is a strong north wind from the desert, very hot and dry. Mom also remembers the east wind, which is the one that brought the locusts. She remembers seeing a great dark cloud of them coming relentlessly towards Aba.
Dear girls,
I'll send some Bangala letters along and also one I received from Frieda.
Daddy, Mary and Miss Lutz left this morning with Mr. Brandt for the Bangala Conference. So tonight I am all alone on the hill. Even the strong gara[1] wind died down this evening and it seems so still and sultry. Maybe it will rain.
 |
| Orange bougainvillea watercolor by Sydney Parkinson, 1768, in Brazil while traveling with Captain Cook on the Endeavor. |
FOOTNOTE
1. The gara wind is a strong north wind from the desert, very hot and dry. Mom also remembers the east wind, which is the one that brought the locusts. She remembers seeing a great dark cloud of them coming relentlessly towards Aba.
Aba, Belgian Congo - January 3, 1946
In which Ralph talks about burning grass, a new car, and air service to Aba!
Aba
Belgian Congo
January 3, 1946
Dearest darling daughters,
We have been thinking a lot about you during these Christmas-New Year days. We remembered that Christmas is a really big day at DuBose and have no doubt you had a very good time. To you a Christmas without ice and snow does not seem so strange as it does to a lot of others. We hope to hear all about it soon. Except for the early morning Christmas Carols and the presence of a lot of natives from the outschools, our Christmas this time was pretty much like any other day. You may be sure we missed you mingi pinza[1] and that made it hard to even think about Christmas.
We are happy to have received a couple of letters from you since our arrival here, but there have been almost none other from America except one from Eddie[2]. No second class mail at all has reached us so far, but I guess that's just as well for we haven't had time to do much reading anyway. We are just about floored by the prospect of having to look after almost the whole of the station besides our own department until someone comes to take over. We wish it were going to be Eddie and Nellie, but they have been assigned to Blukwa, for the present at least.
We were thinking of you a lot the other night too when the grass was burned on the station. One part, the north end, was done Saturday night and our end Monday night. All the whites came up our hill to watch, including Mr. and Mrs. Littlejohns and Miss Short who were passing through on their way to Adja where the Bangala Conference is to be held. They were going early to help do some hunting so that there will be meat for the crowd. All went well on our hill until after we had nearly gone to bed and the natives had all left. Then some wind blew up and started the fire again which came up the back of our hill and nearly reached the big stacks of soli that had been cut for roofing. A lot of natives came back when they saw the fire and some of them stayed around until the night sinziri arrived to keep an eye on things throughout the night. However while he was looking at things around the hospital about 2:00 AM fire started up again and this time it reached and burned up the boys "little house" at the back of our hill.
You ought to see our swell "car", the nearest thing we'll ever have to a Jeep, I hope. It's a 1936 or 1937 Chevrolet Roadster with Rumble Seat (or is it Grumble Seat?). It runs fine but just at present it doesn't stop so well for something went wrong with the hydraulic brake system. Francis Sense, Jim LaFoureau's nephew, who now works at the SHUN at Aba came up to help fix it, but it still needs a small rubber part which seems to be hard to get. And so now the car is just part of the scenery, standing under the orange tree at the side of our house. It has 4 good tires and a good motor, but that is about all the good that can be said about it - except of course the Rumble Seat. It's not so hard to climb into that seat, but to get out is hard on a fat man, take it from me! It's a good thing we are having dry season now, because when it rains you have to put up curtains on the doors and they don't look very rain-proof to me. If we ever get the thing running again, or rather, stopping, I'm going to try riding with the top down just for fun. I wish I could send it to you when we have finished with it; you'd get lots of thrills out of it I'm sure.
One exciting bit of news to us, though it will be old to you when this reaches you, is that Eddie and Nellie are due to sail January 10th. That's just about three months later than our sailing date. No doubt they are all excited now with only a week more left for "Sassparillas". And Aunt Rose Mary [3] must be very close to us now as she was due to arrive at Stanleyville 4 days ago.
But then there's one other bit of news that I'm sure will interest you. Aba is now an airport! A new Airline has been started, running from Aba to Stanleyville and Costermansville [4]. A plane comes to Aba twice a week, arriving in the afternoon and leaving about six the next morning. They carry air mail, and one passenger. The present planes are converted British light bombers we have heard, two-engined Blenheims. It is said that before long they will add two new American planes. Regular service was started last week. The planes fly over the Faradje road on their way to Aba, and so pass close to our house flying low as they near us. That field is a little beyond the SHUN Coffee plantation somewhere on the ridge south of the swimming pool. We have not been to see it as yet as we have not had our car very long and haven't had the time anyways. Neither have we been swimming or fishing as yet, although they say there are a good many "big" fish in the pond now. How about you, do you ever go fishing? That's where I'd spend my study hours if I were you.
And that reminds me, we are proud of your grades that you told us about, and hope you will have the fun of keeping them up like that. You won't do it by going fishing, but don't let the ambition for high grades keep you from having the fun and recreation you need. We're glad to hear about your "Orchestra". Keep it up! It will do you no end of good. I hope you both will be able to have regular lessons in music somehow and that you will keep up up the good work you have so well begun. You would be interested in hearing the natives sing at Aba these days. Elekana Yoga went to Rethi last year for the Fourth Year Course that was given by Miss Wambold, and he brought back an enthusiasm for song leading and has taught the natives here a great deal about keeping together and keeping time. There are also about seven of the school teachers who have been taught to sing in harmony, four parts; and they give special numbers at the services once in awhile and do it very well. One of them is Adolph, who himself is developing into quite a song leader on the platform! I'm sure Bumps and her mother would be amused to see him. There is a finer spirit among the Christians here than we have ever seen before. The Communion service the day after Christmas was a real inspiration to all of us. The new church building was about three-fourths filled by the Christians who took part in the Communion. That morning 18 were baptised in the baptismal pool in the new church.
Lovingly,
Your Dad
FOOTNOTES
1. Mingi pinza =
2. Eddie Schuit.
3. Mary White?
4. Costermansville is now known as Bukavu.
Aba
Belgian Congo
January 3, 1946
Dearest darling daughters,
We have been thinking a lot about you during these Christmas-New Year days. We remembered that Christmas is a really big day at DuBose and have no doubt you had a very good time. To you a Christmas without ice and snow does not seem so strange as it does to a lot of others. We hope to hear all about it soon. Except for the early morning Christmas Carols and the presence of a lot of natives from the outschools, our Christmas this time was pretty much like any other day. You may be sure we missed you mingi pinza[1] and that made it hard to even think about Christmas.
We are happy to have received a couple of letters from you since our arrival here, but there have been almost none other from America except one from Eddie[2]. No second class mail at all has reached us so far, but I guess that's just as well for we haven't had time to do much reading anyway. We are just about floored by the prospect of having to look after almost the whole of the station besides our own department until someone comes to take over. We wish it were going to be Eddie and Nellie, but they have been assigned to Blukwa, for the present at least.
We were thinking of you a lot the other night too when the grass was burned on the station. One part, the north end, was done Saturday night and our end Monday night. All the whites came up our hill to watch, including Mr. and Mrs. Littlejohns and Miss Short who were passing through on their way to Adja where the Bangala Conference is to be held. They were going early to help do some hunting so that there will be meat for the crowd. All went well on our hill until after we had nearly gone to bed and the natives had all left. Then some wind blew up and started the fire again which came up the back of our hill and nearly reached the big stacks of soli that had been cut for roofing. A lot of natives came back when they saw the fire and some of them stayed around until the night sinziri arrived to keep an eye on things throughout the night. However while he was looking at things around the hospital about 2:00 AM fire started up again and this time it reached and burned up the boys "little house" at the back of our hill.
You ought to see our swell "car", the nearest thing we'll ever have to a Jeep, I hope. It's a 1936 or 1937 Chevrolet Roadster with Rumble Seat (or is it Grumble Seat?). It runs fine but just at present it doesn't stop so well for something went wrong with the hydraulic brake system. Francis Sense, Jim LaFoureau's nephew, who now works at the SHUN at Aba came up to help fix it, but it still needs a small rubber part which seems to be hard to get. And so now the car is just part of the scenery, standing under the orange tree at the side of our house. It has 4 good tires and a good motor, but that is about all the good that can be said about it - except of course the Rumble Seat. It's not so hard to climb into that seat, but to get out is hard on a fat man, take it from me! It's a good thing we are having dry season now, because when it rains you have to put up curtains on the doors and they don't look very rain-proof to me. If we ever get the thing running again, or rather, stopping, I'm going to try riding with the top down just for fun. I wish I could send it to you when we have finished with it; you'd get lots of thrills out of it I'm sure.
One exciting bit of news to us, though it will be old to you when this reaches you, is that Eddie and Nellie are due to sail January 10th. That's just about three months later than our sailing date. No doubt they are all excited now with only a week more left for "Sassparillas". And Aunt Rose Mary [3] must be very close to us now as she was due to arrive at Stanleyville 4 days ago.
But then there's one other bit of news that I'm sure will interest you. Aba is now an airport! A new Airline has been started, running from Aba to Stanleyville and Costermansville [4]. A plane comes to Aba twice a week, arriving in the afternoon and leaving about six the next morning. They carry air mail, and one passenger. The present planes are converted British light bombers we have heard, two-engined Blenheims. It is said that before long they will add two new American planes. Regular service was started last week. The planes fly over the Faradje road on their way to Aba, and so pass close to our house flying low as they near us. That field is a little beyond the SHUN Coffee plantation somewhere on the ridge south of the swimming pool. We have not been to see it as yet as we have not had our car very long and haven't had the time anyways. Neither have we been swimming or fishing as yet, although they say there are a good many "big" fish in the pond now. How about you, do you ever go fishing? That's where I'd spend my study hours if I were you.
And that reminds me, we are proud of your grades that you told us about, and hope you will have the fun of keeping them up like that. You won't do it by going fishing, but don't let the ambition for high grades keep you from having the fun and recreation you need. We're glad to hear about your "Orchestra". Keep it up! It will do you no end of good. I hope you both will be able to have regular lessons in music somehow and that you will keep up up the good work you have so well begun. You would be interested in hearing the natives sing at Aba these days. Elekana Yoga went to Rethi last year for the Fourth Year Course that was given by Miss Wambold, and he brought back an enthusiasm for song leading and has taught the natives here a great deal about keeping together and keeping time. There are also about seven of the school teachers who have been taught to sing in harmony, four parts; and they give special numbers at the services once in awhile and do it very well. One of them is Adolph, who himself is developing into quite a song leader on the platform! I'm sure Bumps and her mother would be amused to see him. There is a finer spirit among the Christians here than we have ever seen before. The Communion service the day after Christmas was a real inspiration to all of us. The new church building was about three-fourths filled by the Christians who took part in the Communion. That morning 18 were baptised in the baptismal pool in the new church.
Lovingly,
Your Dad
FOOTNOTES
1. Mingi pinza =
2. Eddie Schuit.
3. Mary White?
4. Costermansville is now known as Bukavu.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Aba, Belgian Congo - February 4, 1946
In which Ralph and Coralee write to their supporters about the state of the mission field after being on furlough for 14 months.
Dear Friends,
We praise the Lord for a good and restful journey back to the field. All along the way the Lord wonderfully undertook. We thank you for your prayers. The ocean trip was the calmest we have ever had. Our ship accommodations were poor, but we had very good fellowship on board as there were more than a hundred missionaries going to all parts of Africa and the Middle East. In Egypt we had a delay of two weeks while trying to make arrangements to go on to the interior. The journey inland across the desert by train and then on the Nile steamers was tedious as there were a lot of changes. But we rested truly as we journeyed for the Lord's presence and help were very real to us daily.
We arrived at Aba December 7th. Miss White our nurse had the lights on in our living room, and she and the natives gave us a very warm welcome. We had left our house furnished and she had used it as a guest house while we were away. She has kept it just as we left it. When we awakened next morning in our own beds amid familiar surroundings it seemed so natural that it was like a dream that we had gone to America. Miss White and the native nurses have done a fine job in the hospital. It has been precious to see how the Lord has blessed during this year away. We can see that many of the natives have grown spiritually.
The Christmas season is always a busy time when all the Christians from the district gather here for special meetings. It was a blessed time spiritually, and a joy to greet many old friends. There were more than fifteen hundred gathered at the service on Sunday and again on Christmas day. Eighteen were baptized.
We have been asked to take charge of the station and district work here temporarily, along with the medical work, until more workers are available. This seems to us a tremendous task. However the natives have learned to assume more responsibility during the shortage of workers, and they will be able to carry on some of the departments without a great deal of supervision. Miss Lutz has charge of the Girls' Home, and a native is in charge of the Boys' Schools of 400. Besides there is the Women's School; the Book Room and Printing Press which serve our whole field and neighboring Missions; the Carpenter Shop and the general workmen, and care of the station, the care of the Native Church, and the 70 Rural Chapels and Schools manned by native evangelists; and, with the able help of Miss White, the Dispensary and Hospital. Then, when able we are to visit seven other stations to supervise their dispensaries. These are scattered in three directions at distances up to 50, 160, and 500 miles.
The task is far beyond us, and we are at the end of ourselves before we begin. And so we begin with Him. Pray that during the shortage of workers nothing will hinder His blessing here in the work. The opportunity is very great, but the time may be short. Pray for the salvation of souls, for the strengthening of believers, and for the much needed missionaries and native leaders. A recent War Bond poster entitled "He's in it up to his neck. Are you in it with him?" reminds us of our present position. The soldier is up to his chin in water, his hands holding his rifle up over his head. Our hands are up in prayer for the the Lord's help. Won't you "come in with us" by sustaining prayer that His strength may be ours in the task that lies ahead? We are thankful for you who pray and who have done so much for us during our furlough. You have refreshed us in the bonds of Christ Jesus.
Letters from our girls, Edith and Esther, assure us that they are well and happy in their life at Hampden DuBose Academy at Zellwood, Florida.
With Christian love and greetings,
Ralph and Coralee
Dear Friends,
We praise the Lord for a good and restful journey back to the field. All along the way the Lord wonderfully undertook. We thank you for your prayers. The ocean trip was the calmest we have ever had. Our ship accommodations were poor, but we had very good fellowship on board as there were more than a hundred missionaries going to all parts of Africa and the Middle East. In Egypt we had a delay of two weeks while trying to make arrangements to go on to the interior. The journey inland across the desert by train and then on the Nile steamers was tedious as there were a lot of changes. But we rested truly as we journeyed for the Lord's presence and help were very real to us daily.
We arrived at Aba December 7th. Miss White our nurse had the lights on in our living room, and she and the natives gave us a very warm welcome. We had left our house furnished and she had used it as a guest house while we were away. She has kept it just as we left it. When we awakened next morning in our own beds amid familiar surroundings it seemed so natural that it was like a dream that we had gone to America. Miss White and the native nurses have done a fine job in the hospital. It has been precious to see how the Lord has blessed during this year away. We can see that many of the natives have grown spiritually.
The Christmas season is always a busy time when all the Christians from the district gather here for special meetings. It was a blessed time spiritually, and a joy to greet many old friends. There were more than fifteen hundred gathered at the service on Sunday and again on Christmas day. Eighteen were baptized.
We have been asked to take charge of the station and district work here temporarily, along with the medical work, until more workers are available. This seems to us a tremendous task. However the natives have learned to assume more responsibility during the shortage of workers, and they will be able to carry on some of the departments without a great deal of supervision. Miss Lutz has charge of the Girls' Home, and a native is in charge of the Boys' Schools of 400. Besides there is the Women's School; the Book Room and Printing Press which serve our whole field and neighboring Missions; the Carpenter Shop and the general workmen, and care of the station, the care of the Native Church, and the 70 Rural Chapels and Schools manned by native evangelists; and, with the able help of Miss White, the Dispensary and Hospital. Then, when able we are to visit seven other stations to supervise their dispensaries. These are scattered in three directions at distances up to 50, 160, and 500 miles.
The task is far beyond us, and we are at the end of ourselves before we begin. And so we begin with Him. Pray that during the shortage of workers nothing will hinder His blessing here in the work. The opportunity is very great, but the time may be short. Pray for the salvation of souls, for the strengthening of believers, and for the much needed missionaries and native leaders. A recent War Bond poster entitled "He's in it up to his neck. Are you in it with him?" reminds us of our present position. The soldier is up to his chin in water, his hands holding his rifle up over his head. Our hands are up in prayer for the the Lord's help. Won't you "come in with us" by sustaining prayer that His strength may be ours in the task that lies ahead? We are thankful for you who pray and who have done so much for us during our furlough. You have refreshed us in the bonds of Christ Jesus.
Letters from our girls, Edith and Esther, assure us that they are well and happy in their life at Hampden DuBose Academy at Zellwood, Florida.
With Christian love and greetings,
Ralph and Coralee
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Aba, Belgian Congo - December 18, 1945
In which Coralee shares many details of people and plants she has seen upon their return to Aba and visit to Rethy.
Aba, Belgian Congo, December 18, 1945
Dear girls,
We have been so glad for your letters that we found here. They were so interesting and it was lovely to have some details from you after so many weeks. These letters were dated in October and told of your interesting Halloween party. Yesterday we received your letter of October 18 (which you sent to the Mission office and it was forwarded to us here).
Through these weeks we have tried to picture you daily in your lives and we have been praying for you and loving you daily. We are so happy that you enjoy your home there and the school. It was good to hear that the Glee Club has been organized. Tell us about your music. The details you have tucked in your letters are very interesting and help us visualize you there.
I hope you have received letters from us. We wrote in Cairo and twice while traveling up the Nile. The Lord gave us such a restful trip except the time in Cairo. Those were busy days for Daddy.
It has been lovely to finally reach home and receive the warm welcome that awaited us here. Mary and Ombasa [1] had kept the house exactly as we left it. It did seem that you girls would be somewhere about and that Purr and Blackie would come in. Mary has Cook's cat and it is exactly like Purr in the markings but bigger as it's a tomcat. It spends a lot of time here and is a nice cat. Eddie's cat is over at Stam's house. Now that we are having our meals here, I will try and care for him until Eddie comes. He is very fluffy and still has lots of character. I'll tell you more about him when he joins our family circle.
Your room is arranged just as it was. Now I've even hung up the horse pictures [2]. The music Daddy printed on the wall is still there but it is a little smeary from the pencil [3]. I'm not going to try and erase it and keep it just as it is. The curtains are the same all through the house. We thought maybe the house would look shenzi[4] to us but it doesn't at all. It's just home sweet home and compares pretty well with other places.
The rose bushes have nearly all died. Only one of the Jack Litchman[5] bushes by your door is alive and one old white one. The big yellow one on the trellis is dead. Many of the other rose bushes are dead, both here and at Grimshaw's and over at the hospital.
The yard is clean and tidy with one or two gara [6] lilies in bloom. It was still quite green when we arrived but there hasn't been any rain since and so it's getting dried out.
Mary's cactus has grown huge [7]. You can see where you wrote your names. It has added about four new parts above the ones you wrote on. Mary has lots of pretty petunias. There was one yellow lily in bloom to greet us and two of the bell-shaped white ones. The ferns and flowers on the veranda are lovely just as they used to be. When I look at all these familiar things it hardly seems true we've been away fourteen months. The bougainvillea on our house is full of flowers. Also the one at Grimshaw's. It has grown very big and looks very pretty. The whole station looks nice, all the roads are in good order and the palms lining the main road are trimmed. The road has been widened going down to Aba and it is very nice. The white cemetery looks better than I have seen it in years. All the grass is cut down so you can see the graves plainly.
Over at Stam's the place looks more deserted than it does at Eddie's. His man has kept his place lovely. I was amazed at how much his cactus has grown and the other plants in his rose garden. The gardenia bush has nearly doubled its size.
Brills are staying in Cook's house. Their freight hasn't come yet so they are using various bits of furniture and the dishes and pots and pans from the Appendix [8]. The F.C. has assigned them to Aungba. We are sorry about this and wish they would at least stay here until the Langfords or someone can come. I don't know how we'll ever manage seeing to everything but the girls [9]. We will need your special prayers. Aunt Rose Mary is assigned to Todro so that Station won't have to be closed when Miss Wightman [10] goes for furlough. Miss Settles is there with her.
Steadily natives are coming to greet us. It has been a real pleasure to see them again. All the teachers are coming now for Christmas and will be arriving on Friday of this week. You'll be sorry to know that [illegible] has left his [illegible] and taken a second wife. We were surely sorry to learn this.
Mon Godin wrote asking if he can come for Christmas. He will come on Saturday and stay over Christmas. He is now stationed at Gariga not far from Bunia. It is where Zekaya Bage has opened a new school.[11]
Daddy mentioned that we went to Rethi for the F.C. meeting on Monday after we arrived late Friday. As we traveled down the familiar road it seemed just like we'd find you there at Rethi even though I kept reminding my heart to not expect any such thing. We got there about 8:30AM and stayed at the new rest house just between Millers houses. It has three rooms and is very neat and nice. We had meals at Stauffachers. It seemed so strange not to find the Millers, Longmans, Trouts, Camps and Miss Clapper there. It really seemed like someone had died.
It was great to see Uncle John and Auntie Mabel [12] again. They all gave us a warm welcome. The dormitory is so different as there are only about 20 children. Not even all the rooms in the old dormitory are filled. The program was in the girls dorm. It was very nice but not so elaborate as those of former days when you were there and not so interesting as when you took part. After the program refreshments were served in the dining room and then there was a testimony meeting in the old dorm. The three new ladies that came out with us gave their testimony and then the returned missionaries. Mr. Brill spoke and then it was my turn. Daddy wasn't there as he had a medical committee meeting. I spoke for you both. Everyone asked about you and all send their greetings. It was hard to recognize some of the children, they had grown so big. Sara and Jurena Coetzee[13] are real big girls now, nearly as tall as Freda. Even Mim has grown tall and is quite plump. It was so nice to see Freda. She looks well but is thinner. I let her read your two letters about the Halloween party. She was so pleased with the white dress I gave her. Mrs. Miller gave it to me. It was too small and I thought she would like it. It was a little like your two-pieced white ones but this was all one. She was so pleased. The Paul children went with the Stauffachers to Ruwenzori for a holiday. They will return the end of December. Then the Stauffachers are coming through to Bafuka to visit the O.S.
We heard that Jack[14] is living at their plantation. He married a Polish girl. She doesn't speak French. Folks say she is nice. He was drinking and cold spiritually after he met this girl but they say that now he is friendly again. I am going to write to him.
Daddy went to Kurukwata one day on business. [15] They gave him a warm welcome. Marissa has been out of school for a year because of her eyes. She has a very bad condition that requires special glasses. Tituli is in school in Kisumu. Mr. Schlippe is now much improved.
It seems so strange to be without a car. Daddy has been trying to buy an old one to use until the new one arrives. It may be he'll buy one that a Greek has offered. It has a folding top with curtains and a rumble seat. Want a ride? We'll go to Aba fishing and swimming but maybe not till someone else comes along to join us.
On Sunday we went to the lepers in the afternoon. They asked about you and send their senes. I went to the children's Sunday School in the morning. It was lovely to see nearly 300 children singing and making the motions of the choruses. Mrs. Brill has started a Sunday School in Aba poste. There were 115 there last Sunday.
Just a few minutes ago an airplane flew over Aba poste and circled several times. Daddy heard today that soon there will be a private airplane service stopping here. All the little boys came running up the hill to get a good view of the plane and we went out to look just as we used to do. It looked like the same Lockheed.
The elephant ear in front of the house I think is the largest I have ever seen. It is simply huge. The flamboyant trees in front of the house have grown a lot too.
I am glad you got the pearls and I hope you have all the things you need. It's nice to think that you aren't getting fat. I do hope you both keep well and enjoy all the life there. Eddie mentioned having forwarded some catalogs from Wheaton and Moody. If you have two copies send one on to us and if you have time, mark which courses are interesting to you.
We are wondering if Eddie and Millie have sailed as Stanley wrote from Cairo that the Gripsholm was making another Mediterranean trip. Hope they can come soon. They are assigned to the E.V. School [16] so they'll be a long way off too.
Millers and Harrises hope to leave for furlough soon. Someone said Millers hope to go in January via Mombasa. Dixes and Imhoffs are looking forward to going in the near future, also I believe the Landreths.
Peanut Williams is quite grown up. I could hardly recognize him. Verna is thinner. Jaceline is now a big girl. Victor Paul has grown so much and his hair still stands on end.
My letter has wandered all around but I know you'll be glad to have these details. Read in it all our constant thoughts of you and everyone asks to be remembered to you. There are no words to tell you how much I love you.
With a heart full of love as ever,
Your Mother.
Pray much for us.
The golden shower has completed covered the trellis and it is full of flowers. It is beautiful! M.
FOOTNOTES AND MEMORIES
Aba, Belgian Congo, December 18, 1945
Dear girls,
We have been so glad for your letters that we found here. They were so interesting and it was lovely to have some details from you after so many weeks. These letters were dated in October and told of your interesting Halloween party. Yesterday we received your letter of October 18 (which you sent to the Mission office and it was forwarded to us here).
Through these weeks we have tried to picture you daily in your lives and we have been praying for you and loving you daily. We are so happy that you enjoy your home there and the school. It was good to hear that the Glee Club has been organized. Tell us about your music. The details you have tucked in your letters are very interesting and help us visualize you there.
I hope you have received letters from us. We wrote in Cairo and twice while traveling up the Nile. The Lord gave us such a restful trip except the time in Cairo. Those were busy days for Daddy.
It has been lovely to finally reach home and receive the warm welcome that awaited us here. Mary and Ombasa [1] had kept the house exactly as we left it. It did seem that you girls would be somewhere about and that Purr and Blackie would come in. Mary has Cook's cat and it is exactly like Purr in the markings but bigger as it's a tomcat. It spends a lot of time here and is a nice cat. Eddie's cat is over at Stam's house. Now that we are having our meals here, I will try and care for him until Eddie comes. He is very fluffy and still has lots of character. I'll tell you more about him when he joins our family circle.
Your room is arranged just as it was. Now I've even hung up the horse pictures [2]. The music Daddy printed on the wall is still there but it is a little smeary from the pencil [3]. I'm not going to try and erase it and keep it just as it is. The curtains are the same all through the house. We thought maybe the house would look shenzi[4] to us but it doesn't at all. It's just home sweet home and compares pretty well with other places.
The rose bushes have nearly all died. Only one of the Jack Litchman[5] bushes by your door is alive and one old white one. The big yellow one on the trellis is dead. Many of the other rose bushes are dead, both here and at Grimshaw's and over at the hospital.
 |
| Gara lilies at Aba Station. Date uncertain, probably in the 1950's. |
Mary's cactus has grown huge [7]. You can see where you wrote your names. It has added about four new parts above the ones you wrote on. Mary has lots of pretty petunias. There was one yellow lily in bloom to greet us and two of the bell-shaped white ones. The ferns and flowers on the veranda are lovely just as they used to be. When I look at all these familiar things it hardly seems true we've been away fourteen months. The bougainvillea on our house is full of flowers. Also the one at Grimshaw's. It has grown very big and looks very pretty. The whole station looks nice, all the roads are in good order and the palms lining the main road are trimmed. The road has been widened going down to Aba and it is very nice. The white cemetery looks better than I have seen it in years. All the grass is cut down so you can see the graves plainly.
Over at Stam's the place looks more deserted than it does at Eddie's. His man has kept his place lovely. I was amazed at how much his cactus has grown and the other plants in his rose garden. The gardenia bush has nearly doubled its size.
Brills are staying in Cook's house. Their freight hasn't come yet so they are using various bits of furniture and the dishes and pots and pans from the Appendix [8]. The F.C. has assigned them to Aungba. We are sorry about this and wish they would at least stay here until the Langfords or someone can come. I don't know how we'll ever manage seeing to everything but the girls [9]. We will need your special prayers. Aunt Rose Mary is assigned to Todro so that Station won't have to be closed when Miss Wightman [10] goes for furlough. Miss Settles is there with her.
Steadily natives are coming to greet us. It has been a real pleasure to see them again. All the teachers are coming now for Christmas and will be arriving on Friday of this week. You'll be sorry to know that [illegible] has left his [illegible] and taken a second wife. We were surely sorry to learn this.
Mon Godin wrote asking if he can come for Christmas. He will come on Saturday and stay over Christmas. He is now stationed at Gariga not far from Bunia. It is where Zekaya Bage has opened a new school.[11]
Daddy mentioned that we went to Rethi for the F.C. meeting on Monday after we arrived late Friday. As we traveled down the familiar road it seemed just like we'd find you there at Rethi even though I kept reminding my heart to not expect any such thing. We got there about 8:30AM and stayed at the new rest house just between Millers houses. It has three rooms and is very neat and nice. We had meals at Stauffachers. It seemed so strange not to find the Millers, Longmans, Trouts, Camps and Miss Clapper there. It really seemed like someone had died.
It was great to see Uncle John and Auntie Mabel [12] again. They all gave us a warm welcome. The dormitory is so different as there are only about 20 children. Not even all the rooms in the old dormitory are filled. The program was in the girls dorm. It was very nice but not so elaborate as those of former days when you were there and not so interesting as when you took part. After the program refreshments were served in the dining room and then there was a testimony meeting in the old dorm. The three new ladies that came out with us gave their testimony and then the returned missionaries. Mr. Brill spoke and then it was my turn. Daddy wasn't there as he had a medical committee meeting. I spoke for you both. Everyone asked about you and all send their greetings. It was hard to recognize some of the children, they had grown so big. Sara and Jurena Coetzee[13] are real big girls now, nearly as tall as Freda. Even Mim has grown tall and is quite plump. It was so nice to see Freda. She looks well but is thinner. I let her read your two letters about the Halloween party. She was so pleased with the white dress I gave her. Mrs. Miller gave it to me. It was too small and I thought she would like it. It was a little like your two-pieced white ones but this was all one. She was so pleased. The Paul children went with the Stauffachers to Ruwenzori for a holiday. They will return the end of December. Then the Stauffachers are coming through to Bafuka to visit the O.S.
We heard that Jack[14] is living at their plantation. He married a Polish girl. She doesn't speak French. Folks say she is nice. He was drinking and cold spiritually after he met this girl but they say that now he is friendly again. I am going to write to him.
Daddy went to Kurukwata one day on business. [15] They gave him a warm welcome. Marissa has been out of school for a year because of her eyes. She has a very bad condition that requires special glasses. Tituli is in school in Kisumu. Mr. Schlippe is now much improved.
It seems so strange to be without a car. Daddy has been trying to buy an old one to use until the new one arrives. It may be he'll buy one that a Greek has offered. It has a folding top with curtains and a rumble seat. Want a ride? We'll go to Aba fishing and swimming but maybe not till someone else comes along to join us.
On Sunday we went to the lepers in the afternoon. They asked about you and send their senes. I went to the children's Sunday School in the morning. It was lovely to see nearly 300 children singing and making the motions of the choruses. Mrs. Brill has started a Sunday School in Aba poste. There were 115 there last Sunday.
Just a few minutes ago an airplane flew over Aba poste and circled several times. Daddy heard today that soon there will be a private airplane service stopping here. All the little boys came running up the hill to get a good view of the plane and we went out to look just as we used to do. It looked like the same Lockheed.
The elephant ear in front of the house I think is the largest I have ever seen. It is simply huge. The flamboyant trees in front of the house have grown a lot too.
I am glad you got the pearls and I hope you have all the things you need. It's nice to think that you aren't getting fat. I do hope you both keep well and enjoy all the life there. Eddie mentioned having forwarded some catalogs from Wheaton and Moody. If you have two copies send one on to us and if you have time, mark which courses are interesting to you.
We are wondering if Eddie and Millie have sailed as Stanley wrote from Cairo that the Gripsholm was making another Mediterranean trip. Hope they can come soon. They are assigned to the E.V. School [16] so they'll be a long way off too.
Millers and Harrises hope to leave for furlough soon. Someone said Millers hope to go in January via Mombasa. Dixes and Imhoffs are looking forward to going in the near future, also I believe the Landreths.
Peanut Williams is quite grown up. I could hardly recognize him. Verna is thinner. Jaceline is now a big girl. Victor Paul has grown so much and his hair still stands on end.
My letter has wandered all around but I know you'll be glad to have these details. Read in it all our constant thoughts of you and everyone asks to be remembered to you. There are no words to tell you how much I love you.
With a heart full of love as ever,
Your Mother.
Pray much for us.
The golden shower has completed covered the trellis and it is full of flowers. It is beautiful! M.
FOOTNOTES AND MEMORIES
- Houseboy for the Kleinschmidts. He did the ironing on the back porch using a charcoal iron.
- Horse head portraits drawn by Eddie Schuit.
- Ralph had drawn a mural around a pump organ found in pieces in the attic of the hospital. (May have been brought to Aba by the Hurlburts.) He put it back together and it played beautifully. Both Esther and Edie learned to play on it, with Ralph teaching. He drew bars of music on the white wall of the house. Ralph's brother Harry had a hobby of restoring church organs, and Ralph apparently had absorbed some of that.
- Bangala or Kingwana, possible meaning close to "shabby".
- Jack Litchman was mostly at Aba, and had a great garden.
- Gara lilies are red, and they come up without their leaves. An amaryllis of some kind, possibly a red variant of Amaryllis belladonna. "Gara" is a Bangala term for the dry season.
- Sisal cactus (an agave). One was dark green, one was variegated. They had terrible thorns, and leaves that were long and sword-like. The girls wrote their names on some of the leaves, so that Mary wouldn't forget them!
- A garage, which eventually became a small guest house, and named the Appendix by Ralph.
- A dormitory which housed Christian girls who were taught to read and also various housekeeping skills. Many of these girls married the preacher/teacher graduates of the Bible training schools at Aba and Blukwa.
- Ethel Wightman, tall lean woman might have been from England. Marian Settles.
- None of the names here are yet firmly identified.
- Buyce (pronounced BICE).
- South African family
- Closet - a Rethy student, the child of a local Belgian business man.
- A plantation near the forest edge, with coffee. He had a clay factory, made clay pots, had African elephants trained to work moving logs. DeSchlippe (a Russian) escaped political persecution into Congo, married to a Finnish woman. Read more about DeSchlippe here (in French). He also had two domesticated African elephants that were trained to haul logs in his forest on the plantation. Mom remembers sitting on the grass and stroking a baby leopard, maybe 2 months old, who had a great big purr.
- Evangelistic Bible School (Blukwa).
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