Mary went to Ifako. The chiefs were together at a cleared piece of ground.
"See, Ma, here is your ground. Here are the sticks, and mud, and palm leaves and other things we need to build. Shall we build the church today?"
It did not take long for Mary to say yes. The people of the village forgot to be lazy. They were having fun building the church. When it was finally finished it was twenty-five feet wide by thirty feet long. We would not think that was a very big building, but it was the biggest in the village.
"See," said the Chief of Ifako, "it is much better than the house at
Ekenge."
"It is a fine church," said Mary. "Now we must keep it clean and nice. There should be no dirty things in or around God's house."
We would not think it was such a fine church. The walls were made of dry mud and sticks. The roof was made of palm-leaf mats. The floors were made of mud and so were the seats. But everything was polished and rubbed as smooth as possible. There were no windows or doors in the building. There were just holes in the wall to let in the light for windows and a larger hole to serve as an entrance. But Mary thought it was a fine church because it was the best in that part of the country and because it was a place where people could hear about the Saviour and learn "book."
"We will hold our first service in the new church next Sunday," said
Mary. "I want you all to come."
"We will come, Ma," promised the natives.
#8#
The Poison Test