Further Improvements and Industrial Work
Industrial work had from the first progressed very favorably at the mission. The majority of boys, as they came, stayed on from year to year and exhibited more tenacity of purpose than is generally to be found among the natives. Some of them had assisted in making brick for the house and in the building; others had learned to handle the oxen in the wagon and on the farm in plowing, harrowing, and cultivating, while a number were engaged in gardening, hoeing, and the general work of the farm. Even the youngest were not idle, although their labors did not equal the expense of their keeping. We were, however, growing sufficient grain and food to supply our large family so that they could be kept from year to year under Christian training without their proving a heavy burden on the mission financially.
In June we were pleased to receive Brother and Sister Taylor back from Bulawayo, and with them a blessing to the mission in the person of a little baby, Ruth Taylor. I use the term blessing advisedly, for this dainty little Ruth was indeed such to all connected with the work. These people had not seen a white child, and this one was an ever-increasing source of wonder and interest to the black faces around us. They would stand near her noting every move and commenting on everything they saw. Her soft white skin and spotless garments soon gave her a name. "U swezhiwa" ("she is clean or pure") the girls called her, and thus she undoubtedly looked by contrast. Her presence often attracted to the services people, especially the women, who otherwise would have remained at home; for in the eyes of some, all other interests paled besides this mite of humanity, and it warmed their hearts toward the entire work. When we went to the village she was again a center of attraction, and when we went alone the natives would always inquire about U swezhiwa and her mother. When prayer was offered by the boys for the missionaries, the child was never forgotten.
After Brother Taylor's return the preparation for building went forward with accelerated speed. This dry season of 1911 was an unusually busy one at Macha. A church was greatly needed, for the one which David had erected four years previously, and which appeared to be so well-built, was rapidly showing signs of decay. It was still standing, but the ants had riddled the roof to such an extent that some of the timbers were falling, piece by piece, sometimes to the danger and great annoyance of those within. On this account we decided that it was best to vacate it even before the new one was finished. The boys' huts also were decaying, and we found it difficult to house the large number of boys staying at the mission. These thatched roofs are very heavy, and if some part of the wall becomes weak the huts may become dangerous to life.
One evening the boys of one of the huts came to say that the roof of their hut was breaking. We told them to take their blankets and clothing and go into another hut. They did so, and in the morning their own building was found leveled to the ground. As we viewed the sudden ruin we breathed a prayer of thanksgiving that no one was hurt. There had been about fifteen boys sleeping in that hut, and had they been inside some would have been killed or seriously injured. This enabled us to realize how dangerous huts were when partly eaten, and the need of better buildings.
On account of building it was fortunate that there was such a large number of boys staying at the mission, and that the majority were large enough to be of service, so that there was no need of employing outside labor. Brother Taylor was excellent in training boys along industrial lines, a quality which is especially useful and helpful on the mission field, both in the interests of the work and of the natives themselves. Some people are glad to use native helpers when they are trained ready to order, but they soon become discouraged when time and patience are required.
The native learns by doing, and often learns by his many mistakes. Again, he may be careless and consider accuracy unnecessary. He is nature's child, and everything he does for himself is in curves. His hut is round, his baskets are round, his paths are meandering, like the stream, for he, like it, goes in the path of least resistance. Straight lines and right angles are unintelligible to him, and he does not readily grasp such things, nor does he easily learn to make them. Patience, which is always a virtue, is, in industrial work among the natives, an absolute necessity. One who will not take time and teach them will accomplish nothing praiseworthy in this respect.
We said the native learns by doing; so he does, but it is generally by doing not once or twice but repeatedly. One of my first lessons along this line was when visiting in the home of an official. The lady had always lived in South Africa and had been accustomed to deal with the natives all her life. Noticing a basket of snowy-white clothes I inquired, "Who does your washing?"
She replied, "The boys; I send them to the river to wash."
"But how can you teach them to do their work so well?"