Mr. Warner took charge of the work as best he could, though it would have been too much for a far more experienced man. He held the post until the arrival of the writer the last day of this year, as noted elsewhere. Mr. Warner’s short administration was embarrassed by the defection of a young woman to another mission, after she had been with us but a very few months, having been sent out to take up Burmese. Singular that he and his wife should follow in her footsteps soon after.
When our party of three landed in Burma, we constituted the largest number of re-enforcements received from home by our mission at any one time in its history. This fact shows that the mission has not been well sustained by the home Church.
The most important personal experiences of myself and family during the first two and a half years have been given elsewhere. I only wish to emphasize a few facts learned in that pastorate of six years. The Church was well attended during nearly all that time, and often crowded. The congregation was such a collection of humanity as I believe can be found in few other places in the world. But the very variety gave life to it, and inspiration to the preacher. Sailors and soldiers, wanderers from every land, English, Irish, Scotch, German, Scandinavian, Americans, were all in the audience at once with Burma’s own score of differentiated humanity. Once, of nine penitents in one meeting, six different nationalities were represented. As I look back now, two classes have impressed me more than any others of my auditors. The one class was the faithful ones of diverse racial descent who were regular in their attendance, and could be depended on for any and every service the Church requires. They do not realize how valuable just this kind of service is. In any land it takes first place in worthy Christian fidelity. It is far above social prestige, money, or even bright talent. But in Burma, when in the nature of the case there is so much instability among many, this fidelity becomes the very pillar of the Church. Our Rangoon Church has some such as worthy and as faithful men and women as any missionary pastor they have ever had.
The other class that impressed me was the Scotchmen, who have sat in that congregation during those years. I had not personally had much acquaintance with the sons of this distinguished branch of our race before going to Burma. Some of the wisest counsels I have ever received were from Scotchmen in Rangoon. Warm friendships that I cherish highly grew out of this acquaintance. On land and sea I have some scores of Scotch friends, made while in the pastorate of Rangoon. All these Scotchmen could listen to a sermon and not grow weary, if there was anything in it to rebuke, instruct, or inspire. The Scotch are great “sermon tasters.” To have had their sterling men in the congregation, in our home, to have traveled with them oft by sea, and to have counseled with not a few about the riches of “the kingdom,” makes very precious memories of six busy years.
For nearly four years of the six that I served that Church, I had the joy of witnessing frequent conversions at the regular services. These Sunday evening congregations especially furnished our chief opportunity to arrest attention and lead men to God. Often weary and poorly prepared by stress of work during the week, yet to preach to a crowded house of attentive hearers, and knowing that some of those present in every such congregation had opportunity to enter a church but seldom, and some who could attend such services avoided God’s house except on occasions, lifted the preacher to efforts beyond what he would ordinarily be capable of giving. This Church had among other good qualities the desire and expectation of seeing sinners converted, and rejoiced when God gave new-born souls to their care.
Two more facts of importance in the acquisition of property which occurred during my residence in Rangoon may be noted. The one is mentioned elsewhere as the purchase of residence property in the cantonments, where we purposed also to remove our boarding department of the Girls’ School. The other was the enlargement and connection of the school and orphanage buildings in the center of the town.
Miss Wisner had returned from furlough and the school was prospering under her care, as was the Orphanage under Miss Perkins. Both buildings were too crowded for comfort, and provision for more room was urgent. Just at this time a man left two children on our hands, and advanced payment on them. On application to the Educational Department, we secured from the Government an equal amount, and constructed an addition connecting these two buildings. This completed a general architectural design, and gave us a good commodious row of buildings that furnished us excellent accommodations for our large day-school.
It will be seen that in all these Rangoon enterprises we are much indebted to the Government and the Rangoon public for funds to plant the Church, school, and Orphanage. The Government and the community are in turn much indebted to us for founding these same institutions and maintaining them. But all this work was done with only thirteen hundred dollars from America. The knowledge of these facts has been slowly understood in America. It has in some cases had exactly the opposite effect from what it should have had. Since we have been able to accomplish so much without much aid from America, it has been taken for granted that we needed no mission money. The result has been that for twenty-one years we have received less money, in proportion to the work done or the importance of the mission, than perhaps any other field of any Church. It ought to be that most help should go to those who do most for themselves; but the fact that we have done much to help ourselves has until recently had exactly the opposite effect on the people at home.
During my pastorate in Rangoon I had many evidences of the advantageous location of our church. It is centrally placed and open to every good cause, and so became a gathering place for the common religious interests of Rangoon. This was markedly true of the temperance gatherings for a term of years. One gathering of this sort was especially memorable. The Hon. Mr. Caine, the great English temperance advocate, visited Burma, and he addressed a public meeting in the interests of temperance. This meeting was held in the Methodist church, which was crowded, though it began at a late hour. Only one other English church in Rangoon would have been open to a meeting like this. The Church is Methodistic to the fullest degree, but forms a common rallying ground for the united Church interests.
At the end of 1896 I was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. C. T. Erickson, who had, with his wife, just arrived from America for this pastorate. The general work of superintending the district, together with the pastorate, always was too much for one man, and yet I had been laden with that double task for six years. Mr. Erickson’s coming was in answer to my often repeated request, and gave me corresponding relief. He took up the pastorate, and I had the opportunity to give attention to district interests. The people were as much relieved as myself, as they wanted a pastor who could give his whole time to them. But in a few months all our plans were disconcerted again by the return to America of Mr. and Mrs. Erickson, on account of the latter’s health. Just at that time we had some prospects of getting other recruits to our mission from America, so Mr. Schilling was called in from the Burmese work to supply the English Church for a few months, until Mr. and Mrs. Hill, our expected re-enforcements, arrived.