The field manifestly brightened in the two or three years after the war. There was an interesting development of the missionary spirit. Not less than six different missionary societies were formed, embracing nearly all the Protestants of the various towns and villages, and a commendable degree of liberality was shown by the natives in collecting and contributing. A hundred dollars thus raised will not appear a small amount to any one, who knows the extreme poverty of most of the congregations. There had been a great influx of population at Beirût, and preaching services, during some months, were held daily. The Sabbath-school numbered two hundred, and the children sang the same songs in Arabic, which American children love to sing in their own language. The mountain stations reported unusually large and attentive audiences. Ain Zehalty was wholly under Protestant influences. Its civil ruler was a member of the Protestant church, and its church edifice, purged of its altar and pictures, was no longer used for the idolatrous Greek service. The Gospel was preached in nine places in connection with the Sidon station, the congregations had doubled their number, and schools of both sexes were demanded. There were cases of unusual interest among the young men. Hasbeiya and Rasheiya were not yet safe for the return of their people, but their Protestants retained an ardor in the cause which was very encouraging. Ibl and Deir Mimas were still centres of evangelical light, and the people of Boaida, numbering one hundred, were all professed Protestants, and placed themselves under Biblical instruction. Mr. Ford and his family spent the summer in the district of which Deir Mimas is the centre, and more than thirty women were taught to read by Mrs. Ford. The field was open for schools, for preaching, and for influencing individuals, families, and communities. The only drawback was the want of laborers.
Brief extracts from a letter of Mr. H. H. Jessup, written in March, 1863, portray the work at that time.
"Delegation after delegation, of men from various villages and different sects, call upon and write to us, entreating us not to neglect them. They ask for preachers, and we have none to send. They ask for schools, and we have not the means to support them. We are in great straits, and lay the case before our Christian brethren at home, throwing the responsibility upon those to whom God has given the means, and especially upon the young men in a course of preparation for the ministry."
"The people of the village of Ain Kunyeh, near the Lake of Merom, on the upper waters of the Jordan, have with one consent turned away their priest, shut up their place of worship, and are entreating one of our Protestant helpers to come and teach them the way of life."
"A few Sabbaths since, while we were assembled for divine service in the Beirût chapel, a crowd of thirty men came in, and with difficulty found seats, so full was the chapel already. Upon inquiry, after service, we learned that they are from the village of Rasheiya-el-Wady, north of Mount Hermon, and are a part of the residue of the people who escaped the massacre in that place in 1860. They ask for a teacher, or native preacher, but we can give them only the most indefinite promises."
"Twenty men from the village of Koryet-el-Hosson, near the famous castle Kolat-el-Hosson, halfway between Tripoli and Hums, write that they too have seen the light, and wish some one to come and instruct them; but what can we do for them, when the twenty-five men of Sheikh Mohammed, who petitioned us some time since, have been sent away empty?"
"This morning a white-bearded priest called, with his aged brother, and several younger men. They declared their wish to become Protestants, and beg most earnestly for a school. They belong to a large and powerful family, and the Lord may use them as the entering wedge, to open that strong Greek district to the gospel. What shall we answer them?"
Daoud Pasha, the new papal Governor, secured in 1862 by foreign intervention for Mount Lebanon, was at first supposed to be a bigot, and a tool of the Jesuits, but he soon proved himself an impartial and excellent ruler. He had several Protestants in office about him, in very important situations. Instead of objecting to missionaries establishing schools, he encouraged all efforts to educate the people.
Among other evidences of an advance it may be stated, that in Hums two hundred and fifty persons avowed themselves Protestants, and sought earnestly for a Christian instructor. It was immediately decided to send them Suleeba Jerwan, who had lived two years in that place with Mr. Wilson, and was well acquainted with the people; and the native missionary society at Beirût decided to support him as their first missionary. This was done with a cordiality and earnestness that was most promising. Hasbeiya women and girls pledged weekly contributions for the spread of the Gospel, some promised two cents a week, and some half a cent; but even these small sums were large for them, and they gave with a hearty gladness that was most cheering. Two hundred and thirty Maronites in Bteddin had for months adhered steadfastly to the Protestant faith, and a flourishing school existed among them. In Cana the Protestant community had been augmented threefold, and the same was true of Deir Mimas. There had never been a time when so many were inquiring on the subject of religion; and a greater number avowed themselves Protestants within twelve months, than in the whole previous forty years. A new church edifice was built in Merj-Aiyun, costing about five hundred dollars, without drawing from the resources of the Board, and a new church had been formed in that district of seventeen members, most of them from the Hasbeiya church. In the Sidon field six persons had been admitted to the church, and there were twenty-two hopeful candidates. In Beirût and Abeih, there were seventeen such candidates, besides nine admitted to the communion. Bible classes were largely increased, and an unusual number of adults were learning to read, that they might study the Scriptures. Thirty of the best Sabbath-school songs published in America, had been translated into Arabic, and published at the expense of a sewing society at Beirût, and thus gospel truths, in an attractive form, were reaching the children all over the land.
The president of the missionary society at Beirût stated in May, 1862, that in the two previous months, they had not only sent a missionary to Hums, but had sent also a colporter to Jezzin, maintained religious meetings every Sabbath at Kefr Shima, and employed a city missionary in Beirût.