Page 25 - The Diary of A. H. W. Behrens

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from Missionary Müller, the “Biggarsberger Müller”, as he was later called. The two families had to live in one house with only a few rooms which soon forced my father to build his own house, even if this was only rather small and primitive.
He had to make and burn his bricks himself. Even the timber for the roof he had to saw himself and had to cut the grass for the thatched roof with the kaffirs in the veld, had to do his own bricklaying etc.
Director Louis Harms had prescribed communism in the mission, everything had to be obtained from the depot in Hermannsburg and my father told me that he often did not have a single sixpence in his bag. No salary was paid and what you needed had to be obtained from Hermannsburg, clothing and food, besides that which he harvested from the small garden that he cultivated. Everything was scarce and this was often very difficult for a former independent farm owner who had had own fields, livestock and horses, as well as servants, and a certain income.
We stayed in Ehlanzeni for about 3 years. Father learnt the Zulu language and visited the kaffir kraals. There was not a single baptised person, also no baptism or Sunday school, but only sermons to heathens. The old Chief Somahashi often came and visited my father together with other men, but
none of them was converted. There were many snakes at the station, a wheatfield was cultivated and some wheat, maize and vegetables could be harvested.