Page 179 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (3)_Neat

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Some Pictures of Baghdad Evangelistic Work

Rev. F. J. Barny
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A Refugee Camp
Y OU can see such here and there in thes Near East, still open ■
wounds from the Great War. The one' in Beirut is a jumble
of misshapen huts put together of odds and ^nds of lumber
a* \ and tin. • The one here is a huddle of adobe huts sheltering '• *5
i'fivo. to six thousand people, ‘ We go out of South Gate and presently
£ overlook,the. whole drear spectacle. Going down from the road high
up on the bund we get down to the natural level and—Hold your
’nose! Baghdad has had a year's rain in a month and there is.a big
- pond of stagnant water. The alleys and passages are not so bad,
lorae city streets are worse. We are headed for some of our
• Protestant people and it is cleaner there. These friends are Turkish
speaking Armenians and were mostly farmers before • they were
driven out of their ancestral homes up in Turkey and it has been •i
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'* jnd is a hard struggle for them to make a living here. We make a J
call in one of the little compounds of five or six huts and enter the
living room. It is only eight by ten feet, but. everything is clean, a r
cut on the floor and afresh covers on the couch and you need not ' 5
\ to take the proffered cup of-coffee before leaving. Then we go
Ton Qur errand, for the Bible Lands Missions Aid Society-of London ■ y
. has sent us a * grant for poor relief and we want to- see what is i •
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needed. Alas, we can only do a little for, those in direct need,
: invalids, helpless widows,, some cases of sickness and a'few out of *
-work. Once we ask, “But how does this family get along?** and the
’ interpreter replies, “Oh, we help each other as we can.** ’ We have i1
* been making mental calculations and later send about $50 around : 1
Mo their committee. We go home and there is not much , said on 1
the way but much is thought. These people are Christian brothers I *
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ind they need and appreciate spiritual help, .though the Mission 1 •
hii’no funds for them. Thank God for the B. L. M. A. ?, and our
Colporteur can give them a service on Sundays. • / J
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A Union Christmas Service •
Tlio Christian Brotherhood in Iraq, composed of resident .Indian
TCbrlitlaiitfi our Assyrian congregation and the Mission, united in a «.
icrvice on Christmas Day which was held in one^of the large
cinemas. The service was in English with Rev. Pera Mirza, the \
Assyrian pastor, assisting in Syriac. We sang our Christmas carols t
•every man in his own language** but in unison of spirit and har- «
®ony. The house was crowded, about seven hundred were present,
jail it was a joyous service with many expressions of gratitude at . \ ■
hi close. And what an impressive sight when the people separated I,
along processions up and down New Street! It all made us think i n
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ci ihe day when we shall dedicate the First Evangelical Church of !
Baghdad for which you friends in America are contributing. )
A Friendly Call
-. Two young gentlemen—no mistake there—Kurds, both educated,
see has been to Europe.. •'The call is somewhat formal'and they ! \
bre come to ask the Mission to open a station, including a school, I
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