Page 74 - Protestant Missionary Activity in the Arabian Gulf

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i
ising not in Arabic scriptures and Bibles but in English

! language books on history, social affairs, and literature of

general interest. Most of the staff was provided by the

Banish Missionary Society, There was a small branch downtown

in the old suq that specialized in Arabic books, but it was

not much frequented either by the Bahrainis or by the foreign

community. The largest part of the BB 6,000 a month turnover

was made at the main bookstore next to the hospital and was

primarily as a result of foreign not Arab patronage.
i
:
1 Of the remaining Mission activities, the private school
was the one that was tailored best to serve the needs of the
i
Arab communitj'-. Here the language of instruction was Arabic

and Miss Yvonne Bandak, the Arab principal, assisted by a

staff of twenty-five (including several young missionary vol­

unteers) had her hands full instructing the 411 students en­

1
■%
rolled. The quality of education was one of the highest in
I Bahrain and the school had more applicants than it could ac-

Perhaps even more sig-
cept despite the rising tuition fees,
!
nificantly the school was still making a conscious effort to

encourage Christian ideals and values in its students as it

helped prepare them for later careers in business or else-

158
where.
When the author visited Muscat in September of 1972 the

Mission hospitals were still full to over-flowing, patients

were lying on the floor when beds were not available. Medical

all in -short supply, and here-
supplies, linen and food were

the seven missionaries working in the hospital were clearly