Page 126 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

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NEGLECT IH) AKA III A
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instruction. Our Sunday and week-day meetings, which had been so well
attended and promising, are now attended by the Christian Mission helper!
and their families and by the Christian teachers in the government school*; .
—these are from up-country or from Syrian congregations—; by our little ^
group <>* confessing Christians and inquirers ; by Mohammedan servants
our employ and by a few outsiders, some of whom are known to be spies.
li almost seems like having to begin again from the beginning.
"The reading-rum in our out-station at Nasariyeh continues to attract
large numbers of men. There was a ripple of excitement ufler the report* %
of demonstrations by Mohammedans in Jerusalem just after the minion.
ary conference and from the report of Dr. /waiter's trouble with the ro 1
ligious leaders in Cairo. Some went so far as to declare that our days were
now numbered and that our work would soon be closed and the mission- 1.
aries sent out of the country. On the other hand, quite a number of the 1
residents presented their oft-repeated requests that the Mission open a j
school and hospital in Nasariyeh. The colporteur made two long tour* -
along the rivers during the year. )
The work among the women was done by visiting homes, conducting. A
weekly pravermeetings, teaching classes and organizing a sewing dub *
whose members were taught to sew tor themselves and also to help make
garments for the poor. •
In Basrah Mr. Bilkert felt that his Bible teaching in the Boys’ school 3
had been most rewarding. .“Touching fifty or more boys every day/* he :
wrote, “with the direct presentation of the Bible has given me no littlr
joy. One can see year by year that something is at work in the live* of
the Ikjvs. In some it has been apparently only the breaking down o(
prejudice. In others it has meant the implanting of a high sense of moral­
ity. But our aim is to inspire them to a personal loyalty to Jesus Chrui '
and we have reason to expect that since some have taken this stand publicly
others will follow. The afternoon service for Moslems continues to draw
almost exclusively from the school-boys. • One is always sure of an allot.
live audience and, from the Bible study in the school, a prepared bade
ground.^^ .Qy awl encm,ragement has been the Sunday ScW.
Fveii during the summer attendance was well maintained at alxmt tliiny.
There are many more mi the mil, nearly treble that number. I*ui lh« ;
attendance of the individual buys in likely In be a bit Irregular. Iluwcttr. 3
it is interesting to note in the roll the ntnnlier of boys who have recavejf
prizes each prize (generally an old tennis ball) indicating twelve Sunday*
in attendance. I am coming to feel that these classes with the little buy*
uf the streets are deserving of careful cultivation and development." <
The Girls’ Club is a new feature of the Women’s Evangelistic work is
Basrah. Savs Mrs. Van Ess, “The Girls’ Club was a natural developmo* si
of the Sunday school work and was undertaken because of the succc* <H 1
the Daily Vacation Bible School held a year ago. . . In the early autuow i
we liegaii having them come on Thursday mornings. They met for aU^ j
two hours and had a program very similar to the Vacation school." Tk* V
classes consisted of music, games, exercises, health and hygiene talk*. **■*:*'<!
ing lessons and handwork.
S 3
Another new feature of the work was a series of Child
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