Page 224 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

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NEGLECTED ARABIA 11 i
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with. And the fruit of that labor and the value of that skill the people c?:*
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see and judge, but of his influence, as of the influence of the presence of v
"tluit other dinciplo,91 who with equal lolf-clTuceiiicnt mid nut lau oltcct is •i
\ nluying l\ia reconciling rule us u friend lo his fellows, none cun guess. !
During the day the lutter moves quietly among the people^ in street, shop
or school where men and boys congregate, disarming suspicion with en­ 1
couraging word and kindly act, and interpreting Christ. His is a hard !
task, but evening brings some fruit when a motley group mostly of men •!
and boys with a few women fringing the deeper darkness, stand or squat •v*
irregularly on the sand before a house-wall on which are thrown pictures
accompanied by an address illustrative of the higher life, the better way in
Christ.
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It might appear as presumption on the part of a casual visitor, though i
he be fairly well-informed in advance on matters Islamic, were he to
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THE PREMISES ALLOTTED TO THE MISSION FOR HEADQUARTERS DURING THE
VISIT TO SOHAR COMPRISED HALF OF THE BUILDING IN THE FOREGROUND

j venture an opinion concerning the values of the missionary enterprise as
j he saw it in the Gulf. Of that “knoweth no man/’ perhaps least of all the •T
j men and women who in the face of much discouragement, labor loyally V
at their post. But during a month’s itinerary up and down that coast one *!
i cannot avoid reflections. And so for what they are worth they are given 1i
here. '
In the first place one is glad to confess to a sense of pride, though not
untouched with-the discouragement, in reviewing the situation. It is the
Christian forces, the game and Christ-like spirit in which they are standing
to the work, who elicit the first; it is the magnitude and timelessness of the iki
task that is responsible for the second. Doubtless physical conditions help m