Page 256 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

8 Nl£G I Jit'I LI i A HAMA

jority oi them have responded very well to this trust we put in them, and •
it lias been a real pleasure, and 1 believe a great gain to deal with them
personally and in a spirit of trust and equality. I‘radically all tin- workers .
come from a village on the outskirts of Basrah and hail Irom the large j?
area denoted by the word El Gharaf, or all the river country lruin kut to *
Suk Hs Shuyukh. They are a fine upstanding type of Arab, ami it would |
be wonderful if we could win them for the kingdom. < >n Sunday after- f
noons Mrs. Dykstra and l made visits to the homes of these workers and f
made the acquaintance of the older part of the population of this village.!
The fact that we had traveled all over the Gharaf area and could speak as!
eye-witnesses about their country gave us an entrance which it would other- '
wise have been difficult to gel. And on the other hand the contacts we ;
made here will be of great value to us if we should ever have any occasion >
to travel in that part of Arabia, as we could find no surer way <n makings
acquaintances than by bringing greetings from their friends in llasrah. i-
Women’s work in Basrah was carried on as in other years, poor relief. _
village and town visiting, prayer-meetings, and girls’ club work, and co-J:
operation with the school workers. Mrs. Van Ess says: "The evangelistic 1
worker is constantly indebted to the boys’ and girls’ schools for contacts p
which give the opportunity to make new friends, and in return is often E
able to contribute useful information about the background and home con-ft
ditions of the pupils. Nothing is more surprising than the frequent in-g
congrtiily between the environment and the child that emerges from it, |
and nothing can quicken us more to a sense of our responsibility than the l
struggles the children often make to lift themselves to a higher level than r
that of their background.”
band lived in a house on the corner of two busy streets, meant that a new § f
The presence of Mrs. Dykstra in llasrah city, where she and her hus­
evangelistic center was utilized to the fullest extent. She developed classes’
and gave individual instruction, in addition to "At home” days and a great l
deal of calling. Many of the laborers employed in the building oprialioiis j;
are women, and as Mr. Dykstra said in his report, lhe\ have been niadef:
friends as well as employees. Mrs. Dykstra says of them: "They were?
very reserved towards us at first with a caution and wariness that made us I
think of creatures of the woods, but at the same time we could not but*
iecl they were studying and weighing us. Gradually they thawed out. At
first a few came in on Sunday, which was their free day. They came inf
to call while we were still holding our services, after that I entertained f
them as best l could with music, pictures, and whatever seemed to interest [
them, and very soon I was able to turn this into a regular lesson, Thk;
became a Sunday morning mejliss for the women of that village. The
daily supply of drinking water for this same village must come from!
Basrah and this means two or three trips daily for these women in summer. I
As I became acquainted, many of them came to our house for their supply I
cf water. At times it was quite a disturbance to have them come but it *"
was a neighborly act which they could both understand and appreciate, and \ l
therefore of great value in making friends. Likewise the eye-dropper and
the quinine bottle were helpful agents in proving our good-will to them." j
Mrs. Dykstra also gave sewing lessons to some of these coolie girls at their [
noon hour. In conclusion she says, “These Arab women from the (iharaf I