Page 382 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

r I

EVANGELISTIC WORK
"I din llir (/i»»»r; .Ur 1/ miy mini rn/iv 111, /»,• .v/m// /»,• sural.''
. ISH. l/l experimented in the mailer of selling more Scripture>. uf
which Mr. Hykstra wriles, “'ho see whai could he done in the way
of Scripture sales if a man put all his efforts into it. I closed ihc
shop in Ashar at the beginning of the year ami made the two men
alternate monthly between Basrah and the bazaar and outlying territories.
The results were entirely unexpected. ()ne man sold more Scriptures during
the first month of this experiment than he had sold all of the previous year
and the totals fur the two years were 2J{) in 1929 and l.OUS in \{)M) ur
almost 700/O increase, There was during the year a period of unusual
interest in and about the Uasrah Bible Shop. Fur days and weeks on end
and for the whole of each day, men and boys would stand three deep in
front ul the door and windows of the shop. Inside was packed w ith people
and, as a rule, a lively discussion was in progress about the meiils and
the beliefs of the Christian religion. The discussions were carried mi
in quiet and conciliatory manner although the subject was usually highly
controversial and might have been the cause of much loud speaking ami
high feeling.” Sunday services have been held every Sunday timing the
year. Much traveling has been done, trips being made to Xa>ariya up
B the Euphrates and to Kut up the Tigris. Also several trips were taken
in the neighborhood of Amarah to renew acquaintances and to make new
contacts. “In taking a bird's-eye view of this entire area, we find that
their attitude toward the Gospel is colored by their environment and their
present way of thinking. The cares id* this world induced by the present
financial stringency makes many of them indifferent to the welfare of
their souls as all their thoughts and efforts are directed to the one purpose
of getting sufficient means to keep up some semblance of the life and the
living that followed the never-to-be-forgotten days of the war. Alsu,
a nation in the making is apt to he pretty well occupied with thoughts of
its own importance and is apt to shout at vou iu words of unmistakable
meaning, *\Vc have need of nothing!’ Especially among the youthful
intelligentsia there is a spirit of absolute self-sufficiency and blatant arro­
gance. Neither of these presents a very congenial soil for the good seal.
There is also a very dangerous trend in the educational development or
mental growth. Even the least bit of an education seems to lead to a
divorce between the head and the hand. Another sad situation is that
a change of religious affiliations is so often looked upon as a sure relief
lrum poverty and drudgery. I think it would he a healthy addition lu uur
methods of work if we could also emphasize, if not a muscular, at least
a manual type of Christianity.”
In telling of women's work in Basrah. Mrs. Van Ness presents three
scenes typifying the background against which the lady evangelists work.
The first is a room in the harem of some family of the local notables. .
“These women are wearing smart European dress, expensive silk slock- 1
ings and slippers, have the latest in hair-cuts and they almost all have
traveled in India, Syria, Turkey or Egypt and acquired a'Superficial so­
phistication which gives them a veneer of modern civilization,” The
second scene presents “a gathering of middle-class women at the house
of a prominent woman reader for a regular Friday morning reading.
Th.-v are all dressed in black kerchiefs, veils and abbas, and all sJi <.t»
.: ••
; • .* j: . •* . : . . • • . . . : HI
..rtf;::- -*
V V’- •; • >

.