Page 29 - History of Arabian Mission 1926-1957

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cordially by King and people. Thio mean3 that hereafter the medical ami
evangelistic departments can tour together in whatever way seems advisable, coni' d go as we wish. The time will come and probably very soon when 'come
second, it is possible on a tour to specialize. We did only eyes this time and go' will mean 'come and not go' and thus a new station will be added to the
and were kept buGy, but we also had time to visit, something the people espe­ Mission. We want to ask the Mission for an express approval of this plan. We
cially like. The King seemed pleased also with this type of touring and want to feel that we go with the approval of the entire Mission, and in God's
invited us to come every year and stay as long as we liked." good time, the first station in Saudi Arabia will be established."
Dr. Esther Barny Ames was oent for twice again. She wrote: "I am liv­ And the Mission put the love of its heart, and the deepest prayers of
ing in town (Riadh) in a new Arab house which is quite comfortable. I mostly its soul, into the votes which supported that resolution.
visit the women in their homes, spending the morning out at the palace and the
afternoon in town. It is not a very satisfactory way of doing medicine but The Storms spent eight months in Hofhuf, Riadh, and Taif, in 19^7. The
these women are extremely conservative and do not go out of their homes. The King definitely asked that this tour be repeated every year, and the Crown i
King wants me to come in for a month every six months as a standing order, and Prince went further and expressed his desire to have a hospital like Mason
be the official doctor of the palace women." Memorial in Riadh. The women's clinics in all three places were frantic mobs
of women struggling to get in for treatment. The mission staff treated women
of royal blood, their slaves, and down the social scale to the Bedouin crawling !
The Gospel, With Discretion with vermin. i
In 19^4 Mr. Van Peursaa reported: "The outstanding event of the year ;
was my visit to Riadh with Dr. Storm, I knew the place, as I was there eight Qatar - Occupation And Withdrawal
years ago but I found many changes. During this time the King's palace had
been built and a flagstone road built from it to the town. Eight years ago the la the meantime the medical claims of Qatar were being pressed. This
King did not waste many words with the preacher. Nov he talked with no in a little desert sheikhdom, on a peninsula of the mainland southeast of Bahrain,
friendly manner and even asked whether my name was Abu Lulua (Father of Lulua) had been toured by doctors, nurses, and clergymen, for years, and a background
) in Bahrain also. In the town there was a definite let-up on puritan bigotry. of friendship and confidence built up. The Sheikh begged for regular medical
Smoking has greatly increased and we were told there was even drinking of 'uff work to be carried on, and said he would build a hospital If the Mission would
stronger than coffee. Even though the call, to prayer was given in no unce. *ain run it as an out-station of Bahrain. In the fall of 19^7 this was ready, and I
tones, many in the palace refused to turn out of their rooms to form the double the Storms, with their son and daughter and a staff from Mason Memorial, went
row in the courtyard for prayer five times a day As an evangelistic mis- from Bahrain to unpack and get the new building, which was ideal for the pur­
sionary I was able to lend a religious tone to the tour and to answer many pose, ready for actual work. i
questions that inevitably come to any missionary visiting Arabia. There was
never any sign that the doctor should not have brought the preacher. In fact, This hospital was regularly visited for the next few year3 by medical j
I was 3hown every courtesy, and I never felt out of place because I was a staff from the Mission. Nurses Cornelia Dalenberg and Jeanette Boersma reported
minister of the Gospel. It is an encouraging fact that our doctors have es­ a friendly reception, great medical needs, and much work done.
tablished sufficient reputation inland that they can bring with them whomsoever
they please and no questions are asked any more. On the other hand, one act It presented a great evangelistic opportunity, and it was with keenest
of indiscretion on the part of the clergyman might keep out all the missionar­ regret that the Mission reluctantly decided in 1951 to take the backward step I :
ies for some time." of giving it up. The piecemeal administration, without continuity of personnel,
which wn3 the best the Mission could do, proved unsatisfactory from every point
of view. It became apparent that we must either assign a full time medical :
One long tour was made by Dr. Storm into Hasa In the summer of 19^5 •
He said: "Barring the heat, it was a perfect trip. The amount of work, done vorker to have charge continuously or to give up entirely our commitments. The ■
was tremendous and the reception on the part of the government and people was latter became the only alternative when because of illness Dr. Nykerk was ob­
most cordial. Hasa is the ideal place for our next forward step. The people liged suddenly to leave the field. The government and the oil company con­
tinued the work of the hospital, but the Mission lost, probably forever, the
want us and are ready for us. The government is as yet noncommittal. Permis­
sion can come at any time and we In Bahrain stand ready to accept 6uch an chance to work in the Qatar peninsula. .
opportunity whenever It comes."
Meanwhile, prospects for permanent occupation of Hasa in the near future !
were growing brighter. The Stozms, the Nykerks, and then the Storms again, had
made long stays In Hofhuf, treated thousands and thousands of people, until the
The Opportunity Comes
Inhabitants began to see what It was like to have a mission hospital in their
midst even though it was but a temporary one, and to have missionaries of the
The next year, the opportunity came. The ruler of Ha6a invited T Gospel living in their city. Both Drs. Storm and Nykerk, as well as their »
Stoxm to open a house there, and come and go at will. U
forerunners, Drs. Dame and narrison, had many friends in Hasa. During the 195xr
tour the Amir of Hasa met and became acquainted with two of the evangelistic
Dr. Storm, with a full heart, wrote: "This is the be6t Invitation that staff In Bahrain, the Rev. Edwin Luidens and the Rev. Harry Almond, At the <
we have had. As soon as we are able to accept It, and this we hope is only of that tour tho merchants and friends of Dr. Stonn sent a petition to the
two months away, ve can open a place which will be our own house, where we ca~
Amir, signed by two hundred leading men of Hofhuf, asking that the Mission be
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