Page 30 - History of Arabian Mission 1926-1957

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This was indeed the opening for which the Miaoion had been hoping
praying for many years. At a full annual meeting in Bahrain in November, "Dr. Harold Storm held large clinics, operated every day, and shouldered re-
the Mission gave its blessing to the project and preparations began. Dr. Paul oponsibility for the staff and all our relationships with the rulers and the
Harrison had returned to the field because of Dr. Nykerk's illness and depar­ peoples. He writes: 'One fact bore itself upon us this year. The Mission
ture, so Dr. Storm was free to go to Haoa. is the only contact the whole country has with living Christianity. There
are of course Christians within the oil camp groups but they are forbidden by
Miss Cornelia Dalenberg gave the following account, written from Ilasa, the company even as much as to mention religion to a national... If we were
of this stirring event: not here to counteract this influence we would see a repetition of what lias
happened in Qatar. While we were there we had written permission to hold
"After the mission meeting the tour really began, in the hospital supply meetings and to preach in the hospital. Since we withdrew from Qatar we as a
rooms in Bahrain. For days the Indian nurses, with Margaret Schuppe, were mission have lost almost all influence upon the place. Now religious freedom I
feverishly engaged in wrapping bottles, packing and labelling bales and drums. is much curtailed and no services are allowed.
Lamps, household and kitchen utensils, and water containers had to be bought; i
operating linens had to be cut and sewn. By the first of December everything "We have had some wonderful fellowship with the small Protestant groups
was ready and a telegram was sent to the Amir to supply transportation on the in the Aramco comp and they have given us much support. Our presence gives I
mainland. By the third the hundred or more boxes were loaded on the Arab boat them an outlet through which they can express their interest in the Arabs. The
and our party of fifteen left with a warm send-off by our Bahrain colleagues. relationship is mutually beneficial.
In the party are Dr. and Mrs. Storm and Janet, the Rev. Donald MacNeill, an
Indian doctor, Indian nurses Peter and Pushpa, our Arab and Persian helpers and "Cornelia Dalenberg, who carried the heavy burden of the women's work,
myself. writes: 'No one can be in Hasa very long without realizing that the greatest
need there is work for women, Like the women of Bahrain and Kuwait fifty or
sixty years ago, many of them have never been outside the four walls of their
"We reached Sofhuf at 10:30 that night. The Amir was our host until we houses. As we made outcalls we learned to know our way around through crooked
moved bag and baggage Into the house assigned to us for living quarters. He lias
given Dr. Storm permission to make alterations in this house as if it were our streets, and up crumbling stairways into dark holes where women live. Some of
them were so afraid that they banged the door shut, barring it against us, and
) own, which gives us a feeling of peraanencyl Beit FaraJ, nearby, is to be the the men who had brought us. «it
hospital building. Until that is ready we are making thi6 one more livabl xnd
getting everything ready, for work. We know that as soon as we open the hot^xtal Miss Dalenberg was called upon to accompany the new King's favorite )
there will be crowds of men and larger crowds of women. They need us ana want
us and we are not strangers here. Throughout these years of preparation the wife to Riadh, by way of Dhahran, in December of 1953- In Dhohran, a delay
caused by lavish entertaining and fabulous shopping sprees held them up so
sick have been treated by our doctors and nurses, the blind have received sight that she unexpectedly spent Christmas there. The Journey to Riadh, by train,
and the poor have had the Gospel preached to them. Deeds of kindness and loving drama tie in the extreme; in Riadh conditions in the palace were like an
service have won the way into their hearts and homes. was
Arabian Nights dream or a fantastic nightmare. There were wives, concubines,
and slaves, all with separate apartments, in bewildering numbers and with most
"Forward to Hasa I It is a call to you. The vanguard is here, but we
need your prayers and reinforcements to back us up." involved relationships.
"We don't know how much value thi6 contact with Riadh will have with !
The year after this the medical-evangelistic party went again to Hasa
as a matter of course, and settled to regular work. regard to our future prospects in Hasa," wrote Miss Dalenberg, "but at least
we know that the King is aware of our presence here."
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The next autumn the King gave no reply to the request for some guaran­ ?
The End Of An Era
tee of permanency for the work of the Mission in Hasa, and the two houses were
therefore released and most of the supplies brought out. Hasa was temporarily
In November 1953 King Ibn Saud died, and a great figure was gone from
the Near East scene. The stability of his reign and his personal esteem for closed.
the missionaries had been the background for our developing work in Ilasa and
the Najd. His successor, the present Xing Saud, had been a charming friend The Little Door
while he was Amir, but as the absolute monarch of the now immensely wealthy
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he was an unknown quantity. It is appropriate to conclude this chapter with part of a beautiful
little parable written by Dr. Harold Storm.
Henceforth the increasing intricacies of the relationships between the
O Arab countries brought in strong political elements, and the precarious br pcc El-Khokha - The Little Door.
in the Near East had its effect on this formerly isolated Kingdom.
"Again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye
The annual report for 195^ says: "Hasa is truly a major challenge co of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
the Mission and to the church at home. Here we have enormous difficulties and
an opportunity for service in a field untouched by the Word of God. Matthew 19:24
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