Page 31 - History of Arabian Mission 1926-1957

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Most Arab houses have large doors. They are large In order to e«ov-~o
Two years luv-r the Van Peursems made tours to Eety, southeast of
a donkey or camel to enter the courtyard bringing wood or water, or bags o. Muacub, and to Barka, to the west. Mrs.’ Van Peursem, a trained nurse, con­ n •!
rice. Within the large door is a small door, only large enough Tor a person
to enter. The Arabs call it El Khokha, the little door. It corresponds to the ducted a clinic and performed some eye operations. The brother of the Sultan
small door called the Eye of the Needle by Jesus. of Muscat entertained them in Barka, giving them entire freedom to dispense I
medicine and to distribute books and tracts. Two former patients of Dr. Dame
appeared on the scene, and were proud to exhibit their musical ability by
The great doors to Najd and the interior remain closed to this day, but
there are little doors through which the messenger of Christ can enter with Ilis singing "0 Happy Dayl" which they had learned at Sib two years before. :
message of life, peace, and hope.
In 1928 Dr. Harrison and Mr. Von Peursem made a highly successful tour
to Sohar, one hundred and forty miles west of Muscat. They went by small sail­
Many of these little doors which give entrance Into the homes of the
Arabs and into the hearts of the Arabs themselves are opened by the doctor mak­ ing ship, with a speed of about three miles an hour, day and night. The Wall
ing outcalls. Sometimes these small doors open into the houses of the rich of Sohar, a brother of the Sultan of Muscat, had made great preparations for
and ruling class, and sometimes they open into the tents and date-stick huts them, setting aside a government house for their work and entertaining them J
of the poor. personally in his historic four-storied fort. "It seems Incongruous," nar­
rated Mr. Van Peursem, "to sit at a typically European table, beautifully
appointed, out there in the midst of tribal governments far away from all
Light and hope can enter through The Little Door.
civilization. The Wall Is a real oriental despot and disobedient to the powers
that be, but he proved a most gracious host.
Oman. j
"Sohar is undoubtedly an important center for missionary work. Though
After years of enmity between the tribes and the Sultan of Oman, a under the rule of Muscat, it touches other governments and many tribes. It is
treaty wan finally made and peace declared, and traffic and trade wore resumed. in close cocraunication with the tribes of Meremi on the southwest, with the
sheikhs of the Truclal Coast, and even with Dubai, to which there is a regular
Dr. Louis Dome, then stationed in Bahrain, had many patients from the caravan route. In addition to these, Sohar Is in close touch with a wandering
) interior of Oman, and took advantage of these contacts to make a tour in Oman tribe whose only abode is on a camel or under a kind of shady tree. These
in 1926, accompanied by the Rev. Gerrit Van Peursem. They found the peop.1 ex­ bandits number perhaps ten thousand. They do not pray and have no occupation
tremely friendly and courteous, cordial and receptive to the Christian meswuge. but robbery. )
"In Najd," comments Dr. Dame, "people would avoid you, scowl at you, refuse to
greet you, but here people go out of their way to meet and greet you." "In our short stay of sixteen days we met representatives of every
variety of people, Some patients followed the doctor from Sur, eighty miles
Mr. Van Peursem wrote: "Twenty-one days were spent in Sib. Over a southeast of Muscat. Not a few came from Buraimi and the Straits of Ormuz,
hundred patients came every day. Within a week of the doctor's arrival his near Persia. These people do not come to Muscat for they are hostile to the
fame had spread into every hamlet of Oman. People came from every tribe and Sultan's government, but our doctors are welcome among than all, no matter how
town, on donkey, camel, or foot. They all squatted together, asking no ques­ wild they may be."
tions as to caste or creed, if only the doctor would treat them.
"Upon arrival in Soraeal, we were greeted by the local sheikh and a hun- Medicine and Proverbs
dred of his companions, Here, too, for thirty days medical work was carried
on in the way it was begun in Sib. The house given us, two stories high but While the doctor treated his patient, the evangelist carried on his
built of mud, had every dark and dingy storeroom filled with operative cases. work. "It was found best to preach in a variety of ways. Because the Arabs
Dr. Dame is an energetic surgeon and worked from sun to sun." love poetry, we sang hymns; because they respect wisdom we gave than proverbs.
Storytelling Is highly acceptable to them and so the story of Christ's birth
was given with its inherent meaning."
No Prayer, No Clinic
The return Journey was made by cornel, stopping at a town every day for
A visiting religious sheikh from Tripoli tried to stir up the populace six days, where the Wall or representative of the Muscat government was alwayG
and Imam to forbid the clergyman reading scripture or preaching, The doctor on the watch for them and showed them generous hospitality.
stuck to his guns and said, "No public prayer, no clinic!" and eventually won In 1930 Mr. Van Peursem wrote: "The bright spot in the Oman field has
u his point, publicly and triumphantly. been the opening of the country to the motor car. The road to Matrah was offi­ I
Later in the year another tour was made by Dr. Harrison to the di cially opened by the Sultan in December. We made our first tour by car in
fcrict around Dubai, In a town called AJman. The reception was cordial an>*-'/’ April. In company with Dr. Harrison we took a Ford as far as sixty miles u
medical work heavy. "This trip as well as Dr. Dame's," he wrote, "showe*1 straight wc81 of Muscat. From here we went by camel another forty miles into
very great opportunities open to us on that coast. The most receptive Rustaq. We had only a short visit in the town but it opened again the old
of Arabia live there." friendships of twenty years ago. The Sheikh and his sons as well as the 0!
people were very friendly. This ruler gave the doctor to understand that a
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