Page 19 - The Malaysia mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church
P. 19

mined to establish a foreijiii mission, and the name of ^^'i^iam
          F. Oldham was read out in the list of appointments as mis-
          sionary to Singapore.
           Mr. Oldham, Indian born of English parents, was in many
          ways admiral)ly adapted to accomplish the  difficult task
          mapped out for  liini.  He had served under the Indian gov-
                ernment as a civil engineer, but after his conversion
     A Prepared  felt the call to service in the Church.  Realizing the
     Leader     need of further education, he, with his wife, came
                to America, where he remained several years in at-
          tendance  at one of our
          colleges.  At the time of
          his appointment to Singa-
          pore he was on the ocean
          on  his way to India to
          take up the work  there
          under  the  Methodist
          Church.
            With  scarcely enough
          money to pay  for  their
          passage Dr. Thoburn, Mr.
          Oldham,  Mrs.  Thoburn.
          and  Miss  Battle started
          for Singapore.  Mrs. Old-
          ham remained for a time
          with her mother in India,
          but  her  later  presence
          and work were  of much
          value  in the  early  pe-  REV. WILLI.\M F. OLDHAM, D.D.
          riod  of the new mission.
           When the  little company reached Singapore they were
          met at the wharf by Mr. Charles Phillips, an earnest Christian
                who had been so impressed by a dream in which
     A New      he had seen a ship coming in with a party of mis-
     Macedonian  sionaries on board that he had gone  to meet the
     Vision     ship, and  there recognized the  faces seen  in  his
                dream.  Mr. Phillips took them  to his home and
          entertained them during their stay.
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