f A ' v - S S A O v N
by
Sally Hawthorne
E verywhere you go in this second half of the twentieth century the verdict is unanimous: The mis sions picture has changed. New methods, r e v o lu t io n a r y advances, more faith for a further outreach all testify to the fact that missions have taken on a new look. As a missionary housewife and mother I have noticed this, and par ticularly the case of the Missionary Barrel. Everyone knows the poor thing has been maligned, ridiculed and all but relegated to the hall of defame, in missionary circles (espe cially on the field). Oh, my! If you could have been with us in Bolivia and seen the faces of the dear couple who eagerly pried open the long-awaited barrel from the United States! The husband, one of those few-and-far-between pio neers in this modern day of mechan ized missions, down to patches on patches, knew that somewhere deep in that wonderful barrel were some new trousers just designed for trek king in the Andean jungles. He found them. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he held them up for his wife to see. He could have fitted himself, his wife and one of their children into the trousers, they were THAT big. Fanning the flame of hope still sputtering in his heart, this devoted servant of God continued pulling things out of the barrel, hunting for the stout hiking boots he desperately needed for those journeys over the mountains and through the rivers to isolated Indian huts. At last! The truth dawning, he slipped them on— quite easily, since they were a size 1 4 ! His wife at the same moment dis-
can’t but see it as they come in and out of the meeting. They present it so attractively that when their own members drool over the gifts they know the mi s s i o na r i e s will be pleased. In one church where my husband and I participated recently, the lady in charge of the “ Treasure Chest” had just instructed two men to bring the table up from the chapel to the foyer. “ I’ve got some key women checking all the time,” she explained. “When the supply gets low they’ll re plenish it.” She seemed to radiate such joy that I was convinced that making available these useful items of clothing and other articles was to her a real missionary service. Which of course it is. With us at this conference was a new appointee to a foreign country. He seemed so “ new” in many ways — so enthusiastic and self-effacing. As I watched him proceed around the table of gifts, I decided that he was very conservative. Or, perhaps he was bashful. This was one of his first deputation meetings and probably his first encounter with the “ Treasure Chest.” I studied his choices: A face cloth and bar of soap, a pair of socks, a small child's cap. He didn’t seem to notice the beautiful Tupperwear, a missionary’s dream. Or the lovely lady’s blue cardigan in its fancy box. Downstairs, earlier, I had looked over the gifts, figuring out sizes, so I could collect the things for our family at meeting’s end, with dis patch. “What size does your wife wear?” I asked the young man. “ Oh,” he replied vaguely, “ about medium, I guess.” Still his eyes failed to discover the blue sweater.
covered that the children’s clothing were either too small or too large; the youngsters were already play ing with their new toys and didn’t see her tears of disappointment. Of course, it was explained in due time; “ their” barrel had been shipped to Africa by mistake, and vice versa. What a good story this made later, as the couple laughingly retold the spectacle of our dignified mis sionary parading in those volumin ous pants and flapping clown-size shoes. It was such a logical mistake, and it would happen to a missionary barrel. Even so, in this barrel, could be seen a decided change in trend. The contents were all very nice and showed thoughtfulness on the part of the givers; at least here there w ere no inflatable balls without pumps or model airplanes to assem ble but with parts missing,- or men’s long underwear lovingly made out of gaily-designed flour sacks. An even newer look in missionary barrels has appeared on the home- front in very recent months. Known by various names, it is a wonderful assortment of items displayed prom inently during a missionary confer ence or circle meeting. The visiting speaker is escorted ceremoniously to the table by the society president or pastor’s wife and graciously urged to choose whatever she wishes for herself and her family. This “ Missionary Box,” “ Gift Dis play,” or “ Treasure Chest” is the modern equivalent of the old-style missionary barrel, and the ladies of today’s missionary fellowship con duct their project scientifically. They place the display where it is available, where the church folks
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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