in Nikki. There were 47 churches represen ted , from six different tribes. How wondeful it was to share in the Communion service, all of us made one in Christ Jesus! February 11th of 1966 found us still busy about the same business— church planting. We had completed wonderful meetings in Parakou when the Holy Spirit added to the church. Now we were in the Port City of Cotonou to reach out to others. Many hearts were ready because they had been prepared by the gospel message over Radio ELWA. It was a time of reaping and rejoicing, and at the peak of it, the Lord of the Church took Stewart home to Himself along with his fe llow -m iss ion a ry , Gus Fredlund. We had gone to the beach for a time of refreshing in the middle of the day. The men enjoyed the sea; it was a beautiful day and the waves were very inviting. So three of the men went quite far out and were in danger before they realized it. The waves had been carrying them far ther and farther out in spite of their riding them in. They must have reached a shelf on the ocean floor and the undertow was too strong for them. One of the men made it back in to tell us on the shore what had happened. None of us who were there can understand, in the natural, why we were not alarmed and anxious. My heart was at peace (and I am the easily-alarmed kind), and I never had a troubled thought until Mr. Cross lay on the sand before us, worn out from his struggle with the sea. Everyone did all they could do, but it was too late. Our Heavenly Father had taken Stewart and Gus Home to Glory. We have accepted that our Sov ereign Lord can take His children Home when He desires. But one could not but wonder how this could help plant and build the church in Dahomey. When I talk to my Lord about it, His answer is the same as before, “ I will build my church,” and my answer too is the same, “ Strange way to build your church, Lord!” So God goes on working in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. Now this has turned out to be longer than I planned but I trust it helps you to understand a bit about this experience o f ours. Resting in Christ Jesus’ loving care, Edna McDougall, Biola ’35 P.S. It seems I should tell you about the great need in Dahomey — the unfinished task. They need doctors and nurses for the hospital. They need trained linguists to help com plete the task of translation in each (continued on page 46)
row. We all marvelled at the evident power of the Holy Spirit in Stewart as he continued to stand in the midst of trouble, accepting blow after blow from the enemy. One day it was too much for me, however, and I threw myself down in a heap, sobbing. After a time (I couldn’t say how long) a voice spoke clearly seeming to fill the room saying, “ I will build my church.” I sat upright and felt suddenly strong. I remember saying aloud, “ Strange way to build your church, Lord.” But I was delivered from my heaviness and went about my work. The Word from Isaiah 43:13, 19, “ I will work and who shall let it?” and “ I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth,” were sure promises to us at that time too. We never wavered in our faith as to the final outcome of our crisis. We watched Him prove to us that He was indeed building His church, a strong church with deep roots in the Word. In December last we had an annual church conference
request repeated over and over and day after day. I can hear it now: “ Lord Jesus, cause the church to be planted and established in each of the tribes. Cause it to be a strong church with deep roots in Jesus Christ. Help us to give them the Word so they can understand you r message. Lord, build your church here. The Yoru- bas, Lord, and the Pilas too. You see the needy Baribas; there are the Fulani families beginning to come, and the Boko men of Bussa land.” So we all prayed and worked and waited —missionary and nationals -alike, to see God plant a strong church that would not only stand but propagate itself. I am writing you all this because it seems significant to me just now. I am remembering that in 1962 we went through a terrific experience in the work and wondered if all the work of years would be spoiled and lost. We were sifted and tried and so was the church. It was a search ing year, a year of struggle and sor
YEAR TYPE OF WORK TRIBE 1. 1946 Village Evangelism Bariba 2. 1947 Translation Bariba 3. 1949 Headquarters Bariba 4. 1950 Translation Dispensary Boys’ Hostel Pila 5. 1951 Bible School Bariba 6. 1952 Village Evangelism Dispensary Bariba 7. 1952 Translation Dompago Bible School 8. 1955 Translation Boko Village Evangelism 9. 1957 Boys’ School French 10. 1957 Girls' School French 11. 1959 Village Evangelism Dispensary Bariba 12. 1960 Hospital Bariba 13. 1962 Bible College French 14. 19?? Proposed
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AUGUST, 1966
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