THE KING’S BUSINESS
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We sang Hugh’s favorite, ‘Like a River Glo rious.’ Mr. Downing spoke and prayed, then Mr. McKendrick spoke in Kukuyu and Mr. Westerfelt prayed, and there was- a special prayer for the loved ones in the home land. Beautiful flowers covered the casket—Ki jabe has such wonderfully pretty roses and violets. Maiden-hair ferns grow in great masses and the little girls had gathered great armfuls. They say such a service is a great testimony to the unconverted native.-, for you know, as soon as anyone is sick enough to be helpless among them, they drag them out to the bush for the hyenas. They are afraid of a dead body and do not know the meaning of unselfish love, and never seem to care, much less to weep for one who dies. But oh, such a difference when they come to know Jesus—even I can see it al ready. “ ‘Thaiti,’ a Christian boy, has a wife and two children. The baby was just awfully sick when we first came. Thaiti was one of Miss Collins’ boys when she was here be fore and so she and Ken went to see the baby; it was dreadfully sick. They prayed and anointed the little thing, gave it medi cine and kept it clean, and it got well. Miss Collins interpreted Thaiti’s prayer for us. He told the Lord how they loved their baby, but knew that He loved her more than they did and if He wanted to take her to heaven that.they would not complain. That is one of the ways in which the Love of God changes the dark heathen’s heart.” A FIT SUCCESSOR. Mrs. Hannay, who has courageously taken up the mantle of her deceased hus band, in the Africa Inland Mission at Ki jabe, writes interesting letters to her Los Angeles friends, from several of which ex cerpts are made: “You should see the faces of the con verts. There are several native evangelists whose headquarters are at Kijabe, and their faces literally shine all the time. They be come very happy Christians and joy is a contrast to their former aimless, unsatisfac tory way of living. “Native girls and women attend all the
far-off land. Mrs. Allen thus writes of their greeting: “You will know of Hugh’s ‘home-going’ long before this reaches you and you will have pictured the anxious, busy days we have had. How can I tell it? My hand feels too heavy to write, but we can only praise God for sufficient grace and strength even in such times as these. “Mr. Hurlburt and Hugh met us on board the ‘Llandovery Castle’ on the 13th, and on the way to Kijabe we got together on one coach, and, oh, what a grand ‘home-talk’ we did have. Hugh went right down the alpha bet thinking of the different names and ask ing a hundred and one questions. We reached Kijabe about 12:30 or 1 o’clock Thursday morning, April 15th. The next day, Friday, was the monthly day of prayer and we had a wonderful prayer meeting in the school room where Frances Hannay teaches the missionary children. Sunday morning Hugh stood in the doorway and watched that all went well through the na tive service, which to me was an experience all its own. After that service we talked a few minutes and in the afternoon we had the white service in the school room and Mr. Hurlburt preached—oh, such a sermon! “Dawn is breaking now and from my win dow I can see the white' fence which en closes Tom Hannay’s grave, and just this side is a heap of brown earth. This morn ing we must see the remains of the earthly Hugh put away to await the glad sound of ‘the trump of God.’ “Friday afternoon, April 30. The service this morning was all so sacred and simple. We met at Mr. Downing’s house and fol lowed the ox-cart on which the simple cas ket of plain but beautiful cedar boards was placed. They had dressed Hugh all in white and it would seem as though The Spirit had touched the quiet face and taken away all the shadows and had left in their place a restful, quiet smile. Crowds of natives si lently followed, as we did, down to the beautiful knoll where just a little over a year ago they laid away Tom Hannay, and there Mr. Downing led the simple service.
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