12.07.2015 Views

0 w C ^ ^.-^• t^J - Rparchives.org

0 w C ^ ^.-^• t^J - Rparchives.org

0 w C ^ ^.-^• t^J - Rparchives.org

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

21fiItems of Missionary Intelligence.sent membership is 1,440, of which 153 were receivedon a profession of their faith during the commnnicant-roU. The KoUiapur mission is sit­the Savionr and there are now 398 names on theJ'ear. The average attendance at Sabbath serviceswas 4,293.southwest India, The Mahrattas uumber aboutuated among the Mahratta speaking people ofThe missions in Persia are located at Oroomiah, fitteen mUlions, of whom between tw^o and threea town of 40,000 inhabitants, ou a lake of the miUions belong to the field exclusively occupiedsame uame—Tabriz, with a population of 150,- by this mission. The work was begun in this000, one hundred and fiftymiles to the east—and field in 1853, but has been under the specialSalmas, a plain of 12x20 mUes in extent, almost supervision of the Presbyterian Board only formidway between these cities. Work is also sue- about seventeen years. There are three churchescessfiiUy carried on in Teheran, the metropolis of and ninety-two communicants, an increase of ninethe empire, and at Hamedan, some two hundred during the year.miles to the southwest of the capital. • • In ' the •' The Siam mission comprises two centres ofwestern section of this mission there are 1,932 operation, Bangkok, some twenty-five miles fi:omcommunicants and 1,045 adherents. Three hundredand twenty-one members were added during istic work has been carried on with more or lessthe mouth of the river Meinam, where evangel­ihe year. In the eastern section there are 120 success for nearly half a century, and Petchaburi,in full communion with the Church, marking an about 85 miles southwest, on the western side ofincrease of five during the year. The <strong>org</strong>anizedchurches are said to be growing slowly but steadilyin the line of self-support and self-reliance, andto be gaining in the spirit of consecration andself-denial for Christ's sake. As to the outlookof the work among the Moslems, the missionarieswrite that, " whUe fanaticism still rules, and openprofession of faith in Christ is at great peril, agreater measure of toleration exists than we hadclared to hope ior a few years since The Lordevidently calls us to go forward in this line ofeffort." 'The two older missions in India are in thenorthwestern part of that country. " A geographicalline across india from the mouth of theIndus, 'via Allahabad, to the Himalaya Mountains,would in a general way mark the southernlimits of this great field. The population of thisnorthwestern region is reckoned at sixty millions,composed of people mostly marked hy greaterenergy than their countrymen in the rest of Indiacommonly evince. . In the Lodiana andFurrukhabad missions, four presbyteries havebeen <strong>org</strong>anized, two in each inission, which haveproved to be of great service in superintending andrendering efBcient the various parts of nussionarywork according to the principles of onr Churchand its Scriptural order."The tabulated statistics show fhat sixty-threewere received into the fellowship of the Church,on a profession of their faith, during the year,and tbat there is a present inembership of 643in^the Lodiana mission ; while in thc Furrukhabadmission fifty-five made a public confession ofthe gulf of Siam. This latter field has been occupiedfor more than twenty-five years. Thestatistics ofthis mission report an aggregate membershipof 354, of which thirty-five were addedduring the year. The missionaries have beenvery much encouraged by the marked interestthe Government has taken in their work in recentyears. " We may .specify here," says the report,"the offer of the Siamese Prime minister to give,for the use of the missionaries in Ratboree, threecommodious houses, if they wonld open work intbat city, and the remarkable cordiaUty displayedby the king himself in a personal visit to Petchaburi.His majesty expressed the warmest interestin the educational and medical work of themissionaries, conveyed to them in person histhanks for the succor extended by them to someshipwrecked sailors, and presented them with asubstantial sum of money, nearly $1,500, to enlargeand extend their medical work, chargingthe Minister of Education also to aid them freelyin their schools. Similar interest, accompanied bysiinUar tangible proofs, was shown by the queen inihe efforts of ihe lady missionaries. The countrystands with doors, if anything, more widely openthan ever to the entrance of missionary laborers.Extensive and successful tours, especially downthe west coast, in the southern provinces are reported,and it is evident that nothing but thesmallness of the missionary force prevents suchitinerant trips from being pushed into every partof the kingdom. All the more important, becauseofthe present limited number of those whoproclaim the gospel by word of mouth, is the

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!