Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

past."Editorial NotesBy Walter McCarrollOutgoing Missionaries. The Boyles, the GeneSpears and Eleanor Faris sailed from Seattle for Japan on August 3. Gene Spear was ordained by hisPresbytery Sabbath afternoon, June 12, in GenevaCollege while Synod was convened for its annualmeeting. Miss Blanche McCrea sailed from New Yorkfor Cyprus August 10. The Board appointed MissAphrodite Trombettas as a Covenanter missionaryto teach the Girls' School in Nicosia. Miss Trombettas is a graduate of Geneva College. She was appointed for a three year term, the Academy to pay hersalary.Miss Rose Huston will be returning home in lateSeptember, perhaps by a freighter that will dock atSeattle. She writes, "At my request for time extension I was given six months in which to complete thework of preparing the Japanese Psalter. That meansI shall probably sail for home in September, thoughwe have not been able to meet the schedule laid outfor us. Mr. Takase deserves much credit for thiswork of putting the Psalms into meter in addition tohis full time work in Red Cross, and besides, one seldom finds a man who is a Christian as well as a poet.Since March, I have been living with the Hansensin the wonderful Mission House at Suzurandai.During the past forty-five years I have moved intoquite a number of houses, and for the comforts andall."conveniences of modern living, this tops themMiss Huston has had a long and varied career asa missionary amid war's alarms, in journeyings oftenin watchings often, in perils too in the city, in thewilderness, and in the sea. In South China, thenhome. In Syria and Cyprus, then home. In Manchuria, then home. In Kentucky, then back in South China, and then Japan, and now: once more home again.Through it all she never lost that cheerful spirit andher unwavering faith in her Saviour and Lord. Shehas earned a well deserved rest, but rest for her willnot mean sitting with folded hands but an active interest in work yet to be done. Well done, good andfaithful servant !Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Sanderson and Miss Elizabeth McElroy were scheduled to sail for Syria September 9. By the time this is read they will likelybe on the high seas en route to their destination. Sofar we have no word that their prayer for a shortterm teacher was answered. Miss McClurkin endsher letter with these words : "Please don't forget ourplea for help a short term teacher for the highschool to come out with the Sandersons and Miss McElroy in September. We have now (for how long?)an open door for evangelism among our high schoolyoung people, and we have many adversaries. How?"while there is timeabout another ally,The Board authorized the Corresponding Secretary to go ahead with the preparation of a brochureon our mission work, to be printed when it could bedone without extra expense to the Board. The regular quarterly meeting of the Board will be held September 20.Understanding Missions in 1955. The followingeditorial is by Harold R. Cook, Editor of the Depart-148ment of Missions in Moody Monthly. This gives anidea of the changes taking place in mission work infields abroad. There is another trend which the editor does not mention to which a correspondent hascalled my attention, viz, the trend away from mission schools "in the sense in which we have knownthem in the To this we shall return in a laterissue.UNDERSTANDING MISSIONS IN 1955By Harold R. Cook in Moody MonthlyThat there are great changes in missionarywork no one can deny. Some, of course, are changesin the physical conditions of missionary work suchas have come with the use of airplanes, radio andother modern inventions. But there are other pointsof emphasis in missions today that seem new tomany.There is the new emphasis on literature, forexample. Pioneers like Carey and Morrison gavepriority in their missionarywork to Christian literature, however, especially distribution of the Scriptures. When Carey distributed his first tracts in Bengal, the people took them eagerly, though comparatively few could read them. Today millions everyyear are learning to read. They are eager for readingmaterial, and others who are not Christian are alsoproducing literature for them.Again we are increasingly emphasizing the importance of training national leaders for the churches. The early missionaries also saw this need andtried to meet it. Their successors were not always sodiscerning, and too much of the work stayed in missionary hands. The closing of China highlighted theneed. But there are complications. Today leaderstrained in mission schools find others eager for theirservices, especially in places like Africa, and theleadership of the church suffers.There are changes in missions, though, thatmake the situation quite different from what thepioneers faced. They are very significant changes,although not well understood at home.For example, in most fields there is already aChristian Church. Our young people today are notg6irig out to fields untouched by the Christian message. This means a new approach, for they mustlearn to work with the church. Some may even becalled oh to work under the church.Often there is heathen competition in the verytypes of work in which Christian missions pioneered.Sometimes it is the heathen equivalent of a Sabbathschool, or it may be a Young Men's Buddhist Association.Those who go to the mission field today, too,soon find that the prestige of the white race and ofwestern civilization has largely disappeared. It isdoubtless a good thing. At any rate it is differentfrom what used to be. The missionary in some senseis being forced back to a first century situation,when the gospel made its way entirely on its ownmerits and the transformed lives of its believers.There are many other trends which might bementioned. In the world picture, America has cometo the fore as the leading missionary nation. Britaineven with a better economic situation than at theCOVENANTER WITNESS