Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

News Briefs From SyriaBy Eunice L. McClurkinThe last two months of the schoolyear in Lataiiawere eventful and fleeting. Something that helpedspeed up our business was the installation of theGirls School telephone. Many thanks to the NationalCovenanter Juniors for their gift of a year ago forthe phone. The gift covered the expense of installation plus deposit on the instrument, and nearly ayear's subscription rate. We have a very fine dialsystem here in Latakia. The Girls School installationis the plug-in variety, so that the phone can be usedin the office on the first floor or in the house on thethird floor. It has been a great convenience to beable to conferquickly with the Hutchesons at theBoys School, the Fattals at their home, and theEducation Department. The phone probably wouldn'thave been in yet if the pastor hadn't used his influence. It was requested in November.The high school young people sponsored a localweek-end conference as follow-up of the Easter-timeconference in Aleppo, which seven students andMuallim John Arakel and I attended. Guest speakerat the Latakia follow-up was Lynn Boliek of theProtestant Student House in Beirut. He's a CalvinistReformed theologian and an enthusiastic personalworker. The conference theme was "Follow Christ,"with particular emphasis on vocations (Bible studyfrom Ephesians 4). Other conferences in May inwhich the pastor Rev. Khaleel Awad, met in Damascus ; and the United Christian Council of SouthwestAsia in its biennial meeting May 23-26 in Jerusalem,to which Mrs. C. T. Hutcheson was our delegate.On the last two Sabbaths of May the sacramentsof Baptism and the Lord's Supper were observed inthe Latakia R. P. Church. On May 22, nine couplespresented five boys and four girls for baptism. OnMay 29, fourteen new members partook of Communion for the first time; nine young men and fiveyoung women. The annual S. S. picnic was held atSnobar (pine grove) on Friday, June 3, the schoolshaving a holiday for the occasion. I had practice indriving the Mission station wagon out to the picnicgrounds, and have since completed all the requirements and got my Syrian driver's license.The Hays family left on furlough according toschedule the morning of June 16. They are due inNew York July 16 after hurried sightseeing andvisits in Europe and the British Isles. No moss grewunder their feet here either in the last days or weeksbefore they left Latakia. The Hutchesons and Ishared in feasts in their honor at the homes of thepastor, the pastor's brother, and the Fattals', and weentertained the village evangelists at a dinner forthe Hayses. Scores of friends came to say good-byeto the Hayses on their official receiving day. Thenext day, June 11, their trunks were put aboard anAmerican Export ship in Latakia harbor, to precedethem to the States. There was Mission business requiring Mr. Hays' attention till the last minute : thewall being rebuilt, the bookstore inventory and orderof school notebooks for next year, the possible saleof a corner lot from the Mission property, pendingapproval from the Board.We had a welcome visitor from America duringSeptember 7, 1955those busy days: C. Brainerd Metheny was the guestof the Hutchesons June 11-14, midway betweenvisits to Mersine and Cyprus. We wish some more ofyou might come to see the schools in action. Notmany of you could entertain us with such magictricks as his ! How the students did enjoy the showshe put on for them at impromptu assemblies! Weeven imposed on good nature for a talk to the Intermediates on Sabbath. Don't be discouraged fromvisiting us by the account of how hard we workedBrainerd Metheny. You might enjoy it, too!And in spite of these comings and goings, schoolwent on. Exams, of course, were a principal featureof the last two months. The government elementary(5th class) exam was held in May. I'm sorry to report that only 8 out of 22 presented by the GirlsSchool were successful, and glad to report that 20of 27 from Boys School passed. School exams weregoing on when the Hayses left, and ended June 21.We had the usual grand rush of grading papers, preparing report cards, and havingteachers'meetings.Grades were distributed the afternoon of June 24,and school was officially over for the year. However,administrative offices have been open for meetingparents and students and teachers. Government brevet and baccalaureate (9th and 12th class) examswere June 27 to July 6, and the results are not yetknown. I have been asked to help grade the brevetEnglish exams, an unusual opportunity for a foreigner.There were social events as well as exams in thelast school months. Saturday June 11, I went withthree other teachers and girls of the 6th and 7thclasses for a picnic at Baseet, the bay south of theTurkish border. The next Monday afternoon, the4th class girls had a picnic up on Tawbiyat, thenorth-south ridge of the Latakia cape. Saturday, the18th, the top high school class and their teacherswere treated by the school to a trip to Banyas, a visitto the Iraq Petroleum Co. installation, dinner in arestaurant, and table games at the Springs. Games,including those given by the Southfield S. S., werealso used at a party of teachers of both schools June6, when color slides were shown too, and at the Baseet picnic.Henry Madany, brother of Bassam, arrivedhome from engineering studies in Belfast on June 22,and spoke to Intermediates the following Sabbath.Intermediates and schools as well as his family willmiss Rev. Bassam Madany who,son, left June 30 for Canada.with his wife andThe Latakia port sea wall is progressing. TheHayses and Hutchesons and I visited the port inMay as guests of the director of the Yugoslav construction company. His two older boys have been inour school, and their English has developed enoughfor them to be able interpreters for their Croatianspeakingparents. We have had some pleasant socialcontacts with Danish and Yugoslav families who arehere in connection with port construction.June was a peak month in the Mystery of theMail. We lost many letters and other pieces of mail.The Director of the P.O. is having our box carefullywatched now, and we hope not to lose any more. Ifwe have not answered something from you, it mightbe it was lost, or it might be we've been too busy ortoo lazy.151