Contrasting Challenges For Women Missionaries
Pagan animism and Islam offer contrasting challenges to the Christian faith for two missionaries of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society at present in New Zealand. They are Miss Melva Taylor, who works in the Moslem town of Brahminbaria, in East Pakistan, and Miss Esther Denham, whose mission is in Tripura, a tiny state of tribal hill people between Assam and East Pakistan.
The Brahminbaria mission has been established for 75 years, yet only 50 or 60 Pakistanis are church members. In Tripura, on the other hand, more than 3000 have professed themselves Christians since the mission was established in 1937. “The difference is in the background of the people,” said Miss Denham in Christchurch yesterday. 'The Tripura people were animists—Christianity came to them as a release from fear. But Islam is such an ancient and established religion that Christianity has not the same impact." Subtle Influence Its effect was slow, but widespread in more subtle ways. said Miss Taylor People were ready to listen—in contrast to areas which had felt no Christian Influence. She had noticed that the girls who had attended the mission school in Brahminbaria had a higher standard of cleanliness in their homes, and honesty in their dealings, than others of the same economic level. The mission compound had a high reputation in the town, and last year more than 9000 women came to the dispensary where Miss Taylor works. “About 3000 of these were completely new patients.” she said. Care of Women The dispensary was run by women, for women, since the Moslem women would not go to the male doctors in the town. There was a threebed ward attached. "It was set up for maternity cases.
but we do take general cases as well,” said Miss Taylor. An ante-natal clinic was run with the dispensary. "Not many come, as they are still being educated into it, and still fewer come to us for their confinements," she said. But the number was slowly increasing. About 90 patients filled the hospital beds last year. The school at Brahminbaria took 232 pupils, of whom 28 were boarders from Christian homes, and the rest Moslem day girls. Arrangements at Tripura were very similar, although numbers were greater, said Miss Denham. Her work is among the 120 boarders at the school hostel. A trained nurse, she has charge of the
girls’ hostel, and also looks to the health and well-being of the boys. The school has 150 pupils, of whom 120 are resident. There are also 35 young people who live on the compound at Tripura, benefiting from the hostel life, and attending high schools in the town. The mission runs a 35-bed hospital, and a Bible school at which 18 students are at present studying. Both women have found missionary life extremely satisfying. "It is a thrill to work at Tripura, because we have so many calls—we can’t answer them all,” said Miss Denham. Miss Taylor, on the other hand, found deep satisfaction tn the challenge of the Moslem community.
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Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 2
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507Contrasting Challenges For Women Missionaries Press, Volume C, Issue 29500, 29 April 1961, Page 2
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