BUCHANON, August 16th, 1860
Rev. A. M. POINDEXTER, Richmond.
Dear Brother, — Your favor was duly received, and a reply
was written, timely, to be forwarded by the M. C. S., but she
stretched from Palmas directly to Monrovia, and we knew it not till
too late. The disappointment was considerable; for letters,
packages, bags of coffee, boxes and a passenger from our place
left.
I think the work of the Lord is still prospering. Since the
date of the former letter, which will come in the same envelope, 1
have baptized one more young man, and two more persons have
been restored, making six added to the church lately. You
understand all about the school through brother Yates, as our
reports are made regularly to him. Our Sabbath school is doing
very well.
We have several young men, I think, with proper
management, might become competent teachers. When once men
of our own denomination become masters of the language, being
instructed by those who would not strain a point to carry a point, 1
should feel better satisfied.
I visited brother Vonbrunn’s station last Saturday and
Sabbath. When 1 arrived there, he was surrounded by a great
crowd of natives. He says there is not a day in the whole week,
that he is free from a throng of them. He has no assistant. I
preached Sabbath, A.M., to 150 persons, from Acts 17th, 34 v.
There were six chiefs among the number, and some of the
congregation were from over one hundred miles distant, and some
who had never heard of Jesus! And I do not know when I felt so
inspired to preach Christ Crucified. The natives listened with
breathless attention, seemingly. I preached also in the evening,
and assisted brother Vonbrunn to administer the Sacrament of the
Lord’s Supper. His meeting house was the basement of his private
dwelling. He has thirty or more adjacent towns to which he could
preach in turn each day-but he has no assistant as a preacher, nor a
teacher for his school, if I understood — has 40 children in his yard,
beside the numbers at those towns mentioned above. He ought to
have an assistant preacher. A teacher for the day school is
absolutely needed there. Besides, his church, made up principally
of natives, the constant coming of natives a distance, takes up a
