Liberia - Africa
Letter from Rev. Jacob Vonbrunn
REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA,
Grand Bassa Co., Aug. 22, 1 859
Rev. A. M. Poindexter:
DEAR BROTHER - This will show I have received your kind letter, dated 22d April,
1 859. On perusal of the same I have found our letter and quarterly reports have not reached you,
for which I am sorry. They were forwarded from here to our brother at Monrovia, the Hon.
В.
P.
Yates. By this opportunity I trust you, may receive them. In the same letter I informed you
about my regular preaching to different congregations, in different places, among the natives,
when from 100 to 150 and more are present.
I informed you in my last that brother Thomas Harris, otherwise called Depa, is a
member of the Little African Church at Gekpe: and also, Bajor, or William Hands. These men
are natives of this country, own their respective small towns on the other side of the St. John,
near Bexley. Every other Sabbath I preach to the above men and their people at Gekpe’s town,
being about the centre. The congregations are sometimes sixty in number. Having no good
house to worship in they agreed to have one built, which I hope they will soon. At this station
there is no place of worship, as I communicated to you in my last letter, and requested assistance
to build a strong little church, capable to hold about one hundred persons. One of the necessities
in this station is removed; that is, of books, having received those you ordered for this school; for
them we are a thousand times obliged to you.
We have religious conversation every day besides the preaching. In some of the
conversations we find the people take great delight. They are also much interested in the
Scripture history of God’s dealing with his ancient people. They say, Ah Bail An exclamation
on hearing news of an exciting nature. The ascension of our Saviour, Elijah, and that of Enoch;
the shipwreck of the apostle Paul, whose life was preserved by the unseen Hand; when the
soldier’s counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim to shore and escape-
these astonish and delight them.
HOME & FOREIGN JOURNAL
February 1860
p. 32
