211
Foreign Mission Board
December 11, 1947
The Foreign Mission Board met in regular monthly session at 4:00 p.m.
on Thursday, December 11, 1947 with Mr. Jenkins presiding.
The meeting was opened with prayer by Dr. Long.
Present: L. H. Jenkins, Garis T. Long, Clyde V. Hickerson, R. Aubrey
Williams, T. F. Adams, Hill Montague, T. Bupert Coleman, Rush Loving,
Mrs. 2. ttkins'irj, Everett Gill, Jr* Frank K. Means, M. T. Rankin,
E. P. Buxton, George W. Sadler, E. C. Routh, Gene Newton, Edna
Frances Dawkins,
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Hunter, Nan F. Weeks.
Dr. Rankin gave a brief summary of the program of the Board for 1948 which
v.111 be affected by the meeting of tte Executive Committee in Nashville
on December 16 and 17. It is hoped that we will be able to present
a 5-year program of enlargement to the Board at its April meeting and
that this program in printed form will be available for distribution
at the meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in May. It was also
his hope that a new book could be written by the secretaries of the
Board on the order of Now Is The Day which will deal with this program
of enlargement.
On motion of Mr. Montague it was voted to allocate to the Relief
Committee the $263,270.19 undistributed balance in the Rehabilitation
Fund.
On motion of Dr. Long it was voted that Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Abemathy
be granted a furlough in 1948.
Dr. Rankin told about the gift of a piano which Mr. and Mrs. L. H.
Jenkins are presenting to the Board, and expressed the appreciation
of the members and staff of the Board for this generous gift.
Dr. Rankin read a letter from Mrs. T. T. Brown of Hattiesburg, Mississ¬
ippi telling of the illness of Dr. W. A. Bell, Board member from
Mississippi. It was decided to express to Dr. Bell the regret of
the Board and our wishes for a rapid recovery.
Dr. Rankin expressed on behalf of the entire Foreign Mission Board the
gratitude of the Board for the excellent work which Miss Gene Newton
has done for the work of foreign missions and our regret that she will
leave the Board at the end of this month. Miss Newton will be greatly
missed by all members of the Board, the office staff, and by the
missionaries on the field. Miss Nowt on goes to be married to Dr. T.
Eugene West .
Dr. Sadler spoke of the encouraging reports from J. D. Hughey about
progress and growth in Spain despite increasing pressure from the
Catholic hierarchy. It has been necessary many times to secure police
protection when holding church services. He also told of the splendid
medical work being done by Dr. Harold Canning in Africa, often without
the benefit of a building of any sort in which to operate.
On motion of Dr. Coleman it was voted that the appointment of Miss
Annie Rines be regularized. Her appointment has been conditioned
because of migrane headaches but on the advice of her doctors that there
is no evidence of this trouble, her appointment was put on a regular basis.
Dr. Sadler recommended that Miss Elizabeth Lee be appointed in absentia
as a missionary to Palestine. On motion of Dr. Hickerson it was so voted.
On motion of Dr. Adams it was voted that an appropriation of $25,000
be authorized from the surplus in the cash account for a hospital in Eku,
Nigeria, Africa for the use of Dr. Harold Canning, with the provision
that this amount be replaced when a like appropriation is received
from the Southern Baptist Hospital in New' Orleans for this purpose.
Dr. Gill reported that a very satisfactory conference was held with
Dr. R. B. Buker of the Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Sooiety with
reference to some trouble which missionaries of our Board have had with
missionaries of their Board in Brazil.