TRANSFORMATION OF THE
ST. MATTHIAS GROUP
By W. G. Turner,
President, Australasian Division
DERHAPS the most marvelous
transformation of savage life which
has occurred in recent times has taken
place during the past two years in the
little St. Matthias group of islands
about 150 miles from the mainland of
New Guinea, just a little below the
equator.
On a recent visit to this group, I
heard the leading man on the Island of
Emira make the following statement,
during a public service in his village.
As he stood there in the congregation
of his people, with his now clean body,
his bright eyes, and his heart rejoicing
in his new-found faith in his Maker, he
said: “Before the mission came to this
place we were all like children. We
crawled along on the ground and knew
not which way to go. We seemed to be
in darkness. Then Salau came [a na-
tive teacher sent from the Solomon
Islands], and he told us of Jesus and
His word. He taught us how to live
clean, right lives, how to trust the
promises of God to help us. He lifted
us from the ground to our feet, and
put sticks in our hands to help us to
walk. When Salau went to Mussau
[an adjoining island], Nafitalai came
[the Fijian teacher whofollowed Salau],
and he gave us more light from God.
That helped us to throw our sticks
away, and now we walk strongly as
men, and in the light, knowing the way
to go.”
Such a statement, coming from the
simple yet sincere heart of one of hun-
dreds of changed men, is an unan-
swerable argument for the power of
God and the value of missions.
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Students in training at the Mission
School at Matupi, Rabaul, Territory
of New Guinea