ARCH? ' > * : ‘ ¥ : ; ‘ me y ‘be we | as . Ute Pat Fa hae ee Ah ea +¢ » =? —_-. « , j oe ft eer? t ¥ r ‘" 6 ; ; a q ehyhs 3 . & r - i ' > s Sees Faldo ‘ D ; ~ ik re é * g y : . = > : ” . : Bs , > ¥ . ° we “ 5 i r ¢.x 7 } ; i WA =, ‘ pt i Re ae Ne eer, Boros bi? Paras eee eee Biya Ht9 SO ARCHIV=S WASSIONARY RESEARCH LIBRARY THE PREPARATION OF WOMEN FOR FOREIGN MISSIONARY SERVICE The following report was. prepared by a committee of the Board of Missionary Preparation of which Miss Helen B. Calder, Home Secretary of the Woman’s Board of Missions, Boston, Mass., was the chairman. Since its presentation to the Board in 1914 the report has been sent for careful review to a large and representative group of women in North America and throughout the mission world, in order that it might receive the full benefit of their experience. Their valued suggestions have been embodied in this revised form of the report issued as a pamphlet. The Board ventures to hope that it now represents the conclusions of. the thoughtful students of the missionary enterprise. The young woman who has formed the “purpose, if God permit, to become a foreign missionary” looks forward more or less definitely to the time when she shall receive appoint- ment from her Board to a particular work in a designated mission. At the time when she first reaches a decision con- cerning her life-work, and many times during the years of preparation, she asks herself and others the question— “What shall I do to prepare myself for efficient service ?”’ It is the purpose of this report and of others in the same - series to answer that question in a definite, helpful way. About one hundred missionaries, Board secretaries, and pro- fessors in training schools have sent replies to a list of ques- tions covering the main points in this paper. The report of the Continuation Committee Conferences of 1912 and 1913, held in several mission fields during Dr. Mott’s tour, brings very clear additional recommendations. To prevent discouragement at the outset, we would remind all prospective missionaries that lines of preparation out- lined or suggested here are not like an itinerary which must be followed in detail by every traveler in a personally con- ducted tour, but rather like the announcements of many delightful excursions, one or more of which should be se- 3 PREPARATION OF WOMEN lected and followed as inclination and opportunity permit. In presenting the report we have in mind primarily the young woman who volunteers for foreign missionary service before she has completed her college course, and who has several years for further preparation before she is old enough to be accepted by her Board. We recognize the in- valuable service which has been, and, we trust, will continue to be rendered, by many women whose decision to engage in this work comes when they are older and who are obliged to start for the field at once in order to begin the study of the language. Many such workers will already be well prepared along some lines suggested in this report and it is hoped they will find help here in planning the most profitable use of the months intervening before their work begins and of the spare time for study on the field. There is a wide difference of opinion concerning age limits which should be fixed, twenty and fifty years being the two extremes, but practical unanimity in the feeling that excep- tions should be permitted if any limits are stated. The aver- age of about one hundred replies indicates that between twenty-five and thirty is the best time to begin work. Many missionaries referred to unusual service rendered by women much older, some of whom never mastered the language of the mission field. Miss Charlotte Tucker, who wrote books under the name A. L. O. E., went to India at the age of fifty- four, learned three languages, and gave eighteen years of devoted service. No one can deny that such workers are called of God, but under ordinary circumstances mission Boards should not be expected to assume their support. TIMELINESS OF THE SUBJECT One reason for the consideration of this subject is the request frequently made by Student Volunteers for definite advice as to the best use of the years of preparation. In the second place there is a general longing on the part of mis- 4 PREPARATION OF WOMEN sionaries consulted in the preparation of this report, whose terms of service vary from six to forty-six years, for a higher standard of preparation for missionaries of the fu- ture than they themselves were able to attain. Many who replied to our questionnaire expressed their deep satisfaction that this investigation was being made and their eager antic- ipation of the publishing of this report. They realize that the success of the work from the human side depends more upon the choice and preparation of workers than upon any- thing else. There is a third and a most important reason for giving earnest thought to this question. Changing conditions in the Orient make an insistent demand upon us which we are compelled to face squarely. The women’s movement is not simply a Western force to be reckoned with by Christian nations. It is making itself felt more and more strongly in the East in manifold ways, both for good and for evil. Western education and civilization, with and without Chris- tianity, have carried to many parts of the East social, indus- trial, moral, intellectual and spiritual disturbances which are perplexing serious thinkers at home. The awakening wo- manhood of the world is seeking for Western education, and at the same time is demanding a freedom which is but half understood. Governments of the East are trying with vary- ing success to supply the demand for education. In Japan the government schools for girls are better equipped and have a larger number of specially trained teachers than most mission schools of the same grade. Our missionary Socie- ties must send out a larger number of specially trained women in order to increase the quality and the quantity of educational missionary work, for it is only Christian educa- tion of the highest type that can counteract the forces of evil liberated by the impact of the West and the East. The success of Christian education is one of the causes of present conditions, and further successes, which will be achieved if 5 PREPARATION OF WOMEN an advance movement is made possible at this time of crisis, will solve many of the problems which we are facing to-day. FORMS OF SERVICE OPEN TO WOMEN The work done by women missionaries may be broadly classified as evangelistic, educational, medical, social and literary. Some women are doing work along all of these lines, and only a most exceptional missionary is confined exclusively to one form of service. It is very difficult for anyone who has not visited and studied mission fields to get a correct impression of the life and work of the average missionary. In public addresses the missionary on furlough very naturally emphasizes the unique features of her work and the strategic opportunities for advancement. The student of missionary text-books likewise singles out the strange and unusual and can very easily get a wrong perspective. The daily round and com- mon task describes a large section of the missionary’s life as well as that of the average home worker. There is the heroic, the romantic, the pioneering, the exceptional in large measure; but often those who are passing through such ex- periences do not recognize them as extraordinary. A young missionary in China cautions those who follow her to prepare for disillusionment at this point: “The new missionary is often in the position of the soldier who has always drilled to the band during his time of prepara- tion, with the vision of great generals ever before his mind, and then goes to live in the trenches and sees only other men like himself for months at a time.” Another worker in Brazil writes in the same strain: “The intending candidates cannot have too high an ideal of the work they are to do, but they should remember that the average missionary is what we might call the ordinary worker. The great majority will have to take up the work that others have started, join in with plans already made and be one of a 6 PREPARATION OF WOMEN large number of workers. New workers do not find much of the romance of missions,—the breaking of new ground and the starting of new enterprises,—which occupies so large a place in the thought of all young missionaries.” But having expressed these cautions it is only fair to re- mind the missionary in training that the work is always as big as the worker. EvANGELISTIC. While all successful missionaries keep the evangelistic aim foremost in every department, a large number are called to work that is classified as distinctly evangelistic. Under this head fall the important tasks of training and supervising the large army of Bible women, visiting in homes, conducting country tours, etc. In view of the vast number of women still untouched by the gospel message and the vital relation of the condition of women to the strength of the Christian church of the future, there is an urgent call for an increase in the force of evangelistic missionaries. These should go out prepared to train a still larger number of women for more efficient service as evan- gelists, and by their lives of devotion should stimulate the voluntary ministry of humble Christian women. EDUCATIONAL. The educational missionary occupies a strategic position in this time of unprecedented opportunity. She may be college president or professor, principal or asso- ciate teacher in a girls’ boarding-school, superintendent of a normal department which supplies teachers for elementary and higher schools, supervisor of day schools in a large dis- trict, kindergartner or trainer of kindergartners. The need of missionary schools and colleges was never greater. The union women’s colleges already started in Madras, India, and in Nanking and Peking, China, are calling for teachers qualified to serve as college professors and also to do pioneer work in higher education for women in the Orient. The openings in these and similar institutions, which will speedily be established as the demand for higher education spreads, 7 PREPARATION OF WOMEN constitute a call for the highest standard of preparation. The report of the Continuation Committee Conferences in India includes a statement of the need of constructive work in devising a system of primary education better suited to the needs of India than the present system. Such adaptation of Western principles and methods to Eastern minds and customs is demanded in every country and requires well- trained original leaders. MepicaL. The doctor and the nurse, with or without their hospital, have brought the gospel message to large numbers of people who, on account of advanced age or hin- dering circumstances, are unreached by educational work; they have procured entrance again and again for the evan- gelist and the educational worker; they have brought medi- cal aid for the first time to women who would rather have died than admit a man physician; they have had the large and inspiring task of raising up trained associates on the field who will multiply their ministrations by geometrical progression. Openings for the medical missionary are more numerous and more attractive than ever before. More workers are needed to provide an adequate staff for existing hospitals and to enter untouched fields, and doctors and nurses of unusual ability are called for to share in plans for union medical work outlined by the Continuation Committee Conferences. There is an increasing demand for teachers of physical education in mission and government schools and in Young Women’s Christian Associations. SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL. A social worker has been de- fined as “one who puts himself in a place where social cur- rents converge against him.” In thousands of such places women missionaries have established homes which are most truly social settlements, working in countless ways, direct and indirect, for the transformation of communities. The 8 PREPARATION OF WOMEN time has come for the organization of forces for child-wel- fare work, for the investigation and transformation of phys- ical and moral conditions of girls and women in factories, for temperance and Red Cross work, for hospital social serv- ice and for the many other reform movements affecting the physical, moral and spiritual well-being of women and children. Massacres and famines and changing industrial condi- tions have made necessary the establishment of various in- dustries which must be supervised by missionary women. Missionaries in charge of this branch of work have displayed much ingenuity in inventing designs and in finding profitable markets for laces and embroideries, and have rendered real service by preserving and dignifying the arts and crafts of the people and by the democratic teaching of the gospel of labor. LITERARY. Text-books and other suitable reading matter, either in translation or specially written to meet peculiar needs, have to be provided and the missionary woman, with or without special ability or training, has had to add this to her already full schedule. Reports of the Continuation Committee Conferences enumerate many classes of litera- ture for women needed at the present time. These include books and leaflets on Bible study suitable for all ages and intellects, short stories for women and children, simple ar- ticles on sanitation, hygiene, care of children, and other sub- jects related to the work of women in the home. A young woman with literary ability must surely look forward with pleasure to the time when she may have a share in bringing some of the fullness of the West into the empty lives of Eastern women. THe WorkK OF THE MarrIeED WoMAN. The missionary wife and mother, while often engaged directly in one or more of the forms of service mentioned above, is first of all a social power through her home. One missionary writes: 9 2 PREPARATION OF WOMEN “The missionary home has not received due notice as a mis- sion agency. Those who are planning to go out as married women should be impressed with the importance of their peculiar sphere and not fall into the error of regarding their position as inferior in its possibilities or responsibilities.” It is even more important on the mission field than at home that the married woman should “look well to the ways of her household.” The health and happiness of her family, the husbanding of the slender income, the influence of her home on the community, all demand thorough training in the science and art of home-making. Frequently the mis- sionary mother must teach her own children, preparing them to enter the high school in the homeland. By example and precept she assists her neighbors in the care and train- ing of their children. She keeps open house for the tired, homeless missionaries. Whenever she realizes the greatness of her opportunity and is able to seize it she makes an in- valuable contribution to the life and work of the station. THE PLACE OF SPECIALIZATION A doctor from China writes: “The time has come in the large cities of China at any rate, when specialists in all branches are needed if Christian institutions are to keep abreast of Government ones. But there certainly is plenty for thoroughly consecrated, intelligent people, not so highly trained, to do in pioneer work in less accessible places.” Even in pioneer work in some countries, however, the speci- ally trained missionary can do more effective work than one not so well prepared. This is the testimony of a missionary of long experience in the interior of Africa: “The missionary cannot be too well prepared. The more de- graded and ignorant the people, the greater the need of superior culture and attainments on the part of the missionary. It must be less difficult to guide the ‘awakening womanhood of the Orient’ than to arouse the dormant womanhood of our dark sisters in Africa, who for centuries have been practically the slaves of fathers, brothers and husbands.” 10 PREPARATION OF WOMEN A common criticism of the specialist is that she is unwill- ing to adapt herself to emergencies. The new missionary, specially trained and appointed for a particular task, may nevertheless be called upon to do certain things not directly connected with that task. She may even be asked to doa different piece of work, possibly in another station, for which she is not so well prepared, but which at the time is more in need of reinforcement. Any special training which makes her lose sight of the work as a whole or which makes more difficult for her the inevitable readjustments will be a hindrance rather than a help. But surely these things are a failure in spirit and not a necessary result of definite preparation. FUNDAMENTAL QUALIFICATIONS The fundamental qualifications of the foreign missionary are fully treated in another report, which should be carefully read by every Student Volunteer.. The missionary must spend her life under abnormal conditions, but in order to do her most successful work she must, even there, be able to live a normal Christian life. To this end she must be pre- pared spiritually, intellectually, physically, socially, and in practical ways. Among the qualifications mentioned by mis- sionaries who have contributed to this report are the follow- ing: Consecration, vision, self-control, common sense, ex- ecutive ability, adaptability, tact, freedom from professional attitudes, humility, patience, unfailing cheerfulness, genuine love for people, courtesy, courage and thoroughness. It must not be thought that any one person is expected to com- bine all these qualities. Moreover, the candidate is not the best judge of her own abilities. She must remember that the final responsibility for decision rests with her Board. Though one who possessed all the above qualifications 1The report in question is published by the Student Volunteer Movement in pamphlet form, price 5 cents. 11 PREPARATION OF WOMEN would surely be the ideal missionary in her relation with other people, it will be well, because of the frequent refer- ence to it and the great stress laid upon it, to mention as an indispensable qualification tested ability to live and work well with others. One missionary claims that “cantanker- ousness is worse than-heterodoxy.” Another writes: “The question of adjustments and of making homes for single women is most difficult and yet their usefulness is almost wholly dependent on their being thus happily located. Those who can most readily adapt themselves to their new environment and make themselves happy even under discouraging surroundings and with people of uncongenial temperaments, are apt to be the most successful missionaries. If they can only hold out patiently for a while they will find their place sooner or later. It is all important that the young missionary should do team work and not feel that she has come to the field to do a work of her own, without reference to those about her.” SPIRITUAL PREPARATION CULTIVATION OF THE SPIRITUAL LiFE. Through all the days and months when the prospective missionary is seeking to fit herself for her great task, as well as throughout the crowded years of missionary service, the most important, absolutely fundamental preparation is one which is at the disposal of every Christian. By determined effort which will not permit interruptions the worker, before and after reaching the mission field, must find some time each day for communion with God through Bible study and prayer. In this way she may secure some systematic knowledge of Bible truth, even though she is not able to study at a Bible school, for her devotional study should be as thorough as her preparation for class-room work. But it is far more important that in these moments when her soul is shut in with God she should seek to receive the inspiration for all her living at first hand and not to depend upon the faith of other Christians or on outside sources of uplift from which 12 PREPARATION OF WOMEN she will be largely cut off on the mission field. One mission- ary writes: ‘The only cure for loneliness is the ability to commune with God, anywhere, under any conditions.” An- other, a young missionary from the interior of Africa, bears this testimony: “Her religion will be tested on the field by many things which do not arise in the homeland, but if she is sure of her God these tests will strengthen her.” She should learn to put off all petty cares and heavy burdens and to bring to her all-loving Father her failures of weakness and her sins of selfishness, receiving from Him forgiveness for all that has been wrong, a new spirit of loving charitable- ness toward her fellow workers, and strength sufficient for the tasks that must be done. The friend of God will go forth from such communion in a spirit of reverence towards God’s Word and towards His holy places. She will “handle aright the Word,” not using it for the flippant joke which comes so easily to the lips of some professing Christians. One missionary writes from Japan: “I have heard it said that the tendency of the present Christian teaching has been to destroy the old reverent feel- ings, putting intellectual exercises in their place. We can- not fulfil our supremely holy mission without deep, intense reverence.” Tue MINIstry OF INTERCESSION. In addition to personal Bible study the prospective missionary will wish to associate herself with others in church and college Christian Associ- ation classes who are engaged in a devotional study of the Bible. She should also be connected with groups studying the great missionary enterprise. Through such study she will become familiar with the lives of great missionaries, with the mighty achievements of the past, with the wonderful op- portunities of the present and with the great need of the non- Christian world for Christ. She should be made aware from her study of the Bible teachings concerning prayer and from 13 PREPARATION OF WOMEN the accounts of miracles wrought by prayer on the mission fields that she can and must share largely in the extension of the Kingdom, during her days of preparation and in all her missionary life, through the ministry of intercession. The use of the prayer calendar of her own mission Board and of the prayer cycle of the Student Volunteer Movement will help to make her prayers definite and world-embracing. Such prayer for others will keep her spiritual life from being self-centered, will bring rich personal blessings which can come in no other way, and will work far more mightily than she can understand. PERSONAL Work. The true Christian, herself possessed of the chief good, will seek constantly to share with every- one whose life she touches the joy and peace and power which are hers. We call this “personal work,” but we greatly err if we consider it a distinctive feature of the life of a foreign missionary. The worker who has not shared her Christianity by daily testimony of deed and word in this country cannot be a successful missionary. In home, in church, in student and social centres, the true missionary will be laying foundations for future usefulness. She will do this work not because it must be done as a preparation for her future service, but because as a Christian she cannot do otherwise. It is, however, an absolutely necessary prepara- tion. In this work of winning others to Christ the prayer of intercession is the greatest power. It is useless to attempt such work at home or on the mission field unless we realize that of ourselves we can do nothing, but that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. Before going to the field the missionary must be so deeply impressed with the supreme importance of personal work and of the abso- lute necessity for a life of intercession to accomplish her task, that the multitude of routine duties which are likely to press upon her when she reaches the field will not choke out this great passion. 14 PREPARATION OF WOMEN A missionary from China writes: “If the young woman has not loved souls and tried to win them at home she is hardly sure of a call to the foreign field. Nothing here puts that love into one. It must be God’s gift be- fore she comes.” Another adds: “Unless one has had some experience in definitely influencing others for Christ she cannot be said to be equipped for mission- ary work, no matter how full her equipment may be in other directions.” SUMMER CONFERENCES. A great many young women have decided to become missionaries as a result of attendance at summer conferences. The student summer conferences of the Young Women’s Christian Association furnish rare opportunities to the undergraduate for deepening her spiritual life, for facing college problems, and for learning more of the kingdom of God. After college days, the prospective missionary who is free for part of the summer months will receive still further inspiration and practical training by attending a conference of the city department of the Young Women’s Christian Association, of the Mis- sionary Education Movement, or of the Women’s Boards of Foreign Missions. INTELLECTUAL PREPARATION CoLLEGE Course. A good college aims to give to every student “breadth of outlook, deepening responsibility and power to achieve.” Some college graduates fail to meet this test of the educated woman and some women without a college education have in other ways achieved these qualities. It is safe to say that a college education or its equivalent should be required of every woman. Eastern people lay great stress on the value of education, and the possession of a college degree adds to the missionary’s in- fluence in some countries. Trained minds are essential for constructive work in any land. 15 PREPARATION OF WOMEN An important acquisition for any college woman, but imperative for the successful missionary who should be a student all her life, is the scholarly habit, which may be developed by one who strives to do faithfully all her aca- demic work. The habit of concentration, much more easily learned before leaving college than at any later time, will enable the future missionary to do far more in a day, with much less expenditure of energy, than she could do without it. She should be a student of current events, learning to take large national and social views of all hap- penings, so that when she reaches the field she may see her work in its larger relations and not be concerned simply with what goes on before her eyes. During her four years in college a prospective missionary should get an all-round cultural course, not specializing too much in one subject. The following subjects are sug- gested as majors: Psychology, education, sociology, history, sciences, languages, English and general literature. Where the courses offered are constructive and thorough, the candi- date may lay strong foundations for Christian service by choosing Biblical history and literature as a major. Those who have been designated to a specialized work in higher education will gain much from postgraduate study along the lines of their specialties, not because they are likely to be called upon at present to teach these higher courses but for the enrichment of their own knowledge. NoRMAL TRAINING. Practically every missionary is re- quired to do educational work and to train leaders, and up to the present time few have had adequate preparation for this work. One missionary writes: “No distinction should be made between the training for evangelistic and educational work. Evangelization is Christian education.” Some normal training therefore is a valuable asset for all educational and evangelistic workers. It is not well to specialize too much in this training. A kindergartner should be familiar with 16 PREPARATION OF WOMEN primary methods and able to train primary and kindergarten teachers. All who are able to secure a normal training should remember that they are not simply learning how to teach but how to train teachers. A full course in a normal school or teachers’ college of high grade will be the equivalent of a college course for some women who are not able to have both. A year of normal training or of the special study of education and related subjects will be a valuable addition to a regular college course. MEDICAL TRAINING. Young women who are planning to become physicians should have at least two years in college and then take the full course in a medical college of the first rank. This should be followed by at least one year as interne in a general hospital, with experience in outdoor calls in connection with dispensary or ambulance service. Physicians should specialize in children’s and women’s diseases, diseases of the eye and in surgery. A short course in tropical medi- cine is indispensable, even if one does not go to a strictly tropical climate. Nurses should bear in mind the importance of preparing themselves to superintend a hospital and to train an efficient corps of nurses on the mission field. BIBLE TRAINING. Of supreme importance is a thorough knowledge of the Bible. The primary work of the mission- ary is “the application of the principles of Jesus to the prob- lems of life and the bringing of individuals into vital rela- tions to the Saviour and Master of men.” For such a task it is well to make as scholarly, devout and systematic a study of the Christian religion as possible. In addition to per- sonal daily study and work done in Sunday-school and Young Women’s Christian Association classes, a course at a Bible school, theological seminary or school of missions is invaluable. The length of time spent in such an institution would vary according to the age and previous training of the candidate. It should be long enough for her to secure a systematic 17 PREPARATION OF WOMEN knowledge of Christian truth. She should be able to work sympathetically with other Christians whose religious views differ very widely from her own. For this reason and be- cause she must be prepared to meet perplexing questions in the days to come she should at least have a sympathetic knowledge of the liberal views of the day and she should be well grounded in her own faith. A course in religious education might well be part of the Bible training. A married missionary writes: “Religious education seems to me to be the most necessary line of prepa- ration and perhaps the most neglected.” In educational, medical and evangelistic work a primary aim should be to teach the Bible and to train other women for this important service. If practical Christian work, supervised by experi- enced leaders, can be rendered during the days of training it will make for greater efficiency and will test the ability of the candidate. . Doctors and nurses whose professional courses are more specialized than those of other candidates would profit greatly by at least a year of Bible training. Many missionaries and Board officers feel that the demand for physicians is so urgent that they should not be detained for any special preparation. It is generally admitted, however, that unless medical work has a distinctly evangelistic aim it does not make its rightful contribution to the missionary movement. Even though the doctor has little time for personal service as an evangelist she should be in closest touch with all such work done in the hospital. A nurse must be ready to lead in this work and she should have special preparation for it. A missionary phy- sician writes: “In spite of many demands upon them doctors and nurses must direct and take a personal share in the evangelistic work if their work is to be successful as an evangelistic agency.”” No one can speak the gospel message more effectively than the doctor or the nurse whose healing touch upon the body makes the soul responsive to the spiritual 18 PREPARATION OF WOMEN appeal. They should make every effort to acquire in this country “the tongue of them that are taught,” that in the moment of golden opportunity. they may know how to “sus- tain with words” those who are weary. SPECIAL MISSIONARY PREPARATION. Because of chang- ing conditions in the Orient, referred to earlier in this report, missionary experts on the field and at home are feeling very strongly the need of special professional training for one of the most difficult careers. Efforts have been made since the Edinburgh Conference to provide satisfactory preparation in such subjects as can best be studied in this country. Sub- jects included in this special preparation are the science and history of missions, religions of the world, sociology in its relation to modern missionary problems, and phonetics. Though the shortness of the time available for preparation makes it impossible to study thoroughly all these subjects, a short course under competent guidance will introduce one to them and give a scholarly foundation for future reading and research. Schools which provide courses of this kind also offer facilities for the special Bible training referred to in the preceding section. A general view of the growth and spread of Christianity and of modern missionary movements in their relation to world progress would give a true perspective and reduce the danger of falling into a rut whence one can see only the prob- lems of a particular station or mission. For sympathetic understanding of the people whom the missionary must love before she.can convert and for a real- ization of the incomparable purity and power of Christianity, the student in training must get an insight into the moral and spiritual teachings of non-Christian religions. She should note the strongest as well as the weakest points of the re- ligion of the people among whom she is to work, and should learn how she may carry the message of the woman’s Saviour to hearts now held in the bondage of superstition and fear. 19 PREPARATION OF WOMEN A study of sociology in a school of missions would help to an appreciation of the social problems which are perplexing the Orient. Many of these Western civilization has created and all of them Christianity is able to solve. When the student who is taking special missionary prepa- ration has already been appointed to a definite field she will do well to devote some time to special training for that country, getting at least an introduction to its history, re- ligion, literature and customs and the progress of missionary work. There is a wide difference of opinion regarding the value of language study before reaching the mission field. A candidate should be tested in some way as to her ability to learn another language. The experience of the last few years suggests that training in the best methods of language acquisition can be secured in this country and will prove helpful in studying any foreign language. At present the vernacular can be learned to best advantage on the field. This subject is treated more fully in another report. Schools of missions also offer courses in bookkeeping, business methods, domestic science, rudimentary nursing, and other practical subjects which are demanded by the needs of the day. A word of caution is suggested by the letters of several missionaries. All this special training will be of little value to the worker and the work if she goes to the field with an attitude of superiority and an unwillingness to take the testi- mony of those who have learned in the school of experience, even when the testimony seems to be at variance with her theories. She will have ample opportunity to test her theories without crippling her influence at the very beginning by a critical attitude towards those who have not had the same advantages which she has enjoyed. A wise missionary makes the following comment: “The life of the missionary is a most practical one with very 20 PREPARATION OF WOMEN little of romance. To be successful one must be willing to let all of her pet theories go to the wind, if she finds them ill- founded. Of course a great many of the theories formed at home are most valuable. It seems more and more true to me that new missionaries are apt to be guilty of one of two errors, and I hardly know which is most disastrous. One is to go to the field with well-defined ideas of how everything should be done and to insist upon putting those ideas into practice, no matter what advice may be given to the contrary. This has re- sulted in some very sad catastrophes. The other extreme is to take out some excellent plans, well thought out and useful, but upon reaching the field and finding that the missionaries who have preceded her are not following such methods, to relinquish her own schemes and fall into the ruts of those who have gone before. Probably we older missionaries are greatly to blame for this, as we may be too apt to think that our own tried plans are the final word on mission work. Wherever the fault lies it is deplorable that we frequently fail to benefit as we should by the coming of new blood into our midst. Perhaps it is time to send out a pamphlet to missionaries on the field showing us how to prepare the way for the newcomer!” Cuoice oF Institutions. In all that has been said re- garding the value of preparation in various institutions we have in mind those schools and colleges which are of high grade. A prospective missionary should consult the secretary of her Board and some expert educator concerning the in- stitutions which will best serve her purpose. In these days of unusual and indispensable cooperation in union move- ments on the field, the student of missions, while embracing every opportunity of becoming familiar with the work and workers of her own denomination, should also have the broadening experience of some interdenominational fellow- ship in the homeland. This may come through association with the students and professors of other denominations during college or postgraduate study, or through participa- tion in some of the many lines of interdenominational work now being carried on in this country. She will thus be better 21 PREPARATION OF WOMEN prepared to hasten the day when we shall all be one in the truest and highest unity. CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS. Some candidates are pre- vented by home obligations or by other circumstances from taking a residential course at a Bible or mission training school. If they possess trained minds and the determination to persevere in spite of interruptions, they may accomplish much by taking a regular correspondence course in one or more subjects. EXPENSE OF TRAINING. Many young women must earn the money necessary for their college or professional train- ing. If they are careful to obey the laws of health, even pro- longing the time for completing the course if necessary, they can do this without difficulty and thus increase their useful- ness in later years. There is no reason why they should not be as independent in their preparation as those who are fitting themselves for other forms of service. A few of our correspondents express their conviction that a Board would save money by supporting an accepted candi- date for a year in a school of missions, as it would thereby reduce the time which must elapse before she can wisely enter upon real work and at the same time greatly increase her efficiency. Some Boards do give scholarships or make special grants to medical students, and others provide loans for advanced training when it seems necessary and expedient to do so. In the case of an older candidate who might be de- tained for several years to pay off a debt it seems worth while for the Board to make some effort to render financial assis- tance. The hope is expressed that before long competitive scholarships will be established in connection with schools of missions. READING. During vacations and while busy with some regular occupation precious hours or even minutes may be found for reading. It would be a great mistake from the 22 PREPARATION OF WOMEN intellectual as well as the physical point of view to read only or largely missionary books. But some time can profitably be given to instructive and inspiring books of history and biography which give an insight into the great missionary movements and personalities of the past and present. A carefully selected bibliography is now at the disposal of every student. One who cannot arrange for a special course in a school of missions can get a fair knowledge of the subjects offered there by careful reading. The fields of history, psychology, pedagogy, or sociology may also be explored as time and in- clination permit. In this way the young woman who is not able to take a college course may get in part its cultural equivalent and the college student or graduate may supple- ment her academic work. Simple books on hygiene and first aid to the injured will furnish all that the ordinary mission- ary needs to know of these subjects. A wise reading along the line of the moral problems of the day will prepare her to answer questions which are sure to arise on the mission field, where she is very likely to be called upon to fill the place of a mother to girls under her care. One missionary recommends the magazine “American Motherhood” for this very reason. PHYSICAL PREPARATION Though this subject is of sufficient importance to be treated in a separate report, soon to be prepared, it will be well for the candidate reading this report to have her attention called to this phase of her missionary preparation. Not enough attention has been given in the past to the fact that by definite preparation along physical lines a candidate who might other- wise be disqualified can sometimes meet the standard of her Board. MeEpIcAL EXAMINATION. If a young woman who has de- cided to give her life to foreign missionary service has any reason for thinking she is physically below par in any par- 23 PREPARATION OF WOMEN ticular, she should have a thorough examination by a com- petent physician, even though it may be many years before she expects to sail for the field. The health blank prepared by her own Board will be a guide to the physician whom she consults. At this time and at the time of the examination re- quired by her Board she should be careful to give her phy- sician all the facts concerning her health record. CourRSsE IN First Arp. Several missionaries of experience recommend most strongly that all women candidates should have a course in the care of their health. Others suggest a short course in nursing and first aid, not simply because of the helpfulness of such knowledge in their work with others on the mission field, but also because of its value in their own daily living. DAILY ExercIsE. Perhaps the most important word that can be written on this subject, since the majority of candi- dates must be women of good constitution when they apply to their Boards, is to emphasize as strongly as possible the vital necessity of orderly living. A woman physician in China writes: “Do urge upon all candidates the importance of building up a strong physique and of training themselves to work in a natural way, physically as well as mentally and spiritually.” Another voices the advice of many when she says: “We need to emphasize the value, both physical and mental, of exercise and diversion of mind. Women are more apt to look at games from a pleasure standpoint alone than are men and breakdowns are often the result.” An older missionary adds this testimony: “Physical exercise is second only to the Morning Watch in importance.” The habit of daily exercise can better be acquired in college days and in the years before going to the field than after one 24 PREPARATION OF WOMEN is plunged into the work of language study or regular mis- sionary life. A missionary bishop wisely adds: “Plan for play time and use it well. Take it in daily doses if you can. Do not ‘take exercise.’ Hunt for fun and you will find it.” Tennis is distinctly a missionary game because it provides a large amount of exercise in a short space of time! Aw AvocaTIon. Next in importance to physical exercise in keeping outwardly at one’s best among trying surround- ings is to have an avocation—a fad, it may be called. Several missionaries write on this point. One says: “Never to be without some of the great biographies of litera- ture is a good rule; and to have a fad is good; photography, or botany, or ornithology, or something. Some think there is no time for such. But I would emphasize it. Some special object of study is a relief to the missionary personally and often opens doors for friendship with others outside the missionary circle.” Another writes on the same point: “It is both a privilege and a duty to have an avocation over which one can enthuse and to take time for it. It is very sad when a missionary gradually stifles the social side of her nature, under the pretext at first of not finding time. As a consequence health suffers, she loses in sweetness of spirit and too often be- comes morbid.” SocIAL PREPARATION SocIAL RELATIONS ON THE FIELD. No missionary is sent to work among “barbarians.” She may seem to the people in her new home a barbarian because of her (to them) un- couth, Western ways. But if she considers them as bar- barians or inferiors, as objects of pity, or “natives,” or “con- verts,” she can never hope to be a successful missionary. She must have a genius for friendship and learn to love the people personally, without the official attitude, and yet without too much familiarity. The importance of the social graces is 25 PREPARATION OF WOMEN well pointed out in the following extract from a letter of a Japanese missionary: “A great part of our work consists in making friends with women of all classes, in their homes and ours, in receiving guests, perhaps in large numbers, and in mingling with all kinds of people, in order to lead them to our Lord. We have to learn their etiquette, but that is not all. They soon find out whether, behind that, we have any natural courtesy of our own. The missionary’s manners are the first thing observed, and observed very closely, by steamer and railway travelers, shop people, servants, callers, the Christian congregation, and the great mass of unbelievers all around. Defects are apt to be seriously mis- construed, or else magnanimously condoned, as the unpleasing but inevitable attributes of the somewhat barbarian foreigner, who therefore cannot be considered a safe or admirable model for the women of the country to which she has come. On the other hand, where there is true love, peace, patience, forgetfulness of self, and the quiet, subtle sympathy which love teaches, the crud- est manners are wonderfully transformed until they ‘adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour.’ ” All will readily assent to the importance of conforming to the laws of etiquette in polite Japan. But it may not be so evident that even among most primitive peoples there is an established code of manners, and Christian courtesy is there- fore an essential of success in winning these people to Christ. A missionary from the interior of Africa writes: “It is to be regretted that some of our colleges and universi- ties do not give more training in the courtesies of social life. We send men and women abroad of high spiritual attainments, of great intellectual ability, who lose in influence because their attention has never been called to the importance of conforming to the best social usage.” In choosing her outfit the new missionary should consult with experienced workers from her future field. Styles ac- ceptable in one field might give offense in another country. Extreme styles will be out of place on any mission field. On the other hand, attractive clothes will give satisfaction to the 26 PREPARATION OF WOMEN wearer and to her American as well as her foreign friends. The missionary is not called to be an ascetic, but the “all- roundest person in the world,” and, while putting first things first, she can reach a larger circle both of the people in her new home and the other American and European residents or visitors in the community by paying due regard to her manner of living and dressing. If she is permanently or temporarily living in an isolated community with no oppor- tunity for association with people who would appreciate care- fulness in personal habits, she still owes it to her own self- respect and physical and mental well-being not to grow lax in these things. PREPARATION FOR THE NEW RELATIONSHIPS. The prepa- ration in the homeland required of the missionary who would measure up to the standards set forth in the previous para- graphs must have already suggested itself to the reader. It is a case of being rather than doing, and so it is rather diff- cult to outline a course of training. Since it is true that we become like what we admire, the candidate cannot do better than to stay as much as possible in the presence of those who come nearest to the ideal. The one who follows Christ most closely will most nearly measure up to His example of per- fect tact and sympathy. The prospective missionary will find it to her advantage to have as much experience as possible in the best Christian society. This will not fully prepare her to meet the exigencies of a different social standard, but it will be the best background for the study of the manners and customs of her new home, which will form part of her fur- ther social preparation during her time of language study on the field. To sum up in the words of a missionary in Persia: “As Americans represent our civilization as well as our Chris- tianity, everything that can help us to create a beautiful home of ‘gracious hospitality, good manners, refined culture, comfort, sanitation and taste, should be our preparation.” Another report will soon be published treating this subject 27 PREPARATION OF WOMEN in more detail, possibly calling attention to some of the out- standing differences in Oriental standards of etiquette. VALUE OF INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING. The value of the years spent in college-and special training schools cannot be measured simply by the amount of knowledge acquired. The close contact with other people made necessary by dormitory life helps to wear off rough edges and to test one’s ability to live and work harmoniously with others. Officers of Boards which require of all candidates a year in a designated train- ing school testify to the importance of having such an op- portunity to weed out undesirable applicants and to become acquainted personally with students. A missionary bishop writes: “The shock to some of turning suddenly from home life to one with those of other families and other ideas ought to be met be- fore one is out on the foreign field. The training and the exper- lence gained in institutional life at home is helpful to the indi- vidual and sometimes to those with whom the individual has, later on, to live.” Friendships of college days, association with the inspiring personalities of the classroom, intimate fellowship with other workers in training who will soon be scattered to remote corners of this land and to lands afar—all this will be a rich heritage in the days to come. PRACTICAL PREPARATION PROFESSIONAL RELIGIOUS WorK. Practical experience as a professional religious worker is recommended by many missionaries, especially for the prospective evangelistic worker. Among the many forms of service mentioned is the work of pastor’s assistant, deaconess, city missionary, home missionary, settlement worker, Young Women’s Christian Association secretary and district nurse. Contact with for- eigners and experience in “roughing it” will give a little fore- 28 PREPARATION OF WOMEN taste of future tasks and will help the missionary in training to make sure that she has no antipathy for those of another race. Because she must be sure on this point before going to the field many missionaries recommend work in the United States with people from the chosen country, e. g., with Japa- nese or Chinese or Mexicans on the Pacific Coast. TEACHING. For all educational and evangelistic workers a few years of teaching in public schools, preferably in the foreign section of a large city under expert supervision, is invaluable. At the same time a careful study should be made, through reading and visitation, of school systems in this country. Western methods cannot be adopted wholesale by mission schools, but an intimate knowledge of these methods will help the educational missionary who may have a share in shaping the school system of a large territory. Such preparation will be of still more value if the teacher in this country, preparing for work abroad, will remember that life in a mission school has much of the monotony and drain on the nervous strength that she finds in the school at home. An educational missionary writes: “The majority of missionary teachers would make fewer errors and would not so easily grow discouraged had they the back- ground of experience in the homeland for comparison.” Most of the present day missionary work is not a romance but a daily routine of duty. The real teacher draws her inspiration not from novel surroundings or exciting experi- ences, but from the young lives which she is privileged to influence so greatly. VOLUNTEER SERVICE. The many activities of church life are calling loudly for leaders and no one should be more eager to serve than the young woman who is preparing for a life of service. A Sunday-school class of girls, organized if time permits into a club with weekday meetings, offers a unique opportunity for personal work. 29 PREPARATION OF WOMEN During college days the leadership of classes in Bible or mission study, while demanding much time out of a busy life, richly repays all the expenditure of time and strength. The prospective missionary, through these classes and through her every-day contact with young women, should be seeking to enlist other volunteers and to increase the number of intelligent, prayerful supporters of missions at home. KNOWLEDGE OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS AND Evits. Either as volunteer or professional workers or through intimate talks with Christian women physicians, social workers or mis- sionaries on furlough, candidates should become acquainted with the big social problems and the glaring social evils of the world. A missionary from India writes: “In every case women before coming to the field should have enough practical experience in philanthropic work to give them a knowledge of the world’s social evils. Many women who have lived entirely sheltered lives in the West have to face on the mis- sion field problems (e.g., impurity) of which they have never realized the significance before, and it is peculiarly difficult for such women to tackle the problem rightly.” Another adds: “Social hygiene demands attention. The non-Christian nations are festering physically with diseases due to social sin. It is little less than a crime to allow anyone to undertake work among them without knowing something of how to combat these diseases.” KNOWLEDGE OF THE BoarD. As soon as a young woman decides to become a foreign missionary she should write to the secretary of her Board, stating her present position and the time when she hopes to be ready to go to the field. A correspondence of great value to the prospective missionary and to the Board should follow. Officers of general and of women’s Boards are eager to help candidates in every way and will be able to give them profitable advice during the years or months of preparation. 30 PREPARATION OF WOMEN Because of the close relation between the woman mis- sionary and her home constituency an exact knowledge of the national and local organizations of her Society will insure a closer fellowship when she reaches her field of labor. One missionary testifies to the value of her experience in sharing the work of creating interest and raising funds. She should attend annual meetings when possible and she should read the monthly magazine and other publications. One of her duties after she reaches the mission field will be to interest the Church at home. She can do this much more successfully and with much less effort if she has established a personal relationship with home workers during her days of prepara- tion. Both older and younger people in the churches listen most intently to the one who cares so much that she has given her life to the work. A prospective missionary should seek out the officers of the woman’s organization in the church which she is attending and let them know of her special interest in their work. If no woman’s missionary society exists she may have the privilege of helping to or- ganize one. No extra time can be spared for this most valu- able work, yet it may be a helpful preparation by the way. CoRRESPONDENCE WITH Missionaries. If a missionary candidate does not count among her personal friends at least one woman missionary of experience, she may come in touch with such a worker through attendance at missionary meetings, through alumne records of her college, or through the secretary of her Board. As she becomes more familiar through study with the methods of work and the manner of life on the mission field she will discover many things con- cerning which she needs to have first-hand information. Correspondence with a missionary friend will be of great value and may prevent mistakes in the first years of her missionary life. Use oF VacaTions. In most institutions there is what amounts to one year of vacation during each four years of 31 PREPARATION OF WOMEN study. While part of this time should be spent in rest, there are many occupations which will prove recreative by furnish- ing a change of scene and labor. Even the young woman who must meet all her own expenses can choose ways of earning money which will add to her usefulness as a mis- sionary. Every prospective missionary should have some knowledge of housekeeping, learning enough of cooking to train servants in her missionary home to prepare healthful and appetizing meals. The married missionary of course needs this, but many other women find such knowledge equally valuable in making real homes for themselves and their coworkers and in supervising large boarding-schools. The student who learns how to make her own clothes and trim her own hats will not only reduce her expenses during her college days, but will gain renown as station dressmaker and milliner. Incidentally she might learn how to make simple repairs on her sewing machine! Even the bit of fancy work learned on a summer porch may win a welcome for the missionary and her message in the home and heart of some Oriental woman. Another valuable accomplishment is sug- gested in the following: “Every woman should learn, for her own comfort, at least, how to use effectively a hammer, saw, screw driver, and bitstock.” Most interesting and suggestive replies are given to the question—“What preparation would you now make for mis- sionary service if you were entering upon the work for the first time with your present knowledge of all that is de- manded?” One answer to this question shows how even our recreation may be a wayside preparation: “I would learn to play games with young people and children and cultivate the social side of my nature. Some mission stations are taking life so seriously that missionaries are likely to break down, because they do not know how to drop all cares for a few hours. I would learn to play tennis, to ride horseback, and to take and develop pictures.” 32 PREPARATION OF WOMEN Music. One missionary writes that he is not sure which ministry has been most effective in the field—his preaching or his wife’s singing. Any talent for music should certainly be cultivated, not simply for its value as an educative and evangelizing force, which is very great, but also for the pleasure which can thus be given to the missionary circle. One without special talent can learn to play hymns and will find many demands for that simple accomplishment. Missionary testimony is strong on the value of some musical training. One missionary says: “I know of no place in mission work where a knowledge of music, especially ability to play ordinary church music, is not greatly needed. Those who have not learned music are slowest to acquire the language. Some will say that to learn music one must have talent. This is not true. If one is unable to learn one instrument let her try another, but come prepared to make some sort of music!” EVENING CiassEs. Occasionally it may be possible and profitable, if the regular week’s program is not too full, to take up a few subjects in evening classes. A sufficient knowledge of bookkeeping for ordinary use can be secured in this way. Money sent to the mission field often represents sacrifice on the part of givers and should be carefully ex- pended. Most missionaries have to keep accounts which should be audited, and a knowledge of the elements of book- keeping would make this work easier. In the same way short courses in typewriting, nursing, domestic science, dressmaking, or millinery, might be taken. PREPARATION BY THE Way. The Apostle Paul furnishes a text for this section of our report when he admonishes us to “redeem the time.” The wayside ministries which are such an essential part of a missionary’s life are often the result of wayside preparation in the homeland. We are told that “if a thing is worth doing at all it is worth doing well.” These proverbs, if true anywhere, are for this country where 33 PREPARATION OF WOMEN specialists may be summoned by telephone from the next block. The mere mention of a few tasks which women mis- sionaries have been called upon to perform without special preparation suggests the value of even a little knowledge: nursing, filling teeth, laundry work, physical training, cata- loguing, proof-reading, bookkeeping, solo singing, repairing watches, mending engines, tuning pianos, drawing plans, laying out streets, staking out houses, superintending build- ing operations, hair-cutting, and overseeing the care of cows and horses! One missionary writes, “There is nothing worth knowing at all which will not be useful on the mission field.” Another makes the suggestion that a note-book should be kept so that the discovery of the moment will not be forgotten. This paragraph is inserted not to discourage any young woman who feels unable to do these things, but to suggest the value of going through the world with eyes that see and ears that hear, so that, while making careful prepar- ation for one form of missionary service, one’s whole life may be enriched through this preparation by the way. Because of the number of practical accomplishments enu- merated as useful to the future missionary it may be well to suggest the importance of a correct balance between the cultural and the practical lines of preparation. Though a few correspondents put the emphasis on the practical, sug- gesting that a thorough course in domestic science, e. g., should take precedence over common history or general science, more weighty testimony is along the line of the fol- lowing quotations: “The practical side one learns by doing, even through many difficulties, but the lack of inspirational training, scholarly habits and the ability to think large is most difficult to supplement on the field. These things seem to me a possession far more indis- pensable to the missionary than any amount of mere technical ability.” “A woman with a trained mind can learn to cook and keep house without taking courses in domestic science, though of 3B PREPARATION OF WOMEN course such study is profitable. She can also learn much by reading regarding the care of children. My fear is that if women intending to be married are advised to take special preparation along these lines, they may use for it time that might better be employed in more cultural lines, and such a lack is hard to make up when one has arrived on the field.” THE PREPARATION OF THE MARRIED WOMAN All that has been said in the previous sections and in those which follow relates equally to the married and to the single woman missionary. It is hoped that one of the results of this report will be that the young woman who expects to go to the field as a bride, the young man with whom she goes, the sending Board and the missionaries on the field will have a higher idea than before of the place of the married woman, not simply as the wife of a missionary, but as a real mission- ary herself. This is the attitude taken by many missionaries and mission Boards but it is not yet universal, the result be- ing that not sufficient care is taken to scrutinize the papers of married women. Upon the mission field they have there- fore sometimes failed to contribute their share to the work of the mission. “The wife should be called of God as well as by her husband,” writes one missionary. Many of our correspondents on the field urge the same home prepara- tion for the married as for the single woman missionary. Many urge that she have the same general training as far as possible, and in addition that she should be asked to spe- cialize in domestic science, the care of the children, nursing, first aid and social service! One cannot be a specialist in so many directions, especially when the call to foreign ser- vice comes in many cases only a few months before she must start for the field. But many missionary wives and mothers without such special preparation in the homeland, but with a keen sense of their mission and of the need of their new neighbors, have been able to prepare themselves on the field for service of the highest value. They must give themselves 35 PREPARATION OF WOMEN with great determination, often under serious handicaps, to the study of the language during their first years on the field. Otherwise they cannot enter fully into the large opportuni- ties which will soon present themselves. In the report of the conference on the Preparation of Women for Missionary Service there is a valuable paper on this subject which should be read by every married woman on the mission field and by all who are looking forward to this sphere of service. PREPARATION OF THE Last S1tx MontTHs APPOINTMENT. The desire has been frequently expressed that candidates should know some time in advance the coun- try to which they will be appointed. This plan has many advantages, though it cannot always be carried out. Usu- ally a candidate does receive her appointment at least six ~ months before the time of sailing. Correspondence with her Board secretary will give definite information concerning the use of these last precious months in the homeland, but a few suggestions may be given here. Rest. If her preparation has been carried on without regular vacations the candidate should take some time for thorough rest. She should not depend upon the ocean voy- age for this, but should plan for a real vacation. Our cor- respondents state that doctors and nurses especially need this advice. Adjustments to new climatic conditions and separa- tions from old friends can be borne with less strain, if the missionary leaves for the field in good physical condition. FINAL TRAINING. There may be opportunity for a short course at a school of missions, when work may be taken with the definite field in mind. If this is not possible, the new mis-~ sionary may be able to read up on the history and customs of her designated field. Many Boards have an annual train- ing conference for new missionaries at which time important subjects are discussed. Board manuals for candidates and missionaries will give detailed information concerning final 36 PREPARATION OF WOMEN preparation. With the knowledge of the definite work she is to do clearly in mind, the new missionary may be able to visit schools, hospitals, or religious and philanthropic insti- tutions, studying methods with a view to future adaptation of the same to her particular task. THE APPEAL FOR SERVICE. The missionary under ap- pointment has a unique message to give and she can count upon an attentive audience. Her life is a challenge to other young people, and the last six months offer many opportuni- ties for her to state in the simplest language possible her reasons for going to the field and her joy in her chosen work. If time and strength permit, this preparation for service by appealing for the service of others has a far-reaching in- fluence. PREPARATION ON THE MISSION FIELD LANGUAGE ScHoots. It is generally conceded that the first two years of a missionary’s life on the field should be spent largely in study of the language. All her work in after years will be seriously crippled, if she does not lay a strong foundation at the very beginning. For the sake of the greatest efficiency efforts are being made to establish union language schools at central points in different coun- tries. At these schools provision is made for a scientific study of the language under expert teachers. This is the chief work of the school, but there is opportunity at the same time for instruction in the religions, social life and thought of the peoples, and for investigation of missionary work. Not all of the time set apart for language study should be spent in the language school. The new worker should proceed after a short course at the school to continue her study and practice of the vernacular in the station where her work is to lie. Temptations to plunge into active work will be strong, because older workers are carrying heavy burdens and long days of study may prove irksome, but the missionary who 37 PREPARATION OF WOMEN takes a long look ahead will realize how much depends on faithful concentration on the task of the hour. Where lan- guage schools have not yet been started older missionaries make the best arrangements possible to facilitate the ac- quirement of a working knowledge of the language. Each missionary has her own special teacher and countless oppor- tunities for practicing her limited vocabulary. For fuller treatment of this subject see the special report on language study. OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER PREPARATION. The real student is a student all her life and the daily life of the mis- sionary should be a constant stimulus to further study. The language always demands attention and the study of it may extend over long years. The exigencies of the work may call . for a knowledge of some subject not studied before leaving home and the successful missionary makes time for the ac- quisition of the needed information. The religious and social life of the people among whom she works must be understood if she is to present the Christian message most tactfully. So by reading and observation she will seek to prepare herself further along these lines. One missionary reports the habit, worthy of emulation, of keeping some reg- ular study always on hand. She writes: “A half hour’s work daily upon some subject in which one is deficient will make a wonderful difference, keeping the mind bright and adding materially to the equipment of a missionary. By a careful use of odd minutes this can be done during three quarters of the time.” While the caution most needed on the mission field is against overwork a missionary bishop of large experience adds a paragraph that deserves attention: “No one should be more insistent on an eight hour work-day than the missionary who has no one but God to call her to ac- count for the way she uses her time. Let her be sure she works creatively, exhaustively. She must never let her intellect grow 38 a PREPARATION OF WOMEN rusty. She has incomparable opportunities for hard, masterful thinking, and she ought always to have one solid book before her.” PREPARATION WHILE ON FURLOUGH Another committee has prepared a report on this impor- tant subject, so that it is not necessary to dwell upon it here. Many of the missionaries who contributed to the prepara- tion of this paper were spending their furloughs in this coun- try. They gave repeated testimony to the value of a period of study during the year of furlough. This furnishes an op- portunity to make up for deficiencies in earlier training as well as to pursue studies along the line of the work in which they are engaged. One missionary suggests the postpone- ment of all special preparation until the first furlough, when the worker will know exactly what she needs, but most of those who are taking up special studies during furlough ex- press regret that they were not able to have better prepara- tion before beginning their work. Another worker on her first furlough, unable to give time for a course at a Bible school, is taking a correspondence course in Old Testament history and finding it most profitable. CONCLUSION RELATED PAMPHLETS AND Reports, Other reports issued under the auspices of the Board of Missionary Preparation will supplement the material in this report. We would men- tion particularly the reports on ‘the Preparation of Medical and of Educational Missionaries and the reports on the preparation of missionaries appointed to various countries. These are listed on the inside back cover page and may be had separately or grouped in volumes. The leaflet on “Fundamental Qualifications” is obtainable from the Stu- dent Volunteer Movement. An account of the facilities in this country for the training of missionaries, printed in 1914, and a very valuable pamphlet on courses of reading for 39 PREPARATION OF WOMEN candidates will be found in the Third Annual Report, listed below. A series of reports for workers among the people brought up under various non-Christian religious environ- ments will be available, at least as regards Confucianists, Buddhists, Hindus and Mohammedans, during 1917. All these may be consulted with profit by young women contem- plating missionary service. Reports of Commission V of the Edinburgh Conference and of the Continuation Com- mittee Conferences in Asia set forth in detail the ideal standard for the preparation of missionaries and practical suggestions for realizing that ideal. THE Test oF Fitness. It is possible that some young women who have read these pages may feel like turning from them in despair, confused by the many lines of work . outlined, and feeling their insufficiency for this great work. One missionary reports that some Student Volunteers she had met were discouraged because the requirements seemed endless. We have been conscious of this danger in present- ing so many different phases of the work, but in closing, as at the beginning, we would remind our prospective workers, whose help in far greater numbers we are earnestly seeking, that we have had in mind many kinds of workers of different ages preparing for varied forms of service in many different countries calling for a large variety of ability. By applying to her Board the candidate throws upon its officers the responsibility for deciding upon her fitness. A more encouraging and far more important thought should stimulate the worker who feels that God has called her by the greatness of the need and of the opportunity, by the rich endowment He has bestowed upon her and by the sense of mission which has come to her in hours of true communion. It is the thought that He who has called her will perfect her for the work. May she be able to say, in the words of Campbell Morgan: “It is when I begin to do what I can’t do that I do it in the power of the Spirit.” 49 PUBLICATIONS OF THE BOARD The First Annual Report (1911) Of historical value, giving full details of the first year of organization. Paper, price 25 cents, postpaid. The First and Second Annual Reports (1911, 1912) A few copies bound in one volume. Valuable for completing sets. Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. : The Third Annual Report (1913) Rich in suggestions concerning the special training which evangelistic, educational, medical, and women missionaries should seek. It also con- tains a report on the use of the missionary furlough, a list of the institu- tions which offer special courses for candidates, and suggestions of valu- able courses of reading. Paper, price 25 cents, postpaid. The Fourth Annual Report (1914) Containing reports on preparation for different fields, such as China, India, Japan, Latin America, the Near Hast and Pagan Africa. It also includes full reports of the two important Conferences on Preparation of Ordained Missionaries and Administrative Problems, Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. The Fifth Annual Report (1915) Including the reports of the two important Conferences on Prepara- tion of Women for Foreign Service and Preparation of Medical Mission- aries, Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid, The Sixth Annual Report (1916) Containing, besides the report of the Annual Meeting, the full report of the important Conference on Educational Preparation. Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. The Seventh Annual Report (1917) Containing the minutes and proceedings of the Annual Meeting. Paper, price 25 cents, postpaid. CONFERENCE REPORTS The Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Women for Foreign Missionary Service. Paper, 25 cents. The Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Medical Missionaries. Paper, 25 cents. The Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Ordained Missionaries, Paper, 25 cents. The Presentation of Christianity in Confucian Lands. Paper, 50 cents. The Presentation of Christianity to Hindus. Paper, 50 cents. The Presentation of Christianity to Moslems. Paper, 50 cents. REPRINTS OF SPECIAL REPORTS Preparation of Ordained Missionaries (revised). 10 cents. Preparation of Medical Missionaries (revised). 10 cents. Preparation of Educational Missionaries (revised). 10 cents. Preparation of Women for Foreign Service (revised). 10 cents. Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to China. 10 cents. Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to India. 10 cents. Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to Japan. 10 cents. Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to Latin America, 10 cents. Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to the Near East. 10 cents. Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to Pagan Africa. 10 cents. Se Cer sak ae 2 C pe) >. 2 as AAS a