American ^oarb of Commissioners 
 for J^orriga P^issions. 
 
 Sunnyskle in West Central Africa. 
 
 FOR YOUNG HOUSEKEEPERS AND OTHERS. 
 
 A FAMILIAR, PERSONAL LETTER. 
 
 [printed, not published.] 
 
SUNNYSIDE IN WEST CENTRAL 
 
 Africa. 
 
 Bailunda, Africa, A ugust 2, 1882. 
 
 My Dear Friend: — You remember I 
 promised you a letter giving the little 
 details of our every-day life. At last I 
 can carry out that promise, and will try to 
 get before you as correct a picture of our 
 surroundings and our work as possible, and 
 I take great pleasure in doing so. How 
 much nicer it would be if you could only see 
 for yourself. I am sure it would do your 
 heart good. We often say one to another. 
 If only our dear American friends could see 
 how pleasantly we are situated, and how 
 well we are ! Surely “goodness and mercy 
 have followed me.” And this morning, 
 when we were singing our morning hymn, 
 the following words seemed so full of 
 meaning to me: 
 
3 
 
 “ since from His bounty I receive 
 Such proofs of love divine, 
 
 Had I a thousand hearts to give, 
 
 Lord! they should all be thine.” 
 
 And, oh, I do praise God more and more 
 each day, that I could give my life to His 
 service; had I many lives they should all 
 be given to this blessed work. 
 
 Now, as the children say, “let us play you 
 came to spend the day with us.” As you 
 near our “imbo” [village] one of the first 
 things which will attract your notice will be 
 the stars and stripes flying high in the air. 
 At first you will hardly discover the cot¬ 
 tages, because of the high fence of rude 
 poles; but, once inside the enclosure, three 
 long, low, grass-covered dwellings meet your 
 eyes, and for a moment you may pity the 
 poor creatures who are obliged to live in 
 such uncomfortable homes. But do not be 
 too hasty, please; these are not “ whited 
 sepulchers,” but are much nicer within than 
 without. You will find our front door at the 
 back of the house; however, that does not 
 signify. Now please be seated in our arm¬ 
 chair, and while I am busy preparing dinner, 
 you may look about the room. Oh ! I beg 
 pardon — I mean roof/is. In the northeast 
 corner stands a table composed of two boxes 
 
4 
 
 on end, with the extra leaves of our exten¬ 
 sion-table for the top; the boxes are con¬ 
 cealed by a white curtain, the top is covered 
 with a handsome red and white spread; here 
 are our Bibles, albums, choice books, the 
 faces of several dear friends in pretty 
 frames, a card-receiver of Japanese work 
 filled with pretty shells, a vase of sweet 
 flowers, and other things too numerous to 
 mention. Above the table, on the east side, 
 are two swinging shelves, containing Mr. 
 Stover’s books, bright cards, etc. You 
 would hardly guess how rude the boards 
 are which the pretty lambrequins hide from 
 sight. On the north end, near the window, 
 hangs the clock, beneath which is our “ Silent 
 Comforter,” whose cheering texts for every¬ 
 day are an inspiration and help in our work. 
 My dear old father looks down upon us 
 from his place on the east side of the wall; 
 mother’s place is in the bed-room, but, as 
 there is no “visible partition,” they are not 
 separated. Between these is a beautiful 
 bracket of Japanese work, with ornaments 
 and pictures, while above hangs a motto, 
 
 “ Rejoice in the Lord,” the work of a dear 
 friend whose brush has painted many a gem 
 to cheer those who labor in distant lands. 
 
5 
 
 In the southeast corner you will see our 
 bed, dressed in white; between it and the 
 table is as pretty a center-table as one cares 
 to see. The table itself is the work of my 
 husband, while I covered it with cretonne of 
 rich pattern. On each side is a pocket, and 
 the whole is drawn together in the center 
 with cord and tassels of crimson silk, which 
 had long been kept for some use, I knew not 
 what. Mr. S. thinks it pays much better to 
 make such things than to send to America 
 for them, and Mr. W. thought he would 
 send in an order for us to make one for 
 him. 
 
 Now, in the bed-room you will find a very 
 convenient toilet arrangement, also made of 
 two of our boxes and curtained with cre¬ 
 tonne. Behind this is my oil-cloth splasher, 
 with its various pockets. The glass, a bright 
 chromo, and Mr. S.’s watch-pocket very 
 nearly conceal the wall. At the head of the 
 bed is a picture of class ’78 O. C.; beneath, 
 another bracket, etc. In this corner is a 
 home-made bracket, Mr. S.’s work, covered 
 with a bright lambrequin. Above is the 
 motto, “Home, Sweet Home.” 
 
 On the west side of the house is the door, 
 on the south side our cupboard, also made by 
 
6 
 
 my husband’s skillful fingers, out of more 
 boxes, and various pieces of board, curtained 
 with blue zuarte. Our tin boxes are dis¬ 
 posed of in various places, and are very con¬ 
 venient. The stove has its place on the 
 north side of the room. On one side of 
 this is still another cupboard, also curtained 
 with blue. This is for pots, kettles, etc. 
 Miss M.’s little room is the northwest 
 corner, curtained off with two quilts and a 
 blanket. This partition makes an admirable 
 place to hang our clothes ; our mackintoshes 
 and a sheet cover them and keep out all 
 dust and smoke. The table has its place in 
 the center of the room. The floor is cov¬ 
 ered with two or three thicknesses of mats 
 of native manufacture, and really very nice; 
 so, with the rugs we bought in Boston, our 
 floors are very comfortable. Miss M.’s 
 room is a perfect little gem. 
 
 Now, as you have had ample time to look 
 about, let us refresh the inner man with an 
 African dinner. Yesterday the brethren 
 killed a beef; today we will have some 
 soup for the first course; some pearled 
 barley and a little celery salt (a gift from 
 a friend) make it very nice. We have both 
 corn and white bread, mashed potatoes (very 
 
7 
 
 small indeed, but quite nice), and squash pie. 
 For supper I will give you some tea, if you 
 wish — we always treat our company, but 
 when alone prefer pure cold water, with 
 which we are greatly blessed — the same 
 kinds of bread we had for dinner, cold meat, 
 dried-apple-sauce, and gingerbread. I hope 
 you will not think us extravagant when I tell 
 you the gingerbread and pie-crust are made 
 of two thirds corn-flour. We often wish 
 our friends at home could have some of our 
 delicious corn-meal and flour. The mill we 
 brought from Lisbon works to a charm, and 
 is worth everything. The flour is as fine as 
 the finest wheat, and very sweet and nice. 
 The sweet potatoes are very nice; squash is 
 good when one does not have too much ; 
 beans are of a very poor quality. Thus far 
 we have had plenty of eggs. When we get 
 our gardens we hope to make most of our 
 living from them. We realize the necessity 
 of good wholesome food for health’s sake. 
 
 Well, dinner is over, the work done, and 
 we will now have a little chat about our 
 friends. I can entertain you today, but yes¬ 
 terday afternoon was busy preparing my 
 beef for corning and drying; and very 
 thankful am I that I learned how to do such 
 
8 
 
 things. I realize more than ever the impor¬ 
 tance of girls learning how to do everything 
 that pertains to housekeeping. Miss M. 
 and I do not regret the discipline we have 
 had. We feel that we have great cause for 
 rejoicing today. Brothers Fay and Sanders 
 returned last evening from the king’s camp. 
 The Lord went with them and prospered 
 them in all their dealings with the king, 
 even more than we dared hope for. Mr. 
 Stover and Mr. Sanders are out now mak¬ 
 ing arrangements for our new house. We 
 shall have three rooms; two bed-rooms, 
 with a fire-place in each, both for health 
 and comfort. Brother Miller is busy with 
 his school again, and has a little room nicely 
 fitted up for the purpose. We like Mr. 
 Miller very muc*li. He seems energetic and 
 full of the spirit of Christ. Brother Fay 
 lives with him. They get along nicely 
 together. Brother F. keeps well and in the 
 best of spirits. ... I do wish you could see 
 little Freddie Walter; he is such a sweet 
 baby, and a great comfort to all. ... In¬ 
 deed, dear friend, it would be hard to tell 
 you of all our blessings and causes for 
 thankfulness. 
 
 Now let me speak of our manner of life. 
 
9 
 
 We consider regular hours for sleep and 
 diet essential; also plenty of fresh air and 
 exercise. We arise about six. Mr. Stover 
 spends the forenoon studying; he enjoys 
 the language exceedingly. Miss M. and I 
 find the same duties to perform that we ever 
 did. After dinner we take a short rest, and 
 when it gets cooler we take a walk, which 
 we always enjoy. Half past nine rarely 
 finds us out of bed. And I have been 
 amazed at the way some of us are able to 
 sleep. This is one of the blessings, and not 
 a small one by any means. One day Mrs. 
 Walter and the baby went with us for a 
 walk, and we found the most beautiful place 
 down by the brook, where the rocks are in 
 terraces, with water clear as crystal flowing 
 over them. Mr. S. carried the baby, while 
 Mrs. W. and I scrambled over the rocks like 
 a couple of school girls, gathering moss and 
 the most beautiful ground-pine. Oh, the 
 flowers! how shall I describe them ! Of one 
 I must speak, because of its close resem¬ 
 blance, both in appearance and odor, to the 
 trailing arbutus. When the grass is burnt 
 off, this beautiful flower springs up in great 
 profusion, and we love it because of its be¬ 
 ing so nearly like our emblematic flower. 
 
10 
 
 Do you wish to know what we think of 
 the people ? Oh, I wish I could tell you all 
 there is in my heart. Can you believe me 
 when I tell you that already I have learned 
 to love them ? There is no feeling of repug¬ 
 nance, which I so much feared. My heart 
 goes out to them and my eyes often overflow 
 as I look at them in their degradation. God 
 hasten the day when we can tell them the 
 story of redeeming love. Sometimes I have 
 a group of girls about me, looking at pictures 
 or something else, and it seems so hard that 
 I cannot talk with them, and lift them out of 
 their degradation and ignorance. We need 
 much patience and much grace, that we may 
 be “wise as serpents and harmless as 
 doves ” in dealing with these people. The 
 boys are especially winning, with their bright 
 faces and musical voices. Indeed, Mr. 
 Stover thinks it the most musical language 
 he ever studied. The women are more 
 repulsive, because of the way they dress 
 their hair, anointing it with yellow palm-oil, 
 which is very disagreeable. I am sure you 
 would be amused could you see them as 
 they watch me comb my hair; both the 
 length and color seem to amaze them; 
 they make ,a great many gestures, and ex- 
 
II 
 
 claim “ Chiwa, chiwa” [good, beautiful], 
 “ ondona chiwa.” I have entertained them 
 for an hour at a time by giving them 
 pictures to look at. Sometimes they are 
 amused, sometimes seem frightened. There 
 will be great rejoicing among us when we can 
 explain things to them and tell them why we 
 came here. 
 
 I think you can hardly imagine how much we 
 enjoy our Sabbath'services, also the Thurs¬ 
 day evening meeting; these hours are very 
 precious to us. We have decided to spend 
 an hour every evening after tea in reading 
 aloud. And Miss Mawhir and I have been 
 agitating the question of forming a reading- 
 circle, all meeting in our room one evening 
 in the week for select reading, if the rest of 
 the mission are in favor of it. It has not 
 yet been laid before them. 
 
 Dear friends, can you for a moment think 
 of us as lonely or cast down? You cannot 
 imagine how much we enjoy our work; but 
 you do know the blessedness of living each 
 day for Christ, and you know the joy of a 
 Christian life. I said in one of my letters 
 that I thought if some of our friends at home 
 who pity us and think we have thrown our 
 lives away, could only look in upon us and see 
 
 
12 
 
 how comfortable we are, how much we enjoy 
 each day, their pity would turn to envy. 
 
 I do not know why we should not keep 
 well, even when the rains come. Leaving 
 the coast without the slightest indication of 
 fever, coming in the season we did, and get¬ 
 ting so acclimated before the wet season, we 
 hope to keep well and able to work all the year. 
 Mr. Stover has had two jiggers only, while 
 Miss M. and I have escaped entirely thus far. 
 
 As for being lonely or home-sick, the 
 thought has never entered our minds. We 
 love our friends as dearly as ever, but we do 
 not feel that we are buried or are out of the 
 world. We rejoice in our work, in each 
 other, and most of all in our blessed Lord, 
 who has counted us worthy to labor with 
 Him in the saving of these souls. 
 
 Please, dear friends, pray that we may be 
 faithful in the least thing. We realize that 
 we are not our own; we are not only “bought 
 with a price,” but we feel we owe much to 
 the American Board, and it behooves us to 
 take good care of our bodies. . . . 
 
 Sincerely yours in Christ, 
 
 Bertha D. Stover. 
 
 Sent from A. B. C. F. M. Rooms, 
 Boston, Dec. 6,1882. E. K. A.