?(nu'rican ‘ 25 oarb of Commioj^ionerj^ for jforei0n jCiai00ionff. 
 
 MANUAL 
 
 FOR 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE BOARD: 
 
 BEACON PRESS, THOS. TODD, CONGREGATIONAL HOUSE, BOSTON. 
 
 1889. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 The remarkable growth of woman’s work in the 
 foreign field and the large number of Christian women 
 who, in connection with the Woman’s Boards, are devot¬ 
 ing themselves to this service in the different missions 
 of the American Board and under its care and super¬ 
 vision, suggest the importance of a Manual that may 
 define the qualifications of candidates, and their rela¬ 
 tions to the different Boards and to the missions of 
 which they may become members. 
 
 This pamphlet is intended to be such a Manual for the 
 use of women who wish to engage in missionary work, 
 and for their guidance after their appointment as mission¬ 
 aries. It will serve instead of many written and verbal 
 answers to inquiries which must otherwise be proposed 
 to the Secretaries or Treasurer. It will always be 
 presumed that candidates have made themselves ac¬ 
 quainted with the contents of these pages, and that 
 nothing need be repeated which is contained here. 
 
 I. Missionary Candidates. 
 
 An early decision to be a missionary will do no injury 
 to one who may be providentially kept from engaging 
 in the foreign service. The thought and hope of such 
 service at some day will be a means of healthful dis¬ 
 cipline in Christian character. A sincere regard for 
 duty and a resolute pursuit of it are far less likely to 
 be injurious to one’s usefulness than a timorous shrink¬ 
 ing from responsibility. Qualifications and the oppor¬ 
 tunity may be regarded as constituting a call to the 
 foreign field. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 3 
 
 II. Qualifications. 
 
 Of these some are indispensable for all candidates 
 for the missionary work, while others are especially 
 requisite in certain departments of that work. 
 
 1. The same general qualifications are requisite 
 which are justly esteemed as the conditions of success 
 at home : an unimpaired physical constitution ; good 
 intellectual ability, well disciplined by education, and 
 if possible by practical experience ; good sense ; sound 
 judgment of men and things; versatility, tact, adapta¬ 
 tion to all classes and circumstances — “ sanctified 
 common sense ; ” a cheerful, hopeful spirit, ability to 
 work pleasantly with others; persistent energy in the 
 carrying out of plans once begun — all controlled by 
 a single-hearted^ self-sacrificing devotion to Christ and his 
 cause. 
 
 Mental powers and attainments of the highest order, 
 executive ability and capacity for organizing and super¬ 
 intending, find ample scope in the missionary field. 
 Though there are many helps to the acquisition of 
 foreign languages not enjoyed by the early mission¬ 
 aries, facility in acquiring a foreign tongue is a valuable 
 qualification ; yet much depends on the persistent pur¬ 
 pose to master it. The candidate should sustain a 
 good character among those who know her. Her 
 standing should be such that when her intention is 
 announced the common sentiment of those who know 
 her will be that she is well qualified for the work. 
 
 2. As to the second class of qualifications, namely, 
 special adaptations to a particular department of labor : 
 
 Those who expect to be engaged mainly in teaching 
 should be thoroughly prepared by their intellectual 
 attainments and discipline, and should have shown 
 special fitness in actual service, by their success not 
 only in the general work of teaching, but in moulding 
 character., shaping the minds and hearts of their pupils. 
 
 A missionary physician should have what would in 
 this country be esteemed a competent medical educa¬ 
 tion ; and she should be prepared and determined to 
 make her professional knowledge and skill directly 
 subservient to the furtherance of the gospel. 
 
4 
 
 MANUAL. 
 
 The foregoing qualifications are requisite in women, 
 whether married or unmarried, who go out as mission¬ 
 aries, so far as they are applicable to their sphere of 
 labor and their peculiar circumstances. Practical 
 knowledge of domestic work, especially of the cidinary 
 art^ is often of very great value. Indeed, there is no 
 knowledge, or attainment, or practical experience of 
 any sort, that may not be of service in the foreign field. 
 
 In all ordinary cases it is expected that those who 
 become missionaries will consecrate themselves to this 
 service for life. 
 
 III. Time and Manner of applying for an Appointment, 
 
 It is desirable that the offer of service should be made 
 six months at least before the candidate expects to 
 complete her preparation. 
 
 The offer should be written, and it should be ad¬ 
 dressed to the Secretaries, or if preferred, the applica¬ 
 tion may be made through the Woman’s Board. The 
 candidate should give a brief history of herself, setting 
 forth her age, residence, early education, habits, employ¬ 
 ments, religious experience, views and motives in desir¬ 
 ing the missionary work, the department of labor in 
 which she wishes to engage, and the field she prefers, 
 if she has any preference, with the reasons therefor. 
 She should state particularly whether she has a sound 
 constitution and enjoys good health, or the contrary; 
 whether she is in debt, or expects to be so when her 
 studies are completed; and in short, any particulars 
 respecting herself which she thinks the Committee 
 ought to know in acting upon her offer of service. 
 This paper should be drawn up with great frankness 
 on the part of the candidate. She may expect that a 
 corresponding frankness will be used toward herself. 
 Acquaintance, personal or by correspondence, with 
 members of some one of the Woman’s Boards is 
 specially desirable. 
 
 The offer of those who are to become the wives of 
 missionaries is usually made through their intended 
 husbands, but should cover the same ground with that 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 5 
 
 which is presented by single ladies, since wives of mis¬ 
 sionaries receive personal appointments as assistant 
 missionaries. 
 
 IV. Testimonials. 
 
 The Prudential Committee regard it their duty, 
 before appointing any person as a missionary of the 
 Board, to obtain a thorough knowledge of her char¬ 
 acter and qualifications for the work to which she as¬ 
 pires. For this reason a personal acquaintance is 
 sought in all cases where it is possible. In the first 
 instance, however, written testimonials are obtained 
 and sent on by the candidate. These should relate to 
 the various points already noticed under the head of 
 “ qualifications.” 
 
 The proper persons to furnish testimonials are 
 the pastor, with the deacons or elders of the church 
 to which the candidate belongs, or where she is best 
 known as a Christian. If a physician, the persons with 
 whom she pursued her professional studies should give 
 her testimonials in regard to her proficiency therein. 
 
 It is desirable that others also who are well acquainted 
 with the candidate should freely give their opinion as 
 to her fitness for the work. An intelligent and pious 
 woman in whose family she has resided, or who has 
 otherwise become well acquainted with her, may give 
 much valuable information. If educated at any acad¬ 
 emy, seminary, or college, there should be a letter from 
 the principal of the institution. In every instance there 
 should be an explicit statement as to health, and the 
 testimony of the family physician should be obtained. 
 
 Those whose physical constitutions have been at 
 any time seriously impaired, who have suffered from 
 rheumatic complaints or affections of the spine, and 
 especially for a long time from nervous prostration, or 
 from difficulties peculiar to women, as a general rule, 
 ought not to go abroad. 
 
 The more full, minute, and explicit these testimo¬ 
 nials are, the better. They should be sealed by the 
 writers and addressed to the Secretaries of the Board. 
 Too much carefulness cannot be exercised by persons 
 
6 
 
 MANUAL. 
 
 called on to give testimonials, to be conscientiously 
 faithful to their convictions, as a duty alike to the can¬ 
 didate and to the cause of Christ. 
 
 V. Questions for Missiofiary Candidates. 
 
 The following questions which missionary candi¬ 
 dates are requested carefully to answer, though with all 
 convenient brevity, in their offer of service, will show 
 what is desired by the Prudential Committee : 
 
 1. What are your views respecting each of the lead¬ 
 ing doctrines of Scripture commonly held by the 
 churches sustaining this Board.? In answering this 
 question, you may use your own language, or refer to 
 any creeds of acknowledged weight, as to the doctrines 
 contained in these creeds. 
 
 2. Have you any views at variance with these doc¬ 
 trines, or any views of church government which would 
 prevent your cordial cooperation with the missionaries 
 of this Board ? 
 
 3. wnat leads you to think that you have been 
 renewed by the Holy Spirit ? 
 
 4. How long have you been a communicant in the 
 church, and of what church are you now a member.? 
 
 5. What leads you to desire foreign missionary ser¬ 
 vice .? 
 
 6. How do you regard hardship, suffering, and 
 peril incurred in prosecuting the missionary work; and 
 to what extent are you taking them into the account 
 and preparing yourself to meet them ? 
 
 7. What is your purpose relative to entering into 
 the missionary work for life ? 
 
 8. What is your age ? What is your native place .? 
 Where has been your residence ? In what business 
 or employments have you been engaged.? 
 
 9. What course of education have you pursued ? Do 
 you acquire languages easily ? What knowledge have 
 you of music ? 
 
 10. What is the state of your health? Did you in¬ 
 herent a good constitution in all respects ? Are you 
 aware of being now, or of having been at any time. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 7 
 
 subject to any bodily ailment or infirmity ? Are your 
 habits sedentary or active ? 
 
 11. Are any near relatives to such a degree depend¬ 
 ent on you, or likely to become so, that you are under 
 obligations to make provision for their support ? 
 
 12. Do you assent to the rules and regulations of 
 the Board, or is there anything in its organization or 
 rules, or in the organization or manner of conducting 
 its missions, which you disapprove, or which would pre¬ 
 vent your laboring cheerfully and happily under its 
 direction, and in conformity with its regulations and 
 those of the missions ? 
 
 VI. Under Appointment. 
 
 The appointment and the designation are two distinct 
 things. They need not be decided at the same time; 
 and often they are not. The first will be decided as 
 soon as possible after the necessary papers are com¬ 
 plete ; and the second as soon thereafter as circum¬ 
 stances will permit. The designation is always made 
 as the result of a free conference with the missionary, 
 and never in opposition to her expressed views and 
 wishes. In respect to this matter, the interest of the 
 missionary and of the Prudential Committee are the 
 same. 
 
 The missionary engages, on accepting her appoint¬ 
 ment, to conform to the rules and regulations of the 
 Board, the nature of which she is supposed distinctly 
 to understand. She comes, moreover, under certain 
 other distinct and well-understood pledges: (i.) As to 
 her manner of life., which is to be one of exemplary 
 piety and devotion to her work. (2.) As to her teach¬ 
 ing., which must be conformed to the evangelical doc¬ 
 trines generally received by the churches sustaining the 
 Board, and set forth in their well-known Confessions of 
 Faith. 
 
 The salaries of missionaries begin on arriving upon 
 a mission field. The Board does not pay the debts of 
 missionaries contracted before their appointment, nor 
 those which they contract afterward unless previously 
 
8 
 
 MANUAL. 
 
 authorized by the Committee. It is a standing usage 
 not to pay any part of the expenses incurred in prep¬ 
 aration for the work abroad. The allowance for the 
 support of the missionary in the foreign field is not to 
 be regarded, in any proper sense, as compensation for 
 labor performed ; nor is it graded to suit the varying 
 abilities or success of different individuals, as in ordi¬ 
 nary business occupations. The salaries asked by a 
 mission for its different members, after consultation 
 with them, and allowed by the Prudential Committee, 
 are supposed to express what is necessary in the way 
 of pecuniary support to their greatest efficiency and 
 success. In one sense it is a grant in aid made by the 
 churches at home through the Prudential Committee. 
 It is desired that the missionary should be free from 
 anxiety in regard to means of living, so as to leave 
 heart and hand at liberty for the best possible service 
 in the cause of Christ. Compensation for this service 
 will be found in the fulfillment of a personal duty and 
 privilege, and in the conscious presence and approba¬ 
 tion of the Lord. Enlistment in the missionary en¬ 
 terprise is wholly voluntary, as well on the part of the 
 missionary who goes abroad as on the part of her 
 fellow Christians who remain at home. They are co¬ 
 workers and mutual helpers. It is necessary for all to 
 feel that they are discharging only their own personal 
 obligations to the Head of the Church—that, under 
 his eye, they are performing only their own appropriate 
 work. 
 
 The fact should never be lost sight of that the Board 
 and its Committee and officers have identically the 
 same object in view and the same interest as the mis¬ 
 sionaries. Their object and their interest are nothing 
 less than to render all the missions and missionaries in 
 connection with the Board as useful as possible. 
 
 Before the appointment is made, the correspondence 
 of the candidate is with the Secretary for the home de¬ 
 partment ; afterward it is with the Secretary having 
 charge of the foreign correspondence. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 9 
 
 VII. Ou^t. 
 
 The outfit of a missionary includes clothing, bedding, 
 and all necessary furnishing for her own room, on ar¬ 
 riving at her place of destination, and the necessary 
 furnishing for housekeeping when two or more are to be 
 associated. This will include furniture for a kitchen 
 and a common sitting-room, besides bed-rooms for 
 each. 
 
 It is desirable that the relatives and personal friends of 
 the candidate should aid in furnishing outfit so far as able 
 and disposed to do so, not only as contributing so much 
 to the treasury of the Board, but also as a means of en¬ 
 larging their interest in the work itself. Of course those 
 parents who would have aided their children with funds 
 to commence housekeeping will not withhold their 
 aid because their children b^ecome missionaries to the 
 heathen. Collections or subscriptions of money taken 
 up for a missionary’s outfit at a public meeting or out¬ 
 side of the circle of a missionary’s personal friends are 
 almost always inexpedient, and often lead to unwise 
 expenditure, and, therefore, waste of mission funds. 
 If ever made, in view of local interest excited, the sums 
 raised should be regarded by the missionary as so much 
 received for outfit, and they should be acknowledged 
 accordingly. Thus acknowledged they help forward 
 the general work. 
 
 Application should never be made to an auxiliary 
 society for aid in procuring outfit, nor for an extra 
 allowance beyond what is given by the Board. If the 
 allowance made by the Board is not large enough, it 
 ought to be increased. If it is sufficient, the auxiliary 
 ought not to be requested to enlarge it. Besides, irreg¬ 
 ularities of this kind will lead to evils without end. 
 
 Well-made boxes of the medium size are ordinarily 
 more convenient for clothing than trunks.* * The boxes 
 should be numbered, and a list made of every article 
 contained in each.^^ Things to be used on the voyage 
 
 * Where the boxes are to be transported on horses any considerable distance, 
 it is recommended that the length be 3 feet, the depth i foot and 6 inches, and 
 the breadth i foot and 4 inches; and the gross weight of the box, when filled, 
 should not exceed 160 pounds. 
 
 * A general statement of the contents of each box, as "clothing,” "books,” 
 etc., and approximate value, should be furnished the forwarding agent, for 
 custom house purposes and for insurance. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 I O 
 
 should be packed separately and marked accordingly ; 
 and everything should be forwarded to the place of 
 embarkation in good season. 
 
 The varied articles of one’s outfit, as furniture, 
 books, etc., should be sent on some weeks in advance 
 of the departure of the missionary, and such things 
 should be taken with the missionary as are likely to be 
 of use on the journey and for a limited time afterward, 
 till goods sent forward may have arrived for use. 
 
 Necessary traveling expenses from one’s home in this 
 country prej^aratory to embarkation and the cost of 
 passage are paid by the Board, and are not included in 
 the outfit. The Treasurer is authorized to pay the 
 freight of outfit to the place of destination to an 
 amount not exceeding two tons, ship measurement, 
 forty cubic feet to a ton, for one person going alone, 
 or six tons for two who expect to keep house together. 
 
 By the rules of the Board, a missionary may receive 
 aid from its funds for her outfit, when the assistance 
 is needed, to the amount of $250, and $75 more, if 
 required, for housekeeping expenses. At least $50 of 
 the outfit allowance should be reserved, to be expended 
 after reaching the mission field. 
 
 IX. Counsel as to Outfit. 
 
 Become as well acquainted as possible with the char¬ 
 acter and peculiar circumstances of the field to which 
 you are going. Advise when practicable with mission¬ 
 aries recently from that field, and then make out a list 
 for yourself as the result of your own reflections. 
 Every missionary securing such assistance as may be 
 had from other missionaries, and from the Missionary' 
 Rooms, and exercising due thought on the subject, can 
 form a satisfactory opinion as to what she will need. 
 Consider the length of the journey, the countries to be 
 passed through, and that no washing can be done at 
 sea. 
 
 The number of articles to be used on the voyage 
 should be as few as possible, yet sufficient, with a few 
 extras for sickness. In warm weather more changes 
 will be necessary than in cold. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 11 
 
 Thick clothing, somewhat worn, will be found useful 
 on shipboard and in traveling. 
 
 In determining what articles of clothing shall be 
 taken for the voyage, and for use after reaching the 
 field, proceed methodically, beginning with the outer 
 garment, and note down how many will be needed — 
 thick and thin, coarse and fine, woolen, cotton, etc. 
 
 As a general rule clothing should be warmer for 
 winter and cooler for summer than in the same tem¬ 
 perature in this country. 
 
 Mattresses and furniture will generally be procured 
 at the place of embarkation. 
 
 The amount of furniture to be taken must be deter¬ 
 mined by the locality of the mission. Owing to the 
 progress of commerce, etc., less and less need be taken 
 every year. 
 
 In making the purchases, see at every step that you 
 are not running beyond your available means. If you 
 are, you may be sure you are planning on too large a 
 scale. 
 
 As a general rule, the articles to be obtained at the 
 place of the missionary’s residence in this country are 
 those which are manufactured by the needle. Such 
 articles, made among friends, are better than those 
 which are found ready made in cities. Donations in 
 stockings, shoes, etc., should also be thankfully re¬ 
 ceived, and whatever other needful articles can be 
 packed in a small space. But bulky articles, and also 
 heavy articles, unless the place of embarkation is near, 
 should be procured at that place, the freight being a 
 serious addition to the first cost. Bring a list, fairly 
 written, of all the articles obtained. Clothing should 
 all be marked with the name of the owner. 
 
 Bear in mind that freight is always paid on the out¬ 
 fit, thus greatly increasing the cost of bulky articles, 
 before they reach their foreign destination ; and as the 
 charge for freight is by measurement (cubic feet), great 
 care should be taken to pack goods, especially furni¬ 
 ture, in the smallest possible compass. Many articles 
 should be taken to pieces before being packed. 
 
 It is no longer true, in respect to any mission, that 
 
12 
 
 MANUAL. 
 
 an outfit of clothing, etc., should be procured for sev¬ 
 eral years. Fresh supplies can now be readily ordered 
 from home or obtained abroad. 
 
 A competent person will be found at the Missionary 
 Rooms in Boston to advise the missionaries in the pur¬ 
 chase of articles of outfit^ and to conduct them to places 
 where these articles can be advantageously procured. 
 
 Experience has shown that it is well for missionaries 
 to be assisted only so far as may be necessary to enable 
 them to be in readiness on the day of embarkation; 
 and it is better, on all accounts, that they should pur¬ 
 chase the articles, and pack at least their clothing and 
 bedding. They are then better satisfied, and they 
 know where to look for what they want. 
 
 A full and accurate account should be kept of the 
 manner in which all moneys received from the treasury 
 of the Board have been expended, noting particularly 
 what is for traveling expenses and what for outfit. 
 
 A settlement of accounts should be made with the 
 Treasurer before embarkation. Funds will then be 
 furnished by him for the journey to the mission sta¬ 
 tion, and a careful account of all disbursements of such 
 moneys should be kept and promptly sent back on 
 reaching the field. Any balance unexpended should 
 be reported to the mission Treasurer, and generally 
 should be placed in his hands. 
 
 The outfit of a missionary, with the exception of 
 wearing apparel, is regarded as the property of the 
 Board, so far as purchased by its funds; and in case 
 of a missionary retiring from the field within a limited 
 period, as five years, for other cause than failure of 
 health, it is expected that an equitable return will be 
 made to the Board — due regard being had to expenses 
 incurred and services rendered. 
 
 Confer with the Secretaries of the Board in reference 
 to a passport, and the necessary instructions will be 
 given. In some cases a passport is not required. 
 
 A few choice books, well selected, are better than 
 many for a private library. Books and periodicals can 
 always be ordered, as needed, through the Missionary 
 Rooms. 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 13 
 
 When once the question of going abroad is settled, 
 thoughtfully and prayerfully, it is better to avoid all 
 wearisome and exhaustive discussions of the matter 
 with one’s friends. Other topics are then in order. 
 Experience has shown that short farewell visits are the 
 most satisfactory in the end. 
 
 The missionary from the time of her appointment 
 should be careful to keep the Secretary who has the 
 correspondence with her informed where letters will 
 find her in the shortest possible time. The missionary 
 should have a season of rest before leaving, so as to 
 start in the best condition. Too much hurry at the 
 last often stands in the way of enjoying the journey, 
 and stands in the way of the best health on entering 
 the mission field. Let vaccination be renewed so as 
 to avoid any danger on the way or after arriving. 
 Missionaries are expected to care conscientiously for 
 their health, taking such rest and vacations in the 
 vicinity of their missionary fields as are necessary for 
 this purpose. Occasionally a visit to the United States 
 may be desirable, but no fixed period of labor abroad 
 entitles a missionary to such a furlough. The circum¬ 
 stances of different individuals are so unlike, and the 
 differences of climate are such, that each case must be 
 judged of according to its necessity, always with a wise 
 reference to the best interests of the missionary cause 
 at home and abroad. 
 
 X. Relations to the American Board and to Woman's 
 
 Boards. 
 
 All missionaries are appointed and designated to 
 their several fields of labor by the Prudential Commit¬ 
 tee of the American Board. Woman’s work is thus 
 made an integral part of the entire work committed to 
 the Board, while unity, just proportion, and harmony 
 of action are secured. Those candidates with whom, 
 through correspondence or personally, either of the 
 Woman’s Boards has become acquainted, and whom 
 the Prudential Committee of the A. B. C. F. M. shall 
 appoint, are usually adopted by one of the Woman’s 
 
14 
 
 MANUAL. 
 
 Boards. By this connection they sustain peculiarly 
 close and affectionate relations with a large number of 
 their sisters at home, and mutual regard, sympathy, 
 and interest of the greatest value on both sides are 
 developed. The pecuniary support of these mission¬ 
 aries is secured by that particular Board with which 
 the special connection exists, though they receive their 
 salaries through the treasury of the American Board. 
 Wives of missionaries also are sometimes thus adopted. 
 
 XI. In the Field. 
 
 Women, married or unmarried, are members of the 
 mission and of the station where they reside. Their 
 work is a part of the mission work, and in all mission 
 arrangements is to be considered equally with other 
 work. 
 
 The general care and responsibility for the station, 
 naturally and by the rules of the Board, devolve upon 
 the men. The general care of the schools and semi¬ 
 naries ; as to where they shall be established and how 
 conducted; the terms of admission and charges for 
 tuition and board; the salaries of employes, whether 
 teachers or others; the style of living, etc., are to be 
 determined by the station in accordance with the policy 
 of the Board and of the mission. Women engaged in 
 other kinds of work than teaching will arrange their 
 plans in conference with the station, and be governed 
 by the judgment of the station. When women wish to 
 be absent on tours or for other reasons, as in the case 
 of men, the station is to be consulted and its approval 
 obtained. Women are to present to the station plans 
 for their work, estimates of expenses, and reports, in 
 the same manner as other members of the station. In 
 the consideration of questions touching their own work 
 the unmarried women of a mission and a station are to 
 have an equal voice with the men. 
 
 Matters of detail in the work assigned to women, 
 the arrangement of classes in the schools, and the like 
 — while advice and assistance may be asked about 
 these — are committed to the women in charge, as to 
 
MANUAL. 
 
 15 
 
 men it is committed to arrange and order the details of 
 their specific work. In all these respects institutions 
 in charge of women and of men are on precisely the 
 same basis, whether the institutions are under trustees 
 or otherwise. 
 
 In case of differences of opinion as to the conduct of 
 their work, women have the same right with men of 
 appeal to the mission in the first instance, and later, if 
 need be, to the Prudential Committee, and always of 
 reference to the Secretaries of the American Board. 
 
 Unmarried ladies will make their own arrangements 
 as to boarding in some missionary family or keeping 
 house for themselves. When two or more can unite in 
 keeping house it is deemed the better way, as giving 
 more independence. 
 
 XII. Pecuniary Relations. 
 
 As the Prudential Committee, in making the annual 
 appropriations, aims to give to all the missions and mis¬ 
 sionaries a just proportion of the means at its disposal, 
 and distributes according to estimates carefully pre¬ 
 pared and duly submitted to it by the different mis¬ 
 sions, it is incumbent on all missionaries to accept the 
 arrangement made by the Prudential Committee, and 
 not to make special appeals for objects outside of the 
 regular appropriations. If there is occasion to ask for 
 more than has been allowed, representation should be 
 made, with the consent of the mission or station, to 
 the Prudential Committee of the American Board, 
 through one of the Secretaries of that Board, or through 
 the Executive Committee of the Woman’s Boards, but 
 not to their branches or auxiliaries, nor to churches. 
 Sabbath-schools, or individual Christians. Such a 
 rule is necessary to prevent jealousies in the field, to 
 secure the wisest use of missionary funds, and the 
 necessary means to carry on the regular work in hand. 
 
 The missionary is to keep her personal account 
 wholly separate from the mission account of the work 
 in her charge, and is not to overdraw in either except 
 in extraordinary emergencies, and then only with the 
 approval of the station. In case of extraordinary ex- 
 
i6 
 
 MANUAL. 
 
 penses, owing to sickness or other providential reasons, 
 a special grant should be asked, so as to prevent any 
 indebtedness at the end of a year. 
 
 It is not expected that the salary of a missionary will 
 enable her to assume the support of pupils in school, 
 nor is it wise for her to do so, or to limit herself in 
 necessary comforts in order to the larger exercise of 
 charity. If a missionary has private funds of her own 
 to use, the greatest carefulness is required not to do 
 harm to the work itself or to compromise other mis¬ 
 sionaries less favored. It is better that such funds be 
 applied toward her own salary or for the regular work 
 committed to her. On no account is a missionary to 
 adopt a native child. 
 
 XIII. Correspondence. 
 
 Missionaries supported by the Woman’s Boards are 
 expected, in addition to their regular correspondence 
 with and their reports to the Foreign Secretary of the 
 A. B. C. F. M., to be in correspondence with the Board 
 by which they have been adopted, and to keep said 
 Board informed of the condition and progress of the 
 work under their care. Much can be done by such cor¬ 
 respondence to awaken and sustain a hearty interest 
 in the work, and to secure funds for its support and 
 enlargement; and such assistance is greatly desired. 
 Bat no missionary should sacrifice regular hours of ex¬ 
 ercise and sleep for the sake of correspondence or for 
 any other work. The lines of duty run parallel; and 
 there is time for every duty in a well-ordered arrange¬ 
 ment of labor. 
 
 XIV. Returned Missionaries. 
 
 The same spirit of consecration to Christ which leads 
 the missionary to go abroad will also lead one to seek a 
 season of rest and recreation when necessary to the 
 best interests of the cause; and such a season of rest 
 can be secured by an application to the Prudential 
 Committee, duly indorsed by the mission, as best ac¬ 
 quainted with tire case and interested in the welfare of 
 its members.