— 
 
 PAM. 6 , 
 
 AFRICA - 
 
 > 
 
 p Hei! ; A 
 
 K* 
 
 OUR 
 
 MADAGASCAR 
 
 MISSION 
 
 A WORD TO THE 
 YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 OF THE LUTHERAN 
 FREE CHURCH FROM 
 THE LUTHERAN 
 BOARD OF MISSIONS 
 
 By ANDREAS HELLAND 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/ourmadagascarmisOOhell 
 
PROFESSOR GEORG SVERDRUP. 
 Late Secretary of I*. IS. M. 
 
ODttr fRafragaarar Mmsxm 
 
 A Unrll to tljo loung ifrojih? 
 
 of ®Ijp iEulIjpratt Jffrpf QXIyurrit from 
 ttyr Sartbrrau Hoard of iWtaaions 
 
 Ba 
 
 Andreas ItfUattfo 
 
Press of 
 
 The Free Church Book Concern 
 Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 1908 
 
3Gu%ratt Hoar& of iUiaatotta 
 
 (Jfrikirkfna febtringrimaaion) 
 l^omp (@ffire 
 
 Augsburg Seminary, iHiunrapults, IHinn., 11. B. A. 
 
 ©ffinal publication: “ (g a a a t r e n “ 
 
 ffiru. IE. IE. (Bgtttli), |lrea.. Sim. Jolyan fHattaon, Oirp-JIrca.. 
 
 lltUmar, JHimt. Seattle ffiiakr, UUmt. 
 
 iJrof. Attbrcaa SjeUanii, §>rr'g Prof- -3- Ij. lUagm, QIrraa. 
 
 Augaburg &minarg, iWinncagolxa, UJittn. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
QDur ilaiiafjaarar lUtaston 
 
 If the question should be put to me: Who is the 
 father of the foreign mission activity of the Nor¬ 
 wegian Lutheran church in America, I should un¬ 
 hesitatingly answer: The late Professor Georg Sver¬ 
 drup of Augsburg Seminary. It is readily admitted 
 that there have been others who have manifested a 
 warm interest in the cause of missions, but as far 
 as initiative and active and persistent work are con¬ 
 cerned he stands easily first. 
 
 The Norwegian Mission Society had been organ¬ 
 ized in Stavanger, Norway, as early as 1842, and 
 active work was commenced in Zulu, South Africa, 
 in 1844, and in the great island of Madagascar in 
 1866. A warm interest for these missions had been 
 awakened from the beginning, and many of the 
 immigrants who came to this country during the 
 third quarter of the nineteenth century brought 
 with them the love for the cause and proved their 
 love by sending their contributions to the Norwegian 
 Mission Society. But this was as far as they 
 seemed to have faith to go, and many, no doubt, 
 were they whose love became cold and inactive. 
 
 l^iaturiral 
 
 SJnterrst far 
 Missions an 
 .llnljmtanre 
 from Norway 
 

 (S)ur HJabagaarar iWtaatmt 
 
 Ifirst $Ira 
 fnr Arliup 
 Work 
 
 It was then that Professor Sverdrup commenced 
 to advocate the sending out of missionaries from 
 among our own midst. His words in the May 
 issue, 1880, of Lutheraneren, the official publication 
 of the Norwegian-Danish Conference, were as 
 follows: 
 
 “There is at the present time one thing about which 
 Christian men agree, namely, that it belongs to the 
 Christian calling to take part in the foreign mission 
 work. We all know this, hut, alas! how few are they 
 who have the strong love, the faithful obedience which 
 will go when the Lord says, Go, and come, when he 
 says, Come. If God has given us eternal salvation by 
 grace alone, should it then be impossible for someone 
 among us to arise and leave all things and go forth to 
 become a fisher of men? So far the Conference has tak¬ 
 en part in missionary activity only by sending financial 
 aid to the Norwegian Mission Society. It has no doubt 
 been impossible under our difficult circumstances as 
 pioneers to accomplish any more so far. But not only 
 have our contributions been small, but it looks as though 
 they have not been increasing as the years have gone 
 by. In fact, the missionary interest seems to be weaker 
 than before. Brethren, it ought not to be thus. It is 
 necessary for the spiritual life to pray and work for the 
 spreading of the gospel over the entire world. The next 
 forward step which we can and ought to take is to com¬ 
 mence to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he send 
 forth laborers to the mission fields even from our So¬ 
 ciety, and to seek after such laborers. If the missionary 
 interest is to be furthered and strengthened amongst 
 us, then let us try to send out our own missionaries.” 
 
 6 
 
(0ur Mahagasrar Hisatmt 
 
 As.far as I know, this was the first public plea 
 for independent missionary activity among our peo¬ 
 ple. It was, however, not Professor Sverdrup’s 
 idea that the connection with the Society in Norway 
 should be severed; he only wished to see men, not 
 merely money, sent to the mission field. 
 
 It took seven years before his ideal was realized. 
 In the spring of 1887 John P. Hogstad graduated 
 from the theological department of Augsburg Sem¬ 
 inary, ready and eager to go to the mission field in 
 Madagascar. On this occasion Professor Sverdrup 
 reported as follows to the annual meeting of the 
 Conference : 
 
 “If it be God’s will, this year will mark the beginning 
 of a new era in the history of our school, as the first 
 missionary to the heathens is graduated. May the Lord 
 grant that it shall not be the last!” 
 
 This wish has been fulfilled, and shall by the 
 grace of God be even more gloriously fulfilled in 
 the future. Even as early as in 1885 a missionary 
 society had, on the initiative of Professor Sverdrup, 
 been organized among the students of Augsburg 
 Seminary, and this society, which still liv-?s, has 
 been no small factor in kindling missionary interest 
 among the students, and through them in the con¬ 
 gregations. The next one to give himself as a 
 7 
 
 Sl|r 
 
 3Uret 
 
 iMrsBrngprs 
 
A iSifisimt 
 Jffielii of 
 ©itr ©am 
 
 j 
 
 (0m* iHaJiugasrar Uliaatmt 
 
 sacrifice to the mission cause was Erik H. Ton, 
 graduated in 1889. Both Hogstad and Tou were 
 ordained by the Conference, and sent out to Mada¬ 
 gascar as its messengers in the service of the Nor¬ 
 wegian Mission Society. 
 
 The next logical step was to secure a mission 
 field of our own. For this also Professor Sver¬ 
 drup was an ardent worker and advocate. But he 
 wished above all that those interested should feel 
 the great responsibility connected with such a step. 
 When, therefore, in the spring of 1892 the nego¬ 
 tiations with the Norwegian Society were so far 
 advanced that the outlook seemed bright for a sat¬ 
 isfactory conclusion thereof, he thus expressed his 
 hopes as well as his fears: 
 
 “The Lord has given us the light of his gospel; a 
 gospel purely preached and sacraments rightly admin¬ 
 istered have been granted to us. They are the precious 
 gifts of the Lord to his church. But has the church 
 also the men and means to take the light in hand and 
 bring it out to the dark regions where heathen nations 
 live who never yet have seen one ray of the light from 
 on high? It is a serious task to enter upon, and it is 
 necessary for both men and women to once more lift up 
 praying hands and hearts to the Lord, that he give us 
 the adequate means and strength, so that we may not 
 take upon ourselves a heavier burden than we can car¬ 
 ry. Terrible indeed would be our responsibility if we 
 should receive and accept a mission field of our own 
 
 8 
 
Church and Congregation at Manasoa-Tanosy. 
 

(Lhtr Madagascar Mission 
 
 and afterwards prove unable to take care of it. We 
 should then have shut out others, and not ourselves 
 have done what was necessary.” 
 
 In the summer of 1892 the matter was settled, 
 the United Norzvegian Lutheran Church of Ameri¬ 
 ca, the successor to the Conference and other Nor¬ 
 wegian Lutheran church bodies, being granted as 
 its mission field certain provinces in the southern 
 part of Madagascar. The missionaries Hogstad 
 and Tou, having already been stationed in this part 
 of the island, now became directly connected with 
 the church out of whose midst they had gone as 
 the messengers of light and life to a benighted race. 
 I shall once more quote Professor Sverdrup. When 
 the news had been received that a mission field had 
 been set apart for the Norzvegian-American Luther¬ 
 ans, he wrote in part as follows: 
 
 “This news will no doubt bring to our congregations 
 much joy and thanksgiving to God, for they have long 
 felt that a more independent and direct missionary ac¬ 
 tivity was needed than we have hitherto been engaged 
 in. The news will also bring a beneficial sense of re¬ 
 sponsibility. God has now brought these heathens near 
 to the hearts of our congregations, so that we may feel 
 that we are expected to bring them the gospel of 
 Christ.” 
 
 However, dark clouds soon overshadowed the 
 joy. The serious differences in the United Nor- 
 9 
 
 parting 
 nf Uaga 
 
(0ur fHahagaarar fUtBsimt 
 
 (fihtr 3url& 
 
 Eljp @>akalatm 
 
 wegian Lutheran Church resulted in a parting of 
 ways even in the work for foreign missions. But 
 it is not the aim of this little pamphlet to discuss 
 those matters. It is sufficient to state, that the 
 field set apart for the Norwegian-American Luther¬ 
 ans has by development as well as by friendly ar¬ 
 rangement been subdivided, so that at the present 
 time missionary work is carried on in the south¬ 
 eastern part of Madagascar by The United Church, 
 and in the south-western part by The Lutheran 
 Free Church. 
 
 This then is our field, and a few words as to 
 its people may perhaps be of interest at this point. 
 It is inhabited mainly by four tribes, namely: the 
 Sakaiava, the Bara , the Tanosy, and the Mahafaly. 
 These tribes are again subdivided, as also other 
 tribes live within the confines of this mission field. 
 
 Near the southern border of Sakalavaland is 
 situated the mission station Bethesda in the village 
 of St. Augustin. Having their home near the 
 coast, the Sakalava have for centuries been in touch 
 with European civilization. But what they have 
 seen of it has not tended to elevate them and to 
 give them a high moral ideal, not to speak of lead¬ 
 ing them to Christ. On the contrary, it has made 
 
 10 
 
(@ur Mahagasrar Mission 
 
 missionary work among them all the more diffi¬ 
 cult. This is, however, only one instance of the 
 many which prove, that not European or American 
 civilization but the gospel of Christ alone is able to 
 disperse the darkness of sin and superstition. The 
 progress of the gospel has been very slow, and 
 even among these people the words of St. Paul have 
 proved to hold good that “not many wise after the 
 flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called" 
 (I Cor. i: 26), as it has been stated, that “most of 
 those who are won for Christ on the Sakalava coast, 
 are the so-called Makoa, that is, African negroes 
 who are the slaves and servants of the Sakalava”. 
 (Toil). It should of course be clearly understood 
 that while the Sakalava tribe is one of the largest, 
 if not the very largest in Madagascar, our field 
 contains only a very small part of it. The same 
 Sara is true also about the great tribe of the Bara; our 
 field includes only the southernmost part of it. The 
 Bara have been constantly engaged in war among 
 themselves and in murderous attacks upon their 
 neighbors. Like the Sakalava they are very slow 
 to receive the gospel of salvation. Nevertheless 
 the work has not been without results. 
 
 The Tanosy, who live about three or four days’ 
 
 12 
 
 
 ©tjr ulaitosy 
 
©nr Mahaijasrar Mission 
 
 journey inland from the Sakalava coast, are believed 
 to have originally come from Arabia. They are a 
 very religious people in their way, taking great 
 pains with their ceremonies, and are consequently 
 very superstitious. Perhaps their greatest curse is 
 their belief in “evil days”. If a child is born on a 
 Wednesday, for instance, it is claimed that it will 
 become a curse, not so much to itself as to its home 
 surroundings and relatives. To avoid this, the child 
 is buried alive. This is not done merely so as to get 
 rid of it, but principally as a supposed sacrifice to 
 the wrathful gods. The Umbiasa, or priest, is the 
 all-powerful mediator between the people and the 
 gods. For him they send when anything seems to 
 be wrong, and for good pay he is supposed to be 
 able to secure the divine grace and avert any mis¬ 
 fortune. And if expectations are not fulfilled, he 
 is always able to convince the people that the fault 
 is not with him but with them. The only way out 
 of the difficulty is to give the Umbiasa greater pay 
 and let him try again. The Tanosy as well as the 
 other tribes have a great number of “kings” whose 
 subjects may number half a dozen, or several hun¬ 
 dreds if they are very “great”, and whose chief 
 occupation is pillage and robbery. Towards the 
 13 
 
(0ur Mahagasrar Utaainu 
 
 Jflaljafaly 
 
 white people the Tanosy are comparatively friendly 
 and peaceful, however. 
 
 The Mahafaly are quite different in this respect. 
 They not only make war among themselves, but 
 they most bitterly hate all foreigners, especially the 
 Hovas and the whites. The Hovas are a tribe in 
 the interior, and claimed to be the rulers of the 
 entire island before it became a French colony, 
 though many of the tribes refused to obey their 
 rule and pay the taxes demanded. The Mahafaly 
 live to the south of the Tanosy, their territory be¬ 
 ing divided by the Onilahy river. They are an ex¬ 
 tremely wild and warlike race, and time and again 
 they sought the life of the first missionaries in this 
 part of the island. For many years our messengers 
 tried to open their land to the light of the gospel, 
 but were most emphatically denied admission. But 
 the missionaries in the field as well as those most 
 interested in the cause at home did not cease to 
 pray, and their prayers were at last fulfilled. It 
 is interesting in this connection to read what the 
 secretary of The Lutheran Board of Missions re¬ 
 ported to the annual meeting of The Lutheran Free 
 Church in 1899: 
 
 ‘‘That new tnoughts ancl yearnings have entered the 
 
 14 
 
©ur iflafcagaarar Miaainn 
 
 hearts of the heathens living in the vicinity of our sta¬ 
 tions, is evident also from the changed attitude of the 
 Mahafaly towards the mission and Christianity. It is 
 no doubt a well-known fact to all those interested in our 
 work, that this wild and cruel tribe, on the 13th of Jan¬ 
 uary this year, through official representatives have ap¬ 
 proached our mission with a request for missionaries. 
 Nine years ago they all but murdered Reverend Tou 
 when, in 1890, he came near their borders on his way 
 to the Tanosy. And now—what a difference! It is a 
 result of the work done and shows the special guidance 
 of the Lord. The harvest field grows, the work becomes 
 greater. The Lord has given us an open door; let us 
 enter!” 
 
 It fell to the lot of Reverend /. B. Jerstad and 
 wife to become the pioneer missionaries to the Ma¬ 
 hafaly, and truly their work has not been in vain. 
 —In the main, the religious beliefs of the Mahafaly 
 are similar to those of the other tribes, superstition 
 and cruelty being their chief characteristics. But 
 they have proved to be at least just as susceptible 
 to the influence of the gospel as any of their neigh¬ 
 bors. 
 
 Such are the people among whom The Lutheran 
 Free Church or, as then called, “The Friends of 
 Augsburg” took up independent and active work 
 in 1895. The work was clearly given to it by the 
 Lord through a series of circumstances which were 
 not all pleasant, but, as we believe, nevertheless for 
 16 
 
 (CUmattr 
 aitb ODtljrr 
 (flmtbttimts 
 
®ur Mahagasrar iHissimt 
 
 Orpljmtage 
 
 Work 
 
 the best. And among these people our missionaries 
 have been called to preach and to live the gospel of 
 Christ. Among the Sakalava the work had been 
 commenced a few years before, among the Bara, 
 the Tanosy, and the Mahafaly these missionaries 
 have been pioneers as far as our field is concerned. 
 On the whole, this is said to be one of the hardest 
 and most dangerous mission fields in the world. 
 Add to this, that the climate of this part of Mada¬ 
 gascar is very unhealthful and subject to malarial 
 fevers, and you will get a glimpse of the difficulties 
 to be met and dealt with. But even these degraded 
 and superstitious tribes, living as they do under a 
 very dangerous climate, have been bought with a 
 price, even with the blood of Christ, our crucified 
 and yet ever living Savior. And so the missionaries 
 have gone forth, many to lay down their life in the 
 battle, some to return home broken in health, and 
 a few still standing on the battle line, waiting for 
 others to come and join in the work of the Lord 
 in Madagascar. 
 
 One of the most cruel rites of some of these 
 tribes, and one which our missionaries had to work 
 against from the start, was, as stated above, the 
 burying alive of all children born on “evil days”. 
 
 16 
 
Mission Station at St. Augustin. 
 
 Church and Congregation at St. Augustin. 
 

QDur JHafcagaarar iflltSHimi 
 
 We must remember that this was done, not simply 
 from lack of love for these children, but for fear 
 of the consequences if they should be permitted to 
 live. The parents did not dare to do otherwise. 
 If the white men dared to take them in, that would 
 have to be their business, and when death or mis¬ 
 fortune befell our missionaries, the natives were not 
 slow in drawing the conclusion that it was the 
 avenging hand of the gods upon men who dared to 
 meddle with ancient and sacred customs. But for 
 the missionaries there seemed to be only one thing 
 to do; they must take pity on these most unfortunate 
 children and take them in and give them food and 
 shelter. Many were so far gone from exposure and 
 other causes that their lives could no longer be 
 saved; but others would live, and what then ? It 
 became evident that a children’s rescue home must 
 be started. At first this was a private matter con¬ 
 ducted by the individual missionaries, and until this 
 day several of them have conducted such homes on 
 a small scale. This is, however, for many reasons 
 not a satisfactory arrangement, though it may often 
 be the only one possible. For this reason the chil¬ 
 dren’s home at Manasoa-Tanosy was made a direct 
 branch of the missionary work of the home church, 
 17 
 
(0m* iflaiutgaarar ifliaaimt 
 
 (@ur Iffnrrr 
 
 receiving a stated amount annually for its support 
 and maintenance. This home has been conducted 
 by sisters from the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess' 
 Home in Minneapolis. As the French colonial gov¬ 
 ernment has by law prohibited the cruel custom of 
 burying children alive, this rescue home at Mana- 
 soa-Tanosy has now for years been conducted as a 
 girls’ home, where such girls have found shelter 
 and received an education, whose circumstances and 
 surroundings were such as to call for special aid. 
 
 Of the pioneers Reverend Hogstad at the pres¬ 
 ent time works as a missionary in the service of 
 the United Norw. Luth. Church, on the east side of 
 southern Madagascar, where he has always been 
 located, Reverend Tou has returned to America and 
 is at present serving several congregations in South 
 Dakota as their pastor. The following missionaries 
 have been sent out since 1895: 
 
 1896. Reverend J. B. H0igaard, worked among the Tan- 
 osy, until in the fall of IS'00 he had to return 
 home on account of broken health. He is at pres¬ 
 ent engaged as a teacher in Norway. 
 
 1896. Sister Pernille Pederson, took up the work as mat¬ 
 ron of the girls’ home at Manasoa-Tanosy, where 
 she died on January 31st, 1898. 
 
 1898. Reverend J. B. Jerstad and wife, worked among 
 the Tanosy and Bara until the year 1900, when 
 
 18 
 
(@ur Utabagaarar iflttasum 
 
 they became the first missionaries to the Maha- 
 faly. Came home on a vacation in 1907 and ex¬ 
 pect to return next spring to resume the work. 
 
 1898. Sister Caroline Olson, took up the work after Sr. 
 Pernille Pederson and died at her post on June 
 30th, 1900. 
 
 1898. Miss Julia Larson went out as Rev. H0ygaard’s 
 betrothed. They were married on the 31st of July 
 the same year, but she died on January 12th, 1900. 
 
 1899. Cand. theol. N. A. Hatlem went out to become a 
 professor in the seminary for native pastors and 
 teachers, but had just been able to commence this 
 work when he died on August 10th, 1900. 
 
 1899. Cand. theol. J. O. Dyrnes, M. D. went to France 
 to study the French language and to become ac¬ 
 quainted with medical science in France; was or¬ 
 dained to the ministry by Reverend Buchsen- 
 schiitz in Paris; went to Madagascar in 1900 where 
 he has since worked as medical missionary and 
 pastor at Manasoa-Tanosy. He has at the pres¬ 
 ent time the superintendence of the entire field. 
 
 1899. Sister Milla Larson went to France to study the 
 language, and in 1900 to Madagascar to assist Dr. 
 Dyrnes in the medical work of the mission, and 
 died in May, 1S’02. 
 
 1899. Reverend Ludvig Pederson and wife went out to 
 work in connection with Rev. Hogstad, but on ac¬ 
 count of ill health they had to return in 1902. 
 Rev. Pederson is now serving congregations in 
 North Dakota. 
 
 1899. Reverend Chr. Jorgenson and wife went to France 
 to study the language, and in 1900 to Madagascar; 
 but as Rev. J0rgenson was entirely unable to 
 stand the climate they had to return home in 1904. 
 
 19 
 
(@ur iHafcagaarar iflisaimt 
 
 Seaults 
 
 He is at present serving congregations in North 
 Dakota. 
 
 1900. Reverend E. H. Tou and family, after a two years’ 
 vacation in America returned to Madagascar, 
 where Mrs. Elisabeth Tou died on the 18th of 
 February, 1901. Rev. Tou returned from the 
 field in 1903, and is at present serving congrega¬ 
 tions in South Dakota, as mentioned above. 
 
 1900. Sister Alida Olin went out to assist in the medic¬ 
 al mission work, and continued in this work, un¬ 
 til in 1903 she was married to Rev. Tou, with 
 whom she returned home shortly after. 
 
 1902. Mr. P. Wien, after two years’ study of tropical 
 farming in Louisiana, Alabama and Mexico, and 
 after a stay of about six months in France for the 
 sake of learning the language, went to Madagas¬ 
 car to start an industrial and farmer mission, but 
 on account of ill health he had to return already 
 the next year. 
 
 1902. Sister Caroline Unhjem and Sister Henriette Nil- 
 sen went out to work in the girls’ home, where 
 they are yet engaged in the blessed work. 
 
 1902. Reverend H. O. Sageng and wife went to France 
 to study the language, and in the spring of 1904 
 proceeded to Madagascar. Mrs. Sageng died af¬ 
 ter a few months’ residence there, on the 8th of 
 November, 1904. Rev. Sageng worked at St. 
 Augustin among the Sakalava, until he returned 
 home in January, 1S'08. 
 
 1906. Miss Sarah Johnson, went to Madagascar to be¬ 
 come Rev. Dr. Dyrnes’ wife and was married to 
 him on the 7th of June the same year. 
 
 But what are the results of these years of mis¬ 
 sionary effort? What is the visible fruit of the 
 
 20 
 
(0ur fUabagaarar ilisstmt 
 
 labors, yea of the lives of our faithful missionaries? 
 I am not able to give statistics for last year, as the 
 letter containing them has gone astray and dupli¬ 
 cate reports have not yet reached us. But the stat¬ 
 istics for 1906 will give an approximate idea of 
 those for 1907 also, and are therefore given below: 
 
 During the year 1906 and on January 1st, 1907, there 
 were 3 principal stations, with 36 sub-stations; 5 organ¬ 
 ized congregations, having 554 communicant members 
 and 350 children. The number of baptisms during the 
 year was 137; number of communicants during the year 
 3209; average church attendance 1638; number of cate¬ 
 chumens 76. The mission schools numbered 40, total 
 number of children in schools 1365, average attendance 
 519. Number of native teachers, evangelists and pa¬ 
 stors about 55. It may be added, that the average num¬ 
 ber of children cared for at the girls’ home at Manasoa- 
 Tanosy has for several years been about forty or forty- 
 five. 
 
 We have reason indeed to praise the Lord for 
 his blessings upon the work, for it is because of his 
 infinite mercy, that it has prospered as well as it 
 has. We should of course also remember, that a 
 number of converts have during these years died, 
 and as we hope, inherited the kingdom which from 
 eternity was prepared for them. 
 
 The last years have been trying indeed, both 
 for the native Christians, the missionaries, and the 
 21 
 
 utyr grpBrnt 
 
(Dur Hahatjaarar Mission 
 
 friends and supporters of the mission at home. For 
 reasons which it is not here the place to discuss the 
 French colonial government has in many ways 
 hindered evangelistic work all over the island of 
 Madagascar. Whatever may have been the reasons 
 and motives of the government, to the cause of 
 Christian missions its many decrees and rulings have 
 been extremely detrimental. Especially has the 
 work formerly done by the native Christians them¬ 
 selves suffered. Many, of course, have during these 
 trying years decided that “it is not necessary to be 
 praying ones any more”, and have gone back to a 
 life in sin and darkness. But on second thought it 
 will easily be understood that this is not an alto¬ 
 gether unmixed misfortune, as these trials have 
 served as a necessary test and purification of the 
 native churches;and to the praise of the Lord it may 
 be said that in many it has tended to strengthen and 
 develop their Christian life. In the meantime not 
 a few have asked to be instructed in the way of 
 salvation, and some have been baptized even this 
 year, so that in some respects at least we know that 
 the statistics will show a fair increase, while in 
 others it may show a decrease. By the action of 
 the colonial government the native teacher seems to 
 
 22 
 
(@ur Ma&agaarar iHissimi 
 
 have become practically a thing of the past, but so 
 much the more will the native evangelist be needed 
 in the future. 
 
 But not only has the native force become smal¬ 
 ler by these circumstances, the number of our own 
 missionaries is also very small at the present time. 
 Rev. Dr. Dyrnes has charge of all the principal sta¬ 
 tions, aided however by native pastors, evangelists 
 and teachers. This makes the situation an anxious 
 one, and our responsibility so much greater. 
 
 It was in view of these conditions that the pres¬ 
 ent secretary reported to the last annual meeting of 
 the Lutheran Free Church, in part as follows: 
 
 “It will be easily understood that our mission in 
 Madagascar is in a condition which gives cause for anx¬ 
 iety in more than one respect, and that the greatest dif¬ 
 ficulty just now lies in the small number of workers. 
 L. B. M. has therefore also had this matter under con¬ 
 sideration, without being able, however, to accomplish 
 as much as might be desired. In the first place, a man 
 is needed for St. Augustin, and if possible that man 
 should be an experienced missionary. Another man is 
 needed for the Mahafaly mission. Besides this the time 
 is now drawing near when both Dr. Dyrnes and the two 
 deaconesses have a right—according to the rules of our 
 Society—to ask to be relieved in order to return home 
 for necessary rest and recuperation. To us, therefore, 
 the exhortation: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the har¬ 
 vest that he send forth laborers into his harvest”, be- 
 
 23 
 
 uHje Ncri) 
 of fSnrr 
 ttorkrra 
 
($ur Ha&agasrar Mission 
 
 Nrni jForrra 
 to tip* Jfrnnt 
 
 liSisBtnnary 
 3)ntrrrsl 
 at ffinntp 
 
 comes something quite different and more than merely 
 a pious phrase; it becomes a cry in our need unto God, 
 that he will show that he has not left us, nor ceased to 
 look in mercy to our efforts!” 
 
 As stated above, steps had already been taken 
 before the annual meeting to relieve the situation, 
 and we are glad to be able to announce, that the 
 efforts have not been in vain. Sister Tillie Thorson 
 of the Deaconess Home has just left for France 
 and will employ the next five or six months in the 
 study of French, having already commenced this 
 study in Minneapolis several months ago. Rever¬ 
 end and Mrs. Jerstad will leave later, and they will 
 all proceed to Madagascar early next spring. We 
 hope, furthermore, that others will be ready to be 
 sent to the field in a very short time. 
 
 It is but fair to say that there has been a marked 
 increase in missionary interest also in the home 
 church during these years. Not only is a large 
 amount of money given annually to the Santhal, the 
 China and the Jewish missions,by congregations and 
 individuals in the Lutheran Free Church; but the 
 contributions to the work which may be said to be 
 nearest and dearest to us, the Madagascar mission, 
 have been both many and liberal. I think a few 
 figures will prove this. 
 
 24 
 
Mission Station at Manasoa-Mahafaly. 
 
 Orphans’ Home at Manasoa-Tanosy. 
 
dhxr maiiagaBrar IftiBBtmt 
 
 From August 12th, 1893, to June 26th, 
 
 1895, the contributions amounted to 739.24 
 
 It was in this last mentioned year that 
 active work was commenced, and the 
 contributions during the following fis¬ 
 cal years (from June to June) have 
 
 been as follows: 
 
 1895— 1896 . 2,246.98 
 
 1896— 1897 . 3,312.10 
 
 1897— 1898 . 5,208.79 
 
 18S'8—1899 . 7,994.91 
 
 1899— 1900 . 10,462.60 
 
 1900— 1901 . 7,892.13 
 
 1901— 1902 . 12,345.23 
 
 1902— 1903 . 9,914.09 
 
 1903— 1904 . 9,965.69 
 
 1904— 1905 . 12,489.30 
 
 1905— 1906 . 12,435.05 
 
 1906— 1907 . 12,439.06 
 
 1907— 1908 . 12,025.77 
 
 This gives a total of.$119,470.94 
 
 or with the contributions already re¬ 
 ceived during the present fiscal year, 
 over .$123,000.00 
 
 During the years 1901, 1903 and 1904 loans had to be 
 made in order to meet the increased expenses. While 
 some progress has been made in the payment of this 
 debt, there yet remains a balance of $5,350.00. It was 
 the hope of the last annual meeting of the Free Church 
 that this debt would be paid in full during the present 
 fiscal year. With the large traveling expenses for the 
 missionaries to be sent out next spring, together with 
 the regular expenses, it will require some hard work to 
 reach this goal. With a united effort it ought not to be 
 impossible, however. 
 
 25 
 
 t 
 
(@ur HHabagaarar iHiaaion 
 
 But more valuable than money is the growing 
 sense of our duty as well as of our privilege in re¬ 
 gard to the heathen mission. The many well at¬ 
 tended district missionary meetings of late years are 
 but one of the proofs of this. And yet there is 
 much to be wished and hoped and worked for in 
 this direction. 
 
 JHiaaimtarg Missionary work is a very serious business both 
 
 Mark a f or ^ m i ss i 0 naries and the home church, and a last- 
 
 &moua 
 
 Indrrtakutg ing success can be hoped for only when we build on 
 a solid foundation. To many unthinking people 
 there is something very romantic about mission and 
 missionary work. In their day-dreams they see 
 “wild”, naked heathens soon dressed as Europeans 
 or Americans, and as at once becoming almost if 
 not entirely perfect Christians; or, what appears to 
 be equally as romantic, they dream about great ad¬ 
 ventures for the missionary, ending perhaps in 
 martyrdom at the hands and teeth of the savages. 
 
 But missionary work is in most instances some¬ 
 thing entirely different. For fourteen long years 
 the Norwegian Mission Society worked in Zululand, 
 before the first-fruit was reaped in the baptism of 
 a young girl; but now the converts of this Society 
 in Zululand and Madagascar number over 125,000. 
 
 26 
 
(Dur ifflabagasrar iHisHimt 
 
 For about twelve years work was carried on in 
 Uganda by English missionaries, one after the other 
 dying of fever, and hardly any one willing to listen 
 to the good tidings. There was indeed very little 
 of the romantic about it. And yet Uganda is today 
 perhaps the most remarkable mission field in the 
 world as far as results are concerned. No, mis¬ 
 sionary work is serious business. To the home 
 church it often means long years of waiting with 
 many a disappointment and much harsh criticism 
 by those whose hearts and ears are closed to the 
 cry of heathendom, and to the missionary it means 
 the daily intercourse with people who do not appre¬ 
 ciate his work in the least but rather resent being 
 disturbed in their religious beliefs and their mode 
 of living and thinking. And day by day, year by 
 year, the influence of heathenism quietly but con¬ 
 stantly tends to undermine his own spiritual life, 
 just as the insidious attacks of the fever does his 
 temporal. He is in constant danger of losing his 
 spiritual freshness, and only by the most ardent in¬ 
 tercourse with the Lord in daily prayer and conse¬ 
 cration can he be saved from withering and becom¬ 
 ing a spiritual as well as a moral wreck. And the 
 heathens themselves, who in all their original “wild- 
 27 
 
GPur iKahagaHrar iMifiaimt 
 
 (JlmtBlraimng 
 ^mnfr of 
 CChrtHl’B 
 Unup 
 
 ifliBBimt 
 
 §>tuiiy 
 
 ness” once stood before his inner eye in a sort of 
 romantic halo, how repugnant becomes even the 
 mere sight of these lazy, dirty, begging, cheating 
 people, whose only ambition seems to be to get some 
 glittering trinkets or a yard or two of figured calico! 
 
 No, missionary work is not romantic, but it is 
 necessary, because these people must be saved, and 
 it is God’s will, that we shall bring them the light 
 of the gospel. “The love of Christ constraineth 
 us”—that is the only safe foundation to build up¬ 
 on. All else is sand, and any house built upon it 
 will be rudely overturned by the storm which arises 
 when we come to see heathenism as it really is. 
 This, then, is the moving force. 
 
 We should go to the work with open eyes. It 
 is a fairly good reason to give to missions because 
 our fathers and mothers have done so before us; 
 but it is by no means the only reason, nor is it rea¬ 
 son enough. We should study the problem of 
 Christian missions, their foundation, their begin¬ 
 nings, their progress, and their present needs. And 
 it is but fair that we should especially acquaint our¬ 
 selves with the missionary efforts and needs of our 
 own church. They may seem very small and in¬ 
 significant in comparison with those of others; but 
 
 28 
 
(@ur Ha&agaarar HHiastmt 
 
 it is the place which God gave us, and all he asks 
 of us is that we be faithful in these little things. 
 
 It was with regard to this matter the secretary 
 said in his last annual report: 
 
 “Before I close this report, I wish to add a few 
 words as to the future of our missionary work. It is 
 above all necessary for us not to forget that it depends 
 in a very large degree on the home church, whether or 
 not the work shall be successful. And here the prob¬ 
 lem is not only how to increase missionary interest but 
 also how to preserve and renew it. We should interest 
 our young people, and especially our young men, in the 
 cause of missions. We should endeavor to show them 
 that missionary activity is the most manly work of all, 
 and that it carries with itself renewing forces, which 
 make it eminently a work for young people. We must 
 avoid the misunderstanding so common also among our 
 own nationality that missionary activity is something 
 that does not concern the men. We must also keep our 
 eyes open to the fact that serious and thinking people 
 will only give when they are convinced that it is worth 
 while to give. If they are only satisfied on this point, 
 they are also willing to make a sacrifice. What is 
 needed, therefore, and needed greatly, is an effective, 
 organized and well defined effort to teach the young peo¬ 
 ple concerning missions, their results and the demands 
 upon them in the future. It will be worth the while even 
 for this annual meeting to take this matter under care¬ 
 ful consideration, so much more as on this point there 
 seems to be a possibility of a co-operation, which, if car¬ 
 ried on in faith and patience, may be of the greatest im¬ 
 portance for the future of the Norwegian Lutheran 
 church in this country.” 
 
 29 
 
(§ur iKahagasrar iiliHHimt 
 
 The annual meeting gave its endorsement to the 
 thoughts so expressed by adopting the following 
 resolution: 
 
 “As it is our conviction that the young people are the 
 hope of the future, therefore the annual meeting recom¬ 
 mends to pastors and congregations to make a special 
 effort to prevail upon the young men and women to 
 give the study of mission work among the heathens a 
 large place in their societies and otherwise.” 
 
 Even these pages are a first vague attempt in 
 this direction, and I sincerely hope that it will not 
 be the last. 
 
 We are looking cheerfully and hopefully to the 
 
 QJijP fHaalPr 
 
 is (Hailing future. The outlook is for more workers and great¬ 
 er opportunities in distant Madagascar, and more 
 ardent prayer and more faithful, self-sacrificing 
 work at home. We hear the bugle call to arms. Let 
 every one hasten to the battle of the Lord. Certain¬ 
 ly there is no more serious work, no work more apt 
 to test the lasting qualities of our Christian faith, 
 nor is there, on the other hand, any more blessed and 
 inspiring work than foreign missions. The Master 
 is calling. Let us go forth to join the army of the 
 Lord. Let us crown him king of all! 
 
 30 
 
Amtmmomumts 
 
 To those who desire to know more about the 
 blessed fruits of missionary activity in the island 
 of Madagascar, I would recommend the following 
 books: /. /. Kilpin Fletcher, The Sign of the Cross 
 in Madagascar. 309 pp., with many illustrations. 
 Price, neatly bound in cloth, $1.00. (Fleming H. 
 Revell, New York and Chicago). This book tells 
 in a very fascinating way the early history of 
 Christianity in the island, with its many sufferings 
 and persecutions. While being a story rather than 
 history, it is based on historical facts and gives a 
 true and vivid picture of the times and persons 
 which it describes. 
 
 This book has also been translated into Nor¬ 
 wegian under the title: Korsmerket paa Madagas- 
 kar.. Price, neatly bound in cloth, $1.20. (Steen’ske, 
 Kristiania). 
 
 Mention should also be made of: E. H. Tou, 
 Den lutherske frikirkes hedningemission. 62 pp. 
 with many illustrations. Price, cloth 40c, paper 
 20c. (The Free Church Book Concern, Minne¬ 
 apolis). A limited number of copies only is left of 
 
 this booklet. 
 
 31 
 
 Souks ott 
 
 Hlaiagasrar 
 
 Mission 
 
I 
 
 Besides these, several books of great value have 
 been written in the Norwegian language and pub¬ 
 lished by the N. M. S., on subjects relating to 
 Madagascar and the Madagascar mission. 
 
 The above mentioned books may be had through 
 The Free Church Book Concern, 322 Cedar Ave., 
 Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 _ 
 
 Gasseren, a periodical, devoted to the interests 
 
 (gaaaemt 
 
 of foreign missions especially in the island of Mada¬ 
 gascar, published semi-monthly by The Lutheran 
 Board of Missions, Minneapolis, Minn. Professor 
 Andreas Helland, Editor, Rev. Johan Mattson, 
 Assistant Editor; Professor J. H. Blegen, Manager. 
 Subscription price 50 cents a year in advance. Ad¬ 
 dress : Gasseren, 322 Cedar Avenue, Minneapolis, 
 Minn. 
 
 All contributions to the Madagascar mission of 
 
 (Emttribu- The Lutheran Free Church should be sent to: 
 
 itnna 
 
 Professor J. H. Blegen, Treasurer, Augsburg 
 
 Seminary, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 32