Part 4
158 PANDITA RAMABAI feeble-minded girls. Her heart goes out to the weak and friendless ; and, as soon as she sees some one who is not loved by other girls, she befriends her and takes charge of her at once. She is a truly converted Christian girl, trying to follow in the steps of her Divine
Saviour. This and other instances of converted girls endeavouring to do what they can to alleviate the sufferings of their sisters while yet in school and busy with their work, are a great encouragement to us workers, who thank God for being so good as to let us see that our labours are not lost.
" Some girls who are not intellectually bright have a mother's heart, which is full of love for children.
They are appointed as matrons, and have small groups of children under their charge, and love and care for them. These very girls, who are so gentle and loving now, were very wild, greedy, and selfish, before their conversion to Christ. One would hardly have believed that they could ever be so changed and become what they are now. But the Scripture says nothing is impossible with God. His love has won their hearts, and He has made them new creatures in Christ. It must not, however, be understood that our schooland mission, and the workers connected with them, are models of perfection. We are all very defective, make many mistakes, and our flesh many a time gets the better of us. You will find many faults in us, if you look out for
RESCUE WORK 159 them. The Lord knows that we are nothing but dust.
But He in His supreme love does not give us up for lost, but chastens and brings us back into the right way, and lets us know why He chastised us. We thank Him with all our hearts for His unspeakable love and mercy.
" Most of my helpers have joined the Bible Training Class taught by Miss Abrams. The daily study of the Word of God has made them willing workers.
' The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.' We have found that nothing helps so much to make matters straight as the study of God's Word. Out of this Bible Training Class I hope there will rise a trained band of Bible-women, who will take the Gospel to their sisters in their own homes. Some girls have already begun to go about in the villages around here.
They are working as Zenana Bible-women and Sunday School teachers in their spare time.
Khedgaon is by no means a romantic place. The girls have to walk a long distance in the burning sun, bare-footed and without umbrellas, to go to bathe by the wells. They have to rise as early as four in the morning in order to get their day's work done. . . .
School is always closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and other festival days. In long holidays, as in May and
December, they have to do some little work in order to keep their minds busy. The girls who cook in the i6o PANDITA RAMABAI morning have to rise as early as two o'clock. Two classes, having twenty-five or thirty girls in each, have to cook and serve by turns. Those who cook in the morning have their rest in the afternoon. Their time of work is changed after a few weeks. When one class has mastered the work assigned to it, another takes up the work, and the former one begins to learn something else. In this way all the girls are trained to do almost every kind of work done here. All get from seven to eight hours' sleep. They are neither over-fed nor get too delicate food; but none of them are under-fed. They get three good meals a day, as a rule. The weak and sick ones, as well as the very little children, have milk and other nourishing food. We have a regularly trained hospital nurse—a good
Christian woman—to look after the sanitary condition of the place. She has a large band of girls working under her. No time, labour, or money, has been spared to save life and make the girls comfortable. But weakness produced by prolonged starvation, and the extreme heat caused by want of rain, have been difficult to cope with. Yet I cannot but thank God out of the fulness of my heart for so wonderfully protecting so many hundreds of lives from plague and famine.
Although life at Khedgaon is hard, the girls look fat and healthy, and are full of spirits. I find that hard work makes better women of the girls. The easy and
RESCUE WORK i6i comfortable city life is, of course, preferred by the flesh; but life in places like Khedgaon, with fewer comforts and harder work, is more conducive to bodily and spiritual health." A member of the Poona and Indian Village Mission, who visited Ramabai about this time, writes : " As we walked through the extensive grounds of Mukti Home,
I was deeply interested to learn how the Lord has led this child of His to double the capacity of Mukti in a few short months. * When I determined to rescue hundreds in Gujerat last August, I had not a pice in hand; but after the determination had been made, the Lord sent Rs.242, she said : * this money was an earnest of thousands sent during the months to follow.'
" We paused in our walk before a substantially built stone wall, eighteen inches thick and four hundred feet long, partially roofed over by tiles ; running parallel at a distance of eight or ten feet another stone wall will be built a few feet high, and thus, partitioned at intervals of fifty feet, eight dormitories will be ready when the monsoons break. These walls were entirely built of the stones taken from the ground in the excavation of four wells. A little further on, I observed a temporary building without walls, hedged about with prickly branches, making an exit impossible. ' This ward,' said Ramabai, * is for children having infectious i62 PANDITA RAMABAI diseases/ In other buildings were children in various stages of weakness. There were little ones in cots, so emaciated that one wondered how the spark of life had been preserved; there were weakly ones able to totter about—children who had grown prematurely old through suffering, but who, with careful attention and nourishing food, such as arrowroot, condensed foods, and milk, would be able to study and to work in six months' time. How could one help but praise God for bestowing such kindness and care upon these waifs ?
It was a pleasure to learn that an Indian Christian trained nurse was teaching some of the older orphan girls to serve in that capacity. Out of eighty teachers and helpers in Mukti Home, sixty-four are old orphan scholars, most of whom were rescued in 1897. 'Are they truly converted women?' I asked. I shall not soon forget the look on Ramabai's face and her words: *Yes; they are truly converted; it would be impossible for them patiently to care for such repulsive and loathsome cases if the grace of God was not in their hearts.' There was much to praise God for, in all that one saw and heard that memorable evening. Here in
Mukti Home were scores who had been truly converted to God ; and in a few months' time there will be probably a thousand^ in the shelter of a real Christian Home
August 3rd, 1900, Ramabai reports having received one thousand five hundred and fifty, and they were still coming.
RESCUE WORK jg, trained in an eminently sensible way to regard work as honourable, living simply as natives live, and fitted for lives of usefulness.
" Pandita Ramabai is a spiritually-minded Christian, one whose testimony, by life and lip, has no uncertain sound—a woman who believes the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, and whose teaching is untouched by the fatal poison of higher criticism ; one who believes unreservedly in the efficacy of the atoning blood of Christ for the guilt of sin, and who reckons upon the power of the Holy Ghost for service; a woman equipped by God to lead and to organize, and under God's grace to educate and train India's sons and daughters for lives of service along Holy Ghost lines." Ramabai's reference to the necessity of the girls having been really converted before they could care patiently for the newly-arrived victims of famine, is accentuated by a description of some of these cases, written by a missionary who has cared for many of them, and who says: " Some have had bowel troubles, piles,' etc. These need special attention as to diet. Others have great boils and sores to be washed, cleansed out, bandaged, and treated every day. Others have bad sore eyes. Some have a kind of whooping cough with vomiting of blood.
" But the most dreaded of all, and what is so painful, is the famine sore mouth. When once it has a i64 PANDITA RAMABAI headway in the mouth, nothing but prayer can stop its progress. It eats great lumps of flesh out of jaws, roof of the mouth, and eats the gums away from the teeth, and teeth drop out. We have had several of these cases, and the odour from them is almost unbearable.
While trying to wash their mouths, which was done every two hours, the effort would almost take away our breath. Frequently the poor sufferers are released by death caused from the awful disease eating into the windpipe. When that is the case no earthly help can avail. God has wonderfully delivered from pain and death; but some were in such a frightful condition we could not but be glad when death released them.
" Some have the famine sore head. This is not so obstinate, but may linger for months and even years without entirely healing. The head is sometimes, when we first get them, one mass of blood, pus, vermin, and scab. It has to be scraped and cleansed, then watched closely till healed. All have fevers and more or less pulmonary troubles from exposure to the cold nightair. Some you can scarcely locate their trouble. They seem to be in a decline; and though they eat heartily they waste away."
Another missionary who visited Mukti in May, 1900, says : " This place has improved much since my last visit here a yeai^ and a half ago. Many buildings have
RESCUE WORK 165 gone up and more are being built, the plans all drawn up by Ramabai. Palm and other trees have been planted; flowers and shrubs, also an artificial pond with water lilies and ferneries, make the place very beautiful and attractive. Things are kept scrupulously clean. One of the workers told me Ramabai has a real mother's heart; and when she has to punish one (which is often necessary), she is miserable until the girl is conquered and comes and asks her forgiveness; then she kisses her with weeping, and they go away and pray together."
[Ramabai is unique in her methods of punishing as well as in other things. One visitor relates how she found a shamefaced little girl tied up among the calves. On questioning her as to why she was there, she confessed to having been convicted of pilfering. Her contrition was evidently genuine, and the visitor thought the same punishment would not be twice needed.]
" The pupils are separated into companies : girls of one size and age being put in one room, and the next size in another, with several older girls to look after them. In this way they are marched out to the diningroom, the little girls of five or six years coming first, two by two, and so increasing in size until the fullgrown girls close up the ranks. In like manner they are marched out to the well daily, which is some distance from the house, for their baths. Each one car-
1 66 PANDITA RAMABAI ries her clean sari on her head which is put on there after the bath, and the dirty one washed and carried home to dry.
" It was quite an interesting sight to see the long, straight line of girls marching down the road, two by two, the other morning. I fell into line and marched with them to the well. How they did enjoy plunging into the deep reservoir of water; and what screaming and laughjng and talking as they splashed around in the water, throwing it on each other ! After bathing, all fell to washing their clothes; even the little ones washing away till helped out by their older sisters.
The water is drawn from the well by six strong bullocks, a large stream continually flowing into the reservoirs and from there out into the fields in which Ramabai has large fruit plantations and vegetable gardens.
" The Rescue Home here is by itself, and has seventy-five women now. They grind their own flour, do their own cooking, and have their own hospital. As I, entered their compound, I was surrounded by a company of contented-looking women, all speaking to me at once and all trying to touch my hands. My heart was melted in pity for them. Some looked healthy and strong, and others were smitten with consumption, and others with still more dreadful diseases. I thought what a wonderful and broad salvation this is, to take in these low outcasts, and prepare a home of refuge for
RESCUE WORK 167 them, as well as for the respectable and moral. It being the hour for prayer, they all sat down on the ground and commenced singing. Some of the older girls come in with Bibles—and one read a chapter ; another prayed. As I showed a kindly interest, eyes moistened and faces softened, and I thought how much might be done with a little sympathy. I felt that Jesus had been near." But to return to Ramabai's Report. She goes on to tell of a time of testing and trial in temporal supplies. " The storeroom was almost empty, and the saries of our girls and most of their blankets had turned into old rags—there was no money to buy new saries and blankets. But saries had been ordered from the cloth merchants, with the understanding that they were to take all back if by a certain date their bills were not paid ; not one of them, however, was touched. Grain and other necessities of life were not ordered for the month. Many people could not understand why I had to make certain changes in food, etc. But the Lord knew all about it. He let the trials come at certain times, and let the house and treasury be quite empty only to fill them again. He made me realize from time to time that His ' hand is not shortened, that it cannot save ; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.'^ No one was informed about the needs at times of trial; but according to the command of God^ all requests
*Isa. lix. i. 'Phil. iv. 6.
1 68 PANDITA RAMABAl were made known to Him, and He did keep my mind in perfect peace in Christ, and sent help in His own good time, to buy not only grain, but saries and blankets, etc., for the old and new girls.
" The work of rescuing girls went on and is still going on, in spite of all difficulties and trials ; for God m^kes it very plain to me from time to time, by removing obstacles when they come, that it is His will that this work should not be stopped until He Himself stops it. Agur's prayer^ is being answered in our case. We are not allowed too much or too little of food and clothing and other comforts. Moreover, the Lord is teaching our Christian girls to deny themselves a little for the sake of others, that they may meet the expenses of their Christian instruction and other church expenses. He sent us a message one day to give up one of our meals on Sundays to save money to feed the hungry and poor, and to help His work in other missions. Most of the girls very cheerfully came forward with the request to cut off one of their meals on Sundays, and the money thus saved has been used to feed the Lord's poor and to help on His work in other places.
" The question of self-support of Indian Christian
Churches is becoming a very serious one. The Indian
Christians are very poor, it is true, and will not be able to pay the high salaries and bear the heavy expenses
*Prov. XXX. 8, 9.
RESCUE WORK 169 of fashionable churches. But as Hindus neither they nor their parents looked to some other nation, or to the high priests, for the support of their temples and their priesthood. As Christians there is no reason why they should not train themselves and their children to deny themselves, and to systematic giving. The Lord showed me this was my opportunity to practise and teach what I believed; and I am very thankful to say that the experiment has proved to be a success, and the
Lord's promise in Mai. iii. 10 has been literally fulfilled.
Some of us perhaps give one-fiftieth or One-hundredth part of our income to the Church, and that too with great reluctance, and call it tithe ; but little realize that the tithe is no less than one-tenth of the whole; and that is the income tax God would have us give Him for
His poor. If we give one-twentieth or fiftieth part and call it a tithe, or give very little with great reluctance, we are robbing God of His dues, and robbing ourselves of great blessings which He is eager to give us if we only accept them by fulfilling the conditions. This, to me, seems to be the true cause of the material poverty of the native Christian Church in India. We must not expect that God will give us many spiritual and temporal blessings unless we cheerfully fulfill the conditions on which He has promised them to us."
Ramabai concludes her most interesting recital of the condition and growth of this wonderful work with
170 PANDITA RAMABAI a paragraph which will do equally well for the close of this volume ; and here we must leave her.
" God gave me a special message from His Word a few days ago to give all the friends who are helping the Lord's work at Mukti and other missions, which
I pass on to you. It is this : * He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack.' ^ You have denied yourself in many ways for the sake of giving money for the poor women and children sheltered in our homes, but you have this rich promise from the Lord as your reward.
God bless you all. As for me, I have His sure word to depend upon. ' He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with
Him also freely give us all things ? ' Now, * Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto
God, and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.*
*Prov. xxviii. 27.
OCT 22 1900