Literature outreach in Nigeria

Transcription

Literature Outreach in Nigeria
J IM M ASON
FROM THE INCEPTION of its work in Nigeria, SIM was a mission committed to
literature. Presented here is the story of how SIM’s literature outreach began and
developed over the decades—until missionaries handed over to ECWA, the
Nigerian church that grew out of SIM’s endeavours. Several who were personally
involved in SIM’s literature work from the 1950s onwards have told their part of this
history in their own words.
Literature Outreach
in Nigeria
A History of SIM Literature Work
1901 - 1980
J IM M ASON
Literature Outreach
in Nigeria
A History of
SIM Literature Work
1901 – 1980
Jim Mason
Copyright © 2009 by Jim Mason
This first edition copyright © 2009 by Jim Mason
35 Cardill Crescent, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3Y6, Canada
[email protected]
ISBN 978-1-903689-61-5
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Copies of
Literature Outreach in Nigeria: A History of SIM Literature Work 1901– 1980
are available from:
Jim Mason
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Literature Outreach in
Nigeria
A History of SIM Literature Work
1901 – 1980
Jim Mason
In Appreciation
The publication of this book would not have been possible without the backing
of two churches and three long time supporter friends. I express my heartfelt
gratitude to:
• Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Northside Community Church, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
• Doug and Gladys Broderick, Stayner, Ontario, Canada
• Dr Jake and Agnes Dick, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
• Gerry & Mary Dorland, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I also want to thank Pieter Kwant and Isobel Stevenson, both of whom
worked on the Africa Bible Commentary, and who were always ready to
give encouragement and advice in my writing of this history of SIM’s literature
work in Nigeria.
Grateful thanks to numerous missionary colleagues – many of whom I
have worked with in the past. Not only did they provide me with outstanding
subject material, but they were willing to read parts of the manuscript to help in
checking accuracy.
I must give special thanks, also, to Della Watson and Maybeth Henderson,
who gave me invaluable assistance with proofreading and editing. They have
made this history much easier and more understandable to read than it would
have been otherwise.
The writing of this history has been a delightful journey that has brought
back so many memories. May you also find joy as you read it, and be reminded
time and time again of God’s amazing grace and faithfulness. Ever in His service,
Jim Mason
December 2008
Contents
In Appreciation
Preface
CHAPTER 1
FIRST SIM STATION iv
vii
1
CHAPTER 2
NIGER PRESS 1910-1924
10
CHAPTER 3
NIGER PRESS 1925-1950 16
CHAPTER 4
SIM BOOKSHOPS
26
CHAPTER 5
BOOKSHOPS, BOOKMOBILES AND BOOK CYCLES
33
CHAPTER 6
THOSE WHO SERVED
45
CHAPTER 7
LITERATURE DEPARTMENT (SIMLIT)
105
CHAPTER 8
PASTORS’ BOOK SETS NIGERIA – BORN OUT OF
NECESSITY
132
CHAPTER 9
THE STORY OF AFRICAN CHALLENGE
144
CHAPTER 10
DISTRIBUTION AND PERSONNEL INVOLVED
155
CHAPTER 11
MORE DISTRIBUTION PERSONNEL
165
CHAPTER 12
COUNSELLING AND READERS’ CLUBS
171
CHAPTER 13
PERSONNEL IN EDITORIAL
175
CHAPTER 14
PERSONNEL IN THE PRESS
179
CHAPTER 15
OLWYN KEYTE
191
CHAPTER 16
NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS
198
CHAPTER 17
NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS 1960-1963
202
CHAPTER 18
NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS –
SEPTEMBER 1964–MAY 1968
216
CHAPTER 19
CHAMPION – CHALLENGE COUNTERPART
222
CHAPTER 20
CLAUDINE LUTHY’S (DEMIÉVILLE) REMEMBRANCES 226
THE DEMISE OF CHAMPION
235
SUMMARY
236
APPENDIX 1
BIAFRA
239
APPENDIX 2
242
A BRIEF OF THE TUCKS’ STORY POST - APN
247
Preface
S
ome years before retirement loomed, I often wondered and prayed about
what I might become involved in at retirement. Before retirement came
in September 2007, Larry Fehl of International being aware that SIM
had made significant impact in Nigeria in four areas and wanting to see them
properly documented, asked if I would write the “History of SIM Literature
in Nigeria” for SIM Archives. The four areas where SIM made an impact in
Nigeria were clinics and hospitals; primary schools, secondary schools and
teachers’ colleges; Bible colleges through to seminaries; and of course in
literature. Having had exposure for 50 years in literature, even though not a
writer, who better to give it a try?
I started with African Challenge in July 1957, and then with a change of
plan for distribution of Challenge, I had six months in Hausa language school
in Kano. After language school I was assigned to bookshop work in Gusau,
Sokoto Province and in the assignment I got the three things I did not want:
1) Be the single worker on a station; 2) Be in Sokoto Province; 3) Have
anything to do with accounts. I survived two monthly trial balances, for the
bookshop and Business Department.
With reorganization of the bookshops, the smaller branches were coming
under the area shops; Gusau came under Kano Bookshop. I was transferred to
Ilorin, where Mary Anderson was going on leave and not wanting to return to
bookshop work. I was there for eighteen months before getting married at the
end of my term, ending up with a honeymoon in Switzerland on the way home.
While in Ilorin I met veteran F. X. Stanley, who had spent over fifty years
in Nigeria with SIM, and I wondered whether I could achieve that same goal.
I even wondered if I would last that long, or if SIM would “put up” with
me for that length of time. During my time in Ilorin, Mr Stanley left Nigeria
for retirement. When the business manager at Yaba guest house, making the
booking for England and Canada, mentioned that Mr. Stanley had come to
Nigeria on an Elder Dempster ship 50 years earlier, the shipping company gave
the Stanleys a luxurious trip to England in the Governor’s suite.
After home leave, Leona and I went to Jos, relieving for General Manager
Trevor Ardill. After that, it was to Lagos to Challenge compound for thirteen
years, where we had an idyllic spot for children growing up. Heather, though
born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, was in Nigeria before she was six weeks old. John
was a month old when we transferred to Lagos in October 1963. Glenn was
born in August 1965.
viii
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Ghana for Thirteen Years
When the bookshops were transferred to the church, I was asked by Virgil
Kleinsasser, the Ghana district superintendent, if I would go to Ghana. At
first I said no, but as I was saying it I knew that was where we would go. We
transferred there in September 1976.
Essentially Challenge Enterprises Ghana did all that Nigeria bookshops and
Challenge did, only on a smaller scale. In finding out what had gone on before,
I started reading the files and discovered my predecessor had corresponded
with AIM at Kijabe, Kenya, from where they operated “Cinema Leo” (Cinema
Today). With Board permission I went to Nairobi to see if this would work
in Ghana. You might say the rest is history, because today, 29 years from the
start in February 1980, seven Cinevans, soon to be eight, are operating on
monthly predetermined routes throughout Ghana, showing Christian films and
challenging people to trust Christ.
Pastors’ Book Sets were started in 1980, through which a pastor was provided
with a set of books at a tenth of the normal retail cost. A second PBS was held
in 1988, and then in September 1989 we left for a new assignment as Literature
Consultant mission-wide. This brought us home to Canada. In this new role the
PBS was spread to 37 countries in South America, Asia and other countries in
Africa and in five languages – French, English, Spanish, Hausa and Amharic.
Ben Boateng took over from me and strengthened Challenge Enterprises
to the place where there are 18 bookshops today, plus the many enlarged
ministries of YSL (Young Sowers’ League), Counselling, Bible Correspondence,
Prison Chaplain and visiting AIDS patients at the Korle Bu Hospital. Ben has
been a man of integrity before God and man. Presently the Board of Trustees is
considering who will replace him as he is due to retire in 2009.
We had thirteen wonderful years in Ghana, making many Ghanaian friends.
I considered everything learned in Nigeria as background and preparation for
Ghana, where God did many wonderful things for us at Challenge Enterprises.
In 1989 I left Ghana to be involved in literature mission wide. The crowning
achievement to those18 years as Literature Consultant was the production of
the Africa Bible Commentary, produced by 70 African scholars, with Pieter
Kwant as production manager and Isobel Stevenson as editor. After five
years in production, the ABC was launched in Nairobi on 3 July 2006. SIM
participated by raising $1,250,000 to produce the ABC in English and French.
The history writing task has been enjoyable, giving me something to get my
teeth into. When this is complete, edited and typeset and a few books published
for supporters and those who provided information, the manuscript will go
to SIM Archives, for the eyes of researchers. Then I will begin the history of
literature in Ghana over the last 56 years.
Jim Mason, December 2008
CHAPter 1
FIRST SIM STATION
T
hree attempts from 1893 to establish work in Nigeria failed, but in 1901
four men, Albert Taylor,
Charles Robinson, Mr
Anthony and A. W. Banfield sailed
from Liverpool to Nigeria and
established the first Sudan Interior
Mission (SIM) station at Pategi in
1902. To learn Hausa, the major
language of Northern Nigeria,
Taylor from Hamilton Ontario,
Canada, and Robinson from the
USA, went to Tripoli (Libya) to
1901 Party, plus Dr Bingham and Canadian
study with a colony of Hausa traders
Board Member
living there. After their studies they
met Anthony and Banfield in England. Anthony was from Michigan and was
superintendent of the Michigan Conference of the Brethren in Christ Church.
Banfield was from Toronto.1
A week’s delay in their departure gave them opportunity to meet Frederick
Lugard (later, Lord Lugard), returning as
High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria.
Lugard encouraged them to travel with
him, and was quite willing to help them
find a place to establish a missionary base.
Lugard later reported to the British
government, “Dr Miller of the CMS and
Rev Anthony…afford us every confidence
1901 party, E.A.Anthony, A Taylor,
that both missions will be of great value in
A.W. Banfield, C. Robinson
the work of civilization and progress.”2
1
2
Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 20-21.
Ibid., page 22.
2
Literature outreach in nigeria
GETTING ESTABLISHED
The four men left Liverpool 30 October 1901 on the Royal Mail steamer
Bornu. The ship’s doctor predicted: “You see that young man, Banfield; you
will bury him out there in six months; he will be the first of your party to die.”3
Banfield was the youngest in the party and was for many years the only survivor.
In God’s mercy, in 18 months Banfield was the leader; Anthony, who had been
leader, and Robinson were forced to return home due to illness. Albert Taylor
died of black water fever a short time after he moved to Bida with some new
missionaries who arrived in 1903.
At the mouth of the Niger River they changed to a small paddle ship for five
days upriver to Lokoja, the British Government HQ. They stayed for four
months; during that time they reconnoitred a two-day canoe journey up the
river, and two days down the river, eventually deciding to start their mission
among the Nupe people at Pategi, two days upriver. Their move was made on a
shallow-bottomed boat allowing them to get close to the bank at Edogie on the
south side of the river, a small landing about 3 miles (4½km) from Pategi which
was inland.
3
Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 23.
3
first siM stAtion
There were three smaller emirates on the south side of the River Niger:
Shonga, Lafiagi and Pategi. Shonga and Pategi had been separated by the then
head British officer from Lafiagi in 1833 as two rivals for the kingship of the
Nupe fled from Usman Dendo and Masaba, the two sons of the Fulani Mallam
Dendo, who had seized the throne of Lafiagi Emirate. These three emirates
south of the river Niger were independent of the larger emirate of Bida. Pategi
was the first emirate going north, approximately opposite where the Kaduna
River flowing south joined the River Niger. The British installed Idirisu Gana as
the Etsu or “King” of Pategi in 1898, taking it out of Lafiagi’s control. Idirisu
died in 1900, so it was from his son Muazu Yissa, the new King of Pategi that
the four missionaries asked permission to work in his area.
Lugard probably considered the Nupe, a tribe controlled by the
British and one of the smaller emirates, a safe place for inexperienced
missionaries to start. From the Etsu’s point of view he could hardly
refuse a request from the white men who had brought his family
back from exile to kingship.4
Pategi was a town of 10,0005 which had reached this size in recent times.
Slavery had been outlawed by the British, though when slaves ran away they
were often pursued. It was known that if a slave reached Pategi he would be
safe from recapture, so many ex-slaves headed there. This caused the rapid
growth of the town.
EDOGIE LANDING
Banfield wrote about landing at Edogie:
“We did not know where we were going to
sleep...we could not speak to the people…
As soon as the boat had left us, we knelt
under a tree and asked God to direct us in
our new life and lead us to a place where
we could put our goods and also sleep for
the night.”6 Once again God provided.
The SIM group lived a short time at
Edogie, which means “small village”. They
could not speak any Nupe, but the chief
understood what these white men wanted
right away and gave them three huts to
live in and store their loads. They found it
so hot that on the second night they slept
outside under their mosquito nets.
4
5
6
Boat unloading at Edogie
Pategi party unloading goods at Edogie
Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 31.
Ibid., page 31.
A. W. Banfield, Life Among the Nupe Tribe in West Africa, H.S. Hallman, Berlin, Ontario, (now
Kitchener), Canada, 1905.
4
The Etsu of Pategi gave them some land and promised to have some grass
huts built for them which took
about three weeks. Since it was rainy
season, the building of a more
permanent structure was left till the
next dry season.
BANFIELD A LINGUIST
Accepted because of his mechanical
skills and practical handyman ability,
Alexander Banfield was not satisfied to be an appendage; he determined to be
a missionary. “The intoned language was one of the most difficult in the vast
field. Though he had very little of the usual preparation for mission work, Mr
Banfield applied himself wholeheartedly to mastering Nupe.”7 Banfield had a
personal quest to “get” the Nupe language. The others quickly realized that
Alex had a gift for the language, and arranged activities freeing him from many
of the daily duties so he could study. Consequently, in less than 12 months,
Banfield was able to hold Gospel services.
Alex Banfield later wrote:
King of Pategi visting SIM building site
At once I applied myself diligently and strenuously to Nupe, spoken
by a million people in the middle Niger. For the first two years I
never read a book or paper of any kind in English, except for my
Bible. I determined to get this language at all costs. I lived in it; I
thought in it; I dreamed in it. So great was my passion to learn it
that I even put it before my health and life. At no time, during my
years of language work, did I ever have as a teacher a Nupe man who
knew a word of English. I struggled for and hunted out every word I
learned. I never forgot a word.8
While studying with a Nupe teacher I have added to my vocabulary
on average 15 words each day or 2-3,000 in a year.9
Banfield’s aim was to translate Bible
passages into Nupe so that missionaries
could read these Scriptures on visits in
Pategi with the builders and in marketplace
preaching, all of whom were Muslims.
Banfield prepared a first draft of John’s
Banfield in Language Study
7
8
9
Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001.
Ibid., page 33.
An interview with Rev A. W. Banfield, The Bible in the World, 1908.
first siM stAtion
5
Gospel in 18 months. He wrote: “I have all of John’s Gospel translated, and six
chapters in Mark.”10
We can assume that Banfield’s translation was not too exact but it was a good
foundation for revisions. It was a remarkable achievement even for someone
with good self-study habits and the simplest of academic help.
He worked in the phonetic system he had learned in Toronto.
Choosing the Roman script letters of the alphabet to write the
language, he used certain letters together such as “gb” to bring
out specific sounds in the Nupe language. He based his Gospel
translation on the English Revised Version of 1881, since he had not
studied Greek.11
R. V. Bingham, co-founder of SIM said:
“Mr Banfield applied himself
wholeheartedly to mastering this
difficult tongue. Into it he began to
translate the precious Word of God.
He compiled his own dictionary
and when he returned from his first
furlough he had ready the manuscript
which the British and Foreign Bible
Society printed, so that he was able to
Studying the Language
take back to the field these portions
of the New Testament (the four
Gospels) to the two or three million people who spoke the Nupe
language.” Bingham later said: “A.W. Banfield set the standard and
tone for SIM’s translation programme.”12
Banfield realized early on that among the partially Islamized Nupe it would
not be easy to produce converts quickly. There was hope, however, with his
language teacher whom he does not name. He writes: “Until lately he had
not had any interest in the message of salvation, but only a few weeks ago our
teacher has said he desires to know God and to believe on Jesus Christ, and on
asking him some questions, he seemed to be quite clear about the matter. We
would like it if this one would be remembered in your prayers.”13
DR STIRRETT ARRIVES
While Banfield was field leader, Dr Stirrett began to learn the Hausa language
and with Edward F. Rice, a newcomer, he moved into the Kontagora emirate
farther north establishing a station at Wushishi on the Kaduna River, where he
10 Pioneering
in the Soudan, Africa Industrial Mission (SIM), 1903.
Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 46-47.
12 R. V. Bingham, Seven Sevens of Years and a Jubilee, Evangelical Publishers, Toronto, Canada,
1943.
13 Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 35.
11 Clare
6
gained more facility in Hausa. This was in November of 1904. Stirrett later
became SIM’s representative and a key member of the Hausa Bible Committee.
In the same month Banfield,
weary of sickness (four attacks of
black water fever - an advanced stage
of malaria), left Nigeria with six
others, reaching Toronto in January
1905, broken in health. Andrew
Stirrett became SIM field leader.
Dr Stirret going to open Wushishi. Bacho
Back in Canada in 1905 and with
Wushishi Railway
returning health, Banfield set himself
some projects. The first was to marry his fiancée, Althea Priest, on March
1st. She was a missionary in Toronto with the City Mission Workers Society.
Secondly, being a keen photographer and going to Nigeria with equipment to
produce good photographs, with the help of the editor of the Church of the
Brethren denominational paper, Henry S. Hallman, he now used 137 of his
pictures with suitable commentary and printed 5,000 copies of the book, Life
Among the Nupe Tribe in West Africa. This was printed in Berlin (Kitchener),
Canada, in both hard and soft cover editions. The commentary beside each
picture “...gave details and stories about life in Nigeria as he saw it. Banfield
showed he had an appreciation for the richness and the needs of African
culture.”14
Letters home by Banfield and the original leader of the team E. S. Anthony,
who returned to his former position of superintendent of the Church of the
Brethren Mission Conference in Michigan, had inspired the various conferences
to become interested in overseas mission. With this increasing interest, the
Banfields were asked if they would return to Nigeria and open up a mission
work for the Church of the Brethren. This mission later became known as
United Missionary Society (UMS). Throughout all the years until the present,
relationships between SIM and UMS have been most cordial and cooperative.
Alex Banfield resigned15 from
SIM and returned to Nigeria
with Althea, on 17 August 1905.
At the mouth of the Niger they
transferred to a smaller steamer
and made their way upriver, but it
was not until October at the end of
the rainy season that they reached
their destination. From his previous
The House from Canada
experience in Nigeria, he knew he
14 Clare
15 Ibid.,
Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, page 36.
page 37.
first siM stAtion
wanted to settle in the most westerly of the three emirates on the south side of
the Niger River, at Tsonga, which became known as Shonga. This was about
160 miles (290 km) north of Pategi. Banfield brought with him a wooden
house which he built on concrete pillars to protect it from termites.
Anglican Bishop Herbert Tugwell suggested that the missions interested in
the Nupe come together in a conference to decide on matters related to
translation questions. These missions were the Anglican Church Missionary
Society (CMS), SIM and the newly formed Brethren Mission (UMS).
Their first meeting was held at Pategi
in 1906 where they settled on a working
alphabet. They also planned to translate the
Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed,
and the Lord’s Prayer. Banfield was asked
to be the secretary. The second meeting
in 1907 was at Shonga, and later meetings
were at Pategi in 1908 and 1909.
At the first conference J. L. McIntyre
(CMS) was asked to write a Nupe
grammar. Banfield was to revise his
translation of the Gospels. After the
committee decided his translation of the
Gospels was good quality it went to the
Bible Society and they were printed in
1908. The Banfields were on furlough
1906 Nupe Language Comm. CMS,
SIM & UMS
and were able to be in London when the
Gospels were being printed.
EARLIER TRANSLATIONS
The Nupe Literature Conference’s work was not the first attempt at
Bible translation into Nupe...It is likely the Anglicans made Banfield
aware of earlier efforts. As early as 1877, Samuel Crowther had a
translation of the Gospel of John printed by CMS in London, fruit of
his many contacts with the Nupe and attempts to open the kingdom
to Christian missionaries. In 1886-87, the BFBS published the four
Gospels translated by Archdeacon Henry Johnson and a later revision
by J. L. McIntyre and T. W. Bako in 1889. This same Thomas Bako
also had a translation of the Psalms, with revisions by Obadiah Thomas
and J. J. Williams, published in 1903 after Bako’s martyrdom.
As they met, the 1909 Literature Conference urged Banfield to
continue translating. 16
16
Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners,
7
8
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Later in 1909 Banfield reported that for the last six months he had been
working on almost nothing else but the book of Acts and stories from the Old
Testament, sometimes struggling with one verse for an hour. This experience
comes to all those who wish to translate God’s Word accurately.
Some of his supporters in the churches in Canada might have wondered why
Banfield was not out there preaching,17 but Alex Banfield was looking at the
benefits in years to come. It was known that the Yoruba Bible which had been
translated 30 years before, had for the last three years been selling in thousands.
A more recent observation by the late Professor Kwame Bediako of Ghana
may help bring into focus the importance of the translation Alex Banfield
was doing. Professor Bediako wisely observes: “The most valuable service
that missionaries provided was the translation of the Scriptures, because God
through the written word can then speak to individuals directly.”18
The book of Acts was published by the British and Foreign Bible
Society (BFBS) in 1912; Banfield assisted Rev McIntyre of CMS
with the Nupe Grammar, published in 1915 by SPCK (Society for
Publication of Christian Knowledge). In 1910 a catechism and some
hymns were published, also a booklet, “One Hundred Controversial
Questions with Mahommedism.” A Nupe Dictionary in two
volumes of over 13,000 words was also published; volume 1 in 1914
and volume 2 in 1916.19
A unique work being prepared in those years (1910-1915), but published in
1916, in Nupe and English, was a collection of 623 Nupe proverbs which today
would still be a valuable foundation for Nupe studies.
The crowning of Banfield’s work in these years was the completion of a draft
of the whole New Testament in 1914. Banfield produced a thousand copies
on the Niger Press and the Bible Society printed their edition a little later; a
revision was made in 1927. Much of this work was done by the committee with
Banfield’s drafts. At one stage the committee consisted of Banfield, Ira Sherk
(UMS), F. Merryweather (SIM), A. E. Ball and C. H. Daintree both of CMS.
This inter-mission group met in 1913, but when the First World War
disrupted things it was not until 1926 that the next inter-mission
conference was held. Actually the Nupe Literature Committee
continued as before. They asked Banfield to push on with Bible
translation drafts; they asked him to work on Psalms, Romans, and
the letters of John, Peter and Jude.20
The press was managed by Banfield, with young Nupe men hired to learn the
printer’s trade. They did the typesetting, printing and binding, though not the
17Fuller,
Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 48.
Bediako, Akrofi Christaller Institute, Akuapem, Ghana, said this to the author in 2003.
19Clare Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 49.
20Ibid., 2001, page 49.
18Kwame
FIRST SIM STATION
9
proofreading, which had to be done by those who knew the language involved.
Banfield noted that “their work is a marvel to all who see it.”21
Clare Fuller (a missionary with UMS, now called World Partners), and who
is still in Nigeria, visited Shonga several years ago and met a man who worked
at Niger Press with Alex Banfield. He said that Alex taught him and that he
used to do all the hardcover binding for the books which were produced.
The question may be asked, “How did Banfield publish so many works?”
The answer is that he became a printer to the missions in Northern Nigeria.
21Clare
Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, page 49-50.
CHAPTER 2
T
he Joint Missionary Conference of Missions in Northern Nigeria,
held on the CMS Station located at Lokoja, in July 1910, adopted the
following resolution:
That it is desirable to have a common Mission Press and that Rev
A. W. Banfield’s offer to supervise the working of such a Press, be
gratefully accepted. (The enthusiasm with which Alex took up this
new responsibility gives you the impression it may have been his
suggestion.)22
(a)That the Trustees of the Northern Nigeria Literature fund
(which forms part of the Pan-Anglican Thank-offering Fund) be
asked to guarantee a sum not to exceed £50 to cover the expenses of
the first year, and that each Society pay for the work actually done for
it on the Press.
(b)That all the details of the carrying out of the scheme be left in
the hands of the Rev A. W. Banfield, and that calculating the
amount to be charged for printing, 25% be added to the cost of
materials and labour, in order to cover loss by depreciation and
spoiled work.23
With the £50, which was kindly increased to £72, Rev Banfield had delivered
from England to Shonga, a hand-operated press and paper cutter, type, ink,
type cases and paper. The machinery arrived at Shonga in December 1910, and
was set up in a small round mud house. Probably it was a later printing press (a
bedplate) that took 20 men a whole week to drag from the riverside to Shonga,
for Banfield was adding better equipment over the years. Mr Banfield had
already decided that this printing press was to be called the “Niger Press”.
Mr Banfield had no previous experience in printing, but his engineering
background served him well, and together with a few young men he started
printing. Orders were sent in from a number of mission stations, government
22Clare
Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, page 50.
Turaki, An Introduction to the History of SIM/ECWA, self published, page 199.
23Yusufu
11
officials and traders, and it was soon evident that the Press was meeting a real
need. The plant was too small, so orders for new type, paper and printing
materials were sent home almost every month; still, the Press could not keep up
with the orders.
The first item printed by Niger Press was a Monthly Prayer Cycle for the use
of all missions at their stations in Northern Nigeria.
In 1912 Mr Banfield went on furlough, and while in Canada was successful
in raising considerable funds for the work of the Niger Press. He was able to
buy a larger printing press for £400, which he took with him when he returned
in 1913; included was a larger stock of paper and binding material, and also
hundreds of pounds weight of new type. Money had also been given for a new
building which was to house the growing plant. From this time the business
went ahead by leaps and bounds; there was always work to keep the staff busy.
The Niger Press had become well known and patronized. In 1915 Banfield
added a cylinder press with a petrol (gasoline) engine to run the press.
The 1913 Missionary Conference resolved the following:
Rev A. W. Banfield reported that the small printing press bought with the
money advanced by the C.M.S. Literature Fund had proven a success, and that
he had on his last furlough raised about £400 for a large press and a special
building. The Conference decided:
(a)That the Rev A. W. Banfield’s offer to take entire responsibility
of this newly constructed “Niger Press” be gratefully accepted.
(b)That the amount originally advanced by the C.M.S. Literature
Fund be repaid by installments so that the entire Press become
the property of Mr Banfield.
(c)That in order to place the Press on a proper financial footing
Mr Banfield be encouraged to add to the actual cost of the
work a sufficient percentage to allow for depreciation, interest
on capital, expenditure, etc., and also that donations towards
the initial cost of the new machinery and buildings be invited.
(d)That the missionaries pledge to do their best to support
the Press, by sending printing work to Mr Banfield, and by
endeavouring to secure apprentices for the work.
In 1914 the Press was in full swing, a staff of seven efficiently trained Nigerians
being employed. Printing and binding were done in twelve languages: English,
Yoruba, Hausa, Nupe, Gbari, Munchi, Yergum, Angas, Sura, Bachama, Jukun
and Burum.
The Press did not feel that any job was too large or difficult as the following
list of books will show: Scripture portions, dictionaries, prayer books and Bible
stories, hymn books, readers, primers, catechisms and reading sheets. Not only
12
were these printed, but suitable covers were made and the books bound, a
credit indeed to the under 18 years of age Nigerians who did the work.
In 1915 Mr Banfield went on furlough and, when passing through England,
ordered a cylinder press and gas engine to be sent out to Shonga. But before
these were shipped, a change took place which altered the future of the Press.
During his 14 years in Nigeria, Mr Banfield spent a great deal of his time on
the Nupe language, completing a translation of the New Testament into Nupe.
This brought him to the attention of the British and Foreign Bible Society of
London, who were looking for someone to be their Secretary for West Africa.
BANFIELD LEAVES
The Bible Society wrote to the UMS Board in Canada, asking if they would
release Rev Banfield so they could appoint him as Bible Society Secretary for
West Africa. After considering the request, UMS decided to loan Rev Banfield
to the Bible Society.
The Niger Press was still very dear to Alex Banfield’s heart, so he recruited
a young missionary to carry on the work since the Bible Society would assign
him to Lagos. Mr Panabaker of Cambridge, Ontario, the new man, was to
receive his salary from the profits of the Press. After a trial of eighteen months it
was found this plan was not working well so a new plan for the Press had to be
adopted.
EVANGELICAL PUBLISHERS
E.F. Gerorge and wife with C.V. Nelson
24 E.
Because of the interest and financial
contribution of the SIM toward the upkeep
of the Niger Press, Rev Banfield invited
SIM to take over the Press. But SIM
declined on the ground that “It would
serve the interests of all the missions on
the field in a better way if the Niger Press
were under the direction of an independent
corporation to serve all missions on equal
terms.” SIM suggested that Evangelical
Publishers be contacted. The leader and
co-founder of SIM, Rev Rowland V.
Bingham, was also the founder and editor
of the magazine, The Evangelical Christian
and Missionary Witness (MW) published by
Evangelical Publishers, Toronto, Canada.
In July 1917,24 with full consent
and permission of the contributors, Mr
F. George, The History of Niger Press, 1925, SIM Archives, Niger Press, page 17.
niGer Press 1910-1924
13
Banfield handed the Press over to the “Evangelical Publishers”, a corporation
affiliated with Sudan Interior Mission, based in Toronto, Canada, who agreed
to maintain the high ideals for which the Press stood. At that time, the value of
the printing plant and stock supply had reached over a thousand pounds.
With a gift of five thousand dollars from the “Stewart Trust”,25 Evangelical
Publishers sent out new equipment to upgrade the Press in 1918. Also in
September 1918, Mr and Mrs E. F. George were sent to Nigeria to manage
the Press. Mr George had wide experience in the printing business. Evangelical
Publishers also decided to move the Press to Minna in January of 1919.26 Minna
was a more centrally situated town on the railway and within easy reach of various
mission stations, and it was SIM’s HQ in Nigeria. It was no small undertaking to
move the many hundreds of pounds of type, paper, heavy press machinery, but it
was successfully moved into a new building at Minna.
E. F. George recalls the move to Minna:
When we first arrived here it was decided to move Niger Press from
its present location at Shonga to Minna. This meant a river journey
and also 150 miles by railroad. We proceeded to Shonga, and with
the help of the good missionaries and the native carriers the
equipment was carried to the river and placed in native canoes. We
left Shonga on a Monday at noon and reached Jebba, a three-day
journey upriver on Thursday morning, where we loaded all the
materials into a freight car and left the rest to the railway; in due time
the car arrived at Minna.
After operating the Press for
a year at Minna, it was found
that the old hand-powered
press, originally purchased, was
inadequate to cope with the
growing need. Also the need
of a new power press was now
laid before the Lord in prayer and prayer was answered; thus
a brand new 12 x 18 Chandler
& Price Gordon Press was
added in 1921.
Ernest & Mrs George, C V Nelson Minna Press
1922
The day the machine arrived was remembered as a day of thankful
rejoicing to the Lord. The old way of printing had been a hard, slow
grind and caused much waste of paper, time and energy. About 1000
impressions were considered a fair day’s work, but the new machine
25 Associated
26 Clare
and administered by Evangelical Publishers.
Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 66.
14
Literature Outreach in Nigeria revolutionized the output to 3,000 impressions daily, marking a new
day at the Press. 27
INGENUITY NEEDED
What about power? This obstacle was overcome when Mr George rigged up a
bicycle as motor power, attaching the chain to the axle of the machine. A good
strong Yoruba by the name of Bello peddled the bike while Mr George fed the
press. Output was trebled from the old-fashioned hand power.
A new stitching machine for the bindery was added and then a new mediumsized paper cutter for trimming printed books. Step-by-step the Press became
more efficient. Then in July 1922, Mr C. V. Nelson arrived to assist in the work
which had grown considerably under capable management.
A new day dawned for the Press with the addition of a 3 h.p. FairbanksMorse gasoline engine. “We were able to retire the “improvised motor,”
running our press almost as fast as the printers at home.”28 At full capacity the
average was around 1000 impressions an hour.
The staff members consisted of eight young men: Gana - bindery and
bookshop; Amaga, Peter, Bamayi, Ladipo and Thomas - all printers; Bello press feeder; Timothy on errands. They all learned their responsibilities well,
and all were Christians, professing to love the Lord. They represented seven
different tribes, all speaking Hausa.
Up to 1924 the Press had printed Gospels and Scripture portions in twenty
different languages. These included: Angas, Iregwe, Agni, Jaba, Bachama,
Jukun, Burum, Kamui, Chawi, Munchi, Fanti, Nupe, French, Sura, Gbari
(Matayi), Yoruba, Tangale, Gbari (Gengeyi), Yergum and Hausa. In addition,
much was printed in English, with many missions having their letterheads and
office printing done at Niger Press.
SERVING ALL MISSIONS
The Press, being under the direction of the Evangelical Publishers of Toronto,
was able to serve all the mission societies on an equal basis with the aim to
give printing at cost to all the Missions, plus a small percentage to cover loss in
depreciation of the plant. This required that staff from overseas be supported
from home.
The desire of those at the Press was twofold: that their efforts be a spiritual
success, where the books were used of God to bring people to Christ, and that
it would be a financial success where the cost of supplies would be covered by
prices charged.
For a long time it had been felt that something must be done to replace
the type which had become badly worn and which rendered good printing
27Evangelical
28E.
Christian, February 1921.
F. George, The History of the Niger Press, 1925, SIM Archives, page 17.
15
impossible. At the beginning of 1923 friends were informed to pray that a way
would open so they could have new type.29
The cost to land this equipment in Nigeria was $4,000. Mr Blackstone of
Evangelical Publishers, administering the Stewart Trust Fund, offered $1,500,
if SIM could find the remainder for the Typecaster. Though cheered by some
who sent gifts for the purchase of the Thompson Typecaster, weeks became
months without the full amount being donated.30
After many months, Mr Blackstone wanted SIM to release the funds since
they (SIM) could not raise the remaining funds. While in prayer at a council
meeting, there was a phone call saying a cable had come from across the
Atlantic and the words were, “Will make up any balance on the Thompson
Typecaster.” On 12 December 1923 the Press at Minna received a cablegram “Typecaster Promised”. The machine would be on its way as soon as an order
could be placed. There was much rejoicing in Toronto and Minna at God’s
wonderful provision. Both the quality and speed of production were vastly
improved.31
The Evangelical Publishers, who operated the Niger Press, recounted this
regarding the Typecaster in a 1936 brochure:
Within the last three years the whole New Testament in two
languages - Tangale (1932) and Igalla (1935).... An amazing feature
is - all the type in the main text of both books was manufactured
in our plant by melting and moulding lead on the Thompson
Typecaster. This machine was literally a godsend to the press and
came to us in 1924. It has done splendid service during the past 12
years. By this time printing at the press was being done in over 40
languages.32
29The
Niger Press, Brochure 1936, Evangelical Publishers, 366 Bay St. Toronto.
Toronto.
31Ibid.
32Ibid.
30Ibid..
CHAPter 3
E
rnie George was the first manager of the Press for seven plus years
under Evangelical Publishers. He came from outside Toronto, and
on returning to Canada, Ernie started a press in King City, north of
Toronto. Mr Nelson became manager, then after Nelson, Bob Kitch was
manager.
Mr George, the manager of the Press, went home to Canada in 1925. He
was not well and he did not return. Mr C. V. Nelson was not yet back from
leave, but there was an unknown person with experience in printing who
stepped in until Mr Nelson returned. It appears that he continued as manager
until he went home on furlough in 1938. He never did return, entering the
presence of the Lord on 2 September 1939. By this time, Robert Kitch had
been at the Niger Press for 4-5 years. From 1939, when he became manager of
Niger Press, and after 27 years at the Press, he ended up on medical retirement
shortly after Niger Press and African Challenge joined forces in Lagos in 1959.
Mr C. V. Nelson, who had run away from
home when 17, had many experiences before he
came to the Lord. He was a hobo in Chicago,33
and had only known the rough side of life until he
trusted Christ. He began work at a printing press
in Georgia where he was trained to become a
highly skilled typographer. It was at this time that
he began to feel the call of God on his life and he
headed for Chicago where he planned to attend
Moody Bible Institute. Circumstances prevented
him from taking classes, but he became an usher
at Moody Church.
One Sunday, Guy Playfair of SIM Nigeria
was speaking at church; he first told of his own
life and spoke of some of the needs in Nigeria.
Nelson 1929
Nelson’s heart burned within him and he felt
33 Evangelical
Christian, Toronto, Canada, November 1929.
17
he must speak to Playfair after the service. Many people were around Playfair,
but Nelson waited and finally was able to ask him if he would have lunch with
him. Playfair replied that he already had another engagement, and as Nelson
was moving off, Guy Playfair asked: “What do you do? What do you work
at?” When Nelson replied he was a printer, Playfair’s face lit up and he said,
“Perhaps you are the very man the Lord wants me to speak to about Niger
Press.” Indeed, Nelson was the man, and God had called him.34
Mr Nelson had a problem with high blood pressure. Two doctors said there
was no way he should go to Nigeria, but a third doctor, more sympathetic, felt
that he would live as long in Nigeria as he would at home. On that word SIM
accepted him and Moody Church gave $600 towards his passage and support.
It took eight more months before he was on his way. When he finally left,
the ship ran aground in fog and was damaged between Montreal and Quebec
City which meant another delay, this time for four days. When he reached
Nigeria, immigration would not let him enter because of some irregularity in
his passport, but after a few hours of questioning he was allowed in.
On his second furlough, his blood pressure was down from 240 to 180. The
doctor reported that he was in better health than when he first went to Nigeria.
The doctor mentioned that if SIM had been looking for a health resort for
Mr Nelson, we could not have sent him to a better place. Few would consider
Minna a health resort, but when one is in God’s will He takes care of our
problems.
NIGER PRESS MOVES TO JOS
Minna on the railway line was half way between the tropical forest of the south
and the sandy north; it was troubled by the harmattan winds from the desert
that brought clouds of dust that covered everything. On one occasion the press
was so troubled by a heavy harmattan it had to close down for one month. This
climate took its toll on the Press, whose rollers turned hard and cracked. By this
time SIM had been thinking of moving the HQ to Jos, which was on a plateau
at 4,000 ft above sea level and central to the growing number of stations. With
this climate, Niger Press also made the decision to move in 1928.
BOB KITCH
Bob was having his throat swabbed by the nurse in the dispensary at Moody
Bible Institute. The nurse asked if he had seen the call for a printer in The
Evangelical Christian. Looking it up, Bob read a telegram sent to the editor by
C. V. Nelson of Niger Press - it read “PRINTER DESPERATELY NEEDED”.
This was Robert Kitch’s call to the mission field - a call in print for a printer.
Bob Kitch was single when he arrived in Nigeria in 1933 and married
Dorothy McDowell there on 19 October 1938. He became manager of the
34Evangelical
Christian, Toronto, Canada, November 1929.
18
Press and held that position for 22 years. During his first year, standing at the
door of the Press, a young boy selling oranges came up to him and said, “White
man, I want a book. I want to learn to
read.”35 The boy’s beseeching voice came
through to Bob as an echo and
confirmation of his call back in America a
few months before.
Bob went back to his desk piled with
orders, with staff at their tasks busy around
him, gluing, printing, composing and
stitching. His brain throbbed with the cry
“Give me a book; give me a book; give me
Bob Kitch in Niger Press
a book!” This sustained Bob and his wife
through their years at Niger Press - the
knowledge that what was produced at Niger Press was being used of God to
bring people to Himself.
Electric power came to Jos in 1937, allowing for electric motors to bring
increased efficiency and output. A new Monotype Composition Typecaster was
sent in 1945, which arrived damaged. Bob Kitch, who had been trained on a
linotype, found this machine entirely strange, but he took the machine apart,
repaired the problem, and got the machine working. All this was accomplished
without the usual company mechanic sent by the printing company. The
monotype was still being used until 1966 when it was retired.
JOHN GRANT
Johnny, a Canadian, arrived at Bununu in 1938, and
married Kay (Kathryn) Hengst in June the next year.
Johnny had attended Prairie Bible Institute, where his
work assignment was in the print shop. As a missionary
his love was for “bush” work, preaching the Gospel,
teaching and training. However, because of his
background in printing, whenever a crisis came at the
Niger Press, Johnny was called in, sometimes to help
until the crisis was over, other times it was to relieve for
John Grant and Leona
someone’s furlough. This happened over a period of
Mason
15 or more years and finally in the mid-1950s he was
assigned to the Niger Press, and found his fulfillment in
his extracurricular work: in Night Bible School and prison visitation, preaching
and teaching wherever needed. Johnny was happy to serve.
Johnny had been helping Bob Kitch, but in 1948 went home on furlough.
This was a banner year for the Press, with only Bob Kitch and his wife, and the
35 White
Man Give me a Book, Harold Fuller, SIM Archives, Box 081.
19
Nigerian staff, sometimes working until 10pm. Fifteen million pages of Gospel
literature were printed in a variety of languages for Nigeria that year.
One day when Bob Kitch was on leave Johnny sat in the office at Niger
Press, looking at a stack of orders, presses already running full tilt. “If only
we had another press!” That day a letter arrived from Bob Kitch telling of the
Lord’s provision of a new press that he would bring back with him. It was in
1949 when the new press, a power wire stitcher, and a folding machine were
installed. A new power paper cutter was added in 1951.
SIM ASSUMES OWNERSHIP OF NIGER PRESS
Through the 27 years of ownership by Evangelical Publishers, Toronto, there
had always been close cooperation with SIM. Those working at the Press were
missionaries who were recruited by the Evangelical Publishers, but were looked
upon as part of the SIM family in Jos. They were paid their monthly allowance
by SIM and accounts were held for Niger Press by SIM at HQ in Jos.
Before 1 April 1944, the matter of SIM taking over responsibility for the
Press had been raised by the Mission, but it was not until then that Evangelical
Publishers was willing to pursue the matter. At that time Mr Stock, managing
director of Evangelical Publishers, was able to meet Mr Playfair and Bob Kitch
in New York. SIM Nigeria had been making Evangelical Publishers aware
that demand was increasing, and that when the war ended there would be
a great surge in print orders and more equipment was needed. So after due
consideration and valuing the investment, Mr Stock decided to sell to SIM and
the terms were these:
1.That whatever cash was on hand and shown by the books of the
Niger Press as at the purchase date (for discussion purposes we
have set the date as at the beginning of the fiscal year, April 1
1944) be settled at 100% valuation.
2.That the accounts receivable, as shown on the books which, by
the way, are reported on by your own auditors as being in a good,
healthy condition, be figured at valuation 90%.
3.That the inventory be valued at 90%.
4.That the valuation of Buildings, Machinery, Equipment and
Type be independently appraised and sold to you at 50% of such
valuation. In other words, so far as the Plant and Equipment are
concerned, we would like to donate to the Mission half of its true
value; that is, for every dollar the Mission puts up for physical
assets of the Niger Press, we will give outright the same amount.36
36Letter
081.
from Evangelical Publishers to Guy Playfair, 22 August, 1944, SIM Archives, Box NCP
20
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Niger Press with all its assets was valued at well over $20,000, but realizing that
SIM might have difficulty raising this amount to assume ownership of Niger
Press, Mr Stock proposed the following in a 22 August 1944 letter: That SIM
assume ownership of the Press from 1 April 1944.
It was suggested by Mr Stock that Evangelical Publishers transfer all assets of
Niger Press to the SIM as at 1 April 1944, for the sum of $20,000 (New York
funds) payable in eight equal instalments of $2,500 over a period of four years,
without interest.
This allowed SIM to make these payments out of current earnings of the
Press without undue financial strain. Though SIM’s decision is not recorded,
it can be assumed they agreed to these terms, and SIM most likely paid in full
before the four years was up.
A BOY’S EYE VIEW
On a field trip from an SIM mission school a group of boys had the experience
of going through Niger Press to see the printing press at work. Some of their
uncorrected comments written after their return to class follow:
“On the 26 May 1951, we visited Jos for Geography observation.
We visited Niger Press which was most important for me, because
since I was born I never see such wonderful engines (machines).
When we arrived, the man in charge took us round the room and
showed us how the engines do their work. He was very pleased and
also the workers were very pleased to see us. I was very impressed
in seeing how the engines were working. Some of them were
printing and some were cutting the edges of the books which had
already been printed. When we departed from there I thought
about the engines and the man in charge deeply, and it came to my
mind that the man and his workers are assisting the Christians very
well, because through their work we get different kinds of books
containing the Word of God.....My mind is full of thankfulness
because of their work.”
Another, “I was greatly amazed by what each special individual
plays his part in printing books I have been familiar to. I could not
understand, for instance, why one person in a closet (The Monotype
operator) sits down, using a machine as a typewriter (having red
letters that allow spaces in words) makes holes on a piece of paper.
This paper in turn is taken to another worker on the other part of
the room. With guidance of this the machine melts metal pieces and
prints letter on them. This I cannot understand.”
21
Several of the boys were impressed with the fact that the work of the
Press was for their good. “I even saw my language there in the Niger
Press. It was a Hymn Book, that I even have it at home.”37
A JOURNALIST VISITS NIGER PRESS
Having seen printing presses before, a visiting journalist was impressed with
what he saw at Niger Press. Printing presses to produce books with the message
of Christ and the salvation He offers is one thing; but in Nigeria a press many
years old and still printing is quite another thing. His account is below.
I made a trip of my own through the Niger Press. Unlike the school
boys, I had seen busy print-shops before, but I had never seen
anything like Niger Press. The sight of those Africans, grinning at me
as they helped print the Word of God for their fellow tribesmen was
more unusual than the “strange engines”.
Just inside the door of the long, concrete block building was Robert
Kitch, weathering a storm of letters, manuscripts, orders, and printed
“proofs” on his desk. Johnny Grant was in the workshop, sawing
through a two-inch section of gear to replace a broken one.
“Oh, we’ve cut bigger ones than this,” he smiled, wiping the
perspiration from his face. “We stop at nothing in fixing machinery.
You can’t depend on getting work done out here, and spare parts are
impossible to buy. We have to improvise a lot.”
Grant showed me one machine that was “improvised”. Kitch had
turned a hand-operated ruling machine into a power model by
hooking a motorcycle gear box to it with a chain drive. It has been
ticking away for twelve years.
I wondered what another outfit was that somehow resembled the
under-side of a truck. It was another “improvised” machine for
sharpening the precision-ground 36-inch long knives of the power
cutter. The material used added up to this: three yards of half-inch
water pipe threaded nearly its full length to move the blade steadily,
two lengths of angle iron for the blade-rest, two housings of truck
differentials which acted as stands, a sand grindstone, a one-third
horsepower electric motor. That is missionary mechanics.
“We had just got our new Gordon Press when the old one literally
flew apart,” Grant told me. “A heavy rod shot out and landed in
another press, whizzing past the operator’s ear. The other press
would have been smashed too if it had been operating at that
moment.”
37 White
Man Give Me a Book, Harold Fuller, 1951, SIM Archives, pages 9-10.
22
Literature Outreach in Nigeria After the rod on the Gordon Press had been repaired, a main casting
broke. Grant “improvised” again and the press operated once more.
“We have been waiting for a new casting for nearly two years,” he
said.
It took him two days to cut and fit one casting for which he had only
a catalogue photograph to work from.
“We want to sing the Hallelujah Chorus when we use a new machine
like our power emery wheel, which saves us labour and precious
hours.”
“We are now running the Gospel of John in the Yoruba language, if
you would like to see how it is done,” Grant said.
Upstairs we went first to see the initial stage of putting a translation
of a Gospel into actual print. Ayuba, a dark-skinned man from Lake
Chad in the far north, typed carefully on his monotype keyboard. On
a paper roll the life-giving words came out as punctured holes - the
thing that so amazed the school boys. We followed a complete roll
downstairs to the monotype composition caster, where we found
Samandi, the “brother” of Ayuba (“brother” usually means that he
comes from the same tribe or town). Grant explained that he had
trained Samandi, who had no previous experience, to operate the
complicated machine, which translates the holes in the paper roll on
to rows of type that cast the letters into lead.
The Kagoro tribespeople of the next man, Munkai, had savagely
hunted for heads, but through the faithful missionary work at
Kagoro he had come to Christ; Munkai was “pulling a galley proof”
- making a test print of the type.
Proof reader John Eke diligently inspected the proofs for mistakes.
Although from the Ibo tribe - sworn enemies of the Yoruba, he was
gladly doing his part to give the Yoruba people this printing of the
Message of Peace.
Corrections were made by several compositors, all from different
tribes. And there was Bello, no longer pumping the bicycle as he had
done in 1921, but now working as a modern compositor.
We had to hurry on, for every few minutes Johnny Grant would
be called off to some corner to sort out a puzzle that one of the
Nigerians was unable to solve. So we saw now the corrected type was
finally “locked up” in its forms and put on the “pony press”.
A Yoruba, Hausa, Guri, and Tangale - all professing believers folded the stacks of pages coming off the press. As the completed
Gospels came into shape, they were stitched and trimmed on power
machines.
I talked privately with some of these men as they worked, to see what
their attitude was.
“Are you happy in your work?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it is the work of Our Lord.”
“Why did you come to work here?” I asked another.
“Because I wanted to help to spread the Word of God. My people
are reading it.”
“I am learning to bind books and many other useful things, for
which I am thankful,” one told me.
“There were lots of other jobs in Jos,” said another when I asked
him why he had come to work at the Press, “but I would not have
heard the words of God in them like I do here. This work is useful
because we are preparing the message of the Gospel for others to
read.”
This attitude means a lot in a country where the native mind is ready
to embrace Christianity if it means a job, but showing little interest
otherwise.
These same men meet every morning before work for a half hour of
hymn-singing and Bible reading,
It is no secret that there have been employee troubles - once they
threatened to strike - and the men often need close supervision,
but those in charge are thankful for a general attitude of Christian
harmony.
“It is the working of the Lord,” Kitch feels. “Of course, the work is
steadier and in better surroundings than in many other places. They
are paid as well as elsewhere, too.”
He has seen the African staff grow from nine to 60 employees, the
recent addition of labour-saving machinery has reduced the staff to
35, a more easily managed number.
Kitch tries to work with them if they have trouble and they
appreciate this. “We are sure God put him in this work,” Gana, the
power-cutter operator, told me. “If we follow what he says, the work
is all right.”
Gana’s expression impressed me...his flashing eyes set in an ebony
face which tapered down to a stubby beard. I learned that he had
23
24
grown up with the Niger Press, starting in1914 when there was only
one small, hand-powered machine in a round mud hut.
His parents were Mohammedan but he turned from the Crescent to
the Cross when he heard a missionary preaching. John 3:16 was the
verse that his faith stood on - to think that Christ had died for him
and was his OWN Saviour.
Gana chuckled as he told me of Bello on the bicycle and other
incidents of early days.38
WILLIAM TODD
Bill was the second in a family of five, born in Detroit, Michigan - but his
later childhood years were in Glasgow, Scotland, returning there in 1935 with
his Scottish parents. He came to know Christ at 16. At the beginning of the
Second World War, while others were being called up, Bill had the opportunity
to enter the printing trade. When he reached conscription age he opted for the
Merchant Navy, and later volunteered for the Royal Air Force. This took him
away from home for five years. When the war was over he spent five more years
learning the printing trade.
God was preparing him. Until then he had thought that the part of the
church at home was to be abreast and up-to-date with what God was doing in
different parts of the world.
But leaving a missionary conference at church, a furloughing missionary
from Congo asked him about his part in God’s programme. His response was
that he was willing, but as a printer, had no special calling.
Within one week, in September 1950,
he met Willie Watson, the Scottish
representative of SIM, and after one year
at All Nations Bible College, Bill was in
Hausa Language School in Minna. After
three months, Bob Kitch, being in poor
health, called him to come to Niger Press.
As Bill says, “Twelve years from being an
unsaved apprentice to serving the Lord in a
foreign country, great is His faithfulness.”
Little did Bill know that his future life
partner was here - Marjorie Ganoe whose
first husband had been killed while
stationed in Niger, the country to the
north of Nigeria, on the edge of the Sahara
Bill & Marj Todd
Desert. So when Bill married he became
38
White Man Give me a book, Harold Fuller, 1951, SIM Archives.
25
the father to two beautiful children - a four year old daughter Edith, and a five
year old son Ralph.
Bill came to Niger Press in 1953 and was there when the Press moved to
Lagos, combining with African Challenge. He served there until the Press
was sold in 1966, then continued with the company buying the Press until
1972. This was desired by the purchasers of the Press, but it also served SIM’s
purposes because an agreement was worked out ensuring that SIM printing
was continued properly. It was also agreed that SIM pay only 10% above cost of
production.39
39Information
from Bill Todd, retired, at SIM Sebring, USA, May 2007.
CHAPTER 4
SIM BOOKSHOPS
M
inna was on the railway line from north to south, in a Hausa
settlement in the middle of Gbagyiland. However, it was mainly
Hausa and Yoruba people that SIM wanted to reach, so SIM opened
a mission station there. It was in 191440 that SIM opened a bookshop in Minna.
The only record we have of this is correspondence between Mr J. F. Cotton and
Dr Bingham where it is mentioned in a monthly report including the sales. In
Niger Press documentation after the Press moved to Minna, there is mention of
the messenger at the Press helping in the bookshop.41
The insistent demand from the larger towns for Christian literature led
SIM to meet that need through establishing the bookshop in Jos, but Minna
is documented as having had the first SIM Bookshop.42 The story commonly
remembered is that SIM Bookshops started in Jos and that a Mr Henshaw
began with a table on the front veranda of his house; sales for the first week
were 3/6 (three shillings and sixpence - Nigerian and British money at the
time. In today’s money this amounts to £0.17 or $0.35.) This was in 1924, the
year after SIM established the Nigerian HQ in Jos.
When Niger Press moved to Jos in 1928, Jos became the literature HQ
for SIM in production and distribution. Expanding the bookshop locations
was unspectacular; the next one to open after Jos was at Kafanchan in 1935
and Ilorin in 1945. Both these towns were on the railway line. It was not
until the end of the Second World War in 1945, and when Nigeria gained
self-government in the 1950s, that bookshops seriously expanded rapidly
establishing up to 26 bookshops. Perhaps it would be useful to list the
bookshops and when they opened as near as we can get.
40Yusufu
Archives Correspondence between Mr Cotton and Mr Bingham.
42Correspondence between Mr J. F. Cotton and Dr Bingham, founder, 1914 from Minna, plus
‘Trial and Triumphs in Nigeria’ The Missionary Witness, Sept 1914, page 279. Notes on SIM as
per Minna Archives SR25A.
41SIM
siM BooksHoPs
1. Minna, 1914
3. Kafanchan, 1935
5. Katsina, 1945
7. Ibadan, 1964
9. Akure, 1955 Challenge
11. Kaduna, 1957
13. Potiskum
15. Bauchi,1955
17. Abuja
19. Bukuru,1954
21. Ilesha, 1960
23. Okene
25. Zaria
27
2. Jos, 1924
4. Sokoto, 1940
6. Ilorin, 1945
8. Kano, 1945
10. Lagos, 1960
12. Port Harcourt, 1965
14. Keffi,1954
16.Gombe,1954
18. Gusau
20. Lafia
22. Mushin43
24. Aba
26. Apapa, 1963
Added later were: Isanlu
Benin Uyo 44
Station Rd Enugu 1965
Enugu New Bookshop 1970
JOS BOOKSHOP
The first bookshop in Jos was a steel
frame, corrugated iron building; it was a
small business that stocked Bibles, other
Christian literature, and some books and
stationery. By the late 1930s the Mission
had doubled in size. In1936 there were 38
stations, but the bookshop had quadrupled
in business and size with a new stone
building built in 1937. It was called Kent
House, and was to be the main distribution
point for the Hausa Bible in Northern
Nigeria. It honoured Thomas Kent one
of the SIM founders who laid down his
life in Nigeria in 1894. The bookshop was
spacious, with upstairs accommodation for
the manager. This is the same bookshop in
use today.45
Sales of the bookshop in 1938 were:
43 Yusufu
Murray Pandwe from Rhodesia training
at Jos
page 205.
45 Sudan Witness, Sept-Oct 1938, page 16.
44 Ibid.,
28
Bibles
Testaments
Readers
Hymn Books
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Hausa
1144
810
3283
3711
Other Languages
539
1
1033
145
Totals
1683
811
4316
385646
This was also the first year that Jos Bookshop entered the publishing field with
the printing of the Hausa Hymn Book. The first order was for 5,000 and the
above sales represented those sold from that first printing. During this time
there was a colportage ministry carried on throughout the Bauchi and Plateau
mining camps, and in the crowded markets of Kano Province. During this same
time there was also a need to enlarge the bookshop outreach, but there was a
lack of staff for expansion.47
Mr Henshaw was the first man we hear of as being in charge of the
bookshop; there may have been others. We know that Alex Dodds from
Glasgow, Scotland, took over from Miss Ruttkay,48 and is the next one
recorded. He arrived in Nigeria 29 January 1930; originally he came out to
be the business agent, and was assigned from February to December 1930
to “Playfair’s Canteen.” Insomuch as all shops were called Canteens, we can
assume that Alex Dodds was assigned to the early version of the SIM Business
Department. They bought groceries and other supplies which, along with mail,
were shipped to the different “bush” stations every week.
Alex Dodds took over the bookshop work from 193349 until he went on
leave in December 1934. He lifted sales to what they were in 1928, prior to the
depression when the tin mines on the plateau had experienced a boom. Sales in
the bookshop were now back at 1928 levels. His home church was St George’s
Tabernacle in Glasgow, Scotland.
By 1934 the Bible was available in three languages plus English - the Hausa
Bible was printed in 1932 - with sales running to hundreds of copies annually;
add to that the New Testaments and Scripture portions and tracts in many
languages. In 1935 the bookshop sold 614 Bibles, 166 New Testaments, over
4,000 primers and readers, about 1,000 hymn books, 288 Bible study books
and a large number of tracts. The largest numbers sold were in Hausa, the
lingua franca of Central Nigeria.50
Alex Dodds came back to the bookshop, and wrote in 1938 “Bookshops are
recognized as the most efficient means of circulating the Scriptures.” He also
mentioned that the bookshops were self sustaining and never required subsidy.
Rather, 10% of profits were put into a Field Itineration Fund to support travel
46Sudan
Witness, Jan-Feb 1939, page 3.
Witness, Jan-Feb 1938.
48West Africa Council Minutes 16-18 April 1930, Archives ME-1.
49Sudan Witness, 1938, page 5.
50Sudan Witness, 1935, page 4.
47Sudan
siM BooksHoPs
29
aspects of mission work. We begin to see from this the establishment of the
practice of looking at the bookshop as profit
making and therefore charging a percentage of
the income to subsidize other literature work. I
will write more on this later.
Dodds went on leave in 1940, turning
over the bookshop to a Norman Hunter also
from the UK. Norman was single and a very
personable individual who had many friends
across the spectrum of the different groups in Jos
- expatriates, missionaries and Nigerians. Because
of this, sales soared under his watch. He later
became manager of CMS bookshops in Eastern
Nigeria, and then secretary of the Bible Society in
Lagos.
Murray Pandwe in Jos Bookshop
It might be useful to list the managers of the
with Jim Mason & staff
bookshops from the beginning:
Mr J. F. Cotton – missionary in charge, so Minna Bookshop in 1914 came
under him.52
Mr Henshaw – Jos, -started the Bookshop from the front veranda of his house
in 1924.53
Alex Dodds - 1934-1940. -from Scotland, married an American; on leaving
Nigeria they went to the USA, Alex becoming a pastor.54
Norman Hunter - 1940-1948 went on to CMS bookshops in Eastern Nigeria
until 1952. Norman was Secretary of the Bible Society from 1952-1960, when
he went to South Africa with the Bible Society. His final appointment was in
Mauritius in 1970.55
Mr John Henderson - 1948-1950. -was from Scotland. His wife died and he
remarried a Canadian, so they went to Canada on leave. He returned alone for
a few months, and then became International Treasurer at SIM Canada. Mr
Henderson was father of Isobel McKie, who with husband Ira went to Kaduna
Bookshop.56
Phil Osbourne - 1950-1952. -came from Britain to work with the Railways.
He fell in love with Mary Lagomarsino an SIM missionary, went back to the
UK to Bible School, returned to Nigeria and married Mary. Phil’s work in
Nigeria was in literature, either in bookshops, colportage or as director of a
newly established SIM Literature Department where he guided all SIM printing
51
51 West
Africa Council Minutes 16-18 April 1930, SIM Archives ME-1.
Archival material on Minna.
53 SIM Archival material, 1901-1927. Main stations of SIM page 85.
54 SIM Archival material on bookshops, Nigeria.
55 CMS Bookshop Centenary Document, and Bible Society UK.
56 From Isobel McKie, daughter, December 2007.
52 SIM
30
and publishing. Phil began Kaduna Bookshop.57
Trevor Ardill - 1952-1967. Mildred and Trevor were from Northern Ireland,
attended Moody Bible Institute, becoming USA citizens. When he left Nigeria
it was to become SIM Director for USA.58
Vic Stuart - 1967-1971. -was South African, but with his wife Mavis he
became a Canadian citizen. Vic later became SIM Canada Secretary.59
Gordon Stanley - 1971-1980. Gordon and Helen were from New Zealand.
He was the one charged to take the bookshops forward into National
ownership by ECWA, the church that had come out of SIM work. Gordon then
went to USA to become a Deputy International Director.60
CONSOLIDATION OF BOOKSHOPS
The main bookshops in centres such as
Ilorin, Kano, Katsina, Gusau, Sokoto and
Kaduna had missionaries in charge, with
Nigerian staff to assist. At different times
in the 1950s consolidation under a general
manager had been considered at Mission
council level, but it was not until 1958/59
after Dr Helser became general director
that a final decision was reached and the
bookshops were consolidated under a
general manager in the person of Trevor
Ardill who had managed Jos Bookshop
Trevor and Mildred Ardill
with its nine branches since 1952.
In 1960 the Nigerian staff in Sokoto,
Gusau and Katsina were promoted to managers, coming under an area
manager. Sokoto, Gusau and Katsina came under the area manager at Kano.
The Sauls who were at Katsina moved south to Aba in Eastern Region
becoming representatives for African Challenge, the Christian magazine that
SIM published. The remaining centres with missionaries were Ilorin, Kano,
Kaduna, Jos and Lagos. Until 1960 the bookshop on the Challenge compound
in Mushin, Lagos, was under African Challenge; this now became an SIM
Bookshop and very soon thereafter we had a second bookshop on the main
street of Lagos.
57 SIM
Literature Committee minutes and from Osbourne’s daughter.
Ardill, San Diego USA, August 2007.
59 Vic and Mavis Stuart, Toronto, Canada, January 2008.
60 Write up of day together in New Zealand, January 2008.
58 Trevor
SIM BOOKSHOPS
BOOKSHOPS BY AREA
Jos:
Bukuru
Kafanchan – plus railway kiosk
Gombe
Potiskum
Minna - plus railway kiosk
Lafia
Keffi
Bauchi
Abuja
Jos - railway station kiosk
Kano:
Katsina
Gusau – plus railway kiosk
Sokoto
Bookmobile
Gusau and Sokoto Bookshops later came under Kaduna.
Kaduna:
Gusau – plus railway kiosk
Sokoto
Zaria
Bookmobile
Railway station kiosk
Ilorin:
Ilesha
Isanlu
Okene
Benin
Bookmobile
Railway station kiosk
Lagos:
Mushin
Lagos - Broad St
Apapa
Bookmobile
Bicycle Colporteurs61
Ibadan - plus bicycle colporteurs
61Personal
knowledge of Jim Mason working in bookshops for 19 years.
31
32
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Enugu:
Bookmobile
Bookcycles
Port Harcourt:
Aba
Uyo
Bookmobile62
62Personal
knowledge of Jim Mason working in bookshop for 19 years.
CHAPter 5
BOOKSHOPS, BOOKMOBILES
AND BOOK CYCLES
T
revor Ardill became aware in 1964 that Dab Beer in Jos was
discontinuing the use of Volkswagen vans to advertise, so he was able to
buy a number of those vehicles.
He realized that SIM couldn’t put
bookshops everywhere so thought
of the idea of bookmobiles. These
bookmobiles could reach schools, market
places and small towns in the rural areas.
The motivation was to move out with
bookmobiles and provide Christian
literature, especially Hausa, Yoruba or
Ibo Bibles, and a range of good Christian
Before Conversion
books, particularly for students. This
also helped to find out where branch
bookshops were needed; as a result several
more bookshops were established.
Jimmy Miller revamped the
bookmobiles. Jimmy was a converted Scot
who had worked with a mining company
and now had a service garage in Jos. He
repainted them in black and yellow SIM
Bookmobile
Bookshop colours.
Profits that the major bookshops
generated were able to pay the expenses of the bookmobiles as they travelled to
areas where there were secondary schools and people who were literate; this was
where the bookmobiles did well in distributing Christian literature.
One day Herb Pollard, a Canadian, roared up to the Ilorin Bookshop on
his motorbike. Herb had come to Nigeria to see if he could fit in somewhere
helping in some Christian work. He continued on to Jos, met Trevor, and
34
Literature Outreach in Nigeria stepped right into outfitting the bookmobiles with racks and shelving. He was a
wonderful help in getting the bookmobiles fitted and ready to go.
Herb then took one of the bookmobiles to Ilorin and operated there for
about a year. A second bookmobile became available for Ilorin, so two operated
out of Ilorin Bookshop for a time. Before leaving Ilorin, Pollard trained a Mr
Makande and a Mr Akande to operate the bookmobiles after he left for Port
Harcourt. Later Herb moved to Kenya and worked with AIM. Herb married
there and on one visit to Kenya, I had the privilege of having a meal with
them. In retirement Herb gave some years in the print shop at Source of Light
Mission in Madison, Georgia.
When Alistair Bradley arrived in Jos he was assigned to bookmobile ministry.
He was extremely capable in organizing the work of the bookmobiles, the
drivers and the supplies. Alistair travelled all over Northern Nigeria, selling
quantities of literature, and had a tremendous variety of experiences, including
introducing many people to the Lord. The bookmobiles operating out of the
other larger bookshops were restocked weekly or whenever they came in.
The bookmobile operators did not just sell books. Oftentimes schools asked
for a class or even the entire student body to be addressed. Before the Nigeria
Civil War ended in 1970 Alistair Bradley had opportunity in Enugu to give
devotions on the radio and introduced many to the Lord.
Bookmobiles operated from the area Bookshops: Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Ilorin,
Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt. They continued for about a decade
and eventually numbered 16. When a missionary operated a bookmobile it
more or less covered its expenses. When with a Nigerian, there were wages and
other expenses to consider, and this was expensive. The attitude of the person
on the bookmobile was fundamental to its success. Was this just a job or did he
look upon it as a ministry of Gospel outreach?
An account from Lagos:
At the end of January (1968) a new bookmobile began work in the
villages between Lagos and Ibadan - 100 miles (150 kms) to the
north. The salesman driver, Christian Adeoye’s father was an Oba or
King, so he is rightly called Prince. Christian knows the area and the
people and has a fine testimony.63
BOOKCYCLES
In the late 1960s we started using men on bicycles outfitted with large front
carriers. A box was made to fit into the carrier with book storage at the bottom
and two sections on top that opened up to display books across a four foot
spread (1.3 meters). We employed men from the local churches. When Igbaja
Seminary was on holiday a dozen men on commission went out daily.
63Niger-Challenge
Press monthly letter, 1968.
BooksHoPs, BookMoBiLes AnD Book CyCLes
35
They travelled all over Lagos and the larger metro area and more than one
found the 20 minute ferry ride to Apapa gave them a captive audience. The
ferry always brought good sales, and some of the men were so successful they
made more money through their 20% commission than the men on the
bookmobile.
Proving their success in Lagos,
Bookcycles were soon sent to each of
the main areas of Kano, Kaduna, Jos,
Ilorin, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt.
They sold penny Gospels, Bibles, New
Testaments, tracts, Moody Colportage
books (selling at $0.39 in huge quantities),
plus whatever other good literature we had
at an economical price.
Bookcycles Mushin Bookshop
In a letter home Leona Mason wrote
about a picture in an issue of Africa Now in 1968:
A recent issue of Africa Now has a picture and a story of our
bookcycle men. Did you see the young man in the hat? He sold
£228 of Christian literature during January! A total of £537 was sold
by all the men. Isn’t that thrilling? God is certainly using this to His
glory!
At one time Ross Manning, Secretary of the Bible Society, placed an order with
the former Niger-Challenge Press for over a million Gospels which he planned
to retail at 1 penny. I said to him, “Ross if you are planning to do that, you had
better be able to follow with tens of thousands of New Testaments, then after
that many thousands of Bibles.”
Regretfully it did not work out that way. The Gospels were a great boon to
the men on bicycles who sold tens of thousands. When however the time for
New Testaments came, Nigeria had entered difficult economic times when it
was almost impossible to get foreign exchange to pay invoices from overseas.
Instead of a regular large supply of New Testaments and Bibles, the Nigerian
Bible Society only received annual allotments from the Bible Society in the
UK; but only so much can be done when no money can be sent out of the
country to help pay for the books. Availability of Scriptures was always very
restricted and, unfortunately, for the next 25 years there was always a shortage
of Scriptures in Nigeria.64
MAIL ORDER DEPARTMENT
The idea of having a Mail Order Department was first raised by General
Manager Trevor Ardill in 1961, but it was in the last quarter of 1963 before it
started operation. Ardill reported on 10 April 1964 at the Bookshop Advisory
64 Personal
interaction of author with Ross Manning.
36
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Meeting, that sales in the first 5 months amounted to £4,165.17.11 which
represented 544,839 pieces of Christian literature.65
Marion Klippert and Isobel Kennison made a trip to Ibadan University,
looking for contacts with students and others, determining where they might
aim the thrust of the mail order. Marion later said:
“I don’t know where we got all the names and addresses, but once
we got known many wrote in and we would send books by mail.”
A lot of pastors from villages, who had no bookshop access, wrote
requesting books. We made up book lists and a little catalogue which
we sent out periodically. It was amazing how sales built up. When
the VIPs (Vernacular Illustrated Publications) were distributed,
we gained many names as people wanted these little VIPs; they
could buy those from us and with the circulation - sometimes over
500,000 in 20 languages - we had 10,000 names on our mailing list
and it was very gratifying, especially during the Biafran War.66
We sent out large quantities of vernacular Bibles, as well as hymn
books to soldiers - to both sides at the beginning of the conflict.
This was very satisfying to me. We were sending VIPs all over the
continent. I believe they went out to most countries in Africa and
even to Iceland. We sent VIPs to Reykjavik. I remember the beautiful
stamps we used to get on these letters from such widely scattered
countries. VIPs were a big help in making the mail order known.
People became increasingly aware that we had a wide range of books
and Bibles as well as other materials, so mail order flourished and was
a real blessing to many people. I was happy because through mail we
could meet the need of so many people who did not have access to
Christian literature.
Children used to write in and sometimes they would send back the
envelope we enclosed for their use, and other times they would just
put on the outside, “Return to Sender.” I thought it was a wrong
address. A number of times I would open the envelope and there was
an order, the children had sent their order in the original envelope to
avoid having to pay postage. As a result we had to watch carefully all
mail that came in.
Some letters brought a smile; the following is an example. Giving his
return address, someone wrote and asked for a Bible. At the end of
his letter he wrote: ‘PS Don’t worry about payment; God will take
care of that!’
65Bookshop
66Interview
Advisory Minutes, 10 April 1964.
with Marion Klippert at SIM Sebring, August 2007.
37
Bibles were big sellers. The pastors especially wanted Bibles and
study books, and one of their favourites was Dakes Bible as well as
other reference Bibles. We were happy to get them into their hands.
For about ten years this went on; it was then turned over to trained
staff. We had a good staff until the war, when Chimela (my “right
hand man” and a nephew to Paul Onwuka, a man of integrity), had
to go to the East (Biafra), leaving just two of us. One staff member
and I were doing the mail order. Then I was asked to go back to
Pategi and Nigerian staff took over. It went well for some time, but
with the deteriorating postal service in Nigeria and packages lost, the
Mail Order Department finally closed.67
CHALLENGE FILM LIBRARY
From churches of different denominations came a steady demand to show
Christian films. To meet a growing need ECWA/SIM decided it would
purchase extra copies of the various films making them available for rental to
the churches. The Challenge Film Library began in Lagos in 1960. At that
time few churches had their own projectors, so it usually meant a missionary
going along with a projector, but in later years Nigerians showed the film and
gave the challenge. Some films shown at that time were Martin Luther, Sadhu
Sundar Singh, and When the Grass Gets Hurt.
When a film was shown it always was with the proviso that whoever
brought and operated the projector would have the opportunity to give a
short additional presentation of the Gospel with a challenge to accept Christ.
Many put their faith in Christ at these film shows. These events also gave
opportunities to sell books. Through the years this was so successful that funds
earned from the renting of the films and sale of books purchased replacement
films, thus greatly increasing the number of films in the library.
With the passage of years more churches had their own projector, so it
weighted toward film rentals. The entire concept was so successful, and with
requests coming from other places, film libraries were opened and operated
from Jos and Kaduna. On occasion films were sent by hand to towns outside
the main centers. This happened with churches that had their own projector.
COLPORTAGE DEPARTMENT
Colportage in Jos was established in 1944 and acquired a building in
downtown Jos. By 1954 a church was built beside the Colportage. The
Colportage Department began as literacy increased and people needed
something to read, yet they could not afford the price of books even though
book prices were low. People came off the street to sit and read at the tables in
67Interview
with Marion Klippert at SIM Sebring, August 2007.
38
the reading room at the Colportage. They could also buy books. It was from
Colportage that 5-600 packages of magazines were mailed each month.
At the time when the church was finished in 1954 there was an effort to have
a campaign with SIM missionary Cliff McElherin as the speaker. In the walled
open courtyard next to the Colportage and church, Youth for Christ meetings
were held each Friday evening, a film was shown and a challenge given to trust
Christ. Each week a crowd of 500-600 sat on the concrete benches, while
young people perched on the surrounding walls to watch Martin Luther or
other films. In fact, Martin Luther was steadily requested and was usually
shown twice each year.
Those in charge of the Colportage asked people from their home countries
to send their good used Christian books and magazines such as Moody Monthly,
Evangelical Christian, Decision magazine and tracts which could be sent
inexpensively by post.
The idea was to distribute these free or at a small cost to help cover the
expenses of Nigerian staff. Through the years the Colportage has always sent
packages of magazines through the post. On different occasions that number
was 500-600 monthly.
You can imagine when a need like sending good Christian magazines was
mentioned in SIM literature at home, thousands took up the challenge, so
there was a steady flow of literature keeping the Colportage busy.
When I was in Hausa language school in Kano in early 1958, there was a
backlog of unopened packages of
magazines in the bookshop warehouse,
having built up for months, because there
was no one to care for them.
I offered to open, sort and tie them in
suitable packages for distribution after my
language study was finished each day. It
took a while but when finished,
distribution began at the Saturday night
Distributing Literature Packets Sabon
Youth for Christ meeting. Later, Loyd
Gari - Kano
Wickstrom loaned his pick-up to carry
them and it took two days to do the
distribution in Sabon Gari (New Town),
Kano where all the southerners, Ibo,
Yoruba and others lived.
In Kano at that time was a Mr and Mrs
Tay from Ghana. He was a magistrate in
the “Native Court” and lived in Sabon
Gari, Kano. On one occasion when I was
in Kano at Hausa language school he and
Mr & Mrs Tay
his wife invited all the missionaries (at least
39
25-30) round to their house for a meal. Later he was called back to Ghana
by President Nkrumah, “to come back home and help the nation.” He later
became Ghana’s ambassador. He was also chair of the event celebrating the
amalgamation of Challenge with Niger Press.
Because so much was given away, keeping out of debt was always close to the
mind of the one who managed the Colportage. Early in 1961, Colportage was
put under SIMLIT, which meant that a larger department had oversight. The
idea also was that it would allow for a downtown display of the books SIMLIT
was producing in English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo as well as Ajemi (Arabic script
Hausa), while continuing to get literature out as the Colportage had always
done.
The Sudan Witness April 1946 reported that
The Colportage Dept has grown tremendously. Literally hundreds
of thousands of Christian books, booklets, papers, magazines,
pamphlets, tracts, Christian calendars and mottos have been sent out,
and the demand is rapidly growing.68
All of this was happening because of the growing English readership in Nigeria.
Even deeply devotional books and material were sought, read and studied.
SIM MISSIONARIES AS COLPORTEURS
Among the number of SIM missionaries who sold literature was Al Neilsen
operating out of Garin Gabbas, a northern town. Though deep into Kano
province in the Muslim north, Al made selling literature a part of his outreach
ministry. He even built a special trailer so he could open it up and display many
books, tracts and Bibles in Hausa and in English. In those days, before the
1966 pogrom against Southerners, those whose lingua franca was English could
be found in almost all the towns.
Others did colporteur work either fulltime or as they were able: Hattie Miller
sold £70 monthly; Lydia Jantz and George Hoover sold £50 a month; Lloyd
Thompson, Gerry Troutman, and Jim Jacobson averaged £10-12 a month.
Some concentrated on Hausa books and tracts, others on Ajemi, but the
available time for this varied with each individual.69
Verna Pullen, who had charge of the Jos Colportage, made trips for short
periods to a conference or in rural areas selling literature. She also took some
medicines to help out where she could.
The amount sold each month may not seem like much, but two things must
be remembered; first, we are speaking of sales 45-50 years ago; second, most
of what was sold was literature at 1 penny each and there were 240 pennies in
£1. Also, many had other tasks and responsibilities as shown below in the story
about Lydia Jantz.
68Sudan
69From
Witness April 1946, page 6.
personal knowledge and SIM Bookshop Advisory and Literature Committee minutes.
40
Literature Outreach in Nigeria During the Civil (Biafran) War (1967-1970) Lydia Jantz distributed
thousands of pieces of literature to government soldiers being trained in
Kaduna. Then as they were leaving the railway station for the war front she
would take as much literature as she could carry and distribute it on the
platform, handing it out to the soldiers. She also had a service each Sunday at
the military hospital with the wounded soldiers, and she sent parcels of books
to those whom she knew at the front. So through the years there have been
many ways of getting literature into the hands and hearts of people.
Missions were in Eastern Region of Nigeria (Biafra) before the war. African
Challenge representatives, ones from Scripture Union and other such groups
were there. At the beginning of hostilities missionaries left; only one lone
English Scripture Union Secretary by the name of Bill Roberts stayed and
helped many, but towards the end he himself had to leave; I do not know how,
but possibly on one of the flights that arrived nightly to supply the rebel side.
All cities were deserted, people having run off to the bush, so Christian work
was non-existent except what was carried on in greatly restrained circumstances
by pastors and Christians who had run from the cities. At the same time there
were many stories of God’s provision for his people throughout that time.
NIGERIANS AS COLPORTEURS
Nigerians also served as colporteurs, but it was hard work. To get a Nigerian
willing to stick with the job for more than a few weeks was a rarity; carrying
books out in the sun all day is a tough job. There were a few who did last; there
was a man who sold outside the Kano Post Office in the late 1960s, displaying
his books beside the Communist literature. He would average £26 monthly.
In Jos, during a Kagoro Bible College vacation some of the students who
sold books in town would average 19/- daily, which comes close to the £26
per month that Joseph the man in Kano managed. These men were paid a flat
£4, plus 20% commission. Such young men operated from most of the main
bookshops through the years. Some were on bicycles, but there were always
men on foot.70
COMMERCIAL ASPECT OF BOOKSHOPS
SIM Bookshops were major players in distributing Christian literature in
Nigeria along with the many CMS bookshops (Anglican) throughout Nigeria.
SIM area Bookshops were well stocked with Christian books, school books,
children’s books, a few general books and stationery. To meet the requirements
of the expatriate and business community, Olympia typewriters, stationery,
Omega watches, Parker pens and cameras were also stocked.
Some of our own missionaries objected to these items. At one meeting the
area bookshop managers mentioned how much time they spent dealing with
70Bookshop
Advisory Committee minutes 15 April 1965 and 17 April 1966.
41
issues having nothing to do with Christian literature. Once, for instance, after
I transferred to Ilorin Bookshop in December 1959, I was told there were a
couple of missionaries who felt bookshops were too commercial and should
emphasize Christian literature. To answer this I began to keep a record of
Christian literature sales at the cash register; later we got cash registers that did
this for us. At that time the average was 25-30% for Christian literature sales.
When these individuals came in, as they did at least once a month, we had
coffee and biscuits in my office, and I shared with them how much literature
was sold in the bookshop the previous month. After sharing, I never heard
another complaint.
When this was recounted to area bookshop managers, they began to keep
records of Christian literature sales. All of them were surprised and delighted at
how many Christian books and Bibles were distributed through their bookshop.
With these sales through the bookshop as well as Bibles and Christian books in
large quantities through the Wholesale Department, it was a revelation to each
manager who now saw this from a different perspective.
CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY
CMS was the missionary service of the Anglican Church. CMS missionaries
first went to Nigeria in the 1840s. At that time, as missionaries went out to the
west coast of Africa, they took their coffin with them which was sometimes used
within months of arrival.
By 1869 they had established a bookshop in Lagos. At the centenary in 1969
a paper was written on the first 100 years of CMS bookshops. That document
shows that the Anglican missionaries felt as did some SIM missionaries - the
bookshops were too commercial, we should concentrate on Christian literature.
“We should sell the bookshop and only have Bibles and Christian books.”71
LITERATURE COMMISSION ON SALES – 5%
Back in the days of Alex Dodds in the 1930s, the bookshop was able to care
for its own expenses, and then some of the profits were channelled into other
areas of mission growth. In researching, I concluded this help had the input of
Alex Dodds, the bookshop manager. Initially funds were designated to itinerant
travel, though latterly the profits went to a literature growth area.
This developed into a “tax” by the SIM on bookshops. When I arrived in
Nigeria in 1957 the bookshops were taxed at 5% of sales. These funds were
used by SIM to assist areas of literature where funds were lacking. In this way it
was possible for SIM Nigeria to finance a variety of literature projects without
always having to appeal for funds from home. It also meant these projects were
moved along more quickly.
71CMS
Bookshop Centenary Document, 1969, CMS, Oxford, UK.
42
Literature Outreach in Nigeria LITERATURE COMMISSION AND ITS USE
Ways these funds were used:
The following amounts were distributed in the years 1960-1962
SIMLIT
£11,690. 8. 1
Bookshops Dahomey, Niger, & Upper Volta
2,850. 0. 0
French magazine (Champion)
500. 0. 0
Niger Challenge Press, equipment and reading units
3,113.11.10
Bookmobiles
500. 0. 0
Nigeria Independence Day Literature and Display
72. 0. 0
Colportage – Jos Bldg. & follow-up 342.18. 6
Kagoro
50. 0. 0
ECWA for literature & follow-up
1, 052. 0. 0
Bible Correspondence
1,400. 0. 0
Bible Correspondence Building 1,200. 0. 0
Housing
1,519.13. 2
Miscellaneous
566. 4. 7
TOTAL
£24,856.14. 272
(In USA dollar terms, these figures should be multiplied by three in 1962, and
by six or eight in 2008.)
Mr John Pickett (an accountant, but at Kaduna Bookshop)
suggested that it would be more realistic if commission was paid at
25% of profits, rather than on the 5% of sales as it is at present time.
The reason for the above is perfectly illustrated from another minute from
Publications Advisory Committee minutes in 1959. The minute reads:
SELLING OF LITERATURE
The committee unanimously recommended that SIM Publications
(later SIMLIT) sell at 1/3 discount only to SIM Bookshops who
will in turn sell at the same discount to all SIM missionaries who
purchase £3 or more. This same help will be offered to approved
colporteurs.
We were paying 5% to the SIM literature fund on a no-profit sale. There were
many transactions through the year where other sales were handled at no
profit yet we paid 5% tax; fortunately within two months of that meeting, Bill
Crouch, the SIM director in Jos, agreed to bookshops paying 1/3 of our profit
to the literature fund. This was higher than suggested by John Pickett, but
more equitable than 5% of sales.
72Bookshop
Advisory Committee minutes, 11 April 1963.
43
LITERATURE EVANGELISTS AT BOOKSHOPS
Bookshops were also active in the area of evangelism as Bible College students
on holiday were paid a flat salary of £4 a month plus 20% commission to go
out and sell while sharing the Gospel. Students from Kagoro Bible College and
Igbaja sold in this way. This was equitable for the time.
Some of the bookshops had permanent evangelists operating in the area.
Church services were held in the bookshops where there was no church.
The church in Bauchi began in the bookshop through Yusufu the evangelist,
followed later by Dan Ladi.73 Services were being held in four languages.
Eventually the chief gave land and a church was built opposite the bookshop.
Not all understood that men on bicycles were selling books from the
area bookshops. One thing is certain, those of us in bookshops did not
communicate as we should have. We should have issued a monthly update to
SIM missionaries in Nigeria (600 in the late 50s and 60s) recounting what
was being accomplished in distribution of Bibles, books and other Christian
literature, and the number of churches that had been launched and individuals
led to Christ. Doing this we would have informed while soliciting prayer. Thus
we could have averted the charge of too much commercialization.
One thing is clear, had we not sold items other than Christian literature, we
would not have had the larger number of people entering our shops. Many,
who did not come for a Christian book, went out with one.
50th ANNIVERSARY OF BOOKSHOPS
The 50th Anniversary was celebrated in 1974 because we thought that was
the date of the first bookshop in Jos. This research has found that the first
bookshop opened in Minna in 1914. Not knowing, we celebrated 50 years in
1974 and did three things at that time.
We ordered 50,000 copies of Moody Press’s mini-book Keep Yourself Pure
by Charles Hostetter. Charles had been the pastor on the Mennonite Hour on
radio for 15 years before he came to live in Lagos. He was a well known and
popular speaker, having spoken at student conferences and many churches in
Nigeria. This was the type of book that Christians and many university students
bought one or two dozen at a time to give their friends in witnessing situations.
We also had 25,000 special stainless steel key rings with the bookshop
insignia and specially designed inserts on the front as a witness and challenge.
A writing contest with prizes was run in Eastern Nigeria, to get things
moving there again after the Civil War.
73Bookshop
Advisory Committee 17 April 1966.
44
Literature Outreach in Nigeria CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SALES IN BOOKSHOPS
In the 1974/75 financial year, bookshops had sales of $3,000,000. That broke
down to $1,000,000 for stationery and related items, $1,000,000 for school
and general books and other items, leaving $1,000,000 in Christian literature
sales. This was the last year before handing the bookshops over to ECWA.74
A STORY OF BOOKSHOPS
If you worked in bookshops, you knew about exercise books. There was a most
embarrassing incident for the person who covered for Trevor Ardill’s home
assignment 1956-57. Exercise books used in schools were sold in all our shops,
which greatly helped schoolchildren and their teachers. The bookshop was
running out, so it was determined an order for 10,000 gross (gross=144) be
placed. When the order was mailed it read 100,000 gross – and the mistake was
not noticed.
This order went to John Dickinson, the stationery manufacturing company
in the UK. We had been dealing with this company for many years, and when
they got the order, they wondered – it was more than what SIM Bookshops
Nigeria would order. When telegrams came from Nigeria asking, “Where are
the exercise books?” all doubt was removed, and they put one of their factories
on 24 hours a day schedule producing exercise books for SIM Bookshops
Nigeria.
It was not until the exercise books began arriving in Jos in full railroad cars
that the mistake was discovered. Trevor, who was on leave, was immediately
contacted and asked to go to the UK to meet with John Dickinson and try to
get the printing of exercise books stopped. He did and was successful while
retaining good relations.
One benefit coming out of this mistake was the enlargement of the
bookshop warehouse, with SIM administration requesting a second storey, thus
providing the administration with a new and enlarged HQ office above the
bookshops. This is the location that most of today’s “old-timers” remember as
the Mission HQ in Jos.
Six years later, while filling in for Trevor Ardill, I disposed of the remaining
exercise books at discounted prices, thus getting that money into circulation
once more. The only loss to bookshops was the tying up of money for more
years than desirable.
74Jim
Mason as General Manager at the time remembers this well.
CHAPter 6
THOSE WHO SERVED
I
t would be good to record the story of some SIM missionaries who were
involved in bookshop work from the 1950s until the bookshops were
turned over to ECWA in 1974. Each of the individuals mentioned below
was asked to tell his/her story. What you read below are their stories with only
slight editorial changes.
TREVOR AND MILDRED ARDILL
Trevor and Mildred Ardill came from Northern Ireland, but attended Moody
Bible Institute, in Chicago. They applied to SIM from the USA and landed in
Nigeria in 1950. After language school they were assigned to Roni, a bush
station with a boys’ secondary school. It was while there that baby Sharon, just
a few months old contracted a very difficult form of malaria and started to
waste away. She couldn’t eat or drink, so Mildred and the baby went to Jos.
Sharon however got worse, and the administration, with their Superintendent
Dr Albert Helser, decided they needed to go home. Trevor met Mildred and
Sharon in Kano and left that night for London and Northern Ireland where
Sharon entered the Children’s Hospital in Belfast. The specialist at the hospital
said Sharon was so full of anti-malarial drugs that they could not give her any
more, but they did give her a blood transfusion in
the head. Little by little this began to make a
difference and eventually they were able to leave
the hospital and go home to their family.
When the Ardills returned to Nigeria, the
SIM administration decided, because of Trevor’s
background in business, that they should be
assigned to the bookshop in Jos. It may have
been as early as 1953/4 that the Mission
administration began thinking it would be good
if the bookshops were centralized under a general
manager. This would enable central buying,
and bookshops would obtain better prices. This
Trevor Ardill in Jos Bookshop
centralization under a general manager did not
46
Literature Outreach in Nigeria take place until the end of 1959 with adjustment time into the early 1960s to
bring about the change. Even then, it took some time before things worked
smoothly. But it was not until 1973 in Lagos, which by that time had become
the central bookshop warehouse that a centralized Ordering Department under
Brian Anderson was properly set up. Lagos was also the port of entry for all
imports.75
It was under Trevor that the bookmobiles began operating both in the
North and South of Nigeria. He also started the Mail Order Department which
continued to grow until the time of the Civil War, during which it declined
because of the deteriorating postal service.
On one furlough in the USA, I met Arthur F. Glasser the Director of
OMF, the former China Inland Mission. He said: “Trevor, in China
we taught the people to read but the Communists supplied the
literature. Don’t let that happen in Nigeria.” So we prayed, “Lord,
don’t let it happen and with your help it won’t happen.” So that was
our motivation to move out with the bookmobiles and get Christian
literature, especially Hausa, Yoruba or Ibo Bibles, and whatever
else, into the hands of the students. That then helped us to find
out where we needed branch bookshops and as a result of that we
planted a number of other bookshops and I think we probably ended
up with 26.76
Trevor now tells the interesting story of how a Bauchi Bookshop 65 miles east
of Jos was opened. We already had a leprosarium on the outskirts of Bauchi
town.
We had tried a number of times to get a branch bookshop into
Bauchi, a very strong Muslim centre and the chief wasn’t interested.
I felt the Lord telling me to go to talk to the chief so I made an
appointment, went to Bauchi and met him. He received me with all
his court and I said, “Sarki (Chief), I want to ask for permission to
put up a Christian bookshop in Bauchi.” And the answer was, “Well,
we will consider it.” And that was the end of it.
In another year I hadn’t had an answer from him and went back
to see him again and I said, “Sarki, I haven’t heard from you but
I wanted to give you some bad news and some good news. The
good news is that Keffi and Gombe and Potiskum (towns all around
Bauchi) have bookstores and the high school graduates are getting
literature and the people are developing. We would like to put a
Christian bookstore here in Bauchi where you have many school
graduates but they have no literature.” So he said, “Where do you
75Taken
from interview with Trevor Ardill, 9 August 2007.
with Trevor Ardill, 9 August 2007.
76Interview
47
tHose WHo serVeD
want to put a bookshop?” So he went with me over to the place on
the Potiskum road where we had previously selected a site which
was at an intersection on a busy road we felt would be a good place.
There were huts on the site already and I said if these huts were
cleared away, this would be a good place for it. So he said “What
area do you want?” So we measured the area that we wanted for the
bookshop and he said “I’ll see that you get it.”
We went down to the Bauchi mission at the leprosarium, and they
sent men up who demolished the huts on the site. They cleared
them off. Then we sent for Okonko, our famous builder, and when
I asked Okonko to build a bookshop in Bauchi and showed him
the plan which was the same plan we used in other places, Okonko
looked at it and I said, “I want you to give me a price for building
this bookshop in Bauchi and I want it done soon.” So he came back
after a little bit and he said, “Sir, would you like the price with the
level or without the level?”
Okonko was asking, do you want it built with square corners as
the “white man” would build or as we would build - the price was
different.
So I told him I wanted the price with the level. So he built a
bookshop from local stone. I remember that was a special one. When
the bookshop was complete I took a young man called Nuhu Bature,
who worked with us in Jos, out to Bauchi, installed him in the living
quarters of the bookshop. We opened the bookshop and it looked
wonderful. Very soon after that, we got an evangelist called Yusufu
to work out of the bookshop as an evangelist in the market in
Bauchi. It wasn’t long until he had a number of converts and they
decided to meet in the bookshop on
Sundays for church. The bookshop wasn’t
very big but when filled, people sat outside.
Nuhu and Yusufu went to the chief of
Bauchi and said, “Sarki, we’re having
services and there isn’t enough room for the
people to meet. They’re sitting outside and
inside.” And they asked the chief, “Could
we have a piece of land on the other side
of the road to put up a church?” And the
chief gave them the piece of land to put
up the church and that’s the church that’s
still there. The church was built and it filled
quite quickly and they had services in four
languages on a Sunday morning. And that
Bauchi Bookshop
48
Literature Outreach in Nigeria church is alive and active today. We thank the Lord for getting us
into the bookshop and then from the bookshop to the church and
then the church reaching out to the different tribal groups.
EASTERN OPPORTUNITIES
Until 1963 SIM had no bookshops in Eastern Nigeria. Bookshops were mostly
in Northern Nigeria with some like Lagos and Ibadan in Western Region. This
had come about because SIM - Sudan Interior Mission - as the name implies,
determined from the beginning they would concentrate on the interior of
Nigeria where others had not gone. With the size of the country - three times
the size of the UK - there was enough to keep SIM busy in the northern two
thirds of the country.
One day in Jos one of the clerks came to Trevor and said, “Sir, Sir Francis
Ibiam is in the bookshop.” Sir Francis Ibiam was the governor of the Eastern
Region.77
I went down immediately into the bookshop and introduced
myself and he was a very gracious, friendly, godly man. As we
talked he said, “Mr Ardill, you have bookshops in many places in
the northern area and in the western area but you don’t have any
bookshops in the eastern region. Why is that?” So I told him that
SIM had concentrated on the north and west but we didn’t have
any missionary work in the eastern region. And he said, “Why?”
And I said, “Well we haven’t had opportunity.” So he invited me to
come down to Enugu to meet with him to discuss the possibilities
of opening up work in the eastern region. Mike Glerum and I
went down to Enugu and met with him in his office and after some
conversation he very graciously said, “Where would you like to put
bookshops?” So I said, “Well, we’d certainly like to build one in
Enugu – it’s the capital.” And we showed him a place on the map of
Enugu where we’d want to build one. That bookshop was built with
the assistance of a retired Canadian builder.
Clem Bartlett spent some years in Nigeria building for SIM. He accepted the
challenge of building a new bookshop, but before that was built we already had
one operating from rented quarters at Station Road Enugu, which was totally
looted and destroyed during the civil war. A bookshop was opened at Aba, and
then in July 1965 the Port Harcourt bookshop opened. Later during Brian and
Elaine Anderson’s time in Port Harcourt, they opened a shop at Uyo.
The Enugu Bookshop was built. The upstairs which was intended for a youth
centre was never used and the bookshop had no stock at the beginning of the
77Jos
Bookshop in 1964.
tHose WHo serVeD
49
civil war, hence suffered little damage. Trevor tells how the Port Harcourt shop
opened.78
Enugu Bookshop destroyed in war
We wanted to put a Christian bookstore in Port Harcourt because
oil had been discovered and there was a population movement to
Port Harcourt because of it. I went down to Port Harcourt and
stayed with an Assemblies of God missionary whom I knew from
Hillcrest School and we looked around and found a site on the road
a little bit out of Port Harcourt and it was quite bush so we made
inquiries if that site was available and the word we got was that it
was available and could be bought. So we went to the Land Office in
Port Harcourt and found out about this piece of land and we bought
it, getting the needed paper.
Mike Glerum was in Kano and I asked if he and Alice would be
prepared to move to Port Harcourt and build a new bookshop, and
Mike said he would. Winston Adams came into Kano and Mike,
who had been district superintendent in Kano, left there and was
available for Port Harcourt. I saw in Jos, out on the Kaduna Road,
a large steel framework structure of a building, but no building,
just the steelwork and I went out to look at it and it was a night
soil plant. I went to the chief of Jos who was a believer, a very
godly man, and I said, “Sarki I notice at such-and-such a place
there’s a steelwork stand for a building but no building…would
you sell me the steelwork? I want it to put up a Christian bookstore
in Port Harcourt.” So he looked at me and said, “I will inquire.”
So whatever inquiries he made, he came back and said, “Yes, it’s
for sale.” I sent him the price for the steelwork which was very
reasonable.
78 Taken
from an interview with Trevor Ardill, 9 August 2007.
50
I got a Nigerian man in Jos who had done some work for us, to
go to the site with some tools and some chalk and take down the
steelwork, piece by piece, and mark it. So he took the whole thing
down and had it in a pile. I then talked to John Nickel who was in
Miango at the time and said, “John, I have a proposition for you. I
need your help.” So I took him out and showed him the steel and I
said, “We need to get this transported to Port Harcourt. We’ve got
a site there and we want to put up a Christian bookstore. Would you
build it?” So John, always open to a challenge, said he would.
So we got Kuras with their four wheeled flat wagons who loaded the
steelwork, all marked, and took it to the Jos railway station loading it
into a boxcar and it was shipped to Port Harcourt.
In Port Harcourt Mike Glerum had arrived and stayed with the
Assemblies of God missionary couple and went out to the site with
men he had employed to cut away the bush with machetes. They
were in there slashing away, cutting the undergrowth away from
the ground within the markers. Then out of the bush came a whole
gang of local men, “Get off my land. This is my land. You’re stealing
from me.” So a big row erupted and Mike got very excited and no
wonder because it looked like the beginning of a civil war. So we told
them we had the paper and it was our land. We had bought it. “You
bought it from the wrong people. We own it, they don’t own it. We
own it. You have to buy it from us.”
Well, we didn’t, but we persisted and finally got the site cleared and
John Nickel arrived and they brought the steelwork from the Port
Harcourt railway station out to the site, dug the footings, poured the
concrete, put up the steelwork and that was the beginning of the
building. We had to buy the steel corrugated sheeting for the
building but when that was put up it looked a beautiful building.
Now that the bookshop was
built we needed a manager and
I talked to Paul Onwuka who
came from Minna Bookshop
to Jos Bookshop and from Jos
Bookshop to Port Harcourt
Bookshop. Paul was one of
the finest Christian believers
I ever met in my life. He was
Opening PH Bookshop
manager of the bookshop and
did a good job. We also got
the curved Vizusell shelving; it made it a very nice bookshop. So
Paul Onwuka went down after Mike Glerum. Mike and Alice went
tHose WHo serVeD
on furlough from Port Harcourt and Paul Onwuka was manager and
he did an excellent job. When the civil war broke out and the rebels
were fighting there were bullet holes all through the bookshop and
we realised that we would have to empty the bookshop because the
rebels were about to take it over. Paul did an inventory, and there
wasn’t a penny missing. Not a penny.79
VIC AND MAVIS STUART TELL OF THEIR TIME WITH
BOOKSHOPS
At an evening service in Cape Town, Vic committed his life to fulltime missionary service after a challenging message by Dr Charles
Stern. He was just 21 at the time and attending Technical College to
become an electrician. He was ready to give this up to attend Bible
school. Dr Stern very wisely told him to complete his studies, get his
degree, and then go to Bible school. Two years later while at Bible
school, Eric Bowley, a fellow South African, on furlough with SIM,
spoke at one of the chapel services. As Eric told about the African
Challenge ministry in Nigeria, the Lord placed upon Vic’s heart a
keen desire to get involved in a literature ministry in Nigeria. Mavis
was also very interested in a literature ministry as the Lord had used
His Word to bring her to Himself. This made her realize how
effective reading Christian literature could be upon a person’s life.
In December 1956 the Stuarts
graduated from the Bible Institute
of South Africa and were accepted
by the SIM Council in Cape Town
for ministry in Nigeria. At the time
of their acceptance, they were given
the green light to go ahead and get
engaged and were advised not to
get married until they had been on
the field for six months. In June
1957 they left for Nigeria together
Vic and Mavis Stuart
which, unknown to the South African
Council, was a “no-no”! When the
district superintendent in Nigeria heard that Mavis Davidson and
Victor Stuart would be arriving, Winston Adams, a fellow South
African, who had arrived in Nigeria a month before, was immediately
shipped off to Roni Boys’ School, about 80 miles north of Kano
without any questions being asked. Their presumption was that
79 Interview
with Trevor Ardill, 9 August 2007.
51
52
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Winston was Mavis’s fiancé and should not be around when she
arrived in the country. The ruling at that time was that no engaged
couples should be on the same station.
On arrival in Kano it didn’t take long to realize that a mistake had
been made. The next day they were advised that there was a need for
an electrician at the Niger Press in Jos, and that Vic should go to Jos
to fill that need while Mavis stayed at Kano to get Hausa language
training. Those working at the Niger Press at this time were Bob
Kitch, Bill Todd and Ken Robinson. Completing her language study,
Mavis flew down to Jos where she and Vic were married. It was
at this time that the Mission decided that African Challenge and
Niger Press should amalgamate. To prepare for the arrival of the
presses and equipment, Vic was asked to go to Lagos and do all the
electrical wiring. Now they knew why the Lord had used their pastor
to encourage Vic to complete his electrical studies. This was a big
undertaking and took six months to complete.
They then returned to Jos to help with the packing up and getting
ready for the move. It was also nearing the time for the arrival of
their first baby.
October 13, 1958 was a very special day for them. Their Vicki was
born early that morning and it was also the day that the Niger Press
equipment was to be shipped to Lagos. Bill Todd had ordered a flatbed wagon from the Railway Company to transport everything from
the Niger Press to the Jos Railway.
When the large flat bed wagon arrived from the railway, it was Bill
Todd who supervised the operation. It was discovered that the big
press was too big to be moved through the doorway, so they had to
make a hole in one of the mud brick walls of the building and moved
it out that way. This took time, but eventually with great jubilation,
they were able to get it through the opening and onto the flatbed
wagon.
When they had got that far, Vic went over to the hospital to give
Mavis a running commentary of how things were going. The
packing up took a few days, but eventually all the equipment was
moved down to Lagos.
After the move, the Stuarts went to Kano so that Vic could study Hausa
language. During his time in Jos before they got married he had been able
to get some time for language study. Agnes Harder was his teacher, so within
3 months he was able to write his first Hausa exam. Having completed this,
the Stuarts returned to Jos where Vic had been assigned to the Jos Business
Department to take over from Archie McLellan as he and Myrtle were leaving
THOSE WHO SERVED
53
Nigeria for family reasons. While Vic worked in the B.D. (Business Dept),
Mavis did the bookwork for the Jos Pharmacy. During the time the Stuarts
were involved in these ministries, Trevor Ardill who was the Jos Bookshop
manager was asked to take over the responsibility of all the bookshops in
Nigeria. Until then they were run independently, and not doing too well
financially. Administration thought that Trevor with all his business experience
would be the right person to take over this ministry. Trevor was willing to give
it a try and asked if he could choose those he would like to work with. He
approached Vic and invited him to become the Jos Bookshop manager.
The Stuarts felt that after two years in Nigeria they were now going
to get involved in the ministry that they felt God had originally
called them to do. So in 1959 they joined the Jos Bookshop staff.
At that time Mildred Ardill helped in the office, Dorothy Krell
was the accountant, and Laura Best did the ordering. The number
of national staff must have been around 20 or so, mostly Ibo and
Yoruba, with a few Northerners.
It was some time in 1960 that some official looking Northerners
came into the bookshop to see Trevor. They wanted to know why
there were so few Northerners working in the bookshop. Trevor’s
response was, “If we could find some good workers, we would
employ them.” The men told Trevor they would find them for him.
A few days later they returned with six young men. Trevor employed
them, little knowing that the men who had come to see him were
union leaders and the men they had brought were union members.
They did not discover this until one day when two of the six new
workers were dismissed after having been given a number of chances
to improve their performance.
As shop manager Vic was asked to dismiss them. The two men went
to their union leaders and told them they had been victimized by Mr
Stuart who was a South African. Hearing this, the union leaders went
to our ECWA leaders and reported the matter and asked them what
they were going to do about this South African that they had in the
bookshop. The ECWA leaders came to Ray Davis and Bill Crouch
our SIM leaders to report what had taken place.
Prior to this incident, the Stuarts had been speaking to Dr Davis,
their field director, about changing their nationality as they felt
things were going to become difficult for South Africans in Nigeria
because of the South African Government’s apartheid policy. So
when ECWA approached SIM about this situation, they were told
that the Stuarts were thinking of changing their nationality. ECWA
reported this to the trade union leaders who accepted their word,
and said that, if that were the case, they would just drop the charge.
54
Literature Outreach in Nigeria There were a number of changes that took place during 1960.
Reuben Peters took over as accountant from Dorothy Krell as she
was leaving to get married. Reuben didn’t stay too long as he too
had to return home. It was around that time John and Brigitta
Pickett arrived from England. As an accountant John was asked
to take over from Reuben. The Ardills went on furlough, and Jim
Mason replaced Trevor as general manager from April 1962 until
October 1963. In July the Stuarts’ son David was born. When the
Ardills returned from furlough, Jim went to manage the Lagos
Bookshop. Soon after, the Stuarts went on furlough to Canada to
start working on their citizenship. They were replaced by Ed and
Charlotte Brigfield who had been working in Kafanchan.
When the Stuarts got back from furlough they returned to the Jos
Bookshop.
Over the next years they saw some advancement in the bookshop
ministry. The first bookmobile came into being. Trevor was able to
buy a second-hand Volkswagen bus in good condition from a beer
company. The idea of the bookmobile was to take Christian literature
to where the people were. The bus was repainted and fitted out with
display racks that would hold inexpensive pieces of literature and
Bibles. Room was left to accommodate a mattress so that the driver
would have accommodation when he needed to spend nights on the
road. Herb Pollard operated the first bookmobile. Later he trained a
Nigerian to take over from him. The bookmobile was a great success
and well accepted. Before long they had a number of such vehicles in
various parts of the country that worked out from a major bookshop.
Later, projectors were added to the equipment and Christian films
were shown in the villages.
After the bookmobiles, Jim Mason came up with the idea of
bookcycles in 1967/8. Most of the bookcycles were operated by
ECWA missionaries in outlying areas. Like the bookmobiles, this
met a real need. They were reaching people who were not able to
come into the big towns to buy literature. During these years there
were also some changes among the missionary staff. The Picketts
left to take over the Kaduna Bookshop, Mike Power became the
accountant, and Allan and Pat Rigby - new missionaries from
England - relieved for the Stuarts’ furlough. This was the furlough
(1966) the Stuarts obtained their Canadian citizenship.
The Jos Bookshop national and missionary staff was also involved
in Youth for Christ which was held every Friday night, weather
permitting, in the Gospel Centre in downtown Jos. Every Friday
afternoon one of the nationals would drive the bookshop van with
THOSE WHO SERVED
a loudspeaker attached to the roof, advertising the meeting. The
Centre was filled most Fridays.
From 1967 – 1970 the Biafran War took place. After the terrible
killing of many Ibos in Northern Nigeria, the Eastern Region had
declared independence. The Port Harcourt and Enugu shops were
closed, and there was no contact with the staff until after the war.
The Ardills left Nigeria in June 1967. Trevor was appointed USA
director, so Vic took over from Trevor as general manager.
When the war ended one of Vic’s first responsibilities was to fly
into Enugu to assess what damage had been done to the bookshop.
Arrangements had been made with authorities for the mission plane
to land in Enugu. Vic remembers how eerie it was to land there and
see no one around; just he, the pilot Dave Rutt, and Ken Kastner.
They had to force their way through tall grass before reaching the
bookshop. It wasn’t in too bad a condition, but a lot of rain damage
had been done to the supplies that were there. The bookshop had a
hole in the roof where a mortar had gone through, thus allowing the
rain to enter the building. They packed the remaining things up into
boxes and secured the building as best they could. Later, the shop
was looted and set on fire.
The Hurlberts who had returned after the war to rebuild Enugu
Bookshop, left in June 1971. It was then Vic Stuart heard that
the Selbys, a couple from England who had worked in the Eastern
Region before the war, were returning. He was able to make
contact with them and suggested that they might like to stay in
Vern Hurlbert’s house. They were also asked to keep an eye on the
bookshop and report back to Vic how things were going. Eventually,
the Hurlberts, who had been helping at the Jos Bookshop since their
evacuation from Enugu, were able to return.
When the way was clear, Vic also visited the Port Harcourt
Bookshop. This time he flew in on one of the army planes which
had had all the seats taken out. He and Jim Mason had to sit on
boxes. Looters had been into the bookshop but there were still lots
of supplies. Vic and Jim packed most of the goods into boxes for
security. It was there while packing up these things that Vic lost his
wedding ring. It was so hot that he hadn’t realized that his ring had
slipped off and didn’t notice it was missing until they were on their
way home.
When the Stuarts went on furlough in 1971 Gordon Stanley from
New Zealand replaced him as general manager and continued in
this capacity when the Stuarts returned from furlough. Vic had been
55
56
appointed to replace John Price as field secretary for Nigeria/Ghana.
In 1976 the Stuarts returned to Canada as the Canadian Council had
appointed them to home staff.80
MIKE AND ALICE GLERUM
When I (Jim Mason) first met Mike he
was district superintendent when I first
met him in Kano. A bookshop was on the
block-long compound that included the
Eye Hospital and the Hausa Language
School, it was later that Mike became
involved with the bookshops. This was at
the opening of a new bookshop on the
airport road side of the compound. Mike
Mike and Alice Glerum at the lake
inaugurated that one and he also opened
the shops in Port Harcourt and Accra, Ghana.
The biggest by far was the one in Port Harcourt that Mike was involved
with, from the clearing of the site, to the erecting of the steel structure and
then its opening in July 1965. Two years later Mike and Alice went on leave
and never returned to Nigeria.
One story I recall from Kano occurred when I was in Hausa Language
School. I was at the Business Department, and Linda, Glerums’ daughter a
youngster of 3-4 years, was licking an ice cream cone and let the dog at the
B.D. have a lick. Someone said to her, “You shouldn’t let the dog lick your
cone; you don’t know where he has been.” Linda replied, “That’s okay, he
doesn’t know where I’ve been.”
On another occasion when I was visiting Ghana in 1969, Mike took me out
on the university golf course. I had never played golf before and I ached for
three days afterwards.
INTEGRITY IN PERSPECTIVE
Enugu Bookshop Staff - Paul Onwuka
on right
80 Mavis
Paul Onwuka, who was Mike Glerum’s
assistant in Port Harcourt before the war,
was now in Enugu. When Mike evacuated
from Port Harcourt before the war he had
spent one entire night with Paul, turning
everything over to him in the shop. Thirty
long months passed during the war when
people were destitute without food, yet
when the war was finished, Paul came to
Enugu to see Vern Hurlbert. In his hand
Stuart, written for the History of Literature Work in Nigeria, January 2008.
tHose WHo serVeD
57
was a bag and bookshop records, containing all the cash he had protected
during those long, difficult days. We truly respected Paul for his integrity
during this time, even though this Biafran money - old federal money now
changed - was nowadays worthless. He could have used it to help the needy
during those horrible years.81
Before the Port Harcourt Bookshop opened Mike had colporteurs out
selling and a bookmobile on the road going into the rural areas. Sales were
excellent. This continued after the bookshop opened in July 1965. “Using their
garage and a bookmobile…nearly £3,000-worth were sold last year…March
was the best month with £540 in sales.”82
The bookmobile in the Port
Harcourt area is being handled
by Mr Henshaw. This very
zealous Christian was saved
in prison at Aba under the
ministry of Mr Saul. He had
a most effective ministry
subsequent to his conversion,
and the warden reported
Henshaw Bookmobile driver saved in Aba Prison
that the entire atmosphere
under Harold Saul
in the prison had changed.
Since getting out of prison, he has been very active in spreading the
Gospel and selling Christian literature. He has gained permission for
Saturday night open air meetings in Aba and also conducts a Bible
class…He is talented and uses his talents for the Lord.83
Mr and Mrs Saul, who had been at Katsina Bookshop before centralization,
moved to Aba as representatives of African Challenge magazine. They did an
excellent job for Challenge at Aba, selling large quantities of books. They were
close to retirement, but spent much time on the road; it was felt because of
their age they should not be away from home quite so much. Harold had a VW
van prepared for distribution work which the bookshop planned to buy to use
as a bookmobile.
When the Glerums went on leave from Port Harcourt in 1967 and were
unable to return to Nigeria, they ended up in Ghana for three years. While
there they finalized the building and opening of the Accra Bookshop in 1969.
After that, they returned to the USA to take up a position of area representative
based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
81
Phyllis Hurlbert, Whatever Happened to Calamity Jane, self published account, 2007.
Advisory Committee minutes, 15 April 1965.
83 Ibid.
82 Bookshop
58
ALISTAIR AND ANN BRADLEY
Alistair was from New Zealand and came to
the Lord at nineteen as a result of making
enquiries about how he could get training
to be a missionary. He soon found himself
at Bible College and while there saw an
SIM magazine calling for 400 workers,
then another article by the NZ director
saying that general missionaries were still
needed. Alistair considered himself in that
Alistair and Anne Bradley in Kaduna
category. He applied to SIM. He also spent
some time in a Presbyterian Maori Mission in New Zealand teaching Bible in
schools and visiting in Maori homes - a ministry he thoroughly enjoyed.
He was accepted by SIM in September 1963 and by May 1964 he was in
Nigeria at Hausa Language School in Kano. While still there he was assigned
to the bookshop with his specific work to operate a bookmobile throughout
Northern Nigeria. That gave him a territory of one third of the country. Alistair
writes: “I did this for two years and had the time of my life.”84
HungrY to rEad
I travelled all over most of Northern Nigeria visiting huge villages,
market places, cities and towns. There was such a curiosity and
hunger for the Word of God that within minutes of stopping so
many people, men women and children would push and shove to
get the literature that I could hardly breathe. Usually a man would
grab a stick telling people to move back and allow me to “sha iska” breathe air. We sold tracts written in the Ajami script which was the
Hausa language using the Arabic script. When people saw the Arabic
script, they were more likely to read it. One year during the rainy
season when I visited north eastern Nigeria, Gashua and Nguru,
where Kathy Jones and Lorna Downes were working at the time, I
had to put the bookmobile on the train in order to get back to base
in Kano because the road was impassable.
With the bookmobile, I visited high schools, teacher training colleges
and universities, timing my visit with their Christian Union meeting.
Invariably they would ask me to speak with the common invitation,
“Our speaker is not able to come this evening. Will you be our
speaker?” While this kept me on my toes, I enjoyed these impromptu
speaking engagements. It was not uncommon for roadside
mechanics to come, buy some Christian literature, and then invite
me to come and preach to all the mechanics. I would say to them,
84 Information
from Alistair Bradley, personal testimony, February 2007, written for this history.
tHose WHo serVeD
“Before I come we had better find out if the boss agrees.” The reply
was, “I am the boss. Just
come.” Wherever I went,
people were open to the
Gospel.
When travelling around
Northern Nigeria I usually
stayed at SIM or other mission
compounds. I had a single
burner gas cooker to boil water
and make fresh tea. The small
Vern & Alistair - Enugu
tins of evaporated milk (Peak
and Carnation) were available
all over the country. Once opened it would keep un-refrigerated for
a couple of days! At the market places, I would take a clean piece of
paper and buy bean cakes straight from the boiling oil, take them
back to the bookmobile, cut them open and put Golden Syrup on
them. They provided a nourishing fresh inexpensive meal and a great
accompaniment to a good cup of hot tea!
Akuso Dogari, a godly man from Kafanchan-Kagoro area, was
a relative of Byang Kato, the first secretary of the Association of
Evangelicals in Africa. Akuso worked in the Kano Bookshop and I
was asked to teach him to drive. Akuso had never been in a private
vehicle and therefore did not grow up learning some of the basic
functions of a vehicle. He did not know what a rear view mirror was
for. He did not know what a STOP sign was for. After some months
of painstaking patience and effort, Akuso got his driver’s license.
He went on to become wholesale manager in Lagos until he was
tragically killed in a road accident.
tHE cIVIl War
During the Civil War in south eastern Nigeria SIM was invited to go
into the city of Enugu to help give the impression that everything
was normal. Being single, I was asked to go. The city was not
normal. The infrastructure of the city had been decimated. There
was no running water, electricity or essential services of any kind. I
went in with a bookmobile for six months. Each month a Nigerian
pastor would join me. We could not cope with all the opportunities.
People were asking how they could become Christians. One morning
when I was going into the radio station the receptionist was sitting
reading his Bible. I commented to him how good it was to see him
do that. He was a bit despondent at first, but I soon found out he
59
60
had been fasting for two days and had told God he would not eat
until he found peace with God. That morning he found God.
I ended up staying in the upper floor of the new Enugu Bookshop,
which had a large hole in the roof. A
shell had hit it. Across the road was
the Police Station. The policemen
would visit me all the time and I had
the joy of seeing many of them accept
the Lord. Some days soldiers would
come up to the bookmobile and were
virtually in tears because they came
from Christian backgrounds and now
Alistair upstairs in Enugu Bookshop
they were killing people. Many of the
soldiers accepted Christ also. The pastors all said they had never seen
such openness to the Gospel. While the war brought terrible
devastation on the country, God used it to bring many people to
Himself.
Kaduna BooKsHoP
After Ann and I were married, we took over the Kaduna Bookshop
from Ira and Isobel McKie. We really enjoyed our years in Kaduna.
Akuso Dogari ended up in Kaduna with us. Akuso was very active in
the Hausa church, but he could see the need for an English-speaking
church to bring all the different tribal groups together. He came
and asked us for help in beginning the English-speaking ECWA
church in Kaduna. The first appointed pastor was Sule Onesimus.
Sule was an officer in the Nigerian police force. When he told his
superiors what he was doing they told him he was throwing away the
opportunity of a lifetime. The Police Department did not understand
Kingdom values. Pastor Sule was one of the finest pastors in Nigeria.
We took him to the first Campus Crusade for Christ training in
Northern Nigeria. Victor Cole - a writer in the ABC (Africa Bible
Commentary) - was also with us in this training.
Kaduna Bookshop was responsible for Zaria, Gusau and Sokoto.
One time during the harvest season while driving back to Kaduna
from Gusau, a cow jumped out from the long dense stalks of guinea
corn in front of the car; the right hand side of the car and the cow
connected throwing the cow up in the air and into a ditch beside
the road. The farmer came running crying out “Kawo mini wuka”
(bring me a knife). I was scared. There were some students working
in the fields nearby that I had met at the Gusau church. I asked them
what I should do and they told me to drive off. I could not do that.
THOSE WHO SERVED
61
So they helped me try to cajole the cow into standing up. It just lay
there stunned, eyes bulging. Nothing we could do would budge the
beast. Then the owner arrived back with the knife in his hand to kill
the cow and bleed it according to Muslim custom. As he approached
the cow, it jumped up and ran off. The only damage to the car was
a very small dent right above the headlamp. Since I was miles from
any facility, I was very thankful that the car was still operational and I
headed home with a thankful heart to God.
While in Kaduna working at the bookshop I was asked to be the
chaplain at the Police Training College. This involved Bible study on
Saturday nights and a 7am church service on Sunday morning. One
of the sergeants in charge of training was a personal friend and used
every opportunity to get us involved. He loved God and longed for
God’s best for his people.
Our two daughters were both born in Kaduna at the Catholic
hospital. When Ruth was two or three, she used to spend a lot of
time outside with the woman who helped us in our home. I can
remember her at the outside water tap washing her little hands.
In Kaduna, we became friends with Mrs Kencke senior and Don and
Judy Kencke who owned Baraka Press. Ivan and Mary Eikenberry
lived on the Kencke compound. Ivan represented all the missions in
Nigeria to the Northern Nigerian Government. He and Mary were
in Nigeria for more than 40 years. They were like parents to us.
Being such a young Christian when I went to Nigeria, my
experiences were a large part of my formative years as a Christian.
My time in language school, my time out on the road with the
bookmobile, and my time managing Jos and Kaduna Bookshops all
helped mould me into the person I am today. I thank God for SIM
and all that He has done through His servants in the Mission.” 85
Alistair is one of those rare individuals who in a few moments can turn
a conversation round to talking about Christ and leading people into a
relationship with the Saviour. When I became general manager of SIM
Bookshops, and was based in Lagos, I asked Alistair if he would come to Lagos
and take over the centralized buying for all the bookshops. He later said that
invitation was what helped him reach a decision to resign from SIM and join
Campus Crusade for Christ. Alistair served faithfully in different countries. He
is now settled in the USA - still training Campus Crusade staff.
85Alistair
Bradley, personal testimony, February 2007, written for this history.
62
Literature Outreach in Nigeria IRA AND ISOBEL MCKIE
It was seventeen months from Ira declaring at his parents’ 25th wedding
anniversary in 1950 that he knew God was calling him into service until he was
at the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow, Scotland. Soon after graduating he
took a nine month tropical medicine course. Four years after his calling, he was
in Nigeria at Hausa Language School in Minna.
While at language school in Minna, a call came from Trevor Ardill in
Jos asking if Ira McKie would help in the Minna Bookshop for a time. The
manager, Paul Onwuka, was a man of great integrity who had succumbed to
smallpox. Ira helped by giving guidance to Paul’s assistant until Paul was well
enough to return to work. “I said ‘yes’, not knowing then that later in life I
would be involved in bookselling and literature-related work. This was to be an
early preparation.”
His first stationing after language school was to Talata Mafara, in Sokoto
Province. This was where his medical course was of great help because, apart
from helping in the evangelistic outreach, Ira was in charge of the clinic and
seeing 30-100 patients daily. In a letter to the home office in London he
mentioned that he was seeing 6-700 patients monthly and up 1,000 treatments
because many have more than one complaint. In a letter to SIM HQ in Jos, Ira
spoke of his intention that when Isobel arrived they planned to announce their
engagement.
Isobel arrived at Minna in December 1953 and after two trips to see her
during the six-month waiting period, allowing Isobel to get her foundation in
Hausa, Ira and Isobel were married at Minna. Their stationing after marriage
was to Gatawa the most distant ‘bush’ station, 105 miles from Gusau in very
desert-like conditions. Ira moved there prior to the wedding.
When Ira left Gatawa for his wedding it was by a circuitous bicycle route to
reach Shinkafe; the thirty-mile trip was not without a few problems. Because
two men who were to carry his loads did not turn up when agreed, he loaded
everything, his clothes, camp bed and all the requirements for his wedding on
the back and handle bars of his bicycle. He had to cross the river three times,
and the deepest crossing came first. Everything had to be unloaded and a man
swam across with them on his head. The zipper bag with personal effects fell
in the water. After six hours he made it to the Government Rest House at
Shinkafe, where he met an expatriate from the Tobacco Company who was
leaving for Gusau in one hour, so Ira had a ride to SIM Gusau where he could
get the train to Minna and his wedding. The journey was relatively uneventful
as he changed trains at Zaria and got the down-country train.
The wedding was on 15 June 1954; Dave Boyes, a fellow language school
student, was best man and Leona Johnson (later to become Jim Mason’s wife)
was bridesmaid. Isobel met her when she went for a month to assist at the
Bingham Nursing Home in Jos. Both were Canadian and Leona had flown into
tHose WHo serVeD
63
Minna by SIMAIR. Mr John Hay, father of Ian Hay, a former SIM
international director, tied the knot.
After some time at Gatawa,
the McKies spent time at Kamba
also in Sokoto Province, and from
there went home on leave early
1959. They returned to Amanawa,
a leprosarium 10 miles - 15 km outside Sokoto.
After Amanawa the McKies went
to Moriki, the first station north
from Gusau, and from there to
Ira & Isobel McKie Wedding
Kaduna Bookshop, where Ira and
Isobel spent almost a decade. In
1969 they reported in Sudan Witness that: “Since last August we have received
into stock at the bookshop 6,000 Bibles and 5,000 New Testaments, and have
already sold most of the Bibles. There is a great demand for God’s Word.”86
Since returning from leave they had begun an informal Sunday evening service
in their home to which quite a number of expatriates came. Apart from the
bookshop they were also responsible for the guest house and had many guests
for meals.87
Ira recalls:
A question I was asking: Why did I find myself in Nigeria in 1954,
struggling with this language and then be cast head over heels into
bookselling?
I would have to relate that my Christian life has been a refining
process, often through traumatic experiences, ill-health, situations
and crises of various kinds. They were all there not to break me or
alienate me from the loving God I had learned to trust, but to refine,
to polish, to purify and make me the kind of person my Master
wanted me to be. Wherever we find ourselves, in the isolated semidesert terrain or the hubbub of city life, He was always there as He
had promised.
To the hubbub of the city we were assigned for our third term of
missionary service. Ten years before, I had had my first taste of
Christian literature distribution. Kaduna was at that time the capital
of Northern Nigeria. It was the seat of the House of Representatives
and an Upper House, the House of Chiefs.
86 Letter
to London Office and printed in Sudan Witness, April 1969.
McKie, Challenge of People and Places, self published, 2000, confirmed and added to by Ira
Mckie, Nov 2007.
87 Ira
64
Literature Outreach in Nigeria I was taking over the area bookshop with some responsibility for
smaller shops in Gusau and Sokoto - 145 miles and 265 miles
respectively from my base.
The bookshop in Kaduna was one of the ways the more literate
young people could read and hear the Gospel. The craving for
literature by young people who had come up to the city, some
seeking employment, others for further education, or just to get
away from village life was unbelievable. Often they were prepared
to read anything in print. Kaduna city was wide open to Christian
literature sales.
Pastors from many different denominations would find suitable
material for catechism, baptismal and discipleship classes.
We encouraged our staff to be involved wherever possible in the
churches they attended to publicise any special literature. How to
encourage 15 to 20 staff to be involved would be shared in our daily
devotions prior to opening the shop to the public each morning.
At our devotional times we shared prayer and praise requests. This
revealed that some of our staff were active disciples in sharing their
faith.
We were considering using colporteurs when a young man came
into my office wanting to discuss if there was any way he could be
involved in selling Christian literature. He was a graduate of Kagoro
Bible College, a convert from paganism, but now a living testimony
of what God can do for a life formerly shackled by the powers of
evil and witchcraft. Would there be any possibility of him being
employed within the bookshop structure? At the time of meeting this
interesting man of God we had been considering using bicycles with
carriers in front as a means of furthering sales of Christian literature.
He did so well selling books that we offered for him to take charge
of the kiosk in the Kaduna South Railway Station. In this he would
be on wage-earning terms. This was surely what we wanted in
getting literature into the hands of needy people. How sad it was for
me to hear some time later that this young man was beaten, petrol
poured over him and set alight. This was during anti-Christian riots
which affected many places throughout the country.
In my early days in bookshop ministry we were challenged by a wideopen need in Zaria. During our time in Kaduna, Zaria had the only
university in Northern Nigeria and we were distributing many copies
of the magazine, African Challenge, on the university campus.
After finding a suitable place in the commercial area where a number
of stores were operating, we appointed a member of staff from
THOSE WHO SERVED
Kaduna as manager, also transferring another member as helper.
So that gave me three bookshops to supervise and the main one to
manage.
On a few occasions we were visited by Sir Ahamadu Bello, K.B.E.,
Sardauna of Sokoto, and Premier of Northern Nigeria, always
escorted by a number of his ministers. The diversity of our customers
warranted the diversity of merchandise we sold. His Honour may
have been looking for a pen or watch; the school child, anxious to
have a suitable exercise book or a book to help him with his English.
Our bookshop HQ in Jos assisted us in procuring a suitable
second-hand van to convert as a further means of sales of Christian
literature. This would cover areas where bookshops did not exist and
make Bibles and evangelistic material available. As we had welcomed
the bookcycles so we doubly welcomed the bookmobile.
An interesting point was that the second-hand vehicle had previously
been used to promote Dab Beer, a company in Nigeria at that time.
So it was conversion from alcohol to Scripture sales.
I had been asked to take the five-minute slot of Christian epilogue
on N. Nigerian TV in place of a missionary colleague. I had been
told that I would follow an advert, but not told what was being
advertised; I would be given a cue and was surprised the advert was
for Star Beer the largest beer company in Nigeria. Now we had a
bookmobile, formerly selling beer, now selling books and Bibles, and
a radio slot after a beer commercial, both dealing with eternal issues,
the same message as that epilogue would affirm.
The bookmobile covered sales to the young police recruits at the
Northern Police College, the Nigerian Army in a camp close to
Kaduna, Zaria, the Nigerian Air Force which was training young
men, and various manufacturing companies, colleges and secondary
schools in the area; all meant good sales.
The bookshop was often used as a service to the public. An
illustration of this was when I was contacted by Sir Kashim Ibrahim,
Governor of N. Nigeria. Could we order the complete set of
Encyclopaedia Britannica for him? We did and had the opportunity
of meeting him personally when I delivered it to him. As he wrote
the cheque, he commented on how much our bookshop was
appreciated. More importantly, at least to me, were the Bibles,
Christian literature and tracts which brought people to conversion.
Other ministries worth mentioning were submitting daily Bible texts
for insertion in the New Nigeria newspaper and preaching in the
65
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churches in the city, using the “wonderful treasure” entrusted to
us.88
VERN AND PHYLLIS HURLBERT
Vern was born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and Phyllis was born in Oak
Park, Illinois, USA. They met at Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta, and both
were being led to Nigeria. Vern graduated in 1952 and Phyllis in 1954. Both
attended candidate school - Vern at SIM Canada when Mr Oliver was secretary,
while Phyllis went to SIM New York at the time Mr Jack Percy was SIM
secretary for the USA. After they were accepted, they became engaged. Phyllis
recalls the interview in June 1954 with SIM:
I was asked if I would be willing to work in bookshops. I answered
hesitantly that, if I felt that was really where the Lord wanted me, I
would be willing, but I was inwardly thinking that this was not really
missionary work.
Hurlberts' wedding
Both were able to raise their support
quickly and arrived in Nigeria in December
1954. Vern went to Hausa Language
School in Minna, while Phyllis studied in
Kano, Matazu and Fago. In those days
engaged couples were separated, allowing
them to concentrate on language and
the first exam after six months. After that
they were married in Kano and remained
in that area for the rest of that first term,
working at Fago, Kano, Tsanyawa, and
Kaugama in evangelism, church planting,
managing dispensaries and leprosy
segregation villages while filling in for
other missionaries on furlough.
Vern enjoyed getting out with Al Nielson in his pick-up and trailer which
opened up to display books and tracts for sale as they moved to many villages
and markets in the area. Phyllis recounts:
Vern and Al Neilson went trekking with the trailer behind the pickup. They had a good time, and accomplished a lot. They were able
to visit 14 new villages in the 2½ days they were gone. They sold
literature as Al always carries papers and books with him.89
While at Kaugama, Vern continued visiting in villages and selling literature and
distributing booklets, such as the VIP “Duba Dai” (Look Here), tracts and
88 Ira
McKie, writing November 2007.
Hurlbert, Whatever Happened to Calamity Jane, self published, page 96.
89 Phyllis
THOSE WHO SERVED
67
books in Hausa. He saw some people trust in Christ, and was slowly being
drawn into literature ministry. Finally the Hurlberts requested that the SIM
Council station them in a work with a literature emphasis. They were sent to
Lagos as sales representatives to distribute the African Challenge magazine.
Vern’s territory in contacting schools and other outlets extended as far as
Badagry, (the town infamous for exporting slaves during the slave trade) close
to the Benin border and up to Abeokuta. The month before they went to
Lagos, sales of the magazine were 9,000. Vern’s first month was 10,000, and it
increased monthly from that point. Vern remembers that time:
My work was to distribute the Challenge, especially to schools,
many of which had Challenge Reading Clubs meeting after school.
Students read the paper in these clubs to improve their English; in
doing so they received the message of salvation. Many trusted Christ
and corresponded with the Challenge, letting them know of their
decisions to follow Christ. Through the correspondence courses
they were encouraged to continue in their spiritual life.
It was wonderful knowing the Word of God got into many
homes through the African Challenge. In the schools I had many
opportunities to talk with headmasters, principals, teachers, and to
whole classes, sometimes to over 300 students such as in the Lagos
Progressive College and Government Teacher Training College. I
was able to get into many Muslim schools too with the Challenge.
Besides this, I had many opportunities to preach in different
churches as a result. While in Lagos I often preached in the federal
prison and the Police Academy. Since we spoke Hausa we often
attended the Hausa church in Lagos, helping there with preaching
and communion services. I taught personal evangelism to the men in
a Thursday Evening Bible School for a time.90
When Niger Press amalgamated with African Challenge in1959, their
bookshop was given to SIM Bookshops. From that time, Trevor Ardill was on
the lookout for a bookshop site in the heart of Lagos, and God soon gave one.
The change for the Hurlberts came from distributing Challenge magazine to
managing the Lagos Bookshops. For some time they wondered if they should
be getting into a wider ministry of literature distribution. They prayed about
whether the Lord was leading in that direction. When they offered themselves
to Trevor, they were immediately accepted. Vern recalls:
In August 1960 the Mission had opportunity to acquire a wonderful
spot on the main street in Lagos for an SIM Bookshop. It was on the
corner of the block that was generally considered the busiest and
most important street in Lagos, the federal capital of Nigeria, the
90Phyllis
68
focal point of all Nigeria. The bookshop was ready to be opened, but
there was no one to manage it. I felt
it would be a wonderful opportunity
to see more literature getting into the
hands of thousands of people in
Lagos area, so I offered to manage
the shop.
Phyllis had been working in the office
at the Press, but now joined me in the
Broad St shop Lagos
bookshop work, mainly in the office.
Up until now we hardly admitted
bookstore work was part of what we thought missionary work to
be, but came to realize that folks all over Nigeria were reading. For
every magazine sold and every book bought, five or six people were
influenced by reading it; even Muslims could read this literature in
the solitude of their own home, and the Holy Spirit could speak to
them without distraction of noise and ridicule from friends.
Shortly after we opened the bookshop in Lagos, a nicely dressed
Nigerian business man came into the shop, looked around, and
said he did not realize it was a religious store, quickly making his
way toward the door. One of the clerks met him and suggested he
look around; he might find something that interested him. In a
few minutes the man returned to the counter with Billy Graham’s
book, Peace with God. God led him to that one book. What an
encouragement to us as we began our ministry in the bookshops.
Talk about a miracle! From that time on we were convinced that
God had led us into this very important ministry.91
October 1st 1960 was Nigeria’s Independence and the Government had a
three week celebratory exhibition at Victoria Island. SIM and ECWA church
had a stand where they sold Bibles, books and African Challenge and informed
people about what SIM was doing in Nigeria. Over 500,000 visited the
exhibition.
Three years later in March 1963 a Trade Fair was held. The cost of the stand
was $700 so we delayed. Then when someone cancelled at the last minute, we
were given the stand at $60. It was a great rush to get ready. There were over
1,000,000 visitors to this function and we again were selling Bibles, books and
African Challenge and gave away many items from Scripture Gift Mission.
Fair officials suggested exhibitors donate prizes to the 1,000,000th
visitor to attend the Fair. Only three responded. A local beer
company gave him a year’s supply of beer, an undisclosed gift came
91 Phyllis
THOSE WHO SERVED
69
from the Russians, and we gave a lovely leather-bound Bible and a
year’s subscription to the African Challenge magazine.92
VERN ALSO RECALLS:
We were surprised to hear that the Anglican Archbishop Kale spent his entire
month’s salary on books shortly after the bookshop opened on Broad St.93
Vern put in a bid to supply textbooks to the local school board which
supplied books for all their schools. Because SIM Bookshops had credit facilities
overseas and experience importing, Vern won the bid. It was a huge amount
of work because books had to be tied in bundles of 40. Vern came down with
a bad attack of shingles, so it was Phyllis who did the hard work. After Vern
recovered he was able to deliver all the bundles of books to the schools.
Following this, Vern attended a bookshop managers’ meeting in Jos. He
requested that a new bookshop be opened in Apapa, but was told there were no
funds available. He was able to explain that funds were coming from the school
textbook contract that he had won. The profits from that contract enabled Vern
to open Apapa Bookshop, the location of many expatriates and Nigerian middle
class. Apapa was also on the side of the lagoon where the ports were located.
When the Hurlberts went on leave, the Masons took over. On returning,
the Hurlberts went to Enugu, in the Eastern Region where they got back into
distribution of the African Challenge in schools and seriously selling large
quantities of books and Bibles. The demand for literature was so great that
Vern went to Jos to collect the bookmobile assigned to Enugu. This allowed
him to multiply the amount of literature being sold. He says,
I was amazed in my travelling the amount of books and other
literature people were buying when we came with the bookmobile.94
All this was a precursor to establishing a bookshop. Vern explains:
We located a place on the main thoroughfare to and from the
railroad station. December 18, 1965 we opened Station Road
Bookshop.
For years there had been turmoil throughout Nigeria with each of
the three main regions quarrelling, desiring to take control of the
government. In 1966 a terrible pogrom took place in the North
against the Ibos, killing thousands, and driving most of those
remaining back to the Eastern Region.
Just before this the Lord had opened a way to purchase a site on
Zik Avenue in Enugu. With the help of a Canadian builder, Clem
Bartlett, we built our second store, a beautiful, two-storey block
92Phyllis
93Ibid.
94“Vern
Hurlbert, Whatever Happened to Calamity Jane, self published.
and Phyllis Hurlbert’s Literature Team”, written for this Literature History, La Mirada,
CA., 27 March 2007.
70
Literature Outreach in Nigeria building; air-conditioned with the new contour Vizusell curved
shelving. We planned on using the second floor as a Youth Center
and Reading Room for students from the university.
CIVIL WAR – VERN REMEMBERS:
Then a terrible thing happened. The store was almost ready to open
when the Eastern Region Government decided, after the awful
pogrom in the north, that they would break away from Nigeria to
form their own government, calling it Biafra. Civil war broke out
and terrible fighting took place. We were the only SIM missionaries
left in the Eastern Region. The American government told women
and children to leave, so I took Phyllis, Crystal, Anita, and Phyllis’
mother (who was visiting us) to Port Harcourt and they evacuated to
Lagos and then Jos. I returned to Enugu, and in the next six weeks
turned the work over to Nigerian staff who kept the Station Rd.
shop open for several months.95
Then the U.S. Consulate got word to me to leave, so I did,
struggling to get through the army roadblocks with my station
wagon and a few personal things, clothes, and Phyllis’ sewing
machine. Three days later I was stopped by the Northern army at
a roadblock near Kaduna and when I told them I was a missionary,
they thought I was a mercenary, so I was taken to the chief of police
who listened to my story of how I left the East and was able to have
15 men get my vehicle on a dugout canoe crosswise and over the
wide Niger River and on up-country. The miracle was that I was in a
strong Muslim region and the police chief turned out to be a Yoruba
Christian who said if I had come a half-hour later he would have
been on his way to church and I would probably have been dealt
with by a Muslim policeman.
The Christian police chief was from llorin. When he questioned me as
to where I had spent the previous night, I said, “At the SIM in Ilorin.”
He asked who the manager was. I said, “Nolan King.” He said, “I
know him.” The police headquarters in Ilorin was just down the road
from the SIM, and he had visited with Nolan. Then he asked where I
was spending the night. I said, “With Ira McKie, the SIM bookstore
manager in Kaduna.” He replied, “I know Mr McKie.”
Once again I saw God intervene in a very difficult situation. He gave
me my passport and the next morning I was on my way to Jos and
Miango.
95“Vern
CA., 27 March 2007..
THOSE WHO SERVED
71
After joining Phyllis and the kids we went to Kano where we
managed the bookshop for a short time. But when we were asked
to go to Kaduna to fill in, we asked to return to the States for early
furlough. We had been through a great deal and our kids were upset
and dreaming about soldiers coming to get them, so we were ready
for leave in the States. Few in the Mission realized what we had gone
through since most SIM missionaries in Northern Nigeria hardly
knew what was going on.
Hurlberts enjoyed their leave in the USA; they were much refreshed and
prepared for their return to Nigeria in 1968. At that time the fighting was only
a few miles south of Enugu. The Mission felt Enugu was too dangerous for a
family, so they worked in Jos Bookshop for one year until they were granted
permission to return to Enugu. It was during this year that Alistair Bradley
spent six months with the bookmobile selling literature. Vern and Phyllis tell us
what it was like on their return:
After a year we were permitted to return to Enugu, leaving three of
our children at the Mission boarding school near Jos. What a mess
we found in Enugu! Our smaller bookstore had been ransacked and
burned, and our house was in shambles having been completely
looted. However, our new, large two-storey bookshop was intact
apart from a mortar shell hole in the roof, broken windows and a
few minor things. Because we had not moved our stock into the new
shop yet, there was nothing to loot. Only bullet holes in the walls
and a mortar shell hole in the roof showed signs of the war.
We found a house to stay in and began the task of repairing things.
Suddenly in January 1970, the war came to a close. Book orders
were placed and weeks later books arrived and we opened the store.
Phyllis gives us some insight as to what that time was like:
Without much warning the war ended in January 1970. People were
destitute, but we had no contact with Jos to know what to do next.
We quickly headed for Lagos to buy supplies and make contact with
Jos from there. We remember people on every hand were begging
for food, clothing, and whatever we could help with. Getting across
the Niger River was a big problem, as the bridge was just beginning
to reopen.
God answered prayer in a miraculous way on our way to Lagos. As
we drove along we were talking about how we could contact Fidelis,
the man under Clem Bartlett in charge of building the bookshop
before the war.
We had no idea where Fidelis was during the war. Suddenly we
came to a screeching halt at a road block. The soldier was angry
72
and upbraided us for going a little over the line. But looking out the
window we came face to face with Fidelis who was clearing a patch of
the grass at the side of the road for his wife to sell some goods. We
greeted him, praising God for allowing us to find him, as the soldier
slipped quietly away. He agreed to go right away to Enugu to help
with rebuilding.
In Lagos we met with Ken Tracy, in charge of rehabilitation in the
war area, and welcomed him to Enugu on Tuesday the following
week to meet with pastors from our region. The twelve of them
slept all over our house as they met to discuss the rehabilitation
program. They all left by Saturday morning.
Two rehabilitation programs
were set up by the mission.
The first, Operation Dorcas,
provided a room with sewing
machines where tailors sewed
uniforms for school children –
pants and shirts for boys, and
dresses for girls. Eventually we
had a big ceremony where we
turned these over to the local
Mike Bonomi, Enugu
schools so the children could
return to school. The tailors
were then able to buy their sewing machines with the money they
had earned while sewing.
The second program was to provide hoes and seeds to farmers. The
rainy season was coming and the people needed these tools to begin
to farm and get back to providing food for their families.
Our home became Grand Central Station with the many pastors,
bookshop workers, missionaries from Jos, and even one couple
coming for holiday for a week just to see what was going on. Some
of them were helpful, for in the meantime we were getting our house
rebuilt, getting the roof and walls in the bookshop patched, besides
drawing up the plans for the shelves, islands, and checkout counters
for the bookshop, and getting them built.
Bookshop stock began to arrive from Jos, and within a few weeks
we were able to open the bookshop on a very small scale. Soon it
grew to a full-sized, beautiful shop with God’s Word getting into the
homes of people in the area.
At the time of the preparation for opening the Enugu Bookshop after the Civil
War, Vern was in Enugu with the bookmobile and, apart from all the other
73
tHose WHo serVeD
things he was doing, he was going to the surrounding villages and towns with
Bibles and books, and making preparation to open the bookshop.
I have a service at 8:00am at the air force base and 10:00am here at
the bookshop. Then I have a 4:00pm service in the prison. They
want us to take the radio devotions every other week, so apart from
the book sales through the van, we are kept busy.96
Before the war Mike Bonomi,
a pastor, had come to Enugu
to start a church where there
were about 15 in attendance.
But after the war the church
grew rapidly. We started with
just a handful, but soon had 34
attending. The numbers grew
Enugu Church meeting upstairs in Bookshop
to over 100, and people were
added quickly as they returned
to Enugu. Before long we were averaging around 500. Folk had
come out of hiding in the jungles and made their way to the cities.
When the war first began Clem Bartlett, our builder, and we were
wondering why God would allow us to build the store, and then
allow the war to break out before we even had books on the shelves,
but there it was, ready for us to use. What a miracle! Once again
God was faithful.
We saw the bookshop ministry expand, saw literature begin to flood
the Eastern Region of Nigeria, and then were allowed to see a
church grow out of the bookshop ministry. Whereas we had planned
to have a youth center on the second floor, we saw a church grow
and take over the second floor of the bookshop. There would have
been no place to house a church that size
after the war if not for the bookshop.
People used to ask us, “Do you do any
real missionary work?” Besides managing
the bookstores and distributing Christian
literature, most of us who managed were
also busy preaching at Youth for Christ
meetings, in the federal prisons, at the
army and air force bases, and at the police
academies. Were we missionaries? Yes!
Normal mission work? No! Was it effective?
We believe so! When we get to heaven we’ll
96 Phyllis
Vern & Phyllis 50th Anniversary
74
find out. Was it worth all the hard work? You’d better believe it!
Phyllis and I are so grateful for the time God gave us in this very
important ministry. 97
BRIAN AND ELAINE ANDERSON
New Zealanders, Brian and Elaine met and married in Auckland and at an
Easter Convention in Ngaruawahia, where Major Ian Thomas (Capernwray
Fellowship, UK) was the speaker, they were challenged for mission service.
From that time they felt the call of God to fulltime service and applied to New
Zealand Bible College. They were the first married couple to live at the Bible
College, graduating in 1962.
Brian was pastor of Oxford Baptist Church, New Zealand and being drawn
to SIM, they applied. Jack Nicholson interviewed them by coming to visit and
stay with them. This led to their acceptance for service in Nigeria. Apart from
their Bible training their qualifications suited them for administration work, but
they were assured by the Director Laurie Davidson and Jack Nicholson that
they would be placed in suitable work.
They landed at Kano Airport, Nigeria,
14 January 1966, with Christine (2) and
Ruth (5 months). They were met by
Alistair Bradley, another Kiwi whom they
knew from Bible College. He was involved
with the bookshop and the bookmobile.
Rumour had it they too would be assigned
to the bookshop. They arrived at the
beginning of the trouble that ended up
being the Nigerian Civil War which lasted
Brian and Elaine Anderson
for three years. Elaine explains it this way:98
First impressions! Absolute panic in the streets - missionaries did not
know what was going on and were told to stay on the compound for
safety reasons. We faced a political situation that had no meaning
to us. Fear! Huge cockroaches, roses in 44-gallon drums (cut in
half), shrubs with flowers and no leaves (the lie bush), desert-like
conditions and cold nights, Kano Guest House with roses in floating
bowls on each table - lovely!
A few days later when planes were flying, they were transported by SIMAIR
(SIM’s air service) to Jos and reported to Trevor Ardill the managing director
of SIM Bookshops. They were not specifically called to bookshop work, but
said:
97 “Vern
CA., March 27, 2007.
98 Taken from Elaine Anderson, “Andersons’ Journey”. Paper on Time in Nigeria, March 2007.
THOSE WHO SERVED
75
We were not “called” to literature specifically nor was there any
personal vision, but in hindsight it was a perfect fit. There were jobs
to be done so who best to do them? And we were quite willing.
The range of merchandise was astonishing to us - better than some
shops at home! School books, stationery, Bibles and Christian books
of course, general books, coffee table books, radios, players, Kodak,
Pentax, Tissot, Omega watches and clocks, surveying equipment,
fingerprint kits, filing cabinets, school supplies and jewellery!
Challenge had a reputation for buying for a large expatriate
population and missionaries as no Nigerian shops were providing
this type of product. We found that SIM Bookshops were a major
player in the distribution of Christian literature, along with CMS
bookshops with branches throughout the country. Smaller operators
were Baptist, SUM and Qua Ibo in the South East.
After a time of training at Jos, the Andersons went to Enugu to allow Vern and
Phyllis Hurlbert to come to Miango (23 miles outside Jos) on holiday. Then it
was back to Jos for a few months before going to Lagos to allow Jim and Leona
Mason to go on home leave. Trevor Ardill phoned weekly, always enquiring
after the family, before speaking about business.
The bookmobile was very active out of Lagos with Pa James as the
driver. On one occasion we accompanied him to an agricultural show
at Ikeja, but our 2 little blonde daughters became the main attraction
- so we had to leave!
Greater Lagos was a city of at least 3,000,000 with three bookshops in Mushin,
Apapa, and Broad Street, and another bookshop at Ibadan 100 miles upcountry, plus the bookmobile. One of the major problems was knowing how
much stock to order. Brian, being a “systems” person, borrowed what must
have been the first electronic calculator from Burroughs – all of two feet wide
with coils lighting up for the numbers – to calculate all of the re-order figures
on the stock cards.
One of the 12 local “messiahs” regularly visited the Mushin shop to buy
copies of the book “Peace with God” by Billy Graham. When the Manager
Francis talked to him about it, his reply was that he “needed to know what the
opposition was up to.”
During this time the Biafran situation became more intense. It had not yet
developed into civil war but Ibos were being persecuted and disappearing. One
night Peter Ginikanwa, from the Apapa shop, came to drop the keys at the
Andersons’ house and informed them that he was going home to the East. The
shop next door to the Challenge Bookshop at Apapa was Bata Shoes, whose
Ibo manager had been taken from his home at gunpoint by soldiers the night
before. Three of the four SIM bookshop managers were Ibo and eventually
76
Literature Outreach in Nigeria they and all Ibo staff returned to the East. This was a problem as they were all
experienced staff.99
Brian explains that time this way:
The original plan was for us to go to Port Harcourt when the
Masons returned, allowing Mike and Alice Glerum to go home on
leave. I drove to Port Harcourt in the east - Biafra - to discuss this
with Mike. On the way I went through a multitude of military road
blocks on both sides of the Niger River - the line between Biafra
and the rest of Nigeria. I was searched many times, including the
batteries being taken out of my flashlight. One soldier, asking what
my vitamin pills were for and being told they were for strength,
asked to have some too! The political situation meant that I had to
return sooner than expected; I got home to Lagos just before the
border was closed.
When the Masons returned, the Civil War was still on, so the Andersons went
to Ibadan and stayed on the Challenge compound beginning a bookcycle
ministry. Seven bikes went out each day selling Christian literature, with Brian
sometimes taking the station wagon to sell in the market places around Ibadan
- the largest “black” city in Africa at that time. It was during this time they
met Jane Sutton, the Scripture Union worker, and since the Andersons were
experiencing water problems, Jane would have them over for a proper bath
each week. From this a lifelong friendship developed.
Because the war was dragging on, they were assigned to Ilorin to relieve
Alan and Bea Blake. They enjoyed Ilorin, rebuilding the bookshop clientele and
appreciating the supportive encouragement from fellow missionaries. They were
in Ilorin when son Ian was born.100
Brian recounts one experience from that time:
I vividly remember a phone call from the manager at Isanlu
Bookshop telling me to come quickly because he had lots of money
and didn’t want it stolen! The money was from a large educational
order with the local Native Authority which had decided that instead
of a draft payment they would pay in cash.
When I arrived the branch manager was almost prostrate with
relief and showed me the money, which was a wheelbarrow load of
currency notes still in their pink ribbon and sealing wax packaging.
In explaining how he kept it safe, he told me how he had slept next
to the safe full of money with his Dane gun which he was delighted
to show me. It was a replica of probably the original Portuguese
flint locks, except this edition was made with local wood, a piece
99Taken
100Ibid.
from Elaine Anderson, “Andersons’ Journey”. Paper on time in Nigeria, March 2007.
THOSE WHO SERVED
77
of galvanised half inch water pipe for a barrel (with the thread still
on it) and the mechanics of flint lock percussion to set it off! My
doubtful look led to him taking me through to the back room to
show me all the carcases of bush meat which he was drying - proving
that his gun was very effective!
An intriguing fact from that time:
We discovered our oldest and very helpful and friendly staff member
Ibrahim, by name, was actually a plant by the Emir to keep tabs on
what these Christians were up to. Ilorin was mainly a Muslim town.
Ibrahim was the one who did the banking and was always completely
trustworthy; he had been working in the shop for many years. It was
our custom to have staff morning prayers, and on the days that I was
travelling to the branches the staff always prayed for safety in travel.
He recalls one man named Ajaye whose prayer was that Oga (master)
would return in peace, not in pieces!
FURLOUGH IN NEW ZEALAND
After furlough in New Zealand, Brian and Elaine returned and were finally able
to go to Port Harcourt, since the Biafran War ended while they were home.
Mike Glerum opened Port Harcourt Bookshop in 1965. The building was
actually a night soil plant which had been moved onto our property. After
the Biafran War the shop was reopened by Apostolic missionaries Parry and
Kitty Selby; their story will be told later. Parry looked after the rehabilitation
programme, while Kitty reopened the bookshop. The programmes were: tools
and seeds for farmers, and Operation Dorcas, rehabilitating tailors - the cost of
the machines being gradually earned by what they sewed, such as bed sheets,
clothes for children and some adult shirts. These were all donated to hospitals.
The warehouse had stacks of fabric and books when Brain and Elaine arrived.
The bookshop building was not badly damaged during the war, though there
were bullet holes in one wall which Kitty Selby duly covered with posters. The
petrol station next door had been demolished. The house was in reasonable
condition even though it was used by government soldiers during the war.
Sales were very strong following the years of war. The need to replace
school books lost in the war, stationery and Bibles, in particular Efik Bibles for
the mainly Christian Calabar people was the major concern. A large expatriate
population working in the oil industry led to a demand for good children’s and
general books. 101
GOD’S PROVISION
As Efik is the language of Calabar State, and Calabar was pioneered
by Mary Slessor, a Scottish Presbyterian missionary, the Scottish
101Taken
from Elaine Anderson, “Andersons’ Journey”. Paper on time in Nigeria, March 2007.
78
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Bible Society held the copyright for the Efik Bible. When approached
for the large quantity of Bibles we needed, they replied that there
was no way we could have them for several years as there were other
language Bibles to be supplied before us. We made this a real item
for prayer to our supporters - and we received a container-load
within 18 months: 20-25,000! We can both still picture the arrival
of that container at the gates of the compound! What a thrill and
answer to prayer by our faithful God!
A THRILL FOR ELAINE
Although there were three trained cashiers, one day all of them were
sick so Elaine had to become cashier! That afternoon, a young man
arrived looking very weary and hungry. We discovered he had walked
for three days all the way from Cross River State to buy an Efik
Bible. The black market price was exorbitant because supply could
not meet demand, and this young man didn’t have enough money,
so he walked to where he knew he could get his Bible at a fair price
and for the amount of money he had. A bag of small denomination
coins had to be counted. He was so thrilled when he finally held his
Bible. He had certainly earned it. The staff took pity on him and
gave him a chair and food and drink. A modern version of Mary
Jones and her Bible story! What a thrill for Elaine!
We had armed robbers break into the warehouse early in our time
in PH; they stole the cloth left from Operation Dorcas as well as
calculators and easily-carried things, but were interrupted by the
night watchman blowing his whistle. The Police were called and
they were chased off. The next night we were disturbed by the
night watchman running along the path at the side of the house
and leaping over the 6 foot gate at the back of the compound. The
thieves had come for revenge on the guard for interrupting their
work! Our guard found refuge in his village close by and survived.
Brian had to go to Jos for management meetings and was loath to
leave Elaine and the 3 kids on their own, so he visited the Chief
of Police who was a Christian. The chief put an armed guard of
combined Police and Army on our property for the next 18 months
and insisted that we build a 6-foot perimeter fence - which we duly
did. Robbers were chased off several times by these men. One who
was shot ran down the road, and died on the St John’s College
Seminary property. We were very glad he didn’t die on our property!
One staff member took us to see an oil flare after dark. It was quite
a community with members of our staff using the light to study and
people drying their washing and also their firewood! The night sky
79
tHose WHo serVeD
was always lit up along the horizon by the oil flares and the same
situation continues today.
Brian was on the preaching roster for the Church of England (he was
the non-conformist preacher) and also gave morning devotions on
Radio Nigeria from Port Harcourt - allowed 3 minutes only!
During that time in consultation with Vic Stuart, the general
manager, Brian decided to open a shop at Uyo. Christian Idio would
be the manager and he and Brian visited several locations to rent for
the new shop and residence for the manager. One seemed suitable,
but Christian’s wife was distraught – with a word from the Lord
not to take that property. She said that if we did so all of our money
would turn to water. We subsequently learned that the building had
been built by a well-known smuggler who had planted sacrificial
slaves (human) under the foundations. We found another location
and the business prospered.
A further story of Uyo Bookshop by Brian and Elaine was published in the New
Zealand ’98 SIMNOW. It tells how the bookshop was appreciated and people
were uncooperative when it was thought the bookshop might have to close.
Elisha Ali and Rev Samuel Damah, senior managers of Challenge
Bookshops in Nigeria, had gone to Uyo, a town in Eastern Nigeria,
to try to negotiate a new rental agreement with the landlord of the
Challenge Bookshop premises. His family did not want the shop on
their property and had taken the matter to the local court. Challenge
was ordered to leave the premises by the end of the month. The
landlord would not negotiate, so Elisha and Sam had no option but
to close the shop and leave.
While the books were being packed ready to transfer them to the
larger Challenge shop in Port Harcourt, passers-by noticed what was
happening and came to question.
Why was the shop closing? It was the only Christian bookshop for
miles around. Couldn’t somewhere else be found to rent? An old
man appeared and was most upset. He had visited Lagos and
discovered the bookshop on the main
street of the city was now closed, and
to find that the Challenge Bookshop
in his own town was being closed was
just too much. He was in tears and
begged that Challenge not move
from Uyo.
A lorry was hired from the lorry park
and terms agreed to, to carry goods
Challenge UYO truck
80
from Uyo to Port Harcourt. But when the driver arrived and found
he was to transport the books from the closed Challenge Bookshop,
he refused the job. “Not in my lorry,” he said. “We need the
Challenge Bookshop in Uyo and I will not help you close it!”
This story has a happy ending. New premises were found, in a better
location, with good parking and at half the rental cost of the old
premises. So Challenge Bookshop still sells Bibles and Christian
books in Uyo.
ElaInE rEcounts a rEarrangEd PIcnIc
We were the central location
for SIM missionaries in the
surrounding area, as well as
for folk from other missions
and were visited regularly by
those coming from outlying
stations to shop in Port
Harcourt. Ours was the only
clean toilet available in town!
It was a joy to give hospitality
Group At Bori Hospital and High School
to these people. Loyd and
Marge Wickstrom were at Aba, and later Paul and Virginia Haney
and a team of teachers at Bodo and Bori, in the Delta region. The
Browns, (he was a photographer), Millie Mosby and the Rideouts
from Titcombe College in Egbe had planned a picnic get-together
with the Haneys from Aba and the others from Bori and Bodo at our
place. It rained, as it certainly can in Port Harcourt and we, all with
BAs and MAs, apart from Brian and I, sat around and read Dr Seuss
books to each other! We had a great time. Those were good days,
but it was very hot and humid and I remember it once taking 10
days for the washing to dry. 102
ElEctrIcItY and tElEPHonE
Electricity was quite reliable in part because Yomi Onayemi, who had married
SIM missionary Valerie Thomson, was the chief engineer at the natural gas-fired
power plant in Port Harcourt. Valerie resigned from the mission, and when
Yomi was transferred to Port Harcourt, Valerie and the girls remained in Lagos,
where the girls were in school and Val was teaching. Yomi who was missing his
family was always grateful for the fellowship with the Andersons.
Telephones were a serious problem, and on one occasion the entire Anderson
family came down with Dengue fever. There was no senior staff member in the
102 Elaine
Anderson, “Andersons’ Journey”. Paper on time in Nigeria, March 2007.
THOSE WHO SERVED
81
Port Harcourt Bookshop. Brian went with a NITEL (telephone) engineer to
the microwave transmitter station out in the jungle. The engineer climbed up
several feet into the tower and seemed to put a couple of bulldog clips from
here to there and gave Brian a phone to use. Brian contacted bookshop HQ
resulting in a senior staff member being sent from Enugu until they recovered.
The recommendation (rest and Disprin) came over the SIM morning radio. On
another occasion they had a phone call from Paul Haney in Aba telling them
of a message on the radio that Christine, their daughter at Kent Academy, had
broken her leg and was in Evangel Hospital.103
THE MOVE TO LAGOS
We were asked to move to Lagos to set up a centralised Purchasing
Department including all international and local purchasing, to
be registered as a shipping and clearing agency. This was at a
time when the Nigerianization process was well advanced and we
worked closely with three Nigerian colleagues: Albert Suberu, the
accountant; Sam Kolo, retail director and Jonathan Babatunde,
wholesale manager. My assistant was Chimela Onwuka, nephew of
Paul Onwuka who began as manager of Minna Bookshop, who was
transferred to Jos Bookshop. After Jos he went to Port Harcourt and
eventually Enugu, becoming the first Nigerian manager of Enugu
Area Bookshop. Brian had the delight of taking Paul Onwuka to the
Christian Booksellers Convention in the USA - the first time Paul
had been out of Nigeria.
In addition we had to set up a clearing operation and Vic Stuart
in Jos sent Eliazar Gara to Lagos to be the import manager. The
logistics of managing the ordering centrally when all of the area
managers had been independent until that time was a huge task.
The greatest problem of all was the fact that the Apapa Port only
had 14 berths at that time and Nigeria had been on a buying spree
with the oil boom. At one stage there were over 400 ships waiting
outside the harbour to take their turn for a berth with many more
ships waiting within the harbour. A large number of ships contained
cement for massive building programs the government had initiated.
This created serious logistical importing problems for us because
our supply lines were long enough without having delays of 12 – 18
months at the Port. We looked for other ways and had great help
from our UK buyer and agent, Reg Pickford, to source product and
also obtain access to shallow draft vessels which could be moored in
the lagoon or up the creeks and off-loaded by lighter – an open flatbottomed barge. We maintained the continuity of our supply lines by
103Elaine
Anderson, “Andersons’ Journey”. Paper on time in Nigeria, March 2007.
82
Literature Outreach in Nigeria planning well ahead and by the strategic help we received from Reg.
Eventually we averaged 18 to 20 containers annually and increasing.
104
Brian and Elaine had developed systems for ordering supplies and training staff,
and left behind a competent group in the department. They left Nigeria in June
1977 and Brian went into a systems-related ordering job in New Zealand.
Because of the crash in oil prices in the 1980s the now-named Challenge
Bookshops ran into financial trouble. After being handed over to ECWA, the
management in Challenge Bookshops felt they should have a branch bookshop
in each of the 37 state capitals. When the oil crisis came along and they could
not obtain foreign exchange to pay for imported goods, they did not reduce
the branch bookshops quickly enough, running into cash flow problems
because they were paying wages to multiple staff who were not producing
profits because there was little to sell.
Challenge Bookshops accrued $350,000 in overseas debt. They asked the
Mission to help them out of their dilemma. After about 3 years SIM decided to
pay the $350,000. It was not long however, before they succeeded in building
up another $350,000 in overseas debt, for which they could not get foreign
exchange. This time SIM chose not to help, and by 1990 the bookshops were
virtually bankrupt.
ECWA Productions Limited (EPL) had also built up overseas debt in
Sterling. In 1994 when Brian reviewed this, the total debt in UK currency was
£337,238.61. This was primarily to GBA Book Co, the company owned by
Reg Pickford but spread over 20 other suppliers including Editions Trobisch in
Germany of DM 55,876.32.
ECWA asked SIM if they could help locate individuals who could come and
help. That was when I (Jim Mason) came as Literature Consultant. We tried
different approaches, but it was not until 1994 when Oasis International of
Wheaton, in the person of Ed Elliott, wanted to help, that things started to
turn around. Oasis entered a management contract with ECWA on Challenge
Bookshops. It was at this time that Brian and Elaine Anderson were approached
and returned to Nigeria, giving a further six years 1995-2001 to revive the
Challenge Bookshops in Nigeria.
Brian and Elaine remember with thanks that, although they were now only
associate members of SIM, the New Zealand director Murray Dunn was fully
supportive. When they arrived in Nigeria, they found that SIM Nigeria was
strongly supportive of them personally, though a bit distant from the Oasis
agenda. The director at the time was Dave O’Brien.
Brian and Elaine were a great help at the time of the Nigerian Pastors’ Book
Set Conference (PBS) in 1997. Since Lagos was the base for all books entering
the country, Brian assigned the Challenge import manager to clear the twenty
104Elaine
Anderson, “Andersons’ Journey”, March 2007. An account of their time in Nigeria.
tHose WHo serVeD
83
PBS containers. The Andersons were always an encouragement on the pathway
toward the completion of the Africa Bible Commentary.
GORDON AND HELEN STANLEY
Gordon and Helen arrived in Kano in February 1969 and were met by Winston
Adams and greeted by soldiers! After one day of rest in Kano they flew to Jos.
Lassa Fever was occurring at that time and Helen, being a nurse, was assigned
to start duty that night, but Ken Tracey, the medical secretary said, “No!” So
she had a few days to get settled.
Vern Hurlbert was manager of Jos Bookshop. Vic Stuart was general
manager and Gordon did the stocktaking at the end of March. They were
going to close the shop for a week but Gordon did it without closing the shop.
The Stanleys then moved to Lagos for the Masons’ furlough in 1970 and Jim’s
day-old chickens arrived a week after Jim left.
Back to Jos in 1971/72 Gordon was asked to be general manager while the
Stuarts went on leave. During this time Gordon bought a big lorry and made a
profit in 1972 after a loss the year before because of goods that were stolen on
the train from Lagos. He developed internal checks to protect the Nigerian
staff. He set up an Audit Department and advertised in an accounting magazine
in the UK. Stanley received an answer from a Nigerian, Albert Suberu, who was
working in the UK. He came and was stationed in Jos. His home town was
Ibadan, and his name informs us he was a Yoruba.105
Vic Stuart returned as field
secretary, so Gordon continued as
general manager. This was the time
of the thrust toward indigenization.
He set up the Board of Directors
and constitution of EPL (ECWA
Productions Limited). SIM
Bookshops became part of EPL
and were turned over to ECWA
ownership on 17 March 1974.
Alistair Bradley, Gordon Stanley, Brian Anderson
Gordon was managing director.
and Mike Power
The other directors included Mr
Obi from Aba, Titus Makinjuola a
Yoruba who was brought up in the SIM orphanage at Mopa, Barnabas Lekwat
from Central Plateau, Tunje from Ilorin and Byang Kato the first chairman.
The company was floated with N100 capital.
The Udoje Commission was established by the Nigerian government in
1976. They studied salary rates in the civil service and decided all wages
105 From
reporting of one day together in New Zealand of Stanley, Andersons, Powers and
Bradleys, January 2007.
84
Literature Outreach in Nigeria should be increased by 100%. Challenge had about 400 staff. It was the only
international company which kept its doors open because Mike Power, the
accountant, along with Brian and Gordon talked to the staff and told them they
would work it through. Many other parts of the Mission were indigenised after
that.
Gordon was managing director and left at the end of 1980. Mike Power was
financial director and Iliya Majam took over from him in 1975. Mike finished
in 1977 and then went back to Jos as financial director while Iliya Majam was
on an MBA course in the UK.
There were about 32 expats involved in literature ministry when Gordon
came in. When Gordon and Mike left in 1980, only Chuck Truxton was left.
MIKE AND ANN POWER
Mike’s association with SIM began in Ghana. He was there on a six month
assignment from London in the Ghana office of the accounting firm of
Midgley, Snelling, and Barnes in the UK. His commitment was for six months,
and during this time his life was redirected.
Being a Christian, he took with him the page for Ghana from the SIM Prayer
Guide, thinking this could be a useful contact. Mike was put up in a hotel
because the company did not have any accommodation for him. Later Mike
found accommodation through a Scripture Union friend with someone at the
University, at Legon, and quite far out of Accra. He tried a few churches, and
then in the third week he phoned the African Challenge, thinking he would
contact Sam Goertz whose name was on the list. Instead Stan Todd answered
and immediately there was an affinity. Stan and Etta were from Northern
Ireland, while Mike was from Watford, outside London. The Todds invited
Mike to their house and in conversation about church they introduced him to
a Sunday afternoon fellowship at the house of John Agama, a police inspector,
who later became a member of the Board of Challenge Enterprises - the former
African Challenge and the literature work of SIM in Ghana.
Mike became friendly with the Todds and after the Sunday afternoon
fellowship he would go back to their place for a meal, and often stayed
overnight, going to work on Monday morning. He recalls meeting Doris
Motley who was on a ship to Nigeria which had stopped for offloading in
Accra. Without a harbour, this trip ashore had to be done by canoe coming in
over the breakers. Doris braved this ride on a stormy day to visit with Stan and
Etta. Mike was most impressed by this lady.
Mike had been wondering what he should do at the end of his six-month
assignment; stay in the Accra office or go back to the London office. In the
meantime he had met Harold Fuller who was editor-in-chief of African
Challenge magazine, published by SIM in Lagos, Nigeria, but actually printed
in Mike’s home town of Watford. Harold told Mike of the need for accounting
help at Challenge in Lagos. Hearing that Karl Munting as business manager
tHose WHo serVeD
85
also did the accounts and was hard pressed with work, Mike decided he would
try helping Challenge for a year.
While in Ghana with the Todds
in 1961, Mike became aware that
as the men with Challenge went
around to schools distributing the
magazine they also sold books;
shortage of funds was a problem
as well as the variety and quantity
of books they could order. Mike
gave £50 of his tithe to Stan to
increase their buying of books. It is
interesting that several missionaries
Mike & Anne Power, The Stuarts and Masons
give Mike credit for this gift as being
the beginning of bookshop work in
Ghana.
Mike went to African Challenge in Lagos in August 1961. He was there for
four years and then, because of a lack of replacement for the SIM Jos treasurer,
he was asked if he would stay an extra year and fill that position. It was not until
31 July 1966, that Mike got back to UK. He remembers this well as England
won the soccer World Cup that day!
Upon his return to Nigeria, Mike was at Challenge in Lagos for 5 months,
and was then assigned to bookshops to take over from Dennis Stevens who was
going on leave. This was January 1968, and he was the bookshop accountant
until 1979. Two of those years he was training branch managers as to how to
correctly complete their end of month accounts and reports. 106
In preparation for the ECWA church taking over ownership of the SIM
literature programme, the bookshops were renamed Challenge Bookshops making use of the name “Challenge” which was known throughout the country
because of the magazine African Challenge that had been sold for 23 years. In
preparation for this change Iliya Majam, who had been in Kaduna Bookshop,
came to Jos and began training under Mike to become the director of finance.
This took place in 1976 while Mike and his wife Anne went to New Zealand
on leave. When Iliya was asked to go overseas to get his MBA, Mike came back
and filled in as director of finance during 1978/79.
After that the Powers were asked to go to Sudan where Mike did the
accounting for SIM’s Southern Sudan aid programme, but he also filled the
post of SIM treasurer for two and a half years. Not being able to return to
Sudan, they went on to Kenya for five years. While there he was asked if he
106 From
interview written by author, edited by and added to by Mike Power.
86
Literature Outreach in Nigeria would be willing to come back to New Zealand and be treasurer at the home
office. Mike recently retired from this position.107
PARRY AND KITTY SELBY’S CALL TO THE MINISTRY AND NIGERIA
After Bible College and their call into fulltime work, Parry and Kitty Selby’s
ministry was in Newcastle for 2½ years. Then the UK Church Council
extended a missionary call to Calabar, Nigeria so Parry and Kitty left for
Nigeria in March 1954. Eighteen months later they went to Owerri when the
missionary superintendent died. They were responsible for 300 churches and
10 primary schools. The area was from Port Harcourt in the Rivers Area, to
Enugu and Abakaliki in the North and the Ogwashi-uku Area in the Mid-West.
They had a very fulfilling ministry in training staff, elders and officers, and in
general administration of the work.
We suffered set backs in the work as the Eastern Region declared
independence from the Federation of Nigeria, calling themselves
Biafra on 30th May 1967. With Civil War imminent, we evacuated
to the UK in June 1967. The Nigerian Government would not
allow missionaries to return to the War Zone in Eastern Nigeria.
Our missionary board asked us to go back to Western Nigeria, but
we considered ourselves in transit to the East whenever opportunity
offered itself.
Like Abraham, “We went out not knowing whither we went” – no
plans, no destination, no defined future. When we were almost
giving up hope of ever getting back to the East, we experienced God
opening securely locked doors, making a way where there was no
way, breaking in pieces the gates of brass.108
FIRST MEETING
I first met Parry and Kitty Selby while selling literature at an Apostolic Church
Convention in Calabar. At that time I was based in Ilorin and had travelled to
Calabar to be at the 1961 Christmas Convention. That was when we sold all
the Thompson Chain Reference Bibles and went home with orders. Sales at
that convention were in excess of £600.
As the Civil War was coming to an end, the government asked SIM if they
would help rehabilitate a hospital in the Eastern Region, 20 miles (30 km)
from Port Harcourt. The Selbys fitted into that job and were there for 12
months. Later they were asked to supervise the rehabilitation of tailors who
sewed clothes for refugees and orphanages, while earning money to buy their
new sewing machine. This was done at the Port Harcourt Bookshop building
warehouse. Meanwhile Kitty revived the bookshop from the looting that took
place during the war.
107From
interview written by author, edited by and added to by Mike Power.
call to ministry and Nigeria, written for this history, UK, June 2007.
108Selbys’
87
tHose WHo serVeD
I have included most of the Selbys’ account because it gives real insight into
the devastation which took place, and the effort made in the rehabilitation. It
shows the Lord’s provision and empowerment to those who are working for
Him.
god’s IntErVEntIon In tHE aFtErMatH oF cIVIl War
How did it happen? While attending Church Convention in
Lagos, we stayed at the SIM Guest House at Yaba, and overheard
a conversation about “Operation Good Shepherd” based at Bori
General Hospital in the Rivers State. It was in the plan of God that
the Medical Relief Team was also in the Guest House and brought
much news from the “liberated” Rivers Area.
Bori was right in the centre of 120 churches in the area for which
Parry was normally responsible. We eagerly questioned the returning
team about conditions prevailing in that area.
Dr Tracey of SIM, co-coordinator of the Good Shepherd Project,
had difficulty finding personnel to make up the team from
northern missions. As someone said to us, “We are desperate for
replacements.” God spoke to us to volunteer, and we were advised to
write to Dr Tracey, which we did immediately. We were not medical.
But we were willing to work in any capacity and we knew the area
very well.
Dr Tracey replied by return mail: “Your volunteering in this way is a
direct answer to our prayers. We have no one for September”. He
asked Parry to be administrator of the hospital and Kitty to take over
the drug store and act as house mother to the team.
Our Missionary Board wholeheartedly
agreed for us to be seconded to the
team as long as necessary and we
proceeded to Bori without delay, thus
we came to be involved with SIM.
It was emphasized that Operation
Good Shepherd had a twofold
mission: to reactivate the hospital and
give much needed medical assistance
to the war torn area, and to pursue
an evangelical outreach to these
traumatized people.
Parry & Kitty Selby
We engaged a hospital Chaplain, who held services in the wards and
gave counsel to the patients. We also held a Gospel service in our
house every Sunday evening. We found that whole villages were
88
Literature Outreach in Nigeria devastated and deserted as thousands had fled before the advancing
armies. Many pastors had fled with the members and what few
remained were in dire need of help...Every member of the team
had to be an evangelist and every Sunday we were assigned to take
services where there was no pastor in Anglican, Methodist, Apostolic
and Baptist Churches. There were no denominational barriers; we
were united in our desire to stand in the gap, giving help wherever
needed.
Christian literature played an important part in our general ministry.
Tracts and booklets were freely distributed in the hospital and at
military checkpoints as we travelled.
Every Saturday morning, the team went out to specific areas and
set up a clinic for around 300 children in a school or church. One
vehicle would be loaded with Christian literature and after the clinic,
on the way home we called at Army bases and sold our books which
were in big demand. We well remember one big secondary school
which housed 1,000 wounded soldiers. As soon as they saw the van
driving into the compound, they rushed out to meet us thrusting
money into our hands and shouting, “Give us books, give us books!”
Bored by their inactivity, they desperately wanted something to read.
It was an opportunity not to be missed as so many of these soldiers
from the Federal Army were Moslems. We were able to select a
variety of books that would clearly show the way of salvation.
These men would soon return to the war front and needed
the assurance that only faith in God could give. As we left that
compound having obeyed the word in Ecclesiastes 11 v 6, we always
claimed God’s promise, “Cast your bread upon the waters for they
shall find it after many days”.
It became apparent… in December 1969, when the Federal Army
overran all of Biafra that war was coming to an end. By this time,
Bori Hospital was operating well and with the arrival of many
doctors from abroad, it was decided to withdraw the Medical Relief
Team. Dr Tracey came from Jos for the formal handing over to the
Government.
We were then free to return to our base in Western Nigeria. We flew
back to Lagos on Christmas Eve to be welcomed by Loyd and Marge
Wickstrom, at the Yaba guest house with Christmas decorations.
Loyd and Marge with their usual hospitality and kindness invited us
to spend Christmas with them.
A few weeks later Parry received a letter from Dr Tracey informing
him that the SIM Council had unanimously decided to ask him to
tHose WHo serVeD
89
oversee the new relief project “Operation Dorcas” to function in
Port Harcourt and to reopen the SIM Bookshop which had been
devastated during the war.
This proposal was obviously in the plan of God to return us to the
East and we wholeheartedly agreed. We immediately returned to the
SIM guest house to prepare for the transfer. The store at Yaba guest
house, Lagos, was already filled with treadle sewing machines, bales
of cloth and everything necessary to set up Operation Dorcas.
We were booked on a ship to take 300 cases of books and all the
Dorcas equipment, but the ship was diverted to evacuate Nigerians
from a troublesome part of Africa. The arrival of the ship was delayed
several weeks so Parry decided to go ahead alone to Port Harcourt
by road in his little van, hoping to make some headway in securing
the bookshop premises and the bungalow in which we were to live.
Kitty was left in Lagos to come by boat with the Dorcas equipment
and the 300 cases of books - a very uncertain prospect! Feeling the
responsibility and weight of the task before her, she cried to the Lord
to help her. Once again God intervened in the most amazing way. 109
The next morning, the Lagos branch
of Operation Dorcas on the African
Challenge compound was holding its
closing ceremony and Kitty decided
to attend. At that meeting she met
the government official who had
overall charge of the rehabilitation
programmes in the East. Kitty tells
what happened:
Dorcas Project Challenge Lagos
The Government official
asked Kitty about the progress of the Port Harcourt project, and
when Kitty explained to her the delay caused by the diversion of
the ship on which Kitty was booked, she replied, “But I have planes
and I could help you.” Kitty protested to her that the Operation
Dorcas equipment was at least five tons in weight, but this posed no
problem to her. All she needed was the cubic capacity and tonnage of
the loads.
That same afternoon, an airport official rang Kitty at the SIM Yaba guest house,
instructing her to be at the airport the following morning at 7am with all her
loads. She hired a lorry and arrived at the airport with the five tons of Dorcas
equipment. Kitty was a little fearful as she stood alone with this entire pile of
baggage and not another person in sight. The plane which taxied towards her
109 Selbys’
call to ministry and Nigeria, written for this history, May 2007.
90
was a Parachute Plane loaned to Nigeria by the Congolese government. She
took heart when she learned that the pilot was the brother of General Gowan,
Head of State.
The staff proceeded to load the plane and then invited her to take her seat.
This turned out to be an iron seat with lots of parachute harness around. She
could view the landscape below through the gaps in the bottom of the door.
Parry had left Lagos four days earlier but was delayed for three days in a
queue of cars and lorries, waiting to be ferried over the River Niger. It was
quite an ordeal and the only way to cool down after the heat of the day, was to
take a bath in the River Niger under the starry sky. When Kitty arrived in Port
Harcourt, there was no sign of Parry. She took refuge at the Baptist Mission.
Parry arrived the next day.
What a scene of devastation met us as we went to survey the
bookshop and bungalow! The steel shutter doors at the bookshop
were bent and twisted; looters had forced entry. The place was
flooded due to shrapnel roof damage and the grass was as high as the
bookshop.
As for the once beautiful bungalow
built by the Glerums, it was a
complete shambles. It had been
occupied by soldiers, fires had been
lit on the block floors and doors
chopped away to supply firewood.
When the soldiers left, looters had
taken over and stripped the bungalow
Bookshop House
of every piece of glass from the louver
windows. Every lock and electrical
fitting and any household commodity that could be removed had
been taken.
Our first priority was to repair the roof and dry out the bookshop
and warehouse ready to receive the first consignment of books.
Port Harcourt was a ghost town and all stores were looted. There
were no ladders anywhere but God’s Word declared “My God shall
supply all your need” and so He did. In this impossible situation
Parry managed to acquire some timber and nailed together an
improvised ladder. The manager of a looted store in the town
amazingly found one pack of rubberized sealing compound... which
had escaped the notice of the looters.
On examining the roof, Parry found 32 shrapnel tears and Parry
invited some of the bookshop staff to assist him in repairs of the
THOSE WHO SERVED
91
roof. They were horrified and declined, but God helped Parry to do
it alone and wonderfully the roof never leaked again.
Cutting the grass was another urgent task, but we did not anticipate
the constant explosion of unspent bullets as we…fired the mountains
of gathered grass.
The first few weeks were times of much frustration due to lack of
materials… there was no alternative but to go to the market and buy
back fittings that had been stolen by the looters. However arduous
the task, it was a time of great joy and satisfaction…in such a work of
reconstruction.
Of course, the bookshop repairs took priority...bungalow restoration
was faced as time permitted. We had no furniture at all except two
camp beds…we sat on cushions on the floor. Our dining table…
was two upturned crates, some planks of wood and a very pretty
cloth to camouflage. The dining chairs were small oil drums likewise
cushioned and draped.
All the same, in our primitive setup, we entertained some very
important people. Shall we ever forget the visit of Jim Mason as he
was escorting Dr Bob Thompson, MP for Red Deer, Alberta, who
was the Canadian parliamentary specialist on Africa, as well as the
advisor to the Canadian Government on foreign aid. He needed to
visit the war zone to assess the particular needs of the area such as
refugee camps and orphanages. We all went to the needy areas by
helicopter and what an amazing day we had.
This visit resulted in great blessings to us. Seeing our plight and the
fact that furniture was unobtainable in Port Harcourt, on his return
to Lagos, Jim sent us basic items of furniture by plane.
Eventually the reconstruction of the bookshop and bungalow was completed.
Olu Koleosho came from Lagos to take over the bookshop, but after a few
weeks he left to pursue further education. Kitty was then asked to manage
the bookshop while Parry oversaw Operation Dorcas. This involved the
rehabilitation of master tailors who were supplied with treadle sewing machines
and cloth to make clothes for the refugees.
REOPENING PORT HARCOURT BOOKSHOP
The bookshop reopened and was greeted with great enthusiasm.
After the disruption of war with total loss of possessions, the sight of
a new bookshop was a powerful magnet that drew young and old.
There was a great famine for the printed word, both educational
and Christian literature, so that the SIM Bookshop was as “corn in
Egypt”.
92
Literature Outreach in Nigeria It gave us great satisfaction to see the continual flow of supplies
from Lagos and the cooperation we received from the SIM staff,
particularly from Jim Mason and Brian Anderson, was superb. The
work was greatly enhanced by the supply of about 14 bicycles.
This helped to rehabilitate young men who eagerly sold Christian
literature and subsidized Bibles and New Testaments in schools, in
market places and at the roadside.
The addition of a bookmobile greatly increased the spread of
Christian literature as it could take large quantities much farther
afield to church conventions and rallies. What a joy to send a loaded
bookmobile and see it return completely empty, knowing that such a
hunger in the hearts of people had been met.
As schools reopened, there was a great dearth in educational
books. Often traders in the market exploited impoverished parents
by charging inflated and extortionate prices for school books.
We decided never to sell to traders but directly to parents, whose
gratitude knew no bounds.
Furthermore, we had an extensive coverage of outlying villages and
markets where we sold African Challenge. This was facilitated by the
use of the motorcycle sent to us by the Lagos Bookshop.
So often we found that God’s timing was perfect! We remember how
we greeted the arrival of one lorry with whoops of joy. It brought
300 titles from Moody Press with lots of commentaries and study
books which we placed in the store. We had just completed the
offloading of the books when a minibus arrived full of pastors from
our church in Calabar. Their joy was unbounded as they were able
to purchase such valuable Christian literature to help them in their
studies.
Another important ministry of the bookshop was to guide customers
in their choice of books. One day, Kitty observed that a man was
spending a very long time selecting his books and after conversation
with him, she learned that he was leading a group of people, whose
doctrines were in error. She was able to put a selection of books in
his hand to consider. A few days later he returned looking very happy
having read the books, underlining and annotating them. He then
placed an order for 20 of each. This showed Kitty the possibility and
importance of turning many from error to the Truth that could set
them free.
We felt so blessed when Lagos supplied us with a record player and a
good stock of records. Playing them in the shop brought a calm and
heavenly atmosphere and proved to be a great attraction to bring in
93
tHose WHo serVeD
the customers. Often a lorry full of soldiers would crowd in and want
to buy up the whole stock of records. As they would leave, we were
so happy, as we imagined those lovely Gospel songs ringing out in an
army camp, bringing a message of peace and hope in a chaotic war
situation.
As the Dorcas Project became such a success in
the warehouse, with a group of rehabilitated
tailors being sent out every 3-4 months to set
up their own business, we would then take in a
new group. We always held a ceremony outside
the bookshop. Government officials were
invited and the Operation Dorcas clothing
would be handed over to the government for
distribution to orphanages and refugee camps.
This also served to give publicity to the work of
the SIM in a wartime situation. One such
occasion was very much appreciated by the
Rivers State Government when a large
consignment of school books was donated by
SIM Lagos to assist in the restoration of schools
demolished during the war.
Tailor, Operation Dorcas,
Enugu
As conditions improved, it
was decided to close down
Operation Dorcas and with
the arrival of SIM missionaries
to take over the bookshop, we
were then free to return to our
home base, and Parry took up
once again the superintendence
of the Apostolic Churches in
Ibo and Rivers States.
Presentation of books and Dorcas Clothing to
On checking our home after
Governmment - Rivers State
an absence of three years,
we found that it had been
completely looted and was a heap of rubble. It was then that the
SIM came to our rescue and offered us the use of the Enugu Mission
House, now empty due to the Hurlberts’ return to the USA. This
was indeed an oasis in the desert, for which we were very grateful.
We were able to live there for two and a half years, until further
SIM missionaries were assigned to Enugu to work with the ECWA
churches. The Lord then opened another door when one of the
94
Baptist mission houses in Port Harcourt became vacant and we were
kindly offered the tenancy.
As we were reabsorbed into the work in Ibo and Rivers areas we
recognized that many young men had had a deep experience and a
strong desire to serve the Lord. We saw the need for training them
and once again SIM came to our rescue. We were able to send many
to the Aba Bible College and Igbaja Seminary where they were
greatly enriched by the sound teaching under Paul and Virginia
Haney, Bev Clark, and Loyd and Marge Wickstrom.
Though our ministry with SIM officially ended when we left Port
Harcourt Bookshop, we were glad that the wonderful fellowship we
enjoyed at that time has remained to this day, as from time to time
we receive letters or phone calls from many that we worked with in
those difficult days.
“GREAT IS OUR GOD AND GREATLY TO BE PRAISED!”110
WINSTON ADAMS
Winston was from South Africa, and went to the Bible College in Capetown
with Vic and Mavis Stuart. Winston arrived in Kano a month before Vic and
Mavis came, and SIM thought it was
Winston and Mavis who were engaged, so
when they heard Mavis was coming,
Winston was sent off to the Boys’
Secondary School at Roni. Later Winston
married Mary Ellen, who was the
anesthetist at Egbe hospital in Yoruba
country in Southern Nigeria. After they
were married they were stationed at Roni
Winston Adams
Boys’ School.
Just before furlough in mid-1961, Mike Glerum took Winston round the
Kano branches of Katsina, Gusau and Sokoto. Mary Ellen thinks it must have
been decided at that time that after furlough Winston would be assigned to
bookshop work. He took over Kano Bookshop in October 1962, and was
there, apart from furlough, until 1971 when a Nigerian became the manager.
111
The following is an interesting story from Winston’s time in Kano
Bookshop:
It is a rarity in our work amongst Muslims for an educated and
influential business man to inquire after the way of salvation. And
110 Selbys’
111 Letters
call to ministry and Nigeria, written for this history.
to supporters, by Winston Adams, November 1963 and January 1964.
THOSE WHO SERVED
then for such an individual to make a sincere and genuine decision
for Christ, can only be described as the miracle of conversion.
Just after our return to the field, I was introduced to a certain
Muslim, by name of Mr Lahan who is sales manager of a large office
equipment firm here in Kano. During the riots of 1966, what he
saw and what he experienced activated his thinking. He had never
been through anything that made death so real to him. Having had
contact with Christian missions during his youth, he began to recall
the message of salvation with the promise of life after death.
He began comparing the Christian teaching with his own religion of
Islam. The utter futility and emptiness of Islam, with all its insecurity,
suddenly dawned on him. When he saw the utter disregard for life
that was shown during these tragic months of 1966, he became
acutely aware of his own need. This was how he unfolded his story
to me that Islam had nothing to offer him, causing him one morning
to come to my office, full of concern and inquiry.
He was without hope, and felt completely lost. He did not however,
decide then and there to accept Christ. Instead he asked for literature
that would help him in his seeking after the answer to his need.
This was given him and his cause brought to the attention of our
missionaries, and prayer was made on his behalf. Frequent visits to
my office, enabled us to engage in further discussion concerning the
necessity of new birth, and I was able to discuss the consequences of
him taking such a step. Little did I realize how much preparation the
Holy Spirit had been doing in his heart!
I had to make a trip to Jos. Whilst in Jos, Biba Speering, who
incidentally is 67, and who works with me in the bookshop, received
a telephone call from Mr Lahan. When he learned I was absent, he
asked her whether or not she would like to give me a message, “Tell
him,” he said, “that I have decided to become a Christian!” Biba
later said that’s one phone message she’d never forget!
Later he came to the office, and asked about a Bible. I had a
Schofield reference Bible which I had won in a Bible quiz when
still in Sunday School, but since this was such a unique request, I
felt constrained to give him this personal trophy. Immediately he
received it he went home to his wife and showed her his possession.
I’ve often wondered what effect our bookshop ministry is having
among these people. So when I learned that the booklet “Islam
and Christianity”, a copy of which I had given to Mr Lahan, was
the medium through which God spoke to him, I was once again
95
96
encouraged by the fact that God does use and is using the printed
page to bring men to Himself.
God knows how much I need this encouragement, too; I become
very involved at times with the administration and supervision of
Kano Bookshop and our three branches with all the problems of
finding committed staff.112
When the bookshops were handed over to ECWA, Winston taught Religious
Knowledge, first in Kano, then in Katsina. After that he went to Roni Boys’
School where he was in administration. When he got sick the doctors never
found out the exact problem. They thought he had cancer, but this proved
incorrect. He was unconscious when he was sent for treatment to London,
England, and died there.113
anotHEr storY FroM Kano
Recently a young man in one of our teacher training colleges sold
about 400 dollars worth of Christian literature during his vacation
of seven weeks. His sales included the African Challenge, Moody
Colportage books and a great number of English, Hausa, Ibo and
Yoruba Bibles. His commission helped pay his expenses for the
new term at college. How we wish that we had many more young
men as eager as this one to help get the Word into the hands of the
multitudes.114
The Nigerians have a custom of giving each “white person” a name that
describes his/her character. Alan Rigby from the UK covered for the Adams’
furlough in 1966-’67. Alan enjoyed moving around town and the staff thought
he was not in the office very much, so they named him “Mai zafin wando”,
which means “the owner of fire in his pants.”
ISOBEL KENNISON
Isobel Kennison, from the USA, was branch manager at
Gusau when Trevor and Mildred were in Jos Bookshop.
Bringing all the SIM Bookshops under central
management was discussed in SIM Council. For this to
take place we needed more help so Isobel came from
Gusau to talk about this new direction. Isobel was in
agreement and transferred to Jos, accepting the task of
branch supervisor for the nine branch bookshops in the
Middle belt and North West under Jos Bookshop.
Isobel Kennison
112 Letters
to supporters by Winston Adams.
supplied by Mary Ellen Adams, SIM Sebring, 4 April 2008.
114 Letters to supporters by Winston Adams.
113 Information
THOSE WHO SERVED
97
Isobel drove a new Opel Caravan visiting and advising the nine branch
managers in her area. She stayed several days with each manager checking
inventory, suggesting improvements and encouraging each one personally.
For overnight stops she either stayed at mission stations or at government rest
houses on her own. Often she was on the road for several weeks at a time.
It was very hot - and there was no air conditioning. Isobel was a congenial
and considerate person to work with, and no one can remember her ever
complaining. She put her full energy in her ministry for the Lord.115
MARION KLIPPERT
Marion Klippert was a gracious woman whose love for the Lord was evident
in her life and ministry. She had been working among the Nupe people at
Pategi before going to Jos to establish the Mail Order Department as part of
the bookshop ministry. Our 16 bookmobiles were reaching out to areas where
there were no bookshops. High numbers of elementary school graduates who
could read and wanted books and literature found it was not available. Letters
began arriving at the Jos Bookshop asking for books. This was the need which
motivated us to begin a Mail Order Department. Marion was the Lord’s choice
to begin developing this work, sending books all over Nigeria and Africa to
people who longed to read.
Moody Press supplied their “Moody Books” and in a short time we had
large shipments arriving from Chicago. Moody told us that SIM was the largest
customer for their specially priced Moody Books, retailing at $0.39. Under
Marion’s direction this literature outreach was blessed of God. She had a godly
rapport and influence on the young Nigerian men with whom she worked.
As previously commented, the director of China Inland Mission (now
OMF) Art Glasser, once told Trevor Ardill that CIM taught the Chinese to
read, but the Communists brought their books and magazines for the literate.
In bookshops we asked the Lord to help us facilitate the supply of Christian
literature to the literate young people in Nigeria. The Lord answered and under
Marion the Mail Order Department became an important part of His answer.
116
LAURA BEST
Laura Best came to Jos Bookshop from Kano. Her work there included
supervision of the five stock rooms out of which supplies were sent to all the
branches in Nigeria. Shipping time from the US and the United Kingdom was
six months. To keep supplies available, orders were placed at least six months in
advance. We developed an inventory control system which helped enormously.
115Information
116Information
supplied by Trevor Ardill, San Diego, California, January 2008.
from Trevor Ardill, San Diego, California, January 2008.
98
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Laura had a positive Christian influence on the Nigerians working in the
bookshop.
In addition to her work in the bookshop Laura had a burden for the children
whose parents were in the Nigerian Police Barracks. She arranged classes where
hundreds of children met regularly while Laura taught them Bible lessons. The
Lord gave Laura a very sweet temperament which made working together a
never-to-be-forgotten blessing.117
MARGUERITE COCKER
Marguerite was looking after accounts in the Business Department in Ilorin
and for a short time was manager of the bookshop. After her time in Ilorin in
1961-62 and possibly home leave, she went to Jos Bookshop for a few months.
During her time in Ilorin the following incident took place:
Late one evening she went down to ensure that all doors were properly
locked. To her surprise the padlock on the front door was unlocked and
hanging there. She could hear noises inside, so padlocked the door. Then she
called “Who is there?” and a voice came from inside saying, “I be ‘tief’ man”
(thief). The man was kept inside until the police came and arrested him.118
PHIL OSBOURNE
Phil came from Britain to work with the Railways. He fell in love with SIM
missionary Mary Lagomarsino, went back to the UK to Bible school, and
returned to Nigeria and married. Phil’s work in Nigeria was in literature, first
in bookshops and then as director of a newly formed Publishing Department,
renamed SIM Literature Department, where he guided all SIM printing and
publishing.
Phil was manager of Jos Bookshop and its branches 1950-1952. The SIM
administration in Jos appointed Trevor Ardill to this position after he returned
from Northern Ireland when his daughter had become seriously ill. Phil
remained in the bookshops for a time doing the ordering, but transferred to Jos
Colportage in 1954-56. In 1956 the Osbournes moved to Kaduna, where Phil
built the Bookshop in 1957, and managed it until 1959.
With the development of the literature and publishing work of SIM outside
the bookshop, the need was felt for a body to be formed to consolidate and
guide this effort and so in 1959 SIMLIT was established. Phil Osbourne
became director and served in this position until he left Nigeria.
All publications that SIM ever published came under SIMLIT. These
included many still in print as well as new publications being developed. These
include Kakaki, the forerunner of Vernacular Illustrated Publications (VIP);
Sunday school material; and Hausa and Yoruba hymn books.119
117Information
from Trevor Ardill, San Diego, California, January 2008.
was Vern Hurlbert who brought that story again to mind.
119Drawn from various Literature committee minutes and personal knowledge of the author.
118 It
tHose WHo serVeD
99
VINCE LOHNES
Vince took over the Kaduna Bookshop from Phil Osbourne when he was
transferred to Jos; he was there for one year until he left on furlough in mid-1960.
OTHER MANAGERS 1954–1974
Laura Collar was the manager for 12-15 months when she handed over for a
few months to Jake Eitzen, who held the fort until John Pickett took over in
September 1961. Pickett managed the bookshop, but also taught Christian
Religious Knowledge (CRK) in some colleges. Laura Collar left to take up work
with an orphanage-type ministry in Israel. John Pickett handed the bookshop
to Ira McKie in May of 1963 enabling him to give his full time to CRK. Ira
was manager of the Kaduna Bookshop from 1963-1970. Alistair Bradley who
succeeded him handed the position over to Iliya Majam in 1974.120
JOHN PICKETT
John and Brigitta were in Nigeria for four years, initially for a few months in
Lagos at Challenge, then on to Jos Bookshop as accountant. They eventually
moved to Kaduna Bookshop for one year in about December 1961 until the
McKies came back from furlough in May 1963. From that time until they left
for home in the UK, they taught Religious Knowledge in various colleges in
Kaduna. John was a trained accountant, but had been a pastor before leaving
the UK. He was happiest when teaching the Word of God.121
JIM MASON
On 29 May 1957, I left Toronto for
Montreal to board the Empress of
Scotland to sail to Liverpool. After
six weeks visiting relatives in the UK,
I boarded the MV Aureol - the “mail
boat” to Lagos, Nigeria.
It was an exciting trip, and the
farther south we sailed, the more
the ocean became like a large
vat of Parker blue ink. En route
MV Aureol - trip to Nigeria 1957, Mr & Mrs Cairns
the ship stopped at the Canary
of Pategi foreground Jim Mason background
Islands; Freetown, Sierra Leone and
Takoradi, Ghana, before reaching
Lagos two days later on 10 July. Folks from African Challenge met me and after
I had collected my luggage and passed through customs, we were on our way
to Challenge compound about ten miles away.
120 Evie
121 John
Lohnes, SIM Sebring, January 2008.
Picket on telephone conversation, January 2008.
100
My first home in Nigeria was a trailer that would sleep six people. It had been
given to Shirley Barrows (sister to
Cliff Barrows of Billy Graham fame)
who did not want it, but a supporter
in California insisted so it came to
Nigeria. The reason it was in Lagos
and not up-country where Shirley
was located was that the curve on
the road north at the Jebba railroad/
Jim Mason's First Home in Nigeria
road bridge would not allow this
long trailer to pass. It was returned
to Lagos and provided housing on the Challenge compound. Later it was
moved to Yaba for the same purpose – extra accommodation.
By the end of July, I was involved
in Challenge distribution. I had been
assigned to distribute in Lagos and the
surrounding area as far north as Abeokuta.
To learn some of the Yoruba greetings I
went to language school at Oro Agor for
October/November. Upon returning to
Lagos I learned that Challenge had totally
revamped their distribution. Instead of
a wife offered near Benin 1957
missionaries in cars they started employing
Nigerians on motorbikes. So I went to Hausa language school in Kano from
December 1957 to May 1958.
I recall one day thinking about the things I did not want in my stationing:
– To be a lone single on a station,
– To have anything to do with accounts,
– To go to Sokoto province.
I got all three in my first stationing! My assignment was to Gusau in Sokoto
province, to manage the bookshop and Business Department, which meant two
trial balances each month. Being stationed with Roy and Gertrude Hirons
meant I was the lone single. Chris Oswold, who had taken over from Isobel
Kennison, was going home on leave, but we had a short time for handover. A
new house was being built and I was able
to move in. From my time in Gusau, three
incidents stand out for me.
During the rainy season, there can be
huge storms and great winds. One night
I was at Roy and Gertrude Hirons’ for
supper and on my way home went out the
back door. The wind was very strong and
as I was trying to close the door, it was
Amos in Gusau Bookshop
THOSE WHO SERVED
101
blown out of my hand and taken right off its hinges. Later, and I am not sure
whether it was the same night, but in the middle of the night the wind was so
strong that the roof was blown off my new house.
The third occasion was when Ira and Isobel McKie came down from
Amanawa. They gave me some letters to post and I asked one of the lads
working on the compound to go the post office. In Hausa I said, “Tafi gidan
waya, ka sa littatafai cikin rami a gidan waya” – Go to the post office and
put these letters in the hole at the post office. He misunderstood my Hausa.
Somewhat confused he went and put the letters in the Gidan Baya – the toilet.
He had enough doubt about the correctness of what I said, so he asked Ira
McKie. They went to the Gidan Baya which fortunately, had been emptied
recently and was dry, so the letters were retrieved and mailed properly at the
post office. It must be said the letters had no marks on them.
During my 18 months in Gusau, six months were spent relieving for Wally
Braband at the Sokoto Bookshop and Business Department. I had the use of
Wally’s motorbike, and on Friday evenings would go out to Amanawa, the
leprosarium ten miles on the road south to Gusau. Ira and Isobel McKie, in
charge of the leprosarium, were from Scotland, and though born in Canada, I
was brought up in Scotland, so the usual fare on Friday evening was fish and
chips - the backbone of the British nation.
All married couples are concerned when they see a single fellow, so Ira and
Isobel said they would “help you find a very nice girl who will make a good
wife for you.” I said thank you very much, but I will find my own girl and I
did; I found Leona Johnson who had actually been their bridesmaid.
In December 1959 I was transferred from Gusau to Ilorin to take over the
bookshops from Mary Anderson who was going on leave and did not want to
return to bookshops. I was there for 18 months.
Nigeria gained Independence on 1 October 1960. To celebrate, the
government had a three week Trade Fair on Victoria Island, Lagos, and I was
asked to assist in staffing the SIM/ECWA stand. This was when I met Leona
Johnson. Sometime later she was planting flowers when I asked her to go out
with me. She said that she nearly fell into the hole she was digging for the
flowers. A few weeks later I was asked to go to Lagos and relieve Vern Hurlbert
in the bookshop. He was going with his family to Miango on holiday. During
this time Leona and I became engaged. This was November 1960 and the
wedding date was set for May 1961.
One evening Leona and I went out to the beach at Victoria Island. Sitting
on the beach I asked her if she would marry me and I gave her the ring. The
tide was coming in and not wanting to get her dress wet she quickly said,
“Yes!” Then when we got back to the Challenge compound we met Lorna
Fuller and Rae Gourlay and we said, “Why don’t you come over to Leona’s and
we’ll have hot chocolate.” At 9pm, these ladies came in the door wearing
102
sunglasses (it was always dark at 6pm). Of course, they wanted to see the ring. I
still do not know how they even knew or suspected anything!
In SIM you ask permission
before becoming engaged.
When the telegram asking
permission reached SIM Jos
– the Council meeting was
in session. Bill Crouch, the
director, came into the meeting
at 2pm that afternoon and said,
“Another man has fallen.” So
we had our permission. The
wedding was 13 May 1961 with
Jim & Leona on Wedding Day 13 May 1961
Harold Fuller tying the knot and
James Bolarin, assistant editor of
African Challenge, giving a message.
We were asked if we would be willing to go home on leave after the
wedding, and be back in time to relieve for Trevor Ardill the general manager
of the bookshops. The Ardills would be on leave 18 months, allowing them to
secure their American citizenship.
On returning to Jos there was a short overlap with Trevor. Vic Stuart was my
deputy. Looking after the branch bookshops was Isobel Kennison with Laura
Best as secretary and caring for orders. In 1963 the bookshops were in Sokoto,
Gusau, Katsina, Kano, Kaduna, Ilorin and Lagos. Jos was only responsible for
its nine branches, plus some railway kiosks.
SIM Publications became SIMLIT. Leona worked there on the VIP which
followed on from Kakaki which was discontinued. VIPs were a 16-page tract
that sold for a penny. One issue was on health and the next was on a Scripture
story such as Elijah; the end-of-year issue, on “Flags of Africa” or “Leaders of
Africa”. VIPs built up to the place where some print orders were in excess of
1,000,000122 every four months. At the peak, printing was done in up to 20
languages and distributed to Nigeria, francophone West Africa, Congo, Sudan,
Cameroon and Chad.
Printing was done at Niger-Challenge Press in Lagos. When I was there
from October 1963, it was the job of the bookshop to distribute VIPs going by
airfreight on the various airlines. The others were shipped by SIMAIR, SIM’s
own planes. Printing and shipping costs increased until printing alone was more
than one penny. With time, the VIP programme was too expensive to operate,
but it had lasted 13-14 years.
In October 1963 we were transferred to Lagos, taking over from Vern
Hurlbert who went on leave with his family, and then transferred to Enugu
122 See
Appendix 2 from Ash Tuck at Niger Challenge press.
103
tHose WHo serVeD
when they returned. We moved into the bookshop house and were there for
the next thirteen years. We truly enjoyed our time there. Heather was born in
Wetaskiwin Alberta, John in September 1963 in Jos, and Glenn was born in Jos
in August 1965.
Challenge compound was a six and a half acre plot with the Niger-Challenge
Press, the bookshops and the Mushin Church bordering Agege Motor Road.
The residential compound with senior Nigerian staff was at the back. The
missionaries were New Zealanders, Canadians and Americans, approximately
one third from each country. 26 missionaries worked for Challenge or the Press
while Leona was with VIP (part of SIMLIT) and I was with the bookshop.
SIM Lagos had three bookshops; one
on the Challenge Compound at Mushin,
one in central Lagos on the main street,
and the third in Apapa in a shopping area.
A bookshop was run in Ibadan for several
years, but the shop was closed in the
mid-1960s when the owners dramatically
increased the rent.
Apapa Bookshop
Gordon Stanley was asked to take over
from Vic Stuart and was charged with
moving the bookshops toward indigenisation and ownership by the Church
(ECWA). This meant forming a Nigerian-registered company called ECWA
Productions Limited. Gordon became the managing director in Jos, and I
became general manager based in Lagos. For me this meant perhaps a little
more than two years until Sam Kolo, a Nupe (the tribe the first missionaries
lived among at Pategi in 1901), was ready to take leadership as general
manager. This was April 1975.
At the November 1975 SIM Council meeting in Jos, I was asked by Virgil
Kleinsasser, district superintendent in Ghana, if I would come to Ghana and
take charge of the Ghana bookshops. In January 1976 we went to Accra to
look for a house to rent. We were not successful so returned to Nigeria and
went on leave. Our children at Kent Academy in Miango followed on the SIM
charter flight under the care of Cal and Barb Balisky weeks later.
We returned in September 1976 and after seeing the children settled in
school, packed and moved to Ghana. On 24 September we drove to Ghana
with the Challenge truck loaded with our goods.
DVBS Challenge Lagos
DVBS Parents attend
DVBS Handiwork
104
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Experiences in Ghana will be covered in the Literature Story for Ghana. I
consider everything experienced in Nigeria as a preparation for going to Ghana
and managing Challenge Enterprises Ghana. We loved both Nigeria and Ghana,
developing close relationships with a wide range of people - many of whom
became close friends.
Like all missionaries in Nigeria we had been involved in activities outside
our normal mission and church work. For Leona it was Sunday School at both
the army barracks and the Sunday afternoon service at the SIM guest house
in Yaba, running the summer DVBS on the Challenge compound to which
many children came from the army barracks, and some whose parents were
in teaching colleges or in commerce. When Bill Todd could not make it to
the Police College, I would speak at the service on Sunday evenings, finally
taking responsibility for the service when Bill left Nigeria. I also took services
in the prison. This was done in both Jos and Lagos. Along with this were
opportunities for preaching in various churches in the city.
CHAPTER 7
LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
(SIMLIT)
B
eginning in 1955 there was a growing sense that our publishing ought
to be brought under the name of SIM. Correspondence took place
between Ray Davis, West Africa Director, and Phil Osbourne who had
built and opened the Kaduna Bookshop. Phil was asked to come to Jos and
head up the new SIM Publication Department. Within a couple of years it was
decided it should be called SIMLIT.
Until SIMLIT, publishing had been on an ad hoc basis. Though SIM
provided funding for some publications, others had to find their own financing.
Under the new rules, any missionary desirous of printing a book or tract had to
pass it through the appropriate Literature Committee. If the committee agreed
it was brought to SIMLIT, and if accepted, SIM would be responsible for
funding.
At the first meeting to organize SIMLIT on 28 April 1958, Mr Davis
expressed:
In the past projects have been initiated and carried through to the
public by individuals, Niger Press, bookshops, and individuals at
home. At times this was very inefficient and a waste of time and
money, often leading to duplication of material. This committee is
for the purpose of advising the administration in matters pertaining
to publications.123
It was further stated that publications must be channelled through language
committees and then onward to SIMLIT. The literature committees that
operated were: Hausa, Yoruba, Igbirra, Nupe, English, Ibo, Ajamin Hausa
(Arabic Script), Gbagyi (Gbari), francophone Areas, French, Gourma and
Bariba.
The responsibility of these committees was to:
• Be cognizant of Christian literature published in the language;
• Keep up-to-date on development of orthography of the language;
123Minutes
of the Publications Advisory Committee 28 April 1959, SIM Archives box 08.
106
Literature Outreach in Nigeria • Assess value of manuscripts presented in the language;
• Ascertain the literature needs in the language, especially in regard
to the churches;
• Encourage indigenous writers in the language;
• Check all manuscripts before passing to Literature Secretary;
• Proof-read the printers proofs.124
The Literature Secretary had responsibilities similar to those of any publishing
house, ensuring a flow of material coming from the committees, interaction
with the printers, and ensuring that distribution was taking place. This was
largely done through the bookshops, but in time SIMLIT found other ways of
distributing, so bookshop distribution was no longer exclusive.
It might be helpful to think on the task of the Literature Secretary as:
• Production – creative aspects of the programme, linguistics,
translation, literacy, production of manuscripts, layout and art.
• Publication – editing, preparation of manuscripts for the press.
• Distribution – circulation and distribution of literature produced
through sales outlets available to the mission and church.125
The Literature Secretary also held training courses for writers, working with the
church for the production of relevant Sunday School material. This was begun
under SIMLIT, but eventually came under ELFON (Evangelical Literature
Fellowship of Nigeria) which was a cooperative body of different missions
aiming to accomplish the same thing. Baraka Press in Kaduna was responsible
for the distribution of material produced.
Until Phil Osbourne was able to come to Jos, Jim Jacobson acted as
Literature Secretary as confirmed by this note in 4 August 1959 from
the Minutes of the Publications Advisory Committee: “The committee
unanimously gave Mr Jacobson a vote of thanks for the fine work that he has
done as Acting Literature Secretary.”
In March 1961 the publications listed below had been confirmed by the
SIMLIT Committee and were currently at the press:
Bariba, Primer and Yusuf
Dompago, Catechism and Revised Primer
Gourma, Primers, Book I and Book II
Pila, Primer and Catechism
French, Catechism
Nupe, Scripture Union Notes
Ibo tract, Gaba Ya ‘Ki Gangami & Joshua
Igbirra, 3,000 Gospels of John
Kanuri tracts, Ngo Alnishirramnen,
Both Roman and Ajemi Script
124Minutes
125Ibid.
Way of Salvation – Ajemi Script
English:
20,000 The Best Thing in Life
10,000 Why Mr Spider Has Such a Tiny Waist
15,000 How to Study the Bible
Yoruba:
5,000 Ola pe Ju
5,000 What the Bible Says about
Drinking
5,000 Concordances
10,000 Omi Omi
10,000 Salvation
10,000 Two Sides to Every Question
5,000 Yoruba Catechism
2,000 Bible Study Book
2,000 each of four Labybird Books
Hausa:
3,000 Koyad da Maganar
2,000 24 Bible Stories
10,000 Labarin Bulus
10,000 Mu Raka M. Dauda Haruna Kwoi
2,000 Mu Rera Ratio
1,000 Mafarin Ceto
5,000 Soja da Zakauna Biyu
3,000 Esta da Maryamu
1,000 Hanya Guda ‘Daya
2,000 Tambayoyi a Kan Almasihu
Macecin Duniya
Future work approved: the following books were recommended for the
Literature Committee’s continued work:
Bariba:
Song Book
Revision of Four Gospels
Kanuri:
Gospel of John Ajemi
Heart of Man
English Tracts:
Old and New Nature
Temptation
Prayer
107
108
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Rules for Young People
Hausa:
Littafin Aiki a Kan Bishara Fudu Books I & II
Kowa ya koyi Littafi Mai Tsarki
Stirrett of the Sudan
Koya da Maganar Gaskiya Book II
Labarin Yakin Ran Mutum
Aure da Gida
Matakala
Here’s How
Bayannin Littafi Mai Tsarki Book I & II
Dawuda Livingstone
Wace Rana
Haske a Kan Hanya
Fassarar – Afisawa
Tambayoyi – Acts to Revelation
Hausa Scripture Atlas
There was usually more to be printed than there was money to cover the
costs.126
NLFA – NEW LIFE FOR ALL
In 1963 Gerry Swank, Principal of SIM’s Kagoro Bible College, heard about
the “Evangelism in Depth” programme operating in South America. He was so
impressed he travelled to South America to see firsthand how the programme
worked. He was deeply awed and returned to Nigeria to help get this
evangelistic outreach operating in Nigeria.
SIM released Gerry to serve as general secretary for the work; SUM released
Wilf Bellamy, and UMS released Willis Hunking. At the first meeting they
wondered what the programme should be called. “Evangelism in Depth”
translates into the Hausa language as “Evangelism in a Big Hole”. It was Pastor
Yakubu Yako who asked, “Is this for everybody? Do we go to the Military?”
And he was told, “Yes!” “Then it is New Life for All.”
The basic idea was to choose an area of the country and approach the
churches. Then those within the churches who wanted to participate had nine
months of training in evangelism. This ensured they fully understood what it
meant to know Christ as Saviour and they learned how to communicate the
Gospel. Groups of six to eight within a church were formed to meet for prayer
each morning. When the group grew above the six to eight, they formed a new
group. Much use was made of literature, both in training and in distribution
during the six-month-long period of evangelism.
126Minutes
109
NLFA made massive use of literature, some supplied by Scripture Gift
Mission, some printed at the UMS Press and most printed at Niger-Challenge
Press. The figures would run into millions of pieces of literature between
training materials, that used in witnessing and the tracts.
The first area chosen was Zaria:
Surely it is more than mere coincidence that this new outreach of the
Gospel in the Zaria area is taking place in 1964 - just 70 years after
the death of Walter Gowans, one of the first three SIM pioneers, in
that very district!127
After one district was covered they moved on to another, sometimes widely
separated, and the effect upon the church was dramatic. First of all the people
trained grew personally in their faith and became a solid base of strong faithful
witnessing Christians within their own church. As they went out witnessing mostly on weekends - the church growth in the area of operation ranged from
50-60% annually for a period of six to seven years.
VERNACULAR ILLUSTRATED PUBLICATIONS (VIPs)
The Hausa church was growing rapidly in the late 1940s. It was then that
Mrs Richmond, with SUM (Sudan United Mission), was asked to produce a
bi-monthly inter-church magazine entitled Labarin Ekklesiya or “News of the
Church”. SIMer Ruth Jacobson was on the committee working on the paper.
In 1953 Ruth was asked to succeed Mrs Richmond. At that time the circulation
was 2,000.
A few months into the work, Ruth wrote in November 1953:
I love my new job as Editor of the Labarin Ekklesiya, the monthly
magazine printed in Hausa. I just revel in it and would greatly
appreciate your prayers that great wisdom may be given in the
preparation...I want to include as many articles and news items by
Nigerians...as possible...transcribing marvellous messages by our
wonderful Kagoro Chief. He’s been giving a series on “Giving.” Talk
about a thrill in listening to a Spirit-taught man!128
Within Labarin Ekklesiya was a quiz which 500 readers returned. In February
1957 the name was changed from Labarin Ekklesiya to Kakaki. (The Kakaki is
a six-foot long trumpet used to announce the comings and goings of the chiefs.
In those days it was used to announce the radio news, with a lone trumpeter
sitting on a camel also announcing the arrival of planes at Kano airport.) The
first issue was in the spring of 1957; by now it had a changed format with fewer
articles but larger type.
127Sudan
Witness 1964, page 35.
from letters home, Ruth Jacobson, these will be placed in SIM Archives.
128Information
110
When Ruth and Jim Jacobson went on leave in 1957 and Ernie Maxwell
took over, 18,000 copies of Kakaki were printed. With the help of earnest sales
people, Nigerians and missionaries, they were distributed.129
In 1958, SIM Council in Nigeria decided that Niger-Press should move to
Lagos and join forces and presses with African Challenge. Both needed new
equipment, and it made sense to amalgamate the two presses for increased
effectiveness. At the same time SIM considered whether the Kakaki office
should be moved to Lagos, but that would isolate it from the Hausa-speaking
people for whom Kakaki was prepared. The final decision was to drop Kakaki
and launch a new programme of VIPs.
The Jacobsons learned of this decision when they returned from furlough
in 1958. Based in Jos, Ruth was editor of the VIPs. The first issue ‘Duba Dai’
(Look Here) was printed in December 1959 in four languages: Hausa, Ajemi,
English and Yoruba. Ruth gives two examples of fruit from the June 1960 VIP:
A decision form had been sent in from a Moslem from Bornu
Province, where the Gospel has more restriction than anywhere. “We
hadn’t heard from him for some time and wondered what his state
was. We wrote before because he said he would like to go to Bible
School. We suggested he contact the Tofa Bible School, near Kano.
Yesterday we got a letter saying he wrote to Tofa, but there would
not be a new class this year, but they gave him the name of Zalanga
Bible School which may even be nearer to him...He asks earnestly for
more books to study and more letters to encourage him, so the
prospects look good. Folks at home can hardly realize what it costs a
Moslem to step out wholeheartedly for the Lord. Ostracism, hatred,
even revenge are all hazards.”
This week brought another letter
from a Moslem in Minna, who says
“he has set his eye upon the Jesus
way” and he wants all the literature
he can get in Ajemi script so that he
can refute the arguments of those
to whom he has been speaking. It is
really amazing… (March 7 1961).130
Nigerian Independence was 1 October
1960. Ruth produced a special edition
format VIP 14 x 9.5 inches – “A Salute To Independence”, greatly aided by
a Challenge artist, Jenny Weller, designing and doing graphics. 420,000 were
printed in 12 languages. Lofty Grimshaw speaks of the distribution of that VIP:
Jenny Weller
129 Information
130 Ibid.
111
LiterAture DePArtMent (siMLit)
My ministry was preaching and sharing the Gospel at the mining
camps in the north, but now and again, because of friends I knew
down in Enugu and other places, I would take off and spend a
couple of weeks down country, selling books. I had a rack that I
could fix on the side of my car. It was slotted with different Moody
Books and booklets.
I went from Jos to Onitsha with the
Independence VIPs. And without me doing
anything, just standing there holding the VIP,
I was constantly surrounded and having to go
back to the car and get more and more, at times
almost manhandled by the people to get the
Independence VIP. I simply stood there right
up until about eleven o’clock at night. I had
hardly any time to eat or do anything at all.
I was so sensitive to the Holy Spirit working
through me. That was, up to that point, one of
the most glorious days I’d had in my life.131
Lofty Grimshaw
The next October 1 another special sized edition
– A Salute to Progress was printed. The print order was 500,000 in 20
languages. Then for the end of the year, a West-African Flags edition calendar
was published. The flags of West African nations were on one side of the
calendar, with the Prime Ministers of the Nigeria regions on the other. Valerie
Thompson, Challenge artist, worked on this VIP. In June 1961 the VIP was
entitled Living Hope and told the story of Abraham and Isaac - a story of real
interest to Muslims. An incident from that time shows how easily these VIPs
sold:
One of our missionaries took 5,000 of the June VIP on a trip last
week and he said he could have used lots more. At a gas station a
fellow bought 16 copies and wanted more. My friend said, “We’ll
stop on our way back.” Upon their return the fellow had his money
ready for 400 copies and took our address so he could order more.
Jim Jacobson and Phil Osbourne went down to the Eastern region
of Nigeria … the Challenge field representative had had to go on a
hurried furlough because of the illness of his child. He had ordered
30,000 copies of the Living Hope VIP... Jim and Phil went to sell
them. They sold them all in six days, plus a lot of other literature that
they had taken with them.132
131 Interview
with Lofty Grimshaw, in Toronto, August 2007.
132 Information
112
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Leona and I returned to Jos in April 1962. I was relieving for Trevor Ardill in
the bookshop and Leona assumed editing for VIPs as the Jacobsons went on
home leave. At the beginning, Ruth and SIM had been attempting to produce
four VIPs each year, but it was obviously too much concentrated work, so it
was reduced to three issues each year. By 1965 the VIPs were reduced to the
calendar issue, then a Bible story, and the following year a health issue.
The full colour calendar edition was the large format of 14 x 9.5 inches. The
calendar was in the middle, surrounded by flags of the different nations. The
next year it might be Leaders of Africa. One year there was a coup in one small
country and we were hoping it wouldn’t affect VIP sales. We found that since
it was a small country it made no difference. It was a bit risky to do leaders
because sometimes they changed so quickly. There was no question that a
colourful issue on quality paper always sold out. Throughout the year, as you
moved around in different offices, you would find the VIP hanging on the wall.
Apart from the calendar VIPs the titles of some of the others produced were:
Elijah, Moses, Abraham, Water and Life, How to Have a Healthy Body. Some
were in a portrait format of 7” x 4” or landscape 5.5” x 4”. The Bible stories
were just that, telling the story of Elijah or Moses or whoever was chosen,
including a Gospel message. The health issues gave valuable information
on health or food while incorporating Scripture. The calendar edition had
pertinent Scripture verses at the top and between the months.
The idea behind the VIP was to sell them at “one penny” and have a large
enough printing to allow us to do that. On numerous occasions the print run
was over 500,000 in up to 20 languages. Later printing numbers exceeded
1,000,000133, 134 They were shipped to countries where the people had
seen the VIP and were anxious to participate in the programme and do the
translation. Countries participating in the local languages were Congo, Sudan,
Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Chad, and other surrounding
francophone countries.
Eventually however, with the increase in the cost of printing it became more
than one penny. Thus, in the early 1970s, the VIP programme came to an end.
The first issue had been in 1959 and records show that we were still producing
in 1972 and perhaps in 1973. The VIPs had a good run of 13 years.
In writing this history I am impressed with the various programmes that
began and after a period of time ceased. It can be said people within SIM saw
an opportunity, they took it, and “rode the wave” as long as it was possible.
In the VIP programme the artist had a key responsibility. Without attractive
illustrations and good use of colour the VIPs would not sell. With attractive
artwork and an interesting title the VIPs sold themselves! Artists Jenny Weller,
133Administrative
134Information
Set-up of the Literature Department 1970/71.
from Ash Tuck Appendix 2
113
Valerie Thompson Onayemi, Margie Cross and Charles Ohu designed the
various VIPs.
Leona Mason, in correspondence home in March 1969, reported:
The English edition of Water of
Life VIP is ready for the press.
It will take a great deal of work
to get all the vernaculars to
the same place. Jim plans to
take 100,000 each of English
and Yoruba; that means half
the print order will be sold in
Lagos area. The Abraham VIP
is nearly sold out. In the four
Bookcycles at Mushin Bookshop
months it has been on sale we
have had 169 enquiries from
the English alone. There isn’t an English Leaders of Africa calendar
to be bought anywhere! I am looking forward to getting behind a
typewriter and pounding out the story of Moses for the next VIP.
IGBAJA CORRESPONDENCE COURSES
In 1953, when Bible correspondence work was established at Igbaja Bible
College, Principal Al Classen heard how successful correspondence courses had
been for the cults and promised the Lord that as soon as he got back to Igbaja
he would see Bible correspondence courses started. While on home leave in
the early 1950s, Al Classen met Keith L Brooks of the Bible Institute of Los
Angeles (BIOLA) who gave permission to simplify any of his material for use in
correspondence courses. The first course was Basic Bible Introduction, the Gospel
of St John and Prophecy. The school grew rapidly, and by 1962 there were nine
courses being sent out to students. One student wrote:
“When I received the letter with the Bible course on How to Find
Life, I was as happy as if Jesus Himself was coming to have supper at
my house.”
Another wrote, “For 10 years. I went to church, but did not know
God’s Word. Then I began taking courses from your Home Bible
Correspondence School. It was then as I began studying God’s Word
that light really came to me…Thank you for making these courses
possible.”135
In 1963 Don and Betty Hall came to Igbaja to head the Correspondence
Department and teach part time in the Bible College. Don simplified some
of the Emmaus courses written at a higher level. He wrote some courses
135 Sudan
Witness 1969, page 46.
114
Literature Outreach in Nigeria himself, and asked Bill Wright to write a course on marriage. Don wrote a
Sunday School Primer, and someone wrote on the book of Acts. As well as
being mentioned in African Challenge, Don put an advert in the main daily
newspaper in Nigeria - Daily Times - and they were cheerfully overwhelmed
with requests. When Don and Betty left the Correspondence Department,
there were twenty courses, enough to keep anyone involved for a long time.
Don recounts that time below:
During our first time at Igbaja, my full-time assignment was to be
director of the Bible Correspondence School and then to teach
part-time in the Bible College, but when I got there I found that
part-time was 20 hours a week of classroom contact. In the USA,
any professor who is asked to teach more than nine hours feels that
he’s being put upon and if he has 12 hours, he feels he’s definitely
overworked. Twelve hours of classroom contact equals many more
hours of preparation, grading of papers and record-keeping. I
found my teaching in the Bible College was really a full-time job
so I handed off being the actual day-to-day director of the Bible
Correspondence School to Betty who oversaw the work of the staff.
Betty did all of the donkey work, as the de facto manager. She
devised a follow-up system that kept virtually every student
going as an active student. That resulted in the enrolment of the
Correspondence School reaching record heights. But once a student
had taken all of the courses, we could expect enrolment to drop. We
therefore had to work hard at getting additional Emmaus courses
simplified, printed and new courses written.
We had two full-time employees and then every afternoon the
Christian work for eight college students was the grading of the
courses. That was their work assignment, which meant sitting
around a table marking courses - a lot easier than washing pots and
pans or cutting the grass with a “langa-langa” (a wide length of
metal banding fashioned with a hand grip to cut grass). Betty had
the day-to-day running of the correspondence school and I fitted
into the picture by getting people to produce new courses. We got
Bill Wright to prepare a course; it was called “Sex and Marriage,
Happy and Holy”. It should have been “Marriage and Sex, Happy
and Holy” but it was immensely popular and went through several
printings at Niger-Challenge Press, and we advertised it in the Daily
Times.
There was a little clip-out coupon and we’d tell readers to send us
one shilling in a postal order or stamps. We found that a lot of them
were sending us cancelled stamps but they got the course anyway.
As noted earlier, we were using Emmaus Bible School courses and
many of these were the advanced courses which we had to sell for
what we paid Emmaus. These were more expensive and the English
wasn’t simplified, but we had many courses that were…one was
called “What the Bible Teaches” and it went through printing after
printing. We had a Yoruba edition of it, too.
At one time we had 20,000 active students - an active student being
someone who was returning lessons with some degree of regularity.
We reached that high number of active students by Betty devising a
colour code. We painted paper clips different colours and we’d have,
say, red for December. Then we would know that three months from
then if we still had cards with red paper clips we needed to get out
a reminder letter saying, “We haven’t had a lesson from you for the
past three months.” So we kept a constant stream of reminders going
out, and that kept them from putting it aside and not finishing.
Because no one would ever sign up for another course if they felt
like a failure in doing the first course, we tried to keep them moving
toward completion. As soon as they were completed, we looked
at their record to see what they hadn’t taken and then we would
recommend another course for them and through that method of
reminder letters and follow-up with the next course we kept them
going. The high number of active students at one time was quite
remarkable for a correspondence ministry.
We learned many excellent techniques in running a Correspondence
Department by visiting “Back to the Bible” in Lincoln, Nebraska,
and seeing how they organized their ministry. After a while we ran
out of courses to recommend, which then required that we get to
work on simplifying additional Emmaus courses or writing some
courses from scratch. The one by Bill Wright was written from
scratch - “Sex and Marriage - Happy and Holy” and sold by the
thousands. As we say today, “It flew off the shelf.” We had one on
the book of Acts that was also written from scratch. I wrote one on
doing Sunday School work, called “Sunday School Primer”, that
enjoyed a good sales record and, we have reason to believe, resulted
in some Sunday Schools starting and others being on the road to
improvement. All went through several printings. So that’s how
literature and correspondence ministry all fit together.
During our next furlough I went on for a graduate degree and was
then sent back to Igbaja as a full-time instructor in the Bible College
and the Seminary. The Correspondence School was handed over to
another missionary who did an excellent job, but with new courses
not being continually added, the enrolment fell from its all-time
high.
115
116
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Bill Crouch, SIM Director, was one of the best friends the Bible
Correspondence School ever had. If I mentioned a need, Mr Crouch
would always somehow find the funds that were needed.136
Some of the courses that were added through the years were:
Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Luke, as well
as, Everyone Has a Psalm, Can We Know God?, and a new series by
R E Harlow who had been a missionary in the Congo. He produced
courses with a 1,000-word vocabulary and these were incorporated
into the list of courses. In 1969 Sudan Witness stated that nine
courses in the Yoruba language were available and about 400 were
being sent out monthly.
POCKET TESTAMENT LEAGUE
I am grateful to Dr Ian Hay, our former International Director, for the
following information on Pocket Testament League.
In October 1958 the Pocket Testament League came to Nigeria
with a vision for mass evangelism and Scripture distribution. SIM
and PTL cooperated. We provided land and they the funding to
build houses in what became the Niger Creek settlement in Jos. They lived in the houses and when they left, they became SIM
property. I recall discussions I participated in with Ray Davis, Bill
Crouch and PTL regarding their plans. We asked them what they
planned to do with anyone who responded to their preaching. They
said that wasn’t what they were there to do; they were to “preach the
Gospel”. So we worked out an agreement that SIM would help with
follow-up. Much of their preaching was going to be done in the
cities in the South where SIM had no contacts or churches. So we
agreed to set up a correspondence course for anyone who responded
at their meetings. Here are excerpts from some of our prayer letters
during this time:
October 25 1958, “You have no doubt heard of the Pocket
Testament League. These fellow missionaries have come to Nigeria
with a vision for mass evangelism and Scripture distribution. We
feel led of the Lord at this time to organize a correspondence course
to be sent out to those responding to the Gospel in their meetings. This is a tremendous task and we urgently need…your help. Three
months ago after a few meetings in four cities 2800 responded… With the plans of PTL for two years of meetings this will be greatly
magnified...We know you will be faithful in remembering us and our
mission in this increased labour which God has led us to undertake. 136Don
Hall, paper on time in SIM and interview, August 2007.
117
Pray for strength and ability to meet this challenge. Since none of
Ian’s other activities will be reduced, much of the burden of this
work will fall on his wife June...We have estimated that we can
produce this course of 24 lessons for about $1.00 for each applicant. We are going to give this free to all who apply and we are looking to
the Lord to supply this need...”
March 31 1959, “We wrote to you in October telling you of
our desire to open a correspondence course in order that those
responding to the campaigns of the Pocket Testament League might
have opportunity to study the Word and grow thereby. We are
happy to say that there are now well over 2000 enrolled in the course
and every day more are coming in. Some of the first ones are now
doing their last papers and soon will be receiving their certificates
and free New Testament. June is kept busy with this large project
and she is making every effort to write to each a personal letter in
order to help them to make sure of their salvation. You would be
thrilled to read some of the testimonies which come in. God is
working through this course in the book of John. We thank you so
much for praying for us.”
January 1, 1960, “In 1960 the ministry of the Bible
Correspondence Course has continued to increase. June is kept
busy with her two fine Nigerian clerks in processing all of the papers
which come in. There have been over 12,000 enrolled and about
2000 have completed the course and received their certificate and
New Testament. Many of those who have finished this simple course
in John have testified that the Lord has used it in their lives. They
have now gone on to take more advanced courses which are offered
by our seminary in Igbaja. Please pray that this work will continue
to be a fruitful means of service for the Lord.”
June 1961, “Praise! Correspondence Course continues full force-over 1,000 enrolled in the last two months--over 13,000 since the
beginning of the course.”137
Bill Crouch was a huge encouragement in all of this, as he was later with Don
and Betty Hall at the Igbaja Correspondence Courses throughout the 1960s.
When Ian and June went home on leave, they turned the correspondence
course work over to Doris Price. The correspondence courses later merged with
SIMLIT in Jos, and finally merged with the Correspondence School at Igbaja.
137Letter
from Dr Ian Hay, SIM International Director Emeritus, SIM Sebring, January 2008.
118
HAUSA BIBLE AS A LINGUA FRANCA AND SOCIALIZING
TOOL
In 1902 Dr Stirrett was a wealthy pharmacist who
owned a pharmacy and buildings in Toronto. When
the Lord convinced him to go to Africa, he applied
to SIM. The SIM Council in Toronto however
considered him too old at 37 and would not accept
him. He was so convinced God wanted him in
Nigeria that he sold his business and buildings and
gave the proceeds with some stock to the Mission
and told them he was going to Nigeria on his own.
Misunderstanding Stirrett’s intention, the Mission
held everything in trust until he came home on his
leave when he finally convinced them he was giving
Dr Stirrett
all to the work of the Mission.138
In his book Seven Sevens of Years Rowland Bingham tells a story that
indicates the kind of man Dr Stirrett was. His integrity was a lifelong
characteristic:
One odd circumstance in connection with selling his business is
worthy of mention. He circularized the whole area, in which his
drugstore was situated announcing that he was giving up his business
and stating that if at any time he had sold anything that was not
strictly as represented, he would gladly refund the money. I wish I
could obtain one of these circulars, with its Zaccheus-like offer, to
place in our mission annals.139
Dr Stirrett arrived in November 1902 having come out on his own. SIM wrote
ahead to Alex Banfield and told him he was to welcome Dr Andrew Stirrett,
whom they were accepting provisionally – to see how he would work out.
While Banfield was field leader, Dr. Stirrett began to learn Hausa and with E.
F. Rice, moved into the Kontagora emirate farther north, establishing a station
at Wushishi on the Kaduna River. Here he gained more facility in Hausa. This
was in November of 1904.
Sometime between 1908 and 1910 the Bible Society wanted missions in
Northern Nigeria to form a committee to work on a Hausa translation. Dr
Stirrett became SIM’s representative and a key member of the Hausa Bible
Committee.
Dr Stirrett was in Nigeria until the Lord called him home 46 years later.
Dr Stirrett must have moved back to Pategi, because he was there alone when
Tommy Titcombe arrived in 1908. Tommy said of Dr Stirrett:
138 Rowland
Bingham, Seven Sevens of Years and a Jubilee, Evangelical Publishers, Toronto, 1943,
pages 33-34.
139 Ibid., page 34.
119
I never met a more faithful man with a greater burden for the souls
of the people to whom God had sent him. Every night after supper,
we would light a storm lantern and walk to the nearest Fulani camp.
There, in the midst of these nomadic cattle-herders, Dr Stirrett
shared the story of God’s love, using Hausa, the trade language
of the area. Week in and week out this was his life! Nothing else
mattered.140
One frequently told story of Dr Stirrett happened on a visit to Canada as
he was on a Toronto streetcar. Suddenly realizing he was at his destination,
he began to move through the crowded aisle begging in Hausa “Gafara,
Gafara dai”, meaning “Excuse, Excuse please,” with the “dai” intensifying his
request.141
When SIM missionaries moved north of the Niger River, they found the
Hausa language was used among the smaller tribes as a trade language. There
were many tribes and languages, and in the early years the missionaries were
stationed in different locations, with a group that spoke a different language.
Yusufu Turaki, in his History of SIM/ECWA 1893-1993 expresses it well:
The pioneering missionaries faced many great problems in the
mission field, such as Africa’s diseases, hostile environment,
scorching sun and heat, but the greatest of all was language barrier
and illiteracy. The missionary came to Africa to communicate the
Gospel by mouth and in print, but language barrier and illiteracy
were huge obstacles to be overcome.
Language studies became a must for every pioneering missionary.
This task was essential; otherwise it was impossible to communicate
the Gospel in Africa. For this reason, the pioneering missionaries
had to learn the difficult languages. A missionary needed a
communicative vehicle for reaching the mind of Africans. The first
few years of the pioneering missionaries were spent in overcoming
the language barrier and illiteracy. The language must be mastered
otherwise there was no basis of communication.
Besides learning the languages, the pioneering missionaries had to
reduce such languages to a written script. This took many years of
development, usage and general acceptance.
The Central Sudan (Nigeria) consisted of many languages and
dialects, and could be numbered at well over 300 languages (later
it was known to be 450 distinct languages). At that time, Hausa was
a trade language and the lingua franca in the Sudan and this factor
tremendously reduced communication difficulties.
140Sophie
141An
de la Haye, Tread Upon the Lion, SIM, Toronto Canada, 1974, pages 17-19.
incident SIM Old Timers love to recount.
120
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Until the 1930s SIM stations represented many languages of the
different tribes entered with the Gospel. 142
From 1902-1936:
1. Pategi station: Nupe, Kiadia, Kupa
2. Kpada station: Nupe, Kupa
3. Egbe station: Yagba (Yoruba)
4. Isanlu station: Yagba (Yoruba), Bunu
5. Mopa station: Yagba (Yoruba), Bunu
6. Oro Agor station: Igbomina
7. Igbaja station: Igbomina (Yoruba)
8. Wushishi station: Hausa, Nupe, Ponga, Bassa
9. Minna station: Hausa, Gbagyi
10. Kuta station: Gbagyi
11. Paiko station: Gbagyi, Gana- Gana, Hausa
12. Izom station: Gbagyi, Zuba
13. Diko station: Gbagyi, Zuba
14. Karu station: Gbagyi, Koro, Yeskwa
15. Yerwa station: Gbagyi, Kwoto, Bassa
16. Kwoi station: Jaba, Koro, Duya, Kagoma,
17. Kurmin Musa station: Jaba, Koro
18. Kagoro station: K
agoro, Kataf, Surubu, Moroa, Ataka, Kadara,
Kaningkon, Kaje
19. Jos station: Hausa, Jarawa, Gurum
20. Miango station: Iregwe
21. Dama Kasuwa station: Giban, Chawai, Piti, Kurama, Ikulu
22. Zagun station: Rukuba, Amo, Teria, Inchaza
23. Bununu Dass station: Jarawa, Barawa, Zull, Germawa
24. Bununu Kasa station: Miya, Zaranda, Bankalawa
25. Gar station: Jarawa, Jaku, Duguri, Guruntum, Galembi
26. Tiffi station: Afawa, Butawa, Siri, Warji, Hausa
27. Katanga station: Warji, Hausa
28. Kukar Gadu station: Kerikeri, Bolewa, Ngizim, Ngamawe
29. Kaltungo station: Tangale, Awak, Kamo, Kutshi, Borak, Bangwunji
30. Billiri station: Tangale, Jukun
31. Tula Wange station: Tula
32. Gelengu station: Waja, Longuda
33. Dadiya station: Dadiya, Mona
34. Zambuk station: Tera, Fulani
35. Kano station: Hausa, Fulani
36. Garko station: Hausa, Fulani
142Dr
Yusufu Turaki, An Introduction to the History of SIM/ECWA, self published, 1993. Chapter
Mission Literature Work page 187 -212, permission granted to reword his writing.
121
37. Kufana station: Kadara
38. Gure station: Gure, Kawalo, Kono, Kiwafu, Kitimi, Ruruma, Rumaya,
Kahugu.
The first seven stations above are south of the River Niger. Pategi
and Kpada are among the Nupe people, the next five are among the
two groupings of Yoruba people south of Pategi. All others are north
of the Niger River and you can see the multiplicity of tribal groups
and languages, sometimes up to eight, surrounding Kagoro Station
(No.18) or, Gure Station, (No. 38) nine languages. All missionaries
were learning one and two languages just to begin to communicate
the Gospel. After that, the languages were reduced to writing so
translation of the Scriptures could begin. Along with this came the
need to have a literacy programme teaching the people to read. By
the 1930s, a variety of books had been published in local languages,
and there was progress with the Gospel and growth of the church.
Yusufu Turaki explains this well in his book.143
LANGUAGE AND DIALECTS
The pioneering missionaries, in the absence of a lingua franca,
committed themselves to learning the languages and dialects of the
people of Nigeria and reduced some of the languages to writing.
After mastering the languages and dialects, they embarked on the
translation of the Scriptures into African languages. The Africans
were taught the Roman script and alphabets as preparatory to
reading and writing. Africans able to master these skills were usually
highly rated and honoured, for knowing the secret of the “white
man”.
For a “white” missionary to be able to read, preach and
communicate in an African language meant many things...especially
the curiosity which this fact generated in their minds. Reducing
the languages into grammar and writing was of great value to
Africans, especially in the fast-changing colonial society. Hausa
and English, as colonial tools, were fast replacing the smaller
languages and dialects...gradually becoming subservient to Hausa
and English. Increasingly, it was unnecessary to use, learn and
reduce those smaller languages into writing or use them as means of
communicating the Gospel.
The early colonial language policy of “learning your mother tongue”
first in education, gradually gave way to learning Hausa and later
143Dr
Yusufu Turaki, An Introduction to the History of SIM/ECWA, self published, 1993. Chapter
Mission Literature Work, pages 187 -212.
122
Literature Outreach in Nigeria English. All had to learn Hausa as the lingua franca, while English
was becoming a civilizing language and a language of education...
Africans protested and rejected the early vernacular language and
education policy of the Northern Colonial Administration and
Christian Missions. It was usually viewed with great suspicion...that
it was an attempt to deny Africans advanced education.
HAUSA AS A LINGUA FRANCA AND SOCIALIZING TOOL
Hausa was the most widely spoken language in West Africa at the
time of British colonization (it still is). Colonial language policy in
Northern Nigeria made Hausa the lingua franca and...all peoples
who lived in Northern Nigeria must learn Hausa. Christian missions
contributed immensely in consolidating Hausa as a lingua franca of
Northern Nigeria.
Quite early, during the pioneering days of Christian missions, the
Inter-Mission Conferences met in 1910 at Lokoja, then capital of
Northern Nigeria and made a decision of using the Roman script
instead of Arabic script in translating the Bible in Hausa. Dr Andrew
P. Stirrett of the SIM stated:
One of the matters under discussion was what characters should
be used in printing the Hausa Bible. Should it be printed in
Arabic characters, or in the Roman characters as used in English?
Just about that time word reached Nigeria expressing the regret of
the missionary societies in East Africa at having printed the Swahili
Bible with Arabic characters instead of Roman. This turned the
conference quite in favour of the use of Roman characters; hence
we have the Hausa Bible in those characters. We have never
regretted this decision.
The translation of the Bible and other Christian literature into
Hausa were major tools in making Hausa the lingua franca. The
missionaries used this translated literature to teach other ethnic
groups Hausa. They were taught Hausa so that they could read
and write and have a means of wider communication in Northern
Nigeria. Thus, the spread and the use of Hausa...in the Middle
Belt areas of Nigeria was encouraged and instituted by the activities
of Christian missions. People in the areas where the missionary
pioneers had already reduced their languages to writing had to learn
Hausa. The gradual assimilation of all the ethnic groups into the
Hausa language weakened the interest of missionaries to learn the
smaller languages and dialects. It further weakened many translation
projects which the missionaries had undertaken among the various
123
ethnic groups. This process gradually led the SIM to abandon
language studies and translations of the many languages and dialects
as Hausa was becoming a “socializing tool and a symbol of being a
Northerner.” 144
HAUSA BIBLE 1932
The history of the translation of the Hausa Bible began with a
German, John Frederick Schon who visited Sierra Leone in the
late 19th century and met some Hausa refugees who had escaped
from slavery in Nigeria. He learned Hausa from these people but it
turned out to be of the Sokoto dialect and not the popular dialect of
Katsina, Kano and Zaria. He translated the entire New Testament
and several books in the Old Testament – Isaiah, Psalms, etc.
It is interesting to note the comment by Barbara M. Cooper In her
book she says:
The earliest Hausa grammar, which was written by a CMS
missionary of German origin, Rev J. S. Schon, was probably
assembled in part from notes assembled by Samuel Ajayi
Crowther, who accompanied the ill-fated Niger Expedition of
1841. Crowther was an acute observer and brilliant linguist
himself, but he was not a native Hausa-speaker.”145
The second attempt at translation of the Bible into Hausa was done
by Dr R. W. Miller. He went to Tripoli, North Africa to learn
Hausa. His Hausa helper was a boy named Audu who went on a
pilgrimage with his father from Katsina. While at Tripoli, Miller
translated some portions of the Bible into Hausa. When he came to
live as a missionary with the CMS in Zaria, he translated the Synoptic
Gospels, John, Acts, the Epistles, and later completed the whole
New Testament.
In 1908-10 the British and Foreign Bible Society called for
a complete translation of the Bible into Hausa, asking that a
translation committee be formed, consisting of representatives from
the various missions working among the Hausa-speaking people. Dr
Miller was chosen as head translator with others to assist him. Dr A.
P. Stirrett of the SIM was one of the assistants. The great work took
many years. Most assistants left for one reason or another leaving
144Dr
Yusufu Turaki, An Introduction to the History of SIM/ECWA, self published, 1993.
M. Cooper, Evangelical Christian in the Muslim Sahel, Indian University Press 2006,
page 121.
145Barbara
124
Literature Outreach in Nigeria only Dr Miller, Dr Stirrett and a young Hausa office worker from
Zaria. The work was concluded in 1931 and printed in 1932.146
Writing on “The Hausa Bible - A Translation Triumph”, Dr Stirrett said:
I feel sure that you and all readers of your esteemed paper will rejoice
with us here in Nigeria when you hear that on the 3rd of November
there arrived in Lagos, printed and published for the first time in
the world’s history, the complete Hausa Bible. Hallelujah! Amen.
Hallelujah, for the Lord Omnipotent reigneth! It did not reach Jos
until November 5th, and the day following (Sunday the 6th), it was
displayed in Bishara Hausa Church, Jos. What a time of rejoicing
among the members and adherents as they beheld for the first time
the complete Word of God!
Elsewhere Dr Stirrett recounted his joy over the completion of this work:
Hallelujah! Oh, what a glad day that was when the first complete
Hausa Bible, beautifully and strongly bound, and in good distinct
type, arrived in Jos, in Kano, in Zaria! Well may we call upon the
whole wide Sudan to rejoice in that day. Here, now, is the Sword
of the Spirit with which to liberate Moslems and…to give them the
Light of Life in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Having a complete Hausa Bible coincided with the entrance of
Christian missions into the Northern Muslim Emirates in the early
1930s. Having a complete Hausa Bible was, in itself, a powerful
tool for reaching the entire Sudan with the Gospel of Christ. This
instrument was highly cherished by all Christian missions in the
Field.147
NUPE BIBLE 1927
This work was undertaken by Rev A. W. Banfield, the leader of the Sudan Party
of SIM. He directed the building of the first SIM station at Pategi in 1902
and resigned from SIM to found the Mennonite Mission (UMS) in Nupeland
in 1905. He worked closely with SIM in translation, printing and literature.
In 1906 at Pategi, the Language Conference of Missions appointed him to
translate the Four Gospels into Nupe. This assignment led him to complete the
translation of the entire Bible into Nupe in 1927. The remarkable achievement
of A. W. Banfield in the mission field was stated by him:
During my years of language study I never once had a teacher or an
assistant who could understand a word of English, or even read his
own language. Now, after twenty-five years of delightful work, I have
completed a translation of the entire Bible into the Nupe language.
146Dr
1993.
147Ibid.,
125
This language is spoken by half a million people living in Nigeria in
the vicinity of the Middle Niger River.
Also while engaged in this stupendous task I compiled and printed a
dictionary of the language in two volumes containing over thirteen
thousand words; wrote a one hundred and eighty-six page grammar;
collected and published a book containing six hundred and twentythree Nupe Proverbs; to say nothing of the many Primers, Hymnals,
Catechisms, Text Books, etc., and all these years I was Secretary of
my Mission. During those years, I built five mission stations and
travelled very extensively in the Nupe country.148
Alex Banfield completed a draft of the New Testament and printed 1,000 copies
at Niger Press. The Bible Society printed their edition one year later at Niger
Press.149 In 1915, Banfield assumed responsibilities as Bible Society secretary
for West Africa, so his main translation work of the Nupe Bible lay ahead of
him. When finished in 1927, including a revision of the New Testament, it
should have been printed. The UMS at one point said the number of Christians
in the UMS, CMS and SIM churches who read Nupe was small, stating
that it was a factor in the Bible Society decision. In 1932 the Bible Society
in correspondence pleaded “lack of funds” as their reason for not printing
the Nupe Bible. It was not until 1952 that Banfield’s translation was finally
printed.150
YORUBA BIBLE
Banfield and the other three men, who landed at Pategi longed for the time
when they could have the Bible in Nupe. The Yoruba Bible, they thought, had
been available for the previous 30 years. But that was not true, because the
Yoruba Bible was only completed in 1885 and published in 1887. Though SIM
was not involved, I mention it because it is a fascinating story that few have
heard. Dr Andrew Walls of Edinburgh and Princeton Universities says this of
Samuel Ajayi Crowther who translated the Yoruba Bible:
The most outstanding African Christian of the nineteenth century…
representative of an African Christianity in waiting. Yet in his day he
was cruelly misjudged and since has largely gone unrecognized.151
Ajayi, born in 1807, was a Yoruba torn as a slave from his home village near
Abeokuta, Nigeria, by Fulani raiders, sold to the Portuguese and put on a ship
crossing the Atlantic Ocean. That ship was stopped by the British Navy in 1822
and in the ensuing battle half the slaves died. Ajayi felt, “all this war on land
and now on sea…”152 The surviving slaves were landed at Sierra Leone.
148Dr
Fuller, Banfield, Nupe and the UMCA, World Partners, 2001, page 51.
150Document received from Clare Fuller, May 2007, will be deposited in SIM Archives.
151Yes, CMS magazine May-August 2007, editorial, page 3.
152Yes, CMS magazine May-August 2007, editorial, page 3.
149Clare
126
Literature Outreach in Nigeria At Crowther’s birth, a tribal diviner had forbidden that the boy enter
any of the local deity cults because he would grow up to be a servant
of Olorun, the God of Heaven. This story illustrates how Christians
could easily develop the traditional belief system already based
around the Supreme Being.153
Ajayi was baptized in 1925 and took the name of the CMS Home Committee
member, and was sent to England to school at Islington. He returned the next
year to become one of the first students at Fourah Bay College. In 1830 he was
appointed the headmaster in Regent’s Town, Sierra Leone.
CMS (Church Missionary Society) saw the potential in Samuel Ajayi
Crowther. He was ordained in London in 1843, and the next year began a
journey up the Niger River, with government and mission personnel. In 1845
he arrives back in Abeokuta from where he had been captured and he met his
mother and sister.
In 1840 he began the translation of the Yoruba Bible, and in 1864 he was
consecrated Bishop of the Niger in Canterbury Cathedral; he was also granted
an Honorary D.D. from Oxford University.
History credits Samuel Ajayi Crowther, with amalgamating the disparate
Yoruba tribes into “one nation”, with one language; it credits him with the
translation of the Yoruba Bible which was finished in 1885 and published in
1887.154
It is felt since Crowther never reached the slave markets of the Americas, he
still had the “uncorrupted” world view of an African, thus well suited for the
translation work.
It was Samuel Crowther who, in a response to the turmoil caused
by the slave trade, brought together several regional dialects into
one language called “Yoruba” and so laid the foundations of a
new national identity. Crowther is the Father of the Yoruba….
It was the missionaries who began to talk of “the Yoruba people”.
It was through this influence under the powerful unifying force of
Crowther’s single Yoruba language that the people came to think of
themselves as part of one distinctive culture.155
EVANGELICAL LITERATURE FELLOWSHIP OF NIGERIA
(ELFON)
ELFON was started to meet the need of Sunday School instruction in the
churches. This was in the context of 16 founding churches and organizations
realizing that alone they did not have the resources to accomplish the job.
153Ibid.
154Yes,
CMS magazine May-August 2007, the entire magazine is on S.A. Crowther, and will be
deposited in SIM Archives.
155Ibid.
127
Their first meeting was at the UMS Theological College in Ilorin on 22-23
February 1967.
Judy Kenke from Baraka Press in Kaduna who would be printing the lessons
ended up being one of the mainstays in getting things underway. Though the
different organizations appointed people to the “advisory committee”, they
kept going on leave, so it was some time before things got properly underway.
In fact it was Jim Plueddemann who was Christian Education Director within
SIM Nigeria who suggested that Judy set deadlines and get things moving.156
So it was after stops and starts and living
with a postal system that took up to six weeks
to deliver letters, that the first Sunday School
lessons were distributed to the churches with
editions translated in Hausa, Tiv and Yoruba for
use starting January 1972. By year three in 1974
a full range of books were offered in lesson books,
teaching pictures, and take-home papers with
adult lesson books. These were in English and
Hausa, with fewer books in Tiv, Yoruba and Igala,
with take-home papers translated from English
being used for the Yoruba and Tiv editions.
Jean Chilvers was appointed as chair of the
Jean Chilvers SUM from UK
committee in the early years. I include a report
from Jean just before retiring in 2003. It is encouraging that from the time of
the first Sunday School lessons, even prior to ELFON, Sunday School materials,
except for a short hiatus have always been available.
JOINT PROJECT FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL and BIBLE STUDY
MATERIALS
HIstorIcal BacKground 1966-2003
Until the late 1960s most individual churches, where there was any
Sunday School ministry, used locally produced training materials.
These were often duplicated notes produced every few weeks with
little obvious syllabus structure. Some churches still continue in this
way and others rely on gifts of free materials from North America or
other sources.
ElFon and scrIPturE PrEss MInIstrIEs (usa)
In the late 1960s permission, together with a small grant, was given
by Scripture Press Ministries to the Evangelical Literature Fellowship
of Nigeria (ELFON) to adapt and translate their Sunday School
156 From
material provided by Judy Kenke, formerly of Baraka Press in Nigeria, May 2007.
128
Literature Outreach in Nigeria teaching materials for printing by Baraka Press in Kaduna. Nigerian
writers set to work and the first set of books for primary children
went on sale in 1970. Gradually materials for four different agegroups were introduced and proved to be a great blessing to the
Sunday School ministry. Training manuals for teachers were written
and training programmes for teachers were held each year. A weekly
half-hour Teachers’ Preparation Programme in Hausa was broadcast
on Radio ELWA for a number of years.
Materials were translated, complete or in part, into seven different
Nigerian languages, as well as eight other African language including
Amharic for Ethiopia and Shona for Zimbabwe. These books were
re-cycled in Nigeria for the next 12 years with only one major
revision undertaken by the group which had then been re-named
Christian Media Fellowship (CMF).
CMF AND CHRISTIAN LEARNING MATERIALS CENTRE (CLMC, NAIROBI)
By 1985 teachers in a number of churches were asking serious
questions about the need for new materials. CMF had no funds
for development themselves, so began a survey to find any other
group in Nigeria that might have materials that could be developed.
Nothing was found, but news came from Nairobi that CLMC, an
arm of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA), had been
established for the express purpose of producing materials for
Christian Education ministries in Africa. Sunday School materials
were their first priority.
Toward the end of 1987, CMF received 35 sets of materials, 12
months after the order had been placed, and a trial survey using
CLMC materials was conducted in 15 different churches. The
survey results were very positive, and leaders from 17 different
church organizations met to discuss the possibility of printing
the materials in Nigeria. Sadly, the royalty fee required by CLMC
was very high, so the negotiations were discontinued. Meantime,
financial constraint overtook CMF and the organization faded out of
existence.
JOINT PROJECT AND CLMC
However, the churches’ concern for new materials did not fade, and
in 1991 the COCIN (Church of Christ in Nigeria) Sunday School
co-ordinator re-opened negotiations with CLMC to see if the royalty
fee could be reduced so that materials could be published under
licence in Nigeria at a reasonable cost.
By 1992, a workable agreement was reached and it was decided
to invite other churches and Christian groups to join together to
make the publishing of these materials in Nigeria a joint project so
that as wide a group as possible could benefit. In January 1993 a
committee was formed of members representing the seven churches
who had responded positively to the idea and the name Joint Project
for Sunday School Materials (JPFSSM) was adopted. Two other
churches joined the project later in the year.
Work began immediately in an office at the ECWA Christian
Education Department under the direction of a five-member
working committee. English material from Nairobi was edited,
sometimes re-written and then translated into Hausa.
God was at work, and encouragement came from member churches
through gifts and part-payments for advance orders. Together with
a generous grant from Tearfund UK, which came just at the right
time, sufficient funds were available for a down payment to Ehindero
Press for the printing of the first set of materials for teachers of
primary children.
On 17th September 1993, a group of church and Sunday School
leaders gathered in Jos to celebrate the publication of this first book
and to give thanks to God for the commitment of His people to the
building and strengthening of faith in the lives of young people in
our churches.
JPFSSM
A three-year cycle of lessons for younger children was added to the
four-year cycle for primary children and other materials followed.
In 1995, a seven-year Youth Bible Study curriculum was introduced
and in 1996 the format was changed to be much more user-friendly
for inter-active Bible studies for teenagers.
In 1999, an attempt was made to bridge the gap between the
primary age group and the youth. In order to try to stimulate older
primary children to begin to think for themselves about their faith,
a workbook was provided in English to be used by the children
alongside the primary lesson book. Workbooks were published for
the next three years, but they never really caught on. This may have
been due to the cost of providing a workbook for each child, but
also because many teachers did not seem to understand how to use
them well in their classes.
Material written for CMF was reprinted for adult Bible study groups
for a number of years, but in 2000 a new Adult Bible Study Series
129
130
Literature Outreach in Nigeria was introduced, to encourage discussion of Bible passages and to
lead to positive action in response to needs of Christians in Nigeria
today. Pastors and theologians have given their time, reflection and
skills to prepare draft materials for these studies.
In 2000, as all the materials for the primary and younger children
series had been re-cycled, it was felt the time had come for a revision.
In looking at the situation in more depth it was finally agreed that
a complete re-write of the syllabus was needed and the present
four-year syllabus was drawn up. Materials for the younger children
and for the primary children both follow God’s Handprints in the
Old Testament and Jesus’ Footprints in the New Testament; both use
many of the same Bible texts but the lessons are written at different
levels. This has proven to be a mammoth task, and even with the
help of many willing writers, Primary Book 1 was not published until
December 2002 and the book for younger children followed in late
February 2003.
Churches were concerned at the lateness of these publications, and
the Joint Project staff have been under pressure to have materials
for 2004 out on time. With feed-back from churches and a growing
desire to have more interactive Sunday School teaching, a new lesson
format for both levels of materials for children has been introduced,
together with coloured pictures. The Lord has been gracious and
given strength and skills to the office staff so that we believe all the
books for 2004 will be on sale before the end of this year (2003).
This writers’ workshop has been planned so that we can catch up
on our deadlines for publication, and also to have input from a
wider group of gifted people who are willing to use the skills God
has given. Much prayer has gone into the preparation and we are
looking for draft lessons that will be interesting and relevant to the
presentation of biblical materials in a way that will lead our children
to a faith in Christ that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
As the Lord opens the way, we also hope to be able to publish
additional materials like the Stories from West Africa published for
the first time last year.
CONCLUSION
The Joint Project now has 13 active member churches and the
project office has grown from the early beginnings of one full-time
editor and three part-time staff. We thank the Lord for bringing to
us three dedicated full-time staff and three part-time staff who give
more than a part-time commitment. From one small room in ECWA
Education Department we now use four rooms and are presently
seeking larger premises.
God has given strength to face the many daily challenges and we pray
we may be found faithful as we move forward together in the service
of His Kingdom 157
157Report
Dr Mrs J. Chilvers, October 2003
provided by Dr Jean Chilvers, SUM, now retired in UK, August 2008.
131
CHAPter 8
PASTORS’ BOOK SETS
NIGERIA – BORN OUT OF
NECESSITY
A
rriving in Ghana in 1976, I faced the problem of being totally
dependent upon donations to operate the bookshop. When there is no
money to buy, the burden was simply how to help pastors get the books
they so desperately needed to do their job. Most have little training in Bible
teaching or preaching, and no commentaries or resource books. Consequently,
Christian teaching is very shallow, sometimes erroneous, and open to influence
by cults and thus the churches are weak in their witness.
In the midst of my dilemma God gave the idea of putting together a basic set
of books for pastors. I would ask publishers for special terms or even donated
books, and then raise the funding to pay for shipping and other expenses. This
would enable us to offer pastors a set of study books for which they would only
pay in-country costs (in their own currency) for clearing, warehousing and
distribution.
Along with the books there would be
conferences where pastors would receive
instruction in the use of the materials, along with
Bible teaching by outstanding speakers - some of
them authors of the books in the set.
It was a Matching Fund Project, where money
was raised overseas to buy and ship the books.
Recipients paid $75 in local currency which
usually worked out to 10% of the retail value of
the books. Having to make a contribution helps
the recipients to be serious about using the books.
What pastors paid covered all in-country expenses
including airfare and costs to bring in two
Pastor with Book Set
speakers, plus food for all at the conferences, staff
wages, and rent for facilities. This project proved
PASTORS’ BOOK SETS NIGERIA – BORN OUT OF NECESSITY
133
so successful it became the model for future PBS conferences which have been
held in many countries in Africa, South America and Asia and continue today.
NIGERIA
Dr Yusufu Turaki, then General Secretary of ECWA, the SIM-related church
in Nigeria, wanted a Pastors’ Book Set (PBS) for ECWA pastors in Nigeria.
I asked, “How many understand English?” He replied, “1,500-2,000” insufficient numbers! Asked if his vision was big enough to include pastors of all
denominations in Nigeria, he said, “Yes!” And so the Nigerian PBS was born.158
One Saturday in 1991, Dr Turaki and I sat for 10 hours discussing the
pros and cons of 50 books. By the end of the day we had a basic set, with
investigations to be carried out into other possible books. We agreed on an
individual with organizational abilities to lead the project. Paul Todd was
approached and accepted, but unfortunately he resigned a year later. This
resulted in a hiatus of three years, though work with publishers proceeded. In
1995 Bill Foute stepped down as SIM Nigeria Director and accepted leadership
of the PBS Project.
When Bill Foute took charge, he wanted to see the distribution conferences
held from August to October 1997 with 15 conferences of 1,000 pastors each.
Three venues in different areas of the country would be used. This is the model
we followed. Two speakers came for a two-week period, changing venues from
Lagos to Owerri or Jos for their second week, so they saw different areas of the
country.
Speakers were drawn from various SIM countries; Singapore, Australia, New
Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada and America. This gave SIM considerable
exposure in the home countries as speakers returned enthusiastically recounting
their experiences. A list of speakers is included in the appendix.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Forty-five thousand pastors and another 5,000 students in Bible Colleges
and Seminaries in Nigeria told us 15,000 PBS was our number. In the end
thousands of pastors missed out because there were insufficient sets. Our figures
were correct for main denominations, but we had not counted on some other
groups having thousands of pastors and evangelists. On the other hand 15,000
sets at U.S. $75 dollars each amounting to $1,125,000 was enough for us to
handle!
FACING THE SITUATION
Nigeria is three times the size of the UK or 1/10th the size of Canada or the
USA, so choosing locations had problems. We knew many would have to travel,
158The
content of this section is taken from my report on the Nigeria PBS in December 1997,
deposited with SIM Archives.
134
finding accommodation with friends. Jos was chosen for Nigeria’s North,
Owerri in the South-Eastern area, and Lagos and Ibadan in the West. Lagos
is the commercial centre, the main port and most heavily populated area of
Nigeria. Six conferences were held in the west - three of those in Ibadan, 100
miles north of Lagos.
VENUE SITES
After deciding the conference cities, Bill located venues - large churches willing
to allow us to use their facilities. St Piran’s Anglican Church, Jos; Anglican
Cathedral of Transfiguration, Owerri; St Anne’s Anglican Church, Ibadan;
Yaba Presbyterian church in Lagos. The largest number of pastors, about
1,500, attended the last conference in Lagos. Each church welcomed us, giving
full use of their facilities and full cooperation. They were delighted to be a
part of providing the book sets to pastors. We were most thankful for their
wholehearted cooperation.
VENUE LEADERS
Along with heading the project Bill Foute led the four conferences in Jos. My
friend Ken Bennett, retired in the UK,
asked in 1996 if there was anything he and
Phyllis could do to help with the PBS in
Nigeria. (I knew Ken’s fluency in Yoruba,
the dominant language of the Lagos and
Ibadan area.) Knowing his experience, I
immediately said, “Yes, yes!” When asked,
Wilf and Jean Rose from the SIM Toronto
office eagerly took responsibility for
Pastors claim their bag of books - Jos
Owerri.
Living in Jos, Bill and Lorraine Foute
were able to recruit help for the tasks
related to distribution. In Owerri Wilf
and Jean say they would not have survived
without the wholehearted backing of
Sunday Umune and sons David and Uche,
as well as others recruited. Sunday came to
the Lord in the mid ’50s under SIM and
Preparing pbs packets
continued to faithfully serve the Lord until
killed in a car accident in the early 2000’s.
Now his two sons continue the outreach into the forgotten villages of Iboland.
In Lagos, Ken and Phyllis Bennett were on familiar territory. They had spent
17 years in Nigeria up-country in the Yoruba area around Egbe, Omu Aran,
Ibadan, then latterly as superintendent in Lagos on Challenge compound. Their
task was really the task of two couples. Ken said to Leona later that if they had
PAstors’ Book sets niGeriA – Born out of neCessity
135
seen a video of what were to be their responsibilities, they would have
responded, “It is absolutely impossible! We could never do it.” Having been
through it and survived, he is praising the Lord for health and strength while
saying, “PBS was the highlight of our missionary career. We would not have
missed it for anything.”
Speakers commented on the dedication
of Wilf and Jean. It seemed that they
were doing the work of two couples. On
reflection the Roses agreed, yet they are
glad there was not a second couple because
it meant that they had to work with Sunday
Umune and depend on him and others.
They feel it was a unique opportunity for
getting to know and work with Nigerians.
They say, “This has been the highlight of
Wilf & Jean Rose
our lives. We would not have wanted to
miss any part of it.” The Foutes expressed similar feelings to me on my brief
visits in Jos.
BRIAN AND ELAINE ANDERSON
Without the Andersons, the entire exercise would have been more difficult.
Brian loaned us Stephen Oyetunji, his clearing manager, who did the clearing
of goods from the port. He ensured that import permission was obtained.
This was not a small task. Occasionally, along with Ken Bennett, Stephen was
responsible for clearing everything through the docks. Clearing shipments was
timely and most books arrived before the first conferences. Those which did
not, were handed out on set days after a future conference. This happened
with only a few books. Brian was always available as a wise counsellor as various
problems arose, whether that was at the docks, banking, or locating extra staff.
Brian was always willing to advise and help.
Elaine kindly offered to prepare the evening meal for the speakers, the
Bennetts and Bev Clark. This greatly relieved the pressure on Phyllis Bennett,
enabling her to give attention to conferences. Around the Andersons’ table
each evening was a fellowship time, and I was pleased to be a part of that on
different occasions.
AT THE DOCKS
On one occasion Stephen Oyetunji anticipated problems with clearing a
container of books. Knowing that Ken Bennett was fluent in Yoruba, he asked
that Ken accompany him to the docks the next morning. They were at the
customs office before the customs men arrived for work. When they came
through the door Ken greeted them with “Ekaro” (Good morning in Yoruba),
which would not be too unusual. Ken prostrated himself on the floor - this is a
136
Yoruba custom of honour and respect, (but “prostrating” is normally done by
a younger to an older person), and here Ken at 72 is doing this to those who
were younger men! Then he got up again still greeting them in Yoruba.
Bemused, the customs men began testing his Yoruba. As he answered, they
tested his Yoruba more deeply and Ken answered. They finally tested him in
“deep” Yoruba and got a proper reply. They were all amazed that an expatriate
knew their language so well, and started laughing saying, “Oga (Master), what
do you want? We will do it for you.” Papers were presented and clearance asked
of them. Within an hour they had all nine signatures for clearance. Once they
found a truck, their container was loaded and taken for inspection. By 10am
they were on the way out of the port.
In all, twenty containers of books came through the port, and on no
occasion did they wait longer than a week. In the inspection and importing of
585,000 books, only six books were “lost” to insistent officers at inspection.
FINANCE
Bev Clark
With her expertise in accounting, Bev Clark had oversight of
PBS finances. With the largest currency note valued at $0.58
and the next highest at $0.23, she had much counting to do.
Others helped, but Bev bore the brunt of final checking. At one
time she had over N5,000,000 (Naira) in her house ($58,000).
Similarly, Wilf and Jean Rose, staying at the Diocesan
Retreat Centre, Owerri, had cash in every drawer, cupboard
and suitcase, and in boxes under the bed. Buying a bank draft
one had to pave the way, requesting favours to ensure things
happened. Many people were aware of the large amounts of
cash that were sometimes stored. Surely God watched over our
people and finances.
CONCERNED PUBLISHERS
One of the first tasks in a PBS is negotiating with publishers. I want to pay
tribute to the wonderful concern and commitment of Christian publishers.
I had worked with these people for 30 years and found them a delight to
work with. Several took it upon themselves to approach authors, asking
them to forego royalties for this special outreach. I don’t know the cost of
the books, but my background allows me to discern proximity, and I know
some publishers gave their books at close to cost. The largest book in the set
Willmington’s Guide to the Bible, was an outright donation by Ken Taylor of
Tyndale House Publishers.
FREE BOOKS
Thirteen free books were included in the set. There was also the one above
given free which we considered a financial donation. Some publishers donated
PAstors’ Book sets niGeriA – Born out of neCessity
137
a book as something extra for the pastors. Some books came from Foundations
that raised funds to pay for books. Revival Movement Association of Northern
Ireland gave a packet of tracts and booklets weighing 1 lb (one pound) for each
of the 15,000 sets.
PASTORS’ COMMENTS ON BOOKSETS RECEIVED
“If you do nothing else during your time in Nigeria, this has been enough.”
“This is the greatest thing SIM has ever done in Nigeria. In the history of
the church, nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“This has been a turning point in my life and ministry.”
“You who do not know me have cared so much…to promote my spiritual
growth.”
“I had many challenges about my meekness. I will be changing from now.”
“The set of books is a complete school on its own.”
“I will use these books to bring people to the knowledge of the Son of God.”
“Indeed, this is the greatest thing that has happened in the history of
Christianity in Nigeria.”159
SPEAKERS’ ASSESSMENTS
“After the Owerri conference, I sat in a corner of
the church, exhausted. A pastor sat in front of me,
not knowing I was there and unpacked his books.
He said out loud to himself, “This is good, my spirit
is glad.” He told me how his library had just grown
from six inches to three feet ... This was one of the
most worthwhile ministry occasions that I have
been involved in; count me in for the next time.”
Dr David Cook, Sydney Bible College, Australia.
“What a productive time it has been for the
Kingdom!…It is hard to think of anything that
could be done in terms of service or contribution
to the church in Nigeria that would carry the
immediate effect and long term promise of
Ian Campbell with Pastor Port
significant help that this project and the conferences
Harcourt
will have…The hard work involved in this project,
and yet carried out with joy, faithfulness and steadiness by missionaries who should
be allowed to ‘enjoy retirement’ amazed me.”
Rev Ian Campbell, Calvary Church, Canada
“It was an experience I will never forget…the vibrancy of people was a tonic...
the people are so generous and spontaneous...The dedication of the people
fronting the conferences was incredible...I grew to love each of them…keep
159 From
Pastors’ Comments written at the PBS in Nigeria, August 1997.
138
the conferences directed by older people with credibility and respect in the host
country, but have them recruit young, enthusiastic, responsible short-termers
with whom they know they can work well, to come and do a lot of the detailed
work…I reckon you could have distributed 25,000 book sets.”
Rev Paul Windsor, Principal Baptist Bible College,
Auckland, New Zealand
“The impact of the conferences at this particular time in Nigeria’s history
goes far beyond the distribution of the books…It brought denominations
and leaders together who would not normally have anything to do with each
other, and caused them to experience a sense of unity and community in
Christ that could be very important for the church in the days ahead…Since
‘denominational tribalism’ is one of the serious problems of the church in
Africa, these conferences could have a profound influence on the whole church
in Nigeria for unity and cooperation.”
Dr Bill O’Donovan, SIM Ethiopia
“This is easily one of the finest libraries that has been selected and made
available to pastors in Asia, Africa and Latin America. I’m hoping that the
project can be reproduced large scale to provide the tools and training for
nearly 2,000,000 functional leaders of churches in those parts of the world.”
Dr Ramesh Richard, professor, Dallas Seminary, USA
“What a touching sight it was to see pastors receive their individual book set
and open it up and go through each book with utter amazement and tears of
joy. Many probably had never seen such a wide array of valuable tools before
and couldn’t believe that it was now their personal prized possession.”
Rev Benji Devadason, SIM Ethnic Focus Ministry, Toronto Canada
“As they rejoiced, I heard not a few joyfully exclaim, “Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory!” Indispensable to the whole enterprise were the skills and efforts of SIM
missionaries.”
Dr M DiGangi, Knox Church,
Toronto Canada
“It was an honour to be included as
a teacher in the Pastors’ Book Set
Conferences in Nigeria. Thank you
for renewing my vision for leadership
development…Several pastors told me they
were ministered to as well as taught the
mechanics of sermon preparation.”
Larry Fehl
Rev Larry Fehl, SIM USA
“Never in all my Christian life have I been so profoundly affected by a mission
happening as I have through the PBS. My heart has never been so moved and
touched in my entire time with the Lord! ...Only eternity will reveal the people
who will be born into the kingdom through this effort.”
Dr Nevine Alwine, Liberty University, Virginia USA
139
“What touched me most was SIM’s willingness to reach out and raise money
for pastors who were not SIM/ECWA. At a ratio of four other denominational
pastors to one ECWA/SIM, this is almost mind-boggling. I commend the
vision and was grateful to have been a part…This is the finest opportunity our
ministry (Discipleship) has ever been given. Many who receive this report were
not able to see the joy of the pastors when they received their set of books in
hand. I did, and it was something to see. Many thought they had died and
gone to heaven.”
Rev David Dawson, Equipping the Saints, USA
“Person for person, hour for hour, dollar for dollar, I’ve not witnessed a more
profitable equipping endeavour in all my years in the Lord’s work.”
Rev Allen I. Crawford, Calvary Baptist Church, Oshawa
SIM’S ASSESSMENT
“The Pastors’ Book Set project is one of the most significant things SIM has
done in Nigeria. My hope is that as a result, believers in 15,000 churches will
experience more effective leadership and inspired preaching. Ultimately, this
will influence hundreds of thousands of people for the glory of God and the
growth of Christ’s Church.”
Jim Plueddemann, SIM General Director
“The PBS conferences could not have come at a better time. This is God’s timing.”
Rick Calenberg, SIM Director, Nigeria
“Having taught in an African theological seminary over 16 years, the lack
of quality textbooks stands out as one of our students’ most pressing needs.
Thanks to…Pastors’ Book Set projects in Nigeria we now not only have 15,000
equipped pastors who can influence not only their churches, but also hundreds of
theological schools that can enhance the training of their students for Jesus Christ.
Nigeria will become the third largest country in the world behind India and
China by 2050, at its present population growth. Because of the faith of those
who participated in the PBS many of those millions will benefit from enriched
teaching, preaching and evangelism that will significantly contribute to the
greater growth of the church for the Lord’s glory!”160
Paul J. Fritz, PhD Associate Professor,
Jos ECWA Theological Seminary
BOOKS INCLUDED IN PASTORS BOOK SET – NIGERIA
(all prices in US$)
ZONDERVAN:
1. International Bible Comm.
2. NIV Study Bible
3. Touch the World Through Prayer
160All
speakers’ quotes October/November 1997.
34.99
7.99
5.99
140
Literature Outreach in Nigeria 4. Love Life for Every Married Couple
TYNDALE:
1. Willmington’s Guide to Bible
5.50
43.99
BAKER:
1. Master Plan of Evangelism
2. The Heart of the OT - Youngblood 4.99
4.99
BETHANY:
1. Kingdom of the Cults
2. Todays H’book Solving Bible Prob.
19.99
19.99
INTER-VARSITY PRESS-UK:
1. New Bible Dictionary - Concise
24.60
EERDMANS:
1. Working the Angles
12.99
HARVEST HOUSE:
1. The Bondage Breaker
9.95
GOSPEL LIGHT:
1. Victory Over the Darkness
10.00
MOODY:
1. Living by the Book
2. Spiritual Leadership
14.99
10.99
EVANGELICAL PRESS:
1. Missions Today
11.82
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY
1. All Nations Dictionary
10.00
FOCUS PUBLICATIONS:
1. The Apostles’ Creed
2. Bible Guidelines - Prime 6.70
6.70
STL-UK:
1. Biblical Christianity in African Perspective
15.00
LION PUBLISHING:
1. Lion Handbook of the Bible PB
18.36
DAN FULANI KORE:
1. Culture & the Christian Home 3.00
WILLIAM STILL:
1. Biblical Teaching on the Devil
3.50
EQUIPPING THE SAINTS:
Equipping the Saints
BRUCE AND CAROL BRITTEN:
Answers for Your Marriage
Additional Books:
1. STL: The Work of the Pastor
2. Discovery House: Waiting for the Second Coming
3. Oswald Chambers Trust: Studies on the Sermon/Mount
4. REACH Foundation:
(Baker Pub. Scripture Sculpture, Ramesh Richard)
5. Radio Bible Class: 1996 Annual Our Daily Bread
6. Radio Bible Class: 1997 Annual Our Daily Bread
7. Radio Bible Class: Shepherding the Flock
8. ARISE Boldly With Power, Elijah Maswanganyi & Bruce Britten
9. Life Challenge:
10a. Dear Abdullah
10b. Reach Out
11. A package of tracts & booklets included in each set
12. Pastors at Risk
13. Twelve Prophetic Voices
ANGUS HUDSON:
1. Student Bible Atlas
Pastors’ Book Set Conference Schedule – Nigeria –
August-October 1997
OWERRI
August Conferences 18-22nd Owerri
Speaker 1st Conf. Dr Nevine Alwine - U.S.
Author 1st Conf. David Dawson - U.S.
Support Leader : Wilf Rose - Canada
Venue: Cathedral of Transfiguration
Accommodation: Diocese Retreat
August Conferences 25-29th Owerri
Speaker 2nd Conf. David Cook - Australia
Author 2nd Conf. Graham Cheesman - N. Ire.
Support Leader: Wilf Rose - Canada
September Conferences 15-19th Owerri
Speaker 1st Conf. Brooke Solberg—U.S.
141
5.00
10.00
7.50
12.00
10.00
12.00
3.00
3.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
5.00
2.00
9.99
7.99
5.00
142
Author 1st Conf.
Support Leader:
Venue:
Accommodation:
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Dr Dan Fulani Kore –Nigeria
Wilf Rose—Canada
Cathedral of Transfiguration
Diocese Retreat
September Conferences 22-26th Owerri
Speaker 2nd. Conf. Paul Windsor-New Zealand
Author 2nd Conf. Bill O’Donovan –Ethiopia
Support leader: Wilf Rose—Canada
Accommodation : Diocese Retreat
October Conferences 20-24th Owerri
Speaker 1st Conf. Ian Campbell - Canada
Author 1st Conf. Gordien Okezie - Nigeria
Support Leader: Wilf Rose - Canada
LAGOS / IBADAN
August Conferences 18-22nd Lagos
Speaker 1st Conf. David Cook - Australia
Author 1st Conf. Graham Cheesman-N. Ire.
Support Leader: Ken Bennett - U.K.
Venue: Yaba Presbyterian Church
Accommodation: ECWA Challenge Compound
August Conference
Speaker 2nd. Conf.
Author 2nd Conf.
Support Leader:
Venue:
Accommodation:
25-29th Lagos
Dr DiGangi - Canada
David Dawson - U.S.
Ken Bennett - U.K.
Yaba Presbyterian Church
ECWA Challenge Compound
September Conferences 15-19th Ibadan
Speaker 1st Conf. Paul Windsor—New Zealand
Author 1st Conf. Benji Devadason—Canada
Support Leader: Ken Bennett—U.K.
Venue: St Anne’s Anglican, Ibadan
Accommodation: Bishop’s Court
September Conferences 22-26th Ibadan
Speaker 2nd Conf. R. Richard—U.S.
Author 2nd Conf. Gordien Okezie—Nigeria
Support Leader: Ken Bennett—U.K.
143
October Conferences 20-24th Ibadan
Speaker 1st Conf. Allen Crawford - Canada
Author 1st Conf. Robert Coleman - U.S.
October Conferences 27-31st Lagos
Speaker 2nd Conf. Ian Campbell - Canada
Author 2nd Conf. Ron Wiebe - U.S.
Venue: Yaba Presbyterian Church
Accommodation: ECWA Challenge Compound
JOS
August Conferences 11-15th Jos
Speaker 1st Conf. Dr Graham Ng - Singapore
Author 1st Conf. Dr Harold Willmington--U.S.
Support Leader: Bill Foute - Nigeria
Venue: St Piran’s Anglican - Jos
Accommodation: SIM Fellowship Centre
September Conferences 15-19th Jos
Speaker 1st Conf. Henry Budd—Canada
Author 1st Conf. Joe Wasmond—U.S.
Support Leader: Bill Foute—Nigeria
Venue: St Piran’s Anglican—Jos
October Conference 20-24th Jos
Speaker 1st Conf. Larry Fehl - U.S.
Author 1st Conf. Bill O’Donovan - Ethiopia
Support Leader: Bill Foute - Nigeria
Venue: St Piran’s Anglican-- Jos
October Conference 27-31st
Jos
Speaker 2nd Conf. Danny McCain - U.S.
Author 2nd Conf. Howie Brant - U.S.
Support leader: Bill Foute - Nigeria
Venue: St Piran’s Anglican--Jos
At each conference Nigerian experts gave instruction on discipling and ministry
to Muslims.161
161All
Information on the PBS comes from the report written December 1997; a copy will be
placed in the Archives.
CHAPTER 9
THE STORY OF AFRICAN
CHALLENGE
T
o understand the reason that the African Challenge magazine was so
successful, one has to go back to the end of the Second World War when
many soldiers from the colonies such as Nigeria and Ghana fought with
the British forces. During this conflict they saw different parts of the world, saw
the life others lived, and desired this for their own nation.
They came home with an enthusiasm about the possibilities of what could be
done in their own country. Thus the former soldiers hastened the development
of education, literacy, transport, communication and politics, which eventually
led to nationalism, and to independence which Britain granted in due course.
In Africa there was an environment which suddenly opened up a
great hunger and need for literacy. Employment, for instance, meant
that there was demand for people who could read and write.162
Christian missions were going through a similar upheaval and growth. Soldiers
returning from the war, having seen the need of the Gospel in overseas
countries, took advantage of the various educational programmes offered by
their governments and went to Bible colleges and seminaries, and applied
to overseas missions. SIM experienced a 243% increase from 1940 to 1950;
a further 56% increase by 1960, then remained static until 1970 with 1257
missionaries.163
Missions had always taught the people to read and write, and essentially
this was so they could read God’s Word for themselves. Now commerce was
demanding literacy, so business and the country could grow and progress.
Literate people were needed by the country and, once literate, they wanted
something to read. Seeing their opportunity, the Communists quickly flooded
the country with their colourful literature.
162Harold
163SIM
Fuller interview February 2007.
Missionary Statistical Report 1984
145
BEGINNING
In 1947, to meet the need for Christian reading material, SIM started a
magazine in the North called The West African Christian. It was issued bimonthly, small in format, and consisting mostly of reprinted articles from
overseas - a kind of Christian Digest. The first editor was Geraldine Hamlett.
Circulation built up to 3,300 by June 1950 and when Geraldine went on leave
Mary King took over. She was the editor when Trevor Shaw arrived in Jos,
November 1950 from New Zealand.
Trevor had been a journalist with the Auckland Herald in New Zealand.
He had also been involved in establishing the Christian paper New Zealand
Challenge. He was challenged by Jack Nicholson of SIM to use his talents in
Nigeria where there was great need for Christian literature.
Trevor took over from Mary King and in November 1950 Chris Ferrier
joined Trevor in the office part time. Early on Trevor made a trip around
Northern Nigeria to get a feel for things and find local stories that could be
written. He saw the potential. With his background in journalism Trevor was
interested in reaching the masses. He came back from that trip convinced that,
if SIM was to reach the mass of people in Nigeria and be active among the
larger numbers of literates, change was required and he suggested two things to
the SIM Council:
1.The name of the magazine should be changed from The West
African Christian to African Challenge, the new name having a
wider appeal. It should be issued in newspaper format, making its
production cheaper.
2.The office should move from Jos to Lagos, where there is
a density of literate population, but also it is the newspaper
publishing centre for the country.
Lagos was the port city, so this meant lower costs of production on any printing
through the elimination of freight costs.
It was Trevor’s plan to fashion the African Challenge after the N.Z.
Challenge – a newsprint magazine - with a picture on the front page surrounded
by suitable advertising, then further adverts on various pages throughout the
magazine, thus helping to subsidize the cost. Trevor had arrived in Lagos in
May 1951 to establish and begin making contacts. His wife and two children
joined him June 1, with Chris Ferrier following on 14 June.164
At Yaba in Lagos, SIM had a property used as a guest house for missionaries
arriving by boat and passing through to the north by train. There was one
block of four rooms and room four was assigned to the Shaw family. Apart from
four beds there were three tables for desks, three chairs with three adults trying
to work, and one cupboard of Challenge stationery supplies. On fine days they
164The
African Challenge. A book in SIM Archives on Challenge, page 2.
146
Literature Outreach in Nigeria would move out to work on the veranda, but were forced to move inside when
it rained, which was a good part of the time. After all, it was rainy season!
A time of prayer on 17 June 1951 lifted the burden they were all feeling.
They realized they could not continue in the terribly cramped quarters; they
had to have more room for both office and accommodation. The very next day
an advert in the paper told of property for sale on Agege Motor Road. The cost
was £9,000 and the owner wanted £2,000 as a down payment. Trevor went to
Jos to consult and convince about that house, while the owner gave them an
option for one week. SIM agreed to loan the finances, so Hector Kirk, the field
secretary, returned to Lagos with Trevor and negotiated the terms.
Trevor Shaw arranged with Daily Times, the largest newspaper in Nigeria, to
print the magazine, and they did the typesetting of the first issue, which was a
headache. When Allen Moore arrived 4 July 1951 as the first issue was going
out, he was allowed to use the Daily Times typesetting machine between 11pm
and 2am after the second or third issue. In this way they were not attempting to
make corrections through Daily Times staff who seemed to make more mistakes
than corrections.
THE FIRST AFRICAN CHALLENGE
The African Challenge magazine that was printed by Daily Times with Allen
Moore doing the typesetting raised eyebrows in the home office of the parent
company of the Daily Mirror in London. They were asking, “Why is it you
produce African Challenge better than you produce our Daily Times?”165
At the end of June it was discovered that all the address plates for printing
names had been tampered with and some had gone missing on the journey
down by rail from Jos. There was a rush to get new address plates made. On 7
July 1951 the first African Challenge arrived from Times Press in Lagos at Yaba
guest house. All praised God for His wonderful undertaking and faithfulness
enabling them to produce the Challenge under such trying circumstances.
It was quickly wrapped and labelled, and on 9 June the Challenge was ready
for mailing. The wrapped magazines were put in a zinc bathtub on top of an
old Fiat and taken to the Yaba Post Office and mailed. Only 5,000 copies were
printed and most of these went to subscribers of The West African Christian.
The remainder sold out quickly on the streets of Lagos. A copy of this issue,
with an introductory letter, was sent to 300 up-country agents of the Daily
Times. Many of them wrote in, placing an order for a regular supply of the
Challenge from the August issue on.166
On 12 July the Challenge staff moved into the new property on Agege
Motor Road and spent the next few weeks cleaning and disinfecting the place while at the same time preparing the August issue of Challenge. The print order
165Information
166The
provided by Alan Moore.
African Challenge, SIM Archives on Challenge, page 3.
147
for August was 10,000, and for the first time 3,000 copies were sold on the
streets of Lagos.
Allen Moore recalls that time:
The house above was basically four bedrooms (one for the Shaw
family, one for the Moore family, one for Chris Ferrier and while
we were there Harold arrived and had the fourth. The office was
the space in the middle. This was totally inadequate and we (the
Moores) moved back to the Yaba mission compound and soon
thereafter another house was rented, which we together with Chris
Ferrier, occupied for a year while the Challenge compound was
being developed. Jo Stevens joined us there.167
Moody Press in Chicago was impressed168 with what was being done through
Challenge and indicated a desire to give some help. They were particularly
interested in our wish to see a French magazine published at some point in the
future.169 In November $2,500 came from Moody Press which was half the
price of a second hand Linotype machine. Bob Kitch at Niger Press in Jos knew
one was available from a Christian printer in the USA. Insufficient funds were
on hand, so it was not until September of 1952 that a second hand Linotype
was ordered from the UK through Eric Horn in the SIM London office.
This machine never met the need of African Challenge and as Allen Moore
reports, a new one was ordered from the USA:
Actually it was an “intertype” machine, and was unsuitable for
our needs and was never used. Through the mission, I personally
ordered a new Linotype machine from America which was fitted
with extra type fitting to enable us to do our job satisfactorily.
Subsequently we spent a month in New York where I was able to
brush up on necessary skills to maintain it.170
In September 1951, 10,000 copies were once again printed, and it seems this
continued until into 1952 when 15,000 were printed in July and again in
August 1952, 21,000 were printed and sold out before all orders were cared
for. Subscriptions were coming in at the rate of 159 daily. Agents of the Daily
Graphic in Accra, Ghana, increased their orders by 650 copies. On December 3
of 1951 there was not enough money to pay the printing bill for the November
issue, but funds came in that very day. This was the continuing experience of
Challenge staff at that time; money to pay bills came in so that they ended each
month with all bills paid.
167Allen
Moore in correspondence 19 July 2008.
African Challenge, SIM Archives on Challenge, page 3.
169Ibid.
170Allen Moore in correspondence 19 July 2008.
168The
148
SCHOOL VISITS
December was also the month that Neila Moore called at four schools in
Lagos to introduce African Challenge and sold over 300 copies. This was the
beginning of Challenge staff realizing that schools could be a great opening
for selling Challenge to young students. Eventually schools became the biggest
outlet for the African Challenge, and it was through sales in schools that
distribution developed. The schools were also seen as excellent access into
homes.
Harold Fuller, who had passed through Lagos some months before not
knowing anything about Challenge, found himself at Hausa Language School
in Minna. With the increasing circulation of Challenge, editorial help was
desperately needed. The administration in Jos looked through the papers of all
the recent missionary arrivals. They were, as Harold Fuller says, looking for
anyone who had been within ten feet of an editor’s desk.171 When they came to
Harold’s papers they saw he had taken studies in journalism. He received a
message at language school to go down to Lagos and help with African
Challenge. So Harold was assigned as assistant editor of African Challenge in
Lagos in January 1952 where he spent the next 15 years.
Sales in schools continued to increase
and Trevor Shaw started viewing the
market in Gold Coast (to become Ghana
after Independence in March 1957). An
English-speaking British colony, 300 miles
west along the coast, they, too, should
enjoy Challenge. Trevor went there in
May of 1952, contacted the largest daily
newspaper – Daily Graphic, was given
addresses of all their agents and sent them
copies of the Challenge with a letter of
invitation to order copies.
Reading Challenge
The 15,000 copies of the first
anniversary edition in July 1952 sold out
so quickly that a further 3,000 were printed. The front cover was changed for
this issue under the influence of Harold Fuller. Adverts were moved to the
inside pages and a large two-colour photo was used for the first time. A centre
photo section was introduced. All this meant higher cost, but greater interest
from the public and circulation increased steadily.
At this time also, the remaining funds were due on the property they were
occupying. All funds had come in and one week before the deadline they went
to make the payment, only to find out that the property was no longer for sale.
Talking had no effect, so they knew that the Lord had closed this door. There
171 Harold
tHe story of AfriCAn CHALLenGe
149
was a property for lease on the Apapa Road. This would mean that if they
leased they would have money remaining to put up some buildings. That, too,
was not to be. The final property Challenge leased was on Agege Motor Road
at mile 7 on the way to the airport. It was four acres and later was expanded to
6½ acres when Niger-Press from Jos amalgamated with the African Challenge
in 1959.
HAROLD FULLER
Harold always had a desire to write and had written in the past. While in the
navy he took a correspondence course in journalism. At Prairie Bible Institute
he was challenged to put God first so Harold committed himself to that end
telling the Lord he would not pursue journalism until the Lord raised it up and
made it possible.
He applied to SIM and went to Nigeria in July 1951. He passed through
Lagos to language school in Minna, hearing nothing about the new African
Challenge magazine being established close by in Sure Lere.
It was shortly after the mid-year point in 1952 that Trevor Shaw and his wife
returned to New Zealand. This left Harold with the Challenge in his lap - much
like Trevor had been largely the sole editorial functionary. The one change was
that Dr Herbold had arrived from Omu Aran, 200 miles north. Omu Aran and
Lagos were in the Yoruba-speaking area. Dr Herbold looked after the daily
business; this was a major burden off Harold’s shoulders. Harold was single. Dr
Herbold was married and his wife was a very efficient secretary, as was Chris
Ferrier who was deeply involved in the Editorial Department from the
beginning.
So Harold and the team
went to work and produced the
African Challenge each month.
The circulation kept growing,
and within two years it had the
largest circulation of any newspaper
magazine in all of Africa. In 1954
Lorna & Harold Fuller
it was overtaken by The Drum, a
magazine from South Africa where
they had a higher literacy rate. The editor of The Drum came to visit African
Challenge in Nigeria. He wanted to know how it was that we were able to
have such phenomenal circulation without sexy stories and advertisements for
alcohol. What was the formula?
So we told him, “Our formula is to meet the needs of the man on
the street with news about developments in Africa and educational
material.”172
172 Harold
150
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Harold began to develop further his own formula for the magazine which
included:
1.Moving adverts to the inside pages, one large picture on the front
cover. Babies or children were favourites, but you could not have
them every month, so there was a wide range.
2.Important events mentioned, such as the eclipse of the sun.
When this took place it was on the front cover; there was a center
spread on the subject with diagrams which could be removed to
put on school blackboards. In the early days many government
schools did not have textbooks, so African Challenge was a useful
teaching tool.
3.Educational format where a science subject like “the bean” and
how it grew was covered. These editions would include a centre
spread.
4.We had a news format providing information on what was
happening in Africa and the world, because in his Monday to
Friday reading of four newspapers, Harold knew this was lacking.
5.True stories of conversions of Africans who had found the Lord
and had gone on in leadership in their chosen field.
6.Fictional stories illustrating life in Africa, with a Christian
emphasis.
7.The formula for Challenge was a departure from what churches
and missions thought was a Christian publication. The main
emphasis was to interest the non-Christian rather than the
Christian. We knew if we could get his interest, the Christian
would be interested as well. There was lots of material for the
Christian, Bible studies and so on. But the hook was to the man
on the street: the Muslim, the atheist, the nominal Christian.
There was something that would interest everyone. We had to
keep this in mind constantly in order to publish material that
would meet that need.
POLITICS
Keeping abreast of what was happening, Harold attended many functions. On
one occasion it was a campaign meeting when Chief Awolowo was running for
office as premier of Western Region. Harold got there late and, though there
were both white and black journalists attending, when he showed his face at the
back of the hall, he was pushed forward by others so he could get a good view,
but the only seat was on the platform in a chair surrounded by politicians. Chief
Awolowo, who was speaking, was haranguing the colonial power of Britain, and
throughout the speech Harold kept his head down not wanting to attract too
much attention.
tHe story of AfriCAn CHALLenGe
151
Occasionally someone close on the platform would slap his knee or his back
and laugh saying, “Sea Never Dry!” Harold learned about Nigerian humour
and the lackadaisical favourite saying “Sea
Never Dry”. In Nigeria this means “Okay,
there’s no end to this, no end of trouble or
no end to whatever. So let’s just flow along
with it. The sea never dries up; the breakers
keep rolling in on top of you.” In this
situation, it meant “don’t worry too much
about what Awolowo is saying; you’ve
heard it before, you will hear it again. Like
the sea, it never stops”. That was the kind
Billy Graham and Harold Fuller - In
of fun he had in keeping in touch with the
Challenge Office
people and understanding them,
anticipating what their interests would be.
VAGARIES OF PRINTING OVERSEAS
When Challenge was printed at Daily Times in Lagos, each issue was started
three months in advance, but when it was printed overseas there was a sixmonth time lag; three months in preparation, then three months allowing it
to be sent to England, have it printed and return to Nigeria and Ghana for
circulation on time.
QuEEn ElIZaBEtH IssuE
One issue that stands out is the one with Queen Elizabeth’s picture on the
cover with a full centre spread on the monarchy. Sometime after her coronation
she was to visit Ghana, and as is the practice of many missionaries, Harold was
listening to the BBC news at 6pm. He heard that the Queen was expecting
a baby, and immediately realized that this “did in” the cover and the centre
spread. He quickly cabled SIM London, to Captain Oliver a retired Royal Navy
captain who cared for Challenge business. Harold asked him to insert another
photograph for the cover and change the inside. They always had a mock-up
of a substitute in case something fell through and so the centre spread was also
changed. That kind of thing would happen at times, but not often.
Now in spite of the “rabble-rousing” politicians, royalty was greatly admired.
Many people in North America didn’t understand that so they thought that
these colonies would be anti-Monarchy. But no, they loved the Monarch; they
respected the Monarchy. And in the homes of these “rabid” politicians, one
would find hanging on the walls, photographs of Her Imperial Majesty.173
When the Queen finally visited Nigeria in 1956, it was the highest printing
ever of African Challenge. That printing was 187,000 which was for Nigeria,
173 Harold
152
Ghana, and several other countries in Africa which were served from the
London office, plus the SIM home countries.
THE QUEEN’S VISIT
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Nigeria in February 1956. A special
edition on white art paper, with the Queen on the cover, was prepared by
Challenge to present to Queen Elizabeth, and was
delivered by Dick Brant. This was a bumper issue,
with extra effort put on for selling it at all special
gatherings. At the main event in Lagos, a team of
six was set up: one woman to keep store of the
38,000 African Challenge; two sets of two men
selling among the crowd; and one man on a
motorbike keeping the sellers supplied. Buyers
mobbed the men who sold all their copies. One
newspaper seller sold 54 copies to workers at the
factory across the road from Challenge. Agents
were selling two and three times as many as
normal.
A Yoruba edition of the Challenge was printed
Queens' Visit to Nigeria
with the Queen and Prince Philip on the cover.
That edition was printed at Daily Times. The price was increased to 4d ($0.12),
but circulation continued to increase. Because they ran out of the July 1957
issue of 150,000, and the same thing happening in August, the UK printer was
asked to run a second printing of 10,000 copies.
PREPARING THE MAGAZINE
Putting Challenge together involved numerous people. The day began with
prayer. Articles came from many sources: manuscripts, writers, reprints. The
article was rewritten where necessary, researched so facts were correct, checked
by Nigerians, typed, and copies sent to the lawyer and SIM Jos. Approved by
the editor, it was set on the Linotype, proofread, corrected, and proofread
again. The article then went to the artist who read, entitled, illustrated,
arranged the page, and added fillers. A Nigerian compositor set up the page,
which was then checked by the editor, the secretary and the artist. Any errors
were corrected.
Once approved, the page was printed on art paper. The artist put directions
for Sun Printers, UK, on the page, and retouched any little errors. Reproduced
by the photographer, it was packed by the secretary, and the clerk took it to
the airport to be sent by air; at least 14 people were involved in the process.
A dummy magazine was also planned in case of strikes or some loss between
Lagos and London.
153
DISTRIBUTION
In mid-1957 there were 15 field representatives selling Challenge; that included
the ones in Ghana. Challenge was finding missionaries in cars an expensive
way of distributing the magazine so, by the end of 1957, they began having
Nigerian staff on motorbikes doing the distribution. This was operational,
especially in Western Region and the Mid-West of Nigeria.
By 1958, Challenge printed 100,000 copies monthly for Nigeria and 50,000
monthly for Ghana. During this same time the counsellor was receiving 120
letters daily. From January to April of 1958, 1,800 letters were sent out by
the counsellor. At the same time Challenge was being sold in over 20 African
countries, and in what some might think were unusual countries such as
Czechoslovakia, Alaska, China, Japan, and the West Indies. All of these were
serviced by Captain Oliver from the London office. At that time there was
opposition from Catholic schools in Ghana which were no longer allowed to
take Challenge.
Many headmasters in other schools saw the Challenge as a valuable teaching
aid, so they required that students bring the money for each issue. This was not
what Challenge encouraged, but it did help circulation. At the beginning the
cost was tuppence (two pennies or 6 cents), with the price rising to thruppence
(3 pennies or 9 cents). The magazine would be taken home and the literate
people in the household would read it.
CHRIS FERRIER
Chris had served in the Canadian Army (sergeant technician in the medical
corps). After her conversion, she studied at Toronto Bible College, heard about
SIM, and went to Nigeria as an X-ray technician in 1950. She ever remained
“the soldier”- standing tall, shoulders back, and with the gait of an army patrol.
She never wavered in purpose, always a true, responsible, dependable friend.
(When Lorna and Harold married, Chris was the one to oversee all the bride’s
arrangements. Incidentally “old-soldier” Chris was never one to accept any
compliments – she’d just wave them off!
While in Jos, she helped the new editors of The West Africa Christian (a
small “digest” type of publication) as an editorial volunteer. When the editors
(Trevor and Grace Shaw, newly arrived from New Zealand) decided to change
the limited appeal magazine into a larger tabloid-style newspaper/magazine
as an evangelistic outreach, they moved their office to Lagos, the port city
and centre of the largest readership in the country. They asked Chris to go
with them as full-time editorial staff. Chris became a valued team member and
(when the Shaws left in 1952) became Editor Harold Fuller’s main assistant in
the Editorial Department.
When Chris transferred back to Canada, she became the main support for
the International Publications Department in Toronto, Canada. She was Kerry
154
Lovering’s “right arm,” handling his files, researching data and formatting
copy. It was she who set up the International Archival System - later travelling
to Charlotte to establish it at SIM
International HQ. Chris also helped
simplify (for ESL readers) Moody
paperbacks on different aspects of
the Christian life. One book she
simplified was on prayer, by the
prominent Bible teacher and author,
R. A. Torrey. Years later, retired in
Canada and living in a seniors’
retirement building, Chris got to
know a Roman Catholic woman
Chris Ferrier giving tracts at Trade Fair
resident. They sat at the same meal
table. The woman confided that she
had great fears of death and asked Chris if she could help her to know how to
pray. (Her concept was one of prayer to the saints and icons.) Chris wondered
what she could give the woman to read. She was surprised to find in her own
small bookcase (reduced to a minimum in size and books through many
moves), a copy of the book on prayer she had edited in Lagos. She gave it to
the woman, who later told her that it helped her to understand how to pray,
and she now had spiritual peace.174
174 Harold
Fuller September 2008.
CHAPter 10
DISTRIBUTION AND
PERSONNEL INVOLVED
It was late 1954 or early 1955 when representatives of Challenge started visiting
schools on a regular basis. Until that time schools wanting the African
Challenge received it by mail. At this point representatives began delivering one
month, collecting the money with the next month’s delivery.
Some of the early
representatives were Eric
Bowley, Bud Lavely,
Don Hall, Stan Todd,
Dr Albert Helser, Ernie
Virgint, Dan Truax, Elijah
Bingham, Kath Dick, John
VanderSchie, Harold and
Elsie Saul, Bill and Jessie
Wright and John and Vi
Bergen (who, after being
in the Eastern Region,
Challenge Field Reps
became distribution
manager in Lagos, later transferring to Ghana to take charge of Challenge in
Accra). Vern Hurlbert and Jim Mason were reps in the Lagos area before both
ended up in bookshop work.
Dr Helser was the district superintendent based in Ibadan, 100 miles north
of Lagos, as was Dan Truax. Dr Helser was known from one end of Nigeria
to the other having stayed in government rest houses. He was a person who
made you feel good about yourself and what you were doing. He was a huge
promoter of African Challenge, and became General Director of SIM in late
1957.
Dr Helser was a great fund raiser, and many areas of SIM benefited from his
generosity. He and Mrs Helser had a principle, that whatever God sent in each
month was used that month in God’s work. He emptied his bank account every
month and started from zero.
156
Stan Todd tells of his experience with Dr Helser when he was assigned to
work in Challenge distribution:
Staff In Front of Challenge
I remember that I first went
to the Helser home in Ibadan
and picked up a small van that
he had provided. Then he and
Mrs Helser came along in their
car and saw me settled into
my little house in Oshogbo.
I clearly remember that he
took me around some of the
schools in that area where he
introduced teachers and pupils
to African Challenge.
Dr Helser had a great love for
the Nigerian people and this came through as he spoke first to the
headmaster, then to the various classes.
Several times he referred to a statement in the United States
Constitution advocating equality for all. It was in that context that I
now remember Dr Helser’s ability to make people feel good about
themselves. When we left the school I think all who had heard him
and especially the teachers had felt his warmth and were encouraged.
Once a month I would drive the 70
miles to Ibadan and spend a weekend
with the Helsers. At breakfast Mrs
Helser would have a notebook on the
table and would jot down any item
of business that needed follow-up. I
would come away encouraged.
When Dr Helser realized there was a
romance between Stan Todd and Etta,
a nursing sister teaching at the Nurses’
Training School at Egbe Hospital, he extended Stan’s territory to include Egbe.
He then married them in November 1957 at the Yoruba Church in Egbe.
Eric Bowley first served in Eastern Nigeria, and then transferred to Ghana
to open the distribution work there in December 1956. Bud Lavely was in
Eastern Region. Some years later he transferred to Ghana. After being in the
North, Stan Todd was assigned to Challenge and was stationed at Oshogbo.
After his marriage to Etta and home leave, they went to Ghana.
Ernie Virgint was sent to represent African Challenge in Kenya and at one
stage had 2,000 copies going into the Mau Mau detention camps in Kenya.
Stan & Etta Todd, Belfast
DistriBution AnD PersonneL inVoLVeD
157
The Mau Mau were what today we would call a terrorist group, with the aim
of expelling the colonial power from the country. It was at the end of that time
that Jomo Kenyatta became the first president of Kenya.
One interesting story concerns Ernie Virgint when he was at Yoruba
language school in Oro Ago. As was the custom, a school boy or girl would
help keep the house clean and carry water in at the end of the day for your bath
(in a zinc tub) after school. This had been done for Ernie and he thought the
girl was finished, so he got into the bath. When he heard her coming again,
surprised and wondering what to do he cried out “Whoa”, what you might say
to a horse to stop. In Yoruba, however “Wo” means “come and look”.175
Kath Dick spent many years in Yoruba
work and was fluent in the language. Her
emphasis was distributing the Yoruba
Challenge when it was launched. After
many years of diligent work Kath resigned
from SIM in 1958 and started a Youth
Camp work at Mile 36 on the Ibadan
Lagos Road. She had already identified two
Yoruba men, James Jolayemi and Samuel
Restaurant at Youth Camp
Gbadeyan, sending them to the USA for
agricultural training. Later this camp was
sold to the Pentecostal Church which still owns it. The Nigeria Youth Camp
bought a new site south of Ilorin. They still operate at this location today.
Discussions are ongoing in the family about who will carry on the Youth Camp
work.
John Vanderschie was in Challenge work for about ten years. Being an
evangelist, John held evangelistic meetings along with selling Challenge. He
had a camper which he pulled behind a pickup and travelled for extended
periods. One time when he was in the Lagos/Ibadan area, he experienced what
many have experienced since that day according to Olwyn Keyte, the librarian
at Challenge:
In March 1955, Mr Vanderschie told us a story from his Western
Nigeria journeys. At Ibadan, a man came running to him shouting,
“Africa for Christ,” the motto on Vanderschie’s vehicle.
He told Mr Vanderschie that as he was passing Glover Hall (Ibadan
University) in January he heard singing and went in. It was our
evangelistic campaign - the last meeting. He went on, “Four ladies
were singing at that meeting and the Lord spoke to me and I gave
my life to Him while they sang.” It was the song, “They Nailed My
Lord Upon the Tree and Left Him Dying There.” The singers were
Neila Moore, Doreen Bowley, Marguerite Cocker and Olwyn Keyte.
175 Heard
when the author was at Yoruba Language School, Sept/Nov 1957.
158
The next person to speak to Mr Vanderschie was one whose
attention was caught by a title in a paper being read by a man near
him on the bus. He gave the man 3d and bought the paper, African
Challenge; on reading the article “The Door” by Tom Olson, he was
converted. The pencil drawing on the cover had attracted that man’s
attention and God did the rest.176
Don and Betty Hall, who were in Hausa Language School in Kano, were
asked to go to Ghana and assist with Challenge distribution from Accra. While
there, they had the difficult experience of losing one of their twin boys. Don
recounts that story below:
We arrived in Accra in March
of 1958 and were cordially
welcomed to Ghana by the first
SIM couple to be stationed
in Ghana, Eric and Doreen
Bowley. Eric trained me in
the ins and outs of Challenge
promotion and distribution
and Doreen trained Betty to
take up duties in the Challenge
office. In the months to
Don & Betty Hall
follow Eric would outline a
sales strategy and each day
we’d each set out in a different direction visiting secondary schools
where we enlisted agents to distribute the Challenge and to keep the
Challenge agency functioning at that location. We also set up street
vendors as we had opportunity and never missed an opportunity
while at a school to open up the back of the station wagon and do a
brisk business selling Christian books, Bibles, and New Testaments.
The Challenge circulation, both the English and Yoruba editions,
grew month by month.
Our twin sons, Dan and Dean, celebrated their fourth birthday in
June of that year and then one day, September 18, while out visiting
Challenge agents in the Accra area, the older of the twins, who had
been only slightly ill the night before, took a turn for the worse.
Betty tried time after time to reach me by phone and when she’d
managed to get through to a headmaster he would report, “He
just left.” Upon finally reaching home about 11:30am, I found the
situation to be desperate. Betty said, “Dan has gone unconscious and
176 From
Olwyn Keyte’s notes on Challenge, May 2007.
I can’t get him to wake up.” We wrapped a little blanket around him,
snatched him up in our arms and raced to the Government Hospital.
We ignored the words of the receptionist who told us the doctor
already had a patient, and threw open the door to his office and
rushed in. The other patient was in the process of leaving. We
put Dan down on the doctor’s examining table and he put his
stethoscope on his tiny chest and announced, “I’m sorry, but he’s
gone.”
In those days there were no funeral establishments. We had to have
an autopsy done, have a casket made, get a death certificate issued,
get a plot at the cemetery, get a grave opened, and send cables to
SIM Jos and SIM Lagos and one to our respective parents. And it
all had to be done before sunset. Thanks to God for the incredible
strength He gave us and to the incredibly kind friends He gave
us, we made it. Missionary friends from the Mennonite Mission,
the Seventh Day Adventist Mission, and Baptist Mid-Missions
surrounded us with their love and did all of the things we could not
possibly get done by ourselves. We were totally amazed and grateful
that our District Superintendent, Douglas Blunt, was able to catch a
flight out of Lagos and arrived in time for the funeral.
It seemed impossible. Dan was alive and responsive that morning.
Before I left the house to go out and do Challenge business, he
gave me one of his “wet, sloppy kisses”. Now at sunset that day, he
had been received into the arms of Jesus and his body laid to rest
in the red soil of Africa. Our world, and in a very real sense, our
ministry had crashed around us. SIM brought us over to Nigeria
for complete physical examinations and for a time of rest at Miango.
Then we returned to Accra. For the remainder of our time there,
Betty and the remaining twin, Dean, did a great deal of travelling
with me. It was so difficult to leave the compound without them.
Added to this, Eric and Doreen Bowley had been in Nigeria when all
of this happened and while there Doreen suffered a miscarriage.
In view of all that had happened, SIM concluded that since my wife
Betty was expecting again, she should return to Jos a few weeks prior
to giving birth. She and Dean went over in early April and I followed
in early May. The Field Council had already concluded that it might
be best to transfer us back to Nigeria. Our ministry in literature
distribution in Ghana lasted a mere 13 months.177
177Don
Hall’s report for this writing, June 2007.
159
160
Later Don and Betty finished language school and after further studies, Don
taught at Igbaja Bible College and, with Betty’s help, ran the Correspondence
School at Igbaja.
Bill and Jessie Wright have a
fascinating story. In providing this
information to me for the history of
literature, Bill said, “I get excited thinking
about it. Literature was a main focus of our
activity and our heart for many years.” Bill
arrived in Kano in April 1948. He came
by KLM, Jessie arrived by boat 2 months
later and their paths converged at Hausa
Bill & Jessie Wright 08
Language School, Minna. They studied
Hausa and each other, becoming engaged
in November 1948, and then married in Sokoto in September of 1949.
Harold Ogilvie was a good language school teacher and something of an
opportunist, so that when he saw this young man diving into Hausa, Harold
gave Bill the colportage responsibilities of the station which included taking
SGM (Scripture Gift Mission) books in a variety of languages into town to sell.
Sometime earlier, Ogilvie had learned Irigwe – the language of the people
in Miango. He reduced it to writing and had translated 2/3 of the New
Testament and other portions of Scripture by 1935. He was also asked to work
on the revision of the Hausa Bible. After three months of study Harold asked
Bill to take responsibility for morning devotions with the Nigerian staff. Bill
did not think he was ready for that, but Harold thought it would not harm the
young men, so early on Bill was immersed in Hausa.
With the end of language school, Bill was assigned with Wilf Stade to
Kaingiwa, in Sokoto Province on the Northwest border. Kaingiwa was the most
remote station in SIM and was known as the “Mission Siberia”. Bill tells of
these early days that as he was speaking to one woman, she replied in Hausa, “I
don’t understand English.” The problem was that she was speaking the Sokoto
dialect and Bill had learned another dialect hundreds of miles away in Minna.
In the meantime, after language school, Jessie was stationed to Jos and worked
with Niger-Press helping Johnny Grant in the office.
After their marriage Bill and Jessie went back to Kaingiwa, but within a year
they were back in Jos for the birth of Ruth. They remained in Jos for about five
months, August to December, with Jessie helping Johnny Grant in the Press by
operating the Linotype machine and Bill helping in the pharmacy. In Jos market
each evening Bill preached and sold SGM booklets. When people wanted to
come to the Lord, Bill would take them from the din of the market round to
the Colportage building where he could instruct and pray with them.
It was during this time that Trevor Shaw and his wife arrived in Jos. Bill
speaks about attending prayer times with Trevor and his wife along with Mary
161
King. They prayed about Trevor’s vision for African Challenge. Little did Bill
realize, that from 1958-1967 he would be assigned to African Challenge.178
The Wrights returned to Kaingiwa. As Bill became increasingly proficient
in Hausa, he was asked to translate material from English into Hausa. In this
he worked with Helen Watkins and Ruth Warfield. Bill mentions they used to
be referred to as “W-squared”. Helen was also the main examiner for Hausa
exams. Books translated at that time were Twenty-four Bible Stories and Fiftyone Lesson Booklet used in baptismal classes. In Hausa it was called Tushen ban
Gaskiya. Bill also translated for SIM Translations Department – (SIMLIT). One
was called Hanyar Rai or “The Way of Life in English. As Bill says, he dictated
and Jessie typed. Fifty years later it is still the same.
While still in Kaingiwa, Bill was asked to do a regular “View of the World”
section for Labarin Ekklesiya, the Hausa publication when Ruth Jacobson was
the editor. One of his first articles in English was “Why One Wife” for African
Challenge. It was a case for monogamy for Christians.
The Wrights went on leave in July 1957, and on the way through Kano were
privileged to meet Dr Bargery of Hausa dictionary fame. He edited the Hausa/
English dictionary printed in 1932. He was an old man now, but was “called
out of mothballs” to work on the Hausa Bible revision with Jake Eitzen, an
SIMer and renowned Hausa speaker who had been district superintendent in
Sokoto. Bill asked SIM to station him to literature distribution on their return.
They were expecting perhaps to be operating a bookmobile or something like
that somewhere in the North. Much to their surprise however they learned
from other missionaries on the ship MV Aureol that they were stationed to
Akure in Western Region, to distribute African Challenge. Akure was about half
way on the road from Lagos to Onitsha on the River Niger, and quite distant
from other SIMers.
While the children enjoyed the pool and other activities, Bill was in the
ship’s library learning about Southern Nigeria. Bill says: “Though politically,
Southern Nigeria was the same country as Northern Nigeria, in reality it was a
very different land in climate, vegetation, language and the advance of western
civilization.”179
Bill was met by John Bergen who had their newly purchased Volkswagen
van, so they were able to take their entire luggage from the ship to the guest
house at Yaba. Since they now lived in Akure, Bill moved around Ondo and
Benin states with Challenge. Bill said of the van, “It became my hotel on the
road, bookmobile and Challenge delivery vehicle, as well as family transport
when home.”
The Challenge house was one or two miles out of town, so it was isolated
for Jessie when Bill was travelling. Locked in by the jungle, unable to speak the
178Bill
Wright in an email communication 28 June 2008.
South was under the influence of Christianity since the 1840s. It was not until the 1930s
that missions were allowed to have stations in the Muslim North.
179The
162
Literature Outreach in Nigeria language, and with two young children, frustration was a factor. To combat
this Jessie wrote to the Lagos office asking for work to be given to her that
she could do in Akure. By this time the African Challenge Readers’ Clubs had
started, and this could be done anywhere, so Jessie took over as counsellor and
organizer, staying in touch with up to 350 Readers’ Clubs in Nigeria and other
countries. How Readers’ Clubs came about will be mentioned in more detail
later.
While in Akure Bill wrote the booklet, Why One Wife. The material was the
same as the article written for Challenge some years earlier, but now enlarged.
Printed as a booklet and sold at sixpence (18 cents), it went through 25,000 in
three printings that Bill knows about.
Bill describes what his schedule was like at Akure, and it would be similar for
many of the Challenge representatives.
I would often be on the road Monday to Friday, visiting about 200
schools a month with English and Yoruba Challenge magazines,
which were sold and distributed through the school headmasters.
Total distribution was, if I remember correctly, about 12,000 copies
per month. This was arduous work. I camped and cooked in the bus
- and ate a lot of bananas!
After school hours, returning through towns and villages, I stopped
the bus under shady trees and opened the bookrack in the back
of the bus, selling considerable quantities of books, booklets, and
Bibles. A trick of the trade was to give away a few back copies of the
Challenge magazine, and people would then come running from
everywhere, and I soon had a crowd around the back of the bus.
Then I would hold up the books and booklets, 6d, 3d, 1/- shilling. I
had learned enough of the Yoruba language to ask directions on the
road and to sell booklets using that language. We had support from
Peoples Church, Toronto, and received a good supply of Dr Oswald
Smith’s books in English, of course, which I sold at low prices. Dr
Smith wrote in short sentences and easy words, which could be
understood much better by African readers than the writing of most
North American writers. In 1962, we again went on home leave. 180
During his time in Akure Bill contracted filaria. Though feeling the effects of
the parasite, it was not discovered until they returned from home leave and he
was assigned as district superintendent for Challenge in Nigeria and Ghana.181
This meant moving to Challenge compound in Lagos. Bill tells about that time:
Lagos was the last place in the world where I ever expected or
wanted to be. But I came to love it. For the next four years, we
180Bill
Wright’s account for this history, 15 January 2007.
181Ibid.
DistriBution AnD PersonneL inVoLVeD
163
were at the Challenge compound, Agege Motor Road, Lagos, then
still the nation’s fast-growing capital. I immediately took over as
business manager (something I had never done in my life!) from Karl
Munting, soon to depart on furlough. I had to learn fast and much. I
also became the Challenge distribution manager as well as the district
superintendent for the forty missionaries in our district.
There were about 80 African staff at the Niger-Challenge Press.
I learned much and received great support from my fellow
missionaries, Harold Fuller, editor-inchief of the publications,
Ashley Tuck, Allen Moore and Bill Todd in the Press, Jim Mason
with Challenge Bookshops, and many other helpful people. 182
WrItIng on MarrIagE
Bill tells of a trip that he and Jessie made to Eastern Nigeria. We (the Masons)
were on the compound at the time, and wondered why they could not take
an honest break from the office. Bill never shared that he dictated while Jessie
typed.
While we were in Lagos, I was asked by the SIM Bible
Correspondence School at Igbaja to write a Bible correspondence
course on marriage. (Perhaps the request came because of the
popularity of “Why One Wife”.) I remember a trip that Jessie and I
made from Lagos to Enugu to visit our beloved Challenge reps along
the way and in the Eastern Region. We were driving the ancient VW
bug that belonged to NCP (Niger-Challenge Press). I improvised a
wooden rack in the passenger seat to hold Jessie’s portable
typewriter. All day as I drove the bug I dictated to Jessie while she
typed a big part of what became the Sex and Marriage, Happy and
Holy Bible correspondence course. It, too, became very popular and
God blessed. Those who completed the course proudly displayed
their certificates. That was just one of many courses sent out by
Igbaja Correspondence School, but
the one with which I am familiar. 183
Ken and Phyllis Bennett, who were fluent
in Yoruba, were in Ibadan with Challenge
for some years before going to Lagos to
work at the guest house in Yaba, prior to
moving to Challenge compound as district
superintendent. Ken returned to the UK
in 1971, and was warden of North Oxford
Student Hostel for 18 years. They helped
182 Bill
183 Ibid.
Ken & Phyllis Bennett - Minister Lovell
OX UK
164
Literature Outreach in Nigeria many students through the years and continued to stay in touch with them
after they left. Several of those former students paid for Ken and Phyllis to visit
them in countries like Sudan, Singapore, Nigeria and Egypt after they became
successful in their careers. Ken and Phyllis returned to Nigeria for six months to
help do the task of two couples for the Pastors’ Book Set Conference in 1997.
CHAPTER 11
MORE DISTRIBUTION
PERSONNEL
B
ud and Doris Lavely were in their senior year at BIOLA (Bible
Institute of Los Angeles) in 1954 when Dr Albert Helser of SIM
Nigeria was one of the speakers. Bud was president of the Africa Prayer
Group, so was able to talk with him one day. Dr Helser said that he would like
to have them on his team in Nigeria. Asking them to pray about it, he suggested
that, if interested, they could attend an SIM candidate class in Pasadena after
school ended. They attended and Bud tells how this happened:
We felt this was something God wanted us to do, so we applied, and
enjoyed meeting our hosts, other candidates and getting to know of
mission opportunities in Nigeria. We were accepted into SIM in July
of 1954, arriving in Nigeria, in July of 1955. Our first child, Richard
Stephen arrived one month later at Jos.
ASSIGNMENT TO AFRICAN CHALLENGE ABA
After language school at Minna they were assigned to Eastern Region early
1956 distributing the African Challenge magazine. They were the first SIM
missionaries in that part of the country, and had the privilege of introducing
Challenge, Christian books and Bibles to a needy, open and appreciative people.
The early days:
Our first station was a vacant Qua Iboe Mission house forty miles
in the “bush”. Not exactly a prime location to launch literature
ministry, but with schools and churches in all the villages, we could
and did begin the work virtually on our own doorstep. The work
was both rewarding and demanding. Roads were treacherous and
dangerous. Not all bridges were safe. We proved that one day when a
bridge collapsed under us. In rainy season in those days, many roads
were impassable, which really played havoc with our schedules.
166
My basic plan in those early days, before I was well acquainted with
the area, was to visit schools within driving distance of our house, so
I could be home every night.
At each school, I would meet the
headmaster and he would invite me
to speak to the student body. It was
quite a novelty for a white man to
visit a school, and especially if he was
a Christian and had an attractive,
informative teaching aid like the
African Challenge, that featured Bible
lessons. It should be noted that most
Bud & Doris Lavely
of the primary and secondary schools
in those days were mission schools, and all schools were required
to have courses in Bible knowledge and instruction. Since classes
were conducted in English, and they really liked to hear English
from a white person, my coming was an occasion for a break in the
normal school routine, both for staff and students. At the end of
my presentation students would indicate if they wanted to subscribe
to the magazine. A teacher would be appointed to service the
subscribers.
Following that, I would invite the entire staff out to my station
wagon to examine the attractive selection of Bibles and Christian
literature that I had on board. Since Christian bookshops were
few and far between, and many books on popular subjects (home,
marriage, family, Christian living, etc.) were not available locally,
enthusiasm for this service right to their doorstep can hardly be
overstated. It was so enjoyable to meet and befriend these highly
motivated and appreciative people. The teachers were quick to
realize the usefulness of Challenge as an effective teaching aid in the
subjects they were teaching.
transFEr to Enugu
After some months of living in the heart of the rain forest, Doris developed a
skin condition and nothing would help. The net result was a decision to transfer
the Lavelys to Enugu, the capital of the region, 65 miles to the north. The
move was good for health and, being more central to the entire region, also
good for distribution of Challenge.
They lived in a rest house for a few months, in very cramped quarters while
Bud worked on permits to build a house, even as he kept up with Challenge
distribution to schools and vendors. This move introduced them to other
More DistriBution PersonneL
167
missionaries who were a support to Doris when Bud was away. It also afforded
Bud opportunities for Christian outreach.
cHaPlaIncY rEsPonsIBIlItIEs
Bud teamed up with a teacher from the local Technical Institute to assume the
chaplaincy responsibilities at the largest regional prison. They provided weekly
services for the inmates for the entire time they were in Enugu. This was an
outstanding opportunity to share Christ and the transforming power of the
Gospel with these needy, friendly and receptive men.
lIFE on tHE road
Bud’s schedule:
My schedule in those days, though
routine, was well coordinated,
efficient and with little room for error
or delay. In a culture that was not
built along these lines, there were
many disappointments and problems.
But ordinarily, I would leave every
week early Monday morning with
my station wagon completely loaded
down, headed for some outlying
district where I would spend the
Book Display - Lavely
entire week, meeting, speaking and
getting people subscribed to our magazine, while offering them
helpful books and literature to aid them in this study, teaching, and
to help them live to the “glory of God”.
Fortunately, there were strategically located mission stations and rest
houses I could stay at along the way. By Friday afternoon, I would
be tired and glad to be heading home to my family. Along the way I
would stop at farms and markets to load up with fruit and vegetables
for the coming week.
The weekend was used in attending to home maintenance, social
activities, study, recreation, church, prison, preaching and getting
ready for early Monday departure. Not much down time.
After some time it was determined that I was the most strategically
located to access the English-speaking part of the Cameroons,
the country immediately to the east of Nigeria. This represented
a very strenuous week with a lot of travel time. The people and
accommodations were nice; the roads were not. Travel was slow and
difficult and at times precarious. With a much smaller population
than Nigeria, cities and schools were much farther apart. It was a
country of considerable beauty and stark contracts. At Buea, on
168
Literature Outreach in Nigeria the coast, the annual rainfall is over 300 inches a year but a hundred
miles to the north it is quite dry.
The story I remember about Bud Lavely from this time was that he had
Michelin tires on his Peugeot station wagon and he wanted to cover 50,000
miles (75,000 km) before he had to change them. The tires were getting
smoother and smoother, but they made it to 50,000 miles. For the kind of
roads Bud travelled on, that was a great achievement for any tires.
In 1965, storm clouds of separation by Biafra were on the horizon, so it was
decided that the Lavelys should be transferred to Ghana to continue literature
work there. They landed in Accra October 1965, sharing the rented Challenge
compound with John and Vi Bergen.
Harold and Elsie Saul were stationed at Katsina, north of Kano in the
bookshop work. When bookshops were centralized under Jos Bookshop,
Katsina came under a Nigerian manager. At that time the Sauls moved to Aba
in Eastern Region and were assigned to African Challenge distribution. They
would go out in their Volkswagen van fitted with sleeping accommodation.
They spent the years before the Civil War and looming retirement travelling
that part of Nigeria. They were very successful, working hard and sleeping in
their van until it was felt at their age they should spend more time at home
base in Aba than in the van. Harold visited the Aba prison and, through the
presentation of the Gospel, the man who became the first bookmobile driver in
Port Harcourt was led to the Lord by Harold Saul. When they went home to
Canada the Sauls settled in British Columbia.
HOW CHALLENGE WAS KNOWN AND APPRECIATED
After the Civil War Vern and Phyllis Hurlbert returned to Enugu. Vern went
to Jos to fetch Clem Bartlett who had built the new bookshop. They had to go
through many road blocks along the way, but it is amazing how a few outdated
African Challenge magazines can help to get through these roadblocks. As
Vern reported:
Everyone knows the Challenge, and so when they see them, they
say to one another, “These are our people,” and we are allowed
through.184
Another story from that time took place in Western Region of Nigeria where
Challenge was delivered on motorbike. It was in January 1966, as the events
leading to the Civil War were beginning, that one of the motorcycle field reps
came to a group of motor cyclists as thugs came out of the bush. The other
bikes were set alight, but when the thugs saw the African Challenge sign, they
said, “Oh Challenge! Off you go!”
184Phyllis
Hurlbert, Whatever Happened to Calamity Jane, self published, 2007.
MORE DISTRIBUTION PERSONNEL
On another occasion John and Vi Bergen and Stan and Etta Todd were
coming from Accra for a conference at Challenge compound in Lagos. It
is only 300 miles, but you had to pass through Togo and Benin (formerly
Dahomey) on the way.
When Stan got to the Togo border and talked to the immigration
officer, the man said: “Oh you’re African Challenge! Why, the two
greatest things in the world are African Challenge and ELWA. Do
you know ELWA?” “Yes, they belong to the same mission.” “They
do?” And he cleared both cars and families without delay.185 ELWA
was the radio station operating from Liberia.
I will let Ken Bennett tell how the Ibos working for Challenge were helped
during the Civil War:
There were a good number of Ibo men working for Niger-Challenge
Press (NCP), and SIM Bookshops. I believe it is correct to say
those who wished to return to their home area had left when the
conflict began. A short time after conflict had begun there were
eight Ibo men still left working with NCP and the bookshops.
There was considerable persecution in Lagos and it was felt wise to
get them out from the midst of this unrest. I had a pass to get into
the departure area of the airport, so I was able to take Charles Ohu
out to an international flight to Ghana where he was able to study
art during the conflict. Jim Mason and I took seven of the men to
stay on the mission compound in Ibadan where there was relative
quiet. Only a few days later I was told things would deteriorate in
Ibadan, but only four wished to leave. The difficulty was to get out
of Ibadan, there being strong army roadblocks in and out of the city.
This was mainly to check on what and who were getting in and out.
Jim Mason went to the roadblock out of the city, held the soldiers
in conversation, and gave them old copies of African Challenge and
other Christian literature. I came by three minutes later and drove
by with four Ibo men in the back of the car, Jim saying “He is my
friend; he is going on a journey.” Ken was able to get them to the
River Niger and at night was able to get them on a small boat across
the river so entering the Ibo area. Things did not improve and we
had concern for the three who were still in Ibadan, I was able to get
them out of Ibadan and take them to a little village in the Mid-West,
which was by this time occupied by the forces from the East (Biafra).
This was an isolated area and no real danger so they were able to get
from there to the river and to their homes. These men survived the
war period and most came back afterward.
185Stan
Todd in his testimony for this history, March 2007, in SIM Archives.
169
170
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Ken Bennett was stationed in Ibadan at that time, but later went to Lagos as
District Superintendent. There was a bookshop in Ibadan, so Ken and Jim
Mason often had to make trips there. On the return there was a 7pm curfew
coming into Lagos and increasingly a long line up from 4pm. If it was too
long, Ken and I would drive up to the front of the line holding out African
Challenge, ensuring there was enough for every soldier and we would be
allowed to go through.
African Challenge was like an “open sesame”. It was known throughout
Nigeria and in Ghana, and being associated with the magazine introduced you
as people who loved and served the country.
One historic fact about Challenge and how it became an integral part of
Ibadan city life is that when the compound was built, and up to about 1964, it
was the last compound on the only road to Lagos. The closest building was St
Anne’s Church, then an Anglican girls’ school being about ¼ mile distant. As
things built up around Challenge, the area became known as “Challenge” and
that is what you would see on city maps today.186
186Information
provided by Ken Bennett.
CHAPTER 12
COUNSELLING AND READERS’
CLUBS
COUNSELLING DEPARTMENT
From the beginning, each issue of the Challenge had a salvation article and a
decision slip that people could sign indicating they had chosen to follow Christ.
This was sent to Challenge where they were promised further help. There was
never a month without a response. At the beginning they were in the tens, and
as the distribution grew so did the number of responses.
In 1965 the total number for the year was 2,427, occasionally the monthly
total running as high as 4-500.187 In a later year the Counselling Department
received over 4,000 letters from readers.188
When they wrote, the counsellor would write back including some tracts that
would help. Some of the counselees’ interaction is recorded below:
I have read your letter through and have studied the pamphlet,
The Foolish Grasshopper, and I have seen that I was exactly like it. I
went about seeking worldly pleasures and trying to enjoy life while
I could. But praise the Lord because I have accepted Him to be my
personal Saviour and Lord. I am now living for Him.
Another: I am a Challenge reader, but this Challenge is the most
wonderful one. It makes all my heart to move. The story of Pearse E.
Henshaw, From Prison to Christ, seemed to be like mine.
Mr. Henshaw became the first bookmobile driver in Port Harcourt. He came to
the Lord under Mr Saul’s ministry in prison in Aba.
My life is full of bad thoughts. I always think of worldly things just
like this very man, but he found Christ. How can I find Christ? I
want to know. I want to find Christ as my Saviour. Please help me,
friend.
187Donor
letter by Eldon Howard in 1966 from Olwyn Keyte – to be deposited in Archives.
from Olwyn Keyte.
188Information
172
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Thank you for your letter. I understand all you said. I personally have
received Jesus as my Saviour and Lord through reading your letter.
I should like you to pray and remember me so that I shall walk daily
with the Saviour.189
Some of the correspondents were desirous to get some Bible material to study,
so Challenge Counselling began to send out Bible courses. This continued to
grow helping many people; however, eventually it became too big. Also, by
this time Igbaja Correspondence School, had become strong and was more
extensive both in numbers and available courses, so they were asked and agreed
to take over this aspect of what Challenge had been doing.
YOUNG SOWERS’ LEAGUE
Scripture Gift Mission (SGM) found that Nigerians, Ghanaians and Indians
were prolific writers. SGM was inundated with the number of letters coming
from these countries and sought help from SIM regarding Nigeria. This was
not Challenge work, but SIM asked if Challenge could help Scripture Gift
Mission in London, England.
Apart from being a secretary, Jessie Wright was assigned by SIM to take
over the work of Scripture Gift Mission and their Young Sowers’ Course; she
became the West Africa Secretary. YSL is a course of three levels of questions
and memorization of Scripture. The student has to answer the questions sent;
new material, such as a Gospel, is also sent with the answers. The student is
first awarded a certificate. After the next step, a New Testament is awarded
and finally a Bible. It is a very fruitful and encouraging work. Jessie says: “Our
young son Jim was among those who made these achievements, laying a good
foundation in mind and heart and memory.”
Through the years in Akure Bill Wright always sold the SGM booklets in a
variety of languages. Later when they were in Lagos, Nancy Johnson, the Africa
secretary of SGM, and Eric Cook, YSL director visited Lagos. Bill says, “It was
the contact with these two SGM representatives from London that later led me
to become the Canadian secretary for the Scripture Gift Mission.”
The effectiveness of Young Sowers’ League Bible courses is measured over
years. Under Challenge Enterprises in Ghana, YSL was one of the departments
under my (Jim Mason) control. It is uncertain when Challenge Ghana started
doing the YSL work; it likely was at the same time as Nigeria. When I got to
Accra in 1976, the counsellor, who eventually was over three areas plus the
prison chaplain, was Albert Wright who started his journey in Christ through
the YSL courses. In Ghana at one time we had in excess of 22,000 children
taking the YSL course.190
189Information
from Olwyn Keyte.
Mason Managing Director, Challenge Enterprises Ghana, May 2008. In Ghana we can point
to numerous leaders, some in Christian work who got their start with YSL course from Challenge.
190Jim
COUNSELLING AND READERS’ CLUBS
173
CONTESTS
Contests, either of general knowledge or Scripture knowledge, were included
in the African Challenge, and they always got a good response. In one contest
over 4,000 people from 30 countries entered. It is interesting also to know
that the change in lives brought through Challenge was noted by others. One
company in South Africa was so impressed by the impact the African Challenge
had on their employees that they sent a donation to the magazine.
READERS’ CLUBS
The African Challenge Reading Units started spontaneously, taking the
Challenge staff by surprise.
In 1953 a Presbyterian pastor in Eastern Nigeria started a young men’s Bible
Class, using the Challenge for study topics. He called the group an African
Challenge Reading Unit. He wrote to the editor, the letter was published,
and soon people were writing from all over, wanting to know how to start a
Reading Unit. A list of rules was drawn up and the idea of one pastor grew into
over 350 units, mostly in Nigeria, but also in Ghana, Cameroon, Fernando Po,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanganyika (Tanzania), Gambia, England and New Zealand.
The Reading Units met monthly to discuss the articles in the African Challenge
magazine. The Rev John Dean, a representative of Scripture Union in Nigeria
wrote:
“African Challenge Reading Units keep springing up, giving
students a desire for evangelical teaching. Alleluia!”191
Jessie Wright was the “nerve centre” of this growth. Bill tells how this
happened:
Work at Akure was exciting and a challenge for me, and devastating
for Jessie, locked in by the jungle, with pre-school children, and
unable to speak the local Yoruba language, while I was travelling
with the Challenge. Jessie’s frustration became a blessing as she asked
for some aspect of Challenge office work that she could do from
home. In response, all the files for the African Challenge Readers’
Clubs were transferred to Akure. Groups of people found a leader
and gathered to read the articles in the Challenge magazines. Letters
and questions were passed over to Jessie, who became counsellor and
organizer for these groups, answering personal questions with letters
and explanatory literature.192
Some time later, likely in 1965, Michael Bonomi, who graduated from Igbaja
Seminary, took up the post of travelling secretary for the Challenge Reading
191Prayer
192Bill
letter to donors 1961.
174
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Units. He travelled around Southern Nigeria to speak in schools and was a
positive influence in the lives of many young people.193
193ELWA
P.R. piece on African Challenge 1965.
CHAPter 13
JAMES BOLARIN
James’ father was a pastor in the Egbe
area from which James came. James
went to Lagos when Dr Herbold came
to be business manager at Challenge. He
obviously had talent in communication
because, from the beginning, he was
involved in the Editorial Department,
becoming assistant editor of the English
Challenge and the editor of the Yoruba
James Bolarin
Challenge.
In Nigeria in the 1950s if you wanted
trained and experienced people, you had to train them. Since the policy of
Challenge was the development of staff, many were sent on courses, overseas
and in-country. In the fall of 1957 James was sent to England to take a oneyear course in journalism.
Later after Lagos University was established, James took another journalism
course. He recalls that period as a time of being mocked by the others because
he was a Christian. James tells of one incident:
The others mocked me, but when a Muslim student was expelled for
drawing a knife in a classroom fight, he first came to me in front of
the other journalists and said, “Bolarin, I want to thank you for what
your life has meant to me. Now I have seen what a Christian really
is.”194
When the Church (ECWA) took over the bookshops, James Bolarin became the
director of publications. After retirement he served as a pastor in the Ilorin area,
at which time he was asked to come back as managing director of EPL (ECWA
194 W.
H. Fuller, Run While the Sun Is Hot, SIM, 1967, page 34.
176
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Publications Limited) for two years. EPL at that time included bookshops,
Press and publications.
Harold Fuller tells us how Challenge went about training people for the
magazine:
CHALLENGE – MORE THAN A PUBLICATION
Although literacy exploded in parts of Africa (especially urban) in
the 1950s, the arts (writing, illustrating) as a profession didn’t. Each
culture had its traditional art, of course (and we have a number of
excellent examples). But writing for publication was a new skill,
apart from outstanding authors, such as Chinua Achebe, who trained
overseas. Otherwise, “journalists” thought of newspaper writing as a
form of “muckraking”.
At African Challenge, from the first, we recognized that training
had to accompany editing and publishing. The first Nigerian trainee
was Luckson Ejofodomi, whom the Shaws (AC’s first editor couple)
picked up from SIM’s Bible school at Igbaja. As Luckson (his first
name was typical of “nicknames” that Africans appended to their
traditional names) gained experience, we sent him on to courses
in journalism. He later studied at Syracuse University under our
good friend Robert Laubach, son of the famous literacy missionary,
Frank Laubach, who drafted the “Each One Teach One” method of
spreading literacy.
There followed a series of “apprentice” writers. Our problem, shared
by most missions in Africa, was the overall shortage of well-trained
writers and editors. Challenge had a reputation for excellent training
in English and in writing, and thus our staff could command prime
positions and salary from secular publications. How could we blame
staff, who had become (in many cases) their family’s breadwinner!
We bit our lips and trained in others.
Nigerian reporters could gain access to stories that might be
withheld from an “expatriate” (as we “foreigners” were known).
Most memorable was the case (reportedly) of slavery - after a reader
sent in a plea for help to free a relative. We sent a young reporter,
Sunday Effion (parents often gave offspring the name of the week on
which they were born), as an undercover reporter. He found a young
man tied to a chair and sitting alone in a village compound. But the
story had too many “ifs” to it, so we didn’t publish it. (For instance,
a mentally ill person might be similarly tied up.)
There were trainees who had a sense of calling to the work of
Christian publishing. James Bolarin was introduced to us by the first
business manager of Challenge, R.V. Herbold and his wife. He had
a pastor’s heart, and we worked with him, developing his writing
skills. When SIM asked Lorna and me to transfer from Challenge
to mission administration, we left the editorial work in the hands
of James, a faithful colleague (and good friend - I chose him as my
“Best Man” at our wedding).
We provided on-site experience for Bible school/seminary students
during school break, our most promising one being Byang Kato. He
came from a tribe whose diet majored in whole grain products rather
than starch roots. Whether that contributed to his mental acumen,
I don’t know, but he was brilliant. I was very hopeful that he would
join our staff and one day become the editor - but Byang felt that his
calling was theology. Indeed, he went on to take basic and advanced
degrees in theology, including in Nigeria, USA, and Scotland. When
the Association of Evangelicals of Africa needed an African leader,
they begged us to release Byang - who by then was slated to become
principal of SIM/ECWA’s Igbaja Seminary. For the greater good of
Africa, we did release Byang for the AEA post, where he proved his
leadership qualities.
Writers and editors weren’t the only people we trained. Our staff
photographer, American Vester Dick, followed by New Zealander
Ashley Tuck, needed a Nigerian understudy. Lorna and I gave up
David Offon, the “house-help” we’d depended on. He obviously
had a greater future than domestic help, and we were right. He
became Challenge photographer - and proved to be outstanding,
taking and processing his photos. For instance, he took the best
family photograph we have ever had taken.
Challenge also needed Nigerian artists. An English artist, Valerie
Thompson, and her colleagues trained in Charles Ohu and also Josy
Ajiboye. Missionary staff also trained personnel for the Business
Department and operators for the pressroom. Several of these went
on to work for other printing organizations. We sought to help all
these in their spiritual growth. Each day we paused to have staff
Bible reading and prayer together.
So Challenge and Niger-Challenge Press became more than only a
magazine! It was also, unofficially, a Christian publishing training
institute.195
195W.
H. Fuller, More than a Publication August 2008.
177
178
Literature Outreach in Nigeria DONALD BANKS
Donald Banks came from England. He was brought up in a loving Christian
home and he went to church, but “never allowed himself to become involved”.
It was not until he did his National Service of two years in the RAF (Royal Air
Force), that he became a Christian and made that choice. Through others being
transferred to other stations, he started to lead the “Fellowship meeting”. One
of the men leaving on assignment suggested that he attend Westminster Chapel
on Friday nights for the Bible study under Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He heard
solid teaching on the doctrines of justification by faith, sanctification, assurance
and much more, and he repeated that to the Fellowship group.
When released from the RAF, Banks attended London Bible College for
two years and then applied to SIM to join Niger-Challenge Press in Lagos.
There he was an editorial advisor to the Managing Editor, Rev James Bolarin,
collaborating in the planning of the magazines, while being involved in training
the Nigerian staff to assume increasing responsibilities.196
Don later had the opportunity to head up the African Christian Press in
Accra. He was there for some years before returning to the UK where he
remained in Christian publishing and is now retired.
THE WEEKLY SERMON
Some time in the late 1950s the Daily Times, Nigeria’s largest circulation paper,
requested we provide them with a “Pastor’s Column” each week. Later, when
the government started to publish the Morning Post and the Sunday Post, they
too requested that we supply them with a pastoral message for each paper on
a weekly basis. In the Daily Times, this column was called “The Pastor Speaks
from the Pulpit”.
196Information
from Sudan Witness No 1, 1965.
CHAPter 14
NEILA AND ALLAN MOORE – NEW ZEALAND
F
or a time we had two sisters and one brother – three separate families,
serving at Lagos, two at Challenge and one at Yaba guest house. Neila,
then Ash Tuck and Hazel Elliott, were brother and sisters, all from the
Tuck Family in New Zealand. It is Allan and Neila Moore and Ash and Daph
Tuck we turn to now; both were at Challenge Press in Lagos.
One of the first things that come to mind was getting to Nigeria
from this part of the world. We did this trip three times, once
through the Suez Canal, once through the Panama Canal and once
we crossed America en route to UK and Lagos. Our first trip in 1951
necessitated changing ships in Australia and in the UK, taking three
months; travel was slow, but not everything was slow. Following
our send-off meeting the night before we sailed we realized that we
didn’t even have passports and were to sail at noon the next day and we sailed on time!
Another “incident” along the way is that at one of the many ports
we visited en route we arrived back at the ship to find that the gangway had been lifted. A rope ladder was lowered and it was a matter
of climbing up or staying behind - so we climbed, me carrying
Dennis. Later on the same trip, when berthed at Aden, we were
called to the purser’s office and informed that friends were there to
meet us - and we spent a lovely day
with the Modrickers (SIMers in
Aden) to the amazement of all others.
Many years later we met them again
at Sebring. I believe we were actually
met by SIM people at every port of
call and that was significant to us.
My involvement came about because
of SIM’s decision to expand its
Allen and Neila Moore
180
Literature Outreach in Nigeria literature work which meant setting up a printing press in Lagos.
This was known in New Zealand through the late Jack Nicolson (an
SIMer) through whom Trevor and Grace Shaw became involved.
Trevor was a journalist with the Auckland Herald and both were
involved with a Christian mission group that published the New
Zealand Challenge -which is still doing a good job here in New
Zealand. We attended a meeting where Trevor was making an
appeal for a Linotype operator, which was my specific interest in
the printing world. Much happened in a very short period - and we
found ourselves headed out to fill this need.
Part of the reason for crossing America (by Greyhound bus) was to
spend time at the Linotype Factory in New York checking out the
maintenance procedures, etc. for the new linotype machine that
Challenge was installing.
We were too late to help with the actual printing of the first edition
of the Challenge, July 1951, which was delivered to the SIM base
at Yaba at the same time we arrived. We did help with the dispatch,
mainly through the post, of that first edition.
Accommodation was tight in the early days. At first we shared a
house with the Shaw family in one room, we in another. Chris
Ferrier and Harold Fuller each had their own room and the “office”
occupied the in-between space. This was not satisfactory so we
moved back to the SIM at Yaba and another house was soon rented
at Sure Lere, where we lived for a year with Chris Ferrier and Jo
Stevens. We were the first occupants of accommodation being built
at Mile 7, Agege Motor Road, the new Challenge compound. This
was in a single worker’s apartment of the four-unit block, while our
own house was being built. Harold Fuller and Herb Jones had their
bachelors’ pad next door.
It was a bit ironical, I guess, for me to have gone out there as a
“printer” as commonly thought because I worked in a printing press.
I had never printed anything in my life. However, Trevor Shaw was
right. What was needed in the initial setup was indeed a Linotype
operator. There was no press. The African Challenge was being
printed entirely by the publishers of the Daily Times in Lagos. I
became the go-between connecting our editors and the Press, which
was not very satisfactory. Quite often a galley of typed matter which
had been proof-read would end up worse rather than corrected. To
overcome this continuing problem I persuaded the plant managers
to allow me access to the Linotype machines myself - so I made my
own corrections. Result: a good clean magazine with very few, if any,
mistakes. This later created problems for the Daily Times people,
181
PersonneL in tHe Press
whose publishers wanted to know why they printed a better paper
for us than for themselves.
When we later occupied our new
plant building the Linotype machine
was the key to our production. By
then our circulation of Challenge
had greatly expanded and after a few
years it was decided to print in the
UK. The editing, typesetting and
formatting of pages was done by us
and we supplied proof pages to Sun
Printers, Watford, for final processing.
Allen Moore at Linotype
As our plant grew and progressed
we did many types of printing. Our first efforts were virtually on
various pieces of office equipment. Ashley Tuck’s arrival was a real
contribution to the development of the Press. His basic knowledge
of photography, and my basic knowledge of printing, enabled us to
establish the first offset press in Nigeria, apart from a government
map printing plant operated by UK expatriates.
It was a great day when we installed a brand new Solna Offset press.
I had previously visited the Solna Plant in Sweden and this was their
entry into the West African market. They looked after us very well.
This press enabled us to publish and print such magazines as the
Yoruba Challenge, and for a time a French edition - Champion. One
of my last jobs before we needed to leave Nigeria for family reasons
was to place an order for a bigger press - a 25 x 38 inch sheet size
Roland Parva offset press from Germany. Returning to visit the Press
in 1992 I met the very man operating the Roland who had trained
on that first Solna press.
A personal incident relating to that first Solna press; one day I was
working late on my own after the normal staff had finished. I noted
our little daughter, Maxine, coming across the floor toward me.
She passed out of sight as I was working on the off side to her suddenly the machine stopped. I raced round to discover her little
hand entirely wrapped around the sprocket and chain which drove
the machine and had tripped it off. I had then to retreat to the other
side again and wind the machine back to release her hand. This
had squashed all four fingers flat across the knuckles, and I greatly
feared that her hand was ruined but they all filled out perfectly with
apparently no bad effect. Our little Maxine died some months later
of leukemia, and just perhaps it did have some effect. However, she
182
Literature Outreach in Nigeria is safe and well in our Lord’s keeping and I am well satisfied with this
assurance.
Of course the merging of Niger Press from Jos with the Challenge
Press forming the Niger-Challenge Press was a big development,
introducing some additional forms of typesetting and expanding our
real printing plant further. Mr Kitch, the manager, planned to join us
and had a house built, but never made it. It was great working with
Bill Todd.197
ASHLEY AND DAPHNE TUCK – NEW ZEALAND
The Path to Missionary service
I was raised in a godly home where we were taught the Word of
God, and our need of personal faith in Christ for salvation. We
frequently had missionaries stay in our home, and we became familiar
with missionary work in many parts of the world.
My first serious consideration of missionary work came when I was
about to begin high school. I had to decide whether to take the
‘general’ or ‘professional’ course. My decision for the latter was so
that, if the Lord wanted me to be a missionary, I should probably
train as a doctor!
But that wasn’t to be! Dad was a timber sawmill manager, but
decided that the future for my brother and me would be better
if he went farming. So, beginning the dairy season on 1st of July,
six weeks before my 15th birthday, I left school and began my
working life as a dairy farmer. That went well, and four years later
I was managing the second largest dairy farm in our district, as
Dad decided he didn’t need to stay on the farm and began his own
building business in town.
In many ways I had it made! But at a Youth for Christ week-end
camp the Lord really challenged me regarding my future and
willingness to serve Him overseas. “Yes, Lord,” I was saying, “I am
willing to serve you in PNG, India, South America, but no, not in
Africa!” I really struggled on that one! Then, as clear as a spoken
voice, I heard Him say, “You are using two words that don’t fit
together…you cannot say “no” and also call me “Lord”. That was it!
I really wanted Jesus Christ to be the Lord of my life, so I responded
by affirming that and saying I was willing to go “wherever” He
wanted to send me. Well, where do you think He sent me!
197From
write-up by Allan Moore, May 2007.
PersonneL in tHe Press
183
Three years later I left the farm at the end of the dairy season (31st
June) so I could begin a two-year course at New Zealand Bible
Training Institute (BTI), commencing in the New Year. I was blessed
as I was able immediately to start work with my dad again, this time
in the building trade, and over the next several years he taught me
the trade and gave me responsibility in his business.
During my first year at college I received a letter from my sister
Neila, who was in Lagos, Nigeria with her husband Allen Moore,
working at the recently opened African Challenge. “Ash, what do
you have in mind to do when you finish your Bible training?” she
asked. “We need a photographer here to do the photography work
for the magazine, and I think you could do that! How about getting
some training and experience in photography and coming out here
to help us?”
That sounded a great idea, but…! My concern was how much
weight I should place on a suggestion from my sister. I wasn’t sure!
I decided to talk to the principal, a wise and godly man. Mr Dean
listened intently as I explained the situation and my concern, and
then asked, “Ashley, have you ever noticed how many brothers there
were among the Lord’s disciples?” He went on to give examples
of many missionaries he knew who were on the field serving the
Lord, who had received the Lord’s leading through a member
of their immediate or wider family. He encouraged me to pursue
the possibility, and recommended I talk to Mr Yolland, the senior
lecturer of the College who was also an accomplished photographer.
I took his advice, and received incredible help regarding equipment
and all aspects of photography from Mr Yolland. So, alongside my
Bible training a new skill was developed!
But a shock awaited me! I had hardly got started; I had bought
cameras and darkroom equipment, and another letter arrived from
Lagos. A photographer had been accepted for the position from
another country! Well, how should I
respond to this news and what I had
come to believe was where the Lord
was directing me? I decided to pursue
preparing, and continue to trust the
Lord to open or shut doors as He
knew best.
At the end of my first year at BTI,
Daphne and I became engaged. She
was doing maternity nursing training,
which finished about the same time
Ash & Daphne Tuck 50 years on!
184
Literature Outreach in Nigeria as my course at BTI. With our training finished, we decided to get
married on 26th March 1955, and I continued building and doing
photographic assignments, also. We were involved in our church
youth work and kept seeking what the Lord had for us to do. But
why all this delay? We were prepared to head out right away, and
kept our minds open to whatever possibilities were presented to us.
At one stage I had a growing conviction that we should seriously
consider PNG, but didn’t mention it to Daphne for several weeks.
One day I decided to tell her what I was thinking. “I have been
thinking exactly the same thing,” was her reply. We were both
willing and happy to turn in this direction, and sought the Lord’s
confirmation. What happened seemed strange at the time. Having
confirmed our willingness to the Lord, the whole matter just seemed
to fade from our minds. It became clear that the Lord was testing
our openness and submission to Him. The door just seemed to close.
Sometime later another letter from Lagos brought news that the
photographer who was there would soon finish his four-year term
and he would not be returning! The door was again open in Nigeria.
We felt it was time to approach the mission and express our interest.
A reply came back from the chairman of the New Zealand Council
asking us to meet the council the following Monday night, and
invited us to come to his home for afternoon tea that day.
He also mentioned a development on the field where the African
Challenge which was based in Lagos, and the Niger-Press, SIM’s
printing department located on the plateau in Jos, were to be
amalgamated at the African Challenge site. Also, the printing
department, which was all letterpress, was planning to expand
by installing an offset press and related photo-litho processing
department. So the requirement for the new photographer for
African Challenge was that he also be conversant with the photolitho trade and be able to set this up and train the Nigerian staff.
His closing comment was that the council was interested to know
whether or not I had experience in this field.
I felt numb! I had never heard of such a printing process! I had a
general idea of letterpress printing, but this was a completely new
idea to me! The interview with Council was only a week away and I
didn’t know where I could find out about this.
That Saturday evening was a family gathering to celebrate my
grandmother’s 75th birthday. A cousin who was a printer was there,
and had opened his own print shop. Maybe he could help me! As
soon as there was opportunity I talked to him. “Spencer, do you
know anything about ‘offset’ printing?” I asked. “Yes, sure! I had
the first offset press in Hamilton,” he replied. “Why do you ask?” I
explained what I was considering, and found him to be very helpful.
He told me briefly about it, but then commented that it would be
much better if I called in some time and he would show me the
whole process in more detail.
With the interview just two days away I seized the opportunity and
suggested ten o’clock Monday morning, en route to Auckland.
We had two hours together as he showed and explained the whole
process. With my background in photographic processing I could
understand what he was showing me, and I got more and more
excited! I could clearly see the distinct advantage this print method
had over the old letterpress. He then took me into his office and
loaded me up with samples of jobs printed by this method that I
could show the council.
Arriving at the chairman’s home, after greetings and serving a
“cuppa”, he said to me, “Now, Ashley, tell me what you know about
this offset process.” I burst out laughing! “What are you laughing
about?” he queried. I explained the shock I got on receiving his
letter, then pulled out the print samples and began baffling him with
the technicalities of the process! The interview with council that
evening went well, and we were provisionally accepted, subject to me
getting the training I would need.
The time frame for arriving in Nigeria was only six months away. A
four-year apprenticeship in this trade covered any two of the three
aspects of the process, camera operating, film stripping and form
lay-up, and plate making! Added to the problem of getting adequate
training was the fact that there was a closed union system, so it was
not easy to get in! It seemed impossible!
In those days the BTI also had a print-shop, but it was all letterpress.
However, I decided to discuss my situation with the manager whom
I knew, to see if he had any ideas. The only possibility he could think
of was a company that used to make their halftone printing blocks.
They had sold that business and had started a new photo-litho
plate-making business. “This is probably the top company in New
Zealand, but I don’t know that there will be much chance of them
being willing to help you,” he said. “But let’s give it a try!”
He dialled the number. “Good morning, Offset Plates here.” The
discussion began as the press manager explained to the owner of the
business that he had a young chap with him who was going to Africa
to set up an offset printing department and needed training in the
185
186
Literature Outreach in Nigeria photo-litho process. From across the desk I could hear the loud peal
of laughter from the other end! “Well, he’ll need all the “xxxxxx”
help we can give him if he is going out there to do that!” But he
suggested that I go to see him and he would investigate what could
be done to help me.
It was an up-market business alright, and the owner was a sharp
operator! I was greeted with the same expletive, but he seemed
genuine in his willingness to help me. “I won’t be able to pay you,
and you won’t be able to work on any actual jobs in the process
due to the rigid union rules we have to work with, but I will ask my
process foreman to do all he can to help you and we can only hope
that the staff will be co-operative!”
I spent several days in each of the three sections just observing to get
a bit better overall picture of the process, before having a month in
each to get a more detailed understanding, beginning in the “film
stripping” department. The first day the foreman pulled out an old
job and said I could “re-process” it, to get hands-on experience. The
use of expensive materials was no problem to them! All of the staff
were very helpful, looking over my shoulder as they passed, offering
advice and teaching me good techniques and things that I should jot
down in my notebook.
The second day the foreman came over to me and said, “Ash, I
have this urgent job I need done. Would you mind putting that job
aside and process this one for me?” From then on I worked as one
of the staff! It was a steep learning curve, but I couldn’t have had a
more skilled and helpful crew to learn from. This proved to be an
incredible provision from the Lord.
Well, I didn’t end up using a scalpel in a hospital theatre in Africa…
but I did use those same scalpels in the film “stripping” process as I
prepared the film from which printing plates were made to go on the
offset presses to print the good news of God’s love and salvation to
distribute throughout West Africa.
Looking back it is quite clear to us that the path the Lord led us
through, though we couldn’t understand where it was leading much
of the time, was the best plan. How could we have anticipated that
all those areas of training and work experience would meld together
in such a way? We thank Him for being gracious enough to use us.
LAGOS! HERE WE COME
I could hardly believe it! All our crates of personal effects were on
the train heading for Wellington to load onto the MV Rangitane,
and we were to drive down several days later. The night before we
were to leave home a call came from the SIM home director to say
that the money for our fare had not yet come in, and we would not
be able to travel. “But we are going!” I responded. It must have
seemed quite arrogant, I thought, as I reflected later, but I had not
intended it that way! Having led us all this way, how would the Lord
fail us at this stage? “Well, if the money is not in you will not be able
to go,” he responded. “I will phone you in Wellington tomorrow
evening to let you know.”
You may be able to imagine the thoughts that flashed through my
mind when that phone rang and I heard, “Ash, the call is for you!”
We were right down to the wire…but the news was good…the
last of the fare money needed had come in that afternoon, and we
could board ship the next morning! We looked back on that final
confirmation of the Lord’s call for us many times over the following
years, as we faced testing and hard times. Our conclusion was that
if the Lord had placed us here, then He would provide, enable, give
wisdom or patience, whatever was needed to fulfill what He had
placed us there to do. So we give Him the glory for all that was done
to spread the Gospel through the printed page over those years.
Having two sisters and brothers-in-law in Lagos to welcome us and
to help us adjust was wonderful.
GETTING STARTED
The new Solna offset press had arrived and was sitting in the
pressroom. However, the processing equipment had not been
ordered, so my first job was to get that away ASAP! I was
disappointed about this as I was keen to get it all operating, and
to apply what I had learned. Now I had a whole year to get out of
touch with it all…yes, that’s how long it took for the equipment to
get to Lagos! It arrived the afternoon before we were to fly to Jos
the next morning for our first break from the heat and humidity of
Lagos. I was concerned to check that everything was OK before I
left, so spent much of that night opening the crates and checking it
all!
My main occupation during that first year was the photographic
needs of African Challenge, Yoruba Challenge and other
publications. A major part of that was the training of a Nigerian staff
member to do this work in order to release me to handle the litho
side.
David Offon was chosen. He was keen, and I was pleased with his
progress in studio and reportage photography, plus film developing
187
188
and making of enlargements. So by the second year I became freer to
concentrate on the litho setup. Daph did the negative film and photo
filing, and most of the print glazing.
However, I had squeezed into
that first year the preparation
of the process camera
darkroom, the platemaking
workbenches and tub, plus
four light-top tables for film
stripping and form layup,
as well as filing cabinets for
storage of completed job film
work. Considerable electric
James Bolarin at press
wiring and plumbing also had
to be done to connect all of this equipment, but we got it all ready!
Now the big challenge had to be met…how out-of-touch was I with
the whole process? The heat and humidity was the major problem,
despite having this work area air-conditioned. We soon got on top of
the film processing, but I had quite some
problem with the deep-etch plate-making
process. I scanned my copious notes for what
might cause problems and thought I had
followed the suggested remedies closely. While
most of the time the plates were okay, it was not
always so. What could I do now? The viability
of going into offset printing was on my
shoulders as no one else had any experience in
this area.
But there was one option. The Government
Survey Department had offset equipment for
their map printing, which was run mainly by
expatriates from the UK. I decided to contact
Billy Graham greeting
the manager who would be able to help me but,
Dyanne Tuck Mid- 1960
unfortunately, he was not. When I told him
what we were doing he was most annoyed…to think we would break
into his domain as the only offset printer in the country; this was
unacceptable, and he didn’t want to know me!
What was I to do now? I really was on my own! Or so the tempter
put into my mind! I had become very aware that the devil was
likewise very jealous of his arena and would do “whatever” to hinder
or nullify any attempt of God’s servants to enter his territory with
the message of salvation for the lost. That’s what this was all about!
Starting this printing process could greatly increase our potential to
spread the Gospel to the Nigerian people, and in fact much wider
than that! Well, was the Lord going to come to my aid? I prayed
sincerely for his help and enablement.
A couple of weeks later a call came in for me…the manager of the
Survey Department Press wanted to talk to me! I couldn’t believe
my ears! He seemed SO friendly! “I’m wondering, Ash, what
chemicals you are using for your plate-making?” When I told him
the “Howter” brand from UK, he asked whether I could loan him
some etch solution as he had run out, and his order could be a few
weeks away yet. “Sure,” I said “I would be very happy to help you.
How much do you need?” He was so relieved. I could hear it in the
tone of his voice as he thanked me quite profusely.
“By the way, Ash, how are you getting on with the problem you
were having with your plate-making?” When I told him we hadn’t
mastered it yet he offered to come out the next morning and spend
several hours with me to go over it. We did that, and after observing
us do a complete plate process he said we were virtually spot-on, but
gave me a few pointers that should help. And they did! We rarely had
that problem again!
Well, the boot was on the other foot, wasn’t it? It was the last thing
I expected! But again, the Lord turned that testing time into a
triumph!
MISSION CO-OPERATION
About this time NCP was approached by another mission (UMS)
about the possibility of our co-operation with them. They had been
given a small offset press with the intention of setting up a printing
facility near Ilorin and Ray Hawkins was to come out to operate it.
As he considered the cost and complexity of associated equipment
that was needed for all the other operations involved, he suggested
that if he could install the press at NCP as part of our plant, and he
join our team, all their mission printing could be produced much
more cheaply and efficiently. NCP could use their press for small
print jobs, and likewise our larger presses for some of their larger
print jobs. Also Ray’s abilities in composing, Linotype operating and
machinery maintenance would be very valuable to our whole setup.
This arrangement continued for a number of years with mutual
benefit, and Ray and Marie became very valuable members of the
NCP team.
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190
Literature Outreach in Nigeria OTHER PROBLEMS DEVELOP
About a year from getting the offset printer operating and going
well, the benefit of this process began to get around, promoted
somewhat by the local agents for the presses and process equipment.
They began to make sales! But it was one thing for a local printer
to buy such equipment, and another to be able to operate it, as
they soon discovered. A “poaching” of key staff began! Our process
camera operator was approached by one of these printers and offered
double the wages if he would come! How could he resist? Over
the next two years I trained two more camera operators who were
also enticed away, and similarly with the plate-making department
operators. However, when one of these young men came and asked
if he could come back to work with us, the exit stopped! He had
found that being alone with no one to guide him, and being under
pressure to perform just wasn’t worth the extra pay!198
198From
Ash Tuck write-up, April 2007.
CHAPTER 15
OLWYN KEYTE
O
lwyn was a long time “fixture” at Challenge, serving as librarian.
Here is her story that explains how she moved from New Zealand to
Lagos.
We were taken to church and meetings, going on our own as we
grew. When I was 12 and my brother eight, he went forward at a
children’s meeting. I looked at him and thought, “I know that I
am a Christian but I never told anyone.” So out I went. Was this
my actual conversion? It certainly was a dedication. We had good
teaching in that church.
My mother’s youngest sister was a CIM (China Inland Mission
– now Overseas Missionary Fellowship) missionary and from my
earliest days, Mission was both a family and a church affair. When I
was 15, my father was transferred to Auckland. We found another
good church, and then at one Bible Class camp, when I was teaching
a Junior Bible class, we had as speaker, Rev John Deane, Principal of
the New Zealand Bible Training Institute. He opened the Word so
clearly that I asked how I could learn from him. At the time, I was
working at the Auckland City Council Public Libraries, doing studies
by correspondence as I worked. Mr Deane said, “Are you doing any
exams?” “Only Printing Presses and Printing Methods. What use is
that to a girl?” “Finish your exams, and then apply to NZBTI.”199
Equipped with a Diploma of the Library Association of New
Zealand, I applied and entered BTI in 1952. During the second
term of my first year, a fellow student spoke of SIM in Africa. “There
are 30,000 Africans to every one preacher of the Gospel,” he began.
My heart leaped up - “Oh, I’ll go! Oh, I can’t; I’m not a nurse or a
teacher.” How ignorant we were, then! But the very next week, in
the Africa prayer meeting to which I went regularly, I heard about
African Challenge printing press! “Hey, this I do know a little about.”
199From
material provided by Olwyn Keyte, June 2007.
192
Why was I at an African prayer meeting? My old Bible class teacher
was doing a short term teaching at Bingham Academy, Ethiopia.
Coincidences? I think not. And I never doubted that He had called
me to Nigeria about which the student had spoken in detail.
I later learned that the student was
a friend of Neila and Allan Moore,
already at Challenge. He had prayed
that one would be called that night.
He heard his answer 16 months later!
I was accepted by SIM in October
1953 and was told that they had
been praying for a librarian. So I
Olwyn Keyte
was PRAYED out. When I told Mr
Deane that I was accepted by SIM he
jumped up in joy and said, “You were only accepted to BTI by the
skin of your teeth.”
So the girl who wanted to be a better Bible class teacher finds herself
on a ship for Africa, along with Ruth Cremer, also BTI 1953. (Ruth
served 54 years in Ethiopia in translation work. She went home from
Ethiopia February 2008 and died in March 2008). We had many
missionaries on that trip, and were joined by three Christian girls in
Adelaide, Australia. One of those girls is still a supporter 53 years
later.
Leaving New Zealand on 9 July 1954, by 3 September 1954 I stood
on the deck of a small freighter looking down on the docks at Dakar
in Senegal. I felt like a block of ice! “What am I doing here?” It was
rest hour and what looked like corpses lay about!
The next day we reached Bathurst in Gambia. We went ashore - the
market, the people, the sounds, smells, and colour. The next day we
went to an Anglican church before the ship sailed. In Bathurst, I fell
in love with Africa.
On 18 September 1954, Dr Herbold collected me from the ship and I joined
the African Challenge staff. That was also the day of the monthly picnic, when
all the missionaries and any African staff who wished went to Bar Beach on
Victoria Island. So I met many people all at once, in a relaxed fashion.
CHALLENGE, SEPTEMBER 1954
My first duties at Challenge seemed to be office work, typing contests, form
letters. Although this was not my training, it helped to get the idea of what an
Editorial Department was like - its duties and routines. Eventually I helped in
every aspect, sub-editing, proof reading, layout, art and so on.
OLWYN KEYTE
Over the course of 15 months, I was glad for these days of learning
because when the library eventually got underway, I knew what was
needed for the Editorial Department. On 8 August 1955, I wrote,
“I just found another reason why the Lord had me spend nine
months doing editorial work before I began the library. One was
that I would know how the paper was put out and what was required
in my clippings file. Now I find that whereas I would have just made
an ordinary classified catalogue, I must now make an analytical one.
The job is one of detail; just a paragraph or a chapter is of infinite
value and these nine months have shown me which chapters I must
index and which I may leave. It is a thrilling job.
Another realization was that everything one learned as a child, youth,
young adult will come in useful sooner or later. It’s true, everything
you could possibly have done or known is useful on the Mission
Field - from first aid to Latin, etiquette to the various keys in music
- I’ve been a combination of office girl, librarian, first aid assistant,
music teacher, gardener, kindergarten nurse, and housekeeper today.
Not unusual either.
One discussion within a fortnight of my arrival was, “Is it right to
walk always on the borders of exhaustion?” The answer was NO,
but sometimes it has to happen. Harold (Fuller) and Al (Moore)
just have to get the Challenge out even if they spend the day after in
bed. The Issue is of greater importance than they are at the deadline date. The solution is more staff.
This over-work was an on-going problem - some staff members
being ill. The editor and his secretary work every night for about
two weeks a month and the sub-editor takes his work home and
does it there. Unfortunately, I can’t help them in this work - it’s out
of my line. But I have been able to relieve them somewhat. I’ve
worked six nights in the last month.
For relaxation, there were occasional picnics, especially north of
Lagos. Someone had an aquarium and we netted tiny tropical fish
in ponds by the roadside. Roads were not conducive to fast travel
in those days. Local people were astonished to see us cook and eat
in the bush. Some Wednesdays were half-days and we shopped in
Lagos. Even a walk round the compound at night refreshed.
The resultant magazine, however, was greatly blessed. The EFMA
(Evangelical Foreign Missions Association) said that “If the SIM
had done nothing else than start the African Challenge, then all the
money it had spent would have been worthwhile.” The editor of
Millions, Ivan Allbutt (CIM/OMF) said, “Challenge was probably
193
194
the most far-reaching single venture in Protestant missions today.”
There are now eight other Challenge-type papers in print or in
embryo in the world.200
YORUBA CHALLENGE
The Yoruba language edition of Challenge was first published in 1954, and was
being published every four months. A skeleton staff carried on the writing;
some of them were part-time having responsibilities with the English edition
of Challenge or other tasks. Ozra Traub of UMS (United Missionary Society)
based in Ilorin was one who contributed part-time. He would come south to
help editorially with Yoruba Challenge. Ozra was thoroughly fluent in Yoruba,
working with SIM’s Ernie Harrison, stationed in Lagos at the guest house.
Ernie was also fluent in Yoruba. They gave 2–3 weeks in planning and checking
for every issue. Olwyn Keyte recalls:
It is a very big job seeing there are so very few to do the work.
Skeleton staff for a monthly is 16 people and we have no fulltime staff besides James Bolarin. Kath Dick contributed but works
half-time on the English issue. We need good Christian Yoruba
journalists if we’re to make this issue monthly. With free education in
the Western Region and kids learning to read Yoruba at six years old,
the primary schools are crying out for a monthly issue.”
The third issue of Yoruba Challenge was going to press in June 1955. The
fourth issue was being prepared. The early editions were printed at Daily Times
in Lagos, but it was likely in 1959 that Niger-Challenge Press began to print
the Yoruba Challenge. Then later, it was printed by Associated Press Nigeria,
under the new owner. After a while it became bi-monthly. In a letter home in
November 1969, Ash Tuck mentioned, “We have
just printed 47,500 of the Yoruba Challenge.”
The Yoruba Challenge had similar experiences
as the English Challenge. People were writing in
for spiritual help, with many making decisions to
trust Christ. The bulk of distribution was through
the schools. The experience of problems and
crises through the years was similar, and living
on the same compound we all shared them. One
of the low times occurred when David Ajibola,
one of the promising young men on the staff of
African Challenge, who had just been appointed
as associate editor of the Yoruba Challenge, was
James Bolarin & Harold Fuller
200 Information
provided by Olwyn Keyte, June 2007.
OLWYN KEYTE
195
drowned at Bar Beach in Lagos two days after Christmas. Kath Dick said this of
David:
Over twenty years ago, when I first came to Africa, I took David as
a young lad to educate and train him for the Lord. He came from a
polygamous home (his father had 16 wives), but when he accepted
the Lord, his every hour was lived for Him...His love and loyalty
knew no limit. What a triumph of the Gospel he was...Two years ago
he joined Challenge staff and just recently he had been appointed
associate editor.201
Such are the heartaches experienced in God’s work when Satan attacks because
you are invading his territory where he has been in control. Such loss is the
price many have paid as they have gone forth in Christ’s name to deliver the
Gospel to those who have not heard.
As African Challenge had a 25-year span of influence to numerous
generations of students, Yoruba Challenge had a similar influence for 19
years. The first issue was in 1954. The peak figure for circulation was 65,000
and the Yoruba Challenge stopped publishing at the end of 1973, just as
preparations were being finalized for the church to take over the bookshops
and the Literature Department which would be supported by profits from the
bookshops.
By July 1955, African Challenge circulation had stalled at 140,000. We
needed more field reps, and perhaps our paper covered too wide a clientele.
According to Olwyn Keyte:
From Standard 5 and 6, to university, professional and business
people, farmers, housewives, and cabinet ministers, how can we
feed all these ages, stages of education, culture and interests with
one paper? Should we begin to make an intellectual, and a youth
paper? Should we cater to children and forget adults? The schools
are perhaps our greatest field. They use the Challenge in their basic
English classes - some even use them in entrance exams.
With respect to the library work, we had two libraries: the research
library at Challenge and a reading room library in the new bookshop.
This was being built in October 1954. Applications for membership
of the reading room library were discussed and the library prepared
to open at the end of August.
We were flat out on the Christmas issue, especially the centre four
pages. Seven of us were producing a full programme, songs, mimes,
readings to be illustrated by mimes for use in churches. We had
to put 14 carols in tonic sol-fa, photos of each part of the play, the
201Sudan
Witness, Vol. No 2 1957
196
entire script of Scripture selections, instructions and props into four
pages.
At the end of 1955, the Challenge staff put on the Christmas play,
in the Mushin ECWA church - the play from the December African
Challenge. It was good to do it ourselves. The audience of local
people and missionaries said it was the most reverent Christmas play
they had ever seen. To God be all the glory!202
When Olwyn landed at Lagos and arrived at the Challenge, one thing that
impressed her was the great variety of extracurricular activities carried on by the
missionaries. It was not just writing, printing, editing, proof reading and all the
other activities involved in putting together a monthly magazine. Some of these
extra activities included:
Christian Business Men’s committee, Christian Business and Professional
Women’s Council, Every Girl’s Rally (12-18 years), Saturday visitation, Visual
Aid Institute, Sunday School classes, open air meetings, Bible classes, women’s
meetings, services at the Police College, mental and convalescent homes, youth
meetings twice monthly, Army Barracks Sunday School, prison visitation,
hospital visitation, Bible study with doctors and nurses at Suru Lere Teaching
Hospital, preaching in local churches, crusades in the city, campaigns in Lagos,
displays at Ibadan University and displays at showgrounds. These are some of
what Challenge missionaries were involved in on a regular basis.
HARVEST TIME
The 1950s and 1960s were a great time of harvest! This was the time of reaping
resulting from all the sowing of God’s Word through preceding years. Great
numbers of people entered the Kingdom of God through faith in Christ. It was
into this climate that the African Challenge was born, and it was one reason
why for 25 years African Challenge was so successful in meeting a great spiritual
hunger and challenging the people in the street who had no faith. At the same
time it was building up Christians through challenging articles and helpful Bible
studies.
Those at the African Challenge
compound in Lagos had constant
opportunities to speak in churches and
when they did there was blessing. Bill
Wright, the district superintendent recalls,
“Whenever I gave an invitation, people
responded, sometimes many. It was a great
time of harvest before the civil war.”203
Sunday was a time when Nigerians and
Cliff Barrows with Herbolds Lagos
202 Information
203 Bill
by Olwyn Keyte.
Wright in email message June 2008.
OLWYN KEYTE
197
expatriates came to the Sunday afternoon services at Yaba guest house. Various
ones among them ministered the word along with the missionaries.
Tony Wilmot stands out from all others who spoke. He had a long and
successful career in colonial government service, starting in Ghana where he
had initiated the S.U. camps which were the precursor to establishing Scripture
Union in Ghana.204 Later he was managing director of Leventis, agents for
Volkswagen and air conditioners as well as the department stores. With his
Oxford accent Tony could speak for 45 minutes and you would be sorry
when he finished, being unaware of the passage of time. In his retirement
from Leventis, Tony and Eve Wilmot became associates with SIM in Nigeria.
Later he was asked to go to Kenya and begin what became NEGST (Nairobi
Evangelical Graduate School of Theology), which was the academic base for the
Africa Bible Commentary. These were years of harvest and we were blessed to
participate together.
204Peter
Barker, Changed by the Word the Story of Scripture Union Ghana, Scripture Union, Ghana,
November 2003, page 16.
CHAPTER 16
Machine Breakdown Initiates a Marriage
Early in 1957 the Linotype machine broke down, and without another one in
Lagos there was no way to find parts locally. From overseas, these would have
taken weeks and cost hundreds of dollars. The men laboured all night and
got the Linotype working again, but it pointed out the need to look for new
machinery. At the same time Niger Press in Jos was realizing the need for new
and updated equipment. This resulted in merger talks between Niger-Press
and African Challenge. In 1958 Niger Press moved to Lagos and merged
with African Challenge becoming Niger-Challenge Press. There was much
adjustment, new wiring for the new offset presses, and the expansion of the
Challenge building.
These changes would bring added personnel and that required more housing
which necessitated more land. In January of 1958 the family who owned the
land behind Challenge sold us 2½ acres at £30 an acre, making the entire
compound now 6½ acres. The extra acres were zoned for a road, but through
a very helpful officer at the Ikeja Town Planning Board, the proposed road was
moved farther west so we could have the whole area.205
Ray Davis, the West Africa director at that time, wrote this memo to the
mission family:
Niger-Challenge Press
I am happy to tell you that plans for the Niger Press-African
Challenge merger are progressing nicely. The building to house the
working plant is nearing completion. Mr Kitch and the Victor Stuarts
are going to Lagos early in March to begin setting up the new
Heidelberg press. From that time onward equipment will be moved
from Jos to Lagos on a carefully worked-out schedule, which will
allow them to carry on the most vital work without interruption. It
is hoped that all equipment, new and that to be moved from Jos,
together with the Todd, Robinson, and Kitch families, will be moved
205Material
supplied by Olwyn Keyte, 28 May 2007, to be deposited in SIM Archives.
niGer-CHALLenGe Press
199
and settled in Lagos by August, Lord willing. We would ask the
continual prayer fellowship of the entire family for the Niger Press
Niger-Challenge Press
and African Challenge folk as they carry out these difficult
manoeuvres and consolidation of the work. By this we are joining
hands and hearts in this new venture; we believe we will have the
finest equipment and most skilled workmen in West Africa. In
merging together, needless duplication of expensive equipment is
being avoided; valuable skills may now complement each other, and
with God’s richest blessing already evident upon them, we are
confident the tremendous opportunity now immediately before us
can be met to the glory of God and the reaching of West African
millions for Christ before it is too late.
Your brother in Christ,
R. J. Davis 206
THE MERGER
There was a celebration on 14 April 1959
at the new Niger-Challenge Press in Lagos.
The chairman for the occasion was Mr
V.M.O. Tay, to whom I have referred
earlier.207 Now he was Ghana’s Ambassador
to Nigeria, chairing the meeting to
inaugurate the joining of the two presses
that belonged to SIM.
He commented about the Niger Press
and the African Challenge in this way:
Mr & Mrs Tay Magistrate in Kano later
Ghana's Ambassador
It is very important because…we have
two important Christian institutions coming together and merging as
one….for almost half a century the Niger Press has championed the
206 Material
for the occasion SIM Archives NCP Box 081.
207 Programme
200
Literature Outreach in Nigeria cause of Christian literature, and for many years wonderful literature
went out and was read all over this land and in other lands as well…
We can’t estimate how many souls were saved through this literature
that came from Niger Press over this period of nearly fifty years.
The African Challenge, in the few years since its inception, has done
wonderful work throughout the west coast of Africa. Many men and
women have read about the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the power of the Blood to save souls…we find in its pages a
complete challenge to men and women...Now the Niger Press and
the African Challenge have come together... we are sure a great force
is going to be behind them…we are that force by our prayers…I, for
one, have pledged to always pray for these two great institutions…
the African Challenge and the Niger Press, may be a blessing to all in
Nigeria, in West Africa...May God help us.207
There were greetings from several dignitaries. One was W.V.S. Tubman,
President of Liberia. He said:
In a world where the minds of men are crowded with things
material, the African Challenge brings sweet words of love and
counsel, and a shaft of light in the darkest hour of despair. May it
long remain a challenge to the people, not only of this continent,
but to all men everywhere who read it, to follow and apply the
high principles of morality, religion and brotherhood in their daily
occupation. Congratulation and best wishes for many years of useful
service to the church and state
Another was the Premier of the Western Region, Chief the Honourable
Obafemi Owolowo, who spoke when Harold Fuller attended the political
meeting mentioned earlier. Chief Awolowo said:
As a regular reader of Challenge I wish your new venture every
success. Your famous and widely read journal has brought spiritual
enlightenment into many homes which it enters each month. May
God continue to prosper your great endeavour.
Sir Francis Ibiam, a medical doctor and principal at that time of Hope Waddell
Training Institute in Calabar (from the Church of Scotland work), who later
became governor of Eastern Nigeria, gave the message and said:
I am deeply conscious of the honour which has been accorded to me
by being invited to speak on this auspicious occasion. To the NigerChallenge Press and to those in whose hands the preparations of this
function rests, I say, “Thank you most sincerely.
Some 2,000 years ago the Lord of Life commissioned His faithful
followers in this way: “Go ye therefore into the entire world and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you.” From that time the Gospel
story of the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ has spread from
the small surroundings of the Holy Land to the Western World
and from the Western World to all parts of the earth, including the
continent of Africa. And we are happy that this same Word of God is
with us today in Nigeria.
…the tremendous strides in progress…which have taken place in
Nigeria …have been the outcome of the fervent…evangelistic zeal of
those thousands of men and women…who have answered, “Here am
I, send me.”
Amongst the many…agencies...must be numbered the Sudan
Interior Mission. In the walled city of Kano you will see a great Eye
Hospital.
During the last 10 years or more the African Challenge, a monthly
organ of Sudan Interior Mission, has truly challenged our thoughts,
our minds and our hearts. Every month it holds forth…that the
Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. The African
Challenge is used in many schools of Nigeria as a textbook, and it has
opened the eyes of many to the tremendous realization of the truth
that their lives are empty without God.
So great has been the success…spiritually, that management has seen
the need…of merging with the Niger Press… We express our deep
indebtedness to the missionary zeal and enterprise, and to the church
by whose services and devotion our country has seen the light and
Jesus crucified.208
Sir Francis Ibiam
208Programme
for the occasion SIM Archives NCP Box 081.
201
CHAPter 17
1960-1963
I
n October 1959 the Counselling Department sent out 850 letters. In
October 1960, 4,000 letters were mailed and that is only in English.
The big event in this period was the 10-year birthday for Challenge and
a committee of six was given the task of planning the celebration.
A series of meetings were planned. Some were evangelistic, some were for
pastors, and some were for reading units. It was hoped a Lagos Literature
Sunday would be declared, and that an SIM Cessna would drop leaflets all over
Lagos which would contain a sermonette, a decision slip, and notice about the
locations of meetings.
For the staff a football match and volley ball game were arranged, with lots
of good Yoruba food and a travelogue film from USIS – (United States
Information Service).
The evangelistic meeting was
packed, with people sitting
outside. The Chief Magistrate
Adefarasin, the Chief Registrar
of the Federal Court, and Dr
Adegbite, of Baptist Academy,
spoke. The latter spoke on the
great part played by African
Challenge in the moral,
Evangelistic meeting
political, educational and
religious development of the nation. He urged people to write in and
buy African Challenge. Rev Howard Jones of the Billy Graham team
and living on ELWA compound in Liberia spoke. There were 37
men who came forward.209
In May of 1961 there was word that a French secretary and writer would be
asked to begin a French Challenge. Later that same year a second “Chief”
209 Material
203
printing press was delivered. It arrived just when the pressure was on to get the
January 1962 VIP printed and out to the various locations for distribution. The
new press was fully paid for before it arrived.
In 1962 the field representatives were reporting a real hunger for the
Lord and for books teaching about the Word of God. They also spoke about
the inability to carry enough books to meet demand as they went out at the
beginning of a week on distribution. This was particularly true in Eastern
Nigeria and Ghana.
Harold Saul in Aba said, “I have been amazed at the choice of the
people...a greater demand than we can cope with. We need more
titles. If we don’t supply them, they’ll read other immoral, unhelpful
and communistic stuff, which is flooding in.”
On 27 June 1962 Phillipe de Corvette from Scripture Union in Ivory Coast
came to help at Challenge in putting together a pilot edition of a French
Challenge. In recent months there had been serious prayer about a French
Challenge. The aim was to have this ready for printing in April 1963. Missions
from Senegal to Congo had been begging for a French Challenge. By 22 June
1963, it was known that Gisèle Joly, a French journalist, would soon arrive.
NOT ALL PLAIN SAILING
Helen Lucks, who now lives at Sebring, was at Challenge for a few years. She
mentioned that almost every month there was some big catastrophe of some
sort at Challenge. Alan Moore in charge of the Press told of his daughter’s hand
and later she died of leukemia. Another child was so sick and the local hospital
could not diagnose what was wrong so he was flown to our mission hospital
in Jos. Another time it would be one of the missionaries. Helen said: “When
you are doing a great work for the Lord these things will happen.” These are
roadblock attacks by Satan because you are reaching into his territory. Helen
herself was flown home to the USA with a detached retina in 1964.
VALERIE THOMPSON
It was during this time that Valerie Thompson arrived in Lagos and was
assigned to the Art Department. I add her story because it gives insights of a
single person and someone from the UK. Valerie was artist at African Challenge
from 1960-1968 when she married.
I was born in 1931 in Croydon, Surrey, UK, but my parents moved
to Bournemouth on the south coast when I was two, and that is
where I grew up as an only child. When I was eight, World War II
broke out, and we experienced air raids and the privations of wartime
Britain. My parents were nominally Christian but did not go to
church except on rare occasions. Early contacts with Christianity
were: being taken as a child to various Free Churches by an elderly
204
Literature Outreach in Nigeria maidservant of neighbours, joining an Anglican Church youth club
and going to a Bible Study group connected with that church, and
starting to read the Bible with the Bible Reading Fellowship notes.
At the age of 17, I felt I was a Christian and asked for adult baptism
in the Anglican Church. Shortly after, I was confirmed as is the
practice in that Church.
When I left school I went to Art College and joined the College
Christian Union, which was connected to the Technical Colleges
Christian Fellowship (TCCF), a branch of IVCF (Inter-Varsity
Christian Fellowship). It was at a TCCF house party in 1952 that
I gave my life to Jesus, realizing that until then I had not fully
surrendered every part of myself to Him. I also understood clearly
for the first time the meaning of salvation and asked Him into my
heart to be my Saviour. It was then also that I knew that I must be
ready to serve Him wherever He sent me.
After leaving college I became an art teacher and moved to
Wolverhampton in the English Midlands. Here, God led me to an
evangelical Anglican Church where the vicar (and the previous vicar
who had died) had served with the China Inland Mission (now
OMF). After three years I was convinced I should offer for overseas
missionary service, and went to the Mount Hermon Missionary
Training College, a women’s college, later merged with All Nations
Bible College.
At this time I thought I would probably go to Malaysia, but I
received a letter that would change everything. On leaving college I
had joined the Graduates’ Fellowship, and had sent them details of
my art college training (which had included a course in illustration
and typographic layout). The letter explained there was a need for
someone with such qualifications in Nigeria with the SIM to work in
literature evangelism with the Niger-Challenge Press in Lagos. The
Holy Spirit makes you know when it’s God calling - and I had to
abandon other plans and obey! I sailed for Nigeria from Liverpool
in March 1960, sharing a cabin with Rae Gourlay (now Donnelly)
who was a journalist also going to work at NCP. I was seasick from
Liverpool Sound until nearly when we docked at the Canary Islands.
The whole voyage took 13 days. Rae and I became colleagues and
we are friends to this day.
My first assignment in Nigeria was to learn Yoruba, the language
of what was then called the Western Region. I was driven by my
new boss, the editor at NCP, Harold Fuller to Egbe, in what is now
Kwara State, a beautiful hilly region about 200 miles north east of
Lagos. Here I stayed with Ernie and Adrienne Harrison, who worked
with the Evangelical Church of West Africa, and who spoke Yoruba
fluently. Adrienne taught me the grammar and tonal variations of
Yoruba. She was also a brilliant cook (using a wood-burning stove)
and passed on to me some of her recipes. Two Nigerians gave me
conversation practice: Grace, who discussed everyday topics such as
what I’d had for breakfast; and Samuel, a blind evangelist who was
translating the Bible into Braille. Much of my time with him was
spent with me reading the Psalms to him in my halting Yoruba, while
he pricked away on his special Braille cards. We discussed spiritual
matters and he also taught me the Lord’s Prayer in Yoruba, which I
can still recite fluently.
I came back to Lagos, then the nation’s capital, and still the
commercial hub of Nigeria, just in time to be present at the first
Independence Day celebrations at the Racecourse - now called
Tafawa Balewa Square. This event took place on October 1st
1960, and it was a great privilege to be present. Princess Alexandra
represented the Queen at the ceremony as the Union Jack was
lowered and the Nigerian flag rose.
The Niger-Challenge Press occupied a large warehouse-type building
with two floors, on Agege Motor Road in the suburb of Mushin in
Lagos. Upstairs were the editorial offices and art studio; downstairs
were the printing presses. There was also a photographic studio,
a library and the counselling section, which received and replied
to readers’ letters. At the back of the press was the residential
compound where the missionaries and some of the Nigerian staff
lived in houses round the edge of a large grassy field.
I worked with fellow artists Leona Johnson (now Mason), Nigerian
artist Christopher Comartz, and the late Betty Fraser (who became
Mrs Hill). The NCP’s main publication was the African Challenge,
which at this time had been in circulation for nine years. Later it
became Today’s Challenge. The magazine was primarily aimed at
school students, but also the general public. It contained articles of
an educational nature and most importantly those which explained
the Gospel and how to become a Christian and live the Christian life.
Each African Challenge had to be prepared about six months in
advance. The writers sent the articles to us in the art studio. We had
to choose the type face and column width and design the layout,
which would determine how much the pictures had to be reduced
or cut to fit the layout. We would then send down the type-written
text to the printers with instructions regarding type face and column
width, and when the columns of type were returned we would have
to see how they would fit in with our layout and whether any cuts
205
206
or additions would be needed in the text. When the journalists had
made these adjustments we would do a page paste-up. (Of course
this was before computers were deployed in design, and “pasteups” were literally just that: columns of type cut out and pasted
by hand on to a blank sheet). When all the pages were completed
satisfactorily, we sent them, with the photos and illustrations and
instructions about size reductions, to Sun Printers in Watford,
UK, to be printed by photogravure and made into the completed
magazine. Every month there was a deadline to be met, dictated
by the time of the departure of the aircraft which was to carry the
material. Very often we would be working into the small hours to
meet the deadline.
The African Challenge was joined by the Yoruba Challenge (edited
by Pastor James Bolarin, whom I had actually met at the Keswick
Convention before going to Nigeria) and later by Champion in
French for the francophone countries surrounding Nigeria. This was
edited by Gisèle Joly and later Claudine Demiéville (now Luthy).
Apart from these magazines we worked on lots of illustrated tracts in
many of the minority languages of Nigeria.
I had two other jobs which
kept me occupied: doing the
layout and illustrations of
Africa Now, the SIM’s journal
for supporters in the home
countries of the missionaries;
and one which I greatly
enjoyed - training two Nigerian
artists, Josy Ajiboye and
Charles Ohu, both of whom
had exceptional talent but
Life drawing practice at the Challenge studio, L
no formal art training. These
to R, The model, Maikwando, wife of one of the
two were soon illustrating a
staff; Valerie; Josy Ajiboye; Charles Ohu
lot of our material. After he
left us, Josy became art editor
and popular cartoonist for the Nigerian Daily Times, as well as an
accomplished oil painter. Charles did illustrations for children’s
books, winning an award for his work.
Extracts from an article in Glendora Review, an African magazine, about artist/
cartoonist Josy Ajiboye, describing his years at the Niger-Challenge Press:
The name Josy Ajiboye has become synonymous with cartoons and
cartooning in Nigeria. He has been in the field of cartooning in the
country longer than any other single individual…This interview
offers us an insight into the mind of one of the country’s most
popular cartoonists.
GR: Give us a picture of your beginnings in art. Please give us a feel
of those times when you were young and growing up.
JA: Art is a bigger framework…than I thought…I have been drawing
right from the day I started writing ABC. However, my professional
work started at African Challenge in 1962.
GR: You mean the African Challenge at Mushin here in Lagos?
JA: I had been reading it right from about 1955.
GR: You are referring to the famous Christian Challenge. Was it…a
full magazine?
JA: The publication’s purpose was to attract young people to
Christianity; it had subjects such as news…normal magazines carry…
difference…it was used to spread the Gospel.
The Sudan Interior Mission (SIM)…from which came the ECWA
churches…the Niger-Challenge Publications, then called NigerChallenge Press…When I got to Challenge I showed them my
drawings and Miss Thompson, from Brighton, UK, was one of the
missionaries that took interest in me…So they saw my drawings and
said yes, this boy needed to be with us. That was how I became their
trainee for about five or six years.
GR: You were mostly drawing illustrations?
JA: Yes, all the illustrations and covers for their publications and
pamphlets.
GR: What was it like making covers in those days?
JA: …First, we were taught how to be economical: that is how from
taking block red you can make it as if you had many more colors,
etc…We were then doing a lot of color overlays, which we now call
color separation.
GR: So, it was all manually done? Were you taught all this to achieve
the best result?
JA: We were actually taught the basics and from then I took off by
experimenting with different percentages and grades of colors and
textures. Apart from my doing the color separation, there was no
other cost involved. I handled all the tones on just one plate. So, we
were truly taught how to economize on our material.
207
208
Literature Outreach in Nigeria GR: Did you pick your own photographs for these covers or were
you given them? Who was behind the conceptualization?
JA: Once given a cover to do, the idea behind each cover at the time
was mine…I worked on Yoruba Challenge, African Challenge and
did all the covers there. Then, you had to specialize in everything…
You did everything, no other person. There was no luxury.
GR: So from Challenge, you moved on to where?
JA: I was with Challenge from 1961 to 1968 when I resigned. By
then I had a lot of experience and had also taken a lot of courses in
painting. I was experimenting with watercolors and the different
pigments and with oil painting, also.
GR: Did you have any formal training in painting?
JA: Yes, during my time at Challenge they would train me in-house,
and they paid for me to attend the Yaba College of Technology…
These courses at the time were for professionals - people already
working outside. I did this for about two to three years before
returning to my base.
GR: Was it around this time that you had an exhibition opened for
you by the renowned Ben Enwonwu?
JA: Yes it was around this time. …Mr Harold Fuller, the deputy
director of SIM Literature in West Africa, was about to go on
home leave. It was decided we would honour him and with another
colleague we drew watercolour drawings of which the biggest size
was 15” by 20”. My missionary mother suggested she call Professor
Ben Enwonwu to open the show for us. She picked up the phone,
asked him, and he replied immediately to say he was coming. Just
like that. And that was how we got Enwonwu to come that day. It
was great. He came with Dotun Okunbanjo.
From there Josy went on to become the Art Director and cartoonist for the
Daily Times and is a well known and accomplished artist today. This was the
same Daily Times that printed the first issues of African Challenge.210
Valerie continues:
Of course those of us working in this large team of journalists,
artists and printers had little personal contact with our readers. But
in every piece of literature there was a form to be filled in and sent
to our Counselling Department by those who wished to accept
Jesus as Saviour or to know more about the Christian faith. And we
210From
Glendora Review, African Quarterly of the Arts, Vol 3 No 2.
had the joy of knowing that we were helping to reach so many out
there with the Gospel, and by the power of the Holy Spirit many
did come to know Jesus through reading the literature. We also had
the opportunity of reaching out to the people in Lagos through
Sunday Schools and evangelistic outreach in such places as the Police
College. My own contribution was leading a small fellowship with
the women of the ECWA church next door.
So was it all plain sailing? I suppose one of the downsides at NCP
was that we single people (mostly women), who were used to a fairly
busy social life at home, felt rather confined and restricted, and it
was sometimes not easy to be surrounded by married couples with
families and to know that one’s own chances of attaining such status
were now severely limited. However this is where one had to have
faith in the Lord’s provision in unpromising circumstances! Another
problem was that whereas all missionary personnel received the same
allowance every month, those from America and Canada seemed
to have more generous extra support from individuals at home
than us Brits. On one occasion Rae and I only had some peanuts
supplemented by fruits from the orchard, and after I had paid my
“houseboy’s” wages my fridge was empty – to his surprise, because
he obviously thought all “Europeans” were rich. God did provide
– someone put a whole chicken on our door step! (Thank you,
Leona!).
Talking about “houseboys”, or “stewards” as they were called by
the missionaries, the idea of having a servant horrified me at first,
but I soon found that (1) even the poorest Nigerian families had
house help – often young relatives who were also able to go to
school locally while working part-time, and (2) in the climate, it
would have been difficult to do a full-time job without domestic
help; and (3) the helpers themselves benefited from regular wages
and their own quarters to live in. The climate in Lagos is very hot,
humid and enervating but one learned to adapt (an afternoon
siesta was mandatory) and to move at a slower pace. Daily power
cuts were something one had to get used to. And there was the
occasional encounter with snakes, as we lived at the edge of the
“bush”. Cockroaches were a more frequent nuisance, and I was
once bitten by one in the night. We all took malarial prophylactics
daily or weekly and slept under mosquito nets to ward off malaria –
nevertheless it was possible to get a bout, especially if one neglected
precautions.
To relieve stress all the staff played volleyball once a week when
it was the cooler part of the day, and we had a weekly evening of
209
210
fellowship, praise and prayer. I remember both of these occasions as
being very happy times. Once a year we went on holiday, usually to
Miango on the Jos plateau (in Northern Nigeria) – a wonderful place
for relaxation and getting to know SIM folks and those from other
missions and other places.
Nigeria became a republic in 1963, but there were considerable
political disturbances in the Western Region from 1962 to 1965.
There were times when one did not venture off the compound after
dark, and some of the Nigerian staff who lived locally had a difficult
time, especially those who came from the northern part of the
country. In April 1964 I went home on what was then called
“furlough” but is now known as “home assignment”, and returned
to Nigeria the following year. In January 1966 the First Republic
collapsed and some army officers staged a coup. Nigeria came under
military rule. Some notable civilian rulers were killed. A counter
coup took place later in July that year following a serious tribal clash
in the northern part of the country. Several military rulers were
killed, and eventually Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon emerged
as the Head of State and reinstated the federal system government in
Nigeria. But relations between the government and the Eastern
Region, led by Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu,
deteriorated and civil war broke out, known famously as the Biafran
War.
Those of our staff who came from the East,
predominantly from the Ibo tribe, felt unsafe
in Lagos and joined the mass exodus to their
homeland. Most Ibo young men joined
Ojukwu’s army. One of our artists, Charles
Ohu, was Ibo and it was decided, with his
agreement, to try and send him to the art
faculty of Kumasi University in Ghana to
further his art studies. One of our American
missionaries, the late Eldon Howard,
and I were to accompany him. Before we
entered the airport we had to pass through
a military check point – these were all over
Charles Ohu
the place because of the civil war. This was
the tensest moment: would Charles, being an Ibo, be allowed out of
the country? I can’t remember what Eldon or I said, but God was in
control, and Charles was allowed to pass through, enjoyed his course
and returned at the end of the Civil War.
niGer-CHALLenGe Press 1960-1963
211
I left the Niger-Challenge Press in 1968 and my place was taken by a
gifted artist from the UK, Eric Read. In 1964, when I was on home
assignment, a Christian Nigerian
engineering student attended one of
my talks about the literature work.
He was a Yoruba, and his name was
Abayomi Onayemi. He had been
familiar with African Challenge in his
schooldays, and it turned out that his
home was in Mushin in Lagos very
near the NCP compound. Soon
afterwards he qualified and returned
to Nigeria. In 1968 he asked me to
The Onayemi family 1995
marry him and I said “Yes.” We were
married in England in 1969 and
returned to live in Nigeria. The Nigerian civil war ended in 1970,
and in September of that year we had our first child, a daughter. A
second daughter was born in 1972. God gave me a wonderful
Christian husband from a remarkable family with many Christians in
it. So began the second phase of my life in Nigeria, and for all of it I
give praise and thanks to God.211
RAE GOURLAY, NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS, LAGOS, 19601966
Rae was from Milngavie in the beautiful countryside just outside Glasgow,
Scotland. She was a journalist and was mostly involved with the Public
Relations side of journalism for Challenge, also the SIM International
SIMNOW publications for home country distribution. She writes:
I was a journalist in Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1950s and became
a Christian at a missionary conference in 1956. I had a weekly
religious column in a Scottish daily newspaper, and also wrote for
several Christian publications. After attending the Bible Training
Institute in Glasgow, I was accepted by the Sudan Interior Mission to
work at the Niger-Challenge Press. I sailed from Liverpool in April
1960, sharing a cabin on MV Aureol with artist Valerie Thompson
from England who was also bound for the NCP in Lagos.
WorK
After a few months of language study (Yoruba) at Egbe I returned
to Lagos, where Chris Ferrier and James Bolarin, under Editor-inChief Harold Fuller, were responsible for the editorial content of
211 Account
from Valerie Onayemi, née Thompson, January 2008.
212
African Challenge, and were training and using Nigerian writers. I
gathered my role was to be mainly of a public relations nature – i.e.
informing home supporters of the work and encouraging prayer and
financial support. Harold explained African Challenge would be
10 years old in 1961 and he had already been in touch with various
overseas Christian journals offering articles to mark the publication’s
10th birthday. Around 10 had accepted the offer, and so one of my
first tasks was to supply these articles. Over the years I did in fact
write one or two articles for Challenge and recall that a nativity play I
wrote was broadcast on Radio Ghana.
I also wrote for SIM’s Africa Now – I see I was listed as assistant
editor – including surveys on topics such as why there were more
women than men serving on the mission field, and predictions on
the future of missions across the whole of Africa. Home supporters
were kept informed on a monthly basis with items for praise and
prayer, and the quarterly eight-page Niger-Challenge Press Report
from Africa gave a comprehensive account of the work of the 65
Africans and missionaries on the staff.
There were opportunities too in the Nigerian press. For some time
the NCP had been supplying a weekly column to the Sunday Times
called “Sermon by the Pastor”. It became my job to see this sermon
was delivered to the paper every Wednesday for the coming Sunday.
Sometimes I wrote the sermon myself, but more often it was written
by a Nigerian member of staff, with editorial assistance. We were also
asked to supply a “Morning Light from the Word of God” column
for the Morning Post. From time
to time I sent press releases to
the Nigerian papers about some
newsworthy aspect of the SIM’s work
throughout the country.
In 1965 I drove Gisèle Joly, editor
of Champion, and a photographer
to Dahomey (now Benin) where
we attended that country’s 5th
anniversary of independence
celebrations on 1 August, which were
marked by the opening of the new
port at Cotonou.
I took part in a couple of activities
outside office hours – helping to
run the Sunday School at the Nigerian Police College compound at
Gisele in Doorway and Rae Gourlay
niGer-CHALLenGe Press 1960-1963
213
Ikeja, and a weekly ladies’ meeting at Suru Lere. One of the stalwarts
of the latter was a Mrs Arogundade, whose youngest daughter,
Funmi, came to Glasgow to study midwifery in the 1970s. Funmi
and I are still in touch.
not all WorK!
Life on the NCP compound could feel very
isolated and restricted at times, with the tropical
night descending so quickly when the day’s
office work was over. Wednesday afternoons,
however, were free and provided an opportunity
to head for the Lagos shops and stock up
with food. Sunday afternoon fellowship at the
Yaba guest house was also a welcome break
and a chance to meet up with other Christians
including expats. We also enjoyed occasional
trips to Victoria Beach and Tarkwa Bay.
On the compound we had a weekly game of
Rae Gourlay - Lagos
volleyball – my introduction to this sport - and
I never did learn to serve properly! Friday evening prayer meetings
provided a time of fellowship. We “single girls” also organised
occasional candle-lit poetry reading evenings.
old-tIMErs
It was a privilege to meet some SIM missionaries who had served a
long time on the field. I particularly remember the Hays (senior) and
Douglas and Mary Blunt. Mary, a Scot, was heard to say: “Blunt’s
my name and Blunt’s my nature.” While at Egbe I met Guy Playfair,
and still wonder if it’s true (as I was told) that he wore a pith helmet
at night so the moon would not smite!212 On holidays at Miango
there was also an opportunity to meet more of these old-timers.
Post - sIM
I returned to UK in 1966 and shortly thereafter joined the staff
of the Glasgow Evening Times. I married fellow journalist Vincent
Donnelly in 1971 and have two sons. I later worked at Strathclyde
University in Glasgow as publications officer and press officer.
Vincent died in 1998. I am an elder in the Church of Scotland
(Presbyterian). 213
212 This
was true and attested to by older timers of that vintage.
from Rae Donnelly, née Gourlay, June 2008.
213 Account
214
ERIC READ
I was at Challenge and Champion sometime
between 1964 and 1975 replacing Valerie
in the Art Department in Lagos, so had
most to do with the two Nigerian artists,
Josy Ajiboye and Charles Ohu. Magazine
layout is an exacting thing and my attempts
to do things accurately did not go down too
well (I think). Also they found my criticism
of their work irksome but they proposed a
compromise. If they were allowed to criticise
my work they would allow me to criticise
theirs. Since this would give them twice
the education, that suited me! Josy had a
Eric Read
nice sense of humour and I remember him
calling the Mission compound “the Holy
City”. I understand he is now a political cartoonist for a Nigerian
national newspaper and is doing good work being rude to politicians
and still teaches in Sunday School.
I remember distributing back copies of the magazine on a Lagos
flyover where two large earthmoving machines turned to charge
each other when we dropped a magazine between them. The drivers
ran to reach the magazine first, such was their thirst for the written
word.
Amongst the bad things I did was getting the same image of a
photograph of a beautiful Nigerian cover girl printed in black and
red. The result was a rather red complexion which I didn’t know
denoted worms (not the way to sell a magazine). I was also asked
to apologise to a boy selling a calendar of Flags of Africa which also
contained Scripture texts. I got the stripes of one flag in the wrong
order and he was arrested for selling subversive literature. I believe
he is out of prison now.
I tend to look upon my experiences in Africa as life on another planet
and forget to add them (11years) to my life span – but I’m grateful
that my friend Gordon Stowell rang to say, “Would you like a job
replacing a tired missionary for a year?” I stayed for 11 years. Thank
you ECWA/SIM.
ERIC’S TIME IN ABIDJAN WITH CHAMPION MAGAZINE
I went to work in the same capacity (layout artist) for Champion
magazine in Abidjan, Ivory Coast which enabled me to compare
francophone Africa with Nigeria.
French shop keepers and officers in the Police and Army abounded,
whereas the English in Nigeria had an advisory role.
Two memories stand out from the humdrum:
One was the invitation from an American Christian film director to
a posh hotel where I ate a rare cooked beef joint which resulted in
my being host to a tapeworm with dire results. I remember, too, a
concert at the university where the students came late into the hall
with a great clatter and were completely entranced by the brilliant
performance of a banjo player.
It was in Ivory Coast that I encountered difficulties with completely
different printing measurements which almost drove me, and perhaps
the Swiss editor, mad. Not everything in missionary life is sweetness
and light – we eventually settled our differences amicably.214
214Account
from Eric Read, August 2008.
215
CHAPter 18
NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS –
SEPTEMBER 1964–MAY 1968
T
he profit and loss balance sheet of Challenge was not measured in dollars
and cents; it was measured in matters related to people finding Christ as
Saviour, and strengthening believers in their faith and walk with God. In
1966, there were 2,427 who
wrote stating they had
received Christ as their
Saviour.215 Yet, at the same
time, because Challenge was
sold at such a low price, it
never covered the full costs.
By this time the subsidy
required was £1,000 monthly
($3,000), but when measured
against the 150,000 plus
The Staff of Niger Challenge Press, Lagos Aug 1967
magazines in English and
Yoruba going out each month, it meant 1.6 pence, which in dollars meant 4.8
cents per magazine. This meant there was always a debit balance for Challenge.
Price increases had taken place, but the cost of the magazine was always in view
in situations like this. Sometimes raising the prices was not a good option.
At the same time labour unrest increased, not just with Niger-Challenge
Press, but with all companies throughout Nigeria. Inflation was a fact of life.
In 1964 the government commissioned the Morgan Report to study the
salaries and recommend by how much they should increase. The report stated
the increase should be 100% and back-dated to January, with the result that
many companies could not pay. Already it was past the half-year mark; NigerChallenge Press said they would cover back to July, but could not do more.
Some staff were not happy, and through this the Communist Union became
involved. Something less than half the Press staff voted that the union represent
215 Information
from Olwyn Keyte.
NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS – SEPTEMBER 1964–MAY 1968
217
them. The union was pressing for full back pay to February, but through
negotiation with staff they realized that we could not pay and that if they went
on strike Niger-Challenge Press would close down and everyone would be out
of a job. So the union accepted that fact.
There was rest for a time, but the problem resurfaced in 1965. On 18
October some in the SIM leadership came from Jos to discuss the matters
troubling Niger-Challenge Press (NCP). A few of the issues were:
• Some disgruntled staff had already written to the newspapers,
and there was a feeling that this was an embarrassment to any
Christian organization;
• The continual subsidy required to keep Challenge operating;
• The pressure from government for continued Nigerianization
which meant more money paid in increased wages;
• The fact that as a Christian organization SIM could not pay the
going rate for commercial printers;
• The advisors from whom SIM sought counsel said that the unrest
would get worse, not better;
• There were many other presses in Lagos which could do printing
work.
The net result of that meeting was that NCP would close down on 31 March
1966. The African Challenge, Yoruba Challenge and Champion, the French
magazine, would continue to be produced by a new organization which came
to be known as SIMLIT.
As Olwyn Keyte said:
We did not know when we pioneered magazine printing in Nigeria
that the day would come when we could no longer compete with
rising costs, advertizing and competition from local presses.216
SALE OF NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS
Murray Dunn from New Zealand, because of his contacts in the city to obtain
advertising for Challenge, was handed the task of finding someone to buy the
press as an operating entity. Here is Murray’s account of that time.
We were originally recruited to serve at SIM’s Yaba guest house and
the Business Department, but due to Karl and Mein Munting being
urgently called home we were asked to go to Challenge to help in the
Business Department at the Niger-Challenge Press on the Mushin
compound.
While Pam was secretary to the production manager, Al Moore, I
assisted Bill Wright in the day to day administration of the Business
Department. One of my responsibilities was to solicit the secular
216Material
218
advertising for Challenge magazine which had at that time a 130,000
monthly circulation. This proved to be a very challenging task
because the advertising agencies were
keen to give me adverts for cigarettes,
beer, lotteries and the like which we
could not accept. We prayed for a
breakthrough and the Lord heard our
prayers and we found adverts for
school supplies, the airlines and
pharmaceuticals.
During the 60s there were constant
labour problems with the employees
Murray & Pam Dunn
in the printing union demanding
higher pay and better conditions.
They had ready access to the local media which caused regular
embarrassment to the Mission, rising to a point where the Mission
leadership said that unless this trouble stopped they would close
down the Press. Inevitably this finally happened in late 1965, and
the word came from HQ to sell the Press, as the leadership had had
enough of the never-ending labour unrest always reported in a very
biased manner against the Mission.
As a result, the Challenge Board assigned me the task of pursuing
the sale of the Press. This however proved almost impossible because
at that time there was major political unrest within Nigeria leading
towards civil war. Therefore in that political climate it became nigh
on impossible to interest anyone to buy the Press. Again we were
cast to our knees.
Prior to this we had done some tent-making (as did the apostle
Paul) when we had some down time on the presses. I had found
some print work advertising posters and this helped to subsidise our
Gospel publishing.
From one of these contacts an advertiser offered me a prime job
to print the Nigerian Airways calendar, as they wanted it done in
Nigeria. I took this back to Ash Tuck and Bill Todd at the NigerChallenge Press and they did a superb job on this calendar. So much
so that I was able to sell this man the Press establishment, so long as
Ash Tuck and Bill Todd were to continue in the employ at the Press.
It has to be remembered that at that stage Niger-Challenge Press
was producing some 750 tons of Christian literature annually, thus
the decision to sell the Press had huge implications. We did manage
to negotiate with the new owners for them to continue the entire
NIGER-CHALLENGE PRESS – SEPTEMBER 1964–MAY 1968
219
mission printing on a cost plus 10% basis. This concluded the deal.
The Tucks and the Todds continued on for about 6½ years.
We believe that the Lord saw fit to bless this ministry as He allowed
many trials to test us but we learned to trust Him as it was all done
to His glory. As a result hundreds if not thousands were won to the
Lord from the witness coming from the Mission literature produced
by the dedicated team of missionaries at Niger-Challenge Press
during the 50s and 60s.217
It seems that Mr Alexander who bought the Press, first made an offer of
£29,000 for equipment and £32,500 for the metal type which totalled
£61,500, but further negotiations changed that figure.
When Emmanuel Urhobo, the Nigerian lawyer whose services Challenge
used, saw this he said “No way, the Press is worth more than that. What about
the good will?” It appears the Mission was not aiming to make profit as much
as to cover what was on the books, and that is what brought them to the price
they stated. The lawyer said he would not allow the Press to sell for that price.
Mr Alexander, who agreed to the first price, did not hesitate when that price
was increased by the lawyer.
The Associated Press Nigeria, (the new name) paid as stated in the SIM Jos
Council Minutes of May 17-25 1966:
Equipment £28,000
Advance to settle Agreement £2,000
Work in Progress £11,000
Buildings £32,500218
Sub Total £73,500
Total £73,500
It seems that £40,000 was paid at the beginning with the balancing amount
to be paid over ten years at 8% interest. The bank holding the mortgage was
African Continental Bank.219
In contrast:
To adequately understand, it must be mentioned that the two people closely
connected to the sale of the Press – Bill Wright and Murray Dunn, both
remember the price at which the press was sold to be £100,000. Ken Bennett
is the third person, and being on the compound at that time I personally have
the £100,000 figure in my mind as the sale price. Remember Bill Wright was
the Business Manager of Challenge and Murray was Bill's assistant. Bill Wright
clearly remembers when we got Mr Urhobo involved he did not agree to
the low selling price that had been agreed, with his comment: “What about
good will?” And so the price by Bill Wright’s recall was greatly increased. Mr
217Email
218SIM
219Ibid.
from Murray Dunn, 31 May 2008
Council Minutes, Nigeria, May 17-25 1966, Box 081 archives.
220
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Alexander still agreed, so he must have been aware he was getting a good deal.
What this means is that the good will price that Emmanuel Urhobo, the lawyer,
insisted upon would have been the difference – £26,500.
Murray Dunn mentions: “...the price I negotiated with Ted Alexander was
£100,000.”220
THE CONTINUATION
The Press was sold as a going concern. All staff were let go and had to
reapply to the new owner. The same thing happened to editorial staff, but
they reapplied to SIMLIT the Publishing Department of SIM. This allowed
both organizations to let staff go – those they did not need or who had been
troublesome. As for Challenge, I don’t know if there were any who were not
reemployed.
The wonderful part for SIM was that all publications continued to be printed
in the same place by the same people, with the same heart concern for God’s
Word and this was done at 10% above cost. For the press it was a sure and
steady income assisting when sometimes others aspects of their commercial
work was slow.
THE AGREEMENT
It seems the idea of Ash Tuck and Bill Todd continuing with the Press came
first from Ash, who mentioned this to Bill Crouch, the SIM director. He tells
us how it came about:
My recollection is that the idea originally came from me! As the
negotiating became quite positive regarding a sale, I was thinking
and praying a lot about it, and seeking the Lord’s direction as to
what I should do when they took over. It had been agreed that Bill
and I would stay on for an interim period of six months, while they
established their management, but what then? It came very strongly
to me that as they had agreed to continue SIM’s printing at a very
good rate, if Ted (Alexander) would be happy for us to stay on to
manage the press, it would be very beneficial to the mission. We
would have control of costing, quality of work and delivery times,
and they would be paying us to do it!
I talked to Bill Crouch and explained the above. He replied very
positively, and said the mission would be very supportive of us
approaching Ted about the possibility. Bill Todd was also very happy
with the idea, so we talked to Ted about it. His response was, “I
couldn’t be any more pleased … I wanted to ask you to do just that,
but felt it would be too much to ask of you!”
220Email
from Murray Dunn, 31 May 2008.
niGer-CHALLenGe Press – sePteMBer 1964–MAy 1968
221
So that’s what we did. And the amazing thing was that the staff
‘union’ problem, that had instigated the sale, didn’t raise its head
again!
We continued in that role until APN was taken over by a British
company who were not at all sympathetic to our being there and
doing the mission printing at a special rate; they brought their own
management in. 221
Ash Tuck and Bill Todd continued to live on the compound as they always had.
Their homes were refurbished by the company, and the company paid rent for
these homes. Bill Todd left after 6½ years with Ash Tuck not being far behind.
The Tucks went to Sudan with ACROSS, a relief programme under SIM. Later
Ash returned to New Zealand with SIM and headed their publications. They
are now retired. Bill Todd returned to the USA and opened a small print shop
such as you would find in a mall. Bill and Marj Todd are now retired at SIM’s
retirement centre in Sebring, Florida.
AFRICAN CHALLENGE
Olwyn Keyte recalls that in February 1968 during the Civil War, but after
Calabar in the Southeast had been liberated by federal troops, a man in Calabar
wrote:
“Challenge is for broken hearts, and we are broken-hearted. Send me
a supply to sell.” In Rivers Area a pastor said, “People are turning to
the church to find meaning for life; they have been close to death. I
have great expectation for the future.” This pastor is one of our best
agents.
African Challenge continued publishing
regularly. Then when bookshops were
handed over to ECWA, the church which
had grown out of SIM’s work in Nigeria,
they also took over African Challenge and
changed the name to Today’s Challenge.
By that time Challenge Bookshops
(formerly SIM) took on the responsibility
of financing Challenge and some other
work. When the oil crisis of the 1980s
came along, Challenge suffered and for a
time stopped publishing. This would have
been about the turn of the decade into the
1990s. Later it started again.
221 Information
Militray Police giving Challenge to
former rebel soldiers
provided by Ash Tuck, New Zealand August 2007
CHAPTER 19
CHAMPION – CHALLENGE
COUNTERPART
T
he first talk about a French counterpart to Challenge was mentioned in the
British Sudan Witness in April 1952. When Trevor Shaw who launched
African Challenge, attended a meeting in Lome, Togo, Trevor said:
Another milestone in the history of this Christian newspaper has
been reached. From a vast territory of thousands upon thousands
of square miles, inhabited by a rapidly becoming literate Frenchspeaking population of fourteen million people, has come the
Macedonian call from leaders of twelve different societies,
representing approximately three hundred missionaries: “Come and
help us.”
From February 15-18 the Council of the Federation of Protestant
Missions in French West Africa met at Lome, Togo. This is the text
of the Resolution passed unanimously concerning African Challenge:
“This Council, concerned about the Christian literature offered
to Africans, after having heard Mr Shaw, editor of the African
Challenge, asks him to prepare the printing of a similar newspaper in
French, and is ready to give him all possible help.”
The secretary’s last words to me were, “The Lord bless you in this
great ministry. We are expecting big things through the African
Challenge.”
Discussion of a French magazine like Challenge had surfaced at different
times through the years, and efforts had been made to get qualified French
missionaries to head this project. However, it was not until SIM established an
office in Switzerland in 1962 and regular visiting was done in the Bible colleges
in France and Switzerland, that personnel from Europe began to apply to SIM
and go to Africa.
The first candidate class was held by Ted and Ady Emmett in Switzerland
at the end of 1962. In the class were Moira Alexander, Jean and Rosaline
223
CHAMPion – CHALLenGe CounterPArt
Klopfenstein and Gisèle Joly. Moira went to Benin; the Klopfensteins, to
Burkina Faso; and Gisèle was assigned to the French magazine. Discussion
ran about whether she should be stationed in Benin (French-speaking), or at
Challenge where all the facilities were available to get the magazine up and
running. From Geneva, Gisèle arrived in Lagos airport in early August 1963,
after calling in at Marseille to meet Harold and Lorna Fuller at the end of
their home leave. She had made stops at Dakar, Senegal; ELWA and its French
Department, Liberia; Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The agreed decision was Lagos to
start the French magazine, with a final location to be in the French-speaking
area.222
With the production of a French Challenge surfacing from time to time,
things moved slowly... But in June 1962, Philippe Decorvet, who was with
Scripture Union in Ivory Coast, came to help the folks at Challenge to put a
pilot edition together - a full year ahead of Gisèle’s arrival at Niger-Challenge
Press.
In October 1962, there was a pilot edition and the first printing was
45,000223 to ensure that it got a wide distribution in the francophone countries.
A second pilot edition was 35,000,224 which was distributed about the same
time Gisèle Joly arrived early in August. This would have meant that much of
the content must have been translated articles from African Challenge. This
also happened for the issue between Gisèle resigning and before Claudine
Demiéville arrived in 1966, when Bill Wright, district superintendent, decided
how Champion would continue.225 At that time Anne Robert-Grandpierre had
not yet returned to Switzerland, so was able to help with translation.
In Congo/Zaire, Envol was published, aiming at a higher educational level
and limited to one denomination. There was also a children’s magazine
Tournesol (Sunflower), dedicated to French-speaking European youth though it
was sold until Tam-Tam was produced in Korhogo, Ivory Coast by Marj Shelley
of the Baptist Mission.
Regarding the French Challenge, missions from
Senegal to Gabon said they would take thousands,
sight unseen, and one mission said they would take
25,000. The reality was different. Though Champion
published for a few years it never exceeded a print
run of 25-30,000; most often it was in the low
20,000s.
Soon after arriving in Lagos, Gisèle became
involved in the production of the first issue of the
now named Champion magazine. Someone Gisèle
222 Gisèle
Joly, telephone conversation, 2007.
Witness No 3, 1963.
224 Information provided by Claudine Demiéville.
225 Information provided by Bill Wright, by telephone, June 2008.
223 Sudan
Gisèle Joly
224
thought would come to help for a time said he could only come for two weeks,
but they did make a decision on the name Champion. By 19 December 1963
Gisèle’s first issue, now called Champion, was coming off the press. Gisèle
distinctly remembers that day because it was her birthday. A couple of days
later everything was in the mail, and soon afterwards was sold out - at least at
Lagos. Later it was discovered that some of the mailed copies did not arrive at
their destination till months later. This eventually ended up in large orders to
main distributors being sent by airfreight which added greatly to the expense of
distribution.226 This was a problem for all inter-African country mail, but
especially in francophone Africa.
At the time of the first issue, a
complimentary copy was sent to the
Heads of State of French-speaking
African countries of which there
were 18. On 19 January 1964, a
bilingual dedication service for the
new magazine Champion was held at
Niger-Challenge Press in Lagos.
Over 500 people attended including
diplomats from the francophone
countries. Dr Davis attended. It was
Launching of Champion - Dr Davis, Malam Gin,
his first visit back to Nigeria after
Gisèle Joly & Mr Esua
assuming the role of International
Director. He was welcomed by Rev Gin Mai Gari, president of ECWA, with the
dedicatory prayer by James Bolarin, the editor of African Challenge. Bishop of
Lagos Rt Rev S. I. Kale and Mr Esua CBE, general secretary of the Nigerian
Union of Teachers participated. At the end, copies of Champion were given to
the guests.227
A decision was made to produce three issues
a year to begin with. Help was on the way in the
Fall of 1964: from Benin, Ed and Elsie Morrow,
respectively in charge of the Business and the
Counselling Departments; later Ed being helped
by Marielle Schmidt, from Switzerland (11 weeks)
and Elie Fadanougbo, faithful assistant from
Benin. Benin also sent Pastor David Allagbada, a
wonderful assistant editor, and his wife Laya; her
photo embellished one Champion cover. And as
the secretary of the Editorial Department, Anne
Robert-Grandpierre saw her departure from
David Alagbada and wife Laya
226 Sudan
227 Sudan
Witness No 1, 1966, page 14.
Witness Vol. 11 No 2 1964.
CHAMPION – CHALLENGE COUNTERPART
225
Switzerland postponed for one full year; she landed at Lagos airport at the end
of November 1965 for a one-year short term and was highly appreciated.
Gisèle made a trip to the various French-speaking countries making contacts
and getting a better feel for what was happening in francophone Africa. Her
travels took her south to Congo, Zaïre and Central African Republic. Her time
in Congo was in 1965 at the time of the uprising in Eastern Congo, so there
were many refugees from these areas in Kinshasa, the capital. She planned to
visit areas in the north-east where AIM was working, but because of the civil
war, she was not able to go.
At the end of this trip she was exhausted having contracted parasites and
infections, but soldiered on. In 1966 she went west and north to Mali, Senegal,
Guinea and Ivory Coast.
In January 1966, 20,000 of the seventh edition of Champion, were printed.
By this time Champion was distributed in Senegal, Guinea, Ivory Coast,
Mali, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso), Togo, Dahomey (Benin), Niger, Chad,
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, some parts of North Africa, Frenchspeaking West Indies, and Cambodia. Circulation figures were respectively
highest in Congo-Leopoldville, Ivory Coast and Cameroon.228
By July of 1966 Gisèle was exhausted. She resigned and returned to France
by ship from Lagos. She had completed Champion No. 9, but felt she could
not begin No. 10. Challenge library was asked to prepare issue No. 10 which
Anne Robert-Grandpierre could translate, but she, too, was soon to leave, her
time of commitment being over. By this time Abidjan was seriously considered
as the best location for Champion. With this move Champion would become an
intermission project and responsibility.
Claudine Demiéville had committed to work with Champion and was on her
way in August 1966. She also travelled by boat. She landed first in Cotonou
where she was met by Ed and Elsie Morrow. The desire was to give her
some exposure to Benin and francophone Africa before flying to Lagos. By
September, Claudine Demiéville and Anne Robert-Grandpierre, were working
on Issue No. 11.
228Sudan
Witness No 1, 1966, page 13.
CHAPter 20
CLAUDINE LUTHY’S
(DEMIÉVILLE)
REMEMBRANCES
C
laudine has graciously told of her involvement with Champion, its
move to Abidjan, and becoming part of the new Evangelical Publishing
Centre. She also tells of her marriage, departure and the demise of
Champion three years later. This was because of difficulty in recruiting staff and
also the distribution problems in 18 countries.
I was twenty years old when I began studies at Emmaus Bible
Institute after an emotional experience which had forced me to make
some choices. For me, it was an extraordinary experience of the
presence of God in my life, of His Word and His work.
Since very early childhood, I had dreamed
of far-away countries, thanks to the
missionaries who visited our small church. I
have to admit that our little country world
was very restricted. Slides of life in Laos,
Ivory Coast, and Congo had opened my
eyes to new horizons and I had no trouble
imagining myself “over there”. At Emmaus,
that continued! We received missionaries
often, some of them staying several days,
and all of whom we bombarded with
questions at mealtime.
Ted Emmett, of SIM, whose office was
nearby, also came frequently. He was always
hoping to find workers who were needed and he made known
the personnel needs of SIM. At that time, they needed a graphic
designer for the magazine Champion, but they could not find one.
Since someone had told him I drew, he asked to see my work…
Claudine Demiéville (Luthy)
CLAUDINE LUTHY’S (DEMIÉVILLE) REMEMBRANCES
then asked if I could see my way clear to go to Nigeria to serve in
the layout of the magazine. That was not what I had been trained
for, but I began to think seriously and to pray about it. The more I
thought about it, the more I thought it was just right for me. But
before committing myself, I needed to accept the idea that, perhaps,
I would never marry. Indeed, at that time, short terms did not exist,
travel was much too expensive and “single ladies”, as they were
called, were numerous.
With a sense of confidence, I replied positively and handed in my
resignation to Dr Pache. I had spent two years at Emmaus as Dr
Pache’s secretary. He asked that I delay my departure a little to give
time to welcome the students for the new term which would begin
in October. Hence, I welcomed the new students, showed them
their rooms, filled out the forms, etc. Among them was a young
man whose file I was very familiar with, and whom I had already met
during a week-end of evangelism at Tavannes. He had just returned
from a few months at Radio ELWA, Monrovia, where he had
recognized his need for Bible training.
Nigeria was an English-speaking country, and my English was almost
non-existent. I would need to spend several months in England.
While I was preparing to leave, the young man in question arranged
to meet with me in town… Strange! What does he want to see me
for? Over a coffee, we were chatting about many things when he
suddenly asked me if he could write to me in England and offered
me a book Black Africa Had a Bad Start. I tried to refuse the book,
but seeing his disappointment, I finally accepted it. As to his writing,
that bothered me. I had plans in which there was no more room
for a man! Besides, writing to a man at Emmaus where everyone
was familiar with my handwriting… No, impossible! However, he
persisted so strongly that I finally decided that it was a small risk.
(Once I arrived in England, I asked my roommate to write the
address on the envelopes and no one at Emmaus dreamed that the
letters were from me!)
I spent five difficult months of hard work in England, living in a
boarding house for students. With Luc and Françoise Bader, we had
to clean up a house that had just been redecorated, get rid of the
rubble, paint the woodwork of the stairways, scrape the windows,
and climb up and down the stairs all day long. It was so hard that I
still suffer the consequences of an undiagnosed phlebitis. Every day,
we ate cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, red cabbage,
curly cabbage, more cabbage, and very soon I was sick. I even spent
227
228
Literature Outreach in Nigeria a few days in hospital where the doctors thought I had typhoid. But,
at least, I became familiar with the language!
When I learned of the death of my grandmother, I jumped at the
excuse to return home immediately. And there again, I found PierreAndré. I will admit that I did not inform him immediately of my
return; he learned of it from a student at Emmaus, and he was very
upset. But I was afraid of meeting him again, since our exchange of
letters had developed over time and I was unsure of how I felt. Since
I was due to leave early in August 1966, we had four months left
during which to get to know each other better.
Soon after my return from London in April 1966, Mr Emmett
informed me that the magazine’s editor, Mlle Joly, was ill and
needed to return home immediately. No editor, no magazine! What
to do? Let it drop? I could not let that happen. A young woman by
the name of Anne had left to fill in for a few months and I decided
by faith and in ignorance, to go anyway. I searched through the
English magazine African Challenge, which had been in circulation
for over ten years, and translated articles. This was a wonderful help
to my English!
Another reason to remain in Switzerland would have been the
worsening situation in Nigeria since 1965. This became the Biafran
War which was in radio news, but not yet started and life was
becoming more dangerous in the Lagos area where I was to go. But
thousands of Africans in 18 francophone countries were looking
forward impatiently to their magazine. Letters of encouragement
flooded in from all parts of francophone Africa and, arriving in
Lagos, I felt welcome.
Before all of this, I had to make several presentations in meetings
in our churches and raise support - quite unusual at that time. But
I was needed and was able to leave without full support (about 250
Swiss francs short per month). I boarded the French ship, Jean
Mermoz, on 6 August 1996, with drums containing my belongings.
I was 24 years old. My parents and Pierre-André accompanied me to
Marseille and the good-byes were half-hearted. Joy and sadness were
mixed; joy in finally leaving, sadness and fear of not seeing my family
again.
First stop: Casablanca. I left the ship and wandered in the nearby
streets where I came to a Christian bookstore and found the
magazine Champion in the display window! I went in and chatted
with the manager who suggested that he accompany me to the port
CLAuDine LutHy’s (DeMiÉViLLe) reMeMBrAnCes
229
to pass the time. It was an opportunity to make contacts and explore
the countryside before the departure of the ship.
The 14-day trip passed pleasantly
without seasickness and, at Cotonou
(Benin), Mr and Mrs Morrow, in
charge of the magazine, met me
along with Anne Robert-Grandpierre.
They had decided to help me meet
francophone Africans immediately so
that I would not feel too out of place.
We drove north by car to Bembereke.
While driving along a dusty country
road without a living soul in sight, the
car broke down - a broken connecting
rod.
Immediately, people appeared out of
the blue. They informed us that white
people lived in the area and, though
Ed Morrow going to Topo Island I don’t know how it happened, we
Nigeria
reached their home as night fell. This
was a mixed marriage. The man, son of missionaries in Cameroon,
had married his childhood friend, a Cameroonian. The house was
large and comfortable and they generously offered us hospitality for
the night. Next day, with the car repaired, we were able to continue
our journey. My memories are few: I do remember drinking root
beer and eating salad without dressing! I also remember the first
bean cake I bit into, not knowing that it was filled with hot pepper!
Tears came to my eyes but I managed not to spit it out. That would
have been very rude!
Continuing our trip by plane, we arrived at Lagos. On leaving the
plane, I felt that I was entering a laundry, but the odour was not
that of washing! Soldiers were everywhere. A female police officer
searched me, fortunately mostly for show, but the fact that the
country was moving toward war was very obvious.
The road leading to the station was lined with huts made of bits
of lumber, tiles and sacks. The drains on both sides of the street in
front of these makeshift homes, the dead dogs over which one had
to drive (otherwise it was impossible to meet other vehicles because
of the narrow street), the noise, the yelling of people dancing to the
beat of music in front of the huts, all that was a bit disorienting but,
immediately, I felt I was where I should be.
230
I was assigned a tiny two-room apartment in a long house which
included four such apartments. The kitchen and bathroom were
basic with basin and tub of
concrete, but it was the first
time that I was on my own and
in my own home. I had no
intention of having a houseboy
but that was simply my failure
to appreciate the insistence of
the other members of the
Single Ladies' Houses Challenge Lagos
magazine team. They all had a
friend looking for work, one
with many mouths to feed, etc. and they explained to me (who was
rich - obviously, because I was Swiss!) that I should provide work for
the local people. There is not much housework in a single person’s
home but I finally gave in to their gentle persuasion.
The French team
included only five
people: Mr and
Mrs Ed Morrow,
Americans who
had spent part of
their life in Benin
(Dahomey, at
that time), Elie
The French Team with James Bolarin and Peter Nwulu
Fadonougbo,
secretary, also
from Benin, Pierre Koumodzi, accountant, a native of Togo, and
me. Anne left about ten days after my arrival. Zacharie, 16 years old,
also from Benin, was the Morrows’ houseboy. It was he who helped
me explore the area where his fellow-countrymen lived and where I
dared not go alone. Unfortunately, at that time, there was a certain
distance to be maintained (age and seniority), as I learned from
the big SIM manual: Principles and Practices. Hence, there was no
one with whom I could freely talk. After some time, however, I was
able to make friends with Valerie, the artist and graphic designer of
Challenge and Champion, who was about twelve years older than I.
Valerie, was therefore, also part of the team, as well as David Offon,
the English magazine photographer.
The magazine was published every three months and so I had to
get to work immediately! My first meeting was with Mr James
Bolarin, responsible for the English magazine and all those
CLAuDine LutHy’s (DeMiÉViLLe) reMeMBrAnCes
involved in Champion. We needed to choose a theme for the next
issue while remembering the themes of those already published.
At the beginning, it meant a great deal of translation for me, but
Francophones are fussy: this is a new readership, with different
customs, other habits, etc. Yes, but considering that it covers 18
countries, from the north to the south of Africa, how to deal with
this was a challenge. Each one would like photos showing a woman
with this or that particular headdress, a certain style of dress, a
particular kind of house, a village that resembles theirs. It would be
a recurring problem that we faced and the letters we received were a
sure indication.
The printer imposed his rhythm. Deadlines are set far in advance and
must be respected. The difficulty that became clear to me very early
was that the typesetters did not know French and added a mistake
while correcting another! Hence, the proofs needed to be read very
carefully several times. But finally, “my” first edition was out and I
was very proud!
Distribution in so many countries is no small matter. This was at the
time when several countries were gaining independence,
transportation was not well organized and, unfortunately, our
subscribers often received their copies months late. Those living in
large cities were fortunate but there were times when a dishonest
employee kept the packages for himself and distributed them only to
his friends.
One of the resounding
successes of the magazine
was the full-colour calendar
in the centrefold. They were
pinned up all over, in chiefs’
homes and those of the welleducated, in schools and in
the most isolated villages. The
edition most widely popular
was the one about Heads of
State. Photos of each country’s
president were arranged
around a map of Africa. We
had to hold this edition as late
as possible before sending it
to press because occasionally
a coup d’état would make the
calendar out-of-date. The flags
Champion No 12
231
232
Literature Outreach in Nigeria of the francophone countries presented less risk but were not as
popular!
After a few editions, my English had tremendously improved but
my knowledge of the readers for whom I was writing did not really
correspond with the reality and Mr Morrow encouraged me to
take a few trips into francophone countries. So I organized a tour
that would take me to Cameroon, Congo Kinshasa and Congo
Brazzaville, passing through Gabon.
There was a bookstore in Cameroon that could provide us with a
few photos but my letters had never arrived at their destination and I
was not expected. I was to stay in the guest house which was closed
because of holidays… So I found myself in a school dorm, empty
apart from a few mice that munched on my picnic during the night!
At Kinshasa I remember being ill with dysentery and vomiting. A
missionary doctor, spending the night in the guest house, told me
to eat bread and rice for a week… Difficult to do when one is not at
home. When he saw me a few days later, barely any better, he said,
“Continue like this and you will never recover!” That scared me
and gave me the courage to ask for a special diet for the rest of my
stay. I remember the visit to Pastor Makanzy who was well known in
Switzerland and respected in his own country. I was shocked to learn
of his death a little later.
In Congo Brazzaville and still sick, I realized that my financial
resources had melted away and I needed to borrow money from the
Baptist Mission that was well established here. The manager did not
know me and was a little wary of this young woman who claimed
to be a member of SIM and editor of the magazine that he sold!
But finally, I was loaned some money which I paid back as soon
as I returned to Nigeria. This experience taught me much about
depending on God alone. It also provided me with a good supply of
material and a renewed vision for my task.
During this time, the Biafran War raged on. As foreigners,
missionaries were given precise instructions by their embassies and a
flight plan was put in place - a plan which only the mission director
knew. He would lead us by bush paths on foot to the airport. As far
as I was concerned, my suitcase was permanently packed with the
minimum of necessities and my passport.
The tension was palpable. Since some of the Challenge employees
were Ibos, we feared the arrival of soldiers on the station. One day,
they did come, looking for Peter, a father of several children, and
they led him away. Prayer meetings were immediately organized on
CLAUDINE LUTHY’S (DEMIÉVILLE) REMEMBRANCES
the station and it was with deep earnestness that we prayed that the
Lord would have pity on this family. What rejoicing to see Peter
return the same evening after a day of questioning!
Each day, we heard news that made us fear the worst. Without
information about their families, friends from Biafra lived in constant
fear, always listening for any bit of news available.
One day, a reporter of Indian origin who worked for an important
American newspaper (Newsweek, if I remember correctly) arrived
on the station. We offered him overnight accommodation and he
listened to a long discussion with Eric Read on the salvation offered
in Jesus Christ. Eric, a young artist, was always keen to testify.
The next day, this reporter left to continue his work in the war torn
area. A few days later, we learned through Newsweek of his death.
What risks these young newsmen accept! And what a comfort that
we had been able to present the Gospel to him along with the reason
for which we were all there!
I remember another incident with Valerie. To escape from the
tension all around us, we booked the Morris Minor belonging to the
station and which was used by everyone. We planned to go to eat
at the airport hotel at Ibadan (100 miles away). After a pleasant trip
during which we had seen the wrecks of many vehicles, we arrived at
the airport. Night comes suddenly in Africa and it was already dark
when we arrived. We were a little surprised to see that the airport
was in darkness but we drove into the yard only to be suddenly
surrounded from every direction by soldiers. “Get out of here! Go!”
they yelled. Valerie did not react. She drives barefoot and I can still
hear her saying, “Where are my shoes? Where are my shoes?” All the
while, the soldiers were becoming more nervous and continued to
yell, “Get out of here!”
Finally, we got out of the car and were able to explain that we had
come to the airport for dinner. The soldiers were sceptical and asked,
“Did you not know that there has been an assassination here today?”
The airport had been threatened and we didn’t know it… Still
suspicious, they let us go. We left without further questions but we
had to stop a little farther down the road. Our knees were knocking
together and our hands trembling so that neither of us was capable
of driving. After calming down, we returned home with an empty
stomach, but hearts full of praise for God’s protection.
At the end of 1968, I returned to Switzerland to be married. Before
leaving, I had to be sure that all the bases were covered and an issue
was prepared in advance. During this time, the magazine moved
233
234
Literature Outreach in Nigeria to Abidjan, Ivory Coast. An Evangelical Publications Centre had
just been built on the compound of the Mission Biblique where we
would be accommodated. Back in Africa in March, I resumed my
role as editor while Pierre-André was to be responsible for setting up
a photo lab at the Centre.
Contacts with the printer of the most widely read daily in Ivory
Coast, Fraternité Matin, were very cordial and always pleasant.
What a treat to work with Francophones! And also, what a pleasure
to be surrounded by Francophones! Contacts with pastors in the
neighbourhood were quickly established to facilitate the work.
But my husband was not a photographer and he had a vision for
going to Burundi to teach radio technology to a team of young
students. For this reason we gave SIM notice and they began seeking
replacements for us. A year later, we were able to turn the work
over to a young couple, the Guillaume-Gentils, who succeeded us.
Unfortunately, three years later, the magazine ceased publication
following problems common to this work: distribution in so many
countries and the difficulty of finding trained personnel for writing
and administration.
After the birth of our first daughter, we left for Burundi and Radio
Cordac where, unfortunately, war caught up with us again in
February 1972 and we were able to stay only one year.
In every situation, we could say that the Lord was by our side and
kept us safe. What experiences and blessing He gave us! Even today
we remember with joy this busy and exciting period of our lives, and
we thank God. 229
229Claudine
Luthy (Demiéville) remembrances 8 January 2008
THE DEMISE OF CHAMPION
There had been great encouragement from different missions in francophone
Africa from the early 1950s and continuing until Champion was published.
It had always been understood that the French Champion, though started
in English-speaking Nigeria, would eventually have to be based in a Frenchspeaking country. The desire for a French magazine like African Challenge
meant that they had to confront the problems of francophone countries in West
Africa.
Undoubtedly there was speculation on the part of some that many of the
problems might evaporate by being based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast – a Frenchspeaking country. Though some things were easier - French-speaking printers,
etc - they always had to contend with the problem of low populations and very
poor inter-country communications.
Nigeria, on the other hand, was the most populous country on the
continent, and the lingua franca was English as in Ghana. Many of the
surrounding French-speaking countries had populations of 2-4 million, and
communications by road, telephone and mail were most difficult and lengthy.
For Champion to have representatives on the road visiting these countries was
exorbitantly expensive. Also the literacy rate was higher in English-speaking
Nigeria and Ghana.
The policies of the colonial powers of Britain and France were quite
different. France sought to educate an elite group to run the country and
represent their country in the French House of Assembly as many did. The
British, on the other hand, made their educational system more egalitarian
to lift the entire country. And so we might say that, in selling a Christian
magazine such as African Challenge or Champion, the chickens came home to
roost.
SUMMARY
From its beginning, SIM has been known as the mission where literature holds
a prime place. This evidenced itself first when missionaries learned the language
of the area; they were soon translating portions of the Scripture, then teaching
the people to read, so they could read the Bible, enabling God to speak to them
directly in their own language.
Soon there were other books teaching the basics of the Christian faith,
books about baptism, books on applying their faith to the daily happenings of
life. Then as the years passed there came the need for a small magazine, Hausa
Labarin Ekklesiya (News of the Church) and The West African Christian in
English with a circulation reaching 3,000 in 1950. It was this magazine which
developed into the African Challenge, on which SIM rode the wave of literacy
to become the largest selling magazine in Africa in only three years, being
surpassed in the fourth year by Drum, a famous magazine out of South Africa.
At the time of the Queen’s visit to Nigeria in 1956 the print run was
187,000 and for years after that it hovered around the 130,000 to 150,000
mark with approximately 50,000 going to Ghana. Yoruba Challenge was in
addition to those figures.
For 25 years the African Challenge influenced numerous generations of
students, and for 19 years the Yoruba Challenge did the same in the vernacular.
During this same period SIM Bookshops saw great growth and we expanded
into areas where SIM traditionally had not been: Lagos, Ibadan and Eastern
Nigeria. During this period through NLFA (New Life for All) and other
programmes, the church in Nigeria and throughout the continent was growing
exponentially. It was “harvest time” in Africa. And Christian literature was
meeting the need of a growing, reading and spiritually hungry multitude.
It is interesting to note that in the recent “country review” internally
within SIM, the church in Ethiopia saw the provision of literature as the most
important thing that SIM did in that country.
Today SIM does not have a magazine; they no longer have bookshops, but
in recent years they have become involved in providing sets of books for pastors
(PBS.) At a PBS conference in Jos, one Nigerian pastor said, “Indeed, this is
the greatest thing that has happened in the history of Christianity in Nigeria.”
Another pastor said, “If you do nothing else during your time in Nigeria, this
has been enough.”
SUMMARY
237
Dr Ramesh Richard of Dallas Seminary says, “There are 2,000,000
inadequately trained pastors in the world. We need to continue helping
pastors through providing sets of books that enable them to do a better job of
shepherding their people.”
Recently (2006), 20,000 English PBS were distributed in three-day
conferences in Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda. As
I write 10,000 Amharic PBS are being distributed in Ethiopia. When that
is complete 97,270 sets will have been distributed in five languages in 37
countries. Fund-raising is going on for a French PBS likely in 2010 which will
be distributed in the francophone countries of West Africa. God enabling, this
project and outreach will continue into the future.
PBS (Pastors’ Book Sets)
We need a continuing vision to provide books that pastors need to help in
building and strengthening the Church of Christ in developing lands. The need
is great.
Two other areas which might be looked at are:
• FM Radio: because most of Africa listens, missions and the church
should examine the possibility of shaping teaching programmes
for pastors and lay leaders as a possible avenue to get some
measure of teaching to the many rural pastors who need help. • Digital devices: advances in technology give us inexpensive tools
to reach non–literates with Gospel teaching. Technology has
advanced so we can provide digital devices with the Bible and
Christian resources in audio format. The devices are inexpensive;
the challenge is acquiring recordings in all the different languages.
This should become a major emphasis for the future for those who
cannot read.
APPENDIX 1
BIAFRA
B
IAFRA? What’s that? For one thing, it was a secession movement that
arose from a regrettable civil war in Nigeria where we were serving as
missionaries. Beyond that, it involved Christians in the West. They were
confused by misinformation that actually prolonged the suffering - a distortion
that appeared again as recently as 28 July 2008 in Canada’s Macleans magazine
article: “Where’s Biafra?”
While the Western World believed that the Biafran War arose from religious
strife between the “Christian South and the Muslim North,” it actually arose
from a clash between a hierarchical culture and an egalitarian culture. Yes, Islam
did affect the worldview of many Northerners, while Christianity (albeit much
of it not evangelical) affected the worldview of the Southerners. But underlying
this was the ancient work ethic of the two different cultures.
In the North, Hausa groups (who immigrated from North Africa) operated
according to a hereditary hierarchical structure, with paramount chiefs, tribal
chiefs, village chiefs, and slaves. (Long before the cross-Atlantic slave-economy
developed, Muslim-Arab slavers traded slaves - captured from pagan enclaves in
West Africa, across the Sahara to slave markets in North and North-East Africa.)
Being served by others gave one status.
In the South-East (which became the short-lived “Biafra”), Ibos and
related groups (who came to Nigeria out of the Congo Basin to the south)
operated on a quasi-democratic, egalitarian structure, in which people lived and
succeeded based upon one’s own efforts. The results of one’s work gave one
status.
A university professor in Nigeria depicted for me the main regional
differences as follows: A Hausa (dominant group in the Northern Region)
would order a servant to climb a palm tree to pluck a coconut. A Yoruba
(dominant tribe in the Western Region) would sit under the palm and wait
until the coconut “fell into his lap”. The Ibo (dominant group in the Eastern
Region) would climb the tree himself and enjoy the “fruit” of his labour.
When the Europeans did arrive and the British Administration finally put
a stop to the slave trade, they trained and employed those they found willing
to learn new skills and to work with their own hands. So it was the egalitarian
240
Literature Outreach in Nigeria Ibo who ended up running the railroad, police force, and army. They served in
hospitals and sold groceries in shops.
Over the decades, Northern Hausas realized that while they had retained
their hierarchical system, their developing cities and systems were run by
Southern Ibos. Resentment grew and occasionally broke out in local strife, in
which Northerners chased Southerners out of town, those they didn’t kill. Ibo
resentment also built up, and finally triggered nationwide civil war after Ibo
junior army officers assassinated Northern political leaders. It was a foolhardy
thing to do, but must be understood as a link in the chain of successive
outbursts on the part of both parties.
Before coastal entrepreneurship developed, the North had been the prime
source of Nigeria’s main exports and wealth: beef and hides and ground nuts
(peanuts). With Nigeria’s development, Ibos felt that they could just as well
run their own economy: palm-oil, manufacturing, trading - and (at the time)
the possibility of major oilfields under the Delta area. So when the North
understandably reacted to the assassinations of top-level Muslim leaders,
Northerners rose up and either killed or hounded out of the Region every
Southerner they possibly could. In turn, Ibos declared their South East Region
independent: Biafra (named after the body of water off that part of the coast of
West Africa, the Bight of Biafra).
Britain understood the complex situation but could not agree to this forcible
division of Nigeria. The skills and materials of each region were needed to keep
the nation viable. Britain therefore aided the Nigerian Army which, with the
police, were the “glue” that held Nigeria’s entities together. (One politician
stated that Nigeria was artificially created when Britain drew a line on the map
around 58 identifiable separate “nations” or major ethnic groups. There were
actually over 400 cultures and sub-cultures.)
Meanwhile, media-conscious Biafra employed an overseas publicity agency to
present the new republic’s cause in the West. Americans, recollecting their own
fight for Independence, learned that the “Muslims” of the North were seeking
to obliterate the successful “Christians” of the South, and Biafra was simply
acting out of self-defence. Volunteer pilots flew anything that could carry cargo
to fly in supplies to “oppressed Biafra”. It was a risky operation; in order to
evade detection, pilots had to skim in over treetops and land their cargoes on
crowded runways by moonlight without the aid of navigational lights or radio.
With the kind of information they were receiving via the media, Christian
groups in the West became heavily involved in what they thought was a
humanitarian crisis based on religious persecution. The Roman Catholic
Church was particularly active, because the majority of Ibo “Christians” were
Roman Catholics, but Presbyterians rose up to help the many Presbyterians
among the adjacent Efik people - the country pioneered by Scottish missionary
Mary Slessor. In North American magazines, devout Christians and others
wrote to present the Biafran cause.
APPenDiX 1 – BiAfrA
241
At the time, I happened to be Africa correspondent for Christianity Today,
and so wrote a column to present what we knew to be the real situation. A
Presbyterian clergyman in the USA wrote to the editor to denounce this report
by someone who “obviously didn’t know.” I personally replied to him
explaining several things: (1) I was living in Nigeria, and had personally enabled
Southerners to escape from the North; (2) we had Ibo pastors living in “Biafra”
during the civil war; (3) the misinformed support of the West was actually
extending the suffering by its misguided supply of weapons to Biafra; (4) and
our mission (SIM) was operating the largest NGO aid program to help the
stricken area recover.
And by the way, I further
explained that (a) the head of the
Nigerian Army was a born-again
Christian - from the North! I had
prayed with General Yakubu Gowon
at his Army HQ. (I knew the British
Civil Servant who had led him to the
Lord when Gowon was in training Tony Wilmot later joined SIM as an
associate-member.); (b) the majority
of army members were from “the
Christian South,” not the North;
and (c) General Gowon purposely
withheld his troops from attacking
a city to give time for civilians to
Harold Fuller & General Gowon
leave.
The Presbyterian graciously
wrote back, saying he had not realized that the author of the article lived in the
country and understood both sides of the conflict.
To me, the West’s confusion over Biafra represents the difficulty our Western
World sometimes has in understanding other cultures and conflicts.
W. Harold Fuller, 2008230
230 Harold
Fuller, received September 2008.
APPENDIX 2
T
he following pages give more detail about the development of the
Niger-Challenge Press before the sale, as well as what happened in the
years after the sale, until the Todds and the Tucks departed. This was
written by Ash Tuck:
At about this time Allen Moore was to go on furlough. Bill Todd
took on the role of production manager, so I had to take on the role
of works foreman in addition to the process department. That wasn’t
too bad, but a couple of months later Bill’s wife Marj became ill
and they had to return to the States for treatment and recuperation
which took a long time. Having now to take on Bill’s role as well was
a real challenge!
Fortunately, the Jaggers came from Australia to work with us for
a couple of years. John Jagger was a compositor so he took care
of the composing department, relieving Ray Hawkins who now
was operating the Linotype almost fulltime, as well as looking after
machinery maintenance. Nolan and Cookie King also arrived from
the States for a year with us before moving on to Kent Academy.
Nolan had had some experience in the litho process, so helped in
that area, while Cookie was a real asset in the production office.
This arrangement carried us through until Allen returned from New
Zealand, and Bill was also able to come back.
Printing Requirements Demanded Plant Expansion
This was a period of growth in SIM and other missions in the effort
to reach the masses with the Gospel, to help them to grow in their
knowledge of the Lord and also to prepare the believers for service
for God.
There was a continuing and growing need for hymnbooks, Bible
study materials and Bible commentaries in a number of languages.
But the encouraging aspect was Christian material to reach the
masses with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. African
243
APPENDIX 2
Challenge was the initiator and its success in reaching Englishspeaking people throughout the continent of Africa sparked the
introduction of the Yoruba Challenge and Champion, both of
which were printed by NCP. But what about the many other people
groups? One of the productions that excited me was “VIP”. Yes,
a Very Important Program… for Very Important People! Actual
meaning: Vernacular Illustrated Publications. I don’t recall the
frequency of these publications, but think it was about two or
three per year for a number of years. They varied in the number of
languages, format and quantity, and carried an educational article
with a clear Gospel presentation. One edition I recall, in the form
of a calendar during the Biafran War, was as low as 250,000 copies,
but another, in 14 languages, had a combined print run of almost
1,250,000. With each copy being read by a number of people, these
were a wonderful outreach.
On average we had about 40 mission jobs in varying stages from
typesetting through to binding at any time. In a family letter dated
25 June 1967, I listed the following which were being printed or
were in the bindery at that time.
Hausa Bible Commentary Volume six
3,000
Hausa book Every Christian a Witness
5,000
Bible Correspondence Course book
4,000
Marriage and the Home Hausa book
3,000
(two others being set up)
What use is next year without life eight-page tract
40,000
1,000 years from now four-page tract
20,000
Sunday School Teacher’s Manual - 64 pages in English,
Yoruba and Hausa,
4,200
A sampling of other jobs:
For New Life For All in Sierra Leone,
5,000
Handbooks, and Receiving Christ and Walking in Him booklets,
10,000
Lost and Found (Lost coin, sheep and son)
in four languages Gospel tract for an outreach in Lagos, 180,000
100,000
each English and Yoruba
244
Literature Outreach in Nigeria For the Bible Society, The four Gospels in English, 100,000 each
and in Efik and Ibo, 25,000 each
As the work increased we had to add more equipment such as a second Solna
Chief plus other offset presses, including a Roland Parva which printed a sheet
size of 25 x 36 inches, twice that of the Solna. In the bindery, a new folder, a
glue binder for books, and a new Polar cutter were installed. A real gem was the
installation of a quite large standby diesel-powered generator. Power cuts were
so frequent and unpredictable that production was often badly interrupted and
this generator brought real relief. An added bonus was that APN agreed that
the Mission compound houses could be connected to this system so it could
give us all at least lighting in the event of power cuts.
Having the larger press opened new doors for us. By this stage we became
aware of the limitation placed on our staff regarding the class of work they
were producing. Naturally, in that era Christian literature was done as cheaply
as reasonably possible, so lighter and lesser quality paper and amount of ink
colours were used. There were now other printers getting into commercial
work and beginning to handle jobs that didn’t have these limitations and we
felt a responsibility to our staff to provide at least some work that would extend
their skills and trade experience. The idea was to take on some commercial jobs
which would provide for that, and also contribute to the income which could
help subsidize our mission work.
Murray and Pam Dunn were with us then, and as one of Murray’s jobs was
to solicit advertising for Challenge and Yoruba Challenge, he was asked to see
what he could pick up through the advertising agencies. This was made difficult
due to our criteria of not accepting jobs that promoted alcoholic drinks and
tobacco, etc, but he got some good jobs, and agencies became open to giving
us what we wanted!
One day, Ted Alexander, the manager of an agency for which we had done
work, approached Murray with the proposition of printing the Nigerian
Airways calendar. It had always been done in the UK or Holland and they
wanted it printed in Nigeria this year. Nothing of that class had ever been
done there before, so Murray wasn’t sure if we could handle it, but raised
the possibility with Bill and me anyway! We decided we could do it, so took
it on. The staff were really pleased with this challenge and the job turned out
extremely well. Soon after its release, an expatriate friend of ours who was aware
that NCP had printed it, was talking to a group of expats who were looking at a
copy of the calendar and commenting on what a nice job it was! “Yes,” he said.
“It is a good job… especially as it’s been printed in Nigeria!” “That will be the
day!” was the response. “That couldn’t be done here!” He turned to the last
page and pointed to the imprint “Printed in Nigeria by Niger-Challenge Press”.
They could hardly believe their eyes! This job really put NCP on the map!
APPENDIX 2
245
This came at a crucial time for the Press. The union problem had developed
and the Mission leadership had come to the very difficult decision to sell the
plant. It became very clear to us that the Lord’s hand was in the move to doing
some commercial jobs, as this led to Mr Alexander becoming the means of the
sale of the plant, while still keeping it available to us to continue printing the
Mission’s literature for the next six and a half years. The Mission leadership and
Challenge personnel were very supportive of the plan for Bill and me to stay on
with the new owners.
On 28 February 1966 a closing chapel service for NCP staff was held.
ASSOCIATED PRESS OF NIGERIA
On 1 March, 1966 Associated Press of Nigeria (APN), began operations with
Bill Todd as business manager and Ash Tuck as production manager. Most of
the former NCP printing department staff were re-employed, but not the key
troublemakers. The union trouble ceased to exist and we had continuing good
relations with all the team.
Over the next two years further printing equipment was added, including
our second Roland Parva and the first two-colour Roland Rekord press with
a slightly larger sheet size than the Parva. A major building extension was
done to house the presses. This expansion put real financial pressure on APN,
and the owners decided to look for a major partner for the business. A UK
company was at that time looking for an opportunity to begin operations in
Nigeria to complement their three packaging print businesses in England, and
an agreement was reached with them to take a controlling share in APN. They
were a good company to deal and work with, and agreed, as Ted Alexander had
done, to respect our criteria as to the type of work we would accept, and also
the special pricing structure for mission printing.
When the directors met mid-November 1969, Bill and I were asked to join
them. The original board had often done this to seek our advice on certain
matters, but this time we were surprised! When we were seated, the chairman
began a little speech saying the directors were very happy to inform us that
they had appointed us as directors of the company. There was an allocation
of three directors from the original APN owners, and four from the Melbray
group being the major shareholders, of which they had only filled two from
their company. They said that it was felt that we were the ones who had built
the business up and its success was mainly attributable to our efforts, so it
was only fair that we should be brought in at the top level of directorship. We
were almost speechless, but very appreciative of their acknowledgement of our
efforts.
Our continued involvement for the next two and a half years was exciting
as further building expansion and more new equipment was added. A fair
amount of this was specifically for the packaging side of the business, but also
more bindery and press equipment became available which made production
246
Literature Outreach in Nigeria of Christian literature more efficient. These included a second Roland Rekord
2-colour, two Roland Favorites, four Heidleburg presses, as well as a second
programmable Polar cutter. Also a second generator was added as the one we
had was not able to cope with the increased demand.
THE DOOR CLOSES
In about February 1972, Melbray was “taken over” by a company called
Tremlits. It didn’t affect us for a few months, but halfway through our twoweek break in Miango during April, I received a message from Grant Weir
asking me to meet him on arrival at the Jos airport. I didn’t know him or what
his visit was about! We had only an hour as he was going back to Lagos on the
return flight. It turned out that two of the top brass from Tremlits had come to
Lagos, demanded Ted Alexander’s resignation, and appointed Grant as acting
general manager of APN. They sent him all the way to Jos to inform me of
what was happening and to assure me that my position was not at risk. I was
cautious as to what I said as this outfit was known to be absolutely ruthless,
considering staff no more than machines which could be disposed of at will.
We continued for a while but it became obvious that they were not happy
about our Mission connection and costing arrangement, and wanted us out.
Unfortunately, they used unscrupulous means to get us to go, thus trying to
avoid the company commitments in our contracts. That was finally resolved and
both Bill and I left.
Fortunately, by that time there were other options for having printing done,
so the closure of that door did not mean the closure of the literature outreach.
However, it was a sad experience. We had worked with many of the staff for up
to 15 years…more than that for Bill with those who moved from Niger Press.
We had trained most of them in their areas of the trade and many of them
shared our commitment to the Lord and were pleased to serve in this work of
producing material which carried the message of salvation and hope to their
people. Being from many different people groups, we worked in English…
I had counted up their different languages one time and there were 14…we
couldn’t learn all of those!...but they wanted to improve their English, so there
was no problem.
Looking back to those years I count them as the best years of my life. It
wasn’t at all easy, but the satisfaction of being a partner in that great outreach
for the Gospel was very enriching.
We look forward to meeting the hosts of African people who came to faith in
the Lord through reading the message in literature produced there in Lagos.
And… to the Lord be all the praise for allowing us a part in that service.
A BRIEF OF THE TUCKS’
STORY POST - APN
One door had closed for us, but the Lord opened another! In August 1972
we moved to Juba, Southern Sudan, to begin heading up the in-field work of
ACROSS (Africa Committee for Relief of Southern Sudan) a joint effort of
SIM, SUM, AIM and MAF who had worked in Southern Sudan until being
expelled by the Islamic government about 17 years previously.
We returned to New Zealand in August 1974 and worked in supermarket
management for 13 years.
In 1988 we were asked to join the SIM home staff, Ash as New Zealand
Secretary, responsible for the processing of all enquiries and applications for
missionary service, both short and long term, and the New Zealand SIM media
requirements.
At 70, we officially retired but began the formatting of a Christian monthly
magazine from its first edition, which Ash is still doing eight years later, as well
as considerable other Christian books and mission print needs.
(And we have eight grandchildren plus two great-grandsons to date!)
Our two sons have served overseas, Stan and Helen with SIM in Ethiopia for
four years, (unable to return after furlough due to Helen’s injury to her back),
and Ivan and Tracy with CMML in PNG for 11 years.
We are still very grateful to the Lord for the privilege of being able to serve
Him in the literature program in Nigeria and in the relief work in Southern
Sudan.

Literature outreach in Nigeria

Transcription

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