Chapter 5: Working together

Soon after our wedding we were given charge of a hostel for unemployed planters and workers. Owing to the depression, many plantations had to be closed and the Government had asked the Army to oversee a hostel where planters and their families could be housed during this difficult period. A committee was formed in Medan which was to be responsible for financing the scheme. Each family had a large room, part of which was mosquito-screened for the bedroom. A small allowance was given to each family, and the children were taken to school in our large lorry. On the return journey we would visit the local market and buy produce for our large family, which sometimes consisted of as many as 70 adults and children. Our living conditions were different from those to which most of the planters were accustomed. They missed their large bungalows with their wide grounds and plenty of Indonesian servants, but for the most part they were grateful for the help given. They responded well to the efforts we made to keep things as normal as possible. The children were a great help, especially when we managed to get a little donkey for them to play with. The ladies were kept busy making and re-making their frocks and keeping their own rooms tidy. We had a good cook and we had meals together in the large dining room. I made all kinds of cakes for the afternoon tea, which was generally taken on the lawns in front of the house. Looking back, days passed pleasantly enough for both of us. Niels worked with the committee to find jobs for the men.

After we had been there for a year our little daughter, Ann Margaret, was born. This happy event was received with great joy and the news reached as far as the Governor. His wife visited me when I returned home, and showed great interest in our work. This did much to make the families realise they were not forgotten. Thereafter, Niels and the committee redoubled their efforts to find employment for the men and before the year was out many had gone back on the plantations producing coffee, tea and rubber.

In September 1935 we were able to close down and the committee gave us all we needed for furnishing our new home in Pematang Siantar where we had been appointed to open a Corps. This was two hours journey by car away and our Medan friends once more paid all expenses for removal. They even presented Niels with a certificate of appreciation for his co-operation and efficiency. Now began a most enjoyable and successful year of working among the people. There had been previously a Methodist Mission station here, but it had closed down for lack of funds. An Officer had been selling the Indonesian version of the “War Cry” for some months in this district, so our uniform was not unknown. We hired a shop in the Chinese quarter and persuaded a Chinese teacher to live in the flat above. Instead of rent, the teacher gave my husband lessons in Chinese, at least in pronunciation. This was in preparation for the open air meetings Niels hoped to hold on Sunday afternoons in the market place. He was soon able to announce the meetings in Chinese and give out the Songs. There we were - Niels and his cornet, the Dutch Lieutenant with his tambourine, and I (with Ann in the pram) singing for all I was worth. Of course, the people had never seen anything like it before and crowded round. They were especially interested in the Bible readings given by our teacher, and when Niels illustrated these with his “invisible drawings” their wonderment knew no bounds, and they listened attentively. This was also a busy period for me, as I had been invited to visit the Chinese schools to give lessons in English. Since the Methodist missionaries had left, the language was not being taught correctly in the schools. This was a great opportunity to bring the Bible stories, and how the children loved them!

Once we had a great rally meeting in the cinema and the congregation heard the Officers from Medan, led by Commissioner De Groot, singing many choruses, which seemed to thrill them. In fact, the next day we heard many people on the streets singing these melodies, including a teacher who lived next door. He went off to school, beating time with his umbrella (it was raining) to the chorus: “O, Sjukur dosaku diampuni” (O Praise God, my sins are forgiven!) He was a strict Muslim, but the message of the night before had really gripped him. The success of the rally gave me the idea of organising a Christmas Concert in the cinema, so we started choosing children from the schools I visited to take part in the tableau suitable for the Christmas story. Our Chinese teacher was chosen to read the Bible portions in Chinese, and he was a great help at rehearsals. The great evening came. I had to put Ann to bed, so I did not get along to the cinema until a few moments before the opening. I rushed into the dressing room and was horrified to see all the actors made up as if for a comedy! There was no time for any changes but I realised at once that the audience would be more interested to see the young people dressed in such a way, and so it was. The only great surprise was that they were much more interested in the readings form the Bible story than anything else. In fact, when the teacher paused to allow a tableau to have its effect, the old people called out “don’t stop, we must hear more”! What a thrill it was to realise that through us these people were hearing the Gospel of Christ’s birth for the first time.

Following this, we began to organise a Sunday school but soon found we had to use more than one language. Eventually we were using Malay, Batak, Chinese and Dutch. The teachers all spoke Malay so came to me at the house for preparation.

One young woman at this Corps impressed me greatly, she was so in earnest. She used to come every Sunday night with four smaller brothers and sisters, and they would sit on the front row listening very intently and joining in the singing. She was the daughter of the local bank manager; her parents thought she would be protected by all the children. They did not want her to join the Salvation Army for, she was member of the Batak Church and would soon be starting her nursing training. However, she still had some months to enjoy the Sunday evening meetings but, sadly just before we left Siantar for our homeland furlough, she was sent away. I was very upset about this. Somehow, however, she got to know the date of our departure and imagine my surprise while saying goodbye to the comrades gathered on the station platform, I noticed my young friend rushing up and crying out: “Teacher, Teacher”! She flung her arms round me crying, laughing and exclaiming, “I got here in time to see you once more”. Dear girl, I often wondered what happened to her; I am sure she became a good nurse. I treasured for many years the little workbasket she brought me then, made of dried woven grass. Among the crowd on the station were several new soldiers and recruits. With the Army flag floating over us we sang “God be with you till we meet again” (in Malay) and, as we started on our long homeward journey, we thought of the many people we had been privileged to win for Christ and who became loyal soldiers of Siantar Corps. When we visited there 26 years later some were still there, together with many more, and the Corps had sent several Cadets to the Training College. In addition, new Corps had been opened in the district.

What a homecoming that was! My husband often used to tell how he had left Denmark with his guitar and two cases, but had returned with a wife and two children (our son, Francis had been born 6 weeks before our departure) and 13 trunks and cases! It was a wonderful reunion with my family in England before travelling to Denmark to meet Niel’s family for the first time. They were very cordial in their welcome. The six months flew by and, renewed in strength and spirit for our task, we once again boarded a ship for Java. On this journey my husband occupied himself with colouring lantern slides (of which we had a great number) including those depicting the Bible stories. These were of great help in our meetings. The children occupied most of my time during the day, but how we enjoyed the evenings, especially when there was moonlight.