Murder, Missionaries, and Medicine
Murder! On the evening of 30th October, 1898, in the Izingolweni district of southern Natal, South Africa, Mr James Kay, an elderly farmer, was attacked by four men, dragged out of his bedroom, and brutally murdered. Two of the four assailants were witch-doctors, and it was later shown that Mr Kay was killed in order to obtain parts of his throat for "medicine". The assailants were later caught, convicted, and three of them hanged.
The media reports of these gruesome events were read by a Mr George Pugh, a missionary living in Pietermaritzburg and serving under the London Missionary Society. What he read so persuaded him of the need for the gospel in southern Natal, that he left his Pietermaritzburg parish, and moved to a spot not far from Kay’s farm. Later he actually lived in the house of the murdered man while his own house was being built in a nearby area which he named "Mansfield Mission". These dramatic events were the beginnings of Assembly missionary work in what is today southern KwaZulu/Natal.
In the early 1900s a number of brethren commended from assemblies in the USA settled at Mansfield and the nearby Elim mission station. Significantly, through his contact with the assembly missionaries, Mr Pugh, originally a Congregational minister, was persuaded as to the truth of New Testament church principles, and resigned his position with the church. This was a costly move, as he not only lost his regular stipend, but was unknown outside Natal, and had no "support base". Mr and Mrs Edwin Gibbs (twin brother of the better known Alfred P Gibbs) joined Mr Pugh at Mansfield in 1918, and laboured in the area until the 1960s. Later Mr Bas Monnik, an engineer from Cape Town, and his wife Edna from the USA, joined the work at Mansfield and were resident there until the 1990s.
At the same time a work developed at Elim, about 20 miles further inland from Mansfield. A number of missionary brethren and sisters from South Africa and overseas served at both Mansfield and Elim with distinction. Mr and Mrs Adam Ferguson, originally from Scotland and commended from Chicago, USA, arrived in 1934. Over the years the Lord blessed the work, and by 1951 there were some forty assemblies in the areas served by the three stations of Elim, Mansfield, and Murchison. These were shepherded by fourteen African evangelists, and totalled some two thousand believers in fellowship. As the work grew other missionaries also arrived including Mr and Mrs Mark Levengood, Mr and Mrs Ken Fleming, and Miss Edith Mieras, all from USA.
The work at Murchison was commenced by Dr William Barton who was commended from Elim Hall, Glasgow and came to South Africa in 1893 settling just beyond the Natal border in the Eastern Cape where he laboured among the Pondo people. He returned to the UK around the beginning of World War I, and at age 45 decided to study medicine, qualifying in 1920 at age 51. He came back to South Africa in 1925, but found other assembly missionaries busy in his former sphere of service in Pondoland. Thus, in 1929 he accepted an invitation to come to Murchison where he settled and worked for the rest of his life.
The three mission stations, Mansfield, Murchison, and Elim, within a 40 mile radius, fostered much fellowship and coming and going. In the 1930s other missionaries also arrived at Murchison, including Miss Dunbar, Miss Randal, and Miss Margaret McKelvie. More senior UK readers will remember Miss McKelvie as a converted Roman Catholic from Donegal, who was commended from Banff and arrived in 1935.
Newly qualified, Dr Barton lost no time in commencing a medical work, ably assisted by Miss McKelvie and Miss Dunbar. First a small nursing home was built, but the need for a bigger facility was soon apparent. Accordingly, an adjoining site was acquired in 1943 and a 24-bed hospital opened. Being age 75 did not discourage Dr Barton from this venture!
Dr John Fisher joined Dr Barton in 1951. At that time there were two European sisters and six African nurses who looked after the 24 patients. Miss McKelvie started a nurses’ training school, and Murchison nurses were soon sought after by hospitals as far away as Johannesburg. The hospital badge featured an open Bible against the background of a rising sun. This still encapsulates the ethos and mission of the hospital.
Pulmonary tuberculosis was common and a leading cause of death before 1950, but when anti-TB drugs were introduced it rapidly became known that patients admitted to Murchison, gravely ill and looking like skeletons, returned home a few months later, fat and healthy. TB still continues to be a major part of the hospital workload, especially in these days when the TB epidemic is fuelled by the high prevalence of HIV.
Over the years, assembly-commended workers continued to come to Murchison. Several South Africans came from Johannesburg and Cape Town. Bunty Ferguson from Inverness, Alix Hooke from N. Ireland, and Dr Norman Bier from Canada all joined the staff in the 1960s. Dr Sam and Mabel Emerson from N. Ireland joined the work in 1979. Dr Emerson contributed much to the medical work, being so experienced after years at Loloma, Zambia. Paul and Dorothy Grieve also arrived at Murchison in the early 1980s, Paul serving for a number of years as the hospital’s medical technologist, leaving to devote all his time to the Lord’s work.
A major change to the nature of the work came in 1978, when the government announced its intention to take over all Mission hospitals in the country, including Murchison. This proposal generated much discussion, and not a little anxiety. Would the government halt or restrict spiritual activities? Would staff be liable to transfer to other institutions? Would working in what was to become a government hospital be compatible with the missionary work to which the staff had felt called? After much prayer, it was decided to take the pragmatic approach, and move forward slowly. It was soon clear that nothing basic had changed. The spiritual work in the hospital and community continued much as before, and, indeed, still continues to this day. Inevitably, spiritual activities in the hospital are less intense and public than they used to be, but opportunities for bedside personal work are unlimited, and the Lord has richly blessed the ministry of Winnie and Samson, two full-time workers who spend much of each day visiting the patients.
The passing years have inevitably brought many changes. Missionaries formerly at Elim and Mansfield have not been replaced, and the work in the assemblies of these areas is entirely in the hands of local believers. How are they doing? Numbers keep up, and at a recent combined conference at Elim over a thousand believers met together for a time of fellowship and ministry. But there are also many challenges. The charismatic influence, especially among young people, is an ever-present threat, and there is a crying need for godly, well-taught elders with an ability to teach and apply God’s Word. The greatest single need is for younger men, tomorrow’s leaders, to give themselves to the study of the Scriptures. Sadly, many pass by or are too busy to attend the teaching sessions.
However, there is much to encourage. A number of younger men have a real appetite for Bible study. These are our real co-workers, and it is a joy to work alongside them and be challenged by their example of commitment and love for the Lord.
The last hundred years have brought many changes to this beautiful land of sunshine and surf. Huge political and social transformations have impacted the lives of its 47 million people. God’s work in this southern part of KwaZulu/Natal, originally embedded in the context of witchcraft and Mr Kay’s brutal murder, continues to bear fruit as the gospel is preached and those called out of darkness seek to witness and live for the One who has called them into His marvellous light.
