|
Petition from the Indians at the Whitefish Lake Wesleyan Mission We, the undersigned, the Indians of this Mission, deem it nothing more than our duty, as Christians, to acknowledge our heartfelt thankfulness to God, and to you, the good people of Canada, who support our Mission in this far off land; and in expressing our gratitude we at the same time supplicate further aid, and in doing so, we hope to be forgiven, when you become acquainted without motive for doing so. We need not tell you that it is now some twenty-six years since a Rundle visited us; we were then in utter darkness as to the future, and it pleased the Almighty through His instrumentality, to enlightened our dark and benighted minds as to our real state by nature. Many were by him brought to Christ, and have already gone to their happy homes, and many still live who pray and bless God for him. After remaining seven years among us, we were sorry to see him leave, and go home to his country, the privations and exposure to the severity of the climate being too much for his bodily strength. But though he had gone, God did not altogether leave us alone; his Spirit was still among us, and the spark which had been kindled, continued, amidst the invasion of popery, until it was almost extinguished, when after a lapse of seven more years, God remembered us and sent us a Woolsey and a Steinhaur. You may well guess what our feelings were when we saw the true ambassadors of Christ among us once more. The former took for his sphere of labour the Edmonton and Rocky Mountain House Mission, and the latter this place. He still thanks God that he is spared to remain among us. Since then God, in a special manner, has designated to prosper and approve the humble efforts of your Missionary at this place. He takes a deep interest in our welfare, both of a spiritual and a temporal character. It is needless to say that we highly esteem and appreciate the excellence of such a man among us. We have the Scriptures read and expounded to us in our own native tongue, and all the ceremonies and exercises of the Church as well. We trust and pray that he may long be spared to us. We, the present generation, have everything to be thankful for - a good church, a Minister who, with untiring zeal (amidst many secular duties which a Missionary cannot well avoid in this country,) holds forth the blessed promises of a Divine Being. We often pity him, and wonder why no one, in the shape of a school-teacher, has been allowed to assist him. Our children are now growing up, and there is no school-master to teach them. We hear that in the Christian countries there are schools as well as churches, and school-teachers as well as Ministers. Our Minister, in 1961, wrote to the present Chairman about a school, and his reply was, "You might have one". We then, the ensuing year, got one for a short time. Since then several appeals have been made for a supply in that lack of service; nothing favorable as yet has resulted from those appeals. Are our children to grow up like the untaught heathen around us? Will you not undertake for us? Having been already benefited in a spiritual and temporal point of view by the generosity of the Society in sending us a Missionary, we humbly hope you will not consider it a presumption on our part in asking a further help, which will be a lasting benefit to our children, when we, the present generation, are silent in our tomb. We humbly hope that you, and the Board, will favorably consider this as coming from the poor people of White Fish Lake Wesleyan Mission, which they most respectfully present to you and the Board, as their humble petition for a school-teacher. In the event of their granting our humble petition, either by sending a person who may be in the capacity of a teacher, or by allowing means for the support of one, we assure you and the board, we will endeavour, with our poverty, to help such a desirable object. This is all we have to say, trusting you will still think of us for good, and a share in your prayers. Now we send you our Christian greetings; we shake hands with you all with the long arm of our hearts. Signed on behalf and by the order of the White Fish Lake Indians,
Return to the
Missions Menu
|
||