Page 205 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

Evangelical Missions and African Initiatives

The Church of Scotland began sending missionaries to Malawi about
the same time. Both missions tried to end tribal wars, start schools,
translate Scripture, and establish churches. Interestingly, the largest
city in Malawi is Blantyre, which was named after the Scottish home of
David Livingstone.

Kenya

The Church Missionary Society sent missionaries to Mombasa in
1844. Since Christianity had failed along the coast of East Africa, the
church needed to be replanted. Although the Portuguese occupied
Fort Jesus, their presence was only symbolic because Catholicism did
not take root.

When Ludwig Krapf and his wife arrived on Kenya’s Mombasa Island,
they encountered the tropical heat. Krapf’s missionary experience in
Ethiopia had given him a vision; consequently, the Church Missionary
Society soon moved inland and began a chain of mission stations to
establish Christianity. Soon after arrival, his wife, Rosine, gave birth to a
baby, but both died. Since Krapf had contracted malaria, it was difficult
for him to even attend the funeral. He wrote the following to the Church
Missionary Society:

Tell our friends at home that there is now on the East African
coast a lonely missionary grave. This is a sign that you have
commenced the struggle.… As the victories of the Church are
gained by stepping over the graves of her members, you may be
more convinced that the hour is at hand when you are summoned
to the conversion of Africa from its eastern shore. (quoted in
Anderson 1977, 1)

Krapf opened a station near Mombasa and began learning Kiswahili.
Soon he mastered the language well enough to translate the New
Testament. At this point, the Church Missionary Society sent additional
missionaries, among them Johannes Rebmann who arrived in 1846.
Krapf returned to Europe in 1853 and persuaded the Methodist Church
to send missionaries to Kenya, and soon other missionaries responded.
Thus, a new day arrived for the church in Kenya. While progress was
slow and opposition was heavy, the gospel was moving inland.

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