"Mohr's Report for the First Quarter 1881"

Concerned exclusively with Fankyeneko and Anyinam, raising yet again the question of the style appropriate for catechist’s houses, and the problem of payment for them. He feels that after their schooling when they were housed in airy rooms, care should be taken over the kind of houses in which catechists are asked to live. Also it is of use to the missionaries to have a house where they can rest, and where they can talk privately to the catechist or to individual Christians. He describes the decline of the Fankyeneko community in some detail. One of the problems was that the house collapsed during a rain storm when partly built, which made the building so much more onerous. Then two of the adult men left on a trading expedition, one to Akwapim, the other to Fante. This left only 4 men capable of working on the house. The man who went to Akwapim came back (it seems within six months) but had to be excluded for having lived as a heathen while in Akwapim, and marrying a prostitute on his return. The man who went to Fante - Emil, the strongest and most intelligent of the Christians, whom Mohr had looked forward to having as an elder - had lapsed into dancing and playing during his journey, and although had has a wife with whom he seems happy in Fankyeneko, he lived with a heathen girl while he was away. He himself offered this information in the idea of escaping public exclusion from the community. Over Anyinam he is almost enthusiastic. The Christians have by themselves built a catechists house with a room for passing missionaries, and have moved themselves onto the mission land. There are 7 husband-wife units living, there – and although in only two cases are both husband and wife Christians, the other wives are showing signs of wanting to follow their husbands into baptism. Among the newly baptised are several slaves from the interior. Until now they had been afraid to break free of their master, an old blind prince. But last year one of them was ill-treated, and fled to the catechist who restrained the cruel man from going to extremes, and the rest claimed their freedom and came onto the station. It is difficult to teach them, since they speak twi so badly, but it is good news to them that God's love and mercy is for them as well as the Akims. There have, however, been some difficulties in Anyinam. A mother of three children, who was widowed, has insisted on marrying a heathen, and thus has been excluded. And the oldest of the Christians has also had to be excluded from Holy Communion through irregularities when he went to the coast to trade. He hoped to earn by involving himself in the oil trade in Akwapim and went away in spite of the fact that his neighbours were involved in house-building on the mission land. He came under no Christian influence in the Akwapim farming villages, and at one stage tried to increase his earning by mixing water with the palm-oil. He was repeatedly ill, and now has returned poorer than he went away

28.05.1881

28.05.1881

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