"Annual Report for the Station Abetifi for 1883"

The report is mostly printed as an appendix to the 1884 Annual Report of the Mission, pp 77f. Additional material One of the people excluded in Mpaeso had stayed for a long time in Fante, and found the church discipline of the Basel Mission too atringent. They had discussed starting a school in Mpraeso, but decided against it on the grounds that many children are pawns in Kwahu, and the rest have to help their parents on their farms. Personnel on the station: Sam Boateng came to Abetifi as catechist from the Teacher’s Seminary at Akropong. Teacher Dako left for Akira, and was replayed by Catechist William Mansa transferred from Asunafo. Catechist Boateng while taking some classes in the Boarding School is more busy with pastoral work and is supposed to carry out preaching tours 2 days each week. Preaching tours in 1883 were carried out partly by Nataniel Beko, and evangelist, working especially in Sakraka and Obo. In the former towards the end of the year he had a large number of hearers and it is possible there will be catechumens in that village soon. In Obo they cannot get a stable entry - many people say if there was a catechist they would become Christians, but equally the missionarias feel they should have at the beginnings of a community first. They have got as far as agreeing the price with the owner of a plot of land on a hill between Obo and Tweneduruase, but the Tweneduruase chief is raising difficulties because of his fetish which has some connection with the land, and the Obo chief will not help them though his intervention would be sufficient to settle the matter - he would prefer to sell the missionaries a plot of land in the valley and further away from the town. Ramseyer comments that if they were under the Protectorate it would be easy to settle this, but as they are not, they must have patience

04.02.1884

04.02.1884

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