"Strömberg to Basel"

Reports a preaching tour. Spent the first night at Asafo after apparently calling in many of the houses in the village to talk to the people. Kukurantumi - decided that the baptismal candidate has still to wait a little. The school is falling in numbers of regular attenders, these now number 12-15. The chief is sorry to see the school not flourishing. He is present at almost every service. At Tafo every Friday school is held by Asante and some of his pupils. Strömberg confronted the fetish priest there in conversation 'You serve a wicked master and will receive bad pay’. At Csiem the day before his visit there had been a gathering of 14 fetish priests. In Asiakwa on his first arrival the chief was not present because there had been a poisoning case in the town, and the chiefs of Apedua, Apapam, Kukurantumi, Nyinasin and Asiakwa were meeting in an a neighbouring town to settle it. The Asiakwa chief is called Duadu. The brother of the Asiakwa chief told Strömberg that he wanted to be baptised (Strömberg builds up a picture of a middle and peace loving man being rather moved by the gospel). Strömberg tried to teach him about faith as a result. The chiefs of the above named towns were in Asiakwa, with their retinue and advisers. One of Atta’s right hand men, an old elder, said that Gods word was sweet, and another repeated words which he had heard from Freeman that people are all looking for something new, but fear the fetishes, to whom up till now they have given their undivided faith. Strömberg explained to the chief that although they had passed on his request for a teacher to Basel he should not expect it to be granted quickly on account of shortage of teachers. He also spoke to the man accused of the poisoning, saying little about him except that he was a well-to-do man, and obviously interested in what Strömberg was saying.

02.12.1861

02.12.1861

Text