"Annual Report for 1871 (Lodholz' Writing)"

The health of the missionaries was bad- Kromer's health is broken, and Lodholz suffered severe attacks of fever especially in the first 8 months of the year, being apparent1y twice near to fatal illness. Kukurantumi was visited 8 times, Asiakwa 7 times, and one long journey was made to Begoro. Kwabi is given an accolade for his ‘free and open manner', the missionaries regret that he will no longer work for them when David Asante moves to Kukurantumi. Numerical account of the community in the year. Two girls excluded from for marrying heathens, one youth excluded for not attending services and carrying on in a heathen way, another young man excluded for adultery, a Christian woman excluded for adultery - this resulting in the break-up of one of the few Christian marriages - 4 boys left the Boarding School, one to return to his home, three to go to the Middle School in Akropong of whom one has since run away. 4 Christian adults moved into Kibi (some had belonged to the community before) and there was one new baptism. The report on the atmosphere of the community is depressing - a general apathy seems to have been characteristic of the year. A cook of Kromer, who had been bought out of pawn by the missionaries, and had some other long-standing debts paid for him, lost 20 dollars gambling in the hope the process would, be repeated. It was not, and he was sold. A cripple, given a copy of the new Twi bible for Christmas was angry that he did not also get the customary cloth. Married life is unsatisfactory - wives will live away from their husbands for months if they come from another village, and they and the husbands do not possess much common property. Three young men in the community have not pursued plans to their living by handwork (2 cases) and teaching. Numbers in the school stand at 24 - since the new school building has two rooms and comfortable space for 50 they have been holding lessons in one of the rooms really intended for dormitories. The hostility of the Okyenhene is the greatest difficulty facing the School. Sometimes his anger has put the very axistence of the school into doubt. They have, however, also had diffiCulty in the course of the year with the laziness of some of the boys. Preaching to the heathen happens so infrequently in many places that though the missionaries do preach from texts, or on subjects which occur to them as useful, on the whole what they, like to do best is preach a brief salvation history. He is concerned, however, at the relatively little amount of their preaching which is understood. There are 13 catechumens, including 4 girls. The latter almost all lack a proper grounding in Biblical History and therefore have to learn to second part of the catechism by heart and then have it explained to them. The rest of the catechumens are boys who are taught out of the confirmation booklet, most of them learn Biblical History in school and the confirmation booklet by heart.

11.01.1872

11.01.1872

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