LIFE IN GOBI DESERT

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24983, 18 September 1946, Page 2

LIFE IN GOBI DESERT

WORK OF MISSIONARIES The life of pioneer missionaries in the Gobi Desert, and their work among the Chinese ana Moslem inhabitants of some of the oasis cities, were described by Miss Francesca French and Miss Mildred Cable when they spoke yesterday afternoon to the hundreds of women who crowded the Durham Street Methodist Church. The meeting, which was convened by the United Women’s Missionary Council, was presided over by Mrs R. Dudley. The work which they did was probably regarded .by many as romantic, but she could assure them-that there was nothing at all romantic about it, said Miss French. Travelling over the Gobi desert was by mule cart, and at a rate of three miles an hour. By the end of the journey, the bread which they had with them was usually so hard that it had to be hammered to pieces and soaked in water before it could be eaten, , , L Chinese inns were also described by Miss French. The rooms were never tidied or swept until the guests arrived, and then the work was done as quickly and superficially as possible, she said. The dust thus raised was partly settled by sprinkling the room with water, and the figure of the innkeeper gradually "emerged through the dust. When the guests could see across the room, it was ready for them to move in. Miss Mildred Cable mentioned the work of the missionaries among Moslem women. If a Moslem woman became a Christian it probably meant death for her, Miss Cable said. The speaker also outlined the difficulties they had experienced in trying to teach some of the Chinese women to read. However, their tqsk had beep greatly simplified by the introduction of phonetic script, by which means Miss Eva French had taught thousands to read in a very short time. Miss E. French was present but did not give an address.