Letter from our Maori Chaplain at the Front.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume VII, Issue 8, 1 May 1917, Page 87

Letter from our Maori Chaplain at the Front.

The following are extracts from, a letter received by Bey. F. W. Chatterton from our Maori Chaplain at the Front m France, Eev. Henare Wepiha Wainohu, who recently received the Order of the White Eagle from the King of Serbia for gallantry m the field. The letter is dated February Ist. "I received your kind letter this morning with much ' aroha ' and j oy . I cannot tell you what lam doing, but I can only say that one can do one man's work and no more. At times the work is very trying and hard, but thank God, we have good officers and a fine lot of men. To tell you the truth it is the officers and the men themselves that are really doing my work for me. lam only a mouthpiece or a kaumatua. They are a fine lot of men and I am proud to be their padre. The work of a padre m a batallion is a very hard work if he is to do that work m the way it ought to be done. It is not a work of preaching at a Church parade as most people think, but it is taking the men one by one during the week. One does more I think m saying less and doing more. I mean a padre can do more for the men by forgetting sometimes that he is an officer and also by showing the men that ne is

there to them as a friend: and father. Our batalliqn is divided up m different parts of the line and one has to spend a lot of time m moving from one company to another. Our Church parades are always good and after the Church parade we have Holy Communion. I have as many as forty sometimes for Communion and the lowest is five. My great trouble now is most of my men. have no Church parade books. Reinforcements of Maoris have been coming from New Zealand without • books and I haye nothing here to give them. Very often the singing is poof because of the shortness of books. What is the Maori side of the Church doing at the Maori camp at Narrow Neck? All our boys are fit and well. They are standing the cold weather as well as the pakehas. Our sick rates are the same as the rest; so you see that we are all right. I think myself we ought to have some money for our sick men. I mean if I had some money to spend for the men who are run down we would save a lot. Most of our boys don't like to go away sick until they are very low down m health.. If we had some money to buy some comforts it would be a great help. It is always a great help to me to know that we are not forgotten at the prayer meetings at Te Rau, and also •at the different services on Sundays. I do always feel much happier and stronger when I sit m my dug-out at night and look back at the meetings you will be holding, and are thinking of us m your prayers. Ido believe it is the prayers of those that are at home that are really doing good here among the soldiers." From your son, Henare Wepisa WAttfoStf.