REAR-M MIR RROR
DRAMA IN ZULULAND General John Larsson (Retired) continues to share glimpses from 13 astonishing years that shaped The Salvation Army – 1878-1890
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EIGHING in at a massive 40 stone, and with a personality to match, Zulu Chief Tshingwayo was not to be trifled with. But when he issued a challenge to Adjutant Allister Smith, the pioneer leader in Zululand, the Scot met the test with audacious faith. The Army had arrived in Africa in 1883 when British Major and Mrs Francis Simmonds opened the work in Cape Town, South Africa. Despite opposition, the Army’s work spread steadily through the country. Within three years 150 officers were serving a wide variety of ethnic groups in 60 corps. By 1888 officers reached the outskirts of the fabled Zulu Kingdom and several Zulus were converted. But it was not until Adjutant and Mrs Allister Smith and a group of officers settled in Amatikulu, on land granted by the Zulu government, that the Army entered into the heart of Zululand. The Amatikulu district was ruled by Chief Tshingwayo. The Zulu people welcomed the Army. They appreciated the practical programmes commenced and the school for children. Many found salvation and became Salvationists. But suddenly attendances dwindled. Chief Tshingwayo, fearing that the Salvationists were diverting people’s allegiance to him, had issued a decree forbidding women and children to attend the Army. Soon afterwards a great drought descended on the land. The crops dried up, the cows became thin and their supply of milk practically ceased. Children sickened and pined away. Anxious looks were cast to the skies every day, but no rain came. Chief Tshingwayo could not sit idly by.
He sent for a rain doctor who danced frenziedly before the people and called on the spirits of their ancestors. ‘Rain! Come down from heaven,’ he shouted. But no rain fell, and in the end he was driven away. The drought continued, the despair increased. The Chief was haunted by the thought that perhaps the God of the Christians could bring rain. It would mean swallowing his pride – but the cries of his people could not be ignored. So, early one Friday, he sent envoys to ask
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‘Do you think it will rain, then?’ they teased. ‘Isn’t that what we’re praying for?’ he replied
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the Army leader to meet with the people of the district on Sunday to pray for rain. Allister Smith knew that answered prayer might turn the tide of belief towards God. But he also knew that prayer unanswered could have a disastrous effect. ‘While the envoys were speaking,’ he recalls, ‘I was doing some of the hardest praying of my life. But what could we do but throw ourselves in dependence upon God?’ He announced: ‘Go tell your chief that on Sunday we shall pray for rain. Let everyone from all the kraals meet here to join in prayer.’ On the cloudless Sunday morning, hundreds approached the settlement from all directions. They laughed at old Jojo who turned up with a large umbrella. ‘Do you think it will rain, then?’ they teased. ‘Isn’t that what we’re praying for?’ he replied with a broad grin and impeccable logic.
Allister Smith taught the people to pray, ‘Our Lord, send rain upon us in your mercy. Shower it on us, O GreatGreat!’ and soon the prayer echoed through the parched fields where the people were sitting. For nearly three hours the pleading continued. ‘Suddenly,’ he recalls, ‘away to the east, in the direction of the Indian Ocean, was heard a distant rumbling! O joy! Yonder were great banks of thunder clouds, towering mass upon mass up from the sea to the heavens. Louder rose our prayers. Louder rolled the thunder, as the clouds drew nearer to us. A mighty tearing flash of forked lightning struck the ground near us. And then great drops of rain began to fall. ‘God had answered prayer. We thanked him and then urged the people to return quickly to their homes. They rose and ran in all directions, singing for joy, as the rain beat down on them. The happiest man was Jojo, who spread out his umbrella, and whose eyes seemed to say: ‘Who is laughing now?’ ‘By this notable answer to prayer,’ concludes the pioneer, ‘the people’s faith in witchcraft received a setback, while trust in the power of God was strengthened.’ Chief Tshingwayo withdrew his opposition to the Army and in time became a believer. Since those early beginnings in the southern part of the continent, the Army has advanced through Africa to the extent that it is now at work in 26 countries and the number of senior soldiers exceeds half a million. This means that 45 per cent of all the Army’s senior soldiers today are to be found in Africa. Salvationist 6 April 2019
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