Every year around Christmas we would have a three-day Bible conference for all our believers. Some walked from as far away as 17 miles. We had over 350 people attend, and I baptized eleven of them. The meetings were not always held in the same town. Over the years the numbers kept on growing. I will not mention this further, except to say that by the end of our last term at Zambuk in 1959, we had close to 1,000 present. We always had a baptismal service during these conferences.

In 1947 were ready to go on a much-needed holiday when permission came through for us to build a house for our nurse. If we waited until our month vacation the rains would arrive and we would be unable to make the brinks. Besides this, all the people we could get to help us would be working on their farms. We tore down an old house and used the clay to make new brinks. These were sun-dried and then piled on the edge to form a large kiln. We had wood brought in from the bush and fired the kiln for two days. After that we started the building. We worked hard for six weeks and finally got the roof on. Then we left for vacation. It was a four-room house with a porch in the front and back. This was my first and last experience firing bricks.

We didn’t know the language well enough to start any preaching, but we did start having Sunday School classes. I would get together with a teacher and help him prepare his sermons. This was a help to the teacher and also a learning experience for me. After our second year I felt confident enough to start preaching in Hausa.

In June 1947 we were able to buy an old used motorcycle from a missionary friend of ours. It was a great help in getting around. We did have a bicycle, but that was all.

Eva finally got everything set to start weighing babies. There were 17 babies to weigh the first week; over 20 babies the second week; and over 40 babies the following week. Weighing included giving the baby any necessary help to insure the well being of the child. The women were coming out to church in greater numbers, and the clinic played a significant part in this.

We have a story about a woman named Tukum whose husband is a fine Christian. His name is Dogo, which means "tall." Tukum used to never come to church unless someone went for her, and then, very often she would refuse. She seemed to have the attitude, "They’re not going to get me to follow Christ." While we were away for our rest, she had a baby at our clinic. When we returned she was a changed woman. Her baby was getting along fine, and she continually brought it to the clinic to have it checked and weighed. She always had a bright smile for us, and she went to church every Sunday without anyone going after her.

When we asked her husband about it, he said he had noticed the also. Dogo said that before, when he would make Yohanna (John) get ready for church Tukum would get mad at him, but now, when the bell rings for church, she starts getting Yohanna ready herself. Christ can give new life. Years later their hut burned down, and they lost everything, including their Bible. The people found Dogo crying, and asked, "Why are you crying?"
He said, "My Bible is burned up."

"Why cry? Your life doesn’t depend on that."

"Oh, yes it does," he replied.

The Christians helped him get his house repaired, and we made sure that he got a new Bible—free.

Dada was a Longuda who lived over 50 miles from Zambuk. His mother died when he was quite small, and he was raised by an uncle, even though his father was alive. You see, according to the customs of these people, a child is the property of the mother and her side of the family. So after his mother’s death, he had to go live with an uncle.

One day he heard an evangelist preaching in town. In his hear he accepted Christ. After hearing this, his uncle did everything he could to get Dada to give up his "religion," but Dada said he couldn’t. His uncle made it hard on him, so he ran away, and one Saturday afternoon, he arrived at our mission station for any help we could give him. He was around 18 or 19 years old at the time. We needed someone to help with our yard work, so we gave him a job, and also got him into elementary school in the afternoon. He learned rapidly, and proved to be a good worker, and a strong Christian. A few years later he went back home, and by this time his uncle was willing to accept him as he was. He got involved in the local church.
Building a Christian School

There was a good good-sized church in Difa, six miles away from Zambuk, and the Christians wanted an elementary school built. By this time we had nationals who were graduates of our teachers training schools and were qualified to teach. We did a lot of work to get the school built. The local Christians did most of the work. Finally, school started, and we began having good success.

There were a lot of Muslims in town who didn’t want the school, and wanted the government to build a school for them. We are not sure what happened, but several years later the school burned down during a storm. Some say the school was hit by lightning, but the Christians feel the Muslims torched it. Immediately the government stepped in and built a school with Muslim instructors.

Sometime around 1970, after Nigeria gained its independence from England, the government nationalized all schools and hospitals. Whatever the mission had control of had to be turned over to them. However, there was still freedom to teach Bible classes in the school for those who wanted to come. Even before the nationalization of the schools, I held Bible classes in two schools in Gombe, 15 miles from Zambuk. One class was in the higher Teachers Training School, and the other in a craft school.