nday," said
Mary. "I want you all to come."

"We will come, Ma," promised the natives.

#8#

_The Poison Test_

"Tomorrow we will have our first service in our new church. You must dress
right for it," said Mary.

She took out of her mission boxes clothes of all kinds and colors which the
people in the homeland had sent to her.

"You must wear these to church tomorrow," said Mary. "In God's house you
must be clean. You must be dressed. You must not bring your spears into
church."

"Can we come?" asked the children.

"Indeed you can," said Mary. "The children can come and the slaves can
come. God's house is open to everyone."

The next day was indeed a happy day for Mary. The church was filled with
people. Many of them came just out of curiosity, but there were many who
had learned to know and love and trust in Jesus.

Mary now started day classes and these too were crowded because many wanted
to learn "book." They wanted to learn about Ma's God and about the Saviour
who took away sins. It was not long before a change could be seen in many
of these people. They had become Christians. The look of fear was gone from
their eyes. They no longer feared the demons because they had a Saviour who
loved them and took care of them. They did not do the wicked things they
had done before. They tried to live as God wanted them to live.

Mary was happy. Now she wanted to build a larger and better mission house
in Ekenge. Chief Edem wanted that too. He felt that the church schoolhouse
in Ifako quite outshone the little two-room house in Ekenge. Mary wanted
doors and windows in the new house. She could not make them. The natives
could not. They had never seen any.

Mary wrote to the Mission Board about it. The Mission Board put a notice
in the magazine they published asking for a practical carpenter who was
willing to go to Calabar. Mr. Charles Ovens saw the notice.

"This is God's call to me," he said. "I have wanted to be a missionary ever
since I was a little boy. I could not study to be a minister. I learned to
be a carpenter. Now I can be a carpenter for God. I can build mission
houses and churches and while I build I can tell the people about my
Saviour."

It was in May, 1889, that Mr. Ovens started for Calabar. In Duke Town he
found a native helper and the two of them went to Ekenge. Mary was very
glad to have him come. He was a very jolly man. He sang at his
work. Everyone liked him and the native