Rev.
W. Law of Tasmania a school friend of Rev Baylis the missionary who worked in
South Travancore, in remembering his son send Rs 3000 to LMS society and requested
to construct a church or a school at Rev Baylis missionary work area at a cost
of Rs 1,500/- so the money was send Hacker. In the mean time Rev. William Roby Fletcher
of Adelaide was visiting the churches in South Travancore mission with his
wife, and Rev Hacker requested to lay the foundation stone for it. During the
foundation laying ceremony there were few Europeans, and native believers were
present and with due respect, praises and rituals the foundation stone was laid
by Rev William. The newly started church was named as Law Memorial Church. Rev.
Fletcher knew Rev Law and so Fletcher wrote a letter to Law, I travelled to
Kadamalaikuntu with Rev Hacker and I was instructed to lay the foundation of
the church which was sponsored by an Australian and the church will be called
as ‘Law Memorial Church’ by evening
of 26th December 1890 the
laying ceremony was conducted where other religious people were also present on
the ‘Pandal’. By saying few words about my relationship with you and the
eagerness of Australians in the task of mission was explained to them through a
translator because I don’t know their language. The main purpose of
constructing this church was to make this as a place useful for others.
The
Law Memorial Church at Kadalmalaikunnoo, in the Neyoor district, was opened on
December 6th, was a handsome, stone-built, tiled structure, which has cost a
little over Rs.4, 000. The pastor of the church was Rev. B. Manasseh, and the
occasion was rendered all the brighter by the presence of the new missionaries,
as well as Mr. Gartner, the builder, and Mr. Chatterton, the architect. To the
foregoing notes from Dr. Fry we add a sentence from Miss Derry's letter
:—" After the ceremony we had a specimen of native music. The two chief
performers were converted devil dancers, and their music has not lost its wild,
weird, dramatic effect, though used for Christian songs."
Hacker
wrote about this to the LMS on 6th December 1892, which was
published in the chronicle of February 1893
DEAR
MR. COUSINS,—The helpers for Travancore, consisting of Mr. Wills for Trevandrum,
Mr. Gillies for Quilon, Miss MacDonnell for Neyoor, and Miss Derry for
Nagercoil, whom you sent out in October, with many prayers, have arrived here safely,
and have been welcomed with grateful praises. They reached Nagercoil last Thursday,
December 1st, and in the morning we had a full and enthusiastic meeting in the
Nagercoil Church to welcome them. On Saturday, 3rd, the brethren went with us to
an ordination service at Neyallenkara, in the Trevandrum district, where they had
an opportunity of speaking to hundreds of Christians who crowded to hear them. On
Sunday Mr. Wills and Mr. Gillies had a busy day at Neyoor, where they each
spoke three times at our services. To-day we are all going to the opening of
the Law Memorial Church in this district,
where, in'addition to thOj hundreds of our Christians, we hope to have a party
of twelve Europeans.
Such
a party has not been seen for years in Travancore, if ever, and our hearts are full
of gratitude to God for His goodness in sending us such an accession of spiritual
fervor and power as these friends have brought with them. We can hardly think
of it without tears of thankfulness.
I
am enclosing a photograph of our friends, as they appeared on the afternoon of their
arrival, under the shade of a mango tree in Mr. Duthie's compound at Nagercoil.
If you could get this in the Chronicle I am sure it would be of interest to the
many friends left at home, whose prayers have been answered by the safe arrival
of their loved ones in this country. They are all well, in capital spirits, full
of hope and enthusiasm. They send this message : " Hallelujah ! Ebenezer !
Jehovah-Jireh ! " They praise the Lord for His goodness to them ; they are
delighted with the country and the people, and they ask an interest still in the
prayers of all at home, so that they may be true-hearted, useful servants of
Jesus, and that through them the time may be hastened when the light of God may
shine, and the fire of God may burn upon the hearts of all the people in the land.
With
kind regards, yours sincerely,
I.
H. Hacker.
