“You have done wonderfully well,” she told the three workers.  “God has blessed your work.  My heart was filled with joy when I saw so many people, young and old, at the services.  And your school is filled with people who want to learn book and learn the will of God.  Now we must build a church and a schoolhouse.”

Mary began mixing the mud and doing the other work that was necessary for building a building in Africa.  The native workers and the people of Itu helped her gladly.  It did not take long with many willing hands to build a church and school.  Two rooms were added to the church building.

“These two rooms are for you, Ma,” the people said.  “You must have a place to stay when you come to us.”

After the church and school were built, Mary went back to Akpap.  Here she heard good news.

“The Board in Scotland has given me permission to be your assistant at Akpap,” said Miss Wright.

“Wonderful!” said Mary.  “Now I can spend more time at Itu and more time in the jungle.”

On a beautiful morning in June, 1903, Mary packed her clothes and supplies and marched the six miles down to the landing beach at Ikunetu.  Here she waited for the government boat which would take her to Itu.  She waited and waited.  At last she found one of the natives and asked, “Where is the government boat?  Is it late?”

“No, Ma, it long time gone.”

So Mary had to walk back six miles through the jungle to the mission house at Akpap.

“Why, Mary,” said Miss Wright, “what are you doing here?  I thought that by this time you would be traveling on the government boat to Itu.”

“I am in God’s hands,” said Mary, “and He did not mean for me to travel today.  I have been kept back for some good purpose.”

The next week when she again made the trip to board the boat, Colonel Montanaro who commanded the government soldiers in that part of the country, was on the boat.

“I will be happy to have you travel with me and my soldiers,” said the colonel.  “You will be safer that way.  I am going to Arochuku.”

“That is just what I would like to do,” said Mary.  “Now I see why God did not let me travel last week.  I have been wanting for a long time to visit the chief city of the Aros.  I want to see more about this juju religion.”

Some time before, the government had sent soldiers into the country to make the chiefs stop the juju worship.  The chiefs had promised to stop it, but it still went on secretly.  After reaching Arochuku, Mary followed the jungle paths over which the slaves had been made to walk for hundreds of years.  She came to the place of the Long Juju.  There Mary saw the human skulls, the bones and the pots in which the bodies had been cooked.  Mary shivered when she thought of the cannibal feasts.

Mary thought the people might be against her, but instead they welcomed her.  They had heard about the good things she had done in the jungle.