Missionaries to the Americas

Missionaries to the Americans

Seven U.S. naval airmen, forced down in the Pacific, paddled their raft for two and a half days, until they reached an island. Down to the beach to welcome them came natives, handed the surprised flyers a book. It was the Bible. For 87 days the friendly Christian natives (converted years ago by missionaries) hid the Americans from Jap patrols. They also, said the airmen, converted them to Christianity. Last week Aerial Gunner Stanley W. Tefft of Toledo told how.

Said Gunner Tefft, now recuperating from wounds at the Naval Air Station, Alameda, Calif.: "Every night [the natives] would gather around us and we took turns reading the Bible. They sang songs which we knew, such as Red River Valley and Carry Me Back to Old Virginny. When we left them, they were beginning to learn When Johnny Comes Marching Home. The only thing that brought us back was faith. You can tell the world that I am now a devout Christian."

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