Raitt, William Cyril Samuel (1904–2001) and Hilda (Green) (1902–1988)

William Raitt and his wife Hilda were British missionaries to East Africa, serving in Tanganyika and then Kenya in later years. He was the founder of the Kenya Coast Mission in 1934 and was responsible for the establishment and spread of the Adventist faith in the Kenyan coast.

Early Life

William Cyril Samuel Raitt was born on December 13, 1903, in Lee, Lewisham, Kent.¹ He was the third of the five children of William Robert Raitt (1876-1945) and Jane Sarah Raitt (née Bradshaw) (1871-1947).² He had three sisters–Jennie Ruth, Amy Elizabeth, and Eva Rait, and a brother, Arthur James Raitt who, like him, was a missionary in Africa. His eldest sister, Jennie Ruth, was also a missionary in Kenya.

William Cyril attended the Watford Grammar School before opting to do full-time ministry through literature evangelism and eventually becoming a missionary.

Family

William Raitt married Hilda in 1929. Hilda Eugenie Green was born on June 13, 1902, at Kings Cross, London.³ Her father, John Jeremiah Green (b. 1866), was an early Adventist who worked full-time as a missionary canvasser with the International Tract Society, an organization run by Adventists for the purposes of literature distribution. Her mother was named Eugenie Green.⁴ Shortly after their marriage, they moved to the missions, serving in various countries in Africa. They did not have any children.

Missionary Service

In 1925, William Raitt began canvassing in the Donegal area in Ireland.⁵ He continued the canvassing ministry for several years. In October 1929, William Raitt and his wife Hilda, embarked on their missionary journey to East Africa. They were part of a larger group of missionaries, with their specific assignment being to Ikizu Mission in Musoma, under the West Tanganyika Mission,⁶ Mwanza, Tanganyika, East Africa. This journey marked the beginning of their significant contributions to the mission field in that region. They would remain in Tanganyika for five years before moving to Kenya.

William Raitt began his mission service at the Ikidzu Mission, Musoma, northern Tanganyika.⁷ The superintendent at Ikizu was G. A. Ellingworth. The Raitts also served at Majita Mission, Musoma, where he contributed to the educational and spiritual development of the local community. Next, he moved to the Mwagala Mission, Maswa, Lake Province, Tanganyika. Here, he played a key role in establishing and nurturing the Adventist mission work in this region.⁸ After Mwagala, he moved to the Ntusu Mission, Maswa, Lake Province, Tanganyika. His work at Ntusu was focused on evangelism and education, furthering the mission’s reach.

Moving to Kenya

During the Autumn Council of 1932, the General Conference made the decision to transfer Tanganyika from the Northern European Division to the Central European Division.⁹ During the same meeting, Uganda was elevated to its own Union while the East Africa Union under remained with Kenya, and to that was added the Italian Somaliland.¹⁰ The superintendent of the EAU since 1928 was Spencer G. Maxwell. After these changes, Maxwell decided to concentrate in Kenya and organized to move the work to the unreached parts of Kenya away from the Nyanza region.

Towards this end, Maxwell formed three new mission stations–the Central Kenya Mission, the North-West Kenya, and the Kenya Coast Mission. He then placed Walter. W. Armstrong in charge of Central Kenya and placed himself in charge of the North-West Kenya Mission, and the Coast Mission would be managed by him.

With the re-organization of Tanganyika, the workers from England were now transferred to Kenya. Maxwell then placed William and Hilda Raitt in charge of the Kenya Coast.

Commenting on this entry into the Kenya coast, Northern European Division Secretary E. D. Dick wrote: “To the east of the Central Kenya Mission is the Coast Mission, which includes the coastal area of Kenya and Somaliland. W. C. S. Raitt, a former worker in Tanganyika, has recently gone out to open up the work in this station. Thus the cords have been lengthened in our East African Union to include the entire field, and no doubt the good work which has been so well begun in western parts of Kenya can be extended to other parts. Undoubtedly work in these new areas will be more difficult, yet with the strong leadership and experience gained in other parts, under the blessing of God, we expect in time to see good results.”¹¹

The Kenya Coast Mission

Raitt and his wife, Hilda, arrived in Mombasa by ship from Tanga. They first began their mission work at Port Reitz in Mombasa, but did not stay for long, moving to Miritini, a short distance from Mombasa. Here, they acquired a five-acre plot and established a mission station.¹² The Kenya coast had been dominated by Islam for nearly 1,000 years, and it was a difficult area for most Christian missions. The Anglicans had established a mission at Rabai in 1844, introducing Christianity where Islam was already prevalent. Undeterred, Raitt began his ministry, hitting the ground running. It helped that he and his wife were already fluent in the Kiswahili language.

Commenting on the work at the Kenya Coast, Division Secretary E. D. Dick wrote in June 1934:

Pastor S. G. Maxwell has lately visited our new Coast Mission and writes: “Brother Raitt has not wasted any time in getting to work. Folk around the Miritini house are calling for a school. A number come for medicine every day. At Mariakani, fifteen miles up the line, he has been holding open-air meetings in the market. Fifty were present the day I was there and twenty stayed behind for a Bible study in a house.”¹³

They brought to the faith several young people, among them Samwel Chiranzi, Francis Bemwaka Mwarua, Shadrack Fukwe Dena, David Dena, and Simeon Rumba.¹⁴ They were all from the Rabai ethnic group except Rumba, who was a Duruma.¹⁵

Expanding the Work

Raitt opened a Sabbath School at a place called Mwamududu (also known as Mwangoka). Here, he fellowshipped with the persons he had brought to the faith and soon attracted more. Maxwell searched for an assistant in this evangelistic effort. He found the highly experienced Petero Risase, a pioneer Tanganyikan evangelist. Back in 1927, Pastor Petro Kime Risase (c. 1890-1982) had pioneered the Mission at Nchwanga, Uganda, together with Maxwell. They opened up the mission work in Uganda, and now sent him to the Kenya Coast. Risase was an energetic evangelist, reaching out to Muslims in the area and holding public meetings with them. His meetings were well attended and, in the process, brought many to Christ. He was soon joined by Josefu Simba, another Tanganyika evangelist, and they jointly conducted open outdoor meetings and held Bible studies with the people. With the work in the able hands of the two evangelists, the Raitts proceeded for furlough in England.

In 1934, Division officer Clarence V. Anderson, visiting Kenya, wrote on the work at the Kenya Coast,

Brother W. Raitt… has opened up work on the coast not far from Mombasa. You would feel happy to see the way our brother has taken hold of the work. I attended an open-air meeting in a village during market day, and it was very inspiring to see about 10 men crowd around to see the picture roll and to hear Brother Raitt speak.¹⁶

In 1935, Pastor Raitt secured a five-acre plot in Changamwe that already had a house. He then moved from Miritini and established a school with a dormitory where he placed five of his converts to begin their education. Hilda, who was a trained nurse, took charge of the new school as they waited to open a dispensary. In 1936, two more young people–James Chapu and John Mwaruwa--joined the first five.¹⁷ Pastor Raitt, who was a skilled builder, undertook the building program, putting up a dispensary and additional classrooms at Changamwe.

In 1937, the Changamwe Adventist Dispensary was completed and opened. Hilda took charge and the facility soon became quite busy. Soon, a number of Kamba people joined the work in Mombasa and Raitt began preparing them to become evangelists in the large, and largely unentered Kamba country. An evangelist Jeremiah Oigo had already began work among the Kamba people but only on the northern side.

Progress in the Kenya Coast

After two years of sowing on what he described as “very stony ground,” Raitt reported some progress in the work. He had started the year of 1936 with four small Sabbath Schools, but by 1937, they had increased that number to eight, located at distances ranging from five to sixty miles from the Changamwe Mission. Half of these Sabbath Schools were being cared for by lay members. The Sabbath School membership, which had been 54 in January 1936, had tripled by 1937 and was expected to reach nearly 200 by the end of that year.

During that year, ten members had been received into the church, nine by baptism and one by vote. Raitt expressed gratitude to God for these additions and was hopeful that a larger number would soon be ready for baptism. The membership in the baptismal classes had more than doubled in the first nine months, with several more candidates awaiting acceptance.

Raitt also mentioned that there were calls for six-day schools, but they only had two teachers, both locals. They hoped to start one or two more schools with locals as pupil teachers and were relying on the established fields upcountry to provide one or two trained teachers to strengthen their school work.¹⁸

The Changamwe Mission ground became an important stopover for missionaries and church visitors coming to or leaving Kenya by sea. The Raitts would often drive to the docks or to the railway stations to pick them up or drop them off. Their hospitality was much appreciated by the visitors.

Siblings in Mission

Meanwhile, soon after the Raitts arrived in Kenya, William’s sister Ruth Raitt, who had been in Kenya from 1929 until 1934, left for eastern Nigeria to work among the Igbo people. It was here that she opened a girl’s school at Aba, building on the work she had done at Kamagambo in south-western Kenya. However, she became seriously ill after contracting yellow fever, necessitating her return to England in October 1936. It was while in England that their other sister, Eva Raitt, accepted the call to go to Nigeria to continue the work that Ruth had left behind. In April 1937, Eva left for Nigeria and became the headmistress at the school in Aba.¹⁹ Later, their brother Arthur J. Raitt also decided to join the missions, leaving for South Africa. Eventually, four of the five Raitt siblings would be involved in mission work in Africa.

Work among the Kauma People

In 1937, the Kauma people, one of nine tribes that form the Mijikenda who inhabit the Kenya coast, requested a teacher from the Mission, but none were available. Instead, a literate member of the Kauma was trained to lead a Sabbath School. By early 1938, Petro Risase was sent to work among them. Initially well-received, Petro soon faced significant opposition as the community grappled with Adventist teachings, particularly total abstinence from alcohol and the rejection of charms and amulets.²⁰ Despite the struggle, many Kauma converts embraced these changes in their lives and began following Christian ideals including the very contentious issue of monogamy. Raitt recounted the touching moment of issuing a Hearer’s Card²¹ to a woman whose husband had renounced a second wife in adherence to these teachings.

The payment of tithes also presented challenges due to the Kauma’s communal farming system. To fulfill their spiritual obligations, new Adventist members began cultivating their own food gardens. The Gospel message brought significant reform, requiring African converts to navigate familial and cultural disruptions, particularly with beliefs like the state of the dead. Despite these obstacles, God’s grace enabled many to remain steadfast in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. On April 8, 1939, six Kauma people were baptized, with five immediately committing to evangelize other coastal tribes, driven by their newfound faith.²² This spirit of sacrifice among the Kauma converts signaled the potential for a great harvest of believers from their efforts.

In his report of the work among the Kauma, Raitt requested prayers for all fifteen Sabbath Schools along the Coast, and in particular for an elderly man who had given up alcohol to follow the Lord.²³

Raitt encountered many challenges while taking the gospel message to the coast. Sometimes the new Sabbath Schools were razed down by those opposed to Adventism. Some of the plots he had acquired were taken back due to hostility to this mission endeavor. The distances were great, the roads often impassable, and rivers often unbridged. The local people lived in extreme poverty. The Depression years had also taken a toll on the local economy and, added to that, the war broke out in 1939. Despite all these difficulties, the Raitts continued with their work, finding ways to supplement mission income. The Kenya Coast Mission was the only Adventist mission on a coastal level in the entire eastern seaboard of Africa.

In September 1940, Pastor Raitt was ordained to the ministry. That year, he held the first campmeetings in his vast district. Pastor Spencer Maxwell was the chief guest in these campmeetings. By 1940, there were 55 baptized members at the Kenya Coast FieldThere were a number of schools, and 10 teachers in them. By 1942, the number had risen to 59 in two organized churches. In 1943, Mrs. Raitt established the Girl’s School at the Mission. By this time, there were four village schools and 10 African teachers.²⁴

Moving to Nairobi

The Raitts remained on the Coast until December 1944, when they moved to Karura near Nairobi, taking over from Pastor D. M. Swaine.²⁵ Karura was in the Kenya highlands, right on the edge of the bustling city of Nairobi. It was leafy, cool, and pleasant, far from the searing heat of the Kenya coast. Karura had two district leaders, three African evangelists and four village schools. There were eight teachers attached to the Mission.²⁶

From April 28 to May 6, 1947, Raitt attended the Southern Africa Division Council held in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He was there as a delegate representing the East African Union together with other Union leaders. The first meeting of the council commenced on the evening of April 28 at the grand Bulawayo Church, which had been recently redecorated for the occasion. The Division president, Elder Bozarth, welcomed delegates from all parts of the Division, including representatives from union missions, the Division headquarters, and Division institutions such as Helderberg College and the Sentinel Publishing Company.²⁷

Raitt, along with other delegates, participated in departmental conventions that began on April 24, focusing on the issues within the Education, Sabbath School, and Medical departments.²⁸

Work among the Tharaka People

During the campmeeting season in 1947 at Karura, Raitt hosted J. M. Hnatyshin the Home Missionary and Young People’s Missionary Volunteer secretary for the Southern Africa Division.²⁹ A baptism took place at Karura that was especially significant to Raitt. For the first time, two women from the Tharaka ethnic group were baptized into the Adventist faith. The Tharaka people, who live around the northern side of Mt. Kenya, were part of Raitt’s Central Kenya Mission coverage. But that is now how the Adventist message reached the place.

The entry of the Adventist faith into Tharaka country happened when one of Raitt’s students at Changamwe, Ishmael Mbugi Mainda, a Tharaka, decided to become a self-supporting evangelist in his home country. Mainda had completed his education at Changamwe and was baptized by Raitt in 1941. Mainda returned to his native Chiakariga where he began his evangelistic campaign.³⁰ It so happened that one of his first converts, Reuben Kiramunya Kamundi (1927-1994), would go on to take up Raitt’s old job as the director of the Changamwe Mission in 1981. He would go on to become first president of the Kenya Coast Field.³¹

Moving to Rhodesia

In 1953, the Raitts left for furlough in England, concluding their tour of duty in East Africa. They had spent a total of 24 years in East Africa, 20 years spent in Kenya. On October 15, 1953, the Raitts arrived in Cape Town from furlough in England. Raitt had been appointed to begin work at the Zambezi Union as the departmental secretary for Press Relations, Publishing, Sabbath School, and Voice of Prophecy.³² He was now based in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, and he was now working directly under Pastor S. G. Maxwell who had deployed him to the Kenya Coast Mission.

Faith For Africa

In May 1954, as publishing director, Pastor Raitt, announced the establishment of a new magazine called Faith for Africa with him as the editor-in-chief.³³ He announced that the Zambesi Union Mission had launched the paper with the support of the South African Union Conference and approval of the Southern African Division. This English-language publication was intended to meet the spiritual needs of the urbanized African community, although it would also be accessible to English-speaking Africans in villages throughout the Division.³⁴ Raitt emphasized the recognition from leaders outside their organization, noting the increasing demand for specialized literature for the growing urban and industrial population in Africa. Newspapers in English for Africans were achieving larger sales, highlighting the need for a magazine that could deliver their unique message effectively.

Raitt clarified that Faith for Africa would not replace existing vernacular papers, but would supplement them, targeting English-speaking Africans in all language areas. He explained that the magazine aimed to be as African as possible, presenting the message in African thought through the English language and utilizing content written by African leaders. He appealed to leaders across the Division to encourage their African brethren to contribute articles on various religious subjects, including doctrine, spiritual life, family religious life, Christian education, and evangelism. Additionally, he requested pictures depicting African life and activities to enrich the publication. Faith for Africa contained at least sixteen pages, and it would be printed by the Sentinel Publishing Company in South Africa and sold at a retail price of 6d per copy. The distribution would be managed by book depositories and colporteurs. Raitt called for prayers for the success of this new message magazine.³⁵

The magazine, which had an initial print run of 10,000 copies, was a roaring success. Barely a year later, the print run was scaled up to 15,000 copies and was distributed across several countries mainly in southern Africa. Despite the success, it did not last long in publication.

Additional Work in the Zambezi Union

Raitt oversaw the dispatch of the Bible correspondence course “Voice of Prophecy,” which was run from neighboring South Africa. This allowed for the gospel message to reach many people in the comfort of their own homes. He also held several colporteur institutes, recruiting, training, and dispatching dozens of literature evangelists. In February 1957, Raitt reported the successful canvassing efforts of A. Raoul Fuss, a dedicated Helderberg student-colporteur. Assigned to Ndola in the Copperbelt of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Fuss consistently provided weekly reports of his experiences. In early December, while canvassing in a stationery shop, he quickly sold several books to a salesman eager to build a family library. Evening canvassing also proved fruitful, with Fuss selling complete sets of books to residents. In January, a woman he canvassed turned out to be a reporter for the Northern News who published a story about his work, boosting his recognition in Ndola.³⁶

For four days in 1957, Raitt hosted the Division Publishing Council. The meeting took place from November 7-10 at the Salisbury Church.³⁷ Twenty-five delegates from the General Conference, Division, unions, and conferences, including publishing leaders including A. Bristow of the Nyasaland Union, G. A. W. Meyer of the South African Union, L. C. Robinson of the Congo Union, and J. N. Hunt of the East African Union, gathered to discuss various issues and strategies for expanding the literature work in the Southern African Division.³⁸ Division Publishing Secretary F. Unger noted that free and constructive discussions led to the formulation of significant recommendations for the Division Committee, with a prevailing spirit of unanimity and a strong desire to advance the publishing work.³⁹ The meeting established a more solid foundation for their work, providing necessary working capital for book depositories and plans to increase the number of literature evangelists, aiming for a large increase in literature distribution. The presence of General Conference leaders, including A. V. Olson, D. A. McAdams, and E. R. Walde, provided valuable counsel. McAdams concluded that there is a promising future for their publishing work in Africa, and the council committed to realizing that potential.

In 1961, Raitt reported that in 1960, literature evangelists in his Union achieved the highest-ever recorded deliveries, totaling £9,219.⁴⁰ He stated that their goal for 1961 was to exceed £10,000 in deliveries.⁴¹ Raitt highlighted the significant progress in African colporteur sales over the previous three years, noting that sales had increased from £1,500 in 1958 to £2,167 in 1959, and then to £2,500 in 1960. He emphasized that this represented a substantial number of books, especially considering the low-price range of most vernacular literature.

In April 1961, Raitt reported that from 1954 to 1960, the Southern Rhodesia Sabbath School membership grew by ten thousand, increasing from 28,000 to 38,000 members.⁴² This represented a 35 percent increase in membership and a 45 percent increase in average attendance, which rose from 22,000 to 32,000. Raitt encouraged continued dedication from pastors, evangelists, and Sabbath school workers to build on this success. In November 1961, Raitt was incapacitated by illness that affected his leg. He was unable to carry out his duties for several weeks running into 1962.

Training in Tanganyika

In September 1962, W. C. S. Raitt was in Tanganyika assisting in colporteur institutes nearly thirty years after his transfer from the country to Kenya. Raitt met with enthusiastic leaders and successful literature evangelists, hearing about new companies and churches being established in places like Dar-es-Salaam, Tabora, and Iringa, as well as plans to expand to Mtwapa.⁴³ It was a far cry from the days he was there. He noted the dedication of literature evangelists who move with their families to distant locations for five-year periods. The leadership of the publishing work transitioned from Pastor Fares Muganda to Pastor Harun Kija at the beginning of the year, and then to Pastor G. S. Glass in July. At Suji, the headquarters for the North East Tanganyika Field, Raitt participated in a symposium that highlighted the successful soul-winning activities of the colporteurs. He also observed the promising future of the literature ministry under Brother Nathanael Elisa’s enthusiasm.⁴⁴ At Ikizu Mission, the venue for the second institute, Raitt noted the presence of several women literature evangelists and a supportive environment provided by Mission Director R. L. McGhee. Despite challenges in book supply and departmental staffing, Raitt expressed optimism for the future of the literature work in Tanganyika, commending Pastor Glass for his dedication and positive spirit in addressing these issues.⁴⁵

Retirement

In 1965, changes in the Zambesi Union saw F. G. Reid pave way for F. G. Thomas, formerly of the Tanganyika Union. F. G. Reid moved to Kenya. Raitt retained his departmental work after returning from furlough in England. He was now designated as the departmental secretary for the Book and Bible House.⁴⁶ This was essentially still the Publishing docket he had held for over a decade now. He remained in Bulawayo. In 1969, major realignments took place at the Zambesi Union, which saw the creation of the Zambesi General Field. Raitt’s job at the Union went to W. M. Mason while Raitt moved to new Field, where he remained as an officer, but without a department.⁴⁷ Thomas ran both the Zambesi Union and the Zambesi General Field until 1971 when H. C. Currie took over from him.⁴⁸

In December 1971, Raitt’s brother Arthur J. Raitt retired from mission service and returned to England after twenty-six and a half years of duty in Africa. He had just lost his son in 1967, and now his wife had also died in 1971. Arthur and his daughter, Margaret Raitt, decided to return permanently to England soon. Prior to serving in the Trans-Africa Division, Arthur Raitt had served as principal of Good Hope College and, prior to that, a teacher and registrar at Helderberg.

Retirement and Return to England

Raitt remained in Bulawayo until 1974 when he retired. He returned to England, ending a tour of duty in Africa encompassing forty-five years. In July 1974, the Raitts sailed from Cape Town on the Pendennis Castle to England, where they retired after serving in Africa nearly five decades of missionary service in Africa.⁴⁹ Hilda Raitt had also served in many positions in denominational work, and now it was time to go back to England. They settled at Kettering, a town in Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands region of England, approximately 81 miles north of London.

Death and Legacy

Hilda Eugenie Raitt died in January 1988, in Kettering, Northamptonshire, at the age of 86.⁵⁰ Willliam Raitt returned to South Africa, where he died on April 2, 2000, in Johannesburg.⁵¹ The Raitts dedicated nearly five decades of their lives to missionary service in Africa, significantly impacting the spread of the Adventist faith. Will Raitt left his mark on literature evangelism before embarking on a missionary journey to Tanganyika with Hilda in 1929. They served in Tanganyika, Kenya, and eventually in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where he was directly responsible for the work in several southern African nations. It was, however, in the Kenya Coast Mission that Raitt founded in 1934, that he is best remembered. This mission was pivotal in establishing Adventism in the region, particularly among the Mijikenda people, where it continues to thrive to this day. As of 2024, there are over 35,000 Seventh-day Adventists in this area spread over 200 organized churches and several Sabbath Schools.

Sources

Anderson, Clarence V. “Our Work in East Africa.” The Advent Survey, August 1, 1934.

Dawkins, M. B. “From Hither and Yon.” The Southern African Division Outlook, March 15, 1961.

Dick, E. D. “From In and Out and Roundabout.” The Advent Survey, June 1, 1934.

Dick, E. D. “Strengthening the Stakes in Our Mission Fields.” The Advent Survey, February 1, 1934.

Dick, E. D. “The Business of the Council.” The Advent Survey, January 1, 1933.

Dick, E. D. “With Our Missions in East Africa.” The Advent Survey, December 1, 1935.

FamilySearch.org. Accessed August 5, 2024.

Game, G. E. Trans-Africa Division Outlook, July 15, 1974.

Hnatyshin, J. M. “Win-one Campaign in East Africa.” The Southern African Division Outlook, December 1, 1947.

Maxwell, A. S. The Missionary Worker, August 21, 1925.

Maxwell, S. G. “Changes in East Africa.” The Missionary Worker, March 10, 1933.

Mwatsuma, Johnson Charo. "Historia ya Kanisa la Seventh-day Adventist Pwani: Kenya Coast Field Ilivyoanzishwa Mwaka 1934>" A Kiswahili written and unpublished manuscript, in the author's private collection.

Raitt, W. C. S. “Encouraging Experiences of Helderberg Student-Colporteur.” The Southern African Division Outlook, February 15, 1954.

Raitt, W. C. S. “Faith for Africa.” The Southern African Division Outlook, May 1, 1954.

Raitt, W. C. S. “First Fruits among Kauma.” The Advent Survey, June 1, 1939.

Raitt, W. C. S. “Tanganyika’s Literature-Evangelists.” The Southern African Division Outlook, October 15, 1962.

Raitt, W. C. S. “Ten Thousand in Six Years.” The Southern African Division Outlook, April 15, 1961.

Raitt, W. C. S. “The Coast Mission.” The Advent Survey, March 1, 1937.

Read, W. E. “Our Division Annual Meetings.” The Advent Survey, May 1, 1937.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

“The Raitt Stuff.” Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.raitt.org/south-african-raitts.html.

Unger, F. “Division Publishing Council.” The Southern African Division Outlook, December 15, 1957.

Visser, Jr., Mrs. F. “The Division Council.” The Southern African Division Outlook, June 1, 1947.

Wangai, Frederick K. The Power of the Word: A History of Seventh-day Adventism in Central Kenya. Nairobi: Grandmaster Empire, 2021.

Notes

1. “The Raitt Stuff,” https://www.raitt.org/south-african-raitts.html, accessed August 5, 2024.↩

2. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LRSC-TP5, accessed August 5, 2024.↩

3. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7GG-88D, accessed August 5, 2024.↩

4. Ibid.↩

5. A. S. Maxwell, The Missionary Worker, August 21, 1925, 6.↩

6. “West Tanganyika Mission,” Seventh-Adventist Yearbook, 1930, 214.↩

7. Ibid.↩

8. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1933, 95.↩

9. E. D. Dick, “The Business of the Council,” The Advent Survey, January 1, 1933, 11.↩

10. S. G. Maxwell, “Changes in East Africa,” The Missionary Worker, March 10, 1933, 8.↩

11. E. D. Dick, “Strengthening the Stakes in Our Mission Fields,” The Advent Survey, February 1, 1934, 11.↩

12. E. D. Dick, “With our Missions in East Africa,” The Advent Survey, December 1, 1935, 4-5.↩

13. E. D. Dick, “From In and Out and Roundabout,” The Advent Survey, June 1, 1934, 8.↩

14. Johnson Charo Mwatsuma, "Historia ya Kanisa la Seventh-Day Adventist Pwani: Kenya Coast Field Ilivyoanzishwa Mwaka 1934," a Kiswahili written and unpublished manuscript.↩

15. Ibid.↩

16. Clarence V. Anderson, “Our Work in East Africa,” The Advent Survey, August 1, 1934, 1.↩

17. Mwatsuma, op cit.↩

18. W. C. S. Raitt, “The Coast Mission,” The Advent Survey, March 1, 1937, 3.↩

19. W. E. Read, “Our Division Annual Meetings,” The Advent Survey, May 1, 1937, 8.↩

20. W. C. S. Raitt, “First Fruits among Kauma,” The Advent Survey, June 1, 1939, 6.↩

21. In the early years of the Adventist Church in Africa, the “Hearers’ Card” was issued to members of the “Hearer’s Class,” a group for people considering joining the Adventist Church. This class was conducted among the indigenous communities in parts of Africa with low education levels. Participants received instruction for one year, often literacy and numeracy classes in that period. After completing this initial year, (and the card marked for consistent attendance and successful completion of lessons), they moved on to the Baptismal Class for another year of doctrinal instruction. Only after satisfactorily completing both years of instruction, they were baptized and granted church membership.↩

22. Ibid.↩

23. Ibid.↩

24. “Changamwe Mission Station,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1943, 158.↩

25. “Karura Mission Station,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1945, 160.↩

26. Ibid.↩

27. Mrs. F. Visser, Jr., “The Division Council,” The Southern African Division Outlook, June 1, 1947, 3.↩

28. Ibid.↩

29. J. M. Hnatyshin, “Win-one Campaign in East Africa,” The Southern African Division Outlook, December 1, 1947, 2.↩

30. "Frederick K. Wangai, The Power of the Word: A History of Seventh-day Adventism in Central Kenya  (Nairobi: Grandmaster Empire, 2021), 109.↩

31. Ibid., 111.↩

32. “Zambesi Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1954, 193.↩

33. W. C. S. Raitt, “Faith for Africa,” The Southern African Division Outlook, May 1, 1954, 4.↩

34. Ibid.↩

35. Ibid.↩

36. W. C. S. Raitt, “Encouraging Experiences of Helderberg Student-Colporteur,” The Southern African Division Outlook, February 15, 1954, 11.↩

37. F. Unger, “Division Publishing Council,” The Southern African Division Outlook, December 15, 1957, 9.↩

38. Ibid.↩

39. Ibid.↩

40. M. B. Dawkins, “From Hither and Yon,” The Southern African Division Outlook, March 15, 1961, 12.↩

41. £10,000 in 1961 was worth £278,963.83 in August 2024, https://www.in2013dollars.com/uk/inflation/1961?amount=10000, accessed August 6, 2024.↩

42. W. C. S. Raitt, “Ten Thousand in Six Years,” The Southern African Division Outlook, April 15, 1961, 4.↩

43. W. C. S. Raitt, “Tanganyika’s Literature-Evangelists,” The Southern African Division Outlook, October 15, 1962, 5-6.↩

44. Ibid.↩

45. Ibid.↩

46. “Zambesi Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1968, 273.↩

47. “Zambesi Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1969, 287↩

48. “Zambesi Union,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1972, 271.↩

49. G. E. Game, Trans-Africa Division Outlook, July 15, 1974.↩

50. https://www.raitt.org/south-african-raitts.html, accessed August 6, 2024.↩

51. Ibid.↩