The digital copies of these recordings are available for free at First Fruits website. place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruits Preface Knowing that it is a serious disadvantage to any people or country whose history is not written for the benefit of posterity, it has, for many years past, occurred to me that I ought to attempt something in this direction in connexion with Wesleyan Methodism, which has not only existed in this Colony of Sierra Leone for more than a century, but has conferred numerous untold benefits, intellectual, moral, and spiritual, on the people in general. Owing to the attendant strain of a Methodist Circuit life, and the great responsibility that rested on me as a Superintendent Minister since the early part of 1867, I could not possibly afford time to undertake the gigantic work of preparing a history of the rise and progress of Methodism and its Missions in Sierra Leone. A gracious Providence having, however, mercifully spared me to retire from the multifarious duties of circuit work at the close of the first quarter of the year 1910, after fifty-one years' active service, I feel that, as the oldest Wesleyan minister in the district, God has no doubt preserved me for the accomplishment of the important task; I must therefore at once proceed to put together certain facts from credible and available records, along with my reminiscences of sundry matters that are about half a century old, for the information alike of both young and old. With the belief that the obituaries of both the European Missionaries and African Ministers that died in the work here or elsewhere will be foundinteresting and appreciated, particularly in Methodistcircles in which they were not previously known; their insertion will be given in the pages within therespective decades in which the deaths occurred. For the map of Sierra Leone showing approximate Tribal Divisions the writer of this history is indebted to Mr. C. H. Lukach's book, A Bibliography of Sierra Leone.

The Centenary of the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh in 1910, is a suggestive moment for many people seeking direction for Christian mission in the twenty-first century. Since 2005 an international group has worked collaboratively to develop an intercontinental and multidenominational project, now known as Edinburgh 2010, and based at New College, University of Edinburgh.

In the early decades of the 19th century, Indigenous Australians suffered devastating losses at the hands of British colonists, who largely ignored their sovereignty and even their humanity. At the same time, however, a new wave of Christian humanitarians were arriving in the colonies, troubled by Aboriginal suffering and arguing that colonists had

David Hilliard's God's Gentlemen, originally published in 1978, remains the only detached and detailed historical analysis of the work of the Melanesian Mission. Starting with its New Zealand beginnings and its Norfolk Island years (1867-1920), the work follows the Mission's shift of headquarters to the Solomon Islands and on until the beginning of the Second World War. The Mission, which grew out of the personal vision of the first Church of England Bishop of New Zealand, George Selwyn, formally defined its field of work as 'the Islands of Melanesia' although its activities were confined almo.

When local author Dane Starbuck set out several years ago to write the biography of Pierre Goodrich, scion of one of Indiana's most prominent twentieth-century families, he soon discovered that it was impossible to really understand Pierre Goodrich without also closely examining his family. Starbuck's years of research culminated in The Goodriches: An American Family, now available from Liberty Fund. This work is a revealing window into the founding ideals of both Indiana and our country, and how our founders meant these ideals to be lived. The Goodriches: An American Family begins with the birth of James P. Goodrich in 1864 and continues through the death of his son Pierre F. Goodrich in 1973. As the story of two fascinating and fiercely individualistic men, it is compelling reading, but as author Dane Starbuck says in the preface, ''the later chapters of this book are as much a social commentary on American life in the twentieth century as parts of a biography of two accomplished men." In his foreword to The Goodriches: An American Family, James M. Buchanan, Nobel laureate in economics and celebrated Liberty Fund author, says, "The Indiana Goodriches are an American family whose leading members, James and Pierre, helped to shape the American century. . . . This biography makes us recognize what is missing from the millennial setting in which we find ourselves. We have lost the 'idea of America, ' both as a motivation for action and as a source of emotional self-confidence. We have lost that which the Goodriches possessed." What did the Goodrich family "possess" which made them so unique? A belief in the power of knowledge, the importance of education, and a strong work ethic combined to imbue the Goodrich family with a distinctive sense of civic duty. James Goodrich served as governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921 and as adviser to Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. During his eulogy of James Goodrich, the Reverend Gustav Papperman explained, "The Governor felt that he had been given talents that were a trust, that he was to administer them faithfully. . . ." According to author Dane Starbuck, "Education was a large part of the Goodriches' work ethos. . . . The family viewed education as a process by virtue of which the individual remained informed, made better business decisions, learned the importance of citizenship, and was given an opportunity for individual self-improvement. Therefore, work and education became the centerpieces of the Goodrich family's ethical and practical life." In later years, Pierre Goodrich, successful businessman and entrepreneur, would set aside a portion of his estate to found Liberty Fund because he believed that the principles of liberty on which our nation was founded need to be constantly kept before the public.