Inconspicuous boxes

Inconspicuous boxes

How estates are preserved in the SDA Historical Archive in Friedensau

Treasures in inconspicuous boxes – this is an apt description of the storage of archive material in an archive. It is usually a large collection of them. But these boxes and crates can sometimes conceal valuable items. One of these inconspicuous boxes stands in front of me. With an accompanying card which bears a brief text: "Tabea E. Matter and Alfred Matter (brother) worked in the Congo." In the box I find a Maasai loincloth made from tanned bark. There are also many photos, sometimes with notes on the back, a poetry album with entries from Darmstadt and Neandertal, even more photos, ID cards, certificates and photos. These are the collected pieces that summarize Tabea Matter's life in pictures; a life that was undoubtedly shaped by Africa.

Her parents began missionary work in Kenya in 1914

Tabea Matter was born on January 16, 1919 in Kanyadoto (Kenya). Her parents, Alfred and Elizabeth Matter (née Nawrotzky), were instrumental in establishing the Adventist Church in East Africa. The parents met – how could it be otherwise – at an Adventist school, in Friedensau! They married in 1914 and were able to start their missionary work in Kenya before the outbreak of the World War. In 1921, they moved to Rwanda and founded the Rwankeri mission station in Ruhengeri.

They continued to work in Gitwe and Ngoma - all of these places would later become centers of Adventist work and stations in Tabea's life. In a way, her life's path was also mapped out. Her brother Alfred also chose the path of the missionary and began his work in the heart of Africa, then the Belgian Congo.

One of her work stations: the Heri Hospital in Kigoma

Tabea shows great commitment and diligence at school, which is noted in her school reports. She completed the home economics course on June 8, 1937 and was appointed as a missionary at the Gitwe mission station in 1941. From then on, she dedicated her life to the mission. She worked in Ngoma, then in Ruhengeri (until 1966). Finally, from 1968 to 1976, she worked at Heri Hospital in Kigoma, Tanzania.

Her life bears witness to her efforts to take the Gospel to the remotest corners of the earth. "Go into all the world!" is written on the Friedensau New School. The Matter family literally put this mission into practice in their lives.

Sequences of their experiences have been published

Talitha Metschan (pseudonym for Ruth Matter, Tabea's sister-in-law) wrote about her experiences in the book "Light and Shadow under the Tropical Sun" in 1976, in which "Aunt Tabea" appears again and again. Tabea Matter finally died in Oertlimatt in 2006. She was dearly loved and her commitment to other people was highly valued. Her poetry album, which has survived, too bears witness to this. It also contains a detailed drawing of Marienhöhe from 1936 by (fellow pupil?) Dornbach. Bringing such treasures to light is a wonderful task. May the future bring us many such treasures and donations to the archive. We would be very grateful.

Bernd Müller, Ph.D., Director of the Historical Archives of the STA in Europe, based in Friedensau

Captions: Tabea (back right) with her family | Tabea Matter (youth portrait) | Tabea as a small child | Tabea with a group of girls in Rwankeri | Drawing from her poetry album