Work resumed
Only in 1792 did the Moravians obtain permission to resume Schmidt’s work at Baviaans Kloof. For this task three missionaries, H Marsveld, C Kuhnel and D Schwinn, were chosen. When they arrived they found the ruins of Schmidt’s dwelling, with a great pear tree in the garden. There was also an old woman, Magdalena, whom Schmidt had baptized, whose acquaintance they made. She was able to show them a bible (on display in museum), kept in a leather bag, which had been given to her years ago by Schmidt.
The missionaries listened with amazement when she asked her daughter to read a portion of the New Testament to them. When the work in Baviaans Kloof was resumed, the missionaries and the members of their congregation had to cope with a number of problems. The Stellenbosch DRC questioned the authority and desirability of mission work in Baviaans Kloof, which lay within the boundaries of their ministerial district. Although Governor Sluysken found their objections invalid, Ds Borcherds succeeded in persuading the Cape authorities to forbid the ringing of a Church Bell in Baviaans Kloof.
At one stage a commando of Strandveld farmers threatened to put an end to the mission work by force. Many of the farmers on the remote farms, where they lived in isolation, were illiterate and could not accept that the Khoi and other people enjoyed the privilege of receiving a Christian education. The bush telegraph spread the tale among the Baviaans Kloof people that if they became literate the Cape authorities would send them to Batavia. The farmers were moreover of the opinion that the mission station was merely a hiding place for murderers and thieves. What actually happened was the mission station became a place of refuge for many labourers because they often were treated badly on the farms.