Two more years pass before Obierika visits Mbanta a second time, again with unhappy news. White Christian missionaries have arrived in Umuofia, have built a Christian church, and have recruited some converts. The leaders of the clan are disappointed in the villagers, but the leaders believe that the converts are only efulefu, the worthless and weak men of the village. None of the converts holds a title in the clan.
Obierika's real reason for the visit is to inform Okonkwo that he saw Nwoye with some missionaries in Umuofia. When Obierika asked Nwoye why he was in the village, Nwoye responded that he was "one of them." When asked about his father, Okonkwo, Nwoye replied that "he is not my father."
Okonkwo will not talk to his friend about Nwoye. Only after talking with Nwoye's mother is Obierika able to learn what happened: Six men arrived in Mbanta, including one white man. Everyone was curious to see him after hearing the story of the Abame destruction. The white man had an Igbo interpreter — with a strange dialect — and, through him, spoke to them about Christianity. He told them about a new god who created the world and humankind; this new god would replace the false gods of wood and stone that they had worshiped. Worship of the true god would ensure that they would live forever in the new god's kingdom. The white man told them that he and his people would be coming to live with them and would be bringing many iron horses for the villagers to ride.
