It was quite a problem with Brethren Sutherland and Magan and their faithful associates as to how, with limited means, they were to adapt themselves to the work in Madison, Tenn. They had many obstacles and difficulties to meet, some of which need never have come into the work.
The reason these brethren were persuaded to purchase the place now occupied by the Madison school, was because558special light was given to me that this place was well adapted for the educational work that was most needed there. It was presented to me that this was a place where an all-round education could be given advantageously to students who should come from the North and the South for instruction. In what has already been accomplished by the Madison school, the Lord is making it manifest that He is blessing the work carried forward there, and is leading the teachers who are associated together in bearing the burdens of the work.
Many obstacles have been placed in the way of the pioneers at the Madison school of a nature to discourage them and drive them from the field. These obstacles were not placed there by the Lord. In some things the finite planning and devisings of men have worked counter to the work of God.
Let us be careful, brethren, lest we counterwork and hinder the progress of others, and so delay the sending forth of the gospel message. This has been done, and this is why I am now compelled to speak so plainly. If proper aid had been given to the school enterprise at Madison, its work might now be in a far more advanced stage of development. The work at Madison has made slow advancement, and yet, in spite of the obstacles and hindrances, these workers have not failed nor become discouraged; and they have been enabled to accomplish a good work in the cause of God.
The Lord does not set limits about His workers in some lines as men are wont to set. In their work, Brethren Magan and Sutherland have been hindered unnecessarily. Means have been withheld from them because559in the organization and management of the Madison school, it was not placed under the control of the conference. But the reasons why this school was not owned and controlled by the conference have not been duly considered.
The lack of interest in this work, by some who should have valued it highly, is decidedly wrong. Our brethren must guard themselves against the repetition of such experiences.
The Lord does not require that the educational work at Madison shall be changed all about before it can receive the hearty support of our people. The work that has been done there is approved of God, and He forbids that this line of work shall be broken up. The Lord will continue to bless and sustain the workers so long as they follow His counsel.
Brethren Sutherland and Magan are as verily set to do the work of the Lord at Madison as other workers are appointed to do their part in the cause of present truth. The light given me is that we should help these brethren and their associates, who have worked beyond their strength, under great disadvantages. Let us seek to understand the situation, and see that justice and mercy are not forgotten in the distribution of funds.
The leaders in the work of the Madison school are laborers together with God. More must be done in their behalf by their brethren. The Lord’s money is to sustain them in their labors. They have a right to share the means given to the cause. They should be given a proportionate share of the means that comes in for the furtherance of the cause. June 18, 1907.
THE OAKWOOD MANUALTRAINING SCHOOL
AN APPEAL FOR ENCOURAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL AID
By ELLEN G. WHITE
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
Nashville, Tenn.
INTRODUCTORY
THE Oakwood Manual Training School for Colored is the only school in the denomination devoted exclusively to the education and training of colored young people to become workers in labor for their own race. This school has been in operation since the spring of 1894, and notwithstanding those in charge have been greatly handicapped in their efforts by the lack of
proper buildings and facilities, yet there have been sent out from the school several young men and women who are doing very acceptable work. Three of this number have been ordained to the ministry. The lack of the necessary buildings for the proper care and comfort of the students, housing of stock, and the handling and storage of the products of the farm have been a serious drawback to the successful operation of the school and farm.
Recognizing the need and the importance of better equipping this school, the General Conference Committee, at its spring session held in Washington in the month of April, voted to authorize the managers of the school to take the necessary steps to raise, by donations from our people in general, the sum of $13,000.
This means will be expended for the erection and equipping of a small sanitarium, the finishing of the school building and boy’s dormitory, the erection of a proper building for a kitchen and dining-room, a silo to preserve green food for the stock, a building to be used as a cannery to en
ble the farm manager to promptly and profitably handle the large crop of tomatoes and vegetables grown each year in the farm, and a building in which to keep sweet potatoes during the winter months.
If these facilities can be provided it will help the managers and students to help themselves, and in every way enable them to do better work. The attendance is constantly increasing, and accommodations should be provided at least one hundred students.
This school is destined to become more and more an important factor in giving the message to the millions of colored people in the South.
This little leaflet contains only a small portion of what the Testimonies have said about the Oakwood School, and the work to be done for the colored people in this field, but we trust it will be sufficient to impress upon your mind the importance and need of this school, and that you will feel not only a duty, but a privilege to cheerfully and liberally respond to this appeal for help.
THE WORK AMONG THE COLORED PEOPLE
(From article in “Review and Herald,” Sept. 21, 1900)
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I greatly desire to impress your minds with the importance of doing what you can to help forward the work for the colored people in Southern States. In this field there are thousands and thousands of negroes, many of whom are ignorant and in need of the gospel. Upon the white people of the United States the Lord has laid the burden of uplifting this race. But yet, Seventh-day Adventists have done comparatively little to help them.
There are many, many places in the South in which earnest Christian effort has been made for the colored people. These unentered fields, in their unsightly barrenness, stand before heaven as a witness against the unfaithfulness of those who have had great light. When I think of the way in which this line of work has been treated, there comes over me an intensity of feeling that words cannot express. Like the priest and the Levite, men have looked indifferently on a most pitiful picture, and have passed by on the other side. For years this has been the record. Our people have put forth only a hundredth part of the earnest effort that they should have put forth to warn the indifferent, to educate the ignorant, and to minister to the needy souls in this field. . . .
The Lord has been working with and for the tried laborers in the South. Many are preparing to put their shoulders to the wheel, to help advance the work. The cloud of darkness and despondency is rolling back, and the sunshine of God’s favor is shining upon the workers. The Lord is gracious. He will not leave the work in the South564in its present condition. The people living in this great field will yet have the privilege of hearing the last message of mercy, warning them to prepare for the great day of God which is right upon us. Now, just now, is our time to proclaim the third angel’s message to the millions living in the Southern states, who know not that the Saviour’s coming is near at hand. . . .
The Establishment of Schools
No line of work will be of more telling advantage to the colored people in the Southern field than the establishment of small schools. Hundreds of mission schools must be established; for there is no method of giving the truth to these people so effectual and economical as small schools. This line of work has been specially presented before me. But the work is almost at a standstill for lack of money to provide facilities for training teachers, for building school houses, and for paying the wages of teachers.
There are many who cannot even read the divine Word; many are slaves of superstition; and yet through divine power, these poor, ignorant beings, degraded by sin, may be saved, elevated, sanctified, ennobled. And in the Lord’s estimation every soul saved is worth more than the wealth of the whole world. Those who are ignorant must be educated; and this means much. Instead of making superabundant provision for educating a few, we should devise ways and means of helping the many who are neglected and oppressed.
So far as possible, these mission schools for colored people should be established outside the cities; but in the cities there are many children who could not attend the schools established out of the cities, and schools should be opened to them.
The colored people need simple books. They have been left in ignorance, when they should have been taught; left unconverted, when every effort possible should have been put forth to rescue and save them.
This work will require talent, and above everything else, the grace of God. The colored youth will be found far more difficult to manage than the white youth, because they have not been taught from their childhood to make the best use of their time. Many of them have had no opportunity to learn how to take care of themselves. Those who for years have been working to help the colored people know their needs; and they are the best fitted to teach colored schools for them. Colored teachers must work for colored people, under the supervision of well-qualified teachers who have the spirit of mercy and love. How important it is, then, that we place our training school at Huntsville on vantage ground, so that many may be educated to labor as teachers of their own race!
THE HUNTSVILLE SCHOOL
(From article published in “Review and Herald,” 1904.)
Monday morning, July 20, 1904, I went from Graysville to Huntsville. We found the school situated in a beautiful country place. In the school farm there are more than three hundred acres of land, a large part of which is under cultivation.
Several years ago Brother S. M. Jacobs was in charge of the farm, and under his care it made great improvement. He set out a peach and plum orchard, and other fruit trees. Brother and Sister Jacobs left Huntsville about three years ago, and since then the farm has not been so well cared for.566We see in the land promise of a much larger return than it now gives, were its managers given the help they need.
Brother Jacobs put forth most earnest, disinterested efforts, but he was not given the help that his strength demanded. Sister Jacobs also worked too hard, and when her health began to give away, they decided to leave Huntsville, and go to some place where the strain would not be so heavy. Had they then been furnished with efficient helpers, and with means to make the needed improvements, the advancement made would have given courage to Brother Jacobs, to the students, and to our people everywhere. But the means that ought to have gone to Huntsville did not go, and we see the result in the present showing.
Recently . . . instruction has been given me that this farm must not be sold; that the situation possesses many advantages for the carrying forward of a colored school. It would take years to build up in a new place the work that has been done at Huntsville. The Lord’s money was invested in the Huntsville school farm, to provide a place for the education of colored students. The General Conference gave this land to the Southern work, and the Lord has shown me what this school may become, and what those may become who go there for instruction, if his plans are followed.
In order that the school may advance as it should, money is needed, and sound, intelligent generalship. Things are to be well kept up, and the school is to give evidence that Seventh-day Adventists mean to make a success of whatever they undertake.
The facilities necessary for the success of the school must be provided. At present the facilities are very meager. A small building should be put up, in which the students can be taught how to care for one another in times567of sickness. There has been a nurse at the school to look after the students when they were sick, but no facilities have been provided. This has made the work very discouraging.
The students are to be given a training in those lines of work that will help them to be successful laborers for Christ. They are to be taught to be separate from the customs and practices of the world. They are to be taught how to present the truth for this time, and how to work with the hands and with the head to win their daily bread, that they may go forth to teach their own people. They are to be taught to appreciate the school as a place in which they are given opportunity to obtain a training for thorough service.
Wise plans are to be laid for the cultivation of the land. The students are to be given a practical education in agriculture. This education will be of inestimable value to them in their future work. Thorough work is to be done in cultivating the land, and from this the students are to learn how necessary it is to do thorough work in cultivating the garden of the heart.
The man who takes charge of the Huntsville School should know how to govern himself and how to govern others. The Bible teacher should be a man who can teach the students how to present the truths of the word of God in public, and how to do house-to-house work. The business affairs of the farm are to be wisely and carefully managed.
The teachers should constantly seek wisdom from on high, that they may be kept from making mistakes. They should give careful attention to their work, that each student may be prepared for the line of service to which he is best adapted. All are to be prepared to serve faithfully568in some capacity. Thus teachers and students are to cooperate in doing their best. The constant effort of the teachers should be to make the students see the importance of constantly rising higher and still higher.
The leading, controlling influence in the school is to be faithfulness in that which is least. Thus the students will be prepared to be faithful in greater things. Each student is to take himself in hand, and with God’s help overcome the faults that mar his character. And he is to show an earnest, unselfish interest in the welfare of the school. If he sees a loose board in a walk or a loose paling on the fence, let him at once get a hammer and nails, and make the needed repairs. Nothing in the house or about the premises is to be allowed to present a slack, dilapidated appearance. The wagons and harnesses should be properly cared for, and frequently examined and repaired. When harnesses and wagons are sent out in a dilapidated condition, human life is endangered.
These little things are of much more importance than many suppose in the education of students. Business men will notice the appearance of the wagons and harnesses, and will form their opinions accordingly. And more than this, if students are allowed to go through school with slack, shiftless habits, their education will not be worth half as much as it would be if they were taught to be faithful in all they do. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” Little things needing attention, yet left for days and weeks, until they become unsightly, teach the students lessons that will cling to them for a lifetime, greatly hindering them in their work. Such an example is demoralizing, and students whose education is after this order are not needed in the world.
Should not our God be served most faithfully? We are called upon as teachers to rise up with firm purpose of heart,569and discipline ourselves with sternness and rigor to habits of order and thoroughness. All that our hands find to do is to be well done. We have been bought with a price, even the blood of the Son of God, and all that we do is to honor and glorify our Redeemer. We are to work in partnership with Christ as verily as Christ works in partnership with the Father. We are to lay aside every weight, “and the sin that doth so easily beset,” that we may follow our Lord with full purpose of heart.
The soul suffers a great loss when duties are not faithfully performed, when habits of negligence and carelessness are allowed to rule the life. Faithfulness and unselfishness are to control all that we do. When the soul is left uncleansed, when selfish aims are allowed to control, the enemy comes in, leading the mind to carry out unholy devices and to work for selfish advantage, regardless of results.
But he who makes Christ first and last and best in everything will not work for selfish purposes. Unselfishness will be revealed in every act. The peace of Christ cannot abide in the heart of a man in whose life self is the mainspring of action. Such a one may hold the theories of truth; but unless he brings himself into harmony with the requirements of God’s word, giving up all his ambitions and desires for the will and way of Christ, he strives without purpose, for God cannot bless him. He halts between two opinions, constantly vacillating toward Christ or toward the world. It is like some one striving for the mastery, yet cumbering himself by clinging to heavy weights.
THE NEEDS OF THE HUNTSVILLE SCHOOL
(From letter written Nov. 2, 1904.)
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I would call your special attention to the needs of the Huntsville School. This school is on a farm of over three hundred acres, which was purchased by the General Conference, and given to the work for the colored people of the South. This school farm is to be made a representation of what can be done to help the colored people.
It was in the providence of God that the Huntsville School farm was purchased. It is in a good locality. Near it there are large nurseries, and in these nurseries some of the students have worked during the summer to earn money to pay their expense at the Huntsville School. Those for whom these students have worked give them a high recommendation, saying that they have accomplished more than an equal number of other hands.
The Huntsville School greatly needs additional buildings. It ought to be fitted up for the accommodation of one hundred students, to be trained as teachers of their own race. A small building, in which the students can be taught to care for the sick, should be put up near the school, and conveniences furnished.
The students are to be carefully disciplined. They are to be given a thorough education, an education that will fit them to teach others. As soon as possible they are to be prepared for service. The young men who attend school should be taught how to put up buildings and how to cultivate the soil. At present white teachers can take part in the work of this school, educating and training the students.571But soon it will be impossible for them to do this. Let us make earnest efforts to help this school to act its part now, while the way is still open. At present there are no outside opposing influences to hinder its progress.
I now ask you to give of your means for the Huntsville School. Facilities are needed there. Things about the institution are at loose ends, and should be put in proper order, that the school may be a credit to the cause it represents. . . .
I present this matter to you, my brethren and sisters, and I ask you to do what you can for the advancement of the work that a few faithful laborers are trying to do for the colored race. This work has been greatly retarded by neglect and because means sufficient to supply its needs have not been provided.
I ask you, my brethren and sisters, to do your best. . . . By willing liberality let us prepare the way for the laborers in the South to do a work of mercy for this people. I urge you in the name of the Lord to do something, and do it now. I pray that God will open your hearts, and help you to do justice to the needs of the work for the colored people.
LETTER TO A TEACHER IN HUNTSVILLE
“Elmshaven,” Sanitarium, Cal., Dec. 27, 1904.
DEAR BROTHER ——: Your letter was received and read some time ago. We rejoice with you for the precious tokens you have of the Lord’s blessing. Praise the Lord. O let us be encouraged. Let our hearts be filled with thankfulness. Continue to work earnestly and interestedly and have perfect trust in God. Do not doubt his goodness. When difficulties seem to surround you, remember572the promise that the Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him than parents are to give good gifts to their children. If God will only let his blessing rest on the workers, everything will work out to his glory, and souls will be converted. The Lord will acknowledge and bless all who walk before him in earnest, hopeful confidence. Look and live. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. He will draw near to each one who exercises faith, and labors courageously to advance the work because this is what God directs.
I am glad that you are of good courage. Our hearts should always be filled with praise and rejoicing. Truth will triumph.
“Behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but One, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
“The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?” Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.
“But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.”
This young ruler was a man of prepossessing appearance and of much outward piety. He had high capabilities, and might have been a great blessing. But Christ saw in his573character one great defect, which, unless remedied, would mar his whole life. His possessions were his idol. Unless these were given their proper place, they would rob him of eternal life. How kindly and tenderly the Saviour treated him. “If thou wilt be perfect,” he said, “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.”
The young ruler’s errand to Christ was not a pretense. He fully desired to be as Christ was. He realized the importance of gaining the future eternal life. He was not ignorant of the service that man owes to God. He was fully convinced that there is a place of happiness prepared for all who in this life obey the commands of God. He realized that in order to gain a place in the abodes of bliss, he must work out a perfect character. He thought himself an honest applicant as to what he must do in order to gain eternal life.
He was attracted and charmed by Christ’s life and his manner of teaching, and he realized that to be fitted to live eternally with God in the world to come would be a wonderful reward.
When this young man asked what he should do that he might gain eternal life, Christ answered him plainly. When he asked, “What lack I yet?” Jesus pointed out to him wherein he fell short. He failed when tested in regard to his worldly possessions. These were his idol. Distinctly and definitely Christ told him that his riches stood in the way of his gaining eternal life: “If thou wilt be perfect,” he said, “go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.” But when he heard this, “he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.” He wanted the heavenly treasure, but he wanted also the temporal advantages his riches would bring him. He desired eternal life; but he574was not willing to make the sacrifice. To give up his earthly treasure that was seen, for the heavenly treasure that was unseen, was too great a risk. He refused the offer of eternal life, and went away, and ever after the world was to receive his worship.
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”
Christ gave his life to the work of soul-saving, making it possible for human beings to return to their loyalty, and take their stand under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel.
Brother and Sister ——, be of good courage. Remember that we are deeply interested in you and your work. We want to help you to be a help to those whom you are trying to educate. I am so glad that you are not discouraged.575I am so glad, too, that the students appreciate your efforts in their behalf. I pray that there may be a little work done in Huntsville. I pray that all who shall visit the school farm may see, by the united efforts of students and teachers, that the best kind of education is being given. I pray that the farm may tell its own story of thrift and painstaking effort, that those who gave this beautiful place to the work for the colored people may rejoice with you all.
Heavenly angels are watching that farm, desiring that it may be so worked by the students, that the students themselves, under the direction of wise teachers, shall show their improvement in their characters which God desires to see.
I hope to visit the Huntsville School again some time, that I may see the result of the earnest, faithful efforts put forth on this, the Lord’s farm.
The Huntsville School
The Development and Maintenance of the Oakwood Manual Training-School, Huntsville, Alabama, for the Education of Workers to Labor among the Colored People
By Ellen G. White
“If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not He that pondereth the heart consider it? and He that keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? and shall not He render to every man according to his works?” Prov. 24:11, 12.
SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
Nashville, Tennessee
1909
The Orphanage
Sanitarium, Cal., Feb. 16, 1909.
The question has been asked if the orphanage for colored children ought to be located on the Oakwood school farm.
Long before I visited Huntsville, the Oakwood school farm was presented to me, both as it then was and as it might be in the future if wisely managed and properly cared for.
The presentation of what the place ought to be, included an orphanage and a sanitarium. I was also shown cultivated fields, gardens where vegetables were raised, and orchards bearing abundance of fruit.
Instruction was given me that the Lord would have consecrated, unselfish Christian workers connected with the Oakwood school, who would use skilfully the advantages of the Oakwood farm for the benefit of the students in the school and the children in the orphanage. These advantages were to be used wisely in helping to supply the necessities of the orphans, and in obtaining for them an education and training that would be pleasing to the Lord.
I have been instructed that for the development of the Oakwood enterprises, the very best class of workers should be secured, because a special work is to be done here in revealing what religious education will do for the orphans and the outcasts through the labors of consecrated and skilful teachers. The teachers connected with the school must bear in mind that they are dealing with the purchase of the blood of Christ, with souls who, through earnest, God-fearing labors, may become members of the Lord’s family. . . .
When this light was given me, I had never seen Huntsville. I was shown that Huntsville would be a place of special interest to those who would act their part to help the colored people.
ELLEN G. WHITE.
Our Huntsville School as a Training Center
It is cheering to know that in the Southern States of America a few faithful laborers have made a beginning here and there in giving the third angel’s message to the colored race. It is also cheering to know that among our brethren and sisters in the more favored fields of America, there are warm hearts beating in sympathy with the hearts of those who have bravely borne a burden of labor for the colored people. The Lord has been working with and for the tried laborers in the South. There has been laid a foundation that will be as enduring as eternity.
And yet, all the work that has been done is only a beginning, as it were. Our people have put forth only a small part of the earnest effort that they should have put forth to warn the indifferent, to educate the ignorant, and to minister to the needy souls in this field. God is now calling upon His people to take advance steps in the South. He is calling upon us to place in the hands of those on the ground, means sufficient to enable them to do an aggressive, quick work.
THE TRAINING OF WORKERS
For the accomplishment of the Lord’s work among the colored people in the South, we can not look wholly to white laborers. We need colored workers, O, so much! to labor for their own people everywhere, and especially in those places where it would579not be safe for white people to labor. Without delay, most decided efforts should be made to educate and train colored men and women to labor as missionaries. We must provide means for the education and training of Christian colored students in the Southern States, who, being accustomed to the climate, can work there without endangering their lives. Promising young men and young women should be educated as teachers. They should have the very best advantages. Those who make the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom, and give heed to the counsel of men of experience, can be a blessing by carrying to their own people the light of present truth. Every worker who labors in humility and in harmony with his brethren, will be a channel of light to many who are now in the darkness of ignorance and superstition.
It was for the education of Christian workers, that, in the providence of God, the General Conference purchased a beautiful farm of three hundred acres near Huntsville, Ala., and established an industrial training-school for colored students. I have often received divine instruction in regard to this institution, showing what manner of school it should be, and what those who go there as students are to become.
The students of the Huntsville school are to be given a training in many lines of service. They are to learn how to present the truth for this time to their own people. Not only are they to be taught to do public work, but they should learn also the special value of house-to-house work in soul-saving. In carrying forward work among the colored people, it580is not highly educated men, not eloquent men, who are now the most needed, but humble men who in the school of Christ have learned to be meek and lowly, and who will go forth into the highways and hedges to give the invitation, “Come; for all things are now ready.” Those who beg at midnight for loaves for hungry souls, will be greatly blessed. It is a law of heaven that as we receive, we are to impart.
In all the Lord’s arrangements, there is nothing more beautiful than His plan of giving to men and women a diversity of gifts. The church of God is made up of many vessels, both large and small. The Lord works through those who are willing to be used. He will bless them in doing the work that has brought blessing to many in the past,—the work of seeking to save souls ready to perish. There are many who have received but a limited religious and intellectual training, but God has a work for this class to do, if they will labor in humility, trusting in Him.
The Lord says, I will take illiterate men, obscure men, and move upon them by My Spirit to carry out My purposes in the work of saving souls. The last message of mercy will be given by a people who love and fear Me. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.” We should give willing, devoted men every possible encouragement to go forward and in their humble way reveal their loyalty to principle and their integrity to God. Let them visit the people at their homes, and talk and pray with the unwarned regarding the soon-coming Saviour. Let them take a personal interest in those whom they meet. Christ581took a personal interest in men and women during the days of His earthly ministry. He was a true missionary everywhere He went. His followers are to go about doing good, even as He did. By personal efforts to meet the people where they are, coarse and rough though some of these people may be, humble house-to-house missionaries and colporters may win the hearts of many to Christ. In their unpretentious way they can help a class that ministers do not reach.
MEDICAL MISSIONARY WORK.
In no place is there greater need of genuine gospel medical missionary work than among the colored people in the South. Had such a work been done for them immediately after the proclamation of freedom, their condition to-day would have been very different. Medical missionary work must be carried forward for the colored people. Sanitariums and treatment-rooms should be established in many places. These will open doors for the entrance of Bible truth.
This work will require devoted men and means, and much wise planning. Years ago we should have been training colored men and women to care for the sick. Plans should now be made to do a quick work. Let promising colored youth—young men and young women of good Christian character—be given a thorough training for this line of service. Let them be imbued with the thought that in all their work they are to proclaim the third angel’s message. Strong, intelligent, consecrated colored nurses will find a wide field of usefulness opening before them.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our example. He came to the world as the servant of mankind. He went from city to city, from village to village, teaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing the sick. Christ spent more time in healing than in teaching.
As our example, Christ linked closely together the work of healing and teaching, and in this our day they should not be separated. In our schools and sanitariums, nurses should be trained to go out as medical missionary evangelists. They should unite the teaching of the gospel of Christ with the work of healing.
The Lord has instructed us that with our training-schools there should be connected small sanitariums, that the students may have opportunity to gain a knowledge of medical missionary work. This line of work is to be brought into our schools as part of the regular instruction. Huntsville has been especially pointed out as a school in connection with which there should be facilities for thoroughly training consecrated colored youth who desire to become competent nurses and hygienic cooks. Let us rejoice that the managers of our Huntsville school are now planning to carry out this instruction without further delay. Let us help them make Huntsville a strong training center for medical missionary workers.
REDEEMING THE TIME
Let us now arise, and redeem the time. Everything in the universe calls upon those who know the truth to consecrate themselves unreservedly to the proclamation of the truth as it has been made known to583them in the third angel’s message. That which we see of the needs of the millions of colored people in the South, calls us to our duty. We are not to become dispirited and disheartened over the outlook. The Lord lives and reigns. And He expects us to do our part, by training for service and by sustaining in the field those who are best fitted to labor for the colored people. To our every effort He will add His blessing. His faithful servants in charge of the various lines of work, will be given wisdom to discern talent, and to train an army of workers to labor with courageous perseverance for their own race. There is work to be done in many hard places, and out of these places laborers are to come. The field is opening in the Southern States, and many wise, Christian colored men and women will be called to the work. The Lord now gives us the opportunity of searching out these persons, and of teaching them how to engage in the work of saving souls. When they go into the field, God will co-operate with them, and give them the victory.
Medical missionary work must be carried on among the colored people. At the Huntsville school some new buildings must be erected, one of which should be a small sanitarium. In connection with this training center, we desire to see a strong work done in preparing the colored people of the South to accomplish that which must be done for their own race. Among the most promising youth are those who should be trained to labor as canvassers, missionary nurses, hygienic cooks, teachers, Bible workers, and ministers.