THE largest, and in many respects the most important, conference and camp-meeting ever held in Australia, was convened at Sydney, New South Wales, Oct. 15-27, 1912. Sydney is one of the largest cities in Australia, having a population of nearly seven hundred thousand. It is about the size of Boston or Baltimore. It is the capital of the state of New South Wales. Few capitals in the world can rival Sydney in natural advantages and beauty of site.
The weather throughout the camp-meeting was ideal. There were about one hundred thirty tents pitched, and these were occupied by nearly five hundred of our people. This number was doubled on both the Sabbath days by members of the churches in the surrounding suburbs coming to the camp-meeting.
With the exception of the early morning meeting, and the evening preaching service, the first three days of the meeting were devoted to the business of the conference. Following this, the time was fully occupied in devotional and evangelistic meetings, and in timely instruction for our people. From first to last the meetings were well attended, and a deep interest manifested. A spirit of unity and brotherly love pervaded the encampment, and the presence of the Holy Spirit was clearly indicated by the ready responses to calls for consecration, and also by the liberality manifested as opportunity afforded.
Elder A. H. Piper was reelected president of the conference, and Elder R. E. Burke vice-president. God's prospering hand had been seen, and each department of the conference showed a substantial gain. Plans were made for aggressive work in all departments.
A healthy spiritual life in the conference was indicated by the interest taken in the studies on the cleansing of the sanctuary, conducted by Elder J. E. Fulton, at 11 A. M. each day; in Elder J. Pallant's talks on justification by faith, daily at 3 P. M.; in the health lectures by Dr. Eulalia Richards, at 4:30 P. M.; and in the special instruction given by Elder George Teasdale and others.
The young people's meetings were under the supervision of Elder L. A. Hoopes, and Miss E. M. James, the young people's secretary of the conference. It was especially encouraging to see how the Lord worked for the young people. A number gave their hearts to the Lord for the first time. Several also who had been in a backslidden condition renewed their consecration to the Lord.
The missionary campaign meetings were very profitable, not only because of the instruction given, but because hundreds of dollars' worth of our good books, pamphlets, tracts, and periodicals were purchased by our people with which to do missionary work.
The union conference members present were Elders Fulton, Teasdale, Hoopes, and Pallant, Brethren Johanson and Hodgkison, Dr. Eulalia Richards, and the writer.
About fifteen hundred dollars was given in pledges and offerings for home and foreign mission work.
The Lord came very near to his people on the two Sabbath days of the meeting, and the heavenly presence of the Holy Spirit was felt. Hundreds came forward for prayers, over one hundred of these13for the first time. Many fathers and mothers were blessed of God as they led their children to the penitent-seat. Children were seen pleading with parents, and it was very encouraging to observe some young people come forward, then return to plead with and bring some one else with them. Ninety gave in their names for baptism, eighty-two of whom were buried with their Lord in this sacred rite the last day of the meeting. This is the largest number ever baptized at one time in Australia.
From first to last the meeting was a feast of good things, of which those in attendance freely partook; and all returned to their homes refreshed and strengthened, with a stronger determination to let their light shine in clear steady rays during the year to come, that others who know not this truth which we have learned to know and love may be attracted to it.
The Deathless Names
By Arthur W. Spaulding
ARTHUR W. SPAULDING
Nor with the flaunt of banner,
Not with the roll of drum,
Not with the blare of martial air,
The cross's heroes come;
Not with the trumpet's music,
But with clank of captive's chain,
And the martyr's pyre for the welcoming fire
That greets the conqueror's train.
Graved on their marble tablets,
Earth's lists of heroes stand,
Whose pride and hate, in church and state,
Have harried and crushed the land.
Cold is the hand of warrior,
Cruel the heart of priest,
And the weight of woe their victims know
Has age by age increased.
But healing the wounds of battle,
Transmuting the dungeon's sigh,
The foes of strife bring God's own life
Unto the souls that die.
Soft as the dews of evening,
Light as the zephyr's breath,
They bring a peace that shall never cease
Into the fields of death.
These are the cross's heroes,
These the legion of God,
Whose high emprise the flaming skies
Shall blazon to realms untrod.
Not with the world's brief plaudits,
Not with the tongue of time,
But the names of the meek shall the angels speak
In eternity's tones sublime.
Hendersonville, N. C.
Among the Indians in Peru
FROM a private letter we glean a few words of general interest concerning the work Brother and Sister F. A. Stahl are doing among the Indians in Peru:—
"The work is ever onward here. We have more work than we can do, and for this I am glad. The building work is going forward, and I am anxious to move into the mission home, as this hut is altogether too cold for health. The latest thing I contracted was congestion of the ears, because of the wind's blowing into the room at night. Almost every night we have high winds from eight o'clock until two in the morning.
"The people have every confidence in our work now, and it does one good to see them come in with trust and faith. I have divided the Sabbath-school into four classes. Brother Camacho has about fifty in his class, Brother Huanka the same number, while Brother Champe and I, with Brother Miranda, divide a hundred. I can not divide into any more classes at present because no more can read Spanish. You see we have the two languages to deal with all the time. Only about two per cent can understand Spanish, and only one per cent can read; so we get along the best we can. The teacher must be able to read the Spanish lesson."
Stanborough Park Sanitarium
By C. H. Hayton, M. D.
THE latest addition to the sanitarium system is situated in the beautiful woodland district of Hertfordshire, England. It is located just outside the town limits of Watford, on the L. N. W. Railway, about seventeen miles from London.
The Stanborough Park estate, upon which the sanitarium stands, comprises about seventy-five acres of choice country land, divided into meadows and woodlands, having a frontage of nearly one-half mile upon the picturesque St. Albans Road.
Upon the estate, besides the sanitarium, the International Health Association has its plant, where many kinds of health foods are manufactured. The British Publishing House also has its buildings and machinery, where all the literature for the English field is printed. On a prominent part of the estate stands the college, where the young people are educated for the work. The proximity of all these institutions to one another makes Stanborough Park exceptionally advantageous as an educational center.
The sanitarium is four stories high, and was at one time, with the beautiful grounds surrounding it, one of the "stately mansions of old England." Wings have been added and alterations made so that now it is a modern, up-to-date, fully equipped sanitarium, comfortably accommodating about thirty patients.
OUR INSTITUTIONS AT STANBOROUGH PARK, WATFORD, ENGLAND
The first floor contains the dining-room, kitchen, medical office, and electrical treatment-rooms, gymnasium, drawing-room, and the spacious bathroom. The second floor is devoted to patients' rooms, and also contains the surgical ward and operating-rooms, business office, and the solarium. The upper floors are also devoted to patients' rooms.
The building is fully heated with a hot-water system, and each room contains also an open grate. The English people are very fond of the open fireplace. It adds to the comfort and cheerfulness of the room, besides being an excellent ventilator. The rooms are plainly yet tastefully furnished. Every article of furniture and bedding is new, and with the polished oak floors and rugs the rooms look very neat and hygienic.
The sanitarium is much indebted for such a commodious, well-equipped, and beautiful building to the long and valuable experience of W. C. Sisley, chairman of the board; to the sister institution at Caterham, England, for the financial assistance rendered in securing the equipment; and to the liberality of the brethren throughout the field.
Beautiful gardens and lawns surround the institution, upon which are growing some fine old specimens of pine-trees. The patients find great comfort and rest on pleasant days in the many shaded, natural nooks to be found in and about the grounds. The sanitarium employs a gardener, who raises many of the vegetables and fruits used upon the tables. A fine herd of cattle supplies plenty of good fresh milk and cream, while numberless fowls keep the institution supplied with eggs.
The staff consists of the medical superintendent; Mrs. R. Meyers (formerly Miss R. Hibbel, of Australia), as head nurse and matron; Mr. W. Meyers, as steward; Mr. and Mrs. Sallee, of Gland, Switzerland, as bath-room nurses; and Miss Barras, a graduate nurse from the Caterham Sanitarium, together with a fine class of twelve young persons in training.
The institution was formally opened and dedicated by appropriate ceremonies on July 3, 1912. Over one thousand invitations and prospectuses had been sent out to different parts of the kingdom. A goodly number of guests and invited friends assembled on the day appointed. Elder W. J. Fitzgerald, president of the British Union Conference, acted as chairman. Elder S. G. Haughey, of the South England Conference, offered the dedicatory prayer. Dr. A. B. Olsen, of the Caterham Sanitarium, gave a very interesting and appropriate address on the "Origin of the Sanitarium System." The college students rendered some excellent music. Refreshments were served upon the beautiful lawn, after which the building was thrown open to the public.
Patients began to arrive soon after the opening. First one table in the dining-room was filled, then another, and another, until four tables, seating twenty-four, were all occupied. We all felt this a remarkable token of God's approbation of the work.
The brethren and sisters in England have prayed long and earnestly that God would bless this new addition to the promulgation of the third angel's message in this field, and to see a goodly number of patients so quickly occupying the building was indeed gratifying to their hearts.
At the present time the institution enjoys a fair patronage, and nurses and helpers are united in seeking God's blessing and favor that success may attend this branch of God's cause in the British field.
Using Time Wisely
"MANY persons take no care of their money till they have come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time. Their best days they throw away, let them run like sand through their fingers, as long as they think they have an almost countless number of them to spend; but when they find their days flowing rapidly away, so that at last they have a very few left, then they will at once make a very wise use of them; but unluckily, they have by that time no notion of how to do it."
Teaching Truthfulness
By Mrs. B. P. Foote
MRS. B. P. FOOTE
MANY parents do not realize the great responsibility that rests upon them in teaching truthfulness. Very small children have a strong sense of justice, and it does not take them long to learn who can be trusted to tell the truth, and who can not.
The mother of a very bright little girl about two and one-half years of age was visiting at the home of her sister. In passing through the kitchen, the mother took a taste of some dessert that was being prepared for dinner, and, on noticing her little girl coming in, she quickly took a piece of cracker, planning to deceive the little one. The child asked, "Mama, what are you eating?" The mother replied, "I am eating a piece of cracker." The little girl, looking rather disgustedly at her, walked into the next room and said to her aunt, "My mama's a liar. She told me she was just eating a piece of cracker, and she was eating some cake." This is only one of many similar deceptions. That same mother punished that dear little girl one day for telling a lie, while she herself was constantly setting the example.
Some parents say, "O, just tell them anything to keep them quiet! They don't know the difference." But the little ones generally know more than they are given credit for, and a few such mistakes on the part of the parents may do irreparable harm to the plastic minds.
It is very important that no promises nor threats be made which can not be, or are not likely to be, carried out. Children (some of them, at least) are very venturesome, and continue a disobedient course just for the purpose of finding out whether or not the parents will do what they said they would.
A woman and her little four-year-old grandson were sitting near a lumber-yard, waiting for a car. As the little boy was very bright and ambitious, he was not so quiet as his grandmother thought he should be, and she finally said, "Now, see here, if you don't behave, a big black man will come out of that lumber-yard and take you away with him." The little boy was evidently used to such tales, for he paid little attention to it until a few minutes later, when he saw a man coming out of the lumber-yard. Then he said, unconcernedly, "Is that the man you meant, grandmother? Here he comes now." He watched the man until he was out of sight, and then went on playing as usual.
Our little girl, though she is not quite three years old, usually knows whether or not persons who are speaking with her are telling the truth. For instance, we have noticed that when people tell her, in fun, things which are not true, she does not answer them. Later, when we ask her why she did not answer them, she tells us that it was because what they said was not true.
Some mothers say, when a child asks for some delicacy which they do not want it to have at that time, "It's all gone," when they positively know there is more. One mother, on being asked why she told the child that, replied: "O, I don't want her to have any now, and if I tell her it's all gone, she won't tease for it." Others say it isn't telling an untruth when you do it to keep peace. I am prone to believe there is too much of this kind of peacemaking in the world. What is not the truth is an untruth, no matter when, where, or why it is told; and the Bible speaks very plainly about those who tell untruths. It seems to me that more harm is done by telling lies to innocent, confiding children than by telling them to older persons, who are better able to reason for themselves.
Let us, as parents, sense our responsibilities, and realize more fully what truthfulness means to the tender little souls entrusted to our care and guidance.
Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Noon-Hour Prayer
By Editor
"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends."
PRAYER has been called "the passageway from spiritual thirst to spiritual refreshing." Our Father has promised to send "showers of blessing" upon his waiting people, and he is anxious to fulfil this promise to each individual who will claim it in perfect faith. There may be obstacles in your life which seem to mean absolute failure in the accomplishment of God's highest purpose for you. You have determined to overcome these obstacles. You are anxious that they shall be taken out of your life. You have worried and toiled and have so far failed in your purpose. Perhaps despair is beginning to settle upon you, and hope is fading from your life because all your doing has been of no avail.
Dear friend, why not try the asking and believing, which brings all the resources of heaven to your assistance? Begin to live the prayer life. Pray and believe, and God will soften hearts which all your doing could never touch; "pray, and he will heal that cruel estrangement which is slowly crushing you; pray, and he will meet your needs, both temporal and spiritual; pray, and he will weave all the tangled threads of your life, which seem beyond hope of disentanglement, into the single golden strand of his great purpose for you; pray, and he will work changes unthought of, and bring providences undreamed of; pray, and he will overturn and overturn, until darkness changes to light, bondage to liberty, bridgeless chasms to safe highways, granite walls to webs of gossamer, because a miracle-working God has fulfilled his promise. If ye ask, I will do."
Requests for Prayer
1. A brother writes in behalf of his wife, who is suffering with her eyes. He asks us to pray that if it is God's will she may not lose her sight.
2. Writing from Tennessee, a sister requests prayer for the conversion of her children; and for herself, that she may be restored to health and enabled to overcome a hasty temper.
3. A sister in Montana desires that prayer be offered for the conversion of her husband and two sons.
4. "I ask God's people to pray that my husband may accept this truth, and that my youngest son, who is only a nominal Seventh-day Adventist, may be truly converted. I have been in poor health for a number of years, and desire healing if it is God's will to restore me," writes an anxious sister.
5. From California a sister sends the request that we pray for the conversion of her adopted daughter, who was once an earnest Christian, but has given up all for the world.
6. We have another request from California. A burdened wife and mother writes: "Please pray for the healing of my husband, and for the conversion of my two sons."
7. An aged brother and sister in Washington, who accepted this message late in life, after their children were grown, ask our united prayers that their five sons and five daughters may be led to obey the truth of God.
8. Pray the merciful Heavenly Father to come especially near the members of an afflicted family in Ontario. Two sons and a daughter are unconverted. Another daughter, who is attending one of our academies, can not continue her work much longer unless her parents are able to dispose of their home in South Dakota. They are very anxious that this property be sold so that she may be trained for a place in this closing work. The wife's father, step-mother, and sister are mentally unbalanced.
9. An anxious mother requests that prayer be offered for the restoration of her daughter, who has been obliged to leave school because of poor health. She also asks that we pray for her husband, who is interested in the truth, but lacks the courage to take his stand with this people.
10. An earnest plea comes from a father in Maryland whose thirteen-year-old son was influenced to leave home some weeks ago. He has returned, but15seems to be under the power of the adversary. Let us pray that he may be delivered. This brother also asks prayer for the healing of the deacon in their little church.
11. A sister writing from Oklahoma requests that we pray for the conversion of her brother and sister.
12. A brother residing in Nova Scotia, who is suffering from neurasthenia, asks that prayer be offered for his healing.
13. A request comes from Iowa in behalf of a blind sister who has recently suffered a stroke of paralysis, and is unable to help herself. Her husband is also blind, and the friend who writes asks us to pray that this sister may recover from the paralytic shock.
14. A Michigan sister asks: "Please join with me in praying for the conversion of my husband, mother, three sisters, two brothers and their families, and a friend."
15. From the same State (Michigan) a brother writes desiring prayer in behalf of his mother, who is an invalid, and for the healing of an aged lady friend whom the doctors have given up to die.
16. A Texas sister asks us to pray for her backslidden husband, that he may again take a firm stand for the truth, and use his means in helping to spread the message of a soon-coming Saviour.
17. A Montana friend requests our prayers that she may overcome certain faults that hinder her from being a good home-maker.
Press Bureau Work
By Walter L. Burgan
THAT our brethren are appreciating more and more the importance of publishing our message and the progress of the denomination in a more systematic manner through the newspapers, is evident from the fact that three of the union conferences have established press bureaus. Although the Press Bureau of the General Conference did not begin operations until one year ago, five of the union conferences and one State conference now have press bureaus, which will add considerable strength as well as dignity to the campaign now being carried on through the powerful agency of the secular press.
The three latest union conferences to add press bureaus to their work are the Southern, Atlantic, and Canadian. These bureaus will furnish news about events that occur in their respective territories, and will also cooperate with the General Conference department in the distribution of articles of a general nature. The other union conferences should also have their own press representatives who will furnish accounts about our work to the newspapers in their territory, and thus keep the Seventh-day Adventists before the eyes of the world, and arouse inquiry as to what they teach and the work they are doing.
Surely the time has come when the last message of salvation is to be speedily heralded to the ends of the earth; and the Lord just as surely wants his people, especially the ministers, to use the columns of the newspaper, the only agent that can carry the precious words of truth into every home.
Listen to a letter from one of the brethren in South Dakota, who also sent clippings from his home paper containing articles on "Capital and Labor" and "The Eastern Question:"—
"The editor told me the last time I was in his office that the story (on the Eastern question) was the principal topic in one of the hotels, and among other prominent people in the city. I pray that our people generally may see and use this mighty 'pulpit,' as Martin Luther called it, to carry the third angel's message."
A brother in Michigan writes:—
"The article has appeared in the Gazette. The editor seemed much pleased with it, and expressed the wish to have others. I intend to hand in what I have on the Sabbath."
A letter from Iowa gives us encouragement. It reads as follows:—
"Your article on the Eastern question came just the day before I spoke on the subject, and brought good results. The editor seemed glad for the article."
The editors in one of the large cities of Kentucky appreciate the value of Seventh-day Adventist news, as indicated in the following letter:—
"I take pleasure in sending you a paper with your full article in it. These papers are very kind to us, and have printed everything I have furnished them, and always give us a good position."
Many other interesting letters telling of the willingness of editors to publish accounts from our brethren have been received. The press work is moving forward at a rapid rate, and our brethren ought to take fresh courage each day when they see the extensive publicity we are obtaining through the newspaper columns.
WALTER L. BURGAN.
Virginia
By Anna C. Rice
LYNCHBURG.—The past month has been a very busy one. On the eighteenth of October a woman came for me, telling me that a neighbor had been very sick since Thursday, and that three doctors had given her up, saying she could not live an hour. She desired me to go and see if I could do anything for her. I went, and found her in a dying condition, and all the doctors said to me, "It is no use for you to try to do anything;" but I immediately gave her treatments that I thought would relieve the vomiting, which had not stopped for three days and nights. Within an hour it stopped. I gave her some simple remedies to relieve other conditions, although the doctors said it would be impossible to relieve them. I stayed with her until late that night, and spent most of the next day with her, and by night she was able to take a little milk. I was there the next day until late in the afternoon,16when she seemed out of danger. I then went to give a reading, and to hold a
cottage meeting at night. While I was gone neighbors did things for her that should not have been done, and she was apparently much worse again. I went to her, staying until midnight, when she seemed comfortable, then I went home. Her husband came for me again at three o'clock in the morning, and I went, and was able again to relieve her. She continued to improve, and is now well. The doctors have come to me to find out what I did. They can not understand why the woman did not die. The Lord surely added his blessing.
There is a great deal of sickness here. By going and calling on the sick, doing a little for them, and helping them to know what to do, then having prayer with them, many doors are opening before me. I have all and more than I can do. I shall strive to be faithful, and leave the results with God.
Different ones are coming to me and telling me that the bitter feelings against our people are being broken down.
ANNA C. RICE.
Bounden
By Pearl Waggoner
O YE waters, wild and proud,
With your thunderings deep and loud
As ye rise and toss and break upon the beach,
Though ye seek, ye seek in vain,
To the sand-hills to attain,
For your present bounds ye ne'er can overreach.
In the hollow of God's hand,
Servants to his just command,
Lo, thy angry, boist'rous waves shall ever be;
They may beat against the shore,
Yet are bounden evermore
By his powerful and unchangeable decree.
So life's billows as they break
At our feet, and threatenings make,
As though fain our hope and faith to overthrow,
Still are holden by that hand,
Subject to the same command
Which says, "Hitherto, nor farther shall ye go."
Hinsdale, Ill.
Mother and Son
By Jane Calhoun
ALWAYS I was conscious that I must keep my boys close to me. I knew the time would come when my authority could not be enforced. Then only love could bend them to my wishes and judgment. So I sought for nearness and mutual understanding. From the first, they knew I would tell them the truth and never refuse to answer a direct inquiry. When they brought me the physiological questions which are bound to enter the life of the growing child, I answered them simply and clearly. I made nothing common or unclean. Life was pure and sacred; and if there was anything they did not comprehend, they turned to me for the clear truth, secure that they would get it.
It was not only seriousness we shared. Fun of all sorts, outings, jollifications for birthdays and holidays, vacations in the open, all these we had together, and I learned much of games and sports which had been a sealed book to me even in my youth. But a familiar story it had to become to me if my boys and I were to be truly "intimate friends."—Jane Calhoun, in Harper's Bazaar.
Let No Man Despair of Himself
By Dr. W. L. Watkinson
LET no man despair of himself. We may be sepulchers full of dead powers; but Christ is the resurrection and the life, to make us shrines full of living, seeing, soaring, rejoicing thoughts and passions.—Dr. W. L. Watkinson.
Prayer
PRAYER is the key that unlocks heaven.
E. W. SNYDER
By E. W. Snyder
From Cuba to Southern California
August 13 my wife and I sailed from Havana to return to the States in order to recuperate our health, which was much run down from a residence of nearly seven years in the tropics and about twenty years in Spanish mission fields. It was with regret that we left our Cuban believers, to whom we were bound by the ties of this message.
We have now spent three months in visiting our friends, some of whom we had not seen for many years; and we are glad to say that we both feel much rested, and are looking forward with hope and good cheer to our work among the Mexicans in our new field, Southern California.
It has been truthfully said that the best assurance of the success of the third angel's message in a new field is its reception in the hearts of the people. Of this our Cuban believers have given evidence. In January, 1911, a colporteurs' society was organized in the Havana church, which held regular weekly meetings. During the year from four hundred to seven hundred copies of our Spanish papers were sold in the city, and by this means the workers found interested families, some of whom invited us to hold cottage meetings in their homes. Through this method of work, with the Lord's blessing, the church was built up, and we were glad to leave a company of about forty members, who by their tithes and offerings have nearly supported the Cuban laborers who assisted us.
Outside of Havana and its vicinity the message has witnesses in Cabanas, Pinar del Rio Province, where Brother and Sister S. H. Carnahan are laboring efficiently in the school work; also at Minas, Camaguey Province, where there is a company of about a dozen Cubans obedient to the truth. The light here had been kindled by Brethren Holmes and Franz, who are working under the auspices of the Madison (Tenn.) school. A good beginning in self-supporting school work has also been made by Brother and Sister J. C. Anderson, of Las Tunas, Oriente Province.
With a church organized for work in Havana, a school work established in three provinces, and a corps of American colporteurs whose orders amounted to over $1,600 in June, we believe that the work of God in this needy field will be ever onward.
We are now on our journey to Southern California, and would ask the prayers of all of like precious faith in behalf of our work for the Mexican people of that field.
E. W. SNYDER
General Meetings
By R. A. Underwood
As recommended by the General Conference Council, I have spent the last three months laboring in the Columbia Union Conference. In company with Elder B. F. Kneeland and others, I attended meetings in the West Pennsylvania Conference, at Erie, Corry, North Warren, Altoona, Huntington, Johnstown, and Pittsburgh. In company with Elders H. M. J. Richards and R. E. Harter, I attended general meetings in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, at Philadelphia, Reading, Fleetwood, Allentown, Fairhill, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Lake Ariel, Hawley, and Sayre. These meetings were seasons of spiritual refreshing to our people, and I trust a blessing to the public in a number of places. It was a pleasure to meet old friends and to form many new acquaintances. Various lines of missionary endeavor, both at home and abroad, were brought to the attention of the believers. The evening services were devoted largely to the presentation of current events as marked signs of the end. Many renewed their consecration to the cause of Christ, and some began the Christian life for the first time. Over one thousand dollars in cash and pledges was donated for the Mount Vernon College.
I had expected to visit Williamsport and other places in Eastern Pennsylvania, but I was called to be with the students of Mount Vernon College the latter part of the week of prayer; hence failed to go to some churches I had expected to visit. Reaching Mount Vernon on Tuesday, I found that Elder W. A. Spicer was about to leave. There was an excellent spirit in all the meetings. This continued and deepened till the close of the week. Many renewed their consecration to God and his work, and a number made a start in the service of God for the first time. Elder Harter was with us on the last Sabbath, and assisted in the service. He also spoke on the Eastern question the evening after the Sabbath in the college, and in the city on the following Wednesday evening. The Annual Offering on the Sabbath was over two hundred fifty dollars.
Monday evening, December 16, the college gave a musical entertainment. A chorus of forty voices rendered the cantata of "Saul," led by Miss Grace Taylor. The recital was in perfect keeping with the spiritual influences that had made deep impressions upon many hearts during the week of prayer, and also showed that excellent work is being done in the musical department of the college. I was much pleased with what I saw of the college work, and glad to see a large number of earnest young people preparing to enter some branch of the Master's work. R. A. UNDERWOOD.
Jamaica
By H. Louie Mignott
AFTER the sixth session of the West Caribbean Conference I was asked to take up work in Jamaica. After arriving here in March, I was sent out by the conference committee to labor in the parish of Clarendon. Of recent years this parish, as well as many others in this vicinity, has suffered terribly from drought. The vegetation is withered. Rivers and ponds are dried up. Men, as well as herds of cattle, are perplexed, because in many places there is neither water nor pasture. The situation is grave. I am forcibly reminded of the terrible prophetic pictures which Inspiration presents to us of the time that is just before us, when the animal and vegetable kingdoms will suffer from the scorching rays of the sun. Isa. 42:15; Rev. 16:8, 9; Joel 1:17-20.
It is going from mouth to mouth throughout this parish that Seventh-day Adventists are the cause of the drought, because they will not keep Sunday, but labor on that day. One evening, while on my way to prayer-meeting, I met three persons quarreling about the dry weather. They told me that our people were the cause of the drought, because they were working on Sunday.
I have had the pleasure of lecturing at different places to large audiences on17the judgment, the second advent of Christ, the signs of the times, and also explaining to them from the Word of God the cause of the drought. These lectures have greatly impressed the minds of the hearers, who go away feeling better and thinking differently. Recently there have been falling in upper and middle Clarendon very heavy showers, and vegetation has resumed its normal functions, and there is general rejoicing.
From a human viewpoint, this is supposed to be a very hard field, but from the Lord's, it is not. For he declares: "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?" Jer. 32:27. If we trust him to work in us and for us, no place can be hard for us.
My work here is of a twofold nature, — laboring among the churches, and working on the unfinished church buildings to bring them to completion. There were five such buildings, but since coming here we have been able to finish one, which was dedicated on August 4. Elder D. E. Wellman, president of our conference, who was present, gave a most stirring and heartfelt discourse to a crowded house, who listened with rapt attention. The night after, he gave a very profitable and instructive stereopticon lecture on our denominational work throughout the world, which enabled the audience to see the work in which we are actively engaged. This building cost seventy-three pounds, being dedicated free from debt. Plans have been laid for the speedy finishing of the four other buildings.
The spiritual side of the work is advancing. The outlook is very encouraging. I am of good courage in the Lord, and enjoy my work here. To the Lord be the honor, praise, and glory.
