p. 9 | Review and Herald, Vol. 80, No. 1. (1/6/1903)

To All Readers of the Review

By Arthur Grosvenor Daniells

I feel that some one ought to say a word at this time in behalf of our dear old friend—the Review and Herald. As I watched the flames eat their way from the rear of the building toward the front, and finally saw them leap toward the editorial rooms, I knew that the whole building with its contents was doomed.

It was painful to see great stores of material, thousands of finished books, great presses, and delicate, expensive machinery being laid waste. But when all was gone, and the walls of the great building were tumbling into the streets, upon which they had looked so many years, I said, “Thank God that the truth which created these facilities is not destroyed. It lives, and its power is sufficient to create all the new facilities required to finish this work.” And while pondering over these things, another fact cheered my heart—and that was, that the Review and Herald had not been destroyed by the fire. The building in which much of its copy had been written, the material which had given to it its bodily form, and the presses upon which it had been printed, were all destroyed, yet the Review and Herald still lives. It lives to bear its message of instruction, warning, and exhortation. It lives to tell us new plans and new ways of working to bear this message speedily to the uttermost parts of the earth. This visitor as it enters our homes this time, will bear to our people a message it has never been compelled to bear before. It will tell you that its home has been reduced to a heap of smoldering ruins, and that for a time it has taken refuge under the roofs of sympathetic friends. It will also bear to you a message of courage and good cheer.

Am I not right in saying that this visit—its first in the new year of 1903—will, in many respects, be the most impressive that it has ever made? While all will no doubt be deeply impressed and pained with the story it will tell of the disaster, may I not venture the prediction that the fact of its survival, and its future service in this cause will strike a note of gladness in every heart. It certainly seems that under the present conditions, the Review would become a dearer and more cherished friend to us all than it has ever been. This ought to be the case. In the present hour of difficulty the Board of Directors wish to make at least one earnest appeal to our people, and that is that they will rally around the Review and Herald. They feel that the loss of our building and the machinery will not prove to be such a terrible thing if our brethren and sisters will become faithful readers of the Review. We do not see that they can read this paper from week to week without being inspired with new life, and enthused with new courage. If this is done, the message for this time will hold its place in our hearts. Is it too much to affirm that the Review and Herald should be a weekly visitor to the home of every Sabbath keeper in the United States? Why should it not be? There are but few families who cannot afford to take this paper. Those who are too poor should be helped by those who are blessed with abundance.

During the last two years we have been endeavoring to make different arrangements regarding our periodicals. Many people felt that they could not afford either the time or the expense required to take and peruse all our journals. This was one reason why the Missionary Magazine was combined with the Review. It was felt that every family ought to have the matter presented in the Missionary Magazine, and it was hoped that by combining with the Review the circulation would be so much increased that the majority of our people would take it. But we are not yet satisfied with the result. We find by recent correspondence that thousands of our people in this country do not have the Review. This is a cause of regret.

The directors desire to make an earnest appeal at this time to every lover of this truth to take the Review. Will not our union and State conferences, also our ministers and church officers, take this matter up, and see that every family in the country is supplied with the paper? Now is the time to rally around this old friend, and this is the way to show practical sympathy in the disaster that has come to us. Printing establishments and business firms have telegraphed us their sympathy, and have offered anything and everything at their command for our service. We appreciate this; but it can do us little good. The greatest help that can be rendered at this time can be given by all our people rallying around the Review. It is not help of a financial character for the Review and Herald Publishing Company that we refer to. It is the help that will come to this cause for its rapid extension for which we ask. So great has been the directors’ interest in this matter, that for several weeks they have sent out thousands of copies to our people who were not taking the paper, with the hope that they would become so interested in it that they would become regular readers. But this must now cease. Our facilities for producing the paper rapidly and economically are gone. It can now be supplied to regular subscribers only, and as all the people ought to read the Review every week, all should become subscribers.

Who will respond to this proposition at once? Shall we not have the loyal and hearty support of all conference committees, ministers, tract society secretaries, and church officers? This request is so reasonable, and the results will be so blessed, that we venture to hope for a prompt and hearty response from all parts of the field. Send your orders to your church officer, tract society secretary, or to the Review and Herald Publishing Company. A. G. Daniells.

The Ministry Is Ordained of God

By Ellen G. White

Mrs. E. G. White

The Lord will work with humble men who reveal that they are ever learning, ever under the control of the Holy Spirit. Such men are not of the class represented as “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” True learners of Christ Jesus learn to a purpose, becoming more and more Christlike in word and action.

The great enemy of the church is determined to introduce among God’s people things that will create disunion and variance. The prayer for unity that Christ offered to his Father just before his suffering and death is given to impress every heart. Jesus will work with those who by earnest watchfulness and prayer are daily converted. God will surely hear the prayers of his people. He will not permit one of his praying children to be overcome by the enemy.

“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for naught; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for naught? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” These words portray the happiness and overcoming grace revealed in families where unity and peace and love abide. The Lord is honored by these peaceful homes—symbols of the purity of our heavenly home.

When professing Christians are united as one,—one with Christ in God,—they are representatives of the church of the Firstborn. Unity should ever be the element of preservation in the Christian church. Men and women are united in church capacity by a most solemn covenant with God to obey his Word, and to unite in an effort to strengthen the faith of one another.

God deals with man in accordance with his faith. Those who, having united with the church, still feel at liberty to find fault with their brethren by passing on to others some evil injury. Every time they work in this way, they place themselves on Satan’s side of the controversy, becoming channels through which he communicates darkness, creating doubt and suspicion among God’s children. Satan has many, many men and women of opportunity. If they are members of God’s church, the enemy is better served than if they made no profession of Christianity. They may go through the outward form of worship, but in word and deed they reveal the spirit of Satan, and, unless converted, will by his devices be led on and on to final ruin.

Unconverted church members may do the same things that Christians do, with altogether a different spirit and different motives. The words and acts of a Christian are a savor of life unto life; the words and acts of a hypocritical church member are a savor of death unto death.

Contention in the church is always attended with a dearth of spirituality. The Lord cannot be glorified by a contentious church. “All ye are brethren.” Cultivate the grace of God. Lift up your hearts in prayer to him for his keeping power. Avoid all contention among yourselves. Use every means within your reach to restrain the unsanctified words that are ever upon the tongue,—words that would cast a reflection upon others. Be true to one another. We are bought with a price; therefore in word and act we should glorify God.

When the members of God’s church see eye to eye, they will constantly guard the tongue, in order that they may not misuse the talent of speech. This talent is a precious gift. Let us study our words with care, and be a blessing to mankind by refusing to bring reproach upon one of our brethren by passing on to others some evil report that we may hear. If we speak evil of another, reproach will lie at our door. When we all love our neighbor as ourselves, idle, mischievous whisperings will cease. May the Lord by his converting power sanctify our talent of speech, that we may use it to his glory, and in no wise to the injury of souls.

Every watchman on the walls of Zion is under sacred obligation to watch for souls as one who must give an account. Through God’s grace he can do a work that heaven shall approve, in laboring to keep the church in unity and peace. The work of a gospel teacher is to proclaim the truth. Let him remember that he is to publish peace, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

The church should respect the gospel ministry; for it is God’s appointed means of communicating his messages to the people. Let the church members sustain the ministers in their work as ambassadors for Christ. God’s ministers open to men and women the living oracles of truth. Let no one venture to make a tirade on any minister; for it would be a tirade against Christ in the person of his messenger.

When Jesus sent forth the twelve, he “commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Christ instructed the disciples plainly not to go “into the way of the Gentiles” until they had first borne their testimony to the Jews. If the Jews refused to hear them, they were to go into new territory. The work before them was an important one. The time had come for the light of truth to be carried to the Jewish nation and to the whole world. But if those sent forth had at first worked among the Samaritans and the Gentiles, the doors of entrance to the Jews would have been closed. Afterward, the disciples were commissioned to go into all the world, and teach all nations.

Christ himself, in all his ministry, gave the Jewish nation the first opportunity to receive him as the Saviour. Upon the Jews was bestowed the honor of first hearing from the lips of Christ his message of salvation. The Lord Jesus gave a special and very wonderful gospel to the Jews. He regarded them as lost sheep, which he, as their Shepherd, came to seek and to save, gathering them out from the bypaths and the highways of sin and error, and bringing them back to his fold.

The work that the apostles were to do was clearly defined: “As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of

heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.”

An Invitation

By Weizsel

Fling wide the portals of your heart; Make it a temple, set apart From earthly use, for heaven’s employ, Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy; So shall your Sovereign enter in, And new and nobler life begin.

Redeemer, come! we open wide Our hearts to thee; here, Lord, abide! Let us thy inner presence feel, Thy grace and love in us reveal, Thy Holy Spirit guide us on, Until the glorious crown be won. —Weizsel.

The Manger and the Cross

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

E. J. Waggoner

“The old, old story is ever new, Tell me more about Jesus.”

For hundreds of years men have been talking about him, and the story of his life has been proclaimed in thousands of pulpits, and repeated in millions of homes; yet it is not worn out. It is as fresh and new as when first told, not only because man's needs are the same now as then, and because— “Some have never heard The message of salvation, From God's own holy Word;” but because, however familiar it is to us, we are always finding in it greater depths and heights than we ever dreamed of. Our intellect and understanding enlarge with our growth; but the story of Jesus and his love, which we heard as little children, has unfolded and expanded faster than our minds, so that still it must be told to us simply, “as to a little child.”

The manger and the cross are the revelation of the eternal, infinite God, with whom we never cease to be children. Even to old age and gray hairs he carries us in his arms, and soothes us with his “still, small voice,” comforting us “as one whom his mother comforteth.” The gray-haired sage is to God but the lisping infant; and he who would excel in science must come as an artless child, and listen with attentive ear to the voice of him in whom are hid “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

“Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me.” Jer. 9: 23, 24. Yet “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Gal. 6: 14. We are to glory only in the knowledge of God, and only in the cross. So we see that the cross is that which by revealing his glory, teaches us to know God; and since the announcement of the birth of Christ was “glory to God in the highest,” it is evident that the manger was identical with the cross, which is the revelation of the glory of God to man.

What is the evidence that even the professed ‘Christian world has not yet learned the full meaning of the story of the birth of Christ?—This: That it is no uncommon thing for Christians to become discouraged because of their weakness and the difficulties they have to contend with. In the birth of Christ God has shown us that there is no ground for discouragement. If we rightly read the story, we shall know without referring to Rom. 8: 35-37, that in tribulation, and distress, and persecution, and famine, and nakedness, and peril, and sword, “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

In Christ all extremes meet—the height and depth, the length and breadth. Infinite strength in absolute helplessness; eternal glory in shame and disgrace; perfect peace in raging conflict; the day-star and the sun of righteousness in the midnight darkness of sin; life springing from the pit of corruption,—all these appear in him, and inspire the believer with lively hope and courage.

No king riding in pomp at the head of victorious legions ever had such heralds as proclaimed the coming of the Prince of peace; yet when shepherds and wise men sought him, they found only a tiny, helpless infant, unconscious of the adoration which they paid him. That Babe, resting in the manger, or in its mother’s arms, careless and unconscious of the turmoil of earth, and of the plots to take its life, represents the peace which God gives his trusting children on this earth. “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him.” As safe as Jesus was from the murderous Herod, so safe from sin that crouches at the door, and from all assaults, are those who put their trust in him. “He is our peace,” and therefore we may rest in peace, not knowing nor caring to know what dangers may threaten us, or what troubles and difficulties lie in wait for us.

Jesus Christ in the manger, with the cattle for his companions, was as surely “the power of God, and the wisdom of God,” as he will be when he comes in the glory of the Father, attended by all the holy angels. He had the same angel attendants then, and was the revelation of the same glory to all who had spiritual eyesight. “The Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us, (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.”

What could be weaker than a helpless babe, made still more helpless by being bound in swaddling clothes? Yet that represented the measure of the power which he had in himself when he performed the mightiest miracles. Faint with fasting, he resisted the temptations of the devil; and by the same power he cast out devils. He said, “I can of mine own self do nothing;” it was “the fullness of the Godhead bodily” dwelling in him, and not his human flesh, that did the works. His name is “God with us,” and he is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever;” and therefore the weakness of our flesh is no bar to the manifestation of his strength in us. The power that does “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” is “the power that worketh in us.” Eph. 3: 20. The trouble is that we do not get our eyes open to know what is “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”

“That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” “For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Why walk in darkness, when Christ is “God with us,” and “in him is no darkness at all”? “The night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike” to him. From the manger in Bethlehem shine the rays that shall fill the earth with the glory of the Lord; and that coming glory will be hastened as the manger is multiplied by the repetition of the mystery of the birth of Christ in all who receive him.

Starch and Acids

There are a few things that interfere with the digestion of starches. One of them is acids; therefore nature never combines acids and starch in the same food. Starch dissolves only in an alkaline liquid. By adding acid to masticated bread, digestion entirely stops. That is the reason why acid foods should be eaten at the close of the meal after the starch has been digested.

Starch foods eaten with acids lie in the stomach, just as starch added to water would lie in the bottom of a glass, insoluble and inabsorbable. It is possible, therefore, to overeat and yet be poorly nourished. It is not the quantity that is eaten, but the quantity that is properly prepared and assimilated by the system, that benefits.

Acids of all kinds should be taken at the close of the meal. Albumen needs acid to digest it. The pepsin in the stomach acts only in the presence of acid. By eating the grain at the beginning of the meal, mingling sufficient saliva with it, the starch is digested in from five to twenty minutes. By eating the fruits at the close of the meal, after the starches are digested, they supply the extra acid which aids materially in the digestion of albumens.—Selected.

The Message in Brazil

By J. W. Westphal

J. W. Westphal

In the eight years since the work was started in Brazil, it has had a rapid growth. Brethren Stauffer and Nowlen were the first to enter the field, engaging in the canvassing work. A little later Elder Thurston came to take charge of the work; he was followed by Elder H. F. Graf and others.

Last May the Brazilian conference was organized with a membership of over eight hundred. Thus the average growth in the number of Sabbath keepers has been over one hundred a year from the beginning of the work.

Brazil is the largest of any of the South American fields, having a territory nearly equal to that of the United States, and occupying almost one half of South America, with nearly one half of the population of that continent. Of her sixteen millions or more inhabitants, there are many Europeans, principally from the countries of Southern Europe, as well as Indians, many of whom have scarcely been in touch with civilization. Only a small percent of the native Brazilians, can read or write. The public school system is crude and inefficient at best, and few can have the benefit of it. The poorer of the country folk simply eke out an existence, and seem not to have an ambition for more.

Thus far the truth has been mostly presented to the German-speaking people. The field laborers have all been Germans, with no knowledge of the Portuguese language before they came. The result is that most of our people are German speaking. However, considering the work done for the natives, there has been a good response. About one hundred and fifty are keeping the Sabbath. This shows that there is here a large and fruitful field awaiting the faithful, devoted laborers.

Reaching Brusque too late to attend the organization of the conference last May, on account of the quarantine against Argentina for the bubonic plague, it was planned for Elder Graf, the conference president, and the writer, to visit several of the Brazilian states, and hold general meetings with our brethren where such meetings could be arranged. This plan we endeavored to carry out. But to do this, one has many difficulties to meet. To reach the several points, we had to go by coast steamers. These are so uncertain and go so irregularly that we could not make appointments in advance. If we did, the brethren were almost sure to be disappointed, for we could seldom fill them. And to leave the appointment of a meeting until one is on the ground, results in a small attendance, especially in a field where appointments travel as slowly as they do here. As the result of this experience we have concluded that the next trip should be made on mules. It will be cheaper, quicker, and much more reliable.

We visited Massaranduba and Joinville in the state of Santa Catharina, Curityba in Parana, Muckery in Minas, Porto Cachoeira, Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Taquari in Rio Grande do Sul. In all these places we realized the blessing of the Lord in our work. At Muckery and Porto Cachoeira over thirty were baptized just a little before we came. At Rio de Janeiro five were baptized, at Curityba two, and at Taquari two. Several had been baptized at the conference at Brusque just before I arrived.

Practical Christianity, the nearness of the end, and the greatness and urgency of our work were dwelt upon principally. Especially did we consider the responsibility resting upon us of giving the message to the millions of Brazil. This means liberal hearts and willing hands. The brethren and sisters accept the responsibility cheerfully. But for some time they will need help. The field is a large and difficult one with but few laborers and facilities as yet to reach them. We have no books in the Portuguese language, but we have a few

small tracts, and one well-prepared monthly journal. With these only a small per cent. of the people can be reached. There should be one or more medium-sized books containing present truth that our canvassers could use, and more tracts. About three hundred dollars was raised toward a publishing fund. This is barely sufficient to issue a few tracts. The exceeding scarcity of money on account of low prices and costly transportation makes hard times in Brazil. For instance, thirty-three pounds of coffee sold for thirty-eight cents at one place where we were.

The brethren are also planning a small industrial school on a self-supporting basis in the state of Rio Grande do Sul for the training of workers. A school in Santa Catharina has already been doing good work. The results are seen principally in the number of church schools established in the conference, a most necessary thing in a country where but few have any educational advantages whatever. Canvassers have also gone into the field from the school.

The prospects for the future of the work in Brazil are bright. There are many open doors. Urgent calls are coming from many places, both from the natives and from the Germans. These are due to the work of our faithful canvassers and lay brethren. The brethren are all of good courage in the work.

The Week of Prayer in Battle Creek

By Arthur Grosvenor Daniells

The week of prayer, Bible study, and personal consecration to God for 1902 will long be remembered by many in the Battle Creek church. At the beginning of the week, the weather was quite unfavorable, and the attendance was small. It looked as though the occasion would prove very ordinary, but in this we were mistaken. For two or three weeks preceding the week of prayer, Professor Prescott, by request of the employees in the Review Office, and many in the Battle Creek church, had been conducting a series of Bible studies on the basic truths of the third angel's message. These studies, though conducted in a quiet, calm manner, made a very deep impression upon the minds of those who attended them. So when the week of prayer opened, many were prepared to respond to the Holy Spirit's leading.

The interest in the meetings during the week of prayer increased from the beginning to the close. Many sought the Lord for a new life, and for definite victory over sin. One of the most precious meetings of the week was held in the Review Office chapel, Christmas day. The attendance was not especially large, nor was the service in any way exciting, but upon some hearts a powerful impression was made. To the writer, this meeting was the beginning of a new line of thought regarding the final and glorious triumph of the third angel's message.

But the series of meetings reached a climax the last Sabbath of the week of prayer. The signal blessing of God rested upon Brother Prescott as he spoke to the church, Sabbath forenoon, on the solemn work of the judgment hour, and the preparation required to enable us to have “boldness in the day of judgment.” It was clearly shown that the hour of God's judgment has come, that the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, but that the righteous may have boldness, or confidence, in the day of judgment. At the close of the sermon, a call was given to any one who knew that he was unprepared for the test, and who desired an entire change of heart. The call was given especially to the unconverted and the backslidden. Nearly two hundred persons responded to the invitation. The majority of these were young men, youth, and children. This was a very solemn and touching occasion. Many were in tears as they saw young men and women pressing their way from the galleries, from the choir, and from the rear of the auditorium to the seats made vacant in the body of the building. Fathers and mothers and aged saints of God wept for joy.

At one o'clock the meeting was dismissed until three in the afternoon, when nearly every one of these earnest seekers for a new life returned to the seats to which they had come from different parts of the building to signify their determination to serve the Lord, and to join themselves to him and to his people. Heartfelt testimonies and earnest prayers were offered in behalf of these penitent souls, that all their sins should be wiped away, that they should become a new creation in Christ.

There was such a free spirit in the congregation, and such a strong desire on the part of all to take part in the praise service, that the large congregation easily and naturally fell into sections, so that several could bear testimony at the same time without confusion. Many of the old veterans in the cause testified that this was a revival of the experiences in the early days of the advent message. Why should not this experience be renewed? We believe that when the advent message is truly revived among this people, we shall not only have revivals of the early experiences of this people, but we shall share in larger blessings and greater manifestations of God's presence and leadership in this cause. May the Lord hasten this blessed revival. A. G. Daniells.

Basuto Mission

By J. M. Freeman

Africa

Basuto Mission.—From letters I have received from different persons throughout the country, I am glad to find that all are interested in the work here. I am thankful to be able to report that last Sabbath, November 8, we had a good meeting. Our meeting place was too small to contain the people, as many came to attend the baptismal service. In all, six persons were baptized—two aged women, one aged man, one young man, and two girls of about fourteen and seventeen years of age respectively. All these have been labored with faithfully for some time, and we believe they clearly understand what they have undertaken. Their individual testimonies giving their reasons for the step taken were all that could be desired. For various reasons, others are waiting a little longer before being baptized.

An outline of our daily work at the mission station may be of interest. We have a Bible study and prayer meeting every morning. Once a week a class is held for instructing candidates. A meeting is also held once a week for the purpose of building up, when such books as “Steps to Christ” are read to enable them to grow strong in the Christian faith. On Sabbath we have Sabbath school and other services. We have a short service at the beginning of the Sabbath, and occasionally we have a public service on Sunday. We spend an hour or two each day in teaching those who cannot attend the day school. We also have a Sunday school for Bible instruction. All these meetings are held during the daytime, as we cannot manage night meetings here. An exception to this is a little school which Brother Skopane Kalaka holds at his house at night for a few who desire to learn to read, etc. On some occasions we have been asked to take boys as boarders. We would like very much to do this, in order to have more influence over them, but we are unable to, having no accommodations. Some day we shall receive donations toward this, I hope.

Brother D. Kalaka has been going about the country in various directions, doing the best he can with the Sesuto books. Last month he was away the whole time with the cart and horses, and visited sixty-three villages and a number of ministers and teachers. He has found interesting cases in many places. I believe these trips will bear good fruit.

J. M. Freeman.

First Annual Meeting of River Plate Conference

Brother N. Z. Town writes that the first annual meeting of the River Plate Conference, which has just closed, was an excellent one. “The meeting began October 9, in the village of Humboldt, in the province of Santa Fe. There was not as large a gathering of our own people as we have had at other times, but it was much more representative. Nearly all our churches and companies were represented. There were about ninety of our own people in attendance. The village where the meeting was held is small; but there are a large number of German-Swiss colonists in the vicinity, and there was a large attendance of these. Some came more than twenty miles to the evening services. I never saw more quiet, attentive congregations. Most of the speaking was in German, translated into Spanish. The Lord blessed both in the preaching and in the translating. Brethren H. F. Graf, of Brazil, and J. W. Westphal, of Argentina, were present, and assisted in the meeting. About eight took their stand for the truth. Services are being continued in the tent, with a good interest.”

(A full report of this meeting was furnished by Brother J. W. Westphal, for this week’s issue of the Review, but it was destroyed in the fire.)

Somobula Mission, Rhodesia

By F. B. Armitage

Somobula Mission, Rhodesia.— Our work here is onward, and our courage is good. The young people are becoming interested, although they have to face many difficulties. They are made fun of by the older people. The girls especially are interested in the school, and come every chance they get, though some have been whipped for coming. A number who live near come to read in the evening as well. We are led to rejoice when we see that the Lord is leading, and by his Spirit turning the hearts of the young away from wrong to inquire after him. Our school has been doing fairly well. The attendance averages about thirty daily, and on the Sabbath about fifty. The old people do not attend the Sabbath meetings.

Mrs. Armitage is also having a sewing class, teaching the young people how to make their own clothes. She has had a large attendance.

Our two oldest boys have been a great help to us in the school work; and what is best, they seem to enjoy it, and are earnestly endeavoring to do what is right. We hope they will make two good workers.

We are all enjoying good health at present, for which we are thankful. We have long looked and hoped for other workers, but it seems they are being drawn the other way. The time was when we had to work hard to get the people to desire an education, but those days are past now. The young men come and ask to be taught. One young man came to-day from Lake Nyassa, wanting to go to school. We feel ashamed that our school is not better equipped. This young man can read and speak English very well. Such boys should have better chances than we can offer them at present. They could be made channels of light to carry the truth to their own people. Surely the Lord is opening the way for the truth to go to all the earth.

F. B. Armitage.

Wales

By A. F. Ballenger

On November 28 the Advisory Committee of the Welsh Mission held its first meeting. The council which was held in Cardiff was harmonious in its plans, and a hopeful and enthusiastic spirit was present.

It was decided to name our organized work, “The Gospel Extension Mission of the Seventh-day Adventists of Wales.” Mrs. A. F. Ballenger was chosen secretary and treasurer for the mission.

The Welsh Mission is now organized and prepared for united aggressive work. There are only forty-one members in the field, but there is room for more. Brethren Meredith and Robinson are rejoicing because of the fruit resulting from their work in Pontypridd. Thirteen have declared their decision to be obedient to the testing truth for this time, concerning the Sabbath. There are others who are interested, but how many will remain after the sitting, which usually comes a little later in the meetings, yet remains to be seen. However, an earnest effort is being made to minister life to those souls rather than the mere letter of the law. The greatest obstacle in the way of the progress of the work to-day in Wales is the spiritual weakness of the people who profess the message. We are therefore more anxious for consecrated souls than for numbers.

A. F. Ballenger.

Continue reading: Total Destruction of the Review and Herald Printing Plant