Essential Qualifications and Preparation for Mission Work
By W. S. Hyatt
Having been in this field [South Africa] for a few years, and having been privileged to come in contact with native mission work and workers, I am led to feel my incompetency to write on the above subject, and I confess to a shrinking from the task. But realizing that the subject is not understood as it should be, I venture a few thoughts, which I hope may be supplemented by others, and thus the subject receive such consideration as will awaken thought on the part of the members of this conference.
In the home land there is an enthusiasm connected with going to the mission fields very much like that of joining the volunteers and going to the front. In many instances the individual has not counted the cost, because he has so little knowledge of the actual work and sacrifice that will be required of him. Zeal and enthusiasm are good, and are necessary to success in the mission field; but before the individual is appointed to such work, he ought to give evidence that he knows how to sacrifice and practise self-denial, and that he is not a slave to whims or pet notions; that he can adapt himself to existing conditions quite unlike those to which he has been accustomed.
In order that an individual may become a missionary to the heathen he must have the spirit of labor and sacrifice at home. The missionary's life is filled with sacrifice and unceasing toil for those about him; therefore the mission field is no place for those who love their ease. It requires a literal giving of our lives for those who, as a rule, are ungrateful and unappreciative. The missionary who does not love self-denial will chafe and worry when placed in the mission field. The one who has always been accustomed to have every desire indulged and every longing of the appetite gratified will find the mission station a hard place in which to live, and more than likely he will do considerable complaining at his lot. The kinds of food we have eaten at home are difficult, and sometimes quite impossible, to be obtained. But God has so arranged it that each country, as a rule, will produce that which is best adapted to our needs in that field.
Therefore, the missionary who will love his work and be contented must be able, with a cheerful heart, to adapt himself to the existing conditions. The one who has the power and willingness to adapt himself to his new surroundings will soon find himself quite at home among the people, and will really enjoy the work, though it may be wearing and require self-denial. We can do the work if “the love of Christ constraineth us.”
The majority of the people at home suppose that the heathen are ready to give up their long-established customs and accept Christianity, and not infrequently the missionary reaches the heathen lands with the same ideas, only to be terribly disappointed. The work is frequently begun by a worker who is filled with zeal, but with little or no knowledge of the people or their customs, and, after spending a long time among the people, he is awakened to the fact that the native has his ideas and ways of viewing matters which are usually quite the opposite of his own; and he discovers that many costly mistakes have been made that might have been avoided had he properly understood the people for whom he was laboring.
The “all-round education,” which is usually recommended to candidates for mission fields, is good, and should be possessed as far as it is possible to be obtained; but it is not everything. Every phase of this “all-round” training is needed in the mission field, but it is not absolutely essential to success. Please consider the following quotation taken from the book “Education:”—
“In the closing work of the gospel there is a vast field to be occupied; and, more than ever before, the work is to enlist helpers from the common people. Both the young and those older in years will be called from the field, from the vineyard, and from the workshop, and sent forth by the Master to give his message. Many of these have had little opportunity for education; but Christ sees in them qualifications that will enable them to fulfil his purpose. . . . The burden for these needy ones in the rough places of the earth, Christ lays upon those who can feel for the ignorant and for such as are out of the way. He will be present to help those whose hearts are susceptible to pity, though25their hands may be rough and unskilled.”
The last two sentences express the thought that I have in mind. Whosoever becomes a successful worker for the native must be one who can “feel” for him in his deplorable condition, and whose heart is filled with “pity” and love for his unfortunate brother. The greater the advantages the missionary may have had the better, providing he retains the spirit of the Master to “feel for the ignorant,” and to pity and love him in spite of his unlovable condition. There are good men who love and fear God who find it next to impossible to reach the native because they can not come close to him with this heartfelt sympathy.
We have all noticed that a little child can distinguish between the caresses of those who love it and those who do not. Just so it is with the native. It takes him but a short time to read the missionary, and be able to distinguish between those who feel for him and those who do not. It is a very difficult task for any man who has always known the native as a servant and himself as master to ever get rid of this idea, and come to him only as a missionary who loves his soul; but this must be done if he ever succeeds in gaining the confidence of the native. In other words, the native does not believe that every man who comes to labor for him has only his good in view, and he often suspects that other motives prompt the action; and, I am sorry to say, he sometimes has reason for so thinking.
The man who must provide the material for the mission buildings and build them; the man who must go into the forest and hew out the timber with which to build and repair; the man who must go into a country and with very few resources be able to build up a work and make it prosper financially; the man who is expected to heal the sick and cure all kinds of loathsome disease; the man who is to go to the heathen, gain his confidence and lead him to Christ, must be an all-round man,—a man who is taught of God. Such a man is the better fitted if he has a college education, but he must be under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and it is wonderful what this teacher can and will do for those who are susceptible of his influence. In “Great Controversy” we read these words: “The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of his Spirit than by the training of literary institutions.” The training in the sciences is good and necessary, but the Holy Spirit’s training must be had.
I am of the opinion that to place a man in charge of a native mission who knows nothing about the native and his ways is a very expensive experiment. At the very least this worker should have one year’s training in the field under an old, successful worker. Before the burdens of a mission are placed upon the shoulders of a man, he needs an experience that can be gained only by coming in contact with the native, and this, in my humble opinion, should be with a man who has gained this experience. During this year’s training he may or he may not learn the language; but, one thing he is learning, and that is to know how to meet and to deal with the native. This privilege should be granted to every one who is to take up this work. As a rule, the work of a mission will be further advanced and on a better foundation at the end of three years if the new man, who is to take charge, should spend one year at an old established mission. It is very easy to make a mistake, and lose the confidence of the natives, and gain their prejudice instead of their favor. When once this is done, it will take years of hard labor to overcome the prejudice in the native mind. We can not afford these mistakes at such a time as this, when the end is near, and we have but a little while in which to complete the work. Every reasonable precaution should be taken not to rush blindly into the work in our enthusiasm, only to have our eyes opened later on to see mistakes that are difficult to be remedied.
With scarcely an exception, every new man who comes to this country has very erroneous ideas of the people and methods of work among them; but he thinks that he knows what is best. It will be only a matter of time until he, like Mackay, of Uganda, will be found trying a “radically new plan.” Every old missionary present will understand what I mean; for the most of us have had to pass through this unfortunate experience.
Summary
To get my thoughts before you in a few words I will briefly review the subject. The essential qualifications and preparation for mission work are:—
A good education.
A knowledge of the soil and how to till it.
It is almost indispensable to the missionary that he should know something about carpentry and masonry, with at least a little knowledge of blacksmithing.
A knowledge of how to treat the common diseases that we are likely to meet every day.
Some knowledge of the people and their ways, and how to labor for them before taking heavy responsibilities.
A good supply of “gumption.”
A willing spirit to sacrifice and practise self-denial.
A kind, loving heart that can feel for the needy.
Above all, to “be filled with the Spirit.”
W. S. HYATT.
Young Men to the Front
By John Lipke
(Concluded)
Those persons who wish to have an easy time, to live in ease and comfort, we can not use in foreign fields. Students who do not amount to much at home, who waver from one thing to another, who are not deeply in earnest about their missionary work, had better stay at home. If in your school you build daily the character of Jesus, and decide to go out to foreign fields, you will be a power, and in the power of God go from victory to victory, and nothing can hinder your progress in the work. I have read of the bravery of soldiers in battle, and tears came into my eyes when I thought how ready they were to sacrifice their lives for their country. How much more willing we ought to be to lay down our lives to work for the salvation of our fellow men.
I bring to your mind again the words of Livingstone, found at the beginning of this article. He was a valiant soldier of the cross. He worked alone in dark Africa, and no one was with him to encourage or praise him. Faithfully he labored until he fell at his post. So you, my brother, my sister, may have to face everything alone, save that you have the Lord Jesus with you.
Another thing: Are you striving while in school to overcome all selfishness? Hear what the Lord says through his servant: “God’s plan of life has a place for every human being. . . . In God’s plan there is no place for selfish rivalry. Those who ‘measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among themselves, are not wise.’ Whatever we do is to be done ‘as of the ability which God giveth.’ It is to be done ‘heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ Precious the service done and the education gained in carrying out these principles.”—“Education,” page 226. If you have not overcome this spirit of rivalry in school, it will be a very hard thing for you to be a true, faithful, and good missionary.
“God’s working is limited by men’s capacity.” Therefore the more a man has learned, the better the Lord can use him if he is consecrated.
Study your Bible well. Learn your own language well, as this will be a help in learning quickly other languages. Improve yourself in learning vocal and instrumental music, because singing exerts a great influence, and makes the soul ready for the hearing of the truth.
Besides the study of books, learn as many trades as you can, to be an all-round man. We have one minister in this State of Rio Grande do Sul who is an influential preacher; he knows also how to shoe his animals, and to do some blacksmithing; he can do carpenter and mason work; he knows about agriculture; he can treat the sick, extract and fill teeth. You can imagine that he is a useful man, and that the people respect him as well as the truth he preaches. My dear young brother, use your spare moments and learn all you can in order to become a good servant of your heavenly Master.
The ambition of many girls is to get as much book knowledge as possible, to learn to play the organ and piano, and in spare time to do fine needlework. This is all well. But another important thing must not be forgotten. A young woman ought to know how to cut and make her own dresses, etc. She ought to learn to keep house in the most economical way; she ought to learn to work in the garden, so she can take care of it herself. To learn to train and educate children is very important. Such knowledge is of great value in foreign fields. It is also necessary to know how to take care of the body, and know what to do in case of sickness, else we shall find ourselves in serious situations many times.
The preparation of a missionary ought to be a thorough one. We who have labored here for years know the needs; we had to learn many things here which we could have learned much more easily at home.
It is a precious thing to give up ease and comfort, and live and work with your whole heart for your fellow men. Manifold are the blessings that one receives26in doing good to others. The Lord calls to you, my brother and sister. “Come over . . . and help us.”
JOHN LIPKE.
How to Spend Vacation
By C. S. Longacre
VACATION has come, and how shall it be improved? If parents have sufficient means at hand to pay the way of their children through school, they are strongly tempted to let them have an easy time during vacation. They pity them, thinking they ought to rest because they had to work so hard at their studies during the school year. They forget that good physical exercise is just what they need for harmonious development, and that the change to manual labor is the highest kind of rest to an overtaxed mind. If it is possible, parents ought to let their children earn and pay their own way in their preparation for life's duties. A person never learns the true value of a dollar or how to appropriate it until it is personally earned under trying circumstances.
There is a principle underlying this plan that is worth far more than the immediate expenditure involved. If the student is educated to be a consumer instead of a producer, that defective and wicked principle will follow him in all his future career, and will unfit him to occupy a position of trust in the cause of God or in the marts of the world. He knows not how to sacrifice, nor how to teach others to be self-reliant and economical. His unsavored judgment and false education will lead him to presume on the earnings of others, and he is strongly tempted to start new enterprises that involve much indebtedness, to harass those who were not consulted in the creation of the same. He can not discern the equal and natural rights of his brethren.
Let us educate our youth to be self-reliant, and to earn and pay for their own education. This will be a great help in the building of their character.
Young man, young woman, are you seeking a place of future usefulness? Then learn early to hoe your own row. Do not allow somebody else to pick all the weeds out for you. Be a self-supporter. Otherwise you will be always poor, and will make others poor. Be a producer and a blessing to the world and to the cause you represent, and not a consumer or the creator of perplexities, blocking the wheels of progress and consuming the time and energies of scores to devise a way out of them for you. Driftwood will float, but it takes a live fish to swim up the stream.
Dear students, vacation is your opportunity to prove your worth and the temper of your characteristics. Give evidence of your willingness to do anything for the Master, and to do it with your might. The canvassing work, with all its trials and hardships, is the golden avenue to future success. It pays better dividends all round to the prospective student during vacation than working in a gold-mine. Aspiring youth, try it, master it; and you will be as a precious jewel much sought after.
C. S. LONGACRE.
The Christian in the School-Room
The following was printed in the Ram’s Horn a few months ago. Surely this is suggestive of our duty as Christians:—
“EDITOR Ram’s Horn: Is church-membership decreasing? That was the plain question you asked recently, and the answers, coming from different parts of our land, were in the affirmative. As to cause and remedy the opinions differed somewhat. A thought that the Sabbath should be kept more sacred; B wanted the simple, true gospel preached; and C regarded a general repentance to be necessary. I, too, agree with these brethren; their advice is good, but according to my opinion they do not come down to the root of the matter. None know: those are worthy questions.
“The old Christians pass away, and there is no coming generation to fill their places.” “What may be the cause?” “How is this to be remedied?” Indeed, those are questions worthy to be considered.
“It is my firm belief that at least one cause is this, that the American Christians neglect the spiritual training of their children. ‘Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’
“If we, Christians of America, want our children to follow us in the path of righteousness, we must not only pray for them, but also do everything in our power to lead them to Christ. It is not enough to take them along on Sabbath to Sabbath-school and to church. It is the instruction given them during the week which counts.
“Let me ask you, Christian parents, who is your child’s teacher in the public school? Is he a Christian? Or perhaps a pantheist, an evolutionist, a Catholic, or an atheist? Who is it that transplants his ideas into your child’s mind? A child has faith in its teacher, and there in the schoolroom is the tender soul of your child cast into a fixed mold.
“There are those who say religion has nothing to do with education. Is this true? Can we teach physiography without taking God into consideration? Can history be taught by a Christian without showing the mighty hand of him who rules the nations? Christians, is it not our duty to take care that our children receive a Christian’s instruction.
“The name of your blessed Saviour, Christ Jesus, may not be named as such in your child’s schoolroom, for there are children also of Jews and unbelievers who hate him. Do you dare to account for this when he comes?
“Luther has said, ‘Give me the children, and the future is mine.’ Give your children into the care of the world, and you see the result.”—Selected.
Earth's First School
1. Who planned the educational system first introduced into this world? What did it involve?
Ans.—“God might have created them [our first parents] without the power to transgress his requirements; but in that case there could have been no development of character; their service would not have been voluntary, but forced. Therefore he gave them the power of choice—the power to yield or to withhold obedience. And before they could receive in fulness the blessings he desired to impart, their love and loyalty must be tested. . . . The knowledge of good had been freely given them; but the knowledge of evil,—of sin and its results, of wearing toil, of anxious care, of disappointment and grief, of pain and death,—this was in love withheld.”—“Education,” page 23.
This quotation plainly shows that man was created with the possibility of development, and that this development was to come through a system of education which the Creator himself had planned for man.
2. Describe earth’s first school. Why was it located as it was? What relation was this school to bear to all educational effort in after time?
Ans.—Eden was a school. Adam and Eve were the pupils. God and holy beings were their teachers. Nature, the works of God, was their study book. The school was located in a garden where the students might be surrounded with only the works and glory of God. “The garden of Eden was a representation of27what God desired the whole earth to become, and it was his purpose that, as the human family increased in numbers, they should establish other homes and schools like the one he had given. Thus in course of time the whole earth might be occupied with houses and schools where the words and the works of God should be studied, and where the students should thus be fitted more and more fully to reflect, throughout endless ages, the light of the knowledge of his glory.” The school was not located in a city, nor were the students instructed to build a city in which to receive their education; for in so doing their hearts’ affections would be turned from the wisdom and works of God to the works of man. See “Education,” pages 20-22.
3. What family relation did they bear to their teacher? Then what kind of school was it?
Ans.—God the Father and Jesus our Elder Brother personally directed their education. They were assisted by holy angels, students in the heavenly school. It was therefore a family school.
4. Who is primarily responsible for the education of children? Can this responsibility be shifted to another?
Ans.—The responsibility of a child’s education rests first and most heavily upon his parents, who can not shift it to another.
5. What relation did the care of their schoolroom bear to the education of our first parents? What part did they have to act?
Ans.—The teacher led out in the plans and preparation for the arrangement of the schoolroom; but the children, as a part of their study and development, were to dress and keep it—do the janitor work. This brought them into closer association and co-operation with their teacher and his plans for their work than was possible without it.
6. Should the children in our church-schools bear a responsibility in maintaining the order and neatness (janitor work) of the school?
Ans.—This should be a part of their work. They should, under the direction of their teacher, “dress and keep it.”—Central Union Conference Educational Series.
Christian Education
By J. C. Harris
WHAT can give courage to the hearts of every lover of this truth more than to see an army of consecrated young men and young women in our schools, preparing themselves to help give this message quickly to a world perishing in sin? It is our work to help to fit them for their work; their work is God's work; and to that work he is loudly calling them just now.
A great work is to be done in this generation. For years the Lord has been calling for consecrated young people. He has given us line upon line through the Testimonies on Christian education, but how slow we have been to heed the instruction! Now we are made glad as we see both parents and children waking up to these things and endeavoring to follow the instruction given.
All over the land Christian schools are filled with devoted young people who desire to do just what the Lord wants them to do, and to go where he wants them to go, and be what he wants them to be.
What a blessed work, and yet what a responsible work, is that of the teachers who are helping to mold the minds of these recruits for the Lord's army. Earnest prayers should ascend to the Father's throne for both teachers and pupils. All should co-operate faithfully with them in this responsible work. Well does the enemy understand the advantage of securing the young while lasting impressions are easily made and habits are formed that are hard to give up. We should improve the golden moments in seeking to save our young people. We can do this in no better way than by getting them interested in Christian education. Our young men are needed for the ministry, and as canvassers, and as Christian business men in our institutions.
Consecrated young men and young women will be in demand till the Lord comes. School-teachers are needed. Eternity alone will reveal the good that comes from this kind of work. The Lord is greatly blessing our consecrated school-teachers. Let us all cheerfully work till the Lord comes and finishes the conflict. J. C. HARRIS.
Address by the Chairman of the Educational Department
At the Grand Council
I WILL first give the general statistics of our schools, and then say a few words with reference to the organization of our schools in general.
We have a total of 567 schools. Of these twelve are colleges, twenty-three academies, twenty intermediate schools, and five hundred and twelve are church-schools.
The colleges have assets to the value of $624,738.18. There are fifty-eight buildings occupied by these twelve colleges, and they have 1,772 acres of land. They have a capacity of 2,046 students, and their enrolment last year (1906) was 1,631. They employ 163 teachers.
The twenty-three academies have $255,472.88 assets; there are sixty buildings. They have land to the amount of 2,968 acres. The capacity of these twenty-three academies is 1,604 students. They had an enrolment last year of 1,595. They employ 142 teachers.
There are twenty intermediate schools, with assets of $38,278.87, and thirty-nine buildings. They possess 1,257 acres. Their capacity is 687 pupils. The enrolment this last year was 471 pupils. They employ fifty-three teachers.
There are 512 church-schools, but I do not have any statistics of their assets, buildings, acreage, or capacity, but they had an enrolment of 8,079. They employ 512 teachers.
The assets of all our schools throughout the world, exclusive of church-schools, is $918,489.93. Adding to that a conservative estimate of our church-school property, we have total assets of probably $1,200,000. We have 166 buildings, exclusive of church-schools. We have from fifty to seventy-five church-school buildings, so that the number of buildings would amount to 200 or over. The church-schools have scarcely any land. The total acreage of land is 5,997, or approximately 6,000 acres.
The total capacity of colleges, academies, and intermediate schools is 4,337; the total enrolment of all our schools was 11,776. The number of teachers employed was 879. This is a low estimate of the teachers; for in making this up there were some of the teaching force, such as matrons, and others that hold positions on the faculty, who were not reckoned in.
Our school work is of course, as we all recognize, much better developed and organized in the United States than in any other portion of the world, the same as many other features of our work are much better developed there. We carry on four grades of schools: what we call our church-schools, our intermediate schools, our academies, and our colleges. The church-schools do approximately the work that is done by the primary and grammar schools of the United States.
Now I may say, to make it plain to our people in Europe, that our church-schools go nearly as far as the common schools of Europe. The schools of Europe, as nearly as I can learn from the study which I have been able to give them here, have one distinct step that brings the children up to confirmation by the church, which is about the fourteenth year. The realschule in Germany takes the children to about the fourteenth year. The common schools take them about that far, if I have been correctly informed. And our church-schools take them to about that same place.
Some of our church-schools carry pupils as far as the tenth grade; others do not take them above the sixth grade, or the sixth year. This system of schools in Germany—and it prevails to a greater or less extent all over Europe, if I understand it correctly—takes them up to confirmation, about the fourteenth year, or through about eight years of school work. This period to about the fourteenth year constitutes one very large division with us in America. After that comes our high school, carrying the pupils through to about the twelfth grade; after the high school comes the college, carrying them four years further. Our own intermediate schools, coming in between the church-schools and our academies, take the children from about the eighth year to the tenth and eleventh year of work.
Our academies differ very much in the grading, one or two carrying the pupils as high as the fourteenth and fifteenth year of work. Our whole scheme of education gives sixteen years of work. There is actually four years of work done by our colleges; but all our colleges do preparatory work also, which gives them six or eight years.
During the past year one college has been opened, which is located at Loma Linda, Cal., and it is called the College of Evangelists. The purpose of this school is to prepare workers for general gospel work, and at the same time give them a good education in medical lines. A number of other schools have been organized during the year, one of which is an academy, and another is designed to be an academy. The latter is the West Indian Training-school, located in Jamaica. It is proposed to make this school the educational center for the West Indian Union Conference. Two intermediate schools have been opened in South America, one called the Filadelfia school, for the Mkupua Indians, in Chile; the other the Pua school. The last named is our training-school for Chile, situated at Pua. It gives instruction in Spanish and German. In the United States there have been opened the Strode Industrial School at Oswego, Kan., and the Tunesassa Intermediate School, at Tunesassa, N. Y. I have not visited the Oswego school, and so can not speak of it definitely. The Tunesassa school I have visited. They have about two hundred acres of land situated in the woods, away from any town. There is excellent prospect that a good school will be built up at this place.
During the past year eight intermediate schools have lifted their course to that of an academy. They have lengthened their courses of instruction, and have styled themselves academies. The Mount Vernon Academy, situated at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, two years ago lifted its course from that of an academic course to that of a college. The Keene Academy, situated at Keene, Tex., has during this year voted to strengthen its courses, so that it will be enabled to do college work. I suppose most of our people are aware of the fact that the Scandinavian Union Conference has voted to establish a union training-school, and they have in a general way outlined their work, which I think compares very favorably with that which is done at Friedensau, and in the London training-school. During the past year we have seen a strengthening of our educational work in many ways. This is evidenced by the fact that so large a number of schools have been established, and so many of the schools are lifting their courses to do stronger work.
There is also another feature that has particularly impressed some of us who have been watching this work rather closely, and that is the very full schools which have been held during this year. You understand that the report which I have given here is for the school year of 1905-06. The report for 1906-07 should show a very much larger attendance in our schools. In the United States some of our schools had their attendance almost doubled. There were many that added from a quarter to a third in their attendance. We attribute this good attendance in part to the results of the educational convention.28
There was set on foot at that convention a very earnest move to prepare our young people more quickly and more fully for our mission fields. We called it the forward missionary movement. It seemed to us as if the influence of that meeting was felt by our schools throughout the world. And we believe that this is one reason why they are as full as they are. More and more we are coming to realize what the purpose of our schools is. The sole purpose, the sole reason for maintaining our schools, is that we may prepare workers for the spread and the finishing of this work. That idea is more and more filling the minds of teachers and students, and those directly connected with the management of the schools. But I believe that it is also more and more filling the minds of our people. I believe that the rank and file of our people are beginning to realize, in a way which they have not in the past, the vast importance of our schools as a means of preparing workers, and that our young people are feeling the importance of gaining an education, to an extent which they have not in the past.
So we look forward to a more thorough organization of our work, and to its extension into every part of the world, that there may be in every field, in every union conference, and in every mission field, thoroughly equipped training-schools for the education of the young men and women for every department of our work.
An Inspiring Meeting
By Frederick Griggs
ONE evidence that we have reached the stage in this closing work in which there will be a mighty work accomplished is found in the fact that our schools are assuming that relation to the work which the spirit of prophecy has indicated they should take. When we find our schools filled with students whose only object is to devote their lives to the finishing of this world message, we may well take courage.
This meeting was held at 3 P. M., Sabbath, May 4, in the chapel of the Friedensau school, at Friedensau, Germany. It was composed of the students of the school, and of the representatives of the conferences in America and of Scandinavia, who were en route to the General Conference council to be held at Gland, Switzerland, May 10-25. Elder L. R. Conradi made a few opening remarks, as follows:—
“You can not all visit the different countries of Europe and see the churches already raised up, and the work now in progress; but we wish to present to you some living representatives from these countries. You will see from the representatives who are here to testify to the power of God’s message, what God has been doing. It seemed to me that the best way that you could understand what has been done in the German Union Conference is to look into the faces of these different nationalities represented in the different students. We have in this union three hundred millions of people, and our territory extends seven thousand miles from east to west. We had no self-supporting organization in this field until the year 1898, when the German Conference was organized. Our membership at the present time is 8,568.”
Elder Conradi then pointed out on the map the boundaries of the various local conferences composing the union. He asked for the students in the school who were from the various countries comprising these to rise to their feet, with the result that the following number arose: Germans, nearly 100; Russians, 13—three regular Russians, one Esthonian, three Lettonians, one Polander, one Russian Jew, and four from the German colonies of Russia; Austria-Hungarians, 7—five Austrians, two Hungarians; Bohemians, 2; Slavonians, 2; Rumanians, 3; Bulgarians, 1; German Swiss, 4; Hollander, 1.
The number present from the conferences were as follows: Prussian, 8; Silesian, 10; East German, 16; North German, 12; German Union District, 2; Rhenish, 14; South German, 19; Bavarian, 3; West German, 12; North Russian Mission, 7; South Russian Mission, 2; Middle Russian Mission, 5. Others were from different fields, so that the entire membership of the school is 130.
Those who were taking various courses were then grouped, as follows: Biblical course, about ninety, nearly all young men; the nurses’ course, about twenty-five, all young women. Those who had offered themselves as volunteers for mission work in German East Africa were asked to arise, and fifty-two young persons arose to their feet. Of the 130 students in the school, only one does not expect to enter the work, and she had not been in the school very long, and was not of our faith when she came. It was stated that one hundred per cent of the students were counted as workers for the field.
The class which will finish its work in July, having been in the school two years, numbers eighteen, fourteen of whom will go out as Bible workers under the direction of the union conference. The union conference committee meets twice each year, and assigns workers from the school. In February they sent out eleven, so that with the fourteen to be sent out in July, there will be twenty-five workers sent out from this school during the present school year. There have been nurses also sent out from time to time, so that at present there are fifty nurses at work in different parts of Germany, Hungary, Palestine, and other places. The nurses’ class which will finish their work in July numbers fifteen. The nurses’ course covers a period of two years. There will be seventeen men who will finish their work next February, and of the nurses who finish next February, thirteen.
Elder Conradi said that he had just received a letter stating that some one was needed to take up the work of a nurse in Jerusalem. Sister Gregorius being sick and unable to continue her duties in connection with the treatment rooms being operated there. Five young persons at once arose, and thus signified their desire to take up work in that field.
The students then arose in a body to convey their greetings to all the schools represented by the visiting brethren. After this it was stated that the school had trained and sent out into the field two hundred and thirty workers during the seven years it has been operating.
It was felt by all that this meeting was indeed a good evidence of the forward missionary movement of our young people, and of the relation which our schools should sustain to this great movement. Stirring expressions of appreciation of what was found in the school were given by Elders A. G. Daniells, I. H. Evans, and others. No sermon that could have been preached could have spoken more loudly of the force and vigor which this great world-wide movement has assumed among the nations of the world than did this meeting. It testifies most loudly to the fact that our young people are organizing for service.