On the evening of the last Sabbath in March, I had the blessed privilege of burying two persons with their Lord in baptism. That day was a day of great blessing to me. When I walked into the clear water of the beautiful lake near our mission bungalow, my heart was much impressed, and I began to review the time of my baptism in that same place, in April, 1910. At that time I had little idea that I should have this blessed privilege of baptizing my own people in the same place. I thank God for all the rich blessing he has bestowed on me since I accepted this message, and I reconsecrated myself to him and his work.
The evening before the baptism, we had a testimony service at which these two men gave very encouraging testimonies. One of them gave a full story of his past wicked life, and of the power of the gospel, which has helped him to make a thorough change in his life. I fear the space will not permit to write all that he said at that time; but I will try to express his testimony in a few words. He said:—
“I was born in a semiheathen family. My parents were members of the Hindu Christian church of this community. I had never had a liking to read in the Word of God. On the other hand, I associated with a company of friends who gave me all possible help in training me to be a confirmed drunkard. I have tasted nearly all kinds of Indian and foreign liquors. Six years ago, when Pastor James was conducting meetings on the veranda of this mission bungalow, I had the privilege of attending some of those meetings. When I went back to Ceylon to my trade, a change began to take place in my life. I bought a Bible, and began to read a portion of it every day. Whenever I read it, it always condemned me as a great sinner. And I have read all the Tamil tracts and papers published by this mission. I began to accept all the light received from them day by day. For a time I found it very hard to give up all my wicked life, but I daily grew stronger in doing the will of God. I praise the Lord that the anchor still holds. I thank him for the victories I have gained. The Bible is the most wonderful book in the world. I have just begun to learn how to study it. I never expected to see any miracle performed, but it is a wonderful miracle that I am a changed man. Praise God for the power that can keep any one from smoking, swearing, and drinking, and from bad company.”
TWO INDIAN CONVERTS
I am glad for the text, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Dear brethren and sisters, kindly remember me, and the work in this part of the vineyard, before the throne of grace. The interest is still good. Many more are planning to follow our Lord in baptism before long. I hope and pray that I shall be faithful to him until the end, and would use all my strength and influence in winning my countrymen to his kingdom.
How My Brother Came Into the Truth
AUGUST PAGES
My next older brother, now forty-one years of age, has been an officer of the Bureau of the Electrical Street Railway Company of Copenhagen for almost twenty years. During that time I have been continually corresponding with him, and seldom has a letter left my hands in which I did not in some way try to interest him in his soul’s salvation. About eleven years ago he was married, and I sent him as a wedding present the book “Prophecies of Jesus,” in the Danish language, and bade him read it also to his wife.
Until last year my efforts seemed to have been in vain; but the Lord finds ways and means to convert hearts. Leading souls to Jesus is possible only through the working of the Spirit of God. Now I am very happy, for before the end of the year 1914 I could claim my brother as one whom I, through the grace of God, had led to Jesus. How this came about the following extracts from his letters will explain:—
May 13, 1910. “I must confess that, to this date, I have fulfilled none of your requests concerning the studying of the Holy Scriptures; neither have I any excuse, except it be that I have a kind of secret fear to start, for I believe that you are right, only you are fanatic; for a person can exaggerate all things. For the rest, I know positively that my wife would not follow me, and yet I pledged at the marriage altar to be a true husband to my wife and a good father to my children. The result is, we get along too well, we are too much attached to earthly things.”
Aug. 27, 1914. “Alas, dear brother, I have often envied you because of your faith. For a long time I have noticed that I was in need of something. I have never been fully satisfied. One Sunday, while out in the woods, I listened for a moment in passing to a sermon by a Salvation Army worker. I had to proceed, for the tears rushed into my eyes and I was ashamed. It was all true, what that man preached,—but with that it remained. I have not been in church for many years, because the sermons never impressed me, yet I have often been impressed the same way while listening to street speakers as I was while listening to the Salvation Army preacher in the grove.”
Nov. 21, 1914. “A month ago the Adventists began to hold a course of lectures in their chapel. I attended several times, and the services impressed me greatly, especially the last sermon, on living faith. I had heard this preacher about a year ago, but at that time I was not much impressed. I have now bought several tracts, and have read some out of the Bible, and am praying to the almighty God to send me his Holy Spirit, ‘for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’”
Dec. 12, 1914. “Through the grace of God, I have kept my first Sabbath today. The Lord has heard your prayer and my supplications. Eight days ago I did not realize that I should keep my first Sabbath today. Your last letter, and also the lectures of late, which I attended before your letter reached me, have moved me. On my knees I prayed to the Lord that made heaven and earth. As you undoubtedly know, I have always acknowledged your doctrine to be the right one, but O how difficult, yes, almost impossible, it seemed to part from this world, possibly also from my position, and from my good home, for what would my wife say, my friends and relatives. But every evening after prayer these thoughts vanished more and more. On Wednesday, the ninth of this month, I prayed the Lord to give me a12vision in dream, or permit me to see an angel, as a sign that I should keep the Sabbath. The following morning I awoke early, but had seen nothing in dream, and so I lay in bed and prayed and prayed, and thought over why the Lord did not hear my prayer. Gradually it became more clear to me that it was unjust of me to pray for such a thing, for the Lord might answer me, ‘They have Moses and the prophets,’ etc. Thus the last wrestle ended; and when I arose, I had conquered, and had made the decision to inform my director that day that henceforth I could not work on Sabbaths. This came to him as a great surprise, and he replied immediately that I would have to consider myself dismissed. I answered him that I must serve the Lord more than men. I have left the whole matter in the hands of the Lord, and in better hands it cannot be. My heart is so light and happy, and rejoices every time I speak the glorious message to somebody else. I visited Elder Raft for the first time, when I told him my happy decision. He rejoiced greatly. We prayed together. Dear brother, I also thank you that you did not tire of keeping the truth ever before me.”
March 18, 1915. “After eighteen months of stormy battling the Lord has, in his unlimited grace, put his peace into my heart. In this short time I have had great opportunity to learn through experience that the Lord hears my prayers. I have a little private office for myself, and this has also become my prayer chamber. Here I begin and end my work with prayer.”
May 7, 1915. “Today I am able to communicate to you the good news that on the fifth of this month, I with seventeen other brethren have made the covenant of a good conscience with the living God through baptism. I am so happy and joyful, and thankful to the Lord that he has led me so wonderfully, and that my heart feels light, since I have laid my cares on him who cares for us.”
His case was referred to a special commission of the city board for examination, and they decided to retain him for the present, according to his wish, with reduced wages, with the permit of freedom on Sabbaths. In the daily paper Politiken, of June 25, his case was published in detail. At the end of the article the writer remarked, “There is probably no great danger at hand that many will come and beg to have the Sabbath off, with a reduction of 1,200 crowns on their salary per year.”
Dear brethren, my heart rejoices greatly to report this. It pays to work and pray for souls. Let us not tire in this work, for it has a reward which is not comparable with gold or silver.
Brazil.
Keeping on Top of Your Work
By Amos R. Wells
I HAVE the quite undeserved reputation of keeping on top of my work. For many years I have enjoyed multitudinous and vastly diversified tasks, which I have accomplished, on the whole, with a fair degree of promptness. At all hazards I have kept my work troubles to myself; and when I have been buried the deepest beneath a mountain of pressing duties, I have maintained the smiling and nonchalant face of unfretted leisure. Thus I have fooled my little world, and made them believe I was always on top of my work.
I commend this artifice to all workers, because the air of cheerfulness strikes in on ourselves, renders the heart serene in time; while worry over work is a sure devastator of work. Napoleon’s unclouded confidence in his power to win victories often drove his foes in headlong flight.
For example, it is my practice, as soon as I reach my office and see the horrible accumulation on my desk,—letters, circulars, manuscripts, drawings, proofs, notices, books to review, exchanges, engravers’ bills to verify, and much besides,—to sweep them all summarily behind me. Some of the mass goes upon chairs, some of it on the floor, much of it into drawers. Not a scrap of it all remains on my desk. “What a wonderful desk!” my short-sighted visitors exclaim. “How do you ever manage to keep it so clean?” Then I reach around behind me, and pull out one job, only one, and set it before me: one proof, a few manuscripts, a little bundle of letters, nothing disheartening, and a big, fresh, empty desk to do it on.
My brothers of work! tasks yield buoyantly when assailed singly, but bear you to the earth if allowed to come at you in a battalion. One of the most valuable helps I have ever found for keeping on top of my work is this: Attack it in detail.
But of course there must be proportion and shrewd arrangement. I do not reach behind me at blank haphazard. Certain jobs come first, always. The circulars can wait. So, verily, can the engravers’ bills! The proofs cannot, for one thing, and they are laid first on the desk before me. A good rule for the dispatch of business is this: Attend first to matters that concern your coworkers.
One of my associate workers formerly was John Willis Baer, later president of Occidental College. I think I have gained something from every worker with whom I have ever been associated, and one of the valuable lessons he unconsciously taught me was this, always to be free for associate workers. However heavy the task on which he was engaged when I entered his office, and however trivial my errand, he turned to me with an eager readiness as if he had been waiting for me for a week. He never put me off to a less hurried season, he never kept me waiting; he dispatched me at once, and sent me on my way rejoicing. Of course, it is best to set a time for conferences with other workers, but in our office the head workers are migratory, off here and there attending conferences; they must be caught on the fly. This is the case in many other establishments. Since much of the fret of our work comes from the pressure of comrade workers, each appealing for attention lest his own work be retarded. By this rule, “Coworkers first!” is not only just, but prudent.
I owe something else to John Willis Baer: a big motto, in white letters on a black background, “DO IT NOW!” Well do I remember his delight when these mottoes came out. I have kept mine on my home desk ever since, and it preaches to me hourly. “Do the hard thing first,” it says. “Tackle now,” it says, “the task you dread.” “When that is out of the way,” it suggests, “the rest of your work will slide down greased ways.” And the motto is right, as I have discovered many times. It helps me gloriously as I try to keep on top of my work.
This article is a gossip about work rather than an ordered treatise, so that I13will set down next what is really the fundamental principle of the dispatch of business, Watch the minutes! I have written sixty books, and all of them in the fragments of my time, in the interstices between my regular tasks. Once I figured up the time I spend on the cars in the course of every year; it is a working month, twenty-four eight-hour days, one twelfth of my time. This is more time than any one can afford to idle away with a newspaper, and for it I always have an assigned task. I have read of a doctor who wrote a large and important book while waiting to be admitted after he had rung doorbells, and I believe the story. Time is the only gold, and he is rich indeed who hoards his minutes.
Plan Your Work, and Then Work Your Plan
Of course this means a schedule. Ben Franklin taught me the value of schedules, and I have one—a reasonably flexible one—for every hour and minute of the day. I can look ahead, and tell you, with considerable certainty, just what I shall be doing, if I remain an editor and author, at 6 A. M. ten years hence, or at 6 P. M.
A schedule is worthless without grit. Well up among the qualities of a successful worker is decisiveness. I am fond of the phrase, “Dispatch of business.” It is a great thing to know just how to spur a horse, or speed up an automobile engine. It is a greater thing to know how to drive your business, that you may keep it from driving you. Oliver Wendell Holmes had a little program of sentences that rolled a visitor down grade to the door so easily that he thought he was taking himself away. The same courteous briskness is to be applied to our tasks. “Here, you have been on my hands long enough. Good day. Come again soon.”
Another matter of prime importance, if you would keep on top of your work, is—to get on top! This remark is obvious in the making, but difficult in the execution. If, however, any worker finds himself depressed, his duties accumulating, his tasks too much for him, heroic measures are necessary. No more engagements. No more acceptance of additional work. One thing to live for: to clear the docket! No one can work well under the pressure of chronic delinquency. Get out from under! Get on top! Though it means a month or a year, get on top!
This being happily achieved, be insistent with yourself. Keep on top. I stay in my office every night till my work is done—every letter answered, usually every manuscript read, every proof passed, the coast cleared, the desk top ready for the morrow’s grist. I cannot sleep otherwise. Those unanswered letters and unread manuscripts would make my bed a mass of humps. I am generally through by five or half past, but my working day ends when my work ends. At least, this is my ideal; you might go back and reread my first paragraph.
Another help toward the dispatch of business which I have discovered is this: I keep work slips. A work slip is a bit of paper, about five inches by three, upon which I jot down, in the briefest fashion, all the work I do during the day. I keep these slips for years, though I never compare them, and no one else ever sees them; their value is in the making of them. For I like to fill up every slip. If, as the day wears on, I see my slip filling up slowly, the fact adds zeal to my spirit, and I knuckle down to my tasks with fresh energy. On hundreds of days this simple determination to fill in a creditable amount on my work slip makes the difference between a poor showing and a decent one. And the plan would be quite as good for a housewife as for an editor.
These work slips are of value in presenting a picture of one’s labor, so that, if one falls behind in quality or quantity of output, the cause of the deficiency may easily be discovered. It may be too many callers or too much time spent with each caller. It may be too much time devoted to some relatively unimportant element of the work. Whatever it is, the worker must sternly correct it, since his work, like a chain, is no stronger than its weakest link.
Do a Little Every Day
One of my work mottoes is this: “Do a little every day.” However difficult the task, it will yield to daily attacks. Ten minutes a day is the open sesame to all doors. It will read the longest book—and write it, for that matter. It will paint a house, it will clean it and keep it clean; it will master a language or a science. An hour a week will not do it, but ten minutes a day will. That is as long a time, on the average, as almost-blind Prescott had for eyesight work on his immortal histories. Let no one think his noblest task impossible if he can devote to it ten minutes a day.
“The morning hour has gold in its mouth.” Nearly all great workers rise early, which means, of necessity, that they go to bed early. They milk the freshness of the day, its quiet, its freedom from interruption, and the freshness of their own physical and mental powers. The result is rich cream of achievement.
The best workers are the best players. There is no permanent creation without re-creation. Springs, and not pitchers, make rivers. Too much play, of course, destroys work, as too much rain destroys the river; but too little play dries the work up. I should write: “Play wisely” on one wall of the workers’ room; “But play,” “But play,” “But play,” I should write on the other three walls.
Which means, of course, “Don’t work too much.” This is the motto most needed by American workers. I once visited an enormous printing plant and was told that the presses were kept busy at full speed day and night, with all the added cost of night wages, in order that they might be worn out as quickly as possible, and be replaced by new presses, with all the latest improvements. That might be good policy for presses; but when the human machine is worn out, where can we get another? Learn to say, No! To the true worker the temptation to take on new tasks is as alluring as the offer of whisky to a drunkard. Learn to say, No!
And I will close these rambling remarks with the motto of a friend of mine, a man whose diversity of interests far exceeds my own, and whose earnest and fruitful activities extend over two hemispheres. “When tired, go to bed!” says he. Not seldom he disappears from the office and takes a vacation—in bed. He is not sick, not at all, and he does not intend to be. He has learned the value of complete relaxation. He has discovered that thirty-two consecutive hours in bed are worth, many times over, four eight-hour periods in bed. He does not sleep all those thirty-two hours, but also he does not read or write or talk or worry. He simply lets himself go. He simply rests. He simply falls back on the bosom of the earth, and from that contact, like the giant of old, he rises with tenfold strength and endurance.
Have I given you too many work mottoes? Well, here they are, for your choice. My only urging is, Take, not what you like, but what you need!—Amos R. Wells, in the Sunday School Times.
Conducted by Mrs. I. H. Evans, Takoma Park, Washington D. C
By Mrs. I. H. Evans; Miss Lora E. Clement
Assisted by Miss Lora E. Clement
Through the columns of this department, hints will be given on all matters pertaining to the home life. Short articles and letters are solicited from home makers, telling of their everyday experiences,—their joys and sorrows, their failures and successes.
The Aged Pilgrim
By Lillian S. Connerly
LILLIAN S. CONNERLY
Fear not, pilgrim, fear no ill;
Sunset’s splendor soon will fill
All thy soul with rapturous thrill.
Love will bless thy closing days,
Love will fill thy mouth with praise,
Love will guide in all thy ways.
Time will vanish with a song,
And eternity will dawn—
Crown of glory thine erelong.
Cristobal, C. Z.
The Power of Simple Words
By Francis M. Nesbit
AWAY in foreign lands they wondered
how
Their simple words had power;
At home, the Christians, two or three,
Had met to pray an hour.
— Francis M. Nesbit.
Inasmuch
By Mrs. D. A. Fitch
MRS. D. A. FITCH
As I read the urgent appeal of Sister Burroway for a school costing only $1,000, my heart was touched, and I exclaimed, “I wish I could live without eating, and the money expended for my food could go to help build this school.” Then this thought ran through my mind: If the more than seventy thousand Seventh-day Adventists in the North American Division Conference would each deny himself one luxury that costs ten cents, and the means thus saved were to be put into the proper channel, more than one such school could be built.
Leaving out of the question those who are not expending money needlessly (and there are some), we should still soon have enough to build such a school as Sister Burroway desires, where children could be taught of the Saviour, and saved for his kingdom.
Some who read this department might be just as well off with a few cents’ worth less of ribbon, lace, and other unnecessary trimmings. Care in the preservation of things already in possession might help out considerably. While shabby or uncomfortable attire is not to be advised or recommended, yet when love of others is the actuating motive, there is a blessing in retrenchment. In articles of diet much more is expended than is good for us or the missionary basket. Soft drinks, ice cream, cake, gum, candy, and the like, now much used by our people, are not essential to our well-being. Pure water is much to be preferred to the questionable drinks from the soda fountain.
Should one estimate the difference between the expense of a loaf of cake and one of bread, he would readily see that to eat the bread and do without the cake14would result in the saving of several cents that might be used in soul-saving work, and he would be the better, both spiritually and physically, because of the self-denial. The plan of salvation was laid in sacrifice.
Those associated with Nehemiah said, “Let us rise up and build.” They strengthened their hands for the good work, and so may we if we will practice. And let us never forget that self-denial for others is not a penalty but a privilege, not a hardship but a happiness, not a judgment but a joy.
Santurce, Porto Rico.
On Sinim’s Altar
By James E. Shultz
ELSIE MARY MORGAN was born in Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia, June 21, 1893, and died in Nanking, China, Nov. 12, 1915, after an illness of but ten hours. About two years ago she first learned of the doctrines held by Seventh-day Adventists, and despite strong opposition, for she was the only one of her family that received the message gladly, soon thereafter identified herself with our people. About one year ago she was married to Clarence H. Davis.
Very soon after their marriage, Brother and Sister Davis were asked by the Australasian Union Conference to make China their field of labor, to act as leaders in the sale of our literature. Having ever been willing to suffer hardness as good soldiers, they responded to the call, and accordingly reached this field Sept. 30, 1915, immediately thereafter locating in Nanking, where Brother Davis entered the language school, little thinking that they would be permitted to live together but six weeks in the mission field of their choice, for both were buoyant in faith, and daily sought God for a heart preparation for his work; but the summons came suddenly for Sister Davis, and she laid her life on the altar of sacrifice for China’s millions with the triumphal assurance, “Jesus knows it all, and it’s all right.” Her life had been one of daily surrender to God, and death had no terrors for her; and while her sorrowing husband feels the hand of affliction heavy upon him, yet he is comforted by the assurance that in the morning of the first resurrection she will “come again from the land of the enemy.”
Nothing could have been more beautiful than the attitude of the language school on this occasion. When it was learned that Sister Davis had died, the president of the class wrote a letter of condolence to Brother Davis, and assured him that the entire class stood ready to help him in any way possible. School was adjourned, and the principal, Professor Keem, and the wife of the secretary of the Nanking Y. M. C. A., assisted in making the casket, as it was impossible to buy one; while the class secured beautiful floral tributes from Shanghai and Nanking. The language school marched to the chapel in a body, headed by the president of the Nanking University and their principal, while many other missionaries from Nanking were in attendance. Appropriate music for the occasion was furnished by the school. At the close of the service at the chapel, members of the school tenderly bore the casket a distance of one and one-half miles to the grave, while the remaining students acted as an escort. After the committal, Brother Woodward, on behalf of the Asiatic Division Mission, publicly thanked the members of the language school and others who had so kindly assisted in the burial of our dead. Then just as the golden sun was setting behind the ancient hills of China on that sad Sabbath afternoon, the students gently covered the grave, concluding by earnestly asking God to consecrate those who remained, to the great task before them.
By request I took charge of the service, being assisted by Brethren Woodward and Blunden, and spoke from Jer. 16: 19 to those assembled: “O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth.”
Surely this is our “day of affliction,” for death has again entered our ranks and stricken down a promising worker. But we rejoice to know through it all that the sacrifice is not in vain, for the promise to the afflicted is, “The Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth;” and while the silent watchers who guard the sacred dust of God’s sleeping saints are multiplying in dark China, and the lonely mounds look forbidding to us, yet they mark the advance of Christ’s conquering army, that shall know no defeat.
There’s a lonely grave in Sinim’s land,
In the country of deep superstition,
Where Satan rules with relentless hand,
And his cohorts move at his command,
As they rush men on to perdition.
There’s a lonely grave in Sinim’s land,
And the servants of God are lamenting;
For one has been lost from the little band,
And their heads are bowed, though they fearless stand,
Since their message permits no relenting.
And the grave so new marks the steady advance
Of that message now soon to be finished;
Though halted a day, by death perchance,
Or wounded are some by the enemy’s lance,
Yet their ardor is never diminished.
By that grave today have we pledged anew,
As we pledged when God called us to service,
Our strength and our talents, however few,
In his work to cast, with a will to do
Anything, from which nothing can swerve us.
And we look from the grave ’cross the sea so wide,
Where our brethren who sent us are waiting
To give of their means and their sons beside;
For the word has been sent, “Naught to you is denied,
Since our message must know no abating.”15Then, O heart, be brave! and O hand,
be strong!
Though today earth’s fond ties we
must sever;
For the promise is sure, it will not be
for long,
Till we all reunite in the victor’s song,
When are banished death’s terrors for-
ever.
JAMES E. SHULTZ.
The Baby's Colic
A BABY who is in pain cannot tell in words the nature or the seat of his distress. But although the child cannot speak, the noise he utters and the signs he makes show the kind of pain he suffers, and its situation.
Babies are especially prone to colic during the first three or four months of their existence; the pain is almost always the result of intestinal indigestion. The colicky baby cries, but so does the hungry baby, or the baby who is pricked by a pin. The colicky baby, however, usually screams intermittently; in the intervals between the spasms, he not only ceases to cry, but may even begin to laugh and crow.
During the paroxysm his screams are shrill; he draws down the corners of his mouth—often so far as to make lines run from the nose round the angles of the mouth; he draws up his legs in an effort to relax the abdominal walls, which are, however, too much distended and too tense to be relieved in that way.
The trouble is almost always due to improper food, and is especially common in bottle-fed babies. Feeding the baby with cereals, giving him cow's milk insufficiently diluted, or feeding him too much and too often, are the most common mistakes of mothers.
But colic is not infrequent even in infants who are nursed. In such cases, the cause is either overfeeding, or the ill health or poor digestion of the mother. Indeed, in the case of breast-fed babies with colic, the mother is usually the one who requires treatment. The physician must study her food, the state of her digestion, and her habits of life, and correct whatever is wrong with them.
In the case of bottle-fed infants, he must look into the preparation of the food, and he will usually stop all cereals and baby foods for a time, and confine the youngster to suitable modified cow's milk. You can relieve the baby's pain by applying hot cloths to his abdomen, or by giving him an injection of warm water that contains a little salt. Do not give the baby soothing sirups, ginger, or any other concoction containing drugs or spirits.—Selected.
The Ease of Finding Fault
“It requires very little ability to find fault. That is why there are so many critics.”
Good Meetings at College View, Nebr.
By R. A. Underwood
It was the good fortune of Union College and the College View church to have excellent help during the time of the week of prayer. Elder R. C. Porter was present during the entire week, and rendered most excellent help. Elder Spicer and Professor Griggs stopped over one day on their return trip from the West to Washington. Elder House, the pastor of the church; Elder Trubey, the chaplain of the sanitarium, and the writer gave their attention to the meetings during the week. We held each day two meetings in the church, two meetings in the college chapel, one meeting in the sanitarium, and one in connection with the International Publishing House. The faculty of the college also gave assistance, and were shifted from one meeting to another during the week as the local committee advised. Elder Porter gave a large part of his time and attention to the student body in the college.
About twenty of the students were among those that sought the Lord for the first time, and sixty or more manifested their desire to seek the Lord with all their hearts, while others renewed their consecration to God. It was a very precious season, and one of great rejoicing, to see young men in the very flower of their manhood give themselves to God in a definite way.
Elder Porter's mission talks concerning the fields in which he had labored were very inspiring, and a deep conviction rested upon many, not only in the church but in the school, that they should give themselves more definitely than they ever had before to carrying the last message of mercy to a dying and perishing world.
During the week, arrangements were made for conducting Sunday evening meetings about two or three miles out in the country, by a band of the young men students, the remaining part of the winter.
The readings that were prepared by the General Conference made a deep impression upon all hearts. Over eight hundred dollars was contributed to missions on the last Sabbath of the week of prayer.
Many of the friends of Elder Porter who had shared in his labors more or less in this part of the field years ago, were very glad to greet him and to hear stirring messages from the Orient and from the African fields, where he has spent about seven years. Union College has already sent one hundred and eighty-five students into foreign fields, and a large number during these meetings definitely gave their names as candidates for foreign fields as soon as they have received sufficient training to prepare them for the definite work that God might call them to do. Nothing is more encouraging than to see our young men and women giving themselves to meet the calls from foreign lands. Surely the college and the College View church were blessed by the recent ministry of those who have been in close touch with the regions beyond. The Sabbath before, Elder Fitzgerald, from London, England, was present, and gave a stirring sermon in the church, and also two talks to the young people at the college.
As a result of the meetings, eighteen young people were baptized, who dedicated their lives to God.
Most of the students making the surrender to God for the first time were baptized on Christmas Day. Professor Lacey, the Bible instructor at the college, was made happy to see his son, Luvern Lacey, among the number baptized. So was the writer also happy to see his son, Robert Underwood, among these new recruits entering the service of Christ.
The college is doing excellent work for its students. During the week of prayer many of the students expressed their gratitude to God that they had ever been induced to come to Union College, for here they had seen a new vision of life, with its responsibilities and opportunities for service. R. A. UNDERWOOD.
Saskatchewan Conference
By A. C. Gilbert
DURING the past year the work of the Lord in this province has moved forward very encouragingly. All the progress that has been made is due to the mercy and goodness of our heavenly Father.
Wherever our workers have labored, souls have taken hold of this precious truth. Our workers, though very few, are of good courage, and are striving for victory over every sin, to make room for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the fulness of power.
In tithes and offerings our brethren and sisters throughout the province have shown themselves deeply interested in the extension of the gospel. The first seven months of the year gave us the required amount for the whole year for the Twenty-cent-a-week Fund. We are happy to see this zeal for the cause of missions in foreign lands.
Our home missions need strengthening, and we are hopeful of meeting the demands that will be made upon us during the new year. We are in the midst of establishing a school for the education of the young people of our field. This is a large undertaking for so small a constituency as we have in this conference, but God has wonderfully opened a way, and in accepting this opportunity we shall be able to save many thousands of dollars that would ordinarily have to be expended to place the school enterprise on a suitable basis.
Home missionary institutes were held last winter in all our churches. The same is being done again this winter. This line of endeavor has been among the most profitable of all the various lines of work that we have carried forward in this conference. As the result of the home missionary work, many seekers for truth have been called to our attention, and many openings for evangelistic work are waiting for us to enter.
When all our people everywhere are thoroughly aroused to the heavy responsibility that rests upon them to labor personally for souls, we shall see the manifestation of God's power in the outpouring of the “latter rain;” we shall hear the “loud cry” of the third angel calling upon the honest to flee out of Babylon; we shall behold the quick finishing of the work of God in the earth, and then the coming of the Lord.
We are anxious as a conference to bear our part with our sister conferences throughout the world in shouldering the tremendous responsibilities that lie before us. Our workers and lay members are of good courage, and are praying for the success of the cause in every land where the banner of truth is waving today.
A. C. GILBERT.
Week of Prayer at Mount Vernon (Ohio) Academy
By N. S. Ashton
DURING the week of prayer which has just closed we were made to rejoice by an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon our student body and the church at this place. The faculty had begun early to plan to make this week of prayer a time of great blessing to our students, and regular school work was lightened in order to give the students more time for the study of the Word and communion with God. From the very beginning of the week, it was evident that the Spirit of the Lord was working on hearts. There was a spirit of supplication and prayer, which brought the blessings of God upon us.
Elder B. G. Wilkinson was with us during the last few days of the week, and took charge of the Friday morning, Friday evening, and Sabbath services. The Friday morning chapel service was one that will long be remembered by all who took part in it. Almost every student came forward and reconsecrated his life to God. There were some, too, who gave their hearts to God for the first time, and some who were not Sabbath keepers when they came to school at the beginning of the year, decided to cast their lot with God's people.
It was a sight to cause angels to rejoice, to see young and old coming forward at the Sabbath morning service to reconsecrate their lives to God. There were old men and mothers, young men and maidens, and little children, all with broken hearts and contrite spirits, seeking mercy before the mercy seat. We feel very thankful to our heavenly Father for his sacred nearness, and our determination is to walk constantly by his side, so that at his coming we may be numbered with that spotless throng who will have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
N. S. ASHTON.
Field Notes
THE baptism of eight persons is reported from Buffalo, N. Y.
Sabbath School Organized in Wichita
A SABBATH school of forty members has been organized on the east side, at Wichita, Kans.
