Earlier text: Report From Japan[The following report was presented to the Conference May 25 by Elder L. P. Tieche, the superintendent of the Latin Union Conference.] I AM thankful for the privilege of presenting to this assembly the greetings of the brethren of the Latin Union Conference. The territory of our conference is composed of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Algeria, Tunis, French Belgium, and French Switzerland, with a population of 110,000,000 souls. This is certainly a respectable number, which ought to make an impression on our minds and on our hearts. I would also state that we have in our field only 1,000,000 Protestants, about 6,000,000 Mohammedans and Jews, and more than 100,000,000 Catholics. Our working force is composed of 40 workers, including the canvassers. We have 24 organized churches, and the total membership is 964. We also have a sanitarium, a school, and a publishing house. During the last four years the work in our union has progressed slowly but steadily. The statistical reports indicate a net increase of 280 members, and the tithe has increased from $5,802 in 1904 to $9,211 in 1908. These figures will perhaps look small when compared with the many encouraging reports we have heard, and we feel that we have nothing to boast of. Nevertheless, when we consider everything, we have reason to be thankful even for this small result. These 280 souls have in reality been brought out of the hands of the prince of darkness, one by one, and we know that they are a subject of great joy in the heavenly courts. We must not forget that some of the mission fields have been entered only lately, and that those who have started the work there had to learn the language, and also get used to the ways and manners of the people. Only a few years ago we had no workers in Spain, Portugal, or Algeria, but now we have workers and members in every field of our union. In 1907, a conference of 250 members was organized in France. Since Jan. 1, 1909, the territory of this conference has been limited to the southern part of France, while the northern part is called the Northern France Mission Field. The reason of this division was to relieve the French Conference of the burden of a great mission field, and place it in a position soon to become self-supporting. This field has a population of 23,000,000, with two workers, one in Paris, and one in Rouen. In Paris we have a church of 44 members. At first it was thought an impossibility to plant the flag of present truth in Paris, and the first efforts made seemed to confirm this idea. But we thank the Lord that by his help, and by the persevering effort of the workers sent there, the light of the third angel's message is shining in the midst of that great city. None except those who have passed through the experience can imagine what difficulties are to be met in a city like this. I wish Elder Augsbourger, who has worked there for four years, and Elder Badant, who is working there now, could be here to tell us something about it; for they would also tell us that difficulties are always a blessing to those who fear the Lord. Now that a good start has been made in Paris, we are encouraged to continue the work. Spain has a population of 18,000,000. Public meetings have been held in Barcelona and Valencia by Elders Walter and Frank Bond, and have brought 35 souls to the truth. Four natives are at work selling our literature, and two are doing Bible work. We are thankful for this small beginning; but Brother Walter Bond thinks that he ought to have more help, and I wish to give you a paragraph of the letter I received here the other day:— “I hope that you do not forget old Spain and her needs. We are indeed anxious that help should be sent. As you know, there are hundreds of cities waiting for some one to carry them the message. The silent call of 18,000,000 souls in the grossest of darkness is the strongest appeal we can send you. . . . You remember the parable of the unjust judge and the poor widow. Her request was at last granted because she continued to ask. So we perhaps almost weary you by our much asking. But we can not be silent when the need is so great, and the laborers are so few. Surely we would fail of doing our duty if we did not continue to sound the Macedonian plea for help.” We are glad to report that the standard of the last message has been planted in Portugal. Brother Rentfro is holding public meetings in the center of Lisbon, and the last time I was there, in February, 13 souls were rejoicing in the blessed light of the truth. I have also received a letter from Brother Rentfro, asking me not to forget to present the needs of Portugal. He wishes me to say that more workers are very much needed. No one will blame him for this, if we remember that he and a native canvasser are the only workers in this most difficult field. It is also well to say here that 80 per cent of the population can neither read nor write. Here is the place where a school could accomplish much good. The fact that so many people do not read in Portugal is a great hindrance to the advancement of the work in that field. The canvasser must knock at many doors before he can find a person who can read. I understand that 85 per cent of the population in India can not read. If that is an argument to show the necessity of sending help to that field, I hope we shall all agree that the same argument holds good for Portugal also. We should certainly have more workers in that field. THE FRENCH-BELGIAN MISSION
This field has a population of over 3,000,000. One minister, a Bible worker, and 2 canvassers are at work in the mining centers. We have there one church and one company, with 40 members. The brethren intend to hold three tent-meetings during the summer. By this means they can reach hundreds of people, and thus sow the good seed. We hope that these efforts will bring a goodly number of souls to the truth. ALGERIAN AND TUNIS MISSION
This field has a population of over 7,000,000. Here we are in direct contact with the Arabs, who form two thirds of the population. Thus far our work has been limited to the city of Algiers. Brother Jesperson has started the work there, doing medical missionary work; and now Brother Augsburger is holding public meetings. Six persons have already been baptized, and others will follow soon. One great problem we have to face is to know how to reach the Arabs. Although these people live right at the door of civilization, they do not care to change their habits and customs, and above all, they are determined not to change their religion. It is a religious duty for them to hate the Christians, and it is difficult to make them believe that we love them. But we are convinced that the last message is also for the Arabs, and our desire is to do something, right away, for them in our field. I am not prepared to say much about this field, as I expected that Brother Everson would be here to speak for that work. I shall only state that we have there 44 members, 26 in Torre Pellice, and 18 in the rest of the kingdom. At present we have five workers—certainly not too great a number for a population of 33,000,000. We hope that this field will receive due attention at this Conference. Its needs are great, and never have the conditions been so favorable for the preaching of the last message. Now I wish to close with a few words concerning our sanitarium and publishing house. Brother Vuilleumier will report on the school work. The transfer of our sanitarium from Basel to Gland has proved a wise move in every respect. This was done in 1905. At that time we thought that our accommodations for 40 patients would suffice for many years; but we find ourselves already confronting the necessity of enlarging. We hope that by next spring we shall be able to accommodate at least 100 patients. Our institution enjoys a good reputation near and far, and is exercising a good moral influence in the country. A number of patients go away leaving the testimony that they have received not only physical benefit but also moral and spiritual help. We have also had the privilege of seeing some patients accept the truth, among whom were two ladies from Egypt, who have been baptized in the blue waters of Lake Geneva. The publishing house is located in Geneva. Here is where all the business is done, while the editorial work is done in Gland and the printing in Basel. Since our trouble on the Sunday question at Basel, we discontinued printing for ourselves, and the machinery was scattered to the four corners of the earth. Now we think we ought to have a small printing plant in connection with our school, and we put this on the list of the many things we need in our field. The amount of our book and periodical sales aggregates between $7,000 and $10,000 a year. We hope to do more in the future as more attention will be paid to the selling of larger books. First of all we wish to thank the General Conference for the help we have received in men and appropriations, and we sincerely hope that this help will be continued to us. Remember that we have 110,000,000 souls to care for, and only 40 workers. We hope that this Conference will seriously consider our needs, and give us one or more workers for Spain; one or more workers for Portugal; one or more workers for Italy, and $5,000 to start a printing plant. [At the early morning meeting, May 30, Elder W. C. Ising spoke as follows of the conditions existing in Syria and Palestine.] WHILE there are about two and one-half million Mohammedans in Syria, there are also about a million people of Christian faith, made up of various creeds of Catholicism—Greek, Armenian, Syrian, Roman, and a number of others. It is in Syria that many of the old Christian churches were raised up in the days of the apostles. In this field we have to deal with the descendants of the Christians of the first centuries; and from church history we know of the difficulty and the strife existing among these churches all through the centuries. Our knowledge of the battles and strife that these churches of old passed through, may give us some faint conception of the peculiar conditions existing there to-day. And these enmities of long standing between the various faiths of Christianity, make it exceedingly difficult to impress the Mohammedans with the superiority of the Christian religion over their faith. Indeed, so tense is the feeling among the various sects, that in many of the so-called holy places, or shrines, in the land of Palestine, there are stationed Mohammedan soldiers to keep the peace. In spite of the precautions taken by the Turkish authorities to preserve order, there are occasional outbreaks in these holy places, and Christians, so-called, fight against Christians. Only recently there was a conflict between the Greek native Christians and adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church, of Greece, and nearly fifty persons were killed. For some time terror prevailed throughout the city; people feared to leave their homes, lest they might be shot down in the streets; and every other morning some priest would be found massacred within his own home. At this place, the difficulties are not all yet settled, and there is danger of another outbreak at almost any moment. About every place in Palestine to which tradition has attached sacred interest, has been set apart as a shrine or holy spot by these professing Christians. Many churches or temples have been built on various spots; and portions of some of these churches are set apart for the exclusive use of certain sects of the Christian religion. It is at these places that the Mohammedans have to preserve a very strict watch, with armed guards, lest outbreaks occur. Even the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is thus divided and guarded. There stand the soldiers, armed with swords and guns, taking care lest the “good Christians” kill each other within the confines of their own so-called sacred shrine. At Christmas time, one may find several hundred soldiers stationed at this one place. This situation makes it very difficult to persuade the average Mohammedan to give serious thought to the merits of true Christianity. Thousands upon thousands of pilgrims visit the Holy Land every year. Among these, are Christians from every land. For instance, nearly fifteen thousand Russians pass through Palestine in the course of a year. These pilgrims, when visiting the holy shrines, take with them an offering, often the savings of years of toil and deprivation; and after listening to a short service by the priest, they kiss his outstretched right hand, place their offerings in his left, and pass on to allow others to go through the same ceremony. A few years ago I saw a Russian hand to the priest a very large bag of money, I suppose all that he had been able to save for many years. As we witness these scenes, we are reminded that apostate Christianity is becoming rich through this merchandise,18 for all this is surely a means of gathering money, rather than of imparting to the people spiritual grace. The providence of God is going before us in Syria, opening the way. We have had some remarkable experiences, indicating that the Lord is indeed working on human hearts. About a year ago, I became acquainted with a Mohammedan who claimed to have been converted to Christianity about twenty years ago. As the Mohammedan faith requires that those who apostatize shall sometime be put to death, this man, upon professing Christianity, retired to Mt. Lebanon, and there lived in quietude for nearly twenty years. This man sought me out, and desired to have me arrange for him to attend our Foreign Mission Seminary at Washington, D. C. I soon learned that he did not wish to come to America because of his love for the third angel’s message, but simply because of his desire to study English in the United States; and so I dropped the matter. However, it was through this gentleman that I made the acquaintance of a young Syrian who had been a member of the Greek Orthodox Church, and whose experience is very encouraging. A native of Syria, he spent about fifteen years in South Africa, where he and his father came in contact with one of our workers, and received a copy of the tract, “The Seal of God.” Before leaving South Africa, the father, seventy years of age, began to keep the Sabbath, and taught his children the Sabbath truth, and other truths regarding the papacy, the mark of the beast, etc. I have had some interesting visits with this family. The father speaks only the Arabic; but he used the Gospel of Matthew with telling effect, in proving the perpetuity of the law. The son is conversant with English, French, and Arabic, and is much interested in the truth. We need just such people as these in the truth, in Syria; and we are praying that God will give to us some strong young men to help us in our work. Some time ago I made the acquaintance of an old German, over 73 years of age, who had formerly been a subscriber to our German paper, Herold der Wahrheit. At times he had had occasion to take long walks in the country, in passing from place to place; and once, when crossing Mount Lebanon, and attempting to ford streams swollen by the melting snows, he was swept away by the current. Finally he landed on a rock; and afterward, upon reaching home, he discovered in his pocket a copy of Herold der Wahrheit. He had been reading the paper, and had been impressed with what he had read; and so he thought seriously of this circumstance. Later on, he had a similar narrow escape, and again he found in his pocket a copy of Herold der Wahrheit. He continued to subscribe for the paper, and to read it with increasing interest. This man has begun to keep the Sabbath, and is desirous of doing all in his power to advance the truth. He wishes to hand to us, for missionary purposes, all his surplus means, amounting, perhaps, to about a thousand francs. Just before I was leaving, he gave me 250 francs. He works diligently at his trade, that of a painter; and he is depriving himself of many creature comforts, in order to save means for the cause. Only recently I learned of his walking all the way from Beirut to Baalbec, a distance of seventy miles or more over mountain trails and poor roads. In this journey he had to cross, once more, Mount Lebanon. All this hardship he endured in order to save some means to the cause we all love. His noble self-sacrifice shows what the acceptance of the third angel’s message will do for these people. His self-denial has been an inspiration to me, and leads me to seek to consecrate myself more fully than ever before to God’s service. While we do not have, in Syria, all the advantages that you enjoy in America,—sanitariums, schools, printing-houses, and all these agencies,—yet we do have that which the apostles of old had,—the Word of the living God. We believe that this Word, which was effectual in the raising up of strong churches in the days of the primitive Christian church, will to-day have the same power to transform hearts and lives. We believe that in Syria we shall see of the salvation of God. We should like very much to have a small sanitarium established there, and we look forward to the time when we may have one; but we desire above all things else to consecrate ourselves so fully to the Lord that he may use us in his service, and that through our feeble efforts, aided by his divine blessing, there may be raised up strong churches to stand as memorials of the true Christianity, which alone can have influence in the stronghold of Mohammedanism. [June 5, Prof. W. E. Howell, who, has been laboring in Greece, gave the following interesting experience.] GREECE is a name that is familiar to every Seventh-day Adventist, because of the prominence that country has in the great field of prophecy. It is also a familiar name to our college students, because of the remarkable place it has occupied in the field of history, art, and philosophy. It is a small country, but not of such a character as is generally believed in these times. I am surprised to find how general a lack of knowledge there is about this little country. The whole eastern half of the Mediterranean is essentially Greek. There are some ten or eleven million Greeks all together. The countries of Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, and the northern shores of Africa as far west as Algiers, are all familiar with the Greek language. But the Greeks are an easy-going people. They have few resources. Many have gone to other parts of the world. It may be surprising to some of you that in this country there are 200,000 Greeks. On the steamer on which we came were 1,000 more who landed in New York only a short time ago. The Greeks have also migrated to South America, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. In this country there are few cities of any size where you do not find some Greeks. When we took up missionary work in Greece, we thought to use the Bible as a basis of that work. The Greeks pride themselves upon the fact that theirs was the prevailing language in the known world at the time that Christ was here. Our Saviour did his teaching mainly in the Greek language. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. The apostles did their work mostly in this language, and now the spiritual pride of the Greeks has grown to that extent that they regard everything as a false substitute that does not have the original text of the Greek New Testament. They consider that it is something that must not be tampered with in any way. And so, as there exists in Greece a close union of church and state, they have agreed that no translation of the original text of the Greek New Testament shall be made in other languages for circulation in that country. The British and Foreign Bible Society had made a translation of the Bible into modern Greek some forty or fifty years ago, and for a number of years they had freedom in circulating that Word; but a situation developed in 1901 that led to the taking of this action by the Holy Synod, compelling the Bible Society to cease the sale of the Bible in the modern Greek. It is also forbidden to persuade any member of the Greek Church to join any other. Now just a word about the work we shall have endeavored to do in Greece. My family and I went there about two years ago. We studied the language and started the work. Greece is fallow ground, and has been so for centuries. We had a representative there years ago, who remained but a short time. There has been no other worker there, so far as I know. In printing our literature in modern Greek we take extracts from the Bible. We have just put through an edition of 3,000 of the tract, “The Way to Christ.” We have manuscript ready for several other tracts, and also the first two chapters of “Steps to Christ,” and part of the third chapter, and if God gives me strength, I shall not rest until the whole of “Steps to Christ” is in modern Greek, ready to be printed. After we had been in Athens for nine months, a letter came one day addressed “To the Seventh-day Sabbath-keeping Missionary in Athens,” and by God’s providence that letter came to me. It proved to be a letter from a Greek brother away up in the mountains of Albania, across the line from the independent country of Greece, yet in the old Greek territory. Albania and Macedonia are still largely Greek. This brother was seeking for light. He had learned some of the principles of Protestantism through the efforts of Brother Baharian and others. Through reading a small tract on the Sabbath question, printed by Brother Baharian in Constantinople, he had accepted the Sabbath before he knew that there were any other Sabbath-keeping people except the Jews. He said that for about two years after the truth came to him, he hesitated to obey it, but one Sabbath, when he was going out to his work, conviction fell upon him so strongly that he went back home, and told his wife that he could not work any more on the Sabbath. It was several years more, however, before he could convince her that Saturday was the Sabbath. I sat down and prepared my first Bible reading in Greek, and wrote my first Greek letter. We corresponded for some time, and finally I went up to see him. I had some very interesting experiences, I can assure you, but suffice it to say that I found this brother and his wife and five children observing the Sabbath faithfully, and willing to receive all the light we had time to give them. I might just add this: We have been accustomed to speak of the Greek language as a dead language. Brethren and sisters, don’t do it any more. The Greeks are not a dead nation, and theirs is not a dead language. I RECENTLY made a visit to our school and sanitarium in Entre Rios. The school work had been in progress for this term a little more than a month, and it was well in hand under the direction of Prof. W. C. John. The order and discipline are splendid, and a disposition to co-operate prevails. I believe the encouragement of missionary principles, which are kept prominently before the students, and the organization of an active society among the students and teachers, account largely for the present good omens. The school is also favored by the attendance of a number of English-speaking students, several being nurses who arrived here in January. It was thought best for them to study the Spanish language for a few months before taking up their work. Their presence has an elevating influence, and has been helpful. Work on the new sanitarium building is progressing, and by this time the roof is on. When this building is completed, it, with the new school building, which was finished about January 1, will give a substantial appearance to our institutional work. Beginning with the first of May, a great labor strike has been in progress in Buenos Aires, but it partakes strongly of politics, and therefore it has spread to other cities. It appears to have been conducted in much the same manner as the one in Russia several years ago. May 1 is Labor day in this country, and demonstrations by working men are expected; but on the last one, which occurred a few days ago, there was a collision between them and the police, in which several were killed and about one hundred wounded. At this writing, conditions are improved, but building is yet at a standstill. Bakery and milk carts are making more regular rounds, as the people are very dependent upon them. Thus we are confronted with a fulfilment of prophecy concerning the violence that is filling the earth, as in the days of Noah. We trust that as the people here are shown the meaning of these things, it will lead them to make preparation for the end. It is two years since the Bolivia Mission was opened. Elder Eduardo W. Thomann has been the superintendent and only worker, and much of his time has been occupied with editorial and translating work. Hence the time devoted to field work has been limited. A good work has been done in getting the Señales de los Tiempos into the hands of people. Public efforts have been made principally in Cochabamba, a city of forty thousand inhabitants, located at an altitude of eight thousand feet, in a fertile valley four days by mule from Oruro, the nearest railway station, and Quilla-quallo, a few leagues distant. The result is that several are keeping the Sabbath in both places, but they have not fully identified themselves with us as yet. I made my first visit to Bolivia in March, on my way to the General Conference. With all the unpleasantnesses, there are many things of interest to be seen, and romantic experiences await the traveler. As one enters from Chile on the west, there is at first only barren desert. Later, while still desert, there are lofty extinct volcanoes, with their dark, gaping craters plainly in sight. Only St. Michael is smoking. In the great mountain-like piles of lava here and there, testimony of awful eruptions of prehistoric times is given. The great mountains and plateau of Bolivia are all plainly of earthquake origin. What must have been the awfulness of the scene when, in connection with the flood, this occurred. It is no wonder Satan trembled for his existence. Nearly all the large cities of Bolivia lie at an altitude of twelve thousand feet and upward. It takes time to become accustomed to this rare atmosphere, and to weak hearts it is dangerous, and may be fatal. The least exertion brings a feeling of suffocation to the newcomer, and many a night I was awakened, or could not sleep, because of this feeling. Let a new arrival exert himself in a thirty to forty-five mile daily muleback ride, and it is quite enough to exhaust him. This was my experience. I rode about one hundred twenty miles in three days, sometimes crossing mountains at an altitude of fourteen thousand feet, eating food indescribably hot with red pepper, and sleeping on an uneven earth floor, in an Indian hut, with one blanket, and fleas, and guinea-pigs. All this one must expect in rural work in Bolivia. I spent a pleasant few days with my daughter and husband, Elder and Mrs. Thomann, in Cochabamba, holding a few meetings, visiting interested persons, and auditing the books. I had a pleasant visit with the judge, now only a lawyer, who saved the life of Brother Pareira when he had been condemned to be shot for teaching a religion different from that of the Catholic Church. He keeps the Sabbath, and is very friendly. Surely a great work is before us in Bolivia. Every cultivable spot of ground (there is not much of it) in these high mountain valleys is under cultivation, and it is always accompanied by an Indian adobe hut. The mountainsides have flocks of sheep, and llamas may be counted by hundreds, herded by some Indian maiden, busily spinning on a stick in the meantime. Happily the power of the priest is greatly diminished. The laws give religious liberty. Our return from Cochabamba was eventful. Twice in a single day we were compelled to leave a river bed on account of sudden rises in the stream, and find our way along high, narrow, and sometimes dangerous mountain paths. Some of those experiences we shall never forget. The only one of any serious consequence was a fall from my mule. As we were passing down a steep incline, my saddle slipped forward. Thus losing control of my animal, I tried to dismount; but it was unnecessary. He gave me a generous boost, and I turned a somersault, landing on my back among the rocks some distance in front, and below him. The wonder is that it did not kill me. I could but realize a Father's care. In a few minutes we were enabled to resume our journey, but it was with much difficulty and pain on my part. For several weeks I suffered much, but, thank God, I am again sound and well. These things are but passing incidents. The unforgettable, ever-present thing, the one thought that ever urges its solemn importance, is that here are millions without hope and without God, and yet judgment bound. What shall we do to lift them, to save them? Bolivia must have help, and must have it soon. Who is willing to come to endure hardships, to live and be sacrificed for this people? WE arrived here Dec. 19, 1908, after working seven years in Australia. It is very encouraging to us as we look back over the time spent in the Australian field to see so many now rejoicing in the truth, and to know that a large number for whom we have labored are actively engaged in taking the truth to others. On our arrival here, we found our faithful canvasser, Brother R. L. Caldwell, in the midst of a delivery of seven hundred fifty Spanish “Patriarchs and Prophets.” The Lord has surely blessed his efforts here, for he has placed nearly one thousand “Patriarchs and Prophets” in the city of Manila alone. Nominally, there is but one Seventh-day Adventist family in the islands; and the missionary is confronted with eight million souls darkened by the terrible, blighting, superstitious teachings of Rome for the period of three hundred years. The cries of their great need touched our hearts, and made us feel welcome far more than if we had been met by many of our people who needed only our pastoral care. The thought that right around him are eight million souls who have never heard of the third angel’s message lays a heavy burden upon any man who believes that Jesus is soon coming. But what are two workers for so many people? And the task assumes much greater proportions when we find that there are a dozen or more very difficult languages to master before the warning work can be done. Yet it is encouraging to know that the Lord has gone before us, and only calls us to follow on. He has placed these islands under the control of the United States, and thus liberty and freedom and the right to worship as they see fit is given to these down-trodden people who have been in the hands of Rome so long. The public school system is doing much to enlighten, and make it possible for the truth to reach these people. The rising educated class is largely leaving the superstitious teachings of the Church of Rome. Then, too, the Lord has gone before us in preparing a man for translating. Some years ago Professor Calderon was converted to the Protestant cause, and has given his life to the work of translating for the different missions. He was the main translator of the Bible into Tagalog. We were glad to secure the services of20 this man to translate several tracts into Tagalog. One of the last ones I gave him was “Is Sunday the Sabbath?” On his returning the translation to me he said, “I was very much interested in that tract, and I believe you are right about the Sabbath.” I have held several studies with him, and he now rests on the Sabbath. Of course, he knows but little of the truth as yet, but we pray that he will walk in all the light as it is shown to him. We have seven tracts now translated into the Tagalog language. Two of these have already been printed. We also have two tracts translated into the Ilocano language. We expect to get translations done for all the different languages as fast as we can get competent translators. There should be many more workers sent here at once to begin the study of these different languages on the different islands. It seems to me that as the Lord has used the American people to bring liberty and freedom to these people, he also holds the depositories of this last message doubly responsible to step into the providence that he has opened—to take the last message of truth to them. We need canvassers, and we need strong young men to come and learn the language and do evangelistic work. If there ever was a time when the church should pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the already whitened harvest-field, it is now. We need money to buy a mission house here in Manila, as rents are exorbitant. We are paying sixty dollars a month for the upper part of a house containing six rooms, and that is one mile from the city proper. Buildings may be bought reasonably cheap. The Tamil Mission, South India
By J. S. James
SINCE I last reported through the columns of the REVIEW, we have begun the building of a mission house upon the land furnished us by the Tamil Sabbath-keepers. This project has been under consideration for over a year; and after carefully canvassing the situation from all sides, it was thought best to begin work at the opening of this hot season. While it is not the most comfortable season of the year for a task of this nature, it is a time when more laborers are accessible, wages are not so high, and the work of building will not be hindered by the rains. As far as I know, this is the first building of our own put up by mission funds in all this great empire. We have made every effort to have our building harmonize with the self-denial of our people who are laboring so nobly at home to supply us with means. Every dollar we spend we know is a token of the prayers and consecration of those whose hearts are warm with this message, and in a double sense we feel that we are using sacred money. Means thus invested appear to us to be seed sown in good ground, which will bring forth a rich harvest unto eternal life. Our building is a plain structure fifty by thirty-eight feet, built of native burned brick and jungle lumber, which are prepared for use in the most antique fashion. The entire building contains three rooms and two bath-rooms, with a large veranda on the north and south sides. These verandas are the most essential part of a house in this country, for on them we spend the greater portion of our lives. Very few except those who have been in the tropics can appreciate what a large, well-shaded veranda means to those who spend their lives in these countries. One of the verandas we will use as a dining-room, and the other for sleeping-rooms during the hot weather. The house will be terraced, so that additional rooms may be built above if more room is required. The housetop is an inviting resort in the evenings, where one can get the full benefit of any air that may be stirring at the time. Most of the work is being done by heathen workmen. All the carpenters and bricklayers are heathen. Some of the young men and children from among the Sabbath-keepers are helping with the more simple work. We had our brick burned about two miles north of us, and the total number (over fifty thousand) required two hundred ox carts to haul them. The door and window frames are large, clumsy affairs, cut from timber called kongu, which is proof against white ants. The rafters are cut from the palmyra-tree, which grows in abundance in these parts. The lime used in making mortar is burned in a kiln close to our building, but the limestone is hauled several miles. This plan enables us to have plenty of pure lime whenever we want it. The digging of our well was an important part of our building plans. The vicinity about our location has a number of salt-water wells, which are useless. To obtain good water during the dry season, one has to dig very deep. When we selected the site for our well, we asked the Lord to lead us, but some of the native astrologers and prognosticators predicted that we would get salt water. Some of the Sabbath-keepers concurred in the same opinion. After the dimensions of the well had been staked out—fifteen by fifteen feet—one of the leaders of the congregation, more credulous than the rest, took a large hoe, such as is used for digging in these parts, and stepping into the center, raised it over his head and exclaimed, “O Lord, we are beginning a good work in thy name. Bless it, and give plenty of good water.” He then dug a small hole, and a few others present received the hoe from him, and did likewise. Three days after the work began, water was found in the hole. Was it salt water, or fresh? One of the men descended, dipped up a handful, and tasted it. It was fresh! Then everybody said our mission would be a success. We have an abundance of good fresh water. When the main stones were laid in the foundation of the house, the elders took part in a short service, each taking some mortar and a stone and placing it in the ditch. Some two hundred villagers of various congregations were present, and I took occasion, from the top of a pile of dirt, to speak to them on some foundation principles connected with our mission, and the importance of laying a right foundation in our characters to stand the test of the judgment which was nigh at hand. We are grateful to God for the good degree of health and strength he has given us under the many trying conditions surrounding us. With anxious hearts we wait for news that others are on the way to join our tiny force. In a future report I will speak of some openings that present themselves to us in these parts which yet have not claimed so much of our attention. Our Saviour's words in John 4:35 have never appealed to me with so much power as at present: “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” Our address is Nazareth P. O., Tinnevelli District, South India. J. S. JAMES. Canvassing in South Africa
By Homer C. Olmstead
AFTER leaving the Kolo Mission in Basutoland, we spent about seven weeks in Kimberley. As one of the most important factors in the closing up of the message is the printed page, it was thought best for me to take up the canvassing work. Since Africa is in such a poor condition financially, and so many discouraging reports had reached me, I began the work with much prayer and with renewed consecration to service. After canvassing for a short time, I found it21 no exception to the rule. God will bless honest effort here, as he does in other fields. Although the closed diamond-mines had thrown many out of employment, they were willing to buy the truth—some borrowing money to do so. A summary of the work done there is as follows:— Hours of actual canvassing, 111; exhibitions given, 516; orders taken, 180; books delivered, 156; received for delivered books, $195. The above does not include the time of delivering, which required a full week. Truly God blessed in all this work, and gave me many good experiences. I found less prejudice than in America, and more who were ignorant of the truth, yet willing to hear and investigate. Much time was taken to give Bible readings where opportunity offered. Three or four interested readers were left with Brother Sparrow to continue the studies. Considerable literature was given away, and seemed to be much appreciated.