A Sabbath Among the Aymaras at Our Lake Titicaca Mission
By F. A. STAHL
F. A. STAHL
The Sabbath is a day of general rejoicing with us at this mission. It is the only day when we can meet with our Indian brethren and friends all together. We make every effort to make this day a profitable one for the Indians. Many come from great distances, and many live among bad neighbors, and some live near those who try to discourage them. So we feel the great responsibility of helping these people to be faithful and loyal. Even if we do not feel well at times because of the altitude, we do not let them know it. We want them to leave the mission happy.
We usually rise early on Sabbath, in order to call on the sick before ten o’clock, the hour when Sabbath school begins. By nine o’clock some of our brethren have arrived, and we can see groups of people coming over the large plain in view of the mission. Some come from over the plain and some from over the high mountains. They come all the way from one to fifteen miles. At ten o’clock sharp the Sabbath school opens. After the review of the past lesson, we separate into six classes. Each class has thirty to forty members. Three of the teachers still need interpreters, and we have three of the Indian brethren teach. We should like many more Indian brethren for teachers, but there are no more who can read the Spanish lesson. For a while we had more teachers. We tried to have them meet with us at the mission two or three times a week to learn the lesson orally, but we found that they could not come regularly because of the inclemency of the weather. But we get along very well. Instead of having the teachers try to bring out from three to five thoughts, we instruct them to bring out one or two, and have the class get these well. The Sabbath school lasts until eleven-thirty. After this, without an intermission, we go on with the preaching service.
The preaching service closes at twelve-thirty. After an hour’s rest the Missionary Volunteer Department occupies the time, the young people taking active part, all the older people staying and enjoying this service also. When this meeting is closed, we have the sick to attend. Some have come a long distance, and want medicine for the sick of their neighborhoods. After the sick have been cared for, the afternoon is well advanced; but there are always some who live so far away that they do not return to their homes until the following day, so we visit with them, helping them in singing or in Bible study.
All the services of the church are held in the open air, as our school building is by far too small to hold the people. We have an attendance of three to four hundred every Sabbath. But we are hoping for better things. We are going to have an organ some day, then we shall be happy. We think we should rather have a good attendance and no building than a poor attendance and a fine building.
We thank God for his great loving-kindness, and that he is prospering this work, and we often think of the blessed meeting we are going to have with our Saviour, and with our brethren from all parts of the great field, when Jesus comes. Remember this work and us at the throne of grace.
We are very glad to add a word to the many encouraging reports of progress in this world-wide gospel movement. The third angel’s message is onward in Japan.
A recent visit of a few weeks to Kagoshima, at the southern extremity of the island of Kiusiu, showed us plainly what God can do for the unconverted. One or two experiences will perhaps be of interest. Our tent was pitched in a favorable part of the city, in view of destructive old Sakurajima, the volcano that has twice put the people of that province to flight. All will remember its eruption of last January. Our attendance was quite good, and some were much interested. Among those who have recently accepted the Sabbath are two young sisters, both of whom are well-educated and capable. They are suffering bitter persecution from Buddhist parents and friends, but have decided fully to obey the commands of Jehovah. They will make valuable workers for their own people.
Two Japanese lads have given their hearts to the Lord. One, Mida-San, though but fourteen years of age, loves the Saviour, and knows what it is to suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake. He is opposed by every member13of his family. An older brother has beaten him twice, but still he holds firmly to his convictions. The other lad, Imura-San, is the oldest son of a widowed mother. Recently, in the absence of the young people’s leader, he took the leader’s place, teaching the little heathen children the songs of Zion, offering prayer, and telling the simple Bible stories, closing the meeting with song and benediction. And this was done by a boy only thirteen years of age, and recently from heathenism. We remember that in the last days God will pour out his Spirit upon the children, and they will teach his word.
At this writing, the forces of this island empire and Germany are engaged in war. In these troublous times do not forget to pray for the progress of the work in Japan.
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
By H. MEYER
H. MEYER
By recommendation of the Brazilian Union Conference, I left the Rio Espírito Santo Mission and came to the Rio Grande do Sul Conference the latter part of February. From March 3 to 8 we had the annual conference session in the city of Porto Alegre, which was well attended. It was found necessary that I should visit, as soon as possible, the different churches and companies throughout the conference; but some adjustment having to be made in all our church property papers, for which a legal procuration was needed, I was somewhat delayed, and visited only a few churches close by.
The first part of May I started for the newly settled colony of Erechim, where I met our worker, Brother Hacker. Together we went to Rio de Peixe, where a number of our brethren had recently settled. We found them in straitened circumstances. During about ten days of the journey I did not remove my clothes day or night and more than once we were thankful to satisfy our natural wants with dry bread and water. Yet all were of good courage in the Lord, and on May 23 a church was organized. We celebrated the ordinances and had baptism in the river close by. Probably this was the first baptismal service that ever took place in that river.
Next I visited Paiol Grande, also a newly settled colony, but our brethren there are better situated than those at Rio de Peixe. A Jewish colony has been started near Paiol Grande, and is financed by the millionaire Rothschild. Every Jewish family receives a sum of money monthly for a certain length of time. But these Jews do not wish to till the ground. They only trade and traffic, so our brethren receive good wages laboring for them.
At this place I had the privilege of organizing another church on May 30, besides baptizing a number of persons. Returning to Erechim, we had a number of meetings with the brethren there. Besides several who have accepted the truth recently, I met some brethren who have had a long experience in the Lord’s service, one of them being Brother A. B. Stauffer, who came as the first colporteur to this country twenty-three years ago. It did me good to hear his earnest testimony. On June 6 we had a day of special blessing. After having baptism, we organized a church of twenty-two members, and then celebrated the Lord’s Supper.
I next visited the church at Nao me Toque, which has been for some time our largest church in Brazil. For several weeks we had overflow meetings night after night. One thing that impressed me especially was the splendid harmony among our brethren. As their meetinghouse is too small, they are now erecting a larger one. I also visited a branch Sabbath school of this church, three hours’ journey distant, which consists entirely of Brazilians. Here I was much pleased to make the acquaintance of some colored believers whose lives have been transformed by the truth. The meetings were well attended. Several young men were baptized, and twelve entire families in this neighborhood were organized into a company.
After a four hours’ journey from Nao me Toque we found a company of five families who had kept the Sabbath for more than three years, but had not been visited by any of our ministers. From them we obtained information concerning two other companies several leagues distant, who were keeping the Sabbath under like conditions.
Next we visited our brethren at Tjuky, where we had well-attended meetings for two weeks. As a result of the faithful efforts of a Swedish brother, four applied for baptism. On account of the particular situation here, it was found necessary to reorganize the work into three companies, two German and one Brazilian.
In Guarany we met with another company. They have gone through some testing struggles; but since the arrival of Brother Braener, who teaches public school in that place, and takes an active part in the spreading of the truth, things have greatly changed. We enjoyed some blessed meetings. On July 10 the Lord came very near. A number confessed their sins before the brethren, troubles of long standing were settled, and it was a time of seeking forgiveness by all. Six were baptized, and others returned to the fold, increasing the number of the company from eleven to twenty-six. The following day we organized these persons into a church, with Brother Braener as elder.
While on our homeward journey, we were overtaken by a long, heavy rain. When night came, we had to camp, with wet clothes, on the open prairie, under a cattle shed only partly walled. Besides all this, we were short of food, which made us long for home so much more. I reached home after an absence of nearly three months, but my stay will be very short, as a number of urgent calls have come from different parts of the field.
I rejoice that the Lord’s work is progressing in all parts of the world, but believe that before our Lord’s return we shall see much greater progress. May God help us all to have a share in it.
Porto Alegre.
Mary Reed
By Lora Clement
Missionary Biography—No. 3
Mary Reed
LORA CLEMENT
Among the foothills of the snow-clad Himalayas in northern India, far removed from the blighting heat and ceaseless turmoil of the plains, nestles a cozy little bungalow. Near by cluster the buildings of one of the largest leper asylums in the world, while away in the distance tower high mountain peaks, and below stretches a beautiful valley. This secluded “retreat” is the home of Mary Reed. “Set apart” by her Lord and Master for a special work, she cheerfully ministers to the forsaken sufferers intrusted to her care, though doubtless sometimes her eyes turn westward with wistful longing, “where thousands of miles away lies the land of her birth, whose shores her feet shall never tread again.”
Miss Reed was born near Lowell, Ohio. She grew to womanhood in a Christian home, the beloved eldest daughter of consecrated parents. At the age of sixteen she was converted, and, realizing that she had been “saved to serve,” eagerly grasped every opportunity to tell from the fullness of her own experience the wonderful story of redeeming love. She spent some years as a public-school teacher, and it was while engaged in this work that her interest was first aroused in foreign missions. As the days passed, this interest deepened. She had caught a glimpse of the needs of her suffering sisters in India; the Macedonian cry came to her as a personal appeal, and, obedient to the heavenly vision, she unhesitatingly answered, “Here am I, Lord, send me.”
Sailing for her chosen field in 1884, under the auspices of the Woman’s Foreign Mission Society of the Methodist Church, she was put in charge of the zenana work at Cawnpore. Miss Reed labored untiringly for her Master. A visiting friend once asked, “Do you never rest?” “I seldom have time, for the King’s business requires haste,” came the quiet answer.
After five years of this exhausting labor the missionary returned to America, seeking renewed strength for further service. It was during this period of rest that she came to realize that God had chosen her for a special work. For some time she had been troubled with a stinging pain in the forefinger of her right hand, and a curious spot had also appeared on her right cheek. One day a voice seemed to whisper to her, “You have leprosy; you must go back to India and devote the rest of your life to work among the lepers.” From that moment she never doubted the true nature of her disease. Reluctantly physicians admitted that her diagnosis seemed correct. How14Miss Reed contracted the leprosy will probably always remain a mystery, but with implicit confidence in the justice of her Father’s plans for his children, she accepted her heavy cross with childlike trust, saying:—
“No chance has brought this ill to me,
’Tis God’s sweet will, so let it be;
He seeth what I cannot see.
There is a need-be for each pain,
And he will make it one day plain
That earthly loss is heavenly gain.”
As soon as the necessary arrangements could be made, she bade farewell, for the last time, to home and loved ones, keeping her sad secret from all save one sister. “If you will let me go without a special good-by, as though I were returning tomorrow, it will be so much easier for me,” she said. And so, upheld by a strength not her own, she went out from the happy circle as if some day she might return, and bravely hastened toward the land of her exile to become a member of one of the saddest of all sad families of suffering humanity.
Miss Reed crossed to England in the same steamer that carried the Epworth League delegates to the Old World in 1891. She journeyed across the Continent in company with a friend, who thus describes the days they spent together:—
“I wondered instinctively at the ivory pallor of that sweet face and at the cruel spot that disfigured it, so different from anything I had ever seen. I wondered, too, as the days went by, why the forefinger, always covered with a white cot, refused to yield to healing remedies. . . . As I came to know her better, I found that her heart craved companionship. Under the smiling English skies of Canterbury we walked up to St. Martin’s, the little church whose memories go back at least thirteen hundred years. Near the chancel the guide pointed to an opening in the thick wall, and said, ‘That is the lepers’ squint.’ The poor sufferers, creeping to the sanctuary in olden times, might only listen from without to the words of life. If I had known then what I knew afterward, my heart would have bled for the woman at my side. Calmly she stood there, with a steady light in her eyes, not a muscle of her face betraying her heart’s secret. In the grand old cathedral we paused before the stone staircase leading to Thomas à Becket’s shrine, and gazed long at the hollows worn by the kneeling, praying pilgrims. She was making that journey, so full of pleasure to the rest of the company, literally on her knees, sustained and comforted by the power of prayer alone.
“Here and there we held sweet hours of communion, and I, who had been accustomed to see missionaries seeking America, when in a feeble condition, could not refrain from asking if it was right for her to return to India at an unfavorable season, before her health was established. From quivering lips came the brave reply, ‘My Father knows the way I go, and I am sure it is the right way.’
“It was in Paris that she sang to me the hymns she loved so well, those song prayers that must have ascended like incense to the ears of the All-father. It was in Paris that she said, one evening, ‘If I thought it were right, and you would promise never to speak of it until you heard it some other way, I should tell you my story.’ On memory’s wall there will hang while time lasts for me, a picture of that scene. A wax taper burned dimly on the table beside her open Bible, that Book of all books from whose pages she received daily consolation; and while without, Paris was turning night to day with light, music, and wine, within, Mary Reed’s gentle voice, faltering only at her mother’s name and coming sorrow, told the secret of her affliction. As my heart caught the first glimpse of her meaning, I covered my eyes to shut out the swiftly rising vision of her future, even to the bitter end, and cried, ‘O, not that! do not tell me that has come to you!’ And when in calmer moments I urged that all Christians be asked to unite in prayer for her recovery, her only response was, ‘I have not yet received any assurance of healing; perhaps I can serve my Father better thus.’”
“The last evening we spent together I heard her sing:—
“‘Straight to my home above
I calmly travel on;
And sing, in life or death,
My Lord, thy will be done.’
“On the shores of the Lake of Lucerne hand clasped hand for the last time on earth, and, with eyes blinded by gathering tears, our farewell was whispered, ‘God be with you till we meet again.’”
Arrived in India, Miss Reed journeyed at once to Chandag Heights, where, within the radius of a few miles, she found her life work among the lepers of northern India. Through her efforts these unfortunates have been clothed, fed, and sheltered, while the influence of her Christian teaching and consecrated life has brought many of the hopeless, helpless sufferers from the darkness of heathenism into the light of the gospel of Christ. The asylum grounds under her direct charge cover more than sixty acres; the inmates enjoy church and school privileges. Through the aid of native Bible teachers and evangelists Miss Reed supervises quite an extensive work among the villages scattered through neighboring valleys. In all her labors she has been blessed with a measure of strength which all agree is divinely bestowed. And she is happy in service, content to spend and be spent for God, since it is only “until the day break and the shadows flee away.”
Truly the ways of our all-wise Father are past finding out. Often we cannot comprehend the justice of his dealings, but in the glad hereafter every faithful cross-bearer will become a crown-wearer. Complete consecration to God means service somewhere; perhaps not in the field of our choice, but somewhere. Can you answer the call of duty as cheerfully, as sincerely, as did Mary Reed? Are you willing to say, “Anywhere, any time, anything, for the Son of God and the sons of men”? That is the measure of consecration for which our Master asks, and whether he leads us by the still waters or through the dark valley of the shadow, we may rest in the assurance that—
“God’s plans like lilies pure and white unfold,
We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart;
Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.
And, if by patient toil we reach the land
Where tired feet with sandals loose shall rest,
Where we shall clearly know and understand,
Then we will say, ‘God knew the best.’”
“Ten Thousand Slain”
By LILLIAN CONNERLY
LILLIAN CONNERLY
TONIGHT there lie upon the battle field
Ten thousand slain, the noblest of the land;
Clear-eyed, large-brained, endowed with cunning art
To thrive in craft and commerce and command
The forces of Dame Nature, to unlock
Their mighty storehouses of wealth and spread
O’er all the land plenty and smiling thrift.
If one of these, the noblest work of God,
Had been thus ruthlessly deprived of life,
And snatched from the bosom of his home
And needful duties for his commonwealth,
The spark of wrath would kindle in all breasts,
And for the deed a recompense demand.
Who did this awful crime? What monster fiend,
With power that is equal to the power of these
Ten thousand slain, has laid them in the dust?
No fiend at all, but other noble men,
As noble, useful, and as wise as these,
Armed with hell’s instruments of doom and death,
Went forth in deadly conflict; armed alike
And with premeditated aim to kill,
They fought like demons, till with demon’s art
They triumphed—but ten thousand men are slain.
If he who slew one man must give account
To family and commonwealth bereft,
Shall no account be rendered for these slain?
Ask Him who judges nations as one man.
Humanity the awful toll must pay
Of war declared—the legal right to kill.
But thus man’s wrath fulfills the prophecy.
Ye who have known these things, be diligent;
For He who promised will no more delay,
But come to recompense o’er all the earth
For evil done, and bring the just reward.
Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Lost — a Boy
By MRS. C. M. SNOW
MRS. C. M. SNOW
EVERY TRUE parent has a desire that his son and his daughter shall grow up to be a good man and a good woman, good citizens, and members of the church and kingdom of God. But are we all taking the proper means to insure this? Environment means much. The home and its pervading influence imperceptibly tend to make or mar the character.
The old-fashioned home seems almost to be forgotten in these days. There are now more comforts and luxuries in the home, but it is fast becoming only a place to eat and sleep. The father is occupied so many hours in the office or in the shop or on the farm that he scarcely sees his children except when they are asleep.
The meals are hurried, and often served in relays; for only one or two members of the family can be got together at the same moment, and they must eat and hasten away to their various appointments. There seems to be no chance for a definite program to be carried out, and the home life becomes disorganized, and accomplishes little toward the proper education and confidential intimacy with our children.
Ask many a father, “Where is your boy?” and he will say, “I don’t know—around somewhere.” The majority are not where they ought to be. And are not the father and mother responsible? Down the street are brilliantly lighted cafés (?) where the boys are expected and made most welcome. Men spend all their time there in entertaining the boys, being social with them and giving them a good time generally. To win and hold our boys we must compete with the prince of darkness, who spares neither money, talent, nor time to lure them from us. Are we willing to make an equal sacrifice? Are the boys worth it?
You have heard of the loss of little Charlie Ross so many years ago, which spread consternation through all the land. Your boy may be as irretrievably lost, though “not kidnapped by bandits and hidden in a cave to weep and starve and rouse a nation to frenzied searching.” Were that the case, one hundred thousand men would rise to the rescue if need be. Unfortunately, the losing of the lad is without any dramatic excitement, though very sad and very real. The fact is, his father lost him! Being too busy to sit with him at the fireside and answer trivial questions during the years when fathers are the great and only heroes of boys, he let go his hold upon him. Yes, his mother lost him! Being much engrossed in her teas, dinners, and club programs, she let the maid hear the boy say his prayers, and thus her grip slipped, and the boy was lost to the home.
“Ay, his church lost him! Being so much occupied with sermons for the wise and elderly, who pay the bills, and having good care for dignity, the ministers and elders were unmindful of the human feeling of the boy in the pew, and made no provision in sermon or song or manly sport for his boyishness, and so the church and many sad-hearted parents are now looking earnestly for the lost boy.”
What answer shall we give in the judgment, when the question is asked us, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?” The excuses that now seem so weighty will then be lighter than the thistledown. Will parents be admitted to the joys of heaven unaccompanied by their children, their “beautiful flock”?
Let us take deep heart counsel now, before it is too late, and regulate all our affairs, with the end in view of making home the dearest and most attractive place in all the world for all the members of our family. Regard the children as stockholders in the firm. Invite their suggestions, and treat all their ideas and opinions with consideration. True courtesy begins at home. And yet how often it is true that—
“We have smiles and kind words for the stranger,
And cheer for the sometime guest,
And yet for our own the bitter tone,
When we love our own the best.”
The mother’s voice and general attitude have much to do with the atmosphere and tone of the home. She should cultivate a low, distinct voice. “There is no physical factor more conducive to restlessness and inattention than a loud voice and too much talking.” To argue or to be peevish and cross, is to lose the vantage ground. A good antidote for this is a cheery “Good morning” to each member of the family as he appears. This makes one happier at once. A joyful person scatters gladness like song notes, and thoughtful cheer and hope sing like bars of song all day long.
Disappointment is prevented by not expecting too much of any one. A few rules, well understood, a few points made very clear, a little at a time, bring best results. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Isa. 28: 10. If the faucet is turned too far, the water pressure is so great that no water is left in the cup. If too many orders are given, too much pressure of our own will is brought to bear, it will act as does the high-water pressure on the cup.
It is the personality of the parents as brought to bear on the children that accomplishes greatest results. This they assimilate imperceptibly. “Our influence has no nights and keeps no Sabbaths.” The enemy is always watching to catch us sleeping, that he may steal in while we are off guard, and bear away our hearts’ treasures. “Eternal vigilance is the price of safety.”
Takoma Park, D. C.
The Power of Song
By HENRY DE FLUITER
HENRY DE FLUITER
“Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.” These words of the poet are literally true. Music is one of the greatest powers in the world today that will draw the attention of men and women, old and young, saint and sinner alike. It is one of the great gifts to man of which the devil has taken full advantage. God’s great gift has been perverted to serve the baser instincts of mankind. But this fact does not in the least hinder us from using it to God’s glory.
It was Paul and Silas, at midnight, who gave expression in song to glorify God in the hour of trial. It was Martin Luther’s own hymn, “A mighty fortress is our God,” that cheered him and his colaborer Melanchthon in the hour of16their trial. Coming to our own day, those men of God, Moody and Sankey, pioneers in revival work, found it a tremendous factor in the success of their labors. I can remember, when but a child, attending one of their meetings, and the impression made was so great that it proved a lasting inspiration for a life work.
Many a soul has been won to Christ through the power of gospel song. As a people we have not taken advantage of this powerful agency in our work as we should. We have not appreciated its real value to enhance our meetings and to bring people to them. We need to develop our young men to become leaders in this work. Could all our meetings, especially our city efforts, be well supported musically, what a wonderful aid it would be to the evangelist! Oftentimes the right hymn, at just the right time, will cause a man to yield his heart to God.
Have you not been in a consecration meeting when men and women were yielding their all to Christ for service, when just then some one sang, “I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, over mountain, or plain, or sea,” or, “Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine,” and your heart was made to rejoice as you joined in the singing? It seemed to clinch the determination in your own soul, and you left the meeting with that consecration hymn still ringing in your ears.
Good hymns in the service of God are the seasoning that makes the whole so delectable. As a preventive of evil thoughts lurking in your minds, let me suggest this remedy: Sing a hymn. As you go about your daily duties, at home, in the factory, in the street, keep a hymn in mind. Sing it, whistle it, hum it, as the circumstances may warrant, and there will not be much danger of sinful thoughts occupying your minds.
If His love is in the soul,
And we yield to his control,
Sweetest music will the lonely hours beguile;
We may drive the clouds away,
Cheer and bless the darkest day,
If we keep the heart a-singing all the while.
Washington, D. C.
Conducted by Mrs. C. C. Lewis, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C
By Mrs. C. C. Lewis
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 Man Who Didn’t Succeed
By Peter Reed
THEY sing of the men who build the mills
And girdle the earth with steel,
Who fill the hour and wield the power
That molds the public weal.
Honor to them that in honor do
The work that the world must need;
And yet in chief I hold a brief
For the man who didn’t succeed.
’Tis not to excuse the indolent,
No plea for the down and out,
No jealous rage at what this age
And its leaders are about;
Merely to ask in a casual way
Of those who chance to read,
For fairer view, and kinder, too,
Of the man who didn’t succeed.
His house is small, his table light;
His family must endure
The snubs and sneers of the buccaneers
Whose debts fall on the poor.
Yet his is a home, and no hotel;
His wife is a wife indeed;
There’s nothing above his children’s love,
To the man who didn’t succeed.
Admitting it’s true that he did not make
The most of his talents ten,
He won no pelf nor raised himself
At the cost of his fellow men.
His hands are clean, his heart is white,
His honor has been his creed.
Now who are we to say that he
Is the man who didn’t succeed?
— Peter Reed, in the New York Sun.
The Florida Conference and Camp Meeting
By I. H. Evans
THE Florida camp meeting was held at Orlando, Fla., October 8-18. The camp was pitched on the fair ground, and the citizens and controlling board helped in every possible way to make the stay of our people pleasant and enjoyable. From the beginning, the weather was all that could be wished. The attendance was the largest of any camp meeting held in the Florida Conference.
Besides the regular preaching services, instruction was given in all departments of our work. Several consecration services were held, when all in the audience, with very few exceptions, gave themselves anew to the Lord, and earnestly sought divine help in putting sin out of their lives.
Elder W. H. Heckman presided in the conference meetings. Others from outside the conference who were present and rendered valuable help were Elder O. Montgomery, president of the union conference, and the union canvassing agent, Brother V. O. Cole.
A donation aggregating more than $13,000 in cash and pledges, much of which was conditional on the sale of property, was cheerfully made by the people. The Sabbath school offerings amounted to $525, which was liberal, judging from the attendance and the ability of the people to give.
The amount of tithe received during the past year was the largest in the history of the conference, and the number of converts to the truth, as reported by the laborers, was very encouraging. Two new churches were received into the conference at this meeting, and another church will be organized soon. Three new church buildings had been erected and dedicated during the year.
Our colored believers held their camp meeting at the same time, on a good street in Orlando. Elder Strachan, assisted by Elder Sydney Scott and the conference workers, conducted this meeting. The outside interest was good. The young people had a regular training school. The encampment was neat and attractive, and commanded the respect of all. At the close of the last Sabbath, Brother J. S. Green was ordained to the gospel ministry.
A spirit of unity prevailed during the entire meeting. Not one discordant note was sounded from beginning to end. Brother W. H. Heckman was reelected president of the conference for the ensuing year. Florida has given freely of its laborers to strengthen the work in other conferences in the union, and now it is in great need of the addition of some strong men to its evangelical force of workers. However, every indication would warrant the belief that there is a bright future before the Florida Conference, with rapid growth in new churches and church membership.
I left on Saturday night, but Elder W. H. Heckman writes concerning the closing day of the meeting, as follows:—
“The meeting closed in a blaze of glory. As the last song was being sung, a great many in the audience were in tears. Every one spoke in the highest terms of the good camp meeting, many saying that though they had been present at a great many camp meetings, this was the best they had ever been privileged to attend. Sunday, there were thirty-nine baptized, ten at the colored camp.”
This was my first visit to Florida. I was sorry not to meet at this meeting Elder George I. Butler, who was unable to be present.
The Lord greatly blessed during the Florida camp meeting, and all present seemed of good courage and ready to give their lives, their property, and their all to the finishing of the work.
I. H. EVANS.
Wyoming Camp Meeting
By ASA SMITH
SUNDAY, October 4, marked the close of one of the best camp meetings, at Miniature, Nebr., ever held in the Wyoming Conference. The attendance was large, being exceeded only once in the history of our conference. We were favored with fine weather, with the exception of the last day, which was somewhat cool. Considerable interest was shown by the people of the town, the evening meetings being especially well attended. Elders Miller and Reeder had charge of the evening services, in which they presented the coming of the Lord and the Sabbath question.
Elder Sutton, our new president, arrived in time for the opening, and preached the first sermon. He was heartily welcomed by our people. Elders Christian and Hale arrived later in the meeting, and labored especially for the spiritual upbuilding of the people. There was an excellent spirit manifest, and many declared it was the best meeting we ever had had. A large number took their first stand for the Lord at the revival service on Sabbath morning. Nine persons were baptized in the afternoon.
Brethren McEachern and Clark had charge of the colporteur work, and three meetings daily were held. More than twenty persons took the instruction and prepared to enter the field. Some of these will not be able to go out at once, but it was surely an enthusiastic company. The general meetings held by Brother McEachern were largely attended. The book sales amounted to $213.20, being the largest we have ever known in this conference. Elder Christian conducted a very enthusiastic home missionary meeting Sunday morning, and it was at this time that the largest amount of the sales were made.
The young people's meetings were in charge of Elder Miller, and the children's meetings under the management of Mrs. E. R. Osborne. These services were well attended. Some of the young people made their first start in the Christian life at this meeting.17
There were two hundred and eleven in attendance at the Sabbath school, and the offerings amounted to $94, being the largest amount ever given at a camp meeting Sabbath school in the Wyoming Conference. About forty persons responded to the invitation to give one dollar each, while a large number more gave fifty cents. Sabbath afternoon Elder Hale conducted a missionary service, and at the close there was almost six hundred dollars raised for foreign missions. This, together with the Sabbath school offering, made a total of $687.53 for missions on that day. On Sunday afternoon there was almost another one hundred dollars raised toward the expenses of the meeting. Surely the Lord was pleased to see the good spirit of cooperation and consecration manifested.
Professor Gosmer was on the grounds Sabbath and Sunday in the interests of the educational work. A rousing meeting was conducted by him on Sunday afternoon, which was attended by the entire camp. Many of our people were pleased to learn more of the school and the work it is doing. It is better equipped for its work than it has ever been. We have a faculty equal to any, and excelled by no other school of ten grades. Three new students came to the school with Professor Gosmer on his return. The school extends a cordial invitation to parents to come and see just how the work is being done. It will do our brethren and sisters good to get acquainted with the faculty and see the work that is being accomplished and feel the influence of the spirit of the place.
The conference committee laid some plans for the work the coming fall and winter. Elder Reeder, who has labored in northern Wyoming for six years, was asked to make the central part of the State his field of labor. Brother Fish has been released in order that he may attend Union College, and Elder Miller will look after the work at Rapid City, S. Dak., for the present. Action was taken inviting an additional worker to the field. Elder Sutton will come to the office, and after settling his family will spend some time with the churches. Brother Clark is now in the field with the colporteurs. All our churches will do their best to push the Ingathering campaign, and to solicit help for our mission work from those not of our faith. Let us do faithful work, for the time of harvest is swiftly passing. ASA SMITH.
