It was advised by the superintendent of the field that I leave Tortola and make this place, Christiansted, St. Croix, my field of labor. I landed here August 4, and found a little church endeavoring to hold up the light before the inhabitants. Some were bearing heavy burdens, while others were careless and indifferent. What each one needs is the spirit of consecration to God and his cause. A time like this demands much prayer.
The Sabbath day is generally spent in religious exercises. There is an excellent young people's and church missionary society combined. Twelve substantial young people attend the home Bible class three times a week, and are making rapid progress. At the end of each month I give them an examination in Bible doctrines. This they enjoy very much. There are about fifteen candidates who are being prepared for baptism. I am glad for the privilege of instructing these young people for the Master's service.
Lessons on health principles, especially on temperance, dietetics, and hydrotherapy, are being given every Monday night. These health talks generally reach men and women who are not interested in their souls' salvation. In this way they come to know of the gospel. The lessons, being practical, teach them how to care for themselves in their own homes.
All the members of the church are health reformers. If the ministers in all our churches would live and teach the principles of health reform, the church members would follow; for example teaches better than precept.
Under the blessing of Him who went about doing good (Matt. 9:35), a poor12blind woman, whom the doctor had given up as incurable, has now been made able to see, by the scientific application of hot and cold water to the eyes and back of the head. She is able to do her housework with the utmost ease.
A mother brought her little boy, about three years of age, suffering from paralysis of both legs. I gave him a mild application of electricity, followed by simple massage. As the result of a carefully regulated diet, cold water applied to the spine, occasionally hot sand around the lower parts of the body, and sea bathing, the child is now able to walk.
Water treatments are not appreciated as they should be, and to apply them skillfully requires work that many are unwilling to perform; but none should feel excused on account of ignorance or indifference on the subject. There are many ways in which water can be applied to relieve pain and check disease. All should become intelligent in its use in simple treatments. Mothers, especially, should know how to care for their families in both health and sickness. In any case, pure water is one of heaven's choicest blessings.
Suffering is seen on every side, but the day is coming when "the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the 'lame man' leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Isa. 35:5, 6. The second coming of Christ will surely bring relief to all who love and serve him now.
The Child and His Food
By MRS. I. H. E.
MANY mothers, in their anxiety to see their children eat heartily, make the mistake of unconsciously training them to be disagreeably critical of their food. It is no uncommon sight to see a child fretfully push away his plate, declaring that he does not like or does not want this or that. Usually he has in mind something that he does want, and very often he gets it.
One frail little mother of a remarkably sturdy son went through some such scene as the following each morning:—
“Now, darling, will you have some of this nice oatmeal and cream?”
“No!” Henry was as emphatic as his mother was conciliatory.
“But it will make you grow.”
“No!”
“Please—just a little, for mother—that’s a good boy.”
“NO!”
“Well, what should you like to eat, dear?”
After much coaxing, the young autocrat of the breakfast table would give his decision. Perhaps, having asserted himself, he would “exercise his individuality” by accepting the food first offered. Often he would call for something not on the table, which, as likely as not, must be especially prepared. To wait did not trouble him; for “piecing” was already a habit, and he rarely came to the table really hungry. And his mother, actuated by the idea that what her son liked and wanted, and therefore “relished,” would be the best thing for him to eat, continued to cultivate and serve his whims. In this particular case, circumstances rescued a charming and lovable child from developing into a captious, critical man, whom nothing could please; but too often the seed thus unconsciously sown in the child’s mind by a doting mother bears its full fruit in the man, and his wife and friends must later suffer from habits that need never have been formed.
A Thankless Bondage
Twenty years ago a lovely young woman married, and went to live on a pleasant farm. The view from her kitchen windows would delight the eye of an artist, while the grove of fine trees near the house sounds a constant invitation to the enjoyment of the out-of-doors. A sparkling, joyous, happy-hearted girl she was, and she developed into an absolutely unselfish wife and a devoted mother. No time has she for “views” or idling. Her days are spent between the kitchen and the dining room, in an endless round of preparing and serving and cleaning up. Her husband has a “finicky” appetite. Never will he eat pancakes for breakfast, but every morning of the year he must have muffins. Two of the boys are equally decided—only they will not taste muffins, but must have pancakes. The third, and youngest, of the boys will have neither. Hot buttered toast, of just the right brownness, is his favorite breakfast stand-by.
Two of these men-folk like a certain hot drink every morning of the year, another chooses cold milk, while five-year-old Robbie, not liking either, has a special beverage prepared for him each meal. As often as not it remains untouched, but woe be the day when its preparation is omitted.
Multiplying this mother’s work in getting one meal by the number of meals prepared and served in a day, and then by the number of days in a year, gives a quick answer to the questions that arise as to why her time is so largely spent in her kitchen, and what has become of the high spirits and zest for life that distinguished her girlhood.
Instead of such indulgence being a benefit to a child, it is a positive injury. What at first was only an imagined dislike, a mere caprice or whim, is developed into absolute distaste; and often he forms the habit of avoiding many plain, wholesome foods, which would give a healthful variety to his bill of fare. Moreover, mothers who take such a course are forging chains that will bind them to thankless bondage in later years.13It is well to look ahead sometimes, to see where certain tendencies, if indulged, will end, and to take steps to check them while the process will not be difficult for the mother or painful for the child.
Wisdom Is Needed
Of course children who are frail, or who have especially delicate digestions, should not be compelled to eat what “goes against them.” The wise mother, while not forcing the child to eat what is really distasteful, will never allow the matter to become a topic of comment and question. If at a friend’s table, she will quietly substitute a bit of plain food, such as a slice of bread. At home she will, until such time as seems suitable, avoid raising the issue. To say, every time a certain food is served, “Remember, father, John never eats beans,” “Mary does not like grains,” “Susie never tastes apple sauce,” gives to these childish notions an importance they do not deserve, and has the additional disadvantage of fixing the impression in the mind.
One Mother’s Resolution
One mother who had suffered many things from visiting children who ate little of the vegetables and other common foods placed on their plates, resolved to take a different course with her own son.
‘When my son began to eat,’ she says, ‘I resolved that he should not be allowed to develop so many food whims, to cause him discomfort, and his mother, wife, or hostess annoyance in later life. From the first he was required to eat a small portion of all food suitable for him on the table. If he really disliked it, he needed only to take a small serving, possibly a teaspoonful; but the next time he was obliged to try it again. He was never allowed to express dislike for any article of food, and thus strengthen his prejudice against it; while his father and I were careful to keep our individual distastes to ourselves. As a reward, now at twelve years of age, our boy enjoys most ordinary articles of food, while he will eat without protest whatever is served him. His health is greatly benefited by a varied diet, to say nothing of the satisfaction the home caterer derives from a normal eater.’
A Small Girl’s Aversion
Occasionally a child seems to inherit, along with the color of his eyes and hair, a positive repugnance to some article of diet. From the time she was given her first “tastes” of solid food, Bettina evinced a strong dislike for rice. All other grains—boiled, puffed, or flaked—she ate with relish. Her mother was very particular to have the child’s food served regularly, and of a variety and kind suitable to her age; she was never allowed to “piece,” so she came to the table with a normal, hearty appetite. But no matter how hungry she was, it was a long time before she could be persuaded to swallow rice, whatever the disguise in which it appeared.
This aversion was never mentioned in Bettina’s presence. Occasionally, as a matter of course, a tiny portion was offered, and it was understood that she would try to eat it. So well has this plan worked that now, at ten years, while she does not enjoy rice, she has so far overcome her former loathing that she can eat it when it is necessary. By taking this course, Bettina’s mother helped her child to rise above a condition that otherwise would have held the mastery over her.
And herein is the substance of the whole matter. Every good, wholesome habit formed, every unreasonable whim and notion conquered, adds by so much to the child’s equipment for a happy, successful, and helpful life. That is the goal of all true mother service, and it should never be lost sight of.
MRS. I. H. E.
To My Mother
By Mary Carolyn Davies
It is hard to speak the love we feel.
My mother, you who taught me first to kneel
And give my evening thanks to God, who first
Allayed with your own wisdom my child's thirst,
Who guided patiently my groping hand,—
'Tis only now at last I understand
The half that you have done for me—and oh,
I have no words to tell you what I owe!
It is so hard to speak my love. I pray
You'll understand the words I cannot say.
— Mary Carolyn Davies.
We Need Not Understand
By F. E. BELDEN
F. E. BELDEN
The desert way He sometimes leads us,
The simple manna that he feeds us,
The humble work for which he needs us,
We may not always understand;
But while for Canaan gardens yearning,
God’s lessons patiently we’re learning;
The fiery pillar still is burning;
He leads—we need not understand.
The bondage which we’ve left, repenting,
The foe that follows unrelenting,
The deep, wide sea our flight preventing,
We may not always understand;
But we’ve a Father wise as loving,
Let faith his promises be proving;
Stand still and see the waters moving;
He rules—we need not understand.
Why to the bitter fountains guided,
When ’twas for crystal springs we chided,
Nor knew we prayed with heart divided,
We may not always understand;
But by the lonely pool of Marah,
The living water seemeth dearer,
And Christ, the riven Rock, is nearer;
Life flows—we need not understand.
And when we reach the Jordan River,
Where day’s last shadows faintly quiver,
O may the arms of the Life-giver
Bear safely to the Promised Land!
Till then we trust the One who knoweth,
No storm forbidden ever bloweth,
No tear unnoticed ever floweth:
He knows—sometime we’ll understand.
A Grudge
A GRUDGE doesn't hurt anybody but the man who harbors it.—Everybody's.
Conducted by Mrs. I. H. Evans, Takoma Park, Washington D. C
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.
Friends and Foes
By Surgeon General United States Public Health Service
GREAT things have small beginnings. A spectacle maker, Jan Leippersheim by name, living in Holland, invented a crude magnifying glass in 1608. Anton von Leuwenhoek, born in Delft, Oct. 12, 1632, improved this clumsy toy, and evolved a compound microscope which has become the most valuable sanitary tool yet devised by man. That first microscope was as far removed from the high-powered instrument of today as is the modern American from the savage. Yet by this faulty means, Leuwenhoek, naturalist, physician, and botanist, discovered certain minute bodies which he called “little animals.” He made drawings of these, and today we know them for those useful friends and malignant enemies of man—bacteria.
We spend our days surrounded by another world, a living world of countless billions, invisible to the naked eye, silent, tireless, destroying the living, consuming the dead, useful in the sciences and arts, yet often followed by a train of sickness, suffering, and death. A curious paradox this; yet bacteria are at once the greatest friends and the fiercest foes of every living thing. Not animals, as Leuwenhoek thought, but vegetables, bacteria consist of two classes,—those which prey on living things, and those which reduce to its original minerals, fluids, and gases every dead thing which they attack. They are of various shapes, round like marbles or straight like little sticks. They grow in clusters, chains, and in pairs. They are ubiquitous. The dusty air, the earth and its waters, the interior of animals and plants all contain them. They cause the fermentation of foods, they make cheese, they produce disease; and some of them, when killed and injected into an animal, protect it against the very disease which they would have produced if living. Many of them live as harmless creatures in the body of an animal for years, only to kill their host when the opportunity presents. Their study has given birth to a science, bacteriology, one of the foundation stones of public health.
Their mere presence does not necessarily produce disease. Recalling the parable of the sower, some bacteria fall by the wayside, some fall upon stony places, and some fall in good ground, and bring forth the fruit of suffering, perhaps of death. A normal, temperate life, free alike from the excess of idleness or overwork, the sound mind in the sound body, a cheerful, normal environment, these form the stony places in which bacteria take no root. The depraved appetites of mind and body, the dark and sordid atmosphere of penury, the nerve-racking and strength-undermining trades,—these prepare the good ground.
The great weapon against bacteria is cleanliness. The mastery over premature death lies to a great measure in our own hands. Clean persons, clean cities, clean workshops, and clean lives are the makers of public health. The United States Public Health Service and other sanitary bodies of this country are gradually bringing these facts home to the general public. In this way cleanliness is becoming more general, and the span of life in America is gradually being lengthened. All this is largely due to the microscope.—Surgeon General United States Public Health Service.
A Suggestion
By Lora E. Clement
POLISH your shoes. Do it every day. If they are white, keep them spotless; if they are black or tan, keep them shining. The few moments spent in this way will form a link in the chain of great-little things which go to make the sum of a well-groomed man or woman.
Some people go serenely on their way, apparently oblivious of the fact that the polish does not rival the lasting qualities of their shoes. No one with neglected footgear appears well-dressed, even though he be clothed in purple and fine linen. One day a gentleman who adds to his name the symbols of at least three degrees passed through our office. His attire was faultless—almost: but by that “almost” I remember him. Oh! oh! how those Oxfords did clamor for attention! Their color was nondescript, but I think they had been black once in the long ago; the laces were carelessly knotted; and the edges of the soles carried a liberal supply of Washington’s red clay. Perhaps he considered shoe polish a nonessential; perhaps he had not “considered” at all, but was merely careless. However that may be, few of us can afford to neglect the little touches that count so much for neatness in personal appearance.
Shoes have been known to play a major part in the rôle of destiny. Their care may seem a very minor matter, but really it is no trifle. However high or lowly the “calling” you pursue, a commoner begs to offer this suggestion: Don’t forget to polish your shoes!
LORA E. CLEMENT.
When the Wagon Sticks
By Harriet C. Forrest
WALKING along the street a few days ago, I noticed a three-year-old girl on the edge of a porch, holding despairingly to the tongue of a toy wagon which was stuck halfway up the steps. The child tugged and sobbed; she had encountered her first problem, and was unable to cope with it. I stopped and lifted the wagon a bit. “Now pull!” I said. The problem was solved, and smiles drove away tears.
As I passed on, the thought came to me: How many of us spend weary efforts and unnecessary hours like the child, making trouble for ourselves to conquer? Little, everyday annoyances are magnified until they assume overwhelming proportions; then we tug and tussle, jerk the toy wagon, and give way to grief.
I saw a woman make herself miserable when any other woman received attention. She could be delightfully vivacious until another woman drew a little attention, then she became dumb and sat apart, sullenly jerking her toy wagon, and wouldn’t try to play fair. I knew a girl who said, ‘Life is a burden,’ because three nights in one week she was minus engagements. She felt it a sure symptom of waning social popularity. Poor little girl! Life is a serious affair when your toy wagon sticks so easily.
Then I met a girl who had cheerfully bumped her wagon over every obstacle; who laughed when she told of missing a penny out of her purse when a penny meant a great deal to her. You see the girl allowed so many pennies a week for her room, so many for food and so many for stamps to write home to her dear ones. So a penny lost meant one penny short to buy her five cents’ worth of rolls. While she sat pitying herself, she saw the mischievous penny peering inquisitively at her from under her trunk. Then she laughed, and there was great rejoicing over the penny that was lost and found. The same girl showed me a cozy little office furnished with the result of her own earnings, and bearing a neat sign: “Miss Blank, Notary Public and Stenographer.”
It had taken many jerks of her wagon, and in the interval she had found time to help other women whose wagons had stuck—help them with tender sympathy, encouraging words, working at night to fix over some out-of-date garment, or making over some of her old clothes into little dresses for the children of a more unfortunate and poorer woman than herself. The charm of it was that the girl never dreamed she was a heroine, for she had jerked her toy wagon only when necessary, and considered it a very ordinary proceeding.
So you see the best way to get your own wagon over an obstacle is to help some one else tug. “Now, PULL!”—Harriet C. Forrest.
A Physician's Wise Advice to Girls
By Irving D. Stienhaurt, M. D.
THE question of how a girl dresses is an important one. The male sex has always been trained to regard the female form as something sacred, to be concealed from public view; and several years ago none but an immoral woman would wear anything that would, in any way, display her womanly charms, or make her figure conspicuous.
Many of you have thought little about whether your dress was modest or not, the question of style taking precedence of all other considerations. Now that it has been brought to your notice, think it over, and do not let the matter of style make you forget the more important dictates of maidenly modesty.
By this time many of you are thinking how old-fashioned I am—and you are right. I am still old-fashioned enough to admire a modest, ladylike girl, and I am happy to say that there are still many more men and women like myself.
Formerly a woman who, for any reason, was compelled to raise her skirts, carefully lifted them just the smallest possible extent necessary; but now, with her transparent stockings of lisle thread or silk, such modesty has seemingly taken wings and flown. She must show off her finery, and with it her lower limbs.
Do you know that a certain class of men look for just such exhibitions of immodesty? Prove it for yourselves by observing a crowd of them standing at some exposed place on a windy day. They are liable to misjudge you also, and to address you in very plain, unmistakable language.
Another article of dress which has somewhat changed is the female bathing suit. I need not go into details, for you are just as familiar with the present style as I am, and somewhat more so. Suffice it to say that formerly the bathing suit for women was designed to be as neat, inconspicuous, and modest as possible. Can this be said for the present stylish ones?
And while speaking of bathing suits, I might comment on bathing conduct. Strange as it may seem to some of you, the rules of good breeding and refined behavior are as much to be regarded at this time as at any other. With the shedding of your street clothes for the delightful and healthful recreation of bathing, you must not shed your refinement or morals. Familiarity is just as much, perhaps even more, to be resented at this time than at any other. Personally, I have been amazed by the carelessness, to express it mildly, in speech and action of many young women while bathing, their conduct at any other time or place being entirely different.
While on the subject, I might add a few remarks on general conduct. Be a ladylike, well-bred woman, no matter where you are. Coarseness, familiarity of speech or action, lack of good manners, of breeding, or of refinement are always glaring faults, no matter what the circumstances or where the place. To allow them or to be guilty of them is at the peril of your good name.—
Irving D. Stienhaurt, M. D., in "Ten Sex Talks to Girls."
Why He Loved Her
By Fanny Sage Stone
“I LOVE my Aunt Ella the best of all,”
Whispered six-year-old Harold to me.
“Why do you love her?” I questioned
him;
“Oh, she’s never too busy, you see!
’Course, I love mother, and then I love
you,
And father, and all the rest;
But really and truly, cross my heart,
I love my Aunt Ella the best.”
Oh, the lessons we learn from the children’s lips!
Harold’s words gave me thought for
that day:
To think that the busiest one of us all
Was never too busy to play!
Her manifold duties and burdens and
cares
(Essentially urgent to me),
She could put all aside for this dear little
boy—
She was never too busy, you see.
—Fanny Sage Stone.
The Child Over Five
THE child over five has arrived at a crisis in his moral development. He does not now feel as much as he thinks and reasons. His will has developed. Formerly he did not separate himself very materially from his home, his family, his toys, his food. Now he begins to realize that he is a distinct personality, able to act independently of those about him. He discovers that he can break a law if he wishes; he may wish to do this because he is curious to see how far his own will is able to carry him.
Unless we understand this mental change in the child, we shall find difficulty in understanding him at this period. He does the thing we told him not to do, smiling up at us mischievously all the time. He is testing his pygmy powers against the world of law and order about him.
Have faith in the little one at this transition period. Above all, have patience with him. If he has learned obedience up to this point, through a daily routine of physical care, he will pass this period of revolt safely. To obey will have become a habit.
A help, though, will be to lead the child to a more reasoning view of obedience. Tell him a little of the laws of the city, State, and country; who make them, and why; and how they are enforced. Tell him frankly some of the results to the individual of law breaking, not terrifying him by visions of prisons and confinement, but helping him to realize that law breaking brings its own penalties, merited and unavoidable. In this connection it will be wise to show the child that he is being asked to keep the laws of the home to which all his family are as obedient as he is asked to be. These family laws include cleanliness, promptness, helpfulness, and thought for the comfort and the feelings of others. So many children never realize that mother and father have to "mind" just as they do. To realize this puts into the difficult phase of home discipline a feeling of "together" that often wins the battle for the right.—Selected.
Nebraska
By D. U. HALE.
The summer campaign is about closing with us, although there are two tents still up, and a good attendance in each, with new believers being added to our numbers. At the workers’ meeting in May we planned seven tents for the spring. Elder W. H. Sherrig was to take charge of a tent company in Omaha; Elder O. O. Bernstein in Lincoln; Elder G. J. Seltzer in Fairbury; Elder E. L. Cook in Red Cloud; Elder L. B. Porter in Cortland; Elder C. J. Kunkel in Lincoln, in the German; and Elder Fred Johnson in Saronville, in the Swedish. Since the camp meeting, two of the tents have been repitched, and good results are being seen. It is cold and frosty some evenings, but there are stoves in the tents, and the people are still coming.
Some of these efforts have proved very successful. More than forty are keeping the Sabbath at Lincoln. Eighteen of these have been baptized, and about a dozen more will be baptized October 23. Also in Fairbury and Red Cloud there will be additions to the membership. At the camp meeting in August there were one hundred and sixty-four baptisms reported for the previous year. There were forty-one baptized at camp meeting, eighteen in Lincoln, and a dozen others will be baptized soon. Besides these, a number of others in different parts of the State are waiting for baptism.
Our lay members are also at work. One sister in Dunning, Nebr., began keeping the Sabbath through some Bible studies followed by reading. As soon as she was converted to the truth, she began missionary work. Last winter she called for a minister; Elder Cook responded, and baptized five. Now she is asking for a minister again, saying there are six or eight wishing baptism. Also in Grant and several other places some are waiting for baptism.
The book work in the conference is also doing well. The first nine months show sales amounting to $12,255, while for the same period last year the sales came to $8,926. This shows a gain of $3,329 for the nine months. We set our goal for the year at $15,000. We have three months to make the $2,800 remaining, and have several men in the field. We feel pretty sure of our goal.
Our institutions are doing well. The sanitarium at Hastings has been full to overflowing since early last spring. Our crowded condition demanded another building. We were very anxious to build last spring, but the money was not in hand, and we waited. It is a great temptation, when the need is so great and money easily borrowed, to go into debt; but we were advised to wait, and now we are glad we did, for now the money is here, the building is up, and there is no debt. The patronage of the sanitarium at College View has also been extra good. Besides the repair work done on the halls and rooms in regular use, seven others that had not been used were fitted up. By the time they were ready, all but one were taken. At one time there were fifty-five patients in the building.
The Lord has truly blessed the work in this conference the past year, and many are rejoicing in this truth as a result.
D. U. HALE.
South Dakota
By E. T. RUSSELL
DURING the year 1914 the South Dakota Conference was able to raise twenty cents a week a member for missions. We hope to realize an equal amount at the close of 1915.
Twelve church schools were conducted in 1914, with an attendance of one hundred and fifty. This year we have nineteen schools in operation, with an enrollment of one hundred and eighty. We have twenty-three Missionary Volunteer Societies, with a membership of two hundred and thirty. The young people of the conference gave last year a little more than three hundred dollars toward supporting missionaries in China. This year they are supporting eight missionaries in India, which will mean a financial contribution of six hundred dollars. Thus far this year the Sabbath school offerings have been larger than for the corresponding months in the year 1914.
During the past winter Brethren Lair and Weatherly held a series of meetings in Mitchell, and as a result fifteen have been added to the church in that city. Mrs. E. M. Owen is now doing Bible work there, and through her efforts two or three have accepted the message. Last winter Brother M. E. Anderson labored in Clear Lake, where he raised up a church of about fifteen members. A series of meetings was conducted near Monroe, by Brother C. F. Cole, and as a result some decided to obey God and walk in the way of his precepts. With those who were already keeping the Sabbath at that place, a church of about fifteen members was organized.
Brother R. H. Wiper began labor in Sioux Falls about the first of the year, and has labored there until the present time. In his work he was assisted during the winter by Brother Lair, and during the summer efforts by Brother Cole. As a result of the work done, thirty-four have been baptized, and have united with the church, and eight or ten others are now keeping the Sabbath. The church building has been improved and somewhat remodeled, so it is a credit to our work in that city. Last winter Brother C. W. Rubendall held a short series of meetings near Ramona, which under the blessing of God were instrumental in reclaiming some who had become discouraged.
During the winter Elder Lovold labored near Breckenridge, where some accepted the truth. A church has been organized, and a church building erected, in which a church school is now being conducted. During the past summer Brethren M. E. Anderson and Alfred Youngberg held a series of meetings in Burke. God blessed their efforts, and more than thirty persons accepted the message. A church of forty-four members has been organized, and others expect to unite with the church soon. A good church building has been erected and dedicated free of debt.
Our annual conference and camp meeting were held at Watertown, a place of eleven thousand inhabitants, which has been practically unworked by our people. During the conference about $4,500 was raised in cash and pledges for the benefit of missions and home work. After camp meeting, Brethren Lair and Weatherly, assisted by Brother Ray Hill, conducted a series of meetings. Twenty accepted the truth, and a church of twenty-eight members has been organized. As a result of the meetings held in Oldham, conducted by Brethren Rubendall and Gus Youngberg, four or five gave their hearts to God and decided to walk in the way of his precepts. The work there will be followed up by Brother Rubendall, and we hope to be able soon to organize a church in that place.
Brethren Lovold and Granlund conducted meetings in Toronto in the Norwegian language, and five or six persons accepted the message there.
In different parts of the conference during the past year, persons have accepted the message of the soon-coming Saviour, as a result of missionary work done by our brethren. It is a conservative estimate to state that at least one hundred and fifty have been converted to the message in this conference since January 1.16We praise God for the success which has attended the work during the past year, and we are praying for the success of the work this fall and coming winter.
E. T. RUSSELL.
Rest by the Way
COME ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
Weary, I know it, of the press and throng.
Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
And in My quiet strength again be strong.
Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
For converse which the world has never known,
Alone with me, and with my Father here,
With me and with my Father not alone.
Come, tell me all that ye have said and done,
Your victories and failures, hopes and fears.
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won:
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.
'Come ye and rest. The journey is too great,
And ye will faint beside the way, and sink:
The bread of life is here for you to eat,
And here for you the wine of love to drink.
Then fresh from converse with your Lord return,
And work till daylight softens into even:
The brief hours are not lost in which ye learn
More of your Master and his rest in heaven.
— Selected.
Western Oregon
By H. W. COTTRELL.
WE had five tent companies operating in field work during the summer, resulting in one hundred and fifty-one additions to our church membership. One hundred and thirty-one of this number were baptized; the others were accepted on former baptism.
There has been great depression in business circles in the Northwest on account of the slump in the lumber market, caused in part by the European war. Work has been scarce, and but little money has been in circulation.
While our membership has increased, our tithe receipts the past nine months remain about as during the corresponding months of 1914, with an increase for the nine months of only $800.
We have received in cash for foreign missions, not including Sabbath school offerings, $7,650; for missions in the United States, $300; for local work, $4,600. The Sabbath school offerings have amounted to $5,200, and the retail book and periodical sales to $11,000.
Our foreign missions offerings at the time of our general camp meeting, including cash, pledges, and real estate which was deeded to us, amounted to a little over $19,000. However, it may take some time to sell the land.
The question of Sunday law enforcement is a live issue in this State, especially in Portland. As a result of the recent decision of Chief Justice Burnett, declaring the Sunday laws of the State constitutional, within the last ten days twelve grocers have been arrested for keeping open stores on Sunday. Mr. G. L. Tufts, of Berkeley, Cal., is here looking after affairs for the Sunday-closing advocates. We are keeping in constant touch with the actions of this band of men. In the meantime we are educating the public through articles in the daily papers, and by sending the journal Liberty to all judges, lawyers, justices of the peace, editors, and school superintendents.
We have twenty-three denominational schools in our conference, including our Laurelwood Academy. The schools are all well attended, and reported as doing good work. The academy has the largest attendance in its history. Its buildings are in excellent condition, property entirely free from debt, stock looking well, and at this writing it has six hundred dollars in the bank, with all the teachers' salaries paid up to date.
We have recently organized a church in the center of the city of Portland, which is well attended; and at the present time we are carrying strong evangelistic work on both sides of the Willamette River, with excellent results in prospect.
For all these things, and many others of like character, we are profoundly thankful to God. H. W. COTTRELL.
Western Washington Conference
By Lewis Johnson
After our good camp meeting in June our ministers and Bible workers were divided into seven tent companies. We bought not only a beautiful pavilion eighty by one hundred and twenty feet, but also two field tents forty by sixty feet. In most of the places where our tents were pitched, the interest to hear the truth was good from the beginning. Two tents are still up at this date, October 25.
Some persons in each location gave their hearts to God, and began to walk in all his commandments. In Seattle between thirty-five and forty have already been baptized. At Bremerton, where the present truth had never been preached before, and where we had only two Sabbath keepers—an aged brother and his wife—when we began the tent effort, between thirty and forty now meet for Sabbath school and worship on the Sabbath. The interest and attendance have been good all the season. At times more came than could be seated. The donations received have averaged about one hundred dollars a month.
At the present time all our conference workers have been placed in charge of churches and companies to direct the Harvest Ingathering work, and many are having good experiences. Last year we used 18,400 papers, and received in donations over $1,900. This year we ordered 21,500 papers, besides a goodly number in the Scandinavian and German languages, and we hope the donations will amount to considerable more than during any previous year, because we know the needs are greater.
Our academies and church schools, which number fourteen, are prospering. Our faithful, God-fearing teachers are doing their best, although with very little financial remuneration. May God bless our children and youth.
We have many evidences that the Lord is working upon the hearts of his people to be faithful in paying tithe and offerings. Although nearly everybody complains of hard times, yet the tithe for the first nine months of this year is about $3,000 more than during the same period last year. For this and many other things we praise the Lord. We should be glad to have the readers of the REVIEW remember the Western Washington Conference in their prayers.