REACHING Tanga, January 15, we were able to land that evening. It was only by special permission that the native teacher could go ashore, because of quarantine regulations. The next day we made several visits, and prepared for the trip inland. The Northern Railway now goes as far as to the Kilimanjaro, a distance of about two hundred miles. I could see great improvements on this line during the last eight years. We went as far as Makania, about one hundred thirty miles inland. At the two stations before we reached Makania, Brethren Drangmeister and Koelling joined us, with some of their boys; and when we reached Makania, Brethren Poenig and Kunze were waiting with about two hundred of their students. It was quite a sight even for the passengers on the train to see such a turnout and such a very hearty welcome.
OUR NEW CHAPEL AT KIHUIRO, PARE MISSION
From here we had a trip of four hours to the Vuasu station, the ascent being about three thousand feet. While it was quite hot on the plain below, we found it rather cool in the evening breeze as we ascended the mountain. Vuasu station is very well located, and on a clear day one can plainly discern from it the snow-covered summit of Kilimanjaro.
On the Sabbath I spoke to about four hundred fifty people, who gathered outside, as our chapel was too small. About forty stood up before this large congregation and testified of their faith in the true God, and in Jesus Christ, whom he has sent for our salvation. Sunday we examined the school, and were pleased to see the progress our pupils had made. Fifteen offered themselves for baptism at this place, and quite a church is growing up here.
As Brother Dail was suffering with fever, Brethren Kotz, Drangmeister, and Koelling left on the twentieth for the Vunta station. Our road led us over mountains as high as seven thousand feet. During the six hours of the trip, we were met at different places by native chiefs and the pupils of our out-schools. I could see that a wonderful change had taken place in this country during the last eight years. Then we had no roads, no missions, and no schools, and the natives were shy of us. Now good roads have been constructed in all directions over the mountains, and we have not only four promising schools at the regular stations, but a score of out-schools, with several thousand pupils. Hundreds of the native young people came up to us and gave us a hearty welcome. The chiefs accompanied us, some bringing presents. The light of Christianity is dispelling the darkness of heathendom. There is no question that a great harvest awaits us here if the field is properly cared for.
Reaching Vunta in the afternoon, we found a good mission house with corrugated-iron roof, containing four rooms and a kitchen, and a neat school and chapel with a thatched roof, and a capacity of two hundred fifty, awaiting dedication. On the morning of the twenty-eighth we could see hundreds of students coming in from the out-schools with their teachers, and by ten o'clock no less than eight hundred had come together for the dedication. God gave his blessing to the word spoken, and eighteen of the natives arose before this large congregation, testifying that they were giving their hearts to Jesus. Three from here were ready for baptism.
Early in the morning of the twenty-second we began our descent to our oldest station, at Friedenstal. We found great changes here, too. About a mile away from our station we came up to a fine plantation of some six hundred acres, of good caoutchouc-trees and maize.464
As we passed near the house, the wife of the planter, one of our old missionary workers, met us and insisted that we call. Pressing our way on toward Friedenstal, we found this station greatly improved, and as we came up to the mission, hundreds of natives greeted us, and we found all the buildings decorated with palms. By evening all our workers from this field were in, and we were able to make out our program, and have a good meeting of welcome.
OUR PARE MISSIONARIES AT FRIEDENSTAL
NATIVE TEACHERS OF PARE MISSION
The twenty-third and twenty-fourth of January were very busy days, filled with council and workers' meetings, and meetings with the candidates for baptism, and with the men to be ordained. Sabbath evening we divided the one church of the field into four, and unanimously elected the officers. No less than fifty-one candidates had offered themselves for baptism, the largest number we had yet baptized in any of our East African fields. As the cases had been carefully prepared, we had no difficulty in having them all accepted for baptism, and we were pleased to see the interest the native deacons took in considering each case carefully. Sabbath was a beautiful day in every way. Our chapel was crowded, about two hundred fifty being present. After the forenoon sermon, to which good attention was given, we repaired to an artificial pond near by, where Brethren Kotz and Enns baptized the fifty-one who had been accepted for this rite. In the afternoon service, Brethren Poenig, Drangmeister, and Koelling were set apart for the gospel ministry. Brother Kotz offered the ordination prayer in the Chassu, and the charge and the welcome, given by the writer and by Brother Dail, were translated. Next followed the ordination of five native deacons. One of these and his wife and Elder Koelling are to leave by the end of February to join our forces on the lake, where they are to labor among the Wasakuma. In the evening we celebrated the ordinances, over one hundred fifty taking part.
Sunday we had an interesting Bible study with a family that is favorably inclined to the truth, and then in the afternoon we went to Kihuiro, a trip of about three hours. Here also a good chapel has been built near the station since my last visit. We had an examination of the church here, where over two hundred are in attendance. Next day four hundred gathered under the trees, and I had the privilege of speaking to them through an interpreter.
Early the twenty-ninth we marched the fifteen miles to the railway, and by night the train had brought us to the seaport Tanga. Our steamship "Adolph Woermann" arrived January 30, on which we were to embark for Europe.
The growth in the East African exports is best seen from the fact that each steamer has all the freight it can carry, both going and coming. Great rubber, cotton, and maize plantations furnish the large exports, while the rolling stock for the new railways, and the merchandise for the settlers and natives, constitute the bulk of the cargoes brought out from Europe.
When we look upon the present situation in our East African mission field and compare it with the situation found here on our first trip to this field eight years ago, we can indeed see that there have been wonderful changes. We now have one hundred fifty converts, another hundred awaiting baptism in a short time, about twenty native teachers, several thousand pupils in the schools, and a general interest in our mission work. When we first came, Mohammedanism was making inroads among the pagans, and it would have been only a question of time until Islam would have been the dominant factor here. Now its power is checked, and Christianity is in the ascendancy. Let us remember these missions in our prayers, that we may see still greater triumphs for the everlasting gospel.
In the Balkans
By C. M. S.
WITHIN the past week there has been a marked change in the Balkan situation. The king of Montenegro has evacuated the city of Scutari, declaring that while he would not yield to the dictation of one power, he had decided to place the situation in the hands of the great powers of Europe. Whether this yielding to the demands of the powers will forestall the invasion of Albania by Austria and Italy, is still problematical. It is reported that conditions in Albania are in such a condition of unrest that these two powers will undertake the work of bringing about a more settled condition there. There has been a battle between Essad Pasha, who held Scutari against the Montenegrins, and Djavid Pasha, who commands a strong force of Turkish troops. The Turkish government has ordered both these commanders to reunite with the main Turkish army. To obey this command would be a very difficult undertaking while all the intervening country is occupied by the Servian, Bulgarian, and Greek armies. As Essad Pasha has declared himself the king of Albania, it is not likely that he will attempt to obey. Austria and Italy have not definitely declared themselves in reference to Essad Pasha. There is still a feeling that the Balkan problem is far from its solution. A prominent Austrian statesman is reported to have declared that signs foreshadow a momentous and perilous hour when many of the great powers of Europe will be in danger of being drawn into a struggle greater than has ever taken place before. A conference of ambassadors is now in progress in London, seeking to unravel the tangle of conflicting interests in southern Europe. A report from Constantinople states that a new territorial menace faces Turkey. Russia is said to have begun a heavy troop movement to the Persian frontier and into Turkish Armenia. It is the belief that Russia contemplates annexing Turkish Armenia, the reason given for Russia's move in this direction being the persecution of Christians by Moslems. From whatever point of the compass the European situation is viewed, one can see that the situation is a delicate one. It is fringed with danger on every side. C. M. S.
Honan, China
By J. J. WESTRUP
J. J. WESTRUP
As I have no one to talk to in English, I shall talk to my dear brethren scattered all over the battle-field, fighting the good fight of faith to get the victory over self, the flesh, and the devil. Let us every day listen to the Captain of the Lord's host. He says: “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Tears of joy fill my eyes as I think of the day when I shall meet God's dear people, and with them enter the pearly gates and forever enjoy the blessed company of Jesus. O, dear brethren, none of us realize how near we are to that glorious day. Now is the time to press forward for complete sanctification.
Sometimes one is tempted to feel, “What is the use of writing?” I can not tell you how much it encouraged me to get a letter from a dear sister in Vermont, saying that she had read our articles and wanted to raise one thousand dollars for our work. That is just the amount we need to build our schools and chapel in Yen-cheng, and although I have not asked any man for it, God is already preparing to send us that very amount. Who does not believe in prayer? But what inspired me most was to see the faith of this sister, and to know that our articles do help some.
I am very busy from five in the morning until nine at night. Sometimes I am tempted to stay up longer, but I am determined to take plenty of rest, as I want to keep well and work for Christ until he returns in glory, and says to every overcomer, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Why, brethren, those precious words falling on our ears are even now to us worth more than earth's millions. The trouble is most of us are too much taken up with the perishable stuff of earth and do not realize the unsearchable riches we have even now in Christ Jesus. O, let us wake up and lay hold on these riches, and by sacrifice show that we value them above everything that this sin-cursed world can offer!
The harder I work, the better I feel. I am confident that hard work in a common sense way is a great blessing. John Wesley walked a great deal and preached much, but at the age of seventy-three he was as hale and hearty as ever. I put my bedding, etc., on a wheelbarrow and walk, and the more I walk the stronger I grow to preach. But what is more, the Chinese rejoice to see this, and one sermon preached in this self-sacrificing love does them more good than ten otherwise would.
Besides the ordinary work of this large province, I have to move, and to build465two foreign houses, a church, and a school. We are going to move our main station to the railway line, which will be much more central and more convenient in every way and a great saving of time. You should see my surroundings here—doors, windows, flooring, bricks, all taken out; as the owner is not willing to buy our improvements we take them with us, as is the custom here, and I shall use them in building our new station. I am determined not to neglect the spiritual work, hence I go out and visit our out-stations every week and walk some twenty-five or thirty miles.
The other day, as I looked at this clay and dust and confusion in my quarters, the thought came to me: “Here I am, fifty years old, and all this moving and packing and building, which I dread more than anything in this world, before me this year. The tears began to flow quite freely. Then at once I straightened up, and thought: Look at that poor beggar out there, covered with rags and vermin, nothing in his stomach, and shivering with cold. What have you to weep for? The tears dried at once, and I began to sing songs of praise and thanksgiving.
“This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” That statement is very broad and takes in everything. Some have too much comfort and still are grumbling. How were Christ and the martyrs able to endure all they did, if not by faith? Whenever the enemy of souls tells us that we have a hard lot, let us be quick to look up, and the eye of faith will help us see things as God sees them, and we shall be strong.
One evening last summer as we were having our testimony meeting, a very large scorpion crawled up and bit me terribly. How it did pain me! We had no cocain at home and there was nothing for me to do but to endure it. As I did not want to disturb the blessed meeting, I bit my lips in silence and began to pray. That helped. I kept on praying and that lessened the pain or made me stronger to endure it, I do not know which. Bedtime came, and I thought, Now I shall have to lie awake all night and suffer this horrible pain. But I prayed earnestly that the dear Lord would help me go to sleep. In about half an hour I was fast asleep, and when I woke up at five the next morning the pain was almost gone. Is there virtue in prayer?—Surely there is. People pray so little and so carelessly because they do not realize the great power and efficacy of prayer. Tempted, struggling soul, do you want to be strong? Then pray, really pray, and you will get what you need so much. When the heathen is bitten by a scorpion, he gives way to his feelings and cries and acts as if he were going to die at once. That only makes him feel the pain so much the more; but the prayer-abiding faith in God has given his people power to endure patiently in all ages. Try it, poor, wavering, disheartened soul, and you will find it true even in your case.
To My Guest
By Ruth Sterry
RUTH STERRY
Lay down thy burden with thy robe, O friend!
And slip into thy bed as in the arms
Of Him who sendeth both the pain and cheer;
Draw up thy covers as thou drawest o’er
Thy sins the loving mercy of the Lord,
And lay thee down to rest and sweet content.
When thou awakest, then I pray thee wash
Thy heart of sin and clothe thy soul in peace,
In charity, in purity of mind,
To hide thy grief behind a smiling face,
And journey forth a blessing to the world!
Facts About the Fly
By H. C. MENKEL, M. D.
H. C. MENKEL, M. D.
With the return of warm weather there is also the return of the fly, now recognized by man as his worst enemy in the insect kingdom.
The Fly the Product of Filth
The female lays her eggs preferably upon horse manure, as this seems to be its favorite larval food. It also breeds in human excrement. In the absence of these, it will oviposit in drains, garbage cans, ash-pits, rubbish heaps, and other offensive matter. Herein is its great danger to human beings, for it carries the germs of disease from human and animal excreta to the food supply.
The number of eggs laid by an individual fly at one time is very large,—from one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty,—and a single fly may lay four such batches during the hot season. The eggs hatch in about eight hours, then follow the larval stage of five days and the pupal period of five days, thus making the total developing period about ten days. This makes it possible for the production of eight to ten generations every summer.
The disease-bearing possibilities of the house-fly are most apparent—from the manure pile, the latrine, privy vault, consumptive’s sputum, or decaying matter, it sails gaily through the open window, alighting on the dining-table, and leaves filth on whatever it touches.
The microscope shows that the leg of the fly is covered with stiff bristles, like the head of ripened wheat. The germ-laden filth sticks to these bristles, and is shaken off into the food as the fly trails over it. By actual count it has been found that one fly may leave thirty thousand germs in its tracks.
In another experiment four hundred fourteen flies were examined after being allowed to walk through a culture of typhoid fever germs. Each fly was then placed in a bottle of sterile water and washed by shaking the bottle. The germs in the water were counted, showing how many each fly could carry on its body. The count ranged from five hundred fifty to over six million.
This is exactly what happens when the fly falls into the milk or other fluid foods, and struggles about in the endeavor to free itself. The germs are washed from its body into the milk, which thus becomes a liquid culture of disease germs.
The secretary of the Colorado Board of Health tells of a typhoid epidemic traced to the above cause. “A farmer’s wife had typhoid; the bowel waste was deposited in an open vault within thirty-five feet of the milk-house. The bacilli were carried from this vault by flies, and deposited upon the utensils in the milk-house. This dairyman supplied one hundred forty-two families. Among them occurred fifty-five cases of typhoid fever, from which six deaths resulted.”
In New York City diarrhea carries away about seven thousand infants annually. The infection is conveyed to these babies by the fly. Through the cities of our land there is each year during the fly season a veritable slaughter of the innocents. Enough has been discovered to indict the fly as the most dangerous creature to man. Keep it out of your house as you would a deadly snake.
For several years a “swat-the-fly” educational campaign was conducted with good results. This year we are to have a new slogan, “Starve the fly,” which promises even better results. The only way of combating this insect is to destroy the breeding-places. All refuse should be kept in closed receptacles and taken away from the premises at frequent intervals. No offensive matter must be allowed to remain longer than five days in order to prevent breeding. Manure piles should be screened and have added to them daily a shovelful of chlorid of lime. Make use of disinfectants freely to prevent breeding. Kerosene and chlorid of lime are the best.
To kill the fly a weak solution of formaldehyde gives excellent results. The proportions are two teaspoonfuls of a forty-per-cent solution to a pint of water. Place this where the flies have easy access, and they will drink and fall dead. Kill the fly, prevent his breeding, and screen your houses, your food, and your baby’s bed.466
Only an energetic cooperation on the part of all can rid our land of this pest. What has been done with the malaria-breeding mosquito in Cuba and Panama, can be done with the fly in America. Do your part, and do it well.
The General Conference
By A. G. DANIELLS
Thirty-Eighth Session, May 15 to June 8, 1913
Outline of the President's Address
A Review of the Quadrennial Term
Necessary Preparation for the Finishing of the Work
A. G. DANIELLS
To the delegates of the thirty-eighth session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Greeting.
As we gather here to-day for the opening of this session of our General Conference, we greet the largest number of delegates from our world-wide field ever assembled in the history of our cause. And with us are a large number of our brethren and sisters who, at their own personal expense, have come to this meeting to be with us in our deliberations, and to receive with us the inspiration and spiritual uplift which all are hoping this Conference will bring.
The members of the General Conference Committee most heartily greet the delegates from all the fields, and we all unite in extending a cordial welcome to our people who have been pleased to come to the Conference.
Nor must we forget the thousands of our associate workers and fellow believers in all parts of the world, who will be with us in spirit, in prayer, and all good wishes. Truly this interest is mutual. We most sincerely pray that this Conference will bring new courage, hope, and consecration to them as well as to us.
The quadrennial period which closes with the opening of this Conference session has been crowded with evidences of God's love and care for his people, and of his presence in the work they have endeavored to do for him. In the many terrible disasters at sea and in the frequent railway wrecks on land, not one of our workers has perished, nor has any been seriously injured. In the destructive fires, storms, and floods that have wrought havoc in so many places, only two of our people, so far as we know, have lost their lives, and our losses in property have been small. There has been some sickness among our workers in the foreign fields, and a few dear ones have fallen in death; but when we remember that we are scattered over nearly all the world, living and working in the most unhealthful climates and in daily contact with the most deadly diseases, we feel that truly God's protecting care has been over us. We have enjoyed a large measure of liberty in the proclamation of the message committed to us, notwithstanding the difficulties under which we labor in many lands where freedom of conscience is not recognized.
For these and many other blessings too varied and numerous to mention, we praise and magnify the Lord. Truly we may all say with the psalmist:—
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” Ps. 121:1-8.
Progress of the Movement
As those in charge of the different phases of our work will present clear, full reports, this address will, with the exception of a few brief statements, omit the usual review of the work in general.
The reports to be rendered at this Conference will all record progress. They will show greater advancement in the last four years than during any similar period in our history. The number of Sabbath-keepers has increased from 97,579 to 114,206, a gain of 16,627. This is one of the largest gains we have ever made in any four-year period.
We shall all be encouraged by the reports from our representatives who are here from other lands. From these we shall see that this movement has taken firm root in all parts of the world, and that in the foreign countries where it has been established the longest, it is making great strides. But if we consider the shortness of the time and the urgency of the work committed to this people, surely none can feel satisfied with this gain. One of the most important questions to be considered at this Conference is how we may achieve greater success in persuading men and women to take their stand for the truth, how we may make far greater conquests in soul-winning endeavor. This is the goal, the supreme purpose, of all gospel service. Whatever of success may attend our activities in various phases of the work, we can never be satisfied with anything less than leading men to obey God. At the same time we must thankfully recognize the value of faithful service, whether those labored for obey or not.
Our secretary will present a cheering review of the triumphs of this cause in many mission fields. This review will give convincing evidence that the gifts of workers and means made by our people in the United States to other countries have not been lost. It will also show that the conditions we now face in all these fields testify that the hour has surely come to give this advent message to all the world.
The treasurer's report will show a great increase in tithes and offerings. The tithes for the year 1912 exceed those for 1908 by more than five hundred thousand dollars, a gain of more than fifty per cent. In other words, the increase in the annual tithe during the last four years amounts to more than half the sum we paid in 1908, at the close of sixty-five11years of steady growth. Some may wish the exact figures. The total tithe for 1908 was $1,101,396.47; the total for 1912 was $1,653,624.54. Gain, $552,228.07.
The increase in offerings to foreign missions is even greater, amounting to practically one hundred per cent. For the year 1908, preceding the last General Conference, the offerings to foreign missions were $308,045.68. The amount contributed during 1912 was $595,004.76, a gain of $286,959.08, only $22,000 less than the total offering for 1908. Thus in 1912 we added to our offerings to missions an amount almost equal to all we were giving in 1908.
This record will surely encourage the hearts of all God's loyal, self-sacrificing people. And it is the more gratifying because there is every reason to believe that this increase is permanent. It is the result of systematic giving. Each member gives a stipulated sum weekly throughout the year.
Our representatives who have come from mission fields to this Conference will tell of the great help and encouragement this increase of gifts to their fields has been to them and their associates. We are all well aware that of itself money can accomplish nothing; but when it is given by men and women who love God and his cause, and is expended in heathen lands by consecrated workers in earnest efforts to save the lost, money is of great value. It occupies an important place among the facilities to be used in doing the Master's work. Moreover, it brings spiritual blessings to the giver, so that every loyal Christian must rejoice to see money flow freely into the treasury of God's cause.
The Future Outlook
As we review the development and progress of the cause to the present time, one serious question will surely force itself upon the minds of all regarding the future; namely, What can be done to hasten this work to its close? We have long looked for the end of the reign of sin, and we want to see it come. Our faith lays fast hold of the promise of our Saviour that “this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.”
From all that can be seen about us, it seems as if the one thing that stands between us and the end is our unfinished work. If this is true, the one question that looms above all others at this Conference is this: What is called for at this time to quickly finish this work?—what measures shall this Conference adopt? what personal consecration shall we and all our people make? what service shall we render from this day on that will make it possible for the Lord through us to “finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness” in fulfilment of his promise? Rom. 9: 28.
Personally, I may say that of late this question has pressed me hard. I shall not in this address attempt to give it a full answer, but there are some steps that seem absolutely necessary to be taken in order to hasten this movement to its close. Some of these I shall venture to suggest here:—
1. The development of a stronger and more efficient ministry. This is all-important. A strong ministry means a strong, triumphant religious movement. The call in our work for strong, earnest, successful preachers is growing more imperative every day. It has become serious, and this Conference should adopt some practical, effective measure for the immediate and steady development of strong, successful ministers.
2. Place greater importance and value upon evangelical work.
The preaching of the gospel is the fundamental part of gospel work. It precedes all other phases of that work. It is that which, more than any other kind of effort, makes disciples, and adds to the church such as are being saved. All other features of gospel work are built upon this. All the administrative and institutional work of the church springs from the results of preaching the gospel. However good and important the administrative and educational work may be, it never can successfully take the place of purely evangelical work. That must go on, or the other departments, which spring from its results, will become of none effect in advancing the cause of Christ.
The pioneers of this movement laid great stress on the proclamation of the gospel as it was revealed to them in the threefold message of Revelation 14. This led to the most earnest, prayerful study of the Word, and to a close and constant association with the people. Their preaching convinced hearers, and led many of them to accept the message. As they pressed forward with their work, and believers were added to their numbers, they began to feel the need of agencies which they could use to multiply their forces, efficiency, and results. This brought the printing-office, the school, the sanitarium, and organization. But all these were designed by the pioneers to be only tools in their hands to hasten the work.
It was no thought of those who launched these administrative and institutional features that they could take the place of the evangelical work that had been carried forward, but the tendency has ever been for these features to paralyze evangelical work. The formal, business, and mechanical duties, needed in the carrying on of the organized work and institutions, can be performed without special spiritual attainments; whereas, successful evangelical work can not be done without much study of the Word, earnest prayer, and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. For these reasons the tendency is to swing toward the formal, mechanical, official part of the work, to the neglect of the more spiritual and purely evangelical phase.
Some of us can not forget the earnest, pressing call that came to us through the spirit of prophecy at the last General Conference to turn to the cities in strong evangelical work. Should not this Conference, in response to that call, take a stand for stronger evangelical effort everywhere?
3. Stimulate greater activity in home missionary work.
In the vicinity of the home of every believer in this message there are men and women to be won to Christ by a good Christian life and by judicious missionary effort. If the lives of our people are what they should be, their neighbors will respond to their efforts to unfold the truth to them. And this effort will bring as great joy and blessing to those who make it as it will to those for whom it is made. We should at this time launch the greatest home missionary movement ever known among us.
One of the many other important questions to come before this Conference for action will be the improvement of the finances and administration of our institutions.
In this age evangelical and institutional work are very closely, if not inseparably, connected. It is essential that we hold true conceptions of the place, the purpose, and the value of our institutions. An institution is more than ground, buildings, furniture, and equipment. A very important part of an educational institution is its staff of teachers and its student body, and still more, the efficient, patient labor of teachers, and the steady intellectual and moral development of young men and women under the ceaseless care of teachers,—this is part of an educational institution. The teacher, the lesson, the new ideal formed, the ambition awakened, the association of student life,—these are of greatest value.
The same principles apply to our publishing houses and sanitariums. It is not the financial investment nor the losses and gains, but the purpose, the daily work, and the results obtained that constitute their value to the cause of God. In view of the great service all our institutions have already rendered, and are now more than ever prepared to render, we should at this Conference adopt such measures as will give them an efficient administration and place them on a good financial basis.
Having done all we know how to do to come into harmony with the Lord's purpose, we should with all our hearts pray for the baptism and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. This is more important than all else. Without this all other efforts will fail. When Jesus returned to heaven after his resurrection, he sent the Holy Spirit to make real to men what his death on the cross had made possible. There can be no efficient substitute for that divine Spirit. Learning, eloquence, long experience, material equipment, busy activity, can not take the place of the Holy Spirit in the work of God. I feel deeply impressed that this meeting should mark the beginning of more earnest, importunate prayer for the presence and mighty working of the Holy Spirit in all our work.
