Medical Missionary Department
By J. W. Westphal
W. A. Ruble, M. D. — General Secretary L. A. Hansen — Assistant Secretary H. W. Miller, M. D. — N. Am. Div. Secretary The following are a few experiences in the sanitarium near Diamante, Entre Rios, Argentina:— A Catholic lady of about seventy years of age, crippled to the point of helplessness, came to the sanitarium in Argentina through the influence of one of our brethren, who also was formerly a Catholic. Permanent physical help could not be given her; in fact, her days were numbered. She had heard about the gospel truth before, but it had made no impression upon her. But here she soon began to feel its power. Her own statement was that no one could be in this institution without feeling the Lord’s presence. She soon yielded to the Spirit of God, and desired baptism. On a Sabbath afternoon she was carried to the bathroom, and there, in the presence of as large a congregation as the room would hold, she was buried with her Lord by baptism in a bathtub. As the sanitarium could not give her the sought-for relief, she soon returned to her friends, but not without rejoicing greatly over the thought that she had found something better—her Saviour, spiritual healing. Some of the sanitarium workers visited her, and found her faithful and rejoicing in the blessed hope, in which she died a few weeks after leaving the sanitarium. A young woman of Diamante, soon after she was left a widow, contracted tuberculosis. She came to the sanitarium seeking relief. Through the work of the helpers, she became interested in her own salvation, and expressed a desire to unite with us. The disease progressed rapidly, and no hope of her recovery was entertained. She was baptized, after which she improved a little, and two weeks later went to her home. A fortnight after this she returned, when the doctor told her she could live only two or three days. But she wished to remain, saying that she desired to die among God’s people. Lovingly she was cared for by the nurses during her last days. With the doctor standing on one side of the bed and the nurse on the other, she expressed her faith in her Saviour, and then passed away, the attendants committing her to the Lord. She had been a Catholic. We shall mention another instance:— A man with a family came to the sanitarium to work. After a few weeks his wife became interested in the truth, and began attending the church service and sending her children to our school. At first the husband was indifferent, but he also soon became interested. About this time plans were laid to interest the children in the Harvest Ingathering plans. The children of this family asked for a piece of land near the sanitarium for a garden. Their mother gave them money to purchase the necessary seeds, and as their harvest matured they carried vegetables to the sanitarium three times a week. On Ingathering Day they had over eight dollars to present to the Lord. They were needy,—in need of shoes and clothing,—and they might have withheld it for personal use, but their eyes fairly beamed as they brought their offerings to the Lord. In a short time the mother became sick with tuberculosis. In the meantime, both she and her husband were baptized and united with the church. Soon after this she and her little babe of three months were laid away to rest till the Saviour calls forth his own. Before dying, she gave expression of her faith in the Saviour, and asked her husband to meet her in heaven. She expressed her desire to the doctor that her children might be trained for the Saviour. She expired as the last moments of the Sabbath were passing. She will arise at the dawn of that millennial sabbath toward which the saints of God have been looking, and for which they have been longing for ages.