The First General Meeting in Siberia by Mrs. J. T. Boettcher

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 8, 1910

The First General Meeting in Siberia

By Mrs. J. T. Boettcher

MRS. J. T. BOETTCHER

(Concluded)

To our surprise and delight we found our brethren had a nice tent all pitched and seated, ready for the meeting. We had expected that our meeting-house would be made from the branches and leaves of trees, but here was a tent capable of seating one hundred persons, and in front was a rostrum built of wood and covered with cloth, making a very neat appearance.

Here, then, miles away from any village, with not a house to be seen in the distance, on this beautiful spot in the edge of the woods, was held our first tent-meeting in Siberia. In the Sabbath-school there were present fifty adults and twenty-seven children, Germans and Russians. These are brethren and sisters who have emigrated from the southern part of European Russia to this part of Siberia. Some of them came three hundred miles or more with teams to attend this meeting. They were hungry to hear the word of God, and on Sabbath we had meetings from 9 A. M. until 7:30 in the evening, with only short

intermissions. It was a day rich in blessings and long to be remembered. Here, without the consent or presence of any police, we worshiped God with full liberty.

In the afternoon we had a good social meeting, in which all took part freely. The weather had become warmer, the sun shone, and all felt deeply grateful to God for such a beautiful and quiet place in which to worship. Many consecrated themselves anew to God for service.

There was present at this meeting an earnest Russian brother who has now been in the truth for about two years. He related to us some very interesting experiences. He had been acquainted with the truth some fifteen years before accepting it, bitterly opposing it all the time. First some of his children began to keep the Sabbath; then later his wife, bearing patiently for years all his opposition. He saw his children study the Bible, which ought to have pleased him, but strange to say, it did not. Sometimes he listened in another room while they were praying; and when he heard them praying for him, it affected him deeply. At last some of our ministers came to visit the family. He intended to have them make their visit very short; but instead of that the Lord worked upon his heart, and before they left, he, too, accepted the truth. He is, we believe, through the grace of God and the influence of his godly family, thoroughly a Seventh-day Adventist, and during the meeting he was solemnly ordained, by the laying on of hands, as elder of one of our Russian churches. In his family alone there are eleven Sabbath-keepers. We believe that this man, who was a veritable Saul, will become a Paul, and help to carry forward the work among the Russians in Siberia. On Sunday, some strangers not of our faith attended the meeting. They came with their teams from about eight miles away.

The needs of the cause, our great mission field, and the $300,000 Fund were presented to our people. All wanted to help, and soon over one hundred dollars was pledged or given in money, besides eggs and chickens which were set apart for this fund. These people have very little money; and although their houses are neat and clean, they have only straw roofs, and are furnished in the most simple manner. The truth always educates. We were pleased to see one window of each little house screened with netting and left open day and night, thus admitting plenty of fresh air.

The children of this settlement have no school privileges, so the parents decided at this meeting to build another house, consisting of three rooms and a kitchen. One room is to be used for their church meetings, one room for the school, and the remaining room and kitchen for the home of the school-teacher.

Near the lake, on the land of our brethren, stands a Kirghizen tent, just like those seen in Central Asia. It is the home of a Kirghizen family, who herd the cattle of the settlement. Last Friday, while looking about, we passed this tent, and went inside to visit the family. The tent is round, and contains an astonishing number of things. In the center was a fire from little sticks laid on the bare ground, the smoke escaping from an opening in the top of the tent. There were no chairs. On the ground before the fire sat an old grandmother cooking, and beside her the little granddaughter dressed in gay colors. The man, whose name was Abraham, rose at once upon our entrance to bid us welcome, and began to spread down rugs for us to sit upon. We sat down, and then they invited us to drink tea with them, our host even offering to get wine for us if we wished, although they themselves do not drink it. They seemed much pleased to learn that we, too, do not drink wine.

Hearing groans behind us, we looked around and observed an old woman lying on a mat. They told us she was sick, and had kept her bed for four years. In a cradle lay a baby fast asleep. Soon the mother entered and seated herself upon a rug.

Our brethren tell us that these Mohammedan people are very trustworthy as herders. This afternoon, while we were singing our hymns by the side of the little lake where a young man had followed his Lord in baptism, two of the Kirghizen women came out of their tent to join us and listen to the singing. We shook hands with them to make them feel welcome, and later three of them attended one of our meetings.

After the meeting was closed, and the tent taken down, and we were packing our things to leave, the Spirit of the Lord still worked in a wonderful manner upon the people. The wife of one of our brethren said, with tears in her eyes, that she desired baptism. The brethren and sisters met together to pray, and to examine this young woman, who had resisted the Spirit of God for many years. When it was decided to have baptism at once, the son of Brother H. K. Loebsack, a promising youth of sixteen, and his sister, a bright little girl of fourteen, confessed that they had been under conviction during the meeting, and that they knew they ought to take this step. Men and women wept for joy as we left our packing, and proceeded once more to the lake, singing as we went. It was about nine o’clock in the evening, and the baptism was a most beautiful scene. All decided that the close of the meeting was the best part of all. Our hearts are filled with praise to God for his goodness.