p. 15 | First Impressions of Java by J. E. FULTON

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 29, 1909

First Impressions of Java

By J. E. FULTON

J. E. FULTON

The beauties of this wonderful country, with its strange and new scenes, are far beyond my powers to describe. Everywhere we see strange sights, and hear unusual sounds, and the few weeks we have been here have been to me like a huge dream, from which there seems to be no waking. From the moment of our landing, we have been in a vast wonderland, and that a real one, with no painted illusions.

Some one has styled this island the “Garden of the East,” and I think, after what little I have seen, that the name is certainly very appropriate. Wherever we travel, there are vast fields of rice, sugar-cane, corn, beans, and tobacco; in other parts we see plantations of coffee, vanilla, and rubber, also forests of teak, a valuable wood planted by the government, and here and there about the villages, choice tropical fruit trees, such as bananas, mangoes of many varieties, jack-fruit, breadfruit, and many the names of which I do not know. There are many towns, for the country is full of people. The Lord has profusely adorned and greatly enriched this country. I thought the islands of the South Seas beautiful, and so they are, but they are nothing in comparison to this. Some of the Old Testament descriptions of the land of Canaan would not be far from a good description of Java. See Deut. 11:11, 12.

We have made a visit to Pangoengsen, where Miss Jansz lives. We rode all day on the train, or rather a steam tram, then stopped at night at the home of a Dutch public-school teacher. He is a very fine man, and we were glad to meet with one who did not smoke, and who seemed to be a genuine Christian. Mrs. Fulton and Miss Tunheim accompanied me. The next day we arrived at Miss Jansz’s place. This was reached by a ride in the tram, a ride in a dog-cart, and then a horseback ride. It was all very interesting, and we enjoyed it. The journey was made through a country of beautiful valleys and terraced mountainsides, where the fields of rice, green and golden, waved gloriously.

We were met at the station by Miss Jansz, who gave us a most hearty welcome. We were with her for a few days, and spent a Sabbath at her place. This gave us an opportunity of seeing her people, and speaking to them on the Sabbath. I was much interested in her work. She has been used to do a work here which I believe the Lord has blessed.

One thing I saw,—and this is a fundamental principle in missionary work,—the native people recognize that their missionary loves them. This is manifested constantly in many ways. They are like a well-looked-after flock of sheep. Their physical and spiritual wants are looked after. Here is where many who labor for natives fail. They hold them off at arm’s length, failing to break down the barriers that have been set up by the Europeans, who universally despise the natives; failing to demonstrate that they are representatives of him who is no “respecter of persons,” and that he loves all mankind, of whatever color.