p. 14 | Colporteur Work in Cuba by N. Z. Town

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 19, 1915

Colporteur Work in Cuba

By N. Z. Town

THERE is the sound of agoing in the colporteur work in Cuba. At the institute held in January of this year, about twelve young people who had been attending the little training school in Santa Clara during the four months’ term, took instructions and went into the work.

The Cuban committee at that time planned for another term of four months’ school, to begin September 6, and also offered the regular scholarship discount to all those who would pay for their books and turn in an amount sufficient to cover the school expenses for the year.

About half the class who took instruction and went out to earn scholarships were young ladies. Sister Ida F. Carnahan went with this group of girls to Havana, the largest city of Cuba. These workers have placed about $1,300 worth of books in the homes of the people in Havana this year, and two have the money to their credit at the office for their scholarships. Others have nearly enough. The accompanying picture shows six of these lady colporteurs, with Brother and Sister J. E. Anderson in the center, who are now making a home for the workers. Several of the young men also have their scholarships earned. One young man, a Jamaican, has delivered over $1,000 worth of books this year, and another, a Cuban, over $1,200 worth.

As the Israelites who were hidden in the caves and among the rocks came out and joined in the chase when they saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer had the Philistines in retreat, so young people here in Cuba, when they saw that the colporteurs were winning against the enemy, have joined the ranks, until there are now over twenty names on the list.

During the first half of this year the colporteurs in this island took $12,800 worth of orders, and delivered $7,200 worth of books. When the writer made a plea for a man to lead out in the work in Central America, where there are no colporteurs, the Cuban committee generously offered to give two instead of one, and two who have had the best success this year. When the colporteur work began in Cuba, Mexico gave two of the best men it had. Now Cuba is doing the same for another needy field.

In the beginning of the work here, mostly health books were sold, but the workers are now selling the doctrinal books freely. "The Great Controversy," "The Coming King," and "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation" are being sold at present. Not only do the workers find that they can follow the health books with the doctrinal books, but they find that it is possible to follow with good success one doctrinal book with another; and some who are having the best success are going over territory with the same book that had been sold there before. The sales are much better than they were the first time.

These books are creating interests that the few evangelical laborers are unable to follow up. A Presbyterian minister told one of our colporteurs the other day that he had taken four or five members into his church recently from Catholicism, as a result of their having bought the book "The Coming King." How much better it would have been for our work if we had had evangelists to follow up the interest created by these books, so that these people could have been brought into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In view of the many openings for work and the urgent need of more workers, the Cuban committee is asking the Mission Board for two additional ministers and two more Bible workers. There may be those who read these lines who can help the Mission Board in deciding who should respond to this call.

N. Z. Town.