p. 6 | A Fallen Worker by W. A. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 14, 1909

A Fallen Worker

By W. A. S.

On December 29, Sister E. T. NOWLEN, of Central America, died at Graysville, Tenn. The sad message will reach her husband, Brother C. A. NOWLEN, somewhere in Central America, where he is engaged in the book work. Their knowledge of Spanish, gained in pioneer work in South America years ago, led to their call to Central America. They need not have gone. They had a pleasant prospect in the States, and conditions favorable for health. But there was the need,—some one must go,—and they responded.

Last April, while the father was away in the field, Sister NOWLEN, at Belize, buried their only child, Marjorie, about eight years old, who died of fever. The mother wrote:—

A few minutes before her death she said, “I know Jesus loves me, and will soon make me better.” I know he did; for while my own heart is breaking in loneliness and sorrow, she is peacefully sleeping, safe from all pain and suffering, and from the troubles that we know must try God’s remnant people. No, I would not recall her for one moment if I could, and even in my sorrow I see the gleams of that glad day when through his grace I shall clasp her in my arms once more. This is the only comfort I have, for she was my all, and O, the many plans we had made for her future! but God had something better, and I do not murmur. Only add your prayers to mine. It will be a sad blow to Mr. NOWLEN, but I know that the God of all comfort can sustain him also. He was so anxious to find a location in Guatemala so that our little one might get away from here before the heat of summer.

Later, in Guatemala, our sister was herself stricken with an intestinal difficulty very serious in the tropics, and came to the sanitarium at Graysville. The letters from her sick-room were always cheery, and full of unselfish thoughts for the work. When the Mission Board notified her that it would meet the expense of treatment, she wrote:—

This very fact only makes me doubly anxious to get well, for as I read of the many calls that are coming from every side, I feel that every cent should be going to those needy fields. I pray daily that the Lord will hasten my recovery if he sees best. . . . I rejoice to read of the good results from the Thanksgiving effort with the REVIEW. Surely we as a people will show our gratitude to God by making our [week-of-prayer] offering the largest it has ever been.

And within a few days she was called to lay down her own life, a precious offering on the altar of service. The spirit that puts the work of God first, and that leads the worker to press in wherever needed, is the spirit that will finish this work of witnessing in the next few years. Regardless of the gifts that made her a valued secretary in the conference work, our sister had that bright, cheery temperament that is a blessing in itself to any field. As we pray that God may sustain our Brother NOWLEN, who has yielded up both wife and child within the year, may the sacrifice of these lives for the mission fields lead all of us to join more earnestly in labor and sacrifice for the missionary cause. There is no place in this warfare to settle down at ease. W. A. S.