Arriving in Rio de Janeiro by N. Z. Town.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 24, 1916

Arriving in Rio de Janeiro

By N. Z. Town.

AFTER a prosperous voyage of sixteen days from New York, our boat steamed into Rio harbor about ten o'clock the evening of December 27. Entering at night, we missed seeing some of the natural beauties of this fine harbor, but the display of electric lights in the city and along the avenues around the harbor made a very pretty sight.

Those who have had the experience of landing in a strange land, among a people of a strange tongue, will readily understand how our hearts were filled with joy when, as we came alongside the dock the next morning, we saw the familiar face of Elder F. W. Spies among the crowd. Brother Spies was accompanied by Brother F. R. Kuempel, the director of the Rio Espirito Santo Mission, and Brother E. C. Ehlers, who is engaged in evangelical work in the city of Rio.

After passing the customs, and getting a room at a hotel, we went to visit these workers in their homes. Brother and Sister Kuempel, with their two children, Elsie, now nine years old, and Seigfried, seven, came to Brazil from Germany four years ago. Brother and Sister Ehlers were sent to Brazil by the Mission Board in 1908. They have two children, Herta, aged six, and Elsie, two and a half.

Here we also met Sister Sarah A. Kinner, who is engaged in Bible work in Rio, and Brother and Sister Specht and little Victoria from Minas Garaes. These workers came from the States after the General Conference in 1913. All these laborers are enjoying good health and are happy in the work.

We enjoyed very much seeing the beautiful city of Rio, but the sight that did us the most good was the company of believers who gathered in the little chapel for an evening service while we were there. When Mrs. Town and I stopped off at Rio in 1896 on our way to Argentina, Brother W. H. Thurston, who then had charge of the Brazil Mission, and his family were the only Sabbath keepers in Rio; but at present there is a church of seventy-one members. The Lord greatly blessed Brother E. C. Ehlers and his coworkers in the tent effort which they had in the city last year. As a result of this effort twenty-six were baptized and taken into the church. Over sixty believers gathered at the evening service which we held with them. As they opened the meeting with the old hymn “Heaven at Last,” in the Portuguese tongue, it sounded just as good as in the homeland.

Sister Kinner told us an interesting story of how one native woman was captivated by the truth. This woman received an urgent invitation to attend a special evening service in her own church, as the bishop was to be there. She arrived at the church a little early, and found the door still locked. She said to herself, “What shall I do? I do not wish to wait here on the street with all the people passing. I think I will step into this tent, and at eight o'clock I will come out to the meeting in my church.” “But,” she said, “when eight o'clock came, I could not leave; I was captivated by what I was hearing.” She continued to attend the meetings, but always sat on the back seat and seemed to avoid any conversation with the workers. When they asked her where she lived, her only reply was, “In Piedades.” But as Piedades is a

large section of the city, it was impossible to locate her. But finally the truth got such a hold of her that she invited Sister Kinner to her home. At the time of our visit, Sister Kinner was holding Bible readings with her every week, and she was rejoicing in the truth as far as she had learned it. She had also interested several of her neighbors.

Such experiences as these are the oases in the lives of our workers in these dark Latin Catholic fields. The workers in Rio say that the people are just waiting for the truth, and that with little effort they are brought to accept it. The Rio Espirito Santo Mission now has a membership of three hundred and twenty-six, and the outlook for the future is very promising.

N. Z. Town.