A Foreign Field at Home by E. E. Messinger

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 6, 1915

A Foreign Field at Home

By E. E. Messinger

I was interested in reading, some time ago, the report of one of our colleges, giving the number of students who volunteered for service abroad. It was interesting and inspiring to note the enthusiasm and courage manifested.

But among the one hundred or so definitely planning for their future work, not one was contemplating entering the foreign field at home, which so loudly calls for men and women of consecration, devotion, and talent. It often seems that, seeing the far-off lands, the church ignores the calls nearer home, and the work here languishes. We would not say that there should be fewer foreign missionaries; but we do say that there must be more true home missionaries if the work is ever to close in triumph.

Many, finding it impracticable to go to other lands, or being physically or otherwise unable to respond to the heathen's call, settle down and say, 'There is nothing I can do.' But if they would look about them and see the need of foreign missionaries at home, they would feel that God needs them as truly here as in a land beyond the seas.

Such workers, willing to spend and to be spent, will find a waiting field in their homeland. They can labor among the Mongolians along the western coast, who have settled so closely and thickly in places as to form communities that would make one think of their homelands. They can seek to reach the ever-increasing mass of Mexicans and Spanish-speaking people in the southwestern part of our country. And in the great cities they can use their skill and talents in incessant and earnest labor for the millions, yea, rather, tens of millions, of Germans, Slavs, Jews, and Italians.

Let us now consider especially the large Slavonic part of our population. It has been estimated that there are ten million Slavs in this country. Numerically they are third in number in the ranks of immigrant peoples, the English and Germans alone outnumbering them. The entire Slavic population of the world is numbered at one hundred fifty million, so that we have a good representation here.

We have as yet, however, done little work among these millions. Except as a small beginning in New York City, Newark, New Jersey, and the Russian work in North Dakota, we could call this an unentered field. And yet it is a population larger than that of Belgium, and about twice that of Ireland. It is about as large as that of Korea, and larger than that of all our Rocky Mountain States. It would take twice the population of the Argentine Republic and twenty times that of San Francisco to make up as large a number as the Slavic population of the United States. All these fields were entered years ago, but the great mass of American Slavs are still waiting to hear the third angel's message. Can we at the last day face our Saviour and say we have done what we could, when this near-by field has been left untouched? Is it any wonder that we are urged by the spirit of prophecy to work the cities, and to be just as ready to labor for the foreigners at home as for those abroad? When would be a more opportune time for a large number of persons to enter this work than at this very time? Ways and means will come; the necessary tact and requisite wisdom will be given as we put on the harness.

Let some learn the languages of these foreigners, and labor for them in word and doctrine; let some be sent out with books, papers, and tracts, to be sold to those living within the shadows of our doors; let those who cannot learn strange tongues, gratuitously scatter the foreign truth-filled pages as the leaves of autumn; let all sacrifice and pray for this work; and let the converts themselves be trained to labor for their countrymen.

The Slavic tongues are said to have sprung from, and to be in reality, simply dialects of the old Slavonic, which in turn is supposed to have sprung from a still older tongue. So the modern Slavic languages are quite similar to one another. Knowing Bohemian, for instance, one does not find it so difficult to learn the Polish or Croatian language. The Slavs professing the Greek Catholic religion, however, use the Greek alphabet, while the Roman Catholic Slavs use the Latin characters.

St. Cyril translated the Bible into old Slavonic, but its reading was soon suppressed. Later, at one time during the Reformation, it seemed that both Poland and Bohemia would become overwhelmingly Protestant. But rulers favoring Rome having come into power, the tide was turned, and as in the case of France, the 'heretics' were gradually exterminated or driven out of the country. Persecution and bigotry, however, left their trace. Slavdom is far inferior in culture, education, and civilization to its western neighbors. The Bohemians have come to be an unbelieving and atheistic people, like the French, while the Poles and others are led blindly to follow the 'Holy Father.' Their independence has been removed, and their most illustrious men, who, in other nations, would have been the glory of civilization, have been sent to Siberia. For this reason many have come to America. Here they have political freedom. The Polish people are more largely represented here than any other Slavic people.

Chicago, with three hundred thousand Poles and nearly as many Bohemians, is the Slavic metropolis of the New World. Here they can be found for miles and miles in succession. Also it is the second largest Bohemian and third largest Polish city in the world. Other large Slavic centers are: New York City; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Cleveland, Ohio; and St. Louis, Mo. Then we find these people, more or less, in all our cities, and often in large numbers in the country.

Other denominations have begun a good work among the Slavs. In Chicago they have over a dozen flourishing churches and missions among the Bohemians alone. There is also a mission among the Bulgarians, of whom there are ten thousand in that city. The Lutherans have a mission among the Poles, and the Baptists among the Poles and Slovakians. The Disciples have started a good work among the Russians. But we have not touched the field. Who will begin work for the Master among the five hundred thousand Slavs in this city?

We cannot say that it is not worth while. Can we plead that this is a people who are degraded and ignorant beyond help? Pestalozzi, Huss, Jerome, Kosciuszko, and Copernicus were Slavs, and so is Paderewski. These people are as capable of great things as are other races, when placed on equal footing. Are they prejudiced, hard to reach, unappreciative? Our Saviour had all these difficulties to work against, but love overcomes all obstacles. Is it worth our while to labor for them? "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him," Ps. 126:6.

E. E. MESSINGER.