In the Danube Union by L. R. CONRADI

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 17, 1915

In the Danube Union

By L. R. CONRADI

L. R. CONRADI

One of the most recent union organizations in the European Division Conference is the Danube Union. Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Roumania, Serbia, and Montenegro compose the territory of this field. There are three conferences, two of which are in Hungary proper and one in Roumania, and four mission fields in the union. A union and some local meetings were planned for last autumn, but on account of the war these meetings had to be indefinitely postponed. However, I spent a few days with our brethren in Budapest and Bukharest in the middle of November, while en route to Constantinople. At that time three ministers were ordained.

Making the best use of the Easter holidays, we appointed a session of the union committee at Budapest, April 1-4, to attend to the annual audit, and to consider plans for the development of the work. As the Levant was in need of means, Elder Frauchiger, who was in Constantinople, was invited to meet with us for counsel. Formerly four days sufficed for mail from Hamburg to Constantinople; now two weeks are the least required. My letter did not reach him until March 28, and he immediately telegraphed me at Hamburg. As the way was open through Silesia, I took the shorter route, in nineteen hours reaching Budapest from Berlin. Passing so close to the seat of war, evidences of its nearness were not lacking. Trains passed us with soldiers going to the front. Red Cross trains were full of wounded from the struggle in the Carpathian Mountains. Then there were trains full of ammunition and provisions.

Elder Paulini, the president of the Roumanian Conference, was unable to attend. Elder Kessel, the director of the North Hungarian field, who is serving in the German Sanitary Corps, spent a few hours with us on his way to his family, on furlough. Otherwise all the members of the committee were present.

In spite of war, the past year has been the most prosperous this union has ever had. Roumania, where our people had to endure a severe trial of their faith, and are actually persecuted by the state church, showed the best increase. With only seven gospel workers, they baptized 165 believers. This brings their membership up to 608. The tithe showed a slight decrease, but amounted to $5,524, and their offerings were $1,400. After settling with their workers, and paying their tithe to the union, they were still able to turn over $1,300 surplus tithe to the union toward their general deficit. We are the first Protestant denomination that has ever gained a good foothold in this country. No session of the Roumanian state church passes without spending some time in considering new methods of stopping our progress. The priests went so far as to visit the employers of our people, and to urge them to dismiss our members. Publications antagonistic to our work are appearing, and yet the workers are of good courage.

The strongest conference is the Transylvania; numbering 722 members. Last year eighty-five persons were baptized, but the net increase was small. There was a great lack of efficient workers in the Hungarian language. The tithe was nearly $4,000, which did not quite suffice to pay the present workers.

The Middle Hungarian Conference, including the city of Budapest, had, with eight gospel workers, 110 additions, bringing its membership up to 561. In the city of Budapest there are three churches, with 153 members. At Bekes-Gyula is a church of fifty-five; at Szekudvar, forty-three; at Arad and Macsa are thirty-eight, the remainder are smaller churches. The tithe of this conference amounted to $5,500, and it had to have considerable financial help.

The Theiss-Save Mission, which includes the Serbian-speaking portion of Hungary as well as Serbia, also had a good year. Its workers are still in the field, and sixty-seven believers were added, bringing up their membership to 229. Our worker in Serbia, cut off by the war, received help via Canada, from Washington, D. C. As the director of the Adriatic field could not be replaced, Elder Schillinger, of the Theiss-Save Mission, has to look after this field also. This mission will hereafter be known as the Save Mission, because Dalmatia, bordering directly on the Adriatic and belonging to the Central European Union, has claimed the name Adriatic Mission for Dalmatia and Istria. In the new Save Mission, fourteen believers were baptized, and in the West Hungarian, ten. The North Hungarian Mission is still without a director or an ordained minister, but thirty-two united with the church there last year.

With only sixteen ordained ministers, five licentiates, and twenty-two Bible workers, there were altogether in the union, 483 baptized, increasing the membership from 1,599 to 2,324. The tithe also showed an increase of $1,800, amounting to $16,154. The average tithe, however, demonstrates the effects of the war, by decreasing from $9.13 to $7.37. The total offerings amounted to $3,700, a decrease of $100. There were thirty-six canvassers at work, selling literature to the value of nearly $10,000. There was quite a large increase in the sales during the first six months of the year, but the six war months lowered the increase to $500 for the year.

All our meetings were well attended, both by our own people and by others interested. A good spirit prevailed. Although Serbia and Hungary are at war, we had quite a little group of Serbian-speaking Sabbath keepers with us, who came from southern Hungary. They had come for a special occasion. Brethren Mocnik and Ludewig, who had for several years past labored successfully among the Serbian-speaking people of Hungary and Serbia, were to be ordained Sabbath afternoon. These two brethren, quite closely associated in their work for a number of years, have had rather a trying experience in their labors. Elder Ludewig is a native of Germany, a graduate

of our Friedensau School, where he came in contact with Brother Mocnik, a Slavonian who embraced the truth in Germany, and from him Elder Ludewig learned the Slavonian. In July, 1908, Brother Mocnik was sent to Agram, Croatia, and a year later to Semlin, opposite to Belgrade. Brother Mocnik had learned the Serbian language in Semlin. That same year Brother Ludewig was sent direct to Belgrade.

In the evening after the Sabbath, I was invited to speak in a large public school building, to about 140 wounded Hungarian soldiers. A brother translated for me. There are about eight hundred patients in this building. Sister Huenergardt and two of our nurses are doing very acceptable work here. As most of these soldiers were Catholics, I spoke to them about our mission work in Africa, avoiding all allusions to doctrines. They seemed to appreciate the words spoken.

Elder Frauchiger did not arrive till Monday afternoon. His train through Turkey was stopped several times, as the officers were hunting for spies. Then he was considerably delayed crossing the three borders. I spent till midnight with him in considering the work in the Levant Union Mission. The war greatly hinders our missionary operations and traveling. Elder Baharian has returned overland to his field in old Armenia. As horses are scarce, the trip was much more expensive and tiresome than formerly. Our people, however, are of good courage. They are doing what they can in the trying circumstances under which they are placed.

We felt thankful to God that we had the ready means to supply our workers in that field and the mission in Syria for some time to come. On his way back, Brother Frauchiger expects to stop in Bulgaria.

On my return trip I stopped several days at Friedensau, and spoke there one evening on the experiences of our missionaries in different lands. It was quite a new sight to see one half of the chapel filled with wounded soldiers instead of with students. All listened, however, very attentively.

Thus in the midst of war, trials, and persecutions, God’s truth ever advances, gaining new victories.