A Sketch of the Life and Experience of a New Sabbath Keeper
By M. D. WOOD
MRS. P. GIDNEY was born in Cochin, South India, in 1851. Her grandfather was a Dutchman, and came to this country to engage in shipbuilding. There were no steamboats in those days; sailing vessels were the only means of travel by water. Mrs. Gidney’s ancestors were all Roman Catholics. However, as there was no Catholic school near her home, she was allowed to attend a Church of England mission school until she was about twelve years of age, when her parents moved to Bombay. In her teens she was sent to the Roman Catholic convent in that part of Bombay known as Mazagaon. Here she learned the Apostles’ Creed, the Catholic catechism, many prayers, and also how to confess her sins to the priest. Ignorant of anything better than this, she went on until she was sixteen years of age, when she was married to Mr. Pitts, who was also Dutch, and an engineer on the railroad. As Mr. Pitts was a Protestant, they were married by a Church of England minister. Through the influence of her husband she began to get a little light about another way of living and the plan of salvation by faith. Still she attended her mother church, and, much against the desire of her husband, she went to the confessional, but not so frequently as before. With her husband she made two extended trips to Holland to visit her people. This opened the eyes of this poor soul, and she not only lived and associated with Protestants, but attended many of their meetings. She frequently went to London and other important places in Europe, and all the time her faith in Roman Catholicism was lessening. After returning to India she had quite a thrilling experience, which not only shows something of the real material of which she is made, but also her opinion of her former church. Her small nephew had been placed in a Catholic school for his education. One day, when bathing him, she discovered ugly scars all over his back and legs. This aroused her, and on making inquiry she found he had been beaten very unmercifully by the teaching priest, at school. This was too much for her, so she decided to accompany the boy the next day, and demand an explanation and apology. To support herself in her task, she was careful to take a cane along with her. On entering the institution, she called for the priest who taught her nephew, but the priest in charge refused to allow her to see him. Since her demands were imperative, she walked right into the building. Here the head priest said she must not go any farther. “No, no,” she said, “I will go, and I will see the man who beat my boy, and I will cane him, too.” But being hindered, she said, “Well, then, I will beat you instead; so take this.” Thereupon she lost her temper and gave the priest several cuts with the cane. He called her mad, and said, “Cool yourself, cool yourself.” While this was a drastic measure, still it had a most excellent effect; for the next day that head priest called all the others together, and after reading a long list of rules, forbade any more such treatment of the pupils. About this time her husband died. She found help and comfort at this time in attending the Salvation Army meetings in Bombay. After a while she was again married, and this time to a Methodist by the name of Gidney. He, too, was a railroad man. They moved to Igatpuri, and attended the Methodist Episcopal Church together. The priest called to see her, and became very angry when he learned that she was not attending strictly to her own religion. Finally he threatened to excommunicate her. This and several similar things caused her to give up the confessional altogether, and then she quit the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, we see, it took many years to illuminate the mind of this one soul. Since leaving the Roman Catholic Church she has often called to see the nuns and mother superior of the convent. They were good friends of many years’ standing, and no doubt there were strong ties formed in some of their past associations which were not easily broken. The nuns often have expressed their regret to Mrs. Gidney that she had departed from their faith. They have said, “We hope to meet you in heaven.” And she has replied, “I hope to meet you there, too.” Then she expressed to them her assurance of faith in the new way she is walking. But again they said, “O Mrs. Gidney, you will never meet us in heaven unless you repent and return to the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church.” In many instances it seems to take a long while to bring people out of superstitions and error, and, sad as it is, many never get out at all. During the year 1914, while conducting a medical mission weekly at Igatpuri, and in the face of bitter opposition, Mrs. Wood gave a series of Bible studies in different private homes. Quite a number of intelligent persons appreciated these meetings and attended them regularly. Among the number, Mrs. Gidney took her place, with her Bible, anxious to learn all she could of truth. Here for the first time she read of the true Sabbath. Her eyes were opened to some of the errors of the Roman Catholic Church and all other churches following her steps. For days these new-found treasures of truth were the common conversation in certain circles in that town. Mrs. Gidney had an intense longing to forsake the past and join those who keep the commandments of God. At one time the way seemed about to open, then it closed. This brought great disappointment to her, but proved to be but a test of faith after all. In a few weeks an open door was found at our Kalyan mission station. Mrs. Gidney, being a most excellent needlewoman, and having also had a thorough training in midwifery at the Grant Medical College, in Bombay, was well qualified to assist in several lines of duty in mission work. Not only so, but she speaks English, Hindustani, Dutch, and Marathi; and as all our work is in the Marathi language, she finds a ready place and plenty to do. Here she attends all the Marathi services, and not only appreciates the truth she hears from the Word of God, but is a help to our native church, and in the medical department also. Although sixty-seven years of age, she is strong, and puts in as many hours of hard work as our young people. We are glad indeed that she has accepted the truth, and will soon join the church by baptism.