The annual sessions of the Latin Union Mission and the French-Swiss Conference were held conjointly at Gland, Switzerland, July 11-16. The camp was located on the grounds of the new sanitarium and school property to which the Basel Institute Sanitaire has been recently transferred. Gland is a small French-Swiss village midway between Lausanne and Geneva, on the main railway running from the northwestern and central parts of Switzerland to France. “Ligniere,” as our premises are popularly known, is a mile from the station, and forms an estate of one hundred acres, with a frontage of about a quarter of a mile on the north side of Lake Geneva. From the water the ground rises gradually to something like an altitude of two hundred feet. The southern half of this tract has been cleared, and is devoted to buildings, lawns, and garden and fruit cultivation. Large, ancient trees have been left standing here and there, to beautify the place, and to afford pleasant shade during the summer months. The main public road between Geneva and Lausanne passes through the grounds between the buildings and the lake. This beautiful mecadamized driveway is kept in excellent condition, and it is well patronized by carriages and automobiles.
CHALET AT GLAND
In many respects this is one of the most excellent locations we have ever secured for a sanitarium or school enterprise. It is in a retired, quiet place in the country; we have enough land for cultivation, growing grain, fruit, and vegetables. The climate is all one could desire. The cool breezes from the lake and snow-clad Alps modify the temperature during the summer months, and we are far enough south to receive the benefits of the mild winters. The blue waters of Lake Geneva, the snow-topped Alps, and the ever-changing scenic views of light and shade across the beautiful inland sea and over the mountains, present nature in her best and most charming form. Directly in front of the sanitarium building, away to the south of us, rises the majestic white-capped Mont Blanc, towering far above its fellow peaks of the Savoyan Alps. This is surely an ideal place for our students, and for the weary and sick who are worn out with the bustle and noise of the cities.
The property was secured in exchange for our Basel house, which was first used as a printing plant and mission, but of late years has been utilized as a sanitarium. We took possession of Ligniere during the past winter. As the buildings already erected had to be remodeled, and new ones had to be put up, it has taken time and hard work to get started. The sanitarium is now nearing completion, and has a very fair patronage. Quite a number of young people from the various countries of the Latin Union are attending the school. As far as we could judge, this location has great possibilities for the headquarters of the Latin Union field.
The meeting was well attended by the brethren and sisters of French Switzerland, and by delegates and representatives from France, French Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. I could see that substantial progress had been made in the field since I visited it three years ago. At that time Switzerland had lately been divided into the German-Swiss Conference in the north and the French-Swiss Conference in the south. Now, either of these conferences seems as large and strong as both together were before the separation.
It was a great pleasure to me to meet all these warm-hearted believers, especially the ministers and other gospel workers. I greatly enjoyed the interviews and seasons of counsel I was permitted to have with our brethren in charge of the different mission fields. Elder Curdy, in French Belgium, finds many difficulties to surmount, but the cause is gaining a permanent foothold there. In speaking of the kind of workers he needed, he stated that they must be men who do not fear persecution or death. Brother Curdy’s courage is excellent, and he returns to Belgium determined to press on with the work. Elder Dexter, who recently came to France from the States, is making good headway with the language, and is full of hope and courage regarding France. He was chosen director of the French Mission.
I had very interesting and profitable interviews with Elder Everson, with reference to the outlook in Italy. He brought with him an Italian brother who had recently embraced the message. This brother was once a priest in the Catholic Church, but he has renounced Romanism. A few months ago he became acquainted with us, and began a thorough study of the truth, which he has accepted, and he is to-day rejoicing in the salvation it brought to him. He has a liberal education, and seems to be a talented man. He told me he should return to Rome, and while engaged in teaching, would give the whole message a thorough and critical study. May God bless him to the good of the cause in Italy.
Elder Robinson and his wife had three Spanish converts with them at the meeting. These are among the first-fruits in that mission field. It seems impossible that any one could enjoy such an occasion more than did these dear friends from Spain. They had never seen the like before. The joy expressed in their countenances made all who saw them happy. From what we learned of the peculiarities of Spain, it is evident that it will be a difficult field in which to labor; but we believe that the right kind of workers,—workers who are cheerful and fearless,—will have success, and we trust that God may reward our efforts in that dark land, with fruit that will be garnered into his kingdom.
Brother Rentfro could bring no representative from among the natives of Portugal, for he has been in the field less than a year, and has had everything to learn, including the language. He is well and joyous and confident. The Lord is blessing him in his study of the Portuguese language, and is enabling him to become acquainted with the customs of the people. He expects to see souls saved in the kingdom as the result of his efforts.
The Latin Union Committee decided to send Brother and Sister Jespersson to Algeria, thus adding one more mission field to our list. These workers have labored in Palestine. They have a good speaking knowledge of Swedish, English, German, French, and Italian, and are able to make themselves understood in the Arabic. They are now on their way, and will soon begin preliminary work in that new field. The First-day offerings of the Latin Union will be given to the Algerian Mission field for some time to come.
These Latin Catholic countries are certainly dark, hard fields in which to carry on operations. We can not expect the same results, as to numbers, that we hope for in more favored lands; but none who receive this message will prize it more highly, nor rejoice in it more sincerely, than those who are reached by the truth for these days in these countries so filled with error and superstition. The glorious light of the gospel that God has given his remnant church will stand out in great contrast to the terrible darkness that has enshrouded them all their lives.14
The business proceedings were very interesting, and passed off harmoniously. The officers who had been serving in the immediate past were, in the main, re-elected, and they enter enthusiastically upon their arduous duties among the one hundred million souls of the Latin Union for the coming year.
