General Meeting in Castro, Parana, Brazil
By John Lipke
This meeting was the first of its kind among our Brazilian brethren, and was held where we have only two families of Adventists. Our brethren came with teams, on horseback, and very few by railroad. Some traveled about five days overland, and you can imagine how glad we were to meet one another. Such a meeting is a thing unknown to Brazilians, and we were glad to see so many at the meeting. The nearer we come to the end, the more clearly we can see our Heavenly Father working for us in a different way than we expected him to work. This we found to be true in regard to our general meeting in Castro. Some time before, two American Presbyterian ministers had, one after the other, published leaflets against us; and, judging from the moral condition of the people14in the city, we did not expect a great manifestation of interest on their part. But at the opening session we were happily surprised to see the meeting-room filled. Even rain and bad roads did not keep people away. As we have no tents in Brazil yet, we have to arrange our general meetings differently than our brethren do in the States. We rented two houses. One was used only as a dwelling for our people. In the other we had sleeping-rooms, a dining-room, a kitchen, and a meeting-hall. One sister did the cooking, and two of our canvassers helped, and did the serving. Meals were served on the European plan,—a new plan in this country,—which gave satisfaction to our people. The laborers at the beginning of the session were only Brother Hoelzle and the writer. Near the close, Brother Spies arrived. You may wonder that so few laborers attend such a meeting. I wish we had more laborers in Brazil. We are very short of faithful, devoted men. Brethren in the States, give us some of the many laborers you have in the States! The meeting lasted about a week. It made our hearts glad to see our people drink in the truth as they did. They indeed appreciate it. They do not often have an opportunity to hear one of our ministers. Some do not hear one oftener than once a year, or perhaps a year and a half, because we have so few workers, and our people live far apart. It takes much time and money to travel; but the heart of the laborer rejoices as he sees souls accept the truth, which changes their hearts and makes them loyal to the Lord. The last day of our meeting, the Sabbath, was the best one. In the forenoon, after the Sabbath-school and a sermon on the Spirit of Prophecy, the examination of the candidates for baptism took place before the public, and after that a number were baptized. There was solemnity as we celebrated the Lord's supper and the ordinance of humility. The earnest faces of the strangers during this time showed the deep impression made upon them. The meeting-room was soon crowded. Never before had the Brazilians seen such a solemn scene. Brother Hoelzle remained after the meeting, to develop the interest, while Brother Spies and the writer left for the State of Santa Catharina, to attend a German general meeting at Timbo, Blumenau. The Lord guided us, so that we reached the place on time. To reach one's destination on time is sometimes a difficult thing in Brazil. In order not to be late, we went by way of railroad, steamer, and on muleback. The heavy rains, of which we have so many, made the roads bad, and if we had gone on muleback, overland, we could not have reached there in time. I wished I could take some of our brethren in the States, who have a good time, on one of our trips overland. I believe they would see that the work must go slowly, and would furnish us with more laborers. But we praise the Lord for what he has done for us in Brazil, and are of good courage.