THIS year it was again my privilege to attend the general meetings in Russia. I was accompanied by Brother J. Erzenberger. On account of the unfortunate war in the Far East, the Russians are prone to see in every stranger a disguised Japanese spy. They must have thought that of us; for just as we were taking the hack to drive to another depot in Warschau, a criminal officer met us, and began to talk to us in Russian. He put his hands upon our luggage, at the same time showing us some papers that he was carrying. The coachman told us this was a policeman.
ON THE BLACK SEA, SOUTH RUSSIA
As this inquisitive officer snatched our baggage and carried it again into the custom's office, we had to follow him. Then he brought a guard, who watched us while he searched all our things more carefully than I ever saw such work done before. As he found nothing objectionable, he requested Elder Erzenberger to empty his pockets. By means of this useless manipulation, we did miss our through train, and had to change cars three times on this part of our trip—a process not very pleasant in a land where one can not speak the language, nor understand what is said to him.
After four days' journey, we reached the Caucasus, where our general meeting for the South Russian Conference was to be held. About two hundred and fifty of our people were present. But best of all, God met with us, so that not only good confessions were made with the lips, but the people showed their earnestness by bringing in tithe and promised offerings, which had been previously kept back. The statement of the president, Elder H. J. Loebsack, that, after twenty years of existence as a field, the work here had actually been able to support itself for the first year, during 1903-04, thrilled all hearts with joy, and many promised that in the future they would be more faithful, bringing all their tithe into the treasury of the Lord. During 1903 there was $827.24 more tithe than for the previous year, and the other gifts were much larger than before.
A resolution of hearty thanks to God for his prospering hand was unanimously passed; it was resolved to pay a second tithe to the German Union Conference, for missionary purposes, and to support the educational fund, and to make renewed efforts to sell “Christ's Object Lessons” for the benefit of the Friedensau Industrial School, as well as to increase the circulation of our German health paper, Gute Gesundheit, and our other literature in general.
For the coming year, conference papers were granted to three ministers, one licentiate, two nurses, and several colporteurs. Elder Loebsack was again elected president.
From the gathering in the South, we took ticket over the most direct route to the meeting in the North Russian Mission; but we were compelled to stop over several times, and reached the meeting two days late. As most of our people in this section of the country live in rural districts, the meeting was eight hours by team from the railway station. One brother allowed us to use his house for the place of meeting. We all slept in straw in the attic of the house, while the barn served as our dining-room.
There were about two hundred who were thus quartered. As we did not have to go very far for the services, of course we could make the most of our time. There are now four hundred and eighty-eight members in the North Russian Mission, and last year's tithe was fourteen hundred and fifty dollars. Resolutions were passed with reference to working more earnestly with our tracts and other literature, the sale of “Christ's Object Lessons,” the support of our educational fund; and a call was made for more canvassers.
Next year there are to be three ministers, three licentiates, two Bible workers, one missionary nurse, and about six canvassers employed in this mission. Elder D. P. Gaede was asked to act as superintendent for another year.
After four very happy and blessed days together here, Elder Erzenberger left for Germany, while I went on to visit churches in the North. In Kief, the holy city of the Russians, ten were recently added to the church, so the light of present truth is finally shining in this dark place. In Riga, Dorpat, and Reval I held well-attended meetings. In Riga there is a good interest among the Lettonians, and in Dorpat there is an awakening among the Esthonians, while in14Reval our chief hearers are Germans.
In St. Petersburg, as well as in Lodz (an industrial city of four hundred thousand inhabitants, in Russian Poland), I found many earnest inquirers. This is the first year we could hold our meetings among the Germans, Esthonians, and Lettonians without fear of the police. We now have the permission of the Russian Senate to work openly among the Lutherans; but among the millions of those who belong to the real Orthodox faith, the work is just as hard and as much prohibited as before. May the Lord open the way to carry the gospel to these millions who sit in darkness, many of whom really seem anxious to receive the light for this time.
We have the following tracts translated into Russian: Bible Readings, Full Assurance of Faith, Which Day Do You Keep, and Why? Blessed Hope, Christian Temperance, Tobacco in the Light of the Bible, The Third Angel's Message, Sufferings of Christ; into Esthonian: Christian Temperance, Bible Readings, Christ and His Righteousness, The Bible, Full Assurance of Faith, Tobacco in the Light of Science; into Lettonian: Christian Temperance, Full Assurance of Faith, Importance of the Prophecies, The Bible, Blessed Hope, Search the Scriptures, Bible Readings, Tobacco in the Light of Science.
We have just begun a quarterly for the Russians. It will contain the Sabbath-school lessons, and some articles about church organization and church work. This small help is very much needed among our native Russian churches and believers. The ministers can not remain long enough with the new converts to instruct them as fully as they ought to be. If they remained too long, they might find a home in Siberia. If there is any country that needs our prayers and interest, it is Russia. If there is any field that is promising, it is Russia, with its one hundred and thirty millions of souls crying for light.
