North India Mission by S. A. Wellman

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 15, 1915

North India Mission

By S. A. Wellman

AT the time of our general meeting at Calcutta, recommendations were passed looking toward a revival of the missionary work among our churches. So far the recommendations are being worked out well, and here in the north the church members are taking part in the home missionary work and bearing local church responsibilities. I have visited, once or more, each church in the north since the meetings, with the exception of the one in Mussoorie. I expect to meet the church there in one or two weeks. In each place we are trying to get things into shape so that there will be active working members, with a distinct missionary spirit on the part of both the European and the Indian portion of the church or company. At present we have but two fully organized churches, one company, and a mission station, the latter of which is unorganized, except the school work it is doing for the heathen boys. These churches are at Lucknow and Mussoorie, the company is at Najibabad, and the school is at Dwarikhal, Garhwal.

The churches are English churches, and are doing good missionary work. This year the members are manifesting a stronger and more vital interest in the presentation of the truth to others than ever before, and at this time of world perplexity there seems to be a greater willingness to listen.

In Najibabad, where Brother and Sister Morris are located, with Miss Kurtz, and Shoto Mitter, a Bengali sister, we organized a company of believers last winter, and they have a number of persons almost ready for baptism. The workers here have set their hearts on definite additions to their number this year, as have the workers in other places, and I believe that they will succeed.

They work almost entirely for heathen, Hindus and Mohammedans, and I never saw a more lively interest than they now have in this station.

In Garhwal the school seems to be making good progress, and Brother Belgrave writes me that the prospects are good for the year. It was from this school that we got our first heathen convert in North India last year. We look for more the present season. Sixty or seventy boys attend the school throughout the nine months it is open.

In Mussoorie, Brethren Lake and Foley, who are in charge of the treatment rooms, are taking the lead with the church, and at the first of the summer season began a definite campaign of seed sowing. This will be supplemented by the efforts of the workers who go to the hills for vacations throughout the hot season, and we hope will result in souls won to the truth before the season closes. Though we have no one to assign to a special effort in this place, yet with the church itself taking a share of the burden, I look for great results.

We have advance orders for more than six thousand copies of a series of special issues of our paper, something like the REVIEW AND HERALD Extra, and I think the order will run much above this. With our cheap labor, these can be produced inexpensively, and we hope to see them even more largely used later. As our English population and constituency are limited, we feel that this is a good beginning.

We are glad that the blessing of God is attending the circulation of the literature in the homeland this year, and trust that God will bless this year's work to the spread of the message.

S. A. WELLMAN.