REPORT FROM BRN. LOUGHBOROUGH AND BOURDEAU by John Norton Loughborough; D. T. Bourdeau

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 14, 1868

REPORT FROM BRN. LOUGHBOROUGH AND BOURDEAU.

By John Norton Loughborough; D. T. Bourdeau

Our last report closed with the meeting at Lancaster, N. Y. The following Sabbath we spent in Rochester with a few that came in from Victor, Parma and Olcott, to meet with the friends in Rochester. In this our last meeting before leaving for our mission, the Lord met with us, and gave us good liberty in speaking the word. In these two Sabbath meetings in the State of New York, we felt the special presence of the angels of God about us to cheer, encourage, and fit us for trials and conflicts before us.

As our work of preparation for the journey was not completed, we let this occupy first-day; and early on Monday morning, June 22nd, we bade farewell to our brethren in Rochester, the last Sabbath-keepers we expect to see till we reach California. We had a very pleasant trip to New York, where we spent Tuesday trading a little, getting our baggage on board ship, and making our final preparations for the journey.

Of our trip we will say, that it has been anything but agreeable thus far. To-day is really the first comfortable sailing we have made; although we have been out over five days, we have run only about 1100 miles, whereas we should have run some 1300. The first day we sailed we had a strong east wind; the next a strong west wind; the next a very strong head south wind, with the sea by this time boiling like a pot of ointment, as the word says; one would think the deep “to be hoary.” For about two days nearly all the passengers were sick, ourselves with the rest. Little Delmer fared the best of any of us, as he only vomited once, and was sick only about 15 minutes. Sea sickness is rather difficult to describe. A sort of living death. The best comparison I could think of while suffering it, was of one swinging, or going up and down on a tiller board until sick, you feel as though you could not hold up your head another minute, and request the swing to stop; in that case you stop the swing, and recover your equilibrium, but in our case we kept on swinging for the next 48 hours. We thought of some who had expressed to us so strong a desire to enjoy this trip, and thought if they wished some of the realities of it, they might express themselves as some on this ship. Some worldly men, going to California after earthly gain, say $20,000 would be no temptation to them to take the trip again. We have had a higher object before us than earthly gain; God’s grace has sustained us. We have felt that angels were with us to keep us in the way. We are glad to-day to get a little sight of land again, as we do in passing some of the Bahamas. To-morrow we expect to pass Cuba and meet a steamer from Aspinwall, when, if the weather is fair as to-day, we exchange mail. We will try and write a little more from Aspinwall. Pray for us.

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

D. T. BOURDEAU.

Atlantic Ocean, near Cuba, June 29, 1868.