A Visit to the Indians in the Mountain Altitudes
By F. A. Stahl
AFTER a lunch which the governor provided and pressed us to partake of, he and the mayor of the town took us through some of the ancient mines, and then through the old Spanish church. This church is adorned most elaborately. On the walls are large paintings representing the birth of Christ, his work of healing the sick, etc. The pictures are really beautiful, and I forgot myself for a moment and started to explain to the people what each picture was meant to represent. It came over me that while these people had seen the paintings many times, they do not really know what they represent, as they have no knowledge of the Bible. The governor and the mayor and others then bade us adieu, and we continued our journey. We took another way homeward, holding meetings with the Indians at different places. Everywhere we found the people interested, and I know that God sent his angel before us to prepare hearts to receive the gospel. At one place where we stayed overnight, the owner of the hut, a very hard-faced man, said, “We knew that the missionary from Plateria was coming to visit Peachacane.” He did all he could to make us comfortable, and in the morning when I asked if our horses were safe,—I had heard that the country was infested with horse thieves,—he said, with a kind smile, “Yes, they are safe. I have been up most of the night watching them.” We held a meeting with the Indians who gathered, and all were interested, and none more so than this hard-faced man. He asked me many questions, and when we prayed, he bowed to the very ground in deep reverence. As we departed, he asked us to return and teach them all. He would take no money for our entertainment and with tears bade us good-by. I felt ill, and had a high fever. If it had not been for this, I should have remained longer. But it was well that I got back to the mission, as my illness proved to be typhoid fever. For four weeks my faithful wife nursed me. To-day we are praising God for renewed life and health, and the privilege of continuing in this blessed work of bringing this saving truth to the people. There are so many calls and openings that we do not know which one to answer first. Here at Plateria we have a live church, and around us hundreds who ought to have personal work done for them. These do not attend the Sabbath meetings, being satisfied to reap the benefits of the mission without obeying the truth. They should have Bible studies at their homes, and we believe, by earnest work and prayer and the blessing of God, they would accept the truth, which they do not now understand. Then there are the near-by villages, where formerly the people were our enemies, but now they send for us to come and care for their sick. There is also that broken stone to be taken back to the Indian chief. It has been three years [now four] since we first visited him, and I have not been able to return to answer his earnest plea, nor has any one else been able to go. It is a five days’ journey and one has to cross dangerous rivers. At Taragguire, five thousand Indians want schools and instruction, according to a messenger who came to our mission and wanted to take us to the place at once. I was not able to go because of the work here, and he had to return alone, with a mere promise that we would visit them as soon as possible. This place is three days’ journey into the high, cold mountains, and when we go we shall have to take feed for the horses, as nothing grows up there. I have promised to return in May to Sepita with a teacher. Sepita is high in the mountains on the border of Bolivia. When I was there, I crossed and recrossed the line between Peru and Bolivia to hold meetings and treat the sick. Then there is the call from the Quichuan Indians, three days’ journey, their homes being situated on the plains, at a place called Caracut. Two Quichuan Indians came for weeks to our mission to learn the truth, but owing to the heavy rains we have not seen them for some time. At Santa Rosa a Spanish gentleman and the justice of the peace have personally invited me three times to visit them and teach their Indians. This place is four days’ journey over the high mountains, and also has no food for horses. At Juli, which is only one day and a half away, we have been invited many times to start a work among ten thousand Indians. A lawyer said he would give us land for the mission. But we have not yet been able even to visit this place. This lawyer has been trying to get the president and other men interested in this work. There is the whole region of Peachacane, that is waiting to learn the truth. This is the place mentioned in the first part of this report, where the governor is favorable. Lake Titalaka, where for more than a year the people have been calling for us to teach them, is still waiting. Lake Titalaka is a small inland lake not very far from this mission. What shall we do about these calls, brethren and sisters? True, it is God’s work; but let us remember that God has turned it over to us to do. Truly he will help and sustain us, but at the same time we must make every effort to do our part. The questions for every Seventh-day Adventist to ask himself are, “Am I doing all I can to help along the great work?” “Do I really believe that I am telling the people that the time of the end is at hand?” “Am I holding on to sons and daughters who should be out in active service for the Lord?” “Am I hoarding gold and silver that should be used to honor my God?” We who are out in the field are working beyond our strength. “You should not do so,” I fancy I can hear some one say. But, brethren and sisters, we are forced along by the strong tide of need. The people all around are sin-sick as well as sick in body. I had been ill with typhoid fever for four weeks. The third day I was up a man came to our door, begging and imploring that I go at once to Akora, a village four miles distant, to help a friend of his who was very ill. I told him I could hardly walk, I was so weak. “Oh, but do come!” he implored. I finally said I would go. Luciano got the horse ready, and I went. When I arrived at the house, I very nearly fell to the floor, I was so weak. But I was able to help the man and the people. You can see that I could not refuse this call. And so it is all the time. The words of that old Indian at Sepita keep ringing in my ears, “How can we learn the right way without a teacher?” We are not unmindful of the faithful brethren and sisters, many of whom have given their all. There are many, we know, who are depriving themselves of conveniences to further the Master’s work, and we thank them. May the great God bless you, and truly God will remember the faithful in that great day of the Lord.