p. 15 | A Growing Work in Jamaica by W. A. Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 13, 1916

A Growing Work in Jamaica

By W. A. Spicer

I HAVE just closed a busy two weeks' visit to Jamaica. Elder E. C. Boger took me in his automobile from one end of the island to the other, making stops at churches, sometimes visiting two or three in one day. In this populous island, with but one railway east and west, and a branch to the north, Elder Boger's automobile has certainly proved a blessing. Our longest day's run was 142 miles, over mountains and round the coast to Montego Bay, at the northwest extremity of the island. Thirteen years ago, with Elder J. B. Beckner and his horse and cart, I spent a fortnight visiting companies. Time has speeded up things since those days. Now Elder Boger can reach any church in the conference in one day's journey from Kingston, the headquarters.

Jamaica shows the fruitage of years of faithful toiling. Now there are 2,000 Sabbath keepers in this island, gathered into forty-four churches and companies. Last year 221 were baptized, and about thirty received on former baptism. Still the interests grow. "We don't know how to respond to the calls for meetings," Elder Boger says. Here is just one illustration: At Golden Grove we stopped for a noonday meeting. Three or four new Sabbath keepers walked in from Ocho Rios, eleven miles over the mountainous roads. The two local elders at Golden Grove have been taking turns in going down to Ocho Rios each Sabbath to foster the interest there. So from the little churches the interests are being developed in regions about.

As we passed through one town where we have no believers, Elder Boger remarked, "We must get one or two families to move in here and find work, and so make a beginning for meetings."

It is good to drop into these isolated fields and find the workers aggressively pushing on, and the believers talking the truth to their neighbors and rejoicing in its progress, even as do we in the older fields.

The Kingston church is a large one, with a Sabbath congregation that I estimated at five hundred. For the young people's meeting in the afternoon about two hundred gathered, including the Junior young people's society. Elder F. E. Roberts has just taken up the work in Kingston.

I know that friends in America always like to know where workers from the American conferences are. In one house in Kingston, living a busy and harmonious life, are Elder and Sister Boger, Elder and Sister Roberts and Miss Ruth, and Brother Charles Degering, secretary of the conference, with Sister Degering and little daughter. In the mountain district of the west central part, Elder N. J. Aalborg has charge. We visited his family in Beverley, where we have a church on the mountain side, and found Elder Aalborg in another place, Marchtown, where he has a church building nearing completion. Brother and Sister A. E. Holst are at Montego Bay. Brother Holst has charge of the canvassing work, and we hope he may be blessed in training a little band of workers to hold permanently to this branch of service. At the Riversdale publishing headquarters for the union conference we found Brother A. F. Haines and family, and Elder E. Van Deusen. Here is also the home of Elder A. J. Haysmer, president of the union. Sister Haysmer was at home, but Elder Haysmer is away on his rounds southward, to return in September. Our last call was at Port Antonio, where Elder C. H. Keslake and family live. From this point Brother J. J. Ireland and I took ship for the eastern end of Cuba. Brother Ireland was engaged in auditing work at the Riversdale press. The brethren in these fields greatly appreciate the help that the General Conference auditor is able to give them.

W. A. SPICER.

Santo Domingo, Cuba.