G. W. CAVINESS

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 4, 1913

Our Young People’s Work in Other Lands—No. 3

Mexico

I AM sorry to say that we are very much behind in this work. We have had many difficulties with reference to it, one of the greatest being the lack of young people to lead out in this department. When young people come to Mexico, as a few of our canvassers have done, they have to learn the language, and they do not attempt to do much in public speaking for a year or two. The Mexican young people are not good leaders, and we must have young workers to inaugurate and help carry forward this work.

Nevertheless, something has been done. We have had a young people’s society in Mexico. One of the many other difficulties in this country is we have not the necessary literature for our young people. I trust we shall soon have some. I understand South America has printed the Morning Watch Calendar, and we hope we can introduce that, and then get some other literature.

Just a word with reference to the young people’s society in Mexico City. The young people take hold of the work very well, and find pleasure and profit in it. The young girls in Mexico cannot or do not come to the meetings alone. Their mothers or some older persons always come with them. It is very interesting to me to hear some of these young Mexicans give Bible readings explaining the prophecies. One day one little fellow explained the twenty-three hundred days. While I cannot say that he did better than the minister, yet he did better than a great many persons can do. The minds of these young people are bright, and they can and will learn the things set before them. We wish to be in line with this work. So many things have kept us occupied that we have not had time to deal with the young people and their meetings. I shall always have a deep interest in this work, and I am glad our young people are taking hold of it. Doubtless it is coming to be more and more a great resource for recruits for the mission fields. God bless our young people.

G. W. CAVINESS

South America

I thank God for the young people’s work among Seventh-day Adventists. Before I knew anything about Adventists, I was converted in Berlin, Germany, in a young people’s society. Therefore I believe in the young people’s work. From that time I have been a worker for young people. Having been for more than ten years a teacher, I have had to face a great many of the young people’s problems, and when this movement started among Seventh-day Adventists I was glad. We were among the first ones outside of the United States to start this work. We began in the city of Rio Grande do Sul. There we organized three societies, and later we printed the Morning Watch Calendar in the German language. After that we printed a young people’s paper and organized a reading circle in the German language. Besides this we had a study and prayer circle. The young people signed their names and promised to study every day, using their Bibles and engaging in prayer. So the work went forward, and this onward march has not stopped. Our work has extended over a large territory. We have few workers; in fact, one conference has no leader, and two mission fields in Brazil are without leaders. The lack of leaders has forced us to divide, and the young people’s work has not received the attention that it should have received. Finally our young people’s paper was stopped, and we only had space in our church paper. But I believe in the future we shall be able to devote more of our strength to work among the young people.

Africa

The young people’s work in Africa seems to go slower than in some other countries, and so I cannot tell of the increase in the number of societies. Our societies are trying to make known to the world the advent message in this generation. Our work was organized six years ago. We have five societies, and I hope that in the near future we shall have several more.

The Missionary Volunteer Society in Kenilworth is largely composed of the young people from the school, and they are doing faithful work. Their time is wholly occupied, but still they are seeking to give the message, and are selling a great deal of our literature. Our paper, the South African Sentinel, is sold by them. The only time they have to devote to the sale of literature is Saturday evening. They then form into companies and go to the city to sell papers. I think they sell from twenty to two hundred each on the streets on Saturday night. Some do better than others. Our school is composed of younger members than are some of the schools in America, but they do faithful work Saturday nights with the Sentinel.

While the young men are out, our young women are busy wrapping and addressing the Sentinel for mailing. Just a little while ago there was a “Christ’s Object Lessons” campaign for the purpose of reducing the debt of our college, and quite a number of our young people went out and did some very successful work. I am sure all would be interested to see the young boys and girls doing this work with the object of reducing the debt of our institutions.

The Transvaal society is a live one. Its members do a great deal of work in selling tracts and papers, visiting hospitals, distributing literature, taking flowers to the sick, visiting, etc. They have also done Christian Help work, supplying food and clothing to those who are in need.

One of our societies has done well in raising means for purchasing literature. This society usually has a Christmas tree, on which are placed for sale articles made by members of the society during the year. In this way they make as much as eleven or twelve pounds, with which they buy literature.

In Cape Town we have been trying to raise scholarships for many of our

worthy students who cannot enter school. We have many there who would like to attend school, but cannot possibly do so because they do not have the means. We put two young men through school last year, and hope to do the same this year. I do not know that I can speak of the work in the Orange River Colony, as we do not have many reports from there. We trust that the future may see the work better organized and the young people in Africa doing more to advance the message.

MARY ROBERTSON.

India

I do not know that I can say very much about the young people’s work in India. There is a young people’s society in Mussoorie, where our English-speaking school is, and our Burman young people are sent there. We have about fourteen, I believe, now in the school in Mussoorie. I only hear reports of what they are doing, so I cannot speak definitely, but I know from the spirit of our young people who come back that the young people’s work in Mussoorie is onward.

As yet we have no organized work in connection with our school in Mandalay. Although this is a training-school, we take the raw heathen and are trying to train them not only to become real Christians, but to become Seventh-day Adventist workers. All our students come right from heathenism. We have only one family, so we must look to these young people for our workers. I am interested in the young people’s work from the standpoint of training workers for Burma.

There is also a Missionary Volunteer Society in Calcutta, and another among the Tamils.

West Indies

The West Indian Union includes the territory of Central America, also the northern coast of South America and the West Indies. One of the greatest difficulties in the West Indies is to find efficient leaders. When you realize that the public schools do not take pupils after they are fourteen years old, and when you consider that the larger number of our young people live in the country, where their work keeps them out of school much of the time, you can understand how hard it must be to find those who can lead out in this kind of work. Many of the people cannot read, and their poverty hinders them from providing themselves with facilities and with text-books.

Most of our work has been among the English-speaking people. Recently, however, work has been started in the republic of Haiti. The people there speak the French language. Since last November eight societies have been organized among the young people in Haiti. I think we have forty-six societies in all, with a membership of seven hundred and twenty-six. The young people, in spite of their poverty, last year contributed $165.70 to their work. In some places the donations were used to provide the Instructor and Review for the society.

Throughout our English-speaking territory our young people have begun to use the Morning Watch Calendar. I noticed, in looking at a report this morning, that one secretary said her society had used two hundred and fifty of the Morning Watch Calendar, and at the close of the report she said that fifty more had just been received. Our young people here are doing almost every kind of work that our young people are doing in the United States.

The quarterly report of our young people’s societies in the Jamaica Conference shows 2,598 papers sold. Perhaps the paper selling is the largest part of their work, as most of our young people live in the country; but they do carry on some Christian Help work and systematic distribution of tracts. In everything they undertake they always do their best. But we lack greatly the help of efficient leaders. I think the benefits of the society are needed more for the young people in the West Indies and the surrounding country than they are in the United States. Our young people there have less to encourage them and to help them in the truth, therefore the society is a great blessing to them. The work is still in its infancy, but it is growing from year to year.

H. H. COBBAN.

Australasian Union

The Missionary Volunteer Societies of Australasia number eighty-eight, and including the state department have a membership of 2,099. The contributions during the four years ended Dec. 31, 1912, were, for local work $1,106.20, for home mission work $1,973.87, and for foreign mission work $14,058.57.

With the mission offerings a man and wife are supported in the Cook Islands, a man and wife in Samoa, a man and wife in New Hebrides, a man and wife in the Tonga Islands, three native workers in Fiji, a native worker in New Guinea, and some needed facilities for the workers are also supplied. Thus the young people are quite a factor in the spread of the gospel message in the islands of the Pacific. Most of the money is earned by the young people and children with sometimes a little help from the older people.

The money comes from various sources,—contributions from regular wages, profits from sales of books and periodicals, collections with missionary tins, missionary gardens, missionary hens, calves, sheep, lambs, vines, fruit-trees, etc., and earnings by work of various sorts. Many of the young people and children have shown considerable ingenuity in devising ways and means of earning money for the support of their missionaries. This work has been a blessing to all who have taken part in it; it has given them an active interest in the cause of God and bound their hearts to it, has occupied their time so that harmful things were crowded out, and has developed a capacity for carrying responsibility.

Programs have been prepared and printed by the Australasian Missionary Volunteer Department, and are generally used by the societies. Most of the societies hold weekly meetings. The work has been a blessing to the young people. Many who were formerly indifferent have been led to give their hearts to God, and have become consecrated workers. A large number of young people have been baptized in the four years covered by this report. The spiritual gain has been the most encouraging feature of the work; and while there are yet great things to be done, the Missionary Volunteer work in the Australasian field is onward.