p. 1154 | Philippine Islands

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 27, 1913

Philippine Islands

Our Young People's Work in Other Lands—No. 2

Philippine Islands

Our work started in the Philippines just a short time ago. We have the opportunity of reporting merely the organization of our young people's work. In the Philippines we have about one hundred members, about half of whom are members of our young people's society. We have a large number of young people, and they take a great interest in young people's work. I think we have four societies that meet separately three weeks of the month, and on the fourth they all try to get together and have a joint meeting. They take up the devotional study as in America. We translated the Morning Watch Calendar into their language. I was encouraged by the large number of texts they learn during the week; in fact, they try to learn all in the lesson. In building up our work, the young people's department has been a great help to us. The people have just come out of the Catholic Church, and they must be taught the truth. In these young people's meetings are a large number not of our faith, and our youth are doing good missionary work with them. We have only a few tracts; but we have started a paper in the Tagalog language, with a circulation which has increased to two thousand. The young people are largely responsible for taking these papers out and selling them and getting subscriptions. This work is building up our young people. We prize our work among the youth very much.

L. V. FINSTER.

China

We have not actually organized young people's societies in general, but we do have young people's societies under local management. There are about three hundred young people in our schools. We have translated the Morning Watch Calendar, and sent it out to our schools for distribution.

I think the young people's work ought to be organized in China. The Chinese are wonderful people for organization. They have gilds of all sorts, uniting the various industries of China. They are thoroughly organized. The Chinese can effect a boycott against the United States in a week, and they can bring Japan to time by boycotting Japanese goods and industries. I do not see why we should not have a splendid young people's organization in China.

I. H. EVANS.

Japan

We are working under great difficulties in Japan. Our young people are very much scattered; but we have two societies,—one in Tokio and one in Kobe. The Kobe society is largely composed of nurses in the Japanese sanitarium. They have their regular meetings Sunday afternoons. Most of the members of the Tokio society are young people who are gathered in our training-school.

Perhaps you do not know that in the majority of cases where young people come into the truth in Japan, they are obliged to leave their homes. They can no longer live with their parents, who disown them. When such young people accept the truth, the mission takes them and gives them a training. We keep them six months in Tokio. That brings them together so they can have their young people's meeting every Sabbath afternoon.

But every young person in the empire really, in heart, if not actually, belongs to the young people's work. One of the first things a person receives after embracing the truth is a Morning Watch Calendar translated into the Japanese; and wherever I go among the people, old or young, and have a Bible study, when they open their Bibles I see a Morning Watch Calendar in each. The Japanese make good use of the calendar.

We have no reading courses, because we have no reading-matter of a suitable nature in the Japanese language; so we are deprived of that pleasure. But we have recently published a book of Bible readings, not only for the use of the young people, but for our evangelists, also. I wish that you could visit a meeting of the young people in Japan. They are very earnest, and get a great deal of good out of their meetings. They enjoy coming together in that way. They are loyal, and desire to learn everything they can of Bible truths and of the ways of presenting them. I have always been very much interested in the young people's work.

F. H. DE VINNEY.

Korea

We have ten missionary societies in Korea, but among these ten there are only three that are composed of only young people. They are in Soonan. One is a society of young men, one of young women, and one composed of both young men and young women. The societies meet once a week, and the members report the missionary work done. It is inspiring to note how active they are. They report very many Bible readings given, missionary visits made, tracts and papers sold, and persons taught the alphabet. When they come together they study doctrinal points.

One young people's society, composed entirely of young people, sent literature to a certain place every week, and after a few months a letter came from that place acknowledging the receipt of the papers, and saying, “We have become very much interested in the truth. Send us a worker.” The worker found nineteen persons keeping the Sabbath. The women are especially earnest, going out from morning till night doing their missionary work. In the country they usually choose market-day for this work, for on that day the people from all parts come to sell their produce, and thus they find opportunities to talk to them.

M. SCHARPFENBERG.