Grahamstown, South Africa
By Helen Williams
BOTH my Sabbath and Sunday evening meetings are splendidly attended by the outside people. One young lady has just commenced keeping the Sabbath, and I think her mother also will soon take hold. On Sunday night almost every seat is taken. Elder H. J. Edmed baptized three15when he was here. I got out some invitations for the occasion, and our young people helped in distributing them. Three more are now keeping the Sabbath. I am happy in the work, but will be glad when it is finished and the saved all go home together. What a happy reunion that will be! Brother Bookout, one of Elder Anderson’s helpers, went off to hunt up natives for the home school, and was taken with blackwater fever while out on the veld. He wrote telling of his condition, and that was all we could learn, as Brother Anderson’s communications to him were returned. Brother Bookout’s wife had not been able to learn whether he was dead or alive. So Brother Anderson sent Erwin (my son) to hunt for him. He took the train at the nearest point, and traveled for one hundred miles, when he hired a native to carry his luggage, and started in the direction that Brother Bookout had taken. The native did not want to travel at night, but Erwin felt that they must hurry over the ground. In the early part of the night they were overtaken by two lions. They came so near that they could hear them breathe, and one was lashing his tail. Erwin put the native behind him, and faced the lions with his repeating rifle. He made sure to shoot high above them and shouted. This he did three times, but the first shot and shouts were enough for the lions, and they scampered away as rapidly as they had come. He then set the grass on fire behind them. I believe the Lord helped my lad. As soon as it was near daylight, the native took to his heels, and left Erwin with all the baggage to go on alone. In a few days he managed to hire more natives, who took him to Brother Bookout. He had had the fever twenty-one days. After a few days they started back with twenty young men natives for the home school. When they reached the mission, Erwin had traveled five hundred miles. He himself then had a severe attack of fever, but Brother Anderson gave him good care. He now has two running sores caused by the bite of insects. They are doing what they can to get them healed.