You will be interested to hear of the progress of our first magazine campaign in Korea. Our Korean brethren have always said that we could not sell papers in Korea; so we did not know whether the paper would sell or not, but we believed that God was leading, and so went ahead and districted the whole field among the foreign workers, giving each worker a good company to work with. Dr. Riley Russell and Miss May Scott are in the north, with Soonan students; Brother R. C. Wangerin and Soonan students are in the south; Elder W. R. Smith and helpers are on the east coast; and the writer, with workers and believers of Seoul, is working Seoul and near-by places.
The different companies report to me each day, and I in turn report to them the total amount of sales. This helps wonderfully to keep up the interest, and the reports received are certainly inspiring.
We began the work last week; and, according to reports, there had been sold, up to Sabbath, a total of 982 copies of our magazine, Sei Chyensa Eui Keuipyel (Three Angels' Message). This, however, is not the full amount sold; for several of our people in the country are selling, from whom I have not yet received reports. This effort has enlisted the sympathy and support of our people as nothing has ever done in the past.
Dr. Riley Russell reports as follows: “We can report the first-fruits. A man (heathen) in Nam San bought a paper last Monday, came here yesterday (the next Sunday), and told me that the words of that paper were very, very good, and that he, therefore, wanted to buy a Bible and a song-book, and said he would be here to church next Sabbath.”
Before receiving this report of first-fruits, I had received a report from Brother Wangerin, in which he tells of one of his boys finding a man who was exceedingly happy to meet an Adventist. Brother Wangerin went to see the man, and found that he had learned the truth in Japan several years ago, and had been baptized. After coming to Korea, he did not know where there were any Adventists, and had given up the Sabbath; but he promised Brother Wangerin that he would again keep the Sabbath, and be one with us.
Thus, at the end of the first week of our campaign, tangible results can be seen. The full results will not be known until the work is finished, and we meet the saved on the other shore. Dr. Russell writes further: “God is certainly blessing our feeble efforts. It seems to me almost like the beginning of the loud cry. We shall certainly see results from the campaign; and if it does not stir up the beast in his lair, I shall be surprised.”
Our magazine, Sei Chyensa Eui Keuipyel, is issued on the first Wednesday of each month, the January issue being number four of volume one. Among the subjects treated are: “The Three Angels’ Message;” “The Thousand Years in Revelation 20;” Bible readings on “The New Earth,” “The Second Coming of Christ,” “Events Taking Place Before Christ Comes,” “The First Advent of Christ,” and “The State of the Dead;” “The Sabbath in the Bible;” “What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?” “The Buried Bible;” “Canvassing Experiences in Japan;” etc. Thus, the principal subjects dwelt upon are the message, the signs of the17times, the second coming of Christ, and the Sabbath. Besides the ten thousand copies of this magazine that we are now selling, we have prepared thirty thousand pages of leaflets for free distribution. We are of good courage, and ask an interest in your prayers that this literature may not be distributed in vain, but that many souls may be saved as the result of our efforts.
