Walla Walla College Harvest Ingathering Campaign by M. E. Cady

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 22, 1910

Walla Walla College Harvest Ingathering Campaign

By M. E. Cady

THE Walla Walla College teachers and students feel it a privilege to identify themselves with every missionary movement inaugurated by our people. Accordingly, the recent Harvest Ingathering campaign received their earnest consideration and hearty support.

Thursday all school work was laid aside, except in the normal department, and about one hundred twenty-five teachers and students spent a day in visiting the people in the city of Walla Walla and ten of the surrounding towns, telling them about our work in foreign fields, and soliciting donations in its behalf. Those visiting the outlying towns spent both Thursday and Friday in this work.

Before going out with the papers, one period of the daily program for three days was spent in the study of the Harvest Ingathering number of the REVIEW and also in a study of the methods of presenting the paper, and of soliciting gifts from the people. The Missionary Volunteer society took the burden of this effort, and planned and carried forward the work in a very commendable way. Those taking part in this work were divided into bands. For each band a leader was appointed, who distributed the members in such a way that the territory assigned was thoroughly worked.

The church missionary societies of College Place and Walla Walla co-operated with the Missionary Volunteers in carrying forward this missionary campaign, and each received a great blessing in so doing.

On Friday evening a meeting was held to hear reports from the workers. The earnest words of praise and appreciation for an opportunity of service for the Master in behalf of the foreign missions indicated plainly that God had richly blessed those who had taken an active part in the work. Some who had not received anything in the way of gifts from the people testified that they had been greatly blessed by the Master with the gift of his Spirit and presence with them as they visited the people, and told them what God is doing to save souls in heathen lands. Many reported that they had found persons who were interested in the truth and desired to read our literature, and some wished to have Bible readings held in their homes.

The work of the day opened to them doors of opportunity for missionary work, which they plan to carry on during the school year. Truly the entering into this missionary campaign with heart and soul has brought a rich blessing to the college, and has resulted in a still greater measure of the missionary spirit in our school. It also helps to better qualify for efficient service those of our number who will be called to go to distant fields. While we appreciate the help the gifts received will be to the foreign mission fields, we also greatly prize the blessing received by the school. Such service makes the school more like what God desires it to be, an institution baptized with the missionary spirit, because its teachers and students have more of the spirit of Him who went about doing good.

The gifts received by the members of the Missionary Volunteer society amounted to about two hundred dollars, which is considerably more than was received last year. This is partly due to the fact that a better preparation was made before going to the people, and partly to the better organization of the work in general. The people received the workers more favorably this year than last. As it becomes known that our people are sending men and means to convert the heathen in distant lands, the people of the world respond more liberally to our pleas for help.

Walla Walla College teachers and students have pledged themselves to help carry forward every missionary effort which has for its aim the carrying of the gospel to the whole world in this generation, and their faces are not so deeply buried in books that they can not change their program, and drop their work for a day or two now and then, to second and support every movement that will result in lifting the burdens and gladdening the hearts of those who are laboring for souls in foreign fields.

M. E. CADY.