What Our Young People Are Doing by M. E. K.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 25, 1909

What Our Young People Are Doing

By M. E. K.

THE young people of South Dakota have decided to take the responsibility of sending a young man from Russia to the school in Friedensau, Germany, for one year. This training will enable him to labor more efficiently among his own countrymen.

The Missionary Volunteers have been at work in western Colorado. At camp-meeting fifty-five dollars was raised to complete the Foreign Mission Seminary scholarship which they have been trying to raise. Aside from this, fifty dollars was given for the scholarship of a native Burmese.

The young people of Palisades, Colo., have dried a quantity of fruit for the missions in the South.

One secretary writes: “Enclosed please find ten dollars, a donation from the Missionary Volunteers to help fit up a room in one of the new sanitariums in the South.”

Our young people in Maine have given about fifteen dollars for the needy Southern field. Their donations are still coming in to the treasurer.

One of our Missionary Volunteers in western New York has pledged fifteen cents a week toward the support of a student in the Huntsville school.

The Glendale, Cal., Missionary Volunteers recently gave one hundred twenty dollars for the Southern work.

After a special effort of several weeks to get up a program on the Southern work, at which over one hundred dollars was raised by one of our societies, a reaction set in. The programs of the weekly meetings became formal, and the interest lagged. The attendance fell off, the leader became discouraged, and felt almost ready to give up. One of the earnest workers of this society who had been out in the field, came home for a few days and went to work to arouse the interest. He asked a few who had attended the last meeting to unite with two or three others in prayer during the week, that the Missionary Volunteer leader might be encouraged, and that the next meeting might be a success. The Lord blessed their efforts. Thirty-one were present at the meeting, and there was unusual freedom.

The western Pennsylvania young people recently gave two barrels of clothing to the poor.

There are many German young people in the United States. For their benefit it is planned to publish a German young people's paper.

At one of the Western camp-meetings it seemed very hard to reach the hearts of the people. Earnest efforts were made to break through the barrier, and the prayer bands did faithful, earnest work. At the last meeting eighteen young people came forward, several who were backsliders, and a goodly number took their stand for the first time. The Missionary Volunteer secretary is endeavoring to follow up this good work by correspondence, and plans to visit the young people later.

A good word comes from northern Illinois. The secretary writes: “We had some very good meetings at our camp-meeting this year. I think I never saw young people work so hard to make the meetings a success as they did there. We formed prayer bands, and have seen some encouraging results. We in this conference have become firm believers in prayer and personal work at camp-meetings. Both last year and this we have been rewarded with new workers from among the young people. Some of those for whom we worked hardest last year were leaders of bands this year, and one of our most promising church-school teachers is a result of last year's camp-meeting work.”

The Missionary Volunteer work is making good advancement in the British Isles. There are now eleven societies, with a membership of one hundred seventy. The young people of the South England Conference have taken the North Scottish field as a mission to support by their contributions.

One of our conference secretaries, in writing of the young people's work at their camp-meeting, says: “One young lady who did not want to come to the camp-meeting, but came just because she did not like to stay at home alone, was converted. She was very worldly, and her conversion was indeed wonderful and just as sincere. She had been a public-school teacher, but she gave herself to the service of God, attended one of our institutes, and is now teaching a church-school. I saw her not long ago, and she is a firm and happy Christian.”

M. E. K.