p. 14 | Mexico by George M. Brown

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jul 21, 1904

Mexico

By George M. Brown

I am glad to be able to record some advancement in the work in this field since my last report. Besides printing twenty-five hundred copies of El Mensajero de la Verdad each month, we have gotten out two hundred and fifty each of the Sabbath-school lesson pamphlets for the three quarters of 1904, and a two thousand edition of each of the following tracts: The Sabbath in the New Testament, Is Man Immortal, and The Second Advent. Professor Caviness has had the oversight of this work, doing the translating and supervising the printers.

The new building for our printing-office and depository is all done except hanging the windows and doors and putting in the floor. Providence not preventing, we shall soon be able to move in, and will then be able to do our work to much better advantage than now.

The greater part of June I spent in making a trip with Elder Leland through the central part of the Republic. We visited Chihuahua, a thriving town of about twenty-three hundred people, and the capital of the State of Chihuahua (chiwawa). We were there five days, and we sold some books and secured a few subscriptions to El Mensajero. The above picture represents a group of Tarahumara Indians who live in Chihuahua. We saw some of them while we were there, and were told that they are Catholics, and come to the city in large numbers to celebrate the fiestas at Christmas and New-year's. They wear no clothes except the serapes shown in the picture, and a loin cloth. These Indians are fair representatives of many thousands in Mexico, who, though nominally Catholic, are as truly pagan as they ever were. Still even to such as these the everlasting gospel must be carried.

From Chihuahua we went to Torreon where we remained a week. This is a new and rapidly growing railroad town, it being the junction point of the Mexican Central, Mexican International, and Coahuila & Pacific Railroads.

Here we were hospitably entertained by the pastor of an independent Mexican congregation of Protestants. This pastor is a young man of strong character who, with his congregation, separated from the American missionaries because they persisted in having church festivals and entertainments. He is self-supporting, and seems very favorable toward the truth. We enjoyed talking with him about the different points of our faith and left him an English “Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation” to study. He understands English well. At this place we disposed of more books and tracts, and took some subscriptions to the paper.

The next stop was at Zacatecas, a quaint old mining town, begirt with hills, which has a population of about twenty-seven hundred people. There we spent a day with a Protestant minister who had written to Brother Leland, questioning him in regard to the doctrines held by us as a denomination. We took our Bibles and studied the different points of truth with him and his wife in the forenoon, and in the afternoon he called in one of his members and we continued the study.

His attention was first called to the Sabbath by reading a little book written by a Catholic against the Lutherans, in which the writer charged them and all Protestants with inconsistency in claiming to take the Bible as their sole guide, and persisting in the observance of Sunday for which there is no Bible authority. Thus we see illustrated again the old truth that God will use the efforts of the enemies of the truth to bring light to those who are seeking it. This brother seems to fully believe in the seventh-day sabbath, immersion, the second advent, and other truths. I believe that he will walk in the light as fast as he sees it, for he gave up a lucrative position in the army to be a minister.

One of the principal objects of this trip was to look over the ground with a view to opening work in a new place. Doubtless Elder Leland will soon move his family from Guadalajara and begin work either in Aguascalientes or Torreon.

A recent letter from Dr. Erkenbeck says that the sanitarium is having a better patronage than is usual at this season of the year. The medical mission in Guadalajara which is now under the supervision of the sanitarium, is doing well with Dr. P. K. Gaston as physician in charge.

Brother John Harzman has been working in Mexico City and the State of Mexico with quite good success. In recanvassing the city of Toluca he secured renewals from about one fourth of the subscribers to El Mensajero, and took enough new subscriptions to more than make up for those which were not renewed.

Elder Bodwell took over one hundred subscriptions in Tampico and vicinity during the month of May, and is now following up the interest in San Luis Potosi.

Some of Brother Kelley's Bible readers who began keeping the Sabbath some time ago are now ready for baptism, and thus the seed which he has been sowing is bringing forth fruit. We rejoice in these evidences of progress in the work in this field, and are of good courage, believing that the sickle of truth will gather sheaves for the garner of the Lord even from the long-neglected Mexican field.

In closing, I wish to earnestly ask the prayers of the brethren and sisters in behalf of those who are studying the truth here in Mexico. Pray that God will give them courage and faith to step out fully and obey all his commands.

GEO. M. BROWN.