EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE.
I believe that a spirit of prayer should pervade everything we do. Many women do not think that they need to pray if they just go out to make a visit; but this is where a great many fail to accomplish that which might be done by such a visit. We should pray before we run into a neighbor’s to borrow anything; for who knows what opportunity may present itself at that very time, which we would fail to improve if we did not keep ourselves in the Lord’s hands by the attitude of prayer? We can not tell what may happen at any time, and we should pray about the very smallest things. Several years ago the Lord gave me a burden for souls, and I had a great longing to do more than I was doing. It did not seem possible for me to get away from the duties that held me to my home, so I asked the Lord to send me work that I could do right there. The Lord answered that prayer, and since that time there have always been in our home those who needed a shelter and a friend. At present we have three young women with us. The Lord sends them right to us; and although we are poor, we always have enough for all who come. My daughters are with me in this work, and gladly welcome any unfortunate sister, and we all work together to keep up expenses. We are glad to receive the following from the secretary of the Woman’s Gospel Work among the German sisters:— I will translate a few letters for you as I promised, whereby you can see that the Lord is with me in my work. One sister writes: “My parents and my brother and his wife were wrapped in indolence until your letter came, and the little tracts from our dear Sister Henry. I can assure you that they have worked much good. My sister-in-law has improved so much that the love of Christ can be seen in her face. She does not return the tracts to me, and says that she can not do without them. Have you more? I have read them once, but that is not enough for me. The Lord will reward you for your work, and we sisters will, like Aaron and Hur, hold you up with prayerful hands.” One sister, a young girl, who wrote very lamentable letters on account of sickness, now writes: “I have learned much from your letters. I will be quiet, and trust the Lord to make me strong. Your letters make me quite glad. I have learned how discontented I was. The devil comes every time in a different way. I thank you for the instruction. I will rest in the Lord, and be content.” A sister who had just accepted the truth, and was in doubt about the Spirit of Prophecy, now writes, after a brief correspondence: “I read your letter with love and joy, and it did my heart good to read the instruction, to treasure it in my heart, and to live after it. The word of the Lord is working in me. The more I hear, the more I long to know. Now I can trust with strong confidence that our faith is the right one.” To one sister I sent some picture-books for her little ones, and some kindergarten work for her little girl. She writes as follows: “May the Lord bless you for your kindness to me. My little girl diligently works away at what you sent her when she can not play outside, and enjoys it. I sorely miss the communion of the children of God. I can not talk with my husband about religion, but he daily hears me talking and praying with the children. My children and I pray aloud at noon now, and I am so glad that I have made the beginning. And at night when we retire, the children and I kneel in the room and have prayer. One child is five, and the other is three years old. They ask me many questions about Jesus and the forgiveness of sins, and my husband hears us as we talk and pray together. I am happy to say that in the last week I have been more in harmony with God, and have had more of his peace.” I have now six hundred and eighty-two names and addresses of German sisters, and am in regular correspondence with fifty. The Lord helps me wonderfully in answering many perplexing questions, and I can already see some fruits of my labor.