Labors Among the French
By D. T. BOURDEAU
After an unavoidable stay of over six months at Battle Creek, Mich., caused by a serious accident already mentioned in the REVIEW, and by my being occupied in doing heavy mental work, which had been too long crowded out by field work, it was a source of joy to start, November 12, on a tour among the French and some of other nationalities in Wisconsin and in northwestern Michigan. I spent about four weeks in laboring principally for our French brethren and sisters at the following places: Little River (near Oconto), Wis.; Stephenson, Mich.; Wilson, Mich.; and Robinson, Wis. At each of these places I remained about one week, walking and visiting much, and speaking from two to seven times in public. It was a source of mutual profit and encouragement, after a separation of nearly four years, to meet these brethren again, and to recount God's mercies and his gracious dealings with his people and with the nations of earth, take a retrospective view of the progress of the cause, and a prospective view of its final triumph in the near future, and to dwell on the moral fitness needed to meet the momentous events so soon to be a present reality. Most of those to whom the words of life were dispensed seemed to be convinced that it is impossible to form characters that will stand the trying ordeals through which we are soon to pass, to enable us to stand before the Son of man at his coming, and to secure an admittance into the immortal kingdom, without earnestly laboring for the salvation of others, and for the advancement of the work of the closing gospel message by every laudable means at our command. While laboring for my dear French brethren and sisters, not only has my thirsty soul been watered, but I have also been blessed and strengthened physically, without, however, being led to forget the fact that a man of my age needs to be prudent, and especially to guard against exposures to the rigor of the climate in the winter season in this part of the country. At an evening meeting at Little River, while my French brethren and I were feasting on truths relating to the formation of holy characters, a refreshing came upon us, and removed from me a dull headache with which I had been more or less afflicted ever since my accident last April. At Wilson, Mich., the believers had increased, and it seemed evident that the organization of a French church at an early date would meet the mind of the Lord, and I labored both in private and18in public with this end in view; and here, too, we were favored with a refreshing from the presence of the Lord. This came as we were looking after a sick brother, and drawing out the French believers toward him in Christian sympathy and brotherly love. About four years previous to this effort at Wilson, the brother just referred to had sold his farm for about one thousand dollars, and had given about half of the proceeds to the cause. Since then he had conscientiously paid his tithe to the Lord, and had bought another farm, mostly of standing timber, with neither house nor barn on it. Some thought that he had gone to extremes in giving so much to the cause, and in placing himself in such trying circumstances, and yet returning to the Lord an honest tithe. But the Lord intervened, and heaped blessings into this brother's bosom, so that I found him with a better farm and better buildings than those he had about four years before. This man I found very sick in his lumbering camp in the woods. He had not been able to keep even pure water, much less food, in his stomach for days. He lay in his bed, and could not attend our meetings. For five successive days I walked about five miles each day to see and instruct this sick man in the forest, besides doing other heavy work. The day before leaving—a holy Sabbath morning—I walked this distance through the mud and in a heavy rain storm, to pray with this man, then laid his case before the brethren in our early Sabbath morning meeting, showing the object of the Lord in permitting such afflictions; namely, to draw us out in sympathy and love for the afflicted, and to take glory to himself in granting to all concerned the greatest of all blessings to erring and imperfect mortals, and that is, the healing of the soul of moral maladies, and advancement in the important work of character building. If this blessing is granted, we are prepared to receive physical healing, if God sees fit to give it, and we are prepared to die, if God shall decide that we can glorify him more by our death than by our life. Having presented such principles to the congregation, we united in a general season of prayer for the sick and for all engaged in prayer. The next morning, several hours before day, accompanied by six brethren and sisters, I went again to the sick man, and after giving him, his wife, and those present instructions regarding the physical laws governing us, and impressing the sick with the fact that God did not require him to overdo that he might be able to give more means to the cause, there was a precious season of humbling the soul by confession of sins. This was followed by a season of prayer, during which the Holy Spirit drew near to all, especially to the sick brother, who arose, declaring that he felt better in his body. All felt that they had received a moral healing, and had been greatly strengthened spiritually; and I felt some of the blessing that healed me of consumption over forty years ago. The subject of replenishing the French Tract Fund without neglecting the tithing system nor overlooking other demands of the cause upon us, was presented to the French brethren and sisters, who nobly responded to a careful appeal for means and pledges. I had determined not to say anything on this subject to the brother who had been afflicted; but he would not be deprived of the privilege of doing something for this noble object, and took the lead by heading the list of pledges for the French Tract Fund. Since then the French believers at the other places mentioned have followed the example of the Wilson company, and we are happy to report that the debt that rested on the French Tract Fund is canceled, and that there is enough ahead in cash and in pledges unpaid to justify the publishing house at Battle Creek in soon beginning to print small works that are greatly needed by the French; such as, “A Royal Visit Imminent;” “True Holiness, How Attained;” “The Bible and Tradition,” etc. But the French Tract Fund needs to be greatly increased to meet the urgent demands of this branch of the work; and in this we ask the co-operation of believers of other nationalities. Let donations be sent to the Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich. We hope to be able to say more on this subject after finishing our present work of following up interests created by our French and English literature, and by the personal efforts of our French believers and of English-speaking brethren and sisters in this field. At every place where we have held meetings with our French brethren and sisters they have resolved to make earnest efforts to circulate such works as “Readings for the Family” (or French “Bible Readings”), the French “Life of Christ,” etc. D. T. BOURDEAU.