p. 29 | The Latin Union School by Jean Vuilleumier

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 4, 1907

The Latin Union School

By Jean Vuilleumier

This is a large name for a small institution. But we despise not the day of small things. If this school ever becomes what it should be in proportion to the one hundred million people which it represents, it will surely be a larger school than it is now.

During the term 1906-07, we had fifteen students—eight in the nurses’ course, and seven in the Bible course. The Bible course lasted only four months, from September to December. Three of our students remained at the sanitarium; four went out in the canvassing field—three in France, and one in Switzerland.

It is but just to say that, as a Bible school, we have as yet very few facilities; we have no school building, no school-rooms, no dining-room, no dormitory. We are left for those things to the generosity of the sanitarium. Indeed, on September 5, our classes began in the open air, a tent-fly serving the purpose of a roof. Behind us and on either side, we had the oak forest, while in front the view opened directly on the blue lake, with the white Alpine background. But as it soon began to be cooler, we had to seek a refuge in the large kitchen, which serves as the helpers’ dining-room. We were thankful for a shelter; but as this was not without disadvantages, we were kindly offered a vacant room by the sanitarium. Here we finished our term.

To our brethren in more favored fields, our situation as a school may seem rather precarious; but we thought that, all things considered, our lot was not so bad as that of the Waldensian school of theology in the sixteenth century. In company with Elder Conradi, I had the privilege, in March, 1906, of visiting the place of this school. We found it way up among the rocks, eight or ten miles from the main valley. There are still here a few stone huts occupied by poor people, who are making a bare subsistence. A chapel is erected in the supposed spot where the school once stood. A slab of stone, four by four feet, can be seen, which is said to have been the table around which the young Waldensian missionaries studied the Word of God. From this secluded spot, they went out to face dangers, of which the most common was death.

Thus, we may well feel content as long as we are able to study God’s Word under our present circumstances. We trust, however, that our school will receive the attention and arouse the sympathy of the General Conference Committee, to whom we now have the rare privilege of extending our Swiss hospitality. JEAN VUILLEUMIER.