Notes of Travel by G. B. THOMPSON

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 13, 1907

Notes of Travel

By G. B. THOMPSON

G. B. THOMPSON

MARCH 28 I left Rangoon, on the “Cheshire” of the Bibby Line. Most of the workers, and a number of the Burmese brethren and sisters, came down to the wharf to see me off. A feeling of sadness came over me as I bade all these dear souls good-by, and went aboard the tender to be taken to the ship. I felt thankful that a day was now near at hand when all these separations will be at an end, and a new determination seized me to be faithful, and have a place with the people who will be translated when the Lord comes. I greatly enjoyed the time spent with the workers in India.

Four days’ sailing brought me to Colombo on the island of Ceylon. As the ship remained here for a day, I went ashore and looked over the city, and by means of a jinrikisha went several miles into the country. Ceylon is a beautiful island called the “pearl of the ocean.” It is a crown colony of England, and has a population of about four million people, mostly natives. The larger part of the population speak the Tamil language; the Cingalese language is spoken by about one million.

BUDDHIST, PAGODA IN RANGOON, BURMA. PROBABLY LARGEST IN THE WORLD

Our work has been started here, and some, I believe, are keeping the Sabbath, but at present we have no worker. A capable worker should be selected and sent to labor in Ceylon without delay. The needs of this field were carefully considered at the meeting in Calcutta, and a most urgent request was made for some one to be sent to India who can superintend the work in this field. I believe the Lord will raise up such a worker without delay. Ceylon affords a good field for labor. Much of the island has a high altitude and a good climate.

Colombo is hot, but is not an unhealthful city.

We left Colombo April 2, and reached Port Said, Egypt, the fourteenth. The voyage of seventeen days from Rangoon was a very pleasant one. The sea was like a pond all the way, and the heat of the tropics was in no way uncomfortable. We also had a very desirable class of passengers, and the officers of the ship did everything they could to make our voyage pleasant.

I left the ship at Port Said to spend a few days in Egypt. Brethren Jay and Robert Nethery met me here, and the same evening found me in their comfortable and hospitable home in Alexandria—the city which was founded by Alexander the Great. This is a large city, and in many respects it is quite modern. On reaching here I received mail from home, and seven copies of the good old REVIEW that I had not seen. To see the REVIEW was like meeting an old friend, and I read with much interest the many excellent reports of the progress of the work. Surely the Lord is greatly blessing his work.

I spent the Sabbath, in company with Brother and Sister Nethery, with the church at Cairo. As we celebrated the ordinances, and studied the truths which stand as the foundation of this message, we enjoyed much of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Cairo is a large city; it claims a population of a million.

The work in Egypt has been passing through a crisis, on account of some having received “new light,” which means the giving up of the Testimonies and other cardinal points of the faith. As usual, the message of those who have embraced “new light” is for the Seventh-day Adventist denomination only. Their work is to confuse and unsettle as many as possible on the message. It is marvelous how heresy of the most foolish kind will fasten itself in the minds of those who yield to it. But the Lord has some faithful children here who love the truth. Elder Nethery is now in the field to direct the work. He and his wife are learning the Arabic language, and getting a good hold on the work. Some persons of talent who know the language are coming into the truth, and I believe the Lord will raise up laborers to carry the message in this difficult field. The great need here is for laborers. Some good workers should be sent to assist in the work without delay. The Lord will yet do great things in Egypt through this message. He delivered a people from this land once, and he can, and will, do so again. Though, as the prophet declares, it is the “basest of kingdoms,” there is much evidence that the nation is waking up, and being prepared for the rapid spread of the message.

In company with Dr. Hoenes, I went up the Nile some three hundred and fifty miles above Cairo to Luxor to visit Brother Awada Elshaheed, one of our laborers in the Arabic tongue. I was very glad to meet this brother. He and his family all keep the Sabbath. He is doing what he can to spread the truth in this part of the field. He is also translating some of our literature into the Arabic tongue.

Luxor is on the site of the ancient city of Thebes, and I was much interested in visiting the ruins of temples, built before the children of Israel left Egypt. The tombs of the kings who reigned before the days of Moses were also of much interest. These tombs consist of subterranean passages hewn in the solid rock in the sides of the Lybian hills, and descending for several hundred feet. The walls and chambers are covered with the writings of this time, and much information concerning this ancient period has been gleaned by Egyptologists who are able to read these hieroglyphics. The pick and spade of the explorer have revealed some wonderful things here. These ruins speak of grandeur and power long since departed, and are a striking object-lesson of the vanishing, unenduring work and glory of puny man.

This trip up the Nile was attended with much interest, and I trust with profit as well. It is a fertile region, and by means of irrigation is being brought to a high state of cultivation, but the methods of agriculture, etc., do not seem to have undergone much, if any, change for centuries. They seem to be about the same as when Jacob sent into the country for corn.

I am leaving Alexandria to-day on the “Regent Margherita” of the Italian line, for Naples. From here, after a short stop in Rome, I will go on to the meeting at Gland, Switzerland.