Advanced Movements of the Message in South Africa
By George A. Irwin
IN the minds of the brethren the time has fully come when an advanced school must be established at the Solusi Mission, to give not only the older and more advanced boys of that station a more thorough Bible training, but to take boys from the other stations who have come to the point where they are in need of similar help. It is the plan for some experienced missionary to take these boys when fitted and open up a number of different stations by placing two or more together in one place, and keeping their work under his personal supervision by occasional visits. It is only with the assurance that their work will be thus supervised by a white man that the chiefs will give permission for these boys to labor among their people. There are fifteen boys at the Solusi Mission ready to enter such a school, eight at Somobula, and eight at Plainfield. These boys have come to a place in their training, where, unless some such provision is made to give them special help and direction in their work, they will scatter, and be lost to the cause. After spending a time in the field, it is the plan to have these boys return to the school, to receive additional training and encouragement. The brethren feel that unless some such plan is adopted, all their labor and sacrifice of years will be lost. Such a plan will necessitate additional help at the Solusi station. Funds are being collected through the Sabbath-schools in this field to start a mission among the Zulus. It was also recommended at the conference that Brother and Sister Rogers open a new mission at Shiloh, in Nyassaland. Shiloh is sixty-five miles beyond Plainfield Mission. The place consists of fifty acres of good land, upon which there stand three substantial buildings; namely, dwelling-house, church, and store. A request has been sent to the General Conference to take steps at once to secure this property for mission purposes. Expecting to visit most of these missions before my return to the States, I will write no more on this subject for the present. The report of the Natal-Transvaal Conference showed good progress, considering the number of believers, and the few persons employed as workers. Elder Edmed, the president of the conference, is the only ordained minister in the field, and has not only the care of all the churches and business affairs, but must take the lead and carry the burden of all aggressive efforts, either in tent or in hall, having only lady Bible workers to assist him. The conference is composed of five churches, with a total membership of one hundred and thirty-two. Their tithe the past year amounted to £770; first-day offerings to £34 13s. 6d., and Sabbath-school offerings to £62 13s. 4d. Elder Edmed made an earnest appeal to the union conference for a minister to assist him in the work in Natal. The Cape Conference embraces the Cape and Orange River Colonies. It has in its employ four ministers, two licentiates, and four Bible workers. During the past year one church and thirty-four members have been added. £1,970 14s. 1d. was received in tithe, being a gain of £56 2s. 10d. over the preceding year. The annual offerings amounted to £102 1s. 8d., being nearly three times as much as during the previous year. The Sabbath-school offerings came to £139 5s., an increase of £31 8s. 3d. Brother Willson, the manager of the Kimberley Baths, reported a net gain for the past year of £104 12s. 7d. This enterprise is in good financial standing, having a present worth of £3,502. The institution comprises two good buildings, and the lots upon which they stand. The lots are in the central part of the city, and front upon three different streets. All seem to think that this would be a good point for one of our physicians to open up work for that part of the field. The report of the Plumstead Sanitarium showed a net gain of £126 13s. The work of this institution is being carried on in the buildings formerly operated as an orphanage. The property originally consisted of four acres of land, and one moderate-sized building, in which Dr. Thomason began his work on his arrival in Africa. At the beginning of last year, an addition was made to the building, the lower part of which was fitted up for a ladies' bath-room, the upper story being utilized for patients' rooms. The present rooming capacity of the building is eighteen. This is wholly inadequate to accommodate the people who are applying for admission. Several persons are at present being furnished with rooms near by, and given treatment at the sanitarium. There is some talk of extending the new addition out to the front of the original building, which would give the whole a much better appearance, and at the same time give them several additional rooms. Dr. Thomason and his sister have labored hard to build up this branch of the work, and the Lord is blessing their efforts. The Claremont Union College has passed through some peculiar experiences in the last few years, but through the faithful and persevering efforts of Brother Hayton and wife, and the young lady teachers associated with them, the school still continues, and its value is being seen and felt in the churches in the persons of church-school teachers, fitted and trained by the work of the college. If a proper interest were taken in this institution by ministers and workers generally, and by parents and guardians who have children of proper age to send to such a school, it would not be long until it would become what the Lord designed—a potent factor for good in South Africa. Notwithstanding the small number of students in the Home the past year, the balance-sheet showed a net gain of forty-nine pounds. During the conference there was some consideration given to the question of selling the present plant, and paying all claims outstanding against the property, using the surplus to purchase a farm at some favorable place, remote from the city, and erecting the necessary buildings to accommodate a school, proportionate to the present constituency. A price for the property was agreed upon, which, if obtained, would be considered sufficient evidence that the time had come for them to make the move. Among the resolutions passed during the session of the union conference was one to remove the headquarters of the union conference from Cape Town to Kimberley. Kimberley is six hundred and fifty miles north of Cape Town, on the main line of railway to Buluwayo, and to points still beyond where we have missions. It is at present one of the most important railway centers in South Africa. The work of the conference is spreading northward, and for the present, at least, Kimberley is the most central point, all interests being taken into account. Elder W. S. Hyatt was re-elected president of the union conference, and Elder I. J. Hankins vice-president. J. V. Willson was chosen as secretary and treasurer. The following persons constitute the executive committee: W. S. Hyatt, C. H. Hayton, F. B. Armitage, M. C. Sturdevant, H. J. Edmed, S. C. Austin, R. C. Honey, and J. C. Baumann. The spiritual interest during the camp-meeting proper was good. There were a number present who had never attended such a meeting before, and others, because of their location, had not attended camp-meeting for a number of years. These two classes seemed especially to enjoy the Bible studies and preaching services. Elder Hyatt gave several illustrated lectures on the prophecies and the life of Christ, which drew a large attendance from without. Altogether, there was the best attendance of those not of our faith that they have ever had at one of their camp-meetings. Elder Hankins had charge of the reporting, and succeeded in getting quite full reports in the daily papers. The brethren feel greatly encouraged over the interest taken in the meetings, and arrangements have been made to follow up the interest in the Claremont city hall. On the last Sabbath, the Spirit of the Lord was present in a marked manner. Several gave themselves to the Lord for the first time, and others, who had been backslidden in heart and practise, renewed15their vows and covenants with the Lord. Confessions were made, and there was a general clearing of the King's highway. Peter Wessels, mentioned in the report last week as the first Sabbath-keeper in Africa, who of late years had become discouraged, was present, with his wife and daughter, and all three seemed to experience a new conversion. Some things in reference to the spirit of prophecy and Sister White's work, which had troubled him, were made clear to his mind, and as he saw from the map of the world how the message is going rapidly to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, his heart was made to rejoice, and his testimony was given with the old-time ring. His one great burden now is to get rid of business entanglements, and devote the rest of his days to the work of the Lord. In the afternoon of the last day of the meeting, twenty persons were baptized in the Claremont church. It is the opinion of all that this conference and camp-meeting will mark the beginning of a new era in the work in South Africa. Among the closing actions of this meeting was the unanimous passage, by a rising vote, of a resolution expressing confidence in the spirit of prophecy and the work of Sister White, and assuring the officers of the General Conference of the sympathy and hearty support of the South African Union Conference in their efforts to preserve intact the waymarks that have made us what we are as a people, and to send these truths and principles to earth's remotest bounds in this generation. I am to leave Cape Town February 3, to visit some of the principal cities and missions within the bounds of the South African Union Conference; this trip will occupy the months of February, March, and April.