p. 5 | How the Light Came by William A. Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 12, 1906

How the Light Came

By William A. Spicer

IN nearly every community of believers we have illustrations of the gracious, and sometimes round-about, methods by which Providence brought the light of truth to souls prepared to receive it.

At our union meeting in the city of Parana I met a young brother from the Chaco region of northern Argentina. His family were the first Sabbath-keepers in that part. Years ago they received a French secular paper from Europe in which they saw an article ridiculing our French Les Signes des Temps for its advocacy of the nearness of the end of the world. The scoffing of the newspaper somehow impressed this family with the truthfulness of the doctrine of the coming of the Lord. The more they thought of it, the deeper the conviction became. They sent to Basel for our French paper and literature, and began to keep the Sabbath. Thus the Lord turned the scoffing opposition to the advancement of the truth.

The introduction of the message into the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, bears tribute to the fruitfulness of the good old plan of sending our missionary periodicals to addresses through the mails. Some one in Basel, in former times, sent the French Les Signes to an address in Santa Fe. The family receiving it accepted the truth, and so the good work began in that province, which now has several companies of believers.

An even more striking illustration of the care of the Lord of the harvest over the seed sown beside all waters is, perhaps, the experience which the Gaspar believers related at our Santa Catharina Conference meeting in Brazil. Some one of our people in the United States met a Brazilian, who gave the name of some friend or relative in Brazil, to whom German literature was sent. Thus a German school-teacher got into communication with the International Tract Society, and received periodicals and books. These he shamelessly sold for drink. He wrote soliciting books, and simulating an interest that was not genuine, only to secure material to sell for liquor. But some of the literature thus sold fell into good hands, and we heard more than one brother in our experience meeting thanking God for the light brought in this unusual way. Thus were the first Sabbath-keepers in Brazil led into the light in this out-of-the-way hill country, and they are still rejoicing in the truth.

Let us scatter the literature of the message up and down the wide world. There is a providence watching over the silent messengers as they fly. God's word shall not return void. W. A. S.

Itajahy, Santa Catharina.