Keene Orphanage Periodical Work
By J. F. Bahler
Last summer I spent about three months with three of our orphans and one orphanage worker in selling a special number of The Signs of the Times. In about two months and a half we sold eight hundred and fifty dollars' worth. The girls gained many precious experiences as they were taught how to canvass, and to do business with the world. The benefit derived can not be estimated in dollars and cents. One of the girls sold as many as one hundred and fifty copies in less than four hours, another sold one hundred and forty-one copies in a little over four hours. To God belongs the praise. We gave our orphans a small percentage from each copy sold to aid them in buying their clothing, etc. This they enjoyed very much, and were stimulated to work faithfully. Why do not the parents of the Seventh-day Adventist Church teach their children how to canvass with our periodicals? From six years old and upward they ought to be taught how to work. Catholics train their children to work for their church as soon as they are able to comprehend. Let us take a lesson from this. Our orphanage in Keene gained a financial and spiritual blessing in the work last summer. If you will give me children at six years of age and older, I can in my spare time train them, by the help of the Lord, to do excellent missionary work in towns and cities. May God help us not to forget our dear children. The last four days we worked, we canvassed about forty-four hours, and sold one hundred and thirty-five dollars' worth of Signs. Let no one say that this is because the writer is blind; for most of these were sold by the girls who have good eyesight. God's way of training our children in the work will always give good success. May he help us in the work of selling our papers, and instructing our children to labor for the Master.