Field Notes

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Mar 10, 1903

A NEW church building was dedicated at Connersville, Ind., March 8.

BROTHER J. F. JENSON reports the organization of a Sabbath-school at Calhan, Colo.

A CHURCH of fourteen members was recently organized at Blaine, Kan., by Elder C. A. Beeson.

A NEW house of worship will be dedicated at Perry, O. T., March 15. A canvassers’ institute will be held in connection with the dedication.

ELDER R. C. PORTER reports that two have recently been added to the company of Sabbath-keepers in St. Louis, Mo., and four recently received baptism.

A CANVASSERS’ institute is now in progress at Portland, Ore.; also one at Kansas City, Mo., and one at Hutchinson, Kan.

THE company at St. Clairsville, Ohio, has been strengthened by the recent addition of ten persons, and steps have been taken to secure a hall for Sabbath worship.

BROTHER T. J. HICKMAN reports from Harper, O. T., that a number have accepted the truth there as the result of house-to-house labor, and a good interest is manifested by the people.

AT Westlake, Idaho, a company of twelve have been brought into the truth, and a church building has been erected, under the labors of Elder C. E. Ford.

BROTHER F. H. CONWAY, who has been holding meetings in and near the town of Schley, O. T., writes that ten persons have accepted the truth as the result of his efforts.

A REPORT from the town of Daisy, Wash., states that ten persons have accepted the truth under the labors of Brother W. S. Holbrook. They are ready for a church organization.

A REPORT from Brother George W. Berry, written near the close of January, stated that twenty-four had witnessed to the converting power of God at Ionia, Wyo., as the result of meetings held by Brethren Cook and Beames. Steps were being taken for the erection of a house of worship.

BROTHER A. G. HAUGHEY writes some good words regarding the prosperity of the work in the West Michigan Conference. He says: “No doubt you will be pleased to know that fully one half of the churches of the West Michigan Conference have sold more than one thousand copies of ‘Christ’s Object Lessons’ above the aggregate of their respective quotas, and that the remaining one half are still working to dispose of their proportion. In a few weeks at most, we hope to be able to report this work as having been completed. We are much encouraged with the results so far seen from our late campaign. Since the Wright conference one church has been organized, also one company, and we expect to organize one other church next Sabbath. We are planning to turn our entire ministerial force into new fields during the summer months. We hope to be able to raise up a number of churches and companies. I believe the Lord will give us special blessings while working in this way.”

AN interesting account of the opening exercises of the Avondale school (Australia) is given in The Bible Echo of January 15. The assembled students were told how to make the coming school year most profitable to themselves and to their associates, and the subject of the importance of the Avondale school as a training place for native Australasian workers was presented by Elder E. H. Gates. After this an exhibition was given of the fruit and vegetable products of the school farm, which now supports all the school family, and brings in a considerable revenue besides. Brother M. Hare told how depressed he was when he first came to Cooranbong some years ago, by the information given him by the old settlers, that it was impossible to grow vegetables there. It was not long, he was glad to say, before he had proved their ideas false. In his own garden he had raised sweet potatoes of such great size that a single tuber was a good load for a person of average strength to carry. Brother S. W. Carr said that visitors often came to Avondale to inspect the farm, and were much impressed by what they saw. As the Testimonies have stated, the school farm will soon be an object lesson for the farmers of New South Wales. During the height of the drought, it was stated by the Newcastle Herald that “Cooranbong

is the greenest spot in all New South Wales.” The number of students enrolled already amounts to one hundred and ten. Everything indicates that the school will be blessed the coming year with both temporal and spiritual success.

Elder J. M. Rees, president of the Missouri Conference, reports as follows for the work in his conference: “We are much pleased with the way our churches and isolated brethren are taking hold of the tract work in Missouri. We have been unfortunate in not being able to get tracts as fast as we could use them. We have now received orders for over 26,000 copies, and we are certain that thousands more should, and doubtless will, be used. We have just fairly started in the work. It is the opinion of those who have carefully read the tracts that they are the best ever issued by the denomination, and should have a wide circulation. This is our time to work. We find that the people are interested in the subject-matter presented in these tracts; and when they have read them, they ask for more literature of a like nature. When we had circulated 5,000 copies of the first tract here in Kansas City, the city papers gave us a good article on the work we were doing,—our aggressiveness as a church, etc. This has been a help to us. As our workers go about the city, they hear many reports of good results from this work. We trust our brethren all over the State will take courage, and push the work until it is closed up in victory.”

Two Sabbath-keeping sisters who were obliged to go to the mountains in New South Wales for their health, obtained rooms with a pleasant Christian woman, and were at once impressed with the bright Christian experience of their landlady; while she in turn was somewhat surprised to find her tenants holding views which to her seemed both strange and erroneous. She readily accepted an invitation to study the Bible with them, and investigate the Sabbath question. Being a firm believer of the Word of God, search was begun for the reasons for Sunday observance. With sorrow of heart she found them not, but on the other hand saw the truth in its beauty. After keeping her first Sabbath, and spending one week in almost continuous study of the Word, she went to the home of her parents, in one of the suburbs of Sydney, that she might pass on to them what God had revealed to her. Again the Word was searched, and as a result, parents and daughter together kept the following Sabbath. Fearing that there might be some point that they had not properly considered, the counsel of their earnest young pastor was sought, who kindly spent two forenoons studying the Bible with the daughter. The young minister was perplexed, as he had not confronted so difficult a question before. He finally told the lady that if she was fully convinced that the seventh day was the Sabbath, he thought she ought to keep it, and that if he became convinced, he would keep it too. It is needless to add that subsequent study has strengthened her convictions, and brought to light many precious things which she had not known before. There are several other interested ones in the large circle of friends of this earnest Christian worker.—Bible Echo.