EXPERIENCES EN ROUTE by Ludwig Richard Conradi

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 29, 1900

EXPERIENCES EN ROUTE.

By Ludwig Richard Conradi

February 28, I left Hamburg for a seven-weeks’ trip in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland. The first Sabbath I spent at our industrial school at Friedensau, and we organized a church of thirty members, and had the ordinances here. The students numbered twenty at the time, and we were getting ready to erect our sanitarium. From here I visited Magdeburg, Cöthen, Hannover, Bielefeld, Gütersloh, Düsseldorf, Elberfeld, Barmen, Essen, Gladbach, March 3 baptizing eleven persons at Vohwinkle. At all the places mentioned the work is onward and the workers, Brethren Mathe, Schubert, Baumann and Küller are of good courage.

A few hours’ ride from Gladbach brought me to Lüttich and Seraing, Belgium, where Brethren Augsburger and Gwin are laboring. While northern Belgium uses the Dutch, the southern uses the Vallon, a French dialect, and among these we have a company of ten members. They are miners, and while visiting their scattered homes, I was surprised to find that nearly every alternate house we passed was a saloon, or café, as they are called here. About twenty-five attended our meeting in the evening, after which we had the ordinances. While Belgium is nearly all Catholic, yet by issuing the proper publications at a cheap rate much seed can surely be sown, and to good account.

March 14, I reached Paris, where I was happy to meet Dr. Kress in improved health. Sister Kress was also here. For eight days Brother F. Roth and myself hunted over this huge city for a suitable quarter for a medical mission, and to become personally acquainted with the situation here. Finally we secured one for $280 a year, at Autueil, Rue Dangeau 5, about fifteen minutes’ walk from the exposition at Paris. The lodging is near to train, steamboat, and the ring railway. Besides Brother Roth and his wife, one colporteur is already here, and several others are to follow. Our plan is to circulate the French journal at one cent a copy, and some smaller publications. We hope that our French brethren in America will take a deep interest in both the Paris mission and also the French journal.

From here I went to Lyons, where Elder Tièche met me, spent one evening with the small company here and then proceeded to Anduze, where we had a general meeting for southern France from March 23-25. About thirty were in attendance from Nîmes, Branges, Calvisson, Valence, etc. Two brethren had walked twenty-five miles from the Department of Tarn to reach this meeting. Their church had been visited only twice in seven years, and yet it had prospered. This seems to me ample testimony that there is some stable material among these mountains and rocks where so many nobly struggled during the papal persecution. We had good meetings, and though poor, they contributed twenty-four dollars for the Paris mission.

My next stopping place was at fashionable Nice, where we had thus far four medical workers and one evangelist. Some interest is developed, but no results are obtained thus far; but our medical missionaries have established the fact that self-sustaining work can be done here, and at the same time precious seeds of truth be sown.

For the first time I crossed then into Italy, spending nearly four days at Rome in the interest of the work. Few Sabbath-keepers are here, and I hope that the day is not far distant when we shall have a worker located here also, to give the warning message at the very seat and center of the papal power. I spent two days at Turin and in the Valdensian Valleys, where Brethren Curdy and Geymet are laboring with an apparently good interest. Upward of one hundred attend their meeting. I was glad to form an acquaintance with our people here. Italy surely is more promising in many ways than other fields we occupy; but in order to reap, we must sow; without expense, no return; and without labor, no result.

After spending two days to good profit with the Central European Conference Committee and the publishing and sanitarium boards at Basel, we had a general meeting for German Switzerland at Zürich. The Lord has blessed the efforts of Elder Erzenberger here, and a church of seventy members is the result. We had excellent meetings, also celebrated the ordinances together, and four of the youth decided to attend our school at Friedensau. At Basel I met Dr. Lindsay, and together we visited our companies at Darmstadt, Frankfort, also Friedensau and Hamburg, and she told of her experiences in South Africa.

It was also my privilege to baptize one person at Cassel, and three at Magdeburg. At Kaiserslautern, where Brother Scharf labors, about fifteen have recently taken hold of the truth. April 15 I spent at Berlin, where Elder Wagner lately baptized about eighteen. I am now on my way to Russia, to attend a general meeting.

L. R. CONRADI.