ARGENTINE REPUBLIC by Jean Vuillemier

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 3, 1900

ARGENTINE REPUBLIC.

By Jean Vuillemier

BUENOS AYRES, ENTRE RIOS, AND SANTA FÉ.—I spent six or seven months in Buenos Ayres, dividing my time between the publishing work and the city mission work. The publishing work included editing our Spanish pioneer paper, El Faro, and preparing matter for, and cyclostyle-printing, our monthly mission sheet, both in German and in Spanish. The mission work included a course of English meetings at our suburban Banfield mission, where Sister Post is in charge; church work in Buenos Ayres; and the circulating of El Faro, both through the mail and from house to house. I also took part in Sister Post’s hospital work.

Our Buenos Ayres mission family has devoted an evening each week in mailing El Faro to the members of the federal government and to hundreds of business men. During the general excitement about the announced end of the world by a comet, in November, I sent an article on the falling stars as a fulfilment of prophecy, to La Prensa, a leading daily, which published it verbatim.

We were planning for a tent-meeting effort in some part of the city, but it had to be given up for the present.

Our Entre Rios workers’ and agricultural school is gradually taking shape. A part of the prospected building is up, and school operations have begun. It has been decided that Brethren Town and Leland and their wives settle there, to attend to and supervise the work of teaching, building, and tilling the land. I hope that young men and women will soon be fitted there to enter the many openings for canvassers, school-teachers, and evangelists. So far our brethren, although with few exceptions very poor, have given sufficient work and money to pay all the expenses of the school.

About two months ago, Brother Westphal and I started for Camarero, Entre Rios, to make definite plans with Brother Town for the organization of this school, intending afterward to visit several companies and churches in Santa Fé. The Lord having otherwise directed, I went alone to Santa Fé. I am now in San Cristobal, a little frontier town on the railroad line to the Chile border. The people are kept busy by railroad works situated here. There are two families of German-Swiss Sabbath-keepers living in this vicinity, but none in the city. An interest having arisen in town to hear the Word, I postponed my other appointments, and have now preached every night for four weeks. There is no church or chapel of any kind here. The people are Italians, French, Swiss, Argentines, and Belgians. A few have joyfully accepted the truth as far as they have heard it. I hope to see a church raised up here, which will be a light to this unbelieving community. This morning, before day, the people were awakened by the booming of the cannon in honor of the international socialist labor day.

JEAN VUILLEUMIER.