EXPERIENCES WHILE TRAVELING.
By Mrs. Geo. A. Irwin.
It has been my lot to travel a great deal. Of late I have made it a rule to get acquainted with persons on the train, and to drop some seed of truth; and my experiences have been of the most interesting and encouraging nature. I naturally dread a long journey on the cars; but since I have resolved to do it for the Lord, and make of it a means to our one great end, it has lost its dread, and the miles just fly by as I become interested in conversation. One time, when going South, I looked about the car to see if there was any one whom I thought I could easily approach; and seeing a young girl, I took occasion to sit down beside her, and begin conversation. I found that she was going to my native State, near my old home, and of course it was then easy to carry on conversation, which was mutually interesting. She told me about her home life on a farm, and that she was a professed Christian, belonging to the Methodist Church. She seemed very willing to talk to me, and we formed a pleasant acquaintance. I asked her if she had ever heard the truth which Seventh-day Adventists teach. She said that she had heard of such a people, but did not know much about what they believed, and that she would be glad of reading-matter concerning their faith. When we separated, I gave her my card; and when I reached home, I wrote her a motherly letter, and sent her a copy of “Steps to Christ,” which I had mentioned to her on the train. I am having an interesting correspondence with her, and hope to see her at our State camp-meeting, which is to be held near where she lives. I had a long talk with a traveling man who had heard something in regard to the truth, and had many inquiries to make. He was well informed on the Scriptures, and raised many objections, but a plain “Thus saith the Lord” was sufficient to satisfy him on every point. In my conversation with him I was impressed more than ever before with the importance of diligently studying the Scriptures, so we may be able to use them at any time, even if we can not turn to the Bible itself. The Lord wonderfully blessed me, and brought the scriptures to my recollection, as he has promised to. I also made the acquaintance of a woman with a young child, who said she had heard the truth, and would like to know more about it. A short time ago, as I was crossing the plains, I became acquainted with a young couple who were returning home from their wedding trip. The young woman was frail, and that gave me an opportunity to ask if I could do anything for her. She was glad to have me talk with her, and eagerly listened to all I could tell her about the health principles and proper diet. She said that she had always been delicate, and now she was anxious to be strong, that she might not be a burden to her young husband. As our journey together was a long one, she often came and sat with me, and told me a great deal about her life and her home. I told her about the truth, which is so dear to me. She said that she had heard some of our ministers preach in a schoolhouse near her mother's home; that she and her mother had attended the meetings; that her mother was convinced that we had truth, and that she herself partly believed it. Before we separated, she asked me to write to her when I reached home, and gave me her mother's name and address, saying that her mother would be glad to hear from me, and to know more of our faith. On that same train I found a sick woman. She heard me say something about Battle Creek, and asked if I knew anything about the place. When I told her that that is my home, she was glad, and said that she was on her way to the sanitarium from her home in Montana; so of course I had a long talk with her. She was anxious to learn all about our people, and I promised to visit her at the sanitarium after I got home. At another time I noticed a little girl who was sick, and this led me to go to her mother and ask if I could do anything for her. I found that they had been traveling a long way, and that the child was very ill indeed, so they would have to stop off to rest before reaching their destination. I promised to write to the mother, and send her some numbers of Good Health. In this way I hope to reach her with the Third Angel's Message. I know that if we lift our hearts to the Lord in prayer to direct us in speaking to others while traveling, he will do it, and eternity only will reveal how much is accomplished by these little things. If we show ourselves friendly, and take an interest in the welfare of others, we shall always find a response. I was forcibly impressed with the fact that everyone I spoke to had heard something in regard to the truth, and was inquiring to know more. We shall certainly be responsible if we fail to meet these inquiries, and we should always continue any acquaintance we make, with personal letters and reading-matter. We should never start on a journey without a supply of literature to distribute in a careful way. On leaving the car, it is a good plan to leave in the seat a leaflet or a tract, with special points carefully marked, so as to call attention to them. Nearly every one is glad of reading-matter when traveling, and especially while waiting at depots. I have been much surprised to find so little of our literature in the depots. It is seldom that a reading-rack is found containing any of our papers and books, although there is no better means for securing a widespread dissemination of the truth. The Spirit of Prophecy has told us that the printed page is doing even more than the living preacher for the advancement of the truth; and it seems to me that our sisters in every place should take it upon themselves to see that there is a reading-rack in the depot at the place where they live, and that it is kept filled with literature on the present truth. Others realize their opportunity in this way, and there is nearly always literature of some kind, which is eagerly read. At one place I found, chained to the reading-rack, a book on Christian science, and it showed that it had been used a great deal. Why should not we be as diligent in placing present truth in public places as are those who, perhaps ignorantly, promulgate the deceptions of Satan?