From a letter recently received from Elder James A. Morrow, who is laboring in Bermuda, I learned that five of the Boer prisoners sent to those islands had accepted the truth, and become firm Seventh-day Adventists.
About a year ago the prisoners remaining there were allowed their freedom on the islands, the only restriction being that they were not allowed to return to this country [South Africa] until they had signed the oath of allegiance. About that time Elder Morrow and his wife met several of these ex-prisoners, and began working for them. He says of those who accepted the truth:—
“I believe these men to be men of God. In all my labor for souls I have never found my heart more closely knit with other hearts than with these men. I began to visit them from the time they were put ashore, Aug. 11, 1903, and tried to help them in their distress. The Lord opened the way remarkably for me to begin Bible studies with them. One of their number was able to act as interpreter, and the Lord certainly did help me to explain the message to these men of another tongue.”
As four of these men were returning to South Africa, Brother Morrow asked us to look them up and make their acquaintance as they passed through Cape Town. He says: “My heart is full of praise to God that we can send these men back to their homes with something that is more precious than riches—the truth of God.”
We were more than pleased to meet these brethren here last Tuesday, August 16, as they arrived in Cape Town on the steamship “Kenilworth.” We found them to be, as Brother Morrow assured us, well versed in the message, zealous for the truth, and grateful for the light that had come to them. Brethren Bornman, Dumini, and Sevenster were on their way to their former homes in the Orange River Colony, while Brother Van de Burgh was wondering what he would find of his home in the Transvaal. On Tuesday afternoon we took them out to Kenilworth, and visited the college and a few of our members in the vicinity. They seemed so glad to meet with some of our people, and to see the places of worship. We hastened back to town in the evening, and, after an enjoyable day, our friends went up country by the evening train.
Over and over again these four brethren expressed their gratitude to God for leading them into captivity, that they might receive the light of the message and the true freedom in Christ. They left their native country as prisoners of the British government, but they now return as “prisoners of hope.” Let us pray that as they go to their homes, they may so present the truth to their families and friends that they, too, may walk in the light of God's commandments. The Lord will yet raise up laborers for the Dutch people.
