p. 18 | Report From Brother Loughborough

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Oct 8, 1903

Report From Brother Loughborough

By John Norton Loughborough

My last report for the REVIEW was written August 11, at Boulder, Colo. Since that time I have held meetings in Denver, Pueblo, and Salida, Colo.; in Newton, Kan.; Grand Island, Neb.; and Wiota, Iowa. The four places last named were camp-meetings. The last named closed last evening. With the exception of one day I have had “camp life” now for thirty-five days, and have endured it well. Thank the Lord. In these four camp-meetings I have spoken thirty-three times, besides attending sixty-five other meetings. These were either business meetings or occasions where others were preaching. The first three camp-meetings were State meetings. The one at Wiota was a local one, attended by about one hundred and fifty of our people in that part of the State. A portion of the time of the local meeting was devoted to the Stuart intermediate industrial school, which is soon to be opened near Stuart Station—about

thirty-five miles east of Wiota. There is a prospect of a full attendance at the opening of the school.

The Colorado camp-meeting, at Salida, though central in the State, was quite a distance from the largest churches in the conference, so was not as fully attended as those meetings that were held in former times in the vicinity of Denver. It was, however, a very interesting meeting, many important interests being considered. Some things which it was feared might lead to perplexity receive a harmonious solution instead.

The Kansas meeting, at Newton, was a large meeting, over one thousand being encamped. The camp was the beautiful city park, right in the heart of the city. There was no opening among the trees of the park large enough to receive the large meeting tent, so it was pitched on a large lot on the main street adjoining the post-office block, two blocks from the camp proper. It was an interesting sight to see the thousand campers marching quietly back and forth several times a day to attend the services. Crowds of people from the town attended the services, especially in the evenings.

The Kansas health institution at Wichita received careful consideration at the Newton meeting. Many hundreds of dollars in cash and pledges was secured for that enterprise.

The Nebraska meeting at Grand Island was also held in a city park, near the heart of the town. There was not so large an attendance of our people as in the Kansas meeting. One of the matters receiving careful consideration in this meeting was arranging for printing and publishing in the Scandinavian and German languages at Union College. Brother W. C. White was present to aid in the council concerning this work.

In all three of these State meetings, Brother Washburn was present to set before us the leadings of the Lord in the removal to Washington, D. C. Substantial aid was secured from our people for the Review Office, and the Washington sanitarium and school.

Brother Russell, president of the Central Union Conference, attended all these meetings, and gave substantial aid in the work. There were also representatives of the schools and medical work of the district at each meeting. Revival services were conducted at all the camp-meetings. In these, at the Kansas and Nebraska meetings, Brother Luther Warren took a prominent part. I was informed that at the Kansas meeting seventy-two persons were baptized, many of them being converted on the grounds. At the Nebraska camp about forty-two were baptized. At the Iowa meeting, although not over one hundred and fifty attended, eight were baptized, and many others decided to be baptized later in the home churches.

I thank the Lord for his sustaining grace and power in the labors of these last few weeks. I have been able to do much more than I expected when I entered upon the work. Our people seem to enjoy the recounting of the providences of God in connection with the rise and progress of the great second advent movement. To me the recounting of these mercies of God is like living them over again.

I suppose other particulars respecting these camp-meeting conferences will be given by those directly connected with the secretary work in the respective fields. For myself, these meetings have been seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and tokens of what he is waiting to give in greater fulness, as his people consecrate themselves more fully to the work.

At this writing (September 21) I am at the Iowa Sanitarium in Des Moines, expecting to be with this church for one week, and then pass on to the local camp-meeting in Rome, southeastern Iowa. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.