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MANITOBA

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 16, 1901

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 29.

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MANITOBA

By F. H. Westphal

MORDEN.—The local camp-meeting was held at Morden, which accommodated the German portion of our people. From the beginning, there was a good spirit in the meeting. As another meeting was to be held for the English-speaking members of our churches, there were only about fifty of our English brethren in attendance at this meeting. The German department numbered from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five. The German meetings were well attended by the public.
In both the German and the English, every branch of the work was considered. The canvassing work, the Sabbath-school interests, the tithing system, foreign and home missionary work, temperance and health, and the educational work were made prominent. There was a lively interest manifested for each branch, and some promised to engage in the canvassing work. We praise the Lord for omens of good.
We held youth’s meetings each day, and one brother said that as he was nearing the tent one evening, a holy fear came over him. On coming still nearer, he found several mothers outside the tent, praying for their children, while the young people were called forward to yield to the Lord and His service. He could not understand the prayers of the mothers nor the appeals of the ministers, as these were in German, but he could feel the power of the Spirit of God.
The last Sabbath twelve persons were baptized. Nine of these were German, and three were of the English-speaking brethren. Others said they wish to be baptized as soon as Brother Dirksen can visit them. At five o’clock the ordinances of the Lord’s house were celebrated. The whole camp came together in the large tent, and after the ordinances a social meeting was conducted, in which the Lord was praised, both in the English and in the German language. Nearly all took part in the social meeting.
Immediately after the evening meeting on Sunday, the brethren needed to take down the tents. While they were taking down the large tent, a little shower came up, so they threw it into the shed to shield it from getting wet. The director then came over to the German tent, and the brethren went into their tents; just then a policeman came to see about taking down the tent. If it had not been for the shower, he would have caught the brethren folding the tent together, and would have arrested them, and so hindered the camp-meeting that was to follow. We could but praise the Lord for that shower of rain. It was evident that some one had notified the policeman as soon as the brethren began to pull down the tent; but before he reached us, the Lord had arranged to shield His servants.
There is a spirit of unity among the brethren and the laborers, which is encouraging. Brother Boynton, of Nebraska, who is on his way to labor in Alberta, rendered valuable help in the English language. He, with Brother Nelson, the director, and Brethren Buhalts and Gravelle, did most of the preaching in English, while Brethren Dirksen and Wentland and the writer did most of the preaching in German; but we also changed about, and the blessing of the Lord attended this mingling together. F. H. WESTPHAL.