QUESTION BOX by E. A. H.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 14, 1901

QUESTION BOX

By E. A. H.

E. A. H.

I HAVE a pleasant home and every convenience, and could invite my neighbors in frequently to dine, and thus introduce to them the health reform principles; but I am ashamed to own that I can not prepare a health reform dinner that would fitly represent the principles. I should like to be able to do some practical missionary work in this line, and thus open the way for Bible work. How can I gain information that will enable me to do this? A. L. T.

You are not the only one who is not a good cook. In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. II, page 370, we find the following: “Our sisters often do not know how to cook. To such I would say, I would go to the very best cook that could be found in the country, and remain there if necessary for weeks, until I had become mistress of the art,— an intelligent, skillful cook. I would pursue this course if I were forty years old. It is your duty to know how to cook, and it is your duty to teach your daughters to cook. When you are teaching them the art of cookery, you are building around them a barrier that will preserve them from the folly and vice which they may otherwise be tempted to engage in.” This is the best advice that could be given. We can do much by securing recipes of every good dish we hear of. First, give the recipe a fair trial; and if it proves a success, copy it in a blank book kept for the purpose. If you do this, you will soon have an invaluable cook book of your own.

I wish to open a mothers’ meeting in a poor section of this city. Can you give me some suggestions, a programme, or any thoughts that would assist me? I am a novice in this work, and should be very thankful for any help. S. A. R.

This is a good work, and I trust you will not be discouraged, but will seek help from God and go forward. I will give you a plan that I have tried, and found to work well:—

First, secure a suitable location. A small hall or reading room is the best, but a private house will do if nothing better can be found. Secure remnants of muslin, calico, or any kind of cloth. Cut out children’s underwear, or garments of any kind. As soon as you are acquainted with the families you wish to help, you can cut garments that will meet their needs. Set a price on each garment. It is much better for those receiving the garments to pay something even if it is only half what they would pay in the stores. Open your meeting with song and prayer, and then present your cut garments, explaining that they can take the garment they wish to purchase, and sew upon it during the meetings, and bring what money they can each week. If, by the time they have it made, it is paid for, they can take it home. As soon as they are supplied with garments and are quietly sewing, give them an interesting Bible reading for about twenty minutes. Then vary the program with a song, after which read something interesting from the Home department of the REVIEW or Signs. Collect your garments, being careful to open an account with each one, giving exact credit for every cent paid. Close with singing and prayer. Spend some time each week visiting the families. Encourage them to make special requests for prayer. If any of them are Christians, arouse an interest to work for their friends. Much good can be done in this work. It is better to let them give a small sum for what they receive than to give them everything. In these meetings they can also be taught to make over secondhand garments, which may be contributed.