ARGENTINA by Jean Vuilleumier

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 16, 1900

ARGENTINA

By Jean Vuilleumier

My work at San Cristobal was brought to a sudden close. As stated in my former report, there is no priest nor pastor in that city, from whom to expect opposition, yet it was not long in arising on the part of liquor-sellers, atheists, and even some Protestants. At that juncture, the Lord put it into the heart of Brother Ritter, a farmer from the Las Tunas church, to come to my assistance. Eight or ten persons—French, Belgians, and natives—had begun to keep the Sabbath, and we intended shortly to baptize them, but as the outlook made me rather anxious, we planned to close the work as soon as possible.

A week after the arrival of Brother Ritter, we were summoned before the police, to read a petition signed by thirty or forty leading business men, asking that we be expelled from the town, as our evening meetings were against public morals(!). The police officers told us that our lives were not safe, that they did not care to be responsible for anything that might happen, and that their advice to us would be to leave the community at once. I told them that the petition was an assault against the freedom of speech and worship guaranteed by their constitution. “The people in this region keep the constitution when they feel like it. When they don’t, they run over the laws and the police,” was the answer. We came home, and after a prayerful study of similar circumstances in the life of Christ and the apostles, we concluded to put a written protest in the hands of the police, and leave the city, which we did, after visiting all the friends of the truth, and encouraging them to remain faithful to the precious light they had received. Since that time, Brethren Westphal and Ritter have visited these people, and found most of them still faithful.

I am now at Buenos Ayres, looking after the editing of El Faro and the interests of the work in the city. The Methodist Spanish organ published here is keeping up a lively musketry against the message, which is evidence that the power of the truth is felt. The Sunday movement is being revived. The Santa Fé legislature has before it a bill in favor of Sunday and the Catholic feast days. The Protestants would be most heartily in its favor, were it not for the mention of the holidays of the Catholic calendar. It will be interesting to see on which side the compromise will be.

The workers had an interesting conference with Brother and Sister Snyder as they passed through the city on their way to Paraguay. Brother Snyder was ordained to the gospel ministry prior to his departure for his field of labor. Our workers’ school, now at Camarero, is soon to close its third term, and several young men will resume the work of spreading the printed page, Brother Town taking charge of that work in the intervals between the school terms. Brethren Westphal and Brookings have gone to Carmelo, Uruguay, in answer to a call. Four or five communities in this neighboring republic are calling for the living preacher. This is due to the faithful work of our two Waldensian canvassers. One of these calls is quite urgent, and I should have responded personally, notwithstanding the press of work here at the capital, were it not for the illness of my wife,

I realize that now is our time to labor, and that it will soon be difficult to do what is now comparatively easy work. The war spirit seems to arouse all these South American republics to internal rivalries and external fears. But the Lord is our shield and buckler. Praise his name for his sustaining grace.

JEAN VUILLEUMIER.