With Treatment Room Workers by L. A. H.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 31, 1914

With Treatment Room Workers

By L. A. H.

A worker conducting treatment rooms gives the following interesting items:—

“Our experiences here in presenting the truth have been very good, although the city is about three fourths Catholic, and we must be cautious, since nearly one hundred of our best patients are Catholics, three priests among them. Our sign on the door announcing that we are closed to sunset Saturday is a weekly reminder of the Sabbath. We keep reading matter on the waiting room table, and as the way opens we talk to the patients of the happenings of the world, and tell them how prophecy has foretold these things, and then give them a tract or paper on the subject.

“It yet remains to be seen what influence our work here will have for the message, but we hope to see it bear fruit. One man—a Catholic—said to me, ‘Well, it seems that Seventh-day Adventists are sincere and in earnest about what they believe.’ It gave opportunity for a presentation of some of the things we do believe, and the reasons for our earnestness. I believe the favor which our camp meeting received here was due to some of our patients, one of whom, a Catholic priest, gave his consent for the free use of the ground.

“We place our Sabbath-closing sign on the door an hour before sundown Friday, so, if possible, not to have any treatments run into the Sabbath. Our residence telephone number is given, so that if some one is really in need of treatment we can follow the text that says it is ‘lawful to do good on the Sabbath.’

The money received in such cases is used for missionary purposes. Our whole aim is for the good of the message. Other than that I should rather be on a farm, or at some other kind of work; for thus far, from a financial standpoint, we have not made much. We have had all we needed, and are gradually getting clear of all debt. I will mention one blessed experience that came to us during our first months. For four days we did not have a penny, and finally ate for breakfast the last food we had. Dinner time came, with no food and no money. We prayed together, and each prayed often alone. One patient, who had been in two weeks before, had promised to come again. I was impressed to pray that he might come at this time. He came that afternoon, and we had money with which to buy food.”

From a letter from another treatment room worker we quote the following paragraph to indicate the classes of people reached through this work:—

“Our patrons include the leading physicians, lawyers, bankers, professors, teachers, officials, State senators and representatives, United States Senators, ex-governors, and others of the leading people of the city, as well as those of the middle class. Most of those I have mentioned are regular customers. Thus far today we have treated one of the leading ministers, a leading physician, a tailor, a secretary of the poultry association, a proprietor of an extensive business, a building contractor, the director of one of the largest canneries in the West, a brew master from a large brewery, the proprietor of a harness and leather goods house, six teachers of the city schools, four teachers of the State normal, the wife of a United States Senator, the wife of a retired capitalist, a newspaper lady, the wife of a business man, a lady State fruit inspector. I do not know who else will be in. This shows the average class of people that we meet. They are all friendly, and speak well of the work.”

Another worker gives the following in connection with treatment room experiences:—

“We are continually presenting God’s mercy or some phase of the third angel’s message to one or another of our patients. That is the real object of our work, and we find blessed opportunities. Two nonprofessing young women whom we received into our employ became Seventh-day Adventists. When a series of meetings was held in our church last winter, we repeatedly used the telephone for half an hour in the mornings, speaking to patients about the meetings. In the crowded church we noticed that one half of those not of our faith were our patients.

“The superintendent of the largest Sunday school here, in a church of nine hundred members, told me he had been more benefited by the twenty-seven dollars spent with us in treatments than by the seven hundred dollars spent for medical care otherwise. When the Temperance Instructor was issued, he had me telegraph for four hundred copies to distribute to the members of his school.”

L. A. H.