CALLS FOR LABOR IN THE SOUTH.
By Orlando Soule
YOUNG MEN, read this. There are hundreds of men in the South raising the Macedonian cry, “Come over and help us.” Experienced laborers are needed, to be sure; but there is probably no other place in our country in which beginners could gain an experience in presenting the truth better than in the South. In nearly every part of Tennessee, lonely Sabbath-keepers are calling for help. Some of them have been calling for four or five years. They have been praying God to send laborers, and at the same time have been scattering tracts to pave the way. Mississippi has heard of us as a people, and asks for help. There are openings in Alabama and Florida that beginners might fill, besides labor that requires an experienced man. Georgia has one laborer, but what is that in so wide a field? And the cry comes from South Carolina, “Sabbath-keepers, come over and help us.” Now, who that loves the truth and his fellow-men can listen to such calls without having his heart stirred to the very depths? Besides these calls the whole territory is open for workers. The people are friendly and hospitable. Were there a thousand men in these States wishing to lecture, they could all secure houses, circulate appointments, and begin with respectable audiences, in one week. But where are the men to respond to these calls? Those who should go are saying, “Why, here is my family to look after; I can’t go.” Yet these men who have made a success of worldly things, and have means to support themselves while gaining an experience, have usually good intellects, and are, in most instances, the very ones God would have bear his message. The practical lessons they have learned while prosecuting their work will not be lost. It is very important for a minister to be able to calculate closely, labor under discouragements, and make the best of circumstances. The Lord wants men with courage and zeal enough to surmount every difficulty, and humility enough to sit meekly at the feet of Jesus, and learn of him. There are scores of men who, after a few months spent at our college, could take the field with the smile of God resting upon them; while there are others who could do so at once. These brethren are losing a great blessing while thus shunning the work of God. Besides, this old world is a wreck that is rapidly sinking, and all that are not rescued from it and saved in Christ will go down with it; and should we fail of doing our duty, blood may be found on our garments.