TISE, DENMARK by John G. Matteson

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 30, 1877

TISE, DENMARK.

By John G. Matteson

The Lord is gracious to us. His mercy is now over us each day and each week. We find friends here, where a short time since we were entire strangers. Our countrymen in Vendsyssel have been very obliging and friendly at every place that we have been. And they do not tire of hearing the blessed word of God. Monday and Tuesday we held two meetings in Renbak with a congregation of from seventy to one hundred persons. Some of our Baptist brethren and their minister attended our meetings at this place. They were also friendly toward us.

The next three days we held meetings in Lökken and Vrensted. Lökken is a little market town or village. It lies on the west coast. Along the coast toward the north and south are high sandbanks which form a natural dike. They are planted with grass; otherwise, being quicksand, they would cover and injure the fruitful fields farther in the country. In places they extend half a mile in from the sea. At Lökken a large warehouse was placed at our disposal to hold meetings in. This is where the Methodist missionary Hansen held meetings last winter. There are many here who are desirous of hearing the word spoken.

Sabbath afternoon we had a Bible-class in Alstrup, and Sunday forenoon preaching in Saltum. There was present an audience of three hundred, who listened attentively to a sermon on the kingdom of glory. Many were deeply affected. Before our meeting, I attended the service at the church, where the minister warned against heretics. His sermon lasted seventeen minutes. At the close, the people thronged to the barn where our service was held. The blessing of the Lord came in our midst.

At the close of the meeting a school-teacher by the name of Kristensen asked permission to read an article in regard to the Sabbath, that he had written. He very modestly waited until all but fifteen or twenty had left the house, before he began to read it. When he had finished, I remarked that if there was anything good in what he had read, it would have been better to read it before a larger number of people. I asked him if he would read it again next Sunday in the meeting, so that I could have an opportunity to answer it. This he said he would do.

In the afternoon I had a congregation of about two hundred people in Tise. The word spoken made a good impression here, and I received an invitation to go to Stenum, where the people are very liberal-minded; but further labor cannot be bestowed upon these places where we now have become acquainted and found friends, before the work is further advanced in Alstrup and Saltum, where we first began. We have obtained six subscribers to ADVENT TIDENDE, besides fifteen names to whom the paper is sent by clubs in America. JOHN G. MATTESON.

Alstrup, pr. Brønderslev, Denmark, Europe, Aug. 7, 1877.