p. 314 | The Missionary by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · May 22, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 20.

The Missionary.

By Editor

From the Continent, Europe.

FROM a private letter from Bro. Butler to Bro. White we are permitted to take the following extracts. Our readers will be pleased to learn of the work in Europe, and we hope soon to be able to give more fully an account of Bro. Butler's labors there:—

I have never been more crowded with work in my life than some of the time on this trip. I have several meetings every week, usually preaching through an interpreter, sometimes two of them, and we have traveled quite rapidly in Italy and going to Roumania. We were gone only three weeks, and traveled much of the time nights without sleeping-cars (we do not have them in this country), catching every odd moment to write, in which I was not engaged in something else, and there is no prospect of any greater leisure until I return. Next Sabbath and Sunday we expect to be with the Prussian brethren in western Germany, and hold a meeting the following week in Denmark.

We expect the next Sabbath to be in Christiana, spending a week there in the important business likely to come up; then the following week in Sweden, at Grythittehed and Stockholm. The following week we have a general meeting of three days, for organizing Conference and to set things in motion as much as possible, at Bienne, Suisse, immediately followed by a five days' meeting in general council at Bâle; then one week in England, and I hope to sail for America about the 10th of June.

I cannot make better time and do the work that seems necessary to be done here, than I have indicated, and this is putting things through pretty rapidly. But this is the plan I have laid, and have been working up to it for the last three weeks. I think I shall succeed in reaching America about the 20th, and Battle Creek about the 23d, of June.

I hope that something can be done in Northern Italy, as there must be honest souls in all that country. Our visit to Roumania was a new experience. That is a sort of border land between the Oriental and Occidental world and presents a sort of mixture. Peopled in part by descendants of the ancient Romans who once occupied the country, from whom it was named, the language is derived from the Latin, and resembles the Italian. Bro. Thos. G. Aslan of Roumania speaks French quite well, his own tongue, talks the Turkish very well, and is studying English. His case seems to be truly miraculous. In his early years of manhood, he had a great feeling of condemnation upon him, fear of death, etc., until some one made him a present of the Psalms. He had read the Bible but very little. When he first began to read this book it seemed strange and mysterious to him; but he kept reading it and a work of grace seemed to be wrought upon his heart. His fear of death departed, and he felt like a different person. He felt impressed to pray for light, and for three or four years he used to go to a certain place of retirement to pray for light. When Czechowski came there the latter part of his life to teach French, to earn something on which to live, he became interested, while taking lessons, to learn something of present truth. He felt that it was the truth, and retained these thoughts of the truth until he began to keep the Sabbath. There are seven now keeping it, and a number of intelligent people interested in it. He has one brother keeping the Sabbath with his family, another whose wife keeps it, and he is just disposing of his business so that he can keep it also; and still another who is very friendly. We held six or eight meetings, I preaching five or six times.

We had but a small company at first, in Bro. Aslan's house, some eight or ten, but toward the last nearly thirty came in, though our manner of preaching was anything but well calculated to hold an interest. I preached in English, Edith translated into French, and then Bro. Aslan into Roumanian. This you will see was rather a roundabout way to drive the truth into the people. I do feel that if they have meetings there a good interest might be created.