A RECENT letter from Prof. J. L. Shaw, the superintendent of our India Mission, comes to hand. That letter we publish, as it speaks for itself; for it is sent to the readers of the Signs of the Times thru its editor. But in connection with this, Brother Shaw seems to think he is asking too much of the Signs, and he writes: "Now I shall not take it amiss if you do not feel clear about printing this letter."
But we are going to print it, and we wish it were in our power to make the appeal a thousand times stronger. There may be those who could give the $1,000 without feeling it. If God bids them give, let them give. The great, dark, starving field of India needs it. Two valuable laborers sleep in that field. Others have had to return home to recruit, and have returned. Professor Shaw when he came to America to recruit seemed to be doubly mortgaged to death; but after staying a few months the burden of India's need upon his heart drew him back. Thank God he is there. Thank God for the Mountain Home, a laboring recruiting station. Let it be dedicated free from debt. Let our readers invest a little in the India Mountain Home, for India's needs, for the sake of those who are giving their lives to that mission, in the love of Christ who died for each blinded soul in India as He did for us. Send donations, and send quickly:
Annfield House, Mussoorie,
April 19, 1907.
Elder M. C. Wilcox,
Mountain View, Cal., U. S. A.
Dear Brother:
I know that you and the readers of the Signs of the Times will be glad to know what progress has been made in finding a location for the Mountain Mission. Sometime ago a letter was sent telling you of a place at Mussoorie known as "Glenbrook" which our committee were thinking of purchasing, provided, as I wrote you, a right of way to the estate could be obtained. We tried to purchase a right of way or obtain a long lease from the parties owning it, but were unable to do so.
While negotiations were pending and we knew not what to do, the Lord directed us to another property which in every way is much better. It is known as the Annfield Estate. When we first looked at the place in company with Elders Thompson and Miller and Brother and Sister Burgess, we all felt that the buildings, ground, and location were ideal for the work, but the price, Rs. 30,000, which is about $10,000, was $3,000 more than the money raised, and we did not feel clear in going in debt, so let the matter drop. Afterward when Brother and Sister Hansen came to Mussoorie they saw the owner and laid before him our plans regarding a mountain mission, and asked if he would not reduce his price. They told him how the money had been raised by people in America who were anxious to see the Gospel carried in India, and that $7,000 had been collected, a good share of which came from poor people. As a result of their interview and further correspondence, the owner lowered his price to $8,000, and a purchase was agreed upon.
We believe the hand of God is in the transaction. There has been much prayer and earnest pleading with God on the part of those looking for a location for the Mountain Mission that the right place be found. The owner claims that more than human power has been at work. I quote from his letter:
"It is a wrench to us to part with this property, as we have taken great pleasure in doing up this place and spent much time, trouble, and money in making ourselves comfortable in it regardless of expenses. I am inclined to your belief that some other than human agency is at work for us to part with our 'Home' for the purposes of your mission, since we are not aware of any definite reasons why we should sell the property now, since we have refused other applications for its purchase."
The house, which contains nineteen rooms including the bath-rooms, is fully furnished for this country and has about $1,000 worth of furniture, and the building is in excellent repair. It has been used as a convalescent home by the previous owner. The whole place has the air of quietness and rest, yet is only ten13minutes' walk from the crowded bazaar with its large numbers of Indian people. I enclose the following statement which will give you some idea of the place:
Upon the place are two large lime kilns for burning lime, and a stone building in which the lime can be stored. There are large quantities of limestone upon the place, and a profitable industry has in the past been carried on in making lime. There is abundance of stone and a large number of trees, including peach, cherry, apricot, rhododendron, pine, and walnut. In case other buildings are needed in the future there are a number of beautiful sites upon which to build and quantities of rock for building, stone for lime, and facilities with which to make it; so the cost of building will not be great when the time comes to enlarge.
Mussoorie, the hill station, in which the Annfield Estate is located, has a population of between twenty and thirty thousand, I am told, made up mostly of Europeans and Indians, with their servants, who flee from the plains in the hot season to escape the awful heat. The climate is cool and pleasant and never gets uncomfortably hot. We believe Annfield, located as it is with the beauty that surrounds it, will bring new life to our worn and jaded workers whose strength gives way in the hot, low, malarial plains below.
The Annfield property called for $1,000 more than the amount raised for the Mountain Home. We hesitated, not wanting to incur debt, but finally decided to make the venture, and lay the matter before you and the readers of the "Signs of the Times." This is the first bit of land owned by our people in India, and we wish to dedicate it to the Lord free of debt. We are appointing the last Sabbath in October as the time of dedication. You, with the managing board of the "Signs of the Times," with its large number of readers, have taken so keen and tangible an interest in raising the Mountain Mission fund that we thought you would be glad to assist us in making the work complete. The "Signs of the Times" launched this project amidst earthquake and fire, when its own work seemed ruined, but God has blessed the effort. It was done for India's good, that the faithful sentinels of truth in a heathen, diseased, and tropical land might have a Bethel of rest to renew their exhausted energies.
And more than that the Mountain Mission is to be a lighthouse in the mountains. From the veranda of Annfield we look down upon the plains twelve miles below, fruitful in the extreme, and densely populated with souls without the knowledge of God,—a great field for work. Brother and Sister Burgess and Sister Kurtz have begun work at the foot of the hills, fourteen miles below us, in a large town of native people called Dehra Dun, having a population of twenty thousand, and surrounded by numerous villages. They are already finding those who are anxious to learn about the truth.
Shall we not dedicate the Mountain Mission free of debt next October? It will require a thousand dollars. Will not the readers make favorable response to this question and request? It can easily be done.
Let 5 give $50 ... $250
" 5 " 25 ... 125
" 20 " 10 ... 200
" 40 " 5 ... 200
" 225 " 1 ... 225
$1,000
In this way the amount will be easily raised and the Mountain Mission, our first property in India, will be dedicated free of debt. We earnestly request your immediate help. Remember date of dedication, the last Sabbath in October. Kindly send all funds to the "Signs of the Times," Mountain View, Cal.
Yours in His service,
J. L. SHAW.
