WE love the SIGNS, and those that make it, not only for the immense help it has been to us financially, in our needy field, but for its precious, valuable contents, week after week.
We were unable to secure a suitable place in St. George for public services, so we devoted our time and effort to personal work,—visiting, Bible-reading, and canvassing. We expect to erect a church and school building there at once, a lot having been given, and about half enough money pledged to buy the material. The labor will all be donated. These people are mostly East Indians, and a church and school in their midst will be an inestimable blessing to the entire community. If any of the readers of the SIGNS feel it a privilege to help us a little in this enterprise, we shall greatly appreciate it, and it will be a good investment.
In the village of Gongave, twelve miles up the coast, there has lived for several years a lone sister in the faith, and her influence finally brought another young woman to accept the truth. These two greatly desired us to hold some meetings there. So we rented a building for three months, fitted up a neat little hall, holding about one hundred persons, and moved into some tiny rooms adjoining, with just enough of our household effects to enable us to live a sort of camp-meeting style.
We held meetings just a week, with a good attendance and interest, and then the sister first mentioned fell very ill, in her room just beneath our hall. So we had to stop the meetings, as she was threatened with nervous prostration. Her room was dark, damp, and unventilated; and she had no one to properly care for her, being forsaken by her husband. She tried taking the doctor's drugs, but grew rapidly worse; so she turned to us for help.
A Wharf Scene in St. George, Grenada.
The laws touching nursing and medical practise are very strict here, but we knew she would soon die, if left alone, and that rational treatment would save her. So, despite the doctor's wrath and the mutterings of the people, we carried her upstairs to our bed and room, and began at once to apply the necessary treatments as best we knew. Necessary bowel treatment, cool sponge baths, the wet-sheet pack, hot and cold to the spine, etc., reduced her temperature from 105 degrees to normal so quickly as to almost constitute a miracle.
The doctor declared, when he was dismissed, that she would die, and vowed he would not issue a certificate of death; and I don't know what would have happened, had she died. However, she did not die, but is now fully recovered, and we have resumed our meetings, the people being more favorably impressed with our principles than they were before. To God be all the praise.
Our meetings were interrupted nearly three weeks, and the attendance is not so large as we could wish; but we trust that our coming here will not be in vain, altho our plans for a vigorous three-months' campaign here did not materialize as we hoped.
Our conference convenes in Georgetown, British Guiana, July 17, and, if I attend, as all the workers are expected to do, another month will be taken out of our plan here. However, "all things work together for good to them that love God," and "He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will;" so we are of good courage, despite difficulties.
We received word this week that Brother Enoch is stricken with fever in Barbados. He had just returned from an extended trip to British Guiana, and was about starting for Tobago. This occasions us much anxiety, as he is alone, his wife having gone on a visit to the States.
Our island field is so divided, so difficult, and so extensive, and our laborers so few, that we are often at our wit's end to know what to do; but "our sufficiency is of God," and "His grace is sufficient," and His truth will triumph. We have been greatly cheered by the reports of the General Conference, and rejoice in the world-wide, onward progress of the message. Wondrous things will be achieved before the next General Conference, and soon, please God, the General Assembly and Church of the First-born will convene at Mount Zion; that meeting we are planning to attend.
No. 12 St. John Street, St. George, Grenada, B. W. I.
