Reports from the Field by John Norton Loughborough

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jul 3, 1879

Reports from the Field.

By John Norton Loughborough

Southampton, England.

NOTWITHSTANDING the cold and wet weather, we have, up to date, held twenty-four services in the tent. These discourses have awakened a deep interest with a few, and now as the weather is milder we hope for an increase in attendance. It takes a longer time to raise an interest in such a meeting here than in America. To a large extent the services in the churches here consist in set forms and prayers more than in expositions of Scripture, so that it is like a new departure with many to listen to preaching requiring study and deep thought on their part, and we "must meet the people where they are."

Some seeing a prospect that the tent meeting is liable to make some stir, are very busily circulating falsehoods respecting the preaching at the tent. Even this we pray may be turned to account, for some say, "Well, I am going, to hear for myself what they do preach." They come and hear and become interested. This proves the word true that, "They can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth." Our daily prayer to God is that in this case he will fulfill his word, "Cause the wrath of man to praise him and the remainder thou wilt restrain."

Since my last report we have received a number of friendly responses to missionary letters. One says, "I wish to express my thanks to you for your kindness and trouble in sending me those valuable and interesting papers, THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, as they are full of information. They furnish a vast amount of useful knowledge, especially on Bible topics. I should very much like a continuance of the paper." Enclosed we found pay for the SIGNS for one quarter.

Another writes, "As a Christian I am encouraged by reading the truths the SIGNS teaches. It is a paper admirably conducted. . . . I never read a paper which so faithfully argues for the position it takes, and in the same spirit meets the objections of others."

Another, who has been receiving the SIGNS from St. Helena, Cal., writes, "We are very much obliged to you for taking such an interest in us in sending us those nice papers to read. I think the papers give us a great amount of information as to the times in which we live. We all take great interest in reading them."

These responses, and other tokens of good, encourage us to push on the work of sowing the seed, and we earnestly pray that the Lord will abundantly water the seed sown. One party after reading a short time, has decided to pay for eighteen copies of SIGNS and Reviews to be sent for one year to different parts of Great Britain. So you see there is some missionary work going on here if it is not all systematically organized.

Pray for us. Our daily prayer and ardent desire is that the Lord will bless the workers and the work everywhere. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.