THE great Gospel commission embraces every people, nation, kindred, tongue, and it has made each who has heard the joyful news a debtor to every one who has not heard it. What a responsibility it places upon us who know the truth for this generation! No other people has been called upon to take the Gospel to the whole world in a single generation. May the Lord help us to face the situation and apply ourselves to work with an earnestness that will bear all things, hope all things, and endure all things.
The work in the Fijian mission field is onward, and gathers more strength from week to week. A few years back we could count our membership on two hands, but now the numbers have reached up into the hundreds. The past year has been quite an epoch in the work here. We see the stately steppings of our God in our midst, and see Him leading on before. We can not prepare workers fast enough to fill anywhere near the calls for help. We are encouraging a more mature class of men to enter our school so that they can prepare quickly for the field.
Thru the generosity of our Australian brethren we have been able to purchase nearly three hundred acres of very good land for our leading school for this mission. It cost us $1,250. If we were to purchase the same piece now, a much larger figure would be required. At our last council in June our native converts passed a resolution that in every town where there should be any of our people that they should give a piece of land for a church-building, and another piece for the teacher's house, besides farming land.
These people are very poor. A penny to them is like pounds to us. If it were not for their lack they would give liberally to the support of the work here. Yet they give liberally in their poverty. At our last week of prayer the offering was a little over one hundred dollars. While other denominations find it difficult to get them to give, and have to resort to devious ways and means to gain this object, we find no trouble by following the Bible way. As we stick to the Bible plan of giving, the natives are led to have confidence in us; for they can see that we are not trying to make merchandise of them. How much we ought to thank God for the tithing system!
Some of our Australian and American brethren have thought it a privilege to support some of the workers here. This has been a great help and blessing, besides, we know that it reacts in a greater measure upon these dear, self-sacrificing brethren.
The superintendent of our school work in Fiji has lately been appointed to New Guinea. With this appointment we are enabled to send out our first Fijian missionary to a field beyond. It is a cause of great rejoicing to us to see this advance step. It will not be long before numbers of our young men here will be telling the message in the now unentered groups.
Our Fiji Workers.
Another fact that is appealing to us in this field is that there are about thirty thousand Indians from India that must have the message given to them. In fact they are calling for it of themselves. Then we have several thousand Europeans. The field is indeed white for the harvest. What is one European laborer for such a field? O, for more to labor in gathering in the harvest. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest."
