PERSONAL EXPERIENCES by Wm. Steele

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Feb 6, 1907

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.

By Wm. Steele

MORE than two years have passed since our arrival in Chile,—years of blessed privileges of announcing the Gospel of Christ to a people who are in great darkness; years of varied experiences, which no doubt will be a help to us in our future work. Altho we have been called to pass thru some severe trials, we count them but joy, for we know our heavenly Father overruleth all things, and that He careth for those who put their trust in Him.

Why the mission was permitted to burn last year was beyond our comprehension, but after the earthquake and fire, we believed we could see why it was permitted, for if we had been living there at this time escape would have been very difficult, as that part of the city was shaken down and immediately burned. Not only would we have lost all, but we would not have been able to collect the insurance, so our financial loss would have been many times greater.

After the destruction of the mission last year, we found rooms in a three-story brick house, which we decided to take, altho they were not just what we wanted, as even at this time suitable rooms for our work were hard to find. We offered to pay part of the rent in advance to bind the bargain; the landlord agreed, but as we were handing him the money, he changed his mind and said:

"If you want the house and move in in three days you may have it, if not I will rent it to some one else. I will not take your money now." Before the end of the three days we found a house more suitable to our needs. A few days after the earthquake, as I had occasion to pass near the street in which this house was located, I thought I would see how it had fared, and as I looked at the once beautiful house, I saw now only a mass of broken bricks and timbers. We believe the Lord had a hand in changing this man's mind, for otherwise we would have been buried in the ruins.

After the earthquake some English friends of ours decided to spend a year in England, and gave us their house to live in while they were gone. Thus, without effort on our part, the Lord provided us with a house in every way suited to the needs of the work. This means much, for now there are few houses in which a person can live. Many thousands of people are living in little shanties made of old zinc.

The house in which we were living suffered little from the quake, altho it subsequently burned, but not until we had an opportunity to carry many things to a place of safety. In the first fire all the books burned were in other languages, and had little or no sale here, and were insured for their cost price. It was hard to understand why the Lord permitted our depository to burn the second time, as we had about 85,000 pages of Spanish literature that the people needed. But since the earthquake the mission has published, and the brethren with the Lord's help have sold, about 560,000 pages of our missionary paper Las Señales de los Tiempos, and all the books that we had sent out before. Under ordinary circumstances they would have sold only 124,000 pages of Señales; and had they sold all the books in stock in this length of time, it would have made only 209,000 pages; thus there was a gain of 351,000 pages of printed matter that contain the truth for this time as a result of the earthquake. There is even a greater gain than this, for the colporteurs would not have sold one-fourth of the books. Surely the Lord works in mysterious ways. We are led to praise His name more and more every day as we see His wondrous leadings.

Church of Salvador, Santiago, Chile, after the Earthquake of Aug. 16, 1906.

As a result of the earthquake, we have been enabled to buy a fine printing outfit, consisting of a large cylinder press, one job press, a large paper-cutter worth two-fifths of what we paid for all, and ninety-six boxes of type. All the machinery and most of the type is as good as new. We now have a first-class outfit for printing literature to warn the people in our field. What we need now is a fund for the publication of tracts and small books.

After the work is well started, I think it will be self-supporting. Once that we have a supply of the right kind of literature, we believe that the Lord will raise up native workers to carry the message quickly to all parts of the field. As an illustration of how the Lord will work, I will give the experiences of one young native brother. About eighteen months ago he came to Valparaiso to take charge of a herbaria belonging to one of the brethren. Recognizing his talents, I gave him every opportunity to improve, and he soon developed into a successful Sabbath-school worker, and desired to enter the work as colporteur, but could not because of his contract to remain with the brother as

long as he should be needed. Last New Year's night, in company with several brethren, he went out to sell Las Señales for the first time, and had good success. This animated him to the extent that he desired more than ever to enter the work. The brother allowed him a few hours each Sunday in which to sell papers. He soon became a successful agent.

Since the earthquake, being released from his obligations, he has dedicated his entire time to the work. Last quarter he worked 36 days and sold papers and took subscriptions to the value of more than 700 Chilean dollars. During a part of October and November, he has been in Caldera and Copiapo, working in all 30 days, and has taken 430 subscriptions, sold 2,000 single copies, besides many Bibles, Testaments, etc., preached many sermons, given Bible readings, and baptized two persons, as he was ordained elder of a small company of believers at the latter place.

With a few such workers, and suitable literature, the whole field could be speedily warned. And I fully believe that when we get the literature the workers will not be wanting. The Spanish fields, altho at the very doors of the United States, have been greatly neglected.

The Mission Board has appropriated $2,000 of the $150,000 fund for our school and publishing work. We pray that the Lord may move the hearts of the brethren to raise this whole amount at once. Work has already begun on one building for our school, and we hope by the first of May to have it completed so as to begin on that date a school for the workers and those who desire to enter the work. The raising of this fund will be a great help to needy enterprises in this, a most needy field.

Perhaps it would be of interest to the brethren to know how we sell Las Señales de los Tiempos. The workers in the Mission are able to devote part of one day each week to this work, usually Sunday or a holiday, as the people spend these days seeking pleasure. We take a bundle of papers on one arm, one in the hand to show the people, and go to some place where crowds are continually passing, and cry as loud as we can the name of the paper and the titles of the principal articles in the number that we are selling, thus even if they do not buy they receive a testimony. Sometimes boys and unprincipled persons mock us, but as we only cry the louder, they soon stop.

Last Sunday I sold 100 papers in about two and a half hours, and yesterday 101 in three and one-half hours in the same street. One man tried to get me into an argument by saying that all the paper contained was lies. I told him we had studied the subjects presented, and that they were true according to God's word. Then he got very angry and began to talk in a very loud voice, saying: "You lie; every number of your paper is filled with lies." I paid no more attention to him and continued to sell papers. When he saw that the people still bought the paper, he soon left; then nearly all who had heard him talk bought a paper, probably to see what the lies were; so he only helped the sale.

In four months we have printed 72,000 copies of the Señales, and they have nearly all been placed in the hands of the people. May the Lord impress His people who have means to use it freely for the advancement of the work in the most needy fields.

WM. STEELE.