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Colporteurs' Experiences

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 15, 1914

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 91, No. 3.

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Colporteurs' Experiences

By I. A. Ford

THE following experiences of some of our colporteurs during the past year have been reported by their field agents.
From the Chesapeake Conference come the following:—
"While Brother Clark was here in this conference, he got a brother to canvass in Hartford County. One evening he was looking for a place to stay overnight, and was directed across the field. As he was nearing the house, he heard some one using loud language. He was on the point of turning back, but after offering a silent prayer to God, went on. He found a rough-appearing man, and gave him a canvass for 'Coming King.' The man took the book and paid cash for it. The colporteur arranged to stay overnight. A few days later he met this manon the road, who immediately began to ask concerning the state of the dead. A few weeks passed by, and the canvasser thought he would go and spend the Sabbath and Sunday with this man, as he had invited him to come any time he could. As soon as he arrived at the house, the man began to ask concerning the Sabbath. You see he was reading the book, and as he came to the truth he began to inquire about it. This was Friday afternoon. When he had had the Sabbath explained, he called all his family together, and told them what he wanted to do. They hurried and got all the work done, and as the sun went down they began to keep their first Sabbath. This man is very enthusiastic, and has been active in trying to get others to see the truth. As a result of his efforts in the few months just past, three have decided to keep the commandments of God, and others are interested. Elder F. W. Paap recently baptized one of these new converts.
"There was a family who had been reading our books and had learned something about this truth. The father was a glass blower and made good wages. His mother was a Seventh-day Adventist, as were also a brother and a sister, who accepted the truth after this man had married and left home. His sister's health failed, and she was sent to a sanitarian for treatment, this brother helping to furnish the money necessary for the treatments. When the sister returned home, she thought she would visit this brother. One day while she was there, an old woman came to the door selling the Signs of the Times; of course the sister knew she was an Adventist. The woman did not sell the paper, but she told them of a series of meetings just beginning in the little church, and asked them to attend. After this family had gone two or three nights they asked a brother-in-law and his wife to go, and they did. As a result of those meetings both families accepted the truth. The two men went into the canvassing work and helped to scatter thousands of pages of our good literature, and are both in conference work at this time.
"This shows we should not be discouraged even if we do not sell at every place. This old woman did not sell her paper, but look at the result of that visit; and the end is not yet."
The following interesting experiences come from north Michigan:—
"One sister who is nearing the seventies writes: 'One lady said many times that she just knew the Lord sent me to her. She had thought for a long time that she would get a book of me. When it seemed the walk was more than I could stand, I would repeat Isa. 41:10.' This sister has been very faithful to her calling. She has placed over two hundred dollars' worth of our literature right around her home during the past few months.
"For the benefit of those who are afraid of the 'preachers,' I shall say: Brother Smally, one of our student canvassers, called on a certain minister and gave him a canvass for 'Daniel and the Revelation.' The minister became much interested in the book, but his interest did not end there. He told his congregation what a grand book it was, and some of them were ready to give their orders as soon as the canvasser arrived. I do not know what denomination this minister represented.
"To illustrate how the angels are present to work upon hearts, I will mention one more experience. Brother Burkett and I were working together for a few days. At a certain place where we gave our canvass the woman did not seem much impressed. After we had been gone some time, this woman came to a house where we were giving a canvass, and said she had decided to get the book in the half-morocco binding. Her husband had been listening to the canvass, and after we were gone he asked why she did not order the book. She had wanted it, but felt unable to give the order. She followed us a long way in the country to find us and give the order. Surely the angels stay by at these homes after we leave."
Wisconsin sends us the following cheering experiences:—
"One day it was extremely hot, and one of the workers, becoming tired, stopped under a tree and asked the Lord to send some one to him. He canvassed every one that came by, and while he was resting he secured three orders for 'Great Controversy.'
"Another worker began canvassing a woman, and was asked at the start if it was not an Adventist book. When informed that it was, she said: 'I know it is a fine book; mother has it in Danish, and I have been wanting one for a long time, but did not know where to get it.' It was easy to secure her order.
"One of our boys about fifteen years old went out with the Home Workers' Prospectus, and in twenty-two hours he secured orders for $15.85 worth of books. We expect him to develop into a regular canvasser soon.
"One of our workers placed a book in nearly every home in one township. Such an interest has developed that they are calling for a minister. One woman wishes baptism, and if a minister can go there, there is good prospect of a company being raised up.
"One woman told a canvasser that she had been looking for such a book for some time, and just that morning she had looked in a mail-order catalogue to see if she could not find something like that.
"One tract society secretary has spent three weeks canvassing, and as a result two Catholics and one Protestant have accepted the truth. This is doubtless only the beginning of what will result from that effort."
The following comes from New Jersey:—
"One of our canvassers found a family that had been keeping the Sabbath for two months. This was the result of a 'Great Controversy' some canvasser sold them last year. It pays to recanvass territory.
"This canvasser and I had the privilege of stopping overnight with a family to whom this brother sold a book last year. The husband believes the truth; all he needs is more faith to step out upon God's promises.
"Both these cases are the result of leaving a good influence behind and placing a good book in these homes."
The following very interesting experiences were had by our workers in west Pennsylvania:—
"I called on a gentleman and started to show him 'Daniel and the Revelation,' when he stopped me and said, 'Do you read the Menace?' I said, 'Yes, sir.' We talked a moment longer, and I began to tell him the difference between our books and those that are put out on these subjects by other people. I showed him that we prove everything by the Bible. He became interested. I stayed all night, had a good Bible study, and of course sold a book.
"Another night, in company with one of the men, I could not find a place to stay all night. Finally we called upon an aged couple living all alone. We stated our work, and they told us we could stay all night, but they could not take a book, for they were both old, and could not see to read. When we went to the barn, the gentleman told us to bring in one of our books, and read some to them, if they were good books. We happened to have a full copy of 'Great Controversy' with us, so that evening I read a chapter. He stopped me and said, 'That is fine reading, but is it based on the Bible?' I said, 'It is.' 'Read the texts, please.' I did after that, and he said, 'Fine!' The wife said, 'Good book to have.' After a little he told me to stop, he wanted to talk awhile. So I did, and we had a fine visit. Then a chapter was read, and we had a blessed season of prayer. We retired about one o'clock, and the next morning as we were ready to leave, I told him I would settle the bill for their kindness. He said, 'Bill! I was just planning on paying you for staying all night with us. Your visit did us as much good as a preacher's, and we should have had to pay him, so we want to settle with you.' I said, 'No, sir; but if you want to pay anything, this is what we will do: You take this book and place it in your home, and have people read it to you.' He paid for it on the spot. We went away from that place rejoicing, feeling sure that the Lord led us there."
From Massachusetts come the following experiences:—
"In the old historic town of New Bedford, Mass., where Elder Joseph Bates wrote his first tract on the Sabbath, one of our colporteurs took our large books, 'Patriarchs and Prophets,' 'Desire of Ages,' 'Great Controversy,' and 'Daniel and the Revelation,' and made a canvass of some of the ministers. He first met a Methodist minister and sold a 'Desire of Ages.' From there he went to another minister of the same denomination. This minister had some of our books, but the canvasser readily secured his order for 'Great Controversy.'
"The next canvass was given in the evening at the home of another Methodist minister, and after about ten minutes' canvass he took the whole set, making an order of $12. Before the colporteur left, the minister said he knew of a young man who was studying for the ministry, and on the strength of his recommendation this young man took the set of four books in a better binding, at $15. The next was a Baptist minister, who ordered the full set in cloth. When the time came to deliver the $15 set, it was unavoidably delayed, and the colporteur was a little anxious about the result; but when he finally came with the books, he found the young man ready with several five-dollar bills tucked away in his desk. He seemed delighted to get the books, and said that if our brother could furnish any more help in his work, he wanted it.
"Some time ago one of our colporteurs who is selling the Signs of the Times, seeing the door of a convent open, wentin and sold seventeen. Coming out, he met the mother superior, who was very much displeased and threatened to have him arrested, but that was as far as it went.
"When the next number was out, he went to the same convent again, and this time met the priest at the door. He sold him a paper and got his permission to go inside. Here he met the mother superior again. She apologized for speaking so harshly to him before. She said she did not fully understand his purpose, and had misjudged his motive in coming in as boldly as he had. She said the paper seemed to be quite good, bought one herself, and gave him permission to sell to the inmates the second time.
"When he came out, the priest met him at the door, and said that there was a parochial school a short distance away where he might sell to some of the pupils. When the next number was out, he went to this school and told the principal that Father — had recommended him, and the principal wrote him a recommendation stating that his work was recommended by Father —. On the strength of this he sold twenty papers in the school. This morning I received a letter saying that he had been to another convent in a neighboring city and sold to twenty-five persons, including a priest. This brother says he has a burden for the Catholics.
"One of our canvassers had a good example of prayer the other day. He had labored hard for about twelve hours and had taken no orders. The enemy began to whisper doubts, and like the disciples who had fished all night, he was tempted to be discouraged; but after praying earnestly over the matter, the next morning he launched out into the deep and let down his net. In four hours he secured orders amounting to $17, in territory that had previously been canvassed with the same work."