p. 11 | Review and Herald, Vol. 85, No. 6. (2/6/1908)

Earlier text: One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund

M. E. KERN

By M. E. KERN

The Bible in Education—No. 1

M. E. KERN

THE BIBLE is the book of God. Its central theme is the plan of redemption, which embraces the forgiveness of sin and the restoration of innocence in this life, and the gift of eternal life and a home in paradise when time here is no more. This scheme of human redemption presents before finite minds the grandest and loftiest themes which human beings can contemplate. It is a subject for study in the schools of the unfallen beings of the universe. The love of God has spanned the dark chasm that sin has made, and has again connected earth and heaven.

God’s life has touched sinful humanity, and out of that divine touch has come the Bible. Through the avenue of righteous men God has given to all humanity a revelation of his will, and the sincere study of this divine-human book brings the individual into touch with God. Such an individual is able to communicate that touch through his own life to the lives of others. And this is what is needed.

The Purpose of Education

God’s thought for the world, God’s thought for you and me, God’s thought for our children, is the restoration of righteous character. The energy of heaven is being expended to the end that we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world.

Through the fall of man all his powers were weakened, especially the spiritual faculties. There is only one power that can restore man’s spiritual nature, and that is the power of God through Christ as manifested in the everlasting gospel. “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” and to bring man back where he can fulfil the purposes of his creation.

Now true education embraces the harmonious development of the whole man, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Let it be clearly understood that the purpose of education and redemption are one and the same. (See “Education,” page 13.) And when we truly comprehend this, we shall be well on the road to the solution of many of our educational problems. Thus Christian education, as we have been told, “prepares the student for the joy of service in this world, and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come.”—“Education,” page 13. Though we may have ever so many accomplishments, though we may understand all knowledge, and speak with the tongues of angels, if we have not love, the foundation of every right life, “the bond of perfectness,” it is nothing. This love, this unselfishness, lies at the very foundation of all true development. (“Education,” page 16.)

The present and future happiness of the race rests upon its recognition of this law of love, this dependence upon God, and mutual helpfulness to one another. Those who would have a part in the eternal plan of God must be fitted for it by being rooted and grounded in love.

The Bible the Basis

The objects of redemption and education being the same, God’s Book of redemption is his Book of education. In any system of Christian education, this Book of all books will be pre-eminent; and in the closing hours of the redemption work on earth there has been revealed to us most clearly the place that God would have his Book occupy in education. We have been told that “the Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth, and as such should be given the highest place in education” (“Education,” page 17); that “the Bible should be made the foundation of study and of teaching” (“Ministry of Healing,” page 401); that “above all other books, the Word of God must be our study, the great text-book, the basis of all education” (“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 131); and to urge us on in the right way, this question is asked, “Will not teachers awake to their responsibility in this matter, and see that the Word of God has a larger place in the instruction given in our schools?”—Id., page 133.

This brings us squarely to face the problem, the Bible the basis of all education. Have we made it so? What does it mean? How can we do it? Does it mean that we are to study the Bible and nothing else? Does it mean that though we may use other text-books, we must use the Bible also as a text-book in every subject, or bring forth some direct statements from the Bible upon every artificial division of knowledge which we may pursue? I believe it has a deeper meaning than this. Surely there are new depths of meaning in Christian education which we have not fathomed, and new heights for us to attain. The perfected system of Christian education will stand out in bold contrast to that of the world. It will not be based on precedent, nor will there be anything that is true left out of it, because some one else may have discovered the truth before us. Through this system of education, and by the excellence and high character of the work done by its institutions, the attention of the world will be directed, not to our great men, but to “the last great effort to save the perishing” (Id., page 126), to the last mighty struggle between the forces of good and evil. And when this comes to pass, it will be because the Book of God has been made the basis of our education, because the Bible has become, as has been beautifully said, “the fountain light of all our day, the master light of all our seeing.”

College View, Neb.

Our Homes

By LIDA MAY WESTBROOK

LIDA MAY · WESTBROOK

Poets have written about the home. They have led the mind to the quaint old country place surrounded by creeping vines and blossoming shrubs, and have gently unfolded to our view the sweet-faced mother and the kind-hearted father bent with age. Our great men of the world in their lectures have tenderly spoken of their boyhood days at home, of mother, whose never-ceasing care and love have kept them in the path of integrity. Authors of note have many times written that which has touched an answering chord in the hearts of their readers, and many have been made purer as the memories and teachings of home come back to their minds.

Just now, when Satan is holding out every inducement to our loved ones, we need pure, attractive, and pleasant homes. “More powerful than any other earthly influence upon human hearts and lives is that of a true home.” What is a true home? It is not a home where the father sits during the evening with a deep frown on his brow, and where, after reading the evening paper, he puts on his coat and hat and goes out to greet Mr. —— and others, and then, as he nears home, puts on his frown once more. Such a man can not be a true head of the household, for he can not become acquainted with his children, or win their love. Perhaps ere his return, mother has quietly put the children in their little beds, for “father is tired and out of sorts to-night.”

Neither can a home be a true home when the mother scolds and frets from morning until night; where she appears at meal-time with uncombed hair and soiled dress. Perhaps she has scolded until she is on the verge of tears. Her house is untidy; everything seems to have gone wrong all day. What excuse has this mother? — She is “so nervous.”

But the children have no encouragement in such a home. The little ones that God has given us to care for, the ones we are to give an account for in the great day of God — these are having their feet started in the pathway of ruin through the influence of such a home. God intends the home to be the dearest spot on earth; and each member of the household should do his part toward making it so.

The father, as the head of the household, should strive to make his home a place where cheerfulness, courtesy, and love abide. He should enter his home with smiles and pleasant words. He should establish the family altar, and all should gather for worship. He should take time to become acquainted with his children. Even if his business cares are very pressing, he can afford to spend some time with his family, and he will find that it is not time wasted. Human souls are at stake. How much more important one human soul is than all the business cares of life! In the morning before taking up the cares of the day let the father gather his family around him, and bowing before God, commit the loved ones to the care of the Father in heaven.

On the mother seems to rest the greatest care of the family. Each little trial is brought to her. A little hand or head must be kissed and cared for to cure the bump or ache. The duties of the household press upon her. Every little detail must come under mother’s notice. With patience she should care for her children. With a gentle, God-fearing spirit she should lead her loved ones to the side of Jesus. Her house should be kept clean and tidy, that it may be an attractive place for the husband and children. Solomon has spoken of the faithful wife: “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”

A great responsibility rests upon parents. In their home life they are sowing seed which will bear fruit for Christ or Satan. As fathers and mothers let us draw near to the Saviour, that he may lead us in this great work of making our homes pure, elevating, love-inspiring, until we reach the blessed home of the faithful which is just ahead.

Elmira, N. Y.

The Hand of a Child

By Gertrude Stevens Leavitt

THE silvery chimes on the Church of Our Elder Brother rang sweet and clear. They were new chimes, and from all parts of the city men and women had gathered to listen to the melody.

A little to one side stood a group of girls, with gay attire, painted faces, and showily dressed hair. They chatted noisily, but all at once a change came over the face of one of them. She gave a half-apologetic little laugh.

“Let’s go in,” she said.

A chorus of sneering “No’s” answered her, but she bit her lips, flushed quickly, turned and walked into the great, solemn church.

For a moment the usher stared at the newcomer, then politely showed her to a seat, into which she sank wearily. For a time she did not lift her eyes; the hush of the holy place seemed to be all-pervasive. As she looked about her, strange faces greeted her, and she felt as if she were quite alone.

The service was beginning. She listened to the music of the great organ, and sat quietly while others rose and sat again.

She seemed not to hear the Scripture reading and very little of the prayer, but she sat with bowed head, so still that one might have thought she slept.

When the pastor began the sermon, she looked up, and her eyes fell on something in front of her. It was the hand of a child. The nails were shelly pink, the flesh was soft and white, and the tiny fingers plump and dimpled—a beautiful hand. It caught and held the attention of the girl.

She glanced at her own hand, lying gloveless on her knee. It was white, too, and soft and pretty. It was covered with many glistening rings, which apparently dazzled the eyes of the girl, for she slipped the shining things into her empty glove. Perhaps she did not want to look at the gems just then, knowing at how great a price she had purchased them.

Again her attention turned to the little hand. Had hers ever been like that? — O, yes, doubtless, when she was small and innocent. Innocent? She shuddered. That time seemed far away now,

although the girl was really very young.

What was the small hand doing now? It patted a mother’s cheek. A sob rose in the girl’s throat. She could remember how she used to pat her mother’s cheek, just as the little child was doing now, and in fancy she could see the love light in the eyes of her own mother.

The baby’s hand dropped to the mother’s neck, giving a tiny hug. Again the girl choked back a sob. Yes, she used to hold her dear one close, just that same fond way. Fascinated, she still watched the hand. It was withdrawn, but as it passed, the girl saw on its palm a bright red scar. Once more she looked at her own hands, and felt their stains; but what a difference! The mark on the baby flesh would pass, but her disfigurements—so deep, so glaring—must they always last?

Listen! She hears, as through dim distance, the preacher’s voice: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

The old promise which has brought comfort to many a soul now came to this sinning daughter. It must be so—her mother used to read it from the old Bible. If mother and the Bible said it, it must be true. She had never thought much about it before, although she had been taught to read the Bible. But she had been so wayward; she had wanted to see the great world; she had rebelled at mother’s narrow ways, and she had left her home. Three years! The time seemed centuries, now, although before this morning, it had seemed to speed.

“I forgot so much,” she murmured to herself. “I forgot my home and God and mother. Is mother living in the same old house, I wonder? Does she ever think of me? Would she let these hands touch her now? Would she want me to cuddle close to her again and say my evening prayer? Let me see, what were the words?

“‘Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep. If I should die’—”

“There, I know what I’ll do. I’ll just die, and get away from sin. Could I do it that way? I can’t be good. I can’t get rid of the scars. I want to be good once more, I do! I do! but—”

The service had ended while the girl communed with herself, and the hand of the child slipped into that of the girl, and a baby voice said, softly: “What are you waiting for? Why don’t you go home?”

Why, indeed? The girl had not dared to think of that; but now a great desire filled her heart, and a firm resolve.

“I am going home, right now, darling,” she said, and with a new light in her eyes, she walked from the house of God out into the sunshine, out into a new life, out to the mother who lived and prayed and waited, out into the peace which passeth understanding, and at last out into that moral whiteness which won for her the blessing promised to the pure in heart.—Gertrude Stevens Leavitt, in Union Signal.

A Song of Twilight

O, to come home once more, when the dusk is falling, To see the nursery lighted and the children’s table spread; “Mother, mother, mother!” the eager voices calling, “The baby was so sleepy that he had to go to bed!”

O, to come home once more and see the smiling faces, Dark head, bright head, clustered at the pane; Much the years have taken, when the heart its path retraces, But until time is not for me, that image will remain.

Men and women now they are, standing straight and steady, Grave heart, gay heart, fit for life’s emprise; Shoulder set to shoulder, how should they be but ready! The future shines before them with the light of their own eyes.

Still each answers to my call; no good has been denied me, My burdens have been fitted to the little strength that’s mine, Beauty, pride, and peace have walked by day beside me, The evening closes gently in, and how can I repine?

But O, to see once more, when the early dusk is falling, The nursery’s windows glowing and the children’s table spread; “Mother, mother, mother!” the high child voices calling, “He couldn’t stay awake for you; he had to go to bed!”

— Scribner’s.

Ruatan, Bay Islands

By Archippus W. Green

ARCHIPPUS W. GREEN

Undoubtedly the readers of the good old Review will be glad to know something of the situation here. Ruatan is the name applied to our little isle, which is the center and largest of the six small islands located off the north coast of Spanish Honduras, in the Caribbean Sea. The first settlements were made here in the seventeenth century. Children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren have built around the old homesteads, thus making the little island present a beautiful aspect. The prevailing language being English, an American has no trouble in going among the people, though the spirit of the Spanish mañana (to-morrow) still exists. The inhabitants of the entire six islands are of negro descent, with the exception of a very few white people, and are all engaged in agricultural and commercial pursuits.

Many of the natives are industrious, having pleasant homes and large banana and cocoanut plantations; stock-raising is carried on to quite an extent, especially among the higher classes.

The scenery of the island is beautiful; on either side as far as the eye can distinguish, the margin of the sea is fringed with the mangrove trees, interspersed with clumps of cocoanut and cohoon trees, while ever and anon the full tide flows in white breakers up the shore. The climate is very pleasant indeed. Warm and tropical winds blow from February till September, while cold monsoons and chilling winds of the north blow from October till January.

This island can be called a land of beauty. Its fruits are abundant and very delicious, especially to the foreigners from cold climates. There are the bread-fruit, the pears of different varieties, the custard-apple, mango, limes, citron, tamarind, pineapple, orange, and cashew, while the months of May and June bring out many varieties of beautiful flowers.

The only mode of traveling is on horseback or in canoe, as trains, cars, and wagons are entirely unknown; while, from island to island, sloops and schooners are the only mode of conveyance, as steam-engines and gasoline launches are a thing of the future.

There are no large rivers; only here and there is found a stream or rivulet.

Of wild animals there were originally but three species—the deer, the rabbit, and the wild hog, which are hunted very much by the native, and are considered quite a table delicacy.

Birds of various species inhabit these islands. The most important are the yellow-head parrots, noted for their clear, musical voices and plain speaking. The seacoast and bays abound with fishes.

As one traverses the streets, he sees vice in its varied forms doing its deadly work among the people. Our hearts go out in pity for these our fellow men. Their condition calls to us as a Macedonian cry, “Come over and help us.” Who will answer with hearty response, “Here am I, send me”?

The work was started here by Elder Gibbs, who was succeeded by the late Elder F. J. Hutchins in the year 1894, and since that time has made steady progress. At the present time we have five churches among the islands, with over one hundred members.

What a work is there before the faithful watchmen of God, who must warn the nations of the coming perils of the last days! As faithful workers for God, we must bear a decided message to our fellow men. Souls are perishing in sin, and all must know the grand message ere he comes. We must not delay, but arise and gird on our armor, and step to the front with our face to the foe.

Cuba as a Mission Field

By J. A. JOHNSON

J. A. JOHNSON

The call for help comes from all over the world at this time. Cuba, the fairest and best of all the West Indies, joins in this plea, and we doubt if anywhere in the world there is a more needy, or, indeed, a more promising field for missionary effort than here in Cuba. We have often heard some of our brethren and sisters talk about going to Africa, India, China, or some other land far removed from home and friends, little realizing what it means to go into a foreign country, among strange people speaking a strange language. Yet we are glad to know that many have done so, and the Lord has been with them and has wonderfully blessed them; and he will be with and bless every one who heeds the call, “Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, I will give you.” It is right that we should stand ready to go wherever the Master calls us. Just now poor forsaken Cuba is calling loudly for help. Who will heed the call?

It is now more than eight years since Cuba achieved her independence, and the door of opportunity was opened; and yet, so far, but little has been done, owing to the lack of laborers and the means to send them. Urgent requests are constantly coming to the Mission Board for help that it can not give, however much it would like to do so, because the workers and the means are not forthcoming. Why should not some of those who are anxious to do missionary work in foreign lands launch out as self-supporting missionaries, and come to Cuba? We know of no place in the world where such an undertaking can

be made with less danger, less risk, and more certainty of success. In the first place, this island lies right at our doors, and it does not cost much to get here. The climate is such that nothing is required for fuel, except for cooking. The expense for a house is small, as nothing but a roof and a single board wall is needed. The land is so rich and productive that it is only necessary to touch it with the hoe or other implement, and it produces an abundant harvest. All the citrus fruits, bananas, pineapples, cocoanuts, mangoes, mammees, the papaya, and scores of other varieties of fruit, grow as if by magic, as do also a great variety of vegetables of almost all kinds grown in more northern climes, such as sweet potatoes, yams, okra, peanuts, and even Irish potatoes, —the latter not so well, but in great abundance. The raising of sugar-cane is one of the leading industries, and a very profitable one. Wages are from $1.50 to $2.50 a day.

We mention these simply to show that it is an easy matter to make a living here. Some have had fears that if they should go out as missionaries, they might be in danger of starvation. Not so here, if they will work. Land may be had at a cheap price, and on good terms. Five or ten acres are sufficient for a good-sized family.

Now a word about the Cuban people. They are not, as many have supposed, semi-savages. On the contrary, they are kind-hearted, generous, and peace-loving. They are as intelligent as the average of mankind, and eager and anxious to learn, embracing every opportunity for intellectual improvement. The one thing they need above all others is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and now—just now—is the opportune moment in which to give it to them. We shall never have a better opportunity than just now. God has gone before, and hearts have been prepared for the message. Who will come among them “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”? Who will say, “Here am I; send me”? We need teachers who will come here and teach them to read and write, and give them instruction in other branches of education. There are thousands who could not read their names, if they saw them in print; how, then, can they read the Word of God? The policy of the Catholic Church is, and always has been, to keep them in ignorance, knowing that if the people became enlightened, they could not be controlled by her. Jesus said he came to set at liberty those that were bound, to strike the shackles from off the hands and feet of those who had long been held in chains of bondage. We believe this applies in a literal, as

well as a spiritual sense.

You and I can help to do this, by giving these people the message for this time. One very effectual way is to come here and live the truth among them. To preach the truth is good; to live it is better. Precept and example give emphasis to the word spoken. You can preach a powerful sermon without saying a word, and that is the kind of preaching you can do, even though you are mingling with people whose language you do not understand. The heart is quick in understanding, and the Holy Spirit is a powerful agent, and understands the language of the soul.

Here at Omaja, in Santiago province, we have a nice little growing American colony of about two hundred fifty people. We are situated on the main line of the Cuban Railroad, ninety miles east of Camaguez, about one hundred six miles west of Santiago de Cuba, and about ninety miles west of Antilla, the main port of entry from New York and the north. We have daily mail, passenger and freight service from both ways, a good American public school (and will soon have a Spanish school), American store, and a large sawmill. There is also a small church of Seventh-day Adventist people here, and a Sabbath-school. A land company has offered us a nice tract of land for school purposes, free. Now what we want is a teacher, also a number of God-fearing, man-loving, earnest Christian families, to come and help us.

There is a good opening for a doctor, who could do a good work here. Cuba is sure to become a great winter resort. Even now many people come here for their health; and as the island grows, there will be opportunity to help them in a medical way, thus preparing the way for giving them the truth. A good bakery is also needed.

Last summer Elders E. W. Snyder, of Havana, and U. Bender, of Jamaica, gave us a short visit, which we very much enjoyed. The fruits of this visit have already appeared among our Cuban friends. We have been informed that one lady is keeping the Sabbath as a result of work done at that time, and her husband expects to begin its observance soon. One or two other families are very much interested. They have bought Bibles and other books, and have been supplied with papers, which they like to read. These interests must be followed up. Brother Snyder has a good interest in and around Havana, four hundred miles west of here, and can not come to this place often. We pray that God may bless his work there. All over the island there are like opportunities. We know there are many of our brethren in the north, living on rented farms, working hard to make a living. Why can not some of them come here and get a few acres of land? A large farm is not needed. Living the truth, scattering the pages that contain the message, you can help these people, and at the same time help yourselves. Any one interested can write to Elder E. W. Snyder, to Brother W. J. Wilson of this place, or to the writer, and we will be glad to give all the information we can.

Omaja, Cuba.

Santalia and the Santals

By W. A. BARLOW

— No. 8

Mission Work among the Santals

W. A. BARLOW

Not the least of the consequences of the Santal rebellion referred to before was the inauguration of mission work among them. The Sepoy mutiny, which followed, quickened the conscience of the British people to a marked degree, and gave a great impetus to missionary enterprise. The Santal rebellion led not to the increase, but to the initiation of Christian work among the Santals. The government’s necessity was the missionary’s opportunity.

The earliest English missionaries, when they arrived in India, had to seek the protection of the Danish flag, but the government has learned wisdom since then. While rightly pledged to religious neutrality,—which it is to be feared neither Hindus nor Mohammedans

understand, but interpret as religious indifference,—it has given Christian missionaries all they ask, a free field and no favor, that liberty to preach and propagate their religion which all other sects in India enjoy. There are times, however, when the feeling shown by the government toward missions may be expressed by a warmer term than toleration.

The remark has been attributed to Charles Darwin that if those who scoffed at missions were about to be wrecked on an unknown shore, they might well pray that the missionaries had been there before them. The government of Bengal, at any rate, knew very well that there would be fewer murders in Santalia in the future if missionaries settled there; if any missionary society was prepared to open up work among the Santals, it would get sites for its stations on exceptionally favorable terms.

The organization that took advantage of this favorable opening was the Church Missionary Society, and to this day its missionaries in Santalia are reaping the benefits of their predecessors’ wisdom in specially liberal help for their educational work. Work was begun in 1862, in the Santal Parganas, where it is still being vigorously and successfully prosecuted, with four central stations. The first missionaries were the Rev. E. Puxley and the Rev. W. T. Storrs. Mr. Puxley was distinguished not only for religious zeal, but also for linguistic proficiency, and he undertook the very difficult task of reducing the Santali language to writing. He published a small Santali dictionary, which has long been out of print, and a translation of Matthew’s Gospel. The number of Christians in this mission at the end of 1903 was 3,496.

In 1867 another interesting work was started by the Rev. H. P. Boerresen and L. O. Skrefsrud, the one a Dane, the other a Norwegian. Their mission is now known as the Indian Home Mission to the Santals, because it was at one time the intention of the founders to raise all the necessary funds for its support in India. Mr. Skrefsrud is also a scholar of remarkable linguistic accomplishments, and has published a Santali grammar, which is still the standard work on the subject. This mission also works in the Santal Parganas, and the Christians connected with it early in 1904 were over twelve thousand in number. The American Baptists laboring in the north of Orissa have also a large number of Santals within their bounds, among whom much fruit has been gathered.

One of their earlier missionaries, the Rev. Dr. Phillips, wrote a small Santali grammar, using the Bengali instead of the Roman characters which the other missionaries have adopted. The Wesleyan Mission, whose headquarters are at Bankura, also works among the Santals in that region, and further toward the south in the country which the Bengal-Nagpur Railway has rendered more accessible.

The American Methodist Episcopal Mission has a station at Pakur, the headquarters of a subdivision of the Santal Parganas; the Dublin University Mission is at Hazaribagh; the Plymouth Brethren have several missions at stations on the East Indian Railway,—Jamtara, Mihijam, Karmatar,—and in the Banka subdivision of Bhagalpur; the Christian Disciples have a station at Deoghur, in the Santal Parganas; and the Seventh-day Adventists have one at Simultala, in the Monghyr district. Pastor Haegart, an independent missionary, is also at work in the Santal Parganas. Thus it can not be said that the Santals are being neglected. It should be remembered, however, that these missions are scattered over an area at least as large as Scotland, and that as the Santals are entirely a village people, and as their villages are small, and found chiefly in hilly country far apart from one another, a much greater effort is necessary to reach them than if they lived in towns or as a dense population in one easily defined district. There is abundance of work for all the missions at present engaged, and with a few exceptions, the best spirit has hitherto prevailed among the various missions at work among the Santals.

As far as we can ascertain, it was Dr. Alexander Duff who first suggested the foundation of a mission to the Santals in connection with the Free Church of Scotland. The modern reader of that great pioneer missionary’s biography is as much impressed with his physical as with his mental energy; his eager activity seems to have been as boundless as his enthusiasm. Instead of seeking rest at the hills from the fatigue and monotony of his educational work, he seems to have spent his vacations in making long and toilsome expeditions, often in the height of the hot season, in the search of fuller and direct information about new openings for missionary effort. Among other distant parts of India which he visited, at a time when travel was much more tedious and toilsome than it is now, were Tinnevelli, where the results of the Church Missionary Society’s work among the Shanars deeply impressed him, and Burma, where he was equally interested in the success which had attended the labors of the American Baptists among the Karens.

Early in the sixties the following reference by Dr. Duff, to the region we are now concerned with, appeared in the Missionary Record:—

“Most of the cold season of 1861-62 I spent among the Koles in Chota Nagpur, accompanying the Chief Commissioner, Colonel Dalton, in his rounds through the district. Part of the cold season of 1862-63 was among the Santals in the hill region between Chota Nagpur and Rajmahal, on the Ganges, making inquiries with a specific view toward the ultimate establishment of a mission among them. Several members of the Free Church in Calcutta were willing liberally to support such a mission.”

Simultala, E. I. R., India.

Fiji

By C. H. PARKER

C. H. PARKER

It cheers our hearts to read the good reports of the progress of the work in all lands. There is unmistakable evidence that the Father's hand is at the helm. What joy it brings to us to know that the good old ship Zion is homeward bound. Those words of dear Sister White bring joy to our hearts: “I feel like crying out, Homeward bound!” Praise God it is so. We want more intense earnestness to characterize our work from this time on.

The work moves encouragingly in this field, and we have every evidence of God's favor. There is no place that we can touch in the work here, but that we can see his hand at work. Of course we have our Gethsemanes, and we would not desire to be without them. Whatever God may see is for the best, we want patience and forbearance to accept.

I have just been on a trip to every part of the field here, and there have been encouraging advances made. The confidence of this people is being gained more and more every year. They are losing their confidence in their former religion. Eagerly they reach out after their reading-matter. Other religious papers for this people follow the style of newspapers, but ours prints nothing but the message. They notice the difference at once, and they tell us that they find nothing in their papers that satisfies their soul longings, but when they read ours, they find just what their hearts have been crying out for. Thank God for a message that is meat in due season for the people. May God help us to stick to our text. We were requested by a European business man at Suva to put an advertisement in our paper of a raffle which he was to have. We told him that was against our

principles, and we expressed surprise that another religious paper would do such a thing. You can imagine how surprised we were when he said, “That is not a religious paper.” The world is watching us, and they can tell the difference between the genuine and the unreal. Our papers are edited for the message, not for the world. At first we printed only a few hundred copies of our native paper, the Rarama (Light); but at the request of the people we have increased the number until at present we are issuing ten thousand copies. This month we have increased it in size from four pages to eight.

The second year of our Buresala school has now closed. It has been a year of victory for that institution. Substantial advances have been made in many ways. An older class of students have been attending, who will fit themselves quickly for a part in the work. The place has grown and improved. During the year a neat Tongan-built schoolhouse has been erected, also a large church building, besides five houses for students. The cocoanut plantation has done well, and has brought in a small sum to help on the expenses. Good roads are being made, and all is neat and attractive. Vacation will last seven weeks, and the new year will begin Jan. 26, 1908. We expect more students, and that will mean that more houses will have to be built, as the present houses are crowded. We feel that our school is a most important part of our mission, and we are trying to build it up in harmony with the mind of God.

At our late Australasian Union Conference council, it was decided that our school superintendent and wife should go to New Guinea to start the work there. It was quite a sacrifice for us to let them go, as they have the language, and can teach the boys from every standpoint. But then we have thought that they would be just the ones for that difficult field, and we are glad to pass the laborers on, that Macedonia's cry may be answered. Their successors are fine young people, and though we have feared for our school work here, yet we know that God will help us over the difficulty.

We will again open up work in Samoa. Brother J. E. Steed, of South Australia, has been appointed to that field, and I will accompany him and help him in getting started. Thank God that Samoa will soon hear the message as it is in Christ.

Buresala, Levuka, Ovalau.

Continue reading: Progress in the Australasian Union