Earlier text: A Place for YouInfluence of the Spirit of Prophecy in Our Missionary Work
By George Ide Butler
A MISSIONARY is one sent out to propagate religion. The supreme object of the third angel's message is the advancement of true Bible religion in this world. Hence in the nature of things it is a missionary enterprise from beginning to end. The third angel's message had its beginning in the northeastern section of the United States of America, including the New England States and the eastern portion of New York. Soon missionaries began to go westward and southward, reaching Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Then Wisconsin and Illinois were entered, and a little later Iowa; and it was not long before the message began to be preached in the Southern States. The writer well remembers when the call for workers came from California, and Elders J. N. Loughborough and D. T. Bourdeau were sent to the Pacific Coast, and soon churches were raised up in that State. This advancement might be called home missionary work—work in our own country. It was not long till the foreign missionary work sprang up. Missions were opened in Central Europe, in the Scandinavian countries, and in England and Australia. These all prospered, and there has been a continual growth ever since. The Seventh-day Adventists are primarily a missionary people. Their message is to go to every land and every people in this world. All must be told of our soon-coming Saviour, and that they should be prepared to meet him in peace. From the very first, Mrs. White's labors as a missionary were most prominent. Her instruction in missionary work from the beginning of her labors to the day of her death was, Go forward. The purpose of the message is to prepare a people for the coming of Christ, and it is to go with a loud cry to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. The message is the pure truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It exalts the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and has the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. As the work rapidly advanced into all the States of the American Union, and especially when it began to spread in the foreign lands, Mrs. White was always giving instruction and leading in the advancing work, and her writings were thrilling and most encouraging. She continually encouraged our people to liberality in supporting the advancing movements and the foreign mission work. She did more than this. She visited these new fields, becoming acquainted with them, and giving the new believers an opportunity to know her personally and to become acquainted with her work. She spent several years in Europe, visiting various countries, giving advice, and speaking much in important meetings. Later she spent several years in Australia, doing the same kind of work. It is not too much to say that her influence, counsels, warnings, and public efforts in the missionary work have been a wonderful help to it. Without that help it never could have accomplished what it has. The measure of influence in its behalf and the work she has done have been invaluable. Our numbers are small in comparison with the great religious bodies of the world. They count their members by millions, while ours have not nearly reached two hundred thousand; yet the percentage in money expended for missions by Seventh-day Adventists is far greater than that of any other religious body in the world. Our missions cover a wider extent of territory than those of any other one church. We have very few members among us who could be called rich, yet our ratio of increase is far higher than that of other denominations. Hundreds of heathen are receiving the religion of Christ from our missions, and scores of Catholics every year are joining our ranks. Yet we are doing far less than we ought to do. Our very existence as a people depends largely upon our missionary work. Let our missionary enterprises cease, and where should we be? The life of our work would be extinguished; our hopes would dry up; spirituality would no longer characterize our work. We should become like a stagnant pool. With a world lying in darkness and we doing nothing to spread the light of the gospel, how could we justify our existence as a people? Our only hope is to be an aggressive people, laboring for the salvation of our fellow men, because the Lord is coming soon. We must be a most wide-awake people, pressing forward, expecting our Saviour, and earnestly seeking the salvation of the perishing. The Divine Telescope
By Daniel H. Kress
WITH all who embrace present truth, the question naturally arises, What relation do the “Testimonies for the Church” sustain to the Bible? Shortly after Sister S. M. I. Henry, then National Evangelist of the W. C. T. U., received the light regarding the true Sabbath, she was greatly perplexed in regard to the Testimonies. She recognized that the books were spiritual and helpful, but she had always believed that the Bible was all the church of Christ needed. The question then arose, What place do the “Testimonies for the Church” occupy? She was greatly perplexed for some time. In a meeting held in the city of Chicago, at which leading workers from the various parts of the United States were present, she stated her perplexity, and said, “Brethren, the time has come for me to know for myself whether these writings are given in addition to the Bible or are a part of it.” She was always a most godly woman, one who knew how to prevail with God. In response to her request for help, several attempted to offer explanations, none of which made the matter clear in her mind. She then, with an anxious look upon her face, said, “Brethren, let us pray. I have come to the place where this matter must be settled.” We knelt down, and after several prayers were offered, Sister Henry herself began to plead with God for light and help. While thus pleading, she suddenly ceased praying for a moment, and then began to thank and praise God. When we arose from our knees, that look of almost painful anxiety had disappeared; her face was radiant with joy and gratitude. She then told us what had taken place. She said that while pleading with God, suddenly a huge telescope appeared before her vision, pointing to the sky. This was all she saw, but it was sufficient to make plain to her the place occupied by the Testimonies. With the naked eye we are able to see many stars in the heavens on a dark night, but with the aid of the telescope we can discern hundreds and thousands where with the naked eye we could see but one. The telescope does not add one star; it merely enables us to see those which are actually there. The Testimonies are a huge telescope. They do not bring out additional truth or light, but they do enable us to appreciate, with clearer spiritual vision, the truth already revealed in the Bible. It is against the gift of the spirit of prophecy, through which the Testimonies are given, that Satan has always been enraged, and so he will be to the end of time. “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12: 17. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 19: 10. In the past, men went out of the church because God testified against them. Men have gone out of the remnant church for the same reason, and others will go out. Every one who has forsaken the remnant church, it will be observed, has manifested antagonism to this gift. Such may claim to stand stanchly for the law and to believe in the prophets of old, as did the people in Christ’s day, but the Word of God says, “To the law and to the testimony.” It is the living testimony that is opposed. Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets;” both were to continue. The one was to continue to magnify the other, and so the path of the just was to be “as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Of what good is a telescope if we simply keep it as an object of admiration, and never look through it? Neither are the Testimonies of any value if left on our shelves. It is this neglect to study them which ultimately brings men and women down to a low plane of living; for every candid person will admit that if the instruction given in the Testimonies was obeyed, it would develop Christlikeness of character.8 When God led Israel out of Egypt, he gave them his law, and also a prophet. “By a prophet was he [Israel] preserved.” Hosea 12: 13. When they reached Jordan and were ready to cross over, God laid away his servant, and called Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land. To Joshua were given no new revelations. These were not so much needed as that attention should be called to what had already been revealed. Enough had been given through Moses, and written in books, to carry the people through into the Land of Promise, if the instruction was heeded. God therefore said to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan.” “Be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee. . . . This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein.” Joshua 1: 2, 7, 8. After the death of Moses, special attention was to be called to his writings, and obedience thereto was to be urged. What is needed today is not so much new revelations and new light, but special attention should be called to the light God has already given, and the people should be urged to walk therein. When we do that, and additional light is needed, God will give it; but until we obey the light we already have, we need not look for additional light. Hebrew and Greek Words for the Sanctuary and the Veil
By O. A. JOHNSON
There are two Hebrew words in the Old Testament translated “sanctuary.” The first is miqdash; it occurs seventy-three times, and is translated “sanctuary” sixty-nine times. The following references will show the corresponding Greek words in the Septuagint,—the Greek of the Old Testament,—in the texts given:— | Text |
Hebrew |
Greek |
English |
|---|
| Ex. 25:8 |
miqdash |
hagiasma |
sanctuary |
| Num. 3:38 |
miqdash |
hagion, gen. sing. |
sanctuary |
| Lev. 19:30 |
miqdash |
hagion, gen. pl. |
sanctuary |
The other Hebrew word translated “sanctuary” is qodesh; it is found about four hundred times in the Old Testament. It really means “holy,” and is generally so translated; but since the sanctuary is a holy place, whenever qodesh refers to this building, it is translated “sanctuary,” which is sixty-four times. The following will illustrate the Greek word used in the Septuagint corresponding to qodesh in Hebrew:— | Text |
Hebrew |
Greek |
English |
|---|
| Lev. 4:6 |
qodesh |
hagion, nom. sing. |
sanctuary |
| Lev. 10:4 |
qodesh |
hagion, gen. pl. |
sanctuary |
From the above it is evident that the Greek word hagion, both in the singular and in the plural, is translated “sanctuary.” However, it would not be safe to say that the only Greek word for “sanctuary” in the Septuagint was hagion, for other words also are used. See, for example, above where hagiasma is used in Ex. 25:8 [also hagiasterion in Lev. 12:4.—Ed.]. The Greek word for “sanctuary” in the New Testament is hagion in the singular and hagia or hagiōn in the plural. The following is a complete list of this word, and how it has been translated in our Authorized and American Revised Versions, and in the Norwegian and Danish translations. | Text |
Greek |
King James Version |
American Revised Version |
Nor. & Danish Translations |
|---|
| Heb. 8:2 |
hagion, gen. pl. |
sanctuary |
sanctuary |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 9:1 |
hagion, acc. sing. |
sanctuary |
sanctuary |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 9:2 |
hagia, nom. pl. |
sanctuary |
holy place |
the holy |
| Heb. 9:3 |
hagia hagiōn |
holiest of all |
holy of holies |
the holiest |
| Heb. 9:8 |
hagion, gen. pl. |
holiest of all |
holy place |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 9:12 |
hagia, acc. pl. |
holy place |
holy place |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 9:24 |
hagia, acc. pl. |
holy place |
holy place |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 9:25 |
hagia, acc. pl. |
holy place |
holy place |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 10:19 |
hagion, gen. pl. |
holiest |
holy place |
sanctuary |
| Heb. 13:11 |
hagia, nom. pl. |
sanctuary |
holy place |
sanctuary |
From the context it will be seen that the Greek word hagia, nominative plural (Heb. 9:2), refers to the first apartment of the sanctuary, and is therefore properly translated “the holy place,” as in the American Revised Version. The Greek words hagia, nominative plural, and hagiōn, genitive plural, of Heb. 9:3, refer, as may be seen from the context, to the second apartment of the sanctuary, and are therefore properly translated either “the holiest of all,” or “the holy of holies,” or “the holiest.” Robinson’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines hagion as follows: “To hagion: the sanctuary, spoken of the tabernacle or temple (Heb. 9:1); oftener plural, ta hagia, the sanctuary, either terrestrial (Heb. 9:2) or celestial (Heb. 8:2; 9:8, 12, 24; 10:19; Heb. 9:3); ta hagia hagiōn, the holy of holies, the inner sanctuary.” By reading the context of Heb. 9:8, 12, 24, 25; 10:19; 13:11, it will be readily seen that the work of Christ, our High Priest, in the heavenly sanctuary is such as was performed in both apartments of the typical sanctuary, therefore it would have been more consistent to have translated the plural Greek words hagia and hagiōn (see table above) uniformly by “holy places” or “sanctuary,” as in the Norwegian and Danish translations; for then it would have been less difficult to understand the apostle’s teaching concerning the sanctuary in this epistle, which is the only book in the New Testament using the word “sanctuary.” There was a court surrounding the tabernacle, or sanctuary. At the entrance of this court there was a hanging, or veil. Ex. 27:9-18. The sanctuary had two apartments, called the holy and the most holy. There was a veil at the entrance of the holy place, and there was also a veil separating the holy place from the most holy place. Ex. 26:31-37. The following shows which words are used in the Hebrew and Septuagint to indicate the veils, and the corresponding words in our English version:— 1. The hanging at the door of the outer court. | Text |
Hebrew |
Greek |
English |
|---|
| Ex. 27:16 |
masak |
kalumma |
hanging |
| Num. 3:26 |
masak |
katapetasma |
curtain |
2. Veil at the door of the tabernacle. 3. Veil separating the holy from the most holy. From the above we learn that the Hebrew masak and the Greek word kalumma, or katapetasma, are terms applied to these three hangings. It is furthermore evident that the Greek words katakalumma and epispastron are used also to designate the veil at the door of the tabernacle, while the Hebrew word paroketh is used to designate the veil between the holy and the most holy. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews uses the word katapetasma, modified by the numeral “second,” when referring to the veil separating the holy from the most holy place. It would therefore naturally follow that when the same author uses the term “veil,” katapetasma, unmodified, he would mean the first veil, or the one at the entrance to the sanctuary, through which Christ our High Priest must have entered when he began his ministry in the sanctuary above. See Heb. 6:19; 10:20. Only One Plan
By T. Godfrey
“THIS is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:11, 12. God has never had more than one plan of salvation, and that plan was laid before the foundation of the world. Says the apostle Peter: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” 1 Peter 1:18-20. See also Titus 1:1-3. The gospel of Christ is the gospel of God, and the gospel of God is the gospel of Christ. The gospel of Christ is the power of God manifest in Jesus Christ. See Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:24; 1 Tim. 1:11. God loved the world, and gave his Son to die for fallen man (John 3:16),9that fallen man might attain unto life eternal through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Said Jesus, “I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” John 11:25. The great plan of salvation was devised by Infinite Wisdom, according to the “foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23); “according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:11). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Eph. 1:3-5. Jesus said that he and his Father were one. John 17:10, 11. “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” John 17:5. God had but one purpose in creation, and one plan in re-creation, or redemption. A Visit to the Indians in the Mountain Altitudes
By Fernando A. Stahl
[THE following report from Brother Stahl was written more than a year ago. It has just reached us, and although so belated, will be read with interest.—ED.] I HAVE been out a great deal answering urgent calls that have come in. The last part of August [1915], five Indians from the high mountain region of Sepita called on us and asked us to go with them and teach their people. I started out with them, and after three days' hard journey on horseback we reached the tops of the high mountains of Sepita, such a high elevation that the snow never entirely melts. Nothing grows up there except a very tough grass on which the llamas and alpacas live. It is by means of these animals that the Indians make a living. They sell their wool or trade it for foodstuffs. The Indians are all quite well off and lead an independent life. We held meetings with the people, and all were greatly interested. After one of our meetings an older Indian said, “How can we learn the right way without a teacher?” I treated from twenty to thirty sick persons every day, going from house to house. The people asked for a school. I told them if they would furnish the school building and a home for the teacher, we would send one of our more advanced Indian brethren as a teacher. A few weeks ago a messenger came to our mission to tell us they had the buildings ready and wanted the teacher. Returning to the mission, I received notice that the governor of a mountain town wanted me to call on him as soon as possible, so I started with three of our Indian brethren. The people in this place have the reputation of being very fanatical. On their feast days all the people are compelled to wear the same kind of clothes. As we neared the place, we learned that the town was engaged in a great drunken feast, so we decided to rest awhile and arrive later. We dismounted by the side of an ancient mining mill, which was near the road. As I went through those old ruins, I thought what an awful tale they could tell. It must have taken months of hard work to cut out those tremendous stone grinders. We have heard of the thousands of Indians whose lives were sacrificed in getting the gold for the Spaniards. As I stood, viewing the ruins of the mill and the ruins of the huts, it seemed to me I could see the hundreds of half-naked Indians bringing the quartz from the mountain a mile distant;10I could hear the curses of their masters and the fall of the cruel lash; and every now and then see a poor exhausted Indian fall beneath his heavy load. We do not know all that happened in those times, but we do know that thousands of Indians had to give up their lives in these mines, trying to satisfy the insatiable greed for gold. To this day one cannot get an Indian to reveal any of the rich veins of gold which still exist. He still fears that he would be compelled to do all the hard work, while some one else would reap all the benefits. As it neared sundown, we prepared to continue our journey, but just as we were about to mount, Brother Comacho's horse broke away and joined a group of wild horses on the plain. We spent some time capturing the horse, and then discovered that in the wild galloping, I had lost my field glass. We all turned out to look for my glass, but it was no easy task, the plain being covered with grass six inches high. Finally the darkness and a hard storm put a stop to our search for the day, and we decided to spend the night in an old hut on the plain. Brother Comacho bewailed the loss of the glass, saying it was his fault because he did not take better care of his horse. I told him, however, that he should not feel so bad, as no doubt the Lord had a purpose in the delay, and we would find the glass in the morning. We all felt that it would be better to reach the town in the morning, when everything would be quiet after the feast. Early the next day, after all had prayed that God would prosper our journey, and help us to find the field glass (for God does grant our requests even in small matters), we started out over the plain, and it was not long before Brother Comacho called out that he had found the glass. We then set out for the village, which was not far distant. As we entered the town, we met the governor, who had been on the lookout for us. He took us at once to his house, and we found him much interested in our work. He said he should like to have us take charge of their village school, place one of our teachers in it, and have the people taught the truth. He said he had taken note of our people in La Plateria, and they seemed so clean, humble, and honest that he wished all the people in his province might have the opportunity to learn to be the same. They would be worth so much more to their country, and it would be a pleasure to be among them. He said, “Now when I need help, or need to send a message somewhere, I can hardly find a man that is trustworthy.” He asked about our faith, and I spent some hours earnestly explaining to him the beautiful truth that the Lord had so graciously revealed to us. Dear brethren and sisters, this missionary work is not all hardship. To be a messenger in the hands of the living God, and the means of bringing this saving truth to people who are glad to hear it and accept it, repays one for all the inconvenience he may suffer at times. When I told the governor that our blessed Saviour was soon coming to this earth, to put an end to all sin and suffering, his face grew grave, and he said, “Would that all might know and believe this! Anything I can do to help you to bring this message to this people I shall do.” Live for Something
By Robert Whittaker
Live for something, and live earnest,
Though the work may humble be,
By the world of men unnoticed,
Known alone by God and thee;
Every act has priceless value
To the Architect of fate;
'Tis the spirit of thy doing
That alone will make it great. Live for something, God and angels
Are thy watchers in the strife,
And above the smoke and conflict
Gleams the victor's crown of life;
Live for something, God has given
Freely of his stores divine;
Richest gift of earth and heaven,
If thou willest, may be thine. “God does not offer to repair a sin-poisoned heart. What he does offer to do for us hopelessly sin-destroyed men is to give us an entirely new start, by a literal new birth, this time giving us, not a repaired human nature, but God’s own nature, brought into us by the actual indwelling of his Holy Spirit. David knew the need of this when, after his great sin, he cried out, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God.’” Success Built on Failed Efforts
“EFFORTS that succeed are often built on a foundation of other efforts that failed. And had the efforts that failed not been made, success would not have been reached.” The Gleaners
By S. J. Townsend
Thus spake Ruth the Moabitess, “Let me go and take my place In the fields, to glean there near him in whose sight I shall find grace.” Said Naomi, “Go, my daughter.” And she hastened forth to glean In the field, behind the reapers that in Boaz’ grain were seen. Though we may not now be gleaners in the barley fields, like Ruth, We can find rich, golden gleaning in the ripened fields, for Truth. They are white unto the harvest, and if we but enter in, We may garner in the righteous from the outworld’s great fields of sin. 'Tis the harvest of the ages, 'mid the shafts of darkness hurled; And the reapers are the angels, and the field is all the world. By the Holy Spirit's power they are reaping human hearts, But to us God gives the gleaning, by the grace his love imparts. There's a world in anguish crying of man's inhumanity; There is mourning on the mountains; there is sorrow on the sea, And the awful tide is rising, as the tempests lash the main, And the shores of earth are heaping with the bodies of the slain. God is scourging now the nations, as the din of battle rolls. As he deals with earthly kingdoms, so he deals with human souls; For they all alike shall perish who refuse to serve the Lord. But to us he leaves for gleaning them that tremble at his word. On the fair Judean mountains God a sacrifice doth call, And erelong at Armageddon shall earth's mighty nations fall. While the tares are bound for burning, we may bind the golden grain, And at eve may come rejoicing that we have not gleaned in vain. Whose the world's vast hoards of silver, whose the gold that men refine? Saith the Lord: “E'en all the cattle on a thousand hills are mine. Mine, the gold; and mine, the silver; give them to my work today.” Let us give, as faithful stewards, of our bounties while we may. When the summer shall be ended, and the harvest time be past, And the Master of the harvest due rewards shall give at last, As we bear our sheaves so precious, and shall lay them at his feet, How our hearts will thrill with rapture as we hear his welcome sweet! Yes, the reapers are the angels, and the field is all the world; But to all who love and fear him, Christ a banner has unfurled; And that banner floating o'er us, with the lone inscription, “Love!” Leads us onward to the gleaning for his garners fair, above. Tidings from the Orient
By J. E. FULTON
OUR first band of book workers are sending in their first reports, and we are very much rejoiced over the success they have had. This is a new venture, and we wondered how they would be received by the people as they took orders and asked for deposits. The first young men to be heard from were two that went into Chie-kiang Province. They canvassed the leading men and took thirty-seven orders for the first day's work. Two others who had gone to Shantung Province reported one hundred orders for a week's work. Another young brother who is working in the large and difficult city of Nanking reported twenty orders for one day. If this is an indication of how these books are likely to go, there is no doubt that our edition is far too small and that another one will have to be quickly printed. We greatly rejoice in this, for it means much for the cause in the Far East. It means that our publishing work can be put on a self-supporting basis. It ought to be so. We have just heard of the arrival of our colporteurs in far-away Manchuria. Some canvassing had previously been done there, two men having taken two hundred and eight subscriptions for the magazine in a week. Brother H. M. Blunden is there now, conducting a canvassers' institute, in which some of the local brethren are receiving instruction. The two men we sent there from the south will be a help and an encouragement to them. Brother Li Ting Sui, one of our colporteurs from Shantung, passed through Shanghai. He told of some thrilling experiences he had during the recent revolution. He canvassed in that province in the early months of the year and until the time of his arrest, and did well. When the trouble broke out between the northern army and the revolutionaries, he was taken for a spy. He was one of thirty arrested at that place, and all the others were shot. It was a time of great peril for Brother Li. He was robbed of his money, and again and again the rifle was leveled at his head, but God interposed. He was asked if he could produce evidence that he was a canvasser as he declared, and not a spy. Brother Li referred them to the chief magistrate, whom he had canvassed, and from whom he had taken an order. For a long time it seemed that he would not be taken to the magistrate, and through him was released. It is a wonderful case of God's deliverance. From Elder B. L. Anderson, of south China, we have the very cheering report of sixty-nine persons who have recently been baptized in the city of Fuchau. Fifty-four of these were students in the Fuchau boys' school. This makes a membership of one hundred and eighty-two in that great city. An earnest call for foreign help comes from Brother Anderson. At present Brother N. P. Keh, our Chinese evangelist, is alone in the city. Certainly there is great need of help there. Brother Anderson tells us also that through Brother Keh's missionary talks some of the church members there have been impressed that they must do more in the way of giving to the support of the work. One man has promised to give $1,000. Pray for the work in this great Eastern field. The German Work in Argentina
By C. F. Neumann
It was in the month of August, 1915, that we were asked to leave the States and take up work in Argentina. We were soon on our way, and after spending some time visiting our relatives in several States, we sailed from New York on the steamer “Vasari,” November 27. En route we stopped at Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Sao Paulo, and Sao Bernardo, Brazil. In these places we met many of the brethren, among them a number of our former schoolmates. We reached Buenos Aires Jan. 12, 1916. From that city we went to La Plata, where the Union Conference was in session, and where we were surprised to find so many former students of “Old Union.” At this meeting it was voted that we should make Uruguay our field of labor, but by special arrangement we came to the province of Entre Rios, Argentina, and have been laboring among the German-speaking people since March 15. With Elder G. Block and Brethren R. Hetze and Ernst Ruscher I spent seven weeks near the little town of Larroque in a tent effort. The tent was pitched on a farm, and most of the meetings were held in it; however, as circumstances permitted we held meetings in the homes of the people. We can get nearer to them in their own homes than in a public effort. The result was not all that we wished, but we sow the seed, and God gives the increase. Leaving Larroque, I spent about ten days with the church at Urinarrain. This church had at one time a membership of over one hundred, but many have moved to other parts of the country, and the membership has greatly decreased. The Lord blessed our efforts here. We then went to the town of Galarza, where we found conditions not so favorable. The enemy of all good had brought in division. These experiences should teach us not to put our trust in man, but in him who “bare our sins in his own body.” 1 Peter 2: 24, 25.11 Leaving Galarza, we came to Ramirez. This little town is almost wholly German. We have been conducting a public effort here for three weeks. The attendance and the interest have been good. At first we rented a hall with a seating capacity of about one hundred. Our attendance soon outgrew this room, and we moved to a larger hall, seating about two hundred. We have closed the evening meetings, and are now doing house-to-house work with those who show an interest. I have also visited the churches at Crespo and Viale. The former is the oldest church in Argentina. This church was organized about twenty-one years ago, and Brother Reinhardt Hetze was its first elder. With Elder R. T. Baer we expect to visit all our churches in Entre Rios. The churches here are not visited by a minister as often as in the States, and the brethren and sisters appreciate such a visit very much. We are looking forward with joy to our coming camp meeting, which will be held in the city of Parana, October 19-29. A good share of the population of Entre Rios is German. Most of the people came here from Russia. We find all denominations represented. There is yet a great work to do, and we as a people need to live near the Lord and possess a living faith, that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Many are the signs of our Lord’s return to take his waiting people home. The Lord has set watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace till he has made Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Isa. 62: 6-12. David, looking down through the ages, said: “But thou, O Lord, shalt endure forever; . . . for the time to favor her [Zion], yea, the set time, is come. . . . When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” Ps. 102: 12-16. “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3: 14. May God keep us all in the love of the truth, and help each to do the work given him by the Lord.