Document 6500118

Transcription

Document 6500118
Vol. 31, No. 34
Sydney, Monday, August 22, 1927
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How to Develop under Faultfinding and Criticism
association calls for the exercise of self-control,
EVERY
forbearance, and sympathy. We differ
widely
brotherly love ; in honour preferring one another."
" Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing : but
in disposition, habits, and educontrariwise blessing ; knowing
Ko
that ye are thereunto called,
cation, that our ways of looking 0 K
that ye should inherit a blessat things vary. We judge differently. Our understanding
ing." Rom. 12 :10 ; 1 Peter
Lift Me Up
3 : 9.
of truth, and our ideas in regard
Out of myself, dear Lord,
to the conduct of life, are not
The Most Precious Victory
O lift me up!
in all respects the same. There
No more I trust myself in life's dim maze,
We cannot afford to let our
are no two whose experience is
Sufficient to myself in all its devious ways,
spirits chafe over any real or
alike in every particular. The ac I trust no more, but humbly at Thy throne, at supposed wrong done to ourPray, "Lead me, for I cannot go alone."
trials of one are not the trials 0
yr
•
selves. Self is the enemy we
of another. The duties that
Out of my weary self
most need to fear. No form
O lift me up!
one finds light, are to another
of vice has a more baleful effect
I faint, the road winds upward all the way,
most difficult and perplexing.
upon the character than has
Each night but ends another weary day.
So frail, so ignorant, so
Give me Thy strength, and may I be so blest
human passion not under the
As "on the heights" I find the longed-for
liable to misconception is
control of the Holy Spirit. No
rest.
human nature, that each should
other victory we can gain will
be careful in the estimate he L
Out of my selfish self
be so precious as the victory
O lift me up!
places upon another. We
gained over self.
To live for others, and in living so
little know the bearing of our
We should not allow our
To be a blessing wheresoe'er I go,
acts upon the experience of
feelings to be easily wounded.
To give the sunshine that the clouds conceal,
others. What we do or say
Or let them but the silver clouds reveal.
We are to live, not to guard
may seem to us of little moour
feelings or our reputation,
Out of my lonely self
ment, when, could our eyes be
but to save souls. As we beO lift me up !
opened, we should see that
Though other hearts, with love are running
come interested in the salvation
o'er,
upon it depended the most imof souls, we cease to mind
Though dear ones fill my lonely home no
portant results for good or for
the little differences that so
more,
evil.
often arise in our association
Though every day I miss the fond caress,
Help me to join in others' happiness.
with one another. Whatever
If we have a sense of the
x
long-suffering of God toward 0
0 others may think of us or do to
Out of my doubting self
us, it need not disturb our oneus, we shall not be found judg- 1
O lift me up!
Help me to feel that Thou art always near,
ness with Christ, the fellowing or accusing others. When
That though 'tis night and all around seems
ship of the Spirit.
" What
Christ was living on the earth,
drear,
glory is it, if, when ye be
how surprised His associates
Help me to know that though I cannot see,
buffeted for your faults, ye
would have been, if, after beIt is my Father's hand that leadet
_
Shelemcteeri.
shall take it patiently ? but if,
coming acquainted with Him,
when ye do well, and suffer
they had heard Him speak one
for it, ye take it patiently,
word of accusation, of fault- OK
this is acceptable with God."
finding, or of impatience) Let
us never forget that those who love Him are to represent 1 Peter 2 : 20.
Retaliation and the Power of Silence
Him in character.
another
with
Do
not
retaliate. So far as you can do so, remove
" Be kindly affectioned one to
SO
2
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—usTR2 LA.:§1AiNt—REab1ib- *,,xoskt
all cause for misapprehension. Avoid the
appearance of evil. Do all that lies in
your power, without the sacrifice of principle, to conciliate others. " If thou bring
thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against
thee; leave there thy gift before the altar,
and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy
gift." Matt. 5 :23, 24.
If impatient words are spoken to you,
never reply in the same spirit. Remember that "a soft answer turneth away
wrath." Prov. 15 : I. And there is wonderful power in silence. Words spoken in
reply to one who is angry sometimes
serve only to exasperate. But anger met
with silence, in a tender, forbearing spirit,
quickly dies away.
Under a storm of stinging, faultfinding
words, keep the mind stayed upon the
Word of God. Let mind and heart be
stored with God's promises. If you are
ill-treated or wrongfully accused, instead
of returning an angry answer, repeat to
yourself the precious promises.
"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Rom. 12:21.
"Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust
also in Him : and He shall bring it to
pass. And He shall bring forth thy
righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." Ps. 37 :5, 6.
"There is nothing covered, that shall
not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be
known." Matt. 10 :26.
"Thou hast caused men to ride over
our heads; we went through fire and
through water: but Thou broughtest us
out into a wealthy place." Ps. 66: 12.
Men Permitted to Fail Us
We are prone to look to our fellow men
for sympathy and uplifting, instead of
looking to Jesus. In His mercy and
faithfulness, God often permits those in
whom we place, confidence to fail us, in
order that we may learn the folly of
- trusting in man, and making flesh our
arm. Let us trust fully, humbly, unselfishly in God. He knows the sorrows that
we feel to the depths of our being, but
which we cannot express. When all
things seem dark and unexplainable, remember the words of Christ, " What I
do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt
know hereafter." John 13 : 7.
Study the history of Joseph and of Daniel.
The Lord did not prevent the plottings
of men who sought to do them harm ; but
He caused all these devices to work for
good to His servants who, amidst trial
and conflict, preserved their faith and
loyalty.
The Plan of Our Success
So long as we are in the world, we
shall meet with adverse influences. There
will be provocations to test the temper;
and it is by meeting these in a right spirit
that the Christian graces are developed.
If Christ dwells in us, we shall be patient,
kind, and forbearing, cheerful amid frets
and irritations. Day by day and year by
year we shall conquer self, and grow into
a noble heroism. This is our allotted
task; but it cannot be accomplished without help from Jesus, resolute decision,
unwavering purpose, continual watchfulness, and unceasing prayer. Each one
has a personal battle to fight. Not even
God can make our characters noble or
our lives useful, unless we become coworkers with Him. Those who decline
the struggle lose the strength and joy of
victory.
We need not keep our own record of
trials and difficulties, griefs and sorrows.
All these things are written in the books,
and heaven will take care of them.
While we are counting up the disagreeable things, many things that are pleasant
to reflect upon are passing from memory;
such as the merciful kindness of God surrounding us every moment, and the love
over which angels marvel, that God gave
His Son to die for us. If, as workers for
Christ, you feel that you have had greater
cares and trials than have fallen to the lot
of others, remember that for you there is
a peace unknown to those who shun these
burdens. There is comfort and joy in
the service of Christ. Let the world see
that life with Him is no failure.
MRS. E. G. WHITE.
He's My Friend
Oh, how oft I long to see Him,
Jesus, light divine,
For His love bath drawn me to Him ;
He's a friend of mine.
In my sorrow He's my comfort,
Full of sympathy.
When I need a friend to cheer me,
Ever near is He.
When temptation doth assail me
He's my guide and stay,
Leads me by the hand, and gives me
Vict'ry, every day.
When the way looks dark and dreary
He's my shining light,
Lifts me up, and fills with courage,
Makes the dark things bright.
How I long to know Him better
And of use to be,
Reading earnestly His letter
Sent in love to me.
Tells me how He died to save me,
Bore sin's agony,
Asks me now to tell to others
Of dark Calvary.
And I long my love to show Him
In this world of strife,
Pointing others to my Saviour,
And eternal life.
Then when mortal life is ended
This my Friend I'll see,
Clad in glory, come to claim me,
For eternity.
E. M. CORKER.
Bookara, W.A.
Good Advice
IN meeting men, in many places I
have found that the happiest people are
those who do the most for others; the
most miserable are those who do the
least. I have also found that few things,
if any, are capable of making one so
blind and narrow as race prejudice. The
longer I live and the more experience I
have in the world, the more I am convinced that after all the one thing that is
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most worth living for—and dying for if
need be—is the opportunity of making
some one else more happy and more
useful.
Great men cultivate love, and little
men cherish a spirit of hatred.—Booker
T. Washington.
Notes of Travel—No. 8
Visit to Nazareth
LEAVING the plains we mounted the
Galilean hills, on the side of one of which
lies the village of Nazareth, the home and
playground of our Lord. It is encompassed by hills just as the petals surround
the heart of a rose. These hills are all
bedecked with fig, olive, and carob trees,
and covered with white-washed Nazarene
houses marked with big black crosses,
denoting the Christian faith of the inmates; for Christians (mostly Roman
Catholics) form the majority of its population.
ltwas late afternoon, and there were
throngs of women with their earthen
water pots on their heads, getting water
from the only well of the town, the identical well where Mary must have gone to
draw water. The Nazareth home is in a
convent now, so we did not go to see it.
About two miles, I would guess, from
Nazareth is a hilltop overlooking the
valley of Jezreel and very precipitous on
one side. This is said to be the one from
which the people of the city intended to
throw Jesus down, but He escaped and
passed through their midst.
We now passed on up the very steep
hill at the back of Nazareth, which commands a magnificent view of almost the
whole of Palestine. From this hill one
can see Mount Carmel; Mount Hermon
crowned with its eternal snows; and
Mount Tabor with its dome-shaped top
1,843 feet high, and one can pick out
the wonderful zigzag path with its hairpin
bends standing out in its whiteness against
the sky. This is spoken of as the Mount
of Transfiguration. The hills and vales
here are much more attractive than those
around Jerusalem, and must have been
dear to the Saviour.
Leaving Nazareth we journeyed on and
soon came to Cana of Galilee, now just a
collection of very insignificant little houses
with many prickly pear hedges. It is a
pretty little spot amongst the hills.
Our First View of the Sea of Galilee
We now start to descend again and far
in the distance we can see a peculiarshaped hill having on its summit two
peaks, or horns, from which it gets its
name, Horns of Hattin, where it is said
Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount.
Descending still farther we pass through a
very rich valley, and then ascending again
we reach the top of a hill from which
the Sea of Galilee, over a thousand feet
below, bursts on- our vision.
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As we continued to descend, the road
with its sharp hairpin bends is very dangerous indeed. The scenery all through
these parts is rich and beautiful, too
beautiful and awe-inspiring to be fully
described. Soon we came into full view
of the lake nestled among these lovely
hills. After reaching a spot on the road
marked " sea level " we went down at a
fairly steep grade 683 feet before we came
to the sea. We do not wonder that Jesus
loved this little fascinating land of Galilee with its flowery summits, its peacefulness, its beautiful blue, blue lake, and
those sloping hills ending on every side of
it at the water's edge. The Sea of Galilee
is thirteen miles long and seven and a
half miles wide. When we saw it near
sunset there was hardly a ripple on its
surface and just a few fishing boats on its
waters. Others were anchored near the
shore, and the men were attending to their
nets.
Favourite Haunts of Jesus
It seemed scai cely possible that we
were driving through the favourite haunts
of Jesus in His boyhood days and during
His ministry. These very rocks and
boulders must have witnessed Him followed by repentant multitudes. Here He
fed the multitude and walked on these
very waters in their seething unrest and
made them calm. Here He caused His
disciples to catch loads of fish, and on its
shores He bade Peter follow Him to be a
fisher of men.
The lake is subject to terrible wind
storms which make it at times a very
rough and dangerous sea. We reached
its shore at Tiberias on the west side, and
now passing along its shore to the north
on a road reminding one very much of
that along the South Coast of New South
Wales where the road is like a ledge
along the rock with a fall below straight
into the sea, we came to the little village
of Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene.
We passed through the Gennesaret plain,
with its cultivated lands, tomato plants,
marrows, etc., just coming into flower,
and barley just bursting into ear, while on
the sides of the hills were the camps of
the Bedouins. We met many of them
driving their cattle on the road, or riding
donkeys and leading two or three camels
all well loaded and walking one behind
the other.
Other Familiar Places
Next there is Bethsaida, just a scattered
village of Bedouin tents, but represented
by a German Roman Catholic hospice
(a boarding house and monastery combined). And next is Tabgha, said to be
the place where the five thousand were
fed, and then Capernaum (now called
Tell Hum) where there is nothing but a
monastery, in this instance kept by a
Franciscan monk. Here the monks have
made great and interesting excavations,
and have unearthed parts of an old synagogue which is probably the one in which
Christ so often spoke.
Beyond here again is a site where
Chorazin is said to have stood, but we
did not go that far as it was getting late
and the last part of the road was not
good. Christ's words in regard to these
cities (Matthew II) could not have been
more literally fulfilled, for there is not one
of the original places left standing. They
are truly cursed.
RECC4Z12--
How we wish you could have seen the
wealth of flowers here. They were waisthigh, and every colour imaginable.
A Beautiful Resting Place
We decided we would try to secure
accommodation for the night at Tabgha,
where down at the water's edge there
is a German hospice, in charge of a
Catholic priest with a long beard, a really
nice, jolly, middle-aged man. They are
able to take in about fifteen guests, and
we were fortunate in being able to get
the last two rooms available. We had an
upstairs room opening out on to a private
porch covered with bougainvillia in full
bloom. The place has its own electric
light plant and a beautiful garden and
terrace overlooking the lake, and its own
bathing place. We all went down to the
water's edge and watched the sun sink
behind the western hills of Galilee. We
picked up some little shells and pretty
stones from the shore. Everything was
so peaceful and restful, just the cooing of
the doves belonging to the place and the
splash of the fish as they jumped out of
the water. We found a little pet gazelle
in the garden. It was most playful and
seemed pleased to have our company.
We felt we wanted to stay there for a
week. We were tempted to go in for a
swim, but the water was a little too cold,
having been too recently in touch with
the snows of Mount Hermon. Dinner was
served at 7 p.m. in a big dining room in
homely fashion at two long tables, the
German father in charge saying grace
before we all sat down. Our waiter was
a small Bedouin boy who had a very busy
time as there were seventeen guests.
Seven countries were represented by the
guests. We had German rye-bread, which
we did not like, but we did enjoy some
very nice cauliflower and lettuce grown
on the premises.
After dinner we sat on the terrace
looking across the placid waters of the
lake, calling to mind its memories of old.
When nine o'clock came we went to bed.
Thus ended a most interesting and enjoyable day and a car ride of about 200 miles
without a mishap, for which we were very
grateful.
T. A. SHERWIN,
M. M. FREEMAN.
Commendation from a Governor
IN our church paper for the InterAmerica Division, published at Panama
and dated June, 1927, Pastor C. E. Wood
sends this interesting report from the
British West Indies:
" We have had excellent meetings during the first general gathering in the Leeward Islands Conference, and plans were
laid for still stronger work in that field
of scattered islands.
" An interesting feature of the conference session was the visit of the Governor
of the colony. The large cinema building
where the meetings were held had been
tastefully decorated for the conference,
and presented a pleasing appearance as
the Governor and his suite stepped upon
the platform to receive the address of
welcome and loyalty. We were pleased
to learn from the Governor's own speech
that he greatly appreciated the work of
the Seventh-day Adventists in his colony.
He said that he had received many ad-
tv,
3
dresses but had never heard reference to
devotion and loyalty to the King expressed
in better terms than in this address,
He
also stated that it had the ring of sincerity
and said that he would have a copy of the
address sent to the Secretary of State for
the colonies, to be forwarded to His
Majesty the King.
" The Governor al so made another
significant remark. In referring to the
work of one of our brethren who is employed by the Government, he said: If
you have any more Seventh-day Adventists of this character, we shall be glad to
give them employment in Government
service.' Character and faithfulness in
service will be recognised today as truly
as it was in the days of Joseph and Daniel,
if Seventh-day Adventists will rightly
represent the truth in their lives. This is
the most forceful and effective way of
presenting the truth for this time."
Progress in the Dark Continent
THE fourth biennial session of the
African Division was held at Johannesburg, May 17 to 23. From the
report of the president, Pastor W.
H. Branson, published in the African
Division Outlook just to hand, we
quote a few paragraphs revealing the
remarkable progress made in the
D irk Continent during the past two
years, 1925, 1926 :
Truly, the biennial period has been
one o f progress. Our ministers and
evangelists have baptised 2,901 persons,
which represents by far the largest ingathering ever witnessed in this field.
Our membership has increased from
5,905 to 7,760, a net gain after allowing
for all losses, of 1,855. Besides these,
there are 5, 503 unbaptised believers, who
are preparing for church membership,
making a grand total of 13,263 believers,
as reported by our fields December 31,
1926.
By way of comparison, we might state
that this is an increase over ten years ago
(1917), of 11,144, at which time our
membership stood at 1,955, and the total
number of believers, 2,119. Thus today
we have about six and a half times as
many believers as we had only a decade
ago. The baptisms for the bienniel period
are in excess by 782 of the total number
of believers, baptised and unbaptised, who
were reported in 1917, some thirty years
after our work began in Africa. Thus
God is now giving us in two years the
fruitage of thirty years. Surely, this is
an indication of new life from above, and
we give God the glory for this splendid
growth.
We are glad to be able to report that
small beginnings have been made in carrying the torch of truth into some of the
sections of our field previously untouched.
For the first time representatives of
this Division have penetrated the hitherto
unentered regions beyond the equator,
and have laid definite plans for the permanent establishment of our work in the
great Sudan country, thus closing up one
of the gaps existing between our work and
that carried on by the European Division,
operating in North Africa. Our union
4
'01:1%-A
AUSTRALASIAN RECORD
representatives will tell us of other new
sections opened, new stations established,
and of victory after victory that has been
won for God since we last met together
in this capacity. In fact, " Jehovah hath
done great things for us, whereof we are
glad.
Our Task
But while there is evidence of progress
all along the line, let none fall into the
error of thinking that our task is nearly
done.
A glance at our large map will reveal
great stretches of blackness which the
advent messenger has never penetrated.
Millions upon millions around us are still
in the densest heathen darkness. In eight
hundred languages and dialects in Africa,
the message has never yet been given,
and yet, thickening all about us are the
tokens of the rapid approach of the King
of glory.
" May God help His people to arouse
and walk and work as men and women
on the borders of the eternal world.
Soon an awful surprise is coming upon
the inhabitants of the world. Suddenly
with power and great glory, Christ will
come." "We who know the truth
should be preparing for what is soon to
break upon the world as an overwhelming
surprise."—" Testimonies," Vol. VIII, pp.
37, 28.
" The sunset burns across the sky;
Upon, the air the warning cry
As watchmen call from tower to
tower,
'0 Israel, 'tis the last, last hour ! ' "
Brethren, let us contemplate what it
means to a hundred million people, who
speak 800 tongues, to be still in ignorance
of God's great salvation at a time when
" the angel of mercy is folding her wings
ready to depart " from the earth. Shall
they perish unwarned ? Shall their blood
stains be found upon us when we are
called to render up our account ? Under
God, we are responsible for giving them
the light before the sweet voice of mercy
dies away from the earth. Jesus loves
them no less than others, and He has
commissioned us to save them.
Burma
(From a Letter to the Union Conference
Secretary)
PLEASED !, Why, we were all delighted
with the, circular news letter that reached
us a few months ago, bearing date of
March 29. We do rejoice in all the news
from home. How many new names
there are coming into the reports, young
men from the New Zealand and West
Australian schools as well as from Avondale whom we have never met, and children who have grown up since we left
home. Nevertheless the news is very
interesting to us all.
You will be glad to know also that the
work here is growing, even though
slowly. • We have started another outstation this year. We now have 185
members in our six Sabbath schools. We
also have five day schools with an attendance of 146. This year has marked a
new chapter in our work. Two young
men who have been in our school from
the bottom up, have just finished their
studies in our training school and are
back with us teaching in our Kamamaung
School. We have organised in such a
way now that we shall be graduating
some young men each year, qualified to
teach in our own schools.
The brass band continues to be a source
of joy and courage to all. What do you
think could be better than a brass band in
the jungle? I'll tell you. Two brass
bands. We tried it during vacation. Instead of going on tour in a big band we
divided into two companies, Thara Peter
aking one and I the other. In this way
we were able to witness in two sections,
and rejoiced in being able to preach 89
sermons, give 38 Bible readings, and sell
162 small books. You can imagine the
training value there is in such trips for
our boys.
Pastor and Mrs. Baird are doing faithful work in the dispensary. We usually
manage our field work so that Brother
Baird and I are out alternately, but when
he is home, the dispensary receives the
focus of his energies. Last year it was
found necessary to erect a hospital building to care for inpatients. It is quite a
iikevetiO
-tee •
•
22/8N7
common thing to run over in the morning
and find as many as fifteen inpatients
awaiting their turn,—fever patients, little
scrawny, thin, worm-eaten babies. How
could any one throw his life into such
service without becoming greatly attached
to the work ?
Our boys are just now erecting a new
dormitory. As the boys are doing all the
work, even to making their own bricks
for the half brick walls, the work progresses slowly. It is far enough along,
however, for us to use the downstairs as
a dining room. We have opened it on
the cafeteria plan. The boys and girls
bring their own plates to the counter,
then after being served go to their places
at tables, then the plates which are
numbered, are washed and put in individual racks.
Assure our friends and co-workers in
the homeland that we love them all, follow their reports with great interest, and
long with them for the day when the
work will be done, and the sheaves gathered home.
ERIC B. HARE.
11=0"..1
0 Our Mission Field
Malaita. Solomon Islands
As I sit down to write you I long for
words to picture the work as it is here at
the present time.
Since my return from our general meeting I have visited over twenty different
villages that have shown more or less interest in our work, but they still consider
they are indebted to their devils and must
first of all pay up with pigs and feasts
before they can fully throw in their lot
with us.
The two native teachers who were appointed at the council to take up work
among the bush folk, have both arrived in
Malaita, and are working quietly among
the people who have expressed the desire
to finish with their devils and connect fully
with the mission.
The few that have realised that there is
One greater than all others and One who
cares for them, have made marked progress, so much so that others are speaking
of our work as a clean work. It is certainly encouraging to hear the oldest expressing their determination to try the
"Master on top," stating that they have
spent their lives giving pigs and making
feasts for their devils but now find themselves stranded.
This week while visiting Jackie and Keso
on their mission at Makwano, I was greatly
encouraged as I met with' those on the
mission. Since my previous visit, four
children from the heathen in the bush have
come to them. All seem very happy.
When I questioned the old man Sikoro,
the father of Jackie, as to his belief in the
mission, he expressed himself thus: "I
know if I had remained with the devils I
would have died before this, but God has
helped me and I am now alive."
Then as I walked inland among those
with whom the boys have been working,
I was taken to see an old man who has a
very sore hand. I was told he had promised that if I considered he could be healed
on the mission he would at once connect
with us, as he had tried his devils and was
in a worse state than ever. As I looked
at him I could see no reason whatever
why he could not be healed, so after pointing him to the Life-giver and talking at
length of our work, we bowed in prayer.
On rising he asked Jackie to come up
again and get him as soon as he had finished
his round with me, promising that he
would connect with the mission at once
and also some of his children, and that
after the others had killed off all the pigs
they, too, would join. (If plans carried,
the old man and the children are now on
the mission.)
As I went among the people I found
many inquiries concerning the man above
mentioned, and from what I can learn
great interest is centred on the movements of this old warrior. Right here I
would ask a special interest in your
prayers for this case.
One question seems to be in the minds
of the people, " What shall we do for
clothes? While we remain wicked we do
not need clothes, but when we go to the
mission we must have them. How can we
obtain them ?"
In company with Mrs. Anderson and
the children, the other day I visited the
village where the latest teacher was placed
and for some time there were no women
to be seen, but atter a time two or three
appeared at the door of one of the'houses.
These had pieces of calico wrapped around
them. On seeing them Mrs. Anderson
went over where they were, and as she
conversed with them she could hear others
inside. Presently those who had on the
rags slipped back into the house and the
others appeared having on the same calicoes
as those who had just entered. Since then
22/8/27
,WP
.P4
.ecralto,
Aus fikALK§fREc
Mrs. Anderson has sent some clothes
around to them ; but this need will grow
greater for some time until we can teach
the people how to provide their own.
As the law of the Solomons forbids the
admittance of old clothes unless accompanied by a certificate of sterilisation, I
have been wondering if some of the
RECORD readers would care to help us to
help these people in this way by sending us some cheap print that we can have
made up into clothes for those who attend
religious meetings.
On one occasion as I sat waiting in a
bush home for the people to come in to
worship, I witnessed what is impossible to
picture, a number of young women string..
ing in with nothing but small bags in which
they carried their betel-nut and pipes
hanging from their necks. The men go
away and work on plantations and bring
back as wages cases of tobacco and a few
pieces of cloth which are soon taken by
the men, leaving the women and children
who form most of our congregation at
present, without anything.
The evil one is doing all he knows to
stay the work, but our trust is in Him
who said, "Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel . . . and lo, I am with,
you." Continue to pray for us, dear
brethren. We are strengthened by your
J. D. ANDERSON.
prayers.
Efogi Mission, New Guinea
I
TAKE this opportunity of writing to
let you know how the work is progressing
at Efogi.
We were glad to have Brother Lock up
for the Week of Prayer. We had an enjoyable time together. In addition to the
meetings held with the boys and girls on
the mission, we had a meeting each evening for the workers. In these meetings
we made it a matter of earnest prayer
that God would continue to open the way
for the gospel in this difficult field. We
closed the week feeling that God had
richly blessed us, and given us many
precious thoughts to help us during the
coming year in our work for Him. .
I am glad to be able to tell you that the
work here is onward. Recently we have
started meetings in two other districts,
namely, Manari and Naduri, both of
which are about two hours' walk on either
side of the mission.
The people are very scattered, but we
were successful in getting them to come
to a central place where we could hold
meetings on the Sabbath. At first only
about twenty came, but we kept on working and praying till at present we have
over Ioo in one place and about 15o in
the other. We ask that you will join
with us in prayer to God that He will
water the seed sown Sabbath by Sabbath
among these mountain tribes.
We are pleased to say that God is blessing our school work. He is adding to
our numbers, for during the last four
months we were pleased to welcome ten
new students to our school.
Last Sabbath was the close of the
quarter. When we told the students that
our Thirteenth Sabbath offering was to
help the work in New Guinea, the first to
respond was an old man who has been on
the mission only about three months.
He said, " Taubada, I have no money, but
if you will give me some, I will go down
to Bisiatabu and carry up some things for
the mission." I tell this experience because I believe it should encourage those
in the homeland who give of their means
to the support of foreign missions.
Think of this poor old mans three
months out of heathenism, with such a
burden for his people that he would
walk 120 miles over steep mountain
ranges in order to earn some money so
that he could give his offering.
You might ask the question, " How
much of his money did he give ? " Every
penny went into his offering. Today he
stands without a penny in the world. He
and his wife and five children are all on
the mission. While they have no money,
still I believe he has laid hold of the Pearl
of great price. When this man came to
the mission he had a large garden in his
village; this he also donated to the mission.
Let us pray that God will gather out
many such men as this, to stand as beacons
in this dark island, pointing others to
" the Lamb of God which taketh away
the sin of the world."
C. E. MITCHELL.
Youthful Enthusiasts in Fiji
I THINK you will be interested to know
how the children and young people here
earn money for special offerings, such as
Thirteenth Sabbath, Week of Prayer
offering, etc. I have been here now six
months, and we have had several
" specials " during that time.
Whenever a " special " is on its way,
the girls, big and little, bring me wood
from the bush, and I pay them for it.
The logs vary in size, of course. Some
bring fair-sized logs of wood. I have
tried to lift some of them and could not
lift them more than a few inches, yet
these girls will carry them on their
shoulders from the bush, or bring them
across the river and carry them up the
path to my woodhouse. I always have
a good supply on hand. All the wood I
have used since I came to Fiji has been
purchased in this way. Brother and
Sister Steed also pay the boys for the
same purpose, when they bring them
wood.
Today, July 23, closed our Week of
Prayer. We postponed ours until after
our bose. On Sabbath Saimoni, our head
planter (farm manager we would call him
in the homeland), exhorted the students to
cultivate a giving spirit. He himself is
surely a good example, for although his
salary is less than £2 a month his offering
last Sabbath was five shillings. Seruaia,
my native assistant, a godly woman and a
widow, gave five shillings of her " little."
She has three daughters here in school,
and her monthly wage is less than LI.
Surely God looks upon their gifts as
treasure laid up in heaven.
In a few weeks we shall be having a
special for "our new boat," the Veilomani.
I can never use all the wood I have on
hand before then. It is now piling up
outside my woodhouse and the wood boy
can scarcely turn round inside. But so
long as the children bring the wood for
solisolis—offerings, I'll take it. I'll have a
good stock in ready for the rainy season,
which will soon be here again. I'll have
to pull down my woodhouse and build a
greater, as the man in the parable did his
barns,—but I hope not for a selfish purpose, as did he.
First, the lesson of influence. When
Torika's companions saw the transformation she had made in her pennies, they
desired to make a similar change in theirs.
Just as a bright, shining penny is more
attractive and desirable than a soiled,
black one, so a life purified and made
free from sin by the Holy Spirit attracts
and influences the lives of unbelievers to
surrender their lives to God, and they
become new creatures in Him.
Second, to become lights in the world
we must submit to the purifying process,
be it disappointment, loneliness, sorrow,
grief, persecution, or affliction in any
form. " If we suffer with Him, we shall
also reign with Him." Gethsemane precedes the crown and palms of victory.
Third, giving the best in us to the
Master, willingly, cheerfully, not performing our duties in a dull, lifeless manner.
This coining Thursday Brother and
Sister Steed are going to Suva. It is
necessary for them to go on business, and
they will be able to see Brother and Sister
Stewart before they leave for Australia.
I shall be here from Thursday until Monday evening alone, the nearest white
people I know of are Brother and Sister
Lane at Naqia, ten miles away. We are
having glorious weather at present, delightfully cool mornings and evenings,
though the days are very warm someEVA E. EDWARDS.
times.
Wainibuka School, via Viria, Fiji.
"He best deserves the knightly crest
Who slays the evils that infest
The soul within. If victor here,
He soon will find a wider sphere."
" Just stand aside and watch yourself
go by :
Think of yourself as he' instead of 'I.'
Pick flaws; find fault, forget the man
is you,
And strive to make your estimates
ring true.
The faults of others then will dwarf
and shrink,
Love's chain grow stronger by one
mighty link,
When you with he' as substitute
for I'
Have stood aside and watched yourself go by."
TR2s,fXdf.2&1\f-kta9
astor havi. lo home missions secretary of the Pacific Union Conference,
offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the
privilege of worshipping unmolested
amidst such beautiful surroundings, and
asked God to especially bless those who
are labouring for Him under unfavourable
circumstances. His protection was specially asked for the faithful missionaries in
China.
In the mission talk which followed,
Pastor J. E. Fulton, president of the
Pacific Union Conference, reminded us
that Sabbath schools were being held in
every. county in the world, and the lesson taught in more than two hundred
languages. Two and a half years ago he
visited the New Hebrides. Arriving on
Friday, he was taken to a heathen village,
then to one where Christians lived.
These villages presented a marked contrast. Heathenism is a terrible thing.
The homes of these poor people who
know not God are filthy beyond description. Chickens and pigs live under the
same roof with men, women, and children.
One of the heathen homes visited had
belonged to one named " Charlie." But
Charlie was not there now, for some time
before, he had sent his son, fourteen years
years old, to attend a Christian service.
The boy returned, and said: "Father, it
is good. You come." Charlie went and
soon gave his heart to God. He then
moved to the Christian village. No pigs
were found there, but everything in his
home was neat and clean. Coral rocks
were on either side of the road leading to
the house. A wonderful transformation
had been wrought, and it was all because
Jesus had come into Charlie's life.
An interesting Sabbath school was held
next day. Charlie was on e of the
teachers, and his countenance shone with
the love of God as he taught the lesson.
The converted heathen in the New
Hebrides believe in foreign missions, and
listened with great interest as Pastor
Fulton, in the after service, told them of
the progress of the message in other
lands.
That afternoon, as Paster Fulton visited
in the home of Missionary Parker, he was
impressed with the quietness that prevailed, not even the voices of children
were heard. Upon inquiring as to the
reason for this stillness, he was informed
that there were nine heathen villages
_44 -
22/8/27
near by, and every Sabbath-keeper who
had attended services in the morning, was
out in one of these villages singing gospel
hymns and telling the heathen how good
it is to belong to Jesus.
It is only about four years since the
work in that village was begun, but six
converted heathen have already been sent
out from there as foreign missionaries to
other islands. Some of them have undergone great persecution for the truth's
sake.
In closing, Pastor Fulton said: "I have
seen with my own eyes the wonderful
transformation that the gospel makes in
the lives of men and women in heathen
lands. I have seen men taken from darkness, heathenism, wickedness of every
form, and made Christian men and
women who love God and who give their
lives to the saving of souls. It pays to
give gifts to missions. It pays to sacrifice
short inspirational talk which led all
present to desire a closer walk with God.
Some of the neighbouring campers, not
of our faith, were invited to the service,
an d were very favourably impressed.
May God help us as a people to rightly
represent Him and His message wherever we are, whether at home or on our
vacations.
C. LESTER BOND.
In the Pacific Union Recorder.
The Acts in Alphabet
A VERY profitable colporteurs' institute
was recently held in the South N.S.W.
Conference office. The colporteurs from
the North and South New South Wales
Conferences were in attendance. We
were very pleased indeed to have Brethren
H. H. Hall and F. G. Rampton with us at
the commencement of the institute; but
it was with much regret to us that Brother
Hall had to leave before the meetings
were over. Pastor Rampton, however,
stood by and gave us excellent counsel.
The keen interest of all present was
very evident. In order to accommodate
those who came in from the country, a
large tent was pitched in the office
grounds. A cook was engaged and all
meals were provided in the conference
office.
A full programme was arranged for
each day, consisting of canvassing drill,
talks, and bookkeeping. The bookkeeping
classes were entered into very enthusiastically because it was considered that
much help would result from this innovation. Meetings were held thrcughout the
day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The seven
o'clock meeting was of a devotional
nature, and the evening meeting was in
the form of instruction from some of the
ministering brethren on how to meet
various doctrinal points that the colporteur has to face in his work. Some of
the other subjects were : Business Relations, Deportment, Use of Time.
On the first Sabbath morning, all the
colporteurs visited the Stanmore church,
where Brother Hall told something of our
book work abroad. In the afternoon a
visit was paid to the Ashfield church,
where a symposium was arranged, a
number of colporteurs giving some happy
experiences. On Sunday night a lantern
lecture was held in the North Sydney
church. This was much appreciated by
all present, especially the bookmen.
A very touching incident which will
linger long in the memory of all who witnessed it, was when Brother James, a
former canvasser, but now out of action
through ill health, arrived at the meeting
place on Sunday morning. All gathered
around Brother James to offer him a welcome. Of this number were seven young
men, now colporteurs, who were won to
the message through the faithful labours
of Brother James while a colporteur in
the North N.S.W. Conference.
We believe that this institute will mark
A scension of Christ.
B aptism of Holy Spirit awaited.
C hoosing of Matthias.
D escent of the Holy Spirit.
E xperience in Communism; experiences
resulting from healing of lame man.
F irst Christian martyr. ,
G reat persecution of the church.
H oly Spirit given to Samaritans.
I n the desert, Philip baptises the Ethiopian eunuch.
J ourney of Saul to Damascus.
K indness of Barnabas to Saul.
L ife restored to Dorcas.
M ission of Peter to Cornelius.
N ews of Antioch revival reaches
Jerusalem ; Peter's deliverance.
O rganisation of missions at Antioch.
P aul's first missionary journey.
Q ueer experience at Lystra.
R eturn to Antioch. Report to church.
S econd missionary journey.
T hird missionary journey.
U nder arrest at Jerusalem and Cmsarea,
Paul preaches to rulers.
✓ oyage to Rome.
W onderful experience at Malta.
X ceptional privileges granted Paul at
Rome.
Y earning over the Roman Jews.
Z eal to win all men to Christ.
—Selected.
that souls may be saved in the kingdom of
God. Let us give on."
Practical lessons from the life of Paul
were emphasised in the lesson study, and
that appropriate hymn, "Shall We Gather
at the River?" was sung to close.
MINNIE E. DAUPHINEE.
SABBATH morning, June 18, at ten
o'clock, fifty-four believers met under the
pines of Camp Fourteen of Yosemite
Valley, for Sabbath school. It was a
beautiful day and as we mingled our
voices in songs of praise in the quiet of
the forest we were impressed with the
presence of God's Spirit. As we beheld
the beauties of nature about us, we could
but exclaim with the psalmist, " The
works of the Lord are great."
At the close of the Sabbath school,
Pastor R. D. Quinn, president of the
Southern California Conference, gave a
OCC.V64.5.444-6-'1•464444646464ef.
Canvassing •
cs*cssite.c64-cccgics,criic
New South Wales Colporteurs'
Institute
22/8/27
cw4.1f--ATISTRALASIAN RicaRD--**r*O- 1
a new era in the colporteur work in the
fields mentioned, for all present at our
institute expressed themselves as having
obtained great benefit.
T. A. MITCHELL,
H. G. MOULDS.
Has Saved Whole Families
A FARMER who was in great mental
distress had asked his wife to put him in
the asylum, as he was sure he would corn-.
mit suicide some day in the distraction of
his mind. Strange to say, one morning he
noticed on his couch a copy of our book,
" Christ Our Saviour." His attention was
arrested by the picture of Christ stretching
out His hands to save Peter from sinking
beneath the angry waves. The disciple's
cry, "Lord, save me," found an immediate
echo in the farmer's mind and he, too,
found peace and help in Jesus.
" I have done all this district with
Christ Our Saviour,'" says Sister Parry,
" and have had good success. It is a book
that will be purchased by any one who has
the money. I sold one copy to an infidel
farmer, who, though he said the book
would be useless to himself, explained, 'It
might do my children good.' Another
copy was given to a soldier by his aunt,
and Sister Parry was greatly encouraged
to hear that he kept the book by him even
when dying. Wherever that book has
been sold it has proved a blessing in the
homes. It has saved whole families."-Missionary Worker, London, July I ,1927.
HONE
MISSIONS
Signs weekly has many interesting experiences. The total number of Signs taken
by our church members is 300. Besides
this local work, the church missionary
secretary posts about ninety a week on
behalf of church members. One man has
replied and sent in a year's subscription
for the Signs and also Li for mission
purposes.
Another from Brisbane who has been
receiving the Signs wants to subscribe for
it, and also enclosed Ei to be donated for
missions.
Another from one of the Brisbane
prisons has written a letter of thanks for
this good paper, and has promised to live
a better life in the future.
We trust that these silent messengers
will be blessed of God as they are placed
in the hands of the people.
R. J. RILEY,
Elder Ashfield Church.
Missionary Correspondence
AFTER posting the Signs to persons
away in the country whose addresses had
been given by a colporteur, a sister in the
Wahroonga missionary society wrote her
readers a letter, and from two of the
replies received we quote the following:
" Dear Miss H
"I received your letter and thank
you for your kindness in sending me the
Signs of the Times. I do not hesitate to
say that I have found the reading most
interesting, and have benefited much from
your Bible studies. I not only read them,
but have also sent them along to others,
who I hope have received the same benefit. I will not forget your collectors when
they come around. I thank you very
much for both your paper and letter.
" Wishing you every success,
" I remain,
" Yours faithfully,
From the Ashfield Church
I THOUGHT a few facts concerning the
sale of and work with the Signs of the
Times by some of the Ashfield church
members might be of interest to the
RECORD readers.
Our oldest member has a weekly sale
of 107 Signs, and many are the experiences
he relates of his talks with these people.
If he loses one customer he does not return
home till he finds another, thus maintaining
his 107 customers each week. Very seldom
does he lose one, however, as they all seem
eager for him to come and talk with them.
One person who was out the day he called
and did not receive the Signs, waited for
him the next week and said the money
would always be under the mat if she
were not home, and " please don't miss
me again."
Another person who had moved to
Marrickville begged of our brother to
bring the Signs and not post it, as she
loved to have him talk to her children.
Still another gives him sixpence per
week for the Signs, and he is to do some
missionary work with the change. With
the money he has bought over two dozen
small " Steps to Christ" besides other
books, and given them to his customers as
he has talked with them and gained their
interest.
A sister who takes over three dozen
" Dear Madam,
"Thank you very much for the
Signs of the Times paper, which we enjoy
reading. It is quite a treat these times
to receive good clean reading matter.
We pass on our copies to friends.
" Again thanking you very much for
the papers, and assuring you that I shall
be very glad to receive any copies you
may send,
"Yours sincerely,
44
41
"Just What I Wanted "
The following friendly and appreciative
letter was received from another Signs
reader, at Leura, to whom a copy of
"Steps to Christ," pocket edition, had just
been sent.
"Dear Miss R—:
" Today I received that present of that
lovely little book. It looks just what I
wanted and I am longing to get to it and
read it. Household tasks have prevented
me so far, but I hope to read a little
before I go to bed. Thank you for your
kind thought of me to send it to me.
Some day I hope to meet you. . . .
"I am going to say good night, dear
friend, for I want to have a little read of
your gift, So Mizpah' and love from
7
OBITUARIES
HODGSON.—Brother Adam Hodgson,
aged seventy-three, passed to his rest in
the Wallsend Hospital on July 23, 1927.
Born in West Gate, County of Durham,
England, our brother spent the first half
of his span of years in the Mother Country, but has been a continuous resident in
Australia since 1887. Two years ago the
advent message brightened his pathway,
and in conjunction with his faithful wife
he chose to walk in the way of God's
commandments. His widow, son, and
daughter remain to mourn the loss of a
kind-hearted husband and father. The
large number of friends who gathered at
the home and the graveside revealed the
respect by which he was held by those
who knew him. Words of comfort were
spoken by Pastor D. G. Meyers and the
writer.
H. A. HILL.
GLOVER.—Mrs. Isabelle Glover was
born in Kent, England, December 30,
1833, just about six weeks after the falling
of the stars. Thus her death on June 29,
at the ripe age of 931
A years, severs
another link with this memorable event.
She arrived in Australia when five years
old, and being reared in a Christian home,
she early joined the Church of England.
Her own family was first brought into
definite contact with the third angel's
message about nineteen years ago, when
her son, Brother Henry Glover of Katoomba, accepted this great truth. He
was followed some years later in this step
by his sister, now Sister McFarlane of
Aberdare, who at the present time has
two sons actively engaged in evangelistic
work, while a third is in the College
training for a life of ministry also. Nurse
Glover, who has stood so faithfully by
her mother through the years, took her
stand some six years ago, and was followed about four years ago by her aged
mother. Our deceased sister always enjoyed a good Christian experience. She
was certainly wonderfully blessed of God
in that she maintained her activity of both
mind and body almost to the end. It was
the writer's privilege to visit her during
the past few months. The surety of her
hope in the soon coming Saviour sweetened
and strengthened her declining years, and
comforted her in her last conscious hours.
She now sleeps in Jesus, awaiting the
consummation of the blessed hope.
C. MANN.
BOWLEY.—Alfred Bowley died on July
21, at the age of three years. Little
Alfred contracted a chill, which proved
fatal; he passed away on the road to the
doctor. We laid him to rest in the Bunbury cemetery, W.A., in full confidence
that the same Jesus who called the little
children to Him while on the earth, will
one day wake him from his sleep to take
him to the eternal home. Words of comfort were spoken at the graveside by the
writer. To Brother and Sister Bowley
we extend our deepest sympathy.
E. V. CLARK.
Important Dates
Queensland Camp-Meeting : September 6-18.
Lismore Camp-Meeting: September 20.25.
Missionary Volunteer Week : September 24-October 1
South N.S.W. Camp-Meeting : October 416.
-2 -R-EaOlib
KTigtikALAS17
Australasian math
(
THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE
AUSTRALASIAN UNION CONFERENCE
OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS
Editor: Anna L. Hindson
All copy for the paper and all advertisements
should be sent to Mrs. Hindson, "Mizpah,"
W,,hroonga, N.S.W.
Single Subscription, per year, post paid Order through your conference office, or send
direct to the Avondale Industries,
Cooranbong, N.S.W.
Advertising rate 2s. 6d. for each insertion.
Printed weekly for the Conference by the
AVONDALE PRESS (A.C.A. LTD.), COORANBONG, N.S.W.
ACCORDING to appointment, the Union
Conference Annual Council opened at
Wahroonga at 2 p. m., Wednesday, August
ro. The members of the Committee in
the homeland are in attendance, also
Brother H. H. Hall of the General Conference, Brother G. Peacock from the
Solomon Islands, and by special invitation
Pastors W. H. Pascoe and R. E. Hare,
Dr. C. W. Harrison, and the secretarytreasurers of the local conferences. In
our next issue we plan to publish the
secretary's report which was presented at
the first meeting of the Council.
SISTER L. E. JOHNSON, from Tahiti,
returned to her home by the Makura, sailfrom Sydney, August ii, after spending
some months in Australia visiting her son
and daughter. Brother and Sister Johnson are Sabbath-keepers of long standing
in the Society Islands.
MISS WILLIAMS, a native sister from
New Caledonia, arrived in Sydney recently
to spend a few weeks at the Sanitarium
as a patient. She was accompanied by
Miss C. Guiot, a French sister who went
out from Australia to Noumea to assist
Brother and Sister G. F. Jones in their
work.
NURSE EDITH MORRIS, of West Australia, a graduate nurse of the Sydney
Sanitarium, sailed for America, August Ii.
Nurse Morris goes to continue her education in the Pacific Union College, in
California, and has the medical course in
view. We wish her success in her worthy
undertaking.
IN a letter recently received from Pastor Fulton, he tells of a short rest taken
by himself and Sister Fulton at the
famous Yosemite Valley, in California.
On page 6 we give a report of the Sabbath school held there, in which the missionary exercise, given by Pastor Fulton,
is recorded.
REGARDING the Week of Prayer in the
Society Islands, Sister Agnes Deane Poroi,
one of the mission helpers, writes: " We
had a good Week of Prayer this time, and
as a result three young married couples
here in Papeete have requested baptism.
Some in Raiatea also have made the same
request. Pastor Lyndon is planning to go
to Raiatea shortly to conduct this baptism."
"THOSE not of our faith realise the
power of our literature. Recently when
travelling through Canada, I sat beside a
Roman Catholic priest. I had a French
Steps to Christ' in my hand, reading it.
I saw him look at the book, so I asked
him if he desired to read it. He took it,
looked it over, and then giving it back to
me, said, I have burned at least twentyfive of these books.' On asking the reason
why he burned them, if there was something bad in them, he said, No, but if I
allow my people to read these books, they
will leave the Roman Catholic Church and
become Seventh-day Adventists. I have
lost several of my parishioners who got
hold of your books.' "
North New Zealand
YoU will be interested to know that
the work in this field is going forward
nicely. At the present time New Zealand
is passing through a time of general
financial depression, yet our finances for
this quarter are very bright indeed, as we
have just had the largest tithe of any
quarter in the history of this conference.
This is something we cannot account for
apart from the providential care of God,
and to realise it, especially at such a time
as this, is something that must call forth
the greatest appreciation and the deepest
gratitude to God.
You will be interested to know that our
Appeal for Missions resulted in the gathering of £2,834, which is almost £200
above our aim. This also is an instance
of God's blessing.
Our Missions
Petone.—Brethren Harvey and Bradley
are working at Petone, and a number
have taken hold already. Some of these
are the result of the work at the Mount
Crawford gaol. The Lord has richly
blessed the brethren in their labours for
these poor, unfortunate men.
Gisborne.— Brethren Battye and Judge
write of the good interest here and the
work that is still progressing. The Lord
has wonderfully blessed in the Gisborne
effort, and some thirty-five to forty have
been baptised this year. These were
immersed by Pastor R. A. Anderson
before he left for Queensland.
Masterton.—Brethren V. Nilsson and
Ormond Anderson are carrying on a
solid work here. Already they have a
number who have taken their stand.
They have great hopes of the work at
Mauriceville, where the meetings are well
attended and a number are deeply interested. Brother Nilsson is hoping to start
a mission at Carterton.
Taranaki District.—Pastor C. A. Paap
is doing pastoral work at the present time
in the Taranaki district, where about nine,
including children, have accepted the
message. This is mainly the result of the
good work of one of our canvassers.
New Plymouth.—At New Plymouth
the brethren are very busy renovating and
extending their church building. Brother
A. Barron reports a sister who has recently taken hold and there are others
interested. Miss Hilda Osmond was assisting in this mission, but for some time
has been unable to carry on her work on
account of ill health. We are plessed to
report that she is now making good progress toward recovery.
4..4..
" N,---.)
"eg; • 1
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Auckland.—Pastor F. L. Sharp is finding himself very busy throughout the
Auckland district, doing good, systematic
pastoral work among the churches. A
number are taking a fresh hold of the
message.
W. M. R. SCRAGG.
Two Days at Avondale
IT was the writer's happy privilege to
spend from Thursday evening, August
4, until the evening after Sabbath, August
6, with our College students and others at
Avondale. At chapel exercises Friday
morning we spoke on the need of unselfish
devotion to the work of God, and told
the students a little concerning what Sister
E. G. White used to tell us when we were
students, thirty years ago. Two statements that Sister White so often used are
as follows: "Follow duty, not inclination," and " Of two things, do the harder."
At the usual Friday evening meeting—
a meeting the influence of which, held as
it is every Sabbath eve, never leaves the
lives of the students no matter how many
years elapse after leaving school, and irrespective of the country or continent in
which they dwell—it was our burden to
outline in brief the excellent spirit of
Daniel, the devotion of Joseph, and the
determination of Moses. These characteristics we are told will be found in the
youth of today who give themselves
wholly to God's service. When the call
was made for some response, dozens and
dozens of young men and women were
immediately upon their feet ready to
speak of their determination to live for
God and the spread of this message. As
I listened to their testimonies, I thought
so many times of their parents, many of
whom are hundreds of miles from the
College, and I felt how glad they would
be to hear their young people for whom
they have prayed, and for whom they
still pray, speaking such words of love
and devotion to God. We felt once more
how blessed it is to have the privilege of
sending our young men and young women
to such a school as the Australasian Missionary College.
As we interviewed graduates and others
who are looking forward to the coming
Council for some appointment to a
humble position in the cause of truth, we
were led to realise that we were dealing
with a noble band of young people.
The Sabbath morning service we attended in the village church at Avondale,
and it was good to meet once more with
many of the old faces that were pioneers
to Avondale when we first took up the
school estate and began the work of training at that centre. Through the years
others have come in. We had the privilege of pointing out what a happy condition they are in,—living so close to
the spot where God's trusted servant,
Sister White, spent so many years of her
life devoted to God and His service.
May God grant that at Avondale we may
always follow the instruction that she
laboured so faithfully to give.
May God bless the College, its faculty,
and its student body. We can confidently
recommend our people to send their
young people to such an institution with
its spiritual uplift.
A. H. PIPER.