General Conference Bulletin, vol. 5

EXPERIENCES IN EUROPE: OPENING GERMAN EAST AFRICA

L. R. Conradi

Talk by L. R. Conradi, Sabbath Evening, April 4

After him another young man entered the service. He refused to serve on the Sabbath day. He was questioned, “How long have you kept the Sabbath?”—“From childhood.” “Did your father and mother keep it?”—“Yes.” “Did your father serve in the army?”—“Yes.” army?”—“Yes.” “Was he a Sabbath-keeper?”—“Yes.” “Did he serve on the Sabbath day?”—“No.” And it is a singular fact that the only man we ever had at that time in the German army was his father, who refused to serve some twenty-five years ago, and spent three years in prison for it. “Well,” they said, “if your father refused, and your father believed it, we can not change you. And we must give you the liberty.” The captain set the young man in front of his company, and said, “This young man is free on the Sabbath, and I do not want you to tease him.” Later on two young men who had taken the nurses’ course came to serve, and they said, “We can not serve on the Sabbath.” In a few weeks, they were treated very kindly, and put in the hospital service. Brethren and sisters, it means something when you enter a struggle like this. But I am very thankful to-night that the Lord of hosts is stronger than any power or king in this world. Oh, that we might unite with Him closer and closer, that He can give us that power to go forth to even the ends of the world! GCB April 9, 1903, page 135.26

We have another young man, about thirty-four years of age, who had had a similar experience in the army. He had been a Sabbath-keeper for some nine years. He was a gardener, had a good business of his own, and he said, “I am ready to go to East Africa.” But now the next question comes, Is the government ready to let us in? I went to Berlin; went up to the Colonial Department, and was taken to different officials. Finally, the last official I was introduced to was the one looking after the missions in the different colonies of Germany. In my talk with him, I mentioned that we had in the Samoan Islands (and you know Samoa is now a German colony) an institution, a sanitarium. When I mentioned that, he looked at me surprised, and said, “Is that institution your people’s?” And I said, “Yes.” I found he had been in Samoa, and knew of our work. Here was another providence. GCB April 9, 1903, page 135.27

God knows how to work upon the hearts of the people and prepare them, sometimes a thousand miles away. He gave me advice to submit a petition to the German Colonial Department. He said, “The governor of East Africa is coming up in December; you come to Berlin, and I will see that you meet him.” Of course, I wanted to see the governor, and I wrote an appeal to the governor to get permission, because otherwise we could not get any property in the colony. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.1

While going around, one brother said to me, speaking of the head of the Lutheran Mission, “Do not go to that man; he is so much opposed to us.” “Well,” I said, “all right.” I had read that he started a mission himself in Africa, and from what this brother told me, I made up my mind that it was not best to go there. But I visited different stores to buy books giving a description of African missions, and stepping into one store and telling a man my object, he said: “The head of our Lutheran mission would surely be pleased to see you. I will take you to him.” The very man that I was warned not to go to! I went in and told him who I was, that I was a Seventh-day Adventist. He said, “You want to go to East Africa?”—“Yes.” “If you go to that country, there are lots of Catholic missions, and free territory. If you go there, God bless you.” He said, “I will go down with you to our bookkeeper’s to show you how much my trip cost me,” and he went down with me. He said, “If you want some more information, come again.” And the last word as I went out was, “God bless you in your work.” GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.2

We are sometimes a little too timid about such things. But if we get the true missionary spirit to go forth to the ends of this world, I believe we will find many hearts tender, and beating in sympathy with us, if they find out that we are going out to the very front doing that work. I see it more and more. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.3

When I came back from Egypt in December, I went up to the government office. When I came in, the official I had called on said: “I am so glad to meet you; I wanted to write to you and tell you that the governor has arrived. I told him about your work, and he wants to see you. “But,” he said, “he is very busy now. He has just come. I will see that you get an interview with him in January. His time is very much pressed.” “I am very grateful to you for all your kindness,” I replied, “but my time is also pressed. I would be so thankful to you if I could see him to-day.” He said, “Come here at half past twelve.” I went up at that time, and he gave me a letter, and said, “You go up to the Hotel Bristol on Unter den Linden.” I went there and waited a few moments, and a fine gentleman stepped up to me, and spoke to me pleasantly, and the first words were: “Mr. Conradi, I am glad to meet you. The mission work of your people has been highly recommended to us, and I can but say, I welcome you to come to East Africa.” GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.4

Brethren, I am thankful to God that He is opening up the way, that the men in charge are welcoming us to come there. I talked with that gentleman for about an hour. He is of the nobility of high standing. He said, “We want, if possible, German citizens down there, because in Africa there are so many different governments, and we like to have people of our own nationality.” It is no more than right. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.5

Nine missionary societies are working there already. Six of these are Catholics. Shall we let them take all the territory, or shall we move in before it is all occupied, and get some good foothold there? What say you? GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.6

He told me at the time that we could rent land. “But if you want to buy,” he said, “you can buy three acres of land for a dollar.” That is cheap enough. Since that time I got an answer from the German government telling me we shall enjoy the same privileges in Africa as any other missionary societies. We are invited to come there. We have it in black and white to-day. The young men are ready, and we are invited to go there. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.7

Brethren and sisters, shall we go? Are you ready to help us? More than that, when our people in Germany, though they have this tremendously-large field, heard that a way was open during our annual meetings last winter, some $1,300 were gathered to open up the work there. They did what they could; but now we need about $5,000 more to get started. I expect you brethren will be in favor of our having the $5,000 necessary to start the work, to pay for the journey, and to keep the missionaries for one year. If I should put the question to you, How many of you to-day would be willing to see that that money was granted to us? I know you will help. Now these are the opening providences of God to-day in the German field. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.8

I might say a few words about our school work. Two years ago we had just purchased a farm and a little school building. Our school buildings cost us,—dormitories for ladies and gentlemen and a school,—not quite a thousand dollars. You know about how much you can put up for that amount. But we felt that we would not get into big buildings until we had the money. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.9

“Object Lessons” came out, and our people took hold of it, and we began to put up a dormitory, which cost us $1,200, and room for sixty students. That building was finished last fall. We hardly had the building finished and ready before it was filled with bright young people, and it is full today, filled to the utmost. What shall we do? Shall we have a little more room? We need workers. There are 255,000,000 in the German Union. We are surely thankful to God that He is sending us bright young people, anxious to enter the work. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.10

I will tell you what kind of young people we take into the school; we take in only young people who, with one, two, or three years of training, can enter the work. We have not room for anybody else. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.11

Our people took hold, and in one year sold 5,000 copies of “Object Lessons.” In doing this work, we had many difficulties to overcome. But there was one good thing: When our people went to the mayor of the city to get permission, and told him that they did not earn anything on that book, that they even paid for the book themselves, and that all that money went into a mission, the mayor would give them the permission the moment the statement was written out. And sometimes we had to write out fifty, seventy-five, or one hundred statements for one church, because everybody wanted to sell the book; and the president of the conference had to write it out, and then hand it in, and then go through the city and sell the book, and thus we sold the first year 5,000 books. Since that time another edition of 11,000 has been printed, and is being sold. This gives about $16,000 for our school. GCB April 9, 1903, page 136.12

Of the sixty young people at school, thirteen were from Russia, six or seven Russians; and we now have a Russian lady who also speaks the German. She has been educated at one of the highest schools at St. Petersburg, and she is teaching in the Russian language at our school. So we have the German and the Russian languages taught in the school. There are also a number of young people from Hungary, others from Roumania, others from Bulgaria, and we have one or two from Macedonia; and lately, when I was down to Roumania, one sister came from Armenia. So they come from these different portions to attend the school; and God is blessing our school work at the present - time, and there is a good spirit manifested. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.1

That school has existed only about three years, and yet I think at least thirty nurses, and as many more licentiates and Bible-workers, have been turned out from that school. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.2

Besides this school we have our sanitarium in connection with it; and now we have a food factory. The sanitarium has room for seventy-five patients. God has been blessing this work. We are educating our nurses and our Bible-workers together; the work is one. Our nurses have gone to Berlin, and to Hamburg, and to Magdeburg, and to the largest cities. The government gives our institutions the right of training nurses, and then a government physician comes down and examines them, and if they stand the examination, they receive a state diploma, the same as other nurses. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.3

With regard to our indebtedness: You must remember that this is a new field, and a large field, and there are many difficulties to meet; but last year, by the blessing of God, we were able to increase our capital from $17,000 to $37,000; in other words, $20,000 came in to cover the indebtedness on the investment of $75,000, for the school, the food factory, the farm, the sanitarium; $37,000 is paid. That is half. We have an investment of $75,000. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.4

Last year we paid up $20,000, and I will tell you the way we did it: Our publishing house has earned $10,000 in the last two years, and put $3,500 of its earnings into the school. Our institutions are each a part of one work, and they help one another; and that is right. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.5

At the present time we publish in fourteen different languages. We have increased our canvassers from 120 to 200. There are now in the German Empire about 200 canvassers at work. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.6

In a talk I had with the canvassers some months ago, I asked them how many families they could visit, and we found out that, even with the present little force of canvassers, in a little over two years we can put the truth into every family in Germany. In two or three years more, we expect to have four or five hundred, and have it so that we can put the truth into every family in Germany once a year. It looks as though, brethren, there are possibilities of cutting short this message in righteousness, that the Lord has a way. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.7

But more than this: Our journals have increased in circulation. The German paper has increased its circulation from 17,000 to 25,000 semi-monthly. We sell the paper. Thousands of our people are at work selling the paper everywhere, and I tell you there is not anything that does so much to keep the right spirit among us as missionary work, and everybody at work. The circulation of our Holland paper has increased from 3,100 to 3,800. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.8

In spite of financial depression, our sales have increased, and now we are getting out the publications more and more in all these different tongues and languages. The last two years the total sales were $84,790, an increase from $38,000 in 1901 to $45,000 in 1902. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.9

Besides, we have the ship mission in Hamburg harbor and they are scattering some $1,100 or $1,200 worth of publications a year, besides what they are giving away in that harbor. Hamburg harbor is the fourth largest in the world. More than 100 steamship lines center there, and they are being supplied with publications on present truth. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.10

It has been my privilege during the last two years to visit Egypt twice, and Palestine once. I shall speak about those countries at another time, but I can say to-night that Africa and Asia are open. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.11

When I was down in Africa in November, and went away up to Luxor, we were in among the graves of the ancient Pharaohs. Passages hundreds of feet long—wonderful tombs—have been discovered there, and to-day they are lighted up by electricity. You will see inscriptions written four thousand years ago, just as distinct as when they were written. I will tell you something about that later on; but one thing I would like to say to-night, and that is that to-day the truth of God is taking root right next to those very tombs and temples of the Egyptians. It was my privilege to preach there one Sunday to about thirty people, and to have a man translating for me who spoke fluently the Arabic and the Coptic—a missionary for eleven years before the truth reached him. I was just as free to preach to those people as I am to preach to you here to-night. The owner of the house said to me: “My brother, if you have a message from God, we want to have that message clear-cut and definite. Just give it to us as it is in the Bible, straight out. We want it from the Word of God.” And it was my privilege during the two sermons or talks I gave to those people to give them this message in its simplicity. I saw the tears come into their eyes, and when I got through, that man said, “Yes, that is the message of God, and we want to follow it.” GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.12

Since that time Elder Wakeham has written me telling me that their hearts are being inclined to receive the truth. Oh, thank the Lord, the message is coming from the West to the East! It is lightening up the East; even Egypt is awakening. May God awaken us here at this meeting to act, to respond to the call to send forth the laborers; but what we want is the right preparation of our hearts. We are to be purified, sanctified, unified. We are to press together, and then press forward, that we may hasten the glad day when the work shall be finished, when the Saviour shall come, and we shall reap the reward in His everlasting kingdom. GCB April 9, 1903, page 137.13