“I'd Like To Ask Sister White ...”

Did You Make That Trip?

My interest in the work in Portland is still as deep as ever. But I find it impossible to make the visit there that I have looked forward to so long. I cannot leave my work here until the book on Old Testament history is ready for the publishers. I would be very pleased to see you [Elder Haskell] and the workers, and to join you in lifting the standard of truth in Portland, Maine. Christ died that He might save souls. We should consider no sacrifice too great in order to cooperate with Him in this work. ²⁶ LASW 124.1

[Mrs. White was eighty-four when she wrote the two letters above.] LASW 124.2

The Food We Eat

“Mother, I’m hungry! When do we eat?” After working in the vegetable garden, or cutting wood, or helping their father at the Review office, the White brothers must often have asked this important question. LASW 125.1

In the early years of their marriage Ellen and James White knew hunger and poverty. Now they had a home and food—enough for all. In the chicken house Willie’s hens cackled over eggs they produced daily. Willie gathered these eggs and proudly took them to his mother. Edson and Henry took turns, probably, milking the family cow, anticipating the thick cream they would later enjoy piled high on thick slices of whole-wheat bread. In the garden, Willie might weed, Edson hoe, and Henry water. Then would come the crisp vegetables that they knew would adorn the garden and appear later on the family dinner table. LASW 125.2

The boys’ appeal, “Mother, I’m hungry,” was answered at mealtime. As the family gathered and asked God to bless the food, they came with thankful hearts. Not one moment was wasted in grumbling, because foods unhealthful, forbidden, unclean, never appeared. Their table was bountifully supplied with grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and wholesome dairy products. LASW 125.3