Ellen G. White in Europe 1885-1887

The Embarkation from Liverpool

The time had come to embark. The City of Rome would carry her and her party ^* safely homeward. Two years before, with some misgivings, she had looked forward to the European adventure. In vision God had opened to her mind certain situations that existed among the workers and the emerging institutions in Europe prior to her departure for the Old World. EGWE 315.2

But now all of this was in the past. Her thoughts as she sailed from Liverpool were not so much thoughts of anticipation as of reflection. EGWE 315.3

The advance moves that had been made in the eight countries that she had visited, the sacrifice and unselfish labors of the European and American laborers, and the willingness of the believers to listen and follow the Spirit of Prophecy counsel, brought joy to her heart and praise to her lips. EGWE 315.4

Her reflections upon the work in Europe are best expressed in a Review article that appeared four months after her return to America. “After a two years’ stay in Europe we see no more reason for discouragement in the state of the cause there than at its rise in the different fields in America.”—December 6, 1887. EGWE 315.5

She could speak from experience now. Two years on the scene in Europe, visiting, preaching, teaching, counseling, observing, had qualified her to bring back to the brethren in America a true and a good report. Having helped to pioneer the message in the United States, she now had participated in the development of the early churches and institutions in Europe. EGWE 315.6