Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists

The Sabbath Meetings

It was with difficulty that I could speak at the meeting of Friday evening, for the hall was cold and very damp. In this building the plaster had been put directly onto the brick walls, leaving no air chamber, and thus permitted the dampness of the wall to be communicated to the room. There had been no fire in the hall during the season, until a few hours before we assembled, and then it only served to draw out the dampness, and render the atmosphere humid. There was a penetrating chill in the air, that made one shiver in the warmest wrappings. I suffered much from pain in my lungs, while I was speaking, and for hours afterward. HS 182.3

Sabbath morning I still felt the effects of the evening's chill. For two weeks I had been suffering much from some teeth that had been improperly treated by the dentist, and the cold that I had taken not only affected my lungs and throat, but rendered the pain in my teeth almost unendurable. I felt unable to speak to the people; but my earnest prayer went up to heaven for needed strength. Again I ventured to the hall, and found it well filled with interested hearers. I spoke from John 15:1-8, on the subject of the True Vine. I was strengthened and blessed; my infirmities were forgotten in the interest I felt for precious souls. The dear Saviour seemed very near, and the Holy Spirit rested upon the assembly. HS 182.4

The discourse was followed by a social meeting, Bro. Matteson acting as interpreter. Many good testimonies were borne. Some expressed their thankfulness to God that he had sent Sister White such a great distance to visit them. They had read her books and her articles in their paper, and had thus received most precious light and a great blessing. The Testimonies which had been translated into their language had opened to them the Scriptures, and had made the truth so plain that they could not resist it. A high standard had been presented for them to reach, and this had led them to read the Bible, to search their hearts, to pray more, to have greater love for Jesus, and to seek more earnestly to save souls. HS 182.5

One brother said that when he listened to the sermon impressing upon them the necessity of purity and perfection of character, he felt that he could not be saved; that his case was hopeless. But when it was stated that sanctification was not the work of a moment, but of a lifetime, he was encouraged, and determined that day by day he would pray and watch, and search the Scriptures; he would be an overcomer, gaining an experience daily, until he should become strong, and be able to be a blessing to others. With many tears, some expressed their gratitude for the interest the American brethren had taken in them in this far-off country. HS 183.1