King's Business - 1921-02

137

THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S

were dealt with separately and while this was going on, a third man listened and became interested, and It was not very long after the message Was given and the Word made plain, before the first man accepted Christ, the second man following soon after, and finally the third was won. “How then, shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” as sis Spanish Department Robert Bender, Supt. “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion upon them, because they fainted, and were scat-, tered abroad, as sheep having no shep­ herd.” Would to God that Christian people would get the vision of the multitudes that are scattered abroad, as sheep hav­ ing no shepherd. If there is a class of foreigners in our midst to whom the above can be applied, it is the Mexicans. Perhaps there are those who will say, “Are they not Catholics and have they not a church and a priest?” Yes, it is all true, but having lived among this .class of people for over twenty years, we can certify that their priests are not shep­ herds, because they do not care for their souls. It is the money they are after, and when there is no money, there is no service. In many of the colonies we visit, there áre churches, but very few of the Mexicans attend, because they are in free America and are glad to throw off the yoke of Rome. • The priests are not the kind that go out to seek the lost.' It is very rare that a priest will visit the people of his parish. He says the people know where the church is, and they must come to him. He will not go to them unless he knows there is some money in it. No Money—No Priest In a certain camp we visited, a Mex­ ican secured the services of a priest to come up to the camp and say mass. He vcame twice, and told the people that, if they wanted him to come again, they must be more liberal with their money. On his third visit there were less who attended mass and consequently less money, so the priest did not come back, since there was no money in it for him. We have the advantage over them in our house-to-house work and regular preaching services in the camps and

God, gave us a fine reception, and proved a very valuable helper, not only in ar­ ranging for a service, but in gathering the men on that ship around the organ and also going to the other two ships to do the same thing for us. Mr. F. W. Goyette (the Lord’s man in San Fran­ cisco’s Harbor under the Institute), preached the Word to attentive listen­ ers and the Gospel was sung with organ accompaniment and violin, and on one of the other boats by the additional help of an accordion played by a sailor. On one of the boats we had a good service in spite of one or two Romanists who hated the Word, but God helped and a fine hearing was had. On the second ship, most men being away, a short service was held, while on the third boat (mentioned first in this report), when the invitation was given one after another, nine men accepted Christ. The officer, coming out as one of the first, stood alongside the cabin boys and it was a wonderful, sight. Help was given this man and he was placed as head of a little group to study the Word as the ship plows the seas homeward bound. Three Men Saved on IT. S. Ship On an American steamer, the worker encountered a foreigner who, though a mere boy, had seen much of this world’s sin. He lived with two other young men on the same boat who also spoke only French. Going from cabin to cabin one of the workers would visit one part of the ship and the other the remainder. Soon the three French boys m et' Mr. Goyette and one after another (the Lord giving opportunity to speak to two of them individually with no one around), they accepted Christ. Then the third one came into the cabin and was dealt with and accepted Christ in the pres­ ence of another man who only a short time previous had done the same thing. So three men were reached for Christ and in every step His guiding hand was seen, for which we praise Him. Mixed Crowd on English Steamer A British steamer arriving was reached by the two workers and an open door encountered on board. To our surprise not only English officers were found, but also a big group of Arabs, natives from the countries bordering the Red Sea and also a few dark-haired men from the British West Indies. The Gos­ pel was given to the men in their own language in print and two men, when asked if they knew the Lord, made their desire known to know more of the Gos­ pel, and to become Christians. The men

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