Reaching the Sailors By O. Zimmerman
3 T lias been my custom, since t a k i ng up the work at Terminal Island for the railroad and lum- bermen, to walk along the wh a r fs and docks of San P e d ro (Los Angeles Ha r- bor) looking for an opportunity to speak to men about Christ. I have been led to visit t he vessels of all coun- tries — American, English, German, Norwegian, and was able to approach even Chinese and Japanese who form p a rt of the. crews. I was amazed to find t h at t h e re is no work done for these h u n d r e ds of men (different crews in port every we e k ), t he total absence of any gospel services, t he lack of Bibles, books, or even papers of any kind on board t he lumber and other steamers. The great opportunity of reaching these men is unparalleled, because of open doors for gospel services on board, for personal, aggressive work, for vis- iting every cabin and seeing every man on board, and for winning the men who seldom meet anyone who is really in- terested in their spirtiual welfare. F a i th in the power of the Word of God, and the vision of the h u n d r e ds of thou- sands of men coming to this coast from all ports of the wordl, led me to invest every possible mome nt not occupied by work, house visitation and services on t h e Island to giving the Gospel, by tract, lip and life, to the men wh e re they are. It is possible for me to reach only one or two a week of the many incom- ing vessels, but I believe this work can be ma de a rallying center, and the sea- men, if reached by the Gospel, will prove r a d i a t i ng centers, carrying the Gospel into t he f a r t h e st corners of the I visited the British steamer, " R u- pert City," f r om Vancouver, B. C., meeting conditions which were most unpleasant, speaking to twelve or four- teen men, some of +hem lying on their uncomfortable, narrow beds. in a dark, dirty, noisy hole at the extreme end of t he vessel. I found two or t h r ee very bright, intelligent-looking young fellows among the sin-hardened men, all of them receptive and eager for con- versation.
They were glad of t he tracts a nd very willing for a service to be held whenever time would permit. I learned of their meager, loveless life, utterly untouched by the Gospel, and with lit- tle hope of improvement. They told me how t he greed for money absorbed all available space on the boat and put t h em into places not fit for a dog. The second cook, an open-hearted, strong, young fellow, with a clean-cut face, said to me, " The only hope is in poli- tics. I believe t h e re is a S u p r eme" Being, but t he Bible I cannot really u n d e r s t a n d; tell me more about it." As I showed him f r om J ames 5, t he Hope of t he believer, and t h at it was a personal ma t t er between him and Christ, who was a safe Ha r b or f6r his soul, b ut he was called away, and I h ad time only to give him a Gospel of John, with a promise to meet the b o at on h er r e t u rn to port a couple of mo n t hs hence. The young man was a f t e r wa rd supplied with two Moody colportage books, " The Way to God" and "Questions Answered." We expect the Lord to save him. The f r i e n ds who give of their means will doubtless be permitted to know t h at Life in Christ was t he f r u it f r om their books and tracts read at sea. The little t i me on b o i rd won many friends, and upon suggesting t h at I had to get supper and go to church, they said, "Stay and have supper with us." First I hesitated because they had told me the meals were very poor, b ut t h at t he chef ma de t he best out of a bad thing. Then, a growing interest ma de me say, "Why, yes; I will count it a privilege." And I did, and stayed. They put their best before me, being a little ashamed to offer me such a meal, while they were evidently very much pleased to have a visitor. Milk was only one-sixteenth part milk, t he "has"h" refused to go down my t h r o a t, and the beans were nothing fancy. After inquiring wh at we were drink- ing I found t h at it was tea. Home- made bread and " s t r awb e r ry pie" made of p r u n es was t he dessert. I could hardly swallow t he meal, but I never enjoyed a n y t h i ng better and t he com- pany of men grew dear to my h e a r t.
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