THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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healthy, strong, in th e m idst of life,— found th e ir death presumably in the storm off the Mexican Coast. Only the deckhouse was found, sighted by a pass ing steam er. How sho rt th e time to prepare! How sudden th e term ination of th e day of grace! In th e m idst of life,— death! Cruel, sudden, carrying w ith it such v ital destinies! How wonderful th e o ther side of th is m onth’s experience! Raised up from a bed of sickness (for which we praise Him),r-rrthe worker found the grim epidemic over th e city and harbor,—- fourteen men sick on one vessel, sev eral on another, th ree or four here and there, most of them , too, stricken by the plague of sin. We tru s t He may he making the stories of salvation which have been given out, a blessing to many. The “ San Gabriel,” a vessel often visited in its regu lar visits to San Pedro, holds many a dear memory for the workers. The mystery of its to tal destruction and loss brought to remem brance a certain Sunday morning when two of th e w orkers found a good num ber of the crew in th e forecastle, play ing cards, the m ajority of those present using liquor freely and some heavily under its influence; seem ingly a poor tim e to expect results, hum anly speak ing. The in te rest of one man was gained, and we dealt w ith him while he was washing his underclothes in a bucket of soapy w ater. He listened, be came more and more interested, and fin ally the te ars came runn ing down his cheeks, and he extended his soapy hand in a hand clasp to signify his accept ance of Christ. Scores of people were dealt w ith on th a t ship a t different times, bu t his was th e most rem arkable case and he the oldest man who ever accepted Christ on th e lumber vessels. Owing to the necessity of wearing a “ flu” mask, the worker was somewhat inconvenienced, bu t tru stin g fully in Him to care for us, the work on the ships has been carried on day afte r
day. We have lots of fresh a ir and sunshine on the ships and no difficulty was experienced in doing the work prayerfully and cautiously, for which we praise Him. On a larger Japanese freighter, after nearly covering th e boat, th e worker * climbed to th e bridge to find th e cap tain. Leaving the cap tain ’s cabin, we found an officer waiting outside the door, rig h t in the ch a rt house, who, draw ing the worker to a more private spot, asked if he was the one who left the Christian literatu re in every cabin. It seems th a t, finding a Gospel of John in his cabin, he was led of th e Lord to look for the worker. We soon found th a t his h ea rt was hungry and th a t he had come to inquire into the way of life. Reasoning w ith him from the Book and tearing down th e wall of Buddhism, he seemed “ almost per suaded.” He listened wonderfully well, could understand English, and his in te rest grew m inute afte r m inute as we answered such questions as “Do you believe in m iracles?” “Did we not come from monkeys?” etc. He was full of questions, bu t free from th e spirit of hiding behind them . He really wanted to know. There was the ch art house; how easy it was to speak of The Book as th e one chart, leading him step by step, under God to see his lost condition and his need of Christ. The Spirit of God was workiiîg; th e plain, simple story of th e Cross was told, and th e re in the m idst of darkness and death, th is soul reached out and took Jiold on etern al life. Yes,— he was the chief officer of the ship, b u t he had to come as a poor lost sinner. ‘ H e asked for a Bible and before his ship left, a few days later, on ano th er visit, his face was happier th an ëver. Again, ano th er case.-^th is tim e a young fellow, a mere boy, on his first trip on th e Sea. He had ju st begun a le tte r home to his mother. He was a fellow who went to church, m eant well, bu t had never, come to see, the way of
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